Adventures with KFZ

When Kau Fu Zai (Cantonese title for mother's younger brother) popped into Paris to check on the kids, we took him on a no-stopping-for-breath itinerary all over the city in his first five days in town.   After that, we decided that he should get his well-deserved rest, and finally begin his vacation.  But then he did the impossible and filled the remaining days with even more relentless activities such as standing on his feet for 10 straight hours.  And then he repeated the feat the following day.  And the day after.  

This illness runs in the family, you know...  

Halloween at Disneyland

Cycling tour in Paris.  In front of the Golden Dome Church, which was originally built to serve as a private chapel for Louis XIV and his family.  Today you can also visit Napoleon's tomb inside the church.

The weather forecast had predicted rain on the day of our cycling tour.  Despite that, we I decided to go ahead with the plan.  The first hour was absolutely perfect.  It was a bank holiday so traffic was light.  The autumn air was crisp, the ground was carpeted with fallen leaves, and we were in a small intimate group of 10.  Our apprehension about cycling in the center of Paris was quickly forgotten as we enjoyed our tour guide's anecdotes and listened to the history behind the grand facades of the city.

Then hell happened.  Erm...I meant hail.  We heard the rumbling of thunder from afar, and felt the tiny raindrops on our heads, so we started to rummage for our ponchos and umbrellas.  Not half a minute later, we were shelled by a torrent of ice, accompanied by furious wind and rain.  Five minutes later, the attack ceased abruptly, and it was bright blue skies, birds chirping and the sun peeking through the fluffy white clouds.  What the h***??  I emerged from it looking like a lost witch.  

After the hailstorm.  

Here we were attempting to make a right turn into Place de la Concorde, as an intact group of 10 cyclists.  It is as crazy as it sounds.  But our guide had the maneuver strategy down to a tee.  We waited by the cycle path on the side of the road until the lights turned red.  Then we lined up our bicycles in front of the cars, blocking any vehicles from cutting in front of us.  When the lights turned green, we cycled in unison to make that turn.  It was an amazing experience, taking control of that intimidating street the way we did.  

The tour took us into the Tuilleries Garden for lunch.  Soph loved her tandem bike that she shared with KFZ, and asked for more.  KFZ promised to do that as soon as his legs recovers from the ordeal.

The region of Champagne was next on the agenda.  It was freezing cold with the rain when we arrived, so we spent most of our time inside our warm rental car.  Champagne refers to both the wine and the region.  (le Champagne is the wine, la Champagne is the place)  Sparking wine is produced is many parts of the world, but only those made in this region under strict appellation rules can be called champagne.  The rest call them...well, sparkling wine.   

Vineyards everywhere you look 

We wanted to visit the wine cellars where the wines are produced and aged, and since we're rubbish with wine, we could only handle one visit.  So we chose the biggest and brashest of them all - Moet & Chandon (think Scarlett Johansson).   

Inside the cellars of Moet & Chandon.  These bottles are stored in a tilted position to allow the sediments to settle at the neck of the bottle.  Every day, workers manually twist each bottle - by hand - by miniscule degrees to allow the sediments to settle properly.   

Secret code on the constitution of the wine, only known to the oneologist and his team.  You'll be drinking one of them in 6-8 years.

A drink (or two, or three) is included in the cellar tour

Next up, Provins: medieval city and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is listed because the town has retained much of its medieval flavour, when it was a major European trading post in the 12th and 13th century.  Today, the town hosts medieval-themed events throughout the year, including medieval feasts, medieval shows, etc.

Medieval city walls.  Not a medieval man.

The support beams of this house are slanted with age

Taken in the town square

Not exactly medieval, but still close to a century old

The brave Prince with his demure Princess

The medieval show was surprisingly entertaining, if in a tacky way.  The audience enjoyed boo-ing the villans and cheering on the heroes, Count Thibaud of the 13th century and his friends. 

I swear the villians are straight out of the Lord of the Rings.

Last Autumn in Paris

I've taken a hiatus from the blog, because we've had a string of visitors in the past four weeks.  Our days were filled with one activity after another - we've got people to see, sights to absorb, food to try, and colours to capture.  The remainder of our 6 weeks in Paris will be equally packed, not the least with the logistics of moving (again!).  

Yes, we will be bidding au revoir to the land of 350 cheeses and sneaky dog poo (not at the same time; you know what I mean) at the end of December.  Compared to London, I will miss this place much, much more.  Pour quoi?  Is it because we know we will very unlikely return here?  Is it because Paris is more beautiful?  Sorry London, it was a close race, but Paris *is* more beautiful.  Is it because, unlike London, Paris is still a mystery to me, still aloof, impenetrable, veiled behind customs and a history that is foreign to me?  

We spent this crisp Sunday afternoon at the Jardins du Luxembourg.  The leaves were a shimmering yellow and people were out in their coats and tucked into warm scarves.  Autumn is my favourite time of the year - it marks the end of the wild, showy, hedonistic days that are summer, and heralds the beginning of a calmer, quieter, and reflective period.  Things slow down.  The colours are out to inspire.  People talk in hushed tones.  A hot drink warms both the body and the soul.

Another replica of the Statue of Liberty can be found at the Jardins 

   

You can rent small wooden boats to float them in the fountain in the park.

Trust the French to find ways to spice up a run-of-the-mill carousel ride.  The children are given short sticks, with which they try to loop through a small metal ring attached to a pole each time they ride past.  For the older kids who are bored with an otherwise uneventful carousel ride, it makes it more interesting.  Even Soph's competitive spirit rose, and she asked for a second ride to get another shot at getting more of those rings.

A Sea of Red

We were busy packing for our holiday (again!) when I caught glimpses of his red treasures from different corners of the apartment, so I decided to take stock of all of them.  Half of them were gifts from tuned-in family & friends.  (Soph wants me to say that she bought the book from her school's used book sale for Ju).  He saw the photo and was very pleased with it, and declared that he wants a picture of all his cars next.  

Thanks to everyone who helped his (stingy) parents feed the passion of this three-year old!  

A Gaudi Weekend

We swapped the cold, rainy streets of Paris for the sunny, balmy air of Barcelona last weekend.  Beach season was still obviously in swing over there, but we spent our day and a half exploring the Gaudi heritage in the capital of the Catalan region.  

Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) is a mad genius of an architect.  His organic designs stand out in a world of geometric shapes and straight lines.  His most famous work is probably La Sagrada Familia (the Church of the Holy Family), which, at 130 years old, is *still* under construction today.  Apparently, when chastised for the slow progress, Gaudi responded "My client [God] is in no hurry."  

Construction is expected to be completed in 2028, and that is why you still see cranes and scaffolding surrounding the landmark today.

There are four facade to the church, and only this one, the Nativity facade, was completed during Gaudi's lifetime.  Described as "molten wax", the immense amount of details is simply daunting.  Besides Christian symbolism, you can find an abundance of imagery from nature such as trees, animals, plants, and fruits.  

In the middle column you can see Joseph, Mary & baby Jesus.

Close up of the side wall of the facade, showing the Wise Men looking up at baby Jesus.  

Entrance into the church from Passion facade where the ticket counters are.  

When we arrived at 9am, there was a queue of about 30 people.  We had bought our tickets online so we got through very quickly.  By the time we left at around 11:30am, the queue had snaked all the way around the building.

Detail on the door

Nothing prepares you for the interior of the church.  At the risk of sounding cliche, it is like nothing you have ever seen.  Gaudi's designs are sinuous, organic, languid; forms that you do not expect to see in a "serious" building.  Maybe I'm mixing up my architectural styles, but to me, it's at once Gothic and Art Nouveau, fusing into a marvelous mesmerizing style.  Gaudi is known to be fascinated by nature, and you can see evidence of this in his creations.  

The pillars are shaped like trees, with branches at the top supporting the ceiling, which is decorated with foliage-like objects.  

The holy water basin is in the shape of a seashell.

View of the ceiling

Another view of the surreal ceiling

Some of the pillars are a glistering rainbow of greens, yellows and browns, as a result of the light projected from the stained-glass windows.  The effect is, of course, to mimic  nature

The altar

Besides the Sagrada Familia, we also stopped by the Casa Battlo, another Gaudi-designed building in the heart of the city, and the Parc Guell, further up north from the city.

The Casa Battlo, just outside the Passeig de Gracia metro.  Look at those fantastical windows.  Apparently there are some very good specimens of Gaudi furniture inside, but we did not venture inside.

Parc Guell is spread over several acres of woodland high above central Barcelona, and we decided to take a taxi there after a tip from a tour guide, who said that the steep hills leading up to the park can be a real test with children and adults alike.  The ride cost us about 12 euros, not too bad for the amount of time saved, and the opportunity to rest our shattered feet after a whole day of walking.

This lizard mosaic/tiled sculpture is the showpiece of the park.  

And this is the crazy crowd surrounding it, non-stop.  Do you see how much patience it took to take the serene photo of the kids above now?

Another famous feature of the park is the sinuous bench winding its way around the perimeter of a dusty square just above the front entrance.  It is decorated with pieces of broken crockery and glass, lending it a colourful and cheerful feel.

That is not a dead animal resting on YL's lap

One of two "gingerbread houses" flanking the front entrance of the park, in Gaudi's signature whimsical style.

We were looking forward to our paellas and tapas on this trip.  YL had wonderful memories of our first paella in Andalucia, but I'm afraid that wonderful memories are best kept as memories.  The paella this time 'round was not bad, but it was not great, either.  

We had better luck with the tapas, I think.  We checked out Cerveceria Catalana, near Passeig de Gracia.  Tapas bars are opened almost round the clock, serving snacks to fuel up the locals before their late meals (it's not unusual that they lunch at 2pm and have dinner at 10pm).  

You can order what you want from the counter, but being rather confused with how you can *cook* them, we used the menu instead.

Some of the things we ordered: fried small silver fish, salted green peppers, and blanched prawns.  We had a good meal for around 50 euros.

But I think the best meal we had on the whole trip was the simple Spanish breakfast on our last day, in the narrow-alleyed Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarters).  We were warned that the shop draws a long queue every evening, so we got up early on that Sunday morning and arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed just after 9am.  We were the only ones there.  I guess the Spanish are also late-sleepers.  

The best churros and drinking chocolate in Barcelona can be found on this street: Petritxol.

One of a few of the old-time establishments serving churros, Cafe Dulcinea.

We had the whole place to ourselves

The kids liked it so much we ordered two servings (our kids are very fussy eaters, so that's saying a lot).  It's more or less sugared doughnuts, which you dip into thick, hot chocolate

*This* chocolate

A short walk through a typical fishermen's neighbourhood on a quiet Sunday morning to get back to the apartment before we leave for the airport.  Aaaa...what a wonderful way to end a weekend getaway