Mom’s visit and our trip

Howdy!

So sorry this has taken me 25 million years to post, I really don’t have any excuse!

Mom and her friend Joan came to London a day or two after Charles and Laurie left. They stayed in a flat near the Tower of London (I was lucky enough to be able to stay with them there) for four days, then we went to Paris, Venice, Nice, and Ireland. There’ll probably be some repeat photos here…

Day 1: Mom and Joan’s flight was delayed so basically the first day was dinner and bed. We walked across London bridge and through Borough market to a typical English pub for dinner: steak pies, mash, and cider.

Day 2: The next day we went to Spitalfields market in the morning. We did some shopping there before heading to Covent Garden area to meet Helen for lunch. Helen, whom I’ve mentioned before, is a relative of my cousin Sandra. She lives south of London and has been a huge source of reassurance throughout our time here in London. We speak on the phone and had lunch back in the fall. Mom and Helen had spoken on the phone prior to Mom’s visit, and so we arranged lunch which was great. After lunch we walked to the British Museum, and then we took a bus to Buckingham Palace. Then we hopped on the tube to check out St. Paul’s Cathedral, had some eats and called it a night.

Day 3: We headed out to Greenwich to see Greenwich village, Greenwich park, the Meridian and the Queen’s House. We took a city boat cruise back into the city to Westminster Pier where we checked out Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. After that we had a traditional British meal at Nando’s (ha) and headed to the theatre to see Fatal Attraction starring Kristin Davis!

Day 4: We walked through Hyde Park to Kensington Palace and toured around in there seeing the various state rooms and exhibitions. Then we headed to Oxford Street for a bit of shopping, then dinner chez Meg and Chris.

Day 5: After a very early wakeup call, we headed to the train station. Fun fact: the night before, I called to arrange a taxi for the morning. The taxi driver who picked us up was a taxi driver from a taxi I’d hailed back in February. What’re the chances?! After almost missing our Eurostar train (don’t worry – I remembered my passport this time) we were headed to Paris. A short train ride later we were in the city of love. We dropped our luggage off at our flat, then we visited the Arc de Triomph and did some shopping on the Champs Elysees. We then had dinner with Chris’ parents who happened to be in Paris at the same time. We met in the Latin Quarter and it was a lovely evening. Sadly no pictures!

Day 6: Armed with our hop-on hop-off tour bus tickets, we headed off to Notre Dame. After showing up just in time for mass, we walked took it all in and then grabbed lunch. Back on the bus, we hopped off at the Champs Elysees again, then headed to the Eiffel Tower (passing Trocadero on the way). We ate crepes at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, then took the bus past the Champs de Mars, the naval colleges, Les Invalides, les Grand et Petit Palais, Garnier Opera House to the love locks bridge and the Louvre.

Day 7: Was a bit of a wash partly thanks to a baggage handler strike. We went to Charles de Gaulle airport in the morning and headed to Verona instead of Venice, as the baggage handlers in Venice were on strike. It was far from the end of the world, but it added quite a lot of travel time. Thankfully Easyjet arranged buses to get us from the airport in Verona to Marco Polo airport in Venice. Once in Venice we had to figure out how to get a boat to Venice itself. Once we sorted that, we sat on our boat for an hour and a half (sans windows), then got off close to our hotel. Checked in, grabbed dinner (some amazing cannelloni for me) in a harsh thunderstorm and hit the sack.

Day 8: I woke up to find Chris in the hotel. He was supposed to get in the evening before but because of the Verona fiasco he arrived in the middle of the night. In the morning we did the three island tour to Murano (known for its blown glass), Burano (known for its lace), and Torcello (known for its church). After arriving back in Venice we grabbed some lunch, then Chris went shopping with Mom and Joan while I took a wee nap (and according to them, he’s an amazing shopper). We met up for dinner in San Marco Square.

Day 9: We spent the morning shopping, then we crossed the famous Rialto Bridge, sought out lunch. Then we took a public boat-bus to Lido, the island with the nicest beach in the Venice area, for the afternoon. After we headed back to Venice we took a gondola ride and then sadly had to pack up.

Day 10: We flew to Nice, checked into our GORGEOUS flat there then got some groceries and walked to the beach. After dinner Mom and I went for a walk down the famous Rue Massena to the main boulevard where we saw a bit of the old city and some buskers.

Day 11: We spent the whole day in the Old City shopping.

Day 12: We headed to Dublin. We arrived, found out hotel, and then did an evening tour of Georgian Ireland which was fantastic.

Day 13: We were up early and headed to Connolly train station. We took the train to Belfast and then we switched to a coach. First we stopped at Carrickfergus Castle in Belfast, then we took a two hour drive through Northern Ireland. We saw a lot of the coast, valleys, and mountains. We stopped at Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Then we went to Bushmills Distillery for lunch and a little whisky tasting, followed by Dunluce Castle. Then we hit the Giant’s Causeway, then back to Belfast to the train station to go back to Dublin. My seat mate on the coach was a very nice woman named Mel from Sudbury – very small world.

Day 14: We headed to Heuston train station this time, and hopped on a train to Galway. Once in Galway we got on a little van with an insane driver and headed to the Aer Arann Airport in Connemara, where we got in an eight seater plane for a seven minute flight to Inis Mor, the biggest of the three Aran Islands. We had a tour in a van with a resident of Inis Mor who showed us a 1200 year old graveyard, a lighthouse that is now miles from the coast, and I trekked up to see Dun Aonghasa, a stone building from approximately 1500 BC. We got to check out the Aran sweater markets (with the famous Aran wool), and the traditional Aran tar and canvas boats, as well as all the walls all along the island that were purposely built like lace, with gaps between the stones to let the winds through. Inis Mor boasts two elementary schools, one high school, 12 teachers, two police officers, one doctor, 800 person population (the other two Arran islands have populations of 150 and 200, respectively). I loved the Aran Islands but the weather was pretty awful which was a shame. We took the train back to Dublin that night.

Day 15: We headed to the airport to find Mom and Joan’s flight delayed, meaning mine to London was going to be leaving first. We said our goodbyes in the airport and went our separate ways. On my flight back to London, we came at it from a different direction (and in daylight, for maybe the first time ever for me) and I was amazed to be able to pick out Hyde Park and Regents Park, and the Eye and the Shard and the Gherkin and Tower Bridge. It was a fantastic trip and I’m so glad Mom and Joan made it over.

That’s all I can say for now. Sorry if this is jumbled/riddled with mistakes. If I get feeling ambitious maybe I’ll label the photos!

Meg

Sheepish

(No, this will not be a post about Scotland.)

If you could see my face right now, I think you would understand how guilty I feel for not having been more dedicated to this blog. I had every intention before I left of posting once every week or so, and I still do. This odd I-really-should-write-something-on-the-blog-but-never-seem-to-do-it thing first resulted from a pretty frustrating job search. Having a job for the sake of having an income was a pretty important thing for this little adventure of ours. My priority, obviously, was in landing a job for the sake of developing my resume for my eventual return to Canada, but I knew that I had to jump at any paid opportunity. At first, nothing, and then, out of desperation, I landed a job at a restaurant.

The restaurant was wonderfully located on the top floor of a brand new mall in a very nice part of London, with unrivaled views of the surrounding area. Menu was good but expensive because of the location; you paid for the view. Most of the people were nice. And that’s the end of the nice things I have to say. The hours often required trips home at 1 am on the night bus, the money was pitiful, the payment system was even worse, and the attitude of management towards staff was awful. I was working 40+ hours a week, almost constantly tired, and so I didn’t come here to write or share.

After our trip, I was fortunate enough to be able to meet someone a colleague of my father’s who works for URS, and he was able to offer me a position here in London on a design and build project on an upgrade of one of London’s busiest and most congested tube stations, Bank Station. I promptly quit the restaurant job, spent the rest of the week relaxing, and began the following Monday. This was three weeks ago. Since then I’ve not really had any excuse for not writing. Sincere apologies on that. My hope is to get in to a better routine of writing every Sunday.

(As an aside, I called yesterday about picking up the last cheque that is owed to me and learned from the receptionist that since I quit the restaurant has since gone bankrupt and is being administered by a bank or some private firm. As I understand it, none of the current or former staff can be paid out until an audit has been completed, so that sucks though I am not owed much. I have yet to speak to a manager about it and don’t know how or if I will ever get the bit of money that is owed to me. But thank goodness I got out when I did.)

In spite of the fact that I landed this new job with URS here in London through my father, and all the moral complications that go along with that, I could not be happier with my new gig. I know Megh mentioned briefly that I am doing document control. If you have an image of some guy sitting at a desk surrounded by a veritable castle of documents that need to be distributed to various people, then you’ve pretty much got it. Only there is no castle because all the documents are digital. Just me and a laptop. It’s not glamorous in the slightest but I really am enjoying it. I’m busy constantly, I’m being challenged (there is a surprising amount of procedural problem solving that goes on), I’m relatively autonomous in what I do (I’m the only doc controller for URS and in these early stages I seem to be left to my own devices), I work with a great group of young guys doing doc control for the other companies working this same project, I’ve got a great vantage point to learn about project management, and the skills I’m developing are going to be an asset for me and any future employer.

On the surface it looks like, and going in it felt like, an administrative position, and it is, and that is good for me. That old adage about being young, paying your dues, and pushing paper rings true because it is also digital information management. Whether I apply that to media, charitable work, or politics it is hard not to see how this is going to be of value to me moving forward. What’s more, information management appeals to me on a very basic level. From obsessively organizing Lego by piece type, to collecting entire sets of hockey cards, to compulsively managing my digital music library, and to the any number of professional experiences managing contact databases, this is right in my wheelhouse.

That my dad helped me land this job is a complication I could do with out. As appreciative as I am to be able to work, make money, gain valuable experience, and find myself in a position that I enjoy, it still doesn’t sit right. You can call it networking if you want but it’s not. I’m more than qualified for the position I am in and I don’t believe I’d have gotten the position if my resume didn’t reflect that. And in a way it’s motivating because I have to work extra hard to prove to myself and the people that took a chance on me that this is going to work, that I can do this. But it still makes me uneasy. As impersonal, distant, awful I have found the modern job application and interview process to be, this is not the way it should work. I wouldn’t want anything drastically different for myself during my time here except I wish I’d been able to earn it on my own.

I’m sure you noticed, but while I was being bad and not updating this blog, Megh has been updating like crazy. I mentioned to a close friend of mine who wrote to me following my last update asking about the lack of photos in my post that I was completely happy with not being responsible for taking and posting photos. Megh is perfectly happy in that role and is knocking it out of the park with her fancy camera. She’s done a fantastic job posting updates about our travels and all those pictures and I can’t say how much I appreciate that. Honestly, it’s a little selfish, but I love being here (again) and not having to see everything through a lens. I’m absolutely sure part of what motivates Megh is that she wants to capture the things we see for sharing and for herself, which can feel like a chore, but I also know she loves playing with her camera and photography in general and seems to thrive in that role

The trip we took was a really great experience. I was visiting Geneva for the first time, Nice for the second, and Paris for the third time. It sounds cliché, but not looking at certain things through a camera lens means you see more, it means your eyes are free to wander, your brain is free to process what you are seeing instead of constantly thinking “I should really take a picture of that.” I don’t mean to sound anti-camera: when I was traveling Europe before I was completely obsessed with capturing every cool looking thing from every angle I could find. As a tourist, I do want to capture my memories to film. The same part of me that loved collecting hockey cards wants to collect all the special things we are seeing. I just don’t feel compelled to do it this time around because I’ve done it before and Megh seems quite content to do it. Being without that compulsion has been a positive experience for me.

Megh, for her part, seems much better at ignoring the compulsion than I was the first time round and seems quite capable of stopping to take everything in. On the other hand, she also seems quite capable of stopping abruptly to whip out her camera without signalling to me. I don’t know if the sampling she’s chosen to post here reflects it, but there are countless photos of me off in the distance with my back to her because I’ve just kept walking, oblivious that she’s stopped. There are also a number of photos of her capturing the exact moment I realize she’s no longer walking with me, spin around, peering back, with an exasperated look on my face that reads “not again…”

So many people have bad things to say about Paris, but I just don’t see it. It’s a world class city and it never fails to disappoint. I won’t go through in detail what we did because Megh has already done that, but I really loved Paris. I didn’t even see much at all that I had not seen before and was completely overwhelmed with how spectacular it is. I’d been up before but the Eiffel Tower at night was pretty special. Geneva was a completely new experience for me and reminded me how frustrating being a tourist can be. Poor weather and poor planning left me feeling like we didn’t get the most out of Geneva. Two stops in one day where things were closed when you are only there for two days can do that. None the less, as the first new place I’ve visited since arriving, I was not disappointed. Small but beautiful and picturesque old core, weird mix of pre-, post-, and cold-war architecture elsewhere which feels right at home in the same city as the UN, surrounded by mountains, gorgeous countryside, and dominated by a big lake. Reminded of how expensive Switzerland is (equivalent of $20 Canadian at Starbucks for two hot drinks, I’m sorry, what?).

Nice was by far my favourite part of the trip and may just be one of my favourite places on the continent. Time will tell. We had enough time in the city not to rush everywhere, phe-no-min-nal weather, and better company. Nice is where the French come to vacation, so it’s touristy without being kitschy and very relaxed. The coastline is stunning, great views from pretty much anywhere. Vieux Nice is one of the most charming places I’ve ever been. Bustling narrow streets with tourists there for the sights and the shopping but also with locals come to buy artisan meats, breads, cheeses, pasta, chocolate, fish, produce, etc. Easy to get lost in the winding streets and see how the locals live but be surrounded by tourists the next. The last time I was in Nice the huge pedestrian walkway and tramway that cuts through the centre of the city was under construction. The whole city has been revitalized with art installations, parks, shopping, fountains, statues, transit, and big open green spaces in the seven years since I was there. It’s modern and bright and welcoming. Lots of local sights, second in number of museums in France to Paris, lots of available day trips along the coast to Marseille or Cannes as well as inland. I would recommend Nice to anyone.

Traveling with Megh has been pretty special. Traveling alone was challenging and rewarding because it was challenging; being forced to rely on yourself and process your hardships makes you learn quickly. But having someone to share the experiences with is completely different. Pace is certainly different. When you’re alone, you can’t be still, it is always on to the next thing. When you’re still the stimulus stops and it’s easy to remember that you’re alone or that you’re tired or that you’re ready to move on even though the train ticket isn’t until the next day. When you’re traveling with a partner or even with friends as we were in Nice with Adam and Annika, you have the time to stop and appreciate what you’re doing and you get to appreciate it with someone. Sometimes this is out of necessity because one of you is tired and you have to slow down but mostly sharing and relaxing just seems more important than rushing around like maniacs.

Having been to Paris and Nice before, the familiarity I have going in has been interesting. I know where things are out of memory and an uncanny intuition. In Nice Megh and I were wandering the pedestrian street rather aimlessly and I sort of gestured and said “I think the hostel I stayed at is over there.” On our way back to the flat we’d rented, which took us through the area I had gestured to, we turned a corner and I knew we were close. It was dark and I can’t even identify what it was I recognized, but I had this feeling that it was right down an adjacent street. And it was. In this sense, even though I was seeing a lot of things for the second time, it’s nice to be able to lead to way, nice to say “I know where that is” and feel like the place is familiar even though you’re a tourist

Last thing before I wrap up. I will not be back in Canada over the Christmas holidays. Megh will be, but I’ll be staying here. Or rather, I’ll be going to visit an old nanny of mine, Lucy, in Wales and her wonderful family. I had the chance to visit with them the last time I was here and had a great time. Really looking forward to seeing them and getting out of the city for the holidays, almost just like I’d be doing back in Canada. Going to miss being with my family for the first time for Christmas and miss the time I get with Megh and her mom Judy. I’ll also miss the time the holidays allow to catch up with new and old friends and extended family. Today I’m missing an annual Wheeler gathering. Thinking about you all.

Chris

Europictures

Paris continued…

Our building, we were on the top floor:

McCafe macaroons and cheesecake:

Someone beat me to carving my name into the Eiffel Tower:

Versailles!!:

Dinner afterwards in the town of Versailles:

Notre Dame:

Little event platform that we assume is open during the daytime to celebrate 850 since the groundbreaking of the cathedral:

City hall:

Conciergerie:

Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois

The Louvre:

Publishing day…Here’s where Hemingway and Stein used to hang out… :

Roland Barthes’ niece talking to us in Hermes:

300 euro collection of books from Hermes, on the history of the brand:

Inside Hermes. This location used to be a hotel, and the main floor of the store is in what used to be the swimming pool:

On to Switzerland…

P.S. Clicking on the photos will make them bigger.

We’re back in London!

Hey everyone!

We are safe and sound back on English soil after a fantastic ten days on the continent. We did and saw so much that I’m sure I’m missing important details, but I’m going to give a recap a go!

PARIS

Day 1: We didn’t realize just how far Luton airport is from London. We were sitting in our flat taking our sweet time packing and cleaning (as our friend Chelsey from Burlington was staying in our flat while we were away) when we had the bright idea to look up how long it was going to take us to get there. After seeing that it was going to take us two hours, we realized we needed to leave in 15 minutes. Anyways, we made it with time to spare. I’d just like to say that Blackfriars Underground and National Rail building might actually have the best view of London. The building extends out over the Thames, and from one side you can see Big Ben and the Eye, and from the other side you can see Tower Bridge. It’s almost unfortunate that London-area commuters see the most of it. Luton is in the middle of no where and there aren’t any direct shuttles or train services. If you have to choose between Stansted or Luton, go with Luton, but otherwise we don’t recommend it.

Our flight was a bit turbulent but arrived on time. We left sunny London for wet and freezing Paris. We had pre-booked a shuttle bus to get us to within a 10 minute walk of the apartment we’d let in Paris. When we got to Charles de Gaulle airport, there was supposed to be a 10 minute wait for the next bus. Unfortunately, that bus broke down right outside the airport, so we ended up having to wait nearly an hour before we could get another one. The poor woman we were letting the apartment from waited for us the whole time, we felt awful. And it was raining so hard, harder than I’ve seen it rain in London, we were soaked down to our undies by the time we got there.

The apartment was nice and cozy though. Small bedroom with a desk and lots of storage, with a toilet directly across the hall and a kitchen/shower a few doors down the hall. Fabulous view of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, and 5-10 minute walk to the metro. Great location and the landlady was very helpful, she left us lots of maps and information about how to get to and from the airports.

Day 2: So we got to the apartment around midnight and just slept. The next day we got up and had the best pain au chocolats ever, walked to the Arc de Triomphe (where Chris famously lost all of his photos on his last European tour), walked down the Champs Elysees (where Chris famously recovered all his photos), had lunch, walked to the Eiffel Tower and went up to the top, got crepes at a street stall on the Seine. On our way back to the metro to go home, it started raining sideways. If possible, we were even more soaked than we were the night before. My umbrella was utterly useless, everyone took cover up against the sides of buildings, and it lasted no more than five minutes. We hopped on the metro and were in for the night.

Day 3: The following day we again had the best pain au chocolats ever, followed by a train ride to Versailles. I had visited Versailles once before but didn’t get to see the town then. It’s small and very cute with the palace on one edge. To our surprise, it was free! Museums in Paris are free on Sundays, but we didn’t think Versailles qualified, so we were happily surprised. We toured the inside including Marie Antoinette’s bedroom and the hall of mirrors, and then headed to the jardins. The gardens really are the most magnificent part of Versailles. We were there at a bit of an odd time of year, so the flowers weren’t abounding but the leaves were gorgeous and many of the fountains were still running. We spent the afternoon wandering around the property and had a great time. Once we arrived back in Paris we went to Notre Dame and then walked to the Louvre. It started to rain towards the end of our time at the Louvre so we headed back to the apartment.

Day 4: I had a school trip this day. A group of ten students from UCL’s MA in Publishing got to spend the morning meeting with the head of rights at Le Seuil at a place called Labo de l’edition. She spoke to us about how the publishing industry works in France and the differences between the industry in France and the UK. Labo de l’edition is a lab where anyone can go and use the facilities there whenever they choose (mostly computers equipped with desktop publishing software), but they also run a program where start-ups can live-in there for one year while they try to get their publishing-related business off the ground. It’s a government-funded operation. In the afternoon Roland Barthes’ niece took us on a walking tour of the “publishing” arrondissement in Paris. We visited Gertrude Stein’s favourite hangout and visited many unconventional bookstores and publishers (did you know Hermes and Louis Vuitton run their own publishing houses?). While I was doing this, Chris visited the Louvre again. Then we headed off to Orly airport for our flight to Geneva.

GENEVA

We landed in Geneva with no real plan about how to get to the apartment from the airport. To be fair, we also didn’t have a good plan on how to get to Orly from Paris but that worked out just fine. I was a little disappointed we didn’t get Swiss stamps in our passports to be honest. But we made it to the apartment in Geneva successfully, and luckily no one had to wait at the apartment for us this time. We got in without incident. The apartment was lovely. It was a one-bedroom (image!!!) with an entirely separate living room. This blew our minds. It even had a 3D TV. I was enamoured already.

Day 5: We walked from our apartment, which was a little south of Cologny, through Parc de grange-canal along Lac Leman to “downtown” Geneva where we grabbed some lunch and did a currency exchange. Swiss Franc coins are all the same colour and similar sizes making them difficult for us foreigners used to colourful money, but they have five-franc coins! And their bills are far more colourful than Canada’s. Also, I didn’t think anywhere in the world could be MORE expensive than London but damn, Geneva (or Switzerland maybe?) takes the cake when it comes to food and beverage. Anyways, after lunch we walked to the other side of Lac Leman and headed to see the UN. Unfortunately it was really cold (about 0 degrees C and we had not brought hats or mitts or winter coats) and it poured rain all day long. The UN isn’t exactly in Geneva, but we decided to walk anyways. Along the way we stopped in at a blown glass museum that was beautiful. We made it to the UN just in time for the last tour of the day. It was really cool, and the frozen hands and wet jeans were totally worth it. After the UN tour we took a tram back into Geneva and went to Basilique Notre Dame and had dinner, followed by an early night.

Day 6: We walked to the Martin Bodmer Foundation, about a 20 minute walk further (in some more rain) out of the city, through Swiss countryside. It was about 11 am when we arrived, and they didn’t open until 2 pm. We were bummed. It’s a museum that chronicles the life of writing starting with drawings on cave walls. We left the Foundation and found ourself in this little town (I don’t think we ever learned its name) that was the stereotypical Swiss town: Swiss cottages with old iron gates and brick walls keeping all the homes secure, with mountains all around. It was beautiful. We walked down to Plage Geneve to catch a bus into the city. Once there we went to Old Geneva that has cobblestone roads and narrow streets. First we went to the church there, St. Pierre’s. There’s an archaeological museum in its basement that we passed up because we wanted to go to Maison Tavel. Maison Tavel is a free museum that boasts housing the oldest Swiss artefacts. It was really cool.

Our main activity for the day, however, was to go to telepherique du Saleve. It’s a gondola-type ride up le Saleve mountain. So we hopped on a city bus that dropped us 100 metres from the French border. We walked over it (surprisingly easy) towards the base of the mountain. We got inside the building to get tickets, and were informed that the telepherique only runs on weekends in the fall. I’d checked the website the night before to make sure it was open, and it said it was, so we were really disappointed. It was still cool to stand at the bottom of the mountain though. So we hopped a bus back to Geneva and went back to St. Pierre’s to buy tickets to go up the bell towers. It was hundreds of narrow, stone steps up to the south tower, and then more up to the north tower. The view was incredible from the top. We had a panoramic view of the whole city and the mountains around it. After descending the perilous steps, we did some window shopping, had dinner and headed back to the apartment to pack up and sleep.

NICE

Day 7: We got up at 5 am to head back to the airport. We flew over the Alps into Nice. We grabbed our bus in Nice that dropped us off right outside the apartment. Sadly, we couldn’t get in to the apartment to drop off our luggage until 12:30 pm, and we arrived outside of it at about 10 am. So we grabbed some breakfast and just sat in Garibaldi square enjoying the sun and the people. The landlord came and let us in, and we promptly napped. This apartment was nice but painfully small. There was a loft that Chris hit his head on continually, and when the bed was pulled out it literally took up all of the floor space. We could not stand in the kitchen/living area without standing on the pulled out bed. But, luckily we didn’t plan on spending much time there. When we woke up we took a stroll through Vieux Nice to find the best gelateria in the world. To Chris’ dismay and heartbreak, the place he’s long claimed as the best gelateria in the world was closed for the season, so we had to settle for some other place. Then we walked along the beach where we stayed to watch the sunset. Then we started walking back towards the apartment but got distracted by pretty much everything. Nice has this boulevard that runs like a really wide median along the major street in Nice. It’s filled with various art installations and playgrounds and greenspace; it’s wonderful. We grabbed a dinner at a little restaurant on this street, then headed off along a pedestrian shopping street. After wandering around for a long time, we headed back to the apartment for the night.

Day 8: We got up and walked through Vieux Nice again (the apartment was located in the northernmost part of Vieux Nice, which was absolutely perfect), through the Saleya flower market, and then along Promenade des Anglaises by the water. We stopped for some Nicoise thin-crusted pizza, and then walked to the Musee des beaux arts. It was a gallery showcasing 19th and 20th century artists from the Nice-area. After that we walked through a pedestrian-only restaurant and shopping area, then went back to the apartment for a little rest. We grabbed some dinner, and then we met up with our friend Adam. We went to Glendon with Adam, and then while Adam was doing his MA at UofT we were neighbours in downtown Toronto. He’s in Barcelona doing an MBA right now. Sadly he was in London while we were in Paris and Geneva, but he came to Nice for the last two days of our trip, and he brought along his friend Annika. So they arrived in Nice from the airport, and we all went out to celebrate our reunion.

Day 9: The four of us went to the water and then went up this big hill thing (?) that overlooks the Mediterranean with a great view. At the top there is a beautiful park and a panoramic view of Nice and the sea. There was a couple having their wedding photos taken by the waterfall at the top, it was lovely. We then walked through the port and back towards our apartments, followed by the train station. We walked to the train station and took a train to Monaco for the evening. It was about a 15 minute ride down the coast. There was a carnival going on right in the port in Monte Carlo, so we took a stroll through it and grabbed some coffees. Then we went in search of some dinner, and found the Monte Carlo casino. Having never been to a casino before I have little to compare it to, but it was neat. Sadly (and understandably), no pictures allowed. We then walked back down the hill into the port, got some churros at the carnival, then went to the train station to grab a train back to Nice.

Day 10: We walked a bit out of Nice to go to an archaeological site that houses ancient Nice. There’s a free museum on site (free museums in Europe are the best) and we could go outside and walk among some ancient bits of Nice that had been unearthed. Then we walked back into Nice, grabbed our luggage and walked to the beach where we sat for awhile just relaxing. Annika and Adam had to head to the airport, and when they did we went in search of some dinner before our own flight. From the moment we arrived at the airport, things got a bit messy.

When we were in the baggage drop-off line, we were informed that our flight was delayed. No one seemed to know why or have any idea how long the delay would be, but we assumed it wouldn’t be too long since the found vouchers WestJet gave us were only for 4.50 euros. We were wrong. So we had to get to gate B, which was through customs. No big deal, we thought, we’ll go through customs and then use our vouchers to grab a snack or a coffee. Again, wrong. We went through customs, and on the other side (in gate B, where MOST of the international flights land at and depart from), there was one cafe. And that cafe was out of food, and that cafe’s coffee machine was broken. It was a Sunday night at 8 pm, so I had little hope for it getting fixed in the foreseeable future. I could SEE a Costa Coffee from where we were in gate B, but alas, no one was allowed back through customs.

So we sat and we sat and we sat. Our flight was supposed to take off at 9:05 pm, and around 11 pm we finally got an update and some information. We were informed that our flight would depart at midnight. Our plane was supposed to go from London to Nice to Brussels back to Nice (to get us) to London. But when it was coming to Nice the first time, it was so windy the plane couldn’t land, so it landed in Genoa. Everyone on the plane had to get off there, then our empty plane went to Brussels, picked up those passengers, and then came back to Nice. There was another flight to London Gatwick that was scheduled to leave at 9:25 pm, and it left on time, and we were unimpressed. We tried to get on it but the people directly in front of us in the baggage line snagged the last two seats on it.

Anywho, our flight took off around 12:30 am, and we landed around 1:45 am (but it felt like 2:45 am. Time zones, I tell ya). By the time we got our bag and through border patrol (the UK border agency really loves taking finger prints), it was 2:15 in the morning. There was no way to get from Stansted, even further from London than Luton, to London at that time of the morning. The next bus to London was leaving at 3 am. So we got tickets for it. It took an hour and a half to get from Stansted to Victoria tube station (and it was a direct bus, in the middle of the night). When we got to Victoria, we watched the night bus we needed drive away before we could get to the stop. The next bus wasn’t due until an hour later, so we bit the bullet and took a taxi from there. We got into our flat about 5:30 am, and it felt like 6:30 am. We slept until about 10 am. The ordeal was over.

We had a great time. Paris is so beautiful, the mountains in Geneva were humbling, and the sun and sea in Nice was perfect. It was great to see Adam and meet Annika. We were sad to be back in little old London.

Since getting back, Chris has landed a new job (woo!) working on an update that’s going on at Bank underground station. Soon the Wheeler name will be synonymous with transit planning (as if it isn’t already). The Ts are crossed, the Is are dotted and Chris starts on Monday. Our friend Chelsey has been in England for almost two weeks now, and she stayed here a few nights while were gone. And then Wednesday night she came back to London from Norwich and stayed with us Wednesday and last night. Yesterday while I was in class Chris and Chels did some sightseeing, and I met up with them and continued the adventure after classes. Today the three of us went to a Christmas market on Southbank which was wonderful, and then Chels had to head out, she is on her way to Amsterdam next.

We have had some roommates move out, some new ones move in, and one sort of move back in? It’s a weird time here in this flat but it’s good. Chris is staying here over Christmas, but I’ll be home from December 17th until January 10th!

I feel like there is so much more to say, but it’s picture uploading time!

Special thanks to our pal Joyce who’s living in Paris right now and who gave us Paris tips, and our girl Michelle who lived in Geneva for a year who gave us some great ideas for things to see in Geneva.

What’s new with you guys?!

Love, Meg

P.S. McDonald’s in France and Switzerland have McCafe’s that are separate from the restaurant part that sell lattes and cappuccinos and macaroons!

View from Paris apartment on the night we arrived: 

View the next morning:

Arc de Triomphe:

Champs Elysees:

Eiffel Tower:

Sadly, I’m going to have to leave the photos there for now. Bed beckons, but I’ll upload the rest tomorrow! Probably for the best since it’ll give me a chance to remember all the details I’ve forgotten.

Prince George is Christened

Hey everyone,

Another post filled with more pictures than words.

School is going well. I have my first paper due on Friday, so I’ve been frequenting the library trying to get it all wrapped up. It’s coming along nicely. Last week on Wednesday I went to a Digital Publishing Forum (held monthly at UCL) on the future of permissions in the industry. It might sound rather dull, but it was really interesting. Wednesday evening, we got to go see Basia Bulat play at The Islington. You’ll remember Basia from one of my earlier posts; we saw her perform solo at Rough Trade back in September. This time she had a small band with her, and she was phenomenal. She was kind enough to put us on her “VIP” list (woo). She released her third album a couple weeks ago, and it’s great.

Last night after Chris finished work I went to meet him at the shopping centre where the restaurant is located, right by St. Paul’s Cathedral. We went and had a good ol’ fashioned British “tea” of fish ‘n’ chips at a pub near our “flat”. This morning, I went and checked out the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. I learned my lesson: don’t go on the weekend, and go early. It was cool, but I didn’t see very much because there were so many people there. I knew it’d be busy, but I was not prepared for it. I’d hate to see it at the height of tourist season. I’ll be going back on a weekday, and I’ll stake out a good spot.

Otherwise it’s just been paper writing for me, work for Chris, and a little bit of trip planning. We have booked a trip for my reading week. So we leave Friday November 1st and return Sunday November 10th. We’re going to Paris, Geneva, and Nice. And in Nice we get to see our friend Adam who’s in Barcelona doing his MBA. We’re really excited! And on Wednesday this week our friend Colin is coming down to London for Nottingham for a visit, so that’ll be fun. I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures while we’re away and post them when we get back (because we all know Chris doesn’t take pictures OR write on here 😉 )

Hallowe’en is coming up but it’s not nearly as big a deal here as back home. Kids go out door to door, but once you’re too old to do that, it’s sort of the end of Hallowe’en for you. Mom sent us some Hallowe’en candy to get us through the season though, so we’re all set, don’t worry. Also, we are expecting the storm of the century tonight, so I hope everything’s dried out for the little ones later this week. Calling for 180 km/h winds and a ton of rain overnight. We’ve finally had to turn the heat on.

Now for the fun part: pictures!

Basia! I have a really good video of her playing her autoharp but I can’t upload it directly to WordPress without paying, and Facebook is telling me the file is too large 😦 If you want to see it, email me and I can send it to you:

Buckingham Palace:

Westminster Chapel, the Abbey’s more modest cousin:

Some more flash-musicians in the tube:

Jeremy Bentham in all his glory at UCL. A researcher is about to put a camera inside his head as some sort of social experiment, something to do with facial recognition software, so Jeremy will be watching you watching him:

A gang of cyclists and skateboarders, many in Hallowe’en attire, shut down Tottenham Court Road on my way home from the library on Friday:

New Scotland Yard:

That’s about it! Downton Abbey is calling my name. I hope you’ve all had an enjoyable weekend and have managed to avoid the snow. Until Sunday, the time difference between here and those of you in Ontario is only four hours, not five! Our clocks went back last night. And if you’re in Vancouver, it’s down to seven! We’ll throw up some pictures once we’re back from our trip!

Love you all.

Meg