Paris again and again
While Doug was busy at school with projects, assignments and interviews Sarah and her mom were soaking up the rays walking around Paris on Thursday and Friday afternoons. Thursday was Notre Dame down to the Louvre and even inside it this time ( check out the line to see the Mona Lisa - and she isn't even pretty! was that uncultured to say?).
and then on Friday it was the Eiffel Tower and a boat ride down the Seine.
Burgundy
On Tuesday/Wednesday Sarah and her mom went to the Burgundy wine region. Really the only thing there is wine - every second shop is either a wine cave or specialty store. So they drove through the vineyards; beautiful country...
On the way home was an old restored abby... and then the A6, not quite as nice as the little country roads that were had been on til that point.
Dordogne - Part 2
Before driving home on Sunday we went to see cave man art in the only original cave painting left in France that is open to tourists (all the others have been closed down due to conservation and this one only allows in limited numbers each day and they keep an eye on temperatures and humidity to help preserve the paintings). The entire tour was in French so Doug had to act as interpreter for us whispering throughout the whole thing with everyone kinda giving us weird looks except the other English person who kept trying to stand closer to us to hear too! So the interesting thing was that they really can't tell much about the paintings and the scientists are just making educated guesses to age and how they were painted.
(we couldn't take photos in the cave but I bought some postcards to scan in - will come soon)
Then we went to a Troglodyte Chateau. It was a weird combination of cave house and nice chateau, some rooms were like caves and others looked like you were in a normal chateau. I guess at some point the noble of the area decided that living in a chateau was better then living in a cave...
Dordogne - Part 1
Doug had Friday off of school so we took off to the Dordogne region and found a place to stay in this cool little town hanging onto the cliff side.
On Saturday morning we went for a boat ride down the Dordogne river, a different perspective on the castles. The guide was interesting and told us about the area and the how it was in the middle ages. (Imagine having to tow a 35000 kg boat up river by hand on muddy tow paths)
Then it was a close up look at one of the castles,
Castlenord. It had a whole display on the weapons of the middle ages - they don't seem so terrible considering the chances of hitting something with any of them seems pretty slim!
Next on our list of things to do was to see a cave, so we chose one that included a boat ride through on an underground river,
Gouffre de Padirac, very neat but we decided not to pay the 8euro for the picture (although I am now wishing we had).
Then we crisscrossed our way through the valley to the town where we were planning on spending the night, and found a cute hotel a good meal and called it a day.
A Visit From Home
Sarah's mom flew in last night and to get her into the French spirit we had a home cooked chicken cordon blue dinner complete with French wine and a fresh baguette from the local boulangerie.
On the agenda for today was a drive out to see
Chateau Chambord (no time to get over jet lag when you come to visit us!). It is an awesome chateau, an old hunting lodge on 5440 hectares enclosed in 32km of wall, with 77 staircases 282 fireplaces, 426 rooms (but only 80 are open to the public) and the famous double helix staircase possibly designed by da Vinci.
Was it just Easter?
With no long weekend for Doug and every weekend being a long weekend for Sarah, it just didn't feel like Easter. But the weather was fantastic so we spent Saturday with friends Tony, Kyle and AK in Paris - their only chance to see the city before heading back to Singapore for the last period.
With what some might consider poor priorities we were not willing to stand in line for an hour to go up the Eiffel Tower but we were willing to stand in line for half an hour for an ice cream cone (but it was good ice cream)!
Next time I am seeing the city this way - much easier!
Sunday was a late start but when we did eventually get up we went for a run/bike in the forest, which was mobbed - we have never seen so many cars or people in our little village. I guess that is what we get for living in a great location, everyone comes to visit! The weekend finished with dinner at the local creperie with some friends. One funny thing I should mention though is that when we went to the creperie earlier in the day to make a reservation we asked what time they were open until. As a response we got "until people stop coming - well what time would you like to come?"
Fine Settimana
This weekend was a busy one. It has been Italian week this past week with lots of activities going on that went on through the weekend as well.
Friday night was a dinner with one of Doug's work groups (ok nothing to do with Italian week but that's coming up...) But it ended up with 12 of us and very little talk about any school projects. The restaurant was in a little village near by right on the river with a live Jazz band playing, a good start to the weekend...
Saturday was the Italian World Cup of Soccer. Both of us played on Team Americas (North, Central and South America all on one team) We did well, beating Africa, Italy and England, and ending up in the final against Africa. It was a tie game that we lost in the shoot out. After one of the first games when we had to wear vests, due to both teams being the same colour, we decided it was lucky to wear them; although we looked more like a highway crew then a soccer team.
Then that night was the big Italian Party out at a chateau about 20 min away. They had free flowing drinks, a DJ and a great location. Apparently lots of the Insead parties are held at this chateau (because no one else wants us!?) so I am sure we will be back again.
Sunday was The Grand Prix. Go-karting on an outdoor track on a sunny hot afternoon. There were 18 teams of 6 that competed in a 75min time trial. A blast!
and then on Friday it was the Eiffel Tower and a boat ride down the Seine.
