FYI - managed to get a stable connection and uploaded the last week's worth of photos. Also reorganized the Pictures tab to be a little more descriptive upon some requests. It was bugging me anyways.
Hope to upload the next batch of photos that include Pont du Gard, Theatre Antique D'Orange, and Les Chateau de Baux in the next day or two.\
Stay tuned!
2011-07-02
Driving in Provence - Like taking a hike with your car...
First off sorry to all about the pictures. Time seems to stand still here - much like the internet connection. There are hundreds to upload but the internet connection here has been so spotty and slow that uploading pictures seems almost impossible. Hopefully there will be a faster internet connection in Nice.
So in Avignon, we rented a car. I decided to rent something that I wouldn't be able to afford (or too cheap to buy) in my normal ho-hum life in Calgary. For an extra $50 CDN I upgraded from a Citroen C5 to a "Mercedes C-Class or similar". The last caveat of "or similar" is significant since when I went to pick up the car from Avis at the Avignon TGV station, I noticed there were no Mercedes in the parking lot. Can't complain though since I still managed to get a BMW X1. Overall a good vehicle but am disappointed in the power (143 hp). My old Mazda3 was more fun to drive IMO. I think that this is about as big a vehicle as I'd want here with all the roads being so narrow.
In the last week, we've went to Pond Du Gard (truly outstanding btw) and some disappointing ones for me personally (Theatre Antique d'Orange, Les Chateau des Baux). But along the way, I've been taking some really neat roads top get to our destination courtesy of our GPS. BTW - don't drive here without one. I swear it saved our life.
The drive has often been the best part for me. Going through vineyard country, winding roads, tree tunnels, rundown castles, sunflower patches, and lavender fields has been quite a sight. And since the roads are so narrow with no shoulders and barely wide enough for two cars, you are so close to the side it feels like, as Siew puts it, "taking a hike with a car" which hit the nail on the head.
So in Avignon, we rented a car. I decided to rent something that I wouldn't be able to afford (or too cheap to buy) in my normal ho-hum life in Calgary. For an extra $50 CDN I upgraded from a Citroen C5 to a "Mercedes C-Class or similar". The last caveat of "or similar" is significant since when I went to pick up the car from Avis at the Avignon TGV station, I noticed there were no Mercedes in the parking lot. Can't complain though since I still managed to get a BMW X1. Overall a good vehicle but am disappointed in the power (143 hp). My old Mazda3 was more fun to drive IMO. I think that this is about as big a vehicle as I'd want here with all the roads being so narrow.
In the last week, we've went to Pond Du Gard (truly outstanding btw) and some disappointing ones for me personally (Theatre Antique d'Orange, Les Chateau des Baux). But along the way, I've been taking some really neat roads top get to our destination courtesy of our GPS. BTW - don't drive here without one. I swear it saved our life.
The drive has often been the best part for me. Going through vineyard country, winding roads, tree tunnels, rundown castles, sunflower patches, and lavender fields has been quite a sight. And since the roads are so narrow with no shoulders and barely wide enough for two cars, you are so close to the side it feels like, as Siew puts it, "taking a hike with a car" which hit the nail on the head.
Weekly Wackies - Week 6
- The mistral wind in Provence is so strong, it feels like someone shoving you from behind. Chloe and popo even had to put on their jackets.
- The milk and eggs here are not refrigerated. The milk comes in bottles that sit on shelves.
- Frozen duck confit wasn't bad. Just really salty.
- The provencal market (our neighbourhood one in Villeneuve des Avignon) was huge! This is what we expect out of a French market. Fruits so fresh there is still sap on the stems. You can also pick up clothes, shoes, pottery, and mops!
- The nickname for our Avignon house is Donut. It is like a square donut with a courtyard in the middle. Chloe runs a dozen laps in the house every day.
- Isaac stood without assistance for 30 seconds today. Then he realized what he was doing and cried.
- Chloe now has a partial British accent thanks to her Welsh cousin. Water is "wat Er", and questions have a distinctive British twist at the end.
- My french still sucks. Now in provence they seem to understand me even less.
- There are no traffic lights anywhere. Traffic circles are placed at every intersection.
- E.Leclerc by our house is like a huge Walmart. It's so huge it is called "Hypermarche".
- Candy from Haribo museum is really really good. There is a difference!
2011-06-28
Grand Entrance into Avignon
From the time we booked accommodations in Avignon until now, I was a little worried. Khoo's do not historically do well in heat. They sag, melt, and occasionally faint.
Yes, the heat we foresaw, but our grand entrance into Avignon, no one foresaw.
The TGV (bullet train) ride from Paris to Avignon was a rocky one, in the literal sense. We could have been on fishing boat for all I knew. This was not the first time I was hit by motion sickness so I dealt with it swiftly and efficiently on the train. Chloe, on the other hand, had never had trouble with motion sickness so we really didn't understand why she was crying hysterically as we were approaching Avignon.
When the train stops, you get about 5 minutes to get off the train before it departs for the next stop. When our train stopped in Avignon, daddy had our 2 large bags and a stroller, I had Isaac strapped in front and a backpack behind, and we were both begging our screaming child to get off her seat. Luckily some other people helped us with our luggage while daddy picked up Chloe and rushed out the door.
Thinking she was dehydrated, we gave her some coke to drink. And there it all came out. In a projectile. All over herself, the stroller, the floor. Poor kid had no idea what just happened so she could not stop screaming and crying. We quickly tried to clean up the mess.
Next, we needed to get the rental car. To do this, we needed to step into the full Provencal sun in Khoo-melting heat. As soon as the sunlight touched Chloe's face, she screeched like a vampire -- too hot!!!!! Too hot!!!!! And thusly we wheeled our wailing child quickly to the car park, dodging the sun at every possible tree shade. Finally I managed to fashion a curtain out of my jacket, behind which she decided to hide behind forever, sniffing and sobbing.
While daddy was getting our car, Chloe let our a loud wail again. "I have to poo!!!!!" You've got to be kidding. I ran into the car rental place and made the mistake of asking for a toilet in English. The lady rolled her eyes and pointed at the train station. "But's an emergency!!!", as I pointed at my child whom she can clearly hear the wails from. She rolled her eyes again and pointed at the train station. Ugh. I contemplated leaving Isaac with grandma so I could run faster with Chloe, but Isaac was going through a phase where if I was more than 2 feet away he would scream. No, Isaac stays strapped on my sling. We ran back to the bathroom at the train station.
Finally, we got our rental car. Chloe was terrified of motion sickness and refused to leave her stroller. We finally convinced her and went to our rental home. After arrival, she vomitted 2 more times. She was out like a light that night from all the crying that day.
Vomit aside, Avignon turns out to be as beautiful as we imagined. It reminds me of Hawaii. The blue skies, warm sun, beautiful plants, hardly any mosquitoes. Our home is gorgeous. Our pool refreshing. Everyone is recovering from some form of cold and not enough rest. Chloe was back to normal the next day, and running circles around our house. What a perfect spot to slow down, take a breath of fresh air, and do nothing but just live a good life.
Paris: A True Family First City
This was supposed to be the crown jewel for at least myself when we went off on this journey. In fact, my initial itinerary called for 6 weeks Paris and 6 weeks not Paris. The prospect of great food (which it delivered in spades), amazing culture, and historical sites was too large to not spend the more significant portion of time here. Not to mention, Paris got a ringing endorsement from my favorite uber-travel nerd Rick Steves' France 2011:
"There are two Frances: Paris... and the rest of the country. France's top-down government and cultural energy have alway been centered ion Paris, resulting in an overwhelming concentration of world-class museums, cutting-edge architecture, and historic monuments. Travelers can spend weeks in France and never leave Paris. Many do."
Now for some rambling thoughts...
Food:
As opposed to London, Paris is a true culinary city. A city, and perhaps country philosophy towards the preparation and quality (not quantity) is immediately noticeable. I remember seeing Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show on London and his argument saying how London is on par with Paris for food. The only thing I'd say to that is it may apply to him since he's eating at all the best places ALL the time. In London I can think of one meal that stood out. In Paris, I never had a bad meal. The food was always fresh, the cheese was always stinky, and the wine was always perfect.
Transport:
Ok. One knock here. I got spoiled by London I guess, but Paris' Metro seems very very antiquated when compared to the Underground of London. I'll start off with the poor signs they have in Paris. The signs for the Metro vary between Arrondissements making them extremely difficult to spot. Would it make more sense to use big letters in BOLD? London has got it right. A great symbol that is a stark contrast to the buildings they are on and can be spotted far away. The Paris Metro is composed of a swack of lines (Metro & RER) that is a mess which could require you to catch 3 trains in the first 2 zones. The efficiency of London's is once again miles ahead with a well thought out mesh of rails. The only charming thing I really enjoyed were the buskers that go on the metro to play a tune while you are squashed in there like a can of sardines.
Attractions:
I mentioned before how impressed I was by London's attractions - and I think Paris' are just as good. A big difference though is the land that the Paris ones are situated on. Not among the skyscrapers in downtown, but Paris landmarks are usually on a plot of land with perfectly manicured gardens and huge spaces for you to enjoy along with the attractions. Another thing is that Paris attractions seem to be the biggest buildings in the city that are easily recognizable from many rooftops.
A True Sense Of Community:
A stark contrast that we found extremely interesting was while London you can feel the hustle and pace of the city, on the flipslip you are able to feel the sense of community and family values that Parisians seem to possess. In London parks they were few and far between, and when we did find them they were bare with most of the patrons being tourists like us. In Paris, outside is where they seem to play. For the first time in a while, kids are choosing to play outside rather than on Facebook or playing Call of Duty. All of the parks we went to were packed to the brim with local school kids just being kids. My daughter soon found out that pretending that you are pirates hunting for treasure is truly a universal game.
All in all, we love both Paris & London but would have to definitely give a strong preference to Paris. Two unique experiences that are hard to compare to one another.
Next City is Avignon!
"There are two Frances: Paris... and the rest of the country. France's top-down government and cultural energy have alway been centered ion Paris, resulting in an overwhelming concentration of world-class museums, cutting-edge architecture, and historic monuments. Travelers can spend weeks in France and never leave Paris. Many do."
Now for some rambling thoughts...
Food:
As opposed to London, Paris is a true culinary city. A city, and perhaps country philosophy towards the preparation and quality (not quantity) is immediately noticeable. I remember seeing Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show on London and his argument saying how London is on par with Paris for food. The only thing I'd say to that is it may apply to him since he's eating at all the best places ALL the time. In London I can think of one meal that stood out. In Paris, I never had a bad meal. The food was always fresh, the cheese was always stinky, and the wine was always perfect.
Transport:
Ok. One knock here. I got spoiled by London I guess, but Paris' Metro seems very very antiquated when compared to the Underground of London. I'll start off with the poor signs they have in Paris. The signs for the Metro vary between Arrondissements making them extremely difficult to spot. Would it make more sense to use big letters in BOLD? London has got it right. A great symbol that is a stark contrast to the buildings they are on and can be spotted far away. The Paris Metro is composed of a swack of lines (Metro & RER) that is a mess which could require you to catch 3 trains in the first 2 zones. The efficiency of London's is once again miles ahead with a well thought out mesh of rails. The only charming thing I really enjoyed were the buskers that go on the metro to play a tune while you are squashed in there like a can of sardines.
Attractions:
I mentioned before how impressed I was by London's attractions - and I think Paris' are just as good. A big difference though is the land that the Paris ones are situated on. Not among the skyscrapers in downtown, but Paris landmarks are usually on a plot of land with perfectly manicured gardens and huge spaces for you to enjoy along with the attractions. Another thing is that Paris attractions seem to be the biggest buildings in the city that are easily recognizable from many rooftops.
A True Sense Of Community:
A stark contrast that we found extremely interesting was while London you can feel the hustle and pace of the city, on the flipslip you are able to feel the sense of community and family values that Parisians seem to possess. In London parks they were few and far between, and when we did find them they were bare with most of the patrons being tourists like us. In Paris, outside is where they seem to play. For the first time in a while, kids are choosing to play outside rather than on Facebook or playing Call of Duty. All of the parks we went to were packed to the brim with local school kids just being kids. My daughter soon found out that pretending that you are pirates hunting for treasure is truly a universal game.
All in all, we love both Paris & London but would have to definitely give a strong preference to Paris. Two unique experiences that are hard to compare to one another.
Next City is Avignon!
2011-06-26
Review on the Run: Versailles (4.5 out 5)
"If you're planning to visit just one palace in all of Europe, make it Versailles"
- Rick Steves
The Palace of Versailles estates is ridiculously enormous and over-the-top. It's hard to believe that all this belonged to just the royal family at one point. Now it is completely mobbed by tourists. The palace was gorgeous inside, but the mob so bad that we felt claustrophobic and helpless. Saying it is shoulder to shoulder slow shuffle is an understatement. I say it is more like an ear to ear, slow painful drip down the narrow corridors, with one way standstill traffic gawking over gold-gilded over-the-top state apartment after state apartment. After seeing 2 rooms, everything else states to glaze over and look the same. Rooms 3-10 we were gasping for air like fish out of water, looking for the nearest exit. Leave your kids out of this awful mess.
The gardens were manicured and beautiful. Free too! We spent 18 Euros per ticket for the palaces, but spent much more time enjoying the free gardens. The trianon palaces were very quiet and the courtyards are serene.
Do I agree with Rick? Well, the palace really is gorgeous in an over the top way, but you absolutely must go through it before the mobs arrive, as it is the absolute worst mob I have ever experienced. With kids the mob experience is multiplied 10 fold. Make sure they go the the toilets before being trapped inside the Chateau with a point of no return.
- Rick Steves
The Palace of Versailles estates is ridiculously enormous and over-the-top. It's hard to believe that all this belonged to just the royal family at one point. Now it is completely mobbed by tourists. The palace was gorgeous inside, but the mob so bad that we felt claustrophobic and helpless. Saying it is shoulder to shoulder slow shuffle is an understatement. I say it is more like an ear to ear, slow painful drip down the narrow corridors, with one way standstill traffic gawking over gold-gilded over-the-top state apartment after state apartment. After seeing 2 rooms, everything else states to glaze over and look the same. Rooms 3-10 we were gasping for air like fish out of water, looking for the nearest exit. Leave your kids out of this awful mess.
The gardens were manicured and beautiful. Free too! We spent 18 Euros per ticket for the palaces, but spent much more time enjoying the free gardens. The trianon palaces were very quiet and the courtyards are serene.
Do I agree with Rick? Well, the palace really is gorgeous in an over the top way, but you absolutely must go through it before the mobs arrive, as it is the absolute worst mob I have ever experienced. With kids the mob experience is multiplied 10 fold. Make sure they go the the toilets before being trapped inside the Chateau with a point of no return.
Review on the Run: Musee Rodin (3 out 5), Champ de Mars (3 out of 5), Notre Dame Gardens (3 out 5)
Musee Rodin
When you don't feel like paying full admission to be cultured in an art musuem, only to be dragged outside by your bored nagging kids, come to Musee Rodin. We didn't go inside the museum, but we opted to be cultured outside, in the the beautiful garden with Rodin sculptures. Our whole family got in the garden for 1 Euro. We had lunch in front of the Thinker. Chloe hunted for all the sculptures on the handy museum map, and Isaac crawled around stroked the grass. The grass was a treat because a lot of parks in Paris with don't allow anyone on the grass, or is laced with dog poo that I wouldn't want Isaac scooping up. This place is worth a lunch pit stop.
Champ de Mars
This the park right beside the Eiffel Tower. The park on its own really isn't a big deal, but its backdrop is unbeatable. You can get great shots of the Eiffel tower here while the kiddies get amused by the playgrounds.
Notre Dame Gardens
Behind Notre Dame, there is a tranquil garden that is not overrun by tourists. We made a pit stop here because there was cellist busking right by a big shady sand pit. Since we were only 5 minutes walk home, we unleashed Isaac all over the sand. I think he ate a couple of mouthfuls but managed to amazingly miss his eyes while flicking sand profusely. There is some playground equipment scattered about, and some nice trees, but nothing that is spectacular on its own besides the fact that there is a huge gothic cathedral in the background, with someone playing Pachebel's Canon on cello while your children play in the sand
When you don't feel like paying full admission to be cultured in an art musuem, only to be dragged outside by your bored nagging kids, come to Musee Rodin. We didn't go inside the museum, but we opted to be cultured outside, in the the beautiful garden with Rodin sculptures. Our whole family got in the garden for 1 Euro. We had lunch in front of the Thinker. Chloe hunted for all the sculptures on the handy museum map, and Isaac crawled around stroked the grass. The grass was a treat because a lot of parks in Paris with don't allow anyone on the grass, or is laced with dog poo that I wouldn't want Isaac scooping up. This place is worth a lunch pit stop.
Champ de Mars
This the park right beside the Eiffel Tower. The park on its own really isn't a big deal, but its backdrop is unbeatable. You can get great shots of the Eiffel tower here while the kiddies get amused by the playgrounds.
Notre Dame Gardens
Behind Notre Dame, there is a tranquil garden that is not overrun by tourists. We made a pit stop here because there was cellist busking right by a big shady sand pit. Since we were only 5 minutes walk home, we unleashed Isaac all over the sand. I think he ate a couple of mouthfuls but managed to amazingly miss his eyes while flicking sand profusely. There is some playground equipment scattered about, and some nice trees, but nothing that is spectacular on its own besides the fact that there is a huge gothic cathedral in the background, with someone playing Pachebel's Canon on cello while your children play in the sand
Review on the Run: Bois de Boulogne Jardin d'Acclimation (4 out of 5)
Bois de Boulogne is one of the 2 massive parks that are remnants of the old oak forests surrounding Paris (the other being Bois de Vincenne). It's about 2.5 times the size of central park in New York, so we weren't going to hike all over this thing. We only ended up going to Jardin d'Acclimation portion, where there are lots of kiddie attractions.
To get into the park, we took a petit train from Porte Maillot metro stop into the heart of the action. Don't come here if you plan to save money. There is an amusement park, attractions like remote control boats, trampolines, carnival style games, etc. Each ticket or "attraction" takes 1 ticket that works out to be 2-3 Euros. There are a lot of tame rides for young kids. Of course, there are lots of free amusements too, like playgrounds, zoos, and albino peacocks, peahens, and peachicks roaming freely about. I saw some signs for yoga and some sort of dance workout for adults.
We ate at Angelina's, which was famous for its hot chocolate. Of course, I only found that out the next day after we left. I missed out on the cup of hot melted chocolate. Grrr.
This park was worth a day trip out. The kids had great fun.
To get into the park, we took a petit train from Porte Maillot metro stop into the heart of the action. Don't come here if you plan to save money. There is an amusement park, attractions like remote control boats, trampolines, carnival style games, etc. Each ticket or "attraction" takes 1 ticket that works out to be 2-3 Euros. There are a lot of tame rides for young kids. Of course, there are lots of free amusements too, like playgrounds, zoos, and albino peacocks, peahens, and peachicks roaming freely about. I saw some signs for yoga and some sort of dance workout for adults.
We ate at Angelina's, which was famous for its hot chocolate. Of course, I only found that out the next day after we left. I missed out on the cup of hot melted chocolate. Grrr.
This park was worth a day trip out. The kids had great fun.
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