Yikes....Has it been this many days since the last post??
The remainder of our visit to Toulouse was delightful. The town is wonderful for walking and winding through the narrow, twisting streets of the old city. Something is always going on and this I attribute to the fact that it's a university town. We had planned to go to Carcassonne, a walled city about an hour by train from Toulouse, but it rained and rained and we elected to do it on another visit. On our last day, Nancy and Tom met us in the city at Place Wilson....named for our President Woodrow Wilson, who was instrumental in the founding of the precursor to the United Nations. From there we walked all around, stopping at a local cheese shop....a pretty stinky place, but the huge variety of cheeses was amazing, as were the prices! From there it was on to the Victor Hugo Market. This location has been the City's main marketplace for centuries and today is a modern building housing all manner of fresh foods. Outside, all around, are the produce stalls...gorgeous fresh fruits and veggies...and inside are all the meat and seafood stalls. There were lots of things we would easily recognize and find at any butcher shop in the US, and some things that would be very unusual, and some that would pretty much gross many out!! Hidden back in one little corner were the bakeries and chocolate shops, each with the beautiful products that only the French can produce!!
The second floor of Victor Hugo Market houses 7 separate restaurants, each featuring specials using meat and produce from the markets below. For about $17 per person we each had a great lunch, with starter, main course, dessert and coffee. I had a brochette of the special locally made sausage, and it was soooo good. Too bad I can't bring some back to share!
After some last minute shopping, we returned to our abode to pack up and be ready for the train trip to Normandy. Toulouse is a place I will revisit more than once again!!!
Well....the train!! The European rail system is nothing short of wonderful. We did, however, face a couple of challenges of our own making......mainly schlepping all the luggage we have!! Our first leg was from Toulouse to Paris was a 6 1/2 hour journey. On arrival in Paris, we not only had to change trains, we had to change stations!! There are no porters and carts are scarce. We were very lucky because Gregory, the property manager of our Paris apartment....where we had the trouble gaining access....was kind enough to greet us at station #1 and transport us to station #2, with time to spare!!! So it was on to Le Havre, a 2 hour ride, and then to the car rental office. Now, could this place be anywhere near the railway station....but NOOOOOOOO!!! We hailed a cab and were quickly transported to EuropCar, which was CLOSED!!! At this point I was ready to melt down.....I mean, it's 5:30pm and we still need to get to Honfleur, our final destination. While trying to figure out what to do, with the help of our taxi driver, an American man pulled up in his rental car and said that he was to return his vehicle at at 6pm and that the EuropCAr agent was to meet him then.....problem solved! Right at six, here she comes...on roller blades!! I should mention that last Thursday was a holiday in France, and the beginning of a 4-day weekend, so not much was open. As a "consolation prize" for our distress, we were upgraded to a VW Jetta and it's a super car! Another first in my life.....renting a car from a roller-blader!!
Now, it was on to Honfleur, a delightful seaside town at the Seine Estuary. It was easy to get there and the route took us over the Pont de Normandie (Normandy Bridge), a relatively new engineering marvel that spans the river, which is quite wide at this point. A few of you will appreciate it when I say that this bridge is a manmade Devil's Backbone! And for those to whom this has no meaning, let me just say that this was the scariest span over water I've ever experienced.....two spans that are very high and very narrow!! With my fear of heights, this was NOT fun, but viewing this bridge from the safety of land brings an awesome sight! Check it out on Google.
OK...now we're in Honfleur (pronounced on-FLURE...rhymes with "cure"), and we find our digs. Hmmmmmm.....at this point it all turns sour! This "loft apartment" is minuscule and atop an old building with sharply sloping roof, which translates to sharply sloping ceilings inside. Kary, being 6'4", can stand upright in only about 20% of this place! Not good. And.....it is 6 flights of narrow, winding stairs to get to the front door, at which point you are greeted with 2 more flights after entering! Hauling all our crap up there was brutal! And......the WORST (for Mr. Kary at least).....there was no internet (I was told there was), so this made the place totally uninhabitable!!! After some head-scratching, we made the decision to vacate as soon as possible and go somewhere else....but where??? It's 8pm; we're tired; we're hungry....what to do?? There's no way for us to go online to search for alternate accommodations, and being a major holiday weekend in France, finding something will be a real challenge. So what to do?? Call my own personal hero, my wonderful husband, Mark Potter!!! He rises to the occasion and finds un a nice hotel in Rouen, an hour's drive away. Hooray! Totally relieved that we would have to spend but one night in this awful place (did I mention the smell of burning rubber in the living room??), we went out to seek nourishment and found a neat little cafe where we had fabulous galettes. These are sort of a quesadilla shaped thing, with a light, airy crepe standing in for the tortilla. There are numerous fillings available and the galettes are served with a green salad (more of that vinaigrette!).
The following day, not wanting to miss seeing some of Honfleur, we went out for a walk and found a beautiful park. We walked all through it, then went back into the main part of town which is right on the harbor. The area was absolutely packed with humanity, but we managed to find another charming cafe and took a table outside. Honfleur (and most of the Normandy and Brittany coasts) is famous for seafood, especially mussels. Kary ordered a vat of the little shell fish (in a garlic parsley sauce) and I opted for a big salad. I'm not too keen on mussels, but after tasting what Kary ordered I was amazed at how good they were here. We sat for about 2 hours, enjoying lunch, dessert and coffee....and people watching. Late in the afternoon, we returned to the loft, packed up, and Kary, the wonderful person that he is, carted all our stuff down the treacherous stairs. After loading the car, we departed for Rouen.
Now, I thought I was oh, so smart to include a GPS with the car rental, but it sure gave us some strange routes to drive only 100 kilometers. After much frustration, we stopped at a McDonald's for a cold drink and the Wi-Fi; thank you Mickey D'S!! Upon consulting with GoogleMaps, we figured out the route and were soon in our Rouen hotel, ready for a nice rest.
This now brings us to yesterday, June 4th, the day to tour the Normandy D-Day landing sights and the D-Day museum in Caen. This was an experience of a lifetime and I will continue to describe it later as we're ready to go cruise around the old city of Rouen.
Wishing you all a nice Sunday!!!!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
That was a looooong dinner.......
So....I left you Saturday saying it was time for dinner. Now it's Monday, and please rest assured I have not been eating this entire time!
As to that meal I consumed Saturday night....it was a peanut butter and jam sandwich. You may be scratching your heads now, wondering if I had indeed lost my mind, but hold on....this wasn't just any P B & J!! This sandwich was made with hearty wheat French-made bread and French raspberry "confiture," which is jam beyond compare....oh, and the Skippy I brought from home!! delish...
Enough about dinner......
On Friday, we rode the TGV, the high speed train, to Toulouse. The 5 hour trip was smooth and on time. Just looking out at the countryside made it delightful. We were met at the station by Nicole, Kary's childhood friend who is living in Alicante, Spain for a year of study. She came up here to spend time with us and is a really sweet girl. We took a cab to our apartment, which is very nice.....two big bedrooms, a living/dining room and a totally workable kitchen. We settled in and headed out to the grocery store for some vittles.....fruit, cheese, pate, sausage, yogurt and, of course, bread. Dinner was yummy.
Why Toulouse??? Kary and I have a friend from our French classes, Nancy McGahey, who, along with her husband and three kids, moved here 2 years ago. Nancy and her husband, Tom, hold dual citizenship, U.S. and Ireland, and as such are citizens of the European Union, so relocating to France was easy. After our repast in the apartment Friday evening, we met Nancy in town for a drink...this really good beer called Eidelweiss. It was great to see her!!!
Saturday, Kary and Nicole went off to explore and I met Nancy for lunch at a great little restaurant. Toulouse is a medieval city and the "old town" has wonderful, narrow, curving streets, all laid out centuries ago. This cafe was right at the intersection of three of these byways and we had a great view of the action!! The meal was so delicious, and quite reasonable. I had a nice salad with ham, cheese and tomatoes (with more of that indescribable vinaigrette!!) and for the main course a grilled steak with potatoes and vegetable puree. Then dessert....pear tart....and coffee. All this for 10 euros....about $15!!! Nice! After lunch Nancy took me to all her favorite shops!! Fabric, needlework, beads, paper arts......all fabulous for me! Oh....and the spice shop....wow! I didn't buy a thing, but not to worry, I have not gone into a coma, but rather plan to go back with a list so as not to go too crazy! Late in the afternoon my friend and I parted company and I came back home to relax and later have the aforementioned sandwich.
Now we come to Sunday. Nancy and her husband invited us to their house for brunch. They live in a village about an hour by metro and bus from Toulouse. It's called Tournefeuille....pronounced "toorn-FOY." You can see why the French language is such a pain! Nancy and Tom prepared a fabulous meal of quiche, cheeses, sausages (dry, like salami), green salad, fruits and wonderful bread! Only their youngest, Jackson (age 9) was home and he was painfully shy and didn't utter a peep till he discovered that Kary liked some of the same YouTube stuff. The two of them turned on the laptop and bonded instantly!! After our meal and a nice visit, we walked through the neighborhood to a path that led to the little river that flows at the edge of town and the beautiful park alongside. Jackson brought a Bocci ball game and we rolled away. When the heat started to get us, we sat under a giant mulberry tree chatting and enjoying the shade and the breeze and watching families spending quality time together. What a great day!! At 8pm, we caught our bus to connect to the metro and were homeward bound!
I should mention here that we are at a higher latitude that home, so nightfall isn't till about 10pm. This is great when one is traveling and wanting to take it all in!!
Now, as I write this, it's noon on Monday, Memorial Day in the U. S. And I'm caught up!! Yea. Not sure what today will bring, but we'll soon be out and about to make new discoveries! One thing for sure, we are forever grateful to those we remember today for keeping us free....we most likely wouldn't be doing what we're doing without their sacrifice. Thank you, Dad!!!
As to that meal I consumed Saturday night....it was a peanut butter and jam sandwich. You may be scratching your heads now, wondering if I had indeed lost my mind, but hold on....this wasn't just any P B & J!! This sandwich was made with hearty wheat French-made bread and French raspberry "confiture," which is jam beyond compare....oh, and the Skippy I brought from home!! delish...
Enough about dinner......
On Friday, we rode the TGV, the high speed train, to Toulouse. The 5 hour trip was smooth and on time. Just looking out at the countryside made it delightful. We were met at the station by Nicole, Kary's childhood friend who is living in Alicante, Spain for a year of study. She came up here to spend time with us and is a really sweet girl. We took a cab to our apartment, which is very nice.....two big bedrooms, a living/dining room and a totally workable kitchen. We settled in and headed out to the grocery store for some vittles.....fruit, cheese, pate, sausage, yogurt and, of course, bread. Dinner was yummy.
Why Toulouse??? Kary and I have a friend from our French classes, Nancy McGahey, who, along with her husband and three kids, moved here 2 years ago. Nancy and her husband, Tom, hold dual citizenship, U.S. and Ireland, and as such are citizens of the European Union, so relocating to France was easy. After our repast in the apartment Friday evening, we met Nancy in town for a drink...this really good beer called Eidelweiss. It was great to see her!!!
Saturday, Kary and Nicole went off to explore and I met Nancy for lunch at a great little restaurant. Toulouse is a medieval city and the "old town" has wonderful, narrow, curving streets, all laid out centuries ago. This cafe was right at the intersection of three of these byways and we had a great view of the action!! The meal was so delicious, and quite reasonable. I had a nice salad with ham, cheese and tomatoes (with more of that indescribable vinaigrette!!) and for the main course a grilled steak with potatoes and vegetable puree. Then dessert....pear tart....and coffee. All this for 10 euros....about $15!!! Nice! After lunch Nancy took me to all her favorite shops!! Fabric, needlework, beads, paper arts......all fabulous for me! Oh....and the spice shop....wow! I didn't buy a thing, but not to worry, I have not gone into a coma, but rather plan to go back with a list so as not to go too crazy! Late in the afternoon my friend and I parted company and I came back home to relax and later have the aforementioned sandwich.
Now we come to Sunday. Nancy and her husband invited us to their house for brunch. They live in a village about an hour by metro and bus from Toulouse. It's called Tournefeuille....pronounced "toorn-FOY." You can see why the French language is such a pain! Nancy and Tom prepared a fabulous meal of quiche, cheeses, sausages (dry, like salami), green salad, fruits and wonderful bread! Only their youngest, Jackson (age 9) was home and he was painfully shy and didn't utter a peep till he discovered that Kary liked some of the same YouTube stuff. The two of them turned on the laptop and bonded instantly!! After our meal and a nice visit, we walked through the neighborhood to a path that led to the little river that flows at the edge of town and the beautiful park alongside. Jackson brought a Bocci ball game and we rolled away. When the heat started to get us, we sat under a giant mulberry tree chatting and enjoying the shade and the breeze and watching families spending quality time together. What a great day!! At 8pm, we caught our bus to connect to the metro and were homeward bound!
I should mention here that we are at a higher latitude that home, so nightfall isn't till about 10pm. This is great when one is traveling and wanting to take it all in!!
Now, as I write this, it's noon on Monday, Memorial Day in the U. S. And I'm caught up!! Yea. Not sure what today will bring, but we'll soon be out and about to make new discoveries! One thing for sure, we are forever grateful to those we remember today for keeping us free....we most likely wouldn't be doing what we're doing without their sacrifice. Thank you, Dad!!!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
If it's Saturday, it must be Toulouse....
Whew!! If I'm going to really be a "blogger," I guess I'd better start posting more often!!
Greetings from Toulouse!It is Saturday, May 28 and I am relaxing in my digs here after a busy day. Now...to catch up..............
We were up and out very early Wednesday morning to catch the 7:30am train to St. Malo, in Brittany. It was there that we joined an 8+ hour tour of the area. St. Malo and Dinan (our second stop) are medieval cities steeped in so much history. Both were originally totally behind great, thick walls, but have now grown past them. St. Malo is on the English Channel and has been a strategic spot for centuries. Walking the top of the wall gave us spectacular views of both the old city within and the sea outside. The province is called Brittany because it was originally settled by Celts and Scots and Britons.....many centuries ago. It has its own language, based on Welsh (so no one on earth can understand it!) and the culture is quite different from the rest of France. In Dinan, we entered the city via an ancient gate and hiked our way up and up and up and up and up to the main part of town. For protection, this city was built on top of a hill and this old lady's legs were really screaming when we finally reached the top! Brittany is famous for its crepes, galettes and cider. We had a fabulous lunch at one of the many cafes......salad and crepes....Kary's was sausage (andouille, like in New Orleans) and onion and mine was mushrooms, cheese and garlic, garlic, garlic....heavenly. The crepes are made from locally grown and milled buckwheat. They are delicious with out being heavy. And the cider is alcoholic, but more like 3/2 beer. It's yummy. From Dinan we headed to the highlight of the day, Mont Saint Michel. I could go into details here, but would have to write volumes.... if it interests you, check it out on Wikipedia. What a spectacular sight! The construction here was begun in the year 780 and the abbey is incredibly beautiful. It was another brutal climb, but worth the effort. For icing on the cake, our tour group was only 5 people....Kary, me and three very pleasant ladies from New Zealand. After a 3 hour train ride back to Paris and our apartment, we literally collapsed!
On to Thursday, May 26th......Getting going early wasn't in the cards!! We had a leisurely breakfast at "home" and got out about noon. Since there were things in Paris that I had already seen and Kary had not, we went our separate ways. He headed to the Eiffel Tower and went to the top.....it is an amazing view and well worth the wait. I headed to a place called La Civette, a famous tobacco shop, in business since 1716, in a swanky shopping district. No, I haven't taken up smoking, but wanted to buy a birthday gift for a friend who smokes cigars. There certainly was a temptation to buy some nice Cubans, but I didn't want to risk having US Customs take them off me, so I bought something else (a secret because he may read this!) Afterwards I walked to the Ile St. Louis, most of the way along the Seine. It was a beautiful day and I stopped a couple of times just to have a sit and watch the river.....beautiful!! By this time I was pretty hungry, so stopped into a little resto on the island and had a salad and mushroom risotto....mmmmmmmm.....good!
I swear, if I could buy a bottle of the vinaigrette they serve on salads here, I would just drink it!! But it cannot be bought in bottles or in any other containers because it is always homemade (could this be a hint??). I walked around, went into a couple of cool art galleries and met Kary at the Berthillon ice cream store and we did a true pig-out. When I figure out how to post photos here, I'll show you our ice cream towers...they truly are indescribable! After waddling to the Metro, we went back home to pack for our journey the next day to Toulouse. More about that in a bit......I need to make myself some dinner!
Greetings from Toulouse!It is Saturday, May 28 and I am relaxing in my digs here after a busy day. Now...to catch up..............
We were up and out very early Wednesday morning to catch the 7:30am train to St. Malo, in Brittany. It was there that we joined an 8+ hour tour of the area. St. Malo and Dinan (our second stop) are medieval cities steeped in so much history. Both were originally totally behind great, thick walls, but have now grown past them. St. Malo is on the English Channel and has been a strategic spot for centuries. Walking the top of the wall gave us spectacular views of both the old city within and the sea outside. The province is called Brittany because it was originally settled by Celts and Scots and Britons.....many centuries ago. It has its own language, based on Welsh (so no one on earth can understand it!) and the culture is quite different from the rest of France. In Dinan, we entered the city via an ancient gate and hiked our way up and up and up and up and up to the main part of town. For protection, this city was built on top of a hill and this old lady's legs were really screaming when we finally reached the top! Brittany is famous for its crepes, galettes and cider. We had a fabulous lunch at one of the many cafes......salad and crepes....Kary's was sausage (andouille, like in New Orleans) and onion and mine was mushrooms, cheese and garlic, garlic, garlic....heavenly. The crepes are made from locally grown and milled buckwheat. They are delicious with out being heavy. And the cider is alcoholic, but more like 3/2 beer. It's yummy. From Dinan we headed to the highlight of the day, Mont Saint Michel. I could go into details here, but would have to write volumes.... if it interests you, check it out on Wikipedia. What a spectacular sight! The construction here was begun in the year 780 and the abbey is incredibly beautiful. It was another brutal climb, but worth the effort. For icing on the cake, our tour group was only 5 people....Kary, me and three very pleasant ladies from New Zealand. After a 3 hour train ride back to Paris and our apartment, we literally collapsed!
On to Thursday, May 26th......Getting going early wasn't in the cards!! We had a leisurely breakfast at "home" and got out about noon. Since there were things in Paris that I had already seen and Kary had not, we went our separate ways. He headed to the Eiffel Tower and went to the top.....it is an amazing view and well worth the wait. I headed to a place called La Civette, a famous tobacco shop, in business since 1716, in a swanky shopping district. No, I haven't taken up smoking, but wanted to buy a birthday gift for a friend who smokes cigars. There certainly was a temptation to buy some nice Cubans, but I didn't want to risk having US Customs take them off me, so I bought something else (a secret because he may read this!) Afterwards I walked to the Ile St. Louis, most of the way along the Seine. It was a beautiful day and I stopped a couple of times just to have a sit and watch the river.....beautiful!! By this time I was pretty hungry, so stopped into a little resto on the island and had a salad and mushroom risotto....mmmmmmmm.....good!
I swear, if I could buy a bottle of the vinaigrette they serve on salads here, I would just drink it!! But it cannot be bought in bottles or in any other containers because it is always homemade (could this be a hint??). I walked around, went into a couple of cool art galleries and met Kary at the Berthillon ice cream store and we did a true pig-out. When I figure out how to post photos here, I'll show you our ice cream towers...they truly are indescribable! After waddling to the Metro, we went back home to pack for our journey the next day to Toulouse. More about that in a bit......I need to make myself some dinner!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
More fun in Paris
Good evening....It's 8:45pm, Tuesday, May 24th.
To continue yesterday's adventures.....After our inspiring visit to Sainte Chapelle, we went back again to Ile St. Louis in search of one of France's greatest products.....ice cream!! Now, this isn't just any old ice cream (sorbet, too), but it is Berthillon (BEAR-tee-yohn) ice cream. Hands down, this is the world's most amazing ice cream...period. With two scoops of sorbet...one strawberry, one raspberry...I broke my 16 month sugar fast and again found Nirvana! It is literally impossible to describe the taste of this stuff...you just have to try it. And to do that, you have to come to France, as it is not available anywhere else. We enjoyed this treat at a charming cafe near the river. There was a nice breeze and we just sat and soaked it all in.
On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at the little grocery store and bought some snacks for dinner and totally collapsed once inside our digs. A comment was made about how the jet lag didn't seem to be affecting us......wrong!!! I didn't open my eyes till 11:30 this morning! Oops!
After coming out of our respective comas, we managed to ready ourselves and got out the door about 1pm. Our first destination was Montmartre, a gorgeous neighborhood filled with art and artists. It's a hilly place and we climbed up and up to Sacre Coeur, a stunning basilica overlooking the entire southern part of the city. The weather was clear, giving us a fabulous view. We toured the church, then decided to walk around the side streets where we found a delightful park. Paris has at least a zillion small parks scattered around the city and they offer a slice of tranquility in the midst of big city hustle bustle. We sat for quite a while on a bench in the shade and watched people come and go.
After our rest in the park it was back on the Metro to the Eiffel Tower. The area surrounding this most famous of landmarks is mostly park land, with big trees, ponds and, once again, lots of folks just enjoying the greenery and the outdoors. Our plan was to go to the top of the tower, but the wait to buy the tickets was 3 hours and that wasn't going to fly, so we came home, had a small meal in and now are going to settle in for the night. Tomorrow is a big adventure to Brittany and Mont St. Michel....and we have to be at the train station at 6:30am!! Ugh......getting up at zero-dark-thirty isn't my cup of tea, but necessary to get to where we're going!! It will be an interesting first for me.....taking the high-speed train! I'll fill you in tomorow....
Take care, everyone.....
JP
To continue yesterday's adventures.....After our inspiring visit to Sainte Chapelle, we went back again to Ile St. Louis in search of one of France's greatest products.....ice cream!! Now, this isn't just any old ice cream (sorbet, too), but it is Berthillon (BEAR-tee-yohn) ice cream. Hands down, this is the world's most amazing ice cream...period. With two scoops of sorbet...one strawberry, one raspberry...I broke my 16 month sugar fast and again found Nirvana! It is literally impossible to describe the taste of this stuff...you just have to try it. And to do that, you have to come to France, as it is not available anywhere else. We enjoyed this treat at a charming cafe near the river. There was a nice breeze and we just sat and soaked it all in.
On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at the little grocery store and bought some snacks for dinner and totally collapsed once inside our digs. A comment was made about how the jet lag didn't seem to be affecting us......wrong!!! I didn't open my eyes till 11:30 this morning! Oops!
After coming out of our respective comas, we managed to ready ourselves and got out the door about 1pm. Our first destination was Montmartre, a gorgeous neighborhood filled with art and artists. It's a hilly place and we climbed up and up to Sacre Coeur, a stunning basilica overlooking the entire southern part of the city. The weather was clear, giving us a fabulous view. We toured the church, then decided to walk around the side streets where we found a delightful park. Paris has at least a zillion small parks scattered around the city and they offer a slice of tranquility in the midst of big city hustle bustle. We sat for quite a while on a bench in the shade and watched people come and go.
After our rest in the park it was back on the Metro to the Eiffel Tower. The area surrounding this most famous of landmarks is mostly park land, with big trees, ponds and, once again, lots of folks just enjoying the greenery and the outdoors. Our plan was to go to the top of the tower, but the wait to buy the tickets was 3 hours and that wasn't going to fly, so we came home, had a small meal in and now are going to settle in for the night. Tomorrow is a big adventure to Brittany and Mont St. Michel....and we have to be at the train station at 6:30am!! Ugh......getting up at zero-dark-thirty isn't my cup of tea, but necessary to get to where we're going!! It will be an interesting first for me.....taking the high-speed train! I'll fill you in tomorow....
Take care, everyone.....
JP
Monday, May 23, 2011
Bonjour de Paris
After a few trials and tribulations, we are safely and comfortably ensconced in our home away from home....a cozy (that's French for "tiny") apartment in the Marais (mah REH...if you can go a little gutteral on the R, that's good) neighborhood of Paris.
The "we" here is yours truly and Kary Nguyen, whom I met in French class at the College of Southern Nevada and we have become fast friends. He had a trip planned to visit France this summer, but it fell through, so I invited him to come along with me.
After flight delays (like 4+ hours!!) and not having the key to our apartment available as it should have been, we finally accessed our abode last evening at 5:30pm. While awaiting said key, we wandered around the neighborhood and found a nice little cafe where we plopped ourselves and enjoyed a "planche au fromage," which is a slate platter with various stinky cheeses and a bit of salad, plus the world's greatest bread!! It's always interesting to experience the ways of others and Kary's iced tea was surely different! Actually, it was more a Virgin Mojito with an abundance of mint leaves.....quite tasty but not what was expected. I guess Diet Coke is the same worldwide, as mine wasn't any different than what one gets in the good ol' USA, save the price, which was about seven bucks! Maybe it was the extra ice I requested.....I got three cubes rather than the standard one!!
After at last gaining entry to our abode, we got to relax and watched "Brothers and Sisters" dubbed in French. Then it was a nice long sleep...........even the person somewhere nearby practicing what I believe was a bassoon didn't make enough noise to interfere!
This morning, Kary popped into the little grocery store (very conveniently located next door) and bought some bread and cheese for breakfast. One cannot buy a bad loaf of bread in this town!! The baguette Mr. K. bought was hot and crusty and the cheese delicious. This repast, plus some strong coffee, gave us the energy to head out into the city.........
First stop was Ile de la Cite (eel duh lah see-TAY) to see Notre Dame Cathedral. We took the Metro (short for Metropolitan, Paris' wonderful subway), and upon exiting the station nearest our destination, found ourselves smack in the middle of the Flower Market. What a treat for the senses.....sweet aromas and colors galore, plus all sorts of funky garden gizmos, green plants, watering cans and on and on. Absolutely gorgeous!! This will merit an encore visit for some purchases....
On to Notre Dame, construction begun about 1,000 years ago. It's really a bit difficult to describe this place...I suppose "awesome" will have to do! The soaring ceilings, the flickering candles, the stained glass inside, and the gargoyles, the towers, the carvings and those flying buttresses outside. This truly is a beautiful place!
From the Ile de la Cite, we crossed over to Ile Saint Louis.....both are indeed islands in the River Seine (pronounced "senn," not "sane"). It was here that we stopped for lunch in a cute little restaurant, or "resto," as the locals say. We enjoyed salads and shared a cheese and mushroom crepe. I don't know how they do it, but the French make vinaigrette dressing better than anywhere else and it is impossible to copy. Delish!
After our meal, we headed back to the other island to see Sainte Chapelle, built by King Louis IX (himself later sainted) in the 13th century to house a piece of the Crown of Thorns brought back from the Holy Land after one or another of the Crusades. The Crusaders were soundly trounced in this effort, which nearly bankrupted the country, thereby greatly irritating the populace. To calm his peeved (and by now poor) subjects, good King Louie built this beyond-belief Gothic structure. I wonder where he got the mortgage?? Was it sub-prime...adjustable?? The glory of this building is that it has 6,500 square feet of stained glass, 70% of which is original......we're talking 800 years old! The Bible says "fiat lux," Latin for "let there be light," and Sainte Chapelle is the place to be for an extraordinary example of this!! Fifteen stained glass panels, each about 40 feel in height. with more than 1,000 different scenes, most depicting events from the Bible.....beautiful! This was all done to be a symbol of God's Grace shining down on Earth.
Hmmmm.....getting the low battery advisory and the cord is busy feeding juice to another device, so I will bid you all good night and continue this epistle in the morning.
Peace..............
The "we" here is yours truly and Kary Nguyen, whom I met in French class at the College of Southern Nevada and we have become fast friends. He had a trip planned to visit France this summer, but it fell through, so I invited him to come along with me.
After flight delays (like 4+ hours!!) and not having the key to our apartment available as it should have been, we finally accessed our abode last evening at 5:30pm. While awaiting said key, we wandered around the neighborhood and found a nice little cafe where we plopped ourselves and enjoyed a "planche au fromage," which is a slate platter with various stinky cheeses and a bit of salad, plus the world's greatest bread!! It's always interesting to experience the ways of others and Kary's iced tea was surely different! Actually, it was more a Virgin Mojito with an abundance of mint leaves.....quite tasty but not what was expected. I guess Diet Coke is the same worldwide, as mine wasn't any different than what one gets in the good ol' USA, save the price, which was about seven bucks! Maybe it was the extra ice I requested.....I got three cubes rather than the standard one!!
After at last gaining entry to our abode, we got to relax and watched "Brothers and Sisters" dubbed in French. Then it was a nice long sleep...........even the person somewhere nearby practicing what I believe was a bassoon didn't make enough noise to interfere!
This morning, Kary popped into the little grocery store (very conveniently located next door) and bought some bread and cheese for breakfast. One cannot buy a bad loaf of bread in this town!! The baguette Mr. K. bought was hot and crusty and the cheese delicious. This repast, plus some strong coffee, gave us the energy to head out into the city.........
First stop was Ile de la Cite (eel duh lah see-TAY) to see Notre Dame Cathedral. We took the Metro (short for Metropolitan, Paris' wonderful subway), and upon exiting the station nearest our destination, found ourselves smack in the middle of the Flower Market. What a treat for the senses.....sweet aromas and colors galore, plus all sorts of funky garden gizmos, green plants, watering cans and on and on. Absolutely gorgeous!! This will merit an encore visit for some purchases....
On to Notre Dame, construction begun about 1,000 years ago. It's really a bit difficult to describe this place...I suppose "awesome" will have to do! The soaring ceilings, the flickering candles, the stained glass inside, and the gargoyles, the towers, the carvings and those flying buttresses outside. This truly is a beautiful place!
From the Ile de la Cite, we crossed over to Ile Saint Louis.....both are indeed islands in the River Seine (pronounced "senn," not "sane"). It was here that we stopped for lunch in a cute little restaurant, or "resto," as the locals say. We enjoyed salads and shared a cheese and mushroom crepe. I don't know how they do it, but the French make vinaigrette dressing better than anywhere else and it is impossible to copy. Delish!
After our meal, we headed back to the other island to see Sainte Chapelle, built by King Louis IX (himself later sainted) in the 13th century to house a piece of the Crown of Thorns brought back from the Holy Land after one or another of the Crusades. The Crusaders were soundly trounced in this effort, which nearly bankrupted the country, thereby greatly irritating the populace. To calm his peeved (and by now poor) subjects, good King Louie built this beyond-belief Gothic structure. I wonder where he got the mortgage?? Was it sub-prime...adjustable?? The glory of this building is that it has 6,500 square feet of stained glass, 70% of which is original......we're talking 800 years old! The Bible says "fiat lux," Latin for "let there be light," and Sainte Chapelle is the place to be for an extraordinary example of this!! Fifteen stained glass panels, each about 40 feel in height. with more than 1,000 different scenes, most depicting events from the Bible.....beautiful! This was all done to be a symbol of God's Grace shining down on Earth.
Hmmmm.....getting the low battery advisory and the cord is busy feeding juice to another device, so I will bid you all good night and continue this epistle in the morning.
Peace..............
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Let's get going!!
Here goes my first attempt at blogging!
I decided to call this blog "Bon Voyage, JP," because the travel bug has dug its way deep into my soul and I'm hoping to fulfill my life long dream to explore and learn about this world in which we live. Whether near or far, I believe there is a lot to see and I hope to satisfy my endless curiosity!! No grass shall grow beneath my feet, if I can help it!
Let the adventures begin.......
I decided to call this blog "Bon Voyage, JP," because the travel bug has dug its way deep into my soul and I'm hoping to fulfill my life long dream to explore and learn about this world in which we live. Whether near or far, I believe there is a lot to see and I hope to satisfy my endless curiosity!! No grass shall grow beneath my feet, if I can help it!
Let the adventures begin.......
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