Not Just for Opera

Today on CBS Sunday Morning, I caught a segment on the Sydney Opera House, bringing back a flood of great memories from our trip Down Under back in 2006.  The Opera House was designed by a Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, as part of an international competition.  His radical design was unlike anything ever conceived before, and the engineers in charge of building it didn't think it could be done.  They found a way of course, and now the Opera House is an international icon and likely the most recognizable symbol of Sydney.

As construction ran long and costs continued to escalate, Utzon had a falling out with the committee in charge of building the Opera House.  He and his family moved back to Denmark before it was completed.  Utzon's vision of the building was never fully achieved and the interior was completed by direction of the committee.  Utzon never returned to Australia and consequently never saw his great masterpiece in person.

While we were in Sydney, we took the obligatory tour of the Opera House, but we also went to a Symphony Concert one evening.  The acoustics were fabulous and it was nice to experience the building as it was intended.  There are five concert halls in the building, and it is not exclusively for opera.  Performances range from everything from theater, to rock concerts, to Oprah.  No visit to Sydney is complete without a visit to the Opera House, but for a truly sublime experience, be sure to go back in the evening and take in a performance.  You won't be disappointed.

Kudos to American Airlines

Air travel isn't what is used to be -- crowded planes, log security lines, cancellations, etc.  On our trip to Paris, our flight to JFK was canceled due to bad weather.  Fortunately, there is a direct flight from RDU to Heathrow.  I called the 800 number for American Airlines and the agent was very courteous and professional and she was able to switch us to the London flight and connect through British Airways to Paris.  We arrived about 3 hours later than our original itinerary, but avoided all of the weather hassles.

On the return trip through JFK, we had a tight connection.  We were met at the gate by an agent with an express pass and our boarding passes which allowed us to bypass the long line at customs, and make it to gate about 15 minutes before we were supposed to board.  We would not have made our flight otherwise.

I think this is a wonderful example of great customer service.   We've all had our airline horror stories, but in this particular instance, American performed exemplary.  What could have gotten our vacation off to a bad start (and finish), instead was resolved and improved which made the trip much more enjoyable and memorable.  Thanks for doing a great job.

Final Night in Paris

On the Champ Elysees in front of the Arc de Triomphe

Our final day in Paris was spent just soaking in the city and experiencing Parisian life.  One of the things we really hadn't done is be out late and experiencing the City of Lights at night.  It's not been getting dark until almost 9:30, so we were usually back in our own neighborhood by then.  I suggested we stroll the Champ Elysees and go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe which would give us nice views of the City and the Eiffel Tower.  We didn't leave the apartment until after 8:00 and took the Metro over to the Champ Elysees.  We strolled along the wide boulevard and did a little window shopping at Louis Vitton, Mont Blanc, Cartier, and other ritzy stores we couldn't begin to afford.  We went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe about 9:15.  Our museum pass came in handy again as we didn't have to pay an entrance fee.

In order to get to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, you have have to climb about 300 steps up a relatively narrow spiral staircase.  The Arc is about 165 feet tall so it provides excellent views.  It also sits in the middle of a huge traffic circle in which 8 or 10 streets converge so traffic is non-stop.  Because of this, you access it through an underground tunnel off of the champ Elysees.

We didn't tell Mom about the steps as she likely would have balked at going at the top.  She was like a kid the whole time asking is it much further, is it much further?  She did a great job getting to the top and was glad she made the effort.  I wanted to take a great photo of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night and the top of the Arc de Triomphe provides an excellent vantage point.  While I have a great camera (a Canon Digital SLR), I'm still a complete novice when it comes to the manual settings so I tend to rely on the automatic ones.  Fortunately for me, I found a perch next to a guy who was much more of an expert and he gave me a crash course to help me take a better picture as a lot of my shots were somewhat blurry.  This was due in part to not being able to use my tripod after toting it all the way there (the tripod police was out in full force).  I never did catch his name, but I give a big thank you to him as his advice helped me get a great picture.

The Eiffel Tower is nicely illuminated in the evening and has a sparkly light show on the hour.  We stayed through the 10:00 show, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the City of Lights at its best.  It's hard to believe our time here is ending, but we had a great finale to a fantastic stay in Paris.

Stained Glass

Rose Window at Notre Dame

If you're a fan of stained glass and cathedrals, then Paris is a great place to visit.  Probably the two best places to see are Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle.  Both are located on the Ile de la Cite--the other island in the middle of the River Seine.  Most folks visit Notre Dame as it is more well known and there is no admission fee.  While there is an admission fee for Sainte-Chapelle, it is covered with our museum pass.  Both cathedrals are designed in the Gothic style.

Sainte-Chapelle -- each circle depicts a scene from the Bible

Sainte-Chapelle was specifically built by Louis IX in the 13th century to house precious relics, including the purported Crown of Thorns worn by Christ.  Much of the stained glass still dates to that time period and is currently in a 5 year restoration project.  Sainte-Chapelle has 15 large panel windows that stretch some 45 feet high, each representing various books of the Bible.  In a sense it's actually two churches in one, as it is two levels--the lower level sans stained glass where the servants and commoners could worship, and the grand upper level replete with stained glass--reserved for the king and whom he chose to allow in.

Mont Saint-Michel

As part of our Brittany tour, we also went to Mont Saint-Michel.  Technically, Mont Saint-Michel is in Normandy, but it is very close to the Brittany region so it was easy to combine with St. Malo and Dinan.  Mont Saint-Michel is not so much an island as it is a rock outcropping.  As it is a tidal island, for most of its existence it could only be reached during low tide when the water receded enough to make it accessible.  For centuries, it has been home to a monastery and abbey.  A permanent causeway was constructed in 1879 so Mont Saint-Michel is not so much an island anymore and continual access is possible.  However, at high tide, it's mostly surrounded by water.  The tides can vary by as much as 30 feet between high and low tides.

Although it certainly has its share of kitsch and shops catering to tourists who flock to it by the thousands, the monastery is still an impressive site and architectural marvel.  It's hard to believe that such a building could be constructed in what you would think is a relatively inhospitable environment.  It was a great end to our day of touring in the French countryside.

Mont Saint-Michel

Le Big Mac

I've always found it interesting how some places you travel seem very expensive and others relatively cheap.  Because of different currencies and conversion rates, it's always difficult to make an apples to apples comparison between the various countries.

To help with this, I like to use the Big Mac Economic Index.  McDonald's restaurants are relatively universal around the world and although there are cultural menu variations, a Big Mac, Fries, and Coke in the U.S. is the same as in France, China, Australia, etc. -- except for price.  The price of a Big mac combo in the U.S. is roughly $5.00 - $6.00 depending upon where you live.  In Paris, it is 5.80 euros, which when you convert to dollars is approximately $8.75.  This certainly beats the price we saw in Switzerland back in 2009 ($11.15), but pales to price we saw in China in 2010 ($3.09).  While this is by no means scientific and is only one product out of millions, it does give an appreciation as to the relative levels of price and how we perceive it as being expensive or not.  (Note we didn't actually eat at McDonald's -- there's much better food to be had in Paris!!)

Gas was no better although taxes and other factors play a significant role in determining price.  In Brittany where we actually passed a few gas stations during our drive from place to place, gas was going for about 1.40 euros per liter.  When you convert liters to gallons and convert euros to dollars, it works out to about $7.63 per gallon.  That's one of the reasons cars are smaller and mass transit so extensive.  So the next time you're out going through the McDonald's drive-thru, just be glad you're not doing that in France.  Your wallet will thank you.

Apartment Living

For this trip to Paris, we decided to rent an apartment rather than staying in a hotel.  Apartment rentals here are very popular and provide a great alternative.  Since we would have needed two hotel rooms anyway, renting our two-bedroom apartment kept us together and gave us a kitchen where we could cook some of our own meals.  We really put the kitchen to more use than we originally thought we would.

Our apartment was located on the Ile Saint Louis, one of two connected islands in the middle of the River Seine, right in the heart of Paris.  We were just a short walk from Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Latin Quarter, and many of the major sites within Paris.  Although we could have found two hotel rooms that may have been a little less expensive, when you factor in the fantastic location and the full kitchen, it was a much better deal.

Looking out our apartment window at the River Seine

Our apartment was on the fourth floor overlooking the Seine, in a building originally constructed in the 17th century (in much of Europe, the first floor is considered Floor 0, so perhaps we should say we were on the third floor).  We were within easy walking distance to three different metro lines which made taking the subway a breeze.  Most Parisians live in apartments or condos, because it is a densely populated, urban environment and there aren't the typical single-family homes like we're accustomed to here in the United States.  We definitely felt as though we were experiencing Parisian like a local--except of course for our language skills.

Bretagne -- A visit to Dinan and St. Malo

When we planned our trip to Paris, we knew we wanted so see a couple of other places because this would be the only chance Mom and Pop would make it to France.  Going to Normandy was a given.  Because we had so much fun on our trip to Ireland, I thought it would be nice to visit Brittany (Bretagne in French).  This area has a common Celtic ancestry like Ireland and Scotland and many people still speak the Breton language in addition to French.  I found another personal tour from the same company I used for the Normandy tour (Link Paris).  We took the train from Paris to St. Malo -- the TGV train which can reach speeds upward of 175 mph.  I'm not sure if we went that fast or not, but it was very apparent that the scenery was moving by pretty fast.  Our driver/guide Mark met us for the day's touring at the St. Malo train station.  There were two other people with us.

Atop the rampart in St. Malo--overlooking the English Channel

St. Malo is a port city on the English Channel.  Multiple ferries run between St. Malo and Portsmouth, England.  The old central part of St. Malo is walled--surrounded by ramparts in a roughly octagonal shape.  At one-time, St. Malo was an island, but a permanent causeway connection was constructed in the 19th century.  The city was almost 80% destroyed during the liberation of France in 1944.  However, the City was painstakingly rebuilt with what the locals called a "heritage-conscious reconstruction design."  Indeed it was difficult to see what was original and what was "new" as it was blended very well.  We walked along the top of the wall around the city and then wandered it's narrow cobblestone streets.  St. Malo is very tourist oriented these days (not just with us Americans) as many French and other Europeans come here for vacation and/or own second homes here.

Standing in the Rue du Petit Fort in Dinan

The other stop on our Brittany tour was the city of Dinan.  Dinan's architecture is very medieval as it traces its roots back to the 11th and 12th centuries.  Because it is further inland than St. Malo and not considered of strategic importance during World War II, it was spared the damage of the war and the architecture is original and well-preserved.   The River Rance runs through Dinan and we entered the city on foot at the river and steadily walked uphill on narrow cobblestone streets admiring the great architecture.  One of the features of buildings is that the footprint of the first floor is smaller than the upper floors, which create overhangs.  This was due to the buildings being taxed on the square footage of the main floor--so they made them smaller.

Mark gave us overviews of each town and suggestions for what to see, but then we were on our own to explore which we liked.  We could take our own pace to explore, stop and browse in the shops, and soak up the ambience.  The crowds were few -- unlike the hustle and bustle of Paris -- so it was nice to get a break and enjoy the French countryside.

Seeing the Mona Lisa........Worst Photo Ever?

Today was Art & Culture Part II.  We started our day at the Louvre.  After learning our lesson yesterday at the Musee d'Orsay, we arrived at the Louvre 15 minutes before it opened and queued through the side entrance and were able to gain entrance immediately once 9 o'clock arrived.  Mom & Pop wanted to take the guided introductory tour in English, so we bought their tickets and bid them adieu while we explored on our own with the audio guide.

Without a doubt, the two most popular pieces in the Museum are the Mona Lisa and the statue of Venue de Milo--so popular that they have their own signs within the museum pointing the way.  Everyone tends to make a mad dash for these and the areas are extremely crowded, especially the Mona Lisa.  I'm convinced that trying to take a picture of the Mona Lisa is a terrible idea and you end up with the worst photo ever.  First, the Mona Lisa is surprisingly small (although large for the time period in which it was painted).  Second, it's on a wall by itself behind glass which creates glare and light reflection.  Third, unlike all of the other paintings, you're kept a good distance from the painting by a railing and rope line.  Finally, although you're allowed to take pictures in the Louvre, its supposed to be without flash.  Yet flash bulbs constantly are going off, so everyone is ruining everyone else's pictures.  So unless you can have the room all to yourself, it's simply not possible to take a good picture of the Mona Lisa.  Since everyone has seen the Mona Lisa, I instead give you the best photo you can take in the room.....

Futile efforts to capture a good photo of the Mona Lisa

Viewing Monet at the Musee l'Orangerie

We also went to the Musee l'Orangerie which is at the other end of the Tuileries Gardens from the Louvre.  This is where some of Monet's Water Lilies are displayed.  The entire upstairs is dedicated to Monet and his paintings take up entire walls which are slightly curved.  I had no idea these were so large.  The galleries downstairs have more paintings including from Renoir and Cezanne.  After four fantastic museums in two days, I suspect that will be it for museums for this trip.  Paris has so many cultural institutions, it's difficult to cover them all in a single trip.  You could likely spend several days in the Louvre yet not see everything.  We'll just have to make another trip here to see the rest.

Musee d'Orsay and Rodin

After a long day traveling to Normandy and back, we've started the art and culture part of the trip.  The Louvre is what most people want to see with the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo (which we will certainly see as well), but there are so many other great museums in Paris.  We purchased a Museum Pass which not only saves us a little money, it more importantly allows us to bypass the long lines waiting to purchase tickets and get in the entrance queue.

Interior of main hall of Musee d'Orsay

Today, we started a little later and our first stop was the Musee d'Orsay.  This museum is in a restored former railway station and the architecture of the building interior is spectacular.  The art focus is after the periods housed in the Louvre, specifically from 1848 to 1914.  This was the time of Impressionism and Neo-impressionism, so we saw the works of Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Van Gogh to name a few.  We also saw Whistler's Mother, athough I know that's not the correct title.  Because the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays, it was especially crowded.  Although our museum pass allowed us to go straight to entry, it still took an hour to get in.  However, my guess is that the line to buy tickets was at least three times as long as ours.  They did not let us take pictures inside at all and there were numerous signs reminding us not to; however, somehow my camera accidentally went off and I ended up with a nice picture of the interior.

The Thinker

The second half of our tour took us to the Rodin Museum.   We are both fans of his sculptures and the museum didn't disappoint.  It of course has the famous works he's known for such as The Thinker and The Gates of Hell, but it also has many more works of his from through out his life.  These are displayed both outside in exquisitely maintained gardens and inside the museum, which is actually the former Hotel Biron (not actually a hotel but a large manor house) built in the early 18th century.  The museum also included works of art personally owned by Rodin including paintings by Monet and Van Gogh.  I particularly enjoyed a painting of The Thinker by Edvard Munch, who most well known for his painting The Scream.

Painting of The Thinker by Edvard Munch

Normandy

We were up and out the door at 6:00 AM to catch the metro to Gare St. Lazare for our train to Caen and the D-Day Beaches.  We booked a personal tour that included an English-speaking guide with no more than 8 people in the group.  After a two-hour train ride from Paris, we met our guide Marilyn at the Caen train station and started our tour at the Caen War Memorial and Museum.  The museum and tour were excellent.  It did not solely focus on D-Day--it put the conflict in context beginning with the end of WW I.  We learned a lot of in-depth information that we didn't focus on in school.  Included with the tour was a very nice lunch (steak) and after lunch we spent the afternoon touring the D-Day beaches.

Mom and Pop are from Bedford, Virginia, home of the National D-Day Memorial.  Bedford was chosen as the site because per capita, it lost the most men of any U.S. community on D-Day.  Alex Kershaw wrote a great book, The Bedford Boys, that chronicles the story of the men of the 29th Division who were the first to land on Omaha Beach on June 6.  Marilyn was very familiar with the Bedford Boys and there is a special connection between Bedford and Vierville-sur-Mer, where the 29th Division landed.

Among the sites we visited were Arromanches, where you can still see the remains of an artificial harbor created to bring in troops and supplies after D-Day; Gold and Omaha Beaches; and Pointe du Hoc, where Army Rangers scaled a huge bluff in order to overtake a key German defensive position and neutralize its cannons.  However, the most striking site we visited was the American Cemetery at Colleville.  Here, there are 9,387 American troops who died on D-Day--only a small percentage as numerous families chose to have their sons repatriated after the war.  Rows upon rows of simple white crosses and Stars of David are precisely lined in the straightest rows you will ever see.  Although it is hard the read, the cross pictured here is of the grave of Bedford T. Hoback, one of the Bedford Boys of the 29th Division.  His brother Raymond's name is listed along with over 1,500 others along the memorial wall at the cemetery as his remains were never found.

While movies such as Saving Private Ryan try to accurately depict the magnitude of D-Day, it pales in comparison with actual footage and photos we saw during our visit.  While there are remnants of the war such as bomb craters and canon "pillboxes," you would never know the horrors and sacrifices that occurred almost 70 years ago by just watching the waves crash along the beaches.  Mom and Pop knew several of the Bedford Boys who survived the D-Day invasion, although the last survivor died this past year.  Having read The Bedford Boys and touring the museum and D-Day beaches, I have a better appreciation of the dedication and sacrifice of these brave men; however,  not having lived through it, I will never truly know.  Thank you to all who served and sacrificed and to all the brave men and women who continue to serve our great country.

Tour Eiffel

May 1st is Labor Day in France -- a national holiday. It’s also Sunday. As a result, many things are closed and those that are open are especially crowded. One of the things you can now do is purchase Eiffel Tower tickets online ahead of time. Just pick the day and time and print the tickets at home and at the appointed hour, you get to enter the queue for the elevator ride up. The downside is you don’t know what the weather is going to be. Fortunately, we bought our tickets before we left as the lines to purchase tickets were unbelievably long. I heard one of the employees say it was a minimum two-hour wait just to purchase tickets to then get in the queue.

The weather was gorgeous and clear. Our day at Sacre Coeur was very hazy so this was a big improvement. There are three levels and you ride one elevator up to the first two floors and then take a separate elevator to the summit. Our lines were relatively short and we were able to have the entire experience in about 2 1/2 hours including standing in line waiting for the elevators for both directions.

View of the Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero

The views from up top were just as spectacular. It was crystal clear and we could see for miles. At the end of the day, we took a river cruise along the Seine and were able to see it lit up at night from the river.

Nightime view from the Seine

Paris on a Saturday Afternoon

In front of Notre Dame Cathedral

Full day of touring today.  Mom and Pop like the Hop On/Hop Off bus so we took that and drove by most of the historic sites to get our bearings for touring during the week.  We spent the afternoon in Montmartre and the Basilique du Sacre Coeur.  We capped off our evening strolling along the Seine and taking some night photos of Notre Dame.

Royal Bling

Commemorative Wedding Pillow

Commemorative Tin of Biscuits 

Checking out all of the official (and unofficial) royal wedding souvenirs.  Something for everyone...or so they say.  We were at Heathrow long enough to catch the beginning of the wedding on TV.   Finally made it to Paris at 2 PM local time on Friday.  Resting up for a full day of sightseeing on Saturday.

Next stop......London?

Storms have ravaged the southeast yesterday into today.  Our thoughts and prayers go to everyone dealing with the loss of loved ones.  The storms moved into the New York area which has caused havoc with flight schedules.  We were supposed to connect through JFK for our flight to Paris.  Instead, we get to fly directly to London and then onto Paris.  However, we're now flying into Orly Airport instead of Charles de Gaulle.  After a frantic phone call to Paris, I was able to connect with Vincent who is driving us from the airport to our apartment.  He was very nice and was able to make the change to his schedule.  Nothing like arriving at one airport when your transportation is at the other one.  Crisis averted.

So this means we get to travel through London on the biggest day they've seen in 30 years -- the royal wedding of William and Kate.  Mom is giddy with excitement at that prospect.  If we stay on schedule, we'll get to Paris by 1:30 PM local time on Friday -- only about 3 hours later than our original itinerary.  Fingers crossed!!

Welcome....I'm on the Road Once Again

This time we're off to Paris.  I decided to start this blog as a way to share our adventures with family and friends.  We love to travel.  Fortunately, we're able to do so, although not every trip is as adventurous as going to the City of Lights.  The in-laws are accompanying us again.  I've been to Paris once....almost 20 years ago and am looking forward to returning.  Mom and Pop have never been and are very excited to be going.  Mom thinks I should be a travel agent as I have almost as much fun planning the trip as the trip itself (the key being ALMOST).  If anybody actually starts reading this, maybe I'll branch out into other travel-related topics and share tips I've learned through the years.  For now though, the next few posts will be about Paris.  We leave Thursday.  Au revoir!