At our breakfast this morning the owner was very inquisitive about us and America. He wanted to know what Virginia is famous for. We told him many of our early presidents were from there. And then we told him it was the capital of the confederacy. He knew all about that. And said we're known for being losers. Oh joy!
He kept wanting to talk to us and finally happened upon the topic of motorcycles. He and his mate do a lot of traveling and riding in other countries. He was telling us about their various adventures along the way. From the sounds of it, he and Tony are brothers separated by the Atlantic Ocean!
He was telling us how the GPS had settings for things that you could avoid. One he set was for traffic. He thought that meant traffic jams. Turns out it meant the most scenic route even if it took you around your nose to get to your big toe. He said he took a lot of u-turns until he figured it out. His mate said that if they don't do at least three u-turns a day, she felt incomplete. I was crying laughing by the time we left. It let me know that I don't have the only man in the world that seeks adventure on the crookedy path versus the straight and narrow.
We took the slow route to Glasgow. The countryside looks a lot like the Shenandoah valley back home. There are fields and fields of sheep separated by low rock walls. We hit a mountainous area that had beautiful streams flowing down the crevices where they met. Simply gorgeous.
Glasgow wasn't much fun. We would have skipped it other than the fact we needed to get some souvenirs. We parked in a garage and set out on foot. We got lucky and were close to the tourist area. We got our gifts and headed on our way. I found yet another back road and we were off.
To give you an idea of the extra amount of time it took us on the lolly gagging route, what should have taken 4 hours took 12. We've spent the last 90 minutes looking for a hotel. My golden rule was that we had to be checked in each day before dark. That didn't happen tonight for sure! We are currently sitting in the middle of the road because there is some sort of accident or something. Our hotel is right beside us. But we cannot figure out where to park. My patience barometer is running on fumes. That and I need to pee! UGH!!!
I've already told Tony tomorrow we are finding the most direct route from here to London. I don't think he will argue. Now if we can just get into our hotel.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
Scotland countryside day one - Scrambled
Today we saw Edinburgh Castle. It is more of a fortress built on top of craggy rocks. An amazing place for sure. As we were making our way further North, we went to Linlilthgow Castle, too. It is where Mary Queen of Scots was born. It's just sheer coincidence that we happened upon it. But it's neat that we did those two particular castles tied to her.
We've seen so many castles that they are all running together. Tonight we tried to pick our favorite. We've listened to audio guides at each. There is so much information about each. I'm glad there isn't a quiz at the end because we'd surely get the questions and answers mixed up. We couldn't really decide which was our favorite either because when we'd remember something about one, we figured out it was really another. It's been a wonderful trip.
We are staying in yet another place called Callander. Tony is bound to start an argument tomorrow with wanting to go three hours North of here which means the trip back to London will have to be done all night tomorrow night and into Sunday. And just when we've been doing so well in getting along. Oh well. It's not been a complete trip without a knock down drag out between us!
I think I'm officially fried. It's 8:53 and it feels as if it's at least 2 a.m. I'm about to turn the light out and be done for the night. I'm not sure what the itinerary will hold tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be just as exciting as all the rest of the journey has been.
We've seen so many castles that they are all running together. Tonight we tried to pick our favorite. We've listened to audio guides at each. There is so much information about each. I'm glad there isn't a quiz at the end because we'd surely get the questions and answers mixed up. We couldn't really decide which was our favorite either because when we'd remember something about one, we figured out it was really another. It's been a wonderful trip.
We are staying in yet another place called Callander. Tony is bound to start an argument tomorrow with wanting to go three hours North of here which means the trip back to London will have to be done all night tomorrow night and into Sunday. And just when we've been doing so well in getting along. Oh well. It's not been a complete trip without a knock down drag out between us!
I think I'm officially fried. It's 8:53 and it feels as if it's at least 2 a.m. I'm about to turn the light out and be done for the night. I'm not sure what the itinerary will hold tomorrow, but I'm sure it will be just as exciting as all the rest of the journey has been.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
England countryside day three - Roadtrip
Today we got up and saw Bolsover Castle that was only about 10 minutes from where we spent the night. It is a really neat place. It was like so many places in that there was one structure that then kept getting added on to. One piece of it is referred to as the Little Castle. It's not little by any means. It is the only structure that still has floors and walls left in it that we've seen. It even had some paintings on the walls and ceilings remaining. And I told Tony it was just his kind of place because the horse barn was bigger than the main house.
We left there and got directionally challenged yet again. We did get the phone set up with Internet again so the GPS would work. At first it wouldn't work and there was a lot of swearing going on in the car when we couldn't manage to find the way by ourselves. But it finally synced up and all was well.
We found Brodworth Hall and Gardens in Duncaster. The house was built about the time we were at civil war in the US. It is a beautifully decorated home with lots of paintings and marble sculptures. The last woman that lived in it died in 1988. From the descriptions they gave us about her, she was feisty! She was nearly 90 and refused to leave the house. She died there in her own bed. Her daughter gave the house to the Heritage but sold it's contents to them. I think they said they paid $3.2 million pounds. CRAZY!!
After we toured the house, we walked through the gardens. It is amazing how extensive they are. I can not imagine the restoration work they had to do to get them back in shape when they bought it. It doesn't take a garden long to get overgrown. They've done a wonderful job because the property is gorgeous. I don't know if they rent it for weddings, but it would be a gorgeous setting do that!
We decided to head North to Scotland tonight. Tomorrow we will see Edinburgh Castle. We thought we might head further North, but we're running out of time. I guess that gives us a reason to come back. We'll head back to London Saturday afternoon. We might actually stay in one place for two nights in a row. That will be a miracle!
Despite the crazy driving adventures, we're really having a great time. The schedules we've set are all very soft and if we blow them, oh well. We haven't had to be anywhere. It's just a matter of how much we want to see. We've taken the slow roads and tried to soak in the beauty of this place. Now to rest up for more exploring!
We left there and got directionally challenged yet again. We did get the phone set up with Internet again so the GPS would work. At first it wouldn't work and there was a lot of swearing going on in the car when we couldn't manage to find the way by ourselves. But it finally synced up and all was well.
We found Brodworth Hall and Gardens in Duncaster. The house was built about the time we were at civil war in the US. It is a beautifully decorated home with lots of paintings and marble sculptures. The last woman that lived in it died in 1988. From the descriptions they gave us about her, she was feisty! She was nearly 90 and refused to leave the house. She died there in her own bed. Her daughter gave the house to the Heritage but sold it's contents to them. I think they said they paid $3.2 million pounds. CRAZY!!
After we toured the house, we walked through the gardens. It is amazing how extensive they are. I can not imagine the restoration work they had to do to get them back in shape when they bought it. It doesn't take a garden long to get overgrown. They've done a wonderful job because the property is gorgeous. I don't know if they rent it for weddings, but it would be a gorgeous setting do that!
We decided to head North to Scotland tonight. Tomorrow we will see Edinburgh Castle. We thought we might head further North, but we're running out of time. I guess that gives us a reason to come back. We'll head back to London Saturday afternoon. We might actually stay in one place for two nights in a row. That will be a miracle!
Despite the crazy driving adventures, we're really having a great time. The schedules we've set are all very soft and if we blow them, oh well. We haven't had to be anywhere. It's just a matter of how much we want to see. We've taken the slow roads and tried to soak in the beauty of this place. Now to rest up for more exploring!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
English countryside day two - Schedules
Up to today, we've been blessed with beautiful weather, for England that is. I only had one rainy day while I was in London. We woke up to rain and it never let up the whole morning. It didn't really put too much of a damper on things though. And before the day was over, the sun was shining.
Tony had bought a track phone of sorts for work on his first trip over. After playing with it I figured out it had a GPS. It made my day! But I still did screen shots of the directions for today's travel. I tried to use those to begin with hoping to save the phone battery for an emergency if we happened off the beaten path.
Well, it didn't take long to have to pull it out. Street signs are at a minimum here and I missed a street where we needed to turn early on. We went 30 minutes out of the way before I gave in. We got an hour and a half later start than we wanted to, so we were two hours behind schedule.
Schedule, you ask? Yes, schedule. At our first stop yesterday, the lovely lady at the ticket desk told us about an English Heritage pass you can buy to see over 100 castles throughout England. She gave us a wonderful book of information about each and a map! That would be one of the three I've been using in my navigational duties. My anal retentive type A did a back flip once we had our "guide" for the rest of our trip.
Anyway, last night before we hit the sack, we plotted our course for the day. We figured hitting two a day made sense. Those we picked are about two hours away from each other and the first one is two hours from our stay last night. If we allocate two hours at each, it would make a total of eight hours for a full day of sight seeing.
Those plans are perfect in theory. Reality always seems to dictate a little different outcome. By the time we got to the first castle we were two hours behind. The phone Tony has was about to die and he doesn't have a car charger. We had to make a pit stop to find one.
We saw Kenilworth Castle today which was HEAVEN for me. I love Elizabeth I. This is the castle she gave to Robert Dudley which was her suitor for many years that she never married. To know that she had walked through these building and grounds was a cool feeling. They had a demonstration of the process women of her time went through in getting dressed. It was a lengthy process said to have taken upwards of five hours. But the lady said she can do it in 20 minutes so someone is off somewhere. Nonetheless, it was cool to learn about.
We spent over three hours wandering through the grounds. We gave up on trying to get to the next castle by closing time. When we got back in the car, we found the GPS had stopped working. It only had 2 pounds left on it. We're going to have to figure out how to add more money so it will work again. Or maybe I should just take this as the sign that we're supposed to stay lost on this trip. Jennifer says being lost equals exploring. I need to remember my pursuit of type A-.
We did a few circles and spent the mandatory 15 minutes or so looking for the route we needed. I found a motorway (read highway) that pointed in the direction we needed. So far we've been taking small back road kinds of routes. At home, I'm usually passed out in the car because Tony's driving only makes me scream. Being the navigator and the token person to ask for directions even though I don't have a freaking clue hasn't allowed me to catch any shut eye. But with a straight road ahead of us, I immediately fell asleep.
He woke me up just as we were passing the exit we needed for the next castle town. Fortunately the next exit also worked. We wound around the roads until we drove into the little town of Balsover. The castle sits on top of a hill overlooking the valley. It appears like this one is fully intact. I look forward to exploring it tomorrow.
We had to come to the next town over to find a hotel. It's a chain versus the wonderful cottage we stayed in last night. But we're so tired we don't care one way or another. We just need a place to lay horizontal for a few hours and take a shower in the morning.
I'm about to map out our course for tomorrow. This trip has been a lot like our visit to Disney World a few years back. We wake up at dawn and go until we can't move anymore. There is so much to see and do. The driving is a lot like being on a roller coaster from the perspective of being lost and stressed out to knowing our way and being calm.
Four more days of exploration, and then it's back to London. Tony will head back to work, and I'll do more London exploring. I can only imagine how long it will take me to get back to "normal" when I get back home. It will be nice to plant my feet and spend more than one night in a place. But I'm getting pretty used to the hectic schedule. Tony says I should just stay. I'm wondering what my girls and clients would think about that?!
Tony had bought a track phone of sorts for work on his first trip over. After playing with it I figured out it had a GPS. It made my day! But I still did screen shots of the directions for today's travel. I tried to use those to begin with hoping to save the phone battery for an emergency if we happened off the beaten path.
Well, it didn't take long to have to pull it out. Street signs are at a minimum here and I missed a street where we needed to turn early on. We went 30 minutes out of the way before I gave in. We got an hour and a half later start than we wanted to, so we were two hours behind schedule.
Schedule, you ask? Yes, schedule. At our first stop yesterday, the lovely lady at the ticket desk told us about an English Heritage pass you can buy to see over 100 castles throughout England. She gave us a wonderful book of information about each and a map! That would be one of the three I've been using in my navigational duties. My anal retentive type A did a back flip once we had our "guide" for the rest of our trip.
Anyway, last night before we hit the sack, we plotted our course for the day. We figured hitting two a day made sense. Those we picked are about two hours away from each other and the first one is two hours from our stay last night. If we allocate two hours at each, it would make a total of eight hours for a full day of sight seeing.
Those plans are perfect in theory. Reality always seems to dictate a little different outcome. By the time we got to the first castle we were two hours behind. The phone Tony has was about to die and he doesn't have a car charger. We had to make a pit stop to find one.
We saw Kenilworth Castle today which was HEAVEN for me. I love Elizabeth I. This is the castle she gave to Robert Dudley which was her suitor for many years that she never married. To know that she had walked through these building and grounds was a cool feeling. They had a demonstration of the process women of her time went through in getting dressed. It was a lengthy process said to have taken upwards of five hours. But the lady said she can do it in 20 minutes so someone is off somewhere. Nonetheless, it was cool to learn about.
We spent over three hours wandering through the grounds. We gave up on trying to get to the next castle by closing time. When we got back in the car, we found the GPS had stopped working. It only had 2 pounds left on it. We're going to have to figure out how to add more money so it will work again. Or maybe I should just take this as the sign that we're supposed to stay lost on this trip. Jennifer says being lost equals exploring. I need to remember my pursuit of type A-.
We did a few circles and spent the mandatory 15 minutes or so looking for the route we needed. I found a motorway (read highway) that pointed in the direction we needed. So far we've been taking small back road kinds of routes. At home, I'm usually passed out in the car because Tony's driving only makes me scream. Being the navigator and the token person to ask for directions even though I don't have a freaking clue hasn't allowed me to catch any shut eye. But with a straight road ahead of us, I immediately fell asleep.
He woke me up just as we were passing the exit we needed for the next castle town. Fortunately the next exit also worked. We wound around the roads until we drove into the little town of Balsover. The castle sits on top of a hill overlooking the valley. It appears like this one is fully intact. I look forward to exploring it tomorrow.
We had to come to the next town over to find a hotel. It's a chain versus the wonderful cottage we stayed in last night. But we're so tired we don't care one way or another. We just need a place to lay horizontal for a few hours and take a shower in the morning.
I'm about to map out our course for tomorrow. This trip has been a lot like our visit to Disney World a few years back. We wake up at dawn and go until we can't move anymore. There is so much to see and do. The driving is a lot like being on a roller coaster from the perspective of being lost and stressed out to knowing our way and being calm.
Four more days of exploration, and then it's back to London. Tony will head back to work, and I'll do more London exploring. I can only imagine how long it will take me to get back to "normal" when I get back home. It will be nice to plant my feet and spend more than one night in a place. But I'm getting pretty used to the hectic schedule. Tony says I should just stay. I'm wondering what my girls and clients would think about that?!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
England countryside Day One - Notes to Self
1) Driving in the UK is unadvisable if you have no idea where you are going AND you want to stay married.
We spend at least 15 minutes in each place we go driving in circles trying to find the road we are supposed to be on. We don't have a GPS and are trying to navigate with the high level road maps they've given us. Tony is known in our family as "Tony, hang a U-ie McCann". We now need to update it to "Tony keep circling the roundabout McCann" and "Tony pull in, back up, and turn around McCann". All the while, I'm screaming "Stay on the left, watch the curb, you missed the turn, that's a red light, etc," It's like he's forgotten every driving rule he's ever learned in 30 years because he's driving on the left side of the road. Well, that is when he actually is after I've screamed "DRIVE ON THE LEFT" as cars are approaching. At breakfast I did contemplate asking for a barf bag for the road after the eventful trip from the airport to our hotel last night.
2) Practicing my British accent really does help reduce stress in the passenger seat.
The excitement began as soon as we left our hotel this morning. I, in my infinite wisdom, decided that I could do screen shots of more detailed maps to help to get from point A to B while at the hotel each night as I map out our route. That works GREAT... except when you veer off the roads on the map you've screen shot. We make big circles, we make small circles. And with every pass, knots intertwine the muscles in my upper back and neck. I have three maps I'm trying to consult while at the same time trying to match it to reality. And somehow Tony thinks I know the answer to "Where am I supposed to go Machelle?" when the place I told him to go took us in the wrong direction. UGH!!!
So, I finally came up with a solution. I said to heck with caring where we were and started providing running commentary in my best British accent. Since arriving, I've been listening closely. We get audio guides at the places we visit, I hear it on the radio, and of course all the folks around us are talking. I've caught myself thinking in British. I figured this would be a good time to practice. I'm actually quite good according to Tony. Having to think of the pronunciations and listening to Tony laugh at me for being a goofball detangled all the knots. Always making lemonade out of lemons, that's me!
3) When driving in a foreign country, it would be best to understand how they do it.
The obvious difference of driving on the opposite side is actually the simplest. One of the most difficult navigational issues is that they don't use simple words like North, South, East, and West on road signs. They give you the names of the places that the road leads to. So, instead of having M3 South on the road sign, they have M3 Farnborough. It forces you to know which cities are in which direction on that particular road. It requires a split second decision that based on the aforementioned navigational and driving issues we have leads to the circular driving pattern we keep displaying.
On a highway, positionally you're supposed to drive on the far left lane and fast cars drive on the right. It makes perfect sense once you rewire your brain. But when you first get in a car here, you just focus on staying on the left side for obvious reasons. But reversing everything else that goes on takes a little bit of time to get used to. Today we were supposed to turn left and Tony turned on the right turn signal. Poor guy is so focused on trying to keep me from screaming and us from wrecking that he's all discombobulated. I told him this whole thing should be easy for him since he's left handed. He just had that deer in the head lights look.
The other fun part is roundabouts. One, they pop up out of no where when you're barreling down a road. You're nearly forced to come to a complete stop to avoid any cars already circling. And once the coast is clear, it's pedal to the metal and ride that thing like its on rails! Two, it's hell figuring out what lane you're supposed to stay in based on where you want to exit and taking into consideration the cars around you. And finally, they are kinda nice when you screw up because you can just keep circling (on two wheels).
All joking aside, we are having a great time. Yes, there's been a lot of screaming and laughing and horn blaring (they don't much like us foreign, stupid drivers). But today we got to see Stonehenge, a castle ruin from the late 1300s (Hungerford Castle), and drove through Bath. We are staying in a beautiful country cottage (www.guyershouse.com) that we just happened upon, well, if you don't count the circling through the little town before it. It has a beautiful garden area that the birds are chirping as if it's spring.
Tomorrow is yet another day of adventure. There will be some screaming, but hopefully it will be outweighed by laughter. I could always switch to an Asian accent when all else fails.
We spend at least 15 minutes in each place we go driving in circles trying to find the road we are supposed to be on. We don't have a GPS and are trying to navigate with the high level road maps they've given us. Tony is known in our family as "Tony, hang a U-ie McCann". We now need to update it to "Tony keep circling the roundabout McCann" and "Tony pull in, back up, and turn around McCann". All the while, I'm screaming "Stay on the left, watch the curb, you missed the turn, that's a red light, etc," It's like he's forgotten every driving rule he's ever learned in 30 years because he's driving on the left side of the road. Well, that is when he actually is after I've screamed "DRIVE ON THE LEFT" as cars are approaching. At breakfast I did contemplate asking for a barf bag for the road after the eventful trip from the airport to our hotel last night.
2) Practicing my British accent really does help reduce stress in the passenger seat.
The excitement began as soon as we left our hotel this morning. I, in my infinite wisdom, decided that I could do screen shots of more detailed maps to help to get from point A to B while at the hotel each night as I map out our route. That works GREAT... except when you veer off the roads on the map you've screen shot. We make big circles, we make small circles. And with every pass, knots intertwine the muscles in my upper back and neck. I have three maps I'm trying to consult while at the same time trying to match it to reality. And somehow Tony thinks I know the answer to "Where am I supposed to go Machelle?" when the place I told him to go took us in the wrong direction. UGH!!!
So, I finally came up with a solution. I said to heck with caring where we were and started providing running commentary in my best British accent. Since arriving, I've been listening closely. We get audio guides at the places we visit, I hear it on the radio, and of course all the folks around us are talking. I've caught myself thinking in British. I figured this would be a good time to practice. I'm actually quite good according to Tony. Having to think of the pronunciations and listening to Tony laugh at me for being a goofball detangled all the knots. Always making lemonade out of lemons, that's me!
3) When driving in a foreign country, it would be best to understand how they do it.
The obvious difference of driving on the opposite side is actually the simplest. One of the most difficult navigational issues is that they don't use simple words like North, South, East, and West on road signs. They give you the names of the places that the road leads to. So, instead of having M3 South on the road sign, they have M3 Farnborough. It forces you to know which cities are in which direction on that particular road. It requires a split second decision that based on the aforementioned navigational and driving issues we have leads to the circular driving pattern we keep displaying.
On a highway, positionally you're supposed to drive on the far left lane and fast cars drive on the right. It makes perfect sense once you rewire your brain. But when you first get in a car here, you just focus on staying on the left side for obvious reasons. But reversing everything else that goes on takes a little bit of time to get used to. Today we were supposed to turn left and Tony turned on the right turn signal. Poor guy is so focused on trying to keep me from screaming and us from wrecking that he's all discombobulated. I told him this whole thing should be easy for him since he's left handed. He just had that deer in the head lights look.
The other fun part is roundabouts. One, they pop up out of no where when you're barreling down a road. You're nearly forced to come to a complete stop to avoid any cars already circling. And once the coast is clear, it's pedal to the metal and ride that thing like its on rails! Two, it's hell figuring out what lane you're supposed to stay in based on where you want to exit and taking into consideration the cars around you. And finally, they are kinda nice when you screw up because you can just keep circling (on two wheels).
All joking aside, we are having a great time. Yes, there's been a lot of screaming and laughing and horn blaring (they don't much like us foreign, stupid drivers). But today we got to see Stonehenge, a castle ruin from the late 1300s (Hungerford Castle), and drove through Bath. We are staying in a beautiful country cottage (www.guyershouse.com) that we just happened upon, well, if you don't count the circling through the little town before it. It has a beautiful garden area that the birds are chirping as if it's spring.
Tomorrow is yet another day of adventure. There will be some screaming, but hopefully it will be outweighed by laughter. I could always switch to an Asian accent when all else fails.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Paris day three - Rafa's kingdom
We started the day out with the intentions of spending it at The Louvre. However after about 30 minute of being there, I was entirely ready to leave! It had far too many people and was nearly impossible to navigate through. Besides that, all the artwork had placards in some language other than English. We had gotten an audio tour, but it was as directionally challenged as we were.
The day nearly started out with a riot when Tony tried to stop a group of people from cutting in line in front of us. He told them to go to the back of the line and wait just like the rest of us. It got very confrontational at one point. I could see us sitting in a French prison for eternity.
It turns out that the two women in front of us were "saving a place " for five others. They just kept crowding in. Tony finally gave up and they proceeded to laugh and take pictures and have the time of their life. He continued to brew and glare at them. It was a joyful start and should have been a forewarning of things to come.
Once we got through the security check, we found it was the same super informative place that the rest of Paris is. There was no clear direction to be taken. So we wandered around until we figured out what to do.
My frustration level with this process heats up fairly quickly. After nearly 29 years, Tony understands my meltdown barometer pretty well. He's been great this trip in diffusing my tantrums and getting us through.
Tony and I don't wander at all in the same direction or at the same speed. After our initial agreement of finding each other before leaving a room fell through, we decided to break up and meet in a set location at a set time. I liked that plan and tried to get back to figuring out how my virtual audio tour gadget worked.
The building is situated in a ginormous U. We started in the end that was the bottom of the U. In my mind, I was imagining that we would walk down one pathway and it would have stairs to get to the next floor and continue on. That's obviously too logical as I did more back tracking than I did forward tracking somehow.
If you add that frustration in with the fact that there were a bajillion people wandering around with their gazes looking up and bumping into everyone and everything, and you take into consideration what a crowd prude that I am, you'll understand why I was ready to leave. There were tour groups that were over 50 people in number pushing and shoving to try and stay with their group. They swarmed together like bumble bees around a hive. And get in their way, and they'd sting you for sure!
On my first back tracking venture, I was hating the fact that our rendezvous time wasn't for four hours. I was in a near panic state of just trying to get back to the main entrance without getting trampled. I don't know what I thought I was going to do there, but I just wanted OUT!
Fortunately my path crossed with Tony's. He could see the freak out factor in my eyes immediately. He could tell I needed out. But instead of saying let's go, he just agreed to an earlier leaving time. He wanted to meet in 90 minutes. I begged for 30 minutes, but he said I'd be fine. I reluctantly agreed to the new time and went on my merry way.
I pretty much gave up on my audio guide and tried to navigate via the map. It wasn't much more helpful. I continued to wander and managed to see some part of each side of the U. I didn't see every floor, but saw something of each. I thought that was close enough. I did get to see The Mona Lisa. Surely that counts as successfully navigating The Louvre.
I had discovered that I lost my scarf somewhere along the way. That was the last straw. I managed to find the main entrance which was our rendezvous point. I was an hour early, but I had had enough.
I didn't wait more than 10 minutes and Tony showed up. He must have felt my distress call. He didn't see much of anything but was willing to leave. I had talked about seeing Rolland Garros which is the home of the French Open. I had given up on seeing it, but he offered to go there instead of more Louvre torture. I jumped at the offer!
We checked out the map and headed in what we thought the direction was. We got off and started walking. We found some signs that looked like we were on the right track. As we were walking, we went by a stadium. I was getting excited until I saw pictures of soccer players.
We continued on and yet another stadium appeared. This time it was the tennis courts. As we got closer, we saw the stadium that has the names of the winners of each year. Of course we came up on the side that had Rafa on it. I was beyond excited.
We circled the building until we came to an open gate. A guy met us and said it was closed. He wouldn't let us in the museum or any other place. We continued to walk outside hoping we'd catch a glimpse of something. We walked past court one and court two. Again, I've watched countless matches from this venue. It was killing me to be so close, but so far away.
I got to take pictures of some of the outside courts. The red clay looks just like it does on TV. It was amazing to be there. We continued to circle the place and came upon another open gate. This time the guy was nicer and let us at least walk through the area. I snuck a tiny side view of center court. I kept telling myself that this was Rafa's home and he had walked these same paths.
He is the master of all tennis players on clay, that's for sure. To get to see this grand slam sight was an item on my bucket list. Sure, it would have been more special to see him play a match, but I'm convinced it's better watching at home with replays and the mute button when I don't like what I'm hearing.
I told Tony I marked off 50% of the grand slam sights with this one trip. Surely I can get Flushing Meadows accomplished with it being in my home country. Now he just has to take me to Australia.
Paris held some amazing sights for us. It is a beautiful city that I am glad we saw. But I will not be sad to leave it. Being in a country where I don't know the language is intimidating. Add to that the native people are not friendly and it makes for a pretty bad experience. I learned to overlook it and try to stay positive, but it was challenging at times.
We are currently headed back on the train to London. It's about two and a half hours to get there. We have to pick up our other suitcases and get a car at the airport. Once we get that done, were supposed to find a hotel to stay in. It's going to be a long night!
The next leg of our adventure is a driving tour of the entire island. We've had a few unknowns along our journey thus far. I think we'll probably be adding to that list in the next week. I just hope none of the misadventures include a jail visit or long hours of being stranded along the roadside. But with Tony McCann, you never know.
The day nearly started out with a riot when Tony tried to stop a group of people from cutting in line in front of us. He told them to go to the back of the line and wait just like the rest of us. It got very confrontational at one point. I could see us sitting in a French prison for eternity.
It turns out that the two women in front of us were "saving a place " for five others. They just kept crowding in. Tony finally gave up and they proceeded to laugh and take pictures and have the time of their life. He continued to brew and glare at them. It was a joyful start and should have been a forewarning of things to come.
Once we got through the security check, we found it was the same super informative place that the rest of Paris is. There was no clear direction to be taken. So we wandered around until we figured out what to do.
My frustration level with this process heats up fairly quickly. After nearly 29 years, Tony understands my meltdown barometer pretty well. He's been great this trip in diffusing my tantrums and getting us through.
Tony and I don't wander at all in the same direction or at the same speed. After our initial agreement of finding each other before leaving a room fell through, we decided to break up and meet in a set location at a set time. I liked that plan and tried to get back to figuring out how my virtual audio tour gadget worked.
The building is situated in a ginormous U. We started in the end that was the bottom of the U. In my mind, I was imagining that we would walk down one pathway and it would have stairs to get to the next floor and continue on. That's obviously too logical as I did more back tracking than I did forward tracking somehow.
If you add that frustration in with the fact that there were a bajillion people wandering around with their gazes looking up and bumping into everyone and everything, and you take into consideration what a crowd prude that I am, you'll understand why I was ready to leave. There were tour groups that were over 50 people in number pushing and shoving to try and stay with their group. They swarmed together like bumble bees around a hive. And get in their way, and they'd sting you for sure!
On my first back tracking venture, I was hating the fact that our rendezvous time wasn't for four hours. I was in a near panic state of just trying to get back to the main entrance without getting trampled. I don't know what I thought I was going to do there, but I just wanted OUT!
Fortunately my path crossed with Tony's. He could see the freak out factor in my eyes immediately. He could tell I needed out. But instead of saying let's go, he just agreed to an earlier leaving time. He wanted to meet in 90 minutes. I begged for 30 minutes, but he said I'd be fine. I reluctantly agreed to the new time and went on my merry way.
I pretty much gave up on my audio guide and tried to navigate via the map. It wasn't much more helpful. I continued to wander and managed to see some part of each side of the U. I didn't see every floor, but saw something of each. I thought that was close enough. I did get to see The Mona Lisa. Surely that counts as successfully navigating The Louvre.
I had discovered that I lost my scarf somewhere along the way. That was the last straw. I managed to find the main entrance which was our rendezvous point. I was an hour early, but I had had enough.
I didn't wait more than 10 minutes and Tony showed up. He must have felt my distress call. He didn't see much of anything but was willing to leave. I had talked about seeing Rolland Garros which is the home of the French Open. I had given up on seeing it, but he offered to go there instead of more Louvre torture. I jumped at the offer!
We checked out the map and headed in what we thought the direction was. We got off and started walking. We found some signs that looked like we were on the right track. As we were walking, we went by a stadium. I was getting excited until I saw pictures of soccer players.
We continued on and yet another stadium appeared. This time it was the tennis courts. As we got closer, we saw the stadium that has the names of the winners of each year. Of course we came up on the side that had Rafa on it. I was beyond excited.
We circled the building until we came to an open gate. A guy met us and said it was closed. He wouldn't let us in the museum or any other place. We continued to walk outside hoping we'd catch a glimpse of something. We walked past court one and court two. Again, I've watched countless matches from this venue. It was killing me to be so close, but so far away.
I got to take pictures of some of the outside courts. The red clay looks just like it does on TV. It was amazing to be there. We continued to circle the place and came upon another open gate. This time the guy was nicer and let us at least walk through the area. I snuck a tiny side view of center court. I kept telling myself that this was Rafa's home and he had walked these same paths.
He is the master of all tennis players on clay, that's for sure. To get to see this grand slam sight was an item on my bucket list. Sure, it would have been more special to see him play a match, but I'm convinced it's better watching at home with replays and the mute button when I don't like what I'm hearing.
I told Tony I marked off 50% of the grand slam sights with this one trip. Surely I can get Flushing Meadows accomplished with it being in my home country. Now he just has to take me to Australia.
Paris held some amazing sights for us. It is a beautiful city that I am glad we saw. But I will not be sad to leave it. Being in a country where I don't know the language is intimidating. Add to that the native people are not friendly and it makes for a pretty bad experience. I learned to overlook it and try to stay positive, but it was challenging at times.
We are currently headed back on the train to London. It's about two and a half hours to get there. We have to pick up our other suitcases and get a car at the airport. Once we get that done, were supposed to find a hotel to stay in. It's going to be a long night!
The next leg of our adventure is a driving tour of the entire island. We've had a few unknowns along our journey thus far. I think we'll probably be adding to that list in the next week. I just hope none of the misadventures include a jail visit or long hours of being stranded along the roadside. But with Tony McCann, you never know.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Paris day two - Overload
Tony didn't want to get up after nearly 14 hours of sleep. But once he did, he was a tourist engine revving to go. Today was a marathon for sure.
We started off by going to The Eiffel Tower. On the way we saw runners in pink. France celebrates breast cancer awareness month, too! I said a prayer for all my breast cancer buddies. Unfortunately they were running around the tower. It made for a frustrating start in trying to get over by it. We finally figured out how to get there and my what a sight!
We rode the elevators up to the first landing after a relatively short stand in line for tickets. But then we had to wait in line to get to the next level. Hurry up and wait. But we saw some amazing views. On the way down we accidentally got off the elevator at the restaurant level. We had a few stairs to traverse to get down. I guess it just made it a full experience to have to walk some of the way.
We next went on a Seine River cruise. I had bought a package that included the bus tour, the river cruise, and a night bus tour. They hadn't given us a brochure so we were relatively operating in the dark. Again we got lucky and found where we needed to be. The direction Gods have most surely been in our favor so far.
We went to Notre Dame next. I've been in more churches in the last week than I've been in for years! I did have the thought today that lightning just might strike with me crossing their thresholds. It is another amazing sight both inside and out.
We got dinner and tried to find the bus tour for our night trip. That one proved to be a little more difficult to find, so we just went to a location that we knew we could catch it. It just required catching a train and a little walk. We're getting good at this subway kinda life.
The weather has been nearly perfect on my trip thus far. Today was a bit chilly, but no rain. I had rain last Friday, but that's it. I brought the right clothes, hats, scarves, gloves, and shoes. Now if I could just drum up another body to get me through this next week. The aches and pains of walking miles and standing in lines is catching up with me. I'm having a great time, but I wouldn't turn down some quality, horizontal, hot tub soaking time.
Tonight when we were riding high above the traffic on our double decker bus, it reminded me yet again of how happy I am we haven't had to drive in this mess. In the intersections, there are no lines on the roads to keep you in place. The cars simply go in whatever direction they want.
Horns are blaring, people are throwing their hands up at each other, and at one point it looked like bumper cars with cars stuck between each other going in all directions. It's difficult to explain but just imagine 100 cars in an intersection going in all directions. They do have traffic lights, but no one obeys them. Chaos doesn't touch it. But somehow they all manage to get where they need to be.
They have the adorable little "fold em up and stick them in your pocket cars", too. Those little things zip in and out everywhere. Oh, and then there are the mopeds. Those things are CRAZY!!! We saw one that didn't fare so well yesterday. The driver was taken off in an ambulance.
And that's the other thing. Sirens are on non stop. I told Tony with the way they drive, it's no wonder! Too many noises, people, cars, etc. at times I long for the quiet of my little cabin in the woods. Soon. I keep reminding myself that a girl has to get out every once in a while.
We started off by going to The Eiffel Tower. On the way we saw runners in pink. France celebrates breast cancer awareness month, too! I said a prayer for all my breast cancer buddies. Unfortunately they were running around the tower. It made for a frustrating start in trying to get over by it. We finally figured out how to get there and my what a sight!
We rode the elevators up to the first landing after a relatively short stand in line for tickets. But then we had to wait in line to get to the next level. Hurry up and wait. But we saw some amazing views. On the way down we accidentally got off the elevator at the restaurant level. We had a few stairs to traverse to get down. I guess it just made it a full experience to have to walk some of the way.
We next went on a Seine River cruise. I had bought a package that included the bus tour, the river cruise, and a night bus tour. They hadn't given us a brochure so we were relatively operating in the dark. Again we got lucky and found where we needed to be. The direction Gods have most surely been in our favor so far.
We went to Notre Dame next. I've been in more churches in the last week than I've been in for years! I did have the thought today that lightning just might strike with me crossing their thresholds. It is another amazing sight both inside and out.
We got dinner and tried to find the bus tour for our night trip. That one proved to be a little more difficult to find, so we just went to a location that we knew we could catch it. It just required catching a train and a little walk. We're getting good at this subway kinda life.
The weather has been nearly perfect on my trip thus far. Today was a bit chilly, but no rain. I had rain last Friday, but that's it. I brought the right clothes, hats, scarves, gloves, and shoes. Now if I could just drum up another body to get me through this next week. The aches and pains of walking miles and standing in lines is catching up with me. I'm having a great time, but I wouldn't turn down some quality, horizontal, hot tub soaking time.
Tonight when we were riding high above the traffic on our double decker bus, it reminded me yet again of how happy I am we haven't had to drive in this mess. In the intersections, there are no lines on the roads to keep you in place. The cars simply go in whatever direction they want.
Horns are blaring, people are throwing their hands up at each other, and at one point it looked like bumper cars with cars stuck between each other going in all directions. It's difficult to explain but just imagine 100 cars in an intersection going in all directions. They do have traffic lights, but no one obeys them. Chaos doesn't touch it. But somehow they all manage to get where they need to be.
They have the adorable little "fold em up and stick them in your pocket cars", too. Those little things zip in and out everywhere. Oh, and then there are the mopeds. Those things are CRAZY!!! We saw one that didn't fare so well yesterday. The driver was taken off in an ambulance.
And that's the other thing. Sirens are on non stop. I told Tony with the way they drive, it's no wonder! Too many noises, people, cars, etc. at times I long for the quiet of my little cabin in the woods. Soon. I keep reminding myself that a girl has to get out every once in a while.
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