Paris

One advantage of traveling for an extended period is that one is able to spend time in one area which allows you to get a real feel for the life and pace of a particular region.  Virginia and I really enjoyed our time in the Dordogne.   The Dordogne reminded me of home.  Lush, green rolling hills and a slower pace made for a wonderful week.

Following our week in the Dordogne we dropped our rental car off and it was back to rail travel for the Henderson/Avery family.  For a family of four with all too many bags the one announcement you do not want to hear is “pour votre connection, prenez le tunnel sous terrain.”  Unfortunately that was the order of the day again for our connection to Paris but we made it through the hectic transfer.

We were very excited to be heading off to Paris as we were meeting two of Virginia’s friends for the week in the City of Lights.  Grace and Lily love it when we have visitors from Canada as it offers a change of pace from hanging out with mom and dad every day.  For Virginia and I it is awesome as the girls are much more willing to tag along on a cultural outing if we have company.

We rented an apartment one block from the Louvre in the center of Paris.  The location couldn’t be beat.  It was a little noisy being right in the thick of things but after the first night, I became quite acclimatized to the traffic noise.  Staying in the first Arrondisment also allowed us to walk everywhere which gave us a great understanding of Paris’ streets.

Our first full day was spent wandering the streets with stops at Musée L’Orangerie, another visit to the Laduree macaroon restaurant and climbing all the stairs to get to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to get a different perspective of Paris.  We all found L’Orangerie to be an extremely peaceful gallery.  The girls loved Monet’s “Les Nymphéas”.

Our original plan for Tuesday was to catch the train to Versailles but as a result of major train delays, we decided a change was in order after spending an hour on a platform.  We headed over to the Musée D’Orsay.  Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone had the same idea as us and the lines to enter the museum were immense.  I managed to find a sympathetic ear and the six of us were skirted in a side entrance avoiding the droves of tourists standing in the rain.  This was probably my favourite gallery that I have seen in Europe.  Seeing a multitude of works from artists such as Van Gogh, Gauguin, Degas, Cézanne and Monet made for an amazing afternoon.

Wednesday we made the trek out to Versaille which was quite impressive.  Once again I headed to a secret door and presto we bypassed the masses once again.  The scale of Versailles is overwhelming as well as the number of visitors that you share the experience with.  This was one day that I decided that I had had enough of traveling.

Thursday, the 14th of July was Bastille day and though we decided against going to watch the parade we were lucky enough to have all of the jets go right over our apartment.  We also witnessed a bit of the celebrations as all of the tanks, motorcycles and armoured vehicles went whipping by our residence.

Our friend Bobbi had come prepared with a list of activities to do.  July 14th was spent ticking off a couple of them as we had a great lunch on the very cute Rue Cler and then a wonderful picnic dinner with the rest of the parisian crowd on the banks of the Seine.

That night we enjoyed the summer evening in the Jardiin Des Tulieres, appreciating the sunset and then watching the fireworks display beside the Eiffel tower.  It was one of those moments where I had to sit back and I realized just how lucky we have been this year.

We spent Friday relaxing and celebrating my 44th birthday.  What a great day it was, capped off by what Bobbi declared as the best birthday cake she had ever had.  Doesn’t get much better than that.

On Sunday, the 17th of July, we left Bobbi, Wendy and Paris and made our way to  Brittany for our last adventure.

Dordogne

After we left the Club Med, we rented a car and headed off for the Dordogne region of France.  We had read that in order to be able to properly see the area, one needed a car, and it was evident to us pretty soon that indeed a car was a must.  We stayed on the hill of the medieval town of Limeuil in a cozy 2 bedroom house with private garden, just outside of the gates of The Panoramic Gardens of Limeuil that gave us our first views of the valley below where the Dordogne and Vézère rivers meet.    We did the children’s self-guided tour of the gardens and learned a little more about the medieval times as a result.

However, the main reason we wanted to visit this region wasn’t only for its medieval history.  This region has an amazing concentration of  prehistoric paleolithic cave art dating back some 14,000 to 19,000 years or so.  Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside of the caves, but I’m sure googling the cave names will give you some images if you are curious.

The first cave we visited was Font-de-Gaume which is the last cave with polychrome (more than one colour) paintings still open to the public.  The number of visitors per day is limited (only 180 visitors per day) so Barry had booked our tour beforehand.  

The Grotte du Sorcier was very close to where we stayed and had a very interesting setting with medieval buildings nestled right next to the cliff .  Here there was a small, but interesting museum and a small cave with several carvings, the most famous being one of a man that has been named the sorcerer.  Apparantly, carvings or paintings of people are quite rare.

We next visited the Grotte de Rouffignac which was a big hit for all of us.  We got to travel deep into the cave by electric train and saw  cave drawings of rhinoceros, mammoths, horses and ibex.  They were truly spectacular to see and, to me, looked as though they could have been sketched the week before we came.  We also saw many  claw marks and holes in the floor of the cave where prehistoric bears spent their winters hibernating.

The next day I promised everyone a day off from cave visiting, so instead we took a short canoe trip down the Dordogne river and then visited the town of La Roque Gageac where we enjoyed lunch at lovely little restaurant.  So far, this town ranks number 1 for the most picturesque town I have seen anywhere in the world.  Grace thought I was exaggerating, but even now no cuter town comes to mind.

I wasn’t quite done with the cave exploring however, and the next day we drove out to visit Lascaux ll, a reproduction of the most famous prehistoric cave in the world.  The original cave was found in the 1940’s by 4 teenage boys walking in the woods with their dog “Robot” after Robot disappeared down a hole (Grace was surprised the guide didn’t fill us in on whether or not Robot was hurt!).  They followed their dog down and were awed at what they saw.  Their pact to keep their new-found cave a secret lasted a mere 3 days before informing the village teacher.  I can’t imagine how thrilling it would have been to have been the first humans to see this art in some 15-18 thousand years!  (I was thrilled enough getting whisked through the copy cave with a large group of fellow tourists. ) Unfortunately, in the years following the discovery throngs of people, up to 1200 visitors a day, subsequently visited the cave breathing out lots of carbon dioxide and raising the cave temperature causing damage to the paintings.  Consequently, it was closed to the public in 1963 and a reproduction (accurate to within several mm) constructed 200 metres from the authentic Lascaux and this is where we visited.  Admittedly, we almost didn’t bother with this visit seeing it wasn’t the real thing, but we are so glad that we did as it was truly impressive.  After exiting, even the two girls thought they would like to go right back in and see it one more time.

2 of the discoverers, now well into their 80’s, are still living  and make a trip every year to the cave on the anniversary of the discovery.  I am assuming they are some of the priveleged few who still get to see the original.  

We ended our visit to this area with a walk around the medieval section of the city of Sarlat.  Although this area of France takes a bit of effort to get, to we would definitely visit again.

Club Med

On June 26th, after just over 10 months in Avignon, the four of us packed up and left our apartment for the final adventures that awaited us in France.  Our first stop was Club Med located in Royan on the west coast of France for a family reunion.  

The morning of the 26th started off inauspiciously as even though we had sent 5 suitcases ahead of us to Club Med, our remaining luggage would not fit into our friends car for the trip to the train station.  After multiple attempts at rearranging the same luggage into the same trunk space, we eventually managed to close the hatch and with a carry-on suitcase on each lap off to the train station we went.  While waiting for the train, Virginia and I stared at our pile of bags and wondered aloud how on earth we were going to manage the 8 hour train trip that included 1300 kilometres of travel, 2 train connections (one in Paris that required changing stations, the second in Angouleme that gave us 6 minutes to transfer trains), 4 very tired individuals and our seven pieces of luggage.  Needless to say it was time to reevaluate our luggage situation.  The first item not to make the cut was my one euro tool kit that I had purchased at a flea market held each Sunday not far from our apartment.  Though very much a symbolic gesture, leaving that small tool kit on a bench at the train station in Avignon has made it easier for me to jettison items at each stop over the last month, lightening our load ever so slightly.

The voyage to Royan was not enjoyable.  Each time we would get on or off the train, the blood would leave all my extremities as I put on a brave face for the family.  Externally I was calming Grace’s worries over missing our connection whilst internally I was as nervous as a grade 8 student on the first day of high school.   Verbally I was voicing “Don’t worry it will be no problem” whilst my mind was questioning how on earth would we be able to load and unload all our stuff during each 2 minute station stop. Fortunately at each stop there were people willing to readily help us and we made all our connections.  The closest call was in Angouleme when our train arrived 10 minutes late for our 6 minute connection but luckily they held the train for us and two train attendants helped us carry our load down and up the stairs.  As I calmly and slowly unloaded our baggage into the sweltering 38 degree heat at the Royan train station (the terminus of the train so no more worries), Virginia looked at me and softly said “never again.”

We arrived at the Club Med and I felt immediate relief as almost my entire family was there to greet us.  Each summer the Henderson family has a reunion with the siblings each taking their turn in choosing the local for the get together.  This year my brother Paul decided it was time to raise the bar and suggested everyone make the trip to Europe.  In all 14 members of the Henderson clan made the trek to Royan.

Club Med was my first experience with an all inclusive resort and I must say that I think that it will not be my last.  You literally don’t have to think about anything except for which of the 6 plats du jour you are going to eat.  We lazed around the pool (except when it was time for Aquagym and then I went for it!), went down to the beach, played tennis, had great family time, visited the neighbouring zoo, had some great bike trips, and ate and drank like kings (queens and princesses as well!).  Lily loved the independence the buffet afforded her.  One lunch she proudly returned to the table with a bowl of ice cream in each hand, saying that she had troubles deciding on vanilla or chocolate so she made the obvious choice and went with the double.  It was so much fun watching the girls spend such quality time with their extended family.   The only downside of the trip was my all inclusive experience came with a bit of food poisoning (thogh it was probably was the rotten apricot that I had brought from Avignon), but after a couple days in bed I was as good as new.   I was quite sad that my bout of sickness prevented me from obtaining my Club Med aquafit participation medal.  

For the four of us it was an incredible week spent with my parents, my two brothers and their families.  Virginia, I and the girls had been feeling quite homesick in June and seeing my family really made it possible to carry on with our adventure and fully enjoy our last five weeks in France.  It truly was a spectacular week.  Thanks mom and dad for making it all possible.

Lily and Grace at the zoo!

Lily was able to get a little closer to the animals than we North Americans are used to.

Grace and Lily just after their Spectacle!

Virginia and the girls had some great bike rides in the surrounding area.

My parents enjoying one of the amazing appetizer plates!

The girls both had lots of fun preparing for the kid's spectacle on the Thursday of our sejour.  They are both looking forward to returning home and beginning dance lessons again.

At the end of each evening all the kids would get up on stage and dance along to the oldie but goodie "Hey Baby!"  Three weeks later and Lily and Grace still do the dance at least once a day.

Au revoir

Things I won’t miss about my life in Avignon:

1.  le Bokaos:  cette boîte de nuit = pain in the butt

2.  dog poo (in fact, there's a whole post separate that could be written on this subject....)

3.  wicker furniture

4.  certain smelly streets

5.  the daily 5:30 am garbage pick-up right outside our window

6  “production écrite” french exams



Things I’ll miss about my life in Avignon:

1.  the sunshine

2.  spending two hours during midi as a family every school day

3.  being able to walk (while the girls scooter) everywhere

4.  hearing the girls speak French daily with their french friends

5.  the view of the Palais de Papes from the other side of the Rhône River

6.  working on homework or reading while sitting at a café drinking excellent coffee


And, lastly and mostly, those lovely residents of Avignon that welcomed the Canadian family into their homes; sharing their culture, their families and their lives with us.  Their generosity was certainly more than we could have wished for and I will always feel grateful to each and every one for making our year that much more enriching.  A year ago, Avignon was a far away dot on a map and, besides a few interesting pictures on the internet, really an unknown.  Now we know its streets, shops, cafés, tourist sites, university, opera house, weekly newspapers and its bus routes.  But most importantly, the faces, names, relationships, dreams, complexities, histories and stories that we learnt while getting to know some of its inhabitants is what has forever made Avignon a meaningful place to us.  Bises and au revoir to our Avignon friends!

                             

People were so generous with having us over one last time before our departure.  Above are some of the special meals we were treated to - from Moroccan coucous we all ate from the same bowl, to a feast of cheeses and wines (including a plate of plain ol' cheddar the hosts had bought especially to humour us).

Mont Ventoux

I have two childhood memories that always come to mind on pre-dawn wakings.  I’m not referring to those times I wake up much earlier than planned, and instead of drifting peacefully back to round off my 8 or so hours of sleep before facing 6 hours with 28 twelve year olds or 5.5 hours of C1 French exam (June 17, 2011: bad flashback), I toss and turn and fret about how tired I will be the next day.  No, I’m referring to early morning awakening when you set the alarm before sunrise because you’ve got somewhere to go and something to do. First of all, I think back to early morning ringette practices as a kid.  It was tiring and cold getting up so early, but it was sort of fun to get some time alone with either my mom or dad while driving to the rink, and then post-practice walking out of the rink after a good skate with the sun rising and looking forward to that second bowl of cereal and some Bugs Bunny.  Secondly, I think of road trips.  As a kid, my family did a lot of long driving trips from our home base in Ottawa: Alberta, Disneyland, P.E.I.,  Colorado etc. and my Dad always wanted to get cracking while it was still dark on the first day of a road trip.  My Mom would put down the back seat in our station wagon and throw down some blankets to make a cozy sleeping arrangement and carry the 3 of us down while still in our P.J.’s and half asleep.  I loved drifting back to sleep with the motion of the car while snuggled warmly between my two siblings while it was still dark.

I was reminded of both of these memories when we woke up to the alarm at 3:30 a.m. a week last Saturday.  We were meeting some friends for one of our last adventures out of Avignon.  Earlier in the week, we were at a farewell get together when an acquaintance, Nicolas, found out we had not yet been to the summit of the highest mountain in Provence (1912 m), Mont Ventoux.  It’s a mountain visible most days from Avignon that always has the appearance of being snow-capped due to its white lime-stoned peak.

The next day, he left a message on Barry’s cell phone that if we weren’t  too busy packing up, he wanted to arrange to take us to the top of Mont Ventoux to watch the sun rise.  It did seem a little crazy to set the alarm for 3:30 a.m. to drive up a mountain in the dark, and we did have quite a bit of packing and cleaning to get done, but the next day we found ourselves enthusiastically agreeing to the expedition.  Pourquoi pas?  At least it would mean I could postpone cleaning the apartment for another half day.

The girls were very good troopers about getting up so early, and although I couldn’t lie them down in a cozy car bed in the back of a station wagon, we made sure they were wrapped in blankets and had their car pillows when we carried them to their car seats.  Our two car party drove for about one hour in the dark before we started to near the summit.  As we neared daybreak, it became clear that being on the rooftop of Provence and seeing the sunrise over the bucolic fields and picturesque villages was going to be left to our imaginations.  It was very, very windy (Mont Ventoux, I now see the connection) and very, very chilly and the viewing distance approximately 5 metres thanks to the heavy fog.  But, not all was lost.  Our french hosts had carted up espresso (with cups and saucers), hot chocolate and croissants, which made the hour seem so much more civilized (much more so than the granola bars the Canadians packed).  We also had some good laughs about the whole experience.

On the way down we stopped at a lavender field which smelt even better than it looked. and found a café in a square in the town of Sault where we ate more fresh croissants and pains au chocolat from the bakery and drank more coffee while the kids played.

No Bugs Bunny to come home to, but after all that we were back at home for a nap at noon.  Pas mal!

My Favourite French Word

I took this picture of Lily and Grace in a park in Nîmes for two reasons.  One, the girls look lovely:  two, this is just what my dream flower meadow would look like on the hill up beside our house back home.  My imagined wild flower fields always include poppies.  I have tried to start small with various combinations of wild flower seed packets, but am afraid that to viably compete with the thick tangle of blackberry bushes and horse tails would mean a dedication and investment beyond the sprinkling of seeds and the crossing of fingers.  

However, this spring in France has renewed my resolve to get some poppies growing in our clay packed, rain soaked soil.  Wild poppies are everywhere and they look beautiful.  What's more, I couldn't have invented a better French word for them if I tried: les coquelicots, les coquelicots, les coquelicots.  It's perfect.

Uzès

     Yet again, I have a new favourite town here in Southern France:  Uzès!  It is located in the Languedoc-Rousillon region and during Roman times was the site of the source of water that travelled over the Pont du Gard on its journey to Nîmes.  

     First of all, I was impressed that its tourist office had a public washroom.  Sure, there are always cafés close by, but clean and free toilets at the information office just makes life so much more easier for tourists young and old.  However, the enchantment didn't end there.  Beyond the convenient public facilities, we found the town of 8,500, even with the Saturday morning market crowds, clean and quaint and surrounded by green.  It was a real pleasure spend the day there. 

     No doubt, we will miss stocking up for mid-day picnics at French markets: dried, ready-to-eat saucisson {current family favourite flavours are oignon (onion), ail (garlic) and champignon (mushroom)}, cheese {brebis made from ewe's milk is Grace's go-to cheese at the moment}, bread, olives and fresh produce {the cherries and apricots are in season}.  

     We ended our day at an outdoor children's play area and a visit to the Haribo candy museum and, more importantly, it's boutique.  Not surprisingly, Uzès scored pretty highly with Grace and Lily also.