On a dreary and frigid weekend, we spent a great deal of time indoors. The Taipei mercury hinted at a single digit temperature, but the actual feel was in tiny numbers due to the bone seeping cold from the high humidity. Our tiny blow heaters worked valiantly enough, but didn’t seem to make a dent in the tall wall of icy air, except when we went outside for a comparison! It was in this climate that I viewed the very worthy 950 photos of the big European adventure, many taken in similar climactic conditions and as I watched got my main commentary from Cass on their travels.
Cass and her mum met up at their pre-arranged meeting place at Hong Kong airport with minimal fuss and although Valerie is keen not to see the inside of HK airport for some time after her marathon session there, the girls were soon winging their way to Paris and then on the train to Nantes. The e-ticketing worked well on this leg and subsequently on each trip they took: the futuristic TGV whisked them at warp speed around the country without missing a beat, their seats assigned and waiting and their journeys interesting and comfortable.
The beauty of the French city was evident again in each of the destinations they visited on this trip. At Christmas and New Year, cities, towns and villages dress themselves proudly for the festivities and twinkle their way from dusk into night in a varied and delightful symphony of light. Centre Ville is the place to be and streets and lanes draped in electronic veils of colored lights welcome each visitor, dissipating the crunching cold and signaling a happy and vibrant place to mingle. Nantes was one such city. The river was seething through the middle of town from the recent rain and snow and the riverside walks were lined with pretty paths and wide boulevards where glistening, new trams whispered along. The atmosphere was bright and crisp, city streets clipped and preened, swept and cleaned.
Bordeaux impressed as large but not unwieldy: again a superb transport interchange of light rail, buses and trams combined to get the bustling population headed where they needed to be. The chequerboard of houses on ancient streets impressed with sandblasted cleanliness and loving restorations: the cities just achingly beautiful in architectural style and feel. We discussed how very different our trips were: in fact the destinations stood at different ends of many scales, yet each held its own special magic.
Of course art was high on the agenda, not always formal viewing of traditional art, yet it was occasionally. Some tours of castles and other buildings housing historical artifacts or telling a visual history of the city’s past were taken. On a number of occasions, Cass and Val ventured out on organized tours to wineries for the day, the chateaux hosting them in some cases still housing the vigneron’s family. Their tastings were held in sumptuous sitting rooms amongst the families own possessions and some special moments were had as they toured the cellars and basements protecting precious drops hundreds of years old. Their guides invariably were immensely passionate about their work and that of the vineyard in its wine production and so keen to impart this passion to the strangers they guided. These days were some of the best highlights of their trip.
Cassy is a real linguist. I am totally convinced of this gift even more after this trip. We hadn’t been to France for about 7 years and I know she has had precious few moments to use the language since, apart from a couple of Christmases back when she spoke with Lorenz and his wife Geraldine in Sumba. From day 1 on this trip, she was able to drop straight into the vernacular and re-produce her native rolling “r”s and Parisian accent without a second thought. This is a sensational skill set to have and stood them in great stead once again in delighting their hosts wherever they went, eliciting comment about her skills and lack of foreign accent. A genuine fillip for weary hotel staff, tour guides and waiters I imagine to be able to converse with and understand their guests so well.
Paris’s magical charms were evident all over again as mother and daughter traversed the city well known to both of them. They made a conscious effort to explore a little further afield or in new and different places from where they had both been before. A little side trip to the super exclusive enclave of the Place Vendome provided a point of interest. Nestled amongst some of Frances biggest names, aforementioned Lorenz had his “store”. It wasn’t open of course: no doubt he was in Nihiwatu enjoying the sun and the waves! Cass and I had never made it to Napoleon’s grave and this was a special visit. The edifice was colossal and the grandeur posturing, yet the classic French understated elegance and style had managed to pervade even this gigantic, patriotic nod to the state.
Their train trip to Versailles saw them join a staggering number of visitors, who matched the vast numbers of Parisians on the street: Cass wondered if the population had exploded in a few short years. The palace delighted them again, the timeless attraction of the hall of mirrors, the opulent furnishings and decoration and the contrast to the immaculately manicured, snow carpeted grounds beyond had them transfixed for hours.
The Grand Palais with its skeletal steel riveted backbone supporting wide sheets of glass roof was astounding and held within another treasure: a totally modern exhibition of Bulgari’s finest pieces in a futuristic black granite-like setting all nestled beneath the art deco styled, restored sweeping ceiling and roof. No New Year’s Eve in Paris is complete without watching the Eiffel tower unload its battery of fireworks and although the girls only just made it due to a mega crowded metro, the tradition was worth it. Metro was so chock full after midnight that they decided to walk home and 9 kilometres and a touch of hypothermia later, set them up to ride the funiculaire up to Sacré Cœur the following day instead of attempting the steps!
The sour note of the trip was delivered when Cassy’s wallet was stolen from her bag in the breakfast room of their Paris hotel. Within an hour, and just before she discovered the theft, the light fingered criminal had run up a sizeable chunk of debt against all our operational cards. We are now in the middle of a drawn out process to see if we can regain some of the stolen funds.
That hiccup aside, and with due deference to my lack of clarity on all the details (I’m certain Madame would have conveyed a far more concise and vivid picture for you!), I can categorically state that both parties had an “impressionnant’ trip. So good in fact that I fear that it may be reprised yet again in the not so distant future………….(sorry Chris!) The slide show will be housed here when it disappears above.