Catacombs

Today we started a bit later as we planned a trip to the Catacombs under Paris. They opened at 10 but the queues were long the other day, so we turned up early, as we do. This was a good thing. The line grew quickly and only 200 people are allowed in at a time. They are very ghoulish, but interesting. The bones are stacked so neatly and all labelled from the church graveyards they are from. There are also some very clever rock carvings done by some of the workers.
After the catacombs, we went to meet Jean-Louis and Marie-France for lunch opposite the Institute of the Arab World. This building is fascinating, modern and has a beautiful view of the back of Notre Dame. We had a lovely lunch then came back to do the washing before we leave for Italy tomorrow and then spent the evening at home with J-L and M-F. It was very pleasant and much calmer than the days we have had recently. We all toasted new year at 2pm, which was when it was new year in Sydney! We are too tired to stay up here and apparently there are no fire-works planned, they are saved for July 14th. So Happy New Year, everyone. I look forward to catching up with you all soon in 2011.

Paris for some more...

We had another busy day in Paris today. We were out the door by 8 again which is still very dark, on the metro and of to l'orangerie which houses the huge Monet canvases. As it happens the queue was not as bad as other museums have been but it was still nice to get an early start. The building has completely changed since we were here in 1989 and it has made the whole experience much better. There is much more natural light coming in to see these amazing paintings.
After Monet we had some spare time before our booked trip up the Eiffel tower so we went to a shopping area but were not really inspired so we went and had lunch before heading to the tower.
Pre-buying tickets was such a good idea. The line went for miles to buy tickets but we only had to wait a little bit in our line, mostly because something seemed to be slowing the lift down. So we headed up to the top which unfortunately was in the clouds, so the view was not as good as it could have been. We went back down to the second platform level. Here we could see much further and had fun finding all the places we had been to visit. It is pretty exciting to be up the eiffel tower!
After this we went to visit some friends who have been in France as missionaries for quite some time. Their boys start off a bit older than Marc and there are 4 of them. It was really nice to step out of tourist mode for a couple of hours and be in a family home where the boys could play with someone else their own age. It was a lovely visit.
From there we went back to see Jean-louis and Marie-France for a nice dinner. It was nice to spend a dinner at home around the table rather than at a restaurant.
Tomorrow it is off to the catacombs. Enjoy the last day of 2010.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Paris, France

Busy Day in Paris

Well we had a very busy day today, but it was fun. We started with our beautiful hotel breakfast of baguette, croissant, hot choc and juice and we were out of the hotel before light (ie 8am). we were in the queue for the Louvre by 8:15 for a 9am opening. We were not the first there but we were not far down the line. We had bought tickets at FNAC so we went straight in. We enjoyed the sculptures, Egypt, Greece, of course the Mona Lisa and a general wander around. When we came out at about 11:30 the queue to get in was very long so the early start was good. We moved on to Notre Dame and enjoyed a boulangerie lunch while standing in the queue which was long but due to the free entry, moved very fast. Then we went to the Musee d'armee which is at the same site as Napoleons tomb. The boys really enjoyed this and it was fun to watch them, which was good because I can take or leave ancient arms and armor! We also went to see napoleons tomb. Tonight we are going next door to a restaurant that serves crab with hammers, gives you an apron and covers the tables in paper. That should round off a full but interesting day.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Paris, France

Another day in Paris

It sounds so blasé! This morning we left early for the musee d'orssay which has a lot of sculptures and 19th century art. Leaving early was good. We had bought tickets already at FNAC and we were first in line, which we realized was a good thing when we emerged a couple of hours later to see the queues going around the corner. I have a new favourite artist, since most of the Monet was somewhere else for an exhibition, i discovered Pissaro. Some amazing impressionist paintings, better than his poitism work. We then walked to Saint Chapelle where we did have to line up for quite some time, but it was worth it. The windows are spectacular. Then we thought about Notre Dame but the queues were too long, another day, and we went to the catacombs but the queues were so long we were told that no-one else was allowed to join the queue for the day so we came home and spent the evening with Jean-Louis and Marie-France and the went out with them to a very nice Italian restaurant for dinner. It was a nice end to a fairly grey, but not freezing day. Tomorrow we are heading off early for the Louvre. Need to plan what we are prepared to line up for and what we need to turn up early for. There are more queues than we expected.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Paris

Arc de Triumph and Eifel Tower

This morning we woke to a classic French breakfast, which had Ryan very happy. Baguette and Croissant with hot chocolate and orange juice all found downstairs in our hotel breakfast room. We then investigated laundry options and put on a load at the local laundromat and while we were waiting for it to dry decided to climb the Arc de Triumph. The view from the top is worth the 250+ stairs. It was amazing. We then met Jean-Louis (Luc's father) who took us back to their flat for a lovely lunch and time together. The boys got given their first french knife. Not sure what I think of that, but I know it is a really important part of Luc's life. The afternoon looked like nice weather so we headed over to the Eifel Tower, but so did the rest of France so we didn't feel like waiting for 90mins in a queue. We will buy reserved climb tickets and go back another day. We enjoyed the views, the snow and the Maritime Museum instead. Now we are home, still struggling a bit with jet-lag, but having to wait until after 7 to find places to eat dinner. It is very cold, but it is great fun being in Paris.

Made it to Paris

Well after a long but uneventful flight we landed in a white Paris. We flew over northern Siberia to get here. It was cold and very frozen down there. We crossed the eurals and then all of Europe was covered in cloud so couldn't see any more.

We landed in Paris about 3:30 local time but by the time we got to our hotel it was 5:30 and we had been up for over 20 hours. We had just enough energy to find a Local pub to but steak and French fries (very French and in need of a meat hit) and fall into bed. The boys are still asleep after 10 hours so hopefully jet-lag won't be too bad. We are looking forward to a roman alphabet, famous sights, family and six nights in the same hotel. It certainly beats watching the Australians play cricket at the moment!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Paris France

Last day in Tokyo

Well this is the end of our Japanese leg of our holiday. Today we had a look around Ueno park just near where we were staying (not a suburb I would recommend - adult content neighbourhood). It had some interesting sites and old shrines. It was here that the Edo empire fell in the mid 1800s to be joined to the rest of japan and become Tokyo.
From there we went to the Imperial Palace gardens. They were beautiful, well kept, but not amazing.
Then we went to find the Pokemon shop which was very kitchy, but not very interesting. The best part was the free stickers given to the boys at the train station exit. As we were about to leave for another train we spotted a garden. It was beautiful. Well laid out, nice lakes, coi, large egret/heron type birds, rocks and hills placed in significant locations and lots of flowering cherry blossoms. In some ways much nicer than the imperial gardens.
Then we went to Asukasa where we had a lovely lunch. The boys pointed out that this was their first christmas lunch out, and I am pretty sure it is mine, too. We looked around, did a bit of shopping and then headed for akihabura. I am currently sitting in a cafe while the boys are all playing arcade games in the sega tower. I am sure they will come and find me again sometime.
Things I noticed about japan - there are bikes everywhere and no- one wears a helmet. Some bikes have baby seats on the front and on the back.
The whole country is accessible to vision impaired people especially if they use a cane. The footpaths have a textured yellow strip down them which change texture as you come to lights or a crossing. The pedestrian lights make different noises and there is Braille everywhere.
There are a lot of vending machines especially for drinks - the stat I heard was 1 machine for every 5 people!
Everyone is very polite. The train ticket inspector bows at the door before he leaves the carriage, and this is normal. Shop staff all call out hello, goodbye and thank you whenever anyone comes or goes and everyone waits in tidy lines at the train platforms where the trains pull up exactly where the platform markings are.
It has been a completely different culture in japan, but definitely one I could get used to - except the rice for breakfast! Talk to you again from Paris.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Tokyo, Japan