It's our last day in Ol' Paris. We woke up to snow! It was so beautiful and romantic. We had a "free" day as we've done most of what we wanted to do. We decided to give Notre Dame a second shot so we went back to the St. Michel area. We had cheese fondue...yum! Then we walked around Notre Dame. After that I decided to take James to a supermarket that I remembered last time I was here. I was telling him how big and great it was. Once we were there, I realized it was just another Monoprix. It was disappointing but we still went in. We then walked across the street to Printemps, another great shopping mall packed with people. Just like the Galleries Lafayette, there was a women's, men's, and home store. We went to the women's side first and then the men's and found something for both James and I. We were told that we could claim the tax so that's what we did. We quickly learned that we needed our passports so we had to go back to the hotel to get it and then back to the store to fill out the forms.
After all this running around, we finally were able to rest and have a nice dinner. We even picked up some nice desserts which we are about to enjoy before bed time.
Paris has been great to us and i'm happy to report that James will return to Europe and has enjoyed his time here... I'm sad to leave this adventure but super excited to sleep in my own bed soon!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
day 22 and 23 - exploration of the city
We started the day at Chateau de Versailles. Wow, what an incredible place. It was a very sunny day and the metro didn't take too long to get there (just under an hour). This place is huge! We walked around the museum and then to the different rooms of this Chateau. Many pictures were taken (pretty sure that there was a no camera policy but everyone else was snapping away so i followed...) We did the audio tour so we learned lots. Then we proceeded to the gardens. This place is just so huge! The walk down to the end was about 2km. I cannot imagine the upkeep for this place. This portion of of the day took almost 6 hours.
We walked by Les Galleries Lafayette but didn't shop inside. Instead we looked at the kiosks outside the store. There were scarfs, earmuffs, towel wraps, a piece of cloth that you can wear 10 different ways...I bought a scarf and a Russian type hat. We then went back to the Ramen Street (St. Anne) to have Ramen again. Our "favourite" place just closed as we got there so we had to settle for a less tastier Ramen restaurant. We then went to Monoprix to pick up some wine to enjoy in our room.
The next morning I finally got to eat a Nutella waffle. Mmmm...it was good. It was so good that i accidentally left some on my jacket! I have so much stuff to dry clean when i get back! We then went to the Avenue de Champs-Elysees. We started out at the Arc de Triomphe. Then shopped our way down. We had the most fun at LV which we went there twice! James was on a mission to find a nice wallet and I was on a mission to spend some dough. On our second visit to the LV store, we were stopped by a Chinese man who only spoke Mandarin. He was asking if we could go inside to pick up something for him and he would give us cash to pay for it and we could even keep the receipt to claim the taxes. I quickly searched for one of Professor Chan's (my one and only daddy) lectures and remembered that he warned me about this. He once told me that people come up to you to ask you to buy something for them as they have been banned by the store because they buy the products and then return to their homeland to make fake duplicates. James thought it was a good idea until I dragged him away and enlightened him in a short "Coles notes" version of the lecture. In the end we did not buy that wallet.
We then went back to Les Galleries Lafayette to have some fun shopping. Again, no luck in spending my money. I guess in a good way, it's better this way. We then took the metro to Nortre Dame. As we got there, it was just closing! So we walked along the Ile St. Louise walk and attempted to find Le Petit Prine de Paris, suggested by Momo. No luck so we just ate at a nearby restaurant near home. I got to eat my Moule frittes! We went back to our hotel and had wine again and called it a night.
We walked by Les Galleries Lafayette but didn't shop inside. Instead we looked at the kiosks outside the store. There were scarfs, earmuffs, towel wraps, a piece of cloth that you can wear 10 different ways...I bought a scarf and a Russian type hat. We then went back to the Ramen Street (St. Anne) to have Ramen again. Our "favourite" place just closed as we got there so we had to settle for a less tastier Ramen restaurant. We then went to Monoprix to pick up some wine to enjoy in our room.
The next morning I finally got to eat a Nutella waffle. Mmmm...it was good. It was so good that i accidentally left some on my jacket! I have so much stuff to dry clean when i get back! We then went to the Avenue de Champs-Elysees. We started out at the Arc de Triomphe. Then shopped our way down. We had the most fun at LV which we went there twice! James was on a mission to find a nice wallet and I was on a mission to spend some dough. On our second visit to the LV store, we were stopped by a Chinese man who only spoke Mandarin. He was asking if we could go inside to pick up something for him and he would give us cash to pay for it and we could even keep the receipt to claim the taxes. I quickly searched for one of Professor Chan's (my one and only daddy) lectures and remembered that he warned me about this. He once told me that people come up to you to ask you to buy something for them as they have been banned by the store because they buy the products and then return to their homeland to make fake duplicates. James thought it was a good idea until I dragged him away and enlightened him in a short "Coles notes" version of the lecture. In the end we did not buy that wallet.
We then went back to Les Galleries Lafayette to have some fun shopping. Again, no luck in spending my money. I guess in a good way, it's better this way. We then took the metro to Nortre Dame. As we got there, it was just closing! So we walked along the Ile St. Louise walk and attempted to find Le Petit Prine de Paris, suggested by Momo. No luck so we just ate at a nearby restaurant near home. I got to eat my Moule frittes! We went back to our hotel and had wine again and called it a night.
Monday, December 14, 2009
day 20 and 21 - bonjour, ol' Paris!
We landed safely and early in the morning into lovely Paris. It was sunny but super cold - just a tad warmer than Munich. We courageously decided to take the subway to find our hotel. James was awesome again. He carried both our suitcases - mine being super duper heavy - onto the subway, off the subway and up four flights of stairs! Oh thank god for James! Mind you, if James hadn't been there I would most likely have hailed a cab for a more enjoyable ride to the hotel... We got to the hotel and they weren't ready for us so we dropped off our luggage and found some grub. James ordered a yummy lasagna and I ordered raw ground beef. It looked nasty but pretty yummy. That night we walked to the Louvre, and then went up the Eiffel Tower. It was super windy and cold. We had dinner (again expensive) and then called it a night.
Today we went to Sacre Coeur, Cimetiere Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, where I stayed last time (area 17th), the Opera, Galleries Lafayette, a very yummy ramen place on St. Anne street (it was so difficult to find and no one knew what street we were looking for except a nice lady at the information desk at the Galleries Lafayette), the Kooki outlet, a luggage store to buy a new suitcase cause the suitcase that I'm borrowing is falling apart! Whew! what a day! We've been walking lots and my body is aching!
If you were to ask James what the highlight of today is, he would have to say our super cheap breakfast - 4 euros! He couldn't get over the fact that last night he had spent 5.60 euros on a 500mL coke when this morning we had two pastries and a coke for only 4 euros. He was quite impressed with our Ramen place too as we spent 19 euros on two ramen bowls, 5 gyozas, a bowl of rice and a bowl of sauteed veggies.
Today we went to Sacre Coeur, Cimetiere Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, where I stayed last time (area 17th), the Opera, Galleries Lafayette, a very yummy ramen place on St. Anne street (it was so difficult to find and no one knew what street we were looking for except a nice lady at the information desk at the Galleries Lafayette), the Kooki outlet, a luggage store to buy a new suitcase cause the suitcase that I'm borrowing is falling apart! Whew! what a day! We've been walking lots and my body is aching!
If you were to ask James what the highlight of today is, he would have to say our super cheap breakfast - 4 euros! He couldn't get over the fact that last night he had spent 5.60 euros on a 500mL coke when this morning we had two pastries and a coke for only 4 euros. He was quite impressed with our Ramen place too as we spent 19 euros on two ramen bowls, 5 gyozas, a bowl of rice and a bowl of sauteed veggies.
Friday, December 11, 2009
day 16, 17, 18, 19 - guten tag, Munich! I LOVE German beer!
We arrived early to Munich and settled quickly into our hotel. Luckily the central train station is right across the street from our hotel, however we still took the scenic route as we didn't know it was that close. It was sunny but quite cold and they were expecting snow before the end of the week.
We dropped our bags and walked along Bayerstrasse (our Fleming's hotel's street) toward Karlsplatz/Marienplatz. It's a pedestrian only area with open shopping and at the end of this street there was a Christmas market. We were quite tired the first day as we had to wake up early so we walked half way down (before the Christmas market) and then head back to the hotel for a snooze. When we woke, we just went to grab a bite to eat at this tasty and cheap(!!!) restaurant and went back to the Christmas Market as it was closing.
The next day we went to the Neuschwanstein castle. It was an all day tour. We caught the grayhound bus close by to our hotel. The cost of this day was 49 euro/per person plus entrance fee per person which was about 13 euros each, I think. They took us to another castle that was built by Ludwig, a small town called "O-baw-haw-ga" and then we went to the main castle. It was HUGE! We ate lunch first and then proceeded to the horse drawn carriage ride. The princess that I am, wanted to ride in the front seat so James patiently waited for me to choose which carriage I wanted. Unfortunately, the carriage I wanted only had us as customers and decided that it wasn't worth his time nor his two horses so James and I had to take the bus. It had just started to rain when we went for lunch and didn't stop the entire time we were there. The bus only took us, what seemed half way, up to the castle. After (not) carefully reading the signs, James directed us the wrong way. After hiking about 5 minutes, we were faced with a bridge that stretched for a mile long. After being with James for 12 years, this was the first time he ever knew about my fear of bridges and heights. My legs gave way under me and was cemented to the ground as we approached this bridge. It did not allow me to cross. James promised that this was the only way to this beautiful castle that I've been dreaming about exploring. Reluctantly, very reluctantly, i grabbed onto James, closed my eyes, and he dragged me across this bridge. With tears almost coming through, we made it safely across. After a few seconds, we realized that we went the wrong way which meant we had to cross the stupid bridge again! I was pissed! This day was supposed to be super romantic and something that I've wanted to do for a long time. About 20 minutes later (we had to cross the bridge and hike up a hill) we finally made it to the entrance of this castle drenched. We were not happy campers but I was the only one who voiced it, of course. The tour was amazing. It was worth it, so worth it!
We were quite tired the next day so we took it easy. We went to the Olympic park and the BMW centre and called it a day, knowing that we would be heading out again to meet up with Denise, Tino and Lily for dinner. We made it to their flat in no time (about a 5 minute train ride and then 10 minutes to find their place). They took us to this very traditional Barvarian restaurant where we consumed so much meat. I could eat that meat everyday! It was super delicious. I also drank beer! It's called Radler and it's a mix of beer with lemonade. Yum! We also learned that each restaurant is sponsored by a different beer company and that's all they had but it seems like every type of German beer is delicious. After dinner, Tino took us to a nearby grocery market to buy some German treats for our loved ones back home and we went back to their place for some more beer and yep, I was drinking it!
Our last full day before we went to Paris, we knew we had to make two more important stops: firstly, the concentration camp called Dachau and then to the most famous beer hall called Hofbrauhaus . The concentration camp was unbelievable, in a really bad way. James and I got the audio tour and OMG! the things that the two interviewed prisoners and several other workers had to say was just incredibly sad and just plain unbelievable. The torture that these men had to endure was inhumane and completely insane. It was no way to end our glorious German trip so we HAD to find something more fun to end this part of our tour. Next stop was the beer hall. It was close to 4pm when we decided to head there and we were thinking we would just stop in for a beer and then meet up with Denise, Tino and Lily. A couple hours later, we had met a couple from Ireland who just got engaged that same day in the English garden, met two older guys from Japan, had a German wiener with some sauerkraut, two litres of beer for James and a litre for me (each of this glasses of beer was a litre each!) Tino came to meet us as we were still there. When he came, we ordered another round for James, one for Tino and it was time for me to try their traditional hot red wine - it was only okay, I enjoyed the Radler much more. Near the end of James third drink, we had decided to go upstairs to enjoy some traditional German dancing. By the time we went up there, James was not doing very well. He went to the washroom to get the beer out. With little success, he came back to the table and slept while Tino and I chatted away. Tino and I decided that when he finishes his beer, that we would start heading home as it was getting kind of late and we still had to pack for an early flight in the morning. Tino had about a few more sips when James finally awoke. He looked super pale and super sick. Tino, I guess the expert that he is, immediately gave James his nearly finished beer to puke some more. As he was barfing into the glass, Tino and I were laughing our heads off while I was capturing this moment in time with our little camera. Say cheese!!!
Tino helped us get to the train station and then we parted ways. James passed out right away when we got back to the hotel - natch! - and lucky me got to pack up everything!
We dropped our bags and walked along Bayerstrasse (our Fleming's hotel's street) toward Karlsplatz/Marienplatz. It's a pedestrian only area with open shopping and at the end of this street there was a Christmas market. We were quite tired the first day as we had to wake up early so we walked half way down (before the Christmas market) and then head back to the hotel for a snooze. When we woke, we just went to grab a bite to eat at this tasty and cheap(!!!) restaurant and went back to the Christmas Market as it was closing.
The next day we went to the Neuschwanstein castle. It was an all day tour. We caught the grayhound bus close by to our hotel. The cost of this day was 49 euro/per person plus entrance fee per person which was about 13 euros each, I think. They took us to another castle that was built by Ludwig, a small town called "O-baw-haw-ga" and then we went to the main castle. It was HUGE! We ate lunch first and then proceeded to the horse drawn carriage ride. The princess that I am, wanted to ride in the front seat so James patiently waited for me to choose which carriage I wanted. Unfortunately, the carriage I wanted only had us as customers and decided that it wasn't worth his time nor his two horses so James and I had to take the bus. It had just started to rain when we went for lunch and didn't stop the entire time we were there. The bus only took us, what seemed half way, up to the castle. After (not) carefully reading the signs, James directed us the wrong way. After hiking about 5 minutes, we were faced with a bridge that stretched for a mile long. After being with James for 12 years, this was the first time he ever knew about my fear of bridges and heights. My legs gave way under me and was cemented to the ground as we approached this bridge. It did not allow me to cross. James promised that this was the only way to this beautiful castle that I've been dreaming about exploring. Reluctantly, very reluctantly, i grabbed onto James, closed my eyes, and he dragged me across this bridge. With tears almost coming through, we made it safely across. After a few seconds, we realized that we went the wrong way which meant we had to cross the stupid bridge again! I was pissed! This day was supposed to be super romantic and something that I've wanted to do for a long time. About 20 minutes later (we had to cross the bridge and hike up a hill) we finally made it to the entrance of this castle drenched. We were not happy campers but I was the only one who voiced it, of course. The tour was amazing. It was worth it, so worth it!
We were quite tired the next day so we took it easy. We went to the Olympic park and the BMW centre and called it a day, knowing that we would be heading out again to meet up with Denise, Tino and Lily for dinner. We made it to their flat in no time (about a 5 minute train ride and then 10 minutes to find their place). They took us to this very traditional Barvarian restaurant where we consumed so much meat. I could eat that meat everyday! It was super delicious. I also drank beer! It's called Radler and it's a mix of beer with lemonade. Yum! We also learned that each restaurant is sponsored by a different beer company and that's all they had but it seems like every type of German beer is delicious. After dinner, Tino took us to a nearby grocery market to buy some German treats for our loved ones back home and we went back to their place for some more beer and yep, I was drinking it!
Our last full day before we went to Paris, we knew we had to make two more important stops: firstly, the concentration camp called Dachau and then to the most famous beer hall called Hofbrauhaus . The concentration camp was unbelievable, in a really bad way. James and I got the audio tour and OMG! the things that the two interviewed prisoners and several other workers had to say was just incredibly sad and just plain unbelievable. The torture that these men had to endure was inhumane and completely insane. It was no way to end our glorious German trip so we HAD to find something more fun to end this part of our tour. Next stop was the beer hall. It was close to 4pm when we decided to head there and we were thinking we would just stop in for a beer and then meet up with Denise, Tino and Lily. A couple hours later, we had met a couple from Ireland who just got engaged that same day in the English garden, met two older guys from Japan, had a German wiener with some sauerkraut, two litres of beer for James and a litre for me (each of this glasses of beer was a litre each!) Tino came to meet us as we were still there. When he came, we ordered another round for James, one for Tino and it was time for me to try their traditional hot red wine - it was only okay, I enjoyed the Radler much more. Near the end of James third drink, we had decided to go upstairs to enjoy some traditional German dancing. By the time we went up there, James was not doing very well. He went to the washroom to get the beer out. With little success, he came back to the table and slept while Tino and I chatted away. Tino and I decided that when he finishes his beer, that we would start heading home as it was getting kind of late and we still had to pack for an early flight in the morning. Tino had about a few more sips when James finally awoke. He looked super pale and super sick. Tino, I guess the expert that he is, immediately gave James his nearly finished beer to puke some more. As he was barfing into the glass, Tino and I were laughing our heads off while I was capturing this moment in time with our little camera. Say cheese!!!
Tino helped us get to the train station and then we parted ways. James passed out right away when we got back to the hotel - natch! - and lucky me got to pack up everything!
day 15 - before we have to say good-bye
It's our last day in London and there's still so much we haven't seen or done! James was amazing with all the places to see and the tube transfers. It was like having my very own personal tour guide, and he's kinda cute too! The second full day we had, we woke up super early and continued on our tour of London. We went to the Big Ben (it is big!), House of Parliment, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, stumbled into a Christmas market, took the tube to Notting Hill and then strolled around the original Portabello Road market. It was pretty cool. Then we hopped onto a double decker to get off at the Marble Arch and that's when the shopping began! I picked up a magnet in Portabello Road and then a matching t-shirt at a souvenir shop along the "Robson" street. We went to Primark - a cheap trendy store that Stephanie suggested. It was super cheap and great there. Then we went to Top Shop, man I could have used a few more days in there! We checked out Urban Outfitters as Nat mentioned seeing these eye masks there that has a "FUCK OFF" glued to it. It was funny and I wanted it but we had to leave it in the store as it was too expensive. We then went back home to rest up a little bit.
At the hotel, we bumped into Nat and her friend Melinda. Hung out with them for about 30 minutes and then head back out. One of our last stops was Harrod's. Wow, what an amazing and expensive store! The food area was just amazing. I've never seen anything like it. We also checked out Princess Diana's and Dido's memorial exhibit there. Then we were going to go back to the same pub as the first night but it was packed so we took the tube to Piccadilly Circus for some Aberdeen steaks. It was okay but again expensive. From there we had to call it a night as our wake up call the next morning was at 4:30am!
I'm so sad to say good-bye to beautiful London...hopefully we will get to travel back here another day...
At the hotel, we bumped into Nat and her friend Melinda. Hung out with them for about 30 minutes and then head back out. One of our last stops was Harrod's. Wow, what an amazing and expensive store! The food area was just amazing. I've never seen anything like it. We also checked out Princess Diana's and Dido's memorial exhibit there. Then we were going to go back to the same pub as the first night but it was packed so we took the tube to Piccadilly Circus for some Aberdeen steaks. It was okay but again expensive. From there we had to call it a night as our wake up call the next morning was at 4:30am!
I'm so sad to say good-bye to beautiful London...hopefully we will get to travel back here another day...
day 14 - a city I can call home...
ahhh...London...it's such a fabulous place! I'm quite attached to "my Vancouver" and London is one place that i could call home one day...The only downfall is that it's terribly expensive.
The first full day started off with Nat all ready to explore the town on her own. It's a shame that I didn't get to hang out with Nat anymore as she "has been there, done that" with all the tourists stuff that James and I planned to do. So we parted ways...James and I took the tube to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards. Nothing exciting. Actually, it went array from almost the get go. James and I were super excited to finally be together, so much in love - walking hand in hand, stealing kisses as we rode the long escalators up from the tube station. We got to the Palace and found a place to witness the guards changing when I realized that there was still 45 minutes to go and I needed to tinkle! I told James to stay put as i searched high and low for a toilet. Little did I know the toilet was about a 10 minute walk. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was after I had relieved myself, I realized that I was walking back with the beginning ceremonial band for the changing of the guards. So i quickly ran back to where I told James I would meet him. Oh no! The route I took to get to the toilet was all blocked off! The police officers didn't allow me to go and said i needed to stay where I was until the whole thing finished. Now, if you know me, I do not take no for an answer and if I have my mind set on something, I don't stop till i get it. So I looked over to where James should be waiting and looked around for options. I could either jump in front and cut off the band members or run down the street a bit and play real life "Frogger" so real life "Frogger" seemed to be my only option! Whew! Safe and now on the right side of the street. I got to the place where I thought I told James to wait but then after the ceremony, I realized I was in the wrong area! So James and I were apart for almost an hour! A whole hour apart in a foreign city! It was scary!!! We embraced each other with a "whew, we're finally back together" hug and then went onto the next destinations: the National Portrait museum, the National Gallery museum, a Robson-like street called Oxford, Carnaby Street which had funky outdoor stores and all decked out with Christmas decorations, went to Picadilly Cirus, Oxford Circus and watched the Dirty Dancing play. What a great day!
The first full day started off with Nat all ready to explore the town on her own. It's a shame that I didn't get to hang out with Nat anymore as she "has been there, done that" with all the tourists stuff that James and I planned to do. So we parted ways...James and I took the tube to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards. Nothing exciting. Actually, it went array from almost the get go. James and I were super excited to finally be together, so much in love - walking hand in hand, stealing kisses as we rode the long escalators up from the tube station. We got to the Palace and found a place to witness the guards changing when I realized that there was still 45 minutes to go and I needed to tinkle! I told James to stay put as i searched high and low for a toilet. Little did I know the toilet was about a 10 minute walk. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was after I had relieved myself, I realized that I was walking back with the beginning ceremonial band for the changing of the guards. So i quickly ran back to where I told James I would meet him. Oh no! The route I took to get to the toilet was all blocked off! The police officers didn't allow me to go and said i needed to stay where I was until the whole thing finished. Now, if you know me, I do not take no for an answer and if I have my mind set on something, I don't stop till i get it. So I looked over to where James should be waiting and looked around for options. I could either jump in front and cut off the band members or run down the street a bit and play real life "Frogger" so real life "Frogger" seemed to be my only option! Whew! Safe and now on the right side of the street. I got to the place where I thought I told James to wait but then after the ceremony, I realized I was in the wrong area! So James and I were apart for almost an hour! A whole hour apart in a foreign city! It was scary!!! We embraced each other with a "whew, we're finally back together" hug and then went onto the next destinations: the National Portrait museum, the National Gallery museum, a Robson-like street called Oxford, Carnaby Street which had funky outdoor stores and all decked out with Christmas decorations, went to Picadilly Cirus, Oxford Circus and watched the Dirty Dancing play. What a great day!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
day 12 and 13 - a Milan pit stop before seeing James
We arrived in Milan...it was sunny. Since we didn't realize we were going to have a night in Milan before we embarked on this journey, nothing was planned. Our plan was to take the free bus from Reggio to Milan (courtesy of Reggio) and then figure it out as we went. We bumped into two Reggio classmates that took the same shuttle and we followed them back to their hotel, Novotel, and crossed our figures for availability for the one night. I'm sure there was a lot of room as it was a huge hotel. It was also a really nice place. It was a nice one night, last night for Nat and I...No more girly bonding after this as James will be joining us soon.
Two hours later and one hour back, James was there waiting for us at our gate! He had been to every terminal in Heathrow ( i think there are five in total, it's a super huge airport!) and knew all the ins and outs. He had our Oyster card (tube transfer cards) ready for us and off we went to our hotel. The Sheraton was amazing. The smell was incredible, each time I entered I smelled it. I'm not sure what it was, it just smelled fantastic! The first night we all squished into the king size bed. By the second and third night, James got booted to the couch. It was way too hot for me and since he didn't pay for the room, I figured it would only be fair to Nat if she got some of the blanket and had a more comfortable sleep.
The "orchestra of the nights" wasn't too bad as they took turns serenading to me! But all in all London was great. The weather is much like Vancouver's. I would totally love to live in London. That city is so fun and I think because everything is in English and everyone spoke English, it made it so easy and lovable. The sites were great, the shopping was fantastic and the Christmas lights and displays were absolutely amazing. I really liked how they decked out the city!
The first day/night we arrived, we had pub food. All the shops were closed so we just strolled around and then went to a good-rated pub restaurant in James and my guide book. Nothing super but super expensive!
Two hours later and one hour back, James was there waiting for us at our gate! He had been to every terminal in Heathrow ( i think there are five in total, it's a super huge airport!) and knew all the ins and outs. He had our Oyster card (tube transfer cards) ready for us and off we went to our hotel. The Sheraton was amazing. The smell was incredible, each time I entered I smelled it. I'm not sure what it was, it just smelled fantastic! The first night we all squished into the king size bed. By the second and third night, James got booted to the couch. It was way too hot for me and since he didn't pay for the room, I figured it would only be fair to Nat if she got some of the blanket and had a more comfortable sleep.
The "orchestra of the nights" wasn't too bad as they took turns serenading to me! But all in all London was great. The weather is much like Vancouver's. I would totally love to live in London. That city is so fun and I think because everything is in English and everyone spoke English, it made it so easy and lovable. The sites were great, the shopping was fantastic and the Christmas lights and displays were absolutely amazing. I really liked how they decked out the city!
The first day/night we arrived, we had pub food. All the shops were closed so we just strolled around and then went to a good-rated pub restaurant in James and my guide book. Nothing super but super expensive!
day 7, 8, 9 ,10, 11 - reggio conference recap
we hurriedly got dressed and consumed another yummy, did I mention free?, breakfast and then raced over to the first day of class. We had 15 minutes to get there, but being it was our first day of actually walking across all the piazzas, we didn't know the shortest, quickest way. So Nat with her stilettos and little rolly suitcase and me with my comfy boots ran over the cobblestone roads, turning here and there, we finally made it. As our breakfast slowly settled from all that running, we easily found signs indicating where two late students should be. We should have known better that when Italians say to meet at 9:00am, it actually means at least 9:15am so all that running was so unnecessary, but hey, it's better than being late. That was almost the same routine every morning for a week, but without much running (since we met at the Malaguzzi centre which is much closer than the first meeting place), and we lost the stilettos after that fine first day...so proud of Nat for coming to her comfort senses... :)
We had a welcome from Amelie Gambetti, a big league in the Reggio cult, I mean, the Friends of Reggio Children International Association. But i think I would still refer to it as a cult, not only because it fits but also because it's a shorter name. She was pretty entertaining with her personal stories but nothing she said was really important, not even during the rest of the seminar. There was a pretty long introduction and one presentation the first day of school. We even got a pitch on buying CD's of English Christmas songs for 10 euro and a tile for 300 euro...okay, i can kind of understand the CD as Christmas is fast approaching and i do speak and understand English but a tile? A friggin' tile? What the heck would i do with it? And for 300 euro? Whoa, that did not sit well with me since now it's the end of the conference and I'm still talking about it. I think I've brought up that stupid 300 euro tile each and every day the conference was going on. So, do they think the tuition of this course wasn't high enough and to top things off, I should waste more money on a stinky tile? Oh, and did I also mention that they were going to generously offer us a catalog for 30 euro, with a 10% discount? Throughout the week, we were also able to purchase things that the children made. However, I did put my 150 euro credit at the bookstore (one of our "We're sorry to have cancelled the trip last May so last minute present...") to very good use. That was quite a generous gift, i must admit...
Another part of the "I'm sorry" package was a week long free buffet lunch. We were bussed there like prisoners and then dropped off to pick up a plastic plate with forks and spoons attached to the plate! But hey, it was free and remember, we are big fans of free! After the initial shock of the lack of ambiance, I came to really appreciate this perk. We were consuming free breakfasts (at the hotel), free lunches and only needed to fend for ourselves at dinner time. I'm happy to say that those slim fast bars were never taken out to replace a delicious hot cooked meal...it's a great idea for saving money, but I really didn't want to be eating a meal out of a wrapper when there was so much melted cheese and other fattening goodies surrounding me with love. And i need all the blubber i can get, it was getting pretty chilly outside...
The conference all in all was good. By the end of the week, as tired as I was, I did come to appreciate the fact that I was able to travel so far to see so many wonderful things; a philosophy that has been around for quite awhile. I was a little disappointed during the first few schools we visited - that there wasn't more I felt I could bring home, but reflecting back, that just means we are doing something that I am so incredibly proud of. The schools did have lots to offer and after digesting all the information, and getting over the initial fact that we got screwed over the last time we tried to come, I am thankful and grateful that I came and did, at the end, find the conference to be beneficial and a great life/learning experience.
Other memories during this trip that's worth a mention would be: free teas and cappuccinos from the hotel, the boys from our hotel team (they were so nice!), Ray of Light (a workshop that was pretty cool with a whole bunch of lights and water projects but not worth 60 euros so I decided not to pay for it...) the vegetable buffet at the hotel, the buses that transported us around, the Christmas market, the Loris Malaguzzi International School and their new school, the forbidden pictures that someone took (kaw-kaw) and passed along to us, the poncho things that go over jackets, friends that we've met from around the world, and last but not least, I did get the Reggio experience that will last a life time.
BTW, Angela looks like she's in her forties and could have potentially wavy hair if it wasn't blown straight and she only wears glasses to read...not too far off!
So now, on to Milan for an overnight stop and then its London baby - where James will be waiting for us...I cannot wait to see his big head! I miss him so much! I haven't been able to Skype him to see his smile...
We had a welcome from Amelie Gambetti, a big league in the Reggio cult, I mean, the Friends of Reggio Children International Association. But i think I would still refer to it as a cult, not only because it fits but also because it's a shorter name. She was pretty entertaining with her personal stories but nothing she said was really important, not even during the rest of the seminar. There was a pretty long introduction and one presentation the first day of school. We even got a pitch on buying CD's of English Christmas songs for 10 euro and a tile for 300 euro...okay, i can kind of understand the CD as Christmas is fast approaching and i do speak and understand English but a tile? A friggin' tile? What the heck would i do with it? And for 300 euro? Whoa, that did not sit well with me since now it's the end of the conference and I'm still talking about it. I think I've brought up that stupid 300 euro tile each and every day the conference was going on. So, do they think the tuition of this course wasn't high enough and to top things off, I should waste more money on a stinky tile? Oh, and did I also mention that they were going to generously offer us a catalog for 30 euro, with a 10% discount? Throughout the week, we were also able to purchase things that the children made. However, I did put my 150 euro credit at the bookstore (one of our "We're sorry to have cancelled the trip last May so last minute present...") to very good use. That was quite a generous gift, i must admit...
Another part of the "I'm sorry" package was a week long free buffet lunch. We were bussed there like prisoners and then dropped off to pick up a plastic plate with forks and spoons attached to the plate! But hey, it was free and remember, we are big fans of free! After the initial shock of the lack of ambiance, I came to really appreciate this perk. We were consuming free breakfasts (at the hotel), free lunches and only needed to fend for ourselves at dinner time. I'm happy to say that those slim fast bars were never taken out to replace a delicious hot cooked meal...it's a great idea for saving money, but I really didn't want to be eating a meal out of a wrapper when there was so much melted cheese and other fattening goodies surrounding me with love. And i need all the blubber i can get, it was getting pretty chilly outside...
The conference all in all was good. By the end of the week, as tired as I was, I did come to appreciate the fact that I was able to travel so far to see so many wonderful things; a philosophy that has been around for quite awhile. I was a little disappointed during the first few schools we visited - that there wasn't more I felt I could bring home, but reflecting back, that just means we are doing something that I am so incredibly proud of. The schools did have lots to offer and after digesting all the information, and getting over the initial fact that we got screwed over the last time we tried to come, I am thankful and grateful that I came and did, at the end, find the conference to be beneficial and a great life/learning experience.
Other memories during this trip that's worth a mention would be: free teas and cappuccinos from the hotel, the boys from our hotel team (they were so nice!), Ray of Light (a workshop that was pretty cool with a whole bunch of lights and water projects but not worth 60 euros so I decided not to pay for it...) the vegetable buffet at the hotel, the buses that transported us around, the Christmas market, the Loris Malaguzzi International School and their new school, the forbidden pictures that someone took (kaw-kaw) and passed along to us, the poncho things that go over jackets, friends that we've met from around the world, and last but not least, I did get the Reggio experience that will last a life time.
BTW, Angela looks like she's in her forties and could have potentially wavy hair if it wasn't blown straight and she only wears glasses to read...not too far off!
So now, on to Milan for an overnight stop and then its London baby - where James will be waiting for us...I cannot wait to see his big head! I miss him so much! I haven't been able to Skype him to see his smile...
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