WEDNESDAY 13TH JUNE

Today was an essentially loaf around the churches day which was quite inspiring for both of us. We visited Saint Etienne du Mont next to the Pantheon. This church and its associated abbey and other buildings were constructed in 510AD with the current structure built in the 1,000 years and recently renovated to its original splendour. The remains and relics of Sainte Genevieve are in one of the chapels and her statue stands on the right hand side of the church's face next to Saint Etienne. There is a plaque in the chapel which records that in September 1914, the German Arny had broken through the western front and was approaching Paris. The people of Paris fled to the churches and prayed to Sainte Genevieve. The next day the Germans withdrew despite having superior forces and only one line of French resistence left to the east of the city. Since then, the French celebrate the day of Sainte Genevieve with much fervour and aplomb. We visited the book store and purchased some lovely choir music and cards.

Next stop was lunch at the vey popular Crepe place that has queues a mile long at night (check photo of this in earlier blog). It was a massive meal for a take away but the no left over policy prevailed. Next stop was the church of Sainte Medard which we walked past several time a day. Like Saint Etienne, this church is visible on 16th century maps and drawings of Paris. It was built in the 15th Century but there was a chapel of the Sainte Genevieve parish there since 1140AD.

WE needed to sit and stare at people before Guy's traditionelle Parisien hair cut so we plonked ourselves at the footpath cafe next to the Coiffure until 5pm. Guy emerged as a true Parisien at 5:40. For dinner strolled down to the Seine past some musicians playing on the bridge joining Isles de'Cite and St Louis.

We found a lovely little traditionelle restaurant on the Isle of St Louis where we were again tempted and sucuumbed to the onion soup gratinee. Duck and quiche followed, duly posted on facebook to ensure the followers were not left hungry.

The long walk home was uneventful with no sign of the mad woman.

The photo upload to the blog has been excruciatingly slow, hence there has not been many over the past week. Our appologies.
THURSDAY 14TH JUNE2012

Our last morning started bright and early with all the alarms going off at 6:30 and 6:32. Last minute packing and breakfast (sans croissants) and we kissed under the door archway before closing the door for the last time. Guy went with all the luggage in the lift and Caroline took the 139 steps down to level 0. Ten minutes later we were on the crowded and humid Metro to Chatelet where we we switched lines for Gare du Nord (Ga du Nor is the pronunciation). A couple of pastries and hot drinks later we were ready for our trip. It was an interesting start as some police had taken the seats of other passengers and that started the ball rolling with everyone else taking other's seats for the whole trip to Amsterdam. The whole trip was good, we had a better window now facing the direction of travel, and apart from one other customer who found his seat taken and the conductor to pacify him, very uneventful.

Arrived`at Amsterdam Centraal Station, which is massive and undergoing renovations still.

Once we had deposited some of the luggage in a locker, we managed to escape the crowds and find our way out into the glorious sunshine.

Adele had arranged for us to meet at a restaurant opposite the station, which we did. We did so much walking at the station that the rest on the terrace over a canal was just the solution. Such a change from the manic happenings across the road.

We had a nice lunch together, enjoying the sun and watching the tour boats pass.

Then it was a tour boat for us, they go for an hour so good for us. Guy got to see a good selection of the waterways of Amsterdam this way, starting of with the IJ, Amstel river and various canals of all sizes. The boat operator was top notch getting through all the tiny turns and bridges without flaw. We saw a lot in that one hour without any walking and lots of interesting things to look at. Guy took almost 200 photos in that one session.

It was absolutely brilliant to break up all our traveling for the day. Next it was on a train back to Schiphol the airport and collecting our tax, shop and check in. Now we are another day later and in Malaysia, waiting for our connecting flight to Melbourne.

11th June 2012

After a fairly relaxing morning in the appartment, we set off for Versailles, we walked to Gare Austerlitz to catch the regional train (RER). No waiting and a very quiet train. It was quiet even at our destination - picking up some paninis in the little villag, it was a fantastic little shop, the queue was out the door and all the display shelves were full of amazing looking deserts - then past the stables for the main event. It was all a French experience after that, just like the river bus the day before, just sorry but walk now, we can't do anything else ... the same here at Versailles, we could have had the afternoon looking around the extensive grounds, as they are free and open, instead we were advised by the gendarme on duty that Musee D'Orsay was open go see that!!! We did only to find that the place was closed as was the entire nearby neighbourhood!

Good tip for Paris is to remember that Monday's is usually CLOSED!!!

We did find that we were close by to Deux Magots and decided on a hot chocolat there, which we did. The waiter was friendly and efficient. A nearby family were having issues with the toddler, and on their way out we noticed that the little one was holding onto a nice glass from the cafe! Luckily mum noticed in time and hurriedly rescued said glass to return it to the table. We all had a good laugh. We took to some of the smaller streets on the way back to the river, which were beautiful as well as the usual funny array of strange buildings. The strangest thing was that most of the cobble stones around the Latin Quarter have disappeared!

On the way home we found another crepe and a rest at the appartment, before the evening out in a nice little french restaurant.



We had chosen Tire-Bouchon (means Corkscrew) in Rue Mouftard for its authentic menu and the fact it was the smallest restaurant in France. We ordered from the generous fixed price menus and the food was absolutely superb. Caroline had the onion soup gratinee and Guy had the biggest seafood salad in history as entree. Next came the pasta with 4 frommages and according to Guy the duck was just caught it was so tasty.

Desert was accompanied by candles and a happy birthday song and champagne courtesy of the owner. The Aussies on the next table joined in. It was a fabulous night and the creme brulee was sparkling.








WEDNESDAY 12/6/2012

Today we started early for the RER and had more success as the Chateau Versailles, it was open! And man what a crowd. Almost the entire courtyard in front of the gates were full of people snaked around waiting to get in. Guy had to run to get our tickets as we didn't realise that that was yet another queue. It was cold and rainy and eventually we did get in. It was rather challenging to get decent photos when you have to dodge the tour groups and school groups. The collection was a bit different this time and though there are still renovations happening, most seems to have been completed. At least we got into the hall of mirrors this time and it was amazing! Guy was disappointed that his all time favourite painting, the magnificent victory of Jaques Marteland his 10,000 Franks at Poitiers in 732 AD against the 40,000 Moors had been moved to another musuem, hopefully the D'Orcay. :(

It was much better outside, we caught the little train up the other end of the extensive grounds to find ourselves to find Marie Antoinette's house and gardens. A first for me as last time we didn't have the energy to do it at all last time (just managed to walk there and have a look through the fence! Then stagger all the way back!)

Both of the palaces there and the grounds were beautiful and the train was fantastic despite the drivers being rather grumpy and tired.

We left Versailles at6pm and caught the RER back to Sainte Michel where we nicked into a nice little bistro where the obligatory reclette with a stupid half warm heater and all day cooked burgogne was quickly consumed. We checked the size of the deserts being handed out and decided to have a crepe Nutella, a emporter (takeaway) from a little man's shop in Rue Sainte Genevieive le Montagne. Good choice and soon we were trodding and munching away toward the Franprix supermarket to get some yoghurt. Next task was to do the laundry but as it was after 9pm the rotten computer would not start the wash. Defeated we returned to the appartment.

SATURDAY 9TH JUNE

In the morning we headed to Isle de Cite, which lies in the Seine River nexto Isle St Louis, in the middle of all the ancient buildings in the Latin Quarter and Hotel d'Ville and the Louvre on the other side of the river. It was Notre-Dame that we had a look at first and managed to beat the crowd, though there were a major number that had made it there before us! It is a very special place. We headed back to the appartment, via Le Petit Cafe for a hot chocolate and to pick up jackets (the weather was a bit dubious) and to Rue St Germaine-des-Prey, where the 2 famous restaurants Cafe de Flore and Deux Margots lie side by side. 

On this occasion we were to meet Mary (my cousin) and Robert (her partner) at Cafe de Flore, we found a table on the first floor. It is a very classy place, the window outside has masses of flowers and plants growing, so you can't see anything else. The menu comes in a booklet and one of the bottles of Champagne on offer would set you back 2,500 euros. The waiters I think were failed actors, they had the attitude of the place. We shared a nice lunch however and it was nice to celebrate 2 birthdays on this occasion (both on Monday). To think that you can organise this from opposite sides of the world and get together just like that, in a foreign city to all of us. They had further plans involving bikes.


We went on to explore the St Germaine. Had a look around Isle the city, at shops and had a crepe from one of the vendors in the street behind Notre Dame, sat in the gardens behind the Cathedral and watched all the pidgeons bullying each other and one sparrow took off with the tough bit of biscuit that the others had been fighting over for ages! Our route home is quite fun, so many things to look at. The little greek creperie was in full swing again, queue down the street.

As the conditions were dry we went up a few streets that lead off from the route and are full of restaurants of all varieties. Dinner was at home, as we had done a shop in the morning.

SUNDAY 10/6/12

Today we decided on the cruise, though it was more of a hop on, hop off boat. It was called the batobus. It went from Jardin Les Plantes to the Eiffel tower, with stops along the way. It was a nice cruise to the Eiffel tower. We headed to Trocadero first for some croissants and look around, this was one of Guy's original stamping grounds.

The queue was already growing when we got back and some lifts not working. We did end up with some tickets to the top and requiring some lifts from level 2, initally it was up many, many stairs. It was the first time that either of us had done the river trip and go up to the top of the Eiffel.

The weather was overcast but not raining, perfect for viewing and photos. The view was very different then from level 2, for example the Sacre Coeur was very hard to see from the very top as it blends in with whatever is behind it. We explored the place extensively, there are many renovations happening at the moment as well, so some parts were not available.

Back on ground level we found a little cafe called Gustave where we had more onion soup. The waiter was very jolly and friendly. Our boat was just pulling in when we arrived back on the dock and we got off at Musee d'Orsay, which is close to Champs Elysees.

A Paul's had a littte cafe in Rue Franklin D Roosevelt, with really nice hot chocolate and macaroons and cake. At this stage the rain was beginning and we thought catching the boat back would be nice and we did get back to the Eiffel (as it was part of the route to get back home), and even left there, before the boat did a turn and went back. Confusion reigned and lots of talk of police not allowing boats to dock and accidents, and eventually about a car ending up in the river. Of course at the 3 stops that interested us. There was delay and delay but eventually they set sail and we headed to St Germaine-des-Pres. We walked in the rain via the docks and found that the Sud market was finishing up and Guy enquired of some vendors back up at street level about their apricots and cherries. He carted home 2 KG of both worth 4 euros total! Yum. They go really well with the Sauvignon wine we still have of the Chateau Dame Blanche.

　

8/6/2012

Our first full day in Paris. Had breakfast at the appartment then to our new highway to the Seinne. There was a market on, so did the quick buy of essentials and drop those off, then out again to our destination, which was Sameritain, apparently a wonderful shopping centre. However it was closed due to renovations. Guy was very disappointed. It was fun walking along all the little and bigger streets, ; along the Seine We headed for Hotel de Ville which was also a big Myer/bunnings/ etc type everything store. We found the Le Crurset and a few other items. Then carrying the things back with us, we found a carry bag (also to be used for onboard the flight home), which came is handy at this time. We had more stops, for lunch at a creperie with about 50+ items on their menu all crepes! Hot chocolate at St Louis, Melissa, it still tastes amazing!
After dinner we walked up our streets again to check out the restaurants and dodge the intermittant rain. Such awesome vibes there. A little greek shop, constantly overflowing with customers outside. They must do an amazing wrap or something. We haven't been able to get close to it yet. From our street you cross a rue Claude Bernard then follow the road of the fountains, 3 in total on the way up. And such a lively scene. We love the area already.

THURSDAY 7TH JUNE

The rotten alarm went off an hour early so it was up and at em to clean the appartment and leave it nice for the next people moving in. Second task was to go down to La Poste at Sainte Project in Sainte Christoly and get the second box of stuff out of our hair and onto Australie. Sainte Project was Cardinal Project who was murdered in 694 AD. Guy had phoned work before breakfast to find out that the box sent from Biarritz a week earlier had arrived there. Once the second one was despatched we breated a 7kg siigh of relief and went to Place Saint Christoly for a coffee.

Next task to get our tram tickets and back to the appartment via Paul's to get our baguettes for lunch and for late afternoon tea on the TGV. Fully provisioned we tackled the floating floor boards and we soon had them shinning like new. One of the owners popped into the open door to ask us to knock on the door before we left. When we did we spent some time over a coffee and hot chocolate to talk about the big development behind the apartments. Poor things had been worried about the big machines outside destroying the old warehouse adjacent thinking we would complain about the noise and move out. Nothing further from the truth.

We departed and headed toward the river to get our tram to St Jean Gare. We waited in the lounge watching the other TER and TGV trains coming and going and soon ours arrived from Hendaye on the Spanish border and we acquired out seats in first class from Madam espagnola who thought she could have them as well as her own. Not with this black duck squadron onboard. It was superb trip back to Paris taking in all the vastness of the country side at high speed in the midst of polishing off all the food and the new deserts from the iDZap Zazosa dinning car. What the heck does that mean - its not even French!! Mon Dieu.

Arrived incident free at Montparnasse at 6:41 and onto the no91 bus headed east for the Latin quarter. 20 minutes later we arrived at the appartment block and after stuffing up the entry codes the owner came down to help us get into the building.

This place is right in the loft of the roof - delightful views over everything.

A walk to the Seine and Notre Dame was compulsory and so was a visit to the island based hotel Caroline stayed at last time she was there. On Isle de Cite.

We had dinner at a lovely little Auberge de Moulin, that makes traditionelle food and the waiters wear white shirts and black aprons and berets and speak their own french lingo that no one else can comprehend. But who cares eh?

Afterwards we walked back from Notre Dame to the appartment down a 2 km street FULL of restaurants most of which were completely full. It ends us running into the roundabout that our street shares and the roundabout is surrounded by all sorts of market shops during the day. Should be fun shopping here for the essentials. It is the Uni zone, so lots of young people here.

5/6/2012

Bordeaux. It's all about tastes and flavours. 1. Caramel Beure Sale best on crepes (also with cinnamon apple and chantilly cream) and in ice cream.

 2. Mimolette, an orange coloured cheese; croissants; baguettes; raclette; chocolatines; chocolat (actual or hot to drink). Where ever we go there is more to try.

We did the rounds again today, looked at some of the ports, walked across the Garonne, ate at Noonies, which was a lovely little cafe in the avenue Tiers up from the bridge St Pierre.

It was all so very lovely. Found the Place de Quinconces which is in a really nice area, admired many nice fountains, buildings and churches. Checked in at the Information again and booked ourselves in for a winery tour of the Medoc tomorrow morning. which will be awesome, one has a 13th century cellar. Currently resting and will anticipate an early night.

Wednesday 6/6/2012

What an awesome morning. We rocked up nice and early for our tour at the Tourist Information Office, which was full of people in happy anticipation. We noted that there was no little bus waiting as yet. it did turn up eventually, late due to traffic conditions. Boris was our man, and we were in a group of 8. 2 from Brasil; 2 from British Columbia, Canada; one from USA and 3 of us from Australia. It was a nice group of different ages and we were soon on our way to the first winery which was Chateau du Taillan.

A very old cellar, still in use today. The girl Emeline took us around the workings of how wines are created there, then for some yummy tastings. Bordeaux is mainly a red wine only area, but the 2 wineries we went to today all had some while Sauvignon as well. And they were beautiful, it was the best Sauvignon Blanc I've had, the chateau Red, maninly Merlot grapes was awesome as well.

Next Boris came to collect us for Chateau Paloumey, which had a cheese and wine pairing session. A quick look at their many barrels (each holding about 300 bottles worth), then down to the main event.

Set up on the first floor with magnificent views of the vineyard, Beatrice gave us a very lifely introdution to what we were about to taste, 4 different cheeses with 4 of the chateau wines. Each with their particular area appelations and hence characteristics and tastes. It was tremendous fun and we had fun eating all the cheese with the wines, a boutique bread was there for accompaniement. We were full by the end, but we know why we love the french wines and cheeses, there is no comparison.

Back home it was to climb the Pey-Berland Tower of Sainte Andre's 231 steps, which gave a fantastic view of the city.

A bit more of a walk about and out for dinner in the Place St Pierre, which was full of tables and chairs for dinner, great little spot.

Just around the corner of our favorite Crepe shop.

I was totally stunned when we had another look at the river to notice logs and debris floating up the river at a very rapid rate, but in totally the opposite direction to yesterday! The river is totally tidal and has very fast running currents depending on the time of day, as to which way. A quick walk through Place de Quinconnes and we were back to our apartment before sunset.

3RD June 2012 Sunday

We had a very special day here in Lourdes, in the rain and amazing conditions here at the Grotto, St Bernadette's crypt and the Baths. The place is enormous and so many people from all over the world, many wishing healing come with their attendants and in groups of their country of origin.

We attended Mass at 8:30 in the rain by the Grotto.  The rain didnt deter the hundreds who gathered there or walked past and spent a moment or longer in their own thoughts.  We then went shopping for some special remembrance items and it was also essential to have a hot chocolate and pancake to stave off hunger at the Dutch restaurant.  Back at the hotel Ibis we unloaded and had a cat nap before heading off for a particularly tasty baguette on our way to a special individual attendance near the Grotto.

It was time after that for some wandering around the upper streets before stopping at the L'European bistro for a three course meal.  A quick walk around the upper part of Lourdes revealed some great views of the castle nearby and some special houses built in grander times.  We sent to the evening session of the movie "Je m'appele Bernadette" which should be suggested viewing for everyone on how to maintain your convictions in the face of adversity.  We were the only ones in the theatre given it was so late and most of the tourists were tucked up in bed at such a late hour.  Made it more special. 

MONDAY 4th June

Primary task was to get some more water from the Grotto and on the way we passed yesterday’s brekky spot and we got a big hello from Madame there.  After refilling our bottles we took some last photos and got some croissants and something hot to drink and some take away for the train trip. We boarded our train to Bordeaux in plenty of time and got window seats facing south toward the mountains.  Once we had passed the hills blocking the view of the snow we got some pics and movie clips as the train sped quickly along the river toward our new place of abode for 3 days.  We left Lourdes with special memories and experiences.

Once at Bordeaux we stepped into lunch across the road from the St Jean Gare.  A simple affair of baguettes and beer – par excellence.  We hopped on a tram which is identical to the yellow tram in Melbourne with identical met tickets and in 10 minutes we were at the old Bordeaux part of town with its stunning buildings and vast pedestrian street network.  Here parking is authorisee, with the emphasis on authorisee.  We collected a map at the Tourisme office and soon arrived at our apartment building together with its 2 person and 2 suitcase lift.  To greet us on the 4^th floor was Mnsr Robin’s wife and he arrived soon after.  They are such lovely people and did not ask us for a security deposit.  Guy’s terrible French ( which in current French is excellent ) helped to concrete an excellent deal.  We put the washing on and headed out for a self guided tour of the main part of town. 

We headed south along out street Rue Sainte Catherine, a beautiful pedestrian mall that stretches from the rear of Place de Bourse alongside the river to almost near St Jean Gare.  At the end we turned left to find ourselves in the boonies so we headed toward the river and passed through some lovely squares full of cafes, people and landmarks.  We also discovered a 14^th century churches, St Paul and Sainte Croix, and St Michel’s Basillica from the same era undergoing renovations on a grand scale.  We shifted to the riverside boulevard and approaching it we were surprised by several police cars and armed gendarmes on foot converging on the street.  We quickly took stage left and when well away we turned around to find all the Algerian men in the area pouring out of coffee shops to watch the cops in action.  It was so funny to watch them behaving like little kids ( like we used to) and they were all double guessing who was in trouble.  We found out way back to our street and went home to change shoes.  We then found a wonderful supermarket recommended by the apartment owners and bought some goodies for dinner and the next few days. 

Apres dinner demanded a good walk down to the river to take some photos at the Place de Bourse and its famous mirror stone lake.  Fortune had it that the full moon was rising just above one of the stunning bridges and Guy spent many minutes perfecting his impossible photo opportunity.  That done we found another great spot, part of the original wall that was preserved as a gate to the city.  It was 30 metres high and built to celebrate victory by Bordeaux over the Italians in the 15^th century.  On the way home we found a nice glacerie and munched on that until out apartment door appeared.  Guy was still taking night shots.

By popular demand we added a photo of glace eating as depicted in this classique shot of Guy in Montagnac at the Glaces de lasceaux shop - superb

FRIDAY 1ST JUNE 2012

Today was a particularly good day to go to St jean de Luz because we had passed it twice on the San Sebastian trip and because Louis XIV had his pre marriage house then in the 16th Century. A fast 10 minute 3.5Euro trip on the superb TGV and we were soon alighting and winding our way through the lovely town streets to Les Halles. They were still operating but in the process of packing up for the day. We walked to the sea front and instantly fell in love with the place with its enclosed bay, thanks to Napeleon III who converted it from a swamp to a beautiful protected environment. There were restaurants everywhere, full of people having seafood lunches and houses immediately behind the massive sea walls and beach areas. The town also has a protected harbour for the fishing and sailing fleets that operate out of the place.

We visited the Church of St Jean the Baptiste and it was by far the most decorated altar we have seen on this holiday to the point of being breath-taking. A funeral had been held there earlier and the visitors had respectfully stayed away until the finish and departure. We had lunch at a small restaurant in the central area and then headed for Loius' house. Caroline had a guided tour while Guy cruised the outside taking free photos of the square and the boats. After buying a couple of cards and a Victorinox army knife as memoirs we headed back to the Gare and caught the 5:30 back to paradise.

The first thing we thought of was a swim and then a baguette dinner to finish off the ham and the stinky Norman brie. Delicious!. The water was cold but refreshing and we just sat on the beach watching the amazing sunset and cloud formations. Packing was a sad affair but we are lucky that other stuff is on its way to Australie otherwise big trouble in the space department.

We said au revoir to Biarritz with this stunning sunset.

SATURDAY 2ND JUNE

Up bright and early in the humidity of the day before the alarm at 7 and we quickly gave the apartment another quick clean and polish to ensure that we got our 'caution' returned to us. Breakfast partly consumed we headed for Les Halles where our Artisan Boulangerie awaited with fresh croissant du buerre and some fizzy water from Carrefor's supermarket. Now we were ready for the hot drinks at the Milwaukee Cafe. We got chatting to the American women there to discover that they had been at Les Halles since October last year. The mother had married a man from Biarrtiz 30 years ago and the daughter had recently arrived from a two year stint in Australia. Unprompted she said that Melbourne was her favourite city in the whole world. It goes to show that when a girl from Milwaukee USA thinks our city is fantastic then we have got it pretty good. 

Next stop was the little church next to the market where we spent some time. Back to the appartment where Nathalie soon arrived and she was as pleased as punch that everything was as clean as when we arrived even to the point of discovering lemons in the fridge to remove the odour of the Normandy brie. She drove us all the way to Bayonne gare and a couple of chocolatines and some fruit later our train sped off toward Lourdes.

We have arrived. Hot and muggy when we left and the same here at the feet of the Pyranees. We spotted snow covered mountains in the distance from the train. It was a nice journey, surrounded by Basque French and pure French people. They were all about kidding about the food and each other and even the conductress got into the act. In typical fashion the people next to us brought out their knives to cut up their baguettes and sausages.

Guy had put his Victorinox away in the suitcase otherwise he would have cut himslef a piece of dried Toulouse straight away. We had a great chat in French to one woman who joined us in Pau. Heading straight towards the mountains with babbling river alongside the train track. Just beautiful. It was a quick exit at the station and we were at our destination. We had lunch at Le Navarre (Spanish influence?) which was really nice, finally Caroline had a french onion soup and Guy his Casoullet Toulouse. There were many shops in the street leading to the Basillica of the Immaculate Conception and all of its associated churches both above and below the grounds. Words and photos are unable to describe the artistic and religious significance of this place and the sense of peace opitamised by the beautiful flowing river of clean cold water from the melting ice of the Pyrennes above us. Thousands of people are here on pilgrimage particularly the sick who are seeking spiritual comfort. We visited the book store where we found some literature on St Bernadette. After 6pm we headed back up the hill, stopping for a quick pasta before have a much needed two hour sleep. It has been a long but elevating day.