The first time I arrived in Paris by myself was also a challenge, when I was a college student, and in lieu of the expected meeting up with other people from my program, I had to use the French I knew to navigate the transport system, and find my way to my hotel (which had changed, since I didn't make it in time to keep my previous reservation!). After making my way through all that (and learning in the process that people really cared more about understanding you, than whether or not your grammar was perfect), I felt like I could do anything.
Well, many years later (I won't say how many!), it was a special treat to be met at the end of the journey from the airport by such welcoming and familiar faces, my former host parents from so long ago. I was touched by their generosity and welcoming spirit, even though it has been so long since the last time I've seen them, and I haven't been as good at keeping in touch as I'd like to have been. The time at the apartment with them, and visiting their daughter, Dominique (and her kids), was spent talking, and watching tv programs on history and archaeology, news, and indigenous cultures around the world. They told me of their travels in the States, and to the little town of Monpazier, where I was headed to do a volunteer work camp one summer (one of the last times I saw them).
I took most of my meals with them, and spent several of the afternoons off exploring and wandering in the City. This time, in lieu of the old haunts, closer to the Gare de l'Est, the Île de la Cité and the Seine - the 'Quartier Latin' - I was situated near the Champs de Mars and the Eiffel Tower. My wandering took me by Les Invalides, and by the Musées Branly and d'Orsay. Along the park next to the Seine in between, and among the little streets behind. Also around the Tour Montparnasse, and up through the length of the Jardins de Luxembourg.
When I did make it to the Student, or Latin, Quarter - I got a crêpe from the little corner bistro, and was welcomed by the sounds of a brass band playing in the Place St. Michel (eventually will have a video here!). The man who made me the crêpe said (aptly!), smiling happily, motioning toward the music and bopping along - "Nous avons de l'ambience aujourd'hui, eh?!" (We've got a good ambience/atmosphere today [because of the music], don't we?!)
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
A Paris! (2/24)
After leaving the airport in Birmingham (where the Coventry clan saw me off!), I flew into Charles de Gaulle airport in France. I am lucky to have mostly flown into Orly airport the times I've arrived in France by air… let me just start by saying that I chose to fly into Paris because I got a good deal on a ticket, and it seemed worth it to fly in lieu of a more expensive Eurostar (Chunnel) train ticket (or having to make it to London again, and then the train station at a very early hour).
Well, it turns out if you do not check in online and register your checked bag that way with this discounted airline (FlyBe), it costs you a whopping £30 (that's about $54 USD). This is a cautionary tale - don't let it happen to you!
So… I make it to CDG, with a few Euros that my Dad gave me, and start to look for a bus that will take me to the 'Aérogare des Invalides' that is apparently very close to where my old host family now lives (in the 7th Arrondisement, right next to the Champ de Mars - and the Tour Eiffel). It turns out there is no direct bus from CDG, only from Orly. Well, ok - the nice man at the information window gets out a map of the transit system and shows me how to get to Invalides on the RER (local trains).
I get to the where the RER station is in the airport, and go to buy a ticket at one of the machines. It costs about 8 Euros, the machine tells me, to get into Paris (although that seems high?)…and then it refuses to take my bank card. Or bills. Just Euro coins. So, I go to the information window near the RER station to talk to a person - and they are not too helpful. I go to buy something at the newsstand store to get change (meanwhile, I'm lugging all my luggage around with me!)… only to be told that there is a change machine nearby (hidden from view from the machines by a big pillar), and he cannot make change for a 5 euro note. It turns out, the change machine can't, either!… So, finally (after calling my host family, who awaits my arrival patiently, which was estimated as being about a half hour before this moment), I just go and get money out of the ATM (and pay the outrageous $6 fee my bank charges me), and get my change and ticket…and I'm off on the RER and walking adventure that finally gets me to 46 avenue de la Bourdonnais, Paris.
(Whew!) In the end, I think it might have been better to take the train…! That's what I'm going to do on my way back to England, for sure. Before I say more about all of the really great things about being in Paris again - I just have to say how frustrating (and funny) it was to be able to speak the language, and still have so many problems getting what I needed, figuring out the 'system' at work. It's times like those that you think it's set up to be frustrating and to make you feel inept and culturally maladjusted if you're not 'from here'. I've felt like that in Boston when I first arrived, and sometimes in other big cities in the US, when I use the public transport system for the first time. I can't imagine how much harder that would have been if I didn't speak the language(!)...
(Next, Paris adventures...then the WWOOFing! Pictures when I can upload them...)
Well, it turns out if you do not check in online and register your checked bag that way with this discounted airline (FlyBe), it costs you a whopping £30 (that's about $54 USD). This is a cautionary tale - don't let it happen to you!
So… I make it to CDG, with a few Euros that my Dad gave me, and start to look for a bus that will take me to the 'Aérogare des Invalides' that is apparently very close to where my old host family now lives (in the 7th Arrondisement, right next to the Champ de Mars - and the Tour Eiffel). It turns out there is no direct bus from CDG, only from Orly. Well, ok - the nice man at the information window gets out a map of the transit system and shows me how to get to Invalides on the RER (local trains).
I get to the where the RER station is in the airport, and go to buy a ticket at one of the machines. It costs about 8 Euros, the machine tells me, to get into Paris (although that seems high?)…and then it refuses to take my bank card. Or bills. Just Euro coins. So, I go to the information window near the RER station to talk to a person - and they are not too helpful. I go to buy something at the newsstand store to get change (meanwhile, I'm lugging all my luggage around with me!)… only to be told that there is a change machine nearby (hidden from view from the machines by a big pillar), and he cannot make change for a 5 euro note. It turns out, the change machine can't, either!… So, finally (after calling my host family, who awaits my arrival patiently, which was estimated as being about a half hour before this moment), I just go and get money out of the ATM (and pay the outrageous $6 fee my bank charges me), and get my change and ticket…and I'm off on the RER and walking adventure that finally gets me to 46 avenue de la Bourdonnais, Paris.
(Whew!) In the end, I think it might have been better to take the train…! That's what I'm going to do on my way back to England, for sure. Before I say more about all of the really great things about being in Paris again - I just have to say how frustrating (and funny) it was to be able to speak the language, and still have so many problems getting what I needed, figuring out the 'system' at work. It's times like those that you think it's set up to be frustrating and to make you feel inept and culturally maladjusted if you're not 'from here'. I've felt like that in Boston when I first arrived, and sometimes in other big cities in the US, when I use the public transport system for the first time. I can't imagine how much harder that would have been if I didn't speak the language(!)...
(Next, Paris adventures...then the WWOOFing! Pictures when I can upload them...)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Coventry and environs! (2/16-2/24)
After leaving Charney Manor, I took the train to Coventry, where I was met by my brother Adam, and we dropped off my luggage, and went to a local eatery/pub where we 'tucked in' and had a beer. He was not having the best of days, unfortunately (re-organization at the university where he works, uncertainty about the future), but it was great to see him, and in the end, it seemed I'd arrived at a good time.
Coventry is a funny mix of old and new - charming medieval buildings (and extensive history) juxtaposed with modern (not so built-to-last or aesthetically pleasing). So many parts of the city are not so pretty to look at - but what I love about Coventry (aside from the fabulous people who live there - people in my family - and yes, I am a little biased! :) is that there is so much history, so much to discover. The sense you get of how impressive the town has been…(and maybe could be again?).
The name, if I remember correctly, comes from the fact that it was originally a meeting place in the countryside, where people would gather, by a big tree. A church (and later a cathedral?) was eventually built there - and one can see the foundation of one of the churches to follow, and the story of Coventry's beginning, in a park in town.
Being in the middle of England, it is where a lot of old (and current) roads and transports intersect, which helped it to grow in size and importance. It has been known for many industries over time (especially automotive and bicycles), and had some massive cathedrals. The smallest of which, St. Michael's church (still impressive in size), famously blazed after Coventry was bombed in WWII (after Dresden). The next day, when going to survey the damage, the priest found two timbers in the rubble, in the definitive shape of a cross. He found this to be a sign from God - that bombing Dresden had gone too far, that a different way must be found.
Coventry was the first town in England to welcome German students after the war - and as a testimony to the destruction of war, and what that sign meant to Coventry, the old Cathedral was left a ruin. The new Cathedral was built right next to it, and is a place dedicated to reconciliation. It houses a Center for Peace and Reconciliation, and many important pieces and objects within it were donated as symbols of solidarity in peace and reconciliation efforts, from different countries, and representing different faith traditions.
What really struck me on this visit was how many different types of industry Coventry has had and been known for - and that they have, pretty much, all left. How hard-working, skilled, and down to earth its people are, and have been - over centuries. (And the sadness of that talent and industry going to waste). It is really an impressive history. In such a small, and unassuming town.
I have benefitted from the fact that between my brother and my sister-in-law, they know almost everybody in their neighborhood. Having children in the school there, and knowing a lot of other parents, they have managed to become a part of the fabric of their part of the city. I felt like I got wrapped up in it while I was there. And the comforting (and often hilarious! we laughed a lot) fabric of our own family, too.
Before I finish talking about Coventry, I just have to say a little bit about how great it was to see my nieces and nephew there, too. I had so much fun spending time with them - they are the coolest people(!).
We went to Birmingham, Stratford-Upon-Avon (the butterfly farm and Shakespeare's Birthplace), and to Museums and attractions in Coventry, too. They were good guides, and knew so much! We had fun laughing, and learning some things, too. Thank you Claire, Jessie, and Eddie!
It was bittersweet to leave… so great to be there, and be wrapped in that warmth of family (although the weather was not so comforting :), and sad to have to go... but ready to head to France, to reconnect with the part of my heart that I found when I was a student there so many years ago.
Adieu, Coventry, and my dear family there - may all your dreams come true …
Bonjour Paris, where my old host family (and all those good old memories) await!
(Apologies all - I am at the WWOOF farm now in France, without internet access, so the update time is more lapsed than usual..!)
Coventry is a funny mix of old and new - charming medieval buildings (and extensive history) juxtaposed with modern (not so built-to-last or aesthetically pleasing). So many parts of the city are not so pretty to look at - but what I love about Coventry (aside from the fabulous people who live there - people in my family - and yes, I am a little biased! :) is that there is so much history, so much to discover. The sense you get of how impressive the town has been…(and maybe could be again?).
The name, if I remember correctly, comes from the fact that it was originally a meeting place in the countryside, where people would gather, by a big tree. A church (and later a cathedral?) was eventually built there - and one can see the foundation of one of the churches to follow, and the story of Coventry's beginning, in a park in town.
Being in the middle of England, it is where a lot of old (and current) roads and transports intersect, which helped it to grow in size and importance. It has been known for many industries over time (especially automotive and bicycles), and had some massive cathedrals. The smallest of which, St. Michael's church (still impressive in size), famously blazed after Coventry was bombed in WWII (after Dresden). The next day, when going to survey the damage, the priest found two timbers in the rubble, in the definitive shape of a cross. He found this to be a sign from God - that bombing Dresden had gone too far, that a different way must be found.
Coventry was the first town in England to welcome German students after the war - and as a testimony to the destruction of war, and what that sign meant to Coventry, the old Cathedral was left a ruin. The new Cathedral was built right next to it, and is a place dedicated to reconciliation. It houses a Center for Peace and Reconciliation, and many important pieces and objects within it were donated as symbols of solidarity in peace and reconciliation efforts, from different countries, and representing different faith traditions.
What really struck me on this visit was how many different types of industry Coventry has had and been known for - and that they have, pretty much, all left. How hard-working, skilled, and down to earth its people are, and have been - over centuries. (And the sadness of that talent and industry going to waste). It is really an impressive history. In such a small, and unassuming town.
I have benefitted from the fact that between my brother and my sister-in-law, they know almost everybody in their neighborhood. Having children in the school there, and knowing a lot of other parents, they have managed to become a part of the fabric of their part of the city. I felt like I got wrapped up in it while I was there. And the comforting (and often hilarious! we laughed a lot) fabric of our own family, too.
Before I finish talking about Coventry, I just have to say a little bit about how great it was to see my nieces and nephew there, too. I had so much fun spending time with them - they are the coolest people(!).
We went to Birmingham, Stratford-Upon-Avon (the butterfly farm and Shakespeare's Birthplace), and to Museums and attractions in Coventry, too. They were good guides, and knew so much! We had fun laughing, and learning some things, too. Thank you Claire, Jessie, and Eddie!
It was bittersweet to leave… so great to be there, and be wrapped in that warmth of family (although the weather was not so comforting :), and sad to have to go... but ready to head to France, to reconnect with the part of my heart that I found when I was a student there so many years ago.
Adieu, Coventry, and my dear family there - may all your dreams come true …
Bonjour Paris, where my old host family (and all those good old memories) await!
(Apologies all - I am at the WWOOF farm now in France, without internet access, so the update time is more lapsed than usual..!)
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