Regular Season Game #8

The ice surface at the Rinkla in Brest.

I held off on posting about our game last week as I was hoping to track down some game photos from the match. In the end, I couldn't find any, which might be a good thing considering the final score was 13-3 for the home team.

This was a very disapointing match for our team as although we were short due to injury and illness, I believe we could have shown much better then we did. The guys who played are all extremely proud of our efforts so far this season, but we really let ourselves down with this one. We were down 6-0 after the first period and it wasn't because Brest was playing at that much of a higher level. We did play better in the second period as we finished down 8-1 and generally outchanced Brest in the period. In the third however, we kind of packed it in and allowed five more goals while only notching two of our own.

A tough game, but we learned alot and hopefully we will be able to play a little tougher when they visit us in February.

Oh Christmas Tree

The Frat House has a Christmas Tree...thanks to Andro & Anne-Julie!!!

As the Christmas season approaches, we received a few early gifts this week that we wish we could have exchanged. Scotland sent their weather; wind, rain, and "cold" (I use this term in the loosest of senses...it's been about 2 to 4 degrees as week which is cold for Paris). And some obscure medical research center sent us the flu (5 of 7 houseguests infected this week). Needless to say, this has produced a little bit of a slow news week here at "The Bread Page".

However when the tough gets going, the going get tough, and in an effort to make our dwelling a little more festive, Andro and Anne-Julie went out and bought a Christmas Tree. It was absolutely fantastic to see Mindy's reaction when she saw it all set up. It was like it was Christmas already. I admit that the tree, although nothing grand, is still a nice touch as it is something familiar for a very special of year. Of course, on Christmas morning, Andro and Anne-Julie will be the only ones here to enjoy it as the Mika and Tommi are heading north (Annika left yesterday for Finland) and Mindy and I are heading south, but it is still a nice touch for December. Next item on the shopping list...chocolate advent calendars!

Roadtrip to the West Coast

Romain, Sly, & Andro settle in for the trip to the west coast.

In Canada, many of us who are not from the lower mainland of British Columbia often refer to the west coast as the "wet coast", due to the perpetual amount of rain and cloud that one can view during the winter months if you so happen to visit the region. Well in France they have the same sense of humour as I found out this past weekend when we went on our west coast road trip to Brest.

Even though France is a relatively small country land-mass wise, it is still a fair size and takes a reasonable amount of time to drive from the central part to the western tip. So we loaded the bus at 06h00 (everyone knows what the "0" stands for right?!?) on Saturday morning and departed for Brest. Fortunately, the Asnieres Hockey Club sees that we travel in style and arranged for a sleeper bus for the team. It's basically a bus with two long rows of bunk beds and is surprisingly comfortable.

After ten hours of travel, we finally arrived in Brest, or as my teammate Romain "Mr.Nike" Sauvage put it; "The closest you can get to Canada while in France". Andro and I waved across the Atlantic but the Newfies weren't paying attention. Awaiting us as we entered the city however were some of France's finest Boys in Blue...along with their trusty radar gun. Of course our bus driver was speeding (71km/h in a 50km/h zone) and of course we were pulled over. After handing over a ticket and directions to the hockey rink, we were on our way to get ready for the game.

The town of Brest sent the police to greet our entrance to the town.

After being welcomed by the cops, we finally arrived at the rink or "Rinkla" as it is known in Brest. The game started at 6 pm and ended about three hours later. I'll spare you the details for now, but we were playing the top team in the league with only three lines and four defensemen while missing one of our imports and our top scoring french player due to injury and one of our top four defensemen due to work. We took a pretty harsh thumping and limped away with a 13-3 thrashing around our necks. Details will follow at a later date.

The arena in Brest. By far the best ice I have played on in France.

The best part about a road trip is the team bonding that occurs during the post game meal and subsequent trip back home. After the game, we went to a nice little restaurant where I had the pleasure of having my first steak since being in France. As previously explained after our trip to Cherbourg, the French have a law that requires the bus drivers (yes, there are two of them) to rest for nine hours before we can make the return trip. Since our game ended at 9 pm, we eat at 10 pm, and then had the pleasure of visiting amonst ourselves for the next couple of hours.

Nothing like a post-game steak with the boys.

At 01h00, Sunday morning, we finally loaded up the bus for the return journey to Asnieres. After a fine little tune sung by the entire team (Oh Champs Elysees), we settled in for the night on our luxurious sleeper coach. Eight hours later, we arrived back home in Asnieres...and so ended the wet coast...I mean west coast roadtrip.

Christmas Window

Christmas windows in Paris just don't have the same feel as New York.

About a year ago, Mindy and I had the opportunity to go to New York while I was in Newark, New Jersey on business. While in New York, we made sure we stopped by the Macy's store in Herald Square to check out the Christmas windows. While strolling near Gallerie Lafayette in Paris, we came across the Paris equivalent at Printemps, another high end french department store.

The Christmas windows at Printemps are designed by some of the world's most renowned fashion minds, and thus have a different feel to them. Although they also have a mechanical component that moves the puppets around, and therefore attracts little kids, they don't really scream Christmas. The one pictured above was done by Karl Lagerfeld, who in his spare time is the haute couture designer for Chanel. I'm not sure how the above window celebrates the holiday season, but Merry Christmas anyway!!!

Frat House Update

All eight residents of the Frat House. The ladies in front from left to right - Mindy, Anne-Julie, Joana, and Annika. The boys in the back - David, Tommi, Andronik, and Mika.

This past weekend marked quite possibly the last time that all eight residents of the Frat House would be living under the same roof as Joana (Tommi's girlfriend) headed back to Finland on monday to continue her studies. In true Karen St.Cyr fashion (I guess I am my mother's son), I realized that a photo needed to be taken to commenmorate the day. It was going to be the last time I could get all of us in the same picture anyway. So we posed for a picture, with the ladies all thanking me for taking the picture after they had washed off their makeup and changed for bed.

Living in a four bedroom apartment, no matter how big it is, can be a challenge at times. Mindy and I have totally been thrilled with the experience however as we have been able to share meals, laughs and experiences with our roomies that have only added to our time here in France. We are never bored and Mindy has enjoyed the company of the other ladies while I am off at hockey.

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Mindy is ready to shop at Les Quatre Temps shopping center.

Okay, so it's not really starting to look a lot like Christmas here, but we are seeing small signs that the festive season is just around the corner. Nothing like back in Canada where houses are decorated with lights and public walkways have Christmas decorations all over, but small discreet signs. This past Sunday, Scotland imported their weather to Paris as it was cold, windy, with lots of rain. In an effort to stay warm and dry (Mindy's favourite condition), we headed to La Defence and Les Quatre Temps shopping center. Of course, this being France, all the shops were closed. That didn't stop us from doing a little window shopping, stopping in at Starbucks, and finding the one store that was open (Castorama - French version of Canadian Tire). A low key day, but enjoyable day none the less.

Of course the Chanel hand bag was on full display as we checked out the Christmas decorations.

A large Chritmas market is being setup at La Defence with vendors coming from all over France to spread the Christmas specialties of their region. Picture taken on Monday...after the rain had stopped.

As Mindy savours her Starbucks, she contemplated what it would be like to take a bite out of the giant gingerbread man below.

La Defence

La Grande Arche at La Defence is an imposing and unique building.

The city of Paris, to preserve the feeling of being in Paris, has a zoning law that restricts the height of any new building. As a result, the city skyline is still dominated by the Eiffel Tower and you can still enjoy panoramic views from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. Big business however demands huge office buildings where France's largest companies can house a great percentage of its workers under one roof. And thus, La Defence was created in the western suburbs of Paris in an area called Puteaux.

The buildings of La Defence are not simply office towers however, this is Paris, and fashion extends even to its buildings. The structures at La Defence are all unique and each has a very different profile from the rest. The shapes are all different with arcs, cylinders, crescents, and squares all mingled together. The result is a visually stimulating environment that would inspire any architectural student.

The shopping center at La Defence houses more then 230 stores.

Every Monday afternoon, I make the trip to La Defence to teach at Societe Generale, France's second largest bank. Mindy makes the same trip every Thursday morning. Of course, Tours SG (The Societe Generale Towers) are equally imposing compared to any of their brethren at La Defence. Just a little bit different then downtown Edmonton.

Tours SG is actually three towers joined together at the base.