Mes pensées sur le voyage

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The weather

I was a little unsure as to whether I would be able to do much outside but the weather was not an impediment.  In fact we had superb weather given it was winter.  It delivered fine weather when we wanted it; it snowed in Paris which I wanted to experience, and it was super cold in Canada which is something I also wanted to experience.  The clothing I took was adequate for the most part, although when it gets to five layers one also needs long johns.  In  Canada a decent jacket and gloves was a requirement as well as some protection for the face.   We hardly had any rain during the time we were away.  I would happily go in winter again. I know it would be a lottery with the weather but that is the case at any time of the year.  For the most part people were dressed appropriately for the weather.  We saw one very brave (or stupid) young person who was wearing only shorts, a tee shirt and jandals wandering around La Rochelle.  The temperature was about 7 degrees and definitely a three layer day. 

People

We found people helpful and nice .  The French people are generally much more polite than in New Zealand or Australia.  Where French was spoken I found that my attempts were regarded positively and I was helped with vocabulary  and grammar.  It was the engagement with people that was nicest.  In Noirmoutier Paul and Dany provided us with a wonderfully warm welcome and an insight into French culture that we would not otherwise have experienced.  In Canada, Graham and Hedy did the same for Canadian culture.  It was interesting to see how they had become Canadians.  In France and Hong Kong we were frequently offered help with directions.  It was great.

We were lucky to have Lisa join us in Paris.  Her unlimited energy and boundless enthusiasm was great as it required me to to do things I would not have otherwise done such as riding a ferris wheel in snow. 

The car and driving

I enjoyed driving in France as the drivers seem to be more predictable than New Zealand drivers and they were considerate of my uncertainty at times.  There were a few problems with the car such as not being filled with windscreen cleaner the need for a service during our trip.   The car was a Opel Astra and it was reasonably comfortable for travelling long distances.  We did about 2800 kilometres and for that distance I am glad we had a Corolla or Golf sized car to travel in as it was able to cope with the speed on the autoroutes.  It was diesel so relatively thrifty but when the speed got up over 90km/h it was much less thrifty than the Golf.  At 130km/h it was using around 7.5 to 8.0 l/100km.  I am sure the Golf was more like 6.0 to 6.5 l/100km at the same speed.  The challenges as always were getting into impossibly narrow parking spaces.  I needed Bev to help. 

Airlines

We flew with Air New Zealand and Air Canada.  The service we experienced with Air New Zealand was very good.  While we did not have entertainment on the flight from Vancouver to Auckland they tried very hard to get it working and apologised for not having it working.  Both Business and Premium Economy were full and the only seats in which there were free TV screens was at the back of the plane which they made available to us.  We flew economy in Air Canada.  The service was not half as good nor was the food.  The space between the seats was probably about the same as Air New Zealand in Economy.  Fortunately on the flight from London there was no one in front of me so they did not recline into my face.   I must say that having a space makes the flight much more pleasant and I am sure it aids the recovery time when changing time zones. 

Food

We had some wonderful food.  The highlight was the meal at Christopher Coutanceau in La Rochelle, the service was impeccable and the food immaculately presented.  The other meal would have to be one at the restaurant near Notre Dame.  This time I only had one crème brulée  which was not that good. They did not not seem to appear on menus very often.  The croque monsieur that we had in Honfleur had to be the best we had (Bev decided to try them whenever it was appropriate) during our visit.  In Canada we had a wonderful meal in Montreal at La salle á manager which was of the quality and size of those we had in France. 

The produce in France at this time of the year was from Spain and Morocco and its quality was very good.  Kiwifruit was Italian and often was the Zespri brand.  I think the highlight for Bev was the cheeses, just the sheer variety of them is almost overwhelming.  We tasted our way through a number of them with Bev’s favourite being Bleu d’Agur a rather creamy and medium tasting blue.  Roquefort remains my favourite as I love the balance between the sharpness and creaminess of the cheese. 

One of the changes I noticed was that meals seemed to be much larger than when I have been in France before.  However, they were smaller when compared to some of the meals we had out in Canada, with the exception of La salle à manager.  At the greek restaurant in Vancouver we left about two thirds of the meal on the plate.

I visited a few supermarkets in both France and Canada.  I like the French ones where you can choose your cheese and only get what you want.  It meant we could get two of three different ones to taste.  We did not buy any meat apart from a sausage to put in a lentil dish that I made but the cuts looked interesting and very different to what we have in New Zealand.

Final thoughts

I liked seeing France and Canada in winter.  It is so different to our mild winters.  Everything is stark and bare but life goes on, people dress for the weather and the hardy smokers sit outside under heaters looking after their addiction.  When I thought about the weather in New Zealand the contrast is that it is really changeable and it is rare that we don’t see some sun on a regular basis during winter, none of the ten or more days of grey skies.  The landscape is so different as well and it is the old architecture of the villages that makes France so interesting, in that they seem to be part of the landscape rather than additions as they are in New Zealand. 

Bev seemed to really enjoy the trip, for her everything was new and I loved trying to see things through her eyes.  Now that I have been to France a number of times it is very familiar. 

I now look forward to the next trip whenever that may be. 

Vancouver

We left for Vancouver on Thursday 24 January.  It was an early start.  One of the decisions to make when dressing was how much clothing to wear given that it was going to be about 30 degrees warmer in Vancouver.  I figured that since we would only briefly have to tolerate the -30 degree temperatures I could dispense with a layer or two.

Hedy helped us quickly negotiate the quirks of the Air Canada check-in system.  Not unlike Air New Zealand’s system although I think Air New Zealand do it better (I would say that wouldn’t I).  We were quickly through security having said our good-byes to Graham and Hedy. 

On arriving at the gate we found that we weren’t going anywhere fast.  The flight was delayed as there was a problem with a system in the aircraft.  We found out later that due to the “cold soak” it had had overnight (-39 degrees if one includes the wind chill factor) the smoke detectors weren’t working.  The options provided to us were that they would know in half an hour whether we would be flying in the aircraft or going on another one that was coming in from Toronto, which would make it a two hour delay at best.  In the end we went earlier as they managed to get the systems all up and running.  The flight was quite full and we were near the back of the aircraft.  There was little room between the seats so a bit uncomfortable for me, made worse by the woman in front reclining the seat into my face.  I asked her if she could not have it reclined and she grumpily agreed. 

It was a budget flight like Air NZ but it was also a nearly six hour flight.  When we offered to buy the only decent looking thing on the menu it turned out they did not have it.  This is the other problem when you are at the back of the aircraft, you miss out on anything that is half decent.  At least they did provide water, fruit juice, tea and coffee and we were in an Airbus A319 which has wider seats. 

It was fine when we got to Vancouver.  It also felt remarkably warm despite it being around 5 degrees.  Getting into the city was really easy on a train from the airport and we then found a bus that took us almost to the doorstep of our accommodation.  We were upgraded into a very nice room that looked south with a nice balcony a huge bed in a separate room and lots of space to lounge around in.   

Our hotel was just off Davie Street which is one of the busier retail and restaurant areas serving  lots of apartments and houses in the inner city area.  It is about half a kilometre from the CBD and perhaps a couple of kilometres to Canada Place and the inner harbour.  We walked to Canada Place as it gives good views of North Vancouver and the harbour area.  While it was a bit gloomy and threatening to rain it was relatively warm (compared to Ottawa) and we spent a pleasant time watching floatplanes take off.  It began to snow on Grouse Mountain and then it began to spit.  We walked to Gastown - a tourist area with a neat steam clock.  In a little leather shop I bought a pair of very nice wool lined leather gloves which I had been searching for since going on holiday. We discovered that the man selling them had a New Zealand background but had never been to New Zealand as his family had immigrated to Canada many years ago. 

We then went to a nice restaurant called Forage where we had some rather good food in tapas style before going back to the hotel and bed. 

Grouse Mountain

Capilano Suspension Bridge

Yesterday (Friday) we went to North Vancouver via Seabus.  The day was very good with the sun out and it was relatively warm (8 degrees).  We took the bus to Grouse Mountain a mountain overlooking the city where Vancouver people ski.  There is a cable car or skyway that transports people to snow high above the city.  I assumed that the cost would not be too great as we were not skiing but we got a major shock when told that it would cost us $C45 to go up the cable car.  Having made all that effort we felt committed to going up it.  Despite the cost we managed to justify the cost by saying that it was beautiful being in the snow that we had seen falling the afternoon before.  Even with all the snow it was not too cold and we wandered around on snow which had been compacted and groomed.  It is a superb ski area right on the doorstep of the city with lots of trails.  There were not huge numbers of people there as I guess most were working.   After a light lunch we headed off for our next adventure which was to be the Capilano Suspension bridge.  When we got to the bus stop it suggested that it would be a half hour before the next bus arrived.  We had passed Capilano Suspension Bridge  on the way up so I thought it was only about three kilometres down the road which is walkable in about half an hour.  I was wrong!!  First of all the buses clearly went more frequently than one every half an hour and secondly it was further than 3 kilometres.  Nonetheless we made good use of the opportunity to look around at the houses, which were all very large.  We called in to look at dam and reservoir that supplies drinking water to Vancouver.

Tree top walk

We got to the suspension bridge about an hour before it was to shut and it too was very expensive to enter.  However, due to our late arrival we got 20% off which made the entry more palatable.  We walked over the suspension bridge (I am sure that 24 years ago there was little if any cost) before doing a tree top walk which was quite neat and very different to one I did in Australia a few months ago.  Finally we did a cliff walk where they had bolted on a steel walkway on to the side of the cliff and over the river which was thirty metres or so below.  Spectacular and a bit of thrill seeker walk that I expect is relatively safe, except if the rock gives way.   We had to hurry that part of the walk so that we could catch a free shuttle back to the city which we just managed to get. 

Attached to a cliff

That evening we ate at a Greek Taverna and had a meal that was far too large and I felt that I had left over half the meal on the plate. 

Today we walked the streets and I managed to buy some new shoes for what I hope is a reasonable price.   I think they were marginally more expensive than I paid for the equivalent shoes in the UK but I think they are cheaper than in New Zealand. 

Canada like the US gives you a purchase price then it goes up after they add the consumption tax.  This happens for any consumption goods including food.  So an item might seem relatively cheap but by the time you add the tax it is substantially more expensive.  Meals are even worse because not only is there the tax but there is also the tip you give to the server.  I discussed this with Graham who said it was an irritant to many Canadians but business was insistent on having it this way as any other way would confuse the Americans and somehow add costs to business.  Why worry about the Americans is beyond me.  To have it inclusive is said to be an impost on business as they would have to change their systems.  Given the computer systems already calculate the cost and business has to pay it to the government it seems a facetious argument.

After the shopping and walking sightseeing we returned to the hotel where we collected our bags.  The little bus picked us up and deposited us by the railway station and we were quickly at the Airport checking in.  Sadly it is the end of the holiday (well almost). 

It was a full flight and unfortunately the only two video screens that did not work were ours.  Fortunately I had enough movies on my computer and also I had watched pretty much all the decent stuff on the two flights from Auckland to London.   They tried hard to make it work but without success so they compensated us with some Airpoints. 

Going through immigration and customs was a breeze.  Probably the easiest of any country I have been in the past month.  Hardly a queue to speak of despite a number of flights arriving at the same time. 

The air in Auckland is warm and soft compared to the cold winter airs further north.  It also smelt differently but of what  I cannot say.

Canada, c’est tres froid!

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It is very cold here.   The temperature has not been above 0 degrees, in fact the warmest it has been is about -16 degrees.  So far the coldest it has been is about -29 degrees with a wind chill factor taking it to -39 degrees.  Believe me that is cold, certainly the coldest I have ever felt outside of a freezer.  To give you some idea of the cold yesterday (Wednesday 23 January) we went out into the  -29 degrees. I had on five layers of merino plus a jacket provided by Graham.  I had two pairs of socks on in my lined boots, a scarf, my warm hat, and gloves.  I looked like Michelin man.  What I did not have on was any long johns.  A big mistake!  Initially when going out into the cold it felt a little sharp. Within five minutes it felt like my legs were going to stop operating.  It was like they were permanently in a bath that was full of ice-cubes with all the heat being soaked out of them.  I did not have a neck warmer so my face got colder and colder until I wrapped my scarf around my face.  We lasted about 20 minutes in that cold before we sought refuge in a supermarche.  We were told that this was close to record cold temperature.  Even though it has been sunny unlike New Zealand there is no warmth to be felt when standing in the sun.  It was a disconcerting experience.

Taking a rest from snowshoeing

Backtracking a bit.  On Monday we were taken snowshoeing in the Gatineau Park  which is about twenty kilometres from Ottawa.  It is a park used for recreation throughout the year.  At this time of year it is snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.  It was a relatively mild day of around -16 degrees.  Once we got to the park snow shoes were rented and then we walked to a couple of marked trails where we inserted our feet into the snow shoes and then began a very different form of walking on the trails.  Despite the cold  (which we were well protected from) I quickly became warm from the exertion.  We went up and down hills and even went off trail to walk through the deeper non compacted snow and this worked really well preventing one from sinking to the waist.  The snow shoes we used were not at all like the tennis shoe ones that you might have seen. 

All the stream is not ice

We did that for about an hour by which time we were ready for a late lunch which we had at a local pub.  There we got a bowl of poutine which is chips smothered in gravy and melted cheese.  It was perfect food for the cold.  I had a burger but the pattie was badly over cooked.  This was accompanied by a refreshing local beer with 9% alcohol!

We then went to a local spa where there were hot pools, which were mostly outside.  We sat in a hot pool with snow all around us (sorry no photos) with the outside temperature dropping as night approached.  There was also a sauna that we tried which was quite nice as that got me really hot and sweaty.  After the second try at that I went into a pool that was meant to be bath temperature (I am sure it was close to 10 degrees not blood temperature) but it was very refreshing.  The whole experience left me feeling really good despite traipsing across icy concrete that would have been about -20 degrees, grabbing hand rails that were so cold you could feel your skin sticking to it and freezing when I got out of the pool and went to other venues. 

Hedy and Graham then cooked yet another lovely meal for us that included a nice soup, for the main quinoa and chicken with a maple syrup sauce that was delicious.   (I am sure I have put on some more weight and will need to be on salads for the next month).

On Tuesday we went to Montréal.  We went over the Ottawa river on a ferry where it was ice-free.  Then we went down to Cornwall which is beside the St Lawrence river.  It was interesting doing the drive as the amount snow on the land got less and less.  The river at Cornwall was not frozen.  We had a coffee and muffin in a Canadian chain called Tim Horton’s.  Apparently it is very popular with Canadians.

Street scene Gloucester

The St Lawrence River was quite fast flowing and there was ice around the edges of it but as morphed into a lake it still seemed ice-free.  It was a real contrast once we got to Montreal where there was a lot of snow around and a lake close to the motorway was very iced up.  It was very cold when we got to our destination where I met more of Bev’s relatives before being dropped off at the Bed and Breakfast where we were to stay for the night. 

Passing a ferry on the Ottawa River

We went out to a restaurant called La salle á manger for dinner with Graham and Hedy’s family.  This involved hailing a taxi from the street.  It was bitterly cold outside and a number of taxis went past before one stopped.  We got in and in my best French I provided the man with the address.  At first he did not understand my heavily accented attempt but with some repetition he finally understood.  He then asked where we came from and I said NZ to which he responded I wish English Canadians would use French more often.  He then chatted away to us in French and occasionally English until be got to our destination.  What was rather funny was that he was listening to the English version of CBC radio. 

The meal and evening at La salle à manger was wonderful.  The food was French style.  We shared a wonderful charcuterie (a mixture of dried meats, rillettes and pâté).  I could have eaten anything on the menu, but settled to share a dish of rabbit with Bev.  It was OK, not has tender as could have been but very interesting and I am glad that I had it. 

When we got back to the B&B we met the other person staying who was from Avignon in France.  I talked with her in French, not has well I would have liked but it was nice to have someone who spoke slowly and enabled me to stumble along with my French. 

Outside the B&B

The next morning (Wednesday) over breakfast there was another opportunity to speak a bit of French with her.  The owner of the B&B was a real character. He is a 68 year old architect who worked at Concordia University.  He was French Canadian but equally comfortable in either language.  His father had encouraged him to be fluent in both languages saying that it provided wider opportunities.  He also had a cabin near a lake about an hour north of Montreal and he showed us some pictures which looked wonderful.  It was amongst cedar which he said was really good for deterring the mosquitos during the summer. 

After breakfast we went out walking to get some bits and pieces at one of  the nearby shops.    It was still bitterly cold making photo taking seriously difficult as the hands almost stopped working if you took off your gloves  for any length of time.   It took an age for them to get warm again afterwards. 

Centre-ville Montreal

Graham and Hedy were at the B&B when we returned along with Maya (their daughter-in-law).  They took us for a drive up Mont Royal which provided a wonderful view over the city towards a very frozen St Lawrence River.  It was a good opportunity to take a few photos. 

It was lunch time and we were taken to a pie shop for lunch.  It is called TA  which is short for Tartiere Australiene. It is run by a New Zealander and his French Canadian wife.  There were the traditional pies of which we all had one.  They had decent meat in them.  The major difference between those and the New Zealand pie was that they used a short crust pastry instead of flaky pastry.  There were also afghans, melting moments, caramel slice, mini pavlova, and lamingtons.  One of the workers was a Melbournian and I guess that the New Zealander must have worked in Australia for a while to decide to focus on the Australian food although lots of things are shared across the Tasman.  The afghan was a take on the ones I am used to with chocolate constituting the biscuit whereas I think in New Zealand it is cocoa in the biscuit part with a chocolate icing. 

Mont Royal near our B&B

On our return to Ottawa we were again fed well with Atlantic salmon, sweet potato and peas.  The dessert was brownies, that had a soft biscuit base with a ganache then topped off with a chocolate icing - it was drool stuff. I have really enjoyed  having home cooked food.   After dinner we went for a drive to see if people were skating on the Rideau Canal and to see Parliament Buildings. I was disappointed that they were not well lit up as they are beautiful buildings but we did see some skaters on the canal.  This ended an enjoyable but action packed three days.   

-21degrees - almost warm

What I shall not forget is the snow.  It is everywhere, in big piles at the side of the road, with gaps in which people can drive their cars on the driveway.  The exception is Montreal where in the inner city people park on the side of the road.  There it was very rough and icy making it difficult to park or if you were parked to sometimes get out.  The roads are regularly salted to melt the snow so there is this white appearance to cars and the pavement.  There is also large amounts of ice on the edge of the road which if you hit would cause a bit of a problem. 

Un long jour

Gare du Nord

We were up at 6am to begin our journey to Ottawa.  It was still snowing lightly when we stepped out into the cold.  I was tempted to take some more photos as the scene outside our door was pristine with only some footprints in the snow.  We were able to get to Gare du Nord fairly quickly, the only hiccup was that Bev’s ticket did not work on the initial gate but she was able to get her bag through and then hurdled the gate. It worked on all the other gates we had to go through.  Check-in (enregistrement ) for the Eurostar worked after the first attempt and a change to another kiosk (nothing in France that is electronic seems to work reliably such as gates, EFTPOS machines or in this case the check-in kiosk).  Once we had gone through French immigration then English immigration we were almost there.  The English immigration woman was very friendly and was not at all optimistic about our chances of getting to Canada saying that if it was snowing in Paris then it was likely to be just as bad in London and that nothing was currently flying out. 

We ignored that but it was nice to have a friendly person checking our passports.  We were in premier class so had slightly larger seats and a bit more room.  Not only that they even provided us with breakfast which we were relieved to have as we were very hungry.  The trip to London was slower than usual, and I was surprised to find that we were going through Lille nearly an hour and a half after leaving rather than an hour.  Then we got an announcement to say that we would be more than an hour late at London.  For some reason the speed picked up once we had gone through the Chunnel and were in England despite conditions appearing very similar. 

We had our eyes glued to the windows from the time we left Gare du Nord as the scene outside was one of blacks and whites.  Everything was covered in  a layer of fresh snow and as we were going through the very north of France I could imagine how cold and miserable it must have been for the troops in the First World War who were in trenches.  It must have been ghastly.  They were very tough men.  It also seemed supernaturally quiet not that we would have heard anything.  But there was very little traffic about and in the villages we went past you could see that it was pristine with no tyre tracks.  It  was at that moment I was sad to be leaving France.   

More Gare du Nord

In London we decided, given the shortage of time that we would take the Heathrow Express, as that would be quicker than the Piccadilly line.  However, by the time we got to Paddington we found that one train was broken and another was at a platform that we should have gone to if I had listened to Bev (another person told us different story). We were running very late.  So at great expense I rang Air Canada to confirm that we were coming.  I am not sure that did much good but at least it was noted on the booking.   As I said earlier we had discovered that our flight on Air France had been cancelled from the Internet. I had emailed Air New Zealand to organise some refund and they said they had found out half an hour after my email that the flight had been cancelled and that we had been booked on a flight at 1800 hours (much use that would have been to us).   I was a little worried once I got that message that from AirNZ that our London-Ottawa flight had been shifted but that had clearly not been thought of.  At check-in we found that they had closed the flight but they handled us really well and had us with boarding passes and baggage checked in fairly quickly.  Then it was through security screening where compared to the US they were almost relaxed.  We had to go to the gate immediately for boarding and sure enough by the time we had walked another kilometre (time indication was 20 minutes for the walk) they were boarding the flight. 

Once on the plane we found it to be half full if that, so there was a lot of room and although there was not much space between the seats it was not too bad as no one reclined into my face. 

We were really hungry and the wait was very long as it took them an hour to de-ice the plane.  The food on Air Canada is certainly not as nice as Air New Zealand but hunger overcame the blandness of it.  As I write this we are flying over sea ice which looks amazing!!

Later

We arrived into Ottawa Airport around half an hour late.  It took us a while to get through immigration as a couple of planes had arrived  at the same time bringing  back people from Florida or the Caribbean.  What struck us immediately was the difference in body shape.  After three weeks or so of relatively slim men and women we noticed that the girth of people, even relatively young people had changed considerably with many noticeably over-weight. 

Bev’s brother and sister-in-law (Graeme and Hedy) were waiting for us.  We then hit the even more frigid air of Ottawa which made Paris seem to be almost like a sauna in comparison.  Fortunately they had a very warm van and took us to their lovely warm house where they treated us to some really nice food, the standout in terms of taste and difference was Tourtiere.  It was like a pie with minced pork and some wonderful spice such as cloves, cinnamon etc.  It is a traditional French Canadian dish which I will have to find a recipe for and cook for Lisa when she returns from France.  

By about 8;30pm my eyes were closing involuntarily, not surprising as it was 2am Paris time.

Le dernier jour à Paris (samedi 19 janvier)

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We took a little while to get going on our last day in Paris.  We decided to go shopping as it was cold and slippery outside so spending any time was going to be a bit more difficult.

Montmartre scene

It had stopped snowing  when we left in the morning but there was a lot of snow around covering cars, roofs, trees and plants, and of course the streets and footpaths.  We took the metro to La Bonne Marché and then spent a very nice time looking at the food in the epicerie before moving on to the designer clothes area, where I hoped to get something that was on sale but of course all the best things were gone. There was a of pair of very nice leather gloves with a wool lining that were not on sale  that I coveted but at a price of around  $300 even I drew a line at spending that much.  Lisa tried on a whole lot of interesting hats that she kept finding and Bev took photos of her in them for later publication. 

Notre Dame Cathedral

By mid-afternoon we were getting hungry so we decided to go to a restaurant that had been recommended by Paul and Dany.  I had the name and address plus a description that it was next to Notre Dame.  I took that literally but as I had an inadequate map and I was cold I got lost (at least that is my excuse).  So we literally walked completely around Notre Dame looking for this restaurant.  The women were getting a little frosty toward me as I continued in my quest for the restaurant.  I was getting cold and almost ready to give up, but Lisa took some control and off we went to finish the quest.  Finally we got in the right area for the restaurant and then voila there was the street.  The little restaurant appeared on our left, a quick look at the menu  suggested that it would be right place for us in terms of the food that I wanted to eat, and the women agreed although I suspect it was out of sheer hunger, cold and exhaustion. 

We were shown to a table by a grumpy Parisian maitre’d who asked if we wanted an English or French menu. We wisely chose the French menu.  It took us a while to choose what we wanted and then when ready to order no-one would go first so he stalked off while we sorted out the etiquette for our little group.  The etiquette was that Bev should have gone first but she wanted her role models go first so that she could follow their mastery of the French language. I wanted the women to go first.  So after we had sorted all that out we called him back and Lisa selected her dishes (escargot, boeuf bourgignon, and le special dessert), Bev then followed (escargots, cuisse de canard confit, tiramisu) and I finished with (escargot, magret de canard avec sauce orange, and tarte tatin).  The meals were superb, although the desserts were probably not the best I have had, but for value it was almost the best we have had on our trip.  The wine was Bordeaux which they probably bought for 4€ and sold to us for 19€.  While we were there three young women walked in and asked for a seat.  They had a couple labels on that suggested they were New Zealanders so Lisa turned around and asked if they were New Zealanders and received a confirmation that yes they were and they were from Christchurch.  That was the limit of their conversation with us.  We then overheard them ordering in English from the menu and completely deconstructing a salad, so that she might as well have said just give us lettuce.  The look of disdain on the maitre’d’s  face was a picture in itself.  They did not have a word of French as far as we could tell. 

Music by the Seine

We had had a late lunch or early dinner as the idea was to go back to the apartment and pack for our departure for Canada the next morning (Sunday 20 January).  On the way back in the train Lisa befriended an Australian man who asked her to accompany him and his two godsons for drinks.  Apparently he had overheard Bev and Lisa talking and had then engaged in conversation.  He invited Lisa to accompany them for dinner.  I am not sure what his motivations were but Lisa decided it was OK and checked we were fine about it (of course we were) as it meant she had something to do while we reorganised our bags.  We gave them directions to the area they wanted to go and we headed back to the apartment, reorganised my bag and then thought that we had better check our flights given the snow that was around and that the morning forecast had been for more. 

Outside Notre Dame

Bev went on to the internet and discovered that Air France had cancelled our flight for the next morning.  We then had a look at the Air Canada site and found that our flight to Ottawa was still scheduled.  With no flight in the morning it meant missing the plane to Canada.  Trying to go by air was not an option so I checked Eurostar and found that in the morning they had seats on the first one out in premier class so I booked them, finally being able to do it once I got the credit card working.  It left at 8:13am and got to London at 9:30am so I figured that was more than enough time to get to Heathrow.   At one point I contemplated a later train but it was dearer  and there would have been no margin for error, something that would prove to be needed later. 

Lisa was escorted back to the apartment by her new friends  later that evening and as it turned out it was with some relief.  The Australian (we have no name for him) was a former hedge trader who claimed to have made his fortune prior to the GFC and was now retired.  His wife was in Munich and reportedly drinking Montrachet.  The Australian and his godsons were due to fly back to Munich but like us that flight had been cancelled so we checked on ways that he could get back by rail (plenty of options albeit a little slower than had been planned).  However he seemed to be all over the place, one moment saying that rail would be a good idea, another moment suggesting that his drunk wife would sort it out.  He rarely listened but talked a lot with many unrequested ideas for us.  I think that Lisa didn’t mind the young men but was not at all impressed with their godfather.  She said that the young men apologised for him when he disappeared at one point.  A man who was clearly very impressed with himself.  Not a good advertisement for our cousins across the ditch according to Bev. 

Culture et la neige

We had an early start today.  The weather was promising snow and to be rather cold.  It was about -5 degrees when we ventured out to visit Sacre Coeur as it was close by and Lisa had not been there before.  It was bitterly cold with a wind chill factor taking the experienced temperature to -8 according to Lisa and Pauly. 

We took the metro to Musee d’Orsay which is in an old railway station.  Lisa knew the right station to get off and then guided us accurately to the correct place.  We bought tickets that enabled us to go to both the Musee d’Orsay and the Musee d’Orangerie.  It included an exhibition about the relationship between fashion and art in the 19^th Century that was quite interesting.  I had gone out before Lisa and Bev and was just standing around when I was asked a question by a woman which once I understood it was that she wanted to know where to get the pamphlet for the exhibition.  I said that it was at the beginning of the exhibition and then she asked me where I came from. I told her and she laughed and asked how I was coping with the cold.  I replied OK and off she went laughing away. 

We saw some of the impressionist paintings and then it was time to find some food.  I took the women on a bit of wild goose chase but we did find a nice little café where there was a view of the street.  We ate simply, a croque monsieur/madame and an omelette.  It was substantive, well cooked and tasty.  Just as we were leaving there was a manifestation (demonstration) where the demonstrators were almost outnumbered by the police who were standing around in the freezing weather with their shields.  We think the demonstration was by people who were effectively stateless - they had no right of abode in France or the EU.  We then walked across the river to l’Orangerie and spent another hour or so in that art museum. 

My torment

Bev pretending to be warm in Ferris Wheel

When we emerged it was dark, the wind was cold and we began heading to the Metro station at the Place de la Concorde.  We got slightly delayed due to the beauty of the Eiffel Tower all lit up, and beside us a smaller version of the London Eye (a ferris wheel).  Lisa got seriously excited and decided that we ought to go for a ride.  I protested as I was cold (still suffering the effects of a cold) and just wanted to find somewhere warm again.  Bev caught the enthusiasm and next thing I knew we were in an unheated, draughty pod with flurries of snow swirling around the Ferris wheel.  We got a neat view of the Champs Elysees and also of the Eiffel Tower.  I thought it would just be one revolution, but no, it kept going around.  We were laughing, or the girls were at me, while I bemoaned the fact that we getting far more for our money and that was I mad paying money for to freeze to death.  Nonetheless I would not have missed that moment of madness for anything. 

We headed back to the apartment to warm up.  By the time we had emerged from the Metro at Pigalle the street and footpaths were covered with a thin layer of snow which kept getting thicker.  It looked magical.  We took a lot of photos of course. 

In the evening we went to the Café des 2 Moulins, which featured in the movie Amelie where we met a friend of Siobhan (a friend from Wellington).  Megan is a New Zealander who did a French assistantship  about five years ago and liked it so much that she did another before seeking work in Paris where she has been at NZTE for the past few months.  She is now seeking another job as her contract is about to run out.  

Snowballing

We sat by the window watching the odd car sliding around in the snow, motorbikes unable to stay upright and people slipping in the slightly icy conditions.  The bar was not very full for a Friday night which we assumed was due to the more sensible people staying home in the warmth.     While there were not a lot of people in the bar it was still very noisy with French techno-pop being played which meant that after about two hours of shouting at each other we agreed a bit of peace and quiet was required.  Despite the cold weather the smokers were still outside under the heated lamps smoking.  As an aside I have been amazed at the number of smokers who despite temperatures of zero degrees still sit outside smoking.  Even the weather has not provided an incentive to stop smoking. 

Cafe des 2 Moulins

The streets were quiet with virtually no traffic apart from the odd taxi creeping cautiously along the street.  In the meantime I had gone inside to get my camera so I could record Paris under snow.  Lisa, Bev and Megan were not so quiet with much shrieking going on as they made snow balls and threw them, mostly inaccurately, at me. We spent a wonderful half an hour out in the cold throwing snowballs at each other and generally behaved like adolescents before going inside to continue conversing. 

It had been a very full and wonderful day where we did things cultural, met a lovely new person and had a number of exciting experiences.

Les Grands Magasins et Lisa

We had a late start.  While the day started out nicely it clouded over and the temperature probably did not get above zero.  Montmartre is only about a kilometre or so from Boulevard Haussmann where many of the Grands Magasins (big department stores in the style of Kirkcaldies for Wellingtonians).  It was a nice walk through the streets and the exercise kept us warm.  I took Bev to Galleries Lafayette which has a wonderful glass domed room.  Bev initially did not see it as she was gazing with an almost open mouth at the array of very expensive parfums etc that are on the ground floor of that building.  I then took her to the epicerie that is in another building and we wandered around looking at the range of wonderful foodstuffs.  It is like Moore Wilsons and the gourmet food section in Kirkcaldies combined and on steroids.  We really don’t have anything like it in New Zealand and I suspect Australia.

Bev then went exploring while I explored Le Cave where I found bottles of Chateau Y’quem  for 20,000€ and over 100 years old.  There was a superb range of wine and I was able to get a nice bottle to take back to NZ.  It was a second label of Gruard Larose one of my favourite second growths. 

We then went past l’Opera which they are doing some work on but it does not detract from its grandeur or beauty.  The l’Opera was a stop on our way to meet Lisa who is a New Zealander doing an English assistanceship in Brest and is one my friends with whom I have been studying French for the past five years. 

We had one stop before meeting her at Gare Montparnasse, and that was La Bonne Marché which is a competitor to Galleries Lafayette. Time permitted only a brief inspection. 

We were due to meet Lisa at Montparnasse at 16:11 and she had said Montparnasse 1 and 2.  I thought this meant the number of the platform or quai/voie.  We arrived at platforms 1 and 2 at 16:11 expecting to see a TGV discharging its passengers or just arriving, but there was neither, just a TGV at platform 1.  After 10 minutes of waiting I suggested that I go looking which I did and still no Lisa.  I started getting worried as I only had her NZ phone number which was not going to be much use.  Even if she sent me an email I was not going to pick it up as I was not roaming.  Fortunately while I was out searching Lisa had spotted Bev so there was a happy reunion. 

We went back to the apartment, picking up food for a meal of lentils and also getting some cheese, as both Bev and Lisa wanted some.  The pick of them was a goat’s cheese that Lisa had picked. 

We spent the evening eating and drinking a wonderful bottle of Chablis that Lisa had bought for my birthday and bottle of St Jacques de Siran, the Medoc wine of Chateau Siran which was wonderful. 

It was so nice to see Lisa and see how well she has adapted to France and to listen to her interacting in French with the various people.  Her fluency has increased and she can even now eavesdrop on conversations in French.    She looks well and is still the same enthusiastic bubbly person who does not seem to be too homesick, but misses the people from home and of course her twin sister.