The streets of Chartres were quiet and quaint when we walked through one Sunday about a month ago. We borrowed a friend’s car and drove the hour or so out of France because we had heard about this beautiful village and it’s cathedral from others we’ve met here. It did not disappoint. We loved the old doorways and original architecture. Not much was open, but we did stumble across a big antique market in the square and spent some time there. I thought the idea of a free book exchange ‘booth’ in the middle of town was a great idea!!! Anyone can come and place a book in, or take one out for free. Such an innovative, environmental concept! They should be in every town!

Chartres is famous for it’s Cathedral. The Chartres Cathedral is a historic world monument (UNESCO Heritage site) that has been well preserved. There are tours with incredible stories about pilgrimages to this Cathedral and how the people that came centuries ago slept in the crypt underneath the church.  Perhaps they came because there is a piece of (so it is said) the veil Mary wore when giving birth to Jesus. It was brought to Chartres in 876 by an Emperor and is still there today.  It was one of the only things that survived a fire in 1194, which is claimed to be a miracle. We toured the crypt with a French tourguide and understood enough to enjoy it and be very impressed.  This was the site of Druid ceremonies before 1000AD, which were held around a well that was later discovered under the cathedral crypt. Martyrs were sacrificed in the well which is  34 meters deep!  The crypt floor is 24 meters above the Eure river, which means that the well foundation is at a lower level than the river. We saw the well and it was VERY deep and frightening to look into (and to imagine being tossed into!). If interested, there are pictures of the artwork and chapels in the crypt here. The feature picture of this blog is of a room in the crypt. It is the largest crypt in France with many legends surrounding it.

You can see in the picture of the Cathedral spires above, one which was rebuilt after some damage to it in the 1500’s in a lacy renaissance style. The other tower remains in it’s original Gothic style so they are each unique against the skyline. I took this photo quickly as we were leaving just to compare the spires. There is a building blocking the full view, but the image seemed to grab my attention. The stained glass windows and sculptures are original and just so beautiful that it’s hard to believe this Cathedral is free to enjoy. There is more information on the Cathedral here.

Every October, the schools in France takes 2 weeks off in October. It is a fantastic time for a school break…comes just before everyone starts to really burnout! This year we decided to go to Malta for a week of that time.  The trip there was probably the most frustrating travel day we’ve ever had in all of the years living and travelling in Europe!  We were supposed to fly out of CDG in Paris to Frankfurt, Germany and then take a connecting flight to Malta.  All of the flights that week were connections even though Malta is only 4 1/2 hours to fly direct. We boarded on time in Paris and then sat on the runway for an hour due to fog. By the time we arrived in Frankfurt, our other plane was boarding. We were told it knew we were late and we would make it, but when we got to the gate (and we rushed!!), they said it had ‘just’ closed and we couldn’t board. It is very frustrating to know your plane is sitting right there with your seats open on it and they won’t let you board (due to regulations etc.), especially knowing we were late due to fog etc. So, then it was an 8 hour wait int he airport and some intense discussions with customer service since all other flights were booked solid to Malta and we had to be put on a waiting list for a flight to see if passengers didn’t show up. Our trip was shortened as a result and we couldn’t lengthen it on the other end, because all the flights were booked as mentioned. So, luckily we were able to get on a plane which took much advocating and dealing with luggage transfers.  Especially since one of our suitcases had been put on another plane to Zurich for absolutely no reason, and we had to have a truck sent out to the plane to get our luggage off! It was just one big comical tragedy by the end, with many little things happening around the travel. Somehow though, we muscled our way onto a flight and arrived at our hotel at midnight.

The theme of travel problems followed us through the trip because while in Malta we had reserved a convertible to drive to the island of Gozo (and ferry), but then they were late bringing it to our hotel so we called and found out the convertible wasn’t available so they were trying to get us another car.  Again, we argued about the situation and 30 minutes later they show up with a convertible…so it worked out, but now we were late to go touring for the day. 🙂 Then to finish our ‘transportation’ issues, we were late getting to our shuttle on pick up day by 10 minutes because there was a mix up in the time of departure, and then our driver was very annoyed and drove like a maniac to get to the other hotels to pick up other people that had other flights. He literally had us on 2 wheels, flying around corners on the narrowest, windy roads. It was a miracle we made it to the airport at all. Then when we got to the airport an hour later in Malta, we waited in line only to hear that they had overbooked that flight and our names were on a list to ask if we could wait 4 hours at the airport to take a different flight through Rome to make room for other people on this flight that was our original booked flight!!!  We refused since we’d already given up the day to travel and didn’t want it to take until midnight again to get back to Paris.  We refused the offer to fly through Rome rather than Frankfurt, and got on our plane and everything worked out. But still, the ‘travel’ part of this trip was memorable for sure.

The rest was relaxing and warm and beautiful. Malta feels ancient in some ways.  Chris and I went to see some incredible historical sites that date back before the pyramids.  He really enjoyed the day that he and I went into Valletta to see the ruins and the old city. That day we also saw a memorial near their ‘city hall’ of  Daphne Galizia , the journalist who had just been killed in an attack for speaking openly about the problems with their government. There was a small camp of protesters and music being played with flowers piled at her memorial.

Probably my ‘best’ memory of Malta was having champagne and cupcakes for breakfast every day from the beautiful buffet breakfast at the resort.  Fun restaurant dinners and sunshine were Bri’s favourite part of the trip. She enjoyed the leather massage chair in our suite and sunning on our decks. There was a hospitality room on our floor and she went there everyday for complimentary drinks and food. In the city, we saw positive messages written on the side of a building; you don’t see that around very often.

Greg’s favourite moments were driving the convertible with him and Bri across the island of Gozo, and relaxing on the beaches we found. It was a quiet, relaxing holiday. Too cool to swim in the ocean, but warm enough to be outside in a bathing suit.

The resort was large and Greg and Bri relaxed on our deck or by the pool for at least part of each day.  The temperature was between 18 and 22 everyday. It was lovely. The ocean was all around the peninsula that we stayed on and we wished we had a little more time there in the end, because it is an island to explore!

We are so lucky to have had cousin Stacey come to visit us from her new home in Toronto, Canada. It was such a treat to have her here with us before our October break and when we returned from it.  It allowed her to have the apartment to herself for a couple of days when she wasn’t in Bordeaux, doing wine tours!!

There was time spent shopping, touring and site seeing all over Paris. We stopped for many treats and drinks and had a great time! Some of the highlights were Chatelet area, Latin Quarter, La Morais, Catacombs, Champs Elysees and Arc de Triumph. We were away for some of the time she as here and then when we returned we heard about the amazing experience to be had at ‘Cordon Bleu’ learning to cook French cuisine in French! You are so brave Stacey! We also took a car trip when we came back from Malta ‘but that’s another blog’. Some photos are below!

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My first class trip of the year was to Ullswater in the Lake District.  For those of you that have been, this may remind you of the stunning the scenery.  The hills are magnificent for hiking and there are a lot of interesting historical points of interest.  We stayed in a massive manor with room for 175 guests.  It was a very interesting place to sleep – some of the students even thought that it was haunted (they were certain they saw apparitions at night).

We spent 7 days kayaking, wet and dry gorge scrambling, orienteering; and even completed an overnight expedition to a mountain lodge.  I was lucky enough to have the chance to do some solo hiking through the district; stumbling across an amazing druid circle called “The Cockpit”.

Venturing into the towns of Penrith, Pooley Bridge and Glenridding via local transit were also cool side adventures.  Castle ruins, charity shops (which I’ve never experience before), and ancient abbeys were explored during these visits.

An interesting experience was having dinner at a licensed establishment that was the former residence of King Richard III, whose reign symbolized the end of the middle ages. The class trips we are lucky to experience here (like Spain, for our United Nations conference, and Greece for volleyball) are so unlike any class trips we’re used to in Ontario. Next school trip is to Athens, Greece.  Stay tuned for that!

Just a little piece to say that Bri and I were lucky enough to catch the last few performances at a huge rock concert in Paris 2 weeks ago (Rock en Seine).  It is a 4 day concert outdoors on the river, very close to our home here. We could hear the music in the air and see lights flashing at night for the whole weekend, so on the last night (Sunday), we decided to take the train to St. Cloud and walk down and see what it was like. Greg had gone last year, but Bri had not gone, so we wanted her to see what was happening in our local park area. It is only once a year, and you are only young once, after all!.

We walked through St. Cloud’s hilly streets from the train to the concert grounds, paid the 50 euros for both of us (not full price since it was late on last night) and went to see what was happening behind all 4 stages in the park. There were about 70, 000 people there, much food and drink, a dance hall and a concert on 2 stages at all times…

It was a warm night and beautiful walk. The photos don’t tell the whole story, but rarely do they… It was a fun, mother/daughter outing. We walked all the way home that night (3km to our apartment), just because we could…Fun memories!

After 4 weeks back in Canada, we have landed in Paris for our 2nd year at ASP.  This year the transition was much easier because we could just unlock our door and settle into our Paris routine. It was hard to leave friends and family and our ‘puppy’ Tanner, but we know we will see everyone again next June or July, so we look forward to that.  Once again, Uncle Kelly met us at the airport to see us off and this time he had Marryn with him. What a great surprise!! We wanted to take them in our luggage with us! It was a great way to spend time at the airport. :))

The summer holiday was full of wonderful memories as we packed it full of visits and a whirlwind of activities. There was rarely a dull moment. The cottage was our respite and we found our serenity and calm there by the lake.   Greg and Bri had friends over almost daily or were out every other day visiting friends.  We tried to see our parents as much as we could and enjoyed walking our dog every morning and night.  Time by the pool and BBQ’s  and bonfires were sacred moments.

Running out to friends’ Jen and Terry (even in the wee hours) was easy because they live right across the road!  Seeing the Stalteri’s, Butler’s and some St. Paul’s staff was such a fun memory as well.  It was also wonderful to see all the Geen’s after just sharing an uber with and Zach and Derek in Paris; One of our visitors to Paris this year!

One outing we had was to Ottawa and Kingston to see some Universities for Greg. He also toured Trent to get more insight into the programs and campus. When we stayed in Ottawa, we were able to hang out with Denise and her gang and they took us around to the Parliament buildings and the sites around them that were designed for the 150 year celebration. It was a fun night out in Ottawa.  We also went to Matt and Renee’s cottage for the first time overnight, so that was a highlight we will hold in our hearts while we are away from Canada this year.

The last weekend there we rented a boat for the cottage and the kids did some cliff jumping and took the boat through the lake system themselves, so it gave all of us some great memories.  Cottage guests this year were Denise and Ian, Naomi and MacLean, Matt, Mike, Ryan, Barrett, and Lauren. We were happy to reconnect with friends and family, and happy that Greg and Breeze had an extra month there before us!! Staying with Baba and Papa worked out perfectly while we were in South Africa! The kids had 8 weeks in Canada altogether.  Greg even squeezed in a Jay’s game and achieved getting his Driver’s G2 permit by winging a driving test 3 days before leaving Canada.

10 months of school now to put in and then we’ll see everyone in Canada again.  Greg will graduate this June, and Bri will be ready for grade 10. Should be an interesting year!