Amsterdam

I was on my last full week in Paris and I had to decide how to spend my last weekend. My choices were endless but had narrowed it down to two cities: Berlin and Amsterdam. The decision was based on a soccer game. The Netherlands won and they were in the World Cup final. 10 minutes after the game ended, I had bought a plane ticket, booked a hostel and was brushing up on my Dutch!

After a major speed bump with the airline company (they didn't book my ticket so on friday afternoon I didn't have a way to get there, they gave me 15 euro off my next flight, and i found a train for 20 euro cheaper so it all worked out).

Amsterdam was one of the most beautiful cities I have visited in the world. It was also the hardest to find my way around. I got lost more in two days than I have in two months in Paris. Every street looks the same, the canals are all the same, the houses look the same and there are not many major monuments etc to tell where you are. Although it seemed like I always found my way back to the Red Light District (my hostel was right in the heart so I had to).

Saturday I walked around for a couple of hours, went to the Heineken Experience. It was the original brewery and they have a tour and a tasting room. I then went on a pub crawl! It was my first ever organized pub crawl. I met some really cool guys and we had a blast. A free drink at every bar and the organizers carried bottles of vodka and gave it out very generously.

Sunday I woke up early to go on a bike tour. In Amsterdam, there are 2 bikes for every person! The government gets about 10 000 bikes out of the canals every year. The tour lasted 2.5 hours and we saw the entire city.

I met up with one the guys from the pub crawl the night (Matt) before and we set off to Mueseumpleine to watch the World Cup Final (Netherlands vs. Spain). Museuempleine is a giant park with a lot of museums surrounding it (Van Gogh etc.). Matt and I had both bought orange shirts so we could get drowned in the sea of orange! They estimated over 100,000 people were in the park, and over 350,000 had come to the city to watch the game. It was like the Olympics all over again but more intense!

Unfortunately the Netherlands lost 1-0 so the city was disappointed and not really up for a big party. Matt and I made our way back to our respective hostels (he was staying at the Marriott!). No partying for me Saturday.

I woke up Monday morning, had a big breakfast and trained back to Paris. A short stop in Brussels and a few hours of travel later and that was it, weekend over!

There were so many things to see in Amsterdam, museums, shops, restaurants, windmills, people, prostitutes etc. Of all the cities I have visited Amsterdam has the most culture and one of the most interesting. I already want to go back! It was nice to be able to speak English again, I was shocked at the fact that almost everyone spoke perfect English!

I didn't really know what to expect out of the city and I had hesitations about going but it definitely met all expectations. I was worried about my hostel being in the Red Light District but it was very safe and not at all what I expected. My first red light experience was during the day when the "less appealing" sights of the city are tapping on their windows. This worried me... I later found out that it is expensive to rent out the rooms so the not attractive prostitutes can't afford prime time rates at night so they use them during the day.

I only have two more days in Paris, today I have to stay with the kids all day, and tomorrow I am meeting a friend Tamara for Bastille Day in Paris. Very sad to be leaving this amazing city and I will miss it. Although I do miss Vancouver and all my friends and family!

I am going to try and write another post when I am home as a debrief, or possibly in the airport...

"The Manny"

Mind the Gap

I figured it was time to find my roots and introduce myself to her majesty. Last weekend I made the trek through 20 minutes are darkness, usually referred to as the "Chunnel". Spending a weekend in London was one of the most fulfilling experiences to date!

After two hours by train I arrived at St Pancras/King's Cross Station. It was a short trip on the tube before I reached my hostel, right next to London Bridge. I didn't realize it was London Bridge. I think I expected "Tower Bridge" to be London Bridge. London Bridge is just a cement bridge with nothing special. The one next to it, Tower Bridge is actually amazing and has is what I imagined!

Walking along the Thames past Shakespear's Globe theatre, The Tate Modern Museum, The London Eye and ending at the Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben! This was probably the best bang for your buck as far as walking goes.

There is so many famous things in London it was very difficult to try and see them all! I met my friend Nancy and her boyfriend in Leicester Square for lunch, I ended up being 35 minutes late because I got lost and couldn't find the restuarant. (It had moved and changed to a gay bar, that proved to be interesting when I started asking for directions!)

I then met up with a guy I had met in Barcelona, he was in London on his way back to Ireland so we walked around for a couple hours. I then had to leave to go and watch the Musical I had bought a ticket for.

Les Miserables was fantastic. It was my first "real" musical, and what a better place and show to see than Les Mis at the Queen's theatre in London. It did cost me 60 Pounds, ($100 Canadian) but it was totally worth it! And Nick Jonas played Marius.

I finished the night with a beer from the hostel bar and proceeded to bed as I had been up since 6 that morning.

Sunday morning started early because I wanted to see the changing of the guards. A sight worth seeing especially because the first song the band struck up was the YMCA, I expected God Save the Queen from the royal band infront of buckingham palace but apparently they prefer the Village People!

I met up with Nancy again for lunch, this time was Fish and Chips. had to get my fill of cliche british things!

Walks through Hyde Park, Trafalager Square, Piccadely Circus, The British Museum and then on the London Tower to visit the Crown jewels.

After all of that extremely touristy stuff it was time to find out what London was all about. I met two 20 somethings from Washington DC. They were staying at the same room in the hostel and they invited me to dinner. We went to St George's Pub for traditional sunday roast. Roast beef, baked potato, vegtables and yorkshire pudding. Topped off with a beer and all was good.

That night I met a guy from Burnaby at the hostel. What a small world. It never fails to amaze me the fact that I meet people accros the world from the same city!

Another very plain breakfast from the hostel in the morning and I was back to Frog land in Paris! London blew me away, I really enjoyed my weekend and would consider spending a lot more time in England!

Next weekend... Amsterdam.

"The Manny"

Barcelona

For the sake of brevity, I will neglect to talk about the trips there and back; neither of which were entertaining or eventful. I boarded, slept and got off the plane.

Barcelona was amazing. It is a beautiful city, I visited it once before in grade 9, we were there two days and did a lot of the major sites. Saturday was not too busy. Went to our hostel, checked in, then went for a walk with Chris' sister. Chris and Jenna stayed behind to nap. With only a couple days I couldn't waste valuable time sleeping!

We walked along the boardwalk and along the beach. What a beautiful city. We then went out for dinner and I was not overly impressed. Overall the food wasn't amazing, Sunday lunch was good but it was a meat plate. Pork, beef, glorified hot dog, an egg, and fries. It was good but too much protein.

Sunday we did an open air bus tour of the city. You could get on and off whenever you wanted. We basically did the entire route and saw all the major venues in Barcelona. Walking down La Rambla was amazing. It is one of the most lively streets I have ever been on. So many street vendors, entertainers, artists etc.

After lunch Sunday we were walking back to the bus and I decided I was going to buy some cheap sun glasses. I am kinda picky with shades, I am not an aviator guy, I don't like really sporty somewhere in the middle. I found a pair at the last guy on the row. These guys have a blanket with the glasses on them and pick up and move if business isn't good. I was bartering with him, he wanted 20 euros, I said 10. Things were going in my favor when he started to pack up real quick and so I threw the glasses down. He then said 10 is great so I picked them up and he started to walk the other way. I tried to follow him for a 20 seconds when I realized why he was "running". The police where coming, and I can only imagine they get into a lot of trouble if they are caught selling things on the street. By this time, I had followed this guy for a while trying to get money to pay him but at that point he was 5 steps ahead of me and the police officer on his motorcycle was right beside me. The officer realized what was going on, said something?? and waved in the opposite direction. I still had the glasses in my hand and he was "telling" me to go.

So I did, I got the sun glasses that I wanted and I paid the right price, NONE!
This was a great laugh for Chris, Jenna and Kelsy (Chris' sister). They thought it was hilarious I followed the guy and try to pay him. Not to mention it was questionable the fact that I was "caught" by the cops and he told me to go the other way.

Sunday night we stayed at the hostel again. It was much more lively this time around and there was a group of people going to a Karaoke bar, it was a blast. The hostel is a chain in Barcelona and so all of the chains go to this place so there was a lot of english speakers there. We elected not to go to the club around 2 am because I had to get a bus back to the airport around 930 and I didn't want to be late. I would have loved to stay out until the sun rises as this is a very common occurrence but I haven't had the time or dedication.

Met some awesome people at the hostel: some brothers from Washington DC, guy from Toronto and an Irish guy. The Irish guy is also in London this weekend so we may meet up and have a beer.

I was told today that Etienne is going on a "trip" for a week starting Saturday so it will be just Antoine and I. My job couldn't get any easier!

Off to London Saturday morning via train. Staying in a notorious party hostel next to Tower Bridge.

Au Revoir for now. Pictures will come soon.

"The Manny"

Chris and Jenna in Paris

It all started with a phone call last weekend. Chris Grimes-Goard was calling from the Canadian embassy in Barcelona. He had his passport stolen and needed references, I happily obliged and got a call later from the embassy. I understood the terrible situation, especially because it was 2 am in Vancouver and everyone was asleep except for me being 9 hours ahead. Chris and Jenna Vaughn are backpacking around Spain and Morocco. The leg to Morocco was canceled and they decided to visit Paris instead.

They stayed in a crumby hotel for two nights and then were going to stay with me for two nights. We had a great time going around Paris for five days. Some early mornings for me to trek into town, do touristy stuff and then rush back to "work". They then booked their return overnight train back to Barcelona as Chris' sister was meeting them there. They offered for me to tag along so I took them up on the offer immediately.

They left for the train Friday night and I was going to fly out Saturday morning because I couldn't leave the kids alone Friday afternoon. I went in for a shower after dinner and Mika yells upstairs and says my friends are back. This worried me... Their confirmation number didn't work, and the company wouldn't give them tickets. They had arrived very early for the train, went into the office to get tickets and they said no. They booked through "RENFE" the Spanish train company, and they don't share information with the French company SNCF so they didn't exist according to France so they returned to my house after hours of travel to and from the train station and arguing with the people. They haven't gotten a refund/return/credit yet but are going to try in Barcelona soon.

Plan B was to try and get the same flight as me in the morning. They were listed as 250 Euros! Ouch. I only paid 110 Euros for the same flight 4 days earlier. They didn't want to book and go Saturday morning and try and buy the tickets the day of. So we woke up at 5:45 in the morning to get the airport early to buy tickets for them or at least get on a standby list. Roadblock number 2 for them, the airline doesn't sell tickets for flights the day of. Crap!

We found a computer with internet, went on the website of the airline, booked tickets for them on the same flight as me for the 250 Euros and went back to the desk and they took the confirmation number. How stupid is that!

Oh yeah, i forgot to mention the fact that Chris' credit card was stolen, Jenna's was maxed out so the only person that had a card was me! I also don't have a big limit so I tried my parents card. That didn't work because it had been locked because I had booked my flight on it and visa thought it had been stolen. With time ticking down on the internet we payed for, I put a bunch of money on my credit card, then tried to charge the flight, and it worked! Apparently the bank of Ryan came through and allowed them to leave the country!

We all made it to Barcelona! Another three days of my visiting with Jenna and Chris in foreign countries, the Barcelona post is to come.

These two have faced some of the worst traveling problems I have ever heard of, although they will make great stories some day once they can laugh at them.

"The Manny"

Father's Day

I know it is nearing the end of Father's Day in Vancouver but I didn't think it was too late to say that I miss my dad.

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at home to give him a big hug and put a bow on a new garden hose, a shovel, some plants, a card and probably some socks. None of which are overly inspiring gifts but yet my dad loves them every year.

So this one is for you Dad!

Happy Fathers Day.

"The Manny"

Sundays

One of the biggest challenges I think I have faced so far is having only 5 days that are available to do things. It is extremely common in Paris for almost everything to be closed on Sundays and often Mondays.

Sundays I can sort of understand. Everyone needs a break and a lot of people would be working 7 days a week if it wasn't for sundays. I would also attribute this to the large religious contingent in Europe. Churches are impossible to miss and you would be very hard pressed to walk for more than 10 minutes and not come across some sort of religious building.

This "day of rest" brings havoc to the traveler. For a person who is not use to taking a full day off, or the worst case scenario, for someone who only has a few days in a city and one happens to be Sunday; they are in trouble. I was very hard pressed to find something interesting to do today.

I have seen a lot of museums, seen a lot of art, wandered a lot of neighbourhoods and streets.
Today, I set out for a park, and an art exhibit called "Le reve americain." for you anglophones, that is "THE AMERICAN DREAM". All the pieces were done by an american artist Duane Hanson. They were life size humans created out of bronze, plaster, etc and painted and designed to depict real life working class individuals.

Unfortunately you weren't able to take pictures because the art was so realistic(click here to see pictures i found online), I felt like I was in the USA because it was scary how true to the stereotypes the art was. It is meant to be realist art but this freaked me out. Some of them I thought were real people when I was looking through the window.

Not much else to say, the park was very interesting. It was called La Villette, their specialty is an open air movie showing most nights, the museum of music and kids play area. Some very interesting sculptures and pathways, more of an amusement park than a lets have a pic nik but it was interesting nonetheless.

"The Manny"

The Catacombs

I have never been more grossed out and fascinated in my life.

Me and 6 million dead bodies all underground at the same time was a lot to handle. The skulls, leg bones and arm bones were all stacked on top of each other, in perfect lines and often in designs.
I can't explain how strange and eerie it was. But totally worthwhile. It took 40 minutes to walk through all the tunnels, there is only one way in and one way out so that adds to the creepiness.
I then had some free time because it was my day off so I decided to find the building that Jacqueline described to me. Her instructions were: you can see the eiffel tower, it has weird ceilings inside and it looks like there are sticks as a fence but they are not sticks. She showed me a picture of the ceilings and the view of the eiffel tower from the building. After about 30 minutes I realized what it was... The Musee de quai Branly... The African/Asian/Indian Art museum. A very interesting building but nothing that interests me on the inside so I just took pictures of the outside.

And that was my day off!

Ryan "The Manny"

Normandy Day 2

This was my second and last day in Caen. I didn't clarify earlier, Caen is sort of the base to all of the D-day beaches and history. There isn't much there but it was a strong point during WW2 and was very important!

I neglected to mention William the Conquerors castle in my first post. It was cool, not much there!

Day 2 Summary: walk, Beaches tour,walk, D-Day memorial museum,walk, dinner,walk, return home.

I got a sampling of the free continental breakfast before I had to leave for my tour which started at 9. I was told there are no buses that run that early on a sunday so I set off by foot. I got about 80% of the way there and got lost, only to be saved by a guy heading there, but for a different reason. There was a marathon that morning that was finishing right outside the memorial; we walked the rest of the way together. He was very impressed by my french, he only spoke french!

The beaches tour was breathtaking. We went to Omaha, and Utah beaches, the American cemetery and Pont du Hoc. The guide was bilingual which was great for me but I told him to do the entire thing in french because I was the only english speaking person and if I didn't understand the French I would just ask him to translate that little part!

Omaha and Utah are way different than Juno. Not nearly as long and more built up. The roads and town is much closer to the water but there are more artifacts and bunkers left from the war. I really wish my dad could have been there so we could have talked about all the war movies we have seen and compared them. It was truly something to be amazed at. There were houses still standing from the bombs and big fields of grass where you can only imagine how many people died fighting on those fields.

Pointe Du Hoc was really interesting. This was a major battle for the Americans. It was a couple cannons and artillery set on top of a cliff. The americans had to climb the cliff to take the guns and take a strongpoint of the Germans. This was located between Omaha and Utah beach, a very strategic point for the Germans. The entire point is full of craters from bombings and bombardments. As it turns out the gun positions were fake and the entire mission was for nothing except to be able to flank the Germans on other beaches.

View of Pont Du Hoc, American's had to climb that cliff!




The entire tour took about 5 hours and they returned us to the memorial. This was so much war to handle in one day. I could have spent double the amount of time at the museum but it had gotten to be too much. I was still there for about 3 hours but it was so intense. The museum covered everything from pre-war europe to post-war treaties, cold war and other major wars. They had two amazing films that I watched and really wished I could have a copy of.
--> piece of Berlin Wall.

I then went out to the bus stop to see if I could catch one back into Caen, but because of the marathon they weren't running that day. So another walk back into town. It only took me 20 minutes compared to 40 before because it is down hill going back!

I had a couple hours before my train ride back so I did some more wandering, found a nice cafe, had my usual ham and cheese baguette and sat out on the street. I then went to the chateau of William the Conqueror and sat on the grass hill outside and people watched and read my book for half an hour.

Made the trek back to the train station, boarded and was homeward bound. 2 hours later, arrive in Paris, 1 hour later arrive in St. Leu and my bed! Another 19 hour day.

What an amazing weekend. So much history, so many people being killed and loosing their lives in a few small towns and beaches. And 66 years and 6 days later, Ryan "The Manny" is visiting.

I haven't planned my next weekend trip but it will either be London or Barcelona; probably Barcelona next weekend because it is Etienne's 12th birthday and he is having 11 kids over for a co-ed sleepover and Marie wants my help...yikes! I suppose I should actually have some sort of a challenge in my job eh!

Ryan "The Manny"

Normandy Day 1

This will be a two part post. The weekend was so busy I figured it would be better broken up.

For a brief synopsis of day 1: travel to Caen, wander, Juno Beach, William the Conquerors castle, Dinner, drinks, hotel.

I woke up at some ungodly hour in the pouring rain. This was not a good start to the day; I was forced to carry an umbrella and jacket. Both of those items were in my bag never to be touched for the rest of the trip once on the train. I left my house at 630, got the train to Caen from Paris at 7:45ish and got into Caen around 10. The train was very pleasant, comfy seats and I didn't have a person next to me for most of the trip.

Once arriving in Caen, I really had no plan. I saw a sign for the tourist office. That seemed like a good place to start. The signs started right from the train station so I figured it couldn't be far...I couldn't have been more wrong. 25 minutes later I arrive at a small room they all a tourist office. The two ladies at the desk were less than approachable and ended up providing me with very poor directions.

I figured out I would go to Juno beach ^, the Canadian D-Day landing beach. They told me which bus to take. The "3". They told me to go behind the church to catch it and even gave me a time table. I was very grateful, realised I had 10 minutes to catch the next bus so I made my way over to the bus stop behind the church where the 3 line was. Well, 15 minutes passes, no 3. I finally ask a random bus driver and show him the table I have. He tells me that is a special bus and can be caught further down the street. 30 minutes of wandering and I come to the stop. There is an office there, I inquire into the bus and if I am at the right place. I am, but the ticket I bought for the city bus is not valid so I had to buy another one. I wasn't too disappointed because I figured I had two full days to use it.

The next bus wasn't for an hour and a half so I went for lunch and wandered around the city a little, arriving plenty early at the bus ensuring I catch it. The bus ride to Juno was uneventful except for the beautiful countryside and ocean views!

I get to the Juno beach museum, take the guided tour of the beach and surrounding area and then spend an hour in the museum itself. I have never been more proud to be a Canadian than when I was in that town. There were so many Canadian flags, symbols and street names (Quebec Street, Nova Scotia Street). The museum wasn't much but again totally worth it. The beaches are as expected long, sandy and beautiful. The only thing I didn't expect were the amount of people. I suppose after 66 years you have to live your life but I didn't expect people playing on the beach.

I am walking down the streets of the little city and see this guy, I swore he was Shane Koyczan. I stopped in my tracks to see if it was really him, I couldn't tell so I had to ask. It turns out it wasn't him, the guy appreciated the story. He ended up being a really cool guy from Texas, him and his wife were in France on a vacation.

More wandering and back to the bus stop, I didn't want to miss the bus back to Caen or I would be stuck. Guess who should be there but my new acquaintances Andrew and Wendy from Texas (Shane Koyczan and wife). We chatted the entire bus ride home and had a great time. We ended up going to dinner together to an awesome little restaurant in Caen and then out for a drink after. This was really the first time I had met people on my trip and it was such a nice change to not eat alone! Their company was much appreciated and enjoyed (I gave them the link to the blog and told them they would get a good mention). We went to a really "trendy" bar in Caen and had a "special" drink. As far as I remember it was beer, wine, cider, some sort of blackberry liqueur and some other ingredient. It was kind of pungent but good! This is my Shane look alike in the picture with wife Wendy (aka A&W)

I then went to the hotel. I had checked in earlier before drinks so I didn't have to go through a hassle. The room was nothing special, a bed, a small tv, a small bathroom and a window. Couldn't really expect or want more from a 1 star hotel but it worked for one night for one person.

By this point it is 1 am and I had been up for 19 hours. It was time to sleep!

The Moose: The better Canadian Bar in Paris

As promised, I found the other Canadian bar in Paris. This did not receive any strikes against it! Although it doesn't open till 4 pm during the week.

I went to the Musee D'Orsey in the afternoon, walked through the Luxembourgh Gardens and then it was time to eat. It then took me about an hour to find the place, and then it was not open yet. So I went and had lunch somewhere else, The Indiana Cafe, only because Dani is from there!

I had to wonder around a bit because I didn't want to be the guy who comes right at opening and has one beer and leaves.

Finally got there, sat down, and ordered a Moosehead Lager, brewed in Canada! They were playing the NBA finals and a baseball game. This made me feel at home. I was enjoying this place more already. A guy sits next to me at the bar. He happened to be from LA, not as exciting except he was a Lakers fan so we watched the game together.

Found out that the bar tender was from North Vancouver... what a small world. My bar mate ended up buying me a drink because they had a minimum on visas and he didn't want another beer so I was forced to have one more.

Another two hours and some chicken wings later I figured I had stayed my welcome. All in all a very ejoyable place. Even for someone alone at a bar. There was a couple that came in that lived on Broadway and Main in Vancouver! Everyone was really friendly, and willing to chat. They weren't that busy so the bartender and I talked about Vancouver. She is going to law school at UBC in the fall, yet another small world.

I was then ridiculed for not knowing the movie The Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie: Strange Brew. This was a 1983 movie staring Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis. They went as far as calling me a bad Canadian for not having seen this movie. Upon my return home I promptly downloaded and watched it. I feel much more Canadian now!

The Moose is ten fold better that "The Great Canadian Bar". They also serve a beer called the Canadian Strange Brew, pretty basic lager but it was good!

Stay tuned for Normandy on the Weekend.

I will eventually get around to writing about my job; it is going well by the way!

"The Manny"

Eiffle Tower by Night

I won't say much but wow.
An old friend, a bottle of wine, a couple thousand people and one of the most majestic monuments in the world; all leading to an amazing experience.

Versaille

I think this post will be short and sweet. Saturday I went to Versaille for the day.

Versaille use to be the capital of France until the revolution, or a war, or someone's doing something they weren't suppose to or they were beheaded, I can't exactly remember. There were some Louis, 14-16 of them. Some of them lived there, most were kings, most had wives. No one ever said "let them eat cake" and there were some mirrors.

Versaille was amazing. The amount of gold was astronomical. Every piece of wood was gold leafed or painted with gold paint (don't now exactly how they do it). I took an hour and a half tour of the King's chambers. This was a private tour with 20 other people. The public isn't allowed in those rooms so it was nice not to be crowded by hundreds of other people.

Most of the rooms don't have furniture because during the French Revolution France was very poor and needed money so they sold paintings and furniture. Versaille recently acquired chest from Christie's auction house. It was listed for 10 million Euro. The owner of Christie's decided to buy it and give it to Versaille, of course he only paid half price. After the tour I did the normal walk through. There aren't that many rooms available to look at. The main attraction being the great Hall of Mirrors.

I really can't say much about the actual palace. It was amazing but I think my expectations were a little too high so it didn't ah me as much as I thought it would. The gardens however were amazing. There are two sections to the gardens, the free part and the not free part. Unless you want to walk all the way around, you have to pay to get through the free part right behind the palace. They have music playing and have the fountains going in the afternoon which was amazing.

Marie Antoinette's estate was nice, much more humble than her husbands. It was evident it was just for her though. Much smaller rooms, less gold, and felt like you could actually live there.

4 hours of wandering and I felt like I had seen most of the palace, gardens and adjacent estates. Very spectacular.


"The Manny"

The Eiffel Tower

Wednesday was Eiffel Tower day, I had the day off work and thought what better way to spend the day than climb a big tower.

I arrived a little before 11, waited in line for a good hour. Met a really nice Irish guy, Sam, who was behind me in line, we ended up walking up together and had a good time. We were reminded of how small a world this is, just after we passed the first floor, a couple was going the other way, he said they were in the airport in Finland (where he lives) on his trip to Paris 3 days earlier.

The stairs seemed like a good idea on the ground, after two floors it didn't seem as good. The view was amazing. It was a little hazy/foggy but that cleared by the time I got to the very top.

As per usual fashion, you had to pay more to get to the very top so I dolled out and got into the elevator to the very top. There is no stairs option for the last 1/3.

I had lunch on the second level after going to the top, a little expensive just for a sandwich but it was worth it.

Climbing the stairs down wasn't bad and it was now sunny and hot! So what better way to spend the next half hour than just sit on the lawn and stare at the Eiffel Tower. This was one of those times that I thought, Holy shit, I a in Paris and staring at the Eiffel Tower!

Very conveniently, behind me were about 30 asian couples all getting their wedding pictures taken. I had seen single couples here and there around the city getting their picture taken but never that many all in one place.

There is more good Eiffel Tower gazing to come...

"The Manny"

Roland Garros

Saturday is officially the longest I have ever spent watching tennis.

I got lucky and got tickets to Roland Garros, the French Open. Unless I wanted to pay over 40 euros, or around $65, I was "banished" to the annex courts. This may seem worse than it is, there are three main courts, those are the ones that you watch on TV. However, there are a total of 11 courts that have play on them and a total of 18 courts on the grounds.

I planned my day ahead of time so I could have an idea of who I wanted to see and where I would have to go. That plan changed the second I walked through the gates, realized that they oversell the annex and sometimes you have to wait to go into the stands to watch the annexes. The first match of the day was a mixed doubles. I planned my day so I could see a mixed doubles, mens singles, womens singles, mens doubles and womens doubles. That would be a lot of tennis in one day but I thought I could manage.

So after the 20 minute line just to get in the gates I found my way to court 6. There I watched my mixed doubles. The people and who won is sort of irrelevant throughout the day. I did not watch anyone of importance and I would put money that none of the people I watched will even come close to winning. However, the French team won the mixed doubles.

Next was the men's singles. This was the last set in a match they couldn't finish the night before. It was really exciting, the power and speed those guys have is unreal.

Then came the women's doubles. There was a czech team against a czech and a CANADIAN. This was a major draw for me, there were maybe 50 people in the stands compared to 200 during the previous mens match. Needless to say, the Canadian lost, she didn't play that well and was nothing exciting. If you want to look her up her name is Aleksandra Wozniak.

I then decided I would go and watch a men's singles match and then the match of the day for me, Venus and Serena Williams in doubles action against a Slovack and a Dane. I got into line to get into the stadium. There are two main annex courts (court 2 and court 3). They are the biggest of the annex and probably hold a couple hundred people each. I got into line at the start of the men's match and was told it may be 3 hours till we get in. I didn't believe this so I waited. and waited, and waited.

We got briefed periodically on the score, the good guy was winning, not that there is a good guy for me. People kept on leaving the line, we kept moving up, people left the stadium, we moved up.

A small aside. In line, I managed to find myself sandwiched between an middle age couple from Sausilito California (just outside San Francisco), two british guys and two girls from Texas. This allowed me to practice my english (the entire reason I am here). We discussed politics, education, tennis, line ups, line ups, line ups, how rude the french are, how good looking the news reporter was, how tall Lindsey Davenport is and line ups.
------> That is Lindsey Davenport
FAST FORWARD 3 HOURS

We got to the front of the line, the mens matched just ended and we see some people start to leave, this is good news for us! However than a lot of people start to leave, like 75! we are now worried why they are leaving.

VENUS AND SERENA DROPPED OUT OF THE DOUBLES CONTEST. Those were not words that crossed our mind during the three hours in line. We got this confirmed by three different sources, exchanged grimaces, a small American bashing (me and the brits) and moved on.

I managed to see two mixed doubles, a mens doubles and a womens singles match in the time that I would have been watching the Williams. I went back to court 2, where I spent three hours outside. I got in without a line this time and watched the last match of the day, the womens singles. It was an exiting match between an Aussie and a Russian, the aussie won.

All in all, I had a great time, 30 euro t-shirt, 3 hour line and a little rain aside. I had an awesome time!

The Great Canadian Pub

I set out today for one purpose only, to find "The Great Canadian Pub". I figured seeing as it is right in the center of Paris why not wonder around and see some sights before hand.

I thought I should find the pub, and then do wandering so I would have a "home base". It was not hard to find, it is right on the banks of the Seine in between two main bridges onto L'ile de Cite; the birthplace of Paris.

I proceeded to walk around the island in the middle of the Seine and its neighbouring island for the better part of three hours. I had a snack in the garden outside of Notre Dame Cathedral.

Then, around 4:30 I thought I should hit up the pub as it was happy hour! It is not normal for a one person to go into a restaurant and eat, let alone a pub. Normally I would have felt out of place but the team Canada Jersey, mountie, Canadian flag and the Molson Canadian made me feel rather reassured.

I was greeted by a French girl. Strike one. She did speak english but with a thick French accent.

Unfortunately due to the time difference the only sports on was the French Open. Federer was playing so that was good but it was soon interrupted due to rain. Strike Two.

They did not have any Canadian so i settled for the Great Canadian Lager. It was delightful.

Then, to add to my Canadianness, I ordered a poutine. I did not expect cheese curds but what I got could barely pass for poutine. It had a little bit of shredded cheese, salty gravy and burnt fries. STRIKE THREE.

All in all not a great trip but I would not hesitate to go back just because it is a Canadian bar in Paris. There is suppose to be another one in Paris so I think I will find that before I go back.

The things I do on my days off...

The "Manny"

The Louvre Part 2

I made it back for round two. So far the scorecard read Ryan 0-- Louvre 1. My attempt at mapless adventure had gotten the better of me. I ended up seeing the same things three times without seeing the stuff right next door that I actually wanted to see.

Day two started with a trip to the information desk for a map. I spent the better part of 20 minutes studying and realizing what I had seen; but more so on what I hadn't seen. Just to put it into perspective for those who have never been there: there are 4 floors and three wings. All but one of the wings have all four floors. In addition, the louvre was constructed over hundreds of years and so not all of the wings, floors, hallways match up; making for somewhat complicated navigation.

I had my plan and I was ready to start. I conquered the Asian and Middle East antiques, the decorative art including Napolean's Apartments, and then onto the French Paintings. I thought I would end the day with the Mona Lisa and the Medieval Louvre and the history of the louvre.

All things considered I enjoyed the Louvre. Some things were disapointing (the english paintings) others blew my mind (large form French Paintings). The mona lisa was not smaller than I expected (one of its biggest criticisms) although the wall that it is mounted on looks like it would stop a tank from going through it!

I left the special exhibit for another day. I had had enough museum and art for a weekend.

11 Hours later, I had seen every room in the Louvre. Those at which are open to the public at least. I made a point of setting foot into every room. Be it 10 seconds to realize I wasn't interested, or 10 minutes to absorb great works of art.

The got what I expected out of the louvre from the Large Scale french paintings. The halls were packed with hundreds of people. I never saw a guided tour in the ancient iranian pottery exhibit, but about 20 infront of Eugène Delacroix's, La liberté guidant le peuple. This was one of my favorite pieces.

This coming Saturday I bought a ticket to Roland Garros (French Open). My ticket is for the 10 outdoor courts, not in one of the three main stadiums. The stadium tickets are expensive and sold out, or at least for the ones i can afford.

I ended the day with a serenading from a 12 pieced string band playing in the courtyard just outside the Louvre.

Tomorrow I am going to walk around Les Invalides. If anything of note is there I will blog, otherwise I imagine the French Open will be a point of note.

The "Manny"

The Louvre Part 1

This weekend is devoted to one of, if not the, premier art galleries in the world. A destination for millions of visitors, Parisians and art lovers. I don't really fit into any of those categories, I suppose visitor but two months is an extended visit.

Seeing as I am here for two months I figured might as well get a year pass. General admission for me would be 9.5 Euros for one day or 15 Euros for an entire year. Hmmm, what should I do... A no brainer to me. It just took
half an hour in the admin office to get my card printed with my picture and fill out a form.

I wouldn't say I have been to a lot of museums in my life, nor am I a artsy person but I thoroughly enjoyed the Louvre. I was there from 12-5 today and I figured I saw about 2/3 of the entire museum. I will go back Sunday and finish seeing the exhibits, after all I have a year pass.

A brief assessment of my viewings so far are as follows. The French really like big paintings. The french artists did the biggest paintings of anyone. I enjoyed the early french work from Louis XIX era and the 17/18 century. The Dutch painters all use similar colors and they are too dreary; lots of deep browns, blues greens and blacks. I found the Russian portraits good but very repetitive.

The Italians definitely take the prize for sculptures. The greeks had some okay stuff but it was all about the gods. A close third were the Egyptians in my mind; at least of the collection at the Louvre.

I decided to pass on the Mona Lisa today. I don't know why but I never had the inclination to venture down that hallway. I know there will always be crowds but I enjoyed being alone in some rooms and being able to go at my own pace. I also had a really hard time with what to take pictures of. Who am I to decide what is picture worthy or not, realistically everything in that museum is picture worthy but that just ain't going to happen. I ended up snapping things I found interesting, intriguing and innovative. I also wish I had counted how many paintings of Jesus on a Cross there are in the Louvre. I realize the crucifixion is an important event in millions of peoples beliefs but apparently some artists were lacking inspiration in the last 400 years.

I am going to refrain from posting my pictures from today on Facebook, I figure they aren't really that "cool" and it is just art, maybe a few notables.

This is a picture of Ruben's Room.
He did all the paintings in it! So huge.
One of my favorite rooms in the entire Louvre so far. I spent about 20 minutes in there I think.












Tomorrow...The Mona Lisa

champs d'elysee

I have officially finished my first week of "work". I realize now that work is a very relative term. It consists of me being here at 4 when the kids get back from school, I grab them a package of cookies for their "gouter" (snack) and sit with them as they do their homework. I am lucky that grade 4/5 work isn't hard because trying to do it in French would be difficult otherwise. I do not have any complaints yet. There is another au pair that lives in Saint Leu (where I am), I met her this week so we might get together once in a while.

On Friday I got up early, at 7 am, to talk to my parents on skype so I decided to capitalize on the day. I was going to wander around Paris. I got off the metro at Les Halles, which is a giant shopping center. I have never been so confused in my life. It is worse than metrotown, West Edmonton Mall and any other horribly convoluted mall I can imagine. I had to ask someone just how to get to the street that is how lost I was. After 20 minutes of walking around I finally came across the Louvre.

The Champs D'Elysee is a huge road that runs from the Louvre to the Arc de Triumphe. So what better way to see Paris than to do that. Needless to say after 2 hours of walking in the hot sun i felt like I had seen Paris, or at least a portion. I passed so many designer shops I didn't know what to do with myself. I wanted to buy a shirt, because I always need more. But I soon realised I can't afford anything on champs d'elysee. Louis Vuitton, Versace, Dior, Dolce Gabbana, Benetton, Armani etc. I settled on a baguette sandwich between those shops and ate under the arc de triomphe.

I then strolled back down the other side after navigating a massive, what appeared to be about 10 lane round about, I made way for the Eiffel Tower. Might as well hit the big three in one day. En route I came across the Canadian Embassy. It was a pleasant surprise and made me feel happy and at home. I went into the door but the security guards and metal detectors were not that inviting. I didn't make it to the Eiffel Tower because I had to head back to start "work".

So 3km later I was a little tanned, tired and touristed out.

Tomorrow... The Louvre.

Me and Lisa

This was taken from Sacre Coeur with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Weekend in Paris

Wow... what a week it has been. After battling jet lag with 13 hours of sleep the first night I finally got my feet under me both with the time difference and the French. I got a hold of a good friend in Paris, Lisa Danielson. Lisa and I lived in the same building at UBC in first year and have been friends ever since. She has been going to school at Science Po in Paris for the last year so I couldn't have asked for a better guide around the city. One of her best friends from Vancouver, Sophia and her Sister Britta were also in Paris for a couple of days staying with Lisa so we had a little expedition to tour around Paris for the weekend.

I started the weekend with a couple of hours at the pool with the kids (the Aquaboulevard http://www.aquaboulevard.fr/aquaboulevard.html#/homePage ) . It is apparently the largest pool in France. Even as a 20 year old "kid at heart" I found it pretty sweet! I also found out as the security guard checked our bags that you are not allowed to have swim trunks like you normally would in North America. I was then ushered upstairs to the swim shop where I bought a very nice pair of "jammers" they are just like spandex shorts but a little shorter than I would normally wear. Fortunately there were no pictures of this event!

That afternoon I hoped on the train, alone, for the first time on my trip. I got into the neighbourhood where Lisa lives without any problems. We went to the grocery store and got some fresh veggies, meat and 1 Euro beers and a bottle of the cheapest white wine! I lucked out because it was May 15 which is a free night at museums, most are open till 12 or 1 so we planned where we wanted to go and set out after dinner. The History of Paris museum was very interesting. But the really interesting thing was the amount of Parisians at the museum. It was free for all and I think the locals like to take advantage of that.

The next day we walked up to Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Basillica, one of the best views of Paris! Then to the Gay/Jewish district of Paris for falafels. I was hesitant because to me, friend chick pea balls, cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes, humus and hot sauce in a pita does not sound good; it was good, it was great! We then made our way to the Modern Art museum (Centre Pompidou, built by former president George Pompidou). Much like a lot of modern art it was "interesting"

One of lisa's friends called and said she wanted to meet for a beer so we grabbed some chocolate and banana crepes, cold beers from the corner store, and found a spot along the seine beside Notre Dame and enjoyed the Parisian sun.

After all those escapades I traveled back to Saint Leu and dinner was ready!

Tomorrow I officially have my first day of work. I have to make dinner for the boys (the mom said they will eat pasta every night of the week). I am sure I will have an update after that one.

Bonne Nuit

Ryan "The Manny"

1st Day with the Family

After 15 hours of travel, I arrived in Paris. I touched down in Chicago 5 minutes after my connecting flight to Paris was suppose to start boarding. I rush off the plane and to the next concourse (O'hare is a massive airport), to see that the flight is delayed by an hour and a half.

Now that my stress levels are down, I take my mom's advise and find something that chicago is known for. Not their wind, baseball stadiums or deep dish pizzas. A HOT DOG!

Jump ahead 12 hours, the customs agent didn't even say hello, stamped my passport and continued on my way. The car ride to Saint Leu la foret, the village where the family is was a little awkward. It was a brutal test of my french skills. The family is often reluctant to speak english but i believe they can. I got a tour of their house, went to the supermarket, took the boys to soccer and archery and then had dinner.

All things considered it was a great day and will hopefully be the start of a good summer as an au pair!

My second day started with 13 hours of sleep!

Ryan

YVR

Due to my obsessive compulsive need to be early for everything, i arrived at the airport at 8 am this morning, My flight doesn't leave till 11:18. I figured it would be really bad if I was late for my plane because of customs/security/line-ups. That was clearly not the case. There were no line-ups at anything so I now have about three hours to sit and people watch in YVR.

You realize it is a small world when you are sitting at your gate at the end of the terminal and you see two people you know, on the same flight to Dallas. Who knew that Greg McKenzie and Katie Ward would be on the same flight at 830 in the morning to Dallas on the same day I fly to Paris?

My last comment of the day is on birds that live inside of buildings. You don't see it very often but when you do it is always kinda strange. Sometimes in Costco, stadiums and apparently airports you will find a few "inside" birds. I really wonder what they eat, do they get a chance to fly outside? That is my question of the day, Do birds that live indoors ever fly outside or do they live their entire life in YVR?

Pre-Departure for "Mannying"

I got accepted by a family on Wednesday the 5th and I am leaving on the 11th of May. I am going to be an au pair. I will also refer to this as a Manny. My job is basically look after the two boys once they get back from school, play games with them, cook a few meals and help with their homework.

I have never spent this much time away from my friends or family so this could be an interesting experience. I have also never written a blog and I doubt many people will read it but I think it will be a good opportunity for me to keep in contact and so I can share my experiences with others.

I am going to have mornings till 4:30 off as well as most Wednesdays and Weekends. I intend to spend a lot of time wandering and looking around Saint Leu La Foret, Paris, surrounding countries and continents. I have no official plans but I think I may go to Nice, Barcelona, London, Brussels and possibly somewhere in Scandanavia. Any suggestions are always welcome.

Until next time

Ryan