Paris in the Springtime

“ I love Paris in the Springtime…’” We all know the song and it makes us think of wonderful thoughts of Paris—the flowers, the food, the monuments, etc. We were able to enjoy them all, but only after a bit drama. Surprised?

We were on the TGV from Geneva to Paris excited to spend our last weekend in Europe visiting our friend, Amelie in Paris. We sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the 3 1/2 hour express train to the City of Lights. We nibbled on some snacks tucked away in our backpack and sipped on some beers. Before we know it, we’re in Paris! We quickly gathered our things and walked off the train to the end of the platform were our Amelie—a native Parisian—greeted us. We hopped on the RER and found ourselves in the 17th arrondisment of Paris (close to the Arc de Triomphe!). Amelie prepared a delicious meal for us that included a fine bottle of wine, which we took from her family cellar.

After dinner we wanted to go for a nightcap. Jaren sifted through the backpack to find our stash of Euros, which was located in our documents holder, but there was no documents holder to be found as well as no Euros and more importantly, no Passports. NOTHING!

AHHHHH!

We quickly called the TGV to see if there had been any lost and found objects left from our train. There was nothing but a recording saying the business hours are from M-F, 9-5pm. (By this point it is nearly midnight on Friday). Next step, we called the American Embassy. Jaren spoke to an American, but is told there is nothing that can be done until Monday morning at 9am. (typical French). But, she is told that we have to file a police report indicating that our Passports are lost, if not stolen.

We tried to recall our events from when we gave the conductor our tickets from the documents holder and us arriving at Amelies. There were 2 possibilities: 1) The documents holder fell out of our bag on the train; or 2) The document holder was stolen from us on the TGV unbeknown to us. Either way, we lost our money and our passports.

Friday night, there was not much else we could do. Amelie escorted us up to the “chambre de bonne” where we had a magnificent view of the Eiffel Tower and where we (tried) to get some sleep that night.

Saturday, we woke up and went back to Gare de Lyon in search of our passports. Again, NOTHING! Then we went to the local Police station to file the report of our missing passports. After that, we knew there was nothing else we could do until Monday morning, so we let Amelie take us on a native’s tour of the city.

First stop, Place de la Bastille! It marks the site of the prison known as the Bastille, which was stormed by the Mob in 1789 at the start of the French Revolution.

Followed by that, we walked our way through Place des Voges, where Victor Hugo lived as well as several other famous Parisians. We stopped and took a brief nap in the green lawn.



From there, we walked through Le Marais, which is an area that has quaint shops and stores and is also home to the old Jewish quarter.

Le Marias led us to L’Hotel de Ville, which is a beautiful ornate building in the heart of Paris. Then, we walked across the bridge to Notre Dame, where our digital camera died and we had to buy a disposable camera (thus one reason for the long delay in providing pictures).

Notre Dame; Notre Dame for the nave-side; Steve and Jaren in front (our first picture with the disposable camera)

From there, it was through the latin quarter, followed by a walk through the University area.
A picture of a typical Parisian patisserie, boulangerie, cafe.

LEFT: The Catherdral. CENTER: The main street up to the University area. RIGHT: The school of law (where Amelie went). "Legalité, Fraternité, Equalité"

We were walking towards the Centre Pompidou when we realized we were close to "Les Halles", the area in central Paris that used to house the daily markets. We are huge fans of Tony Bourdain--the smug New Yorker who travels the world in search of local foods and traditions. Well, we're fans of the show and we wanted to see the inspiration for his NY restaurant. So, here is Steve under the arches of "les halles".

Then, we were in dire need of a rest, so we trekked to le Centre Pompidou, where we went to the roof deck bar and had ourselves a drink before hiking all the way to the Opera and to Amelie’s restaurant of choice for dinner where we met our old friend from Geneva, Ariana and her boyfriend Greg. There we had a delicious Parisian meal followed by a night of drinking and playing darts (why? Because it was fun!).

Sunday was a bit rough to get up. It was the first round of Elections for the upcoming French Prime Minister! Woo Hoo! Us International Relations nerds love this stuff. We went with Amelie to cast her vote to her local poll.

This is a window display in a local flower shop saying vote. The Parisians are passionate about their politics


From there, we went off to Sacre Coeur and the Mont Martyre area for a walk about and a bite to eat—cheese and a baguette. We took a nice long break on the steps to reflect on the beauty of the city.

Et Voila the city of Paris from afar!

Then, we began to walk toward the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. We got an espresso at a mid-afternoon break somewhere between the river and Mont Martyre before catching a bus to Les Invalides. There we explored the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed each other’s company in the City of Love before we headed back to chez Ropert for the results of the first round of elections.

From below; Jaren & Steve; from the other side of the river

A brisk walk back, we made it just in time for dinner where Amelie’s parents made a feast and Amelie gave us our wedding present. It was absolutely amazing to experience a typical French meal in the home of such a wonderful and loving family. That is a memory we will remember for years to come.

Soon after dinner, we enjoyed watching the election results (in French) with her family. To see the media portray the election, the results as well as speaking to her family was unbelievable.

Monday rolled around bright and early for us. We said our goodbyes to Amelie, who had to leave for work and we found ourselves on the RER to Gare de Lyon, where we wanted to check with the lost and found about our passports. Of course, they were nowhere to be found. Thus, our next step was to the US Embassy where we had to be issued an emergency passport. We wait, and we wait…half the day gone waiting in a typical US bureaucracy building—blue walls, waiting lines and loud Americans. Finally, we are issued 1 year passports (of course, no good to us since we’re leaving for the Peace Corps in just a few months for 2 years…) and we were able to buy tickets on the next TGV train to Geneva.

Here's us in front of the Louvre, just after receiving our new passports. (those smiles are because we can now go home to Geneva and the States)

We had a wonderful, as well as a memorable trip!

Luxurious Luxembourg--April 14-15

The next morning we were up bright and early to hit the road to Luxembourg. Passing through Dijon (yes, this is where the mustard comes from), the landscape view was unlike any we'd seen before.
(The picture doesn't do much justice).

Finally, we made it to Luxembourg and met up with Laure at the famous "Aire de Berchem" rest area. All I have to say, it what a nightmare of a gas station. But, we found Laure and we set off to her flat in town.

Exploring Luxembourg City, Laure pointed out historical, political and cultural elements to the City.


LEFT: The Golden Lady monument. CENTER: The big Cathedral (roughly 90% are Catholic, but rarely go to Church). RIGHT: The Fortress Wall with the new European Union buildings in the background.


LEFT: Famous old building with a Luxembourgish saying (we want to be who we are, I think?). CENTER: The Sheild (and potentially the new flag). RIGHT: Old part of the Fortress Gate




After several hours of strolling around town, it was time for a beer break! On the menu, Diekirch, a Luxembourg lager. Laure advised us that in Luxembourg every bar/restaurant can only have 1 of the 4 Luxembourg brands on tap. After learning this, we were eager to try all four, which took us to another cafe. There some of Laure's friends met up with us and we all tried Bofferding and Battin, two of the other Luxembourg beers.




After a few .33 cl glasses, we went back to chez Laure for dinner where she prepared a "typical" Luxembourgish dinner. A Europeans styled breakfast is the easiest way to describe it: an assortment of breads, meats, cheeses, fruits, yogurts. One special treat we got to try was "Kachkéis" in Luxembourgish, or "Concoillotte" in French. Not bad, really!

Later that night, we went to Laure's pub-of-choice where we met a group of her friends.

Sunday, after a delicious home-made breakfast cooked by Laure, we were off to Diekirch for a bike ride. Diekirch is a small town about 25 minutes north of Luxembourg City, and is home of the Diekrich brewery. There we rented some bikes and rode along the path next to the river. It was a perfect day for a bikeride. Along the way we stopped to take pictures of the scenic views.

LEFT: Crazy statue at the train station that you can move the arms of the figures. CENTER: Beautiful hill side. RIGHT: Cows grazing.

LEFT: Group Shot! CENTER: Cows. RIGHT: The Green Forest



The leisurely ride worked up an appetite for us all, so we stopped by a local cafe to try "Ham, Fritten an Zalot", a typical Luxembourgish dish, which is a big plate of ham, fries and salad. The enormous portions surprised us, when Larue reassured us that Luxembourgers have far more of an appetite than the French.

Sadly, after a long and enjoyable lunch it was time for us to head back to Geneva.
We caught the sun setting over the Burgundy hills. Beautiful.

Beaune, France--April 13, 2007

Friday evening, we took a quick tour through French wine country, the region of Burgundy. After driving a slow-moving Opal for 2 hours we came to Beaune (pronouced "Bone", but with a French accent). Beaune is a quaint little town that houses all the Burgundy wine caves.




We set off to explore the town: Le Hospices de Beaune, The Bascillica Notre Dame, and other sites.





Along the way, we stopped to try some local wines. All of which were local Burgundy wines!







Our favorite was the Côte de nuit, 2004!






Here is Steve enjoyin his glass.



After sampling several types of Burgundy, it was time for dinner. We stumpled across a cafe serving local cuisine: Quiche Bourgogne and Quiche Lorraine (region north of Beaune).

Ann-Arama--April 1-5, 2007

Sunday:

Ann arrived Sunday morning amidst holiday traveling. The airport was a zoo and we all got the paulsey as a result. But, we picked up Annie safe and sound after a long day of flying Spokane-Seattle-Amsterdam-Geneva! We brought her into town before setting off for the day.

The five of us (Chris, Claudia, Annie, Steve and me) piled into a tiny Opal wagon and hit the road. Next stop, Gruyere.

The hour car ride turned into two. We took a wrong turn, and it lead us through the Bernese-Oberland region--quintessential Swiss terrain. There were no complaints (other than being hung over from the night before). The long ride eventually lead us to La Maison du Fromage, where we watched cheese be made the old fashion way. (See our other blog post about Gruyere HERE)
A walk through the town was next.

The town; Annie and Jaren with the Bernese-Oberland mountains behind; Steve, Jaren, Claudia and Chris the town behind.





After learning about the cheese and walking around, we all had quite the appetite. It was time to eat some cheese. We promised Chris, Claudia and Annie a traditional Swiss meal, Raclette, accompanied by traditional Swiss wine, Fendant.





After a quick stroll around the castle, it was time for dessert, creme double de Gruyere avec les merinues et les framboises! After dessert and another bottle of wine, it was time to head back to Geneva.


It was late and Chrilaudias had to catch and early plane the next morning, but we all decided to go out for one last beverage. We popped down to the corner bar, Dukes, where one drink turned into many and before we knew it, the bartender was kicking us out...literaly.
Santé!


Monday:
We got Chris and Claudia up and bathed before taking them to the train to get them back to the airport. We said our farewells and they were off. Now it was Annie time.

I went off to work. Steve let Annie sleep until 11ish before they went for a coffee at our favorite cafe, La Vouivre.

I came home from work early, I was hurting from the night before, and all of us ate some lunch and relaxed and caught up on things. Later I took Annie for a stroll through town.




Annie and Jet d'Eau; Annie and the swans; Annie & Jaren on quai Mont Blanc.



It was the first night of Passover and Steve prepared a traditional Seder meal with matzoh ball soup, charoset, matzoh, etc.




Tuesday:

Annie and I went for pain au chocolat and renverses for breakfast at Cafe Vouivre of course. After chatting for a bit, it was time for me to head to work. In the mean time, Steve took Annie to a few of the main tourist sites in town: The Cathedral, Old Town, Bastions Park.

Annie and Steve at the top of the Cathedral and view of the city.

I came home from work early to prepare dinner, fondue! Our second cheese-only meal in 2 days, and our last fondue of the year.

Say "Cheese"!

Wednesday:

While I was at work, Steve took Annie to the Red Cross museum where she spent hours reading about the work of the Red Cross.

That night, after Annie got all packed and we ate our delicious dinner prepared by Steve, we went to the President Wilson Hotel for mousse au chocolat. The reason: 22 years ago my parents came to Geneva because my Dad did some work for the ILO. They stayed at the President Wilson Hotel for weeks and every morning Annie would go downstairs for breakfast and order mousse au chocolat. In honor of her, we went and had mousse au chocolat. It was the best chocolate mousse I have ever had before. I was doing everything in my power not to pick up the bowl and lick it clean with my tongue; it was that good.




Nice presentation; Annie and Jaren with mousse au chocolat; the devoured dish...

And that is how we ended Annie's visit, with a trip down memory lane.

We won't mention the fiasco at the airport...