Gold Beach

Mindy and Corine: At the Gun Show.

Moving east from Omaha beach, we continued our tour at Gold Beach, where the British troops came ashore during the D-Day invasion. Perched on the blufs overlooking the sea are the remains of German artilary guns that were used to fire at incoming marine crafts. The bunkers that housed the canons are pretty impressive as they were built to withstand enemy fire and are still in pretty good shape. Nothing but solid concrete.

Across the field from the artilary canons.

After exploring the remains of the guns, we walked across the field to the bluffs overlooking the ocean where the German observation post that directed the fire from the canons is still standing in relatively the same condition as it was 60 years ago. Again, the building is made of solid concrete and the impact craters of rounds fired back in 1944 can still be seen along the outside.

A rear view of the German observation bunker.

Mindy and Corine check out the lower half of the bunker.

While Robert admired the view from the top of the cliffs.

Below the bluffs, just of the shores of Gold Beach, lies the remains of the artificial harbour constructed by the British to land both men and equipment in support of the invasion of France during the war. It is quite impressive to see the giant blocks in the water that have survived years of crashing surf.

Artificial harbour at Gold Beach.

Mindy on the east side of Gold Beach.

Omaha Beach

The beginning of the cemetary at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. There are 10,625 American soldiers buried here.

Along with our good friends, Corine & Robert, Mindy and I ventured north to tour the Normandy region of France this past weekend and take in the spectacular scenery and natural beauty offered by the region. We also wanted to view the D-Day beaches as the invasion of France by the allied troops in June of 1944 as been well chronicled in a variety of popular books, movies, and television series. It was time to view this hallowed ground for ourselves.

Omaha Beach is the where the main Amercian assaulting force landed during the invasion and where the heaviest fighting occured. Think about the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan and you should have a pretty good idea of what was going on. The hike from the beach to the top of the bluffs is quite a hike and trying to imagine what it would be like in the middle of a full scale battle is quite an interesting exercise.

One of the things that America does extremely well is honouring those who sacrificed their lives in the life of duty. We witnessed this first hand last year when we visited Pearl Harbour in Hawaii and the memorial and visitor center at Omaha Beach did not dissapoint. Everything is first class and the grounds are beautifully mannicured. We toured the visitor center and watched a couple of videos on the men who fought for freedom. It was truly inspiring and a beautiful tribute.

Robert, Mindy, and Corine strol past the rows of crosses.

The memorial at Omaha Beach.

Behind the memorial is a wall with all the names of the missing soldiers whose bodies were nevered recovered from the Normandy invasion.

The view from the bluffs overlooking Omaha beach. This is where the Germans troops would have been firing from.

The rocky shoreline at high tide of Omaha Beach.

Mindy perched upon a remaining chunk of concrete left over from the artificial harbour that was created to land equipement.

Barbeque

Bidding Tommi "Bon Voyage" before he heads back to Finland.

As you can tell, it has been a little bit of slow news week here in Paris as the hockey season has come to an end and Mindy and I have found ourselves to be surprisingly busy with teaching the past couple of weeks. Don't worry folks, we are just catching our breath and plan on recomencing our adventurous ways in the next couple of days.

This past weekend however, we did participate in the first barbeque of 2009 as Romain hosted some of us at his house in the hills just north of Paris. So on a balmy Saturday afternoon, we convened to play a little ping-pong, eat a little food, and relax in the sun. With the temperature around 15 degrees, it was quite pleasent and we enjoyed hanging out in the backyard with Romain working the jukebox (his computer) and playing some excellent tunes. One of my teammates, Guiz Pfeiffer introduced us to some spicy sausages which just so happened to work nicely with fresh baguette while Mindy and I prepared a little apple crumble for dessert (which proved to be quite the hit). Can't wait for the next one!

JC demonstrates to Andronik and Tommi how to properly smash the ball without spilling one's beer.

As the ping pong table was located in the sun, we decided to use it as our dinner table as well.

Season in Review

As I look back on my season with the Asnieres Hockey Club, I am amazed by how quickly it passed. It seems like training camp opened only a couple weeks ago when really it has been seven months since I left Canada. It was a tremendous privilege and honour to play with the team this year as we had a lot of fun both on and off the ice. Although we lost in the first round of the playoffs, I feel like we really improved over the course of the season and the progress that was made should certainly bring hope for the future to hockey in Asnieres.

The above video is a little compilation of some of the highlights from the season. It's also available to be viewed on Youtube at the link below along with a few other highlight videos I have posted. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaBHOVOlu-c

Average Spring Day

Mindy poses midway up the climb to Montmartre on a glorious spring afternoon.

I hate to rub it to all of you still experiencing frigid temperatures and continuing snowfall back in Canada, but here in Paris, spring has most definitely arrived as for the past week we have been experiencing temperatures in the mid to high teens with plenty of sunshine. Of course Mindy and I had to take advantage of this and decided to head back to the Montmartre area in Paris for an afternoon in the sun. For some strange reason we wore our jackets and ended up carrying them about five minutes into our walk up the hill to the basilica.

Upon our arrival at the basilica, we took a seat with the rest of the tourists and Parisians to enjoy the sun and the street performers that were out in full force to take advantage of the throngs of crowds. We grabbed a bottle of Evian from a vendor and relaxed while listening to the beats of classic songs being sung by a very talented man and his guitar while we watched an equally impressive footballer perform all sorts of mastery with his ball. He even climbed a light pole while bouncing the ball on his head! Unfortunately, I was a little too mesmerized by the performance and managed only to take a picture once the ball had fallen off.

Hanging out on the steps leading up to Sacre Coeur is THE thing to do on a warm Paris afternoon.

The extraordinary footballer we were watching as he descended the light post.

After hanging around for a little while, it was time for an early dinner, at least according to Paris standards. We headed to the Latin Quarter to see what we could find and were tempted by more than one menu. We finally settled on a nice little restaurant after Mindy bartered for a couple of free drinks for us to start our meal with and took a seat at a nice little table on the sidewalk outside. Appetizers of cheese filled crepes followed by chicken and beef for the main course hit the spot. We finished the meal with crème caramel and apple pie for dessert followed by a nice little coffee. It was the perfect way to end a beautiful spring afternoon. Oh...I should also mention that I wore short-sleeve shirt right through dinner.

Mindy waits at our table while I grabbed a picture of the restaurant where we ate.

Playoffs - Game #2

A full house was in attendance as over 1,200 fans were at the rink in Mulhouse as the Scorpions welcomed Asnieres for the second game of the playoff series. In the picture above, Tommi reaches for a save while Bruno backchecks.

Going into the second game of our playoff series with Mulhouse being down 5 goals in the two game total goals series, we knew the odds of advancing definetly working against us. As it was potentially the last game of the year, it was especially important for me make it back into the line-up as I had decided that I was not going out from the comfort of the stands. So with my ribs in a protective wrap, I suited up for what I knew would be a very tough game.

We started the game off on the right foot as we had several good chances to take the lead in the first five minutes of the game. However it would be Mulhouse who opened the scoring on their first real scoring chance of the game. We rebounded quickly however with a powerplay marker less then two minutes later as Bruno Rivero jammed in a rebound to tie the score at 1-1. The rest of the period produced no more offence despite several powerplays for each team and we headed into the break with the score tied.

Mulhouse came out flying to start the second and scored only 26 seconds into the period. They continued to buzz us for a few minutes before Coach Dmitri had seen enough and called a timeout to rally the troops. It seemed to work as we went to work and notched two goals by Andronik to put as in the lead. Mulhouse fought back and tied the score before we again went into the lead on a powerplay tally by Emilien Rouyer. We played well and Tommi made some key saves to send us into the third with a one goal lead.

Unfortunately for us, our offense dried up in the third period and we would score no more. We just couldn't get the puck to cross the line. Mulhouse notched the equalizer on the powerplay before one of their Canadian players, David Croteau, scored a pretty goal with a great move to put Mulhouse in the lead. Knowing that they had pretty much sealed their ticket to the next round, Mulhouse played defensively for the rest of the game and the final score ended at 5-4.

It was tough to finish the year with a loss, but the guys showed up for the game and we played hard. My ribs were incredibly sore after the game, but the pain was well worth the chance to play one more game this season.

Taking the puck away from an attacking Mulhouse forward.

Keeping the puck out with a desperate streach across the goalline behind Tommi.

Meeting the Mulhouse rush.

The playoffs are a tight checking affair as demonstrated above.

24 hour roadtrip

One of the joys of playing outside of the NHL is the bus travel and for our second playoff game this year, the Asnieres Castors enjoyed a nice little 24 hour road trip to Mulhouse and back. We left at 8am Saturday morning and returned home this morning at 8am. We lost a very tight game 5-4 and as a result were eliminated from the playoffs. A game post will be done in the next day or so, but for now, here is a link to the Mulhouse newspaper for the match summary. The picture shows our goalie trying to make a save in a scramble while two defensemen spawl across the goaline to keep the puck out. The one on the right is me and for the record, Mulhouse did not score on the play. Now it's time for some sleep.

http://www.scorpionspictures.com/images/articles/2009-03-15_alsace.jpg

More Travel Canada

Edmonton, the "Festival City", is being promoted in a Metro near you. The caption on the poster reads (translated from French) "White nights in the Festival City", refering to our long summer days where the sun sets at 11pm and rises at 5am.

The Canadian government is back at promoting our wonderful country to the French tourist with billboard advertising promoting the value of a Canadian holiday experience. The first advertisement that I came across in this blitzkrieg of marketing was actually the poster in the photograph above depicting my home city of Edmonton, Alberta. Imagine my surprise while walking through Gare Saint-Lazaire in the heart of Paris and coming face to face with a picture where I can actually see the office building I used to work in last summer.

So here are your tax dollars hard at work promoting Canada as a grand place to visit. I think I might have to visit!

In Canada, we all have a little cowboy in us.

Water so clean you can see the sky by looking up or down.

Take a shower under Niagara Falls.

A little strol on the beach along the east coast.

Montparnasse

Mindy at Tour Montparnasse

The Parisian skyline is famous for promenently featuring historic landmarks such as the Eifel Tower, Montmatre Basilica, and the Arc de Triomphe. The city is devoid of the clutter of modern buildings that block out the sun and hide architectural wonders. To every rule however there is an exception and in Paris that exception is found in the Montparnasse area where Tour Montparnasse reaches for the sky as the tallest skyscrapper in France at 689 feet.

We had never visited the area and decided now was as good as time as any. The area also features a beautiful cemetary and catacombs, which we didn't explore as we arrived a little late in the day (15 minutes after closing) to take a tour. What we did discover was something that Mindy and I both came up with equal but unique names to describe. I would call it a "Garbage Sale" while Mindy stuck with the more traditional "Rummage Sale" or "Flea Market". There were also an open air market of artisits as the Montparnasse area is widely known for being home to part of the Parisian artist community.

Mindy checks out the local art in Montparnasse. Look for the Coach purse.

Just another Parisian street for Miss Mindy.

Playoffs - Game #1

As previously mentioned, Game #1 of the playoffs featured the hometown Castors welcoming the Mulhouse Scorpions in what would prove to be a very tough hockey game. Once again I was playing the role of cameraman as I continue to wait for my ribs to heal. The first period started with both teams feeling each other out as we were unfamiliar with each other as Mulhouse played in the South Division this year while we played in the North. The pace was fairly quick, however each team was pretty cautious and kept the opponent to the outside in their defensive zone. Finally after about 10 minutes, Franz Ehrhart created a turnover in the Mulhouse zone which led to him sweeping in a rebound for the 1-0 lead. Mulhouse quickly responded on the powerplay a couple of minutes later and the period ended with the teams even at 1-1.

In the second period we seemed to relax a little and actually relaxed a little too much as Mulhouse scored four quick goals with the first nine minutes of the period to jump out to a 5-1 lead. The team would not quit however and we responded with two goals by Paul Manushin and Emelien Rouyer near the end of the period to make it a little closer heading into the third.

To start the third period, the team knew we needed a quick goal to start the comeback and we got from Andronik Bourret just twelve seconds into the period. With the score 5-4, I could smell the comeback victory. However it was not to be as Mulhouse scored a bad angle goal that I'm sure Tommi would love to have back. This seemed to really take the wind out of our sails and Mulhouse is a dangerous team to be playing with no life. The Scorpions pressed their advatange and scored three more goals to leave with a final of 9-4.

It's back to Mulhouse for Game #2 of the series this Saturday where we will need a big effort to overcome and move on to the next round of the playoffs.

Second Season

VS.

After 18 regular season games, 9 exhibition matches, 99 practices, 48 off-ice workouts, and more then a few team meetings, the part of the season that really counts for something has arrived. The playoffs kick-off this weekend, and for the Asnieres Castors, it means hosting the Mulhouse Scorpions in the first round. Each round consists of a two-game total goals series where each team gets the opportunity to host a playoff game. Basically its like playing a six period hockey game spread out over two weekends.

Mulhouse represents a formidable opponent as they carry 9 import players including three Canadians. Our team is not easily intimidated however as we have been playing our best hockey of the year over the past few weeks and seem to be peaking at just the right time. The victory over Dunkerque last week certainly proved that we compete and beat teams at the top of the clasification. It's time for the playoffs!

TradeCentre 09

Cooking while watching TSN. What a treat!

For the most part being six to eight hours ahead of the majority of North America does not work in favour of hockey fans in France as we are forced to stay up until all hours of the night if we want to watch a game. For once however, the time difference worked in my favour as the trade deadline came and went today. If I was back in Canada, the deadline would have passed at 1 pm MT and I would have probably been checking for updates at my desk. Being in France however, TradeCentre 09 was prime time viewing and I was determined to take advantage.

Arriving home at about 3:30 this afternoon, I logged on to my computer and within minutes had the TradeCentre 09 on TSN streaming live. Five and a half hours left before the deadline and I was going to watch every second of the drama as it unfolded. As Mindy was teaching a little later then I was, I decided to try and solidify my position as Husband of the Year by cooking dinner. It was a good thing for the commercial breaks or else dinner might have been a little crispy. Anyway, it was awesome to be able to watch real live sports and follow the excitement, even if the number of trades was not as many as I hoped.

The TradeBreakers are about to announce another trade and I was there to catch it all.

Carnaval

The team poses for a group shot with some of the friendly folks dressed up for Carnaval.

After our game on Saturday, the team made our way along the coastal walkway in Dunkerque to the restaurant where we were having our post-game meal. The annual Carnaval festival was in full swing and the revelers were out in full force, providing the team with a slightly more interesting walk.

Carnaval is basically a huge Mardi Gras type festival where revelers dress up in various costumes and parade around the town. Of course with such festivities comes the inevitable parties and carousing around the town as people let loose and celebrate. There are lots of traditional French songs that are sung as well as a few traditions that I didn't totally understand the significance of, but seemed to add to the atmosphere.

Captain Sly borrowed a cap and glasses to set the tone for the evening.

Even our coach, Dmitri, joined in the fun as he modelled some outrageous hair and sunglasses.

Romain and David M. get involved in a little dancing with some party goers.

Regular Season Game #18

Last game of the regular and I was in the press box. In front of the biggest crowd we have played in front of (1,500 strong) that were making the noise of twice that much, and I had to sit back and watch with anticipation as the team faced off against the Corsaires of Dunkerque. A team I should mention that had only lost two games all year.

It was a standing room only crowd in Dunkerque.

We started the game as one would against a world class chess player: cautious. We played it safe and kept the puck out of our zone. Nothing fancy and without a lot of style, but it was effective as Dunkerque never really seemed to be able to establish any type of rhythym. The teams traded powerplays for the first twelve minutes and then IT happened. At the end of a penalty-kill, Baptiste Blommaert jumped on a loose puck at the top of the circles in their zone and wired the puck home. All of a sudden, we had the lead. Dunkerque seemed to be a little stunned by the fact that we had scored but to their credit, they were determined to stay in the game. Near the end of the period, our penalties caught up with us and the Corsaires notched one on the powerplay to even it up at 1-1.

I never want to blame the referees for penalties, but in the second period, the refs called a few too many penalties with not all of them being deserved. The pace of the game slowed down tremendously. After eight minutes of penalties being served, with the teams back at full strength, Baptiste notched his second of the night on a wicked from the top of the circles. Top shelf. The refs thought they needed to keep it close however and immediately gave us a couple of minor penalties. Dunkerque took full advantage and scored on the 5 on 3 advantage on a puck that Tommi didn't have a chance to see. I have to give the team credit however as we really buckeled down and worked to keep the momentum going in our favour. A power play goal by J.C. Fornero allowed us to finish the period with a 3-2.

In the third period, the boys came out knowing that they could win this one. Their was a look of confidence in our play as we pushed Dunkerque to make a mistake that we could capitalize on. Eight minutes in and J.C. found the mistake and buried his second of the night. Dunkerque, being the exceptional team that they are, continued to work and eventually forced us into making a mistake on a power-play. They converted the short handed goal and all of a sudden were back in the game. J.C. was determined to make sure that we didn't give up the victory and notched the hat-trick marker while short-handed! We were up 5-3 and that proved to be enough. It was a great victory and a fantastic way to finish off the regular season.

Beaches of Dunkerque

As I am still on the injured reserve, this weekends trip to Dunkerque offered an opportunity to explore the coastal town located on the shores of the English Channel in the Pas de Calais region of France. Located only 10 kilometeres from the Belgium border and just a quick boat ride from England, Dunkerque is home to the third largest port in France after Marseilles and Le Havre.

While the guys were preparing for the game, I took a stroll along the shoreline and for a brief moment thought I might have escaped to Hawaii. Then I remembered that I was wearing my hockey jacket and the breeze coming off the ocean was a little cooler then what I believe one can experience on the shores of Maui.

The stroll in Dunkerque along the beach.

The sand in Dunkerque was a fabulous white colour and the town accented the shoreline with a colorful mixture of beach condos, restaurants, and watering holes. Even in February, the stroll and the next couple blocks over were quite busy as people enjoyed the fresh ocean air and relaxed pace of this northern town.

That water looks pretty inviting. What should I do?

Jump right in of course. I briefly considered making the swim across to England, but...

...the water was a little on the chilly side.

The beach homes in Dunkerque were a fantastic variety of colour and design.

The buildings in Dunkerque, including the church, are all newer as most of the town was destroyed during the Second World War.