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Showing posts from December, 2011

Day two in Paris

This morning I had an almond square and a cafe au lait at the cafe by me. Good stuff. Then I headed over to Montparnasse metro station. I went up to the 56th floor of the Montparnasse tower and had a good view of Paris. It was fairly clear that morning so I had a pretty good view - it was a five minute wait rather than the hour or more at the Eiffel Tower. I'd definitely recommend going there rather than the Eiffel tower. From there I wandered over to the Montparnasse cemetery. Similar to New Orleans or rather New Orleans is similar to Paris...cities of the dead. There were some really strange tombstones but the most bizarre was of a couple in bed. Really. And before you think this being Paris and all what were they doing they were just laying there. It is still an active cemetery and there were about three burials going on while I was there. I guess it sounds bizarre to say you can enjoy a cemetery but I did. By this time my right foot (with the bunion and arthritic toe) was givin

Day three in Paris

Well guess I will talk about today then yesterday! I slept in a bit this morning which was good and after my shower I headed off to the local boulangerie - this time I had a cafe au lait and a suisse pain. oh my. we are talking pastry with bits of chocolate in...my my my. Feeling fortified I headed off to the metro and the St Michel metro stop. From there I (sort of) did a walk from the book Simon loaned me - this was of the Latin Quarter. It is named this as it was very academic a few centuries back and the spoken word was Latin. Anyway it was very interesting - wandered down all sorts of narrow cobblestone streets and saw the house where the fellow who invented the guillitone lived...also saw the oldest cafe in the world - or so they say. But I wasn't dressed for the occasion so I carried on - one of the entrees was "cooked calf's head" just like it was done back in the 1600's. Uh...no thanks. I have wanted to explore more of the left bank so am happy I did a bi

Locked out!

Oh I forgot the exciting bit yesterday. Came back here and could not get in the door and Simon was not home. There were three keys and Simon said I just needed one but no I needed two so was trying both but could not get in. I was a little upset to put it mildly. Well after about 20 minutes a woman came from downstairs and I asked (more like begged) her to try the door for me and she got me in. I could have kissed her I was that grateful....when Simon got back I told him and he showed me how to use it but I still wasn't getting it. The second lock was tricky so in the end we swapped keys and doors (there are two doors with two separate set of keys - both doors lead to the same place the only bad part is if someone is having a bath I can't get out as I have to go through the bathroom!!!!) and now I can get in. Oh and if that wasn't bad enough yesterday morning I couldn't even get out of the apartment building....I had to knock on a door where I heard loud talking so the
Well I am coming to the end of my second full day in Paris. I arrived here on Wednesday evening. Thursday I headed out early and had a pain au chocolate and cafe au lait at an open air cafe type place - not the best and won't do that again but it was close and I was hungry and dying for a coffee. I got a three day pass for the metro - four day ones weren't available so will get a day pass for Sunday. Off I went - I like the Paris metro - not as much as London and way more than New York which is the most horrific one I've ever been on...confusing and dirty. Anyway first stop was St. Michel where I walked around the area a bit until a walking tour started at St Michel square at 11 a.m. However the group was huge and I could not hear the guide plus people were talking. I thought 'screw this' and took off on my own. I walked along the Seine and then crossed over to the Jardin des Tuileries and on to Concord Square where there is a permanent ferris wheel. It also marks t

Beautiful Bamberg and farewell to Germany

On Tuesday the 27th Claudia's friend Matthias came for the day. After breakfast we headed off to Bamberg which is about a 25 minute drive from Heiligenstadt. Bamberg is a little jewel of a city - about 70,000 people. Lots of history and beautiful buildings. We visited two churches at the beginning of our visit - one very ornate Roman Catholic one and another more simplistic Lutheran one. Then along some narrow little roads - more like alleys really and over to Venice of the North. I have to laugh as it seems a lot of cities have Little Venice or some variation of it. I think it would be prettier in the summer but it was interesting. From there we walked into the shopping area and got a good look at the beautiful old Rathaus - town hall. I much prefer the German name though as it's so true. Well that is insulting rats actually. :) I will try to post a picture of it - complete with a plaster leg sticking out one side! I have been there in the 80's in the summer but that didn&

Relaxing days over Christmas in Germany

After the day in Nuremburg we had a day at home. We decorated the tree - well I handed things to Claudia or her mom. The tree was crooked though and at one point we heard a crash and sure enough it had collapsed. So after sort of stabilizing it we gave it a wide berth everytime we went into the lounge. Claudia's mom - let's call her Erna as that's her name! - Erna fixed schnitzel with boiled potatoes and beans (both veggies from their garden). It was delish. They always have their big meal at noon. Breakfast is rolls with cheese and different kinds of sausage spread. Supper is the same only bread instead of rolls. Claudia is an anglofile so has loads of British comedies and mysteries so every evening we would go to her lounge in the house (the top floor is basically hers) and drink wine with a big plate of home baked goodies in front of us.... On the 23rd of December we headed off again on the train. Claudia had gotten two six euro tickets for us to use - six euros for two

Come a little closer my little heater or oh Internet - I Think I Love You! (to quote the Partridge Family)

River and bridge in Nuremburg - despite being a large city the downtown area is very fairytale Sitting in the flat in Paris. No central heating - just a heater. The owner is in India - it is very different but I like it. Oh well I won't be here much. And my room-mate Simon is a young man in his twenties for all those who are dying to know....:) How sick is this...I am on the internet and haven't even unpacked yet. I did make a cup of tea and I think another one is coming up soon....8 days without internet...oh my. Don't think I have gone that long without it in quite some time. (the internet that is, get your minds out of the gutter! ) Germany was lots of fun and I don't want to know my current weight...unreal. Every three hours it seemed there was more food going into my body....I am sure when I leave the room my ass leaves ten minutes later....I have to get back into normal mode (not that that is much better) or I will need two seats on the aircraft coming back. Claud

Double the posts

My home in Salzburg Typical booth at Xmas market You'll recognize this if you've seen the Sound of Music Part of fortress Shopping pedestrian street Just because I can....I knew I was an internet addict....oh man how am I going to survive 8 days without it. I love having the whole world at my fingertips and being as so many of my friends live in other cities & countries I can connect with them daily. And let's not mention access to so much...oh internet I do love you.... The weather here hasn't been the best but when you travel in December you have to expect these things. This afternoon was good. I was dressed for the weather so was fine. My photo count is well over 500 so far. Lots of gray skies but oh well....like I said before I do like this city. It has about 150,000 people. The Christmas markets are fun and it is all quite magical. The snow just adds to the ambience. I am debating whether to bus it or taxi it to the train station tomorrow morning. I have a bus

I'm online!

Yay the wifi is working....I am afraid to breathe too hard in case it goes off line. Yee haw. One last kick at the can before I go cold turkey. It is nice to be able to sit in my room and type. Anyway fab day....it snowed again overnight and started out gray - blue sky eventually which was nice. I took the bus to town and visited a few places I hadn't been yet like the Green market, Salzburg Cathedral (closed for renovations anyway - or it appeared to be), looked in a few shops then was a real piggie and went to a Cafe that is really old and Mozart actually went to...had coffee and some kuchen (cake) - something I really needed. Oh well. It was on my list of things to do and I knew that at 10:30 it would not be crowded. Enjoyed myself. Lots of character and black suited waiters - not your local Timmy's that's for sure. And not the prices either but it was great as a treat and to be honest I didn't think 3.50 Euros was bad for a delicious piece of cake. This was what I

Day at the Lakes

Yesterday I went out to the Lake District to visit the tiny village of St Gilgen for their Christmas market. I loved it. What an enchanting little town and the market just made it even more special. There were boat trips over to St. Wolfgang but it was a little too cold for me - also cable cars up the mountain but too cloudy.....I enjoyed wandering around the town. I visited the birthplace of Mozart's mother which was small but interesting. I bought myself a new Mozart CD and the lady in the shop gave me a pretty homemade arrangement with pine cones, ribbons, etc. So sweet of her. I will give it to Claudia and her mom. The town has paintings on the buildings and it is a charmer. I had some hot spiced punch and of course got another souvenir mug....it seems there is no choice - you buy the drink you get the mug. This one I will keep but the other one I will be leaving behind as no way do I have room in Eddie to haul more stuff. Well I do have room - just don't want the weight!

The hills are alive...

Yesterday was my Sound of Music day. I went on a morning tour of the Sound of Music locales as of course the outside scenes in the movie were filmed here. It was a different view to be sure with the snow....it was a wet morning but none the less was still fun. The bus was full of a united nations of SOM fans! We saw the gazebo where Rolf and Lisl danced (they had to lock it due to women jumping from bench to bench which resulted in an 80 year old breaking her hip!), Gazebo where Lisl and Rolf danced - this is the tour guide. the back view of the Captains home, the outside view of the Captains home (all interiors were filmed in Hollywood), we went to the small town of Mondsee to see the church where Maria and the Captain were married and had an hour to wander around the town. It was great fun. I would take it again - in better weather.... Church where the Captain & Maria were married. Of course last night I went to see The Sound of Music musical that is playing here in Salzburg - fo

Exploring Salzburg

Busy day yesterday with visiting Mozart's birthplace and his apartments as well as visiting the Salzburg musuem, taking the cable car up to the fortress. Salzburg is a wonderful city and I have fallen in love with it. And I swear Disney could not do a better job with the whole Christmas thing - amazing! I am so glad I am seeing it at this time of year. I'll be back in warmer weather to see another side of it. A thrill for me was visiting the place Mozart was born and grew up. Even saw a piano he composed on. Wow. Can you tell he is one of my favourite composers - second only to Mr. McCartney. Both buildings were recreated to be like the time he would have lived there so that was very interesting. Copies of letters he wrote to his mother and sister...just a great insight into his life. After visiting the house he lived in before he moved to Vienna I walked over to Mirabell Gardens where some outdoor bits of the Sound of Music was filmed. (where they are running arou

Gut Morgan von Salzburg

Left: This is the spread I had every morning - on the other table was yogurt and cereal... Yes here I am. I did not know the wifi code until this morning...forgot to ask. Due to upcoming inclement weather many people have cancelled so I am in the main house with wifi. Lovely place and wonderful breakfast buffet. The flight over here was good - was lucky enough to sit beside a gal who was originally from Salzburg. She came to Canada as a small child and goes back every year..so she was able to give me tips on the city. One lowlight of the trip was accidentally fondling the fellow behind me's shoe clad foot...more on that later. It can only happen to me... Train trip from Munich here was okay except that my bladder was ready to blow and there didn't seem to be anywhere for me to go to let it blow. Plus if there was there didn't seem to be anyone I could ask to watch my stuff. Speaking of stuff...Eddie (my suitcase has been named for Eddie Windass from Coronation St as he is

Free wifi at Toronto airport

You gotta love it. Flight out here was good and watched "Cotagion" on the plane. I love those individual screens. Had the yummiest salad - spinach salad with all sorts of veggies, orange poppy seed dressing with grilled fat shrimp on top. I am being good and drinking lots of water. I feel like a packhorse already as my suitcase was 35 pounds...yikes. The Air Canada check in person said oh you are allowed 50 lbs....not the point...blame it on Xmas gifts and heavy winter clothing and two pairs of shoes. (normally I take two pairs - one on my feet and one in my suitcase...not two in the suitcase like today - but I just can't go to the ballet in Paris in running shoes or hiking boots...I am no fashion queen, not even a princess or a lady in waiting - but even I draw the line at that) Loads of people in here so I have no illusions that my flight to Munich will be packed to the rafters. Oh well I have an aisle seat so am free to drink water to my heart's content and not wor

Tomorrow, tomorrow...I love you tomorrow...you're only a sleep away!

Oops wrong musical....anyway I leave tomorrow for Europe - Salzburg is the first port of call and I will be seeing The Sound of Music on Saturday evening. That morning I will be taking The Sound of Music tour so what a day that will be!!! I am sure I will love Salzburg - what is not to love - a city nestled in the mountains, the home of Mozart and the setting for The Sound of Music movie. My internet access there will be spotty - I guess it is available in the main building where I will have my breakfast. I am staying in the farmhouse - economy room - cheap as always. Here is where I will be staying: http://www.ammoos.at/en-home.htm It looks delightful and apparently is right by a mountain - it is outside of Salzburg but the price was right and I like the idea of being away from the town for something different. The fact they have a sweet little doggie appeals as well. click on low price room and that's me. I am all checked in, packed and raring to go. My suitcase seems to