Went for dinner in town Thursday night. Not so used to the late night dining at this point. With a full tummy you usually end up having bad dreams. My latest was about killer seals. Go figure? Anyway, on a tour around the town we finally made it to the basilica. It is advertised that the bones of Mary Magdalene are entombed here with some other saints. The church is incredibly old (1295 AD) and as yet still unfinished. I’m pretty sure that it is a sure bet that it won’t be finished. The organ pipes are huge and we were lucky enough to hear them being played today (Friday) although I think the organist was practising. It is the only Gothic style church in Provence. Steve was very impressed and has decided Gothic style is his thing.
Cherry time
The surrounding farmland has amazing cherry trees along with the usual vineyards, pine trees, birch etc. This morning as we were having crepes I thought a delicious cherry jam might be worthwhile trying. So here are the pictures from that experience. Not too bad if I may say so myself. The hardest part is ensuring you don’t squirt cherry juice all over the place while still ensuring you keep as much cherry pulp as possible!
Plan D’Aups
Today we went to a little village called Plan D’Aups. From here we did a walk into the hills and up a mountain range (Sainte Baume) heading for the Grotto of Mary Magdalene. Apparently this is a bit of a pilgrimage site. It was a beautiful blue sky day but the wind has been bitterly cold. The walk was incredible through ancient forests that have been there since the 14th century (possibly earlier). Legend told is that Mary Magdalene fled with her mother and brothers to this area to avoid persercution as a Christian. She is said to have lived and evangelised in this region and later died in a grotto that is perched on the side of a cliff. We climbed all the way up to the church cut out in the cliff. Stunning views of the area from there. The grotto is incredible complete with statues, holy water, stained glass windows and of course the Catholic sacred relic (in this case, Mary’s bony something-or-other).
Today’s lesson learnt
Sunday we left Paris for Provence, heading to a gite just outside of Sainte Maximin la Sainte Baume. Picked up a rental car in Avignon and Steve thankfully did the driving as it freaks me out too much at this stage. Only had 1 near incident but survived to tell the tale. To give us a bit of a break from the stress of driving we dumped the car (after 15 mins of driving) outside the gates of Avignon and walked into the centre. We walked around town and took photos of the Palais du Papes (huge church), listened to the accents of the many travelers that had descended on the town (including some kiwis from the South Island) and decided to have some lunch. This is where today’s lesson is taught. We managed to find a very reasonably priced place for lunch, salade nicoise for 8.50, however, note to self – check a menu when ordering a drink. Steve decided to get a Coke so I joined him in a Diet Coke. I got a medium size he got a large. Well, the large was in a STEIN GLASS! We believe there must have been at least 1.5 litres in there. The price? 10 Euro!!!! His drink cost more than the meal. Doh, lesson learnt.
Fontainebleau
Today (Friday) we visited the Chateau at Fontainebleau. After setting out at a time finally compromised on (8.30am) we arrived at midday. OK so Steve was correct in the fact that we should have left earlier. Located around 60 kilometers outside of Paris the Chateau was the original palace that royalty used to occupy until the royal court was moved to Versailles. A lot less touristy than Versailles (and in this not as well signposted to provide good “tourist idiot” proofing) we finally managed to figure out how to get into the Chateau. Personally I prefer Versailles for the incredible beatuy and colour of the gardens but Fontainbleau was far less pressured “tourist wise”. Interesting areas to look at would include walking in the gardens with the wild meadow flowers and checking out the bizarre “dog peeing” fountain in the Garden of Diana. What do I mean by this? Basically it is a round fountain with a circle of dogs that have the fountain water coming out like they are peeing. Can’t say this would be my fountain spot to sit on a hot sunny day!
Cheese
OK so the cheese here in France (Paris) is amazing. Traditional cheese making uses non pasteurized milk which gives it the incredibly creamy texture and taste. The trade off for this though (for our tourist tummies) is gurgly stomachs and frequent trips to the restroom. As long as you can find a restroom (hopefully one that doesn’t cost 0.50c to use it) then you are OK. In a day of walking around the city we came across one public toilet which was a bit dodgey but when nature calls…
Another incredible must do in Paris is the chocolate crepe sold at the roadside stands. For a bargain 3.50 Euro you get a huge crepe with nutella and banana. Yummmmmm!!!! However, I think I have just discovered that I may have a hole in my tooth. Darn it! Well, it will have to wait until we start earning some pounds.
Paris
Although overcast this could never stop you from enjoying Paris. Temp has been quite cool but loving it after the heat of Dubai. Walked about 10 kilmetres today and also attended the shareholders meeting from my last job. Must say it was interesting and insightful to see a shareholders meeting. It was held at the Palais des Congres and in all honesty at least 85% of the attendees would have been 60 years old +. This gave a large insight into the company and more so listening to the future plans. Very exciting times. We managed to get onto Skype today as well and chatted to our families which was lovely. We are so priviledged to have such amazing technology that allows us to cheaply and at anytime connect with friends and family overseas, talking and even seeing them on camera. In the french language department, so far we have managed to order our dinner last night. Tried to get 2 metro tickets today and failed miserably. All in the fun of traveling however.
We have arrived
Well after a day of traveling and 3 days in Dubai we have arrived in Paris. I love this city!!!
Dubai was bizarre. Glad we have done it but not certain that it is a place that is high on the agenda to return to. The plan they have to make it a grand tourist destination and have all the incredible luxury etc is an interesting idea but at the end of the day a lot of it is fake. You think you are seeing an historic site then when you go up to it you see it is made of plaster. The extreme in weather was incredible (up to 46 degrees while we were there). Today however flying out it was much cooler. If I was to sum Dubai up it would be a hot, progressive destination that is doing all it can to build its future while trying to understand what kind of nation it will be eastern or western.
Paris on the other hand has not changed. Still incredible in its age, beauty and dignity. Now its time to hit the streets of Paris for a stretch after the plane ride.
Countdown begins
Only 3 days until we fly out now. The house is trashed, we are knacked, the car battery decided to die yesterday, and we got ANOTHER parking ticket! What is with that!!!!! At this point I will be very glad to be on the plane so I can relax but we still have so much to do. We did a flyer drop down our street last night to see if anyone is interested in a bed, fridge, car or wardrobes. At this stage no calls. At least we sold the studio lights and answer machine on Ebay last night. Hooray, at least 1 very heavy item is gone! Big list of things to continue with today, meanwhile Sydney Water has decided to start digging up the road outside our place at 7am this morning. Good excuse to get up I suppose and get moving on the day.
Family Picnic
Today was a great one. The weather was lovely for the most part and we shared the day having a BBQ with whanau and friends. Thanks everyone for coming all the way to Maungy for the day. It was greatly appreciated given that time has been precious and we have been concentrating on spending most of it with our parents. Although not the easiest time to have D&Ms it was great just to be able to relax and laugh with everyone around us. I know that we will miss that a lot in the UK. Dad did an excellent job of cooking up the sausages and very garlicky burgers (yum yum) and delicious salads were provided by my cousin and another friend from Auckland. Thanks guys! To top it off a delicious chocolate coated banana cake from another mate from Auckland. Great job! Awesome day.