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.