Monthly Archives: April 2012

Croatia, Sightseeing, Travelling

My Croatian Itinerary – Part 4: Split, Mostar & Dubrovnik

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When we got to Split from Ancona in Italy, we drove off the ferry and were immediately searched. Maybe the customs official found it strange we should have so much luggage. Well, the car fridge already takes up a fair amount of room and then there’s the bike gear and stuff. Anyway, she finally waved us on and we followed the Tom Tom to our rental flat. Unfortunately, the entire street was being dug up and we eventually decided to drive through the roadworks to get there despite protests from the workers at the other end but our hostess Antonela was waiting for us and explained the situation. The up side was that Antonela said we could park in the courtyard.

The flat was clean and comfortable with free wifi and a washing machine. It was also very well located, just a short walk from all the sights. We couldn’t use the terrace with the seaview because of the roadworks but it didn’t really matter. We really enjoyed Split. There were lots of historical places to visit, we found a restaurant on the edge of the bay with an excellent “fish plate” (Atlantida) went to the early-morning fresh fish and fresh produce markets and had a wonderful bike ride on Marian Hill which I have described in Cycling in Croatia.

After two nights in Split, we went to Dubrovnik via Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina where it was shockingly hot. We went through border control twice and waited in long queues each time for no apparent reason.The speed was limited to 60 kph most of the time, also for no apparent reason. We saw shell-shocked buildings along the way and walked over the famous arch bridge built by Suliman the Magnificent which was destroyed during the Yugoslavian war and rebuilt, bought a souvenir for the Christmas tree, had lunch in a very friendly restaurant called Hindin Han and visited Biscevica House, a traditional Ottoman home.

The drive along the coast to Dubrovnik was quite stunning, with little islands everywhere. We went through a small stretch that is part of Bosnia Herzegovina, its only coastal section, waiting in long lines at the border once again. When we got to Dubrovnik, we had parking problems. We hadn’t realised you can’t take your car into the walled city, not even to drop off your luggage. We finally parked in an extremely extensive parking lot near one of the entrances, grabbed a minimum amount of stuff and went to find our flat.

The apartment we stayed in was recommended to us by Black Cat and it was perfect. A large comfortable room with a basic kitchen and a shower room, right in the middle of the old town, but in a tiny street up several flights of steps, a haven from the noise and bustle of the tourist trade and very reasonably priced. The owner’s son, Matko Jelic, who  speaks both French and English (his wife is Irish) was very kind and helpful and even found us a free parking place outside the city walls from which we were able to take a bus back to the city. There wasn’t a wifi connection but Matko indicated a café in the old town called the Skybar with free wifi. The connection code is on the bill – you just have to order a drink.

We stayed three nights in lovely old city of Dubrovnik and I particularly enjoyed the rampart walk at sunset. Unfortunately, it was there that I ate some unsavoury prawns and got the infamous “turista” that kept me indoors and close to the bathroom for most of the time we were there. We had booked an all-day boat ride to some of the islands but I wasn’t up to going. But one day we’ll go back!

Next instalment – Zadar. The itinerary so far: Paris – Annecy – Milan – Ancona – Split – Mostar – Dubrovnik.

Antonela Cmrlec
Apartman Riva
Branimirova Obala 6
SPLIT
+385 (0)98 937 0942      
apartman.riva@gmail.com
 
Konoba “ATLANTIDA”,
Obala Ante Trumbica 13,
21000 Split
 
Matko Jelic
Zvijezdiceva
DUBROVNIK
www.apartmentsdubrovnik.com
matko@apartmentsdubrovnik.com
 
Restoran Hindin Han
Jusovina bb
88 000 MOSTAR
Tel/Fax: 00387 36 581 054      
Mob. 00387 61 153 924      
 
The Skybar
Pridvorje 5,
20217 Dubrovnik
France, French customs, Paris

The Romance of a Sale – Zen Things in Paris – Laines Locales Wool Festival at Prébenoît

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I’m afraid I was so busy last week setting up house in Blois that I didn’t bring you my usual Wednesday’s other blogs post. But I’m back in Paris and my computer is up and working again. Thank you to the authors of this week’s posts: Petite Paris, an Australian-based independent bed & breakfast booking agent for anyone planning to travel to the romance capital of the world, on Zen things to do in Paris; Llamalady, an Irish llama and alpaca breeder living in the centre of France, who also runs a carp fishery and a holiday gite, reporting on a local wool festival; and Bread is Pain, an American living in the Rhone-Alps “slowly eating and drinking myself through the country”, talking about her love of sales.

Zen Things in Paris

from Petite Paris

When it comes to Paris, we already know the usual recommendations. We know the rule is Laduree for tea.  Pierre Herme for Macaroons. Coffee at Cafe de Flore. Or at Lipp Or at Deux Magots.  We know that a visit to the Louvre is a must see. Eiffel. Piere Lachaise. And we know all about the Batobus river boat tours. The Moulin Rouge. and the Opera. And these are all great, bien sûr… Read more.

Laines Locales Wool Festival at Prébenoît

by LLamalady from Blog in France

We are just back from a chilly and breezy but interesting morning at a wool festival. It was organised by Laines Locales of Limousin and was held at nearby Prébenoit Abbey. Had the weather been better we would have cycled there – it’s about 10 km away – but we’d have been blown backwards! Read more.

The Romance of a Sale

from Bread is Pain

I love sales.  Love them.  I will buy things that I don’t really find attractive or things that I absolutely do not need based solely on the fact that they are on sale.  As a dear friend of mine puts it “really, by not buying it you are losing money because it is such a good deal!”  (RIGHT?!)   This statement pretty much sums up my feelings when I see something marked down.  “Why look!  It’s a goose leash!  We don’t have a goose, I know, but one day we might and come on, honey, it’s 70% off!”  Read more.

France, Loire Valley, Renovation

Meeting the Neighbours in Blois

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Relationnel has devised this radical way of meeting the neighbours in Blois. I would have gone for something softer myself. The first time, we were coming back from our celebratory dinner at L’Embarcadère after spending our first day in the new house. Before I go any further, I’d just like to point out that we had both had only two glasses of wine to accompany our meal. Not being used to our new address, Relationnel sailed past the house and we found ourselves at the end of the street and had to do a U-turn.

“Hey, I just want to read what this sign’s all about”, says Relationnel, backing up to get a closer look. Crruunch! That’s the problem with a country road – there aren’t any street lights and people have this tendency to park their dark grey cars in unsuspecting places. The front door of the other car was nicely bashed in while we had a broken tail light and a few scratches. No sign of who the car might belong to so Relationnel left a note with his mobile phone number (not his name, which is Avril because it happened to be April  Fool’s Day and they might have thought it was a bad joke!).

Next day, we got a call from a very friendly man who kept repeating that it was highly unusual for anyone to leave their number in such circumstances. His poor wife hadn’t been able to open the door from the outside next morning but fortunately could do so from the inside, making it less dangerous. We organised a meeting and filled in the forms together. They turned out to be middle-aged bikies (Harley Davidson) and their house  is like an American museum from the 1930s. Very friendly and understanding. We’ve noticed though that they keep parking the car in the same spot!

The next “meet the neighbours” episode occurred after we’d been to Argenton sur Creuse, a two-hour drive south, to pick up a Henri II glass-doored bookcase whose weight proved it was made of solid oak. I found it on leboncoin.com about a month ago and sent a cheque to the owner, a professional brocanteur. He turned out to be the real thing. I’ve never seen a shop like it – everything thrown higgledy-pickledy with not even the faintest semblance of order and all covered in layers of dust although it all looks surprisingly spruce in the photo!

We followed him in his van up and down country lanes for about 20 minutes until we finally came to a warehouse in a village which was as messy as the shop, only bigger. While he and Relationnel looked after the bookcase, I rooted around and came up with a tall bronze lamp. The shade’s a bit broken unfortunately, but it can easily be replaced. After they had put the bookcase on the trailer and I had protected the glass doors with bubble wrap so they could be put safely on the roof rack (less chance of breakage), the brocanteur went off to deliver some other goods.

We then spent the next hour protecting it all against the rain (and rain it did, several times). When we got home, the idea was to take it up the front steps, then lift it on to the top of the railing so that it could be taken in through the door. We started, going one step at a time, but soon realised that there was absolutely no way that I could get a ten-tonne bookcase up the steps. By then it was too late to backtrack so Relationnel went off to “find a neighbour”. He came back a few minutes later with a man who couldn’t possibly be the neighbour (wrong age to start with) and they continued the operation. He turned out to be stronger than he looked.

The neighbour (right age) then arrived and proceeded to direct operations. I took him upstairs and he soon saw that the hoisting-onto-the-railing solution wasn’t going to work. The three of them finally managed to lift it high enough to get it into the living room and then onto the mezzanine. There’s no way around it – men are stronger than women! I later found out who the first man was – he was simply picking up his son from a birthday party. I didn’t get the impression the neighbour was too impressed …

France, Loire Valley, Renovation

Dividing the House in Two

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We’ve now furnished most of our new house in Blois and Relationnel is onto the second-last major operation – dividing the top floor from the bottom floor. Downstairs, there are now three rooms: the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom (with its en-suite bathroom).  There is both an internal and external staircase leading up to the top floor so we had to find a way of closing off the internal staircase which currently leads into the downstairs bedroom.

Relationnel came up with the idea of adding French doors and was able to recuperate some beautiful solid oak panelled doors from a renovation site. However, he had to completely strip them and then adapt the height and frames to the doorway which, being very old, is not quite straight! It all turned out to be much more complicated than expected but the first set is now in place.

Above one end of the downstairs living room, there is a mezzanine, which means that it also has to be divided off so that we can go can through the back door and up the stairs without disturbing our gîte guests. We can’t use the external staircase on the front façade because the door only opens from the inside! So there will be a second set of French doors to close off the mezzanine.

Relationnel didn’t think the second operation would be as complicated but the 4 cm thick solid oak proved to be temperamental. From time to time, I was called upon to help move the doors and panels and I peoved to be especially useful when it came to putting the incredibly heavy doors on their hinges. This is a very delicate operation and none of the usual nifty solutions seemed to work. In the end, Relationnel just had to use brute force.

The top floor has now been successfully separated from the bottom though the whole process took a full day more than expected. Meanwhile, I put the Ikea garden table, bench and chairs together. I followed the instructions carefully but the first chair was missing a step so to my disappointment, I had to call on Relationnel’s greater experience. When I began the second chair, I discovered that they had changed the instructions and the pre-mounting operation and the missing step was no longer missing! If you’ve ever put Ikea furniture together, you know that they have a little L-shaped piece that you use to screw the different parts together. Well, Relationnel has the greatest little screw driver with a lever system that makes screwing a breeze and is far better than that L-thing. You can even change the setting to make it unscrew.

Relationnel has gone back to Paris tonight but I have to be here for the electricity company tomorrow morning so that they can increase the wattage we can use simultaneously. At the moment, I can’t use the oven and the hot plate at the same time or the power cuts out completely. So I will be taking the bus and train home tomorrow afternoon. I checked out the bus this morning. It’s a 15 minute walk, then a 15-minute ride to the station. I made sure I booked early and chose a cheaper time slot. This time, I’m paying 26 euros for a direct trip. Who knows, I might even get good at this commuting business!

Australia

The Sydney Writers’ Centre’s Best Australian Blogs 2012

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You may be wondering what the Best Australian Blogs 2012 and Vote for Me Now badges are doing on my blog. Well it’s a competition run by the Sydney Writers’ Centre and I have been kindly nominated by a fellow blogger. I’m competing with an impressive 1023 other Australian bloggers!

Bloggers are understandably judged on the quality of their writing (70%), presentation and usability (20%) and engagement and social media integration (10%). The judges will be looking at conversations in the comment section, guest bloggers, and the use of social media to promote the blog. So if you haven’t already “liked” my Facebook page  – http://www.facebook.com/AussieFrance – this is the time to do so!

There’s also a People’s Choice round which is now open. Voting is unrestricted (you don’t have to be Australian) so if you enjoy reading my blog, feel free to vote for me! It’s very easy and only takes a second. Just follow the instructions below:

1) Click here or on the badge (www.surveymonkey.com/s/BAB2012 in case you have a problem).

2) Scroll down the first page until you find Aussie in France (the list is in alphabetical order)

3) TICK the box for Aussie in France (of course)

4) Click NEXT 5 times (voting for others on the way if you want)

5) Leave your name and email address

6) Click NEXT one last time and it’s finished.

If you’d like to tweet about your vote, the hashtag is #bestblogs2012.

The winner of the People’s Choice Award will be announced on Thursday 10 May 2012.

And while we’re on the subject of blogs, I’d like to thank all my readers for their comments and encouragements since my first post on 14th October 2011 about Leonardo Leaving the Nest. I’m not only able to give vent to my creative energies but also meeting new people  across the globe who share the same interests as I do! I love meeting other bloggers as well – something I never expected.

Sightseeing, Travel photos

Sunday’s Travel Photos – Prague

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Prague is one of my very favourite cities. I love the architecture, the atmosphere, the mixture of old and new, the fact that you can find wonderful places on the river to eat, the buskers, the people in general. Our hotel was slightly outside the main area, which meant we had to take a tram to get reach the centre. I think it’s better to be able to walk everywhere. Perhaps you have some suggestions? We were there early September which was just perfect.

Australia, France, Loire Valley, Paris

Taking the Train to Paris Like A Real Provincial

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This is my first experience of commuting to Paris from Blois. I have to go up to teach a double class at uni today.  I’ve discovered I can take two types of trains – TER and TGV. The first is quite cheap – 26 euros – while the second is a lot more expensive. I’m meeting up with Relationnel in Tours on the way back so we can buy a Henri II desk we saw in leboncoin.com and since my class doesn’t finish until 5 pm, I’m travelling in peak hour, which is costing me a wacking 59 euros. I could take a later train but that would mean waiting around in Paris and it would be too late to get the desk.

You can’t reserve a seat on the TER (I have to change in Orléans anyway) but since I didn’t leave until 10.42 (I love the way the times are so precise), there were plenty of places. I do have a reservation on the TGV though – it’s compulsory. I bought both tickets over the Internet on www.sncf.fr.  For the TER, I had to put my VISA card in the ticket machine at the station to have the ticket issued. I immediately put it in the puncher because I often forget and suddenly realise in the train that it isn’t « composté » as they say in French.

The TGV reservation is quite different. I have to print out an e-ticket and show it to the inspector on the train when he comes around. I have a new printer back in Blois that I haven’t set up yet. I started to look into it this morning but I couldn’t follow what the little drawings were telling me to do. I’ll have to get Relationnel onto it during the weekend. I much prefer written instructions that I can understand. So I’ll ask the nice secretary at my uni to print it out for me. I just mustn’t forget! You’d think I could have it on my iPhone the way they do for boarding passes but I couldn’t see any options indicating that on the Internet.

The problem is that I don’t really like trains. I don’t know why. I’m always afraid I’m going to miss it or get out at the wrong place or something. The first time I took a train, I was about 20. A friend and I took the Sunlander from Townsville to Brisbane, then from Brisbane to Sydney on our way to Noumea. I think it took about 48 hours in all. The first train was a steam engine if I remember correctly. Maureen’s mother had made boiled fruit cake and all sorts of goodies so we did a lot of eating on that trip.

The train from Brisbane to Sydney was far more chic and we had a compartment of our own with a toilet and shower.  Not like the Sunlander with its open toilets that you couldn’t use in the station! Trains are far more popular in France and, on the whole, are efficient and on time (except when there are strikes of course, but that’s almost a national hobby). Having said that, we left Orléans 10 minutes late but I had plenty of time to take a photo of the rape fields. At least today I don’t have any luggage, just my trusty laptop, even though it’s a bit heavy to lug around.

I’m now in the TGV and it seems I could have clicked on “Download” on the email on my iPhone instead of printing out the ticket. I’ll know for next time!

Lifestyle, Loire Valley, Sightseeing

Easter Sunday in Blois

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Sunday being a day of rest, we decided to have a late brunch then visit one of the many châteaux in the Loire Valley with Thoughtful and Brainy Pianist who had come to spend the weekend with us. In the end, we decided to go to Blois Castle, particularly as it was open between 12 and 2 pm, in order to escape the Easter weekend crowds. Once we got there, Relationnel and I were both amazed that we hardly remembered it at all from our last visit a few years ago.

The château is right in the middle of the town, overlooking the Loire River, and encompasses several different architectural styles from mediaeval times to the 17th century. I won’t go into its very complicated history. Suffice to say that it all began in about the year 1000 with a rather horrible fellow called Thibaud the Trickster. Three of the original mediaeval towers still remain. One of the main features of the period is the magnificent hall of justice or Salle des Etats built in the early 13th century.

 

At the end of the 14th century, the château was bought by the Orleans family and nearly a century later, Duc Louis d’Orleans became Louis XII and brought his wife, Anne de Bretagne, and his court to Blois. They modernised it all, so to speak, with stairs at each end and balconies  on the first floor and decorated it with their emblems, the porcupine for Louis and the hermine for Anne.

François 1er, whose salamander is ever-present, lived in the château after he ascended to the throne in 1515. The Duc de Guise was assassinated in the King’s Chambers on the orders of Henri III in 1588 after plotting to take over the throne and Catherine de Medicis, wife of Henri II (son of François 1er) and mother of Henri III, died there the next year at the age of 70.

The interior is extremely rich and colourful with many fine fireplaces and majestic pieces of Renaissance furniture. We could see how they inspired the Henri II (or Neo-Renaissance) buffet, sideboard, tables and chairs now decorating our new Renaissance house !  I particularly liked the toad-foot feature on one of the buffets and the many beautiful firebacks. Any one of them would look just perfect in our upstairs fireplace.

There is also a lapidary section with gargoyles, statues, pediments and other bits and pieces taken from buildings on the site.

The grounds around the château offer wonderful views of the rooftops of the city of Blois and the Loire River and an excellent view of the city’s most interesting church – that of Saint Nicolas, built in the 12th and 13th centuries, a combinationof both Romanesque and Gothic. We couldn’t quite see our house because of the trees but we could pick out the general direction.

 

After our visit we discovered a brocante on the esplanade along the river which takes place on the second Sunday of every month. Relationnel was not keen because he said there were obviously only professionals. But we managed to find a walnut bedside table for our bedroom and three long-handled gardening tools. While he went off to get the car, we rooted around but didn’t find anything else worth buying.

Loire Valley

My Street in Blois

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On Sunday, we finally found the time to take a walk down our street to the organic bakery!  On the left, we went past a primary school in beautiful grounds.

Then a house built in the sixties surrounded by flowering trees and shrubs.

A fence with a lovely wisteria in front of a turn-of-the-century home.

The local church with a red, white and blue pole in front.

A house with two sundials, one on the southern façade and the other on the western façade. Which reminds me that I would like one too!

After buying the bread, we walked back in the other direction and came across a most unusual gate. Diplodoci no less!

A straight stretch of country road.

And around the next bend, he meeting of old and new.

 

 

Lifestyle, Loire Valley, Renovation

The Fireplace Operation

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I’m sure you’re all waiting with bated breath to hear the results of the fireplace operation. As it turned out, Relationnel was the only performer because the polyethylene tent could only contain one person. Not that I really minded. I had other things to keep me occupied, not to mention the fact that it would have taken me hours to get the soot out of my hair. Fortunately Relationnel didn’t have to worry about that.

You might remember that we’re talking about the fireplace in the master bedroom. We were sleeping downstairs in the bedroom of the future gîte until the operation was over. So, first, Relationnel set up the tent and also protected the light-coloured carpet with plastic. Then he donned his throwaway boiler suit and gas mask at which point I breathed a sigh of relief that I was only spectator and helpmate.

 

So that he wouldn’t be asphyxiated, he had added a flexible tube to take fresh air from the window into the airtight tent and up the chimney. First, he removed the polystyrene that had been used to plug up the chimney duct. As it came off, down came two huge hornets’ nests (empty thank goodness). After cleaning it all up, he used a power mill with a metal brush attachment to get rid of the initial caked soot and other debris then finished off with a finer abrasive disk.  Once he had achieved the required result, he got out the vacuum cleaner.

And that’s when the fun began. As we all know, vacuum cleaners suck up dirt at one end while expelling air through a filter at the other. The problem is, the filter on our industrial vacuum (a gift from the owner of a flat I once bought which had a closed parking space that the said owner neglected to empty) was no good and as Relationnel vacuumed up the debris, fine red and black dust went charging out the other end, leaving a nice thick layer not only over the entire bedroom, bathroom and built-in wardrobe (fortunately empty), but also flying up the stairs to the mezzanine above the bedroom and out through open bedroom door onto the other mezzanine which gives onto all the other rooms below.

So the entire house had to be vacuumed from head to foot with the other vacuum cleaner which understandably got overheated and sulky and eventually gave up altogether. Relationnel had to wait until it cooled down to use it again. Meanwhile, I was off at Carrefour Market and then Le Penalty drinking cappuccino and using the Internet as the little dashed line is still running madly around the display window on the Freebox showing no sign of indicating the time, which is a necessary prelude to it working.

All traces of the vacuum episode had disappeared by the time I got back I’m happy to say. Before we could move into the bedroom however, a second operation was needed – sweeping the chimney. We had bought some very neat chimney sweeping equipment in Leroy Merlin that looked like something out of Mary Poppins. Relationnel set up a rubbish bag and funnel system to catch the debris (I helped to cut the packing tape to seal the joins) with a hole to poke the broom through.

After it was all swept clean, Relationnel plugged it up again with suitable material to stop the cold air getting into the room as the fireplace will continue to be purely decorative.

 

We are very happy with the results and have now moved into the upstairs bedroom.

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