Traveling Beyond the Postcard
Sometimes getting lost is the very best thing...
Sept 21 2017
We arrived in Montmartre via the Metro to the Abbesses station and followed the Sortie (Exit) sign to the stairway. After several flights I started to wonder how deep the station was and how much longer we would climb. It wasn’t until we exited the station that we discovered that there is an elevator and that the station is the deepest in the Paris Metro system – 118 ft! This station has a beautiful glass covered entrance. I love all of the art deco designs at the metro stations! There was a vendor selling fresh roasted chestnuts here (as at many of the station entrances) and the wood smoke fire makes it feel like fall!
Montmartre has a long and interesting history but is probably best know for Sacre-Couer and its artistic past. In the later part of the 1800’s this area was home to, or frequented by, many famous artists including Renoir, Van Gogh and Picasso.
Montmartre is also where you will find the only remaining vineyard in Paris. In the Middle Ages the hills of Montmartre were covered with grapevines. In the late 1800’s a lice born disease destroyed the vineyards. All of France suffered from the blight and 40% of all French vineyards died from the disease. The existing vineyard, planted in 1933, is about 1650 sq ft. We were not able to fit in a visit to the vineyard this trip but I hope to see it on my next trip to Paris!
The windmill Radet is one of two remaining windmills in Paris. This windmill, built in 1717, sits above the restaurant Moulin de la Galette.
Radet windmill Montmartre
Just above the Abbesses Metro station in the Jehan Rictus Square is the Wall of Love. Made of enameled lava this wall says “I love you” 311 times in 250 languages. Everyone wants to take a selfie there!
The little cul de sac, Villa Leandre, was so beautiful and serene. We enjoyed our early evening walk through Monmartre. At Place Dalida, we could see Sacre-Coeur in the distance. We continued our walk to Sacre-Coeur and enjoyed the view of the city from the front entrance of the building.
There are a number of fabric stores in the section of Montmartre south of Sacre-Couer. We took the Metro to do some shopping. Getting off the train at the Anvers station we walked along Rue de Steinkerque. This part of Montmartre has a different feel. It is a bit seedier, many different nationalities seem to be here and it feels as if it may not be safe after dark. There are loads of inexpensive clothing stores in this area. We found tons of fabric stores, some upscale and some discount. Many people sew here, including men! There is so much wonderful fabric to choose from it’s overwhelming. I am so sorry that I didn’t have some things in mind to sew and an extra suitcase to fill with fabric! Another area I must return to!
Sept 20 2017
I needed to get help for pulled back muscles and ended up visiting the Centre de Sante for an appointment with a doctor. Once an appointment was scheduled we had a couple of hours to kill so we walked over to the Stravinsky Fountain and the Centre Pompidou.
It was disappointing to find the fountain not running. It was very interesting but lost some of it’s magic with all of the mechanics exposed. The fountain contains sixteen bright and whimsical pieces of art that are supposed to represent pieces of Stravinsky’s work. It must be very cool to see these pieces move with water flowing through them. I don’t know if they only run in the summer or if there was some other reason for fountain not working.
Facing the square with the fountain is Saint Merri Church. I was very attracted to the juxtaposition of the old traditional building with the very bright and modern fountain and wall paining. This church build between 1500 and 1550 houses the oldest bell in Paris, cast in 1331!
Saint Merri Church
Once back to the medical clinic I was told (thank goodness for an English speaking patient!) that the wait would be about an hour. It turned into two but once I saw the doctor I was out of there very quickly with my prescriptions. The doctor also did not speak more than a few words of English so make sure to have your Google Translate app handy if you need to visit a doctor here. Pantomime isn’t the best method of communication! I was very surprised at how reasonable it was for the appointment. It cost me 25 euro to see the doctor, this is without insurance! The pharmacy was right next door and we were on our way!
We walked to the Marais neighborhood, also referred to as the Jewish Quarter and Old Paris. This is where you will see medieval Paris; it is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city. It is a vibrant fun neighborhood with a diverse community of artists, traditional Jewish people and a vibrant gay community. There is a very active night life in the Marais and it is one of the gay communities favorite places for socializing. The sidewalk cafes were crammed with people, some of them dressed quite flamboyantly! Everyone was having a great time and enjoying the beautiful fall evening. As we walked through the area the smells of wonderful ethnic food wafted through the air making us very hungry.
We passed by Jardin de l’hotel Lamoignon garden courtyard. This is one of the oldest mansion houses in Marais (built between 1585 and 1590) and is now a library dedicated to the history of Paris.
Jardin de l’hotel Lamoignon
As we walked along Rue des Archives we passed a church, doors open to expose a courtyard within it’s walls. There was an interesting art exhibit placed there and we wondered through to take a look
The last stop before walking back toward home was the Place des Voges. This square was built by Henry IV in the early 1600’s. It is a true square, everything symmetrical and all of the house fronts identical. Before the revolution this was a place where nobility came to gather and visit with one another
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Tuesday 19 Sept 2017
The day was cloudy but did not rain as predicted. Robin and I had decided that we would visit Giverny (Jee va nyee) today as planned, rain or no rain! It turned out to be a very nice day. The garden was fabulous even at this time of year, after the splendor of spring and summer had passed. Dahlia, cleome, impatiens, tithonia, hydrangea, amaranth, crocus, roses, sunflowers, cosmos, fuchsia, nasturtiums, bamboo, ginko, willow, japanese maple, poplar…..all so artfully placed. The famous water lilies were not in bloom this time of year but the pond with the Japanese styled bridge bordered by maples and willows was so beautiful and serene. I think it would be impossible to be angry here. Paradise!
Getting there was not as difficult as we had feared. We made our first ride on the Metro to the train station where we would get a ticket to the town of Vernon. From there you catch a bus that will take you the 7 km to Giverny.
The Metro was quite an experience at morning rush! People shoved their way into the already crammed subway cars, bodies compressed together until not a square inch of space remained! Getting out of the car was interesting as well! “Pardon!” in your most commanding voice!
Once at the Gare Saint Lazare train station we had a devil of a time finding the right line to purchase a ticket on. There are two trains to Vernon, one direct and one requiring a transfer. Once we had our tickets we realized we were on the line requiring transfer. We were rescued by a very nice ticket agent who changed our tickets minutes before the train was to leave the station.
Riding the bus through Vernon made us wish we could hop on and off or walk back. There seemed to be numerous sights of interest and photo opportunities. It’s about 4.5 miles from the train station to Monet’s garden so walking back through the village was not an option for us this time but I’d like to come back and spend more time in this area.
Giverny is a beautiful and picturesque village located on the right bank of the Seine in the Normandy region. People have made their homes on this site since the neolithic period! Wine grapes have been cultivated here since the mid 500’s, Quaint stone houses covered with climbing roses, wisteria and virginia creeper line the streets.
Giverny
Vernon has many interesting sites as well. The old mill straddles two piers of the ancient bridge over the Seine. The Archives Tower is the remains of the ancient Castle of Vernon dating back to the 12th century. Many photo opportunities and loads of history! I do hope to get back!
My friend Robin and I arrived in Paris Sunday and moved into our temporary home, a flat in the 1st arrondissment. It is very conveniently located; close to the historic sites, a grocery and a metro stop. It is an old building, likely circa the late 1800’s and is very cleverly laid out, making efficient use of every space. Like all of these flats it is on the small side but the kitchen has a microwave/oven combo and a dishwasher and the bathroom houses a clothes washer/dryer and the bathtub is big enough to lay down in! The staff at Cobblestone Paris, through whom we let the flat, have been very helpful, a phone call away. They gave us loads of tips and instructions upon our arrival.
Breakfast in our little flat in Paris!
On Sundays, the Paris flower market vendors take the day off and the space is taken over by bird sellers! We visited the market at Place Louis Lépine. There were rows of cages containing imprisoned birds of every variety. I saw fancy pigeons the size of chickens and white canaries in various stages of transformation to flamingo orange/pink. (The canary feed was colored so as to dye their feathers.) It was interesting but I must admit that it bothers me to see birds caged, and it especially bothers me to see them being dyed. There were also a few flower vendors operating and I did enjoy that!
Everyone was out with their children or friends enjoying the nice weather and having a good time. The French National Police were very visible on the streets and were carrying large semi-automatic weapons, it was a bit disturbing.
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Early June this summer the temperature here in Sacramento was often over 100 degrees. In the midst of our worst heat wave I was invited to join my friend Sharon for a few days in Fort Bragg. How fast can I get my bag packed!!! What a joy to spend a few days in good company, out of the heat, enjoying the Northern California coast! We both love photography and gardening so this was a perfect getaway!
We spent an entire day the the Mendocino Botanical Gardens, one of my very favorite places.
We also made a visit to the beautiful Digging Dog Nursery in Albion (Yes, I bought plants!). This nursery is worth a visit just to see the beautiful gardens. The people that own the nursery are very friendly and helpful and you will see some plants that are not as common here at home. They were good about making sure that the plants I chose would do well in our climate and were drought tolerant.
Digging Dog Nursery
The Airbnb room that my friend booked couldn’t have suited us better! The room was open and airy, very comfortable. The husband of the couple that own the home is a photographer; his photographs adorned the walls and antique cameras were on display! The wife is an avid gardener and we enjoyed discussing plants, soil and Annies Annuals while taking in her lovely yard. Icing on the cake, she has herding dogs!!! A match made in heaven!!!
We also made a visit to the Point Cabrillo Light House and took the Pudding Creek Express Skunk Train before heading back into the valley heat! This was a wonderful trip!
24 April 2016
Our room at the Heritage Hotel in Christchurch exceeded our expectations, it was fabulous. Our second floor suite had a washer and dryer, a full (if small) kitchen, plush robes, a desk, a living room and dining area and most importantly, really good mattresses! The room was light and open and the hotel is located right on Cathedral Square!
Front of the Heritage Hotel
The hotel occupies what was once a government building of the Italian Renaissance style. Built in 1909 it was reinforced with earthquake protection in 1990 when it was converted to a hotel, which is why is stands while so much of the surrounding area is damaged and held up with scaffolding.
The large earthquake of 2011 did tremendous damage to the city and they are still trying to get repairs done. There is controversy about whether or not they will spend the money to repair the Cathedral which is very badly damaged. It is easy to understand both points of view, particularly considering the number of earthquakes in this region, the most recent was in February of this year!
To give the worshipers a new church one was constructed and opened a few years after the 2011 earthquake a few blocks from the Cathedral. Named the Cardboard Cathedral it is constructed from shipping containers and cardboard tubes. (Pictured at the top of this blog post.)
Once beautiful and vibrant Christchurch is still trying to recover from the earthquake. We took the trolley around the city center and visited the botanical gardens and the Canterbury Museum.
We spend two days in Christchurch before our grueling trip home. We upgraded to business class because we couldn’t bear the thought of the long trip home in such discomfort. It was worth every cent. While waiting (a very long wait – in fact we could have driven home in the time we spent waiting) in LAX I vowed never to fly again. It’s too bad that greed has made traveling so cramped and uncomfortable. Alas, it is the way it is! It took me about two days home to start thinking about my next trip!
Traveling Beyond the Postcard 