Sunday at the Louvre

Mika, Mindy, and David. The exploreres of the Louvre undergrounds.

After a disapointing result last night in our French Cup game (more on this in my next post), Mindy and I decided we needed a little culture and decided to take advantage of the free entrance to the Louvre offered on the first Sunday of every month. Mika decided that he was in need of a cultural experience as well, and thus we became three.

For those of you who have never been to the Louvre before, let me first explain how amazingly huge the place is. Nearly 35,000 pieces are displayed in about 15,000 acres of floor space. You could spend weeks in the place and still not be able to fully appreciate the tremendous amounts of art and artifacts that fill the hallways, not to mention the ceilings and moldings that only add to the atmosphere.

We arrived early as we knew that the crowds would only grow as the day wore on and made our way to the Louvre's most famous exhibit, Leonardo's Mona Lisa. It's hard to believe this is the most valuable piece of art in the world considering it's size and simplicity. Mindy believes that the lady in the Mona Lisa is actually much more beautiful when you see the painting in real-life as opposed to in a book, as it truly captures the essence of how much Da Vinci loved the woman that he painted. I was much more impressed with the painting that actually hangs opposite the Mona Lisa, Gericault's The Wedding Feast at Cana.

Mindy meets Mona.

After wandering the Denon wing of the museum and inspecting the french, italian, and spanish art, we made our way to the Sully wing where we toured the halls filled with Greek ceramics and ancient Egyptian artifacts. Some of the pieces were quite stunning and it was hard to imagine that they had been created more than 4,000 years ago.

This statue was made around 1300 BC and features the god Amon protecting King Tut.

By this time, it was approaching mid-morning and we had been walking for a couple of hours. Mindy decided that a Starbucks break was in order, and low and behold, the Louvre just happened to have a Starbucks. Chocolate chip frappaciunos have a way of invigorating the legs and mind when combined with some baguette and Nutella that I brought for us from home.

After our coffee break, it was time to check out some french sculptures and the Napoleon III Apartments in the Richelieu wing. This was probably the most impressive part of our tour as the sculptures featured in the Cours Marly are incredibly imposing and the grandness of the Napoleon Aprtments was a real treat to see. Don't worry, a video tour of the Louvre is being produced and will be available shortly for your viewing pleasure.

Stealing a kiss under an arch in the Richelieu wing.

After three and half hours of the Louvre we needed to eat, but as residents of Paris, there was no way we were going to subject ourselves to the tourist prices at the Louvre. So we headed to the Latin Quarter across Pont Neuf where Mika took us to a little greek kebab restaurant that serves huge portions for very few euros. As promised the food was fantastic and we left feeling slightly more than full, ready for the quick walk around the Notre Dame and the Rive Droit before the Metro ride home.

On our way to the Latin Quarter, we stopped for a photo outside the Louvre entrace.

Time for a well earned meal.

Aller!!! Paris!!! Aller!!! Paris!!!

Parcs aux Princes - Home of Paris St.Germain

This evening it was time for a little UEFA Cup action as the home squad Paris St.Germain was in action against Kayserispor from Turkey. It was a little on the cool side as the games here start at 9 pm due to the start of the european primetime being 8:50 pm (don't ask about the weird times, it would take me days to explain), but we dressed for the weather and were ready for some football.

One of my teammates, Guillaume Pfeiffer, arranged all the tickets and a group of about 12 or 13 of us from Asnieres made the trek to Parc aux Princes. Once again, Mindy and I were treated to a totally new experience at the stadium as it is common practice for people to stand thoughout the game, sing, clap, and scream bloody murder if the referee makes a call against their team. We had an excellent time even if the game ended in a scoreless draw, there were plenty of scoring chances and each team played a very up-tempo style of game.

The royal couple taking it all in.

Of course no european football game would be complete without flares being set off in the crowd.

Even though the stadium was not soldout, it was probably one of the most involved crowds I've ever been a part of as they continued to sing, chant, and cheer their team for the duration of the game.

Turn up your speakers and you can hear the singing in the background. They kept this up for the entire game, except of course when they had to yell "Aller!!! Paris!!!"

Hockey Night in Bern

The Rangers on TV in France???Incroyable!!!

Hockey night in Bern = Hockey night in France!!!

We were treated to a little NHL exhibition action on TV when we arrived home this evening from practice as the New York Rangers were playing in the Victoria Cup final against Metallurg (from the KHL in Russia).

Tommi, Andronik, Anne-Julie, Mindy, and I crowded into the living room to watch real live hockey on TV (Tommi and I decided that Mika and Annika are not true hockey fans because they went to bed). It was looking a little doubtful that New York would have any success as they were down 3-0 in the middle of the second period. So we cheered a little louder in our flat here in Paris and I know the boys from NY heard us as they seemed to rally and then scored.

The Rangers made it 3-2 early in the third and then had a 5-on-3 advantage with about 10 minutes to go in the game. Mindy and I got really excited at this point as the Rangers called a timeout and we saw our family friend, Perry Pearn, explaining what he wanted from the power-play unit. Thirty seconds later, the puck is in the back of the net and the game was tied.

Mindy was really hoping that the game would go into overtime and eventually a shootout, however Ryan Callahan had other plans as he stole a puck with only 30 seconds left to play in the game and walked in all alone on a breakaway before depositing the puck neatly into the back of the goal. Final score, Rangers 4, Metallurg 3.

It should be noted that Tommi and I were having a little bit of fun with our russian coach, Dmitri, at practice tonight as we were predicting who would win. He was sure that Metallurg would win and threatened to skate Tommi and I extra for cheering for New York. We had a good laugh by responding that we expected practice to finish on time tonight so we could get home to watch the game.

Anyway it was a nice little treat to watch some hockey on TV. Bye for now!

Chips, pop, and everyone glued to the TV.

Cathedrals in France

Notre Dame de Paris is the only cathedral in northern France with two symetrical towers.

Everyone knows all about the famous Notre Dame in Paris, complete with hunchback legend, but Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris is only one of several grand cathedrals that were built in northern France between 1100 and 1600 AD. Actually there are four that were built in the same mold, yet each with individual features that make it different from all the others (Paris, Amiens, Rouen, and Strasbourg). During our road trip to Amiens, one of my teammates, Romain Sauvage, decided that I needed to see more then just the hockey rink in Amiens. It was time to be truly amazed but an incredible building so on our way home, we took a little detour.

The Cathedral Notre Dame d'Amiens is the tallest complete cathedral in France and has the greatest interior volume due to height of the nave vaults. It is found in the center of Amiens and literally appears out of nowhere as you walk into a small square, unlike Notre Dame de Paris which is featured prominently in a large square on an island in the middle of the Seine river. Although holy places that should be respected, I cannot help but reflect on the construction of these buildings. The detail is facinating and the vaults are incredible to behold. In the time of modern machines, cranes, and skylifts, it is truly incredible how we do not make anything like these buildings that were made with nothing but mucsle power and creative thinking.

Notre Dame d'Amiens. Notice how one tower is shorter then the other.

Inside Notre Dame d'Amiens

One of the many chapels that ring the outside of the cathedrals. This one is at Notre Dame d'Amiens.

Stonework above the doorway of Notre Dame d'Amiens

It was a real treat to be able to go to the cathedral in Amiens and I have to thank Romain for educating me on a facinating part of his country's history. Now I just need to go back to Rouen and Strasbourg to complete the tour.

Regular Season Game #1

The regular season kicked off for the Asnieres Hockey Club with a home game against Dunkerque. The team was hoping to revenge a couple of one-sided defeats from last year and the boys certainly came ready to play.

In the first period, we came out strong right out the gate and netted a quick goal on a delayed penalty within the first couple of minutes. Mika, one of the Finnish roommates, was the goal scorer as he banged away at the front of the net. Kind of a Ryan Smyth type goal. However Dunkerque were not about to fold up the tent and pack it in quite so easily as they played us hard. Midway through the first, we started to get into penalty trouble, and Dunkerque were able to capitalize on a broken play when they had a 5-on-3 advantage. After the first period, the score was 1-1.

In the second, we continued to take penalties (6 minors in the period) and as a result never could mount much of a sustained attack. When you are using all your energy to keep the puck out of your own net, it's tough to work on getting the puck into the other one. Dunkerque eventually grabbed the lead on the power-play. End of the second, 2-1 for Dunkerque.

We had our chances in the third, including a 5-on-3 powerplay for almost a minute and a half with under 4 minutes left in the game. We even pulled out goalie for part of it to make it a 6-on-3 advantage, but we couldn't buy a goal. In the end Dunkerque scored into the empty net with 1 second left on the game clock. Dicipline for us was again an issue as we 9 more penalty minutes we had to kill in the third.

Just a couple of notes about the game. I wore number 14 as my jersey is not yet ready for me. Mika is #40 for the year, while Andronik wore number 39 while he waits for his permanent jersey to be ready. The boys played hard and there are signs we can be successful in this league, although we will need to be much more diciplined in the future. Anyway, here is the video.

A night out in Paris.

Last night kicked off the start of the regular season for the Asnieres Hockey Club as we hosted the Dunkerque Corsaires. It was a pretty good game although in the end we came up short and lost 3-1 with the final goal being into the empty net. I'll add more about the game in my next post, which will be complete with a highlight video.

This morning however, after taking the opportunity to sleep in, Mindy and I enjoyed a big Canadian style breakfast with eggs, bacon, pancakes, and real Canadian Maple Syrup!!! Yes, you can buy it all at the local grocery supermarket here in Asnieres. Anyway we had our big breakfast and then decided to wander around Paris during the late afternoon and early evening with the intention of grabbing some dinner at one the hundreds of small out of the way restaurants you can find in Paris.

We started off with a strol up the Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. It was a beautiful afternoon and we enjoyed mingling with the tourists. From there, we made our way to the Eiffel Tower where we once again mingled with the tourists and remarked on how blessed we felt to be able to live in a place like Paris.

We really wern't sure what we wanted to do, or where we might want to have dinner eventually, so we walked along the Seine river past Les Invalides and the Louvre all the way to Pont Neuf. From here we made our way onto to some back streets with little foot traffic in search of a meal without the tourist price.

Our exploring paid off as we came accross a small street with six or seven small restaurants serving three course meals from between 11 and 14 euros. We choose the busiest of the bunch and enjoyed a great meal at La Citrouille. We started off the meal with a crepe, I had mussels, mushrooms and cheese in mine, while Mindy had her's without the mussels. This was followed the main course of beef in a red wine sauce for myself and roasted chicken for Mindy. Dessert was pomme tarte for my beautiful wife, while I settled for a creme caramel. Needless to say, it was a great meal with a great atmosphere, with fantastic service. The tap water they served was even served from a bottle!

After dinner we made our way accross Pont Neuf to Eglise Notre Dame de Paris to view her in all her splendor at night. We were not disapointed as the lighting inside is kept to a minimum and the chapels of the saints along the sides are only lit by candle light. It was beautiful to see and the perfect ending to our night out.

I should also add that since we were at Notre Dame, we tried to find the side street from the movie The Devil Wears Prada where Anne Hathaway's charater kisses the guy in Paris, but we couldn't quite locate it. We will return after we check the film.

Mindy on a bridge overlooking the Seine river right next to the Eiffel Tower.

Walking along the Rive Gauche towards Pont Neuf.

Mindy holding our water bottle, the water being straight from the river according the owner who also served us this evening. In her other hand, Mindy has a piece of baguette to cleanse the pallet between courses.

Half of our desserts. I should mention that the French have figured out that meal portions do not need to be supersized. As a result, one can enjoy an appetizer, dinner, and dessert without feeling overstuffed. Something North American resturants should look into.

If you happen to be in the area, this is a great little place to eat, although I'm not sure any of the little restaurants arn't great to eat in Paris as the food here is superb.

Mindy and I on Pont Neuf with Eglise Notre Dame de Paris in the background.

Exhibition Game #5

So even though it is a couple of weeks late, here is the highlight video from our game against Amiens on the 14th of September. We played really well as a team and did a pretty good job of limiting scoring chances for Amiens. The end result was a 3-1 victory for the good guys.

In the video, you will see our first and second goals. The first was a beauty wrist shot by Olivier Ducam (who is now my defense partner). The second was on a delayed penalty where the guys crowded the net and provided a great screen for my point shot to go post-to-post before being knocked into the net by Baptiste. Also included is great shot of me getting my face raked by a high stick. Anyway, enjoy the video!