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.
June 13, 2005
June 6, 2005
Athens and Hydra, Greece
Live, at the Acropolis
Originally uploaded by SaurabhA.
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.
May 10, 2005
Switzerland
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.
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.
April 30, 2005
Champagne
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.
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.
April 18, 2005
Amsterdam
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.
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.
