Andrew in France 2009

Our First Week

2010-08-12T06:16:00.000-07:00

It seems odd to be writing about Cyprus on the France blog page, especially since these entries aren't going to be nearly as scintillating. (Yes, I do think highly of my writing, thank you.) We arrived at Larnaca airport on Thursday, August 5th after travelling for pretty much twenty four hours. No rest for our tired bodies though - we were met at the airport by my cousin Andri, her husband Simos, and their twins Victoria and Maximus, and taken to the village of Klirou where my mother's younger brother lives (younger by about ten years; safe to say he was an "oops." haha). My mom is the middle child, between two boys. Waiting for us there was a good meal and a lot of family, including my eighty eight year old grandma, who no longer has the one tooth we so fondly remember form our last trip. (Glenn, Andrew and I visited in 2003.) A lot of emotion upon seeing her - so much of what my mother is about is represented by my Yia yia (grandma in Greek), and so in turn my sister and I. Although I don't see my uncles or my cousins very often, I am always surprised by the similarities in behaviours, mannerisms etc.

The three of us are staying with my cousin Andri, and Andrew is pretty lucky as his cousins are only one year younger than him, and they speak English quite well, having attended and English school for the past two years; there are also a lot of toys. Quite the contrast from his last summer in France. My cousin and her family are on holidays, too, and they have been showing us around.

We didn't do much the first day except sleep, and eat, but we made up for it on the Saturday by heading to the beach with my mom, dad, uncle, aunt, grandma, cousin and family, before ending the day with a late meal to celebrate my mother's birthday.

Sunday saw us heading east towards a beach at Ayia Napa. This is a party area, filled with young tourists of whom we saw a lot when we drove along the main strip on our way to an overlook as the sun began to lower. It is a place to which we will return one night. Not sure if it will be without or without kids, but just walking the streets in the evening people watching is entertaining. My cousin Andri worked at a hotel here when she was young, and she told us how she would work her shift at the hotel, head out to the discos, and return home to sleep for just a few hours before she did it all again. Sounds like the Whistler lifestyle to me.

On Monday, we had a pretty lazy day with a late start reminiscent of our days in France. Afternoon meal, then a grocery shop, before going to JUMBO - a very large kids' toy, clothing, furniture store. The money my mom and dad gave Andrew before we left was burning a large hole in his pocket! Afterwards we went into downtown Nicosia. Since it was about seven, most of the stores were closing, but we did get a feel for the area, and no one minded when Glenn suggested we stop at the Starbucks for a coffee. GLENN suggested. He's making me coffee in the mornings now, and Andri & Simos have taught him how to make an amazing Nescafe frappe; he makes those for me in the afternoon. [Kevin and Michelle, you would be proud.] I have had one cup of the Greek coffee, and am looking forward to having a few more at some little cafes. The last time I tried Greek coffee, I was not a coffee drinker at all, and so my first sip was followed by the face pucker. This time - I'm a pro, and need the very smallest amount of sugar. During our time in downtown Nicosia, we crossed over to the Turkish side (pedestrian crossing), and took a brief look around. We'll go back again during the day; we'll also cross over into Northern Cyprus and spend a few days touring there soon.

For those of you who do not know very much about Cyprus, it is a divided island with a divided capital city - much like Berlin. From 1974 until about 2003, neither group of people could go into the other half of the island or city. Now Greek and Turkish Cypriots can cross over, but they must all go through a border check. Nicosia is still divided by what is called the green line - an area that used to be patrolled by UN soldiers. It is still patrolled, but by Turkish and Greek authorities. The southern half of the island is Greek Cypriot, and Cypriots are independent of Greece; Cyprus is not a Greek island, but it's own nation, and it fought for its independence in the 1950's from British rule. The Northern half of the island is Turkish Cypriot, governed by Turkey. If you take a look at a map, you will see that Cyprus is quite close to many Middle Eastern, Muslim countries, yet it is a European, Christian country. I will explain more of the history in a later post. It is an interesting one, and I am fascinated by the various opinions of my relatives regarding their culture, past and present.

Tuesday we drove into the Troodos mountains, following windy, narrow roads. Believe it or not, these mountains receive snow, and Cypriots do ski. Although still hot, it is much cooler in the mountains, hence the reason many Cypriots head for the hills on their holidays. Our destination was Kykkos Monastery - home to an icon of the Virgin Mary said to have been painted by Saint Luke. This monastery has housed this icon for the last four centuries; however, not this exact monastery, as what we saw was built in the 1800's. Andri's husband, Simos, calls it a five- star monastery as it is very rich - certainly we were impressed with the size, the art, the ornate chapel and its many icons beyond the one mentioned above. There are many churches all over the mountain region, and quite a few are UNESCO world heritage sites because of their frescoes. More history: Over the centuries, Cyprus has been home to many cultures because of its location. While under Lusignan, Catholic rule, people of the Greek Orthodox faith were persecuted, and so the clergy retreated to the mountains where they built these small churches with their revered artwork. We will be going to see some of them. Along the way we went through Cedar Valley, home to Cedar trees whose branches grow straight out and parallel to each other, and whose pine cones grow up from the branches. They looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss story, Horton Hears a Who (which by the way was on the television the other day). These trees are cousins to the Lebanese cedar. My cousin's husband, Simos, tells me that the resin these trees contain keep them from decomposing, and they were harvested for boat building. From there, we dragged Andrew on a 5 km round trip hike to the top of Mt. Tripylos. There was a point where he did stop crying - Glenn was carrying him. Aren't we awful. And there will be more. He was most upset about the fact that his cousins stayed at the bottom. We knew he could do this; their parents weren't sure about the twins abilities.

Wednesday, Glenn and I headed into downtown Nicosia with my mom and dad. I convinced my mom to buy a bikini! No one, absolutely no one, wears a one piece bathing suit here (except for the men in their speedos or short trunks). It does not matter what your body looks like - you wear a bikini. We also wanted to have a good Greek lunch, but neither of the two restaurants highly recommended by the Lonely Planet guidebook for lunch were open. Apparently It is an important holiday weekend coming up, and most businesses will take their holidays around it. The nice thing is that my cousin Andri knew both of the restaurants, and they are good, so we'll try them when they re-open on the 22nd. Poolside beckoned later that afternoon. It's great to see the lifeguards enjoying their job: reading their books, chatting with friends, tanning, basically lounging poolside!

Thursday -beach time in Larnaca before heading home to celebrate my aunt's birthday with a 9:30 start for a family dinner. I love it when my child argues with me about bedtime: ME: time for bed. ANDREW: Awww, it's not even late. ME: It's almost 1 a.m. ANDREW: So. We've been to bed later. ME: It's past my bed time. Would you really like to push this?

Okay. I am fading. Time to post this with some pictures.

Weapons at Castelnou

2009-08-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

The are some great authentic weapons in the museum at Castelnou including crossbows, armour, a multishot gun, a huge crossbow, swords, spears and many others. Here are a few pictures.

Dordogne: post 3

2009-08-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

Castelnoud is a castle that was used by the English during the 100 years war to fight against the French who were in Beynac, just a kilometer away. Apparently each side also built chateaus around the area to keep a closer eye on their enemy. Hence there are a number of beautiful, old buildings surrounding the area. The castle is now a museum, which made is so much more enjoyable to tour with Andrew, as there are weapons and many other authentic artifacts from the time on display.

There was a blacksmith outside making items out of steel, a catapult demonstration, and some sword fighting as well. Really interactive.

There are so many beautiful little towns to see in the area with their own unique features. We did a quick visit to St. Cirq Lapopie, which is a small village high on a cliff overlooking the Lot River. The way the homes are packed into the side of the mountain with little alleys running between them is truly amazing. It’s so cool to see all these places.

Dordogne: post 2

2009-08-28T05:07:00.000-07:00

Sarlat, where we stayed the night, has a very well-kept medieval city centre where no cars are allowed. Loads of energy in the streets late in to the evening made it an enjoyable late dinner for us. The great thing about the French cities is they all have squares (places) where activities happen, people eat and cafes serve; all this brings so much life to the area. Sarlat’s old city has at least 10 squares of varying sizes that had entertainers doing their thing that night. The old city is in great shape because 800 years ago the French government gave them a load of dough for supporting France in the 100 years war.

Of course, when you’re in the area you have to take in the local food. One of the local delicacies is “fois gras”, which is goose liver. We picked up a couple tins of it at a quaint little farm shop far out in the country as we headed to one of the grottes (caves). In a nut-shell, the geese are force fed for the last few weeks of their lives until they have huge livers that turn out this amazing spread which costs a pretty penny.

We visited two caves while we were in the area. Around here they are called “grottes” and they contain some pretty impressive prehistoric cave drawings. The first grotte was Pech Merle and it was awesome. Stalactites and Stalagmites formed over thousands of years in the many different areas of the caverns where we were toured through in small, controllable groups. Sadly no pictures allowed, but so worthwhile. The cave art was neat and some of the images were quite detailed and very well preserved, over 15 000 years old. Two teenage boys accidently discovered the cave system in the early 1900’s – came across a small hole, crawled through and voila. The cave structure itself was the main fascination for me.

In the other grotte, Rouffignac, we took a train ride down into the cavern where we stopped and were shown the prehistoric artwork. As you can imagine, trying to understand a fast talking tour guide in French with my limited vocab, made for some frustration. We were given little books in English for the tour of Pech Merle. This cave had nothing on the fancy stalactite/stalagmite business at Pech Merle. Pretty much your basic cavern, but did have cool spots where the bears hibernated, and some excellent charcoal drawings of various animals. Bison and mammoths were the main subjects of choice for these prehistoric artisans.

Still more...

The Dordogne Valley

2009-08-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

Shortly after my parents, from the Toronto area, departed after a very nice time with us here, the three of us packed up for a few days and headed to the Dordogne valley. Don’t make me pronounce it, as every French person I’ve said it in front of has looked at me funny and then snickered to himself. It’s close to a five-hour drive north of us here in Borde-Neuve.
We started off with a three-hour drive to the city of Albi to check out the museum of the French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Many of his most famous works are lithograph posters that advertised for the Moulin Rouge. A lithograph is where the artist carves the original image in reverse into a stone slab and then uses it like a stamp; oils have been rubbed on to the stamp to hold the ink in place. It was a interesting stop – he was a great artist, and his work is more than the lithographs that we know. Andrew enjoyed using the handheld information translator and going around trying to find the next painting with the symbol and number so we could hear more about certain paintings.

Also in Albi was a remarkable Cathedral. Very unique in that it was made of brick rather than the traditional stone, and there is still a barrier in place (called a choir screen) around the alter that was originally used to separate the ceremony itself from the regular parishioners.

In most churches this was removed, but the bishop here opted to keep it and bore a hole out the other end of the church and build a new alter that the congregation could see. Unfortunately, in doing so he took a huge chunk out of the image that was painted on the wall called “The Last Judgement”, that has become quite well known. You know, bad people being burned in hell and all that fun stuff.

After a night in the town of Cahors, we made our way to Sarlat and the Dordogne Valley. Wow. A beautiful, lush area that is so different than here. Totally different agricultural region – corn, wheat, fruit trees, sunflowers, basically farms, stuff that doesn’t grow in our arid region - and also very popular with the tourists. We started off, along with almost everyone else, with a 3 hour canoe trip down the river. The weather was in the 30s, the water was beautiful and the sights of the medieval villages and castles were great. We even bought into the tourist trap of buying a picture that was taken of us while we were heading down river. After all, we really have very few pictures with all three of us in it. Castelnoud and Beynac were highlights from the paddle. Beautiful, tiny villages built into the hillsides. The lines are cleaner, the roofs have a steeper pitch than what we see in the Languedoc-Rousilon region.

More on next post...

Pics of Parc Guell

2009-08-25T03:06:00.000-07:00

Barcelona

2009-08-25T02:59:00.000-07:00

Have I been to Barcelona yet, you ask? Why yes I have. With the close proximity of Perpignan to the Spain border, it made sense for us to fly into Barcelona. We took the train to Perpignan upon our arrival and I have since been back four more times. It’s a three-hour drive from our place in Borde Neuve. The first time back was to pick up Kevin and Michelle and bring them home. The second was to drop them off on a Saturday and pick up my parents on the Sunday, who were coming to visit for a couple weeks. The third time was to come back again on the Monday because their flight had been cancelled the previous day. The fourth time was to drop them off for their return flight. It is safe to say that I am getting comfortable with the drive to Barcelona…although I still only know two words: hello and thank you. Sadly, all that ‘Dora the Explorer’ did not rub off on me.

The sights we’ve seen in Barcelona have been fabulous. We visited the Sangrada Familia with Kevin and Michelle, which is the massive cathedral in the city designed by Gaudi. It has been under construction for over 100 years, and is slated for completion around 2030. They pull in a pretty penny from the visitors touring through it each day. The designs of the pillars, windows and towers are a sight not to be missed. Gaudi took most of his architectural design from nature and they are amazingly recreated in the structure.

We also went to the Parc Guell, which was an upper class, private community Gaudi designed in the early 1900’s that went sour. It’s now a park, showing off all of his creative designs for houses and community space. Tons of tile collages in the chairs and ceilings, as well as crazy looking viaducts (raised walkways) and uniquely shaped houses. One very much takes after a typical house in a Dr. Seuss book, and another totally resembles a gingerbread house.
He has a few other cool buildings down towards La Rambla, which help create a very unique feel to the city with his interesting architecture. La Rambla is a tourist mecca with a myriad of shops and restaurant and people walking the two main streets and the alleys in between. The main thing we were told going to this area was to keep a very close eye on your wallet. Our neighbour has had many friends leave them saying ‘oh it won’t happen to me’, and it ends up happening to them. Fortunately both our visits to this area have been without incident. Spain, in general, is cheaper than France, and it is especially noticeable in the food.

While in Spain we also visited the city of Girona, which is about two hours from home. Very colourful buildings tightly line the river that runs through the city, with pedestrian walkways joining the two sides. There are great narrow streets for browsing the shops and a historic Jewish quarter where the Jewish population was once forced to reside within a sealed-off section of the city (ca. 1300). One of the pedestrian bridges (a pretty red one) was constructed by the Eiffel construction company is the 1860’s.
A large cathedral lies in this city, as well as a roman bath. It’s amazing how the buildings are tied together with rock walls and every nook and cranny is filled with a building of some odd shape.
We took in a tapas place for dinner and were blown away by the spread that was offered. In a buffet style, you went up and helped yourself to as many of the 50 or so tapas available. Each had a large toothpick through it. At the end of the meal your server added up you toothpicks and charged you a flat rate for each one. Now, with me not being a very adventurous eater, you’ll have to take Jacqui, Kevin and Michelle’s word for it that there were some very unique and tasty tapas (both sweet and savory) to be had.

If you are interested in further reading about our trip here, I suggest you check out Kevin and Michelle’s blog, as the have some great posts of their time here. The site address is:
http://chowharrison.blogsome.com

It's about doing nothing sometimes...

2009-08-23T15:47:00.000-07:00

What did we do while Kevin and Michelle hiked for four days? Nothing. They worked while we relaxed beachside or riverside. Okay, we did break a sweat a couple of times in their honour when we played some tennis. That was about it.

Before you think I have let you off easy with a short blog entry… this is my time to air a beef of mine. I know that when people are in the great outdoors and washrooms are not available, people will utilize the bushes. Fair enough. What bothers me, here, is that the bushes are practically trailside, and no one seems to take the used toilet paper with him or to bother to flick the solid waste . It is quite lovely to walk along the path to the river, holding your nose and dodging mottled tissue and human scat.

Around Perpignan

2009-08-23T15:42:00.001-07:00

We have mentioned Alain a few times in our blog entries: he was the Parisian fellow I met at the airport in Perpignan while we were waiting for the arrival of our lease vehicle. Sadly, today was our last visit together as he and his two daughters, Eloise and Angeline, were returning home. Alain was renting a small place in Rasigueres; we passed by it everytime we headed anywhere. Many times it warranted a stop for “coffee” – Alain always offered us either coffee or wine, but only ever served us the wine! It was great to have a ‘friend’ in the area, someone who shared a little bit of French culture. The drive through Rasigueres has been a little lacking since.

Not only did we have to deal with the departure of Alain, but we also had to deal with being abandoned by Kevin and Michelle. The Pyrenees beckoned – what can you do? They left Friday morning.

Before that, we drove down a windy, coastal road (windy roads are a favourite of ours; we can’t seem to get enough of feeling carsick) to Banyuls because it is near the site of a small snorkeling route. Andrew thought it was cool to see so many fish and to be able to breathe while under water. We smiled and nodded, not daring to mention how the fish lacked colour and variety when compared to what Glenn and I saw when we went snorkeling in Thailand. We didn’t say anything not because we didn’t want to ruin Andrew’s moment, but because we didn’t want him to make us feel guilty for leaving him at home for two weeks while we enjoyed being childless in Thailand. And it worked because my son decided to freely offer me what spas will charge too much for – hot rock therapy. Right down to the spaces in between my toes.

The night ended with a crepe dinner in Perpignan , and a chance for us to listen to some live music. Perpignan creates pedestrian friendly streets every Thursday night, so people can be comfortable downtown while they stroll the streets or sit at cafes, taking in the warmth of the evening and listening to the various musical acts. It was a good way for us to burn off the calories of dinner: crepes stuffed with potatoes, lardons (a type of bacon) and a brie type cheese, or Roquefort and walnut paste, or curried chicken, raisins, and pineapples. You’d think a child would love having crepes for dinner. Sure, when they are filled with ice cream and whipped cream and chocolate, not cheese and egg and ham, Sam I Am.

From low to high

2009-08-17T02:19:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, July 29th

Call us crazy, (we are Canucks afterall) for today we thought a good hike would be in order. No, no attention paid to the temperatures of the last few weeks; it’s what happens when one invites outdoor enthusiasts like Kevin and Michelle to join the holiday.
First stop – the Gorge of Galamus. Note: this must be said in your best “Monty Python Search for the Holy Grail” voice. Go on, go back and say it again, out loud. The place actually seemed like it should be in one of those films: it is a canyon leading down to a river, (people participate in canyoning down this river = helmeted swimming in wetsuits) and it also houses a small church situated in a grotto above the river. There is a hermitage, and it was a place of pilgrimage.
We went down to the river, came up, and basically never stopped climbing until we reached the peak of Mt. Bugarach, 1230 m. Are you impressed? Okay, we actually only climbed 600 m to the top. Still, we need to be given credit for the strenuous hour and a half climb it was in the midday heat. To put it in perspective, Mt. Finlayson in Goldstream Park is just over 400m. Just prior to ascending the peak, we came out to a flat, expanse of green. Can you say “Julie Andrews and the Sound of Music”? We were all singing “The hills are alive…” as we guzzled the last of our water.

Back on-line

2009-08-17T02:13:00.000-07:00

Monday, July 27th

After relaxing at home and swimming in the lake on Sunday, we headed down the coast to Collioure, a lovely port town at the bottom of the Pyrenees. It’s a place plus populaire! Parking was non-existent in the town which meant a good trek to and from the sights.
A chateau sits in the harbour, and in a semi-circle around it are four small, but filled beaches while nearby are the eateries/cafes and quaint shopping streets.
By now you can probably guess our arrival time! The heat, though, means swimming can happen at anytime, and the summer light still leaves room for exploring. A little windmill on the hill called to us. Again, like the windmill in Cucugnan, it is still active. Speaking of active, our liitle hike worked up our appetites.
Pizza may not seem like a great French meal; however, when the sauce is crème fraiche and not always tomato, and the pizzas are thin crusted and oven-fired, they are a meal tres delicieux. We loaded up waterside before driving home.

The latest

2009-08-06T01:18:00.000-07:00

We are coming to the end of Kevin and Michelle's visit with us. It has been great touring around with them and relaxing. We have spent many of the last number of days at the beach where we've experience some huge winds and waves which have made for some great fun in the water. We have found two new river spots that have been amazing and very different from each other. One has a perfect rope sing and some rocks to jump off, and the other is limestone all carved out by the water. A little cool, but spectacular.
We visited Perpignan for the first time, and plan to return tonight after doing some snorkeling. My parents are arriving on Sunday for a visit.
Still no internet at the house!!

Internet Issues

2009-08-03T05:29:00.000-07:00

We've run into a bit of a snag with the internet at our home. The password for the dial-up connection just up and disappeared. Hopefully it will be resolved soon.
We've had an enjoyable past few days with visits to Perpignan, the beach, a couple different river spots that were both fabulous, and big mountain hike and wine tasting.
More info and pictures when we're back on-line.

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More Pics

2009-07-25T15:08:00.001-07:00

The next few entries will be some of our recent pictures. We can only post 5 pictures per post.

Mom says: Tuesday, July 21 to saturday, July 24

2009-07-25T15:02:00.000-07:00

Important news first - the hair appliance problem has been solved! Yes, I knew you would be happy to know that. We purchased the three appliances I use, and we justified the cost with the fact that I could use them again when we travel through Europe on our year off (I am aware that that is still three years away). The price Glenn must pay for my beauty - he was well aware of this BEFORE he married me!

Okay, the travelogue begins.

We loaded the car with bags and bodies and proceeded to Nimes because we had tickets to see Franz Ferdinand in a Roman amphitheatre. Your envy is understood! The concert was fantastic. The sun was shining, the night was warm, and the crowd was downright receptive. Four British bands played upbeat, energetic dance music: The Dodoz, The Virgins, The Ting Tings, and Franz Ferdinand. check them out. Andrew loved it. In fact for much of the car ride, he listened to both The Ting Tings and Franz Ferdinand, becoming quite familiar with the lyrics, and so then quite ready to enjoy the show, avec earplugs of course. Didn't I tell you I am a good mother?!
Jonas and Elija - Andrew thought about you and your soon to be concert experience; have fun with dad!
The concert crowd consisted of mixed ages, old, middle and young,(Andrew wasn't the only child) who kept pace with the bands, generously cheering and dancing. I didn't think anything could come near the venue of the Gorge used for the Sasquatch Festival, but ...

Before arriving at our hotel in Nimes, we stopped in Arles, residence of Van Gogh. It was in Arles that he painted over two hundred pieces, and also cut off his ear after an altercation with Gaugain. Not long after that he killed himself, dying at a young age of thirty seven. Arles also has a Roman amphitheatre, larger than the one in Nimes, and currently under reconstruction. I believe the notes said that it would have held 20,000 people during Roman times. During Medieval times, the arena was boarded up and turned into a fortified city before it fell into disuse, hence the current restoration.

A little shopping was in order for Wednesday, and after a leisurely breakfast and coffee (two actually, tea for Glenn) at a well-established boulangerie/patisserie (dating back to 1775) in Nimes, we drove to Uzes for their market. Colourful, busy and wonderfully scented, this experience alone would make anyone want to remain here! Olives, cheeses, meats, lavender, honey, the list goes on. Lunch has continued to be breads, meats, tomatoes, and cheeses; no complaints from Kevin and Michelle, especially when there are so many breads, meats, and cheeses to try. Even Andrew is expanding his pallet. Soon he'll be eating foie gras with us! Uzes is a beautiful town with pleasant shops which didn't sell the tourist kitsch.

The afternoon saw us at the Pont de Gard, a Roman aquaduct. See the picture with the information. It took five years for the Romans to build this amazing structure. Jaws were dropping. It's a busy place, not only because of the structure, but also because people are ALLOWED to swim in the river below this UNESCO World Heritage site. When in Rome, do as the Romans do! Sometimes it's good to be a sheep. Sheep who like grapes: we managed to squeeze in stops at two vineyards for a tasting and a purchase. Sante!

Our first real dinner at a restuarant was nothing to write home about, yet somehow I am doing just that. The Lonely Planet guidebook for Nimes disappointed us. Note to self: if the main course comes with french fries and a green salad, marchez vite!

Thursday morning dawned, and breakfast thoughts turned to crepes, and coffee. Again, we lingered; there is something so relaxing about sitting at a cafe in a large square with good friends, good food, and good weather. The absence of cars is another bonus. Reluctantly, we piled into the car. Destination: Isle sur la Sorgue, aptly named the Venice of France. No, don't let your imagination go too far. Gondolas don't really fit in all of the waterways around the town, but our feet did! There was a great market here too, and it sold more than just food, enticing us to spend some money. Andrew was pretty proud of his purchase of a digital watch - Opa & Yia yia, he is spending wisely!
We have enjoyed decimating the French language as we try to engage with shopkeepers, waiters etc. They are patient, and honestly, we are learning. Just wait. You should check out Toyota Fleet Guy's blog comment from the other day - in French. Tres bien, Monsieur Schwarz!

There are a couple of hillside town pictures on the blog, and we placed them there because we thought they were stunning. Not when you have seen the hillside town of Gordes. Our picture will not do it justice. Gordes has become the summer place for the rich and famous, who have bought up and restored properties; if the guidebook had not told us that, we would have figured it out - rockwall after rockwall after rockwall surrounding large houses, not to mention the pools we could see when looking down the hillside. Another draw to Gordes was the Abbey de Senanque and its lavender fields. Gorgeous in sight and scent. These nuns also grow wheat: storybook picture accompanied by the sound of swishing wheat sheaves.

On our train ride from the airport in Barcelona to the station in Perpignan, we forgot Andrew's car seat. Communication with the train station meant checking the lost and found at the Montpellier station (last stop after Perpignan) which we decided to do on our way home Thursday night. No luck finding it, but we did find that our first impression of Montpellier was not accurate. It seems that the dodgy, dirty train station area was not definitive of the city itself. C'est vrai. When we drove into the city centre to find a place for dinner, we were met with a vibrant, young culture. Our dinner here was tasty, and our waitress told us how it is very much a lively cultural arts centre, she herself being a theatre student.

Tired but content, we arrived home, stumbling up the stairs to sleep. Friday, we introduced Kevin and Michelle to our "Why should we start the day or leave the house anytime before three" philosophy, not arriving at the river in Rasegueres until four. We stayed until seven, enjoying the company of Alain, Eloise and Angeline.

Saturday brought another late start. Quelle surprise, eh?! Plans for today paired a hike with a visit to Chateau Perypertuse, not far from Chateau Queribus which we visited in our first week. This castle was set atop a longer ridge, and it had three levels, with two sections housing dungeons. Sadly for Andrew, just the remainds of walls. It is difficult to adequately explain the feelings one has when visiting these hilltop castles. The amount of work to build such a structure in such a hard to reach place... I would have just surrendered. Instead, I will retire. A demain.

Dad says:

2009-07-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

We drove to the walled city of Carcassonne today. There is an old city that is fully walled and has the castle in it, and a newer city (1300’s), down below that seemed to be walled to a certain extent. The castle has been amazingly we refurbished (1800’s) and the tiny walking roads of the old city are quite a sight. Too bad about all the cheesy shops that line the streets with classic tourist stuff. Even hotels and B&B’s in there.
Andrew, of course, bought himself and dagger-like knife which he is very pleased with. I actually think it is a letter opener.
There is a spectacular stretch of road the the route to and from Carcassone where the road is extremely windy following the river (nothing new really), there are rock out-crops over the road, amazing rock spires for mountains, and super railway tunnels and structures. Also a castle up in the mountains to view. An interesting, but tiring day. Hope all is well back home.

Body Surfing

2009-07-20T14:07:00.000-07:00

Today we all went to the beach. I was the one we went to the other day. Canet-Plage. Me and dad and mom went in the waves and body surfed. I had no goggle. It was fun. At the beach there was a place with lots of bouncy castles. I went there for a while and had fun jumping around. I twas really tiring. After, we went for ice cream and dad and I went back in the water.
We got pizza in Estagel and ate it at the tennis court. We all played tennis on the nice courts which even had lights that we turned on. We played until 10pm. It was fun.

Dad says:

2009-07-19T03:02:00.000-07:00

Sadly, I had to get up early on Saturday morning. I drove down to Barcelona (2h 45m) to pick up our friends, Kevin and Michelle, who will be visiting here for 3 weeks. Part way down I realized I did not have any flight info, I did not have my home phone number, nor did I have my passport with me. Not exactly prepared for a multi country journey. Fortunately, my GPS took me to the correct terminal (perhaps by fluke) and there they were waiting for me. Whew !
On our return journey we decided to head to the coast and check out the top bit of Spain and into France on our way back to Perpignan. It’s an absolutely stunning coastline with a crazy road that snakes along the coast line like a trail would out in East Sooke Park. Amazingly blue water in contrast with the red roofs and the green hills. The vegetation in Spain was surprisingly different from our part of France, as there was corn, wheat, sunflowers and very treed mountain sides. We’re a one crop town around here …grapes.

We stopped for lunch and a swim at Banyuls by the Sea. The beach was smooth gravel opposed to sand, but the water was perfect. My first good swim here. I’m usually a sinker, so it’s cool to be able to float effortlessly in the sea. The rest of the drive was nice, but a little more boring, as my jet-lagged friends were passed out for most of the ride.

Upon our return home, I met Jacqui in the house who was a little frazzled by the neighbour children (Romain and his twin sisters Manon and Anise) who were in her face constantly and returning every three minutes when she asked them to give her half an hour. I think we’re going to have to start using the teacher voices with them, like their scary mother does, in order to get our point across. I should be videoing this Romain boy because he’s so over the top. Nothing frazzles him – takes it all in stide with a smile on his face. He knocked on our door and was waving a big American flag on a pole at us for some strange reason I could not understand…maybe you had to be there to fully enjoy the oddness of it ?
We’ve met most of the people here in Borde-Neuve now, and everyone is very nice. Romain’s mom is nothing like her yelling suggests. It’s just what she has to do with her kids !

We did take all the kids of Borde-Neuve to the little swimming hole down the path about 300 meters. Maybe their parents don’t take them very often, as their eyes popped out of their heads when they heard that we were going. It’s actually a pretty nice little place to swim and we had a good time. *Regarde moi, Madame* was the catch-phrase of the swim as kids were vying for our attention to watch tem jump, or float, or splash. They call me monsieur.
A nice meal with K&M and early to bed at midnight. My best sleep of the trip !!
Here is a picture of the breadman who comes everyday.

My purchases and Friday

2009-07-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

I want to show you some things I bought. Me, mom and dad went to the night market the other evening in Le Barcares. I bought a shark-tooth necklace. It’s cool. We also bought some icecream.
On the day we went to the castle when we were walking back from the old winmill in Cucugnan, I saw a store that sold pocket knives. I looked at them and then bought one with the money Opa gave me. Here is a picture of the shark tooth and the knife.
Dad wants to explain about two of our previous pictures. The one of the town below is Maury, and the one that is of vinyards is of our home from a distance (Borde-Neuve). He will try to label the photos for when you click on them from now on.

On Friday we went to the beach even though it was really windy. I thought the waves would be big, but they weren’t. Me and dad went in the water anyways. It was very warm. We both went under the water. The blowing sand hurt us as we tried to dry ourselves.
During the night Eloise and her dad and her sister came for dinner. Me and Eloise played lego and played DS. We also listened to the band of dad and Alain. I got to drum to it too.

Extra Pictures

2009-07-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

Mom says:

2009-07-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

Another late start, after two. You’d think we were on holidays or something ! We honestly did try to leave earlier ; however, our attempt to depart was delayed by Romain, the twelve year old neighbor Glenn told you about yesterday . He stayed for about two hours, and really only left because his mother yelled for him. We quickly readied ourselves – okay, Andrew and Glenn were quick, me, not so much. Having some trouble in the appliance world ; Glenn had to ask the neighbor Aline if she had a hairdryer I could use. She’s one of those beautiful, au naturel European women, but she dug around and found an old one for me to use. Really, I just wanted to avoid preparing lunch, and it worked as Glenn and Andrew sliced the baguette (bread man honks the horn of his truck everyday as he drives up ; everyone buys a fresh loaf everyday), sliced the various cheeses, sliced the tomatoes and the fruit, and set the table. Then I walked down the stairs and into the room like the queen I am !! It was our second time having a lovely déjeuner. No wine with lunch today as I hadn’t yet had my coffee : thelis Nescafé ? Yes, I have been enjoying these little 3 in 1 Nescafé pouches.
Promptly after lunch, Romain returned. He wanted to show us the lower swimming pond. D’accord . It’s around the back of the property, past the chicken coop, the rabbit cage, and the fruit trees, not to mention the long grasses where plenty of grasshoppers reside ; we caught one – sorry David Carradine. The pond is decently small, but a little sketchy looking in my books, but Andrew is anxious to try his recently purchased fishing net. I’ll go in. I’m a good mom.
We did have to get going, and so we told Romain that we needed to leave as we were going to see Château Queribus . He was quite concerned that we have good directions, and so decided to accompany us. Allons y ! (We didn’t tell him that we have a GPS in the car). I am poking a little fun at Romain, but it is good-natured. He is a friendly boy who truly wants to help us, and it has been quite fun trying to decipher his rapid fire French ; our fingers cannot turn the pages of the dictionary fast enough, nor can we tell him to slow down (lentement) often enough. He is just so excited for us ! Andrew loves having him around ; they created rhythms together in the car on the way to the castle. And then they proceeded to break all of the rules by running up the path and climbing on the walls of the the castle .
The castle is at least a thousand years old, and it was part of a network of five castles which guarded the region. We plan on seeing a few of the others, the most famous being Carcassonne. The slits for arrows, and subsequent firing weapons, were well-angled, and they afforded views in ALL directions ; no sneaking up on anyone in this castle. Above the entranceway is a large rectangular opening for pouring hot oil or other such nasty stuff on unwanted visitors ; that, or just a giant peephole. Check the picture of Andrew, Romain and me looking down. Up, up, up we went to a beautiful view, even with the fog. We’ll have to visit again on a sunny day although it would be much wiser for us to go to the beach. Cloud cover just means the absence of sun, not warmth or humidity.
Before heading home, we stopped in Cucugnan to see an old windmill which has been restored, and in a small on-site boulangerie they sell cookies and cakes made from the mill’s flour ; being nice parents, we bought the boys some biscuits. Now it was the adults’ turn for a treat . How about a bottle of red wine from the local cellar? Thanks. Time to try a wine from the Corbiéres region. Shhhh… don’ tell anyone that we hadn’t yet finished the wine we bought in St. Paul yesterday from the Roussillon region. Towns/villages are so close, yet each one has its own cellar (cave), selling wines from the local vineyards ; it is only green here because of the multitude of vineyards ! You know the old saying : man cannot live by bread alone.

Dad says:

2009-07-16T02:35:00.000-07:00

We took quite a long time to get out of the house today…seems to be a bit of a pattern for us. 3pm we left Borde-Neuve and drove to St. Paul, bought some wine from the local cellar, then headed to the coast. Every small town sells its own wine. The little back roads are amazingly picturesque with tiny towns perched on the hillside surrounded by vineyards. I think I got a little carsick from the windy roads even though I was driving.
We stopped in Perpignan at the train station to see if we could track down Andrew`s car seat which we left on the train on our way here. Hopefully we`ll get it back. When we were in the city, we came across the first stoplights of our trip. Amazing how you get used to the round-abouts.
We arrived at the beach around 5 :30pm, so not exactly at the sun`s apex in the sky, but still very nice. We checked out a night market in Le Barcarès, a beach just north of Perpignan. We actually ran into Alain and his family there.

Our home here is terrific. Very secluded, but extremely comfortable, roomy, cozy and peaceful. We have met a few of the neighbours (some more than others) and have enjoyed interacting in french. The people next door have descent english, so we flip back and forth and fill in each other`s gaps in the language. The bread van arrives with a honk every day, so we can go out and buy our fresh baguette for the day.
Our 12 year old neighbour Roman arrives at our door every morning with either a cat or a dog in his hands, or today he arrives with a notebook with french words and sayings with which to teach Jacqui. I think he’s pretty pumped about having new people here…especially a boy to play with.
There are 7 families here : Roman has twin sisters, an 8 year old lives right next to us, and there is a 5 year old around the back. Andrew hasn’t interacted with them too much, except for Roman who is very outgoing. Andrew is now saying Bonjour and merci.
We have found that the french people have been very friendly to us so far. But I must say I’m not a fan of the french keyboard on our computer…I’m wearing out the backspace button !! Off to check out some castles today.

Pictures of our home in France

2009-07-15T04:15:00.001-07:00

Tuesday

2009-07-15T03:53:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the river in Rasigueres with mom, dad, Eloise and Alain. We met them at the airport when we were waiting for our rental car to arrive. They are staying in the town closest to us. Me and Eloise played catch with a ball in the water. I swam all the way out to mom and then back to shore. We had dinner with Alain, Eloise and Angeline and had a freezy for dessert.
We went to the next town called Planezes to a music festival where bands were playing. Eloise and I played tag and watched a puppet show. I am having trouble understanding people here. There was a thunder and lightening storm when we got home. Lots of rain.

To Perpignan

2009-07-14T01:47:00.000-07:00

On the plane ride I felt sick and I watched two movies. On the train ride I played DS and went to sleep.

The house in Borde-Neuve is really cool because it has a lot of secret rooms and trap doors. We went to a restaurant next to the ocean. It was outside. I played on the beach and got hit by big waves.

Gramma and Grampas house

2009-07-14T01:44:00.000-07:00

The first two nights we were at Gramma and Grampas house near Toronto. They had dirt bikes. Me and my dad rode them a lot while we were there. I rode a Honda 70.

My trip to France

2009-07-14T01:37:00.000-07:00

I am Andrew. I am 7 years old. I am going on a trip to France with my mom and dad. We will be staying at Sue and Yves house near Perpignan for 7 weeks.