Well, last time we talked, we were recovering from a whirlwind visit with Wendy. We continued to rest on Monday and Tuesday, not to mention clean house. We were preparing for our next set of visitors, my parents. They arrived on Wednesday at noon. We took them out for pizza, then we just rested around the house. The trip over is quite a shock and we usually take the first day easy. Grandpa did take the kids out for a walk and had them convinced that they were lost. He isn't commenting. They made it home in time for dinner though, so all was well.
On Thursday, the boys went to the tutor's in the morning. While Andrew was there, Grandpa blew up his shaver with the 220v we have here. So we made a quick trip to the store. We also picked up some new things to try, after all we were shopping with MY father, the ultimate shopper!! We tried some French salami, ham, and three different kinds of cheeses. All were very good.
That evening, I took my parents out to the same Chinese place I took Wendy while Dave stayed home with the boys and worked. We had a fun time and my Dad learned that the cokes are very small (33cl), there are no refills, and the wine is cheaper. We all agreed that the nems are wonderful.
Friday morning, we went to downtown Toulouse so my dad could change some American money that he brought along. Silly man. After we concluded our business at the bank, we decided to do some sight-seeing downtown. We saw the Capitole square, the Marie, St Sernin cathedral, and the church that St Sernin started. We also made a stop at the museum of antiquities of Toulouse. This museum is amazing. They have rooms of Roman statuary that were all found around Toulouse. We saw busts of all of the Roman emperors from the one before Augustus (BC) to almost 400 AD, and some of their wives. Then in the basement, we saw lots of sarcophaguses that they discovered when they were remodeling the basement of the museum. It turns out that the museum was built on top of an old Roman burial ground! They had no idea that there were over 100 sarcophaguses in the basement. Some of them were left where they were, so you could see how they looked when they were found. We also found some glass containers! None of us knew that they made glass that long ago.
Saturday morning we left Toulouse around 10:00. We drove all the way to Lyon. It was about a six hour trip. It rained a lot of the way, but while we were in the mountains it snowed!! The only time it snows here is when people from home are here.
After checking into the hotel and baths for the boys, we headed downtown to a restaurant recommended by the front desk. It is called the Trois Maries (three mayors) and is apparently a very well known restaurant in Lyon. It was really good. We broke our long standing avoidance of beef and had steak. (It is said that now the beef here is safer than there. I hope so.) It was wonderful. There was a very funny Frenchman sitting at the table next to us and at one point he even took our picture for us. It was a really fun night, but very late. We got back to the hotel at 11:00!
Sunday morning we woke up to a steady rain. Yuck. We dragged our feet getting ready, but it didn't show any signs of letting up, so we headed out anyway. By the time we got to Lyon center, it was pouring. We had a hard time finding a place to park due to a marathon being run through downtown, but we eventually managed it. Then we explored old Lyon for a bit. It is a very pretty town, with tons of little alleyway streets all over. Just what you would see in the movies. We tried to go to a museum (to get out of the rain) that said that it was open everyday, but it was closed. So we headed over to the Cathedral Saint Jean and arrived just as it closed for lunch. We instead headed to the cable car to see the basilica at the top of cliff overhanging the city. But when we got to the top, it was nowhere to be found. We searched for a while, decided that we were hungry, and headed back down to find some lunch. We stopped at a friendly brasserie and all had crepes for lunch (they are not just dessert!)
We then stopped by St Jean's cathedral. It is very pretty and has the honor of having the organ that was the first one to be recorded. They also have a very unusual clock. It has been around since at least 1383, and from it you can determine the time, the date, the year (yes, it said 2005), any liturgical holidays, and your astrological sign. In addition, three times a day, it acted out when Peter denied Christ three times. The cock even crowed. It was really something to see!
Then we took the cable car back up to the top of the cliff (on a different line this time) and found the basilica. It was built to show how powerful the catholic church was after the very anti-church revolution. There are mosaics from floor to ceiling (including the floor) and all use gold. The rest is gilded in gold. We will post some pictures, but decided that it would be really hard to describe. It was beautiful, but over the top, too. Too much beauty, if there is such a thing.
We looked out over the cliff to see the city. It was a very beautiful view, but the edges of the city disappeared into the rain clouds (yes, it was still raining).
Our last stop of the day was the Roman theater and museum. The theater was impressive, but nothing like the museum. It was amazing. There were tons of displays. There were funeral monuments, statues, mosaics, signs, catapults, money, and even glass (we weren't surprised by this anymore though). One of the most memorable was a huge bronze plaque (20 ft x 15 ft) that reprinted a speech by a Roman emperor from in 61 AD. It was amazing. We also saw coins and coin molds from before Christ! The only problem was that we had about an hour to spend there and we only saw about a third of the museum! They kicked us out at closing time. We will try to work a trip back into our busy schedule.
We had PB&Js in the hotel and are heading off to an early bed. My parents are out to dinner somewhere. We hope they can find their way back to the hotel. We are going to spend one more day here in Lyon, then move on to Geneva. From there we aren't sure. We will just have to see. We will be sure to let you know what we are up to, though!!
Until next week!
Amy
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Furman weekly, April 4 - 10; Volume 3, Number 10
Whew! What a week. We are worn out.
On Monday, after the boys went to the tutor's, we rested around the house so Wendy wouldn't be worn out when she went back to school next week. We had Roxanna come over that night, though, so we could take Wendy to the P'tit Montagnard, our favorite fondue restaurant. Our first stop was the capitol square for drinks. Wendy tried a southern France favorite, Pastis. It tastes like black licorice. Then it was off to dinner. We had a great time. It is fun to share these places with our family.
On Tuesday, while Dave was at work, we packed up and headed to Albi. Even though the boys were just there, we had lots of fun. Due to construction, we had to park a ways from the cathedral. But we stumbled across a new museum. This museum follows the travels of a French explorer, Laperouse. He sailed all over, and meet his end at New Zeeland in Botany Bay. We had fun looking at all of the items that they recently pulled up from the shipwreck.
Then it was off to lunch. Wendy tried the French favorite, croq monsieur. We also enjoyed some hot chocolate after the meal. Of course.
The church was next on our list. We got there right as it opened after lunch and looked around for a while. Unfortunately, due to the death of the pope, only certain parts of the church were lit. The treasure and the choir stalls were closed. But Wendy was impressed by the beauty of the cathedral. She agreed that it is nearly impossible to describe the impressiveness of the building.
From there, we went through the Toulouse-Lautrec museum. This isn't a museum geared to kids, but ours did really well on their second trip through. We rented audio-guides and Michael loved searching for the numbers on the paintings. Then he would listen to the guide, even though I don't think he could understand any of it.
When we got home that night, we noticed that we no longer had any hot water. Oh No!! Another plumbing saga. How long would this take?
Wednesday morning we spent resting. Dave came home at 3:00 (after watching the A380 roll to the test hanger) to work from home. Wendy and I left and headed to the "center commercial." We sat outside in the sun and had "tea" before heading in to check out the grocery store. It is quite an experience. We looked at things for a while and Wendy picked up some surprises for people back home. After dropping off our treasures, the two of us headed to dinner. We went out for Chinese. You would think that it would be the same from country to country, wouldn't you? Nope. Our favorite things are nems. They are like spring rolls that you wrap in a leaf of lettuce with a sprig of mint. Yummy!! We had a lot of fun hanging out together, and finished off the night sharing a bottle of cidre with Dave at home.
On Thursday, the boys visited with the tutor. I dropped them off in between visits from the plumber. No hot water is an two day wait. Not bad. After he had left, I jumped into the shower before going to pick up Andrew. When I got out, we noticed water pouring out of the hot water heater! No shower for Wendy yet. After a few frantic phone calls, I left to pick up Dave and Andrew. In the meantime, the water heater healed itself and all was well. We quick grabbed a bite to eat and headed off to Auch, the home of D'Artagnan (the three musketeers). On the way, we stumbled across pieces of the A380, getting ready to squeeze through the town just north of Colomiers, on it's way to the assembly plant. Cool. Check out the size of the fuselage compared to the size of the truck towing it. (by the way, the website is up and running. Check us out at efurman.com)
When we got to Auch, we discovered that it was very crowded. There was a funeral going on in the church and a carnival in the park. There were people waiting in the parking lots on the off chance someone would come back to their car and leave a space. We drove around for a little while and then, after some fancy maneuvering on our part, parked on the curb, down the street from the church. All four wheels up on the sidewalk. When in France...
We explored the city and ended up back at the cathedral. Wendy took some really great pictures, while I entertained Michael. He is tired of sight-seeing. He kept saying "I hate this church." and "This music is giving me a headache." There were organ lessons going on so they did repeat a lot, but I thought it was very pretty.
On the way home, we passed by the A380 again. They were preparing to take it through town. They raise the wings up on an angle so they fit better down the skinny streets.
Friday morning, we had a special birthday breakfast for Wendy. Then we rested because we had a busy day ahead. Wendy and I dropped the boys off with Lisa Reich (after another really fancy parking job downtown) and went to downtown Toulouse for the afternoon. We had a great lunch in the sun on the terrace of a cute brasserie. Then we explored two different churches to compare different building styles. Then we decided to stop and have hot chocolate (of course) at a brasserie. After we ordered, the sky opened up and it POURED!! But by the time we were done, the sun was shinning again. On our way back to pick up the boys, we stopped at two different chocolateries to sample and purchase sweets for Wendy to bring home. In one of the shops (the first place that made chocolate in France) they sold hot chocolate. Well, I am not one to turn that down. So I ordered one. Wow. First, she took powdered cocao, mixed it with a little bit of liquid ginger. She stirred it for a while until Wendy said it looked like crude oil. The she took a piece of 92% cocao chocolate and broke it into pieces to add to the cup. After this was mixed well (this took up 3/4 of the cup), she added hot milk. This was awesome. I will be stopping there whenever I am in Toulouse!!
That night we headed off to the Cote de Boeuf. This is the restaurant where we go to feel cared for and known in Toulouse. Dave is always greeted with a handshake at the door. Now I am greeted as well. A handshake and a kiss!!! I knew they would take good care of Wendy on her birthday. And they did. We had a wonderful meal. Then, we not only got after dinner drinks (on the house), she left the bottle. And when she felt that we were not taking advantage of this, she refilled our cups! It's good to know people.
We slept in some on Saturday, so we got a late start. We decided to head north to visit the caves of Lascaux II. As we got underway, the skies turned very threatening. We considered turning around and heading south, but decided to chance it. After a downpour, the sun came out and the drive was very pretty. We stopped for lunch in Cahors, but first visited the devil's bridge. Apparently, to find the money to finish the bridge, the city leader's made a deal with the devil. In exchange for a finished bridge, the devil would get the soul of the first person who crossed the bridge. After it was finished, no one would cross, so the city sent a dog across. The devil was furious!! He caused the center tower to fall down. Each time the city rebuilt the tower, it fell down again. Finally, they built a small demon onto the tower. This seems to have appeased the devil, because the tower is still standing.
After visiting the bridge, we stopped at a cave (wine seller) to purchase a specific brand of cahors wine that we enjoyed but can't find in the store. How fun to be familiar enough with the wine to know where to find a certain kind. While we were in the store, it started snowing heavily. What is going on with the weather? By the time we left the store, the sun was shining again. Then we grabbed sandwiches to eat in the car and went on our way.
We visited Lascaux II again, while Dave and Michael took a walk. This tour guide told us some new things. He also turned off all of the lights and held up a lighter to the walls to show us how the paintings seem to move in the firelight. Very impressive.
Then it was off to the Parc Prehistoric. We had fun walking through the park in the sun, although it was quite cold. Because we were there so late in the day, the flint knapper had already left. Maybe he will be there when we return with my parents.
We started heading for home, but decided that since it was Wendy's last day, we should make one more stop. We decided to eat in Sarlat (where they taped EVER AFTER). We ate at a cozy brasserie, where Wendy had her first French pizza (without egg) and her last hot chocolate. It was very late when we finally got home, but we had a really good day.
Wendy left this morning and will be home late tonight. I think that she had a fun visit and that we didn't tire her out too much. I know that we enjoyed having her. We miss her and she was only here for a week. I hope that she can come again.
The Reich's came over for haircuts and pizza tonight. We had a good evening and sent the kids to bed early. They are worn out from a week of playing tourist and need to rest up before my parents arrive on Wednesday. Then we are planning a week long vacation starting Saturday. We hope to make it to Switzerland and maybe even Italy! We will keep you posted.
Until next week!
Amy
On Monday, after the boys went to the tutor's, we rested around the house so Wendy wouldn't be worn out when she went back to school next week. We had Roxanna come over that night, though, so we could take Wendy to the P'tit Montagnard, our favorite fondue restaurant. Our first stop was the capitol square for drinks. Wendy tried a southern France favorite, Pastis. It tastes like black licorice. Then it was off to dinner. We had a great time. It is fun to share these places with our family.
On Tuesday, while Dave was at work, we packed up and headed to Albi. Even though the boys were just there, we had lots of fun. Due to construction, we had to park a ways from the cathedral. But we stumbled across a new museum. This museum follows the travels of a French explorer, Laperouse. He sailed all over, and meet his end at New Zeeland in Botany Bay. We had fun looking at all of the items that they recently pulled up from the shipwreck.
Then it was off to lunch. Wendy tried the French favorite, croq monsieur. We also enjoyed some hot chocolate after the meal. Of course.
The church was next on our list. We got there right as it opened after lunch and looked around for a while. Unfortunately, due to the death of the pope, only certain parts of the church were lit. The treasure and the choir stalls were closed. But Wendy was impressed by the beauty of the cathedral. She agreed that it is nearly impossible to describe the impressiveness of the building.
From there, we went through the Toulouse-Lautrec museum. This isn't a museum geared to kids, but ours did really well on their second trip through. We rented audio-guides and Michael loved searching for the numbers on the paintings. Then he would listen to the guide, even though I don't think he could understand any of it.
When we got home that night, we noticed that we no longer had any hot water. Oh No!! Another plumbing saga. How long would this take?
Wednesday morning we spent resting. Dave came home at 3:00 (after watching the A380 roll to the test hanger) to work from home. Wendy and I left and headed to the "center commercial." We sat outside in the sun and had "tea" before heading in to check out the grocery store. It is quite an experience. We looked at things for a while and Wendy picked up some surprises for people back home. After dropping off our treasures, the two of us headed to dinner. We went out for Chinese. You would think that it would be the same from country to country, wouldn't you? Nope. Our favorite things are nems. They are like spring rolls that you wrap in a leaf of lettuce with a sprig of mint. Yummy!! We had a lot of fun hanging out together, and finished off the night sharing a bottle of cidre with Dave at home.
On Thursday, the boys visited with the tutor. I dropped them off in between visits from the plumber. No hot water is an two day wait. Not bad. After he had left, I jumped into the shower before going to pick up Andrew. When I got out, we noticed water pouring out of the hot water heater! No shower for Wendy yet. After a few frantic phone calls, I left to pick up Dave and Andrew. In the meantime, the water heater healed itself and all was well. We quick grabbed a bite to eat and headed off to Auch, the home of D'Artagnan (the three musketeers). On the way, we stumbled across pieces of the A380, getting ready to squeeze through the town just north of Colomiers, on it's way to the assembly plant. Cool. Check out the size of the fuselage compared to the size of the truck towing it. (by the way, the website is up and running. Check us out at efurman.com)
When we got to Auch, we discovered that it was very crowded. There was a funeral going on in the church and a carnival in the park. There were people waiting in the parking lots on the off chance someone would come back to their car and leave a space. We drove around for a little while and then, after some fancy maneuvering on our part, parked on the curb, down the street from the church. All four wheels up on the sidewalk. When in France...
We explored the city and ended up back at the cathedral. Wendy took some really great pictures, while I entertained Michael. He is tired of sight-seeing. He kept saying "I hate this church." and "This music is giving me a headache." There were organ lessons going on so they did repeat a lot, but I thought it was very pretty.
On the way home, we passed by the A380 again. They were preparing to take it through town. They raise the wings up on an angle so they fit better down the skinny streets.
Friday morning, we had a special birthday breakfast for Wendy. Then we rested because we had a busy day ahead. Wendy and I dropped the boys off with Lisa Reich (after another really fancy parking job downtown) and went to downtown Toulouse for the afternoon. We had a great lunch in the sun on the terrace of a cute brasserie. Then we explored two different churches to compare different building styles. Then we decided to stop and have hot chocolate (of course) at a brasserie. After we ordered, the sky opened up and it POURED!! But by the time we were done, the sun was shinning again. On our way back to pick up the boys, we stopped at two different chocolateries to sample and purchase sweets for Wendy to bring home. In one of the shops (the first place that made chocolate in France) they sold hot chocolate. Well, I am not one to turn that down. So I ordered one. Wow. First, she took powdered cocao, mixed it with a little bit of liquid ginger. She stirred it for a while until Wendy said it looked like crude oil. The she took a piece of 92% cocao chocolate and broke it into pieces to add to the cup. After this was mixed well (this took up 3/4 of the cup), she added hot milk. This was awesome. I will be stopping there whenever I am in Toulouse!!
That night we headed off to the Cote de Boeuf. This is the restaurant where we go to feel cared for and known in Toulouse. Dave is always greeted with a handshake at the door. Now I am greeted as well. A handshake and a kiss!!! I knew they would take good care of Wendy on her birthday. And they did. We had a wonderful meal. Then, we not only got after dinner drinks (on the house), she left the bottle. And when she felt that we were not taking advantage of this, she refilled our cups! It's good to know people.
We slept in some on Saturday, so we got a late start. We decided to head north to visit the caves of Lascaux II. As we got underway, the skies turned very threatening. We considered turning around and heading south, but decided to chance it. After a downpour, the sun came out and the drive was very pretty. We stopped for lunch in Cahors, but first visited the devil's bridge. Apparently, to find the money to finish the bridge, the city leader's made a deal with the devil. In exchange for a finished bridge, the devil would get the soul of the first person who crossed the bridge. After it was finished, no one would cross, so the city sent a dog across. The devil was furious!! He caused the center tower to fall down. Each time the city rebuilt the tower, it fell down again. Finally, they built a small demon onto the tower. This seems to have appeased the devil, because the tower is still standing.
After visiting the bridge, we stopped at a cave (wine seller) to purchase a specific brand of cahors wine that we enjoyed but can't find in the store. How fun to be familiar enough with the wine to know where to find a certain kind. While we were in the store, it started snowing heavily. What is going on with the weather? By the time we left the store, the sun was shining again. Then we grabbed sandwiches to eat in the car and went on our way.
We visited Lascaux II again, while Dave and Michael took a walk. This tour guide told us some new things. He also turned off all of the lights and held up a lighter to the walls to show us how the paintings seem to move in the firelight. Very impressive.
Then it was off to the Parc Prehistoric. We had fun walking through the park in the sun, although it was quite cold. Because we were there so late in the day, the flint knapper had already left. Maybe he will be there when we return with my parents.
We started heading for home, but decided that since it was Wendy's last day, we should make one more stop. We decided to eat in Sarlat (where they taped EVER AFTER). We ate at a cozy brasserie, where Wendy had her first French pizza (without egg) and her last hot chocolate. It was very late when we finally got home, but we had a really good day.
Wendy left this morning and will be home late tonight. I think that she had a fun visit and that we didn't tire her out too much. I know that we enjoyed having her. We miss her and she was only here for a week. I hope that she can come again.
The Reich's came over for haircuts and pizza tonight. We had a good evening and sent the kids to bed early. They are worn out from a week of playing tourist and need to rest up before my parents arrive on Wednesday. Then we are planning a week long vacation starting Saturday. We hope to make it to Switzerland and maybe even Italy! We will keep you posted.
Until next week!
Amy