Christmas in Paris

Paris Christmas 05
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

This actually wasn't our first Christmas in Paris (we were here for Christmas 2003, and in Barcelona for 2004), but it was the first Christmas where we considered Paris to be home.

We had a great time this year, my Dad and Nadya's cousins all came to visit during December and we had some great dinners with Rob, Julie, Tom and Karen.

For Christmas Eve, Nadya made a wonderful salmon pie and I shucked oysters for the first time. Accompanied by a great bottle of Champagne, our first Christmas Eve dinner alone and at home was a success.

For Christmas Day, we went to Rob and Julie's place for a fantastic turkey dinner. Tom and Karen were there too, and the six of us had a great time. The food, the wine and the company were perfect.

Madrid, Spain

Madrid, Spain
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: November 11th to 14th

We'd been wanting to visit Madrid for quite some time, so we decided to take advantage of the Rememberance Day long weekend in France to make a trip out to Madrid. After our overbooking experience when we went to Istanbul (where we basically got our entire trip paid for by being bumped off the flight - and we got a better flight as compensation as well), our full-flight radar was on as we arrived at Roissy. As luck would have it, this flight was, indeed overbooked and we received 700 euros in cash compensation to take a flight a few hours later. Of course, we lost some of our vacation time in return, but considering that the plane tickets only cost us 250 euros in the first place, this was a great deal. We arrived in Madrid a little late on Friday, checked into our hotel and walked around Puerto Del Sol and Plaza Mayor. We then stopped at a great local tapas place and headed back to the hotel after some nice sandwiches and beer.

The highlights of our trip included the Royal Palace (Palacio Real), the Prado (a wonderfully manageable museum with an astounding array of great works), Centro de Arte Reina Sofia (where we saw Guernica) and the beautiful Madrid cityscape.

Friday
- Arrived 10:00pm (Air France flight overbooked, but we were well-compensated)
- Walked from our hotel (Lope de Vega) to Puerto Del Sol and Plaza Mayor
- Had tapas on Calle Mayor

Saturday
- Puerto Del Sol
- Plaza Mayor
- Palacio Real
- Theatro Real
- lunch at Fresco buffet (packed with local students)
- Centro de Arte Reina Sofia - saw Guernica
- Tapas near Puerto Del Sol

Sunday
- Prado
- Churros con Chocolat
- Gran Via
- Chueca area
- Iglesia de las Saleas Reales
- Dinner on Calle Mayor (paella, calamari, garlic shrimp)

Monday
- Very rainy
- Walked around main shopping area (Calle de Sorrano)

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: October 12th to 16th

Istanbul is definitely one of the most interesting cities I've ever visited. The blending of east and west, European and Asian, and Islam and Christianity is amazing to see and be a small part of. We only got to spend five days in Istanbul, and we certainly could have used a few more days to really experience all Istanbul has to offer. Istanbul was originally founded as a Greek city-state, it then became the heart of the Eastern Roman empire (Constantinople), and finally the heart of the influential Ottoman Empire.

Here is a brief overview of our stay.

Wednesday:
Dinner in Sultanhamet
Walked around Hippodrome (Ramazan festival)
Thursday:
Hagia Sophia
Grand Bazaar
Suleymaniye mosque (pic2, pic3)
Valens Aquaduct
Traditional Ramazan dinner in hotel
Friday:
Bospherus cruise (Dolmabahce palace, Fishing Village, Black Sea)
Some time at the Hippodrome (Ramazan festival)
Evening at Istiklal
Dinner at Sarabi
Saturday:
Topkapi Palace
Grand Bazaar
Spice Bazaar
Galata Tower
Sunday:
Blue Mosque
Basilica Cistern

Germany Road Trip

Munich, Germany
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates: September 10th to 17th

Places visited: Strasbourg (France), Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Rhine Valley, Frankfurt, Rothenburg, Munich, Fussen, Stuttgart

Ever since we moved to Paris, I've been wanting to get over to Germany. Since it was so close by, and less exotic (compared to Italy, Spain or Greece), we put it off for a while. Well, with Ashish visiting us for three weeks, I finally got an excuse to plan a long road trip to southern Germany. We had already gone to Berlin in August, and absolutely loved it, so it was with great enthusiasm that we departed on our road-trip.

We took the train from Paris to Strasbourg on Saturday morning (after a late night out at Chez Bebert - a Moroccan restaurant - for Julie's birthday). It was a four hour train ride that went very quickly thanks to my new Playstation Portable (on which I played games and watched Frasier). The ride would have been quicker if the line was a TGV line, but that won't be coming to Strasbourg until 2007. We arrived in Strasbourg around lunch time and had to wait a couple of hours before the Hertz rental place opened up, so we had Gyros in the city and wandered around the shopping areas for a while.


Once we picked up the car from Hertz, we headed out of town towards Baden-Baden. First and foremost, I must discuss what an experience it was driving on the Autobahn. I'd be going 160 in the slow lane while cars in the fast lane passed us by as though we were standing still. They must have been going well over 200 km/h. Baden-Baden is a very nice little town with an old center and many shops. It is a vacation resort because of its spas. We spend some time walking around the city and picking up some snacks for the road.

After spending a couple of hours in Baden-Baden, we headed off to Heidelberg, which would be our resting place for the night. We found a cute little hotel and had a great dinner in a pub. The next day we saw the beautiful old city bridge and Heidelberg castle which overlooks the city. Around mid-morning, we then drove out to the Rhine Valley. On our way up to Bacharach, where we would spend our second night, we came across a small town called Bingen which, as luck would have it, was holding a wine festival at the time. This was a really neat thing to witness; all of the town's locals were out drinking wine served from carts and vehicles taking part in a parade. For a quick snack, we had currywurst, a pretzel and some wine. We reached Bacharach in the early evening, so we only had time for dinner and an evening walk up to a tower overlooking the town.

The next morning (Monday), we headed along the Rhine Valley to St. Goar. Here, we saw the town's castle from outside and then visited the world's largest stein shop and Teddy bear shop. St. Goar also has the world's largest free hanging cookoo clock. On our way to Rothenburg, we drove through Frankfurt (had lunch and saw the old town center), Wurzburg, and the Romantic Road. The late night driving from Wurzburg to Rothenburg was a little scary because we weren't quite 100% sure that we were going in the right direction. In any case, we managed to make our way to Rothenburg, find a great little hotel and had dinner in a wonderfully German restaurant. Rothenburg was great; we really loved the little hotel (and breakfast) and the walled town is truly unique.

The highlight of our trip was definitely Munich; it is a wonderful town with a big and small time feeling, markets, beer gardens and all of the modern amenities. On the way into town, we went to the Dacau concentration camp. I certainly feel as though I've now seen my share of Nazi sights. In Berlin, we saw the old SS site, a Nazi train, and a plane. After seeing Dacau, one of the main centers of the terror, I think I don't need to see any further evidence of the dark days of WWII. After we found a hotel right in the center of the city (about a 2 minute walk from Hofbrauhaus), we had dinner at Augustiner. I ate pork knee and a wonderful beer. To continue with Munich tradition, we then went for a beer at Hofbrauhaus (a great old beer house that can hold over 2000 patrons. The next day, we walked around the city, visited an old church and tower, old town hall, had some fresh pickles at the market and had some more beer at an outdoor beer garden. For dinner we ate at a very expensive Thai restaurant (Thaifoon) and then went to the original Augustiner beer house to end the night.

On Thursday, we went over to Fussen to see King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein castle (an absolutely amazing castle in a story-book setting). This castle, situated at the foot of the Alps, is without a doubt the greatest of the castles or palaces I've seen in all of Europe. Just gorgeous. After seeing the castle, we then went luging, which was a first for all of us. Fussentreat to see.

On Friday, it was time to start heading back towards Strasbourg to end our trip. On the way from Fussen to Strasbourg, we stopped in Stuttgart to see the Mercedes Benz museum. The museum was free and so was the audioguide talking about all of the different exhibits in the museum (including the very first cars ever built).

The last day of our trip was just as good as the rest of it. We got to see the wonderful city of Strasbourg, with its grand old cathedral and numerous shops and windy streets. Before catching the train back to Paris, we truly ended the trip in the same manner as we started it - with dinner at the same Gyros place that we had lunch at a week earlier :)

was a beautiful little town located in an absolutely beautiful countryside. The high Alps against the rolling bright-green hills is a combination that is a real Highlights:
- Bavarian dinner in Heidelburg
- Best beer stein shop in St. Goar
- Wine festival in Bingen
- Quaint little Bacharach on the Rhine
- Beautiful little B in Rothenburg and the Romantic road
- Hofbrauhaus beer hall (with capacity for over 2000 people) in Munich
- Crazy King Ludwigs castles near Fussen
- Very beautiful Strasbourg

Berlin

Berlin 2005
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates - August 13th to 16th

We arrived in Berlin on Saturday afternoon and checked into Swissotel on Ku'damm by 5:00 pm. After freshening up a bit, we headed out onto the Ku'damm which is West Berlin's main boulevard with lots of shops, resaurants and crowds. We walked around Ku’damm for a couple of hours and saw Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche church which has been kept in its bombed-out state as a reminder of the destruction caused by war (picture), ate currywurst, and then went to a grocery store to buy cheese, bread, snacks and wine. Strangely, the store had a great selection of Australian and American wines (which are hard to find in Paris) so we picked up a few bottles of Hardy's and Gallo wines. At night, we went to Potsdamer platz (which was where Hitler's bunker was located), Saw pieces of the Berlin wall, Brandenburg gate (picture), the Holocost Memorial (picture), Reichstag (picture), and Federal Chancellery. For dinner we ate chinese food at the mall across from Sony Center and picked up some bagels for breakfast.

On Sunday, we went to see the Faberge Egg exhibit at Schloss Charlottenburg (picture). The collection of eggs was surprisingly interesting and, of course, very beautiful (picture). After visiting Schloss Chlottenburg, we headed over to the Technikmuseum. On the way, we stopped and ate sushi at stand in Zoogarden. The Technikmuseum (picture) was one of the most interesting museums I've ever visited. The organization of computers, trains, airplanes and various other inventions over the past two centuries is excellent. My favorites parts of the museum are its collection of old computers (picture), trains (pictures) and planes (picture). Located here are some of the only Nazi artifacts in the city. After spending a few hours at the museum, we headed over to Potsdamer Platz once again for dinner at Tony Romas, after which we explored Sony center a little further.

Monday was our busiest day. We took bus 100 from Zoogarden to Reichstag through Tiergarten. Enroute, we saw the Victory Column (Siegessaule) and Schloss Bellevue (President's home). We began our walk of East Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate (picture) and walked along Unter Den Linden (East Germany's main boulevard) through Pariser Platz, Babelplatz, past Humboldt University (where Einstein taught - picture), St. Hedwigs Church (picture), Berliner Dom (picture), and on to Alexanderplatz. Along the way, we went into an old ghost subway station which was unused during the cold war (West German trains looped through East Germany, through these stations - but didn't stop). For lunch, we went to Gendarmenmarkt (picture) and had sushi at the nearby Sushi Circle restaurant. Believe it or not, this only made up the first half of our day. After visiting this main area of East Germany, we took the U-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz and had iced tea and iced coffee at Alex restaurant at Sony center. Following our little break, we then headed over to the Berlin wall and The Topography of terror (picture), which is an open air museum located on the grounds of the former SS. After a captivating visit to the Topography of terror explaining the crimes of the Nazis during WWII, we walked over to Checkpoint Charlie (picture) and had donairs for dinner (Berlin is known for it's excellent Turkish food). We then visited the Museum of the Wall at Checkpoint Charlie which describes many of the escapes over/under/through the wall during the cold war. Described at this museum is the famous hot air balloon escape in addition to numerous other creative escapes. After a couple of hours at the museum at Checkpoint Charlie, we headed over to the Reichstag (our last site of the day - picture). We expected that our late visit to the Reichstag would result in little or no line. Unfortunately, we had to wait in line for 1 hour until 9:30pm to get in and see the famous glass dome (picture).

On Tuesday, our last day in Berlin, we had just enough time to see the Pergamon museum before catching our flight to Paris. The Pergamon musuem has an incredible collection of Eastern artifacts, including the Pergamon Alter (picture), Market Gate from Miletus, and the Ishtar Gate from Babylon (600BC - picture).

All in all, Berlin was one of my favorite cities. Even though we saw many sights, there are still many others that we didn't get a chance to visit: a concentration camp, world-famous zoo, art gallery, and the Egyptian museum. The food in Berlin was very good, and the prices reasonable with a great selection of shops, arcades, malls and restaurants throughout the city.

Communism museum - Prague

Communism museum
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

When we were in Budapest in July 2005, we unfortunately didn't get a chance to visit the House of Terror which is essentially a museum which describes Hungary's history with Communism and Fascism.

However, in Prague, we did get a chance to see the communism museum. It was very interesting, and I'd recommend it to anyone. There are old signs, posters and articles from the communist days. The most interesting is a short video that shows the 1989 protests against communism and the eventual fall of the iron curtain. It was incredible to see the difference between the video and current-day Prague. It is hard to imagine Wenceslas square jammed with protestors, police and tanks during the communist era. This photo gives a glimpse of some of the things in the communist museum.

Prague

Old town square
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates - July 14th to July 17th

We arrived in Prague on Thursday afternoon on a train from Vienna. After checking into our hotel, we decided to walk around the town to get a feel for the city. Our first stop was Wenceslas Square, which is really more like a wide boulevard with shopping than it is a square (picture). From Wenceslas Square, we continued walking to the Old Town Square (picture) and then to Charles Bridge (picture). The Old Town Square is the heart of Prague, with restaurants, horse and carriages, and the Tyn church providing a gothic backdrop. It also contains the famous Astronomical clock (picture). The Charles Bridge is an old pedestrian bridge lined with statues and entertainers such as fire throwers and musicians.

On Friday, we took a trip up to Prague's Castle area (Mala Strana - picture) which boasts spectacular views of the city, the Stahov Monastery, St. Vitus Cathedral, St. George's Basilica, and Golden Lane. The Stahov Monastery is located on a hill above the Castle area and is much less visited by tourists. Also located up near the monastery is a statue of Kepler and Brahe (picture). The walk from the monastery to the castle area has some beautiful scenary and provides a nice little getaway from the hustle and bustle of Prague. The Castle area contains the castle (not that much to see in there) as well as the St. Vitus Cathedral (picture), which can be seen from pretty much anywhere in the city. After spending a couple of hours in the Castle area (and watching the changing of the guard - picture), and visiting Golden lane (on which Franz Kafka's house is located - picture), we then strolled down through the Little Quarter, over the Charles Bridge, back to central Prague. For dinner, we went to a restaurant in the Old Town Square. The food was OK but, more importantly, the ambiance of the area was great; especially the buildings all lit up at night (picture).

On Saturday, we spent the day at only a couple of sights, including the Municipal House (picture), Communism Museum, and Havelska Market (picture). The rest of the day, we spent just strolling casually around the city, visiting some of the shops and generally taking it easy. For dinner, we went to a Thai restaurant which served the best Thai food we've eaten since leaving Vancouver; this was quite a treat.

Sunday was our last day in Prague and, since many other sites were closed, we saved all of the Jewish sites for this day. Prague's Jewish Quarter (Josefov) is said to be one of the best Jewish sites in all of Europe. It is comprised of a number of synagogues and a remarkable cemetary. We started our tour by visiting the Maisel Synagogue; here we purchased a Jewish museum pass which covers most of the Jewish sites in Josefov. The Maisel Synagogue was more a museum than a place of worship. Inside, were a number of Jewish artifacts and information on the symbolism that is part of the faith (such as the Star of David) and information regarding the Holocost and what life was like for Jews before and after WWII. After seeing the Maisel Synagogue, we walked over to the Old Cemetary and Pinkas Synagogue (we skipped the Klaus Synagogue). The Old Cemetary was very interesting. This was one of the only places in Prague where Jews could bury their dead and, as a result, the cemetary is layered with years of burial plots and the headstones are extremely close together (picture). The Pinkas Synagogue is a tribute to the Prague Jews that were killed in the Holocost; the walls are lined with the names of all those that perished and a voice over the speakers reads out all of their names. It was quite a touching experience to feel the scope of the tragedy and suffering. The final Jewish site that we visited was the Spanish Synagogue. This is built in a Moorish style and I found the architecture and decorations to be extremely interesting and rich (picture). For anyone that visits the Josefov, this is a must-see site.

Vienna

Hofburg palace
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates - July 12th and 13th

We arrived in Vienna by train on Tuesday afternoon. Immediately, Vienna felt very different from Budapest. Even though much of the recent history and architecture is similar due to the Hapsburgs, Vienna is clearly a more modern city with better infrastructure. We arrived at Westbahnhof and switched to the subway (U-Bahn) to get to the city center; the U-Bahn was very efficient and well laid out. Soon, we had checked into our hotel in Vienna, and headed out to explore the city.

After checking into our hotel, we were hungry so we walked up Karntnerstrasse (Vienna's main pedestrian strip) to a cool little restaurant called Buffet Trzesniewski, which serves tasty little finger sandwiches and mini glasses of Pfiff beer (picture). After a quick lunch, we took the ring-road tram (picture) around the city center to get our bearings. From the ring-road tram, you can get a glimpse of many of Vienna's main sights, including the Hofsburg Palace, Parliament, City Hall, Museums, St. Stephen's Cathedral and the Stadtpark (with statues of many of Vienna's famous composers). After wandering around the city for a few hours, going into St. Stephen's cathedral, visiting the City Hall (which also had a festival going on) and seeing the Hofsburg Palace from the outside, (stopping for a nice coffee and Apfelstrudel at Demer's cafe - picture), we then went back to our hotel, changed, and headed out for dinner. For dinner, we went to a very local restaurant called EsterHazyKeller which has self-serve food and cheap wines in an underground cellar-like restaurant. This atmosphere was very unique and the food was quite good (I had a sausage and Nadya had a schnitzel - picture). After dinner, we spent some more time exploring Vienna at night, taking some night photographs (picture) and then headed back to the hotel.

On Wednesday, our second - and last - day in Vienna, we started off with a tour of the Hofsburg treasury (picture). This was a fascinating look at the history (and power) of the Hapsburg empire and the glory days of Vienna and Austria. From there, we took a tour of the famous Opera House (picture). One of the interesting things about this building is that a lot of it was destroyed during WWII; in my opinion, the original decor and architecture of the building was much nicer than the areas which were rebuilt after the war. For dinner that evening, we went to a Film festival at City hall, which had lots of food booths, and was very lively. We had some great beer in a very local, laid back atmosphere (picture). After spending a couple of hours drinking beer, eating good food, people watching and listening to good music at the festival, we then headed back to the center of town for a famous Sacher Torte and coffees (picture).

On Thursday, we took the train on to Prague, our last stop on this Central Europe trip.

Budapest

Budapest
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates - July 9th to 12th

Budapest was the first stop on our Central Europe trip in July 2005. We took a SkyEurope flight from Paris to Budapest on Saturday morning and were in Budapest by the early afternoon. We were quite impressed by the hotel we stayed at, Artotel, which is a modern building of the Buda side of the Danube.

For our first day in Budapest, we spent the evening walking across the Chain bridge over to Pest and taking in a walk of the city. It is a very beautiful city, especially at night when the main sights are brightly lit up and reflect off the Danube river (picture). For dinner, we had a Hungarian donut (picture) and some wonderful stir fry and sausage on the Chain bridge (there was a market and festival (picture) on the bridge that weekend). In general, we were very surprised and impressed by Hungarian food, which is very flavorful and has a hint of Eastern influence.

On Sunday, our second day, we started the day with breakfast at the hotel. As far as European breakfasts go, this was probably the best we've ever had. After a nice, filling breakfast, we headed up to the Buda hills for a look at the Palace, and old city. The Palace (picture) is perched at the top of Buda Hill and is surrounded by a protective wall. Also on top of Buda Hill is the Fisherman's Bastion (picture) and the old town. For a late lunch, we stopped for (what else) Hungarian Goulash and beers (picture); this was my first Goulash experience and I absolutely loved the very paprika full taste. In the evening, we wandered around the central part of Pest and, to save some money, ate at Burger King.

On Monday, our last day in Budapest, we went to Hero's Square and the gardens. This area is a large park with an impressive monument to the Heros of the city making up the entrance to the park (picture). The park was beautiful, with a small lake, a zoo, baths and a castle (picture). Budapest has many natural hot springs and the Turks built bath complexes throughout out city (picture). In the evening, we had dinner at a Hungarian restaurant in Pest near the Danube. There we had some great fish soup, goulash, fish and beef (picture). The food was very good with lots of flavor and Eastern influences. In fact, this was some of the most flavorful food we've had in Europe.

On Tuesday, we caught a morning train from Budapest to Vienna.

Anniversary in Venice

Venice Italy 2005 - 119
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates – July 1st – 4th 2005

Ever since we got engaged in Rome in December 2003, it has been our dream to be able to come back to Italy and spend our first anniversary in Venice. As luck would have it, our move to France in December 2004 set the stage for us to be able to easily make the trip out to Venice for our first anniversary.

We arrived in Venice on Friday afternoon after quite a long ordeal traveling from Paris. Nonetheless, the weather was perfect, and we were ready to discover the most romantic city in the world. Paul and Carlene had recommend a cute little hotel called Locanda Armizo (picture) right by the Rialto bridge in the San Silvestro area. It was reasonably priced, perfectly located and served a nice little breakfast in bed every morning. We spent almost all of Friday taking in the cities waterways, bridges and squares. We also had some very good pasta at a restaurant by the Rialto bridge. Before heading home for some late-afternoon rest, we dropped by an Italian deli to pick up some meats and cheese. When we returned home in the evening, we were pleasantly surprised to find a chocolate cake and some Champagne waiting for us at the hotel (picture); it was a present from my Mom, Dad and Ashish. The cake was great and we spent the remainder of the weekend eating it whenever we wanted a snack.

On Saturday, our anniversary, we spent the day exploring the city and went off to the islands of Lido and Murano (picture). On Lido, we found a nice dress for Nadya and had lunch. We also stopped at a local market to pick up some Apricots, figs, bread, and meats. On Murano, we looked at some of the glass shops and peeked into a glass factory. In the evening, we made up a little picnic (picture) comprising of meats, cheese, bread, figs, chocolate cake (that was sent to us the previous day) and some Moet et Chandon Champagne that we had brought with us from our trip to the Champagne region. We took our little picnic and sat on a dock near the Rialto bridge. The whole city was alive with tourists, but we had this little dock to ourselves to enjoy our picnic and watch the gondolas and boats float by. It was a truly romantic evening and we couldn’t possibly have imagined anything better for our first anniversary.

On Sunday, we spent more time exploring the back alleys and less-touristed areas of Venice. We took a vaporetto ride (picture) all around the lagoon and generally enjoyed life at a nice, slow Italian pace. By this point, we had seen the numerous sites of Venice many times over, including Piazza San Marco (picture), San Marco’s Basilica (picture), Rialto Bridge (picture), Accademia Bridge (picture), the Grand Canal (picture), the Doge’s Palace (from the outside), and numerous other markets, buildings and squares. Another nice surprise on Sunday is that there was a music festival in town, so there were bands playing music at every corner and square.

On Monday, our last day, we spent the morning in San Marco’s Basilica (picture) and had lunch by the Rialto bridge. The basilica was quite a sight with beautiful mosaics and golden finishes throughout. We also saw the four famous bronze horses which were taken from Constantinople and are thought to be around 2000 years old.

Loire Valley

Chambord
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates – June 11th – 12th 2005

While Nadya’s parents were in town, we took a weekend trip to the Loire valley. We rented a VW Passat (free upgrade from Europcar) on Saturday and headed off for the Loire on Saturday morning. Our first stop was Chambord chateau (picture) , which has a beautiful double-helix staircase. We also walked the grounds of the chateau which is situated in the middle of a huge estate and national forest/park. Chambord has been used as the hunting grounds for the Kings of France and heads of state (Presidents) for years; President Chirac has decided not to take advantage of his right to hunt on these grounds.

After visiting Chambord, we headed off to the town of Chivernay (picture) and did some wine tasting and picked up a couple of bottles of wine. We then drove on though Chenonceau and to Amboise. We were planning on spending the night in Amboise, but there were no hotels available. So instead, we continued on to Tours where we did find a nice little hotel and then went for dinner at an Italian restaurant (picture).

As luck would have it, there was a classic car show in Tours on Sunday (picture); this was quite a pleasant surprise and we spent the morning at the show before driving to Chenonceau. Chenonceau (picture) is an absolutely beautiful chateau located on (literally) a river. It is basically built like a half-bridge and half-chateau. It is also well adorned with furniture so a tour of the chateau give you a pretty good feeling as to what life was like living in the Chateau.

After visiting the Chateau, we then headed back to Paris to end this lovely trip out into the Loire Valley.

Athens and Hydra, Greece

Live, at the Acropolis
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates – June 2-5, 2005

I’ve been wanting to visit Greece for as long as I can remember. My longing to see the ancient ruins of the Greek civilization was renewed when we visited the Roman ruins in December 2003 on our trip to Rome and Florence. So it was with great enthusiasm that I jumped on the chance to sign up for the CE trip to Athens through work. For a minuscule price of 350 euros, we received plane tickets, hotel accommodations and breakfast for both Nadya and I in Greece.

We arrived in Athens on Thursday evening. The tour group had arranged for a guide to pick us up at the airport and take us all to the hotel. The guide provided general information on Athens and some common words and phrases to use. This was actually quite an amusing experience because, since the majority of our group was French, the guide was translating from Greek to French. From our perspective, this was funny because she was translating from one language we didn’t know into another that we didn’t know very well; we figured things out nonetheless. We spent the rest of our trip with some friends from work, Steve, Maria, Paul and Carlene. They were great company, and definitely made our trip even more enjoyable.

On Thursday evening, it was a little rainy, but we managed to get out and have some Baclava and Ouzo at a restaurant with a view of the Acropolis and Parthenon. It was a pretty short evening since we wanted to get a start early the next morning to hit the sights.

On Friday, we spent the day at the Acropolis and exploring the city of Athens. It was a hot, clear and sunny day so we made more than one stop for water, food and – my favorite – Frappes. We saw the Acropolis first (picture), then walked to Hadrian’s Arch (picture), the original Olympic stadium (picture), saw the changing of the Guards (picture) and then over to the Temple of Zeus (picture). The city is amazing and at every corner you see a blend of ancient ruins and modernity (picture). For dinner, we went to a great Greek restaurant in a trendy part of the city. This was a blast as the place was filled with Greeks eating, dancing and singing. I think the locals often thought I was Greek and the band asked me to sing a few times.

On Saturday, we took a fast boat out to the island of Hydra (picture). Hydra is a quaint little Greek island with windy streets and only donkeys (picture) for transportation. Before catching the boat for Hydra, we went to a Greek market and picked up some fruits, cheese, olives and nuts. Steve also picked up some Baclava which was some of the best I’ve ever tasted in my life. The only down-side of the Greek market was that there was an awful smell of meat and fish. In the 35 degree heat, this was really quite a bad stink. After the market, we caught our boat to Hydra. The rest of the day was generally relaxing as we slowly wandered around the island, stopped for food and ice cream and picked up some post cards. We got back to Athens in the early evening and, after freshening up in our hotel, we headed out for dinner. We found a great little Greek restaurant with authentic food. We sat on the rooftop terrace with an absolutely magnificent view of the Acropolis (you almost felt as if you were at the same height as it). This restaurant seems to have quite a past, with pictures of celebrities (such as Gorbechev) throughout the place.

On Sunday, we had a few hours to go back to the center of the city, have some gyros for lunch and wander around for a bit before catching our flight back to Paris.

I found the Greek people to be the friendliest people I’ve met in all of Europe; I would love to spend more time there getting to know these wonderful people. Next time, I think we’ll try to make a trip out to Santorini.

Switzerland

Lucerne
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates – May 6th – 9th 2005

This was certainly one of the most whirlwind trips we’ve ever done. In a matter of four days, we traveled from Paris to Switzerland and visited five cities (Geneva, Bern, Zurich, Lucerne and Interlaken). We took a high-speed TGV train (picture) from Paris to Geneva on Friday afternoon and arrived in rainy Geneva in the early evening. It took a little wandering around with our bags to find our hotel (which wasn’t much fun in the rain) but we were fine once we found it. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the sights of Geneva including the Jet d’Eau (picture), the Old Town and the Flower Clock (picture). The Old Town was definitely the most interesting area of Geneva; it is the hilly center of old Geneva with windy cobblestone streets, St. Peters Cathedral and a number of shops and restaurants.

On Saturday, we had breakfast at the hotel, picked up the rental car (VW Touran van) from Europcar and headed off for Bern. Switzerland is a pretty small country so it doesn’t take very long to get from place to place; the drive from Geneva to Bern was only about 2 hours. We arrived in Bern around noon and our first stop was to get some lunch. After lunch, we walked around the outside of the Bundeshaus in the city center. We then took a tour of Einstein’s house where he developed the theory of relativity (picture). After a short walk to a nearby bridge to take some amazing pictures of the valley (picture), we then strolled by the Zeitglockenturm Clock tower (picture) and headed off to Zurich.

The drive from Bern to Zurich had some beautiful views of the Alps and the Swiss countryside. Geneva and Bern are both in the French-speaking portion of Switzerland. As we drove from Bern to Zurich, it is interesting to see all of the road signs switch from French to German as we entered the German-speaking portion of the country.

We arrived in Zurich in the early evening. Our first task was to find a hotel in the old city center of Zurich; after a couple of attempts, we found a nice hotel situated right in the center of the old city. We then headed out to explore the city and find a place for dinner. Zurich is a very pretty town; the old center is made up of quaint cobblestone streets lined with shops, monuments, and restaurants. After wandering around for a little while, we decided to have fondue at a great restaurant well-known for its fondue (picture). Dinner was great and very filling; we had sliced meats to start and then a warm, bubbly fondue for dinner. It was a very rainy evening, so we headed in quite early and got some rest.

Sunday morning, I woke up very early and explored Zurich on my own. It was a beautiful, clear, sunny and crisp morning, so I finally got the opportunity to take some good pictures of the city (picture). After having a nice breakfast at the hotel, we then headed off for Lucerne.

The city of Lucerne surprised me; I had heard how beautiful it is, but wasn’t prepared for the incredible setting along a lake nestled within the Alps. The weather was gorgeous, and the scenery absolutely breathtaking; everything seemed to work out perfectly for our visit to Lucerne. After spending some time along the waterfront to take in the beautiful scenery (picture), we decided to visit some of the sights of the city including the old pedestrian bridge (picture), and the dying lion monument of Lucerne (picture). We would have loved to spend more time in this city, especially to take some of the trips by gondola and train (cogwheel) up into the mountains, but that will have to wait until next time. For lunch, we quickly grabbed a bite at the New York deli (kind of like Subway) and headed out for Interlaken.

The drive from Lucerne to Interlaken featured some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen (and this is coming from someone who has regularly driven the Sea-to-Sky highway from Vancouver to Whistler). The views (picture) were breathtaking and there were cows with bells and little cottages and farms along the entire journey. We arrived in Interlaken in the late afternoon. Again, after spending some time finding a suitable hotel, we decided to head out and explore the town. This time, we wanted to make sure we did at least one excursion up into the mountains so we took the funicular (picture) up the local mountain with an amazing view of Interlaken and Jungfrau (the top of Europe/ highest peak in Europe - picture). After spending an hour up on the mountain (plus about a 15 minute ascent and descent) we then wandered around the town for a bit and found a place for dinner. For dinner, Mom had a pasta and Nadya and I have what is called a “Chinese Fondue” (picture). This is basically a hot pot with frozen meats that you dip into the hot water for cooking. Honestly, being used to real Asian hot pots in Vancouver, this Chinese Fondue wasn’t as enjoyable as I was expecting.

On Monday morning, we had breakfast in our hotel in Interlaken and then headed out towards Geneva to catch our train to Paris. We had an “unfortunate incident” leaving the parking lot in Interlaken; I bashed up the driver side mirror against a concrete column in the narrow parking space. This put a bit of a downer on an otherwise wonderful trip. We arrived in Geneva a few hours before our train’s departure. It was another clear and sunny day so we spent it in Geneva’s downtown core and old city center; we took more pictures and did a little bit of shopping before catching our train back to Paris in the evening.

Champagne

Champagne
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates – April 30th 2005

While my Mom was in town in April and early May, 2005, we made a day trip out to the Champagne region. We rented a car (another Renault Modus) and drove out to, first, Epernay to visit the Moet + Chandon and Mercier wineries and then on to Reims. We only did one formal wine tour (Moet + Chandon) which was quite nice, but felt very commercialized. The trip was great, but, hopefully next time we’ll be able to spend some more time there and visit some of the smaller, family-run wineries.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates – April 15th – 17th 2005

We arrived in Amsterdam on Friday afternoon and immediately it felt very different from many of the other cities we’ve visited in Europe. Amsterdam has a very laid-back, almost college-dorm feeling to it. I think this has to do with its compact size, huge numbers of bicycles and a very young and energetic crowd. Our first sight was to visit the Heineken Experience (picture) which is basically a glorified television commercial. It was actually a lot of fun since you get three beers with admission and a couple of interesting rides, but there really wasn’t much “informative” about the museum. For dinner, we went to a small Indonesian restaurant recommended by one of the workers at Heineken Experience. The food was excellent, and spicy.

On Saturday, we walked around town amongst the numerous canals and quaint streets of Amsterdam (picture). We has pancakes for breakfast (picture), and took a canal cruise (picture) in the afternoon. In the evening, we went to a club in Leidsplein and had a great time.

On Sunday, our last day, we spent the morning visiting the Rijksmuseum (picture) and the Van Gogh museum. We also took a tour of a diamond jeweler and visited the flower market and bought some tulips. We then took a late flight back to Paris.

Lisbon

Lisbon
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates – March 26th – 28th 2005

March 28th was a national holiday in France. At first, we didn’t have any plans and were going to spend the weekend in Paris but, at the last minute, we decided to book a trip to Lisbon for the weekend. We flew Air France and stayed at the Le Meridian just a few minutes by taxi or metro from the old city center, Rossio.

We arrived in Lisbon on Saturday afternoon. After quickly checking into our hotel, we immediately made our way to the city center, Rossio. We walked around the Baixa area and then took tram 28 (and old, wooden tram left around mostly for nostalgic tourists; it reminded me of the wild mouse rollercoaster ride at Playland in Vancouver) up to the Alfama quarter. The Alfama quarter is high on a hill overlooking the Atlantic ocean and the city of Lisbon itself. Here, there are some wonderful, windy cobblestone streets with trams dangerously careening up and down them. We spent some time sitting at a small café with magnificent views.

On Saturday evening, we took a taxi (extremely cheap in Lisbon, by the way) down to the Docas area. This is a modern area by the waterfront with a thriving nightlife and great (although pricey) restaurants. Here, we had fish soup, bacalau (salted cod) and some very fresh mangoes from Brazil.

On Sunday, we spent the day in the Belem area (along the waterfront) and saw the Torre de Belem, Monumento dos Descobrimentos (Monument of the Discoveries) and the Jeronumos Monastery. It was a nice sunny day, so it was nice to spend some time in the fresh air of the waterfront region. On Sunday evening, we spent our time in the Oceanaria district on the south eastern edge side of Lisbon. This area was the site of Expo 98 and is made up of brand new centers and a large, modern shopping mall.

Normandy and Brittany

Mont Saint Michel
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates – March 18th – 19th 2005

In March 2005, while Aliya was in town, we decided to take a road trip out to Brittany and Normandy over the weekend. So we rented a little car called a Modus, by Renault, packed it up, and hit the autoroute in hopes of finding our way to Mount Saint Michel, Saint Malo and Dinan.

The french countryside was absolutely beautiful. There were little villages and farms all the way to Saint Malo and, as luck would have it, the weather was gorgeous (25 degrees Celsius - in the middle of March nonetheless).

Our first stop was Mount Saint Michel. You really have to see this site to truly grasp just how amazing it is. Basically, it is a mountain with a walled town on top; all of which sits out in the English Channel. When the tide is in, the whole mountain and town are surrounded by the Sea. When the tide is out, everything is surrounded by sandy plains.

Our second stop was Saint Malo which is also a walled city on the English Channel. We spent the night here at a quaint little hotel with very friendly and helpful owners. We spent our time in Saint Malo enjoying the beautiful coastal scenery while walking around (and sitting on) the wall that surrounds the city. This was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. To sum it up in one sentence, Saint Malo is what you'd get if you mixed an old medieval town with the climate and environment of a coastal resort.

On our way home the next day, we stopped by another walled city called Dinan. Again, this quaint little town had a character of its own, with winding stone roads, a beautiful port and bridge. We had lunch here (crepes and seafood) and relaxed on a patio in the sunshine before heading back for Paris.

Brussels

Brussels
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.

Dates – February 5th – 6th 2005

Our expectations in going to Brussels weren't very high. We figured we'd make the quick trip out there from Paris over a weekend for which we really didn't have any other plans. We quickly learned, however, that Brussels is a great little town to have a good time in.

First of all, the food was fantastic. The mussels (picture) were absolutely the best we've ever tasted. They are served in a large pot in which they are steamed in marinated water. We also tried mussels that were steamed in a beer broth - also an excellent dish. Speaking of beer, the variety and flavor of beers in Brussels was wonderful. I stuck to some of the more popular beers in town while Nadya also tried a refreshing raspberry beer.

On the sweeter side, the waffles and chocolate are to die for. There was little waffle stands at pretty much every street corner serving fresh, hot waffles. And then there is the chocolate. I don't think I have to say much other than we brought five boxes home with us. They'd all be finished too if I hadn't promised to save a few for Aliya when she gets to Paris :)

Well, we only spent one night in Brussels, but we got to enjoy the food, see the Grand Place (one of the more beautiful squares in Europe), the Atomium (a giant model of an atom) and even do a bit of clothes shopping. One of the nice surprises of Brussels was that the great food and shopping is also extremely cheap. So if you're looking for a nice lunch to go with some new clothes, this is the place for you.