An Adventure Abroad – Whisked away for a Romantic Reunion

2013-07-13 | puppy1952

Travelling alone has been an amazing experience. I am used to having a husband worrying about checking in luggage, boarding passes, time constraints and direction finding. He fusses and checks and makes sure I have everything and frets over me like a male version of a mother hen. It is I who always says – stop fussing – relax and have fun. But I’ve relied on him specially to find our way to unknown places because I have such a useless sense of direction and a devil may care attitude to where I am in space. So when I found myself having to find boarding gates etc all on my own I realised how lucky I’ve been having somebody else to do the concentrating for me. However, I am now quite proud of myself for coping on my own without getting lost! My baby brother tended to take on the role of fuss pot when he was with me and tore his hair out at my apparent lack of attention to my surroundings but when I was alone, I coped didn’t I! Thank you men in my life – I really do appreciate your concern and yes – it is easier having you guys showing me where North is. And now I shall return to depending on my fabulous husband for travel support because I missed him too much to do this alone again – well not for a long while anyway!

Nicholas fought the London traffic to get me to Heathrow before 7 p.m. on Friday night. Terminal Three was hugely busy and I hadn’t checked in online! But a pleasant young man helped us self check in and when that didn’t work disappeared for a few minutes with my passport before returning with my boarding pass – an aisle seat hooray! We were told that the plane was delayed due to a fuel spill on the tarmac and Nick and I were about have a meal together when I checked the board to see that I needed to go to the departure hall. A quick goodbye and I dashed off – Nick had already ordered but fortunately I hadn’t. Checking through security did not go well. My shoes caused me to bleep – they had a metallic strip or something – and I was thoroughly searched. Then my bags held too many small bottles of liquid and they combed through both my handbag and cabin bag with great thoroughness. I had to part with a bottle of perfume and a tube of liquid foundation! Be warned – put shampoos etc in the hold luggage. What I find strange is that I could buy more at the duty free shop which would be put into a sealed bag – why couldn’t they just put my own stuff in a sealed bag?

Once that was all sorted out, it was a very long walk to the boarding gate – I had absolutely no time to shop nor to claim back the tax on my purchases! Boarding was almost immediate and done systematically – first class, parents with children then section by section so there was no crush in the aisles. I was delighted to find that I had a vacant seat between me and two unaccompanied teenaged girls. One was returning from visiting her aunt and cousins in Toronto – she was exhausted from her long journey. The other was from Sydney, had been visiting a friend in London and was on her way to an exchange programme at Reddam House School. The flight was smooth and having that spare seat helped with leg room and I slept on an aeroplane for the first time in my life! Virgin Atlantic flights are great but the legroom is very limited. I don’t know how tall people manage!

I had two hours to transfer at Johannesburg and it took that long to get through customs, go to the loo, collect baggage, find domestic departures and get through security to my SAA flight! When I got to my seat I found it occupied by a young boy. It was clear that he was with his family so I guessed there was some mistake. I approached the air hostess and asked her to sort it out. He was in the wrong seat and his mom asked if I would mind swapping – of course I wouldn’t. I found myself seated with a German family – Mom, Dad and daughter. They live in Cape Town and were returning from visiting relatives back home. The little girl attends the German School and Mom is a teacher there so we had a lot in common and chatted happily during the second half of the trip. I slept for the first hour! Am I getting used to flying or what! It was an airbus and the legroom on SAA was way better than Virgin Atlantic.

I cannot describe how delighted I was to see my husband waiting for me at Arrivals. And to make it even better he announced, “Jay’s having a party tonight so we’re not going home!’ He whisked me off to city hotel for a romantic reunion undisturbed by a teenage birthday party! He is a Procard holder and had a Freebie due to him!

So here I am at Protea Hotel – Fire and Ice. We had a high quality meal with excellent service and freshly back from the UK and Europe I really appreciated how comparatively inexpensive it was! In addition the Procard gave us two mains for the price of one! When travelling overseas be prepared to pay double what we pay here in Cape Town to eat out. That is what I worked on and having had a meal here at home I find that I am spot on. The Fire and Ice is an interesting hotel with a sense of humour. Going to the loo left you with choices – The Outhouse or Stage Fright? + a few others whose titles I forget.

The Lift is made to look like a shark cage

The View of our beautiful city

Our Vegetarian meal

The Outhouse

Stage Fright – Would you like to be watched while you perform?

So I am back in Cape Town but not yet home. Tomorrow I will pop in to see Laurie’s new flat and then it’s home to hug my grandchildren.

An Adventure Abroad – Last Day in Paris

2013-07-11 | puppy1952

On Tuesday we were pretty tired after touring Paris so we bought delicious food from the local supermarket and ate it in our room. After I had blogged we felt refreshed and decided to pop out for a glass of wine and coffee. How wonderful to just step out of your hotel and just a minute away find a suitable pavement cafe with very friendly service. A charming young man, broke straight into English when he heard our poor to non-existent French. He was wearing an All Black’s supporter’s jersey and told us that he loved Rugby and the All Blacks (He was in fact not French but Spanish.) At the table next to us sat a man of mature years (about 65). His glass was empty, his change on a saucer in front of him and he was fast asleep. Our young waiter tried to wake him but was brushed off. He shrugged – I will let him sleep, he said. I know this man – he does not usually do this. And he slept on for another half an hour before getting up and taking his leave. I guess he’d had a hard day and just needed a drink and a snooze before going home to deal with whatever he had to deal with.

A Carafe of very good Sauvignon Blanc

The next morning we were up early and got packed up for our departure. We had our usual breakfast of Coffee and Croissants, this time at the same cafe that we went to last night. Everything went very smoothly! We then fetched our luggage, checked out and took the Metro to Garde Nord where we hired a large locker to leave our bags. We were then free to enjoy our last day in Paris!

First stop was The Louvre. I’d been there once before and loved it and couldn’t wait to return. And it was great – I hired auditory commentary and it was interesting to get the background into the various works of art. But at my first visit I there had not been all the crowds! It was unpleasant. In spite of the exhibition halls being huge you still had to contend with people bumping into you and elbowing you out of the way! The hall where the Mona Lisa hung was impossible. We took one glance at her and left! People were flashing cameras at her and getting heated and excited when they should really have just looked quietly and taken her in! One wonders what Leonardo would have thought of all the hype and fuss.

After we could stand it no longer we left and found a fabulous little eatery. It cost a little more than the snacks we’d grabbed previously but was not as expensive as I thought it would be. Linda had a Caesar Salad that she said was the best she’d ever experienced. I had a salmon and cream cheese bagel with came with fried potatoes. We were given a bottle of iced water and slices of baguette on the table too. People complain that the French are unfriendly and rude. We have only found them charming. The restauntier made a huge fuss of us saw to our every need. We were seated next to two charming businessmen who also helped us understand.

A splendid French Meal

Santé

After lunch we made our way to Notre Dame. We visited the crypt which was very interesting. The archaeological Crypt under the Parvis de Notre-Dame de Paris was built to protect the ruins discovered during the excavations that began in 1965. The crypt was opened in 1980 with the aim of presenting elements from the successive buildings constructed on the site from Ancient times to the 19^th century.

Notre Dame

We decided not to explore the cathedral because the queue was extremely long. With a Paris Pass you are supposed to have fast track access but that was not happening and we were in no mood to fight the crowds as our time was limited. Instead we sat under some shady trees in a nearby park then had a drink at a cafe. We made our way back to the tube and crossed this interesting and romantic bridge.

It’s where young lovers lock thier love forever and throw away the key. The Pont des Arts, sometimes known as the Pont Amoureux or ‘Lover’s Bridge’, is the place where lifelong romance begins. Many couples engrave their names onto padlocks, lock it to the bridge and then toss the key into the Seine – a sign of their eternal love.

We then made our way back to Gare Nord where we took the EuroStar back to London. I had some Euros left so went to the bar on the train and got us each a carafe sized bottle of wine and some snacks. A very civilised way to travel.

Getting back to Nicholas was simple too and bless him, he had a wonderful curry dinner waiting for me. I was exhausted and went to bed straight after supper!

An Adventure Abroad – The French Metro, Hop on Hop Off Bus, Galeries La Fayette, The Eiffel Tower and Seine Cruise

2013-07-09 | puppy1952

Wow, What a day! Queues, heat, standing, waiting – but all worth it to see the amazing sights of Paris. Our plan for these few days is to breakfast on coffee and croissants, find a cheap lunch and maybe do supper at a pavement cafe. Breakfast this morning was a minor disaster. We stopped at a nearby pavement cafe ordered coffee and 2 croissants but I made the fatal mistake of asking for jam. Our waiter did not understand the word. Some other patrons and baguettes, butter, Nutella and jam so I pointed to the jam and said – that’s what I want. He brought me baguettes etc. Oh dear. No – That’s not what I want – croissant sil vou pleis. I waited a while and he returned to say there were no more. I actually didn’t believe him but there was little point arguing in English so I drank my coffee, Linda had her croissant and then we got a croissant for me from a little cafe!

Paris is the city of love as can be seen outside our breakfast place

Now the French Metro is not as user friendly as the London Underground. And that’s just not two old ladies who think this. We found young English couple looking to go to the same station as us equally confused. I asked an attendant where to go and problem was solved! We had to change trains and managed that with difficulty but we now fancy ourselves as experts!

Double Decker Metro Train

We got the Hop on Hop off bus from the foot of the Eiffel Tower and it was great. Earphones were provided and commentary in one’s preferred language could be heard. The music in between though became irritating. We saw all the wonderful sights of Paris the details of which were just too many for me to remember.

Hop on Hop Off Bus

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower was the main exhibit of the Paris Exposition — or World’s Fair — of 1889. It was constructed to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution and to demonstrate France’s industrial prowess to the world. It was supposed to be dismantled after the fair but the Parisians decided to keep it. Imagine Paris without it? During the Second World War General von Choltitz was ordered to burn France but he refused and so many of France’s ancient buildings including the Eiffel Tower were saved.

We saw many other beautiful examples of architecture and magnificence but I will not bore you with them all here.

Linda and I hopped of the bus to explore the exclusive department store Galerie La Fayette. I have never seen so many shoes, perfumes, make up counters or clothes in my entire life. Every designer in the world must have been represented and it was crawling with thousands of shoppers. I found it quite stifling and I could not find one thing I liked. Or there were a couple of things that were okay but at an enormous price – like hundreds of euros. No item of clothing is worth that much money – well not to a pleb like me anyway.

We hopped back on the bus and got off at the Foot of the Eiffel Tower again. Then we sweated and fretted in a long queue for the privilege of ascending the Tower in a lift. Wow! The view was amazing. We went up to the second level but decided not to go all the way up which was really too high for two nervous old ducks.

After this adventure we found a shady spot near a library, bought a choc chip muffin and mineral water and sat and replenished ourselves before going on the Seinne Cruise. Another long wait in the queue only to have to wait half an hour as the barge was full! We were not happy about that as our Paris Pass was supposed to fast track us past long queues. Not so for all attractions we discovered. Anyway the cruise was lovely but when we got back we bought chocolate ice creams which we ate in the shade of the bridge and then got the Metro back home.

We bought baguettes, one filled with ham and salad and the other with chicken and salad, some juice and brought them to our room where we ate them for supper. Now we are exhausted and we’re going to bed!