Mo and Chris’ Blog (written Tuesday, posting late – sorry):

Sunday, the three of us (Chris, Greg and I) decided to tour the Latin Quarter and Pantheon and then have dinner in Paris. Brianna was away on her week long Outward Bound trip in England and we wanted to see a new area of Paris.

On our way down there Greg got a text from a Peterborough family friend who said she was in Paris for the day and wanted to see us! So we told her where to meet us and she was at the Metro stop in Paris waiting for us when we got there!! We took the 2 girls to lunch before they were to meet up with 2 more friends.

The 4 University girls wanted to go see Montmartre and Sacre Coeur (Cathedral overlooking the city) which Greg knows well now, so they asked him to tour them around.  He took them by train and then they ended the tour in La Defense 3 hours later (and we were just catching a train from there ourselves, after our tour of Le Marais).

While he had been touring the girls around Montmartre, Chris and I rented bicycles for a total of 3 Euros and rode all around an area of Paris we didn’t know at all (Le Marais – Jewish area). We stopped at parks and tourist spots and rode little narrow streets amongst cars and mopeds with many other bikers. We came across a horse show in an old military courtyard, opera singers in the streets, and Victor Hugo’s house (wrote Les Miserables) by a beautiful palace courtyard (now a park). The colourful restaurant is the OLDEST restaurant in Paris! One man in the street was doing a solo puppet show in French. All of it adds to the atmosphere and we can still hardly believe we are here! So lovely!!

Anywhere in Paris you can put your credit card in a bicycle rental machine so that it charges you next to nothing for the whole day of bicycle use but it can take 100 Euros if you don’t return the bike. And then you can take and return a bike for 24 hours from all these different depots. It gives you a code and you use it for the day as you lock and unlock bikes from wherever you want (they are good bikes and they are everywhere!). I wish it was as easy to find a washroom!!   Anyway, all around, it was a relaxing ‘touring’ day!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Mo’s Blog: ‘Coaching Abroad’

Coaching a team for this school is a unique experience.

To put things in perspective, there is an Athletic Director and his secretary who organise everything for the coaches. They order in uniforms, distribute them, write all the paperwork required for players to sign and organise all tournaments / games etc. Coaches just show up at the gym and
coach. Also, when there
are tournaments in other cities the players ‘house’ with host families from the teams they are playing against. This way the players get to know other students from different schools in Europe and it is a very friendly custom where they get introduced to the food and culture of the country. Two players get housed together, so they always have a teammate with them. This means that outside of game play in other cities, the coaches have free time and an all-expense paid hotel stay, as well as a money allowance for food.

Coach uniforms and rides to and from hotel to gym are pre-arranged around your game times. We only played one game on Friday and one game on Saturday. On top of all this – coaches get paid for coaching a school team! (My team is in blue above)

 

Anyway, I was just in The Hague, Netherlands for the weekend and it was a beautiful location to enjoy when we weren’t playing. The bus ride was about 8 hours from Paris, but we traveled by Coach buses (Mercedes-Benz) so it was comfortable. Our hotel was on the Rhine River close to where Rembrandt was born in 1606.  We had dinner Friday night in Leiden’s Centre at an Argentinian steak and rib pub. Then we taxied back to the hotel at 11:30pm for more drinks on the deck. An upscale buffet breakfast in the morning (where the chefs cook your food in front of you) was a nice start to the day. It is all very different than what we’re used to.  I just thought that from time to time, I would describe some of the differences that we are experiencing here; coaching is definitely one of them!

MW

 

 

 

 

 

Chris’s Blog entry:

Last week was a week to remember.  It was our school’s trip to the Savoie Region of France.  There are a lot of beautiful towns and cities in this area (Chamonix, Chambery, Grenoble).  We stayed in a small village called ‘Lescheraines’, which was fairly close to Albertville, France (Winter Olympics host in 1992).  Savoie would probably be classified as a pre-Alps area.  Most of the elevations are under 2000 meters; however, towering close by are the snow-capped peaks of the Alps and Mt. Blanc (tallest mountain in Europe).

It was an incredible week filled with kayaking, canyoning, via corda (rock climbing), and swimming.  The highlight for me was an overnight hike that we took to a mountain refuge.  We took a long, winding bus ride to a drop off point, then proceeded to hike another 5 hours to our destination.  The scenery was absolutely breathtaking, and we were never very far from the sounds of cow bells.

When we finally got to the refuge we were greeted by our hosts and invited in for a comfort
dinner of pork stew with polenta, homemade wine, and a selection of local cheeses.  The refuge was very rustic inside.  No running water, lots of candlelight, and a huge, stone fireplace. After dinner we went outside to stargaze, and later sat by a bonfire making s’mores (S’mores in the Alps!). We woke early the next morning and packed up quickly so that we could hike to our bus which was 3 hours away.  Along the way we passed a meadow filled with horses that were grazing.  The kids started taking pictures, and before we knew it, we were surrounded by about 20 horses.   When we continued along, they walked with us for about 30 minutes, and wouldn’t leave our sides.  Very cool experience.

After saying goodbye to Savoie, we headed back to Paris.  The weather is still hot here (29/30), and the workload at school is beginning to fill every second of the day.  But I’m very grateful that I have the memories of my time in the Alps to recall if I ever need to take a short mental holiday.

CW

Greg’s Blog: Concerts and Volleyball!!

The last two weeks have been the best so far in Paris in terms of freedom. Two weeks ago my family and I went to Rock en Seine (a big music festival dedicated to rock). When we were there my parents let me hang out with some friends for a few hours while they went and listened to the bands they wanted to go see.  I went another way with my friends to do the same.

The following weekend my school had a massive party at Champs de Mars on the Friday night. Some of the wealthier kids rented out the entire park directly beneath the Eiffel Tower for the night and we partied until 2am. It is an ASP tradition; every year the entire school from grade 9-12 have a party at Champ de Mars to welcome all the freshmen and new kids; and later in the night all the grade 9’s always get pushed into the giant fountain by all the other kids. The Saturday night of that same weekend was even better! A couple of friends invited me to go to another big concert called ‘Inox’. Inox is another big music festival dedicated to electronic music which is my favourite genre.  We met there around 6:30pm and stayed until around 12am.

This weekend was a very interesting experience as well. On Friday morning I woke up at 5:45am and was at my school for a bus that left at 7am to go to London, England with my volleyball team (along with other teams from my school). The bus ride was a total of 10 hours! It felt a little bit longer though because we had a couple stops and took a train under the English Channel.  It was weird being under the ocean for 30 minutes in a bus, on a train bed!  When we finally arrived in London we played three sets and then went to our ‘host family’s’ house. Chris (a kid on my volleyball team) and I got assigned to a Dutch family who looked after us for the weekend. They took us out to a very nice Italian restaurant and paid for our meals. The next morning we played again and beat the team that beat us on the Friday 2 sets to none and then lost to another team from England, two sets to one. So overall we won four sets and lost four sets which is “ok”.

This has been my last two weeks in Europe. Peace out.

 

Last week was a busy one for our family.  We started the orientation phase at our new school.  Lots of meetings, presentations and socials to attend.  We’ve met quite a few new people since relocating to France, and have been so overwhelmed by the warmth and kindness that has been extended to us.

On Thursday, Brianna had a friend from Canada come to visit.  Bianca has been spending time in Italy, with her brother Jack, visiting their father.  The two girls successfully and independently organized a ‘meet-up’ in Paris! Way to make it happen girls!

Brianna’s Blog:

Day 1 with Canadian ‘buddies’:

Bianca texted me telling me she was at her hotel so I walked over to see her. She was waiting for me at the doors. We ran up and hugged each other for 5 minutes! lol Then we walked to a nice restaurant and talked and caught up on everything. After that I went back with her to the hotel and we had a sleepover there! It was really fun; we danced to music and went and sat out on the courtyard.

Day 2:

The next day we went to Sacre Coeur in Montmartre- a famous Cathedral overlooking Paris  (near VanGogh and Picasso’s houses) and then we went to the Eiffel tower. Then we walked all the way from the Eiffel Tower to the Concord Ferris Wheel and the 4 of us went on that (Greg, Jack, Bianca and I). When we got home, Bianca stayed at my apartment overnight.

Day 3:

The next day we met up again at Museum D’Orsay in Paris and got in trouble at that museum for laughing too loud. Then we went to the Louvre and hung out around outside it. We later walked along the Sienne, ate crepes and saw lots of cool buildings and boats.  That night we went to a movie (in English)  and a sushi place at La Defense. We got home at 11:30 to find no buses or trains going to our town. So we had to hail a taxi after we started to walk it.

Day 4:

The last day, we met up with Bianca and Jack at their train station and went to the Palace of Versailles. It was a cool, rainy walk to the Palace but we went to a market and bought “cigar fromage”to eat – they were so good! Jack and Greg played with a dead octopus for sale there, but the guy let them. 😦 at a stinky fish counter).  At Versailles, we saw the gardens and also the horse stables with all of the carriages that were used by Napoleon III, King Louis XVIII and Marie Antoinette. My ring is still there – it fell through a crack in the stable floor. The walk back to the train was sunny. We had strange weather this weekend! At the St. Cloud train station we waved goodbye and it was very hard to her and Jack roll away from us like that.

It was amazing to travel Paris with one of my best friends, but also very upsetting to say goodbye considering we have been very close friends since grade 3!!  I can’t wait to see her again when I’m in in Canada (or maybe Italy?).

Thanks so much for coming Bianca and Jack!!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Greg’s blog entry:

Before we moved to Paris we were constantly being asked the same question, “Why move to Paris?” People would ask questions like; “Won’t you miss your friends and family?”, “Aren’t you scared?” The simple answer to these questions was “yes”.  Because of this a lot of people didn’t understand why we were doing it.

We did it because it’s not what you will miss out on, it’s what you will gain from the experience. My family and friends will still be in Peterborough when we come back, and when we do come back we will be able to look back on countless experiences and memories that we wouldn’t have had without this move.

We have only been in Europe three weeks and already we have seen The Louvre, played beach volleyball in the centre of Paris, visited countless churches including Notre Dame, shopped at La Defense, been to the Arch De Triumph, walked the Champs Elysees, been through two castles, and we also see the Eiffel Tower daily. We have toured the streets of Amsterdam, visited Ann Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum, walked through the Red Light District, painted a naked woman, and used wifi at a ‘brown’ cafe. You might wonder why a city would allow these things to happen in their society, but in order to understand why,  you actually have to be immersed in the culture and realize that for the people of Amsterdam there is nothing strange about it. This is the way of life they have grown up with and what they see as normal.

After Amsterdam we went to Belgium to see the actual blood of Christ stained in a cloth used on him during his crucifixion. There aren’t many people that have seen this relic and for that I am grateful. We also tasted chocolate at a chocolate factory and took a train to Ypres where many battles were fought in WW1.

This is the reason we moved overseas.

 

 

Mo’s blog entry:

We’ve been offline over the past two weeks due to our big move, so we thought it would be an excellent time to travel to the Netherlands and Belgium.  This was a great experience for all of us.  Chris and I had been to Amsterdam in 2005, but we really didn’t get to see a lot of the city.  This time we were able to spend more time strolling through the streets, along the canals, and enjoying the ambience of this magnificent place.

We started our journey by taking the Thalys Train (fast train) from Paris.  We sped across the countryside at 300km/hr!!  The trip only took 3 hours, including stops in Brussels, Antwerp, and Rotterdam.

Our visit to Amsterdam was filled with stops at the Anne Frank Museum, Van Gogh Museum, The Heineken Experience (Chris and Greg’s favourite), and Mdm Tussaud’s; as well as ‘Ripley’s Believe it or Not’ museum…but the highlights were not found in the museums. They were found incidentally on the streets as we toured around. Like the incredible musicians in the main square. and the local culture (pot smoke all around :(, hundreds of bicycles on the streets, friendly people).

Brianna began the trip by being stranded on a tram after the 3 of us had already exited (the doors lock automatically after very little time and she tried but couldn’t get off). She continued on to the next tram stop without concern, while we ran after her with our luggage in tow.  Lots of fun memories were made, and both of the kids loved the ‘vibe’ of the city, and all of the new sights and sounds.

Our next stop was Bruges. What a beautiful place!  We had high expectations, and they were definitely met.  This old, medieval town still exudes loads of character and history.  The canal tour by boat was a highlight, as well as our visit to the weekly market in the central square.  With beer halls and festivities around every corner; we loved the charm of Bruges.  Chris and I couldn’t have spent our 20th anniversary in a better setting.  One epic moment found the two of us in the middle of a impromptu rock concert, while loads of animated Generation X’ers belted out a medley of tunes (euro style).

We also took a side trip to Ypres and paid a visit to the Flanders Fields Museum.  Incredible to think that this town was completely destroyed during WWI, then built back to its former medieval glory brick by brick.  There was also a fair going on in the village centre so the kids played some games and ate traditional foods like ‘oliebollen’ and ‘cheese croquettes’. Yumm!! Greg and Bri learned a lot from this ‘side trip’ so it was worthwhile to do (3 hour round trip by train from Bruges).

Overall – Great ‘mini-vacation’, and an excellent chance to recharge our batteries before the school year begins for Chris and I next week.

Update: This evening we were all invited to have dinner with one of Chris’ new teaching partners and her family.  Her husband is a German diplomat, and it was very interesting to hear about their life journey, and all of the places they have lived.  They don’t give a second thought to pouring the kids champagne too so Greg and Bri enjoyed the evening and met their daughter who is Greg’s age. We left at 11:30 and there were no buses running so it was a 30 minute walk home. lol

 

 

 

 

Mo’s Blog:

We will be losing our WiFi connection for about a week, so we wanted to send out one final entry before we go offline.  Tomorrow is moving day from the hotel to our apartment.

Today was probably the most challenging day of our adventure.  Both Chris and I prepared ourselves for a big day, but who knew shopping at IKEA would be the biggest learning curve of our transition here!!

Chris and I left on our own at 9:15am to catch 2 train connections to IKEA. We arrived about 10:15 and asked about renting an IKEA moving van because we had been told you can show up on the day you want it and book it then – you can’t reserve it days ahead. The French employee pointed at a machine/screen where we book the van….So we proceeded to type our request and information into the machine including photos that it takes of license and passport and VISA information. We chose a time that it said it as available, then watched a video on how to use a code to unlock the van and do a damage inspection etc. Then after 15 min. of following this process, it said that time was not available.

Sooo we got an employee to help but they didn’t speak English and a shopper who overheard, stepped in to translate while we figured out the whole IKEA van request. One catch was that at the ned of the reservation (made for 3pm) the computer said it would email us the code needed to enter the vehicle, BUT we have no smartphone or data yet here (only an old school phone), SO, the lady who translated offered to add Chris’ email to her Google accounts and said she would text us when our code came in. What an angel she was!! We never would have gotten through the reservation process without her and now she was our email connection. Then we went upstairs to shop for all the items we had written down last visit and added more to it. We had to speak in French to another employee to order all of the items and make an invoice for those things that had to be pulled from the warehouse and those that we could get in the aisles ourselves. We had pages of items and everything took a long time…lots of line ups etc.

Finally, we paid LOTS of euros for our 3 huge skids and met up with our IKEA angel again who had a code for our van. Chris unlocked the van and we proceeded to try to pack everything in. Then a sweet little French man jumped in to help because he believed it could all fit in one trip if it was packed properly. He’s an ‘expert’ packer that hangs out at IKEA doors to help people out perhaps for a tip…? But we told him we only had a credit card and he didn’t have to help…However, he said it was France’s gift to Canada – him helping us and he went on to pull our fridge back out of the van and re-pack it the way he knew it would all fit (every square inch was full!).

Then came the fun part of trying to find out way back to our town through lots of hills and ’roundabouts’ and only a couple very bad maps and French directions that our hotel had printed for us. We eventually made it to pick up Greg and then go to our apartment to unload. That was an incredible amount of lifting and carrying as we live on the second floor and the ‘lift’ couldn’t fit certain box types (it is like a ‘shoe box’). We carried up the couch and fridge and beds etc. and then raced to the van to drop Greg off and return the rental before 6pm. We also had to get gas for it and we thought it took diesel but weren’t sure…then the IKEA gas credit card didn’t work for us because they had emailed us a separate gas card code but our friend didn’t see that until an hour later So we had to pay with our own credit card for the gas which you aren’t supposed to (plus, we didn’t think there was any room left on our credit card after shopping for an entire house!). After returning the van, we still had a lot of walking and 2 trains to catch to get back to the hotel. We sat on the train platform with our iron and blow dryer (that we bought after drop off) dreaming of the beer we’d buy at the next train station.

Thank goodness, it all worked out. More accurately, thank to a beautiful Finnish woman and our little French packer who made today’s success possible. We now have furniture ready to be built in our apartment and we are grateful for the kind, generous hearts that we witnessed today.  We feel very blessed at the end of this long day!

 

 

 

 

Chris and Mo’s Blog:

And we thought our gardens were high maintenance…We spent a couple of days touring the vast gardens/parks that surround Paris.  One was only 2 kilometres from where we are staying (Parc St. Cloud).  The scenery and landscape is stunning, and the views of the city from the old chateaus were awesome.

Brianna and Greg’s impressions from our 2 days of walking through historic castle grounds differed slightly from ours:

“Marie Antoinette said ‘Let them eat cake’ –  in Mr. Peabody and Sherman (BW)

“Her head was chopped off and put on a spike in the town centre?  What did she do wrong again?” (GW)

“Who was King Louis the 14th?” (both) “What was the French Revolution about?” (both)

“Where are we again?” (both) “Where is Starbucks?” (BW) “I have no wifi here.” (GW)

We visited Chateau de St. Cloud yesterday, which is 1 km from us (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Saint-Cloud)  and Chateux de St. Germain (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Saint-Germain-en-Laye) today. Interesting history at both places and beautiful weather to walk the grounds in.