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"