Am I a slacker? Very possibly, but I have good reasons. It's been... wow... 5 months since I last posted. All I can say is that I've been buried with work since the end of July. Yes, seriously. I spent just about all of August, September, October, and November on the road. In the last month, I've wanted to get back on track with the blogging, but it's daunting to try to catch up on months of backlog. But I'm going to do it. This is my pre-New Year's resolution.
So, I'm going to try to remember the last half of this year as best I can. It will still be as clever and witty (at least in my mind) as the rest of the posts, but probably won't have the depth. And after the next few weeks, I'll be back on track.
Wait, is anyone even looking at this anymore? Well, it doesn't matter. I've been doing this for me anyway.
Paris
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Normandy Beaches
My friend Bob's brother was visiting Paris, so we had Sean and his girlfriend Amy stay with us. They were going to Normandy for a private tour and invited us to join them. Free tour? What's the catch? There's no catch. So I got a day off work and got train tickets.
The driver was going to pick us up at the train station about 1pm. We got there a little early, so we went into the restaurant right at the station. This is what we saw on the front door. It's not what I was expecting.
We grabbed a semi-average sandwich and headed off toward our first stop, which was Pointe du Hoc. The tour guide gave us a great history of France and WWII. It was a perspective we don't hear much in the US, including occupied France vs. free France and how the Resistance operated.
I'd never heard of Pointe du Hoc before the tour. I was amazed. The short story is that 225 Rangers were the first to hit the beach, had to scale a 90 foot cliff wall and take 6 guns that could shoot at Utah and Omaha Beach. They succeeded, but only 20 survived.
Prior to the push on the morning of D-Day, the Allied Forces heavily bombed the area of Pointe du Hoc. It had been flat prior to the bombing. This is how it looked when the Rangers made the climb to the cannons.
There were craters 20, 30, or more feet deep. It was amazing to see, especially the blown up bunkers. Here is the main bunker where the Rangers made their climb and a look at the size of the cliff they faced once they hit land.
From Pointe du Hoc, we headed to Omaha Beach. As we stood there, I tried to imagine running from the water toward oncoming fire. I couldn't. I'm not sure I could do it. The way the tide was, it was close to 300 feet from the water's edge to the base of the incline. With all of the gear on your back, the many obstacles that were on the beach, and running straight at well hidden enemies firing at you, it's amazing more people weren't killed. With this picture, look at how small the people are at the beach near the parking lot.
Omaha was a very sobering experience. From there, we went to the American Cemetery. Our guide walked us around and gave us a brief history of the cemetery and then let us roam around for a while. The grounds were beautiful. Over 9000 are buried there. The tombstones were amazing, and the surrounding greenery was spectacular.
There is a chapel in the middle of the graves that was beautiful. Here is the ceiling.
The Spirit of American Youth is centered around maps showing the Allied movements in Normandy that continued throughout occupied France.
Behind this statue was an area dedicated to the missing.
Here are the kids sitting on the wall at the cemetery with the beach in the background. For it not being a "fun" outing, they did well, learned a lot, and said they enjoyed it quite a bit.
And here are Sean and Amy.
We ended the trip at Longues-sur-Meir, which was a German gun battery containing 4 150mm guns. Two of the guns were still in very good shape, so we got to go in and see it up close.
Here are Sean and Amy. Even though we only got a day to spend with them, we had a blast. They are very fun, and we're very grateful that they decided to share this day with us. It is an experience I will never forget.
I'll finish this up with a photo taken by my wife. I took many pictures of the tombstones at the American Cemetery. I knew the shot I wanted to get, but just couldn't do it. She took what I consider to be the perfect shot of the day. She's awesome.
To everyone that has served in the military, or is currently active, I want to say Thank You. Thank you for doing what I know I couldn't myself.
God Bless You All.
The driver was going to pick us up at the train station about 1pm. We got there a little early, so we went into the restaurant right at the station. This is what we saw on the front door. It's not what I was expecting.
We grabbed a semi-average sandwich and headed off toward our first stop, which was Pointe du Hoc. The tour guide gave us a great history of France and WWII. It was a perspective we don't hear much in the US, including occupied France vs. free France and how the Resistance operated.
I'd never heard of Pointe du Hoc before the tour. I was amazed. The short story is that 225 Rangers were the first to hit the beach, had to scale a 90 foot cliff wall and take 6 guns that could shoot at Utah and Omaha Beach. They succeeded, but only 20 survived.
Prior to the push on the morning of D-Day, the Allied Forces heavily bombed the area of Pointe du Hoc. It had been flat prior to the bombing. This is how it looked when the Rangers made the climb to the cannons.
There were craters 20, 30, or more feet deep. It was amazing to see, especially the blown up bunkers. Here is the main bunker where the Rangers made their climb and a look at the size of the cliff they faced once they hit land.
From Pointe du Hoc, we headed to Omaha Beach. As we stood there, I tried to imagine running from the water toward oncoming fire. I couldn't. I'm not sure I could do it. The way the tide was, it was close to 300 feet from the water's edge to the base of the incline. With all of the gear on your back, the many obstacles that were on the beach, and running straight at well hidden enemies firing at you, it's amazing more people weren't killed. With this picture, look at how small the people are at the beach near the parking lot.
Omaha was a very sobering experience. From there, we went to the American Cemetery. Our guide walked us around and gave us a brief history of the cemetery and then let us roam around for a while. The grounds were beautiful. Over 9000 are buried there. The tombstones were amazing, and the surrounding greenery was spectacular.
There is a chapel in the middle of the graves that was beautiful. Here is the ceiling.
The Spirit of American Youth is centered around maps showing the Allied movements in Normandy that continued throughout occupied France.
Behind this statue was an area dedicated to the missing.
Here are the kids sitting on the wall at the cemetery with the beach in the background. For it not being a "fun" outing, they did well, learned a lot, and said they enjoyed it quite a bit.
And here are Sean and Amy.
We ended the trip at Longues-sur-Meir, which was a German gun battery containing 4 150mm guns. Two of the guns were still in very good shape, so we got to go in and see it up close.
Here are Sean and Amy. Even though we only got a day to spend with them, we had a blast. They are very fun, and we're very grateful that they decided to share this day with us. It is an experience I will never forget.
I'll finish this up with a photo taken by my wife. I took many pictures of the tombstones at the American Cemetery. I knew the shot I wanted to get, but just couldn't do it. She took what I consider to be the perfect shot of the day. She's awesome.
To everyone that has served in the military, or is currently active, I want to say Thank You. Thank you for doing what I know I couldn't myself.
God Bless You All.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Dali Museum
We took time on Saturday to go to the Dali museum. Dali spent a lot of time in Paris and his museum there is a collection of a number of great works of his.
Before heading there, we wanted to see where the Moulin Rouge was, which isn't too far from the museum. It was a cool building, but the surrounding area was... interesting.
Just across the street is a giant vent that the little guy decided he would jump up on. He's huge!
Before heading there, we wanted to see where the Moulin Rouge was, which isn't too far from the museum. It was a cool building, but the surrounding area was... interesting.
Just across the street is a giant vent that the little guy decided he would jump up on. He's huge!
From there, we started walking up toward the top of Montmartre. The top of the hill used to be covered in windmills, but there are only a few left. Here is one looking up the street we were on.
And as we kept going, we found another one atop the Moulin de la Galette.
And just a little further up, we found a man pushing his bike while carrying a glass bowl of fish on his head.
Eventually, we got to the Dali Museum. It was a great museum, featuring his drawings, sculptures, glassworks, and paintings. They were arranged in groupings according to various series that he did, including The Bible, Alice in Wonderland, and various others. His work was amazing.
The kids enjoyed seeing some of the craziness that Dali is known for. We headed back down the hill and had some ice cream.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Fete de la Musique
Every June 21, Paris holds a Fete de la Musique. It's a day of free concerts all over the city. After work, I met up with the family at one of the parks and we headed out. As we walked through, we could already hear some music. We swung by and listened for a bit.
We then headed toward one of our favorite areas of the city, the Latin District, to grab some food. On the way, there were a number of bands playing on the sidewalk, in front of stores, etc. Rock bands, pop bands... a little of everything. Here was a hard rock band setup outside of an upscale women's clothing store. Seriously.
After we grabbed some wonderful gyros, we headed out for more music that included an Italian women's choir...
A jazz band that frequently took beer breaks...
and a local rock band that was very good...
From there, we walked across the street to Notre Dame. There was a 17 member men's choir singing there. It was beautiful to hear.
From there, we walked to Hotel de Ville. As we were in front of it, we heard someone playing guitar and singing, so we followed it. The guy singing kind of sounded like Paul Simon. It turns out he's an American living in Germany named Chris Paulson. He was just playing with a basket for anyone wanted to give him some money. I think we stayed there for 4 or 5 songs until he was done. We ended up buying 2 of his CD's.
It was great to see such diverse groups, and we barely even scratched the surface of what the city had to offer.
We then headed toward one of our favorite areas of the city, the Latin District, to grab some food. On the way, there were a number of bands playing on the sidewalk, in front of stores, etc. Rock bands, pop bands... a little of everything. Here was a hard rock band setup outside of an upscale women's clothing store. Seriously.
After we grabbed some wonderful gyros, we headed out for more music that included an Italian women's choir...
A jazz band that frequently took beer breaks...
and a local rock band that was very good...
From there, we walked across the street to Notre Dame. There was a 17 member men's choir singing there. It was beautiful to hear.
From there, we walked to Hotel de Ville. As we were in front of it, we heard someone playing guitar and singing, so we followed it. The guy singing kind of sounded like Paul Simon. It turns out he's an American living in Germany named Chris Paulson. He was just playing with a basket for anyone wanted to give him some money. I think we stayed there for 4 or 5 songs until he was done. We ended up buying 2 of his CD's.
It was great to see such diverse groups, and we barely even scratched the surface of what the city had to offer.
Friday, June 24, 2011
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL????
Although the NFL players and owners are arguing over who will become more rich in the upcoming season (if there is one), the French Federation of American Football just finished up its season. The final game was last weekend. We decided we would check out the French take on the American classic. It was... different. I'm going to use some of the French language in this post because it's actually pretty awesome.
The ads we saw for it online boasted Entree Gratuite (free entry? we're there!), cheerleading, "Village Americain", inflatables... Sounds like fun! We got there a few hours before kickoff so that we could take advantage of the plethora of activities.
The inflatable (yes, singular) was a large inflatable with holes to throw footballs through. The little guy loved it and spent a decent amount of time doing this. At times it was a complete madhouse and everyone was scrambling for footballs for their turn to throw.
There were both kids and adults throwing the balls. I have to say watching people throw a football who haven't grown up throwing a football is amazingly entertaining. Imagine a group of right handed American guys throwing left handed. Yes, it was like that. Not everyone, but enough. There were a few good arms in the bunch.
We continued to Village Americain, which consisted of a 10x10 tent for ESPN America, a few vendors, and a table selling American football stuff. One of the big items being sold... an official San Francisco 49ers Jeff Garcia jersey for about $15. He hasn't played for them since '03. They did have a number of jerseys for sale, but they were all 49ers. Apparently, the letdown season last year left a major surplus of jerseys in the US. Why not ship them to France? We did see some t-shirts that reminded us of home, though.
Hmmm. UNC on the top and Duke shoved to the bottom of the pile? I swear I didn't touch them. They were like that.
We grabbed a few snacks and grabbed a seat for some of the pregame stuff, including cheerleaders and warmups. I think these cheerleaders could've given a few high schools a good run for their money. As my wife so eloquently put it, they looked like they randomly grabbed people off the street and put them into uniforms. Their routines were so-so.
Yes, that's a male cheerleader in the pink in that second picture. I don't know the story with him but he had a film crew following him. He may have been the official mascot.
As the teams were warming up, we looked at the program. This was the 17th finale for the Casque de Diamant (Diamond Cup). It featured the Flash from... somewhere in France vs. the Centaurs from... somewhere else in France. The Centaurs were warming up and running through drills when we realized there wasn't a single coach on the field. Not one. We saw a player (a lineman by the looks of him) come out of the tunnel with a 6 pack of 2 liter water bottles under his arm. He was carrying the water for the team. We also noticed there were Gatorade-like bottles of powder that the players were mixing into said 2 liter bottles themselves. When the game started, we did see a coach on their sideline, though. One. The Flash had several coaches and looked like they came to play.
Then out of the corner of my eye I noticed players wearing other uniforms. They were apparently going to have people from the other 6 teams in the league on the field for something. Then I noticed that one of the players was a woman. No, there's nothing wrong with a woman player, but I've yet to see a female professional football player.
At kickoff, the crowd was maybe around 4000 people. There were the people that just wandered in for the free entertainment, and then there were the fans loyal to the 2 teams playing. They were load, had large bass drums and some amazingly loud horns.
At one point, there was a choir that made their way out to perform prior to kickoff. We looked at each other wondering what this would be about. They were a French group singing American gospel music... and they were good! I don't know if many of the people understood the words, but some of the more rowdy people were on their feet dancing.
So the kickoff came and in 2 minutes, the Flash marched down the field and scored. Honestly, the players were decent, considering the pregame festivities. At halftime, it was 28 to 7. We decided to leave, as we had dealt with passing showers off and on for most of the first half. Before we left, we watched the players file back into the locker rooms. That's when I noticed that they were having to walk over the long jump pit that was covered with astroturf to get to the lockers. I thought a few guys were going to turn an ankle.
One of the funniest parts of the whole thing was the music that was played after a touchdown. They played the theme song from Magnum PI. Can't think of it? Click here: Magnum Yeah. Doesn't that just sound like touchdown music to you?
The back page of the program had the general rules of American Football and how to play the game. Some of the better French translations are L'Attaque (Offense), Saise Obstruction (Holding), and Premiere Tentative (First Down). Touchdown is still Touchdown, even in French.
In spite of many aspects not really being like professional football in America, we had a great time.
The ads we saw for it online boasted Entree Gratuite (free entry? we're there!), cheerleading, "Village Americain", inflatables... Sounds like fun! We got there a few hours before kickoff so that we could take advantage of the plethora of activities.
The inflatable (yes, singular) was a large inflatable with holes to throw footballs through. The little guy loved it and spent a decent amount of time doing this. At times it was a complete madhouse and everyone was scrambling for footballs for their turn to throw.
There were both kids and adults throwing the balls. I have to say watching people throw a football who haven't grown up throwing a football is amazingly entertaining. Imagine a group of right handed American guys throwing left handed. Yes, it was like that. Not everyone, but enough. There were a few good arms in the bunch.
We continued to Village Americain, which consisted of a 10x10 tent for ESPN America, a few vendors, and a table selling American football stuff. One of the big items being sold... an official San Francisco 49ers Jeff Garcia jersey for about $15. He hasn't played for them since '03. They did have a number of jerseys for sale, but they were all 49ers. Apparently, the letdown season last year left a major surplus of jerseys in the US. Why not ship them to France? We did see some t-shirts that reminded us of home, though.
Hmmm. UNC on the top and Duke shoved to the bottom of the pile? I swear I didn't touch them. They were like that.
We grabbed a few snacks and grabbed a seat for some of the pregame stuff, including cheerleaders and warmups. I think these cheerleaders could've given a few high schools a good run for their money. As my wife so eloquently put it, they looked like they randomly grabbed people off the street and put them into uniforms. Their routines were so-so.
Yes, that's a male cheerleader in the pink in that second picture. I don't know the story with him but he had a film crew following him. He may have been the official mascot.
As the teams were warming up, we looked at the program. This was the 17th finale for the Casque de Diamant (Diamond Cup). It featured the Flash from... somewhere in France vs. the Centaurs from... somewhere else in France. The Centaurs were warming up and running through drills when we realized there wasn't a single coach on the field. Not one. We saw a player (a lineman by the looks of him) come out of the tunnel with a 6 pack of 2 liter water bottles under his arm. He was carrying the water for the team. We also noticed there were Gatorade-like bottles of powder that the players were mixing into said 2 liter bottles themselves. When the game started, we did see a coach on their sideline, though. One. The Flash had several coaches and looked like they came to play.
Then out of the corner of my eye I noticed players wearing other uniforms. They were apparently going to have people from the other 6 teams in the league on the field for something. Then I noticed that one of the players was a woman. No, there's nothing wrong with a woman player, but I've yet to see a female professional football player.
At kickoff, the crowd was maybe around 4000 people. There were the people that just wandered in for the free entertainment, and then there were the fans loyal to the 2 teams playing. They were load, had large bass drums and some amazingly loud horns.
So the kickoff came and in 2 minutes, the Flash marched down the field and scored. Honestly, the players were decent, considering the pregame festivities. At halftime, it was 28 to 7. We decided to leave, as we had dealt with passing showers off and on for most of the first half. Before we left, we watched the players file back into the locker rooms. That's when I noticed that they were having to walk over the long jump pit that was covered with astroturf to get to the lockers. I thought a few guys were going to turn an ankle.
One of the funniest parts of the whole thing was the music that was played after a touchdown. They played the theme song from Magnum PI. Can't think of it? Click here: Magnum Yeah. Doesn't that just sound like touchdown music to you?
The back page of the program had the general rules of American Football and how to play the game. Some of the better French translations are L'Attaque (Offense), Saise Obstruction (Holding), and Premiere Tentative (First Down). Touchdown is still Touchdown, even in French.
In spite of many aspects not really being like professional football in America, we had a great time.
Musee en Herbe
No, it has nothing to do with herbs. I know. I was disappointed, too. This was a museum designed for kids that Morgan had read about and really wanted to go see, so we did. Like much of our experience in Paris, it was not what we had expected.
It was more or less in sort of an alleyway.
They were having a special collection of work by Keith Haring. He was an artist in the 80s that started as a graffiti artist. If you've seen this image, you've seen his stuff:
The entrance was fun, unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures. I quickly took this one before anyone found us.
We had fun, but honestly there wasn't a lot to the museum. There was some history and a number of pieces of his work, but after about 45 minutes we were done... and that was stretching it. The good thing is that it inspired the kids to want to do more painting, so we went to the store a couple of days later and got paints, brushes, rollers, paper.... and we got artsy.
After we left Musee en Herbe, we did a little walking around and some shopping. We had to buy a cheese slicer and grater. It's Paris and we survived for 3 months without either. Anyway...
We wandered into an area that had another great kids' park. I'm going to do another post just on the parks here, but for now this one was a lot of fun. In a huge open area, there is a giant hand and head for the kids to climb.
There is also a fenced area with a lot of play equipment, including a rope walk. How's this for a park backdrop?
They had fun climbing, running, and just being kids... including rolling down an astroturf covered hill. I think they were ring leaders as other kids started rolling, too.
As has happened many times, the day wasn't what we had planned but we had a very good day!
It was more or less in sort of an alleyway.
They were having a special collection of work by Keith Haring. He was an artist in the 80s that started as a graffiti artist. If you've seen this image, you've seen his stuff:
The entrance was fun, unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures. I quickly took this one before anyone found us.
We had fun, but honestly there wasn't a lot to the museum. There was some history and a number of pieces of his work, but after about 45 minutes we were done... and that was stretching it. The good thing is that it inspired the kids to want to do more painting, so we went to the store a couple of days later and got paints, brushes, rollers, paper.... and we got artsy.
After we left Musee en Herbe, we did a little walking around and some shopping. We had to buy a cheese slicer and grater. It's Paris and we survived for 3 months without either. Anyway...
We wandered into an area that had another great kids' park. I'm going to do another post just on the parks here, but for now this one was a lot of fun. In a huge open area, there is a giant hand and head for the kids to climb.
There is also a fenced area with a lot of play equipment, including a rope walk. How's this for a park backdrop?
They had fun climbing, running, and just being kids... including rolling down an astroturf covered hill. I think they were ring leaders as other kids started rolling, too.
As has happened many times, the day wasn't what we had planned but we had a very good day!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Louvre, Part 2
The other night we went to The Louvre for our second visit. There is a special exhibit of Rembrandt's works on his figures of Christ. It was a collection of his works on Christ, those of his students, as well as works he personally owned. There were maybe 40 to 50 total works there, all of which were amazing. The problem is that we weren't allowed to take pictures, except for this one.
After that, we went to part of the Louvre that was Napoleon III's apartments. They were amazing. It's tough to believe someone actually lived there. At one point, Nick said, "Dad, I want to be Napoleon!"
I think Morgan enjoyed the crown jewels.
Once we were through the apartments, Nick helped us find some more stuff just beyond the apartments.
Including Napoleon's Throne.
And an awesome dressing table.
Sandy also caught a great glimpse of the Eiffel Tower from inside the Louvre.
Overall, it was a fantastic night. Sandy and I really enjoyed the Rembrandt, and the kids got to enjoy seeing how the other half really live. We will plan out our next trip in the future to see more of The Louvre!
After that, we went to part of the Louvre that was Napoleon III's apartments. They were amazing. It's tough to believe someone actually lived there. At one point, Nick said, "Dad, I want to be Napoleon!"
I think Morgan enjoyed the crown jewels.
Once we were through the apartments, Nick helped us find some more stuff just beyond the apartments.
Including Napoleon's Throne.
And an awesome dressing table.
Sandy also caught a great glimpse of the Eiffel Tower from inside the Louvre.
Overall, it was a fantastic night. Sandy and I really enjoyed the Rembrandt, and the kids got to enjoy seeing how the other half really live. We will plan out our next trip in the future to see more of The Louvre!
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