Blogs from Paris, Île-de-France, France, Europe - page 7

"Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools". Napoleon Bonoparte The last few days I made it my mission to get around this big city which I thought would be "impossible", but I did it!! (Obviously I do not have a fool's dictionary!) I have to say, love is in the details here and much of that credit for the details has been given to the city planner Haussmann, who was hired by Louis Napoleon III to modernize Paris. By the mid 1800's, Paris was suffocating; the population had more than doubled, it was unsanitary, dangerous and congested. So Haussmann, created new roads, public parks, ornaments and most importanly to squash disease from spreading they installed new sewage systems. He completed transformed Paris from a medieval city to the magnificent, "City ... read more

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart". Confucius Well I tried to obey "Confucius" and come to Paris with all of my heart, but I do miss my girls & Al. Who wouldn't miss them, they are cool people to be around. (And Kelsey too!) Allan is managing the fort at home, with one kid sick, winter boots to buy for the girls, lunches, dinners, extra-curricular activities, homework...well my hat's off to him. And he keeps sending me upbeat emails to enjoy myself & not worry about things at home. I am running out now to get a plaque engraved, "Husband & Father of the Year". (And thanks to nana for coming down to help out a sick girl)l But that aside, this is an AMAZING city to visit. Majestic buildings, elegant boulevards, boutiques, cafes, ... read more

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” ~ I thought after my comments on jet lag and sleep, I'd give you an update on our sleeping! After a nice dinner of grilled lamb & baked cod, we were pretty relaxed. Marth went to bed by 10 pm and I stayed up until midnight to read & so far trying to keep to the time in Paris has seemed to work. I didn't go to sleep Sat morning when we arrived, (which was 3 am Ottawa time), nor did I take a nap in the afternoon, which I think helped me go to bed when it turned to night-time here. When I did fall asleep, guess "who" woke me at 4 am to ask where the TV remote was? I did fall asleep with ... read more

November 21 – Paris – Departing for Rome – Today I had set my alarm clock for getting up at 0600 but some stupid Japanese guy in my dorm room was up rattling around all night with bags etc. and so rather than get up and beat him severely as he deserved I said heck with it about 5AM and got dressed and gathered up my stuff and headed over to the Gare de Nord to catch the train to the Airport. It was a not too crowded that hour of the morning and when I got to the airport I read my Lonely Planet’s e-book on Italy a bit and ate a rather ordinary toasted ham and cheese sandwich with Coffee. I also found a scale for weighing suitcases near the check in counter for ... read more

It's been a day of sight-seeing, and we're just settling in. I will send a more in-depth update when I download my pics. In the meantime, hello Al (xo) and for the rest of you "romantics" out there who want to be transported to Paris, then take a minute to click on the link below & have a listen to Claude Debussy's (the French composer) solo piano masterpiece, Claire du Lune. This piece has a special meaning to me, capturing a special moment in my life, and to this day when I hear it, I am still so taken by its beauty. Its pauses are almost as beautiful as its playing parts. And Al, please tell the girls no matter how far apart we are, we are still looking at the same moon :) And hi ... read more

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page"~ St. Augustine It's hard to believe that a passport can act like a mini-magic carpet that can whisk you off to any place in the world of your choosing. And thanks to that little magic carpet, here I am, finally in Paris! We left Ottawa on a Dash-8 plane which is like traveling in a lunch box & being shaken up in a blender. We landed at Dorval and I tell you, we were all wobbly after we got off the flight. We had a 2 hour layover in Dorval, so we went to have a drink. Marth suggested eating, and I reminded her I made food for our flight because I didn't want to eat, (for lack of a better ... read more