Tour Eiffel

Of course we did the good tourist thing and went up the Eiffel Tower. As soon as we got any where near the tower these West African guys would approach us trying to sell us a tower trinket on a key chain for 1 Euro. They were very persistent even when we said "No!" and kept walking. The whole time we were lined up to get tickets (yes, even in November there was a queue), we saw at least a dozen of these guys approaching people walking by or people in the line up. Interestingly, after we came down from the tower, they were nowhere in sight but I rather think that had something to do with the soldier with the automatic rifle. (These guys are vendors without licenses and/or illegal immigrants, so vanish when the authorities come. They are also pesky and bothersome!)

In addition to the hawkers of trinkets, there were women who were dressed in gypsy skirts moving through the crowds asking "English? Do you speak in English?" They were easier to ignore but apparently they claim they are Bosnian refugees and need money. Also working the fringe of the crowd were other African men who approach you with some coloured string which they weave together into a bracelet and tie around your wrist (all the while spinning a tale about happiness)--then ask for 5 Euros! They are pretty pushy too.

The view from the tower was magnificent (when we at long last got through the queue for security checks, the queue to buy tickets, the queue for admission and the queue for the elevator--I'd hate to be here in July!). It was a clear day and we had a 360 degree view of Paris. In this photo you can see the shadow of the tour itself. It was well worth the wait just to see the views.

The Louvre

The Louvre gallery is large and was surprisingly busy given that late November isn't exactly tourist season. The collection of Italian paintings is amazing but the Mona Lisa was a little disappointing. Apparently the canvas is much smaller than it once was because of all the times it has been cut out of the frame and stolen. Now the Mona Lisa is encased in bullet proof glass and you have to stay behind a railing about 10 feet away. The postcards in the gift shop give a better view.

On the wall directly opposite the Mona Lisa is a fantastic huge painting of The Wedding at Cana by Paolo Caliari, painted in the mid 16th century.

The painting is over 22 feet in height and almost 33 feet in width. It is incredibly detailed and full of action. I had not heard of the artist or the painting but I enjoyed looking at it very much. You can just see Madeleine in a pink scarf beside the bottom right hand corner of the picture. This gives you the idea of how massive it is.

Adventure on the Metro

Our first morning in Paris we decided to go to the Louvre. We walked to the Metro station, negotiated the process of buying tickets from the attendant (complete with Gallic shrug!) and headed up the escalator to the track. There was a train waiting, so we hopped aboard. Graham then announced "My shoe! I lost my shoe!" We looked around us (we were still in the doorway), then got off the train and looked on the platform. No shoe anywhere. Uncertain of what to do next, we got back on the train. An English-speaking woman told us if we dropped something on the platform we should tell the attendant, who would get it for us. We travelled for two stops, while discussing what to do. We decided to go back to our original station and look over the edge to see if the shoe was on the track. No shoe anywhere!

What do you do in Paris with a child who has only one shoe? How do you find a shoe store in a foreign city (with a child in tow who has only a sock on one foot)? We remembered seeing a pharmacy next to the Metro which had a sign in the window "English spoken." So, we went in there and asked the pharmacy assistant where we could find a shoe store nearby. She directed us to an area about 10 minutes away on foot. So we took off down the street, with Graham walking in one sock and one shoe. I thought about crying. After all, you could walk for quite some time in Guelph without coming across a store selling children's shoes. And also, it is one thing to look for shoes when you are already wearing some, quite another when someone is wearing only a sock on one foot!

After several blocks, the first store we came upon which sold shoes happened to be a children's shoe store. So in we went, and Graham was fitted with a lovely 70 Euro ($112) pair of new shoes. (For the rest of our trip, some of us felt we also ought to have nice new shoes for 70 Euros too!)

Then, we returned to our starting point, got on the Metro (Graham with both shoes this time) and negotiated the transfer to the Louvre.

Paris

Paris is very beautiful, as I expected, but also full of surprises.

From previous travels in Europe, I know one has to be very attentive in train stations, as pickpockets and their ilk like to relieve you of your wallet and/or suitcases. Evidently this is such a big problem in Gare du Nord that soldiers with automatic rifles patrol the place. We must have seen a couple dozen on the short walk from train to taxi queue. It was a bit unnerving!

The weather was glorious: sunny and warm (low teens) the two days we were there. The buildings are beautiful, the traffic is horrendous, the drivers (especially those on the many motorbikes) are crazy and you can feel the energy of the city.

We stayed in a very modern suite in an apartment-hotel about 15 minutes on foot west of the Eiffel Tower. From one window, we could see the Eiffel Tower. This photo shows the view.

Just a few blocks further southwest of the apartment was a shopping area catering to the many residents in the apartments of the neighbourhood. (We actually saw parents and children who were not tourists!)

People were surprisingly friendly. On the couple of occasions when we stopped to consult our map, each time a friendly Parisian approached us and asked if he could help us find something. The first time this happened, the man was terribly excited to discover we are Canadians as his son (living in Paris) married a Canadian girl. He spoke only a smattering of English, matching our smattering of French but we managed some basic communication.

Brussels

I was a little apprehensive about travelling to Brussels through the Chunnel. (I never liked the Deas Tunnel in Richmond BC either.) However, to go by train (Eurostar) is fast. The trip from London to Brussels was only about 2 1/2 hours. The actual tunnel part is rather uneventful; it just gets dark for a while and then you come up and see the French countryside. You can tell it's France because the cars are on the right side of the road, although one of the first large signs I saw on a building was in English.

Before leaving London, we went through customs, which was low-key. We merely presented our passports, which the bored attendant scanned then stamped (no questions). On the return trip, the UK customs required us to fill in landing cards (one each), just as we had done when we first arrived from Canada. The attendant asked us a few questions (the exact date we are leaving the UK in January; what we were doing there etc.) before scanning and stamping our passports.

We went to Brussels only because Ross was presenting at a conference for EU types. We were put up in a lovely 2 bedroom apartment in the EU quarter (outside the main downtown core). Belgium is officially bilingual: French and Dutch. All signs are in both language and occasionally in English. However, everyone greeted us in French.

Brussels appears to be very expensive! A tour of some shopping areas was quite interesting. 500 Euros (about $795) for men's shoes in one store. Needless to say, we didn't buy anything. We spent 11 Euros ($17) on 2 cappuccinos and 2 pastries instead!

Pews or Chairs?

Here's an interesting tidbit: pews were added to churches only during the Reformation. Before that the nave was wide open and folks stood for worship. Most of the churches and Cathedrals we have visited have chairs rather than pews. Likewise, our parish church, St. Peter and St. Paul, has chairs. At first I found it distracting as I am used to churches with pews. But I have begun to think there are advantages. In our parish, the chairs are in nice straight rows (like on bus) for the morning service, but in a semi-circle for the informal evening service. For the parish fete in September, tables were set up all around the outside of the nave with things for sale and in the middle were small tables for chatting over a cup of tea. For the Harvest thanksgiving supper, the chairs were moved around big tables, turning the nave into a banquet hall. How lovely it was to have a supper in that gorgeous space rather than in a dingy church hall! Chairs make it possible to use the nave in many ways. It's cheaper too, as a separate hall is not needed.

Dome of St. Paul's Cathedral

http://www.copyright-free-pictures.org.uk/london-england/34-st-pauls-cathedral.htm

St. Paul's Cathedral (London)

I expected St Paul's Cathedral in London to be beautiful but even so I was awed by the magnificent interior. Unlike many other Cathedrals and churches in the UK, the current building is post-reformation in design; it was begun in 1675 and completed in 1710. (The previous building was destroyed in the Great Fire of London.) There has been a Cathedral on this site since 604 AD. The architect of the current building is none other than the famous Christopher Wren, who was a scientist (interested in astronomy) as well as a Christian. (He is buried in the crypt along with lots of other famous people.)

Inside the great west doors (9 metres high) is the font. It is huge: the size of a toddler's wading pool! The font is on a dias with two steps up. I can't imagine just how many flagons of water it would take to fill the thing!

The Cathedral is filled with light; the colour scheme is mostly white/grey and gold. The ceiling is very high. Over the transept is Wren's famous dome, standing at 385.5 feet above the Cathedral floor. When inside the building, you are actually looking at a second dome inside the outer dome. The dome is decorated with paintings of scenes of the life of St Paul, made by Sir James Thornhill. These are designed to look as if they were in fact stone work.

It is possible to get a closer look at the dome by climbing 257 steps up to the Whispering Gallery, which is 99 feet above the Cathedral floor. This gallery circles the base of the dome. From the gallery, you can look down into the middle of the transept to see the altar and the pulpit as well as a little way down each of arms of the transept and into the nave and quire. It is called the Whispering Gallery because it is such a perfect circle that what is whispered near one wall can be heard perfectly across the dome 32 meters away! The day I visited, an orchestral was rehearsing immediately below in the transept and the sound up in the gallery was amazing.

The Cathedral is amazing and well-worth a long visit exploring everything. Sadly, the admission charge is rather steep at 11 Pounds. And if you want to know anything about what you are looking at, you need to rent the audio guide for another 4 Pounds. After all that they don't even let you take photos! Nevertheless, there is the ubiquitous gift shop (in the crypt). There is also a cafe and restaurant in the crypt too!

Remembrance Day in Buckingham

On Sunday we celebrated Remembrance Day at church. There was a 45 minute service in the church attended by parishioners. Then we all trooped outside to the Cenotaph (adjacent to the church), where the Legion members, Mayor and other dignitaries, members of the Scout troops and reserve units and other such folks were gathered. The Remembrance observances were lead by our priest and included the reading of Scripture, the singing of hymns, prayers, the reading of the roll, the laying of wreathes and of course, God Save the Queen. I was pleasantly surprised that this was a Christian service, respectfully done of course (with a special intercession for those who grieve without our hope in the resurrection).
On November 11th, there was another smaller gathering at the Cenotaph with what looked like veterans and spouses; this was also presided over by the priest in the parish. In the town things were much as usual--as the stores open. However, the 2 minutes of silence were observed in the local Tesco Express (a mini grocery store on the High Street).

Torre Abbey

Torre Abbey is close to the seaside in Torquay. The monastery founded in 1196 is mostly in ruins. The Premonstratensian order was dissolved during the Reformation and the Cary family took over the main building in 1662 and turned it into a family home, where they lived for 300 years. It is now a museum with period furniture and art.

There is a huge painting by Holman Hunt, called The Children's Holiday, which is absolutely fabulous. The detail of light and texture in the clothes, silver tea service and faces is amazing.

Torquay, Devon or Victoria BC?

We were walking through a park in Torquay and we passed by some lawn bowling greens. On the club house hung this sign: Victoria, BC. Curiously, nowhere did it say Torquay, Devon. We were mystified to say the least!

Torquay, Devon

Torquay is this rather quaint Victorian seaside resort town in Devon on the bay of Torbay. The beach is sandy and beautiful.

As you drive down to the seaside, the streets are lined with guest houses and hotels. I can imagine this place is packed in the summer with tourists swarming everywhere. While once this was a glamorous spot for upper class Victorians, it now has a very tacky-tourist feel. The hotel used for Faulty Towers is found in Torquay.

You can just make out the palm trees in this photo. The Torbay area is known as the "English Riviera." We visited on a grey November day, with threatening clouds in the sky, so the place was rather deserted. It didn't feel much like I imagine the Riviera does, but the beach and bay were certainly beautiful.

Exeter Cathedral

Exeter Cathedral is very grand and beautiful. It costs 5 Pounds for an adult to enter but children are free. Wonderfully, they allow you to take as many photos as you like. I only wish my photos did justice to the the Cathedral Church of St. Peter. Construction began on this site in 1112 and parts of the original survive. The rest of the building dates from the 13th and 14th centuries.

It has the longest continuous medieval vaulted ceiling in the world. There are round stones called 'bosses', which lock the vaults in place. They are carved with flowers, plants, animals and even coats of arms. The ceiling is very impressive!

The Bishop's Throne is massive: 59 ft tall! It was made in 1312 & 1316 without any metal nails or screws; instead it is held together with wooden pegs. The Bishop's Throne and other Cathedral treasures were removed during WWII and stored elsewhere. The Cathedral was bombed in 1942 and one chapel destroyed. It was subsequently rebuilt as a memorial to fallen soldiers.

A very friendly guide, on learning that we are from Canada, pointed out the memorial to Simcoe, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada in 1790s. His memorial plaque is maintained by the Ontario Heritage Foundation, a little-known fact, I'm sure.