Beer

It won't come as a surprise to anyone that the wine in France is very good. I'm not much of a wine guy but even I can appreciate it. I found it interesting that we haven't seen a single bottle of wine from outside of France. Not that it matters when you can get a really good bottle of Bordeaux for 6 Euros. I'm not sure if it's a trade protectionist policy of if it's simply not done. I imagine it would be the same as an Albertan eating beef from Montana or a Newfoundlander eating Pacific salmon.

I'm more of a beer guy and France isn't known for its beer. The best beer in France comes from the Alsace Region which is on the German border. In fact it's the region that changed hands first every time France and Germany went to war. Luckily for me France is surrounded by great beer making countries like Belgium, Germany and Holland so I have not gone wanting. Here are a few that I'm enjoying now.

 Believe it or not, but you can buy Budweiser and Fosters here. I'm not sure why anyone would though.

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Comfort Zones

Lori and I have moved around quite a bit, so we're used to the ups and downs of discovering new places. Of course, this has been the most dramatic move and the biggest adjustment we've gone through. We are both pretty adventurous and we like to find new foods or cool little restaurants, but sometimes it's nice to fall back on something familiar. Comfort foods or your favorite TV show can ease the stress of the unknown. However, it's easy to fall into a trap where you insulate yourself from your new world.

We've discovered some great things here like wine, cheese, bread and really good oranges from Spain. We've had some misses as well. I can't find the right crackers for my soup or the kind of bacon I like. I know I should be eating like a Parisian but sometimes I just want the food I grew up with while watching an episode of Seinfeld. I think the key is to find a balance between the two.

It's been very raining here this week. I'm not complaining, I'll take +10 and rain over -20 and snow, but it's kept me in the apartment and I haven't been able to explore. I've been improving my French and Lori is busy with work. She's enjoying it so far. They have a wonderful cafeteria that is subsidized by the company. They have some other wonderful perks as well, like free admission to the Louvre.

I think we are adjusting well and definitely feeling more comfortable in our new world everyday. It's going to be tough to watch hockey or baseball while we're here though and I don't think I'll ever become a soccer fan. I need my sports comfort zone.

Our Apartment

When we imagined our life in Paris, we pictured ourselves sitting in a cafe sipping a cappuccino and people watching or strolling through the Louvre looking at priceless works of art. We did not imagine trudging through a mall in the suburbs looking for coffee mugs and an ironing board. Of course we live here and this isn't a vacation so we have to adopt a daily routine of grocery shopping, dropping off dry-cleaning and running errands.

I think we finally have everything we need and the apartment is set up the way we like. Luckily it's very small so it didn't take much. Here is our living room.

A shot from the opposite end. You can see the spiral staircase going up to our bedroom.

Here is our bedroom upstairs. The entire place is 500 sq/ft.

Today is Lori's first day of work. We took a dry run on the subway yesterday. It's very easy for her to get to work but I'm sure the subway will be packed this morning. Next weekend we will get out and enjoy our life in Paris.

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Dennis and Lori Vs. The Washing Machine

Moving into a new place will have its challenges, no matter where you are. Not enough closet space, where should the garbage can go and what does that switch do are normal problems that must be dealt with. When the new place is in a foreign country where you barely speak the language, don't have a car and don't know a soul, it can be very challenging.

On Friday night when I posted on Facebook that "All is good" we had not started our laundry. We knew laundry could be an issue even before we moved in. The machine is an apartment sized, combination Washer and Dryer.

There is just no way it will possibly get our clothes as dry as a full sized dryer. That's fine, we can deal with that. What we hadn't counted on was this little box of hate walking across the kitchen even with a 200 pound man sitting on it. The spin cycle was not an option at 11:00pm so we shut it down and hung our dripping wet clothes to dry.

The next morning Lori did some investigating on the internet and found someone with the same problem. Apparently our washing machine (along with everything else in the apartment) is brand new and when it was delivered, the four retaining bolts keeping the drum in place were not removed. No problem, I can fix that. Well not so fast.

The person on the internet described them as screws so I went out and bought a mulit-tipped screwdriver. That was my mistake. I should have pulled the machine out and looked on the back and seen the hex-head bolts there. So back out I go. The local Monoprix didn't have wrenches so I bought a pair of linesman pliers. Once again, my mistake. This time Lori went out to the larger Monoprix, which is much further away, and bought a set of wrenches for me.

The bolts came out no problem and the drum can now move about freely. We did our best translating the instructions and selected the appropriate settings on the machine and started it just after lunch. We weren't paying much attention to time but the load was done just after supper. It took somewhere around 6 hours and the clothes were still damp. The next load we put on the "Rapide" cycle and used the "Eco-time" button. This load took about 3 hours and 20 minutes and we still had to hang them to dry.

 Anyway, we have clean clothes and some new tools so all is good. We've had some other issues as well. Netflix doesn't work in France, we don't have a blind for the bathroom window and we can't find regular bacon. Of all the issues, the bacon might be the most distressing.

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Off to Paris

We are leaving London this afternoon and traveling to Paris by train. We will be going through the channel tunnel. Both of us are looking forward to moving into our apartment so we can finally unpack all of our suitcases, do some laundry and cook our own food. We probably won't have an internet connection until next week so I won't be able to update the blog. I'll try to find a cafe with a wi-fi connection so I can make a quick entry. Wish us luck ;)

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Breakfast

I haven't been talking about food as much since we've been in London. You may assume that's because the food isn't as good here, but that's not true. There are plenty of great restaurants in London, especially in the neighbourhood we're staying in. In fact we are going to a restaurant in the hotel tonight that has just received its first Michelin Star. I just haven't had much of an appetite this week, but that has changed. Lori and I went for a delicious (and very unhealthy) breakfast this morning.

Most North Americans are shocked to find beans on their breakfast plates but I'm used to it from my days in the Royal Canadian Navy. I was actually disappointed that I didn't get any stewed tomatoes this morning.

On a completely unrelated note, I thought I would share this picture with everyone. I get a chuckle every time I come to a cross-walk and see this on the street. I guess too many tourists were being wiped out by double-decker buses.

A Snowy Day in London

I had a great walk yesterday. I was very surprised to find a few inches of snow on the ground once I got out of Mayfair. Maybe it's the Victorian buildings or maybe it's from watching A Christmas Carol, but snow in London makes it feel like Christmas.

It may not seem like a lot of snow to us but it's caused school closures and delays at the airport. Even the London Eye was shut down.

There is so much to see and do but poor Lori is stuck in a courthouse all day. We'll have to come back for a weekend when she's able to see everything with me.

Down and Out

My first couple of days in London were rough. A combination of jet lag and an upset stomach had me in bed for most of it. I feel much better today though. Lori is off to the courthouse so I'm heading out for a walk. We are centrally located in Mayfair so I'll head over to Piccadilly Circus, then to Trafalgar Square. From there I'll make my way down to the Parliament Buildings, over to Buckingham Palace, up to Hyde Park and then back to the hotel. It's sort of a highlights of London walk. Wish me luck.

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London

We arrived in London this morning after a relatively painless flight from Mexico City. We are both a little tired right now. I think it's partly due to the long day of travel and partly due to the time difference (London is 5 hours ahead of Toronto and 7 hours ahead of Calgary). I was able to enjoy the lay flat beds in executive class for the first time.

It wasn't the best sleep I've ever had but it was the best sleep I've ever had on a plane. It's nice when someone else is paying for it.

We went for a quick walk this morning to get acclimatized and to grab some breakfast.

There isn't much snow in the heart of London but there is a couple of inches on the ground outside of town, near Heathrow. I've been to London a couple of times before but I'm still excited to get out and explore.

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Last Day in Mexico

Today was our last full day in Mexico City. We went out for another fantastic meal last night. This time we went with the full team working on this file. Excellent food and excellent company made for a great night.

Lori was busy all day so I went to the Anthropology Museum down the road from the hotel. It was impressive. I couldn't get over how big it was and how many artifacts there were. I spent three hours there and only skimmed the surface.

We fly to London early tomorrow morning. We're flying Air Canada so of course that means we have to go through Toronto. I find it funny that when we flew from Calgary to St. John's we had to change planes in Toronto and now going from Mexico City to London we have to change planes in Toronto. Apparently Toronto is the centre of the universe (to Air Canada anyway).

It will probably be a couple of days before I get a chance to update the blog. Talk to you soon.

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Random Thoughts

Here are some random thoughts on our time in Mexico City:

• Mexico City feels more European than tropical. The altitude causes cooler temperatures and less humidity. The architecture and city layout have a definite Spanish influence.

• A smile goes a long way here. The people are very friendly and when language is a barrier, a smile will help. 

• In Calgary, I'm slightly taller than the average person. In Mexico, I'm a giant. Having a pale complexion and blond hair makes me stand out even more.

• The food is amazing. There is so much more than tacos. Foods like tomatoes and chocolate originated in Mexico and they've been cooking with them for thousands of years.

Food

My quest for street food has not gone well. The neighbourhood we are in is rather affluent with a lot of high end hotels and embassies, so I believe they discourage vendors from selling food on the street. Around the airport there were stands everywhere, so I just assumed I could walk out the door and get a couple of tacos whenever I wanted to.

We are eating very well though. We've found some outstanding restaurants near the hotel. Yesterday we went for lunch at an excellent seafood restaurant right across the road. I had the Ceviche Sampler to start and it was amazing. There were four different types of fish: Mahi Mahi, Tuna, Halibut and Shrimp.

Today is a quiet day for me. Lori is working outside of the hotel all day so I'm brushing up on my French. It's difficult to learn French while in a Spanish speaking country. When the locals speak Spanish to me, I keep responding in French. I've gotten some very strange looks.

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Exploring Mexico City

We had a great day yesterday. We walked around our neighbourhood for a few hours, had an excellent lunch and saw some great sites. Because it was Sunday, there were lots of families out enjoying the parks and we found a major road that was closed to cars and open only to bicycles, roller-bladders and skateboarders.

In the park, there were all kinds of vendors selling their wares. This is where I found a present for my nephew Jack. He is a huge wrestling fan so I had to get him a Mexican wrestling mask.

The next few days, I will be on my own. Lori's work starts this afternoon so I will have to explore the city by myself.

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Mexico City

Well we made it to the first stop of our adventure, Mexico City. Only one of our many bags did not arrive with us, but it's here now. If you're like me, you think of sun, sand and surf when you think of Mexico, but Mexico City is very different. The first thing I noticed as we flew in last night was the sheer size of the city. The metro area has over 20 million people.

Another big difference is the altitude of the city. When I looked out the window this morning, I could see the city was surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. That would explain the prevalence of earthquakes in the area, which Lori can attest to. She was woken one night by a 6.1 magnitude earthquake when she was here in November.

I'm looking forward to getting out and exploring the city today. Lori thinks I'm crazy but I want some authentic Mexican food from a street vendor. You only live once (famous last words).

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All Packed Up

We are about to lose our internet service so I just wanted to let everyone know that we are all packed up and ready to go. The past 2 days were a little busier than I had hoped. Nothing like a furnace repair and 8 inches of snow to slow you down. It is amazing how much stuff you accumulate. You don't realize how much there is until you have to load it into a Mazda 3 and shuttle back and forth to the storage unit.

We will spend our last night here cleaning the condo and then we are off on our adventure tomorrow. I haven't checked the forecast for Mexico City yet, but I'm sure it's a lot better than Calgary. I'll have an update once we are settled into the hotel. Talk to you soon.

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Going to Paris

Lori and I are about to start a great adventure, so I thought blogging about it would be the easiest way to update all of our friends and family. Lori is being seconded to a client based in Paris and I'm going with her. For those of you who don't know what seconded means (like me), she is essentially being loaned out to a client for at least six months but it may be extended. The client is providing us with accommodation in the heart of Paris and we are very excited about living in one of the greatest cities in the world.

Of course we don't believe in doing things the easy way, so before we get to Paris we are going to Mexico City and London. Lori has work in both places on completely unrelated matters that she has to take care of first. You may be asking yourself at this point "What exactly does Dennis contribute to this relationship?" and the answer is "Not much." I carry her bags and massage her neck. It's a rough life but someone has to do it.

We leave for Mexico City this weekend, so we have a busy week ahead of us. We have rented the condo in Calgary while we're gone, so I'll be moving our personal effects and the car into storage. We also have doctor's appointments and change of address to take care of. We did a lot before Christmas so we should be in good shape. I'm sure there will be an unexpected crisis at some point but we will handle it.

I hope to update the blog while we're in Mexico City and London. Hopefully by then I will have figured out how to upload photos. Like I said, we are both very excited about living in Paris and being able to travel around Europe while we are there. I've already made plans to travel to Stockholm in May for the World Championships of Hockey. So much to see and do, I'm sure we'll be on a train or plane every weekend. Anyway, wish us luck and I hope to see at least a few of you while we're there. Take care.

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