Above - At the water in Vernaza
Above - Feral cat of the Cinque Terre
Above: On bridge at the start of path to Vernaza
Above: Karsten is outta there!
Above: Nick shoots some wavesWednesday, March 26, 2008
More Italy Pics
Above - At the water in Vernaza Above - Feral cat of the Cinque Terre Above: On bridge at the start of path to Vernaza Above: Karsten is outta there! Above: Nick shoots some waves
Italia
Above: Leaning Tower
Above: Halfway up the tower
Above: Rens joins us for the walk up the tower - first time ever!
Above: Handsome young men and beautiful young women ready for their dinner at Moresco
Above: Birthday Boy Mack at MorescoI’m currently sitting on the bus, looking out at grey skies and rain, heading to Slovenia, and saying arrividerci to Italy. In four years of doing this, I have to say that this was the best stop in Italy I have ever had.
Driving into Italy from Switzerland, we had rain and sleet, but by the time we reached the Leaning Tower of Pisa, all precipitation had subsided. That didn’t stop us from being swarmed by umbrella sellers as soon as we got off the bus though! Getting 42 people up the tower is a complicated business, involving booking groups of 10 in time slots 20 minutes apart exactly 45 days before the trip. We were actually early getting there (with all these people, it’s amazing that we are so efficient at loading up and getting on the road in the morning – they are all doing a great job of sticking to the schedule and remembering their passports – cameras not so good) and the usually complicated redeeming of the vouchers was simple. Rens, our driver, joined us in climbing the tower – he’s taken hundreds of people to it, but never been up it before. The crooked stairs and the seemingly too low railing at the top make for an interesting experience, but once you’ve got your balance back, the view over the cathedral and baptistery and the rest of Pisa is well worth it. While at Pisa, all the groups had time to browse the tacky tourist booths set up on the grounds, and got to practice saying no to the countless street vendors trying to sell fake Rolexes and Gucci bags.
The hour and a quarter drive to Levanto from Pisa is always filled with great anticipation… well, by me anyway. I know exactly what is coming – the greatest meal of my life. We eat at Ristaurante Moresco not one night, but two nights while we stay in Levanto, a small town on the Mediterranean. After arriving at the hostel, we got dressed up (most of us) and walked 5 minutes to Moresco, where Roberto and his friendly staff greeted us kindly with Buena Seras and Ciaos. He had one gigantic table set up for the kids, and another one for the adults. With 42, including Rens (this is also his favourite meal on the trip) we almost fill the restaurant. The couple having the romantic dinner near the front didn’t look too pleased as we walked in, but for such a large group, we really didn’t ruin the atmosphere of the restaurant. The kids chatted and laughed more quietly than the adults I think! Liguria is the region that Levanto is located in, and it is the bithplace of pesto. The pesto here is simply amazing. I’m salivating a bit right now thinking about it, and I bet former Europe trippers who are reading this are too. Roberto starts us off with the first plate, and we get to choose between three or four pasta/sauce combinations. After eating what would almost constitute a whole meal, Roberto gives us three or four choices for the second plate, usually a variety of meat or seafood dishes, cooked in the local style, or tomato-mozzarella, which is essentially that, tomatoes with unripened mozzarella, a much lighter and less dense version of regular mozzarella. While some chose octopus salad, others chose the huge fish fry platter (take anything you can find in the ocean, bread and deep fry it, and you’ve got yourself an interesting looking meal), or the chicken with bacon, or the ham and cheese plate, or the spinach/ricotta pie. The second plate is always accompanied with a shared bowl of salad greens, bread, veggies, and potatoes, and there is plenty of local Levanto olive oil and balsamic vinegar to season the food with. The whole 2 hour experience is topped off with a choice of three equally yummy desserts. Italy is home of the anti-fast food rebellion called, appropriately, the slow-food movement. I like it.
Next day, we were up early, and on the train to Riomaggiore to hike the trails between the five coastal villages that make up the Cinque Terre. Roberto had promised us sun the night before, and sun we got. A deep blue sky with some fluffy white clouds made the perfect background for the thousands of pictures our group took during our walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola to Corniglia to Vernazza to Monterosso. This is the first year that all the paths have been open and for 22 of us, we were able to hike the whole thing! We lunched on pizza and gelato in Vernazza, and the boys played chicken with the crashing waves at the beach (Matt got overtaken and soaked). Eighteen parents and kids opted to take the train back to Levanto from Vernazza as the last hike is the most punishing. Those of us who completed the whole five town hike were rewarded with amazing views from the highest elevation on the Cinque Terre and an extra scoop of gelato for our efforts. This is the first time in four years of doing this that I have been able to hike the entire Cinque Terre – one of the trails is usually closed, but not this year. This was also the best weather I’ve ever had.
After another amazing meal at Moresco, and another sleep at the Ostello, we headed for the birthplace of the modern world, Florence. The Renaissance took root in this wealthy trading city as Lorenzo Medici and other extremely rich guys put some of their money toward the arts, higher education, and science. It was here that Europe finally pulled itself out of the primitive middle ages and entered a new era of prosperity and advancement. We came for two specific reasons – The David and The Leather Market. I don’t know which one was more popular – I think Michelangelo’s 14 ft. masterpiece is much more impressive than a bunch of stalls selling bags, but some of the girls might disagree with me. Rens thinks the shopping thing is very curious - he was teasing some of the moms about shopping at Moresco the night before. While others bartered for bags, I took a side trip to the top of the Duomo – several hundred stairs and some amazing views of Florence made me glad I did it, but I’m happy I didn’t make the kids stand in the aggravatingly slow line to get in. Almost anyplace we go I prebook (like the Accademia, where the David is, and where tourists stand in a line that stretches around the block for hours to get in) to avoid a lot of down time, but not everyplace takes reservations.
Venice was our next stop in Italy, and we arrived quite late to Foresteria Valdese, our hostel 10 minutes off of Saint Marc’s Square. Mr. Johnson and I co-navigated using four different maps of Venice and eventually found the palace I had booked. It is an actual 16th century Palazzo, and the ladies dorm room had original frescoes painted on the walls and ceiling. This place is more hotel like than the hotel I have brought groups to in Venice for the last three years, and it costs less. Arriving late, the doors were locked and I was a little stressed until I found the call button and was told by an unhappy sounding woman that we were “VERY late”. I had tried to call on the road when I realized we would arrive past reception hours, but no one answered. Anyway, I think she was really impressed as the kids came in almost silently and sat down in the lobby area while she explained the rules of the hostel. The kids, once again, made Mr. J and I proud to be Fundy teachers.
Our day in Venice was sunny and filled with pizza, gelato, gondola rides, shopping, pizza, gelato, the Doges Palace, St. Marc’s Basilica, pizza, gelato, shopping, and an interesting alternative route from San Marco to the Rialto that took us by some interesting sites I had never seen before. This is the first year I have had everyone take a gondola ride (and the first time I’ve been able to join one of the groups on a gondola myself), and the first year we haven’t had to rush out of Venice in the late afternoon – we stayed two nights instead of one. At the end of the day, as we all gathered for our last Italian gelato, I offered birthday boy Brad extra gelato and he actually said no – he had had enough during the day.
As I said in the beginning, reflecting on our time in Italy, I would have to say this was my most enjoyable visit – from the amazing weather (not every year) to the delectable food (every year) to the somewhat organized and efficient tourist attractions (not usually) to the great group of people I’m traveling with (every year), it was ottimo!
Driving into Italy from Switzerland, we had rain and sleet, but by the time we reached the Leaning Tower of Pisa, all precipitation had subsided. That didn’t stop us from being swarmed by umbrella sellers as soon as we got off the bus though! Getting 42 people up the tower is a complicated business, involving booking groups of 10 in time slots 20 minutes apart exactly 45 days before the trip. We were actually early getting there (with all these people, it’s amazing that we are so efficient at loading up and getting on the road in the morning – they are all doing a great job of sticking to the schedule and remembering their passports – cameras not so good) and the usually complicated redeeming of the vouchers was simple. Rens, our driver, joined us in climbing the tower – he’s taken hundreds of people to it, but never been up it before. The crooked stairs and the seemingly too low railing at the top make for an interesting experience, but once you’ve got your balance back, the view over the cathedral and baptistery and the rest of Pisa is well worth it. While at Pisa, all the groups had time to browse the tacky tourist booths set up on the grounds, and got to practice saying no to the countless street vendors trying to sell fake Rolexes and Gucci bags.
The hour and a quarter drive to Levanto from Pisa is always filled with great anticipation… well, by me anyway. I know exactly what is coming – the greatest meal of my life. We eat at Ristaurante Moresco not one night, but two nights while we stay in Levanto, a small town on the Mediterranean. After arriving at the hostel, we got dressed up (most of us) and walked 5 minutes to Moresco, where Roberto and his friendly staff greeted us kindly with Buena Seras and Ciaos. He had one gigantic table set up for the kids, and another one for the adults. With 42, including Rens (this is also his favourite meal on the trip) we almost fill the restaurant. The couple having the romantic dinner near the front didn’t look too pleased as we walked in, but for such a large group, we really didn’t ruin the atmosphere of the restaurant. The kids chatted and laughed more quietly than the adults I think! Liguria is the region that Levanto is located in, and it is the bithplace of pesto. The pesto here is simply amazing. I’m salivating a bit right now thinking about it, and I bet former Europe trippers who are reading this are too. Roberto starts us off with the first plate, and we get to choose between three or four pasta/sauce combinations. After eating what would almost constitute a whole meal, Roberto gives us three or four choices for the second plate, usually a variety of meat or seafood dishes, cooked in the local style, or tomato-mozzarella, which is essentially that, tomatoes with unripened mozzarella, a much lighter and less dense version of regular mozzarella. While some chose octopus salad, others chose the huge fish fry platter (take anything you can find in the ocean, bread and deep fry it, and you’ve got yourself an interesting looking meal), or the chicken with bacon, or the ham and cheese plate, or the spinach/ricotta pie. The second plate is always accompanied with a shared bowl of salad greens, bread, veggies, and potatoes, and there is plenty of local Levanto olive oil and balsamic vinegar to season the food with. The whole 2 hour experience is topped off with a choice of three equally yummy desserts. Italy is home of the anti-fast food rebellion called, appropriately, the slow-food movement. I like it.
Next day, we were up early, and on the train to Riomaggiore to hike the trails between the five coastal villages that make up the Cinque Terre. Roberto had promised us sun the night before, and sun we got. A deep blue sky with some fluffy white clouds made the perfect background for the thousands of pictures our group took during our walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola to Corniglia to Vernazza to Monterosso. This is the first year that all the paths have been open and for 22 of us, we were able to hike the whole thing! We lunched on pizza and gelato in Vernazza, and the boys played chicken with the crashing waves at the beach (Matt got overtaken and soaked). Eighteen parents and kids opted to take the train back to Levanto from Vernazza as the last hike is the most punishing. Those of us who completed the whole five town hike were rewarded with amazing views from the highest elevation on the Cinque Terre and an extra scoop of gelato for our efforts. This is the first time in four years of doing this that I have been able to hike the entire Cinque Terre – one of the trails is usually closed, but not this year. This was also the best weather I’ve ever had.
After another amazing meal at Moresco, and another sleep at the Ostello, we headed for the birthplace of the modern world, Florence. The Renaissance took root in this wealthy trading city as Lorenzo Medici and other extremely rich guys put some of their money toward the arts, higher education, and science. It was here that Europe finally pulled itself out of the primitive middle ages and entered a new era of prosperity and advancement. We came for two specific reasons – The David and The Leather Market. I don’t know which one was more popular – I think Michelangelo’s 14 ft. masterpiece is much more impressive than a bunch of stalls selling bags, but some of the girls might disagree with me. Rens thinks the shopping thing is very curious - he was teasing some of the moms about shopping at Moresco the night before. While others bartered for bags, I took a side trip to the top of the Duomo – several hundred stairs and some amazing views of Florence made me glad I did it, but I’m happy I didn’t make the kids stand in the aggravatingly slow line to get in. Almost anyplace we go I prebook (like the Accademia, where the David is, and where tourists stand in a line that stretches around the block for hours to get in) to avoid a lot of down time, but not everyplace takes reservations.
Venice was our next stop in Italy, and we arrived quite late to Foresteria Valdese, our hostel 10 minutes off of Saint Marc’s Square. Mr. Johnson and I co-navigated using four different maps of Venice and eventually found the palace I had booked. It is an actual 16th century Palazzo, and the ladies dorm room had original frescoes painted on the walls and ceiling. This place is more hotel like than the hotel I have brought groups to in Venice for the last three years, and it costs less. Arriving late, the doors were locked and I was a little stressed until I found the call button and was told by an unhappy sounding woman that we were “VERY late”. I had tried to call on the road when I realized we would arrive past reception hours, but no one answered. Anyway, I think she was really impressed as the kids came in almost silently and sat down in the lobby area while she explained the rules of the hostel. The kids, once again, made Mr. J and I proud to be Fundy teachers.
Our day in Venice was sunny and filled with pizza, gelato, gondola rides, shopping, pizza, gelato, the Doges Palace, St. Marc’s Basilica, pizza, gelato, shopping, and an interesting alternative route from San Marco to the Rialto that took us by some interesting sites I had never seen before. This is the first year I have had everyone take a gondola ride (and the first time I’ve been able to join one of the groups on a gondola myself), and the first year we haven’t had to rush out of Venice in the late afternoon – we stayed two nights instead of one. At the end of the day, as we all gathered for our last Italian gelato, I offered birthday boy Brad extra gelato and he actually said no – he had had enough during the day.
As I said in the beginning, reflecting on our time in Italy, I would have to say this was my most enjoyable visit – from the amazing weather (not every year) to the delectable food (every year) to the somewhat organized and efficient tourist attractions (not usually) to the great group of people I’m traveling with (every year), it was ottimo!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Pictures from Luzern
I can't find any of my own pictures from Luzern, so no group shots here.
Pictures are:
1. Sleet in Luzern.
2. Trying to stay warm and dry on the chapel bridge.
3. David and the old man of Luzern.
4. Sophie smiles as the storm breaks in the west.
Crossroads
Pictures are:1. Stasbourg's gigantic cathedral, puny us, and beautiful blue sky lifted from Venice (see Italia).
2. We could care less about the rain pouring down on us - we're in Le Petit France!
3. Crooked people on a crooked path in front of Chateau Haut Koenigsburg.
Strasbourg means “crossroads” and it is a fitting name since on this day we are past the halfway mark of the trip, and we are leaving the Northern European Plain (remember where that is from you map in SS 8?) and heading south.
Strasbourg was a walk in the rain – more than we have had on any other walking tour on the trip. If there were complaints, they didn’t make it to me – maybe because despite how much planning I do for the trip, I still can’t control the weather. I’m working on it though. The kids and adults who read my multiple emails about gloves and toques looked comfortable; the others not so much. But we still enjoyed our visit to Strasbourg’s giant lacy pink sandstone gothic cathedral (how many adjectives was that, grade 8’s?). When we went in, we were fortunate to be able to hear the choir practicing for Easter Mass the next day. Hearing the organ and the voices of the faithful added yet another sensory element to the experience. Most people were also glad to be inside, anyplace.
After a jaunt through Le Petit France, medieval home to tanners, butchers, millers, and other guildsmen, and then a quarantine island for plague victims, and now a collection of winding cobblestone streets and half-timbered buildings, we were off to our next step in Alsace, Chateau Haut Koenigsburg.
Alsace, the eastern French province whose capital is Strasbourg, is a Franco-German blend due to its proximity to the current German border, and its mixed up history. This current French province was German during the middle ages under the Holy Roman Empire, then French after Louis XIV’s armies expanded the borders of France, then German after France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, then French after Germany’s defeat at the end of WW I, the German during the Nazi occupation of 1940-45, and French ever since. Before I knew this history, the existence of a neighbourhood called Le Petit France in a major French made as much sense to me as having a “Little Italy” in Rome.
The Chateau Haut Koenigsburg was restored under the orders of Kaiser Wilhelm while Alsace was in German hands – so the style of its restoration is very German. It has original weapons, armour, and furniture from the 15th to 17th century, and has many great photo opportunities when covered in a fresh blanket of snow as it was today.
Checking off another country on the list, we entered Switzerland and headed straight to Luzern and the Swiss Lion knife and watch store. Most of the kids bought some sort of keepsake there – I have a bag of knives beside me right now to prove it. Mr. Johnson took kids who were finished shopping up to the Lion monument, and had to explain it probably half a dozen times as different groups came up to see it.
After spending so much time in the hot store, it was a bit of a shock to the system to start our walking tour of Luzern in a snowstorm. I told everyone that if they wanted to skip it and stay on the bus, they could. These guys are tough – no one opted to skip a nice historic walk in the freezing winds and snow. And after visiting the covered chapel bridge and the baroque Jesuit Cathedral dedicated to Francis Xavier, cofounder of the Jesuit order, the snow stopped and we were able to continue our walk around the Reuss River, over the old Mill Bridge, and through the town centre back to the nice warm bus.
Everyone was pleased to be eating warm food for dinner at the friendly Luzern Youth Hostel, and while the kids played cards or pool in one of the common rooms, the parents enjoyed some nice hot Kaffee mit Milch.
We are over half way through the trip now, and looking forward to Italy and the leaning tower of Pisa tomorrow!
Strasbourg was a walk in the rain – more than we have had on any other walking tour on the trip. If there were complaints, they didn’t make it to me – maybe because despite how much planning I do for the trip, I still can’t control the weather. I’m working on it though. The kids and adults who read my multiple emails about gloves and toques looked comfortable; the others not so much. But we still enjoyed our visit to Strasbourg’s giant lacy pink sandstone gothic cathedral (how many adjectives was that, grade 8’s?). When we went in, we were fortunate to be able to hear the choir practicing for Easter Mass the next day. Hearing the organ and the voices of the faithful added yet another sensory element to the experience. Most people were also glad to be inside, anyplace.
After a jaunt through Le Petit France, medieval home to tanners, butchers, millers, and other guildsmen, and then a quarantine island for plague victims, and now a collection of winding cobblestone streets and half-timbered buildings, we were off to our next step in Alsace, Chateau Haut Koenigsburg.
Alsace, the eastern French province whose capital is Strasbourg, is a Franco-German blend due to its proximity to the current German border, and its mixed up history. This current French province was German during the middle ages under the Holy Roman Empire, then French after Louis XIV’s armies expanded the borders of France, then German after France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, then French after Germany’s defeat at the end of WW I, the German during the Nazi occupation of 1940-45, and French ever since. Before I knew this history, the existence of a neighbourhood called Le Petit France in a major French made as much sense to me as having a “Little Italy” in Rome.
The Chateau Haut Koenigsburg was restored under the orders of Kaiser Wilhelm while Alsace was in German hands – so the style of its restoration is very German. It has original weapons, armour, and furniture from the 15th to 17th century, and has many great photo opportunities when covered in a fresh blanket of snow as it was today.
Checking off another country on the list, we entered Switzerland and headed straight to Luzern and the Swiss Lion knife and watch store. Most of the kids bought some sort of keepsake there – I have a bag of knives beside me right now to prove it. Mr. Johnson took kids who were finished shopping up to the Lion monument, and had to explain it probably half a dozen times as different groups came up to see it.
After spending so much time in the hot store, it was a bit of a shock to the system to start our walking tour of Luzern in a snowstorm. I told everyone that if they wanted to skip it and stay on the bus, they could. These guys are tough – no one opted to skip a nice historic walk in the freezing winds and snow. And after visiting the covered chapel bridge and the baroque Jesuit Cathedral dedicated to Francis Xavier, cofounder of the Jesuit order, the snow stopped and we were able to continue our walk around the Reuss River, over the old Mill Bridge, and through the town centre back to the nice warm bus.
Everyone was pleased to be eating warm food for dinner at the friendly Luzern Youth Hostel, and while the kids played cards or pool in one of the common rooms, the parents enjoyed some nice hot Kaffee mit Milch.
We are over half way through the trip now, and looking forward to Italy and the leaning tower of Pisa tomorrow!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Once you've seen one castle, you've seen 'em all (?)
Pictures are:
1. Mr. J. attempts to single-handedly storm our castle hostel from the vinyards below.
2. Heidelberg Castle ruins.
3. Standing in old town Heidelberg, with the castle looming above.
4. In the market square of Rothenburg.
5. On the ramparts in Rothenburg.
6. Ortenberg Castle (the one we stayed in).
Rick Steves, America’s Europe travel guru, gives Heidelberg two sentences in his guide book, saying that it is so crowded with American tourists as to make it unworthy of a stop. He doesn’t even mention the great half ruined castle that sits over the town as a reminder of past glories and past conflicts, the huge Heiligiestkirsche (Church of the Holy Ghost), which, for a couple centuries stood as a symbol of religious tolerance as Catholic and Protestant worshipers shared the cathedral, staggering their services and using different parts of the building, or the Heidelberg University, the oldest in Germany, and the place where the greatest technological innovation in human history was invented by Baron Karl Drais, the bicycle. Nor does he mention that Prince Rupert, the guy our BC town is named after, called the Heidelberg Castle home.
I’m guessing that in the middle of the summer is when the hordes of tourists make this place unappealing to Rick, and there were a lot of tourists at the castle (more than I have seen before), but we still had a good visit because we had a guided tour that took us inside the castle where the hordes couldn’t follow.
The title of this post is not my own words or thoughts, it is a comment I heard an older American woman make to her husband outside the castle. I said, “You’re crazy! Heidelberg, Neuschwanstein, Haut Koenigsburg – they’re all unique”, to which she replied, “Well, I guess you have to go inside them to tell the difference”. I don’t understand that kind of travel – if we are going to see something, we are going inside it, if there are doors, we are going to open them, if there are stairs, we are going to climb them. Most of the tour groups we saw at Heidelberg were there to see the giant wine barrel in the basement, take a poor quality picture, and leave.
Our nurses got a chance to show their stuff in the Heidelberg town centre, as one of our boys, David, slipped while trying to jump over a chain and slipped on the wet cobblestones. ( NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN – I’ve made that quite clear to the boys as David wasn’t the only one who attempted to jump the same chain) A bonk on the head had us concerned enough to send him off to the hospital in an ambulance with Mr. Johnson. After a cat scan, he was given the all clear by a neurologist, and we were able to pick him and James up on the way back from Rothenberg. The German medical system is quite amazing in its efficiency. During our little crisis, the parents were a great help – they got the kids into a warm coffee shop and we bought them all hot chocolates as I called the insurance company and talked to James at the hospital to get updates. I have to say that I have really appreciated the great enthusiasm and helpfulness of all eleven moms and dads on the trip.
Our visit to Rothenburg was a bit shorter than usual, but we got to see the main square, wave at the webcam, walk the ramparts, and hear about Mayor Nusch, the legendary man who saved Protestant Rothenberg from General Tilly and his Catholic Army during the 30 Years War by meeting Tilly’s challenge to drink an entire 3.25 L tankard of wine at one go. Key word in that sentence is “legendary”. The students demanded I buy them some of the yummy looking Schneeballen – Rothenburg’s pastry delicacy (essentially left over pie dough scraps rolled into a ball and deep fried, then coated with one of a plethora of flavours – I got all chocolate so there wouldn’t be any complaining). They seemed to like them. Actually, I think these kids are hungrier than any other group I've brought. Many of them seem to buy snacks every chance they get.
Our nurses got a chance to show their stuff in the Heidelberg town centre, as one of our boys, David, slipped while trying to jump over a chain and slipped on the wet cobblestones. ( NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN – I’ve made that quite clear to the boys as David wasn’t the only one who attempted to jump the same chain) A bonk on the head had us concerned enough to send him off to the hospital in an ambulance with Mr. Johnson. After a cat scan, he was given the all clear by a neurologist, and we were able to pick him and James up on the way back from Rothenberg. The German medical system is quite amazing in its efficiency. During our little crisis, the parents were a great help – they got the kids into a warm coffee shop and we bought them all hot chocolates as I called the insurance company and talked to James at the hospital to get updates. I have to say that I have really appreciated the great enthusiasm and helpfulness of all eleven moms and dads on the trip.
Our visit to Rothenburg was a bit shorter than usual, but we got to see the main square, wave at the webcam, walk the ramparts, and hear about Mayor Nusch, the legendary man who saved Protestant Rothenberg from General Tilly and his Catholic Army during the 30 Years War by meeting Tilly’s challenge to drink an entire 3.25 L tankard of wine at one go. Key word in that sentence is “legendary”. The students demanded I buy them some of the yummy looking Schneeballen – Rothenburg’s pastry delicacy (essentially left over pie dough scraps rolled into a ball and deep fried, then coated with one of a plethora of flavours – I got all chocolate so there wouldn’t be any complaining). They seemed to like them. Actually, I think these kids are hungrier than any other group I've brought. Many of them seem to buy snacks every chance they get.
Our last castle of the day was our home for the evening as well. Ortenberg, a tiny town in Germany right near the French border, has a youth hostel in a castle on the hill overlooking the town. We arrived at night, so we could see the castle lit up in the distance, and we enjoyed our meat/cheese/bread dinner in a grand dining hall fit for whatever nobleman used to live here. We even had music – thanks for all the piano lessons parents – it was great to hear someone playing something other than “ chopsticks” on the piano in the dining room.
Our nurses, Ruth and Trudi, dutifully checked on David in the night – I’m sorry about the rumour of lay-offs I started in a previous post.
Craig
Thursday, March 20, 2008
New addition number 2
Pictures are:
1. Typical street scene in Trier.
2. The Porta Nigra, an ancient Roman city gate.
3. My group standing where all Trier couples have their wedding photos taken, in front of the Pink Palace. Photo by tour guide Jans.
4. Hostels are fun for kids - these guys have their eyes on the ball.
I added three new stops to the Europe trip this year, and this was one of them. I chose Trier because of its Roman history – we see 900 year old churches and castles all over Europe, but here you can visit 1700 year old churches, Roman baths, and fortified city gates. Now that’s old.
Our group split into two, each following a very knowledgeable and humorous guide. The woman who led James’ group has been a professional tour guide in Trier since 1959! Imagine that, most of the parents on the trip were probably just teenagers then, and Mr. Johnson and I were still a couple decades away from being born. Heidi the guide was, by all accounts, full of energy and jokes – I guess more than just the buildings last a long time in Trier.
Our group split into two, each following a very knowledgeable and humorous guide. The woman who led James’ group has been a professional tour guide in Trier since 1959! Imagine that, most of the parents on the trip were probably just teenagers then, and Mr. Johnson and I were still a couple decades away from being born. Heidi the guide was, by all accounts, full of energy and jokes – I guess more than just the buildings last a long time in Trier.
In the middle of all this amazing history is a great pedestrian shopping area – one of the parents who survived the shopping in Paris the day before suggested this be the place for the longer shopping excursion next year. I asked Rens if he wants his first day off in Trier instead of Paris next year – but for him it doesn’t matter; he doesn’t really like his days off (except in Levanto).
The Warsberger Hof is an excellent youth hostel in Trier, and it is right beside the main town centre. The parents took advantage of that and all 11 of them abandoned their kids and went out for coffee in town after our excellent dinner in the hostel. Mr. J and I proved to be adequate babysitters, making sure the ping pong tournament didn’t get out of hand and our Fundy kids didn’t put any money on their billiards game against the middle school age german kids.
Craig
Verdun
Pictures are:
1. In front of the Musee de Verdun at the entrance to the memorial grounds.
2. The Islamic headstones, facing Mecca, of some of the many thousands of Morrocan, Algerian, and other French colonial citizens who came to Europe to fight for France in WWI.
3. The imposing ossuary of Verdun.
4. Crosses of Verdun.
Verdun. Of the many prolonged, bloody battles of WW I, perhaps none conjures up as much horror as Verdun. The battlefields of Verdun claimed the lives of 700 000 men, primarily French and German. Acres and acres of land is fenced off with warnings because not hundreds or thousands but millions of unexploded shells and mines litter the ground here, nearly a century later. The landscape, like that around Vimy, is cratered, but the lush growth hides the fact that by the end of 1918, this farming area and its 13 quaint French country villages was just mud and a few stumps. We watched a short film about Verdun, with many powerful quotes from soldiers of The Great War, as we drove through the countryside on the approach to the memorial park. The kids explored the small Verdun museum, followed by stops at the destroyed village of Fleury, where only the chapel was rebuilt and simple markers show you where the streets and buildings were, the Douamont Ossuary, which houses the bones of 130 000 French and German soldiers collected from the battlefield after the war, and the Trench of the Bayonettes, where a group of French soldiers was buried alive by German artillery fire, their bayonettes still pointed up as they awaited orders to go over the top into no man’s land.
Interesting side note: as we entered Paris, the kids asked why the flags were all at half mast. We found out that the last of 8.4 million French soldiers to fight in the First World War had died a couple days before. Lazare Ponticelli (born in Italy, but a French citizen and soldier) had no idea when he signed up to fight for France at age 16, he would be, at 110, the last of those soldiers to die.
Craig
Interesting side note: as we entered Paris, the kids asked why the flags were all at half mast. We found out that the last of 8.4 million French soldiers to fight in the First World War had died a couple days before. Lazare Ponticelli (born in Italy, but a French citizen and soldier) had no idea when he signed up to fight for France at age 16, he would be, at 110, the last of those soldiers to die.
Craig
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
More Pictures of Paris
Pictures are:
1. Guys in the famous Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles.
2. Ethan contemplates the stairs leading up to the top of the Arc De Triomphe.
3. Puny people in front of Napoleon's grand arc.
4. The classic Europe group shot - on the steps of Sacre Couer. These guys look very... uh, regal, I guess.
5. In front of THE Notre Dame cathedral on Ille de la Cite, Paris.
Last Pictures of Paris
Pictures are:
1. The girls contemplate the meaning of some of the greatest art in the world in the Louvre.
2. We enjoy a visit to the African and South Pacific exhibit and we get silly with the very serious Mr. Easter Island.
2. We enjoy a visit to the African and South Pacific exhibit and we get silly with the very serious Mr. Easter Island.
3. Crowded on the metro.
Paris
Pictures are:
1. Helen and Julie on the top level of the Eiffel Tower.
2. Having fun waiting in line at level two.
3. Kyle smiles after making it to the top!
4. The sky behind Versailles was perfect for photographs.
5. Part of the group behind the Palace of Versailles.
As always, our tour of Paris began with an evening at the Eiffel Tower. Every year I have people in the group who are wary about going up to the top level, but I’ve always been able to convince them in the end. This year it was looking like that tradition might be broken as a couple people were happy to just stay on the second platform, but in the end everyone braved the ride in the glass elevator to the very top of Paris. We got the light show as we were making our way up, with lights blinking on and off like a giant metal Christmas tree. The city of lights did not disappoint – for someone who has been up here a few times, it still amazes me, and the experience is made even better seeing the kids excitedly making their way around the platform, pointing out some of the major buildings and taking tons of pictures of themselves with the city spread out before them.
Tuesday morning, we were up early and on our way to Versailles under blue skies. The excellent audioguides led us through the Sun King’s palace of palaces, and we were very glad to have been one of the first groups in because when we left the line ups filled the entire gigantic front courtyard – there must have been thousands of people in those lineups!
Rens navigated us through Paris traffic to the Arc du Triomphe, Napoleon’s reward to himself after his success against his Hapsburg enemies at the Battle of Austerlitz. The Arc has seen a couple centuries of Parisian history at its base – from Napoleon’s funeral, to the triumphant goose stepping entrance of the Nazis into Paris in WWII to Charles De Gaul and the free French forces return to their beloved city as the Nazis retreated. More stairs here – we walked to the top of course.
After lunch in the Monte Carlo (very fancy!) we were off to see the remains of 6 million Parisians up close and personal in the Catacombs. Unbeknownst to me, and all the other people that were trying the door, the Catacombs were closed for renovations that day – we missed out. The kids didn’t really complain – maybe they were scared anyway.
We were then up to Paris’ only hill, Montmartre, and into the Basilica Sacre Couer, with one of the most amazing representations of Christ I have ever seen. As soon as you walk in the door, your eyes are drawn up to the main dome where Christ, arms open wide seems to be looking directly at you. The work is a Byzantine style Mosaic, and this Cathedral is a combination of the Eastern Byzantine influence and Romanesque architecture – very different from the mainly Gothic cathedrals we have visited in Belgium and France. From this Mountain of the Martyrs (so named mainly because St. Denis, the patron saint of Paris, was beheaded here by the Romans for proselytizing in the streets of Paris in the 3rd century. Upon losing his head, he promptly picked it up and kept walking to a better resting spot) we got our third great view of Paris.
Rens dropped us off at THE Notre Dame Cathedral (the third one we’ve visited in France, and not the last one). This is the one Victor Hugo was referring to when he created the most famous hunchback in literature. With a 426 foot nave and room for 6000 parishioners, this is the big kid on the block in a neighbourhood filled with huge cathedrals. The kids attempted to have some fun chasing pigeons in front of the Charlemagne statue in the square out front, but a man who is obviously friends with the pigeons (they were landing on his shoulders) instead chased our kids away, yelling at them with so much anger, he didn’t even make sense. Oh, maybe he was just speaking French. My daughter Magdalena would have probably understood him; she’s used to being yelled at in French (sorry Mags, I had to say that).
Apres dinner at Rivoli (the second of three dinners we will be having there), I thought of asking the parents if they wanted coffee. Not being much of a coffee drinker, I forget to ask. They were really appreciative, so much so that one of the moms said that sitting there after dinner and having that coffee was the “best experience of my life”. I have always said that caffeine is a powerful drug, and that just confirms it for me.
Tuesday night, as I was contemplating our day without Rens in Paris on Wednesday, I was a little stressed about getting all 41 of us on a bus from the hotel to the metro station. So much so that at 10:30 PM, Mr. J. and I walked all the way through Stains to the Metro Station in Saint Denis. We found out that it wasn’t really that far (at least not for people on an LFMSS Europe trip), so we had everyone walk it next morning instead of trying to fit all of us on a regular city bus crowded with rush hour commuters.
The Paris Metro is unbelievably simple to use. We even had to change trains, and it was not a problem. The Louvre Metro stop actually lets you off in the central mall of the Louvre – amazing! We had some time to kill before our 11 AM guided tour, so James and I got little guide stickers and took our groups (we are split into two groups for the Louvre tour because of our large group size) exploring some of the parts of this gigantic museum not covered by the classics tour we get with the guide. James and co. headed for the Northern European painters section, while my group got to explore some Islamic, African, and South Pacific Art. After meeting up again at the highly efficient groups centre, we split with our two expert guides. We have always had really good guides here. Unfortunately, one of our groups had the worst guide I have ever heard of – a little rude to the kids, taking time to talk to coworkers during the tour, and the exact opposite of the other guide, the best one I have ever had. The tour I was on (I was in the lucky group) took us to many places the classics tour has never taken us before, including the Mesopotamian section (it’s amazing to think with the mess that they are in now, Iraq was the cradle of civilization), the French sculptures courtyard, and Napoleon III’s Finance Ministry rooms, that were as ornate as anything in Versailles. Of course, we saw the classics too, including the very rare French royal sword “Happy” (that’s it’s actual name, translated from French) and royal crowns (very few of which survived the revolution), winged victory, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Venus De Milo, and of course, the Mona Lisa.
The rest of the afternoon in Paris was spent in smaller groups having lunch, shopping, and in some cases taking a little extra excursion (one group took a short cruise up the Seine) while Mr. J. and I spent much of the afternoon in the hot American Express office cashing travelers cheques, a task which seems to become more and more complex every year.
We were hit by a short hail storm on our way to rendezvous with all the groups for one last meal at Rivoli, but other than that, our Paris weather was awesome, and the dramatic skies made for excellent backgrounds for all our pictures. The brave parents who weren’t on spare survived 6 hours (well, probably more like 4 after lunch) shopping with teenagers in Paris. Kudos to them!
We all made it back to Stains together and unharmed, despite by trepidation about this day sans Rens. People were in bed early for our extra early leaving time of 7 AM the next morning as we fled Paris to the east and Verdun.
Tuesday morning, we were up early and on our way to Versailles under blue skies. The excellent audioguides led us through the Sun King’s palace of palaces, and we were very glad to have been one of the first groups in because when we left the line ups filled the entire gigantic front courtyard – there must have been thousands of people in those lineups!
Rens navigated us through Paris traffic to the Arc du Triomphe, Napoleon’s reward to himself after his success against his Hapsburg enemies at the Battle of Austerlitz. The Arc has seen a couple centuries of Parisian history at its base – from Napoleon’s funeral, to the triumphant goose stepping entrance of the Nazis into Paris in WWII to Charles De Gaul and the free French forces return to their beloved city as the Nazis retreated. More stairs here – we walked to the top of course.
After lunch in the Monte Carlo (very fancy!) we were off to see the remains of 6 million Parisians up close and personal in the Catacombs. Unbeknownst to me, and all the other people that were trying the door, the Catacombs were closed for renovations that day – we missed out. The kids didn’t really complain – maybe they were scared anyway.
We were then up to Paris’ only hill, Montmartre, and into the Basilica Sacre Couer, with one of the most amazing representations of Christ I have ever seen. As soon as you walk in the door, your eyes are drawn up to the main dome where Christ, arms open wide seems to be looking directly at you. The work is a Byzantine style Mosaic, and this Cathedral is a combination of the Eastern Byzantine influence and Romanesque architecture – very different from the mainly Gothic cathedrals we have visited in Belgium and France. From this Mountain of the Martyrs (so named mainly because St. Denis, the patron saint of Paris, was beheaded here by the Romans for proselytizing in the streets of Paris in the 3rd century. Upon losing his head, he promptly picked it up and kept walking to a better resting spot) we got our third great view of Paris.
Rens dropped us off at THE Notre Dame Cathedral (the third one we’ve visited in France, and not the last one). This is the one Victor Hugo was referring to when he created the most famous hunchback in literature. With a 426 foot nave and room for 6000 parishioners, this is the big kid on the block in a neighbourhood filled with huge cathedrals. The kids attempted to have some fun chasing pigeons in front of the Charlemagne statue in the square out front, but a man who is obviously friends with the pigeons (they were landing on his shoulders) instead chased our kids away, yelling at them with so much anger, he didn’t even make sense. Oh, maybe he was just speaking French. My daughter Magdalena would have probably understood him; she’s used to being yelled at in French (sorry Mags, I had to say that).
Apres dinner at Rivoli (the second of three dinners we will be having there), I thought of asking the parents if they wanted coffee. Not being much of a coffee drinker, I forget to ask. They were really appreciative, so much so that one of the moms said that sitting there after dinner and having that coffee was the “best experience of my life”. I have always said that caffeine is a powerful drug, and that just confirms it for me.
Tuesday night, as I was contemplating our day without Rens in Paris on Wednesday, I was a little stressed about getting all 41 of us on a bus from the hotel to the metro station. So much so that at 10:30 PM, Mr. J. and I walked all the way through Stains to the Metro Station in Saint Denis. We found out that it wasn’t really that far (at least not for people on an LFMSS Europe trip), so we had everyone walk it next morning instead of trying to fit all of us on a regular city bus crowded with rush hour commuters.
The Paris Metro is unbelievably simple to use. We even had to change trains, and it was not a problem. The Louvre Metro stop actually lets you off in the central mall of the Louvre – amazing! We had some time to kill before our 11 AM guided tour, so James and I got little guide stickers and took our groups (we are split into two groups for the Louvre tour because of our large group size) exploring some of the parts of this gigantic museum not covered by the classics tour we get with the guide. James and co. headed for the Northern European painters section, while my group got to explore some Islamic, African, and South Pacific Art. After meeting up again at the highly efficient groups centre, we split with our two expert guides. We have always had really good guides here. Unfortunately, one of our groups had the worst guide I have ever heard of – a little rude to the kids, taking time to talk to coworkers during the tour, and the exact opposite of the other guide, the best one I have ever had. The tour I was on (I was in the lucky group) took us to many places the classics tour has never taken us before, including the Mesopotamian section (it’s amazing to think with the mess that they are in now, Iraq was the cradle of civilization), the French sculptures courtyard, and Napoleon III’s Finance Ministry rooms, that were as ornate as anything in Versailles. Of course, we saw the classics too, including the very rare French royal sword “Happy” (that’s it’s actual name, translated from French) and royal crowns (very few of which survived the revolution), winged victory, the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Venus De Milo, and of course, the Mona Lisa.
The rest of the afternoon in Paris was spent in smaller groups having lunch, shopping, and in some cases taking a little extra excursion (one group took a short cruise up the Seine) while Mr. J. and I spent much of the afternoon in the hot American Express office cashing travelers cheques, a task which seems to become more and more complex every year.
We were hit by a short hail storm on our way to rendezvous with all the groups for one last meal at Rivoli, but other than that, our Paris weather was awesome, and the dramatic skies made for excellent backgrounds for all our pictures. The brave parents who weren’t on spare survived 6 hours (well, probably more like 4 after lunch) shopping with teenagers in Paris. Kudos to them!
We all made it back to Stains together and unharmed, despite by trepidation about this day sans Rens. People were in bed early for our extra early leaving time of 7 AM the next morning as we fled Paris to the east and Verdun.
The Count
Former Europe trippers will enjoy this. This is after our day without Rens, using the Paris Metro - we survived the metro! (And the parents survived several hours of shopping with teenagers in Paris)
Monday, March 17, 2008
William le Conquérant, Jeanne D’Arc, Richard Le Coeur de Lion, et Claude Monet
What do all these people have in common? Rouen.
Pictures are:
1. Brave Norman soldiers on their way to conquest.
2. Ethan and new pal Joan.
3. We leave the tower for the Joan of Arc death march.
4. Lunch in Rouen: mmm.... baguettes.
After saying goodbye to the Family Home, we visited the nearby Tapisserie de Bayeux, William the Conqueror’s 70 metre long embroidered comic strip used to explain to the English people he conquered why he was their rightful king. The excellent audioguide that tells the story of the tapestry, panel by panel, never fails to impress me. Last year in SS 8 we discussed William, Edward, Harold, and the Battle of Hastings at length; it was great to see the kids viewing this primary source document up close. We managed to squeeze in a quick tour of the tapestry’s original display place, Notre Dame de Bayeux, a beautiful gothic cathedral, the towers of which were used by Nazi snipers during the Battle of Normandy after D Day. Bayeux was the first major town liberated by the allied forces, and was amazingly unscathed as the Germans fled quickly from their positions. This is in stark contrast to most of the surrounding towns and cities that were flattened during this battle.
One such flattened city was Rouen, the capital of Normandy. Luckily for us, the 50% of the city that was destroyed did not include the historic old town, and walking down the twisted narrow cobblestone streets is a medieval treat. Half-timber buildings, built up high and then progressively wider overhang the pedestrian traffic and conjure up thoughts of the medieval craftspeople who would live in these buildings above their street level workshops. Rouen was the place William the Bastard lived before he moved to England and became William the Conqueror, and it is most famously the place where Joan of Arc spent her final days.
We started our tour at a tower similar to the one Joan was held in, shackled about the neck in an iron cage. After amazing, and some believe divinely inspired success leading French troops into battle against the English during the 100 years war, Joan was captured by a group of treacherous Frenchmen who sold her to the English for 10 000 pounds. She was brought to Rouen, then controlled by the English, convicted of being a witch and a heretic partly because of the angelic voices that guided this teenage girl into the pages of history, and burned at the stake, crying out to her beloved countrymen “Rouen, Rouen, must I die here?” After she was canonized as St. Jeanne D’Arc by the Catholic Church in 1920, a chapel was built in her honour at one end of the Rue Gros Horloge. At the other end is the Notre Dame Cathedral made famous by impressionist Claude Monet, who painted the lacy Gothic structure a couple dozen times. The heart of Richard the Lion Hearted is buried in this cathedral.
The kids had a bit of a shopping excursion here, but thankfully no one over did it at Glup, the big candy store Fundy kids seem to like. We’ve been really healthy this trip – the kids are getting enough sleep and eating well (I think the adults are too). We brought two nurses this year, but they haven’t been busy. We might have to lay them off.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
And now we take Normandy
Pictures are:
1. In front of Mont St. Michel
2. Making our way up the single street below the abbey, Mont St. Michel
3. In front of the Caen memorial
4. With Sophie, our guide at Juno Beach, very cold!
5. Ryan reads the inscription on the central cross of the Candian WWII cemetery near Juno Beach
After settling the boys into Les Trois Petites Chochons (Three Little Pigs) room and the girls into La Petite Sirene (Little Mermaid) room, we had a good first sleep at The Family Home, a youth hostel situated in a quiet farmhouse just outside of Bayeux. The difference between this place, which we had all to ourselves, and Charlie Rockets is night and day, or smoke and clean air, or noise and quiet, or…whatever.
Our morning started with a hearty breakfast, featuring Nutella on every table. It was good to see Madam Lefevre again, now 71 and as harried and stressed as ever from running two youth hostels.
We left for Mont St. Michel in a bit of rainstorm, but we drove through it and ended up with just wind on the famous abbey on a rock in the ocean. We had a scavenger hunt which the parents were extremely excited about (I’m not being facetious) and they managed to drag the kids through it to. Actually, I think the kids enjoyed it as well, but those parents were mapping out strategy and trying to sneak answers out of James and I even before we arrived. I guess I should mention that Jackie Krumhardt, Ben Franklin, and Cam Lynch (and whatever kids they were with?) won by two points. Mont St. Michel is an active abbey, and being there on a Sunday for the first time was interesting as the monks and nuns, who are rarely seen on other days, were out on the grand inner staircase. There presence reminded us that this and many other places we visit are sacred to many people, and these kids have been so very respectful and such great ambassadors for Canada as we tour. There were other school groups at Mont St. Michel that day, and the behaviour and enthusiasm of the Fundy kids was in stark contrast to the behaviour, and especially the foul language of some of these other kids. Makes me proud to be a Fundy teacher.
The theme of the rest of the day was WW II, as we visited the Caen Memorial, which tells the story of the second world war through an amazing array of multimedia and historical artifacts. My favourite part of it is the first part, called the Failure of the Peace, which details the flaws of the Treaty of Versailles, signed at the end of “The War to End all Wars” (WW I) and how the conditions of the treaty helped push Europe into a war which ultimately took 50 000 000 European lives. 50 million; that’s every person in Canada today with 20 million to spare. Ending the visit with the best documentary film on D-Day I have ever seen was perfect, as our next stop was Juno Beach.
Juno Beach was, like last year, being blasted with high winds, but with the addition of rain. It was really cold. The kids and parents toughed it out as our Canadian guide Sophie (English as a second language, but obviously studied very well), explained how 14 000 young Canadians, most of them just a few years older than these kids, toughed out a stormy trip across the English Channel to land at this beach and take part in one of the greatest military operations in history. The people of the nearby village of Courseulles-sur-Mer were so grateful to be freed from Nazi tyranny, and so surprised that many of their liberators spoke French! Sophie told us the older people in the village still talk very fondly of their Canadian liberators. We then visited the nearby Canadian WW II cemetery (one of three in the region) and paid our respects to the young men buried there. Shelly pointed out to me later that a group of boys was excitedly talking about what they had learned at Juno Beach and how proud it made them to be Canadians. I don’t think I could ask for anything more from the experience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
