Books reading these 2 weeks:
Jacky Daydream - Jacqueline Wilson, describes the simplicity and pleasure of childhood and parents trying their best
Contentment - Robert A Johnson
Conversation - Theodore Zeldin
Early Train - Jonathan Davidson, some wonderful images, apple pickers 1981 - a modern constable's haywain in words
tuesday 31 july
set off in a hurry at 3.30pm in taxi to get make the 4.30 train to Strasbourg with an overnight at le Petit Trianon (we knew what this meant by the end of the holiday).
Had a walk around Strasbourg in the evening
wednesday 01 august
long train journey in first class, slightly more comfortable than 2nd class with breakfast bought from a bakers in strasbourg and a few coffees on the train later in the pleasant dining car
we arrive on time just after midday and find Nick, then we wait for Matt and Tilda before carefully jigsawing the luggage into the car and driving on to the campsite at Le Pas Opton were we meet up with Gill, Sam and Joe, have some lunch then Nick takes us to the campsite to check in.
We travel to the supermarket together, also checking bike hire details at the shop nearby and then come back to the chalet for evening meal and some olympics watching, chiefly swimming with the french freestylers doing well.
thursday 02 august
Katie and i walk into town early leaving the girls asleep and arrange the bike hire from the town (a good 5km walk away) in 2 stints so that the girls don't have to walk in.
we cycle in later, we go to supermarket (super-U) where we were yesterday, Sabrina is in a stroppy mood, chiefly about the bikes and having to cycle everywhere, but Eve also chips in.
we have a coffee in a cafe nearby then Sabrina storms off and we lose her for an hour, before I cycle back and find her at the chalet, after being stopped at a roundabout walking alone by the gendarmerie.
Then spend ages cycling back to the beach where all the others are to meet up with Katie, who is patiently waiting with the bikes since she had no key to lock them up.
All in all a wasted day but we have got the hang of the geography, although we need to find a quieter route to the beach.
we cycle up to Nick and Gill's getting lost due to my bad navigation but get there in the end and in time for the chilli meal, Sabs reconciles and knew she could trust me she said.
nice meal together and we then do the pub quiz as a group of 6 (which we win!), Sabs and Eve sitting also at table, sam and joe go off with their respective friends
cycle back in the dark, good that we have lights, although needs a bit of juggling in the order since not all of us have working rear lights
friday 03 august
meet up at beach
saturday 04 august
katie and i went for long walk on our own today, leaving Sabs and Eve in the chalet to rest
sunday 05 august
trip to afternoon event, then we go back to nick and gills for chinese stir fry evening meal then the usual but now shortening cycle back to our chalet
monday 06 august
poor day overcast but didn't rain, we cycle into town and explore centre and buy ticket at the station for wednesday morning from St Gilles up to Nantes
tuesday 07 august
Some resistance, this time from Eve but we finally find the tennis club and each other, fortunately we are at the side of the club where there is a free training wall and we spend an hour there (which I discover later injures my back a little, still it gets me out of carrying the small daily back pack, which means Katie has to do this, saying it is good for her)
we go to the beach, spend some time there on the best day of the week, no wind, mid-tide, some good swimming.
we enjoy the last visit, drop the bikes off then make our way on foot to McDonalds and from there call a taxi to take us home
wednesday 08 august
travel from st jean croix-de-vie to nantes and from there on to paris montparnasse
we get up early having booked a taxi for 8.30, in a flurry a bit, since Sylvia is not there to give us the deposit but she does eventually turn up at 8.35.
taxi driver very good and reasonable, 15 euros.
we have breakfast at the restaurant we'd had afternoon refreshments 2 days earlier and they allow us to bring bread from the bakery just up the road opposite the station
we then get into train for slow hour's journey to Nantes, then a relatively quick changeover for the 2 hour trip to Paris.
after a bit of orientation and massive heaving of luggage we make our way via the Metro to Jules Joffrin to the hotel.
Katie and i leave the children for a scout out around the area and a quick tour of the touristy sacre coeur area.
we get back to fetch the girls for supper out, going to cafe de la place where a friendly Sabrina shows us to central spot in the restaurant
have decent although expensive meal, nearly 90€ for the 4 of us, Sabrina and Eve having chicken on a bed of mashed potatoes with delicious sauces
thursday 09 august
we get up for breakfast, a little unsure whether it's included or not, despite questioning 2 receptionist, seems it is, so we use it to set us up for the day, snaffling a couple of cheese slices and spreads to put on bread later.
armed with some provisions we set off via the number 31 bus to arc de triomphe, then a jaunt down the champs elysee via mcdonalds and virgin megastore
we reach place de la concorde then walk all the way back on the river side to the eiffel tower
i get disconnected from the others, a feature of the paris part and after spending around 15 mins waiting at the eiffel tower, Eve springs out of the anonymous crowds of bystanders to greet me
Eve and Katie go up to the first level by the stairs whilst saby and i wait, munching the crisps and tuc biscuits, the cheese spread coming in handy
we then walk across the bridge to view the tower from the other side of the seine, take more photos and observe the gambling game with 3 discs, one white, 2 black, watching how the mini-groups use a plant in the small group to con someone into parting with 50€
we continue on to arc de triumph and take the bus back to the hotel.
we go up to the place i wanted to go to last night but alas it hasn't opened yet so we search further uphill and finally decide on the "coin des Amis" which costs a snip under 100€ for us 4 but is very good nonetheless, i economise with a salad again
friday 10 august
having seen a sign for the fashion/costume museum yesterday, we head for this after usual late start and number 31 bus to arc de triumph
unfortunately, we discover it is closed for renovations so with some hard persuasion, we go in the museum of modern art, well the tokyo part of it, which is just opening and has an exhibition on
it interests us a little, about peoples and cultures and the usual shocking modern stuff
Katie convinces us to walk on the other side of the river and we head back to the place de la concorde with good view of the eiffel tower, we stop near concorde for lunch, crisps, cheese spread, water
we continue on and into the shops on bd hausmann, first gap then the fashion floors of AU Printemps which the girls find interesting, if somewhat daunting in price
for evening meal, we decided to have a take away pizza this evening, to keep costs under control a little, so Katie and i go on a scout about to hunt down suitable pizza place, supermarket for drinks and somewhere green to sit and eat: we head north towards the next metro station on line 12, porte cliqcancourt.
Katie had discovered this area on a run before breakfast.
however, we fail to find anywhere suitable so settle on a fast food place, occo chicken which meets the bill for 4 of us for 30 euros.
after getting back, I nip on to the supermarket to get provisions to keep us going which is now developing into the staples of junk and nutritional:
mars or snickers
malteezers or kinder country
beer
water - 3 litres per day for all of us
normal and speciality (usually bacon flavoured) crisps or biscuits ("tuc into tucs"!)
apples
notice Sabrina our friendly waitress form our first meal in the area at the main restaurant on the corner, smiling and showing another group of foreigners to the central table, clearly this happens often!
saturday 11 august
visit to museum of decorative arts near the louvre, with an exhibition dedicated to louis vuitton and marc jacobs which Sabs likes, my scribbled notes on the program said:
the 2 designers were linked over time: Vuitton understands the demands of the industrial age, Jacobs understands the demands of the global age;
Jacobs was happy to be perfectly imperfect and suffered many failed starts earlier in his career;
Jacobs says that many people would hate a life without fashion, but he cannot envisage fashion without life.
after the museum visit, which we all enjoyed, we stop at starbucks across the road to recharge then go into the parc with the lake daumensnil, expecting this to be the place that we lost Sabs in all those years ago, but we recognise none of it and get lost and give up! then make our way back for the hotel where we have a relaxing takeout pizza with bargain priced, 2 salads, 2x2 people pizzas and large coke for 26€ at pizza hut, we supplement with wine
Katie had discovered a decent place directly opposite the pizza place with a quiet square overlooked by gorgeous apartments with their flamboyant windows frames and one or tow quaint balconies.
sunday 12 august
get up early with Katie for walk before breakfast and we walk up to sacre couer for some good photos before the crowds arrive, we go in and it is still relatively peaceful
trip to try and find flea market results in us discovering the antiques market and we amble round lost in another age, from shop to shop, from 18 to 19th century and up to middle 1900s with the numerous
record shops selling classics and playing them on simple setups, for example, the guy playing exquisitely sounding jazz on an old gramophone hooked up to simple box speakers, i wander around his shop but he's clearly
in ecstasy on his own and not really interested in selling anything, just enjoying the music and the moment.
we then go on to underground and via RER / S-bahn train to Versailles to be confronted with massive queues for tickets and then for actual entrance, the gardens costing entry also today.
we sidle round the side of the gardens, expecting to get entrance but not possible.
we relax for an hour near the Swiss Lake and the children seem quite happy to stay, ensconced in their own world and taking short films with the camera.
we eventually decide to make a go of queuing, Katie for the entrance queue and me for the ticket queue and we get in after around 20mins, then join the hoards in their conga queue round the rooms.
the tour of the palace lasts an hour all told, then we exit and decide to go back.
we take the RER to Invalide, then underground at armee national which is hard to find back to hotel for quick change then back down to cliqancourt for mcdonalds with a snaffled bottle of wine.
then we go back to hotel to watch last of olympics and the spectacular closing ceremony.
monday 13 august
our usual late start and we discuss what best out of the options available:
girls initially say Versaile but happy with any option
my preference is the tutankhamon exhibition but this is not very french
notre dame, musee d'orsay and history museum are other options for a museum day.
Spoke with the couple from chadderton and they convince me about going again to versaille, showing the correct entry this time on the map.
So: trip back to versailles to discover that also the exhibition and gardens (Petit Trianon, Grand Trianon and Hammeau) were
closed. Still we enjoy walking around to the far end of the lake/canal, girls happy to be lost in their world.
We spend all afternoon walking and exploring the fountains and gardens, although the latter are mostly closed off, but we visit the kings garden and queens grove.
Notice also the gates on all side of the estate which are open today.
We take train back and get up to Notre Dame, since this was Katie's request, there is a mass taking place with some lovely singing and it all brings Sabs to tears.
we have a repeat pizza meal, then pack; Katie and I nip out for a drink to soak up the Paris nighttime feeling for the last time
tuesday 14 august
trip back, get down for breakfast shortly after 8, the girls roll in after half and hour and we leave the hotel
to take short journey to Gare de L'Est arriving 10am and waiting for an hour for the train leaving 11.25 to first Stuttgart
then a close change due to late arrival to the luckily adjoining train to Munich which is fortunately a little late.
Uneventful journey apart from the old british couple living 35 years in germany and cycling with everything needed on 2 fold-up Bromptons,
reminded me of the couple seen yesterday near Notre Dame rolling into Paris with everything loaded on paniers of 2 road bikes.
Links / Stays
http://www.hotel-petit-trianon.com/en/
http://www.residencechaletslamouette.fr/
http://www.edenhotel-montmartre.com/
future trip to Paris should include:
eiffel tower at night and museum of costume/fashion, nearby
musee d'orsay
thoughts from holiday
we were covering 20km walking per day and not much complaining: children are now fitter than we are
stick to a priority list of items to visit and check opening times - important in France, especially on Mondays and Tuesdays
children giving lots of hassle for first couple of days in each location, then settling down to the reality, whether cycling or walking, on the whole excellent throughout
France
holiday reports
Conditions - Copyright 2012
About - Contact