Slow News Week

Just like a regular teacher, when classes end, you sometimes receive some nice little gifts from your students.

So the past two weeks have been a little slow here in Paris as hockey is done for the year but we haven't really started our grand finale travel month. As we are heading back to Canada in just over a month, we have been spending quite a bit of time preparing for making the transition back to Edmonton as we will be arriving to a new house in Leduc as well as potentially new jobs. The result has been what could be the described as the "dog days" of our Paris experience. Here are a couple of the highlights.

• Some of my students wanted to thank me for my efforts and got together to buy me a french cheese cookbook (pictured above). It was a wonderful surprise and greatly appreciated.
• Romain and I got together for a couple of beers and nachos at the TGC pub to watch the Canadians wax the Slovaks at the World Hockey Champioships. France also pulled out a victory against Germany which was a nice surprise as well.

So yeah, almost sounds like a regular week back home. Fear not however as starting tomorrow, Mindy and I will be back to running around Europe, touring like crazy and maximizing this incredible opportunity that we have been blessed with. We will also be welcoming a few visitors to Paris (stay tuned to find out who they are) which we are really excited about. In the meantime, tune into the Stanley Cup playoffs and cheer on your favortite team, but don't forget to check back with us soon!

Last Weekend in Paris

Mindy was pretty happy to track down a couple boxes of KD.

Due to some upcoming travel, this weekend marks the last full weekend that Mindy and I will be spending in Paris. In celebration of this glorious weekend and to say goodbye to a city we both love what did we do? Most people would make a farewell tour to various sites before enjoying a nice, traditional french meal. We has a little different take on what we would do.

Well, we started this morning with Aunt Jamaima pancakes topped with maple syrup. After breakfast, which was consumed more around a brunch time, we hopped on the Metro and headed to the city center to do some shopping. I needed some new flip-flops so we visited such stores as Gap, C&A, Adidas, and the Nike store. It was finally while looking in the Quiksilver store where I found the sandals that I needed in the appropriate beach bum style that I like to sport while on vacation.

After our shopping experience, we headed to le Marais district to check out an American grocery store called ThanksGiving that we heard about. Aparently the store has been in business for close to 20 years, much to Mindy's dismay as she has really been missing her French's mustard, which ironically is not sold in France. We puchased the most expensive boxes of Kraft Dinner we will ever purchase ($15 Canadian for one regular box and one family size box) plus an A&W Rootbeer for Mindy and a Dr.Pepper for myself.

After completing our purchases, we headed back to the Champs Elysees where we picked up a couple burgers at McDonald's to take with us to the movies as we had previously obtained tickets to go see The Fast & The Furious 4. The movie was great, burgers were good, and the Dr.Pepper amazing. And so ended the first day of our goodbye weekend in Paris.

If you are living in Paris and need a fix from home, check out ThanksGiving at 20 Rue St. Paul.

Remembering Ferbie

The memorial of my grandfather that hangs in Branch 87 of the Royal Canadian Legion in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.

A year ago today, I was on the island of Maui in the south Pacific with Mindy on our honeymoon. Little did we know, that in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, my grandfather, Ferbie, passed away. Out of all the people who have supported us on our adventure to France, the person who would have most enjoyed reading and hearing about our adventure, aside from maybe our parents and sibligs, would have been my grandfather.

He was a pasionate hockey fan who loved the Canadians, which would have been great if he came over for visit as it seems like the only teams you are allowed to cheer for in France are the Canadians and whatever team Cristobal Huet is playing for (currently Chicago). We used to chat weekly about the state of the Canadians powerplay and what changes he thought needed to made. During the summer, his focus would change to the Toronto Blue Jays, where his solution was to simply fire the manager. He had also resently came over for the 60th aniversary of the D-Day invasion and toured Normandy with some fellow veterns. I think it would have been a neat experience to visit sites like Omaha, Gold, and Juno beach with someone who knew so much about it.

So for those of you who knew him, say a little prayer today in remembrance and count yourself lucky to have met one of the most incredible men I have ever met.

A Year Already!

April 19, 2008 - The Beginning.

There is a saying that goes something along the lines of time flying when you are having fun. If that is the case, then this year went by at the speed of light. We are constantly reminding ourselves how truly blessed we are as a couple and feel extremely lucky to have so many quality people in our lives. From new friends to old, so many people have enriched our lives during our first year of marriage. Thank you to you all.

May found us in Maui on our honeymoon.


A church picnic in Leduc in June.

July and August were spent at the family cabin at Gull Lake working on the new addition.

September saw us reunite after a month apart and share a kiss at the Louvre.

We travelled to Cherbourg in October for a little hockey.

As November drew to a close, we started to see signs of Christmas like the market at La Defence.

Christmas in December was spent in Spain as we visited Barcelona.

We then rang in the New Year in the Alps on a ski hill in January.

A warm spell in February allowed to get out and explore some of the sights of Paris such as Pere LaChaise Cemetary.

After the hockey season finished in March, we travelled Normandy with our friends Robert and Corine.

We celebrated the weekend before our anniversary in April by going on some rides at Disneyland here in France.

As for what the second year holds we arn't quite sure, but we hope it will be as exciting and funfilled as the first.

Disneyland...Paris Style

Gabrielle and Mindy were pretty excited to be staring down Main Street USA at Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland.

So you are a tourist in Paris, what do you do? Well, museums, chateauxs, and monuments are all viable options, however when asked what she really wanted to do while staying with us this past week, Gabrielle did not hesitate with her reply. "Disneyland!!!" was the resounding answer. Okay, so maybe we presented it as a possible option, but let's just say that I was accompanied by two pretty excited ladies as we made our way to Marne-la-Vallee, some 30 kms east of Paris to spend a day with Mickey, Donald, and the rest of the Disney cast.

Arriving as the park gates opened at 10:00 am, we dove right into the rides. We were very fortunate as the crowd on hand was not overwhelming and for the most part, we waited between 10 and 15 minutes to board most rides. Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, and Buzz Lightyear rides were just a small part of the repetoire we sampled. Of course we also had to ride classics such as A Small World and Alice's Teacups. We all agreed that Space Mountain should have been avoided as we exited the looping in the dark with lights flashing roller-coaster just a little on the dizzy side.

We stayed right until the park closed at 9:00 pm and just like the kids we saw that day, we couldn't get the smiles off our faces.

Mindy and Gabrielle blast away on the Buzz Lightyear ride.

And took in the Canadian part of A Small World.

Before either screaming or laughing (I'm not really sure what that was) on Big Thunder Mesa roller-coaster.

We took some time off from the rides to visit with everyone's favorite duck.

And then back to the Teacups where we spun out of control.

Carefull Princess Mindy, don't prick your finger on the spindle or you will fall asleep.

Fortunately for Mindy, her Prince Charming was downstairs removing a sword from a stone before coming to rescue her.

The happy couple at the end of a long, tiring, and fun-filled day at Disneyland, Paris.

In the end, Mindy couldn't handle all the excitement and crashed for a little siesta.

Seine River Cruise Pictures

Moving past Notre Dame at dusk.

The Latin Quarter as the boat moves around Isle de la Cite.

A famous little tower lights up.

Tour Eiffel.

Paris Blitz

The starting point: Moulin Rouge

The Paris Blitz is not a new defensive play being run by a football team nor has the french capital been invaded. Instead, the Paris Blitz is the whirlwind tour that Mindy and I gave to Gabrielle as we explored the City of Light. The first stop was the Moulin Rouge where we quickly jumped off the Metro, took the pictures, and then jumped back on as we headed for our next destination.

On to Montmartre & Sacre Coeur. The ladies posed for a quick picture before the ascent began up the dozens of stairs that one has to climb to reach the basilica.

We stopped at Montmartre & Sacre Coeur where we marched up the stairs to the top of the hill before eating a fantastic picnic lunch on the steps overlooking the city. The afternoon sun was fantastic but we couldn't hang around too long as we had to move on to the next destination.

On to Pere Lachaise Cemetary as Mindy played the role of tour guide and pretty much repeated the exact same tour we took earlier in the year. Which meant that...

...Gabrielle has the awesome opportunity to pucker up to the tomb of Oscar Wilde!

From Pere Lachaise, we hopped the Metro to the trendy Le Marais district of Paris, where artisans, artists, and smaller fashion houses sell their wares. There are also quite a few little specialty shops in the area.

Mindy and Gabrielle almost hit their stride in the shopping district of Le Marais. Thankfully I was there to move them along to our next destination.

After strolling through Le Marais, we moved across the Seine River to Isle de la Cite as Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris had to be visited. We were a little lucky as our visit timed perfectly with the evening mass of Easter Sunday. It was fantastic to be in one of the most famous churches on one of the most spiritualy significant days of the year.

Gabrielle & Mindy were still smilling as I continued to amaze them with my tour guide abilities at Notre Dame de Paris.

By this time we were starting to get a little hungry so I quickly led the ladies to the Latin Quarter for a nice little french cuisine. I made the mistake of giving them the choice of restaurants and after a half hour of decision making, we finally sat down for a nice little meal. We all agreed that after our time in France, we will certainly miss the french tradition of taking a meal in stages (Entree, Plat, Dessert).

Happy ladies in front of the Fountain St. Michel in the Latin Quarter.

To finish off our day, we step aboard the Bateaux Parisienne for a night time cruise down the Seine river. It was a fantastic opportunity to grab some amazing photos (check back tomorrow) and offered a view of central Paris that even Mindy and I hadn't yet taken in. And with that, the Blitz was over.

Cheerful cousins on the Seine river in front of a famous little tower in Paris.

The Gardens of Versailles

Mindy and Gabrielle pose at the top of the gardens before we started our trek into the vast estate.

I promise this will be the last post from Versailles, however in my defence, this place is so incredibly amazing, I just had to share it with everyone. Needless to say, we enjoyed ourselves immensely while touring both the chateau and the surrounding gardens. The gardens, in modern terms I think the term estate might be better, as they cover an area of over 800 hectares. I guess they could be refering to the 210,000 flowers that are planted annually. Either way, the grounds are huge and really need to be seen. Below are a few pictures from our adventure.

Mindy and I pose midway down the grand canal. The chateau behind us is over a kilometer and half away.

Statues, monuments, and fountains are scattered throughout the gardens in little groves. Here is the coliseum grove.

Mindy strikes a pose to show off one of the fifty fountains.

While I prefer to simply relax and try and blend in.

Mindy is equally talented at relaxing as demonstrated above.

That's all from Versailles. If you want to see more, Mindy and Gabrielle suggest you buy a plane ticket and book your tour as soon as possible!

Chateau de Versailles Part II

Mindy is ready to look way up at the amazing ceillings at Versailles.

As we continued our tour into the King's Apartments, we were amazed by the level of detail and beauty we discovered in room after room. The painted ceillings were by far some of the most impressive pieces of artwork that we have seen and when combined with the woodwork, presents a pretty mindblowing scene.

As a tourist at Versailles, one sometimes sees many beautifuls rooms and fails to see the unique features and detail present in each. Another beautiful room becomes just another room. Even you get into that trap at Versailles, the Hall of Mirrors will certainly shake things up and get

you back on track. The Hall of Mirrors is the central gallery in the chateau and is considered one of the most beautiful rooms in the world. Along one side of the hall are seventeen arched windows looking out over the gardens of Versailles. Opposite them are seventeen mirror-clad arches. Each arch uses twenty-one mirrors. You do the math and that is pretty impressive. The effect is one of light and space and even on a busy Saurday afternoon, the hall still seemed to have alot of room.

One of many impressive painting decorating the ceilling of the King's Apartments.

The famed Hall of Mirrors.

The king's bedroom. Even by today's standards, this would be a pretty nice place to crash.

The meeting room of the king. Some of the most important decisions of the 17th and 18th century were made in this room.

Enough of all the museum stuff, let's go ourside...