Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Paris - the Low Lights.

Hawkers at all the tourist spots. The Eiffel tower and Montmartre were the worst. The guys at Montmartre kept grabbing at Gus and Theo to try to make them braided bracelets. I had to employ my teacher death stare and avery firm NON!  Mind you the "tower sellers" as they were christened by Gus and Theo, inadvertantly became a highlight with the arrival of a couple of policemen on bikes. There was a general scattering with African gentlemen sprinting off towards the Trocadero and trying to blend into the crowds, as the police just rode on through. It was like some funny comedy sequence. They were all back again about 5 minutes later though and the whole sequence repeated itself every 20 minutes or so.
More disturbing were the women beggars (I hesitate to say gypsies, although I think they probably would class themselves as such) draped in shawls and headscarfes. Their line - "Do you speeeeeek Eeeenglish?" the answer is "YES - GO AWAY!"



We even had one guy try the old "Oh, you've dropped your gold ring" trick on us. He wasn't very good at it though, as I actually saw him put it on the ground. He'll need a bit more practise if he is ever going to fleece anybody.

Rod's low light would have to be the cost of a beer! Even in our quiet little local area a beer at the local cafe can cost anything up to 8 Euros - that's roughly $12 Australian. Too much for a big night out, that's for sure!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Paris - The Highlights

Geocaching in the Jardin des Plantes was great fun, even though we did get a little rained on. The Jardins are very beautiful and feature some trees that were planted at about the same time as Captain Cook was sailing up and down the east coast of Australia. The cache was a tricky multi cache which had us chasing around after a series of clues, but we solved it in the end!


An afternoon in the Jardin de Luxembourg - the kids went for a pony/donkey ride and played in the super dooper playground, while we drank coffee and watched the local heroes fight it out on the boulodrome!



 

Rod and the boys went to  see the light show at the Eiffel Tower. It goes for about 15 min on the hour until the tower closes at about 11:00 pm. The boys thought it was fantastic - photo to follow! Here they are.



Thursday, October 22, 2009

A Menhir for your thoughts.

Driving towards Carnac in the south of Brittany was a WOW moment, as we rounded a corner and came across fields full of menhirs, like an army of warriors frozen in position. I hadn't realized that there would be so many of them or that they would have so much impact.



There are three or four fields just like this and it is possible to just walk around among the stones, touching them and wondering about the whys and wherefores of their existance....well, other than that Obelisk the Menhir delivery guy had been around in the night!

We enjoyed a jambon and fromage sandwich (French Style) in the charming church square in Carnac - then scoffed some even more delicious Breton pastries. At this stage I can't recall what they were called but they were like a doughnut pastry filled with yummy apple and then dusted with suger and shaped like a Cornish Pastie. Mmmmmmmmm


Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Mont St Michel

Just a shortish drive from Dinan is the wonderful Mont St Michel. The view of the Abbaye as you approach over the causeway is absolutley iconic - breathtaking, awe inspiring and any other superlative you can think of.


Once inside, there is a narrow winding street that leads upwards to the Abbaye. Avoid the restaurents on this street - the meal we had was awful and cost the earth. Mind you, this to date, is the only bad meal we have had in France. The Abbaye is really interesting and the view from the top, out over Baie St Michel, is spectacular. I have no doubt, that St Michel on the top of his spire, never tires of it.


Catching up with Claire Bear!

We had some wonderful hours with Claire and her family while we were in Belgium. Claire lives in a lovely University town called Louvain la Neuve, just a short train ride out of Brussels. It is a very new town but built along the lines of a medieval city, with a central square and winding streets. There is a small lake with walking paths and very beauiful trees. The afternoon we were there, several people were fishing and we watched as one little boy, about Gus's age, pulled in a small fish. We were pleased to see it go back into the lake to grow a bit more! Louvain la Neuve was built especially as a University town and has a population consisting almost entirely of students and university staff. One other feature is the very new Herge museum, only opened in May 2009. For fans of Herge's work, especially Tin Tin, this is a must; although it is not so much a centre for children (they did enjoy it!) , rather a serious exploration and showcase for an important contributer to Belgian literature.

The real Brrrrrrr in Brussels!

We have been without internet for a few days again. Our apartment in Brussels had internet access for about half a day and then along with the heating and the hot water it too disappeared. You would have had no trouble picking us out of the crowd in the Grande Place (which is pretty grand and spectacular by the way); we were the stinky, cold, crabby tourists!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Madame Renault

We have come to love our car GPS (which we now know how to work - see my previous post Lost in France!) We have christened her Madame Renault and she has guided us safely to Mont St Michel, Carnac and St Malo. She is endlessly patient and good natured; recalculating routes when we go slightly astray and only once has she got so fed up with us that she said "Will you please proceed to the planned route" - this was after we ignored three consecutive instructions to turn left into the tiny, windy streets that make up the old city of Dinan! She forgave us however and quickly returned to her usual placid albeit somewhat bossy self.