Update

I have updated my "We Are Home" blog of a few days ago.  Have a look.

Smoking in France

Cathy and I both agreed that we have never recently been around so many smokers as in France.  It reminds me of when I was a kid.  It is really quite surprising  that when the health effects are so well known that there are so many people who smoke.  Please be warned that those inviting street cafes are a haven for smokers.  People also smoke indoors as well.  Given that the French government is trying to reduce the amount of smoking, I would suspect that smoking has declined, but Canada is much further along the curve.  I think this is why we noticed this issue so much.  We noticed a lot of smoking by teenagers and young adults.  One image that sticks in my mind was that of a mother and her likely late teen son walking down the street in conversation, both smoking.  The things we teach our kids!!

Lessons In Air Travel

Cathy suggested a new post discussing some of our experiences with air travel.  What a great idea.  The key issue is how much time do you allow between connecting flights.  The answer is that it depends.  We had two connections that did not work out because there were too many unknown steps to perform between getting off one flight and getting on the next.  The biggest issue is customs.  If you need to go through customs then you are likely going have to additional time consuming steps involving unknown sizes of lineups.  These are:

1. To go backwards for a second, remember you have a lineup for customs.
2. You need to go through security again for your connecting flight.  Going through customs takes you out of the secure area of the airport and into the general public area.
3. You may have to get your luggage and take that through customs as well.  I said 'get' your luggage, but of coarse you first have to wait for your luggage.
4. You have to deposit your luggage with the airline.  Another line and another wait.

Another factor that has nothing to do with customs is the distance between arrival and departure gates, or even finding the gate. At Frankfurt, the distance was huge because we needed to change terminals.  At Montreal, the distance was less, but we did not know where to go to find the gate.  Our luggage was taken at an Air Canada desk just after going through customs but before we left the secure arrivals area.  The verbal instructions we received at the desk were too vague and brief - but of coarse we didn't know that until we could not find our way.

The order of these steps may depend on what airport you are changing flights at.  Frankfurt was not the same as Montreal.

This process of extra steps caused a 9 hour delay at Frankfurt for Cathy as she waited for the next available flight.  The same thing happened in Montreal on the way home, but we only had to wait half an hour for the next flight.

For a domestic connection, perhaps an hour is a sufficient gap between flights.  For an international flight involving customs, plan for a 2 hour gap minimum.  Of coarse the airline web sites do not tell you this, or worse, they don't tell you when you have left insufficient time between connecting flights.  We're back to the old rule - live and learn.

We Are Home - [Updated]

We started our trip home at 6 am Paris time and returned to our house at 8:30 pm.  With 5 hours of time zone difference that amounts to a 19.5 hour day.  Well, it was very nice to get home and very nice to go to bed.

We had a great vacation, and as witnessed by this blog, we saw a tremendous variety of things.  We pretty much did everything we set out to do.  No one got sick or injured for which we are very thankful.

I should put a closing posting up but first I have to figure out what that would talk about.  Any suggestions?  Is anyone reading this?  In the meantime, I have 1800 photos to upload and sort through.  That will take some time.

Update: 6 November - I am becoming emotionally damaged by the lack of reply to my invitation for you to assist in what the final blog could be.  Truly no one is reading my blog, except me.  Well, I have added a couple more blogs since I wrote this so my mind keeps working on this.  And, I have another idea - a blog on my photographic experiences.  In the absence of your ideas, and to assuage my wounded emotional condition, I will write a blog on a subject near to my heart, and one of my favourite hobbies, photography.  I'm blowing a raspberry to you all!!!!

Navigation and the Road Network

The road system in France is twice as complicated as in Ontario.  I think the following factors define this:

1. There is scarcely any grid system to the road network.
2. Intersections rarely have only two roads crossing at 90 degrees.  This is why the roundabout is such a great idea - roads can intersect with a roundabout from any angle.
3. There are many ways to get somewhere because roads go in all directions.  This makes it very difficult to figure out how to get somewhere.  Imagine you are in a traffic circle frozen in time at the due north position.  You may know you want to go north, but the only choices of roads may be north-west or north-east. By logic, you cannot determine which is road is best.
4. Signage is a 50:50 chance that it will be helpful.  Signage may tell you the road name, the next town, a far off big town, or a direction to a highway.  All this can be helpful, but it may not be helpful when the place you are going to is not mentioned on the signage.  Also, in a roundabout you only have a couple of seconds to make a exit decision.  Trying to read signage, drive on a curve, and not hit impatient drivers bobbing and weaving for their exits is a special challenge.  One of the great things about a roundabout is that you can just keep going around until you figure out what to do.

The best way we found to get somewhere is going to sound ridiculously simple, but it works - first know where you are going and then figure out your preferred route for how to get there.  The twist that makes this not ridiculous is that the tool to use here is a paper MAP.  A hand held GPS is not a map, even though the GPS shows a map.  The problem with a hand held GPS is that it does not show the entire route in a legible, single image.  This is a problem when dealing with multiple routes to get anywhere - one needs to know the big picture.

We started our road trip with only the rented hand held GPS that we obtained with the car, and then graduated to a GPS and a map.  That worked out better and I would not do it any other way in the future.  The GPS was great at dealing with roundabout decisions, but the lack of the big picture of the route was a problem when the GPS doesn't work.  The critical point in this discussion is that every time you make a roundabout decision, it is really comforting to be able to confirm where the new road is taking you in relation to your planned route to your destination.  Otherwise you really are flying blind and are putting a lot of faith in your electronic navigator.

As we discovered, too much faith can be a problem.  Our GPS kept shutting off - probably due to a faulty power cable to the unit.  Several times it went dead just when we needed a key piece of information - very upsetting.  Also, when you program the destination, there is no choice regarding recommended alternative routes.  The route is selected based on routing preferences set in the GPS prior to the destination address being entered.  And on the very small screens of the GPS, looking at the entire route at once eliminates all the detail about other roads.

Perhaps there are better GPS units out there that can solve this shortcoming - but I would be sceptical.  Cathy had her iPad with her, but to use that effectively we would need to have a cellular connection and use cellular data.  We didn't want a big bill for data usage in France, so the paper map seemed a lot cheaper, and a really good backup if/when the electronic equipment doesn't work.

We did received a full refund on the rental of the GPS because of the power shut down issue.  If we were to do this again, I think I would purchase a GPS from a European store.  We do know that you can download european maps onto a North American unit, but we have heard of problems doing this. It might also be best not to use Garmin equipment.  Elaine bought a Garmin GPS when she arrived in France and had problems with it as well.  

So, at the end of the day, the big issue is how you choose to navigate, and having a backup plan that will get you out of trouble.  It is really quite unpleasant to get lost in a foreign country, especially in the dark and after most stores are closed.  Make sure your plans will solve this high stress disaster.

Paris - Friday November 1st

The word chateau barely seems to do the place any justice.  It really is a palace of grand proportions.  This is Fontainebleau, the famous royal chateau an hour south of Paris.  It is surprising that a number of the furnishings are originals.  The chateau was kept in good shape during the revolution, and was used by subsequent rulers.

A royal bedroom above, with ceiling detail below.

Tapestries are large and frequent.

Looking into the chapel from the gallery.

An ornate door.

An important and lavishly decorated main hallway.

Hallway details.

A fireplace.

The Ballroom and detail below.

Another fireplace.  It seems too good to use.

The wall and ceiling detail of a stairway.

Room details.

Another main hall.

A royal bedroom.

The throne room above.

The chapel from the main floor.

An incredible building.  I can't imagine how the state can afford to maintain this place.  Of coarse, it is surrounded by thousands of hectares of forest land as well.  Worth the trip in spite of the rain and road traffic.

Paris - Thursday October 31st

The morning around the chateau outside of Tours.  The fog was, no doubt, due to the very cool morning - only a few degrees above freezing.  By the time I came back into the chateau after photographing for 45 minutes my hands were on the verge of pain they were so cold.  However, it was a beautiful morning.

The trees in the park around the chateau are amazing.  Look at the seat in the photo above, then look at the width of the trunk on the tree behind it.  It must be a diameter of a least 4.5 feet.  I saw a couple of other huge trees as well.

Above, the inside of the chateau.

No, we did not stay at this chateau - our blood is not blue enough.  This is the famous Chateau Chombord about an hour east of Tours, still in the Loire River valley.  It is a very odd design.  Clearly very ornate on the exterior, but almost austere on the interior.  The interior layout of the main building - so called the keep - is a cross with equal length legs.  The cross forms a large open hallway.  At the centre of the cross is a double helix staircase, perhaps designed by Leonardo Da Vinci who lived in the area during his last years.  The four quadrants which create the round corners of the keep are the living quarters.

Above, a royal bedroom and bed.

Tapestries above - very large.

The chapel, complete with a stone barrel vault.

A view in the hallway from one leg of the cross to the other with the centre double helix stair to the left.

A view from the roof showing the canal that brings water to the motes of the chateau.  Apparently, one of the Kings had the grand idea of bringing the entire Loire River to the Chateau, a diversion of only a few kilometres.  He was so positive this would happen that he had a special stair constructed from his chambers to the mote.

The ornate roof structure, above and below.

A view of the rear of the chateau overlooking the lawns bounded by the canal.  In previous times the lawn would actually have been well structured and formal gardens.  Too expensive for the current landlord - the Republic of France.

Repairs and renovations have been extensive and started as long ago and the 1700s.  The roof design is very complex and was impossible to keep water-tight until recent years.  The stone used on the exterior wall is very soft and deteriorates with exposure to weather.  The stone was chosen for its colour and finished smoothness.  Form wins over function.

From the Loire valley we moved on to the small city Chartes about an hour west of Paris.  This city of 40,000 is home to one of the great cathedrals of Europe - but I don't know why.  Apparently it had money, the key ingredient in cathedral building.  Indulgences from both the Pope and the King allowed a bishop's dreams to come true - build a cathedral.  This is a big one.

Except for the alter area, the lights were mostly off within.  The stained glass is apparently second to none.

Not the greatest picture from a quality perspective because, as Cathy said, "the place is darker than a tomb".  I had to boost the light levels on the computer to allow anything to be seen in front of the alter.  As you can see from above, tall walls, tall windows and a fully ribbed stone arch ceiling.  Very nice even though it was quite dark.

Ted Moore will get a smile from this.  This is the unmistakable trial markings for a pilgrimage.  Cathy found it in the asphalt sidewalk leading to the Cathedral.  Ted and I saw similar trail markings on our walk in Spain in the fall of 2011.  Ultreya Ted!!

Tonight we are in Paris, near the airport in a typical commuter hotel.  But, what a drive to get here.  It took several hours in bumper to bumper traffic to complete the last 30k to the hotel.  Tomorrow we may drive to another royal chateau.

Tours - Wednesday October 30th - Day 12

Well, yes, we did do another winery, or chateau as they like to call themselves.  It was a little side trip on our way out of Bordeaux.  The region we chose was Saint-Emilion, a very famous sub-region of the Bordeaux wine region.  We registered at Chateau du Ferrand the night before by email.  But our first stop was the town of Stain-Emilion for a quick tour of the town.  We had 20 minutes and then had to be on the road for a 10 minute drive to the nearby Chateau tour at 11:30.  Cathy and I were both impressed with the beauty of Saint-Emilion.  It is quite a small town, but it's all about wine.  And it appears to have done very well for itself over the years, perhaps centuries.  Here are a few photos of our brief walking tour - note the fog in the first and fourth images.

We arrived at the chateau on a beautiful cool, sunny morning.  Our tour guide spoke quite reasonable english.  We shared the tour with a young Australian couple.  The wine was quite nice and reflected a greater use of the Merlot variety in their blended wines.  The great part of this tasting was that we were able to taste the difference between a young wine that was good for drinking early, and an aged wine that was good for drinking only after a number of years of cellaring.  The older wine had less colour density and a more subtle taste.  It was a good experience.  The outdoor images below show the gapes surrounding the chateau.

Then the long drive north to Tours, about 3 hours on the super highway.

Yes, this is were we stayed the night.  Wow, what a hotel.  This was definitely the highlight of the trip as far as accommodation.  Superb.  We had one the best dinners we can remember having.  Absolutely outstanding - with of coarse a local wine.  

The forth photo down is a cottage with 2 rooms that can be rented.  The place was originally a chateau. It was converted to a hotel in the 1950s.  Many famous people have stayed here, including Catherine Hepburn.

Tomorrow, we are off to Paris, with stops at a royal chateau and a church.