Amsterdam

My really good friend Katie came over to visit us! We were so excited to have her here. She arrived in France from Michigan on a Wednesday. She had one day to "adjust" to the time change, then we got on a plane Friday for a weekend in Amsterdam! She's tough so we knew she could handle it.

You may be thinking that the middle of February may not be the most ideal time to visit a city like Amsterdam, but it actually worked out really well. After consulting some guide books, we learned that there are less lines / crowds this time of year, and things are less expensive which is a definate plus. Also, the leaves have fallen off the trees, leaving a clear view of the canals and homes, that is after the fog cleared a bit.

The first place we visited when we got off the plane was the Van Gogh Museum! I'm a fan of his work and this was one place I've been wanting to see. The collection was impressive, containing around 200 paintings (including several masterpieces) out of a total of over 800 of his paintings. It was pretty awesome.

We also walked by the Anne Frank House. It was enough for us just to observe the place from the outside, which was depressing enough. It's a famous museum in Amsterdam though and lines to get in stretched around the corner.

We hit up the Rijksmuseum De Meeterwerken or Rijks Museum for short. The museum houses the world's largest collection of paintings by Dutch artists. Although most of the museum is under construction, several key pieces were still on display including a famous and really huge Rembrandt painting. I didn't really get a good picture of the museum because of all the constrution, so here is one of Max and I.

We stopped by the Bloemenmarkt or Flower Market because we're toursist and it wouldn't be right to visit Holland without seeing (and in Katie's case, buying) some tulips. I think they had every imaginable shade of tulip avaliable. Knowing my luck with flowers, I decided to spare the poor things and buy some art at a nearby shop instead.

I anticipated needing to buy a transport pass of some kind, so we could use the trams and buses to get around the city. It turns out that we really didn't need them. The city was small enough to get where we wanted to on foot. We did do a lot of walking, but that's how we like to roll anyway.

Although not the best shoes for getting around they work on Katie! She really could almost pass as Dutch, without the shoes even.

There were bikes everywhere. Apparently it's not all that uncommon for a person to have more then one bike. For instance, a daily commute may involve a bike ride to the train station and then another bike ride on a different bike from the train station to work. Crazy. This family sized four person bike took the cake though.

And yes, we walked through the infamous Red Light District. The experience is enough to make anyone blush. I found it difficult to look up from the sidewalk most of the time. Max says "it was very interesting". Katie and I behaved ourselves and made it through without being too scarred.

Amsterdam was overall "very interesting" and easy going. Everywhere the canal houses seemed to be leaning and sagging in ways that didn't exactly make them look stable. People came out of "coffee shops" looking not so stable themselves. Everyone was friendly, and mostly spoke english. They were tall too! What a change for us.

Christmas 2009: Back in Michigan

We had the chance to go back to Michigan for over 2 weeks during the holidays! It was our first annual "home leave" trip (which is not part of Max's normal vacation). We truly learned the distinction between "home leave" and vacation! We were so busy running around, shopping for things we'd need for the next year, getting doctor's appointments done, things like that which we either can't do/get in France or are difficult to do/get. Even though we tried to plan and organize things ahead of time from France, things we didn't account for seemed to happen too, which is normal. I think we started to slow day around New Year's! We both came down with something before we got back to France.

We did have a lot of fun though! It was so great to see our families and friends and spend time with them too. We had been missing them! It was also really great to indulge in the other things we'd been missing, like Mexican food, chicken wings, and American steaks to name a few. We wanted anything that had peanut butter in it, most especially my sister's awesome buckeye candies. One thing I'd also missed was being able to understand what people were saying! Our family, friends, and frankly ease of communication will be missed but after our visit, we were ready to get back and make that transition back to our lives in France.

Chambery Wonderland

It feels like Christmas here in Chambery now that all the Christmas lights are up in town! The only thing missing is the snow, but there is plenty in the mountains.

The fountains were turned off and drained this fall, but now they are decorated with Christmas lights.

All the trees seemed to be decked out in bright lights, especially the little ones. I really like this blue tree outside the corner cafe.

The elephant fountain was even drapped in festive cheer. We don't have a Christmas tree in our apartment, but being able to look out our window or walk down the street to see all the lights is almost as good!

Thanksgiving

This year's Thanksgiving was our smallest yet, with just the two of us. We did have turkey, in the form of turkey fillets, and we had pumpkin pie too, thanks to my mom and dad for bringing over THREE cans on their visit. I made two pies, and took them to my AVF group. For most of them, it was their first taste of pumpkin pie! The rest was ours to have with our dinner. Max made it home from Italy Thanksgiving evening in time to enjoy the rest of our holiday and in time to talk to both sets of family on Skype, which made our day!

My 15 Minutes

So it's not the funny pages, but I managed to get my picture in the local paper with an article to boot. I swear some people in town look at me funny now. Anyway, the local president of AVF (the association I belong to here) asked me if I would attend an interview with him at the local newspaper to promote our organization. He thought I would be a good candidate, seeing how I am the token American in the group. The two of us, along with the administrative secretary and web-master, were interviewed together, in French. It was difficult to understand everything and tiring too. (I can't tell you how much more I have to concentrate when someone is speaking to me in French.) I was convinced the interviewer thought I was an idiot since my IQ seems to drop like 50 points when I speak French. My sentences were simple, to the likes of, "I like Chambery, me happy here". In the end, I think he was generous to me in his article. Here it is below. (Just click the article to see it larger). And thanks to Nancy Cosman we have an English translation!

Printed in Le Dauphine Libere, Monday 23 November 2009

An Example of an American Arrived in Town

To follow her husband appointed to position of engineer at OCV, Mandy Tusim left the USA and the city of Columbus (Ohio) in February 2009. Her stay in Chambery should last three years. After nine months in France, she confides with a large smile that she is happy to be living in the region. "In a city of so many people where you can get around on foot".
A city of 60,000 inhabitants, very far from the million residents which make up Columbus. It is through an international organization that she became aware of the AVF associations. She knocked on the door of the one in Chambery and since her arrival, amoung other activites, she frequently attends classes...of English! A roundabout way, for Mandy, to learn French as well as making new friends. "It is never easy when one doesn't master the language of the country", adds the neo-Chamberienne. Exercises (training) in the language of Voltaire that she is perfecting notably during several voyages and moutain hikes organized at the AVF of Chambery.

The Alps

Max and I drove to Bergeggi, Italy separately, so that I could come back to Chambery when Max started his night shifts at the plant. It was a little intimidating driving alone, but I'm glad to have that experience under my belt. We have come a long way from when we first arrived and had a hard time starting and stopping our manual car on the hill in front of our apartment!

The scenery was incredible, especially since new snow had fallen. This was late autumn and we could see the color of the trees change from bright orange and yellow to a more muted hue the further up the mountain they grew. I found it hard to keep my eyes on the road!

There is a giant tunnel through the Alps connecting Italy to France called the Frejus Tunnel. The tunnel is a whopping 8 miles long. It feels like it takes forever to reach the end because the speed limit is low, and because it's eight miles long. While driving through the tunnel, I watched the car's external temperature gauge go from 6 degrees C (43 F) to 29 degrees C (84 F) then back down again. I had my windows rolled down in the middle of the tunnel; can't say I do that very often in November.

Northern Italy

Max had to travel to Italy for a plant start up. It just so happens that the plant is very near this wonderful resort hotel on the coast, in the town of Bergeggi. Since he was going to be gone for a week, starting on a Saturday, we decided that I should go with him and stay for just a little while until his night shifts started on Monday.

This is the terrace of the hotel room. It was warmer here than it was in Chambery. This hotel is usually a very busy and expensive place during the summer, not so much in November.

Here's the view from the terrace. Bergeggi is literally build up on the side of a mountain. To get to the hotel, we had to drive up a narrow and winding road with stratigically placed mirrors to help you see if you're about to have a head on collision with another vehicle. To get to the town post office, it looked like you had to park, then take stairs down to get to it!

Here is Max and I trying out our new hobby. Haha, right. We were hanging out on the terrace one afternoon, watching these people jump off the cliffs behind us and float down in their parachutes to the beach below. These particular parachuters started shouting something to us in Italian. For all I know they could have been asking us to call for help, which is what I'd be doing. Turns out they wanted us to stay put so they could slow down for a moment during their next pass, allowing us to get a good shot of them. This was the best I could do. We wanted them to come back around and do it again but no such luck.

Max didn't have to work on Sunday, so after a late breakfast and a planning, we decided to head to Portofino, a town not too far from where we were staying. It was so worth the drive and the complete indecisiveness leading up to the desicion on where to go.

There is a castle that over looks the town. We walked up to it, but arrived during the 2 hours it was closed for lunch. It was really no big deal; we were content just to be looking at such beautiful scenery. We almost had to pry the camera out of each others hands so we could both take pictures.

November was a good time for us to go. The crowds had left, but it was still warm enough for the flowers to stay in bloom and to take a hike without really needing a jacket. I still can't believe it's November already.

On the way back to the car, we found a boat with Max's name on it in the harbor. Must be ours then, right?

More of Lyon and Geneva

After a nightmare drive through downtown Lyon in which I encountered every possible traffic hazard except for a pack of dogs, we found a parking spot at the bottom of a parking garage. But, we parked close enough so that we only had a short uphill walk to Lyon's ancient Roman ruins.

These Roman theaters were built around 43 A.D. but remained mostly hidden until they were uncovered in 1980. Mom and I climbed to the top of the theater stairs to check out the Museum of Gallo-Roman Civilizations, which is free on Thrusday...which is when we went. Free is nice.

 






We took my parents to Geneva too, and the weather was better then the first time we went, so more picture taking was in order. I also wised up this second time and didn't go wondering so close to the Jet d'Eau fouuntain, only to have the wind change.

I liked Geneva even more the second time; not counting trips to the airport. The great thing is that Switzerland still uses francs, which are just a tad bit weaker than the dollar. Things were still expensive but it just doesn't seem as bad.

Pointe du Hoc

This is the bed and breakfast / chateau we stayed at up in Normandy. We liked it so much the first time we visited, we decided to go back. It's so close to the channel that we could see it out our bedroom window and it's really close to an interestting monument that we missed the first time around.

Pointe du Hoc was a stragic position for the Germans, allowing them to fire on both Omaha and Utah beaches. On D-Day, 225 Rangers scaled the 100 ft cliffs of the point using grappeling hooks and rope ladders.

The point was bombed extensively before the Rangers made their climb. The land was left as it was found after D-Day and it looks as if someone took a melon scoop and carved out giant holes in the ground.

Once the Rangers had taken the point, they had to defend it for two days against numerous counter attacks. It's hard to believe that they actually succeeded in thier mission. This monument was erected on top of a German bunker to commerate their incredible achivement.

A Day in Paris

We toured Paris in a day with my parents. I know, it doesn't seem like enough time, but we saw what we wanted to see and had a great day. Besides, we could have spent weeks in Paris and not have seen everything.

We started at the Notre-Dame Catherdral. The cathedral facade contains a row of 28 statues representing the Kings of Judah. During the French Revolution, the angry citizens stormed the church and mistaking the biblical kings for French royaly, chopped off all the statue heads. They have since been reattached.

Here's one of the beautiful stain glass windows in the cathedral.

We then walked along the River Seine to the Louvre. No, we didn't go in, but Mom and I did manage to catch a glimpse of part of the scultpure gardens, the part that was exposed to the general public. Max and I plan to go back and visit the inside of the museum sometime before we leave France.

The real deal - no explanation needed.

This was the giant flag hanging in the middle of the Arc de Triomphe. I just couldn't get over how big it was, especially when the wind catch it just right.

There are 12 boulevards that converge in a choatic traffic circle around the arc. I don't know how anyone makes it out of that traffic circle alive. It was entertaining to watch, that's for sure.

Sacre-Coeur is built on the highest point in Paris and looks over the city. We took the funicular up (included with our Paris Visite Pass, yay!) and walked around a bit. There were a lot of people outside, playing loud music and leaving beer bottles around and stuff. It almost took away from the beauty of the place.

Here's my parents at dinner, wrapping up a great trip to Paris before we caught the train back to our bed and breakfast. It was a memorable trip; Dad had his first McDonald's beer, Mom met like 4 other people from Michigan, and Max and I encountered some typically rude Parisians. (I really don't understand their problem). Off to Normandy now!

My Twenty Something Birthday

Guess who came over to see me for my birthday? That's right, my mommy and daddy! (I'm never too old to call them mommy and daddy). Well, they didn't just come over for my birthday, but for an almost 3 week long stay that included in excursion up to Paris and Normandy. It was their first trip to Europe and we were excited to show them around a little.

My birthday fell on a weekend when all the museums in town were free. It was some kind of french history appreciation weekend. All I really knew is that it was FREE! (Nothing is ever free here). So, went to take a look inside Chambery's castle.









It was pretty cool seeing the castle, especially since we've lived in Chambery for almost 8 months, and had not visited it yet. The best part of the visit was climbing up the tower to get a better view of the village.

The chapel to the left once held the Shroud of Turin, the cloth that is believed to have covered Christ at the time of His burial. The shroud was later moved to the Cathedral of Saint John Baptist in Turin, Italy when Chambery became part of France.

Max and my dad picked out an awesome black forest cake for my birthday. It was so good and didn't last very long! It was a great follow up to the lasagna that my mom and I had made earlier that day. With her help, I FINALLY learned how to make a good one.