Sunday, October 23, 2011

Going where the wind blows us

It's tough hearing the alarm on the weekend but when you're somewhere new and there's lots to explore, you can't sleep the day away. However, we both woke up fairly groggy and realized we must have had more to drink than we realized the night before. Oops.

This fuzzy state contributed to an impressive case of indecision over what to do for the day. We had lots of options we could combine for an interesting day. "I don't know, what do you want to do" was thrown out a lot at breakfast!

In the end, the hotel receptionist established that we would stay another night here as there was availability. Okay-cool. We've come a long way, sounds like a good idea.

The guy at the tourist information office's reaction to some of the towns Stephane had suggested we visit helped us narrow down the day's itinerary to include Vianden and Echternach. Simple. Great. Let's go.

It's amazing how close everything here is. On the map, Vianden was a fair distance away. In reality we were there before we knew it. Many of the towns we've seen here are set up in the same way, fortress on the top of the hill where the river bends sharply around and the town gets built up. It works! It creates the most 'gezellig' little towns and Vianden made a great first impression as we drove down into the valley.

Jocelyn parked Gigi at the castle and before going in, we went into the forest for a hike en-route to finding a geocache we never found.  Still, our attempt fulfilled the purpose - going and exploring somewhere we otherwise wouldn't have.  It was a gorgeous day too so I was happy just to wander.

The castle was beautiful and well preserved.  I was most struck by the 2 level chapel.  The servants and those who weren't meant to be seen (!) would gather in the basement below an opening in the floor on the main level so they could hear the service.  I've never seen that before.  The Byzantine Gallery was also quite stunning!

Next was Echternacht which was a lovely little town.  The antique market we saw there was the exact same one we'd seen the day before in Luxembourg city.  I recognized the gramophones and the french horn out of the pile of tea cups, fur coats and old paintings.

Back in Luxembourg for the night.  We wandered around and found a nice little Indian restaurant and then headed back to the hotel for a moderately early night which we both wanted.

Quote of the day: Hey...WE're women! (said when realizing that we could use the reserved parking spots near the door. A great initiative by the Luxembourgians to minimize the distance women need to walk on their own in a parkade at night.)


Hills and history...

Breakfast with the seniors at Floreal. Typical continental breakfast where I seem to always indulge in the pack of chocolate-hazelnut spread!

We walked around the property a bit before leaving. It would be a great place to take a family for a couple of weeks in the summer. We needed to bundle up though - it's cold! Maybe I don't want to go back to Canada in the winter after all. I've gotten soft!

We went into town to wander around although it's clear that the town thrives on summer business. Less than half of the shops were open but we managed to find a place for a cup of coffee (2.20€).

Then we went on a wander to find the castle entrance. We failed! With all the twisty, windy roads we thought we were on the right track and then we appeared to be getting further away again. Sigh! Well, at least we managed to explore some more of the town and we were happy to admire it from afar.


We were ready to start the next part of the adventure around noon. We programmed the TomTom to avoid motorways and stuck to pretty side roads on our journey south traversing Luxembourg from north to south. We grooved in Gigi to several great road-trip songs while she got checked out by several other drivers. A green '92 Mini-Cooper gets noticed!

Both of us have obviously spent a long time in the Netherlands. Our jaws were dropped while driving through the countryside. 'Look! A hill!'. 'Wow, what a gorgeous valley!' It was such a pretty drive, especially with the fall colours.

Luxembourg City is surprisingly small. It's really nice though and a pleasant surprise. We checked in to our funky, artsy hotel and then hit the Centrum before the shops closed. We managed to do some damage at the shops in a short time and I bought a great dress for Argentina.

Stephane met us at the hotel around 5:30 and gave us quite the city tour. We learned all about the history from the 10th century until now. Lots of passing the territory backhand forth, details on the history of the Dukes - starting with Guillaume II, the somethingth king of the Netherlands was made after the battle of Waterloo in about 1815 when they revisited the powers of Europe. (sidenote: I'm not sure that info was correctly interpreted by me-I was mostly interested in snapping photos and may have misheard)

Dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant, a wander down past the abbey we could see from the Cornice walk, an excursion through some dark corners to meet up with the path along the river to a brewery that reminded me of the Barley Mill in Calgary. It was a great walk that J and I simply wouldn't have found without Stephane as our tour guide. We hit a brewery and a piano bar and interestingly enough it didn't feel so cold on the walk back to the hotel!

Word of the day: swissish (Stephane)
Phrase of the day: I want to marry you. (Laurent-the-Luxemburgian)

Memory serves

I made it back to La Roche en Ardennes and my fuzzy memory from1999 was accurate. This place is GORGEOUS!

I passed through here en route to Nadrin, the small town where our Shell basic training course was taking place years ago, the morning after a night of trying to sleep on a sticky train station bench in Liege. Even through an early morning fog, this town's landscape etched a place in my mind. A mental bookmark to try to come back and explore it some more.

So here I am, 12 years later (wow!). Jocelyn and I left The Hague around 18h30 Friday after work and 4 hours later we pulled into town and we both oohed and ahhed at the same time as the big castle on the hill came into sight. This town is going to be fun to explore in the morning.

Some parts are obviously original and old but there's been an evident splash of money in town and Jocelyn remarked on the similarities with a resort town like Whistler. Too true.

Our hotel, Le Floreal is quite the impressive building and for 40€ PP/PN including breakfast, it's a deal. I get to use my French here which is always fun though moreso now that I've noticed Dutch words bubble up into my brain.

Quote of the day: "boy those seniors can sure boogie to that polka music!"

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Time's up.



The end. Our trip's over. Sad to be leaving such a beautiful country. Sad to be leaving a vacation. Sad that my time with Kari and Riley is winding down. But, with any trip, at the end, I guess I'm always prepared and so in some respects, I was ready to go.






We set our alarms early (8AM was early...especially since none of us really slept for some reason) and went straight down to the water. As with last night's sunset, why didn't we do this sooner?!?!?! It as so beautiful down there and no one else was around (to upset!). Later in the day we noticed that the wind picked up but at that point it was so still except for the occasional fishing boat going past. Riley got in a few jumps, I floated around a bit and Kari got in for a short while too.




We went up the 303 steps (we counted!) without a break at the pool and were pretty hungry for breakfast. Breakfast consisted of the bits and pieces left in the fridge and a final cup of the toffee cappuccino concoction Kari cleverly brought along. It was tough to go but it was time.




I budgeted 3 1/2 hours to drive to the airport, fill up with diesel, return the car, check in, security and customs. We had a bit of a cushion but it was actually pretty close. Of course once we got through immigration and upstairs to the zoo that was waiting there for us, I think we all wished we'd maybe cut it a bit closer to minimize the time we had to spend trapped in the departures hall with the MASS of people boarding international flights home...mostly, you guessed it, to Germany!




We should be home a bit after 4. It'll be a challenge to get to the Albert Heijn in time to get a proper stash of groceries, but we'll see. Tomorrow Kristen arrives and we'll have a week together in the Netherlands, finally! I have to work a couple of days but I'll try to make it up to her!




So that's the end of this part of the holiday. There are several parts though. Paris, Les Tilleuls, Croatia, The Hague and some more of the Netherlands, and hey, I'll include Houston too because other thatn work, it is pretty fun to go to Rice Village, the malls, etc. David and I are also talking about a trip to Austin on the weekend between work weeks too. So...it should be an enjoyable next three weeks.

UPDATE:


Since I've been away I've heard news that Sherrin got the job she applied for in Vienna and that Jocelyn finally(!!!) got her dissertation submitted. Wow! Those are both huge! Sherrin leaves at the end of October. With me gone u til mid-Sept and her getting everything ready, it doesn't leave much time. Still, I'm really happy that she gets ton stay in Europe. I know that was something she really wanted.

Friday, August 26, 2011

The Highway Downstream



Wow, this 10-11 hours of sleep every night is delicious! We're not setting alarms and we're just sleeping as long as we need. Bed between 22h-23h and up usually around 9. It seems like I am the one sleeping through most of the night although the first few nights I would wake because it was like an oven in the back room and I only had a fan. Kari and Riley were dealing with some jet lag so despite being out in the main, climate-controlled room, they were waking up around 5AM fairly regularly.






Today the rough plan is to go back to the restaurant where we finished up our rafting and go for a swim in the river and then have lunch there. Then we'll come back here to hang out at the sea as much as possible. We have to leave tomorrow! WAH!




Except for some mixed signals from Michael and Dana and the annoying German guy who wouldn't share his air mattress (we bought our very own yesterday...so there!), it's been quite lovely to stay here. The place is fine. It's clean, it's big enough, we have a kitchen and a balcony with a stunning view. We can get wi-fi down by the pool and we can get access to a great little swimming spot that we only have to share with a couple dozen people instead of a couple hundred or thousand at the other places we've been to.




Our first destination after breakfast was the restaurant by the river in the Cetina valley. We wandered along the paths looking for the perfect swimming hole. It didn't exist. But...wee found a decent spot which ended up getting su bier over the course of the hour that we were there.




Getting into the water was pretty tricky. It was cold. That's refreshing if you're dying of heat but we hadn't soaked up enough sunshine at that point. It was slow going. One I got in it was nice and Riley and I played in the currents, driving upstream and that catching the 'highway' back downstream. We lasted about an hour and then headed back for lunch (oh dear...pizza again!)




Omis really is our favorite little spot. It is an adorable town nestled at the base of some limestone cliffs. The tree lined boulevard though the main street and the maze-like side streets makes it quite intriguing. We stopped on our way back from swimming at the river so Kari could buy some souvenirs for Robert and Julio. Afterwards we were all pretty eager to hit our beach again and hang out for the rest of the afternoon.




We set up camp on the little pier we'd been sitting on all week. Riley was off jumping off the cliff for the umpteenth time and he was trying to get Kari to give it a go. I had jumped from cliffs but I just don't like it. I know that about myself! I'm okay with that! So, instead, I floated around on the air mattress.




When I got out of the water one of the locals was there so I said hi. As soon as he saw that the stuff on the pier belonged to me he started yammering on in German about the pier being for diving, not for sitting on. Harrumph. Really?! There was no one else there and yikes, we'd been sitting in that very spot for a week. Crap. I wasn't impressed and he knew it. Good God. Did it really matter? What is this with Europeans and their rules...well except for those related to queueing. Grrr. Another unpleasant experience. Sigh!




Back up at the apartment I read while Riley played Angry Birds and Kari chilled before her workout. Then when she went out, I packed. Man, did I ever fail with this trip's pack job. I feel almost embarrassed at the amount of crap I brought. But bringing it is one thing, not using it is another. BAD me. 22kg too. Duh!




After Kari's workout we all went down to the jumping rock for sunset. We should have done that more often. It was so peaceful and quiet there. The light was amazing and I got some good photos. I got some videos too actually...of Kari finally making herself jump off the rock lest Riley call her a chicken forevermore!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Expectation Management



Hmm...having to deal with some disappointments. When I started researching how long it would take to get to Dubrovnik estimates between 3and 4 hours came up. But it's only 180km?! Wah! With the heat and a 9 year old, that just doesn't sound like a nice day! Bah!




So then I thought maybe sea-kayaking. Darned if I can find anywhere to rent them. I got a lead on the nearby town of Brela but when we went there and asked at the tourist information centre, the girl said she didn't know...she didn't live there. Ummm...sure...thanks. So off we went to Makarska which is referred to as a Riviera. It was pretty and had a nice boulevard but it also had obnoxious hotels and the beaches were PACKED! Kari and I both commented that where we're staying is more our style.




We found places to parasail, rent jet-skis, scuba dive and rent bikes but we didn't find any mention of sea kayaks. I must give up my search and relax and enjoy what we do end up doing.

So today, the day we were going to go in to Dubrovnik, we had a morning and afternoon swim at our gorgeous little swimming spot and we had lunch in Makarska. There we go. I imagine Riley and I are going to have another marathon Tetris-Magic session tonight while Kari's out working out. Ten we'll have a low key dinner. We're not big foodies so we're all happy enough with sandwiches for dinner. I'm sick of eating out anyway and with two weeks in Houston coming up, if I'm not careful, nothing's going to fit. I put on a simple t-shirt today and it felt constrictive. We are living in our "uniforms" and eating up a storm. Dangerous!





We saw dolphins! They were swimming parallel to our beach and we saw them when we got back up to the apartment at the end of the day. We spotted three for sure. Kari was so excited! We kept hoping they'd jump for us but we were still pretty happy with their swimming so close to the surface of the water for us to catch a glimpse. Now except for the dalamatian dogs, we've seen all the wildlife we'd hoped to!




Tuesday, August 23, 2011

CetinaRiver Rafting



Today we ventured forth! After breakfast I had to hold my breath and get us up that hill again in the car. Success. Then I turned left and we drove for 20mins or so into Omis (pronounced Amish).

We were looking to find something to do be it kayak rentals, bike rentals, hiking trails or whatever. We ended up signing up for a rafting tour that would take us down the Cetina river starting at 1h30. That meant we had about three hours to kill. Riley wanted to go back to the apartment for that time. Ha! Nice try!





Instead we went wandering through the maze of streets back from the main road. Without meaning to, but pleasantly surprised just the same, we ended up on the path to take us up to the fortress on the top of the hill. What a view! And wow, there are stairs everywhere here! This country is one big stair master!!!




We stopped at a few shops but most of it was touristy crap - though I did buy a sarong for 50kuna, ~9€. we stopped and had lunch at another pizza place (a trend that can't continue!) and then treated ourselves to a wander through the grocery store, because it was air-conditioned! Then, before we knew it, it was time to wait and gather for our tour.


There were 3 people waiting there with us. Harry, Gabby and Kevin proved to be lovely companions for the afternoon. They also were our allies when it came to dealing with Marko, our rafting guide with the personality of sandpaper! Ugh. While he does the tour twice a day for five months Lmost solid, and I trust him to keep us safe, he barked at us and was so gruff. Bah! By the end he 'lightened up' with a story that went something like "This is the Island of Love, my friends sometimes live here for three months. Now we go." sigh...not everyone is a people-person.





But the tour was worth it. It was stunning. The Cetina river valley featured in the guidebooks, but you never know. They were right, it was not to be missed. Plus it the water was so cool and refreshing, the cliffs were so high and the vegetation was so lush that while it was hot out, it really took the edge off being in there. We stopped in a couple of places for some swims and Riley jumped from tree branches and cliffs. It stopped being so tranquil when the 'Team Italy' rafts showed up and all the Guido's got out. Then there were the 'bomba's' which initially had me worried but proved to not be too bad. Infect, they were pretty fun!


We finished at this gorgeous spot on the river that we could go back to because it's accessible by car. That might be worth keeping in mind for Friday. Gosh...I can't believe how quickly time is going.


I watched Riley by the pool while Kari did some hill training and then it was a pasta dinner which kept us busy through to about 22:00. Phew...there went the day. But it was a great one full of adventure and sight seeing. Lazy is back on the menu for tomorrow though! The thought of driving to Dubrovnik tomorrow doesn't appeal. In fact it doesn't appeal at all, but you can't come all this way and not see it!

Omis and river rafting.

Today we ventured forth! After breakfast I had to hold my breath and get us up that hill again in the car. Success. Then I turned left and we drove for 20mins or so into Omis (pronounced Amish).

We were looking to find something to do be it kayak rentals, bike rentals, hiking trails or whatever. We ended up signing up for a rafting tour that would take us down the Cetina river starting at 1h30. That meant we had about three hours to kill. Riley wanted to go back to the apartment for that time. Ha! Nice try!

Instead we went wandering through the maze of streets back from the main road. Without meaning to, but pleasantly surprised just the same, we ended up on the path to take us up to the fortress on the top of the hill. What a view! And wow, there are stairs everywhere here! This country is one big stair master!!!

We stopped at a few shops but most of it was touristy crap - though I did buy a sarong for 50kuna, ~9€. we stopped and had lunch at another pizza place (a trend that can't continue!) and then treated ourselves to a wander through the grocery store, because it was air-conditioned! Then, before we knew it, it was time to wait and gather for our tour.

There were 3 people waiting there with us. Harry, Gabby and Kevin proved to be lovely companions for the afternoon. They also were our allies when it came to dealing with Marko, our rafting guide with the personality of sandpaper! Ugh. While he does the tour twice a day for five months Lmost solid, and I trust him to keep us safe, he barked at us and was so gruff. Bah! By the end he 'lightened up' with a story that went something like "This is the Island of Love, my friends sometimes live here for three months. Now we go." sigh...not everyone is a people-person.

But the tour was worth it. It was stunning. The Cetina river valley featured in the guidebooks, but you never know. They were right, it was not to be missed. Plus it the water was so cool and refreshing, the cliffs were so high and the vegetation was so lush that while it was hot out, it really took the edge off being in there. We stopped in a couple of places for some swims and Riley jumped from tree branches and cliffs. It stopped being so tranquil when the 'Team Italy' rafts showed up and all the Guido's got out. Then there were the 'bomba's' which initially had me worried but proved to not be too bad. Infect, they were pretty fun!

We finished at this gorgeous spot on the river that we could go back to because it's accessible by car. That might be worth keeping in mind for Friday. Gosh...I can't believe how quickly time is going.

I watched Riley by the pool while Kari did some hill training and then it was a pasta dinner which kept us busy through to about 22:00. Phew...there went the day. But it was a great one full of adventure and sight seeing. Lazy is back on the menu for tomorrow though! The thought of driving to Dubrovnik tomorrow doesn't appeal. In fact it doesn't appeal at all, but you can't come all this way and not see it!

Monday, August 22, 2011

A bit too much sun...

Another 11 hours of sleep. Nice. Being on vacation rocks. Of course it wasn't a full sleep because I again woke up feeling way too hot. One night I may come out and join Kari and Riley under the A/C unit!!!

After breakfast we headed down to the 'beach'. We ended up on the same little dock I was on the day before. Riley did great in the water until he got stung by something, which we think might have been a jellyfish. He was rather leery about going into the water after that...understandably. Kari and I alternated between soaking up the sun and floating on the air mattresses. Turns out I needed to have reapplied the sunscreen a bit sooner because my belly is bright red and in the evening it became rather tender. Argh...I'd been so careful.

We wandered back up to the apartment for a late lunch and then in the late afternoon Riley only wanted to go in the swimming pool. Kari and I checked our email and snoozed while Riley contented himself for hours with his snorkel and mask bobbing for plastic animal figurines. Soooo easily amused!1

We wanted to pick up some groceries for tomorrow's breakfast so we opted to hike (!) up the hill to have dinner at Galeb too. We opted for a simple, safe ham pizza which was actually really quite tasty. Dinner was around 14€ for 2 pizzas and 2 rounds of drinks...not bad. Note as cheap as it might have been here even two or three years ago but still, a bit better than The Hague.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Kari and Riley made it!

It was so hot last night! I had a fan going but I woke up several times because the air so so heavy and stifling. My room is the only one wi the fan, I think Kari will die in the other bedroom without a fan. Hmmmm...

I got up at 9:30 and had a nice breakfast on the terrace then got. Yself sorted and down to the beach for 10:30, this time with my converse shoes so that I didn't hurt the bottoms of my feet. I grabbed an air mattress from below Michael and Gordana's place and found a nice little spot to set up camp for a little while down by the water.

The water initially feels cold but once I got in it actually felt warm. Getting in is a quick process since the water was swirling around so much that the nether-regions got initiated with one good crashing wave in and around the rocks. This is not your typical white sand beach but rather a rock coast with a few access areas that people have really made the most of. There are concrete stairs that give you access to the next bay or that have been put in to the side of a boulder so that you can get to the top to perch for a while. There are little concrete 'docks' that you can lie on and the are even hand rails in the rocks to help you get in...which I needed to have used when I slipped on some seaweed.

I didn't have too long to play since I needed to get back up to the pool and check my mail from Kari (who wasn't thrilled to be reminded about the AMS-ZAG-SPL route), grab some lunch and get cleaned up. Then there was that MASSIVE hill I had to drive up that had me feeling rather apprehensive. The whole way up I prayed that no one was coming down and literally chanted my mantra out loud: you can do this, you can do this. And I did...but would NOT wanted to have met someone along the way! Oy!

It was a much easier drive going back to Split. Thank God there were no accidents. It's true too that the return journey never feels as long. I now wonder if I haven't wasted 100€ for the week on a GPS too. Ha! But I'll definitely need it for the trip into Dubrovnik.

I made it with almost 50mins to spare so I took advantage of the time to stop at a Lidl which is a big grocery store. That was a fun way to kill time and I picked us up some goodies. What I didn't realize is how close to the airport turnoff the shop is though so I accidentally headed into Trogir and nearly goit caught in a huge traffic jam ten minutes before they landed. Gulp! I made it back out of town and to the turnoff in time to see their plane in its landing approach. I'm such a sap and got all choked up.

I couldn't hold the tears back when I finally saw them through the glass in the domestic arrivals area. Yay! My family is here! And so while they weren't thrilled to find out that they had another hour of travel, we got caug up in the car and back to the apartment around 17h30...in time for a pre-dinner swim.

I didn't realize the water would be so choppy at this time of day, the winds had shifted. No matter, Kari and I had air mattresses and Riley's a fish! It was a challenging first dip but it was still pleasant and hey...here we are at the Dalmatian coast! No complaints!

Dinner was a simple buffet of bread and cheese, tomatoes and bacon for sandwiches...so yummy! We'll likely go out for other dinners but it was good to keep this one low key and home based because I knew they'd want to crash after dinner, which, indeed they did! Well earned though...it had been a long day.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Grattitude! Made it to Croatia!

Up at stupid o'clock but I made it. Of all the things that could have gone wrong, I am so grateful that I have made it and am sitting here in the waiting area getting ready to board my flight to Split.

I had an unusual encounter with a security screener today worth noting because it caught me by surprise and I came away with warm fuzzies. There I was on the other side of the scanner and all of my things were still in the screening box but the conveyor belt wasn't moving. Somehow it had stopped moving as I went through and the orignal girl had disappeared. At 6:15AM it was time for a shift change? Odd. I stood there looking around, admittedly annoyed a bit though I'll blame it on the early morning haze.

Moments later the new new security guy arrived. His first words were to his colleague and he said that he was sorry that he hadn't said good morning to him yet. I broke out into an instant grin and caught his eye to say good morning too. I was struck with his incredibly positive attitude and energy...moreso because it was in a place that it was SO unexpected.

He kept smiling back at me and told me that I had a nice smile. Guffaw!!! But while he was rather handsome, and if I wanted I could have called it flirting, I was mostly just grateful to have started the day with such a positive interaction with another person. And for that I have "grattitude"!

I was a bit worried about the connection time at Chrles de Gaulle but everything went swimmingly...well, except that I was flying with Easy Jet. Mental note...never fly with EasyJet again if you can help it. It's not just second class you feel with these guys, it's about twelfth - and it's not always cheaper. Today, however, it's the day they fly direct from Paris so you pick your battles.

I really don't understand why they don't assign seats on EasyJet. The typical Easy-Jet-elbows-up battle ensued once they were ready for boarding. But it was so funny as we went down the gangplank to board a bus! Ah the great equalizer! Speedy Boarders, you've just wasted your money. Ha! But what was funnier is that we then drove down 9 gates to our plane and went back up the stairs to board. It was odd but the lady said something about customs. In any case I got a window seat near the front.

I sat next to two teenaged girls who were so addicted to their phones that they checked their mail until moments before take-off and were actually reprimanded for talking on the phone during the safety briefing. Groan! They have ADDICTIONS! This will be an interesting generation coming of age now!

The flight was only two hours and we deplaned onto the tarmac that was just radiating heat. Oh it was oppressive but at least there was a breeze. We walked into the customs hall which, when I first saw it, caused my jaw to drop. It was PACKED and to make it worse, there were no line markers so it was elbows-up again. Grrr. I'm just too Canadian in those situations and am not aggressive enough. Several people passed me!

Once through it took a bit of time to get the car sorted but in time, I pulled away with a cute little, black VW Polo. There is one main highway in the country running north-south and once I found that the GPS was useless...particularly since it hadn't been updated with all the new roads. There was lots of 'recalculating' (translation: WTF?! Where are you going?!).

I was going so well until I got caught in a MAJOR traffic jam. I think I moved about 2km in 45mins. I had no choice but to wait it out. It was a challenge, espcecially with the heat but when I saw the two ambulances go by and then the smooshed cars, well, what's 45mins?!?! I get to keep going. Someone else's day just got ruined!

I met Michael at Galop restaurant in Medusici. He is the very friendly owner of the Villa we're staying at. After my long drive and after having read "Tales of a Female Nomad", I was grateful and receptive for his offer to join him for a beer. In the end there was a coffee too and a brief language lesson so I can mind my Croatian P's and Q's (molen's and walla's...or something like that!)

After Micheal got me sorted at the mini market with some provisions, I followed him down one of the steepest roads I've ever driven. In fact, I have NO idea how I'm going to get out of here tomorrow!

He lugged my bag all the way up to the top condo and I dropped my stuff before getting the rest of the tour of the place. It's either up-up or down-down here. Kari will have no problems keeping fit around here!

The pool is part way down the hill and the beach is a two minute, calf-burning walk down more stairs. It's absolutely gorgeous here. I did good. I don't even want to leave tomorrow but I should be able to get in a swim tomorrow (tonight was a reconaissance trip...it's too rocky to go in in bare feet!) and be nice and lazy before heading all the way to Split.

Dinner for me was bread, cheese, yogurt, a nectarine, and...Nutella...lekker! Dinner for the mosquitoes was ankles, ear, arm and toes! Damn...I hate deet but I had to get it. Wah! Next will be a glass of wine, a shower and likely lights out before 22h. Ooh, ooh! Party on!

So I'm almost all caught up with my travel journal now. It's nice. I'm eager to add this to my sgosplore blog with a few pictures. Next I think I should create "www.grattitude.com"! a site where people post the little things about their days they're grateful for, similar to that TED talk on awesomeness or Elizabeth Gilbert's 'grateful journal', and with stories not unlike the nice security guy from this morning story. It CAN help steer the course of a day!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Pictures from my trip into La Roque Gageac and Belves.

This region is still as beautiful as I remember it to be!

  












Pilates rocks!

Still loving the pilates. I simply must follow up on this when I get back. Rejoin some of Betty's classes if I can? Try the studio on Frederickstraat again? Do the Shape Pilates app exercises? Certainly when I get back to Calgary I need to find a nearby studio, preferably with some of the equipment.

For the first day, I had a private lesson. I instantly got called out on all sorts of cheats that I didn't know I was doing and what muscles are permanently tight, which aren't working enough. All good.

The last two classes I've had with Natalie which has been good. Mealanie easily goes back and forth between the two of us tailoring our exercises for my tight quads and her sore back. They're an hour long in the room overlooking the pool and the rolling hills in the distance. You couldn't ask for a more inspiring place to do something good for your body.

I'd only ever done mat classes before but I've done quite a few new exercises with the reformers. Those I can't easily do upstairs on my exercise mat at home but I'm trying to take notes on new exercises I can bring back with me.

I'm always eagerly awaiting instructions for the next exercise, even if they are killers and I end up shaking as i complete the last rep. My brain often starts to overwork: lats engaged, core strong, shoulders down, quads OFF. The hour goes by quickly and then as the day progresses certain muscles start to make their presence known. I went to shoo a fly off my back yesterday and could hardly reach back. Ah, but it's such a good kind of sore and I'm furthering my goal of popping the bubble wrap covering my six-pack...if only I could stop eating those gorgeous French pastries Melanie picks up for us and the bread and wine which is in endless supply here.




When I went to town yesterday I asked how much I owed Melanie for the extra night and was surprised to hear 200€ until I remembered that I'd made the original transfers in sterling. Hmm...200€? It sounds steep but when you consider a (semi-) private pilates lesson at what? 50€? Three meals, with at least a 4 course dinner, and limitless wine, coffee, fruit and snack that might run you another 40-60€. Then there are the incredibly cozy and large rooms with everything you'd need plus the pool, the scenery, the tranquility? Yep, that is worth the money and it's been such a find that I'm thrilled that no one else's is coming tonight so I could extend my stay by one extra night.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

My definition of a retreat.

Hmmm...where did those muscles comes from?! I do believe I feel sore from yesterday's pilates session. Excellent. Bring on the next one.

Debate over term 'retreat'. Melanie doesn't like it. She worries that implies something it's not. Interesting. I think when she hears that word she's thinking more of a monastic retreat, perhaps even a silent one, with limited food or alcohol, meditation or prayer time, that kind of thing. I use the term to mean escape from my real world where I can disconnect, focus on myself and my thoughts, do something healthy be it pilates, hiking or swimming. It's great to be in the country where I can recharge my batteries and disappear from the noise and bustle of a city. I want to observe what phase the moon is in, not just read about it. Can I find Cassiopeia? Can I spot a deer? Can I find time to sit and read a book? This is what I mean by retreat.

It's also interesting that there are women who come here to get some time alone. Ladies with the demands of a family and a job looking to check-out and do something they want to do. This place is perfect for them. And yet here I am, with all the time in the world to myself, always doing what I want, still looking for the same kind of escape.  It's a bit of a contrast and yet I think that in both cases it has to do with what you have and what you don't.

I'm reading this book called "Tales of a Female Nomad". After twenty some years of marriage, as it starts falling apart, she goes on a trip and discovers who she really is. That she can explore the world and go and do things without a man. Ironically, I have been doing that for the last fifteen years or so and have been looking for a man to share these adventures with the whole time. A variation of her story in reverse?

Here at the non-retreat I am as alone or social as I want to be. There aren't very many people here. Liz, the new arrival, has gone walking today...in 38'C heat. Yikes. Natalie and I just had pilates together and are chilling separately with our books. Melanie is doing work. But still, should I choose to go and chat, I could. I don't. Not now. Maybe later. This down time is brilliant and moreso because it's a choice. I can see, however, that this place isn't for everyone. Those who want complete solidude can't really get it because the meals are communal...and that is so nice, even if the conversation is occasionally stilted. Those who want people, people, people, won't get it either. There are only 4 rooms therefore, at max, this place will only accommodate 8 people. I feel like Golidlocks, for me this is just right!

An afternoon car trip to Cenac and Domme was a good escape from my 'escape'. I was excited to come back to the Dordogne after all, why not see some of the scenery? I'd been a sloth for pretty much 48 hours by then, time to stretch my legs.

It was a pretty meander through all the hamlets in the area as I took the back roads there. I thought I might get some 'intel' about canoeing tomorrow but couldn't really be bothered. Unplanned is the flavor of the holiday thanks very much. Instead I tested my stick shift driving skills, the clenched jaw was unavoidable, and drove up, up, up from Cenac to Domme through an old stone archway barely wide enough for a car and through an adorable little town. I didn't get to really enjoy it the first time through as I was scanning for a parking spot - as was everyone else. I didn't want to stop lest I need to make a hill start and roll back into the Mercedes behind me but before I knew it I was again pointing downhill, out through another gate and down to the main, larger parking area.

I walked back up the hill which suited me fine only I was roasting. I had a hat, my sunnies, and my paschmina wrapped around me in lieu of sunscreen. I'd put out my MEC thermometer in the shade and it read 36'C. A time & temperature sign in the sun in Cenac read 43'C. An average of 39'C was still more than double the average temperatures of the Netherlands in all of July! Good thing I had a water bottle with me.


Domme is a cute town with typical touristy shops which I quite like poking into. Jewelery, ceramics, clothing and food speacialties like foie gras (no thanks!) were everywhere. The ice cream shops were making a killing. There was a church I popped into to look at, they're always fascinating to go into, and briefly escape the heat. There was a cave that I opted to skip and instead went to a restaurant with a cafe on the town's cliff edge and ordered a glass of white wine (2.50€). I was dripping with sweat by the end of it but it was shaded so I could take off the paschmina and hat. The view was spectacular and I was quite content.

I arrived back at Les Tilleuls in time for the tail end of happy hour with our new arrival, Margaret - a teacher from London. I think we'd reached critical mass with English ladies and I let them discuss the English school system and TV shows I'd never heard of. They're all lovely but I think the heat had taken a lot out of me and I ended up excusing myslef and going to bed right after dessert was served.


For the record, tonight I tried duck for the first time. It was okay but I doubt I'd seek it out again on purpose. This place does seem to be playing up to my food dislikes. Melanie has commented more than once that she wished I'd been more specific on my food-form. Maybe I shouldn't move to France after all!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Bliss...

Just had my first pilates class with Melanie. It was so good! If seeing the farmhouse and countryside where Les Tilleuls is located didn't give me that frisson saying "Oh yes!", today's class locked in the feeling that I have come to the right place.



It's obvious that I've been able to cheat in Betty's classes. One-on-one means no cheating! I had no idea I used my hip flexors and quads so much when engaging my 'power-house'. We used the machines which I'd only ever tried once. I like them. Yep, I feel good. I feel like I've earned my day.


It also strikes me that this is a classic case of me liking what I'm good at. Okay, I'm no great pilates star but I'm far more capable of doing pilates than yoga. I'm drawn to what I'm good at. That makes sense but I'm aware of how limiting that can be. You can't instantly be good at everything. Many things need work and practice and then they become more rewarding. Am I really a instant gratification kind of person? Or am I just never going to like yoga?! And why am I trying to force it?
     
True, I need to stretch more and work on my flexibility. Running forces that issue. If i don't stretch, i don't walk properly the next day. The added bonus with running is that it burns the calories I eat in Haribo gummies!

True, yoga allows the mind to relax and helps you disconnect from the outside world. I can get that with massage. In a good massage session I can have an almost out of body experience. My breathing slows, my mind wanders and I'm present, I feel all the muscles being worked, and yet I'm elsewhere. I say I go to 'la-la land'. That is the zen I seek.

So we can get our bliss in many places. For a vast number of people, yoga seems to be that one-stop-shop for flexibility, strength, relaxation and an inner journey. For me, I seem to prefer mixing and matching several activities to get that benefit. I'm okay with that!

Monday, August 15, 2011

En route to Les Tilleuls...


The walls were thin in the hotel. Turns out I wasn't the only one staying there. They must have gotten in late. At some point after I'd turned off the light and gone to sleep I could hear them talking, turning on taps, walking around. Bah!

I woke without any alarms. I lay there for ages awake but not thinking of anything in particular. It was a lovely way to welcome the day. My first day of holiday on my own. My first day of me not being at the office when everyone else was. Didn't miss it a bit!

I handed my key in to a real person in the morning although they were just wrapping up from breakfast and getting ready to leave again. I've never seen such a automated hotel system before. It's interesting. It's efficient, but it's somewhat cold and soulless. I wonder if they have one of those robotic maids that they advertise in Skymall?!?!

I set out to look for breakfast and it proved to be no trouble whatsoever. Overnight, the quiet town centre had transformed into a huge market. I only discovered later that Monday the 15th was a bank holiday. Ah ha!

There was the usual clothing shops (from bohemian to old-lady styles), butchers, bakers, (no candle stick makers!), cheese, fruits and vegetables, olives, spices, toys, jewelry and hat vendors (apparently Caussade is the hat capital of the area). Hundreds of locals and tourists pushed their way through the crowds buying their wares on this gorgeous sunny day.

     
I bought 3 peaches, 3 nectarines and 1 pear for 2.60€. I bought a small wedge of Brie for 0.60€. I bought a baguette and and pain au raisins for 1.50€. I bought a sunhat for 5€. I already had a bottle of water so that was all I needed for the road. I made sure to stop for a cafe au lait at a cafe in the middle of the market and had a large for 2.20€. We saw grand cafe au laits going for upwards of 5€ in Paris. Ridicule!!!! And on my way back to the car, sucker that I am for picking up pieces of jewelry as I travel, I bought a funky bracelet for 18€.

And then I hit the road. I was plugging in towns into the GPS as I worked my way to Les Tilleuls. Turns out there are several towns in France with the same name! When it said the journey would be 5 hours, I figured I might have chosen the wrong one. When I chose one that appeared nearby and drove out of town in the opposite direction I'd come, my spidey-senses kicked in and I tried another town that took me in a more sensible direction. GPS's are great but they can make you stupid, reliant on them and can cause you to forget to look at signs. As someone once said, they're GPS's, not auto-pilots!!!

I went up and down many hills, past gorgeous forests and fields and through several quaint villages. It was a pretty drive and I didn't mind taking the scenic (read:long) route. I stopped and had a bite to eat in this small town that was nearly deserted save for a group of young hikers nearing the end of what looked like a pilgrimage of sorts as they stopped and gathered at the town church. I ate my fruits, bread and cheese and watched them for a while feeling a bit guilty that I had food as they searched in vain for a store that was open so they could buy something to eat or drink.

As I approached the last town on the map I'd studying and pre-loaded in my iPad Map app, I figured it was time to look at Melanie's written instructions for the fine tuning of my route. Hmmm...no mention of the town of Cazals on my route. The GPS told me it was 20mins in a direction I didn't expect to go. The next hour took me down roads I wasn't supposed to go down beacuse I'd misread the next line of the instructions. My spparent lack of common sense and the heat were making me frustrated. I wished I'd plunked her instructios into Google Earth prior to arriving. I'm so much more of a visual navigator and without a co-pilot to read the instructions to me, it took twice as long as it should have. Still...it was pretty countryside....it's the journey, not the destination...can I be done driving now, please?!?!?

I initially felt frustrated at the lack of signs. Come on? How hard is it to put up a few breadcrumbs? Then I got here. I was greeted by Melanie and shown around. I saw this place and got it. There is no need for signs. There is no place for signs. This is a retreat. Somehow even advertising it on the road seems to take away from how special a find it is.

I settled in to my gorgeous room, did a little happy dance at my luck in finding this place and joined Melanie and Natalie, the only other guest tonight, up on the balcony at the pigeonerie for a welcome drink. It was so warm in the sun and I didn't last long before feeling drawn in by the lure of the swimming pool.










A swim, the cracking open of a new book, a happy-hour drinks/nibblies and a 4 course dinner outside from sunset to the twinkling of the first stars made me a happy girl.
     
There's no internet here. There's only going to be about 4 other guests. There's inspiring scenery and peace and quiet. This is even better than I'd thought it would be. The words 'score!', 'unplug' and 'bliss' went through my mind. I'm going to be very happy here for the next several days!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Technologie!

Our last day in Paris was short as I flew to Toulouse and Andrew and Sherrin had a mid-afternoon train to catch. We started the day with the obligatory french breakfast complete with pastries and coffee. We then wandered around and went exploring and found parts of the city we'd never heard of but enjoyed very much.

We only managed to check out of the hotel then check our bags in to left luggage at Gare du Nord. We grabbed some fuel in the form of coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice and one of the best croissants any of us had had in a long time! Instead of Sacre Coeur or a mouche boat trip we opted to keep it simple a walk around near the Gare du Nord. In the end we wandered down a lovely canal and over to check out the Stalingrad memorial and the city canal which proved to be a great find, even before the sun came out which made it even better.

One glass of wine later and I had to get moving back to la Gare to hop a train to the airport. I was a bit ancy about it for some reason but I lucked out and caught a direct train to Charles de Gaulle. There are 2 terminals there and it didn't say which I needed on my ticket so I gambled and chose wrong but there's a free shuttle between the two terminals. The only problem was that my back teeth were floating and I was SO uncomfortable. Not a fun feeling. But...I made it and once I got checked in I had some time to make enquiries for Saturday's 'no-time-for-mistakes' trip from Toulouse to Split with 1 checked bag, 2 different airlines and 3 hours (in theory) between the flights.

Landing in Toulouse necessitated me shaking off the fatigue induced stupor I was in from 2 late nights and all that walking in Paris. Right...time to get behind the wheel of a car. Remember how to drive?!? Have I ever mentioned how glad I am that I know how to drive a stick shift?! Yeah - pretty much all cars here are sticks. Well, it has been a while but it came back very easily and I did well except for one flash of a speed camera. CRAP! Busted!

This is pretty country. I passes a couple of fields of sunflowers which I hope to find another one or two of to photograph tomorrow. I've seen several apple orchards and vinyards and signs for cherries. I'll be on the lookout for more tomorrow!

For now, I am content to have an early night. Two late nights in a row and I'm pooped. I have just settled in to my hotel in Caussade. It appeared to be about halfway between Toulouse and the pilates place. I didn't have a reservation for a hotel though, I decided to play it by ear...and what an odd tune it turned out to be.

I pulled into town and spotted the main hotel right away. When I walked up to the reception I dutifully noted the "tirer" sign and did not push the door. But it didn't budge. I tried again. I peered through the glass. All closed up. Nobody home. But the sign that said they were open 24h/7d. Huh? And they had signs out on the sidewalk.


Looking a little closer I noticed that it said that on Sundays the office was closed but you could use 'the machine' to pick up your keys. This was new so I looked more closely and discovered that I could use this machine in the front foyer of this hotel to make a reservation on the spot. It was just like checking in to my flight today.

How many adults? Kids? Nights? What kind of room? Breakfast? What kind of credit card? Please stand back while we print your receipt and drop your key...and not a credit cardy type key, but rather a small silver grooved key. I wasn't sure if there wasn't a hidden camera there...it was so unusual and I was shaking my head and grinning the whole time.

Checking out the room I'd have to say, 'well, at least it's clean'. And quiet...because there's NO ONE here. How odd it was to walk into this big hotel and not see a soul. How odd to be the only car in the parking lot out back. How odd to just show myself in. And if I'd planned ahead, I never would have had this odd experience. That's serendipity twice in the same day!!!

Quote of the day: I am thankful for many things in my life. Today I am particularly thankful that I don't have a gluten allergy!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

The search for a caramel sundae!

After a poor sleep, I'm not used to the noises of the city and another person in the room nor going to bed so physically exhausted at 2:30AM, we got up and ready and went to find Sherrin and Liam. We were eager to swap stories from the night before.

Breakfast was pain au raisin from a boulangerie down on Avenue des Gobelins before deciding on a rough plan of attack for the day. Given the logistical challenges of getting Liam on to the underground, although there were 3 of us, we opted to do as much walking as we could. While we were on our way to Les Jardins de Luxembourg the skies opened up signal ing that it was time for coffee. Hey - when Mother Nature gives you a sign, you listen!

We hit the gardens a short time later and they proved to be a real find. I love green spaces wherever I travel and this was an oasis in a concrete jungle. What pleased Andrew and Liam most was the fountain where they were sailing mini-sailboats that you could rent for 2€/30mins. Andrew was in there like the big kid he is but we kept having to watch the little kid as he tried to climb over the edge and get to the boats!

We stopped for crepes, candies and toys on the way out at one of the old-fashioned and adorable little kiosks. While waiting we heard, then saw, a cat caught up a tree. I actually got a video of it working it's way down the tree which was pretty cool. Too bad no pompiers had to be called...I would have enjoyed the 'scenery'!

There is an incredible variation in prices of things in Paris and the first restaurant we inteded to have lunch at had 5€ cokes and coffees. NEXT! None were great but we found one a little bit more reasonably prices just as the skies opened up once again. It turned out at those two sets of showers, for coffee and for lunch, were the only ones of the day and it turned into our first collective nice, summer day.

The afternoon had Sherrin on a mission to find this amazing little tea shop she'd been to before. iPhones are quite the inventions! It had moved from before so we wandered around on a hunt and found it. Success. Then on to hang out at the grounds of Notredame. Once again the lines were ridiculous and we opted to just sit and people watch. By that time I was sleep walking anyway and I was desperate for a nap. Fortunately so was Liam!

We had dinner at Le Manufacture, not our hotel but the restaurant across the way. What is it with the French wanting their meat so rare. COOK the hamburger please! Ah well, the service was good and quick (!) and when we left it was Liam's bedtime and time for Andrew and I to make our way to the Lido for the 21h30 show.

Only...it wasn't enough time. We tried to take the metro but went into an entrance where you couldn't buy tickets. Crossing the street to another entrance and looking at the time, we opted for a cab ride. It turned out to be a very expensive cab ride, 30€, but she got us there with little time to spare before the show and she was quite entertaining to speak to and practice my French with.

The Lido show was quite something. I'd heard it was a classier version of Le Moulin Rouge. Sounded promising despite my initial gasp at the price tag of 100€. I let Andrew make the call if he was game for that and he said okay, so off we went.

We were seated moments after it had started on the balcony at the very back in a little booth with a bottle of champagne chilling. While I don't normally like champagne, I have to say that this was actually pretty darned good. The show was enjoyable though it was obvious the chorus dance performers didn't really have their hearts in it. Perhaps the toll of two shows a day has taken the sparkle of it from them. And the main star, I hate to say it, was a bad singer. I'd expected more from a principle character but the 'more' came in an unparalleled way with the set design.

I've never been to a show that had a mock up of a Thai temple revolving up and out of the floor with the lowest level of statues actually dancers. While that was impressive, I wasn't expecting the Lippizaner stallion (aka the prancing ponies) to hippity-hop across the stage, the ice rink to come up a couple of numbers later and get treated to a mini pairs figure skating routine, nor the acrobat in the tighty-whities swirling and spinning on two curtains. Amazing! All in all it was a really good night out and a great show.

After the show we wandered up and down the Champs d'Elysees to see the Arc de Triomphe and across the Seine to get a better look at the Eiffel Tower. We'd planned on taking the metro there but it was closed for repairs. So we walked to the next station to take us to the Place d'Italie. In the end we took the metro 6 stops and walked the rest of the way back to the hotel with one important side-trip. The acquisition of the coveted caramel ice-create, sundae was only complete at 01h30, and our thrid McDonald's stop and just before closing. It tasted so good. ..as did the fries and Andrew's burger that we ended up adding to the order since we'd certainly earned it.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Pari-Roulant!



I had to work today. My heart wasn't in it but my to-do list was long. I spent all morning getting through about 80% of them, after that I would pack, work, shower, work, dry my hair, work. It was good that the morning was so prodcutive because the afternoon sure wasn't!



And yet...with all that time to prepare and pack it is BY FLUKE that I happened to look in my wallet by the door when my shoes were on and I was ready to go that I thought to have one last, unsuccessful look for my PADI card and found my driver's licence just sitting there. OOPS! I kinda need that! Cripes, if I had forgotten that, renting cars (which is the plan for nearly 2 weeks!) would have been niet mogelijk!!! Phew!

Met Sherrin at HS, met Andrew in Rotterdam. We hopped on to car 18 and Liam had a mini meltdown. It proved fortunate in the end since we initially just tried to stay out of people's way and find places to put our luggage. In the end we found the quiet and out of the way customs car. It was rather private - by design! Shaded doors and handcuff hooks on the wall suggest this isn't a place you want to HAVE to sit but it worked out well for us because the conductor let us stay and it was our own, very comfortable private car. Hurrah!

Andrew and I didn't have much time between arriving in Paris and the start of the Pari-Roulante start time of 10PM from Gare de Montparnasse. We managed to all cab it to the hotel, ditch our stuff, change and cab it over to the station.

We knew we were in the right place because we started to see more and more people with roller blades. It was so exciting to be a part of this. They have had crowds of up to 20000 people before. I'd say that the 12th of August, and the full moon no less, started with maybe 1000 and filtered down to 300ish by the end at 1AM.

I was initially quite cautious. I hadn't bladed in a while and wasn't used to the crowds. There were hot shots weaving in and out of the crowds and just givin'er! I had to watch the people around me and the pavement which varied in quality from recently resurfaced patches which were so nice to skate on, to pot-holes, to cobbles that had been paved but the pavement was coming off to no-getting-around-it, serious-foot-numbing cobbles. When we got off the first patch of cobbles it was funny as everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief!

It was amazing to tear through town like this. I originally though we might skate around Paris, but no...we skated through Paris. What a great way to be a tourist! We went past the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, Notredame, and many other places I want to trace on a map. We had many little breaks through the night as they gathered the skaters prior to blocking off traffic at the more major intersections. The longer break took place at the Place de Vendome.


It was around that time, an hour and a half in=halfway, that Andrew and I were both feeling quite tired. It would have been okay to stop then. I'd loved every minute of it until then, despite the appearance of a few ambulances along the way...not surprising really! In any case, as we both pushed each other to keep going for one more break, we got to the point that the 3hour mark and 30km finish line were so close that we figured we might as well finish. And we did! Hurrah...now for celebration drinks!
       
Before drinks, though, I had planted the seed about a McDonald's caramel sundae. We were both fixated on that and terribly disappointed that they were closed at 1AM and we'd missed them by 15mins. So a beer for Andrew and a piƱa colada for me to toast our fabulously fun night had to suffice.