France Day 5: Our Surprise, Watery Adventure

When I last left you, I was whining about being sick. But that was just the beginning of the day's adventure! After writing that post late in the morning, I decided to lay down for a bit. I had an unusually bad headache for just a silly cold. Besides, it looked like it might rain, so we weren't going anywhere too soon.

Just as I laid down, it started to rain. Then, I realized the rain sounded really close, as if we're raining inside my room.

I rolled over and...it was raining in my room! Water was pouring in from a crack in the ceiling.

I leapt out of bed and called for help. We put some pot/bowls and towels down, pushed the beds to the other side of the room, and moved all my stuff.

It was amazing how quickly the bowl filled. We had to empty it twice in less than an hour.

Meanwhile, the courtyard steps were now a waterfall and the gully in the back was a raging river.

After all of that, the storm stopped just as quickly as it started and left us with a beautiful day. It was pretty amazing.

I'm having trouble with my Wordpress app and have lost the rest of this post about four times, so I'm just going to end it here for now while there's still something left. Sorry! I'll keep updating as best I can.

France Days 3 and 4: Versailles and Villefranche-sur-Mer

We arrived in Villefranche-sue-Mer yesterday, so I'm going to do a bit of a catch-up post. I'm currently laying in bed, swinging wildly between freezing and sweating profusely. My throat hurts and my nose is stuffy and my head hurts. I blame the head-sneezer for getting me sick on the plane.

Head-sneezer, if you are out there, shame on you. Reform your unhygienic ways and become an elbow-sneezer. Please.

If you can't already tell by the ridiculous whining, I hate colds. Anything that clogs my nose turns me into a baby. Strep throat? Ain't no thing. Tiny cold? Nooooooo!

I've staked my claim on the cold medicine and there's a bottle of champagne in the fridge that I could always turn to.

If I end up writing about running around topless on the beach babbling and sneezing on everyone's heads, you'll know I turned to the champagne.

So that's enough of that. Back to Day 3: Versailles

I don't have tons to write about for Versailles.

I originally was going to go alone with the rough draft of my Vignette Guide to test it out. I wanted to see what works, what doesn't, and what could be added or changed. I also wanted to take some more pictures.

It ended up being one of the days that they turn on the fountains so my parents decided to come along.

They ended up being my guinea pigs for the guide, which was great.

For the curious, the guide is a tour of the main chateau (for now, I'd love to do the Trianons and Hamlet eventually).

Each room has a set of facts describing what you're seeing and then a short vignette, an interesting story, that either took place in or relates to that room to go along with it. My goal is to make the place come alive through fun, weird, dramatic, forgotten and/or fascinating true stories that happened there.

It's meant to be as laid back or as comprehensive as you want it to be, so each set of facts and each vignette stands alone. I basically made something that people with curiosity and short attention spans, like me, would probably like.

My parents got the whole shebang and enjoyed it (even though they might be a tad biased).

I'm also feeling extra inspired to finish it and finally release it into the wild.

I had my hands full, quite literally, so I only have a few pictures to share.

We were lucky for a couple of reasons.

Joana Vasconcelos had an exhibit throughout Versailles of pieces that were meant to co-opt, coexist, and fit within the palace. There were some pretty amazing things, like huge, shining high heeled shoes made from pots in the Hall of Mirrors and a helicopter fitted with hot-pink feathers. Her work will be there until September 30th.

We were also lucky, as I mentioned before, to see the fountains on in the gardens. They only have them on for a few hours on special days. You certainly pay for it (€25 instead of the usual €16 for the pass with the most access), but I felt like it was worth it.

Music played as we walked through and it was a very welcome respite from the crowds inside the main chateau.

We were all really tired when we got back to Paris and stumbled onto a nearby restaurant for dinner called La Luge. It was full, people looked happy, and there was fondue and raclette. We figured that you can't really go too wrong when everything is covered in cheese.

We all ended up having a dish made from layers of crepes and various fillings that were baked in small cake-type pans with cheese on top. Mine had mushrooms, lardons, bechamel, and gruyere. My parents had one with potatoes, onion, lardons, and raclette cheese (a raw milk cheese that tastes like heaven when melted and is usually served with meats, potatoes, and tiny pickles and onions. I will have to do a whole post about it later.)

It was all pretty tasty and very, very filling but I was more interested in sleep (ok, and trying to get the crunchy baked cheese part off of my dish. It's the best part.)

Day 4: Paris to the Riviera

We got up early, ate at the hotel, and took a taxi to Orly.

I have to say, I really liked Orly. It was easy to navigate and had some good time-wasters--plenty of foodie stuff like Nespresso, Laduree, and Mariage Freres tea.

Also, I'm just going to say now that the renovations they've done to the washrooms at Charles de Gaulle and Orly are awesome. Going to the bathroom is like chillin at some swank modern club now. It's the best possible welcome after nearly peeing yourself waiting to get off a long-haul flight.

Admit it. Everyone likes a good bathroom.

Where was I?

Oh. So we flew into Nice and checked into our rental in Villefranche-sur-Mer, a quaint yet somewhat-bustling town next to Nice.

For now I'll just share some photos. I have almost two weeks here to regale you with stories about this place and our day trips.

So far I've learned that it is fun to explore the old, hilly walkways and that the main street along the water is gorgeous and incredible for people-watching. The people...wow. So many characters.

I have a feeling that there is so much for me to discover.

Yeah. That's a helicopter on a yacht in Nice.

Exploring Villefranche:

France Day 2: Montmartre in the Rain

The first part of our second day was spent moving to another hotel. We had to change hotels because we booked the trip late and couldn't get a nice place with a room for three nights. We are now in the 5th, very close to the Sorbonne, at Hotel Albe. Our room has an incredible view and although it is not nearly as quiet as the last one, it is beautiful, clean, and bright. It's also extremely close to the metro/RER and general good sightseeing.

After checking in--which we were surprised we could do so early--we decided to go to Montmartre.

It was a close call between that and Chateau de Chantilly and Chateau Malmaison, both of which were outside Paris. Ultimately, we decided to go to Montmartre because it was easy to get to even though I was worried it would be a tourist trap.

We took the metro to the Abessess stop, where our adventure began.

I followed the exit signs in the subway to a narrow winding stairway with walls covered in bright murals that were covered in graffiti. It led up and up and up and up and...you get it.

I was ahead of everyone, listening to the grumps and groans of the herd below. Knowing how much further they had to go, I enjoyed a perverse, slightly evil giggle.

Meanwhile, my dad was telling everyone that there was an elevator at the bottom they all should have taken.

Once everyone reached the top and recovered from their cardiac near-event, we hit the streets.

It started to rain a bit, so we stopped at the busiest cafe, Le Progres, at a fork in the road to wait it out. My parents both had vegetable tempura risotto that everyone drooled over. I had a salad. It was good, but not a picture-perfect risotto.

After a slow lunch and a nice chat with a couple from Minnesota, we went back out. The rain, unfortunately, picked up. So we slowly made our way over to Sacre Coeur.

I climbed the stairs and my parents took the funicular. Apparently they could have used our extra metro passes. . .but I had them. . .so they ended up paying again. Whoops!

Sacre Coeur was beautiful but I was expecting something more grand inside, I think. The exterior was far more stunning to me and the view over the grey, rain-soaked city was a treat.

There was also a service going on inside so I felt like we were all intruding as we walked silently around a roped-off track around the outside. At the same time, it was also interesting to see and the hymns sounded beautiful in French.

It was still raining when we left, so we just embraced the weather and went wandering.

We stumbled on a street full of fabric stores that lined both sides. One, Moline, had a few large storefronts and the most tempting color combinations, patterns, and textures.

My mom and I were both inspired. Even my dad thought it was amazing.

I took a couple of stealthy photos, made some mind-notes, and we rolled out.

Back at the hotel, we asked the woman at the front desk where she would send friends or family to eat nearby. She gave us a couple of options and we chose Chez Fernand on Rue Christine.

We got a reservation and when we arrived, the place was packed. Packed with English-speakers. Often a bad sign. Some English is totally expected and ok, but on a Friday evening? I hoped it would be more mixed.

The wines we wanted were all apparently out of stock so the manager came over and recommended something else. It was more expensive but he promised it would be full bodied and good-drinking. Honestly, it was disappointing.

I had bone marrow to start and boeuf bourginon for my main. The marrow was good and the bourginon was fine but not legendary like the promised. It's my favorite dish and my dad honestly makes it better.

Ultimately, it was a meal that didn't really deliver, especially considering the cost. And it felt a bit like an upscale tourist trap.

Don't get me wrong, everyone was nice but it just had that feeling. And just to be clear, I have no problem being a tourist or eating with other tourists--meeting other travelers is one of the best parts of travel for me. We even met great people that might. But it felt like this place had been created so hotels could shuttle us there for "authentic" cuisine.

I guess that's what you get in the Latin Quarter more often than not, though.

Now for some pictures!