Sunday, May 23, 2010

FRANCE - A Very Beautiful Country!

Saturday May 22. 2010.
Im sitting here on a boat crossing the English Channel as I write this Blog today. Its quite foggy and you cant see very far but that's OK with me. The best part was seeing the “White Cliffs of Dover” as we pulled away. It made me wonder what it must have been like for the Allied Pilots and Airmen when they returned from their battles abroad to again see the “White Cliffs of Dover” - All meaning that they had made it home one more time! One thing though; I didn’t notice any “Blue Birds?” I digress.
As I sit here I think about how fast time is going by now. I can’t believe Calgary doesn’t have snow any longer (hehehe) and here we are into the 70’s and 80’s F. every day! 
Our trip will be over before you know it. I have to admit I’m going through my 3rd phase of “Home sickness” a bit. Its not as bad as past bouts. Its been over 4 months for me now. I cant wait for a Wendy’s #2 Combo, some Alberta Beef and BBQ Ribs!  
It’s not as bad as before (the Home sickness) but it is there. A couple of weeks ago I had some health issues and after seeing the Dr. In Turkey it made me think of home again too. I miss my dog and my cars! Mostly I miss my children, friends & family (in no specific order - hahaha)! I knew it would happen at least once! Oh well!
London was a real treat. I love that city. Its supposedly somewhere around 12 million. 
I wonder how they really know as there are so many people from so many places that live here. When we arrived we took trains and the “Tube” (London’s underground subway) and came out into the sunlight into a nice little neighborhood in Westminster. Much like other large cities London is made up of other cities all joined together by urban sprawl long before the name became as popular as it is today. What history! You really should see it.
Westminster is quite a place it holds many of London’s sites so its a great area to stay. Our little hotel was much like some of the others we stayed in. A small boutique style. This one reminded me of movies that I had seen over the years because of its style and design. As you walk up along the wide sidewalks you note that there is an iron fence and inside the gate is one more floor below sidewalk level. In some places these lower floors contained separate suites. In our hotel it contained the kitchen and eating area for our breakfast.
I knew we were in for a small room in the “Blades” hotel when Barb warned me, but I’m OK with that - really! All I really need is; a decent clean place with a good shower, bed and sink. This room reminded me of a joke a comedian told on a cruise ship I was once on. So you thought you had seen small before? Then you open the door! Realizing that I would have to change my clothes in the hallway each day (the room wasn’t big enough for that too!) we wandered into the room. 
I still wonder how they got that double bed in there and why bother with a chair?
To be honest it was fine. At least it was clean and had a shower that flowed well. The breakfast was fine too, nothing fancy and typical of these types but the bonus was they had “crumpets!” I hadn’t had a crumpet in months! So over the next few days I ate several (real) English crumpets!
Our Host (Kevin) was what made our mornings. Kevin as it turns out is the entertainment. He is a very “witty” English Gent of 60 something. He has a story and answer for almost everything. You would swear he knows the Queen personally! Don’t go to the Blades though if your easily offended! He made me laugh every morning and I’ll miss his dry humor and his wit. 
As with cities in the past (on our trip) we would get up have breakfast and hit the streets. Unlike cities of the past we hit the streets much harder than before while here in London. Most days with exception of the last one we would leave at 9am or so and not get home until 11 or 12pm.
I cant say what we saw in any particular order because it all became a blur. Barb became an expert on transportation in London with her last trip here (when I was in Italy) so we need not fear how to get to most places. Im sure she knows more about which bus or tube to take than most cabbies do!
After a while I felt like a “rat.” In and out of holes (for the tubes), hot, cold, dark then light. People, no people, then millions of people all trying to get into the same Tube car! 
It always amazes me to see how this works out but they do almost all fit in there!  Doesn’t matter which city you are in it seems that 5 million people are trying to get into a spot that only holds 4 people! The difference in England vs Spain and Italy and even Turkey is that they line (British call it “Qeue”) up! In the other countries it is survival of the fittest as line ups and places do not count!
  The scary thing is that after a while it feels like normal! So be aware!
We saw so many cool things but like going to Disney Land you cant just drop in for a few days thinking you will see it all. Some of the things we saw from the outside we were too tired to go inside or just didn’t have the time. There were days when I wondered how I could take even one more step and then I did. Times when there were stairs and more stairs and it was obvious to me that these stairs were not aware about my plan to preserve my belly fat so I had to eat more so as not to shock anyone on my return to Canada!
One day Barb was rushing (as she normally does) through the crowds whilst coming out of the tube which must be 2 to 3 stories underground in most places. (PS: Has anyone ever shopped with this woman?). Like a good husband I follow. 
My mistake was following her to the stairs versus the escalator! I think that their must have been well over 10,000 million stairs to get out of the tube that day! My legs turn to rubber even when I think about it now. I was sure that an ambulance would be waiting for me at the top as the people must have seen the coronary attack starting in my face. But there wasn’t an Ambulance and we made it out again, alive!
If I lived in London or any of the big cities we went to (Rome included) I wouldn't own a car. There is no reason too. Just buy a long term Transit Pass and jump the trains and tubes and buses and metro’s and whatever else they have and away you go. No parking worries and let me say it now - I have a much better understanding on why the “Smart Car” was invented. I even saw cars smaller than that!
Any how as it turns out we make it across the English Channel today but I must say they need to polish up on the instructions. We had no idea where to go or how to find our luggage on the other end but we finally did find it after some hard line questioning of the staff on the France side.
The ship was fine and a delight to ride in but like the Washington State Ferries I must say I am very proud of our BC Ferries. Ours are in pristine condition the others are quite worn and rusty to look at but they do the job just fine.
Once we found our luggage which I must admit is getting too heavy to haul (at this point in life). We were off to the car rental counter. We picked up our new addition to the family - a new Fiat, Punto Diesel. We had one before and this one was a real treat too. I must say that I do like them. The best advice I can give here is to get a car with a trunk. We keep forgetting to ask for that so that that one can secure their luggage safely from thieves. Oh well no horror stories yet and I hope it never happens. My poor daughter just had it happen to them while in a friends car at a park in Calgary and she lost every thing. No one wants that its just one big hassle and some things you cant replace!
We got in and drove. Barb is the Driver for the first day and Im assigned the Navigator tasks. We stayed the night in Rouen. 
Sunday May 23rd, 2010
In the morning we had our quick hotel breakfast then went off to see the Canadian War Memorial at Dieppe a few miles away.

Before I forget let me say that France has the most beautiful countryside and scenes you have every seen! Its simply like a painting! Rolling hills, lots of trees and planted fields. Lots of colors of green, yellows and reds. Like some of the other places in Europe the colors seem to be so much more vivid here? I don't know why - maybe its the soil?
All that I can say here is that Barb and I were the only two people there. The place is kept as neat as anything I have ever seen, most cemeteries could learn a thing or two from this place. However by the time we left and after looking at all the markers and seeing the young Canadians that gave their lives there wasn’t a dry eye in the house!
Its a very touching place to be and see. I think every Canadian needs to see it and further that in this day and age our politicians should go there once a year (on their own money)!  A very touching reminder is how I will end this part of our story.
Once done there we headed down the coast again towards the Normandy region. We stopped in one town called Honfluer which is simply beautiful. Unfortunately we picked one of the busiest weekends of the year to be in France as they (the French) are all on the coast trying to stay in the same hotels for a national holiday. Its a great day for it at 80 degrees F!
The trouble is the French have reservations for their hotels and rooms and we don’t! 
So we continue on and get to Bayeux in hopes of staying there. No such luck! We finally found this great Chateau (you need to do this at least once in your lives) which is where we are at now. (Sunday May 23, 2010).
Chateau de Goville. Go to www.ChateauGoville.com to see more.
In fact while you are at it go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieppe,_Seine-Maritime
One thing I didn’t think of when we booked a room in this mansion is that they didn't have showers in those days. So we will make one! (hehehe).
When we arise on Monday (May 24th) we will be heading to the Canadian Memorials at Normandy. Once done with Normandy we will head towards Metz. I’m not sure how long it will take us or how we will do it without going in to Paris (we decided no more big cities for a while and especially with a car!). We are going to Metz because Barb lived there for a time after moving from London, so we will see if we can find her home in Metz too!
PICTURES
Sorry we are behind on downloading some of these. If you are on Face Book you can see them as they are entered. If your not on Face Book we will send you a link like the one below. 



Hope this finds you all well! Talk at you soon!
Jim for
Jim & Barb!
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