Today I am off to Philadephia for a conference-Association of College & Research Libraries. (ACRL) I will be there until Saturday morning. We had planned to stay later in the day, but Delta switched our flight soon after we booked it.
I am planning to visit some of our electronic book vendors to see if any of them support any of the ebook readers that are so ubiquitous these days.
More later.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Au revoir, Paris
When I looked up au revoir, I found that it means "until the seeing again," and decided that to use that instead of adieu (goodbye) since I hope very much to come again!
We were up early and threw the last of our things into the suitcases, drank a little coffee and ate a bite. I offered to ride down the elevator with the suitcases and stuffed myself into the tiny elevator with one foot on a suitcase and the other on the floor. I rode all the way to the ground floor and pulled the suitcases out before realizing that I had left my purse in the apartment. Rosie and Lynne (who wanted to see us off at the airport) were almost down on the stairs when I got the keys from them and rode back up to grab my purse. Lucky for me I thought of it then or I would have been running back from the Metro or worse yet, arriving at the airport without my money and travel documents. Whew!
We got through the check in process and dropped off our bags. Then we hugged Lynne goodbye and went through security. They would not let me leave my laptop in my TSA approved bag and made me dig my cell phone out of the pocket too, but I made it through without incident. Rosie, on the other hand, set off the gate and was subjected to a manual pat down. She has no clue what set it off since she claims she was wearing exactly the same thing when she went through security in Minneapolis. Oh, well. Once through the gates, we found that there was more shopping and we got rid of some remaining Euros with a few last minute souvenirs and snacks. The boarding started a full hour before the flight took off which kind of took us by surprise. We filled out our customs forms and arranged our stuff and bodies for a long flight. We took off about 20 minutes late, but food service with free wine started shortly after. Rosie and I had a small happy hour in the air. A short time later lunch was served with more wine. By the time lunch was over we were both feeling drowsy--I kept falling asleep and jerking awake with the notion that my mouth was hanging wide open. We both fell asleep during the first (of four) movies and I awoke part way through the second (Secretariat) and was awake for the rest of the flight.
They fed us quite well for lunch and then again with pizza and ice cream (I ate Rosie's ice cream in addition to mine) for a snack about an hour before landing.
We cleared customs without much trouble and found Rosie's husband waiting for us right outside the doors. By 4pm I was home again and in the familiar surroundings, it was hard to imagine where I had just been. My husband and I went to 5pm Mass and I was home in bed by 6:15pm where I slept soundly until about 1am when, apparently, it was time to get up in Paris. I forced myself to stay in bed until 7:15am (daylight savings time) and hope to back on my usual sleep and rise schedule soon.
It was a wonderful trip to say the least and I am all set to try more places again soon!
We were up early and threw the last of our things into the suitcases, drank a little coffee and ate a bite. I offered to ride down the elevator with the suitcases and stuffed myself into the tiny elevator with one foot on a suitcase and the other on the floor. I rode all the way to the ground floor and pulled the suitcases out before realizing that I had left my purse in the apartment. Rosie and Lynne (who wanted to see us off at the airport) were almost down on the stairs when I got the keys from them and rode back up to grab my purse. Lucky for me I thought of it then or I would have been running back from the Metro or worse yet, arriving at the airport without my money and travel documents. Whew!
We got through the check in process and dropped off our bags. Then we hugged Lynne goodbye and went through security. They would not let me leave my laptop in my TSA approved bag and made me dig my cell phone out of the pocket too, but I made it through without incident. Rosie, on the other hand, set off the gate and was subjected to a manual pat down. She has no clue what set it off since she claims she was wearing exactly the same thing when she went through security in Minneapolis. Oh, well. Once through the gates, we found that there was more shopping and we got rid of some remaining Euros with a few last minute souvenirs and snacks. The boarding started a full hour before the flight took off which kind of took us by surprise. We filled out our customs forms and arranged our stuff and bodies for a long flight. We took off about 20 minutes late, but food service with free wine started shortly after. Rosie and I had a small happy hour in the air. A short time later lunch was served with more wine. By the time lunch was over we were both feeling drowsy--I kept falling asleep and jerking awake with the notion that my mouth was hanging wide open. We both fell asleep during the first (of four) movies and I awoke part way through the second (Secretariat) and was awake for the rest of the flight.
They fed us quite well for lunch and then again with pizza and ice cream (I ate Rosie's ice cream in addition to mine) for a snack about an hour before landing.
We cleared customs without much trouble and found Rosie's husband waiting for us right outside the doors. By 4pm I was home again and in the familiar surroundings, it was hard to imagine where I had just been. My husband and I went to 5pm Mass and I was home in bed by 6:15pm where I slept soundly until about 1am when, apparently, it was time to get up in Paris. I forced myself to stay in bed until 7:15am (daylight savings time) and hope to back on my usual sleep and rise schedule soon.
It was a wonderful trip to say the least and I am all set to try more places again soon!
Friday, last day in Paris :-(
We were up early to get to our tour of three French Chateaus--a 12 hour trip to the countryside. At the travel agency we met our traveling companions, a 30-ish couple from Italy who spoke some French so their tour was in French, our travel guide, a young Frenchwoman named Caroline who spoke French, Spanish, English and a little German. I almost think our Italian couple would have done better if the tour were in Spanish, because whenever they did not understand the French, Caroline would put it in Spanish for them. The wife sometimes explained the French to the husband, so her grasp of French was somewhat better.
We left Paris at 7:15am, fortunately heading opposite the direction of the stop and go traffic heading into Paris. I am not sure what the French call their freeways, but it was a similar to what we have (divided highway with multiple lanes) and we passed through a tollbooth soon after leaving Paris. Spring had arrived in France--they appeared to be about a month ahead of us in Minnesota. Some crops were up and we saw a few tractors in the fields from the highway. We passed through several quaint little towns on the way and I would have liked to know more about the people and what they do-something for the next trip?
It was after 10am when we arrived at our first chateau in the picturesque Loire Valley of France. Chenonceau Chateau was built over the River Cher in traditional Renaissance style, (complete with moat and towers) and is known as the Chateau des Dames (the Ladies' Castle) because of the influence of the famous women who lived there. The chateau was built in 1513 and King Henry II gave it to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers whose goal was to turn it into a showplace. Catherine de Medicis, King Henry's wife, was very jealous of it and when the King died, she ousted Diane and took it over for herself. It is a very beautiful place, fit for a queen, I would say.
The next chateau was Cheverny Castle which started out as a private home, but ownership came to Henry II who gave it to his mistress Diane de Poitiers. However, she preferred Chenonceau so she sold it to the Huralt family. It has had many owners over its history but now is again owned by the Huralt family. In 1914, the owner opened the chateau to the public, one of the first to do so. The family still operates it, and Château Cheverny remains a top tourist attraction to this day, renowned for magnificent interiors and its collection of furniture, tapestries, and objets d'art. A pack of some seventy dogs are also kept on the grounds and are taken out for hunts twice weekly. We saw the dogs but missed their daily feeding when their trainer puts a line of meat through their pen and they wait for him to signal that they can eat it. When we were there, the dogs were all crowded in a small pen and the trainer was pulling some out before the feeding. There was quite a din from all those baying hounds! This castle castle is entirely surrounded by a stone wall.
Our last stop for the day was Chambord Castle. It is the largest of the Loire castles, built for King Francois 1st as a hunting lodge. The château features 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, and 84 staircases, including a spectacular double-helix open staircase that is the centerpiece of the château. The two helixes ascend the three floors without ever meeting--it is suggested, but unconfirmed, that the staircase was designed by Leonardo da Vinci. This castle was in the poorest condition. It is just so huge and was abandoned for 80 years during its history so I don't think it has ever been full restored since then.
We spent about an hour at each castle and enjoyed our tour immensely. Rosie still loves the idea of a castle, but I think those giant stone rooms are just too darn cold for anyone to enjoy living in them!
We hit some traffic heading back into Paris but again, most of the traffic was heading out of the city, so it wasn't too bad. We noticed that the cars on the inside lane hugged the outside white line and that motorcycles roared between us in the next lane like it was their own private lane! Our tour guide was nice enough to drop us off right across from our apartment or I would have used one of Metro tickets for sure.
Back at the apartment Lynne had some wine waiting for us (surprise, surprise!) and for supper, we followed a tip from our tour guide. We had pitas and falafal from a nearby stand-very tasty but kind of odd in our eyes for Paris.
We packed and arranged our wakeup/bathroom schedule. The lady upstairs was playing music quite loud until at least midnight, but I went to bed anyway and was asleep shortly.
We left Paris at 7:15am, fortunately heading opposite the direction of the stop and go traffic heading into Paris. I am not sure what the French call their freeways, but it was a similar to what we have (divided highway with multiple lanes) and we passed through a tollbooth soon after leaving Paris. Spring had arrived in France--they appeared to be about a month ahead of us in Minnesota. Some crops were up and we saw a few tractors in the fields from the highway. We passed through several quaint little towns on the way and I would have liked to know more about the people and what they do-something for the next trip?
It was after 10am when we arrived at our first chateau in the picturesque Loire Valley of France. Chenonceau Chateau was built over the River Cher in traditional Renaissance style, (complete with moat and towers) and is known as the Chateau des Dames (the Ladies' Castle) because of the influence of the famous women who lived there. The chateau was built in 1513 and King Henry II gave it to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers whose goal was to turn it into a showplace. Catherine de Medicis, King Henry's wife, was very jealous of it and when the King died, she ousted Diane and took it over for herself. It is a very beautiful place, fit for a queen, I would say.
The next chateau was Cheverny Castle which started out as a private home, but ownership came to Henry II who gave it to his mistress Diane de Poitiers. However, she preferred Chenonceau so she sold it to the Huralt family. It has had many owners over its history but now is again owned by the Huralt family. In 1914, the owner opened the chateau to the public, one of the first to do so. The family still operates it, and Château Cheverny remains a top tourist attraction to this day, renowned for magnificent interiors and its collection of furniture, tapestries, and objets d'art. A pack of some seventy dogs are also kept on the grounds and are taken out for hunts twice weekly. We saw the dogs but missed their daily feeding when their trainer puts a line of meat through their pen and they wait for him to signal that they can eat it. When we were there, the dogs were all crowded in a small pen and the trainer was pulling some out before the feeding. There was quite a din from all those baying hounds! This castle castle is entirely surrounded by a stone wall.
Our last stop for the day was Chambord Castle. It is the largest of the Loire castles, built for King Francois 1st as a hunting lodge. The château features 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, and 84 staircases, including a spectacular double-helix open staircase that is the centerpiece of the château. The two helixes ascend the three floors without ever meeting--it is suggested, but unconfirmed, that the staircase was designed by Leonardo da Vinci. This castle was in the poorest condition. It is just so huge and was abandoned for 80 years during its history so I don't think it has ever been full restored since then.
We spent about an hour at each castle and enjoyed our tour immensely. Rosie still loves the idea of a castle, but I think those giant stone rooms are just too darn cold for anyone to enjoy living in them!
We hit some traffic heading back into Paris but again, most of the traffic was heading out of the city, so it wasn't too bad. We noticed that the cars on the inside lane hugged the outside white line and that motorcycles roared between us in the next lane like it was their own private lane! Our tour guide was nice enough to drop us off right across from our apartment or I would have used one of Metro tickets for sure.
Back at the apartment Lynne had some wine waiting for us (surprise, surprise!) and for supper, we followed a tip from our tour guide. We had pitas and falafal from a nearby stand-very tasty but kind of odd in our eyes for Paris.
We packed and arranged our wakeup/bathroom schedule. The lady upstairs was playing music quite loud until at least midnight, but I went to bed anyway and was asleep shortly.
Thursday city bus tour
I am behind on my posts as Thursday marked our 2nd to the last day in Paris with still many things left to see and do. Rosie and I consoled ourselves by saying we will save some sights to see the next time we are in Paris!
We decided to do a city bus tour as the most efficient way to see a lot of things in the fastest time. My American soldier seat companion from Wednesday had recommended the tour he took from a nearby travel agent, so after a morning of late arising, computing and photo editing while Lynne was in her class we set off for the travel agency. We hoped to do the bus tour immediately and then have some time at the d'Orsay Museum in late afternoon. Unfortunately, we were minutes too late for the 12:30pm bus tour and had to put it off until later in the afternoon. We rushed home to let Lynne know of our change in plans (we did not often miss our cell phones, but this is of the times it would have helped). By the time we talked to Lynne, it was time to go back for the tour. We skipped the Metro for these trips because it was only like 2 stops away--maybe 7 or 8 blocks and we hated to waste a ticket. However, at this point it was our 3rd trip and it was only the fact that we were going to sit on the bus that made it work for us.
We sat on the top of the double decker bus (and it was cold again!) but the we had headphones for the tour (you could pick your language so it was very easy to understand)and had about 50 points of interest such as the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs Elysees with all its designer shops, Pont de la Concorde (where many of the beheadings of the French Revolution took place including Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis XVI), the Madeleine Church with its 52 Corinthian columns was quite a sight, and many other famous locations that you can see in Rosie's pictures.
When we finished the city tour, we went into the travel agency and booked a day trip for Friday to see 3 chateaus out in the French country-side. We were anxious to see a little of French life outside of Paris. The trip was to leave at 7:15am so we had an early morning start ahead of us.
Back at the apartment, Lynne had wine waiting for us and we had also invited Lynne's friend, Lucille Northenscold down for happy hour. I had promised to help her connect her laptop to the apartment's wireless network since she and her husband will occupy it for the part of the month. A few glasses of wine later, we gave up on our idea of visiting the d'Orsay--another thing to save for the next visit. Lucille had recommended her favorite French restaurant a few blocks down the street. It opened at 8pm, so a few minutes after we were off in search of its location. When we arrived, it had just opened and had only one diner seated inside. Nevertheless we went in and were seated by the waiter who brought a chalk board with the day's dishes listed. He propped it on a chair at our table and then left us to study it.
Lynne and I chose a roast pork dish and Rosie ordered a large bowl of soup (dishes not including dairy products were a constant challenge for her). The waiter was very helpful in determining what was suitable on the menu and he seemed surprised when we did not order any wine (if he had known about our happy hour, he might not have been!)Rosie's bowl of soup was quite large and she enjoyed it. Lynne and I received plates of sliced pork artfully arranged with carrots (ala Peter Rabbit Lynne thought-with a little bit of carrots tops still on)sliced potatoes and, I think, parsnips. We had forgotten our cameras or the plates would have been worth a picture. As my son, Mat, always says "presentation is everything." It was excellent and we were pleased with our choices and the restaurant itself. We felt like we had had some nice French dining that evening.
Back at the apartment, the rest of the evening was spent doing a little packing and organizing, some computing and general this and that which kept us up but didn't amount to much. Rosie & I TRIED to get to bed early because we had to be at the travel agency by 7am the next morning. So even though we were on vacation, we chose to get up around 6am!
We decided to do a city bus tour as the most efficient way to see a lot of things in the fastest time. My American soldier seat companion from Wednesday had recommended the tour he took from a nearby travel agent, so after a morning of late arising, computing and photo editing while Lynne was in her class we set off for the travel agency. We hoped to do the bus tour immediately and then have some time at the d'Orsay Museum in late afternoon. Unfortunately, we were minutes too late for the 12:30pm bus tour and had to put it off until later in the afternoon. We rushed home to let Lynne know of our change in plans (we did not often miss our cell phones, but this is of the times it would have helped). By the time we talked to Lynne, it was time to go back for the tour. We skipped the Metro for these trips because it was only like 2 stops away--maybe 7 or 8 blocks and we hated to waste a ticket. However, at this point it was our 3rd trip and it was only the fact that we were going to sit on the bus that made it work for us.
We sat on the top of the double decker bus (and it was cold again!) but the we had headphones for the tour (you could pick your language so it was very easy to understand)and had about 50 points of interest such as the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Arc de Triomphe, Avenue des Champs Elysees with all its designer shops, Pont de la Concorde (where many of the beheadings of the French Revolution took place including Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis XVI), the Madeleine Church with its 52 Corinthian columns was quite a sight, and many other famous locations that you can see in Rosie's pictures.
When we finished the city tour, we went into the travel agency and booked a day trip for Friday to see 3 chateaus out in the French country-side. We were anxious to see a little of French life outside of Paris. The trip was to leave at 7:15am so we had an early morning start ahead of us.
Back at the apartment, Lynne had wine waiting for us and we had also invited Lynne's friend, Lucille Northenscold down for happy hour. I had promised to help her connect her laptop to the apartment's wireless network since she and her husband will occupy it for the part of the month. A few glasses of wine later, we gave up on our idea of visiting the d'Orsay--another thing to save for the next visit. Lucille had recommended her favorite French restaurant a few blocks down the street. It opened at 8pm, so a few minutes after we were off in search of its location. When we arrived, it had just opened and had only one diner seated inside. Nevertheless we went in and were seated by the waiter who brought a chalk board with the day's dishes listed. He propped it on a chair at our table and then left us to study it.
Lynne and I chose a roast pork dish and Rosie ordered a large bowl of soup (dishes not including dairy products were a constant challenge for her). The waiter was very helpful in determining what was suitable on the menu and he seemed surprised when we did not order any wine (if he had known about our happy hour, he might not have been!)Rosie's bowl of soup was quite large and she enjoyed it. Lynne and I received plates of sliced pork artfully arranged with carrots (ala Peter Rabbit Lynne thought-with a little bit of carrots tops still on)sliced potatoes and, I think, parsnips. We had forgotten our cameras or the plates would have been worth a picture. As my son, Mat, always says "presentation is everything." It was excellent and we were pleased with our choices and the restaurant itself. We felt like we had had some nice French dining that evening.
Back at the apartment, the rest of the evening was spent doing a little packing and organizing, some computing and general this and that which kept us up but didn't amount to much. Rosie & I TRIED to get to bed early because we had to be at the travel agency by 7am the next morning. So even though we were on vacation, we chose to get up around 6am!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday in Paris
The weather was not as nice today, but still pleasant and no snow like the people back home have. We have not had rain at all while we have been here so none of our trips have been hampered by that.
We started our day with tours of Sainte Chapelle and the Concierge and we walked to them. Our apartment is really well situated for seeing Paris. We have a metro stop right outside our apartment building and we can actually walk to the island where Notre Dame and today's sights are located. Sainte Chapelle is a beautiful small chapel built by one of the kings whose name I can't remember at this moment. He built it to display two relics that he acquired-part of the cross of Jesus and part of his crown of thorns. It is a two level chapel-the lower level for ordinary people to use and the upper level for the king and his groups. The upper chapel has 15 huge stained glass windows, each depicting something from the bible starting with genesis. It is really beautiful and you can see pictures when Rosie gets her Flickr pictures uploaded. http://www.flickr.com/photos/12473770@N03/page3
The Concierge was a prision and court. Offenders were taken there and put through the court system and sentenced. It looked like conditions were miserable. Marie Antoninette was held and tried there as were many others during the French Revolution.
After this, Lynne went off to class and Rosie and I had lunch (schwarma at a sidewalk cafe) and then rushed off to catch a boat tour. It was cold and windy but a good view from a different direction of some of the attractions we had seen. For instance, the back of the Louvre looked extremely long! I sat next to a man who had come on the train from England-an American air force soldier (officer?) from North Carolina. I really enjoyed talking to him and he also said it was nice to see someone from back home. He pointed out a gold flame we saw on our tour which marks the tunnel where Princess Diana died. We were talking about how European countries see Americans (they mostly dislike us), but he said that they really like Barack Obama. He had gone to London when Obama was coming along with many other famous people. He said the big crowd of people watched Obama come and then left (so they had come to see Obama).
After the boat tour, we walked home to get more clothes because we were on our way to the Eiffel Tower. The guide book we had advised us to get off the Metro a stop early for a good view of the tower and it was so right. We were in a square just near the tower and the view was breathtaking. We got pictures there and then went dow to stand in line to go up. It was a long line, of course, but people watching was interesting. There was a teenage boy and his mother behind us (they were not from Paris but they were French) His English was very good and we chatted with him as we waited. I asked about the armed soldiers patrolling the area and he said there was a terrorist alert. I asked him if that made him afraid and he said no, so I decided I would not worry about it either! We bought tickets to the top. The first elevator took us to the second level where we walked around all sides and took pictures--a magnificent view. Then we took the next elevator to the top (well 900 feet out of 1000) and that was a bit freaky for me. You could see out of the elevator all the bolts and beams of the tower and the ground getting farther and farther away. Looking up through the top of the elevator, I could see that we had much farther to so to get to the top.
Once we were at the top, the first level was enclosed so not windy. We walked all around the top and then went up one more level on the stairs. There it was windy and I was glad for the extra clothes. The tower itself seemed very solid and did not feel like it was moving at all. (not that it is supposed to--it was just my impression)We walked all around and took pictures and then caught the elevator down to the first level. Going down did not bother me as much as going up! The first level was actually the most windy and the coldest. We couldn't wait to get down. It was dark by this time so the views we saw were just amazing. We walked back to the square, took more pictures, and then back on the metro to get home. By this time it was 9pm and we had a small happy hour before going out to eat. It was Rosie's birthday and I had arranged for co-workers to connect to us with Skype. I had the connection open and we heard our co-workers calling us and so Rosie had a face-to-face talk with them (and they sang happy birthday too-good job Mary and Darlene!) Then we found a wonderful Thai restaurant for dinner. We were back by 11:30pm and I was off to bed soon after that--exhausted. (12068 steps on the pedometer)
Bon jour all
We started our day with tours of Sainte Chapelle and the Concierge and we walked to them. Our apartment is really well situated for seeing Paris. We have a metro stop right outside our apartment building and we can actually walk to the island where Notre Dame and today's sights are located. Sainte Chapelle is a beautiful small chapel built by one of the kings whose name I can't remember at this moment. He built it to display two relics that he acquired-part of the cross of Jesus and part of his crown of thorns. It is a two level chapel-the lower level for ordinary people to use and the upper level for the king and his groups. The upper chapel has 15 huge stained glass windows, each depicting something from the bible starting with genesis. It is really beautiful and you can see pictures when Rosie gets her Flickr pictures uploaded. http://www.flickr.com/photos/12473770@N03/page3
The Concierge was a prision and court. Offenders were taken there and put through the court system and sentenced. It looked like conditions were miserable. Marie Antoninette was held and tried there as were many others during the French Revolution.
After this, Lynne went off to class and Rosie and I had lunch (schwarma at a sidewalk cafe) and then rushed off to catch a boat tour. It was cold and windy but a good view from a different direction of some of the attractions we had seen. For instance, the back of the Louvre looked extremely long! I sat next to a man who had come on the train from England-an American air force soldier (officer?) from North Carolina. I really enjoyed talking to him and he also said it was nice to see someone from back home. He pointed out a gold flame we saw on our tour which marks the tunnel where Princess Diana died. We were talking about how European countries see Americans (they mostly dislike us), but he said that they really like Barack Obama. He had gone to London when Obama was coming along with many other famous people. He said the big crowd of people watched Obama come and then left (so they had come to see Obama).
After the boat tour, we walked home to get more clothes because we were on our way to the Eiffel Tower. The guide book we had advised us to get off the Metro a stop early for a good view of the tower and it was so right. We were in a square just near the tower and the view was breathtaking. We got pictures there and then went dow to stand in line to go up. It was a long line, of course, but people watching was interesting. There was a teenage boy and his mother behind us (they were not from Paris but they were French) His English was very good and we chatted with him as we waited. I asked about the armed soldiers patrolling the area and he said there was a terrorist alert. I asked him if that made him afraid and he said no, so I decided I would not worry about it either! We bought tickets to the top. The first elevator took us to the second level where we walked around all sides and took pictures--a magnificent view. Then we took the next elevator to the top (well 900 feet out of 1000) and that was a bit freaky for me. You could see out of the elevator all the bolts and beams of the tower and the ground getting farther and farther away. Looking up through the top of the elevator, I could see that we had much farther to so to get to the top.
Once we were at the top, the first level was enclosed so not windy. We walked all around the top and then went up one more level on the stairs. There it was windy and I was glad for the extra clothes. The tower itself seemed very solid and did not feel like it was moving at all. (not that it is supposed to--it was just my impression)We walked all around and took pictures and then caught the elevator down to the first level. Going down did not bother me as much as going up! The first level was actually the most windy and the coldest. We couldn't wait to get down. It was dark by this time so the views we saw were just amazing. We walked back to the square, took more pictures, and then back on the metro to get home. By this time it was 9pm and we had a small happy hour before going out to eat. It was Rosie's birthday and I had arranged for co-workers to connect to us with Skype. I had the connection open and we heard our co-workers calling us and so Rosie had a face-to-face talk with them (and they sang happy birthday too-good job Mary and Darlene!) Then we found a wonderful Thai restaurant for dinner. We were back by 11:30pm and I was off to bed soon after that--exhausted. (12068 steps on the pedometer)
Bon jour all
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Tuesday-a beautiful day in Paris
Tuesday was bright, sunny and close to 60 degrees. It was a beautiful day to stroll the streets of Paris. We walked to the Hotel deVille which is not a hotel and got stamps for our postcards and mailed them--the post office is there. Lynne set off for class and Rosie and I went off to the river to see about boat tours (we will do this Wednesday) We picked up lunch at a sandwhich stand and ate it as we wandered along. (then into a patissere for dessert)Then we walked the area around Notre Dame which is on an island. We had not seen much of Notre Dame when we listened to the concert on Sunday so we walked around the inside (lit a candle for Geri). We looked into going up in the tower but the line was long so we shopped and picked up a few souvenirs. We then got into the tower line but the attendants came along and said it would be closing soon, so we left.
It was Fat Tuesday and a number of people were wearing costumes. We thought there might be some interesting things going on in the evening, so we went back to our apartment, had some wine and snacks and then went out again to dine and see if anything was going on. We found a nice restaurant very nearby and tried to get what we thought might be fine French food. Lynne and I had a kind mushroom ravioli in a tasty rich sauce. It was delicious. After a talk with the waiter about chicken with no sauce (Rosie is lactose intolerant), the waiter reported back that the chicken was cooked in the sauce so she ordered a Thai salad with salmon. I had also ordered this in the small size. When it arrived, the salmon was uncooked :( -- neither of us was ok with. We ate the salad part and talked the waiter into sending the salmon home with us. Not very cool I know but we hated to waste it! We strolled the streets for a while, but Fat Tuesday here bears no resemblance to New Orleans, so we were in by 10 or so. My pedometer read just under 16,000 steps so I ran up the stairs to turn it over and finished the with 16,041 steps, whew!
It was Fat Tuesday and a number of people were wearing costumes. We thought there might be some interesting things going on in the evening, so we went back to our apartment, had some wine and snacks and then went out again to dine and see if anything was going on. We found a nice restaurant very nearby and tried to get what we thought might be fine French food. Lynne and I had a kind mushroom ravioli in a tasty rich sauce. It was delicious. After a talk with the waiter about chicken with no sauce (Rosie is lactose intolerant), the waiter reported back that the chicken was cooked in the sauce so she ordered a Thai salad with salmon. I had also ordered this in the small size. When it arrived, the salmon was uncooked :( -- neither of us was ok with. We ate the salad part and talked the waiter into sending the salmon home with us. Not very cool I know but we hated to waste it! We strolled the streets for a while, but Fat Tuesday here bears no resemblance to New Orleans, so we were in by 10 or so. My pedometer read just under 16,000 steps so I ran up the stairs to turn it over and finished the with 16,041 steps, whew!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday at the Louvre
We did not get a very early start to the Louvre today. I saw Lynne off to class and then Rosie and I pulled ourselves together and left. We got to the line for tickets and it stretched completely around a fountain. Rather than stand in that line we followed Rick Steve's travel guide recommendation to get our tickets in the mall (a shorter line in a warm mall for a euro more, but worth it!)
After we had our tickets, we thought we should make a rest stop in case we had to stand in another line. It cost 1 euro to visit the rest room in the mall. We then entered the Louvre through the mall entrance where the line was much shorter than outside. There were scores of people, but in a place that big, the crowds were not too bad in any given area with the exception of the big attractions. The Mona Lisa, of course, had a big crowd around it, the Venus de Milo, the trois graces (a new acquisition). It was awe inspiring to see all of those famous works of art and the Louvre itself is very beautiful. We spent more than five hours there and the combination of all the walking (11086 on the pedometer) and the hard marble floors really wore us. We were dragging by the time we left.
Back at the apartment, we had a little wine and took off our shoes while we waited for Lynne to return. We went out to eat after seven and found a little restaurant where we ate meal sandwiched in at small tables in a row with Parisians on all sides. It was probably our most authentic experience, but not an example of fine cuisine. It was more like a restaurant with home cooking in the states. A man next to us struck up a conversation (using his broken English and French). He told us that the French are "proud" of Americans for electing Barack Obama. They did not like President Bush at all.
This marked the end of our 5 day pass on the Metro, but we each bought a packet of ten more trips and will see how long that lasts. Rosie and I have visted the ATM 3 times--not that we have spent that much money, but we are saving up to pay our share of the apartment at the end of the week. Unfortunately for us, the exchange rate is going up each day, but in the scheme of things, it is not that bad for a trip like this. It is 3:40am your time, so I will say bon soir.
After we had our tickets, we thought we should make a rest stop in case we had to stand in another line. It cost 1 euro to visit the rest room in the mall. We then entered the Louvre through the mall entrance where the line was much shorter than outside. There were scores of people, but in a place that big, the crowds were not too bad in any given area with the exception of the big attractions. The Mona Lisa, of course, had a big crowd around it, the Venus de Milo, the trois graces (a new acquisition). It was awe inspiring to see all of those famous works of art and the Louvre itself is very beautiful. We spent more than five hours there and the combination of all the walking (11086 on the pedometer) and the hard marble floors really wore us. We were dragging by the time we left.
Back at the apartment, we had a little wine and took off our shoes while we waited for Lynne to return. We went out to eat after seven and found a little restaurant where we ate meal sandwiched in at small tables in a row with Parisians on all sides. It was probably our most authentic experience, but not an example of fine cuisine. It was more like a restaurant with home cooking in the states. A man next to us struck up a conversation (using his broken English and French). He told us that the French are "proud" of Americans for electing Barack Obama. They did not like President Bush at all.
This marked the end of our 5 day pass on the Metro, but we each bought a packet of ten more trips and will see how long that lasts. Rosie and I have visted the ATM 3 times--not that we have spent that much money, but we are saving up to pay our share of the apartment at the end of the week. Unfortunately for us, the exchange rate is going up each day, but in the scheme of things, it is not that bad for a trip like this. It is 3:40am your time, so I will say bon soir.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Sunday in Paris
Today we slept in and did not get going until about 11:30. By the time we were out on the street, the walks were filled with Parisians. Our first stop was the La Pere-Lachaise cemetery which we entered without a map. We jotted down some numbers for well-known people and went off in search of Jim Morrison's gravesite. It was behind a short fence with a crowd of people around it was adorned with flowers and candles. A nearby tree was covered with graffiti. We managed to find Chopin's monument with the statue of a statue of a Muse and also flower covered.
By that time, we were tired of the hills and cobblestones in the cemetery and we set off for Napoleon's tomb, keeping in mind that we wanted to get to Notre Dame to hear the organ at 4:30 and perhaps, attend a service. By the time we got to Napoleon's tomb, it was close to 2pm and we did not feel we had enough time to do the memorial justice, so we visited the gift shop and then ate our lunch on a bench in the courtyard (sharing a few morsels with a flock of pigeons).
By 3:00 we were back on the metro to Notre Dame and walked to the cathedral where we waited in another long line to enter. We sat and listened to the music, but by then it was nearing 5:30 and getting very cold again as it does when the sun goes down. We walked back through the Plaza where crowds of people watching live bands, dancing Zumba, riding carousels, and some kind of medieval re-enactment. We stopped off at our apartment to drop things off and strolled down the street looking for a good place to dine. We had a very nice oriental meal (I know--Paris) but it was very good (only had chopsticks to eat with too). Back home by 10pm with a mere 13,467 steps on the pedometer.
Tomorrow Lynne starts her French classes and will be tied up 3 mornings and 2 afternoons, so Rosie and I will be on our own part of each of our remaining days. Tomorrow is the Louvre!
Bon soir.
By that time, we were tired of the hills and cobblestones in the cemetery and we set off for Napoleon's tomb, keeping in mind that we wanted to get to Notre Dame to hear the organ at 4:30 and perhaps, attend a service. By the time we got to Napoleon's tomb, it was close to 2pm and we did not feel we had enough time to do the memorial justice, so we visited the gift shop and then ate our lunch on a bench in the courtyard (sharing a few morsels with a flock of pigeons).
By 3:00 we were back on the metro to Notre Dame and walked to the cathedral where we waited in another long line to enter. We sat and listened to the music, but by then it was nearing 5:30 and getting very cold again as it does when the sun goes down. We walked back through the Plaza where crowds of people watching live bands, dancing Zumba, riding carousels, and some kind of medieval re-enactment. We stopped off at our apartment to drop things off and strolled down the street looking for a good place to dine. We had a very nice oriental meal (I know--Paris) but it was very good (only had chopsticks to eat with too). Back home by 10pm with a mere 13,467 steps on the pedometer.
Tomorrow Lynne starts her French classes and will be tied up 3 mornings and 2 afternoons, so Rosie and I will be on our own part of each of our remaining days. Tomorrow is the Louvre!
Bon soir.
Saturday
Our first stop today was the art market near the Bastille (Opera House). There was art of course, jewelry and other crafts. Most of the vendors spoke some English, but one spoke some Italian and I spoke Spanish and we were able to understand each other. Later in the Metro I used my Spanish again when some young men approached us while we were looking at a map. They struggled for some French words, but kept lapsing into Spanish, so I told them I spoke Spanish and then we figured out what they needed to know.
Our next step was the Basilica Sacre Coeur at Montmartre. It sits high on a hill with many steps to the top. When we got off the metro, people were lined up to use the 2 elevators and we wondered why they didn't just walk up. About 150 steps later, we had our answer. The stairs went on and on!
Near Montmartre there was a funicula to ride up the hill, but we walked. (pedometer showed a mere 6743 at the end of the day) Montmarte is a sacred hill, the mount of martyrs, where Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris (late 3rd century) and his companions were martyred. Many other saints have visited there. The current, very beautiful, basilica was constructed in the late 1800s. We then visited the artists market. It was very crowded and French people of all ages were strolling around for hours. But, gosh, it was cold. We finally had to eat in a restaurant to get warmed up. Saturday is a big day for everyone to be out and about and the metro was extremely crowded all the way home.
Lynne's friend, Lucille, came down to visit this evening to see our pictures and catch up on what we had been doing all day. Tomorrow our metro passes expire, so we plan to make full use of them. Bon soir.
Our next step was the Basilica Sacre Coeur at Montmartre. It sits high on a hill with many steps to the top. When we got off the metro, people were lined up to use the 2 elevators and we wondered why they didn't just walk up. About 150 steps later, we had our answer. The stairs went on and on!
Near Montmartre there was a funicula to ride up the hill, but we walked. (pedometer showed a mere 6743 at the end of the day) Montmarte is a sacred hill, the mount of martyrs, where Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris (late 3rd century) and his companions were martyred. Many other saints have visited there. The current, very beautiful, basilica was constructed in the late 1800s. We then visited the artists market. It was very crowded and French people of all ages were strolling around for hours. But, gosh, it was cold. We finally had to eat in a restaurant to get warmed up. Saturday is a big day for everyone to be out and about and the metro was extremely crowded all the way home.
Lynne's friend, Lucille, came down to visit this evening to see our pictures and catch up on what we had been doing all day. Tomorrow our metro passes expire, so we plan to make full use of them. Bon soir.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Palace of Versailles
Friday we spent the entire day at the Palace of Versailles and the grounds around it. We travelled about 45 minutes on the metro and a train to the outskirts of Paris where the Palace is located. There was quite a crowd there, but Lynne assured us that it was nothing compared to the crowds during tourist season. The Palace was amazing with beautiful paintings and murals on the walls and ceilings--sumptious furnishings--fit for a king, I guess. In the process we learned quite a bit of French history and we find ourselves looking things up every night when we get back to our appartment.
The grounds were still a bit bleek since the night time temperatures still fall in the 30's--it would be fun to see them later in the spring. We also visited the "petit" palace where Marie Antoinette hung out when she was tired of the main palace. My pedometer read 10,792 steps when we finally got back so we are winding down resting our feet right now at 11:30pm which is 4:25 for you back home. In fact, I am so shocked that it is 11:30 that I am now going to bed because Lynne has a big day planned for us tomorrow--something about a flea market. More later.
The grounds were still a bit bleek since the night time temperatures still fall in the 30's--it would be fun to see them later in the spring. We also visited the "petit" palace where Marie Antoinette hung out when she was tired of the main palace. My pedometer read 10,792 steps when we finally got back so we are winding down resting our feet right now at 11:30pm which is 4:25 for you back home. In fact, I am so shocked that it is 11:30 that I am now going to bed because Lynne has a big day planned for us tomorrow--something about a flea market. More later.
1st real day in Paris
We got up and out around 9am and set off for Lynne's school so she could get everything settled. We bought 5 day passes for the metro and jumped on. It was rush hour and crowded, so we stood most of the time. By the end of the day we felt pretty confident that we could figure out our routes.
Rosie and I walked around the area near Lynne's school, through the Jardin Luxembourg, and then back to the school to get Lynne. After that we hiked to the Pantheon where a lot of reconstruction is going on both inside and out. It was chilly outside but inside it was frigid, but a very impressive building. We saw Foucault's pendulum, beautiful murals and statues. Then we wandered through the crypts in the lower level where famous people such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, and Louis Braille are interred. It actually seemed warmer down below. We chanced upon the Centre Cultural Irlandais and the church of St. Etienne.
By that time we were pretty worn out so we found the nearest metro and headed back to the apartment where we wined and dined at home. Thursday we plan to visit the Palace of Versailles.
Rosie and I walked around the area near Lynne's school, through the Jardin Luxembourg, and then back to the school to get Lynne. After that we hiked to the Pantheon where a lot of reconstruction is going on both inside and out. It was chilly outside but inside it was frigid, but a very impressive building. We saw Foucault's pendulum, beautiful murals and statues. Then we wandered through the crypts in the lower level where famous people such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, and Louis Braille are interred. It actually seemed warmer down below. We chanced upon the Centre Cultural Irlandais and the church of St. Etienne.
By that time we were pretty worn out so we found the nearest metro and headed back to the apartment where we wined and dined at home. Thursday we plan to visit the Palace of Versailles.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Paris Update
We flew through the night and arrived just before 7am Paris time. I dozed a little but did not get much sleep on the plane. We collected our bags and dragged them to train for our trip to the city. We had one train change but it took more than 1 1/2 hours to get to our metro stop. We thought our apartment was about 3 blocks away, but walked around the corner and found it within that block. The apartment building is within a gated courtyard--we enter a security code to get in the courtyard and another code to get in the door of our apartment building. We found out later that there is another gate that goes out the front and is right next to the metro stop.
We visited an ATM to get some Euros and then bought some provisions. By that time, we were tired. Rosie and Lynne were able to sleep, but I did not. Well, I should sleep tonight. Lynne has friends (who lived in Mankato for many years) who are staying for 3 months on the floor above us. They have a distant view of the Eiffel Tower from a window-we have no such view from our appartment. They invited us for dinner so we spent a pleasant evening with them and now are back in our 6th floor apartment. I did some tech support to get us connected to the wireless and now feel ready to go to bed.
I am sure we will have a full day tomorrow, so even though it is mid afternoon for you, I am off to bed.
We visited an ATM to get some Euros and then bought some provisions. By that time, we were tired. Rosie and Lynne were able to sleep, but I did not. Well, I should sleep tonight. Lynne has friends (who lived in Mankato for many years) who are staying for 3 months on the floor above us. They have a distant view of the Eiffel Tower from a window-we have no such view from our appartment. They invited us for dinner so we spent a pleasant evening with them and now are back in our 6th floor apartment. I did some tech support to get us connected to the wireless and now feel ready to go to bed.
I am sure we will have a full day tomorrow, so even though it is mid afternoon for you, I am off to bed.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Trip to Paris
I am packed and ready but still have 2 hours before I leave for the airport for a trip to Paris. I hope I am not forgetting anything! I am traveling with 2 colleagues from work. We have a direct flight to Paris which leaves at 3:45pm today and arrives about 8 hours later (7:30am Paris time)
I have never been abroad so I don't know what to expect as far as jet lag and France. My colleague, Lynne Weber, has been to Paris more than once and will be remaining for two months. We will stay in a rented apartment which is quite near the many sites we want to see. Lynne also has some friends who are already there and are staying in the same apartment building, so we have people who can give us some help with the language and getting around. My other colleague, Rosie Mock, and I will return on March 12.
I will try to blog and Facebook my trip. It will be a good way for me to remember it and maybe some of my family and friends will enjoy reading it too.
Bon jour!
I have never been abroad so I don't know what to expect as far as jet lag and France. My colleague, Lynne Weber, has been to Paris more than once and will be remaining for two months. We will stay in a rented apartment which is quite near the many sites we want to see. Lynne also has some friends who are already there and are staying in the same apartment building, so we have people who can give us some help with the language and getting around. My other colleague, Rosie Mock, and I will return on March 12.
I will try to blog and Facebook my trip. It will be a good way for me to remember it and maybe some of my family and friends will enjoy reading it too.
Bon jour!
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