France and Switzerland 2014 - Day 6

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

-->

The canal seems to have a lock every few hundred feet so far. Until yesterday, we were heading up so when they closed the lock, we would float up. Today we started the journey down so now when we get closed in a lock, they empty the water and we sink down to the level of the canal.

After breakfast we spent some time on deck and then Jim met us with the van and he took

us off to a chateau and small village, Chateauneuf. We could see it up on the hill for quite a while. We were able to spend about 30 minutes wandering around. Jim, kindly supplied

a wheelchair he borrowed from his neighbor so that Werner could be more comfortable as we explored the village.

We returned in time for another fantastic lunch. We noticed at lunch that we weren’t going anywhere and we asked what was going on. Apparently, the water pump in the engine had broken and they were working on getting a part and someone to repair it. We read and relaxed on deck and soon Cedric came up to tell us that we couldn’t continue our voyage until it was fixed and that would not be until the next afternoon. We are so laid back that it really doesn’t seem much of an inconvenience to us. I’m sure it is stressing the crew. We will still be able to do everything that is on are itinerary. The only unfortunate thing is that we are stopped by a highway so we have some traffic noise, no biggie.

Around 3:30, Jim collected Rick and Werner to take them for a narrow gauge train excursion ending at a train museum. Susan and Kyle planned another bike ride. In the adventurous spirit that I find myself in, I decided to join them.

OMG, I haven’t been on a bike since 1986. What was I thinking? I especially started panicking when Cedric brought my bike around. It was a bit humiliating when I got on and he ran along behind me holding on to the bike, like I was a 6 year old. After a few tries I really wanted to quit but Kyle and Susan encouraged me and I couldn’t back down.

So holding on to the brakes for dear life and not even trying to figure out the gears, I white

knuckled it for about a mile to a café. I had enough of biking, so after a cold drink Susan and Kyle insisted on riding me back. They then took off for a real ride and I spent the rest of the afternoon reading a fun book about Burgundy, The Grape Escape.

When everyone returned to the boat, they had another game of Petanque. I begged off because my knees were killing me (wonder why?) So while they played I had another Kir and enjoyed my book.

Dinner was served at 7:45 and was the best yet! Still no internet so I can’t post this but we are enjoying the evening listening to Keb’Mo on the stereo, talking with Jim and Cedric, and thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

France and Switzerland 2014 - Day 5

Monday, August 4, 2014

We haven't had any internet to speak of all week so I've been writing everyday but saving to a word document:

It's starting to get hard writing what's happening each day because I don't want to take the time to stop and write for fear I will miss something! I try to write in the evening but I find I’m too tired so I wait until the morning and then I’m afraid I’ll forget something. I don’t want to spend more time documenting than experiencing but then I know how wonderful it is to have the journal of our travels to relish in the future. Oh, the dilemmas of the very fortunate. Oy vey!

So day 5: The activity for the morning was visiting an Abbey. At the last minute, I decided to stay on the barge with Susan and Werner. That left Rick and Kyle to explore with Jim, our guide. Learning of Werner’s interest in tools, on the way back to the barge, they checked out what can only be described as the French version of the places visited on American Pickers.

When they returned, Susan, Werner, and I joined Rick to go “tool shopping.” We drove through

amazing fields of sunflowers to our destination. It was an amazing collection of ancient barns filled to the brim with every kind of stuff. Clothing, household items, old photos and cameras, newish and oldish furniture, farm implements, garage sale-like toys, and every kind of tool imaginable. After much deliberation, Werner chose 7 or 8 items that made him very happy.

When we returned to the barge, we were served a delightful lunch of quiche and salads. At each moment, it feels like things can’t get better!

The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting on the deck watching the bucolic scene passing by, taking lots of pictures, dozing, and in Susan and Kyle’s case, taking a

bike ride on the tow path. A 50 minute ride through a tunnel broke up the views of the countryside and provided a “much needed break from the beauty.” Ha!

In the late afternoon, Abby served us drinks. I had a Kir which I’ve enjoyed in the past in the U.S. but somehow it tasted better floating on a barge in Burgundy which the drink had its origin!

The barge was parked for the night around in a lovely little inlet. Cedric and Jim invited us to play the French version of Bocce called Petanque. I have the worst hand-eye coordination ever but decided to be a good sport and try. Cedric and I were a team facing Jim and Rick. I sucked but we made a come from behind victory. Kyle and Susan returned just as we were finishing so we played another round with Susan and I as a team against Rick and Jim.  Susan must have been really good because we won again!

Dinner was served at 7:30. It was unbelievable! The starter was crawfish risotto and miracle upon miracles, I tried it and loved it! We spent time on deck in the twilight before retiring to our cabins. What a life!

France and Switzerland 2014 - Day 4

I'm writing this after 3 glasses of champagne and 2 glasses of wine. Those of you who know me realize that I have no business trying to do this but I'm going to try.

Today we left Paris at 1pm. We were picked up by Jim from the Papillion Barge. We discovered this barge trip a few years ago when we saw it on a Rick Steves PBS TV show. Werner wasn't up for the trip then. When we realized that he could possibly travel again, Susan jumped on booking our 6 day cruise.

The drive to where the barge is moored is about three hours. Jim broke-up the trip with a stop at the Vaux le Vicomte, a chateau and gardens from the 1600's built by the architects of Versailles. I'm reading a book about Madame Tussaud and the French Revolution. I think it skewed my enjoyment of such an excessive display of conspicuous consumption. It was pretty impressive though.

I was more impressed with myself though when I climbed up to the dome on the top of the

chateau. I met Rick and Kyle up there and took this photo of Werner and Susan below. You can see a green speck in the middle of the picture which is Susan's shirt.

I dozed off and on for the rest of the trip to the barge but woke to see this beautiful
rainbow.

I don't know if I can adequately describe our arrival to our beautiful barge. It was as if we were living a dream: the peaceful canal, the fairy tale-like boat, the lovely crew who greeted us with glasses of champagne, the baa'ing of the sheep in the distance, the incredible light of the lowering sun. So very perfect!

Have I mentioned we are the only five guests on the barge? What a luxury. The crew consists of Cedric, the pilot (don't know if that's his exact title), Jim, the van driver and tour guide, Finley, the chef, and Abby who seems to do everything to help us. They totally made us feel at home and relaxed.

Those of you who know me, know I'm the pickiest eater ever (a fact I'm not proud of but resigned to). I made a pact with myself 
that I would not make an issue of this on the barge so I gave no instructions to the chef of what I would or wouldn't eat and that I would try things I normally wouldn't touch. (The heaviest thing in my suitcase was the bag of protein bars just in case I couldn't follow through on my pact!) I also decided that I was going to experiment with the wine. Hell, we're in the ultimate of wine countries! So...dinner tonight was amazing and even more amazing, I ate fish! I also loved the white wine, and tried the red.

So it's now Monday morning and I'm trying to upload some photos on this blog and it's not working and it's stupid for me to spend the time doing it and not enjoying the moment. I'll try later. 

France and Switzerland 2014 - Day 3

We woke-up and breakfasted at a more vacation-like hour of 10am. I love the way Susan and Werner have taught me about traveling. It's a cross between relaxing and planning a few highlights for the day.

Today's highlights included a "hop on hop off" bus tour for Susan, Kyle, and I, while Werner and Rick explored an exhibit about the liberation of Paris after World War II. The weather was perfect for our open-air, quintessentially touristy excursion. We mostly hopped on and viewed the ubiquitous sights.

We did hop off to find a restaurant for lunch that Kyle had heard of near the Arc de triomphe. After walking a mile through a beautiful residential neighborhood we discovered that the restaurant was closed. Go figure, it was 4 in the afternoon! We quickly found a sidewalk cafe that was open. We started lunch outside but soon were inside due to a thunderstorm. 








We had tickets to a concert at Sainte Chapelle and were supposed to meet Rick and Werner there at 6:30. Time moved too quickly and after a flurry of texts with Rick and instructions from our waiter, Susan, Kyle, and I decided to brave the Paris subway to get there. Long story short...we arrived a minute after the concert started at 7:01! It was a great adventure though.


The concert was a string quartet playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Rick and I had

experienced this during our first trip to Paris in 2002. It was exquisite and we were so glad we could share it with the others. This time was even better than I remembered. Between the stained glass windows of the chapel and the theatrics of the performers it was quite lovely.

As it was still light after the concert, we decided to explore one more sight and took a city bus to Monmartre and the Sacre-Coeur. After getting of the bus, Susan, Werner and I hailed a taxi to get up to the top while Kyle and Rick walked. We didn't expect to find a party-like atmosphere of tourists and locals sitting on the steps to

greet the sunset! Between the street performers and the guys walking around selling beer from a case on their shoulder, it was quite a happening. It was also stunning to experience the city below from our perch.

We took the funicular partway down the hill and then found another cab to take us back to our neighborhood. It was 10:30 and we hadn't eaten dinner so I pulled out my iPad in the back seat of the cab and quickly found a Rick Steves' suggestion in the Marais. I called to be sure they were open and our cab driver raced to get us there before their 11:00 closing. We had another "RS" winner! Since we arrived at 10:45, rather than dinner we had dessert. A delightful end to a thoroughly incredible day in Paris!  

France and Switzerland 2014 - Day 2

Up at 5am and breakfast at 7:30. Our bodies are trying to figure out just what is going on.

While Rick and I ate breakfast, we reminisced over breakfasts of travels past. I'm amazed how clear the memories are and how many we remembered. My theory of magical moments prevails!

We were so excited about the arrival of Werner, Susan, and Kyle that we couldn't do anything but wait in the lobby of the hotel to see them the moment they got here. They had some snafus at the airport so they were delayed until about noon but it was worth the wait. Werner looks wonderful. In fact they all looked pretty fine considering their long trip.

While they were napping, Rick and I headed over the the Musee d'Orsay. We took a city bus which doubled as a little sightseeing tour. It drove right through the courtyard of the Louvre so we saw its glass pyramid.

I'm not one for crowds or art museums (can't believe I'm admitting this publicly) but I'm a sucker for some Impressionist paintings. The museum is beautiful and huge. Saw some Van Gogh's and discovered a new painter who is probably famous but new to me, Alfred Sisely. Built in an old train station, I loved the museum's humongous clocks. I also loved the design of one of its restaurants.

After leaving the museum we walked part way back to the hotel along the Seine which was lovely. I wimped out and we hopped on a bus for the rest of the way.

We trusted Rick Steves for a dinner suggestion and he did not fail us! Tucked in a little street off the Place des Vosges, Les Bonnes Soeurs, was a perfect choice. Because Rick Steves said they had "the best fries I've had a Paris," I went

with that. They were good but then again, I haven't had many fries in Paris!

This is Kyle's first trip to Paris. Although I've been here two other times, I love seeing the city through his "new" eyes! I don't take the sights for granted but it is so exciting to gaze upon them for the first time. I'm so glad he's with us so I can experience it again.

With that in mind, we took a taxi to the Seine and went on an evening cruise. The energy of the city and the people enveloped us.

The banks were filled with people sitting and talking, waving, and drinking wine. As we began our voyage, Pharrell's Happy song was wafting from a club on the shore. Perfect! It's hard taking photos on a moving boat, at night, with flood lights and an iPhone but I love this one as it reflects the Impressionist paintings we saw earlier in the day.

France and Switzerland 2014 - Day 1

I never thought this was going to happen again but here we are on the way to another adventure with Susan and Werner in Europe! This time we will be accompanied by Susan's nephew, Kyle. I'm writing this on the morning after our arrival in Paris as I just couldn't do it yesterday after more than a day of travel. As I'm writing this, the Boston contingent has just landed at Charles de Gaulle!

We left Los Angeles at 10:05am on 7/30 and flew to Chicago to catch the plane to Paris. We had great connections but flying from the west coast sure makes for a long day of travel. Arriving in Paris during morning rush hour didn't help. We arrived at our hotel, the Marais Bastille, (Susan picked a winner!) around 11am and I immediately crashed. Rick went out to explore, came back with a bottle of water and an exquisite baguette (they never taste as good as they do here), and we both slept until about 5pm.

Though not totally refreshed or hydrated, we decided to take a walk and look for dinner. While still a bit warm from the sunny day, the walk was instantly invigorating as the fact that we were strolling the streets of the Marais begun to sink in. Our hotel is only a few blocks from the Place de la Bastille and the colorful Marais neighborhood.

What really struck me as we walked is that my three months of living in LA has really gotten me used to being in a multi-cultural environment. I remember on previous trips to Europe, originating from Kansas, what a shock to the system it was to land in the middle of diverse people speaking many languages. This time it seemed natural. While most people were speaking French instead of Spanish, I didn't feel the anxiety I felt at the beginning of previous trips.

This is the third time I've been in Paris and the fifth time to Europe. I still felt the immediate sense of awe walking through neighborhoods and past buildings dating from many centuries ago. We wandered over to the Place de Vosges (an area we enjoyed from a previous trip) and what a delight it was to sit and enjoy this beautiful park surrounded by buildings dating from 1605.

After spending the last three months having daily visits with my darling Clementine and the last month with sweet Winnie and Junie (and of course Alissa and Micah), I was envious of the families having an early evening picnic in the park. Thanks to Alissa, as we sat there soaking in the peaceful scene, I received texts with photos of "my" babies. I miss them a lot!

Our energy was flagging so we decided to find some dinner. With cafes, brasseries, and restaurants on every block, we couldn't make up our mind where to land. I was about ready to give up and go back to the room and eat a protein brownie when we found the perfect place to have a cold beer and lovely bite to eat. My gazpacho was delicious and Rick's steak frites were just what he had in mind.

We ended up back in the hotel by 10pm and were tired enough to  drift off to sleep at a "normal" bedtime. It's as surreal being in Paris as the knowledge that home is now Los Angeles. What is very real to me though is that I'm am one very fortunate woman!

California Here We Come - Days Six and Seven

We are back in Williams, AZ after a whirlwind trip to the Grand Canyon.

Our adventure started when we boarded the Grand Canyon Railway on Tuesday morning at 9:30. No wait a minute, at 9:00 we were expected to attend a "western show" prior to the train boarding. Definitely not my cup of tea. There was a fake western town, 5 or 6 cowboys, a U.S. Marshall, and a guy picked from the audience. After the first gunshot, I left and waited by the train but I could hear them acting out some kind of drama. It made me very nervous about our train trip.

Thank goodness, the 2.5 hour train ride wasn't that hokey. We had a nice young guy assigned to our car who tried to engage people and basically acted as our flight attendant. The scenery on the trip up to the canyon was interesting but certainly not up to the standards we established the past couple of days!

When we arrived, we were ushered onto a tour bus. We had bought a packaged tour from AAA and this was included. The bus driver was a friendly type who had lots of interesting facts about the canyon. We first stopped for a buffet lunch which was included and finally began the tour.

The bus stopped for our first viewing of the canyon. I had seen pictures and paintings of
the Grand Canyon but I was not prepared for how emotional the experience of seeing in for the first time would be. The vastness and beauty brought tears to my eyes. I was completely unaware of the people around me snapping pictures. I was in awe and speechless. Our tour took us to three different outlooks. I took 90 pictures on my phone and a bunch more on my camera in the 24 hours we were there. These are of few of my first look.

After our bus tour, we checked into our lodge. We had a lovely back patio where we sat

and watched the train return to Williams. It was suggested that we take a sunset bus tour but after the first bus tour, we both decided we weren't that kind of tourist. We prefer exploring independently. They have free shuttle buses that will take you all over the park. We took one to a lookout to await the sunset.

The whole area is very crowded with tourists. It felt somewhat like when we travel in Europe and are surrounded by people speaking different language. It seemed like we were with mostly Germans and Asians but the lookout we chose was filled with about 10 Italians from Bologna with very fancy camera set-ups. Sunset was at 7:25. We arrived an hour early. It was windy and chilly but there was an excitement and expectation in the air. 

The photo on the left is how the area looked when we
arrived and the one on the right is after the sun had set. To tell you the truth, it wasn't as fantastic as I had expected. It was definitely worth the trip but I think I expected more.

The altitude was really getting to me. That, and the intensity of the experience left both of us exhausted. We had a quick dinner in the hotel food court and went to bed.

Today, we had until 3:15 to explore more of the canyon. I was feeling kinda crappy so Rick took off to explore the Bright Angel Trail. I took a shuttle to get me close to where
he would be and we met up. We went back to the hotel to check-out and then caught a shuttle to Pipe Creek Vista. We

actually then did a 1.6 mile hike to the Visitor Center. I tracked the hike on my walking app. We went from a minimum of 7059 feet altitude to a maximum of 7194. It took 41 minutes but I'm so proud that I actually did it! Stacy, our trainer, would be proud too.

We took a shuttle back to our hotel, collected our things and then went to the train station. By then I was cooked. Everyone on the train was in good spirits. It was nice to see everyone so happy but I wished they would just shut-up! I read for a while and then 2 hours into the trip they announced that the train was going to be robbed. It was boarded by the same "gun slingers" and Marshall. Oy vey. I just stared at the floor and hoped they wouldn't try to "rob" Rick and I. Luckily, there were enough passengers who wanted to play along so they left us alone.

We arrived back to our hotel in Williams around 6:00, had some dinner, FaceTimed with Clementine, and organized our stuff for the trip to LA.

What an adventure we've had! It seems surreal that we are not returning to Leawood but beginning our new life in Los Angeles tomorrow. Thanks for coming along with us. Knowing that you are reading keeps me writing. I like having a record of our travel experiences and I probably wouldn't do it if you weren't there!

Tune in starting July 30 for the next segment of Travels with Karen and Rick when we head to France!