Stay straight on this road for... A long time

Post written for Monday, June 23:

As much as we loved Paris, today was sadly the day we had to leave. After repacking our bags and saying goodbye to Montemarte, we took the metro back into Central Paris and rented a car. We plugged "Annecy" into our GPS (nicknamed Geraldine Petunia Sheryl) and voila! We were on our way. The drive was roughly six hours, and whenever we drove on the same road for more than 10 kilometers Gerry would tell us "stay straight on this road for...*pause*... a long time." We got a pretty good kick out of that. We got a fairly wide variety of views, ranging from cities to farms and everything in between, but even with the views I think that we were all glad when we finally pulled up to our new temporary residence. 

We unloaded the car and checked into our hotel room before deciding to explore the town. Annecy is divided into two different sections: old and new. The newer area (where our hotel is) features lots more modern style buildings which host banks, supermarkets, malls, etc. while the old area has more independent small clothing stores and restaurants serving foods of various nationalities. We made a (mostly straight) beeline for the old section. Once there, we explored some of the shops, but since it was already fairly late and French stores have tendencies to close early, it was mostly window shopping. Over diner we talked about our plans for our stay in Annecy such before heading home to get some sleep for our next adventure. Next up: biking!

*Sorry, no pictures!

Daft Punk on an Accordian... must be Monmartre!

Backpost for Paris on Sunday June 22:

After 3 lovely days of living in Paris just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower, we left our awesome flat and hoofed it over to Monmartre... A hipster neighborhood of artists, musicians and tourists visiting the Sacre Coeur Basilica at the top of the highest point in Paris!  Using Paris' super efficient Metro system, we caught our 3 separate trains to get to our destination.  I forget the actual line names, but I think it was Pink to Green to Blue and then a 2 block walk up hill to the Funicular, which transported us up a couple hundred vertical feet, sparing us climbing a bunch of stairs. Not the easiest thing to do on a busy Sunday morning while transporting a couple rollers and backpacks through the metro crowds.... And then DEEP into the tourist crowds going up to see Sacre Coeur and Monmartre.  On the hottest day since we had been in Paris, we gutted and sweated our way to our new home.... And what a COOL new home!  

Relaxing in our cool apartment before heading out....

Here are the views from our 2nd story windows... to the Left and then to the Right

Our place was 2 stories above Chez ma Cusine

Honestly when I booked it, I was looking for something close to Gare du Nord (where we were going to pick up our rental car).... And we ended up in the HEART of Monmartre!  

After resting and decompressing from the stressful trek across Paris, we took a long leisure stroll through the neighborhood.  There were dozens of artists trying to hustle tourists into portraits.  While fun to watch them work, we passed.  Mikaela did find an original art piece that was pretty cool... And enjoyed talking to the humble artist.  I was most impressed with some of the street musicians, especially a duo playing and singing some funky reggae with French accents.  

The best was the accordion player who serenaded deep into the evening hours right outside our open windows.  

I can now say I listened to Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" played on an accordion while sipping a nice Cote Du Rhone Red, eating a fresh bagguetes with Brie cheese, and watching Belgium win their World Cup match against Russia.  

The neighborhood itself has some interesting architecture with narrow streets intertwined with STEEP long stairs going up and down. 

The following morning, I got up early and snuck out for some photos in the dawn light.... without the crowds.  While it was beautiful to see such a bustling city before it really woke up, I was really disappointed at the overwhelming stench of urine and shards of broken glass all over the steps of Sacre Coeur Basilica.  It just seems sad that people need to enjoy the sunsets over Paris, partying and then trashing the place :(.  I guess that is just the mountain mouse in me which has grown to appreciate the little things that the Sierra mountains offers....

We weren't supposed to take pictures from inside, but Michele broke the rules with her phone camera....

This is Paris at 6am... just waking up.  What is not pictured is the small army of sanitation works using leaf blowers to push and sweep the broken glass to be picked up.

And finally my walk back to the apartment with only one other person in sight...

Overall it was a great way to spend our last night and day in Paris.  This morning is a big travel day with a ~6 hour drive to Annecy and fresh mountain air!

Bumping into other Mountain Mice going to Versailles?!?

This is Carolyn's blogpost for Sat June 21 on our 2nd full day in Paris:

Next up we have Versailles! We woke up early, ate breakfast, then hopped on the metro. And believe it or not right before we got off, we heard someone calling Mom’s name. The Schrady’s, Cheryl, Emma, and Jack, all happened to be on the exact same metro, going to the exact same place, we were half way around the world!  The Schrady's live in Truckee and ski with us on the SugarBowl ski team... what are the chances?!?

To get in to Versailles we had to go through an enormous security line.

At least while we waited in line, we could look at the front of the palace and some of the little details.

Once we finally got inside, most of the rooms we saw held huge paintings on the walls and ceilings.

One room we saw contained what was thought to be the greatest sculpture of Louis XIV.

We also got to see The King’s Bedroom, the king wanted his room to have no blank space. So almost everything was decorated with gold.

A little before you exit, there is a painting of the Empress Josephine being crowned, I thought this painting was very beautiful. In this painting Napoleon’s mother has been added in, even though she wasn’t actually there. Of course these are just small highlights of my favorite things in the palace (which I can remember... but it has been over a week) so to see more go to Versailles yourself!

We also had to have lunch and visit the beautiful gardens of Versailles.  Here we are resting in the shade with our friends.

Beautiful flowers and ornate gardens and fountains!

Since yesterday we missed seeing the Van Gogh display at Musee d’Orsay, Cheryl offered to take all four kids to see it. There was a small line to get in but not too bad.It was so amazing! More on that in another post by Mikaela.

The Schrady’s asked us to go see the Eiffel Tower light up on the longest day of the year. When we got there, it was still light out so we wandered around buying “chotchkies” or souvenirs, until it got dark. At 11:00pm or 23:00, the Eiffel Tower started sparkling. I was so happy! Unfortunately it was late and we were all very tired so we didn’t stay long.

Brussels to... Paris!

Post for Thursday, June 19th.

Warning - lots of pictures, may take a long time to load.

We woke up bright and early to catch the first train to Paris. Grammy and Grampa saw us off curbside (and again on the platform - just to make sure!) as we began our journey. Though the girls took the train earlier in their trip, they said the first was like a bus and this one was like a plane. Either way, they are good travelers.

Reading makes the trip go by quickly.

We saw the landscape change slowly before eyes, from the cityscape of Brussels to farmland to wind turbines. But mostly, we were excited to reach our final destination - Paris! 

Upon arrival, the girls navigated the Gard du Nord like seasoned travelers.

After a winding taxi ride through the streets of Paris (including glimpses of the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, and Les Invalides), we arrived at the apartment of family friends Jeremy and Gilberte near the famed Rue La Cler. We could not believe our luck! The apartment was gorgeous - true Parisienne feel! 

Jeremy and Gilbert's son, Sebastian, gave us a tour of the neighborhood, including helpful hints like his favorite food places and which way to go on the metro. In an offhandedly way he said, "the end of the street may be blocked off by police for a protest. That happens sometimes." Sure enough, it did.

A protest along Avenue De La Bourdonnaise in support of striking rail workers. I told the girls protest was a very French thing, but could not explain myself very well.

And the neighborhood made the gourmet ghetto in Berkeley pale in comparison - fromageries, boulangeries, charcuteries, brasseries, patisseries, sandwicheries (no kidding)... Unfortunately, we were too busy eating to get any pictures.

After a quick bite to eat, we were ready to hit the streets. We wandered our way to the St. Germaine neighborhood then headed towards the Seine, where we found (one of) the "Love Locks Bridge", where lovers lock their love to the bridge and throw the key into the river. 

Love Lock Bridge.

A sample of one of the locks.

The Love Lock Bridge with the massive Louvre in the background. Down the street is Musee D'Orsay, but let's save that for another day.

But the real highlight of our day was... The Eiffel Tower.

After a little time searching for the WC, waiting in lines, and climbing stairs, here are the views that greeted us. Let them speak for themselves.

Champs de Mars from Level 1 (Jeremey and Gilberte's apartment is only a few blocks off the top left corner).

The Seine River from Level 2.

This is not an illusion. Did you know that the top of the Eiffel Tower leans as much as 5 inches away from the heat of the sun?

Team Presto does the Eiffel Tower!

We were there at sunset - perfect timing to see the tower light up!

The Seine from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

You can't really tell, but I think that is Champ De Mars in the background.

The giant wheel that works one of the elevators.

The elevator for Level 0-3.

It was nearly midnight by the time we got down, but it was worth every minute.

And the famed view.

The good parents that we are, we thought this was a good time to have some dinner. After an 18 hour day and about 8 miles of walking, they earned their meal.