Traveling to Paris

I knew traveling to Paris would be an adventure. Two hours of driving to London, and two hours of train ride to Paris.  We had to drop the car off in central London, because it seemed like a good idea at the time to avoid the delays caused by weekend maintenance on the Tube.  Although avoiding delays was a good idea, it was extremely stressful driving around central London.  We both survived (maybe with a couple of additional white hairs to show for it).

Me driving before London:

From the rental car drop, we took a cab to St. Pancras station. Taxis and their drivers in London are the BEST! We got our tickets for the Eurostar train, and we only had about a 20 minute wait before departure.

Greg on the Eurostar platform:

On the train:

A picture while under the Channel:

We arrived at the Gare du Nord station and stepped into France for my first time.  It was a bit chaotic--so many people, so many languages! After drawing out some euros at an ATM, we exited the station. At this point, we very nearly got taken for a ride (literally and figuratively).   It can be a real disadvantage to not speak the local language. Someone asked if we were looking for a taxi. After we said yes and showed him the address and instructions, he took us to two other guys, who led us to a private car.  The whole situation did not feel right.  After a couple of questions about being licensed and the lack of a meter, they told us that they charged straight rate, 25 euro.  I knew we were not that far from the apartment, and we declined the ride.  We found the taxi stand and took a professional taxi to the apartment (10 euro).

The taxi driver was very nice, although he spoke little English.  We managed to communicate, although we had trouble when he asked us about the mayor of California.  I just could not understand what he meant.  He then took his phone, did a search and showed us a picture of what he meant--a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger.  The Governator did his part for international relationships that day, although we had to inform the cabbie that he was no longer governor. 

We were met at the apartment by Yetunde, the property manager. She gave us an orientation of the apartment and the appliances, and was extremely helpful with our questions.  We were then on our own in our rented apartment in the neighborhood of Montmarte.

The apartment living room:

View of Eiffel Tower from living room (without zoom):

View downhill from apartment:

View uphill from apartment (Sacre Coeur is at the top of the steps):

Bedroom of apartment and view from bedroom:

We unpacked a bit, and got settled in before heading out to find some food.  I was really in the mood to just relax at the apartment, so we went looking for a grocery.  Unfortunately, being Sunday, most things were closed. However, there were plenty of cafes and crepe stands open for the tourists near Sacre Coeur.  We found a place selling wine, grabbed a hot dog at a stand, and bought some crepes, and walked down the steps to the apartment for a relaxing evening.

View of Eiffel Tower at night with zoom lens:

Today we are planning to relax and explore the Montmarte area where we are staying. One of my favorite movies, "Amelie" was filmed here, so I am planning to track down some of the film sites.  It should be an interesting day!

Stratford-Upon-Avon, Day 2 pictures

I am sitting in our apartment in Paris, sipping on a cup of French press coffee, listening to the city wake up, and trying to catch up on this blog.  In the interest in catching up, and because my mind is too tired to write much, this blog entry will mostly be pictures.

Our second day in Stratford was spent mostly in looking around the town and a brief jaunt to Warwick to view the castle there.

The Victoria Spa Lodge:

First stop was Rother Market. There was a farmer's market Saturday morning where we stocked up on local goods: herb brie, apples, and beer for our picnic later.

Shout for Trout!

Next we walked around town. This is Greg and I in front of Shakespeare's birthplace.

Greg with the Busking Bard:

Gargoyles on the old chapel church:

Nash's House & New Place, where Shakespeare died: 

More pictures from Holy Trinity Church:

What is a cream tea? (Mom, I took this one for you):

A pot of tea with Shakespeare's birthplace in the background:

My tea leaves--I think it is a dragon (glad it is not a Grim):

Warwick Castle--we arrived too late to enter, so we got some pictures outside, and I got some good practice driving English around the countryside:

It was another fine day, full of new sights and experiences.

Shakespeare's grave: Day 1 in Stratford-upon-Avon

We arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon in the late afternoon on Friday.  We are staying at the Victoria Spa Lodge (http://www.victoriaspa.co.uk).  Built in 1887, it is relatively young compared to some of the buildings in town.

View from side of Lodge:

After quickly freshening up, we walked into town along the canal.  It should have been about a 20 minute walk, but with all the birds and pictures to take, it probably took us about 40 minutes.

Greg at canal:

There were boats in the canal, and they had to go through locks at certain points. Several of the boats are used for houses. If you look closely at the picture, you can see a large black dog with a red collar in the bow of the boat.  

We arrived in town and went straight to the Royal Shakespeare Company box office, so I could pick up our tickets to the night's production, King Lear at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre  (http://www.rsc.org.uk).  

View of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from the gardens:

We had about an hour before our dinner reservations at the rooftop restaurant at the theatre, so we decided to walk down the road a bit to the Holy Trinity Church (http://www.stratford-upon-avon.org), where Shakespeare and his family are buried.

It wasn't very crowded so late in the day, and we had the church to ourselves.  Shakespeare's grave is inside the church.

Memorial to Shakespeare inside church which was added after his burial by his wife and friends:

After our moment alone with Shakespeare, we returned to the theatre's restaurant for dinner before the show.  After looking at the menu, I knew I had to have the bubble and squeak cake.  Although I didn't know what it was, I want this trip to be a food adventure, and bubble and squeak just sounded so British, I couldn't resist. It was quite delicious!  My bubble and squeak was followed by rhubarb sponge with vanilla custard, a yummy lemon and rhubarb cake smothered in warm, rich vanilla custard.  It is a good thing we walked to town.

The show started just after 7.  It was the first time I have seen Shakespeare performed professionally, and the first time I have seen King Lear performed. It was outstanding.  It was so well done, and there was so much to see, that I wanted to go see it again the next night.  Next time I go to see the RSC, I will be splurging on the tickets to get better seats.  That performance will stay with me; the art was nourishment to the soul.