Friends, Brittany Sunshine, and history

France's northwestern beaches have been a pleasant surprise - again and again. A day at Damgan showed a different face, a little more rocky but a shell collection treasure trove - amazing that despite sunny and warm weather, the beach was virtually deserted on a Saturday.

Since the arrival of friends Janice and Charles and Logan on Sunday, we happily assumed the role of tour guides - and together we have seen so many of France's bright spots!

La Baule is claimed to be on of the continents best beaches and it certainly did not disappoint the day we visited - water that the teenager claimed was "definitely swimable" actually was tolerable - for most of us - especially after some time in the stunning sunshine, and between frisbee and football games. Nearby Guerande is the longtime centre of salt extraction - a neat and ages old local product.

The seafaring walled city at St. Malo is a relatively intact walled and quite obviously wealthy city with a fantastic natural setting and tides that are really fascinating - we hiked to the Grande Be to view the city from the sea side, and walked the whole circumference of the wall... beautiful! Jacques Cartier's statue is featured prominently on the promenade, acknowledging his role discovering the Baie St. Laurent. After the trek around the city we had a nice break on the nearby cliffs on the Pointe du Grouin and watched the incredible tide come in.

On the cliffs above la baie du Mont-Saint-Michel watching the inflow of Europe's highest tidal flows - where the water can recede 15km at low tide!

It is no surprise that Mont. Saint Michel is considered one of the most special and most visited places in the country. Acknowledging the signs at the parking that warned us the tide would consume the parking lot by the evening, we arrived at the Mont early and proceeded through the knarly old streets, up to the Cathedral on top, and marvelled at every turn at the human effort and vision involved in 1000 years of mountain top construction and spiritual endeavour.

We took the opportunity to see some of our local R-en-T sites when Ome Jan and Tante Thea arrived in their return trip from walking in Spain, to their home in Holland. The Chateau in town and the second half of the Grees walk was a nice sideline for them and for us. We even got to celebrate Jan's birthday with a great diner, delivered courtesy of the weekly fish monger who delivered us some wonderful seafood!

More Breton living

The beach at Penestin, La Mine D'Or, holds a treasure trove of iron pyrite, marine life, sunny sand, and lovers of wind sports, fishing and relaxation. The golden cliffs along this beach are incredible, with lots of intricate nooks and crannies.






The historical port and fortified position at La Roche Bernard is now a recreational hub of the region. Inhabitated by the Vikings as early as 919, the "modern" fortifications were largely established in the 1500's, though the local Notre Dame chapel had already been there serving the area since around 1100. The crepes and beer found at the local fair are still fine to this day!

Overlooking the river Vilaine in Roche Bernard.




A sunny day at Carnac meant lots of time to explore the fascinating stone alignments, Menhirs and Dolmens, that are amongst the oldest known human manifestations and a testament to the prehistorical and mystical nature of Brittany.
The local beach was quiet as the mad summer rush has yet to come, though it is long and beautiful and surely a busy holiday destination in July and August.
Local farms are already in full swing and we took advantage of the great pick your own strawberries just outside R-en-T, so more crepes followed that evening.




Sadly, Alex and Scott's time with us in France ended when we delivered them to Paris and their flight home on June 16.
...


The Dukes of Brittany established a hunting lodge in @1218 near Sarzeau named "Suscinio" that was expanded and built upon with drawbridges and towers through the 14th century. Extensive restorations allowed us to visit most of the main living areas of the castle, and we even enjoyed the rehearsals for an upcoming opera in the huge courtyard.

Rochefort-en-Terre

Strolling the main drag of Rochefort en Terre

We arrived in our new home on Tuesday. It will be nice to settle again in a place with more permanency. All six of us travelled by high speed train to arrive in Redon and were met by our host Tanya and her Irish neighbour David. It was so nice to finally meet her as she and I have been correspondance friends for 8 months. Tanya is just as I imagined her to be and her children, way cuter than could be imagined! We have been having a wonderful introduction to the Breton way of life... gallettes et crepes for dinner one night, a real fish feast the next, quiche, croissants purchased from the twice morning delivery man and cider and salted caramels... all delicacies of the district of Bretagne. There are markets almost every day of the week in neighbouring villages and some really cute shops right in town. We said goodbye to Tanya, Gabriel, Morgane, Raphealle and Tristan on Thursday in Rennes as they began their month-long holiday in Ontario - two weeks at our house in Peterborough, and two weeks in Ottawa.

Yesterday we packed up early and drove to the city of Vannes, a city on the ocean at the Gulf of Morbihan. Beautiful!!! We boarded a ship that took us to Belle Isle, a magnificent island in the ocean about a 45 minute cruise from land. Our trip took about 2 hours because we cruised through the tiny islands in the gulf. The fun biking along the coast included lots of crazy hills, lunch in the village of Sauzon, and the dsicovery and exploration of WWII armories and gun positions.

Above Sauzon, Belle Isle

Today we hiked one of the local R-e-T trails, LES GRÉES, that takes you above the town along a high ridge. After a warm and energetic hike that ended with some village time in some of the many shops we headed to the lake for a swim. Next stop: the beach!!

Overlooking the Chateau in Rochefort en Terre

Paris, full of delights!!

Our time in Paris has been an exciting one, living in a vibrant quarter of the city, a city so full of beautiful things - architecture, painting, sculpture, and history.

Below Sacre Coeur Church in northern Paris

We have enjoyed many built highlights that the city offers, including churches at Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, St Eustache, Ste. Marie Madeleine, L'eglise de Blanc Monteau and countless others.

The Louvre captured our imagination for a good portion of the day on Sunday. It is hard to believe there is so much creativity and art compiled in one place, and in such a magnificent and expansive home. This former fortress, constructed in 1190 by King Philippe-Auguste is such a piece of art in itself, with a fascinating and long history. We were pleased to see so many fabulous pieces, including the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and much of the ancient Egypt exhibit - Meagan's choice, which we all enjoyed. Visiting the medieval Louvre (the excavated foundation of the original fortress) was really interesting. With another 3 or 4 days we think we could cover most of the museum!

Walking the Ile de la Cite and the paths along the Seine of course was very nice with some street music thrown in for good measure. Even the Metro was musical, as we were treated to a tuba solo on the train between Chatelet and Tuilerie stations.

Today, cousins Alex and Scott joined us from Washington, D.C. Our visit in Paris with them will be a short one - and wet as it turns out. We did get to the top of the Eiffel Tour, saw the Ecole Militaire and the Grand Palais, and walked the Champs Elyesee to stand under the Arc de Triomphe. Like so many of the notable sights in Paris they are all the more special and maginficent in real life, and seen in person, in the context of the city.

After some more Paris time tomorrow we will begin the next leg of our jouney as we head south-west to Rochefort-en-Terre. We are looking forward to speeding along at over 300 km per hour on the TGV (train grand vitesse). Adieu until we write again!

Paris

We have now begun the France portion of our journey and were both sad to leave Belgium but excited to arrive in the Marais and begin exploring this fabulous city. By happenstance we found a great exhibit on Gustave Eiffel at the nearby Paris Hotel de Ville and his many engineering and construction exploits - fascinating stuff. We got a birds' eye view of the city from the top of Europe`s second highest tower at Montparnasse, which really whetted our appetite. We are looking forward to more time in this very interesting quarter of Paris, and to seeing what the city has to offer...

Belgium, and more beaches!

BELGIUM

May 28 - time to say goodbye to our wonderful time in the Netherlands. Travelling via train to Breda and then courtesy of Mathieu by car through Cadzand-bad, we arrived in Duinbergen (Knokke Heist) to meet our friend Phillipe, for a tour of our temporary Belgian home, and of the neighbourhood.

Once settled we took a long walk on the excellent sand beach, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset over the wind turbines and gantry shipping cranes of nearby Zeebrugge. After a beach jog, the kids felt the need to have a swim, so had an introductory jump in the waves. The sea at this time of year has an active crowd of windsurfers, kite surfers and sand sailors - taking advantage of steady winds and flat flat beaches, with few people - at least on some parts of the beach.

We have spent many hours enjoying the sand and the surf, and even took in some beach polo (who knew) that was part of a holiday weekend and ongoing seaside patio scene in Knokke.

We have had many bikes trips around the area, to the north to the Zwin natural park, up and down the busy boardwalk, and to visit the recreational and fishing port in Zeebrugge.

Sunday we took the short train ride to visit Brugges, one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in Europe. A beautiful day of architecture, history, and several terasses to take a break and to take it all in. We also took a boat tour on the canals around this fortified city, and enjoyed wonderful Belgian chocolates and beer, of course.

This is a picture of a boat cruise within the city of Brugges.

A visit to Brussels on June 2 was an opportunity to spend some time with Phillipe, Pascal and family. Phillipe showed us many beautiful highlights of this incredible European capital, including the Stad Huis (city hall), many cafes, and the King's residence on the Grand Place. The built environment and the statuary are testaments to the long and storied history of this wealthy and important centre of commerce and international diplomacy. We had an overview of Belgian history at the Belvue museum (which is within a former princess' home next to the Royal Palace), and attended the opening of an exhibit of surrealism by Magritte.

Our home exchange host and 'tour guide' du jour, Phillipe, in front of the Royal Palace, used for official royal business and to host guests of the royal family.

Dikes and Mussels and Castles

Breda Jazz Festival

Our tour of Holland has continued in fine style, with great visits to Breda for the annual Jazz Festival, to the Achterhoek via fortified Rees, Germany to visit with Derksen relatives in hometown Aalten, and to the Deltaworks project in Zeeland. This mega mega project of the 60's and early 70's was one of the first to seriously consider and include environmental implications of large public infrastructure, especially on the important ecological area of the Eastern Schelde. Built to protect the lowlands of western Holland against the devastation such as that experienced in 1953 (and many times throughout history) it is a series dams that can keep the seas at bay when the NW winds rise. A series of gates in the key parts of the dam are left open to allow for normal tidal activity but can be closed in high seas - amazing and a huge undertaking. We left the visitor centre at Neeltje Jans and caught our breath with cold drinks on the lovely beaches nearby where summer is getting into swing with increasingly warm and sunny weather.

At the Deltaworks

Breda is yet another beautiful city, and we consider it one of the highlight spots of our time here so far, along with the fortress town of s'Hertogenbosch, and the capital of Zeeland, Middleburg (not just because of Middleburg's (delicious) moules et frites). We had great company with tour guide and culinary advisor Ome Mathieu along the way!

One of the fabulous canals surrounding the town S'Hertogenbosch:

Two weeks ago we had a real treat - a 26 km bike ride around the national park at Hoge Veluwe, using their free (1800 in all) white bikes, and a visit to the surprising and incredible Kroller Muller museum, home to an extensive art collection, including the largest number of Van Gogh pieces outside the Van Gogh family collection - a real jewel within the surrounding scenery of sands dunes and forested trails. Holland continues to amaze us with hidden treasures and wide open space...

Taking a break within the dunes at Hoge Veluwe park...

Bike Rides, flower beds and sandy beaches

Ready for a bike ride to Schoonhoven - the silver city - on the Lak River a one-hour ride away from Stolwijk.

This is the old hospital we visited in Gouda.

It now serves as a museum of very interesting art and an old apothocary shop.

During the week of Monday May 11 we were very busy.
We visited the Keukenhof Garden in Lisse. This is a garden of colour with over 7 million bulbs in bloom at one time. It is one of the world's largest flower gardens and awesome to see in real life. They had a special tribute to New York this year - commemorating 400 years of Dutch history with the city.

Off to Zanfoort on the northsea, very close to Haarlem. (I really wanted to get to Corey Ten Boom's birthplace. She wrote a beautiful book called the Hiding Place in which she tells of how she rescued more than 800 jewish lives during WWII. She was caught and sent to a concentration camp but survived to write this story.) The sea was wild with wind and waves but the sand was very soft. Patrick went for dip only to regret it when I told him he couldn't get into the car soaking wet.

We drove through the City of Leiden, one of the oldest and most prestigious university cities. Also known as Rembrandt's birthplace, it is Holland's third largest city. As we were running late and all of us were hungry for some of Tante Heidi's dinner, we didn't linger. It was however, another beautiful city on our route.

Madurodam is a small scale, bird's eye view of all of Holland. In the city of Den Haag, Madurodam houses replicas of trains, ships, buildings and people, all precisely 25 times smaller than in reality. It is an amusement park and exhibition of 185 of Holland's landmarks and historical buildings but also a war memorial as it was opened in 1952 to commemorate war hero and resistance fighter George Maduro who died in a concentration came . His parents financed the town and donate profits from the miniature town to charities related to young people.

Scheveningen was a beautiful beach too. White sand and the feel of Daytona - shops and restaurants on the shore. It must really be hopping in July with a few more degrees of warmth. A short drive and we were in the harbour where fish is delivered daily. We ate dinner at the Brauw Cafe, a restaurant renowned for its home brewed beer. Uncle Ben knew it well and he was right about how good it was.

Off on Wednesday to visit with cousin Chris and Yvonne and Luca in Diemen just outside of Amsterdam. Luca had wednesday afternoon off so he and Patrick and another friend played outside. Wonderful to see how children can get along without very much language in common. In the evening we boarded the train and enjoyed an evening in Amsterdam. Chris and Yvonne enjoyed showing us the sites we might have missed on our own.

On Thursday we were sure to go back to the city and visit Dam Square (the very centre of the city), Anne Frank house, the Westerkerk and of course a canal tour by boat. Meagan enjoyed shopping on Kalverstraat very much! It was great to enjoy the big city for a day.

We were lucky to enjoy a dutch cheese market too. In Alkmaar they carry on a 700 year old tradition of trading, buying, and shipping cheese made in Holland. Patrick was in heaven!

We ended our busy week with dinner with my Tante Corey in Diemen. She just celebrated her 80th birthday and it was wonderful to see that she hasn't changed much at all. It was very special to spend some time with family I don't get to see very often.

One of our bike rides around Cuijk! Nice and green!

Monday Update

A week has flown by! We left Cuijk on Saturday to meet my uncle and aunt in Stolwyk - very close to the town of Gouda. Meagan and I were wisked away as soon as we arrived to go to Gouda to meet my cousin Ben who was shopping at the market. I can't say enough about how nice it felt to meet him again after so many years. We toured the St. Jan's Cathedral with many beautiful 'Gouda' windows - magnificent stained glass windows, all about 10 metres tall, that depict special moments in the life of Jesus Christ. We also toured an old hospital that is now a museum and Meagan had her very first warm stroepwaffel - a very yummy cookie type waffel with syrup in between the layers. And of course, no visit or journey is ever complete in Holland without a drink at a tarrace. They are all over the place and we like to enjoy them frequently.
Since Saturday we have spent lots of time with family. Our plan was to return to Cuijk after the weekend but upon the suggestion of my uncle, we have decided to continue on this week from Gouda to Amsterdam for a few days. We arrive to visit with cousin Chris in Amsterdam on Wednseday am. So tomorrow we are off to Den Haag and the beach at Scheveningen (that's tougher to say than to write) and then a fish dinner with my family from Gouda - whom we may not see again this trip. Because we did not plan to stay as long as we are going to, we left many items in Cuijk that we now wish we had brought. Pictures cannot be sent at this time but we will add some to another posting next week. Daag!

Liberty Park in Overloon

Started today with a great Dutch breakfast and then off to the site of Holland's biggest tank battle, now a historical museum with 150 war vehicles and equipment. Meagan sits atop the 500 year old tower that overlooks the village of Cuijk. Beautiful site and historical museum filled with artifacts found in the town. The tower is accessed by a winding, stone made, spiral staircase. Dizzying but worth it when you get to the top.

We're here !!!

May 5th is Dutch (and Rees) liberation day! We had a great flight from Toronto to Schipol airport in Amsterdam. We arrived early - at 6:15 instead of the forecast 7:00 am. Caught the train to Nijmegan and switched there to go to Cuijk. A true adventure - tired and a little punchy too. We were met by Jan and Thea at the station. The ladies walked and the gentlemen drove with the luggage to Grotestraat.
We've had a wonderful day - a weird one because we had two mornings and wine with the second breakfast (very hobbit like)!
This evening a beautiful walk along the Maas and then we got to check out Jan's new camping van. Very nice and cozy! I think we're going to like it here!

In a nut shell - itinerary

Hello friends and family!
If you are reading this its because you were interested to find out what we are doing. Thanks! We will begin our journey in Cuijk which is my mother's home town. In fact we are living in my mom's birth home - how cool is that! Not many people can say they slept in the same home as their Oma did, when they were about the same age. Meagan and Patrick will have that chance. While in Cuijk, we will visit with my Aunt and Uncle, who live in the home now, for a few weeks. From there we plan to visit with my Dad's side of the family in Aalten, about 45 minute drive from Cuijk. Both of these towns are very close to the German border so we may take a trip through Germany on our way to Aalten one day. The rest of our time will be spent getting to know the dutch componant of my family. My mother's brothers and one sister as well my dad's three sisters and their families. We plan to do a lot of bike riding and cheese eating!
Somewhere around the end of May, early June, we will leave Holland and travel to Belgium. There we have a villa in the town of Knokke Heist. This is also very cool because my mother was a nanny very close to there when she was about 20 years old. We have some plans with our Belgium hosts but we haven't really solidified anything yet.
For the first few days of June we travel along the coast of France, working our way towards Paris. After spending a few days in Paris, we will train to the province of Brittany to a small town called Rochefort-en-terre. This is where our trip will end - almost three weeks living like they do in this Heritage town of approx. 600. There is some great information - if you can read in French - at www.rochefort-en-terre.com if you are interested in finding out some more. We come home on the 29th of June - with pictures in our camera, nothing in our wallets and good memories to share! Be well! Y

The time is passing quickly!

The countdown has been on our white board for two weeks now and as of today there are 6 more days of school and 11 days until we fly. Patrick can hardly contain himself! He is packed and ready to go while the rest of us are still trying to get everything organized. Both Meagan and Patrick have school work to accomplish before we leave and I have to complete my course - on May the 2nd. We fly to Amsterdam on May the 4th! Yahoo!

April 4th

One month to go! Spring has sprung in France and every once in a while it seems like it has here too. Weather in Holland today is in between 12 and 16 degrees Cesius. Good for tulips! :)