The Not So Secret Garden

No trip to Paris is complete without a visit to Versailles and the spectacular royal gardens.  Well, that's not exactly true.  I imagine lots of people come to Paris without taking the side trip to Versailles, but it is something everyone should see at some point in their lives.  Having been there several times over the past 7 or 8 years I can tell you that it's not only someplace you need to GO,  but a place you need to go BACK to, as it is just too big to see everything in a day - or even a weekend.

The palace is immense,  and in all of my visits I still haven't been inside,  partly due to the steep entry fee (25 €,  or something like that).  It was actually my intention to finally take the palace tour this weekend; that and get a look at the gardens before they pull out all of the flowers.  I was thwarted on both accounts,  but more on that in a bit.  First here's a photo as I walked up from the train station.

One thing to know if you ever go,  don't ever expect a photo without a bunch of unwanted tourists making a cameo.  Think of them as extras in the movie of your life and it makes it all a little easier to swallow - or maybe not.  The place is immense,  as I said before,  and the grounds are larger than some countries (okay,  maybe only bigger than the Vatican, but that's a country so it counts) but that just illustrates how many people come here every day.  There always seems to be someone in your way.  While I had finally brought myself to pay the exorbitant ticket price,  it was the people that kept me out this time.

As you can see (in the background) that's one long line,  and that's just the line to get in,  first you have to stand in an equally long line to buy your ticket (unless you're smart enough to buy it online - word to the wise, buy online).   I'm not that smart,  so I would have had to stand in both lines. Another time.

Somehow I always forget when the first Sunday of the month is.  That's an important day to remember in France because it is often the free day for the museums.  Either it's a day you want to shoot for in order to make your Paris stay a bit more affordable,  or if you're like me,  it's a day to avoid being caught out with every other tourist and half the locals.  Being that I was already out in Versailles, though, I thought that at least I could see the gardens and maybe find a quiet spot to eat the picnic lunch that I brought with me. 

As you can see,  I did manage to find a few flowers, but I had to look pretty hard and even these were almost gone.  See the cool patterns of the shrubs in the lower photo; well all that dirt around them is usually filled with all kinds of flowers.  This type of garden is usually found throughout the grounds, not just tucked in a corner around the back and off to the side.  The French can find lots of things to NOT be efficient at (like VISA applications), but pulling flowers come Sept., that they do with great expediency.

So, twice rebuffed from my attempts to enjoy Versailles, I buckled down, forced a smile on my face and set off in search for my quiet lunch retreat.  I'm happy to say that I did find it, and in my search I saw some things and parts of the gardens that I hadn't seen before.  You're probably already sick of reading this (it's not like I'm painting a great picture of Versailles at this point), so I'll try to keep my descriptions brief, but get ready for a bunch of photos (click on the pics to get a larger view and see more of the details.)

This first one gives you a bit of a sense of the size of the gardens (yeah that "lake" in the background is actually part of it and you can rent little paddle boats and canoes to go out on it).

This is the Orangerie (those are orange trees) and shows how well kept and intricate the gardens can be (even if all the flowers are gone).  BTW, the little pond on the left and the lake on the right are different from the lake in the previous photo ... I told you the place was big.

This is the back of the palace (just a small piece of it) and one of hundreds(?) of sculptures and statues that adorn the grounds.  This one isn't particularly special, just gives an idea of what surrounds you in abundance as you wander the stone paths.

Here's another view looking out from the back of the palace.  The unique thing here is the "fountain" in the foreground.  Normally this is one of the more ornate fountains on the grounds (and the first one you see upon entering), but is currently under renovation ... something you don't normally get to see.  I would've liked to take a picture of one of the other fountains for a comparison, but they had them all turned off, so they aren't that exciting without the spouting water.

Here's a place that I had never stumbled upon during previous visits (I did say the place is huge, right?) but was happy to discover on this trip.  I wished they would've had the water running as there are several "waterfalls" that supposedly cascade over different parts of this "fountain."

Here's a closer view of the Bains d'Apollo (or was it Athenes - I don't remember, but it was definitely a Greek god or goddess starting with an 'A'), or baths of Apollo.  You can see the detail of the pillars tucked behind the sculptures back in the cave.  I really liked this spot.  It would've been a good spot for lunch, as I was actually alone here (amazingly enough), but I wasn't ready so I continued to meander.

This is back up by the palace where they have seasonal art displays.  There were several of these anatomy sculptures emerging from huge marble blocks (that block is probably 2.5 - 3m tall).  I'm not much of an art aficionado but I do appreciate sculptures.  This one was showing blood vessels and maybe a chamber of the heart, using the natural veins of the marble for the symbolic veins and arteries.

The next 3 photos are all from a "tree artist".  There was a lot of his work on display (Perone, I think his name was).  I didn't really get it, to be honest, but thought I should take a few photos, so here they are.  The floating tree (first photo) and the upside down tree (third photo) were the ones that I liked the best (I use the term "like" loosely here).  Almost all of his other stuff was giant rocks perched in trees (see second photo).  Truthfully, I'd be really impressed with those (some of the rocks were huge - maybe 1m across) if the "artist" had put them up there himself - by hand.  I'm betting he had the assistance of heavy machinery, so I'm much less enthralled.  BTW, this is where I finally got to eat my baguette, nectarine and paprika flavored chips (what's up with paprika on chips ... seems to be a french favorite).

Well, that was my day in Versailles.  Not what I expected, but not a complete waste either.  Glad I stuck around to get something out of the day.  

If you ever get the chance to come here and make the trek to Versailles here are some tips that you might find helpful:

• Buy tickets online if you want to go to the palace, and arrive early if you want to get in.
• Download the guided tour app for Android or iOS so you can avoid needing to spend money on the audio guides or personal guides the museum offers.
• Stop at a boulangerie (bakery) and pick up some sandwiches, or make your own at home (like me).  Food is not that great in and around the palace, and certainly isn't cheap.
• Make sure you catch the right train (RER line C) to get to Versailles.  There are a few with the Versailles name, but only one route that says "Chateau", which is the one that you want.  They run every 20 min. or so, so you can go at anytime of day and get back to Paris at any time too.
• Get off the beaten path for your picnic, that means avoid the water features and venture into the arboreal labyrinths.  You can find a quiet secluded place to eat those sandwiches you made/bought, but you might need to do a bit of walking and take the opportunity when it presents itself.
• If you only have 1 day to see Versailles, skip the main grounds and palace and head over to the Domaine de Marie Antoinette.  It has everything the bigger place has plus a cool medieval hamlet (she was nuts) and you can see the whole thing in a day.
• Don't panic about bathrooms, but do keep your eye out for them.  There are plenty, but they aren't always that well marked if you're not used to looking for the smallish "toilette" signs that the French like to use.
• If you want to see the gardens in their full glory (i.e., full of flowers and with the fountains running), which I do recommend, then go in July or Aug.  Even Sept. 1st is too late, as I have just found out.

That's about it for today (yesterday, actually).  Looking back over what I posted I don't want to leave it with those pictures of "tree art."  This photo's not much better, but it is of more importance to me ... it is the view from my apartment.  If you look closely you can see the top of the Eiffel tower (near the center).

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A Journey to Camelot

Ugh.  I've been sick all week and haven't had much energy to get out and do too much or see much.  Luckily for you (since I know you're just dying to read something) I managed to get out the week before on the holiday they have here in Aug., but hadn't written about it yet (though photos have been up for a while).  Not sure what the holiday was for, but everyone was off of work, most of the stores were closed and the tourist sites were even more crowded than normal.  I took the opportunity to get out of town, with a small group from my French class, and head an hour and half northeast of Paris by car.

Here is my Journey to Camelot:

Okay, so it's not actually Camelot, which should be a given considering Camelot would've been in England not France, but some of you might recognize it as the legendary castle of Arthur due to the recent BBC series (also shown on Syfy in the US, and now on Netflix) called Merlin.  Actually there have been several other TV shows and movies to use this site for filming:

•  les Visiteurs, 
• Highlander: The Series, 
• The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
• the 1998 version of The Man in the Iron Mask. 
• and a cut scene of this castle was used to portray Wiz Tech Academy in Disney's TV series, Wizards of Waverly Place.

I think I've seen all of these (with the exception of Wizards of Waverly Place) and did find myself with a sense of deja vu (a French term, which ironically the French don't use).

(all TV/film references taken from wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Pierrefonds)

 

You can see why they choose this place to film.  It is picturesque and in remarkable condition.  That is not an accident, of course.  The castle (which is actually Chateau Pierrefonds) was mostly destroyed in the early 1600's and not rebuilt until the 1850's when Napoleon III intended it for a royal palace.  Alas, it wasn't destined to be inhabited by any royals and instead ended up as a museum when it was completed.  That's great for us since it has kept the reconstruction open to the public and well maintained.

Here is the guardian awaiting you as you climb the stairs to enter the palace.

There are now a bunch of empty stone rooms that are pretty standard castle stuff - cool to see, but not very photogenic.  After walking through several of those mostly empty stone chambers you wind up in the great hall.  This photo is taken from the middle looking toward one end, meaning this is only half the room.  Unfortunately this room, while brightly colored and well painted, is pretty empty.  Originally the great room was lined with suits of armor from various periods in history, but they have since all been removed.  Bummer, I dig that stuff.  Maybe I'll have to take a visit to Les Invalides in Paris to get my fix, but not until after tourist season is over.

Below is a picture of the chapel.  The base of this statue actually sits about 8ft. off the ground.  I couldn't take a picture of the whole room due to the giant Japanese tour group that always seemed to stand in front of anything that I wanted to take a photo of (including the one thing that was worth seeing in the great room - a giant model of the castle).  Thus the downside of being in France in Aug. - you are never alone, not even close to being alone.

After several minutes of waiting for the crowds to pass, I did get a picture of the entrance to the crypts.  Since this castle was never really lived in after being reconstructed, the crypts were never used.  If you didn't know better though you'd think you'd stepped into the burial ground of several hundred years of French royalty.  Apparently kings, and other nobles, would choose their coffin design well before they actually died.  They would hire a sculptor who would then make a prototype (or maybe a few), the king would give his blessing (or not) and the sculptor would then make the final version.  The "prototype coffin" would then just sit in some dusty corner, I guess.  Thankfully, historians located many of these prototypes, spanning a few hundred years and several families, and put them in the crypt of Pierrefonds Chateau.  The lighting is poor and no flash photography is allowed so this is the only photo you get.  This was probably the most impressive part about the tour.  I wish my French were better, as they had audio playing in the crypt at certain stations, supposedly voices of the "inhabitants".  Oh well, another reason to go back someday.

 

Here's a view of the town looking from the castle ramparts.   

 

Here's a better picture of the town taken after leaving the castle and getting some delicious coffee and creme brule ice cream.

 

Well, that's about it for now.  I am happy to report that I didn't find any signs of the invasion spreading to the country side.  The invaders seem to be content to inhabit large population centers for now.  If you're looking for a place to escape their reach, the country side seems to be a safe place ... for now.

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A Day at the Beach

This post was authored by Charlotte: 

On the weekend we went to Ohope beach. We jumped the waves and some of us got soaking wet! It's still winter so we couldn't go swimming. We also built a few sand castles and wrote messages in the sand to our dad. The beach is on the Pacific Ocean, it was exciting  beacause we don't go to the beach very often because in New Mexico  we live 901 miles from the Pacific Ocean. We also went fishing at the harbor. But we didn't catch any fish :(, it was still fun though :) because we got to see other people's fish that they caught .

The tide came up and swept the castle away

View of Whale Island from Ohope Beach

Carson building the sandcastle

The water was just warm enough to jump the waves

Yahoo!

Message to Dad

Harbor Side

Going to the beach was fun! And I can't wait to go again:)

...

Run for your lives!

Apparently I'm too late.  The little aliens have spread all over the city.  They've been reportedly escaping (or invading, not sure of the source) since 1998 when they first appeared around Bastille.  As there are now thousands of them throughout Paris (a couple more pictured below) I'm afraid this city might be lost.  And it doesn't stop there.  There have been sitings in major cities all over the world, and they apparently currently inhabit the Hollywood sign in California.  After having countless sitings since my promenade around the 11th and 12th arr. last weekend I have stopped taking pictures of them so as avoid being reported to their leaders as a hostile entity.  I need to keep a low profile now if I am to monitor their activities.  Here are a couple I saw in Belleville (in the 11th) the other day.

Actually I lied.  This first one is just around the corner from me on the way to Bastille.  He's one of the larger ones I've seen.  Size and proximity to the location of the original sitings tell me this one's been around a while.  A smaller one surveying a street corner in Belleville is below.

I might just need to man the lookout at Parc Belleville myself.  It's one of the higher points in Paris and should give me a good vantage point from which to watch for more of these invasive alien blockheads.  See for yourself (Parc Belleville photo below).  Proximity to Bastille is also good here, though as that seems to be the point of origin I may run the danger of being over-run.

 

These petits etrangers (little foreigners in French) are certainly not stupid.  They have infiltrated our internet (you know, that series of pipes) and have setup a nice cover story for their appearances.  Apparently they are claiming to be the innocent product of a local Parisian street artist who has posted additional "art" projects in other cities he has visited.  I'm not so sure.  Until this is cleared up, rest assured I will be watching.

To see their cover story for yourself visit the "artists" page:

http://www.space-invaders.com/

or their wikipedia page to see just how extensive this coverup is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invader_%28artist%29

Bridal Veil Falls

We took the short hike to Bridal Veil falls on one of our first weekends.

Maori carving greeting at the beginning of the trail.

You reach the top viewing platform first.  

It is a 55m drop off over a basalt cliff.

Hiking down to the bottom

About halfway down

Delaney took this one:

The kids at the base

A shot of the mostly native forest

And a koru, the inspiration the symbol found in many Maori objets d'art, symbolizing new life, growth, strength, and peace.  (It appears in the carving at the top).

Space Invaded?

So for our two readers, if you have been reading via the desktop browser site (rather than the mobile site) then you may have noticed that I have put a slideshow of all of the photos from the blog on that main page.  If you are astute (and I'm sure you are) you will also have noticed that there are more photos in the slideshow than have actually been posted.  That's because I tend to upload the photos at night after I've been out for a day, but don't actually feel like writing anything, or, frankly, have anything worth saying.  So, photos just float around there for you to guess what I might write about next. 

Can you guess?  Yep, Space Invaders!

During one of my weekend walks I stumbled upon the location (pictured below) of the space invader prison, or their next landing site, I can't be sure.  I suppose it could also be a toilet, but I waited for some time and never saw anyone exit from the single locked door on the east side.  If there is a space invaders game in the toilet, however, I might not have waited long enough.

 Not convinced?  Take a closer look at the mosaics on either side of the building.

I told you!  I figure with the 2-D nature of those little guys, and at the dimensions they appeared to be on my old 13" TV that I had my Atari 2600 hooked up to, that we could literally fit an infinite amount of space invaders there.  If my hunch is right then the Parisians are doing the world a service by keeping these petite extraterrestrial gremlins locked up.  Of course, the way the locals slurp up snails and munch on frogs, perhaps they have escaped and are controlling the local populace in a "body snatchers" sorta way.  If I don't come home and stop posting stupid little stories you may need to call in Galaga.  Not really sure what's going on here, but this place requires some persistent monitoring, like I said - it could just be a toilet.

At any rate, if all goes wrong and those invaders get out causing mayhem and destruction, at least there is a cool old hospital (St. Anoine's) right across the street (hidden behind the trees).

On the less sinister side, this old church is on the historic places list (though honestly, what isn't on that list in Paris) and right around the corner from my apt.   Best I can tell, this little church isn't really known for anything other than receiving more than 300 bodies (sans heads?) from the Bastille guillotine in one year, since it was one of the closer churches with a graveyard.  Now there is a nice little playground and flower garden in front.  I hope they moved the bodies first, though that might explain why the flowers grow so well.

I walked all over Paris this past week end so there are a few more pics but not much to say about 'em.  What's to say really when every time you turn around there is another historic place, monument, museum, memorial, etc.  Though I have to say, while it doesn't get boring you do start to become desensitized to the "oldness" of it all.  Anyway, here are some more pics:

Had to take the obligatory photo of Le Tour Eiffel as seen from Trocadero.  I have been here so many times that I probably wouldn't have come over this far west in town if I hadn't promised the kids a picture of the Eiffel tower.  I'm glad I did though.  It is always impressive to see up close no matter how many times you visit it.  With that said though, I literally walked out of the Metro station, took the picture, turned around and boarded the metro to my next destination.  When you see the crowds here (especially in Aug.) and have gone up and down several times, you don't really want to hang around.

Next is just another shot of Notre Dame from Le Rive Gauche (left bank).   If you've been to Paris and walked amongst the throngs of tourists in the old part of the Latin quarter you have been near here, but maybe never passed by.  This is one block past where most tourists tend to go, thus the empty street even on a Sat. afternoon.  To me this is Paris.  A grande cathedral, a quaint medieval street and some old - now preserved - crumbling buildings with some (unknown to me) historic significance.

Not really sure why I took the next picture (therein lies the danger of posting photos before writing about them) but it does show a typical street and architecture of Paris.  Nothing special (from a Paris point of view) but I do like all of the roof tops and facades of the buildings in the city.

This is the Place de la Nation that sits inside a giant round about and a top a big metro station.  I hadn't been out here before.  It was nice to see a different part of the city.

I saw this graffiti during one of my promenades through the arrondissements.  It reminded me of the NSA, snowden, wire tapping taxes stuff that's been in the news for months now.  That is definitely not lost on the Parisians.  It even came up in my French class today.  What can I say ... nothing, or atleast that's what I tend to say.  I have enough to worry about without involving the NSA.

Well that's it for now.  I'll let you know if I see any little pixelated creatures roaming my neighborhood.

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Why We Came to the Southern Half

 Wow, we have almost been away three weeks now.  One of the hardest things is being separated from TJ.  I am trying to give twice the hugs to the kids.

Originally we were all going to go to Paris, which had been in planning stages since July 2012.  

Some time early this year my mum said she would love to see us, her grand kids that is, again soon, I was welcome to chaperone.  She gets concerned the kids will forget who she is... well that is the guilt trip I hear.  The last time we saw them was when they came to stay two years ago, in July 2011.  And the last time we all came out to New Zealand, we still had a lap-sitter on the plane (read: reduced fare), Carson was 17 months, Delaney 3 1/2, and Charlie was still Charlotte ( or maybe CharChar), she was 7.  TJ and I were 30-somethings! 

Us traveling to NZ is the only way we can get together now due to my Dad's heart condition, and the fact that we live at 7200" in Los Alamos.  Last visit he ended up visiting the cardiologist and getting an oxygen tank to use sleeping.

We discussed it for a few weeks before we decided what to do, trying to weigh out how we could make it happen, and deciding what would be the best thing to do.  Basically, until I win Lotto, we cannot do two big international trips with all five of us in a minimum of 2yr span.  I plan to play lotto while I am here though, and with a win, TJ can jetset over to see Charlotte's year 6 performance at Rototuna Primary school in late September.  

I have always wanted for the kids to know more about their New Zealand DNA, by spending more time than a 3 week Christmas visit.  To be connected to the New Zealand side of their family, including grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and 2nd cousins.  To become familiar with the New Zealand lifestyle, get to know the countryside, the subtle cultural differences living in another English-speaking western country, where their roots are.  

They are certified, passport carrying kiwis.  We thought it would really give meaning to that in their lives, after this experience of growing up kiwi for 5 months, in place of an international school experience in France.  With this being Charlotte's last year in Elementary school, and Carson getting to start school, it also seemed like the opportune time.  

For me, I have reached a transition in my life having been home with 1 or 2 preschoolers for the last 8years, and now having the youngest start school.  So when people ask what I am going to be doing, I really don't have anything lined up.  Unfortunately I have not been able to run for almost 3 months now because of an injury.  I brought along my violin though, which I am not that good at, but I'd really like to be better, and play more fiddle style tunes.  So I am playing most days and I figure in 40 more years of regular playing, I could possibly be a decent fiddle player, and it will also be something I can continue to enjoy even with plantar fasciitis, calf tears, etc.  into my 70's 80's and beyond.  

I am going to be organizing our October holidays trip to the South Island, which is going to include train tickets, Inter-island Ferry tickets, a rental car....and an itinerary!