Au Revoir to Chez Speedies

I was asked by a friend "So, was it all worth it?" Yes, definitely. Not that we found it easy some of the time but overall we have had more good times than bad and it's been a positive life experience. Missing family and friends was hard but the year went by so amazingly quickly because we kept busy doing things and we tried to make the most of the time we had away.

This will be my last post for Chez Speedies. I've enjoyed keeping a record of our trip over the year and would like to thank my readers. I was quite flattered to receive comments from people who were enjoying reading the blog. THANK YOU readers. Bye for now.

Back in Oz

Ahhhh……………it's bliss to be home. It feels strange to hear Aussies talking. They talk funny. After being in Europe and not understanding what people are saying alot of the time it feels like we’re eavesdropping on people’s conversations because we can understand everything that they're saying.

The Long Road Home

We closed the door on Paris at 8.05 am Thursday morning and walked to the train station, Chatelet Les Halles to catch RER B to Charles de Gaulle airport. Our bags were heavy as hell. We weighed in at 95 kg all up for four checked in bags, one for each of us plus Andrew thinks we would have had at least 30 kg in our carry on bags. Andrew had the laptop in his carryon backpack and the ham and cheese baguettes I prepared for our snack and I had my cabin bag. It took us 20 long minutes to drag our bags to the station. We bought train tickets (€28) and minutes later were heading to the airport.

Everything went smoothly with checkin and we were ready and waiting in the departure lounge a good hour and a half before the flight. Ella and Samuel were both excited to be going home and said it was a good day for them. Flying scares me. When you consider the size of the aircraft and the number of people they carry one wonders how the planes stay up in the air? I try not to think about it…it’s too terrifying. It was a long, long flight. Ella was the only one who managed to get some sleep for a couple of hours from Paris to Singapore. She’s so little. She curled up into a ball in her seat and dozed off and she was quite sprightly when we landed at Singapore. The rest of us were red-eyed and very tired.

We’re all happy to be going home. The last 2 ½ months of on-the-road travelling has really worn us out. The kids have hated it. I love France but I don’t know when we will come back again. We want to visit other countries when we go overseas next time but I doubt we would go overseas for such a long time again.

It’s a real learning experience when you travel. You find out a lot about yourself and also about the practicalities of travel. A big one for us is to take less stuff next time. We carried way too much stuff with us that we didn’t need. It was a nightmare.

Physically Andrew and I feel like wrecks. He has to see a doctor about his shoulder which hasn’t been right since April. He thinks it’s because of all the luggage we’ve been carrying around.

Leaving France

Today we fly home. We had the worst night last night. It was so hot. We both kept waking up sweating. It was 35 degrees in Paris yesterday. According to the CNN weather guy it was 8-10 degrees hotter than normal for this time of year. We had the air conditioner on for some of the time but it was spitting out so much water it had to be turned off.

Don’t you think they should tell you that the apartment you’re paying a squillion dollars for is in the red light district? I’m debating with myself about writing a mean review about this apartment. Either that or send a detailed list of all the plumbing problems with this unit to the owners. Actually I’ll probably do nothing. I don’t think the owners care and when we leave here I’m going to have plenty of other things to think about.

Tuesday 18 August 2009

We’ve been sitting around all day. The kids don’t want to go anywhere. The kids are watching Tom and Jerry cartoons. Andrew found another few hundred tv channels. I wonder how they will feel when we get back to Australia and they realise we won’t be in safe secure Mount Isa anymore. That we’re going to a place where none of us will know anyone and we’ll have to start again from the beginning. They think when we’re back in Australia life will be perfect and they’ll never have a problem again especially since everyone speaks English.

Last Day in France

I liked this statue on the side of the building

We spent our last day in Paris at home in the apartment packing up and working out how we were going to organise ourselves to get to the airport on time tomorrow. The kids refused to go anywhere. They watched cartoons and picked fights with each other. I went out for a couple of hours down to Les Halles to look for some souvenirs and was horrified to see the stuff in the tourist shops there was almost double the price of the souvenirs at the Louvre shops.

Personally we're quite impressed with ourselves that we lasted the distance. Travelling is hard work and travelling with kids, well, I think we expect alot of them, maybe too much, and it causes alot of conflict. It'll be interesting when we get home and hear what the kids have to say to others about their experiences. I'll be keeping my ears open to listen. Who knows what anxieties they have. You can't imagine they would have much to worry about but their day to day behaviour shows up that they get stressed too.

Eiffel Tower Walk - Tuesday 18 August 2009

Looking down Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe

We took the metro to the Eiffel Tower to save our legs and then walked back along the Champs Elysees to the Jardin de Tuilleries with stops along the way to play and to take some photos. It was such a contrast from the cold hardness of winter to the hot sunny brightness of a summer’s day and boy it sure was hot. I remember queuing to go up the Eiffel Tower, toes numb in shoes. The kids remember kicking the slabs of ice along the footpath and walking on the frozen water in the fountains. That tickled their fancy… walking on water. Just past the Louvre Ella started looking in souvenir shops and Andrew and Samuel kept walking home while Ella and I stayed and shopped in peace.

Louvre

We visited the Louvre today. It was chaotic and mostly unenjoyable. The kids hated it. The place is too big and it’s all quite overwhelming. I particularly didn’t like being shoved by people trying to get in to see the Mona Lisa.

Paris Plage

We planned to spend our last few days enjoying Paris, relaxing in our 2 bedroom apartment, doing a little bit of sightseeing, nothing too strenuous. We also needed to spend a bit of time searching the internet for somewhere to live when we get back to Australia seeing as we’re homeless, looking for a school for the kids that teaches French as their lote and a heap of other things which we wanted to organise before we arrived. Having the computer sh*t itself at this time is most inconvenient and has been a real pain. Sadam, our Lebanese computer whizz that we met at the newsstand, loaded a couple of security and cleaning things on our laptop but it hasn’t solved the problem because the computer still randomly switches itself off in the middle of doing stuff.

Also our unit is really noisy and hot at night but we can’t leave the windows open because of the nocturnal goings on in the street outside. I mentioned before I think about the location of our unit in the redlight area of St Denis. We didn’t realise we were in the thick of it when we booked here.

So we’re all worn out and basically fed up and want to go home now. The kids are more excited about going home than they’ve been the whole trip but I live in hope they will have good memories of the trip and forget all the things we’ve complained about.

PARIS PLAGE

We spent our last Sunday in France visiting Paris Plage, which is a section of river embankment along the River Seine which has been turned into a “beach” with umbrellas, deck chairs and spray mist machines. It was a boiling hot day and the chance of a swim was appealing.

I’d have to say the general idea is a success. There was hundreds of people there but it was so hot and I found it pretty grim that there was no where to swim or get relief from the sweltering sun except under the bridge arches along the roadway.

We found a pool for the kids to swim in but it was complet meaning they were full and couldn’t take any more kids in. Only certain ages could swim at certain times and we were told we could come back in an hour. Men aren’t allowed to swim in shorts. They have to wear speedo style togs, and also everyone has to wear a bathing cap. All for hygiene. Andrew and I expected to be able to sit and watch the kids in the pool from the side but that’s not allowed. One parent has to be with the kids in the pool at all times.

Cimetiere - Friday 14 August 2009

Oscar Wilde's lipstick-marked grave

Today I went to visit the Cimetière du Père Lachaise, the world’s most visited graveyard according to the Lonely Planet. It took me 40 minutes to get there from Boulevard St Denis all the way down Avenue de la Republique. It didn’t look that far on the map. The cemetery is huge like a small suburb with roads and street signs. There’s 800 000 people buried here and the conservation office gives out free maps showing the location of some of the famous graves that people want to visit. I saw Oscar Wilde’s and Jim Morrison’s grave. Oscar Wilde’s grave is covered in lipstick kisses.

We've been having a torrid time with the laptop so I haven't been able to update the blog. The computer just goes off at the most awkward times, so annoying. But I've been writing in Word so I will post these as soon as I can.

CHEZ PRUNE

We were going to lunch at Chez Adel where they have chansonniers singing French songs in the style of Edith Piaf but they were closed and it looked really sleazy anyway so that was probably a good thing. Instead we stumbled across Chez Prune nearby which turned out to be a scrumptious second choice. The food was delicious and the service was efficient and friendly.

After lunch we took the metro to the Marché aux Puces de Montreuil, a flea market in the 20e. It wasn’t quite what I anticipated. It’s funny how you get a picture in your head about something and then it’s not what you thought. People were sitting on the ground with the stuff they were selling in front of them on mats. The market snaked its way along the side of the road peripherique. The Lonely Planet describes this as a market of 500 stalls but there was nothing like that where we were. Maybe we were in the wrong place. It wouldn’t be the first time.

So we got back on the metro and went to another market at Porte de Clignancourt which is said to be the biggest flea market in Europe. This market was more what I expected but I don’t think we saw all of it because each market is located in a different section. Anyway by this time the kids needed the toilet, they were thirsty, tired and wanted to go home. We didn’t stay long after that.

Thursday 13 August 2009

I’ve really been going on about my kids not enjoying what we’re doing, the travel, the sightseeing. My children are wonderful and I think I’ve been too hard on them. The travel wears them out and I haven’t appreciated how tired they are and how much it affects their mood and behaviour. I think they’ve missed their friends and having other kids to play with regularly and they don’t understand why we would want to travel and leave our own home for such a long time. I love history and old things and imagining how life must have been in the olden days for different people. I don’t think children at 7 ¾ years old can really understand the meaning of history and the hundreds of years of time involved. I have been trying to make the most of Paris without the kids joining in because they’re happier playing at home in the unit than looking at all the beauty and history of Paris. I wonder how other people with kids cope.

Passage Brady

Our Indian dinner at Passage Brady was good fun. Not that we’re big fans of spicy food but we wanted to try something different. Passage Brady is one of the many covered shopping arcades in this area. Some of them are quite beautiful. This particular passage is within easy walking distance of our unit and full of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants from one end to the other. We ordered two mild chicken dishes and a lamb biryani and the waiter was most insistent we try some cheese bread which was a warm tortilla with cheese melted in the middle of it, quite yummy.

Montmartre

My first important task of the day was going for a walk to the Boulanger to buy baguettes for our lunch. Then I went to the Franprix to get a few essentials like milk and bikkies. After Andrew made us lunch, everyone settled down for a quiet afternoon. Ella was playing with her new Tinkerbell and Minnie toy dressups. Samuel was playing computer games on the laptop and Andrew was reading his Dan Brown book. So as no-one wanted to accompany me I ventured out on my own to walk up to Montmartre. I wanted to visit Place du Tertre where the artists have their easels set up and they’ll paint your portrait or draw a caricature of you.

Place du Tertre was lively and buzzy, just as I’d imagined and all those stairs to climb. Exhausting. I had to get a photo. No wonder French women are so slim with all the walking they do. Many of the streets around the Butte de Montmartre are cobbled and the views are great.

I walked up, down and around. It was bliss being alone without anyone whining at me. I saw the moulins used for flour milling years ago and the famous Moulin Rouge. I was carrying the Lonely Planet with me. It’s good practice for me to work things out for myself instead of relying on Andrew all the time. He finds everything so easy and I don’t but I get there in the end at my own pace – it’s just not as fast as him.

Today we’re going back to Disneyland. The tickets we bought gave us four days for the price of three but we didn’t tell the kids in case we didn’t end up going back. The long waits in the queues for a ride that lasts only a minute or two doesn’t seem worth it. For some rides you can get a fastpass ticket which cuts the wait time down by about half. We wanted to stay for the fireworks but they’re on so late and we’re not keen about the safety of the trains coming back to Paris so late at night.

Monday 10 August 2009

This morning Andrew walked to Rue Tiquetonne to collect our two bags we had in storage for a month. I went out on my own to find a supermarche so we can make dinner at home tonight. It was good fun walking along looking at the shops, lots of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi restaurants and I found a laverie and internet café.

This afternoon we took the washing down to the laverie. I had to bribe the kids with lollies to leave the unit. They didn’t want to go anywhere. Good to have the washing up to date.

Basilique Sacre Couer

Tuesday 11 August 2009

We are still sitting around at lunchtime. The Kids don’t want to go anywhere. Andrew went for a walk and found Boulanger to buy baguettes for lunch.

After we had lunch we went to get our shopping for dinner tonight and then we went for a walk to see if we could find a computer repair shop. I had an idea to buy a newspaper to check out the classies and we stopped at a newsstand and a man there asked us something which I didn’t understand and I told him my idea and that we were looking for a computer fix It shop and he asked what was wrong with our computer. He said computers are his job and he might be able to help us. It all sounded really sus but we got chatting to the man whose name was Sadam and he said if we wanted to accompany him to his house which was nearby he would have a look at the computer for us. Our gut feel was that he was trustworthy despite the situation seeming dodgy.

So Andrew went with this Lebanese guy to his house to fix our computer and I took the kids to the park a couple of streets away. We met up with Andrew shortly after €30 lighter. Andrew wasn’t sure that the guy had done anything but he did remove 4 gig of temporary files which he thought could be part of the problem.

After all this excitement we walked up to the Basilique Sacre Couer. What an amazing sight! And a stunning view of Paris because of the highupness of it. Andrew and the kids waited on the steps near the entrance while I joined the funnel of people going in to look at the church. There was such a huge crowd they had to cordon the entrance to make the entry and exit points a bit easier for people not to get crushed.

What a place! People everywhere. The streets we walked to get to the basilique had hundreds of shops with rolls and rolls of dressmaking materials. Half way up on the many steps of the church some young folk were set up with a microphone and amplifier and were entertaining the throng of people happily sitting on the steps.

Disney Weekend

We’ve survived three days at Disneyland. No mean feat. I think you just about need to go into training to get through a visit to Disney. It’s full on…the mega crowds and the endless queuing. The main thing is the kids enjoyed it.

Monday 10 August 2009

My initial feeling when we found our unit in Paris was disappointment. My expectations were high for some reason. Andrew wasn’t disappointed at all. It was exactly what he expected. I assumed the unit would have a washing machine and searched high and low for one. Why did I assume it would have a washing machine? I don’t know but now we'll have to waste our precious remaining time in Paris finding a laverie and hauling clothes down to wash.

Our unit is in Rue D’Aboukir which is in an interesting area. During the day it’s constant hustle and bustle of delivery people and shoppers but from early evening the professional women appear literally outside our front door. The street is full of clothes shops with the most beautiful designer evening wear and bags, shoes and glittery jewellery at reduced prices.

The location of the unit is great. If it had a really good clean and had a few things fixed it would be ok. Andrew had to do a few minor maintenance jobs when we arrived. Not what you would expect when you’re paying over €1500 for 11 nights. The main things were plumbing things like the airconditioner water dripping down the wall, the bathtub water wouldn’t drain and the shower head was broken. Painful.

Friday 7 August 2009

Disneyland was fantastic. We arrived after lunch and launched ourselves into Walt Disney Studios. After a long wait, we went on our first ride, Crush’s Coaster. Crush was the turtle in the Nemo movie so I thought it would be a tame ride. It was terrifying. I had my eyes shut the whole time and couldn’t wait for it to end. I always think I’ll be okay and I never am and I don’t know why I bother. I guess I want to enjoy the experience like other people and it’s just not my thing. Everyone else got off the ride laughing and all smiles. I got off feeling nauseous and nearly in tears. Ella initially seemed afraid but later said she enjoyed herself and Samuel was fine with it.

Thursday 6 August 2009

Sitting on the Eurostar watching the beautiful French countryside whizz by. It’s relaxing travelling by train. You can appreciate the scenery instead of worrying about the traffic and taking a wrong turn.

Paris Problems

zeùre qt the internet cqfe in &àe: That's code for I'm at the internet cafe on a f***g french keyboard and the keys are all over the place. Can you tell I'm frustrated? The laptop has sh*t itself on arrival in Paris and we are trying to find someone to clean up the hard drive for us. So my blog might not be happening. We have 9 more days here before we go home. It's hard to believe it's nearly the end. The kids can't wait to get on the plane and play those computer games. I just want to get out and see as much as I can of Paris before it's au revoir.

Eurodisney

We're back in Paris today...yayyyy....heading off to Disneyland for three days. The kidlets can't wait.

Goodbyes

We said goodbye to The Beasley's today. We're into the last two weeks of our 12 month adventure and they are just beginning. It was nice to catch up with them and it was fun for the kids to have someone to play with. Our last night we went out for a meal at Ye Olde Bell, a little pub in the village of Hurley. The pub was built in 1352. It was a gorgeous little place and the food we had was really yummy. There was a large outdoor area with long wooden trestle tables and a huge grassy area and shady trees and swings for the kids. It was great. The kids played out the back all night apart from when they came up to have their dinner.

Maidenhead

Little crooked building in Eton

Pretty flowers in the centre of the road

The Speedie and Beasley kids having a snack before going into Windsor Castle

Another grey day in the UK. So much for summer. We're in Maidenhead for one more day. We've been catching up with The Beasley's who are about to start their travelling adventures as we prepare to go home to Australia. Yesterday the nine of us visited Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. The size of the place was incredible and the State Apartments were magnificent.

Tomorrow we take our hire car back to Euston Avis and then get the Eurostar at St Pancras back to Paris. We'll have a night in Paris then on Friday morning we're going to Paris Disney for the weekend.

After the weekend we come back to Paris where we have an apartment booked for 9 days then we fly home. All over red rover.