A Little Outside Paris

Hi there,

Almost a year ago I travelled to Paris, France and Nairobi, Kenya. I started a few posts on my travels but looking back over the year I realized I didn't get too far with the travel posts. I will try to catch up now before the year ends and see how far I get. I left off after a visit to the Palace of Versailles just outside of Paris. If you missed that blog you can find it here.   The first post in what was intended to be a series can be found here.

Today we continue with my tour of the Palace of Versailles.  There were just so many photo opportunities that it is very difficult to do only one post.

Firstly there are a few things that you might be interested in knowing. There is a lot of useful information on line to help you with your visit to the palace.

• The Palace of Versailles is located just outside Paris and about 1 hour by the city train. How long it takes you will depend on where you are staying in Paris so it could be a little less time or a little more time. Once you reach Versailles there is also a short walk to the palace.

• Some people can enter the palace for free.  Check on line here.
• You can purchase your ticket on line by computer or smart phone. There are a variety of ticket types. The type we selected was for timed entry to ensure we got in on the date and time we wanted.  This is particularly important during the height of tourist season to ensure you won't be disappointed.  You can check here for tickets.  I believe we arrived at 10 a.m. and after a short stop to pick up coffee we carried on to the palace. We needed the entire day to walk through the palace, stroll quickly through the garden and on to Trianon. By the time I got back to the front gate to meet my nephew (we separated here and there) it was already 5 p.m. and the entire place was closing for the day.  I am so glad I visited this place in Winter season and not in peak season because there were plenty of people there. I noticed too that a lot of people arrived just to see the gardens and did not enter the palace.
• The palace is open every day from 9 a.m. onward except on Mondays.  The estate of Trianon and the Coach gallery are only open in the afternoon.
• The Park and Gardens are open every day and the gardens are free unless there is a fountain show.
• The following items are not allowed in the palace and must be left at checked luggage where they will store them for free: pushchairs (wheelchairs), metal baby stroller, walking sticks, crutches, bulky luggage and umbrellas.  I honestly don't know how a person who needs mobility aids is supposed to see the palace or the gardens if they have to check their assistive devices. I also don't see how a mother with children will be able to get very far without a baby stroller. When I checked in I didn't know about these restrictions and I took my walking poles with me thinking it was a good idea because I'd likely have to do a lot of walking. When I  entered the palace at my gate, I went through security clearance.  They asked me about the poles and scanned them and then they let me through. It was only while I was walking through the palace that I was stopped about 3 times and questioned about the poles. I was permitted onward in every instance. I think it helped that they accepted my story that security staff had scanned my poles and let me pass through.
• There are a few places to have a quick bite to eat and/or drink on the grounds. You will need it because you will have to spend hours there to make it worth your while. If you are only going to see the gardens you can probably pack your own lunch.

As I mentioned in my first post on the palace, I was most interested in seeing the personal spaces of the King and Queen and in that regard I was not disappointed. I was also most interested in seeing the special place that the King built for his wife and as depicted in the movie, Marie Antoinette with Kirsten Dunst in the title role. More about that later.

Today I'll start with a few photos of gigantic paintings that were on a temporary exhibit in the Africa Room. I felt very privileged to have been there during this special display. Unfortunately I don't seem to have many photos of the paintings. At that point I was very tired and trying to put my sticks and bag under a table in the room so I could take unobstructed photos. However the security stopped me from doing that.  Even so, this room and exhibit was one of the major highlights of the day for me.

The large, displayed notice of the exhibition.

The first three photos were taken in the Africa Room.

 A beautiful desk with a Egyptian sphinx on either side. I'm not sure if they are made of brass or gold

The photo above gives a good idea of the scale of the paintings which all depicted military scenes from various wars.

The photo above gives some idea of the grandeur of the passageways and the height of the ceilings along with the fabulous painted ceilings. 

The next several photos of a room with red walls and lots of gilt and chandeliers are of the King's bedroom.

The King's bed was much smaller than I expected.

The "green" room was the King's office. 

I remember thinking that it didn't look much like an office for doing work in though I imagine the King really did have work to do, people to meet, papers to sign and so on.  It was also quite dark in the room so I imagine there were many, many candles to light the room especially in Winter. I visited in January when I'm sure it is much darker than other months of the year.

My memory is hazy now but I don't believe this huge fireplace was located in the King's office. 

I took a photo of it because I seldom see such massive fireplaces.

This one had a beautiful painting above it and as you look up to the ceiling you find extensive gilt work and the ceiling of course is ornately painted.

There were a lot of paintings of Napoleon Bonaparte at various stages of his life.

One of the many statues in the palace. This one is of Charlemagne also known as Charles the Great.

 

 The next photos are various salons and passageways. 

At times it was difficult to look at paintings and objects.  When tour guides were passing by the tourists would block passages and didn't seem to worry that others needed to pass through.  There were also a lot of school children on tour. I enjoyed seeing them and I thought how fortunate they are to see such things at such a young age.
My nephew and I were not part of a guided tour.  We opted for a self tour with information fed to us through headsets.  Even so, it is far too much information to recall. I like simply looking at what strikes my fancy and learning a little here and there.

One has to be quick though because there is just so much to see.

The massive painting below depicts the scene in which Mary Magdalene washes Jesus' feet while he and the disciples eat together. That is me walking past it.

Here I am looking out one of the palace windows over the massive gardens which is where I will head soon.

Before I get there I still have something wonderful to see inside the palace.

Thank you for your visit.  Please come back soon.

If you've already visited the Palace of Versailles let me know what was your favourite part.

Some Images of Edmonton, Alberta

These are some quickly captured images as we drove around downtown Edmonton looking for a particular bank (which we never did find despite the fact that both of us had seen one in the general area in previous days).

Hopefully you can make out the super moon in the centre of the photo.

Rogers Centre where big concerts and events occur.

Taken from the parkade at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. The hospital complex is huge.

Gas/petrol was 24 cents a litre less than in Vancouver.

A lovely church rooftop (I didn't get the name of the church).

A picturesque view of the city and N. Saskatchewan River looking east from St. Georges Crescent.

I did not have a chance to take a lot of photos but I hope you can see that Edmonton is a beautiful city.

I can clearly see that the camera lens is very dirty and I hope I can get it clean again.

 I've always liked my visits to Edmonton and the summer is especially nice with many activities around the city.

I'm hoping I'll have a chance to visit under better circumstances soon.

Our World Tuesday

Update

Thank you everyone for your comments, thoughts, prayers and questions. This post will update on the recent information I shared here.

I made the journey from Vancouver to Grande Prairie, Alberta to attend the funeral of my cousin's son who was pallbearer at my late mother's funeral almost 2 years ago. He had been in hospital since around Christmas after finishing chemotherapy and radiation and passed away on March 8th, 2019 at the age of 46 years of age.

There were a great many people at the funeral and his work mates and friends were a big part of the funeral services which was nice.  I was able to visit briefly with so many relatives most of whom had travelled from various places in the northern parts of British Columbia and Alberta.

It took about 17 hours by car to drive to Grande Prairie from Vancouver (see the map for the route north which I'v marked in black ink).  My brother and I left last Thursday evening about 9 p.m. We arrived at our destination at approximately 2 p.m. the next day.  We lost an hour due to the time change. After the funeral, reception and cemetery service we drove about 5 hours southeast to Edmonton where we spent three days resting and visiting with one of our cousins.

While in Edmonton we found out an uncle is now suffering from dementia & has recently been admitted to a long term care facility.  We went to find him and had a lovely visit.  I  was surprised to find him very cheerful and talkative. I'm grateful we had such a nice visit as we do not know if we will have a chance to see him again before the inevitable occurs. His memory was fairly good while we were present.  He even remembered just how long he was in the facility (3 days) and that he'd been transferred from another institution.  The next day we were invited by another cousin to visit for a barbecue dinner. We actually saw him at the funeral but he is now home for the next half a year since work breaks up every year in Spring and recommences in the Fall.  After dinner and a brief visit with his family, we started the long 13 hour return journey home leaving at 7 p.m. and arriving home at 7 a.m. (8 a.m. in Alberta).

The black line on the map below shows our journey to Grande Prairie. The blue line shows our side journey to Edmonton and the portion back home to Vancouver. Most of the photos were taken through the car window so they are not the best.  But they will give you some idea of the geography and weather during the trip.  You can click on any photo to enlarge.

A photo taken as we pass through Jasper National Park.

Signage as we take short cut to Grande Prairie through Grande Cache.

Some stretches of the road you can see miles ahead and it's flat.

Then you come to this view of the mountains.

It was early morning through here between 6-7 a.m.

On the outskirts of Grande Prairie the land flattens and you find a lot of this kind of equipment since it's oil and farming country.

Entering the City of Grande Prairie. In my view it isn't a very pretty city but has had tremendous growth over the last few decades.

A rather nice looking college and city library.

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While we were in the north the weather warmed up considerably. 
When we got back to Vancouver the weather was even warmer with near summer temperatures.
However the forecast for the next while is a bit of rain. 
I need to get out in the garden as this year I have an allotment in addition to my balcony garden which means twice the work for me.  Hopefully I'll be able to grow a lot of vegetables to eat over the summer.

 
Now that I'm home again I'm also hoping to resume my travel photos from my recent travels to Paris and Nairobi. 
I may also do one more post from my most recent trip to share a few more photos of the area.

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wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

To Paris!

It's taken me awhile to get back on line to post since I wrote my last post (which you can view here if interested). The snow that fell on my first day back has melted but the forecast calls for a bit more snow.  I haven't been out very much but the sun has been shining daily.

Today I want to share some introductory remarks about my travels.  My main destination for travel was the country of Kenya and the City of Nairobi specifically. I had been planning to return to Kenya for some time but this time I also wanted to see something different either on the continent of Africa or somewhere in Europe.

My very busy nephew and I have been discussing travelling to Paris together for years. After checking the flight itinerary options from Paris to Nairobi I then asked my nephew if a few days in Paris would work for him as it coincided with the new university term.  I didn't expect a definitive 'yes' but he agreed!

Neither of us had many expectations or plans and little time to really prepare for the trip.  We both just really wanted to soak up a bit of atmosphere by sitting at the Parisian bistros and people watching. Of course a visit to the Eiffel Tower was a must for both of us and my nephew said we must visit the Louvre.

Due to his very busy schedule I investigated the travel options to find a fare within his budget and to make sure he had the appropriate insurance.  We didn't travel together. He flew with Iceland Air and I travelled with KLM, my favourite airline.  My flight left very early from Vancouver and I didn't get any sleep since I had to be at the airport  by 3 a.m.

After checking in this is the first line up in Vancouver on the way to first security clearance.

 The departure gate was at the very end of the international departure terminal, a foreshadowing of things to come.

At the departure gate in Vancouver

My flight was routed through the USA where I made a connecting flight in Minneapolis to Paris. As time got closer to departure I worried what might happen in Minneapolis because of the government shut down. Thankfully all went well and I had no problems.  In fact, I was so very impressed with the staff at the Minneapolis airport, the level of service and the professionalism yet friendliness exhibited by all.  Everyone was just superb and they take customer service seriously there. All airports should follow the lead of this fine airport.

Once at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, I had several hours to wait for my nephew. I didn't find any nice place to have refreshment or to relax in the terminal where I alighted.  I waited in the general area for about 30 minutes trying to see if the line at the small cafe would diminish but I eventually left and made my way closer to the terminal where I expected my nephew to arrive. Once I changed locations, I found better waiting areas and services.  Enroute to the "new' terminal I struck up a conversation with a woman from the Cameroon who now lives in Seattle, Washington.  We had a very nice conversation before we parted ways. She was over nighting in Paris and wanted to stay close by the airport before she flew home to the Cameroon for a visit.  Once I found my way to a cafe, I asked a woman if I could share her table due to limited space. She obliged and we struck up a conversation. I learned she was on her way home to her husband in Saudi Arabia after visiting her family in Paris. We studied the transit map together to find my hotel and she advised me to take a taxi to the hotel rather than go by bus and metro (there being no direct route via metro).

Map of the Paris Metro system

I spent some time investigating the transit options to the hotel before leaving Vancouver and didn't wish to spend so much money on a taxi. Neither did I want to ride the bus and metro given the inconvenience of going up and down stairs with heavy luggage and the possibility of being mugged (mentioned in several articles I'd read). When my nephew arrived we decided to take an Uber to our destination. I let him order the Uber and I willingly paid as that was part of our arrangement so he could accompany me to Paris.  The Uber driver was prompt and the ride into the city was very interesting. My nephew and I were both happy and excited to see a bit of the city through the car windows. Our driver wasn't much of a conversationalist but he was pleasant and got us to our destination. Though he got lost very near the end point it didn't take him long to find his way once again.

We booked into the Hotel Boronali a very small, family run hotel in the 18th arrondissment at 
65 Rue de Clignancourt.

 

Not my photo. This is a promotional one.

I chose this hotel because it appeared to be closer to one of the attractions I wanted to see in Montmarte and I'd read that it was one bus ride away to The Louvre.  I also selected the hotel because there was a laundromat across the street.  I planned to do laundry before jetting off to Africa since there are no do it yourself laundromats in Kenya.

We enjoyed staying at the Hotel Boronali.  The hotel was very small but nice and  staff was very professional and helpful.  But in case you wish to stay there one day please note that the hotel has no on site restaurant or bar though they do provide breakfast in the morning and coffee/tea during the day.  There is a lift but given it is a heritage building there is only room for one suitcase and one person at a time (perhaps 2 suitcases if they are stackable). There are many restaurants and bars in the neighbourhood so it isn't a big issue not to have a full scale restaurant in the hotel. There are also several convenience stores, boulangeries and small supermarkets close to the hotel and I felt very safe walking in the area.  Even late into the night though a friend of my nephew's suggested the area is not that safe. For more information about the hotel see here.

While we were there we were so very busy trying to make the most of our short time. We did miles and miles of walking every day (my nephew more than I) and we ate on the run. Thank goodness for the boulangeries.  I did not sit at any bistros as planned except on the last evening when we decided to have a proper French meal before departure. But I did have a version of an American breakfast at a bistro next to the hotel. The café crema was delicious.
 

Sorry for the blurred photo.

Thank you for stopping.

Stay tuned for more travel posts. In the next post I will share some of the things we did in Paris.

Move # 2

I've just returned after a long 3 days away. I was moving my mother for the second time in the space of two months.  You might remember I moved her from one facility to another in early July.  At that time there was no room available on the ground floor which she had requested.  Parts of the ground floor were closed to residents due to flooding and it has taken two months for all the repair work to be done.  So this week was the 2nd move and I'm glad it's done. 

I found the move from one floor to another to be more difficult than moving from one facility to another. Even though I was better rested this time, the move was still a chore.

The temperatures were still very hot at over 30 degrees celsius so that made errands and moving rather draining.  Thankfully the residence has fairly good air conditioning. Even at that it was even too warm indoors at times.  Just imagine what it would be like without air conditioning!

I spent the first day moving from one floor to another and unpacking and putting most of the clothing and personal items away.  The next day I concentrated on arranging things according to mother's specifications; hanging more photos and making lists of everything that needed to be purchased.  Today was devoted to a Care Conference with all the staff, completing a number of forms and settling financial accounts as well as following up on medical supplies which are still outstanding.

The good news is that I had more thinking time to complete forms, make enquiries, make phone calls, meet people, tour more of the facility, make lists and purchase things for mom.  I also had a bit of time for my own personal business and got to take mom for a very short walk.  We didn't stay too long outside due to the excessive heat. 

It is always difficult to leave mom because I cannot visit her as often as I would like.  But it is also good to get home. The facility was having a special event tonight so it made it easier to say goodbye  knowing that she had something to occupy her mind tonight before sleep. I hope to visit her again in about 6 weeks.

Sunset on the freeway to Vancouver

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Night Images of La Belle Province - Pt. 3

All these photos were taken in the Town of Lanoraie, along the St. Lawrence Seaway at night. We had spent the day in Louiseville & Lavaltrie & had come back to rest in Lanoraie. We quickly went for a walk along the waterfront before the light faded entirely. It was lovely there except for the mosquitoes which were thick. I dislike mosquitoes immensely but wanted to see what I could before the light was completely gone.

My French relatives were very much involved in the planning of the tourist information and the art works that now exist along the waterfront. They also helped to plan for a small stage (I didn't get a good photo of it) so that productions could be presented on  the waterfront.

My 80 year old relative wrote and produced a historical play which was enacted on this small waterfront stage. She was a bit younger when she did this creative work.  All in all it was a real treat to see the work the relatives (all sisters) had been involved in and to hear their passion for the cultural work they seem to do so much of. Her and her two sisters have a passion for history, geneology and writing. She says she has about 4 more books (in her head) but is running out of time to put them on paper.

Church on main street near the water front.

It is said that when the French explorer, Jacques Cartier passed through Lanoraie in the 16th century, the Iroquois had already been established in the area. They called place Agochanda or Agouchonda, which means a place to stop and eat and rest.

The parish in this area was established in the late 1600s but development of the village didn't really occur for another few hundred years.  The small town is steadily growing with the current population at about 5000 people who predominantly speak French.

My next travel post will feature the historic house where we spent the night and then we will drive north to Quebec City and farther. Join me later.

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