In the interest of exploring the 6th arrondissement, John and I have started venturing out to some local restaurants recommended by the French guidebook that we bought. Tonight we tried a fairly decent place, which seemed pretty empty when we first walked in but was teeming with a mostly-French crowd after about 9pm. What made this particular dining experience interesting for us was the very polite, middle aged American couple sitting at the table next to us. John and I covertly monitored them throughout their dinner, and they neither yelled "HEY GARCON!!!" across the restaurant to get the waiter's attention, nor did they loudly complain about their meal/wine/menu choice, etc... And then to top it off, the wife actually spoke to the waiter in what seemed to me to be fluent French! Compared to the last American couple that we had encountered, this pair was single-handedly redeeming our countrymen. I simply had to know what part of the States these well-mannered people came from, and it turned out that they were from Florida with the wife being a retired high school French teacher (of all things). We chatted for a few minutes as they paid their bill, and John and I even got a small teacherly admonishment from the wife for not speaking French to each other during our meal as practice. I just kept thinking that it was so nice that there were some Americans who can come to a foreign country and not completely disgrace the rest of the U.S. by acting like belligerent wackjobs.
....which actually kind of sucks for Canada, because something tells me they don't walk around telling everyone they're Canadian.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monaco
Last Saturday we zipped down to Nice via the TGV. This was the first time we got to ride the famous high speed train, and I must say it is a nice way to travel. That you can get from Paris to Marseille in 3 hours is impressive, and probably not much slower than an airplane after taking into account all the boarding/unboarding/security hassles.
Anyway, we spent Saturday afternoon and evening in a very touristy Nice where we ate some good italian pizza. The next morning we woke up early to take the 20 min train to Monaco for the famous Grand Prix, only to find that fans were already lined up at the station! The wait wasn't actually too bad, and we were able to get all the way to the city and through the crowded streets up to our hillside section. The view was pretty good considering the relative cheapness of the tickets. However, parts of the pathways were crowded and a squeeze to get through, and the better viewing spots were pretty competitive. Having to guard our position the whole time was the main downside to this area. We didn't mind the fact that we were standing for the whole race and a few hours before (exceptional, considering that my back starts hurting 5 minutes into an art museum visit!).
The most memorable part of this event is the atmosphere. Normally you watch auto racing at an expansive track out in the middle of nowhere. Monaco could not be more different, situated on the side of a mountain which descends into the sea. The city barely has room for a train station; most of it is carved into the mountain side. The last picture in the set below gives you an idea of this unique setting: mountain side, city high rises, grand stands, harbor full of yachts.
The people themselves are also interesting, some looking like regular sport fans while others practically ready to attend a wedding (suits, dresses, high heels). Fancy parties abound during race weekend!
Pictures: Paris, Nice, and Monaco
Anyway, we spent Saturday afternoon and evening in a very touristy Nice where we ate some good italian pizza. The next morning we woke up early to take the 20 min train to Monaco for the famous Grand Prix, only to find that fans were already lined up at the station! The wait wasn't actually too bad, and we were able to get all the way to the city and through the crowded streets up to our hillside section. The view was pretty good considering the relative cheapness of the tickets. However, parts of the pathways were crowded and a squeeze to get through, and the better viewing spots were pretty competitive. Having to guard our position the whole time was the main downside to this area. We didn't mind the fact that we were standing for the whole race and a few hours before (exceptional, considering that my back starts hurting 5 minutes into an art museum visit!).
The most memorable part of this event is the atmosphere. Normally you watch auto racing at an expansive track out in the middle of nowhere. Monaco could not be more different, situated on the side of a mountain which descends into the sea. The city barely has room for a train station; most of it is carved into the mountain side. The last picture in the set below gives you an idea of this unique setting: mountain side, city high rises, grand stands, harbor full of yachts.
The people themselves are also interesting, some looking like regular sport fans while others practically ready to attend a wedding (suits, dresses, high heels). Fancy parties abound during race weekend!
Pictures: Paris, Nice, and Monaco
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Heading South
After a week and a half in our new Paris apartment, we are heading to the south of France for Sunday's formula 1 race in Monaco. We will probably get back here on Monday.
In the mean time, we've been taking in the Paris sights bit by bit. Highlights have been the Sacre-coeur and Ile Saint Louis, for the view from the former and the surprisingly mellow atmosphere of the latter. Lowlights have been the Notre Dame and the Musee d'Orsay, for the crowds of the former (we actually gave up on it, will go back in the morning at some point) and the disorderliness of the latter (let's just say I'm not the world's biggest art buff, and enjoying it doesn't get any easier if I have to constantly look at a map to figure out where I am and what I'm seeing. The Louvre may be bigger, but I don't think its floorplan will be as difficult to navigate as the Orsay).
In other news, we have started running for the first time since arriving in France. After trying out some of the river quais, which are cobblestone and bad for the joints, we have settled on Luxembourg Gardens as the best place to run in our area (people run on the outer perimeter). This, in conjunction with our daily stair climbing, should help us combat two months worth of sloth and gluttony.
I'll post pics when we get back from the South!
In the mean time, we've been taking in the Paris sights bit by bit. Highlights have been the Sacre-coeur and Ile Saint Louis, for the view from the former and the surprisingly mellow atmosphere of the latter. Lowlights have been the Notre Dame and the Musee d'Orsay, for the crowds of the former (we actually gave up on it, will go back in the morning at some point) and the disorderliness of the latter (let's just say I'm not the world's biggest art buff, and enjoying it doesn't get any easier if I have to constantly look at a map to figure out where I am and what I'm seeing. The Louvre may be bigger, but I don't think its floorplan will be as difficult to navigate as the Orsay).
In other news, we have started running for the first time since arriving in France. After trying out some of the river quais, which are cobblestone and bad for the joints, we have settled on Luxembourg Gardens as the best place to run in our area (people run on the outer perimeter). This, in conjunction with our daily stair climbing, should help us combat two months worth of sloth and gluttony.
I'll post pics when we get back from the South!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Paris, First Impressions
John and I have been living in Paris for about a week now, and we're just starting to think of our new apartment as home. We've already made a few forays into various parts of the city, including an art museum (!) (but more on that later), and we manged to find a theater that shows "version originale" for the bigger blockbusters like Spiderman 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean, so we can still enjoy most of the American movies in their original English. After Pablo told us about watching the latest Bond movie in French, we decided that we would be better off seeing big movies in English and save the French for actual French movies--all Pablo had to say to convince us of this was: "Je m'appelle Bond, James Bond." Yikes.
Our neighborhood is very nice and bustling with people, cafe's and brasseries, and despite the persistent cloudy/rainy weather we're enjoying ourselves quite a bit. I don't feel like we've really had a chance to explore our neighborhood quite yet, but tomorrow we'll be hitting up one of our local bars to watch the Champion's League final (soccer), and on Thursday we're going to go out to a restaurant and maybe a club afterward. After that, we're off to Monaco for the weekend for the Grand Prix, which both John and I are really looking forward to!
My only complaint with Paris so far is that everyone speaks English, and I mean everyone. I had to rather stubbornly continue speaking French to a lady who sold me ice cream today, so my new goal is to get so good at French in the next few months to the point where I am not immediately identifiable as an English speaker. Sometimes the locals respond to our French with pleasant surprise and are happy to engage us in French, and yet others seem like they don't want to bother waiting for me to conjugate a verb correctly in the conditional tense. I feel like I must be in the middle somewhere because sometimes I get a compliment that my French is quite good, and then other times they respond in English after the first sentence. While I am extremely thrilled to finally be in Paris, I do miss Montpellier in the sense that knowing English was the exception rather than the rule.
Pics from our week's excursions coming at the end of the week, but I thought for now I'd show you exactly where our apartment is on the map:
75 Rue de Rennes
Our neighborhood is very nice and bustling with people, cafe's and brasseries, and despite the persistent cloudy/rainy weather we're enjoying ourselves quite a bit. I don't feel like we've really had a chance to explore our neighborhood quite yet, but tomorrow we'll be hitting up one of our local bars to watch the Champion's League final (soccer), and on Thursday we're going to go out to a restaurant and maybe a club afterward. After that, we're off to Monaco for the weekend for the Grand Prix, which both John and I are really looking forward to!
My only complaint with Paris so far is that everyone speaks English, and I mean everyone. I had to rather stubbornly continue speaking French to a lady who sold me ice cream today, so my new goal is to get so good at French in the next few months to the point where I am not immediately identifiable as an English speaker. Sometimes the locals respond to our French with pleasant surprise and are happy to engage us in French, and yet others seem like they don't want to bother waiting for me to conjugate a verb correctly in the conditional tense. I feel like I must be in the middle somewhere because sometimes I get a compliment that my French is quite good, and then other times they respond in English after the first sentence. While I am extremely thrilled to finally be in Paris, I do miss Montpellier in the sense that knowing English was the exception rather than the rule.
Pics from our week's excursions coming at the end of the week, but I thought for now I'd show you exactly where our apartment is on the map:
75 Rue de Rennes
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Apartment Pics
Yesterday we walked from the Louvre to the Arch de Triumph, checking out the Tuileries and the Champs Elysees en route. It turned out that we weren't the only ones who had this idea because streets and gardens were packed. Later on we went to a soccer game, the last home game of the year for the Paris team - we were kind of lucky, if they were away we probably would not have been able to go to a real game during this trip. I must also add that TV does not prepare you for how loud the crowd gets at these games. We were both pretty sure that it was louder than an indoor basketball game, even though the stadium is outside and football sized...
In the mean time,
apartment pictures
and
yesterday's walk and the game
In the mean time,
apartment pictures
and
yesterday's walk and the game
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Moving into Paris
Sorry for the long gap between posts - we've been on the road for two weeks and pretty much haven't had internet access. Anyways, our two most recent visitors (grandma and ellie) are homeward bound and we have just moved into a petite apartment in the '6th'. For those who know Paris, we are on rue de Rennes just south of the Saint Sulpice church. I'll post some pics very soon.
Summary of our travels since the last post:
- The burgundy canal, which effectively links the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
- Another Le Corbusier church (better than the last one!).
- The lion of Belfort, designed by Bartholdi, who also did the Statue of Liberty. This is carved into a cliff overlooking the city of Belfort. We also saw the smaller version of lady liberty, standing in a round about outside of Colmar.
- Several petite villages in the Alsace region, all of which have wine tasting (the region is known for its whites).
- Strasbourg
- Piper-Hiedsieck champagne making tour
- Epernay cathedral, including the smiling angel on the outside
- Moet & Chandon, the maker of Dom Perignon.
Here are the pics!
Summary of our travels since the last post:
- The burgundy canal, which effectively links the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
- Another Le Corbusier church (better than the last one!).
- The lion of Belfort, designed by Bartholdi, who also did the Statue of Liberty. This is carved into a cliff overlooking the city of Belfort. We also saw the smaller version of lady liberty, standing in a round about outside of Colmar.
- Several petite villages in the Alsace region, all of which have wine tasting (the region is known for its whites).
- Strasbourg
- Piper-Hiedsieck champagne making tour
- Epernay cathedral, including the smiling angel on the outside
- Moet & Chandon, the maker of Dom Perignon.
Here are the pics!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Traveling Through Wine Country
Sorry for the delay in posting, we've been traveling through wine country and haven't had much access to the internet. During our first day in Burgundy, we toured the entire stretch of vineyards in the region, and by the end of the day had tasted more than 26 wines at four different vineyards. Including the wine we drank with dinner and lunch, we drank about two bottles of wine per person. Both Gramma and Ellie didn't seem to have any trouble staying sober after the 26th wine, but even by the 15th wine I felt like I needed a few shots of RedBull to stay awake. Thankfully John didn't have to drive that day, as we had our own personal tour guide from the region to show us around.
Pictures for each day:
Day 1: We drove to Albi to visit a fortified church, and then to Millau to see the highest bridge/viaduct in the world,
Day 2: We drove through the Gorge du Tarn, then to Le Puy to see the church on top of the volcano, and then to Firminy to see Corbusier's modern church. We all agreed it was disappointing--the shape looked like an upside-down sinking ship, and the interior like freeway concrete. Amazingly it's reputed to become the 8th wonder of the modern world, so we think the 9th will have to be the overpass by the San Francisco airport.
Day 3: Visited a Rhone Valley vineyard, Guigal, which we enjoyed for the assembly line of bottles (video will be posted soon). From there we drove to Vienne to see the ruins of the old Roman city (pics of the Temple of Augustus and the theater).
Day 4: This would have been a beautiful drive and panoramic view along the mountains of the Rhone if not for the clouds and rain--the cloud cover was at 2,000 feet and we were up at 2,050.
Day 5: We drove to the old Roman city of Lyon--the cathedral with beautiful mosaics and the ruins of the old theater. Then we were off to the outskirts of Lyon to see the Henri Malartre Automobile Museum with the largest collection of classic French cars and motorcycles from the 1890's to the 1960's.
Day 6: The vineyards of Burgundy where John and I tried and failed to stay sober over the course of the day. But I'm happy to say that we now know a LOT about wines from Burgundy.
Tomorrow we're off to see another of Corbusier's modern architectural churches...I only hope it's better than his last one. After that we've still got the vineyards of Champagne to tour, so hopefully our massive tasting in Burgundy will have improved John and my tolerance for alcohol!
Pictures for each day:
Day 1: We drove to Albi to visit a fortified church, and then to Millau to see the highest bridge/viaduct in the world,
Day 2: We drove through the Gorge du Tarn, then to Le Puy to see the church on top of the volcano, and then to Firminy to see Corbusier's modern church. We all agreed it was disappointing--the shape looked like an upside-down sinking ship, and the interior like freeway concrete. Amazingly it's reputed to become the 8th wonder of the modern world, so we think the 9th will have to be the overpass by the San Francisco airport.
Day 3: Visited a Rhone Valley vineyard, Guigal, which we enjoyed for the assembly line of bottles (video will be posted soon). From there we drove to Vienne to see the ruins of the old Roman city (pics of the Temple of Augustus and the theater).
Day 4: This would have been a beautiful drive and panoramic view along the mountains of the Rhone if not for the clouds and rain--the cloud cover was at 2,000 feet and we were up at 2,050.
Day 5: We drove to the old Roman city of Lyon--the cathedral with beautiful mosaics and the ruins of the old theater. Then we were off to the outskirts of Lyon to see the Henri Malartre Automobile Museum with the largest collection of classic French cars and motorcycles from the 1890's to the 1960's.
Day 6: The vineyards of Burgundy where John and I tried and failed to stay sober over the course of the day. But I'm happy to say that we now know a LOT about wines from Burgundy.
Tomorrow we're off to see another of Corbusier's modern architectural churches...I only hope it's better than his last one. After that we've still got the vineyards of Champagne to tour, so hopefully our massive tasting in Burgundy will have improved John and my tolerance for alcohol!
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