From the news ...

Yes, I have heard about the “excitement” here in Paris – of course a day or two later. Kind of funny considering I live just a few blocks away, and last night I even walked through the park in front of the Eiffel Tower (Champs de Mars) after attending a lecture at the American Library in Paris.

But couldn’t the AP have found someone better to interview??? There are no ‘woods’ around the Eiffel (clumps of trees / park, yes. Woods, no.) And that scene with her holding the bag of cookies or chips? Oy vay. And she’s complaining because the police were forceful about everyone leaving? Umm.... if someone calls in a credible threat, I do NOT want the police holding a Q&A session, asking for my opinion and group consensus before we all sing Kum Bah Ya while skipping down the stairs! It’s clips like this that make me consider staying in France for a long time, and make me shudder when I think of the phrase “a jury of your peers.”

And I think many expect there to be more threats, especially considering the recent decisions made by Sarkozy and the government.

For a “crazy Megan random thought “, I started thinking that if somehow the structure of the Eiffel were compromised, could it topple over? And could it topple on top of me (physics wise, is it possible based upon where the legs/bases of the tower are)?

Acronyms

France must be an acronym for something if my company is any indication of how things are named in this country (and one really has to wonder, because I’m referring to the half of my company, pre merger, which was state owned and thus more ‘French’ than ‘International’ (in my opinion)).

The each letter in the acronym can represent the first word of the project description ; or 2 letters from the first word, the 3rd letter from the second word, and the last letter of the last word ; or some other crazy system, which lends you no help in trying to determine just what exactly the project is supposed to be. Here is just a sampling of projects, software projects, databases, etc. that we use for all sorts of things including technology updates (email, computer), price curves, valuation tools, etc. :

skipper, melinda, meteor, sicav, actarus, vegas, pomax, valse, pluggin, and my personal favourite, gedy (complete with a picture of C3P0).

And while they are quite creative, spending hours, days, weeks on meetings and votes/polls for names of new projects, naming of children is a bit simpler .... Jean-Philippe, Jean-Claude, Jean-Noel, Jean-Marie, Jean-Charles, Jean-Luc, Jean-Baptiste ...

I’ll give a prize to the best creation of what France, or Paris, could represent.

e.g. Paris = Pretty Area Ruined In Sh!t

Bordeaux

Map of wine regions in Bordeaux

Wine making process

Last weekend (Nov 13-15), Marissa (friend / co-worker) and I went to Bordeaux for the weekend. We found a good weekend deal, either on the Air France or SNCF (train) website, so figured, what the heck. The weekend deal, sponsored by the Tourist Bureau, included hotel for 2-nights, 2-hour walking city tour, 1/2-day tour to two wineries outside the city, free museum passes, a bottle of wine, and vouchers for a wine bar.

We left work in the afternoon and took the TGV getting to Bordeaux about 19:30. Because we had been sitting for 3.5 hours, we decided to walk around and see some of the city.

Saturday morning : we got up and headed to the tourist bureau to get our welcome information packet and then walked around the city, to some of the churches, window shopping, etc. We had lunch near the tourist office (love the goat cheese salad with honey!), which was right next to a Relais d’Entrecote (steak place, where that is the only thing on the menu, and only 1 kind of steak). The line literally wrapped around the building!

Saturday day : we did a 1/2-day tour on a bus to two wineries and the woman leading the bus group was very good, saying everything in French and English, talking about the history of the region, the wine growing areas, the small towns, and some of the wineries. Our first stop was at Chateau Maucailou, then to a photo-op stop at Chateau Margaux, and our 2nd tasting was at Chateau Giscours (with quite an interesting history).

Winery tour thoughts : I was expecting more from the tours, I think because the tours of Champange houses in Reims and Epernay were so great. Chateaus in Bordeaux just do not market themselves the way Champagne houses do. While covering the technical aspects of the wine making (in French and then English), it wasn’t thorough, the women at each Chateau did nothing to make me feel connected to their wine, their brand. In fact, when talking about it at work on Monday, I couldn’t remember the names of the two Houses! Even the tasting of the wine was impersonal - they didn’t tell us how to taste, or what tastes we should expect in what they poured (oak, vanilla, spice, etc.). I didn’t feel connected with the wine and thus found it quite easy to walk out without spending 50 Euros on a bottle. Also, I was surprised that most (all?) of the wineries do NOT age their wines once in bottles. Once the wine is bottled, the wineries sell it to distributors and such and they age it for another few years. I think to them it is wine, it is France, it is Bordeaux, so it doesn’t need marketing or fancy language or talk. (Even though the French on the tour asked a bizillion questions, with the arrogance of being experts.) As Bordeaux has been renovated, I imagine the region will get more tourists and maybe then they’ll step up their touring and tasting lectures?

Saturday evening : we stopped at the wine bar and used our vouchers, walked down to Place de la Bourse to get pictures of it at night, and then just meandered back to the hotel.

Sunday : we did a two-hour walking tour, led by the tourist bureau. It took us many of the places we had been on our previous walks, but this way we learned about the history, the new development, etc. Well worth it. I wish I could remember the description about the Girondins Monument!

What impressed me the most : the city of Bordeaux itself. It has undergone major renovation (in fact, if you look it up on google maps and go to satellite view, the view of the river front is of dirt and heavy machinery working to make it into an esplanade). The whole downtown city centre is mainly pedestrian streets ; there is an extensive new tram car system, powered by wires placed underground so as to not detract from the view above ground ; majority of buildings have all been power washed, so the stone is no longer black (literally) but back to original granite / sandstone look.

What surprised me about the city : (1) lack of wine bars and wine paraphernalia stores - no where to buy random wine stuff like tea towels, dish towels, bottle openers or stoppers, wine glasses, etc ; (2) lack of wine bars - there was 1 tasting bar across from the tourist bureau, but that was about it ; (3) the sharp contrast between the renovated city centre area and the rest of the city.

Overall, the only downfalls for me were : (1) I was so tired Friday / Saturday morning that it made it more difficult to really enjoy everything ; (2) we never made it inside any museums, so I’d like to go back to do that ; (3) the week or two before I did something to my left foot - I have no idea what. But it makes walking very painful, so I’d like to go back and be able to walk around more and do so without hobbling or wincing ; (4) I’d like to go to a different winery or two for tours, to see if the tours are any better (although I’ve heard Burgundy is better at them, better at marketing) ; and, (5) the train ride back - screaming baby several rows back, 2 fidgety toddlers behind me (one who often cried) and 1 fidgety baby in front of me who was crying, teething, and I think sick (and who’s father spent more time on his iPhone and reading his car magazine than helping his wife with his son).

Chartres

Yesterday (Saturday) I motivated and actually did something cultural. I got up early (07:00) and went to Gare Montparnasse to get a train to the town of Chartres. Coworkers/friends had been and raved, gushed, awed about the cathedral there. I will say upfront, I was underwhelmed. I like the Cathedral and the Basilica in Reims better, and other cathedrals I've seen.

The train ride was an easy one hour, and the walk to the cathedral from the train station is simple. I got there about 11:00 and even though it was a bright, stunningly sunny and beautiful day (like today), there wasn't much light coming in through the multitude of stained glass windows - that was a surprise to me, and a disappointment. One thing I found quite strange was how my sneakers squeaked on the floor. It seemed most people's shoes squeaked. What did they use to clean the floor? Weird.

I did a walk through and then decided to walk through the town, hoping that by coming back to the cathedral in an hour or so that the windows would be more 'alive.' The town is nice, quaint, typical French. Market was open, some stores closed due to August holidays. The Swarovski store was closed which ticked me off because that would have been the one place I wanted to go!

When I meandered back to the cathedral, I decided to walk around the outside of it to the back and from there, the views of the town are great as are the views of the cathedral (photos posted on Flickr). Going back inside, only a few specks of light were evident from the sun through the windows - still not a 'wow' moment.

Other things that made it underwhelming :

--The choir area is being renovated, so when you walk in, instead of being able to see all the way down the nave, into the choir, and to the chapel at the far end, your gaze is abruptly stopped at the altar by a floor-to-ceiling cover (nicely done though). I think this prevented some of the sunlight from getting in and through the stonework.

--Chairs were set up in the entire nave, covering over the labyrinth pattern in the floor.

--The South Rose Window was covered over for renovation

--The South Portico (outside) was behind scaffolding for repair/cleaning

I was surprised to find a Zodiac stained glass. You could really spend a lot of time looking at the detail of the windows, but I think you'd need binoculars because they are so high on the walls that it is difficult to see the detail from the ground level.

I'd like to do some more research and go back when it is not being renovated and to find out what time of day to go to have the windows be at their most brilliant.

Overall though, a truly amazing structure that was started in 1195. It survived some calamities while under construction, survived many wars, the Revolution, and two World Wars (the windows were removed for both).

Lapse and Recap

Ok, it has been 12 days since my last post, and it'll be at least another 18 before my next. So, what are the causes of these lapses?

--I went to London for the Jimmy Buffett concert on July 5th - holy amazing!!!!!!! British Parrotheads are alive and well! GREAT outfits, everyone singing along, small venue. Awesome time - I think I was smiling for about 4 hours straight - much needed rejuvenation.

--I was in Trinidad for work for a week, July 6th-10th. The return from which involved flying to London, having a 'layover' at St Pancras station, and then taking the Eurostar back to Paris. Planes, trains and automobiles! The time at St Pancras was lovely though - book store shopping, relaxing at the Starbucks in the station which is conveniently located next to doors that were open to let in the fresh air, and relaxing in the Eurostar Business Class lounge. Work went well, but I had little to no time to be on internet. Will post the few pictures at some point...

--July 11th was a happy day as I spent the ENTIRE day in my apartment - an awesome pajama-wearing, book-reading, champagne-drinking, music-listening, weather-watching day at home. Next time that is likely to happen will be on/after Aug 29.

--The 13 hours of sleep I got Friday evening, July 10th, came back to haunt me when Saturday night I was awake past 2 a.m. unable to sleep. So 8 a.m. came very early - I got up to go to church because I had volunteered to help count the money from the collection plates after the service. And no joke, the sermon was 25 frickin' minutes long. Not necessary. I guess I don't have to go back until September! And, it wasn't even a good sermon. (Side note : on counting the money, the woman 'in charge' of the volunteers is also on Finance committee with me (her sole qualification for being on the committee is that she is in charge of the money counting). She is the bain of my church life existence. She was complaining about the amount of money collected saying it wasn't enough/expected ; flitting about the room not doing anything ; treating me like I was an imbecile who was unable to count bills ; chastised me for using 2 paperclips on a stack of bills instead of 1...)

--After church Sunday, I went to Marissa's for brunch with other expats from work. Quite a nice time. Got home, and no sooner had I put on my PJs and started to read than I get an email from Kevin (coworker) who said he was in the neighborhood with his sister (in from out of town) and asking to meet for drinks. I swear I could be in the sequel to the movie Yes Man (I've not seen it, but the premise is Jim Carrey's character answers Yes to everything for a year). Of course I should've stayed home, gone to bed early, etc. But, of course, I said Yes and went out and wasn't home until 11.

--Monday was exhausting at work and extremely quiet since Tuesday was a holiday for Bastille Day.

--Bastille Day I left home at 8 a.m. to walk to the Champs Elysee to find a spot for the 10:30 parade start. I should've stayed in bed - it was horrible!!!! All it was was military tanks and artillery and such cruising down the street. It must've been down by Concorde where the troops were marching (I only saw the invited Indian troops on the tour bus taking them to what I presume was Concorde in the morning - they looked like they were having fun). So I stood there and watched this stupid display of military 'might'. Parades in the UK and US are MUCH better. There at least you have people waving flags, noise makers, face painting, etc. People have national pride. The parades are full of volunteer groups, workers' guilds, bands and dance teams, car enthusiasts, they old guy playing the spoons, etc. Those parades at least showcase the people, the nation, the spirit. Not some random Jeeps and tanks that are so heavy they break many of the cobblestones on the street.

--I came home, did some work, and then Marissa & Julia came over and we had dinner/drinks and waited for the fireworks to start at 10:30. Although I am literally 1 block from the Champ de Mars / Eiffel Tower, I cannot see it. So we walked out and got a great spot. AMAZING fireworks. Great use of light, optical illusion, music, and the Eiffel Tower. You Tube it, seriously. Well worth it. 30 minutes of being in awe.

--Julia and I were supposed to leave on an early train this morning to see Bruce Springsteen at Vieillles Charrues festival in Carhaix, but we cancelled - it involved camping out (which I do NOT do) and forecasts are for heavy rain/thunderstorms/wind. And, we would've gotten back late Friday night and a variety of other factors. Instead, we are going to see the Alvin Ailey dance theatre at Chatelet Friday night.

--Now it is Thursday evening. This has been the slowest work week. I am still jet lagged from Trinidad and NYC/Houston (I was in Boston/NYC/Boston/Houston for 12 days, Paris for 4, London for 1, Trinidad for 5, Paris now for 6). My body is not happy with all the change.

I am sure I could've written much more on all these topics, and I do have pictures to post (and still to post more from Norway in Feb ; Reims in May ; Ireland in May/June...) I think I just need to resign myself to my new state of being - hopelessly forgetting things, being way behind on stuff, and never being able to catch up!

Giverny, Monet and Vernon

Yesterday (Saturday) I went to Vernon and Giverny with friend/colleague Julia. It was a great day with great weather and an easy 45 minute train ride from Paris to Vernon. 

If only Julia and I were both feeling better than 50% the day would have been perfect. Of course, it was all due to the two of us going out after work Friday and not calling it a night until 1 a.m. However, the many glasses of wine were warranted since we went directly from work to Forum des Halles to Go Sport to buy a tent and sleeping bags. Okay, pick yourself up off the floor - yes, I wrote that I bought a tent and sleeping bag. This is for the Springsteen concert Julia and I are going to in July at the outdoor music festival Vieilles Charrues in Carhaix, Brest (France) (caution - music plays when you open that website!). Of course, I have only been camping once before and it rained so hard that we packed it up and went to a local motel! Fingers crossed for July!

Anyway, we left work at 17:30 and after walking through the underground maze that is the Chatelet Metro stop, fighting through the crowds of people at des Halles (and there are A LOT of people there), and buying a tent, we stopped at Cafe Pont Neuf on Quai de Louvre and enjoyed some white wine and a charcuterie plate. We then had enough motivation to walk over into the 6eme arrondisement, closer to Julia’s place, with the tent and sleeping bags, and stopped at a local cafe that Julia loves. Somehow it went from 20:00 to 01:00 before we knew it!

So, Saturday morning and a 10:20 train departure came earlier than I preferred. We met and left from Gare Saint Lazare and were in Vernon by 11:10. We wandered around the town trying to find a place for lunch - of course, nothing that we wanted (i.e. pizza) was open until Noon. But, we stumbled upon Our Lady Collegiate Church and went inside - very nice, typical town church, and the organist was rehearsing. Begun in 1072 in Norman Romanesque style, the final structure was finished in 1610 (I think). It was damaged during air raids in WWII, which shattered all the stained glass. But, what was very nice was that instead of replacing the windows with clear glass, they put in more modern, colored stained glass windows. The rest of the town is nice with some very old buildings that are severely slanted. And, the town is on the Seine which is quite nice and wide here - picturesque and refreshing.

We decided to follow the advice of the Giverny website and walk to Giverny from Vernon. It is a lovely walk - you are definitely out in nature and away from the city - all you can hear is the rustling of trees and the birds. 

Thanks to the advice of another colleague, we bought our entrance tickets online beforehand which meant we did not have to wait in the obscenely long line and just went in through a side door. And walking to this side door was cool because you walked under a bridge of ivy/flowers/greenery and you could hear the hum of bees above you.

The gardens are stunning, especially now in June with all the rose bushes in full bloom. Of course, I have no idea what the flowers are besides ‘purple ball’ and ‘tall blue thing’. One problem with the gardens is that the walkways are so narrow and you are allowed to walk in any path you want (i.e. not on a conveyor belt tour from point A to B) that it gets very congested.

You have to go on a pathway under the street (what used to be the railway line) and walk up to the water lilies (les nympheas) and that surrounding garden. The restoration team has certainly done a good job because you really feel like you’re looking out on the same landscape that Monet himself saw.

I say restoration because when Monet died in 1926, he left the house and gardens to his son, but he did not live there. The grounds eventually became neglected and upon his son’s death in the 1960s, they were bequeathed to the Academie des Beaux-Arts. Renovation began in the late 70s and took 10 years - as the website says, trees were growing in the big studio in the house and a stairwell had collapsed.

We opted to take the bus back from Giverny to the Vernon train station because we were so tired by this point and the thought of walking 6+ km again was not pleasant. We went to a cafe and rehydrated while we waited for the train back to Paris - definitely plan your trip accordingly because the trains are NOT frequent in either direction - i.e. 2 to 3 hours between each.

Oh, and don’t get too accustomed to me posting about something so soon after it happens! 

(more photos posted on Flickr via link on sidebar)

A New Holiday

Ok, I’ve come to realise that Easter Monday is about the best day ever!!!

Some background…France calls itself a Catholic country (I believe) and Easter Monday, Ascension Day (Holy Spirit goes up to Heaven) and Whit Monday (day after Pentecost ; Holy Spirit comes back and breathes on the people / talks to the people and all understand in their own language) are all public holidays. But, no one seems to go to church. All shops are open. In fact, people see it as a three day weekend – parties, trips to the beach, even bachelor parties are common on Easter Weekend because it can be a three day event. Oddly enough, though, Good Friday is NOT a holiday here. Even stranger, in the U.S. it is not a holiday, but the Markets (i.e. NYSE / trading) are closed.

For me, since I take Holy Week and Easter seriously, it’s not so much a weekend to party and celebrate. Instead, I go to church Thursday and Friday evenings. Saturday I was at church 2 hours in the morning for choir rehearsal (bells). Sunday I was there at 7:20 for rehearsal and then both the 9 and 11 services. So it makes for a somewhat tiring weekend. Lo and behold though I am now living in a country where Easter Monday is a holiday!

Anyway, I slept in – not setting an alarm (I cannot remember the last time I did that. Seriously.) I woke up about 7:30 and then drifted in/out of sleep until 10. It is now 15:30 and it’s been a great day! Cleaning, organising, throwing things away – just an overall sense of productivity. Now, I am sitting down to do some work (ugh), but I have a wonderful glass of 2006 Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay with me.

Aside : my friend Robin first introduced me to this wine several years ago (2003 maybe?). At that time it was delicious and still affordable at restaurants, say $30/bottle when everything else on the menu was $23 to $32. Now, it is much more expensive and still one of my favourites. I was so excited when our Christmas gift in the London office included this wine. (Further aside : it is custom in England to give alcohol as Christmas gifts ; no wonder the country has a drinking problem and is known for it Europe wide. Our box had 2 whites, 2 reds and 2 champagnes. I traded my reds for whites.)

In my cleaning / organising / sorting, I realise I’ve been moving some of the same papers for years now. Really, why was it necessary for me to keep the 2004 Boston Film Festival schedule? I didn’t even go to it! Some things like cartoons, quotations, photos, I like to keep and I like looking through them from time to time. I did come across many things I had kept in hopes to do in Boston – like the Harbour Islands tours ; Isabella Stewart Gardiner Museum ; visit the restaurants in Brookline’s Washington Square more often (some great finds there!). Maybe those of you living there can do these things for me?

She Went to Paris

I went to Paris Wednesday night for Thursday meetings with GdF and returned that night. Very fast trip and no sight seeing. It was Geert and myself meeting with one colleague from GdF to discuss future synergies of the combined group.

We stayed at the Waldorf Trocadero (no relation to THE Waldorf). The rooms were tiny, and my view was of a wall, but the hotel was very nice and I would stay there again.

The two best parts of the trip were (1) the food and (2) the commute. I love the typical French breakfast (or what I think is typical as I've really only seen it in France, and in Europe I suppose) of baguette, cheese, meats, and tea. And, at the 'canteen' (aka cafeteria) at GdF, I had an individual pizza that had slices of brie melted on top - wow - that was good! The commute in the taxi from Gare du Nord to the hotel, and from the hotel to GdF, was great because we drove through L'Etoile (aka Arc du Triomphe). That is one big monument. When you're driving up to it, it's size is massive and impressive. And, driving around the ginormous rotary is fascinating. TEN streets come into it. You can see from the map how crazy it is, and why it's called L'Etoile (the star). And, you can see how close the hotel was to it, and the Eiffel Tower (although I didn't see it because we got to the hotel at 10:30 p.m. and left at 8 am.)

I know we have to go back to Paris early July, but am not sure if we'll go before then.