Blogs from France, Europe
May 27th 2012
Jack took these pictures of our wonderful family. We were so lucky that all of us could spend this week together.... read more
May 26th 2012
great way to cap off the evening by taking the M1 to the Arch and doing a little night photography. I'll upload more from the top tomorrow.... read more
May 26th 2012
The day that I learned that I was hired on at a school for the fall, I called my travel partner Winnie to see if I could convince her to host me in Paris for a few weeks and then slip of to Istanbul for a bit. Lucky for me, she was not hard to convince and we shared another incredible adventure together. Waiting to board the plane in Minneapolis proved a great start to the trip. People were excited to go to Paris! They were paging through their tour guides, talking loudly about plans, and were not trying to contain their giddiness. It was infectious! Appreciating people's exuberance spilled over into my time in Paris. I did not grumble as I needed to dodge a group of tourists gawking at the Louvre or recover from ... read more
May 26th 2012
Day 1 Paris The departure: 9 pm Friday nightThe arrival : 2pm Saturday An hour delay, a little bit of nervous tension, a smooth ride, chating with my neighbour a los angelian on his way to meet his lady friend, waiting on the Tarmac for an eternity, buses, trains and metro ride pretty much encompasses my journey to the beautiful city of Paris. The food: nothing much to say, except that the tomatoe I ate was very good, the kind of fresh out of the garden kind of good, and it came from a small grocer down the street from my apartment.It is my first day and my stomach really has no idea were it is and what time it is. So we are keeping it simple. But...The wine: is fantastic!! A 2010 Cotes du Roussillon ... read more
May 26th 2012
we were up at the crack of 9am this morning, bought some pan du chacolat and walked to the downriver point of the island and read our kindles for two hours, another glorius day in Paris and the place is CROWDED as this is a 3 day weekend (Pentacost) with many schools out. we feel like we're "locals" staying in the Isle and our hotel is so wonderful. we walked around the island and visited a realtor to sort out square metres and local apartment rents, then found a sign for a piano concert this evening (we were planning on going to the Mozart Requiem at eh Elise Madelaine but changed our minds), visted a few shops and went back to the room and prepared for a tour of the Murais district where we went a ... read more
May 26th 2012
Day 14 and this is 2 weeks away....... A day in the Loire valley doing the castles here. But first things first - washing. Find a coin laundry very close tot the hotel we are staying and all systems go, until we can't read the instructions..... Luckily the man in the adjoining laundry (think he runs both) gives us change for the machines and smiles - most of the time. While we wait, we drive to a little village not too far away and get a coffee and drink for me from a bar (at 1100) - no beer but tempting. This with some nice chocolate croissant and other pastry thing for Chris and we are back to the washing. After many requests for change to fill the machines, the washing is completed and we are ... read more
May 26th 2012
Hello everyone! I have made it safe and sound. Flight was not bad at all. Combination of Advil PM, one German beer, and a newly purchased neck pillow knocked me out for a solid 6 hours. We landed in Frankfurt around 1PM and then took a 3 hour charter bus to Strasbourg on which I managed to get another hour of sleep in. Upon arriving at our hotel, we got settled and then took a tour of the city. Strasbourg is exactly what I would imagine France to be like. Cobblestone roads, cafes, bread carts, French townhomes. It's absolutely gorgeous. The locals may or may not be too fond of the 22 rambunctious Americans roaming their streets, but we try to be as respectful as possible. So after all the formalities were taken care of, 19/22 ... read more
May 25th 2012
We followed the Garmen all the way to the airport. As was often the case, it took us a direct route using one-lane roads. The landscape was covered in morning fog and Jack kept wishing that we didn’t have a plane to catch so he could stop to take some pictures. Our flight back on easyJet was easier than that prior flight. Jack graciously agreed to take the bus from Orly into the city since it went to the 14thArondissement where our hotel was located. We got off the bus and lugging our 2 big suitcases and our heavy backpacks it was hard to get a cab. When we finally got a cab it was 5 minutes to our hotel. The Fabe Hotel was highly recommended by Trip Advisor. The hotel itself was very modern and ... read more
May 25th 2012
after a short nap, we went out for a dinner and found a nice little restaurant near our hotel then walked along the Seine before retiring. 4 hours later I woke up, so I went out and took some long exposures around Notre Dame which are attached. this morning we slept in and then went off to explore the Knights and Horses Stroll which showed us interesting statues from our hotel to Place de la Concorde . . . we found our way through the Louvre (where we visited the Apple store) and all over the Jardin de Tuileries and some side trips to see about tickets to Norah Jones tonight (sold out) but found that tomorrow night at Elise de la Madelaine there will be a performance of Mozart's Requiem, which we plan on attending. ... read more
May 25th 2012
I had a continental breakfast at Hotel Floride before heading up Boulevard Cimiez to the pharmacy. My knee is still a problem so I've purchased some Voltaren poultices and some band-aids as I forgot to bring socks for my running shoes. I'm wearing my runners because of the amount of walking I'm doing - it is certainly not elegant, but it is comfortable, especially with my knee the way it is. I purchased some postcards and water at the Tabac and stamps at the Post Office - all done in French. My vocabulary is coming back and I'm feeling more confident. I will study at Alliance Francaise when I get home as I do love this language and I want to be fluent for the next trip. After dropping off my purchases, I headed downhill to ... read more
