I must admit that I have a fabulous husband. It was two weeks before my birthday. We had just finished dinner when Mark laid out an evelope on the table that read "Happy Birthday!" I could tell that it was not a card - instead it was a TGV train ticket to Paris!
We headed to Europe's romantic city the Friday afternoon before my birthday. I highly recommend the TGV to anyone travelling from Paris to southern France - we had a gorgeous view of the French countryside, plus the train only takes 3 hours without the hassle of going to, and waiting, in an airport.
We arrived at our hotel, located right down the street from the train station (a big thanks to my brother for helping with the room upgrade!), and immediately started our sighteeing. Our first stop was Notre Dame, and Mark was pretty amazed with the sight of it. That and the fact that on every corner is another phenomenal building to look at. Suddenly we realized that although the sun had barely begun to set, it was already 10:00 pm! So we began to look for the restaurant recommended by our friend from Paris. When we reached the address, we found a restaurant with a different name, which I'm sure was still good, but the ambiance wasn't quite right - the outdoor tables were facing a large construction site across the street. Instead, we found a cute little place near a fountain square. Eventhough I live in France, there's something about being in Paris that just makes you feel like you're truly in France. Because of that feeling, I had to order Duck a l'Orange. Naturally, it was fantastic. Poor Mark, who was super excited about the large 300-gram steak that he ordered, was given Duck a l'Orange also. When they finally brought out his steak, it wasn't the big entrecote that he ordered. At least he still enjoyed it. At the end of the meal, I was surprised/excited when the waiter told me that I spoke French very well (it's always nice to hear that from a real French person). Too bad it wasn't good enough to tell the waiter they charged us for the larger steak when Mark received the smaller one. Oh well. It's France.
Saturday was our crunch day. We headed back to Notre Dame, hoping to go inside, only to discover the longest line I'd ever seen. So we took a ton of pictures and then headed to the Louvre - and boy did we encounter a few interesting things along the way:
1. There is a small banister-like wall next to the sidewalk that runs along the Seine. One side of the wall is the sidewalk, the other has a bit of a drop to the small street below. There was a guy sleeping on the "wall" in a full suite. However, when several police officers came up to him, Mark and I realized that he was not asleep... he was passed out! At 11 am! The officers could not get him to wake up, even with several good shakes. Instead, three of them were able to lift the guy up and put him on the sidewalk. If he had tried to roll over, that guy would have fallen straight to his death. As Mark and I continued to walk, we looked back and saw the guy finally sitting up, albeit his head was hanging over and he did not look, well, concious.
2. Upon reaching the Louvre, we went in through the side entrance and were greeted by two men with clipboards. Mark stopped when the first one reached him while I tried to continue walking past the second guy. The guy started telling me to sign his petition to help free Zimbabwe, so I figured, sure, I'll just sign it and move on. Then he tried to tell me that I needed to donate 10 euros for signing. That's when I realized it was probably not legit. When I said no and tried to walk away, he said it was 10 euros to get into the Louvre courtyard... that I would not fall for. Sadly, I was too late to save Mark and he gave his guy the 10 euros. Hopefully he's learned his lesson.
Eventually, we made it to the Louvre courtyard, and I was absolutely delighted to see Mark's jaw drop once again. The Louvre was a wonderful site for me to see again, of course. If you haven't been, the museum is quite impressive in size. I heard that if you stood in front of every piece of artwork inside the Louvre for 10 seconds each, it would take you 4 days to see all of them. Following our walk through the courtyard, admiring the grandeur of such a place, we strolled through the gardens and on to La Musée de l’Armé. At the time, the Army Museum was hosting a 50th Anniversary celebration/graduation, and so we got to see all kinds of people dressed in somewhat traditional French military uniform. Since we were in such a crunch for the day, we weren't able to go inside and see Napoleon's tomb - but of course I got a nice picture of the outside.
Next came my favorite part of the trip... La Tour Eiffel. I caught a few glimpses of it from afar while we were walking across the Seine at Pont Neuf, but it wasn't until Mark and I finally reached the Eiffel Tower that I knew I was in one of my favorite places in the world. And at that moment, the morning clouds cleared and the sun came out! Naturally, we took photos upon photos: pics of the tower, pics of us and the tower, abstract pics of the tower, and even pics from underneath the tower. I brushed off Mark's silly comments, calling it the "Awful" Tower, only because I was in such bliss.
Our lunch that afternoon was in a small cafe a few blocks from the Champs Elysees and Arc de Triumphe. I think it was my favorite meal of the trip, eventhough it was just a salad with warm goat cheese (my favorite!). The waiter was extremely friendly - a rarity in Paris - and recommended some fabulous rose wine. The sad thing is that I forgot the name... =( Maybe I'll just have to go back to that restaurant again just to find out.
The afternoon was filled with a walk down the Champs Elysees and a visit to Sacre Coeur. There was a huge crowd of people near the basilica, including some guy wearing nothing but a bright green sash that pretty much just covered his you-know-what. Mark and I also tried out the very interesting public restrooms that clean themselves after each use! Luckily there wasn't a huge line to get into Sacre Coeur, and we were able to see the beautiful interior of the church as well. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but Mark just might have snuck in one...
One thing that we saw pretty much everywhere in Paris was the gypsies. Gypsies, gypsies, gypsies. Basically, these consisted of men selling souvenir trinkets of the Eiffel Tower and other little toys throughout every square inch of every tourist area. Plus, women walking up to everyone with their clipboards, making a signature motion with their hand - luckily we had already learned that lesson.
After our long day of sightseeing, Mark and I headed back to the hotel for a nap before venturing back out that evening. The train station brought on another talking point for our trip. We heard some huge commotion as we were exiting the station. I thought it was someone famous walking through, Mark realized it was actually a bunch of cops surrounding a guy causing trouble of some sort. While keeping our distance, we tried to see what was happening. Mark tried taking a picture and got the camera slapped down by a cop. When he tried taking another photo, a group of about 10 cops came sprinting in towards this guys, and one of the cops smacked Mark's hand down, hitting me on top of the head, and continued running toward the guy making trouble. I still don't know what actually happened, but it was quite the scene!
Saturday night was La Nuit des Musées. All of the museums in Paris were open until late in the evening with free entry! I had never been to Musée d'Orsay, so we took a quick trip there. I know Mark is not a fan of art... not at all... so we didn't spend too much time inside. I was more interested in the building itself, the beautiful main corridor, and taking a look at a few of the paintings from some of the most famous artists. I saw pieces from Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet and Renoir. Afterwards, we wanted to visit the Architecture Museum or the Army Museum, but then we realized that it was already 10:30 pm! Once again, we would have a late dinner. This time I took the advice of my sister. She had a client raving about this restaurant in Paris called "Aux Trois Petites Cochons", meaning The Three Little Pigs. I figured we'd give it a try (especially since I forgot the name of the place my brother recommended... oops). Mark and I walked quite a ways to reach the 2nd arrondissement, all the while he kept saying, "This place better be good." When we reached the restaurant we were lucky to get a table since it was so late. Mark's luck with restaurants continued when he ordered the lamb only to be told that they were all out. So instead he ordered chicken. Poor Mark. I had a fabulous piece of fish and was really enjoying the food, as usual. The night took a slight turn when Mark headed to the restroom and returned with a very interesting map that pointed out all of the gay spots in Paris. Hmmm... According to Mark, what was even more interesting (or disturbing for him) was the actual bathroom. Apparently it was decorated with pictures of naked men in a pool. Plus, among all of the little pig statues throughout the restaurant, Mark saw one that was two pigs having sex. Hmmm... maybe we were in the gay arrondissement? That would explain the reason why all of the tables around us were filled with all men. Jill was going to get a phone call on Monday for sure!
Sunday we had the exciting pleasure of meeting up with Mark's sister at Versailles! Marie was in town for a school sports event and had Sunday free. So the three of us got to spend the first half of the day standing in line to buy tickets and the second half of the day visiting the fabulous palace and gardens. Mark gave the afternoon a theme: Chandeliers and Fountains. That's the vast majority of what you see inside and outside the palace. The weather was a bit chilly, but we made it through and enjoyed touring the grounds, looking at everything with awe. We even saw a fountain that performed a water show... just like the Bellagio! (This is the reaction you get from three people who have previously lived in Las Vegas).
The weekend finished off with one last adventure. The subway train from Versailles to Paris got delayed right before our stop due to some security issue at our stop. Oh goodness. Mark and I were on the verge of missing our train back to Aix, and we still had to stop at our hotel to grab our bags. So once the subway finally got to our stop, we sprinted through the streets to our hotel, grabbed our bags and continued sprinting to the train station, desparately trying to figure out where to go for our train. We made it by two minutes.
Once again, Mark and I had a fabulous adventure, filled with lots of sightseeing, great food, and a few surprises along the way. J'aime Paris! (et mon mari)
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Adventure #6: Malta
Mark and I were trying to figure out where to go for Easter weekend. We had so many ideas: Rome? Greece? Paris? Barcelona? There are just so many choices! So when Mark looked at prices for flights out of Marseille on Easter weekend, we found a very interesting option... Malta. The flight was short and inexpensive. As a bonus for Mark, the Maltese speak English! We had never heard about the island before, so I had my mom send me info from the travel agency, and it seemed great - medieval towns, beautiful water and beaches, and of course - English.
The first adventure on our trip was our flight - our first time flying on RyanAir. Boarding was similar to Southwest Airlines, however not quite as organized. Once we were herded onto the plane, I was blinded by the bright yellow overhead compartments. While Mark and I tried to watch a movie during the flight, we were continually interrupted by various "advertisements" for food & drinks, souvenirs, and even lottery tickets! It was surely a new experience for us both.
It was about 11pm when we arrived at our little hotel. We decided to go out for a quick drink and found a few interesting little places: a pub called Muddy Waters playing American rock music, a pub owned by a Norwegian man with no teeth, and eventually a Karaoke bar. The last of the three was the biggest mistake because by that point I thought it would be a great idea to sing Karaoke. Not only sing Karaoke, but sing Baby Got Back. It was an awful mess. So awful that we left immediately after my fabulous performance. Luckily I will never see those people again, and I learned that Baby Got Back is for dancing only... not "singing".
Saturday was our day for the Hop On Hop Off Bus tour through the northern side of Malta. It was time to finally learn a little more about this new and impressive island. Here are a few details for those of you who are not familiar with Malta:
Malta has been inhabited since 5200 BC, originally by the African country of Carthage. Later came the arrival of the Phoenicians and the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabians, the Kingdom of Sicily, the Knights of St. John, the French and finally the British. In 1964 Malta became an independent state, and in 1979 the last of the British forces left the island, leaving Malta as a free nation which became a member of the European Union in 2004.
For more details, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Malta
What I enjoyed most about Malta was how many of the medieval towns still had the buildings from the times when the island was inhabited by the Knights of St. John, better known as the Knights of Malta. As hospitallers, one of their main tasks was to provide medical assistance, and even today the eight-pointed cross is still in wide use in ambulances and first aid organisations. The Knights Hospital is also one of the main attractions on the island.
Our first Hop Off was in the former capital, Medina. It was an adorable walled-in village located in the center of the island. Mark and I took some time to walk through and admire the beautiful buildings and churches, a great view of the entire island, and a visit to the stocks and pillaries. We rode past the Golden Bay, a beach that we would visit later in our trip, and hopped off in a town called Buggiba. We enjoyed a nice little lunch on the coast, surrounded by a bunch of British people sitting at the outdoor tables in the restaurant with no shirts on... I guess the Britts need to soak in as much sun as they can when they can.
Dinner on Saturday night was at a restaurant called Malata which had been recommended to us by a couple we know in Aix. They told us that it was a fabulous French restaurant in St. George's Square within the capital, Valletta. Mark and I figured it would be nice to treat ourselves to one really nice night out. When we arrived at the restaurant, we found it to be such a charming place, situated like a cave below the square. We enjoyed some wonderful Maltese wine while waiting for a table. Upon looking at the menu, my jaw dropped at the prices. We were both expecting to stretch a little on the evening, but this was beyond expectations. The prices in the fabulous restuarant were cheaper than most places in Aix! Chateau Briande was only 23 euros/person... and since that is what we were recommended to order, we did. I cannot even describe how fantastic that dinner was. The Chateau Briande just melted in my mouth, it was so delicious! We could not have asked for a better meal.
On Easter Sunday, Mark and I took a boat tour through the Grand Harbor around Sliema, Mancel Island, and Valletta. We saw many of the famous buildings created by the Knights of Malta (Fort St. Elmo, Fort St. Angelo, the Knights Hospital) and other interesting sights like The Black Pearl (Popeye's boat), a watch tower created by the French with eyes and ears engraved on the top (to remind people to keep their eyes and ears open at all times), and a yacht that costs 25,000 euros/person to rent for one week! Following the boat tour, we walked through the town of Valletta. Although most things were closed for the holiday, we were still able to enjoy lunch in one of the squares and visit St. Paul's Cathedral. Upon leaving the Cathedral, the gentlemen attending the collection plate looked at Mark and asked what his shirt meant (it was a Blackhawks shirt, of course). When Mark told him that it was a Native American, the man remarked that he thought it looked like George Bush... well... okay?
After another long day of sightseeing, Mark and I thought we'd try to relax and pay a visit to the hot tub at our hotel only to discover that the hot tub was not so hot. Instead, we enjoyed a giant caraffe of wine on our balcony. Since our dinner Saturday night wasn't as pricey as we thought it would be, we tried another really nice restaurant in Spinola Bay. Mark went all out and ordered a pizza, while I tried my hand at the fish of the day: sea bass. One great thing about living in Europe is that we've been eating a lot more fish. And with my acceptance of trying new food, eating a fish served whole seemed like a good next step (plus the additional glasses of wine always seem to help). When dinner was served, I kindly asked the waiter to explain to me how I was supposed to cut the fish. I thought I had done a pretty decent job for my first time eating an entire fish (I only got a few bones in my mouth), and I am so glad I gave the experience a try because the fish was, of course, delicious!
Dinner was followed by the random idea to visit the casino. Sure, we left Las Vegas to get away from casinos, but why not visit one in Malta? As it turns out, not such a bad idea. Mark won a few hundred euros playing Roulette! Our celebration brought us back to Muddy Waters where we continued to enjoy the evening with American rock music and a few drunk dial phone calls to our siblings (in France and in the States). Needless to say, it wasn't a typical Easter Sunday, but it is one we will never forget.
Monday was supposed to be our all-day boat tour through the Blue Lagoons. Sadly, the wind was too strong, making the waters too rough, and our boat tour was cancelled. Instead, we took the public transportation bus (which looks like a bus from the 70's) to Golden Bay for lunch and a relaxing afternoon at the beach. It ended up being the perfect way to wind down at the end of our trip.
Although Mark and I were both disappointed about the cancelled tour to the Blue Lagoon, it was still a wonderful trip. I'm delighted that we were able to learn about this island which contains such rich history.
The first adventure on our trip was our flight - our first time flying on RyanAir. Boarding was similar to Southwest Airlines, however not quite as organized. Once we were herded onto the plane, I was blinded by the bright yellow overhead compartments. While Mark and I tried to watch a movie during the flight, we were continually interrupted by various "advertisements" for food & drinks, souvenirs, and even lottery tickets! It was surely a new experience for us both.
It was about 11pm when we arrived at our little hotel. We decided to go out for a quick drink and found a few interesting little places: a pub called Muddy Waters playing American rock music, a pub owned by a Norwegian man with no teeth, and eventually a Karaoke bar. The last of the three was the biggest mistake because by that point I thought it would be a great idea to sing Karaoke. Not only sing Karaoke, but sing Baby Got Back. It was an awful mess. So awful that we left immediately after my fabulous performance. Luckily I will never see those people again, and I learned that Baby Got Back is for dancing only... not "singing".
Saturday was our day for the Hop On Hop Off Bus tour through the northern side of Malta. It was time to finally learn a little more about this new and impressive island. Here are a few details for those of you who are not familiar with Malta:
Malta has been inhabited since 5200 BC, originally by the African country of Carthage. Later came the arrival of the Phoenicians and the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabians, the Kingdom of Sicily, the Knights of St. John, the French and finally the British. In 1964 Malta became an independent state, and in 1979 the last of the British forces left the island, leaving Malta as a free nation which became a member of the European Union in 2004.
For more details, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Malta
What I enjoyed most about Malta was how many of the medieval towns still had the buildings from the times when the island was inhabited by the Knights of St. John, better known as the Knights of Malta. As hospitallers, one of their main tasks was to provide medical assistance, and even today the eight-pointed cross is still in wide use in ambulances and first aid organisations. The Knights Hospital is also one of the main attractions on the island.
Our first Hop Off was in the former capital, Medina. It was an adorable walled-in village located in the center of the island. Mark and I took some time to walk through and admire the beautiful buildings and churches, a great view of the entire island, and a visit to the stocks and pillaries. We rode past the Golden Bay, a beach that we would visit later in our trip, and hopped off in a town called Buggiba. We enjoyed a nice little lunch on the coast, surrounded by a bunch of British people sitting at the outdoor tables in the restaurant with no shirts on... I guess the Britts need to soak in as much sun as they can when they can.
Dinner on Saturday night was at a restaurant called Malata which had been recommended to us by a couple we know in Aix. They told us that it was a fabulous French restaurant in St. George's Square within the capital, Valletta. Mark and I figured it would be nice to treat ourselves to one really nice night out. When we arrived at the restaurant, we found it to be such a charming place, situated like a cave below the square. We enjoyed some wonderful Maltese wine while waiting for a table. Upon looking at the menu, my jaw dropped at the prices. We were both expecting to stretch a little on the evening, but this was beyond expectations. The prices in the fabulous restuarant were cheaper than most places in Aix! Chateau Briande was only 23 euros/person... and since that is what we were recommended to order, we did. I cannot even describe how fantastic that dinner was. The Chateau Briande just melted in my mouth, it was so delicious! We could not have asked for a better meal.
On Easter Sunday, Mark and I took a boat tour through the Grand Harbor around Sliema, Mancel Island, and Valletta. We saw many of the famous buildings created by the Knights of Malta (Fort St. Elmo, Fort St. Angelo, the Knights Hospital) and other interesting sights like The Black Pearl (Popeye's boat), a watch tower created by the French with eyes and ears engraved on the top (to remind people to keep their eyes and ears open at all times), and a yacht that costs 25,000 euros/person to rent for one week! Following the boat tour, we walked through the town of Valletta. Although most things were closed for the holiday, we were still able to enjoy lunch in one of the squares and visit St. Paul's Cathedral. Upon leaving the Cathedral, the gentlemen attending the collection plate looked at Mark and asked what his shirt meant (it was a Blackhawks shirt, of course). When Mark told him that it was a Native American, the man remarked that he thought it looked like George Bush... well... okay?
After another long day of sightseeing, Mark and I thought we'd try to relax and pay a visit to the hot tub at our hotel only to discover that the hot tub was not so hot. Instead, we enjoyed a giant caraffe of wine on our balcony. Since our dinner Saturday night wasn't as pricey as we thought it would be, we tried another really nice restaurant in Spinola Bay. Mark went all out and ordered a pizza, while I tried my hand at the fish of the day: sea bass. One great thing about living in Europe is that we've been eating a lot more fish. And with my acceptance of trying new food, eating a fish served whole seemed like a good next step (plus the additional glasses of wine always seem to help). When dinner was served, I kindly asked the waiter to explain to me how I was supposed to cut the fish. I thought I had done a pretty decent job for my first time eating an entire fish (I only got a few bones in my mouth), and I am so glad I gave the experience a try because the fish was, of course, delicious!
Dinner was followed by the random idea to visit the casino. Sure, we left Las Vegas to get away from casinos, but why not visit one in Malta? As it turns out, not such a bad idea. Mark won a few hundred euros playing Roulette! Our celebration brought us back to Muddy Waters where we continued to enjoy the evening with American rock music and a few drunk dial phone calls to our siblings (in France and in the States). Needless to say, it wasn't a typical Easter Sunday, but it is one we will never forget.
Monday was supposed to be our all-day boat tour through the Blue Lagoons. Sadly, the wind was too strong, making the waters too rough, and our boat tour was cancelled. Instead, we took the public transportation bus (which looks like a bus from the 70's) to Golden Bay for lunch and a relaxing afternoon at the beach. It ended up being the perfect way to wind down at the end of our trip.
Although Mark and I were both disappointed about the cancelled tour to the Blue Lagoon, it was still a wonderful trip. I'm delighted that we were able to learn about this island which contains such rich history.
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