Biarritz and the Hotel Star System in France

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Making My Own Chocolate, SNCF Weekend Card & Finding Good Eats in Paris

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Les Sables d'Olonne - Bookends on a Winter a of Transition

Welcome to my 100th post!  

Les Sables d'Olonne.  I was disappointed that I'd made the choice to return to a place I've already been (after all, there's A LOT of France still to see), but on my second day walking along the beach, I realized that my two trips here were the perfect bookends on a challenging winter of adjustment.

The neighboring town I stayed in

When I was here last, I still felt I had something to prove.  To whom, I don't know, but I felt that I had to prove this was the right decision, that I didn't just move here on a whim.  I had to make friends, especially French ones . . . maybe find a boyfriend too in order to really assimilate.  I had to sink down roots, become fluent in the language, figure it all out.

I no longer feel that way.  Moving here has mostly been a great adventure.  Even if I only stay a year, two years, it wasn't a mistake to come - it was a dream for 10 years that I finally fulfilled.

And life in France shares some things with life in the US - it's still life and can be just as unexpected.  The person I thought I'd be great friends with divorced and moved away.  A friendship that I thought would be brief, due to a large age difference, has instead become a solid friendship that is going on 6 months now.  I just met his parents and he announced to them that he hopes to do his foreign apprenticeship near my hometown next summer, even though it means switching from the food division to hard cider.

I understand more of the common phrases said around me as well. "C'est bon" - it's good.  "Ce pas grave" - it's no big deal, it's not important.  "Le même" - the same.  "Ce comme ça" - it's like that.  I understood enough to survive dinner with four French people, who don't speak much English, without needing constant help.  Even if all of the details weren't clear, I could pick up talk about the elections, the migrant camp burning down and them asking him if he had difficulty communicating with me ("no").  It helped to learn he'd done very poorly in English until recently, meaning he became fluent as a adult, so surely I can too!

As for my actual weekend, it started with a bit of a disappointment.  Even though the ad stated where the flat was, I didn't know the town and so I looked at the map on the site.  The blue "x" represents where the map showed the property . . . the blue dot is where it actually is.  In typical fashion, I made the best of it and set out on the lovely path that continued all the way into Les Sables d'Olonne.  The below photo gives a visual of the distance - it's the city wrapping around the curve!

Even though I prefer to walk on a sandy beach, the rocky shorelines are often visually prettier and make for better photos, so I really did enjoy the walk in every day (less the walk back though)!

Saturday was actually the best day on the beach.  There were surprisingly few people for it being a holiday weekend, so I walked for a while, then sat against the sea wall (there are lower sections and many people sit on or against them and read for a little bit.  If you're looking for a nice coastal town with a lovely beach to just relax on, this is a great place for it!  It also has the best boardwalk area of the towns I've seen - a nice broad pedestrian portion, designated bike lane (a full car lane split in two) and one lane for traffic, although this was closed off on Easter due to the high number of pedestrians.

I don't find Les Sables d'Olonne to be one of the French towns with particular cultural or historic interest (I'm sure a French person could tell me all about why I'm wrong), so I've decided that my long weekends will be spent elsewhere in the future . . . but for a normal weekend getaway, this is still a place that I can imagine owning a "weekend flat!"

Friendship and Dating in France

I'm in Germany this week, but I finally feel like I'm adapting to French friendship and dating.  Last weekend was the best weekend that I've had since I arrived in France - it was the perfect mix of fun with a new person, plus great food (see below) and great conversations with existing friends.

There are some serious adjustments that you have to make when you come to France though.  For example, French men will convey a level of emotion that is just not common with American men . . . unless you're seriously dating or have been friends for a very, very long time.  They will say things like, "You should have known that I will take care of you.  I will always take care of you if I can," or "I don't want to have distance between us" or they will tell you that they care about you and they just want to take care of you until you feel better.  And it's all completely platonic.

They will, however, accuse other French men of liking you . . . for the exact same behavior that they themselves exhibit.😉

At first, this will drive you slightly crazy as an American.  You'll keep reminding yourself that French men are normally VERY obvious if they like you (from what your female French friend told you) and these odd displays of sentiment don't necessarily mean what they would in the US.  You'll occasionally feel slightly put off, like the relationship is bordering on "too much" and wonder if you're going to have to end the friendship.  At some point though, they've stayed safely in the "friend zone" long enough that it just becomes one of those endearing traits of your French male friends.

You'll also learn that French men loathe it when a woman in their life appears to be mad at them or upset with them.  Rather than high-tailing it away from a woman who shows emotion, it seems to launch them into a full campaign to win you back over.  And, for me at least, it's virtually impossible to stay mad at, or upset with, somebody who will not stop acting silly, giving me big puppy dog eyes and calling me "Broooouuuuuk" until they finally get me to smile at them.  I think the only possible way to stay mad at a Frenchman is to refuse to speak to him, look at him or even be in the same room with him.  Otherwise, he will use literally everything that he knows about you to find SOME way to convince you to forgive him.

As for female French friends, my first one moved out of the area for a job, although I plan to visit her in her new town now!  I have a couple of co-workers who may become friends, but people seem to be very cautious here about friendships with colleagues.  Other than that, I've found it more challenging to get women to exchange conversation or to agree to repeated plans.  I did recently find a woman looking to learn better English though, so I've been enjoying our conversations.

This week went exceptionally well for work and I'm visiting friends this weekend, so I'll be back with a German edition next week!  Or not!

And Now There Are Six of Me, plus My First Virtual Reality Experience - Innsbruck Day 2

While Swarovski's Crystal Worlds starts out pretty tame . . .

and I found the huge "crystal" room entertaining - although a world with six of me is a scary thought  . . .

it rapidly started to feel like the designers were tripping when they created portions of it.  But, it was open later in the evening when everything else was closed, so it was worth a visit.  Each room had a display in several languages that explained what the theme was as well.  The second one below kept changing colors and had strange audio along with the visuals.

There was also a display of different costumes, jewelry and dresses that they've made for the rich and famous (the second photo is from their store, but representative of what is here).

I *might* have been enticed into buying myself a Christmas present as well . . . which is pretty much what they're hoping you'll do I think.  The nice coach bus that brings you leaves about 30 minutes later or 2 hours later, but this place only takes about an hour to finish, so you can shop or sit in the cafe.  There's not much else to do unless you have kids, in which case there are some play areas for them.  Overall, it was nice to see, but I wouldn't go back (except they had a pretty good sale in the store, so maybe just to there).

I only realized late on the 30th that many things were closing even earlier than normal the next day due to NYE, so I'd have to choose what I really wanted to see.  I was a bit done with history and museums, but Court Church looked unique.

I figured it would be a quick stop for me and it was, although I wouldn't have paid 7 Euro without the card.  The combined ticket with the Tyrolean museum would be a better option, but my time was short and I skipped it!

The reason this church sounded interesting was partly because a giant Emperor's tomb is here, Maximilian I, and partly because the non-Royal wife was also here.

But, the 28 giant statues captured my attention the longest.  In particular, I was again intrigued to find female ancestors represented along with the men!  It's an unusual aspect in Europe that seems to be more common in Austria.

After a short time here, I was off to stop two - the Tirol Panorama.  I expected this to be similar to the panoramic painting in Salzburg, and it was, but it depicted a later form that memorialized famous battles.  This one was of the Tirol Uprising; however, it was attached to a museum about the Tirol region and special soldiers.

Due to not realizing it was a larger museum, I didn't have much time set aside, but honestly, in-depth war details aren't really my thing.  I was happy to see the panorama, learn a little through the audio guide, see the view for myself and be on my way.  I spent an hour here, but 90 minutes to 2 hours are probably needed to do the whole thing.  I could have taken a little longer, but I wanted lunch!  

When I passed a Thai place and saw them chopping fresh vegetables, I was in!  The food was ok, but I'm beginning to understand why the French don't like spicy - when the dominate flavors of your food are salty and spicy, it's not the greatest; however, I was thrilled to have a heap of veggies!  I'm sure Austrians eat vegetables, I just couldn't seem to find any that weren't just a salad (or lettuce and tomato on a sandwich).  I've been seriously spoiled by French food, where I now eat more veggies regularly than ever before in my life.

The last place I visited was a favorite, although it didn't make for good photos!  It was a museum about hearing, but all interactive.  They had a special exhibit on vision too.  I really enjoyed the different displays about optical illusions and the explanations for why our eyes play tricks on us.  The best part in that section for me was a virtual reality roller coaster.  You are completely immersed and can look in any direction, such as looking down and it appears your coaster is right over the ocean.  Even better, when it drops you over a straight-down drop, the illusion is so real that I was holding on to my chair so I didn't fall out of it!  I've never been interested in virtual reality before, but this may have changed my mind.  With your site and hearing involved, it really tricks your body into feeling like it's experiencing whatever is happening.

The normal sound exhibits are also fascinating, like you can scream in a sound booth and find out how loud you yell - I can get almost as loud as an elephant, so I'm in no danger of being abducted any time soon.😉  You can also learn how you can "hear" through your bones by leaning your skull against an exhibit and still hearing music, another that shows you what it's like to have partial hearing loss up to being nearly deaf and even a hearing test (my hearing is perfect at all four decibel levels they test - clearly, my problem is just selective listening)😝.  I'd recommend Audioversum if you enjoy learning about your senses in a fun and interactive way (great for kids too).  I made it through everything in the hour I had, but it would have been better to have even more time.

Since the Stadtturm (City Tower) was open an hour later, I made it my final stop.  I have begun to wonder why I always feel that climbing a zillion stairs is a great way to spend a weekend or vacation though - these tight spiral staircases make me a little dizzy on the way down!  This one is clever though in that it's a double-helix, so a completely separate flight up and down.

It's just above the famous Gold Roof, where the NYE festivities had already started.  It was kind of fun to enjoy the early music in Innsbruck, but to end the day in another city.  Plus, there was a serious issue with sexual assaults in Innsbruck that night (11 out of the 16 reported in Austria when I saw the coverage) and mostly of women alone, so I'm perhaps glad that it was easier and cheaper to fly home from Vienna.

Tuesday I'll be posting more about New Year's Eve in Vienna and reflections on 2016.

I Can't Get Over How Stunning the Alps Are - Innsbruck, Part 1

Due to general busyness, I had to take a short break.  I used to joke that I had the plague when I was really sick, until I found out that people can actually still get plague!  So, I don't have plague, but I am ill . . . which is not uncommon for me after traveling unfortunately. 😧

I'm not a morning person and I wish that I was in regards to trains.  I tend to take the late evening train, after everything has closed, but in the winter this means you miss out on one of the best parts of train travel - seeing the area that you're passing through!  I also realized that virtually everything closes by 17h00 (5 PM) in the winter, so my trains were later than necessary.  A 6 PM train would have been fine.  Or even 7 PM to allow time for dinner.

I did start my first day in Innsbruck rather early to beat the crowds, which I strongly recommend.  When I arrived around 9, the funicular was fine, but when I came down about 2 hours later, people were packed in like sardines!  I went to the funicular at Congress Station - this is important because putting in the name of the funicular (Hungerberg) will get you to the TOP station.  Of course, if you're going later in the day, the bus might be a better option.

The first cable car leaves from a nearby station at the funicular last stop and the views from that platform are lovely, although I imagine they'd be better with more snow.  Many areas in the Alps (not all) are suffering from lack of snow I learned.

The second cable car takes you to a height of 7,401 feet and you can see the entire valley, ringed by mountains.  Interestingly, I learned that this ring of mountains has some unusual effects on the city.  Innsbruck has an above average amount of sun because the mountains create a strong downward wind that pushes out clouds, but also causes headaches and aggressive behavior!  The view below is from the top, where there are several levels of climbing courses and also one of the steepest ski slopes in Europe.

My next stop was the Imperial Palace Hofburg (yes, there's one in Vienna too) because it's right by the bottom of the funicular.  Unlike the Mozart museum, where the no photos symbol is on every sign (I only missed it due to using the app), there is only one tiny spot where it tells you this here, which is right as you enter and I never saw it.  Consequently, I had several pictures before a staff member told me it wasn't allowed!  I'm glad that I have some photos though because it's really moving to see the obvious signs of Maria Theresa's love for her husband in multiple places in Austria.  This palace is no exception and she converted his bedroom into a chapel after his death here.

Sadly, a grand celebration here turned to tragedy when this palace became the location of her husband's death during a multi-day celebration of their son's wedding (son and wife shown below).

There was once a Tyrolean line of the Habsburgs and this palace was the main residence around 1500.  For me, Maria Theresa was a more fascinating historical figure than Sisi.  She was the only female Habsburg ruler and yet she managed to pull it off!  One of the steps towards this was managing image, so she included paintings in this hall of all of her children, with her daughters represented equal to her sons to help reinforce the new rule of the Habsburg-Lorraines.  Only the heir to the throne had a unique position of honor, pictured between his parents.

Another unique feature is that she memorialized the children she'd lost at a young age on clouds in the heavens.  I think this shows that, even in an era when losing children was much more common, that didn't mean they weren't grieved.

While the Bavarians ruled the area from 1806-1814 from this palace, the only time it was frequently occupied after Maria Theresa was by Franz Joseph's brother.  In 1848, his uncle, Ferdinand I, was viewed as too compromised to rule, so 18 year old Franz Joseph became ruler.  The next story was also intriguing to me - young Sisi was originally intended to marry Franz Joseph's brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig, and Franz Joseph was to marry her older sister, but the emperor fell in love and was stubborn enough to insist he'd marry Sisi or nobody at all.  Of course, he needed to provide an heir, so he was allowed to marry her.  We all know how well that worked out!  His only male heir committed suicide and Sisi was an unhappy wife.  She actually went against the common custom of double beds and shared rooms even and this single bed is part of the brightly-colored interiors that Karl designed for Sisi here.  One can only hope that Karl hadn't loved her also!

This is a really lovely palace and you can expect to spend 60-90 minutes here, although they only have 100 audio guides and you're stuck just reading or waiting for a guide if it's a busy day.  Although, if it's considered busy in December, I can only imagine how much worse it is during tourist season!  Ironically, for being "busy," I was often the only person in a room, which made for a nice visit.

The next stop was Schloss Ambras, which I was at first disappointed with, then loved.  The original fortress was destroyed in 1133, but part of the 13th and 14th century rebuild is still there.  I Interestingly, it was also built for a woman, Sigmund's wife, Katharina of Saxony.

The first part and much of its current appearance was from the 15th and 17th century when Ferdinand II remodeled it for his wife also.  Compared to other European countries, the Austrians seem to have more rulers who bucked tradition and married for love as his wife, Philippine, was not royalty and his children were removed from the line of succession as a result.  The castle continued to be used by the Tyrolean rulers until 1665.

The first part of the museum was all armor and military items, which don't interest me, so I was thinking that seeing a different style of castle was the best thing that I'd get out of my trip.  Then, I saw this very unique ceiling from 1586.  They have mirrors so you can get a better view of the details even!

One of the best parts was the cabinet of curiosities though.  It was far better than the one in St Peter's.  Plus, you're free to take pictures here!  This 1596 glass bell piano is the only one that still exists.

The collection here is just really, really impressive and with good explanations of the pieces.  There were even paintings of an ACTUAL hairy family with the family history of how many of the children were hairy and how many of the grandchildren also ended up with this unusual condition.

The hall of portraits is closed in the winter (the ticket is cheaper as a consequence if it wasn't part of the card), but the older part of the castle still has many things worth seeing - just be aware that it is nearly as cold inside as out!  You begin to understand why they had such massive fireplaces.  The Spanish Hall was a standout highlight of the castle though.  The painting was phenomenal, as was all of the wood carving.

It wasn't entirely clear to me how this particular castle escaped all of the looting and depredations that other locations have suffered and how it was able to retain so much of the original collections, but it's certainly to our benefit that it has!  There was even an original stained glass window that had the Ferdinand II's coat of arms.

By the time I made it back into town, I was pretty tired, but the Swarovski Crystal Worlds site was unique in being open much later than the other sites (and having it's own fancy bus).  It's in a subterranean cave, so it was fine to do as a night activity.  But, I'll start with that in the next post!

"The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music" - Salzburg Part 3

Well, I can say that getting tons of sleep has not been a key part of my vacation, but I'm waking up naturally after about 6.5 hours, which is the amount I've bumped up to from 6.  I decided I have to gradually increase this and what doesn't get done just doesn't get done!

This morning I was up early for the "Sound of Music" tour.  Confession time - I don't like musicals and, if I've ever seen this movie, I don't remember it.  So, it's good I saw the places on a tour because I wouldn't have known what I was looking for!  For example, this is the lake that the boat tipped over into.  The youngest child almost drown because she fell out on the opposite side as Julie Andrews and she couldn't swim!

Then, it was off to the gazebo!  A larger set one was used for dancing, but this one was the exterior shown in the "Sixteen Going on Seventeen" scene.

We drove by the mansion exterior used for the movie (which is not actually by the lake), but it's private property, so no stop.  The last stop before heading up into the mountains was the abbey that Maria is starts the movie at and the real Maria also was at, which was built in 740 (red roof).  The real Maria also married the Captain here.  It's an active abbey, so no visits inside!

Then, we headed to the mountain and lake district - wow, do you miss some of the best that the Salzburg area offers if you never leave the city.  Just incredible!

The reason the tour heads up here is for the church where the movie wedding happened, which is in Mondsee (Moon Lake).  It was my second example of just how overwhelmingly decorative Austrian churches are.  They look like less from the outside than many French churches, but the interiors are full of things to look at.  It did make me wonder if it was different eras/styles or the French churches lost most of their decorations in the revolution?

By this time, I was also very grateful for the strange breakfast veggies in Vienna because it's been 3 days since I saw a vegetable that wasn't lettuce on a sandwich of some sort.  Different types of fried meat and variations on potatoes is about all I've seen for food!  So, for lunch I decided to brave goulash, even though I wasn't certain what it was, in the hopes of some vegetables!  It was largely a meat and potato soup also, but there were some veggies and the sauce seemed veggie-based.  I've never missed veggies so much as both times I've left France after being there several months!  I tried my first Austrian strudel too.

The tour ended at Mirabell Palace, where the gardens were used for the Do-Re-Mi song (which I've now had stuck in my head for three days).

Sadly, most of the palace is now government and medical offices (HINT: yet another bonus free bathroom area), but the angel staircase remains.

The palace was built by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau (same guy who built the palace in the Dom Quartier) in 1606 for his mistress, with whom he had 15 children.  It's unclear, but I believe he was not married, but was not supposed to marry since he was technically a Catholic Archbishop, as well as prince.  The only other area that survived a later fire is the Marble Hall, where Mozart also played.  Both are free.

I headed to St Peter's Abbey, which was built around 700, to see the catacombs.  Sadly, they were closed due to illness, but the cemetery is very picturesque.

I didn't realize it was still in use until I saw something that broke my heart though - a small toy car.  It was the recent grave of a two year old and what appeared to be his mother the following year.😢

After that, I was done with the cemetery and it was time to see the church.  Yet another incredibly ornate combination of carving and paintings, so it certainly appears to be the style here!  I'm going to call 3 churches a pattern!

Then, it was time for my train to Innsbruck!  Speaking of trains, Austrian trains will allow you to make seat reservations for 3 Euro; however, unlike German trains, you probably don't need one.  Every train I was on had plenty of empty seats and the one reserved for me wasn't always a great seat, so I have no idea how the assignment was made!  Like German trains, each set of two seats has a power charger in 2nd class.  It's remarkable that train tickets in France are both significantly more expensive than Germany and Austria, but also offer poorer service since there is not an electrical port outside of 1st class!