tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52339945325098534032024-03-06T04:43:18.309+11:00The road more travelledAfter the death of my husband, I realised my road is one we all travel. This blog is my story of travels on a journey we all share. My travels are literal, spiritual and emotional. I am curious and want to keep on learning. I love languages - I'm learning French and Arabic - and photography. Travel broadens my horizons and helps me see the world in a different light. Light and search are recurring themes in my journey to overcome fear and ignorance. A life lived in fear is a life half-lived.Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-26886805660736740752012-10-17T03:58:00.002+11:002012-10-18T21:43:12.874+11:00Ten days: dix jours<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ça fait déjà dix jours que je suis arrivée en France. J'écris ce blog en français comme mon prof à Canberra m'a demandé!<br />
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Quels dix jours fantastiques! Je me suis bien intégrée dans mon école. Chaque matin, je marche (ou prends le métro) de mon appartement Rue de la Paix à Rue Montmartre. J'ai rencontré d'autres étudiantes dans ma classe qui sont devenues des amies.<br />
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Je suis allée à l'opéra et à un concert de musique classique. En plus, j'ai rencontré des amies australiennes et j'ai visité de bonnes expositions. Je vais vous expliquer pourquoi une de ces expos m'a touché et m'a évoqué un sentiment de familiarité. Elle s'appelle ''Bohèmes - le roman de la liberté". Selon la conservatrice de cette expo <i>"les mythes forgés par ces mots (bohèmes, Bohémiens) font, en effet, partie de notre identité collective, de notre rapport à l'altérité, de nos imaginaires."</i><br />
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L'expo retrace l'histoire de la vie bohémienne de jadis jusqu'à de nos jours. Il y a un thème qui se répète dans toute l'expo: la route, le parcours, toujours l'idée du mouvement. Voici un poème de l'expo (par Saban Iliaz), qui j'ai trouvé très émouvant.<br />
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LA LONGUE ROUTE<br />
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<i>Nous avons pris une route dans la nuit</i><br />
<i>Sans savoir où elle pouvait mener</i><br />
<i>Laissant derrière nous un grand pays</i><br />
<i>Nous avons commencé notre parcours de peine.</i><br />
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<i>Nous nous sommes égarés sur des sentiers</i><br />
<i>Pourtant nos lourdes charges</i><br />
<i>Nous avons enterré nos morts le long de la route</i><br />
<i>Dans les fôrets nos pères ont vielli.</i><br />
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<i>Au milieu de l'endroit le plus sombre</i><br />
<i>Nous nous sommes posés pour souffler</i><br />
<i>Arrêtés pour reprendre les esprits</i><br />
<i>Assis là, nous nous sommes endormis.</i><br />
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<i>Ni pain à manger, ni eau à boire</i><br />
<i>Aucune croûte n'a touché nos lèvres</i><br />
<i>Au petit matin nous nous sommes relevés</i><br />
<i>Pour reprendre la longue route.</i><br />
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In English then to finish this post. Having taken the concept of journeys, of travel, of search as the theme for my blog, it was fascinating to see exactly the same theme repeated throughout the ages. For those who take to the road, it's not an easy decision, nor one taken lightly. It's not always about escaping from something horrible, but knowing that the easy way is not always the most meaningful.<br />
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I've always been attracted to the "romance" of the bohemian way of life. With a little more hindsight, there is certainly an allure, a fascination, an obsession with living somewhat outside the strict rules and disciplines of mainstream society. But romantic, soft and fluffy? Not really.<br />
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In closing, let me quote Vincent Van Gogh (pourquoi pas?) <i>". . . it always seems to me that I'm a traveller who's going somewhere and to a destination. If I say to myself, the somewhere, the destination does not exist at all, that seems well-argued and truthful to me." </i>Well said, Vincent.<br />
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<br />Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-84044318967245216652012-10-05T22:15:00.003+10:002012-10-05T22:46:20.734+10:00Picking myself up, dusting myself off<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just 24 hours until I fly out of Australia for France. Not Jordan as I've been planning for most of the year. Finally, I'm in a good place and looking forward to being in one of the most beautiful cities and countries in the world.<br />
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Flights, accommodation, French school are all booked. The domestic things are almost under control. I've changed my hair, well the colour at least. Isn't that what we do when things get tough?<br />
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Some time ago I read a fascinating book titled 'If you meet the buddha on the road, kill him!' Certainly a rather dramatic and provocative title that seems at odds with the peaceful nature of the buddhist religion.<br />
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Written by psychotherapist, Sheldon B Kopp, the book is about the spiritual journeys, the personal quests, the pilgrimages we make through life. It's about what drives us to make these journeys and what we seek: enlightenment, peace, joy, or something that we're not even sure about.<br />
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In every journey, there is a desire to do, to learn. And, the author explains, in our wishing to learn, we often confuse being taught, with learning. In doing so, we seek out helpers, healers, guides and teachers. We want to become their disciples, their students.<br />
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Kopp goes onto say that crises marked by anxiety, doubt and despair have always been those periods of personal unrest that occur at the times when we are sufficiently unsettled to have an opportunity for personal growth. In feeling uneasy, this is our chance to make a growth choice, rather than a fear choice. Nicely put.<br />
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But what about the buddha? Well, this is where the idea of the religious pilgrimages has its counterpoint in modern spiritual or personal growth journeys. Once one accepts that to learn means to let go of dependance on others to teach us; to recognise that our power comes from within, not from others; and that to be a grown-up, means not being a disciple or an acolyte - then we start to truly grow from within. Too often we seek out our modern pilgrimages, whether literal or metaphorical, from a starting point of pain and turmoil. How tempting to seek the support of a 'guru', a buddha if you like to 'make everything better again'. Someone to depend on, rather than taking personal responsibility. So, if you encounter such a buddha along the way . . . well, you know what you have to do.<br />
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Hopefully my physical and emotional journeys in the coming weeks will be 'buddha-free'. Not easy, perhaps difficult, often exhausting. Another beginning, and perhaps many more beginnings to come. Let me just get started.Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-21092913893053933532012-10-01T22:20:00.000+10:002012-10-01T22:25:25.907+10:00A change in plans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tonight I decided to change my travel plans. No longer will I be going to Jordan. For reasons I still can't quite fathom myself, and despite all of the things I wanted to do there, I've cancelled my visit. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but believe me it was.<br />
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I know I've made the right decision for me. But that doesn't explain why it's so damned hard and why I feel like a piece of me has been lost.<br />
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No doubt others are confused or hurt by my decision. I can only say I'm deeply sorry to have let you down at such short notice. But it would have been much, much worse to have kept going, feeling that I was doing the wrong thing by me.<br />
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Others, my friends, my family are more than supportive. They believe I've done the right thing. I will now rebuild my holiday plans. As one person said to me today "Who knows . . . there may be a good reason for this happening . . . something special is waiting for you out there . . ."</div>
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Now, that's worth believing in. And believing in myself. </div>
Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-18535637924339270212012-09-27T22:30:00.003+10:002012-09-27T22:35:47.573+10:00Parallel journeys: parallel lives<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">n just nine days from now I travel to Jordan (before heading on to France) where I will spend three weeks as a beginner student of Arabic. I'm really just starting to come to grips with the challenge I've set myself. Learning (yet) another language is something I've wanted to do for ages, and now that my French has reached a level of useful competence, the time is right.<br /><br />Or at least so I thought!<br /><br />While I’ve written for some time now about my real-world journeys and experiences, it was while talking to my Arabic teacher this afternoon that I was able to crystallise the parallel pathway I’ve been travelling for the last three years. From fear to—well maybe not fearless—but something approaching that.<br /><br />It’s not a question of multiple personality. Or unconnected journeys. But rather like a mirror that continually reflects from my physical travels to those of my psyche.<br /><br />In the 21st century, there is little we don’t know about our earth, the world we inhabit. Even if we haven’t been somewhere before, it’s so easy to follow the crowd, check into the next hip and happening place. You can even visit your destination in cyberspace—street view, live cam, travel ratings from like minded others—before you even leave the country.<br /><br />I’ve viewed my seat on the plane, checked out the local restaurants and street appeal of my accommodation. I know when and from where my trains go. I have apps on my mobile that will help me find fun and happening things to see and do. And of course, I have mobile maps to make sure I don’t get lost.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">And what this all adds up to is my ability to control my fear, to control the risk I see in travelling, usually alone, as a single woman. So I wonder if the real journey is still to come; the journey to the “centre of my mind” where fear and old reactions may still reside.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />Going to Jordan is making me confront those issues, for all sorts of reasons. Physically, I’m going to be well taken care of. It’s the other journey, the one we might call “growth”, that is proving so difficult to travel. Because only if there is the possibility of growth, a potential for new discoveries, new relationships, new connections, does life remain valuable. The moment one stops growing, one starts dying.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The point really has to be to recognise that the amount of time available is necessarily limited, accept it, and not let those limitations stop us from just getting out there and doing whatever it is that moves you. It’s about being responsible for your own life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There’s a word that I like to describe this inner journey. Mindsight. It’s used in psych to describe how we perceive our own mind and others. It’s a kind of focused way to help us see the internal workings of our own minds and to get off the autopilot of ingrained behaviors and habitual responses. It lets us “name and tame” the emotions we are experiencing, rather than being overwhelmed by them. So, I've named my fears. I have no doubt that like other real-word travels that I've done in the last three years, there will be moments in this trip that challenge me again and again.<br /><br />And when words desert me, I’m comforted that others before me have managed to condense these grand fears and hopes into heart-wrenching lines of beauty:<br /><br />Now let us sport us while we may,<br />And now, like amorous birds of prey,<br />Rather at once our time devour,<br />Than languish in his slow-chapped power.<br />Let us roll all our strength and all<br />Our sweetness up into one ball,<br />And tear our pleasure with rough strife<br />Through the iron gates of life;<br />Thus, though we cannot make our sun<br />Stand still, yet we will make him run.</span><br /><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Andrew Marvel, To His Coy Mistress</span></i><br /></div>
Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-70579191990459147992012-09-17T23:05:00.003+10:002012-09-17T23:10:10.182+10:00Every moment counts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Bucket lists are not for dreaming about - at least in my opinion. But the hardest things to find the time to do are those closest to home.<br />
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It was exactly this point I discussed with another visitor to Uluru while dining under the stars during our visit at Easter time. <br />
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A mining executive from Canada based in Perth for a few years, he and his wife are putting us Aussies to shame in getting to every corner of our amazing country.<br />
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The other mistake I've made in the past is to go somewhere amazing and then not make the most of every moment, whether from tiredness, or being careful with the budget, or just not taking the time to see what's on offer.<br />
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As I start working on my bucket list - whether adding to the amazing things and places I want to do and see, or ticking something off the existing list - I'm making sure I do everything I possibly can in the time available.<br />
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So, visit Uluru and Kata Tjuta and just lounge around the resort? No indeed. We take our eighty-something mother for her first ever helicopter ride. I think the look says it all. Priceless.<br />
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In just under three weeks' time I head off to Jordan and France. Three weeks in Jordan to see if I can get my mind around the complexities of the Arabic language. To learn and to discover another culture that we know so little about here in Australia.<br />
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Then three weeks in my home away from home - France - to celebrate a 'milestone' birthday. Of which, more, much more, in the coming weeks.<br />
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<br />Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-72869451956995744562011-10-29T04:26:00.000+11:002011-11-02T20:13:23.833+11:00Au revoir Paris<br />
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It's nearly three weeks since I arrived in France and suddenly - <i>tout d'un coup</i> - my stay is almost over. Seems like it was only yesterday that I was agonising over what to pack, what to do, where to go and just how much I could pack in. I feel like I've only just started to tick off the things on my "to do" list. Not even a dent, really.<br />
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Going to french school for an intensive exam preparation has been one of the most challenging things I've ever done while notionally on "holidays". Yesterday, my personal tutor Marie-Neige (who has drilled me in my exam preparation) suggested that next time I come to Paris (there is absolutely no consideration that I might only do this once!) I should just take lessons in the morning and <i>"profite"</i> from more interaction on the street each afternoon. She does have a point.<br />
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<i>Alors</i>, with that in mind, I decided to <i>profite bien </i>during my second to last afternoon today. Finishing school at just after mid-day, I decided to visit the <a href="http://catacombes.paris.fr/">Catacombes</a> on the other side of the city from where I'm staying. Imagine my surprise when I got there after 30+ minutes of travel only to find a queue that was conservatively 200 or more people long. In October! The capacity of the site is 200 people (approx) at a time, and the average visit duration is 45 minutes.</div>
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Rather than waste an hour of my precious time, I headed over to the <a href="http://www.marmottan.com/">Musée Marmottan Monet</a> in the 16th arrondissement. Now this one is a little gem. There was a small queue of less than 15 minutes and <i>toute de suite</i> I was in to the holy grail of impressionism and neo-impressionism. The Musée Marmottan has one of the most extensive collections of paintings by Monet, including the original painting <i>Impression: Soleil Levant </i>that gave rise to the name of the Impressionist movement.<br />
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There was also a brilliant temporary exhibition of paintings by Henri Edmond Cross and the neo-impressionist period from Seurat to Matisse. I've never been a huge Matisse fan, but I did like what they had on display here (so perhaps I like his earlier works?)<br />
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And to top off my Paris experiences today, I found myself coming home in the most packed metro carriage I've ever been in, barely room to breathe, never mind room to get in or out at your station. Although it's not exactly peak tourist season at the moment, there have been school holidays this week, so perhaps that's creating a bulge in visitor numbers.<br />
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As I write this, I'm sitting in my apartment, looking up to the dome of the Basilique Sacré-Coeur with the noise from Place dés Abbesses, its carousel, buskers and people buzzing around, washing through my open windows. Bells are also ringing out from the Église St Jean just a few doors down the road. The <i>boulangers</i> (bakers) must be the hardest working people in Paris. They open early, finish late and most of them seem to keep trading throughout the day, unlike most of the other shops that start a bit later and finish around 6-7 pm. <br />
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It's still daylight savings here, but that finishes this weekend. I suspect that late starts are a typical Gallic shrug to authority - OK you can have your daylight savings, but we'll start later and finish as we want.<br />
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The weather has been close to perfect: not hot, crisp nights - but nothing like winter in Canberra - and only 1 or 2 rainy days. <br />
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As I reflect on the last couple of weeks, I think my daily peregrinations to and from school probably say it all: I wake up and say good morning to Sacré-Coeur and the Eiffel Tower, then I wander down Rue Dés Abbesses and glance at the locals getting started on their <i>petit dejuener complet</i> in the myriad of cafes (and the occasional treat of a group of <i>pompiers</i> - firemen - out for a morning run). I turn left at Rue Lépic as the fish, cheese and fruit shops are sluicing down the pavements ready for a new day, say "hi" to Amélie's cafe - Le Café de Deux Moulins - just before I reach Place Blanche. </div>
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Crossing over I pick up my free daily newspapers outside the metro entrance (usually two or three to choose from - sort of a digested version of the main broadsheet newspapers) and then a take-away coffee from the local Starbucks. Oh I can hear the cries from here - you can't have Starbucks coffee in Paris!! Well I can, because it's the only place between my apartment and my school that does takeaways, and they do a pretty good job. Remember Paris is not exactly known for great coffee, and this works for me, so let it go!!</div>
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As I turn down Rue de Bruxelles I glance to the right and say <i>bon jour</i> to the Moulin Rouge, then head down Rue de Vintimille and finally Rue Ballu where my school is.</div>
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So now, after two incredibly short but intense weeks, it's time to say <i>au revoir</i> to my lovely mini-group of three (the others being Jean (Swiss) and Yuka (Japanese) and our gorgeous "prof" Isabelle. <i>Au revoir</i> to all of the team at <a href="http://www.elfe-paris.com/">ELFE</a> - you're the best!<br />
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And <i>au revoir</i> to Paris - you are a bewitching, seductive city and I will return. So perhaps instead of <i>au revoir</i> - I should instead simply say <i>à bientôt </i>or <i>à la prochaine</i>! See you next year, hopefully.</div>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-54531142506718735392011-10-22T18:12:00.000+11:002011-10-25T08:21:20.286+11:00Voulez vous diner avec moi, ce soir?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In a wonderful twist on the popular song from Baz Lurhman's movie, Moulin Rouge, an enterprising company in Paris, has set up a venture to help visitors to Paris have a more authentic and personalised dining experience.<br />
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Of course, like all things tourism in Paris, this could easily have been just another gimmick. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, I decided to register on the website <a href="http://www.voulezvousdiner.com/?">VoulezVousDiner.com</a> and see what turned up. Very soon after that, I received an email from Renaud Maigne, the website's founder, telling me he was very excited that I was the first Australian to register on his site. <br />
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<a href="http://hipparis.com/2011/09/22/social-eating-paris-best-private-dining-clubs-networks-and-foodie-groups/">Private dining clubs</a> and personalised eating experiences are not new to Paris, but according to Renaud, his site is the first to bring the experience to such a professional level.<br />
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And polished and professional this experience was - from start to finish. A few email exchanges later, and I'm booked to have dinner with Marc and Lyssa, just a short uphill stroll (or one metro stop) from my <a href="http://www.haveninparis.com/rental/abbesses.php">Montmartre apartment</a>. Shortly after, Marc sends me an email to see whether I have any dietary or culinary preferences (greatly appreciated - I'm wary of french experiences like tête de veau or offal!) and to give me details about entry to their apartment.<br />
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Curious, I check the location on Google Maps, and follow the route from the metro to the apartment entrance on streetview. Looks great and a charming area of Paris to be sure!<br />
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Seems like almost no time, I'm in France, in Paris, two days into my french lessons at <a href="http://www.elfe-paris.com/">ELFE</a> (more on this one later), and on my way to dinner.<br />
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Immediately on arrival, made even more atmospheric by having done the short walk from the metro station in the rain, I feel at home. Marc and Lyssa are an English-American couple who decided to make Paris their home some 14 years ago. The apartment was beautiful, spacious, a fire was lit, and not only was I made to feel extremely welcome by Marc and Lyssa, but Scruffy, a dog saved from a less-then-ideal existence in St Barts in the Caribbean also decided to adopt me for the evening.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><br /></span><br />
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Within minutes, we are all talking animatedly and finding out heaps about each other's backgrounds, interests, daily lives and common interests. <br />
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Shortly after, the company founder, Renaud, also turned up - so we are four for dinner this evening. Perfect. The conversation switches from English to French, and after a short time to shift the neural connections, I find, to my delight, that I'm able to keep up quite well. And contribute. Wow, and that was after only two days at french school!<br />
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Turns out Marc is a chef, who loves nothing more than playing out classic dishes in new ways. The menu for the evening was printed and on the table waiting. It could have been a dinner party menu from the 1970s, but presented in a totally modern and fresh way. Had I been presented with these dishes in a top restaurant anywhere in the world, I would not have been disappointed. To find such quality and creativity, together with the relaxed and happy atmosphere of a real home, was truly a Parian "trésor". Marc was also happy to pass on his culinary tips (especially about the "confit" technique he used to cook the coquelet, or baby chicken). He's promised me his recipes as well, so look forward to trying these out when I'm back home.<br />
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Lyssa is a stylist, having worked in the fashion industry for many years. I was privileged to take a peek at one of her wardrobes full of vintage clothing, some going back to the 1600s. By the end of the evening, we are giving each other advice on this and that - as you do with new best friends.<br />
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To my surprise, I checked my watch and it's already after midnight. I have to be at school by 9 am the next morning, so feeling like I was living in a Parisian fairy-tale, I did the Cinderella dash in order to catch the metro before they shut down for the night. Made it with a few minutes to spare, and great stories to share with my group the next morning.Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-46850762040753521882011-10-22T03:34:00.000+11:002011-10-22T17:11:25.933+11:00Verlan – French on the chopping block!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For those of us old enough to remember pig
Latin—and thinking ourselves clever to be able to talk in a secret code—France
has taken this concept and really run with it. Of course they have a more grown
up name for it—verlan—which is in itself a wonderful play on itself.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Let me explain: verlan is a form of argotic (slang)
French that consists of cutting up, inverting and re-assembling particular
words so that they make up a whole new set of words. This morning, I gave a
presentation on verlan to my group at French school and as our prof explained,
for students of French it’s important to understand verlan and how it works—so you
can recognise when it’s used rather than trying to incorporate it into your
active vocabulary!!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The word verlan itself demonstrates how verlan
works. In French, the word l’envers (meaning to invert) forms a new
“verlanised” word as follows: </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">l'envers... l'en vers... vers l'en... versl'en... verslen... verlen...
verlan.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">This is not a new concept. Although verlan itself
emerged relatively recently and gained popularity after the second world war,
the devices used to create verlan words have been around for many
centuries. The first certain use
of what linguists call “metathesis” occurred in 1690, when </span><span lang="EN-US">Antoine
Furetière, in his universal dictionary, defined the word verjus, saying “c'est
verjus ou jus vert , ca pour dire: c'est la même chose” (it’s verjus or jus
vert, that is to say, it’s the same thing). And for all of us who cook and
think verjus is a relatively recent invention, that puts that idea to rest as
well!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Since that time, many other examples of word
play appeared regularly in literature. Verlan usage developed particularly
after the second world war; initially it was used as a secret or code language
by works and immigrants in the Paris suburbs, so as to keep information from
certain “social control” organisations, such as the police. Since then its use
has spread more widely and rapidly across all stratas of society, because of its
use in music and in film.</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Verlan is less a language than a means of creating
new words to be used within a broader social context. Many verlan words were
about sex or drugs in keeping with their initial objective to keep
communication secret from others. Verlan is generally limited to one or two key
words per sentence, and verlan is usually mixed into a more general form of
french slang or argot.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Use of verlan will give away much about one’s
connections and social standing. It’s particularly used to identify with (or
exclude from) a particular group, especially the young in cities and the
suburbs. Verlan is not usually created “on the fly” as a consequence. It is the
capacity to use and understand verlan words and expressions that allows someone
to be identified as belonging to a particular social group.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Some verlan words have gained more widespread
awareness and use. A notable example is the word “beur” which derives from the
French word for Arab (arabe) to describe a french-born person of north African
descent. Beur has more recently taken a new verlan form (been re-verlanised) to
form a new word rebeu, which tends to be used to describe the second generation
of north African descendants.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The early 1990s saw the emergence of hip-hop, which
created a massive interest and usage of verlan, with widespread awareness
created through music and in film. A film titled “Les Ripoux” that came out in 1984, has forever cemented the verlan word ripou (from pourri, meaning rotten
or decaying) into mainstream french. A handy word to have when talking about politicians, police or other vulnerable professions!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For those with a smattering of french—here are some
relatively common examples of verlan to get you started.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Verlan word<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Original word (fr)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">English meaning<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">céfran</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">français<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">french<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">chanmé</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">méchant<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">nasty<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">chébran</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">branché<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">trendy, fashionable<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
cinepi <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
piscine<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">swimming
pool<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
deban <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
bande<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">gang<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">un
skeud <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">un
disque<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">disc, record<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">un
féca <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">un
café<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">café,
coffee<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 8;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">geudin</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">dingue</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">crazy</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 9;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">jourbon</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">bonjour</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">good day</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 10;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">kéblo</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">bloqué<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">barred<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 11;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">laisse
béton <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">laisse
tomber<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">let
something go (lit, fig)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">looc</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">cool<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">cool<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
meuf <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
femme<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">a
woman/wife<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">ouf</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">fou<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">crazy, mad<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
péclot <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
clope<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">fag,
cigarette (slang)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">les
rempa <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">les
parents<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">parents<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">un
reuf <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">un
frère<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">brother<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
reum <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
mère<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">mother<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 19;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">un
reup <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">un
père<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">father<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 20;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
reus <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
sœur<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">sister<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 21;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">ripou</span><span lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">pourri</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">rotten, decaying</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 22;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">la
siquemu / la sicmu<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">la
musique<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">music<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 23;">
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 133.0pt;" valign="top" width="133"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">un
sub<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 120.5pt;" valign="top" width="121"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">un
bus<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="142"><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">bus</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
teibou<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">une
bouteille<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">party<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">partir</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">to leave</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">tisor</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-66404579845706841592011-10-16T22:31:00.002+11:002011-10-25T08:20:26.198+11:00Stalking treesWe're going to the forest, says our photography tour leader, <a href="http://www.oceancaptureadventures.com/">Jonathan</a>. It's a bit bright for the water, so we'll try and get some nice dappled light - and let's just see what we can do with that.<br />
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OK, that sounds great. I love the greenery and lushness of a forest. So off we go, with trust and belief in our newfound skills as photographers. We are banned from saying things like "oh don't worry about that (insert photo problem as appropriate), we can just photoshop that out afterwards". According to Jonathan, Photoshop is a "thing" not a "verb". Okay - so we have to get it right in the camera, not trust to technology to fix up inherent laziness. Lesson learnt. Hopefully.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnuj0ki8Y00mfAxi2UXgpaAUmeYh3esGrIyiJCrCtUEFmiaoE8sY8SPpP3XTZfIJbxwfo3L3nOA-dcIkslhXPdAlww4Xrj9kvUDjCDWoBZBtjgI8KTFrsWX1b1lh7m-qCWU8qiboZlBQ/s1600/IMG_0766.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnuj0ki8Y00mfAxi2UXgpaAUmeYh3esGrIyiJCrCtUEFmiaoE8sY8SPpP3XTZfIJbxwfo3L3nOA-dcIkslhXPdAlww4Xrj9kvUDjCDWoBZBtjgI8KTFrsWX1b1lh7m-qCWU8qiboZlBQ/s400/IMG_0766.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
We arrive at the forest - a typical Landaise pine forest, with thick ferny undergrowth and a wide trail covered with leaf litter running through the middle. Immediately we are struck with the age-old problem of not being able to see the trees for the forest. Or photographically speaking, not being able to work out which of the hundreds of trees available should become the literal focus of our shots.</div>
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So a-stalking we went, tripods and cameras held high, wading through the thick undergrowth, hunting for the perfect light, the perfect angle, the most character-laden tree and the holy grail for photographers - something to spark up your shot and make it just that little bit magical.<br />
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Of course when you're searching for something you can't describe or measure objectively, you go round and round in ever-decreasing circles, with ever-increasing levels of frustration.</div>
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Just shoot something. Try something and then try it from a different angle. Deep into the ferns now, I fire off numerous shots. Lighting from behind, lighting from the side, shooting into the light (yes, it's OK to do that, even though we were taught not to a million years ago) - but still not finding that bit of magic.<br />
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Walking back to the van, I meet up with Jonathan who says "do me a favour and just shoot that stand of trees at the top of the pathway there - I think we could do a nice letter-box crop on this in our workshop time".</div>
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So obvious when the shot is pointed out! Here's how it turned out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR89s-y4fWAwYhDpbuyZJ1KAIa7_l-Wgek9F5yGbRmUVy0WbMlPEoUJ997rEHyrFJXZxK5bRZwa75HlG0hBxyLP4FNwhdOI10vDtaLbn8MGMPEMA7qeMtApNa0gEnqAnYWutvv8QvHIt8/s1600/IMG_0809-Edit-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR89s-y4fWAwYhDpbuyZJ1KAIa7_l-Wgek9F5yGbRmUVy0WbMlPEoUJ997rEHyrFJXZxK5bRZwa75HlG0hBxyLP4FNwhdOI10vDtaLbn8MGMPEMA7qeMtApNa0gEnqAnYWutvv8QvHIt8/s400/IMG_0809-Edit-Edit.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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And magic began to take shape by playing with the light.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHFBjxrvuE3i3TypOsg4JAQSyjoH6b3QcvziUQ6WePGvFSTsOgd2hZa6J-jK6dwZ4Dzyy08nwWDdm4hWZpzz9Uc_mUqoa3VSps90trpGYgxu16wA9Wg5muarw0yWbxmk7Jp39LL-5Kd4/s1600/IMG_0764-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLHFBjxrvuE3i3TypOsg4JAQSyjoH6b3QcvziUQ6WePGvFSTsOgd2hZa6J-jK6dwZ4Dzyy08nwWDdm4hWZpzz9Uc_mUqoa3VSps90trpGYgxu16wA9Wg5muarw0yWbxmk7Jp39LL-5Kd4/s320/IMG_0764-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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So with fresh eyes I turned to my earlier shots taken in the misty mornings by the lakes of Les Landes. And found one that looks very painterly when adjusted nicely.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIIu5FyLMUMksm-gFWthwNe-Jz5edj5OrK0gmqvqU3AK7zC7FrKS6KPC9fVH0ikYORUrzaQXIB3x05FaxnaDKUCzyH4DYdUocIp5aFXp6XACwU170m-z6JQ3IiUhkI8ozkLCBOTeANc8/s1600/IMG_0629-Edit-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIIu5FyLMUMksm-gFWthwNe-Jz5edj5OrK0gmqvqU3AK7zC7FrKS6KPC9fVH0ikYORUrzaQXIB3x05FaxnaDKUCzyH4DYdUocIp5aFXp6XACwU170m-z6JQ3IiUhkI8ozkLCBOTeANc8/s320/IMG_0629-Edit-Edit.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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I don't know whether I would have managed these shots on my own before. That's the great thing about being with others in a workshop situation. You learn to see the world a little differently, you see what is possible, rather than simply problems with the weather. Who would have thought fog, mist and dim light could deliver such magic!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIIu5FyLMUMksm-gFWthwNe-Jz5edj5OrK0gmqvqU3AK7zC7FrKS6KPC9fVH0ikYORUrzaQXIB3x05FaxnaDKUCzyH4DYdUocIp5aFXp6XACwU170m-z6JQ3IiUhkI8ozkLCBOTeANc8/s1600/IMG_0629-Edit-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-82874131253862077892011-10-12T00:30:00.004+11:002011-10-12T15:30:43.181+11:00Histograms, duct tape and dental floss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwNYlG6T4_gBkJ5KC4Zyma7W07AYvNiGZYwWykCtMa7-B64OZsJcktAOxvdHb6JC3yzrfKiRxIM37z-l0lHfygpuiUMgDmlWo6bmnFM-Rrgk6hZrF30gk3gEAOJEN2Mz-F1cOLU2jtus/s1600/Soustons+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirwNYlG6T4_gBkJ5KC4Zyma7W07AYvNiGZYwWykCtMa7-B64OZsJcktAOxvdHb6JC3yzrfKiRxIM37z-l0lHfygpuiUMgDmlWo6bmnFM-Rrgk6hZrF30gk3gEAOJEN2Mz-F1cOLU2jtus/s320/Soustons+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>What on earth do histograms, duct tape and dental floss have in common? Apart from anything else, all three came up in conversation with our photography tutor, <a href="http://www.jonathanchritchley.net/">Jonathan Chritchley</a>, at our first briefing in Soustons yesterday.<br />
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OK, let's start at the beginning! I love travel, I love France and I enjoy photography. So when I discovered you can combine all three loves in one place - I didn't hesitate. Courses selected, flights booked, and six months later, here I am in a part of France I've never been to, arriving late Sunday night at Dax railway station.<br />
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Less than 24 hours later, the two other participants in the course and I have gathered in the lounge of the stunning <a href="http://www.qsun.co.uk/">Domaine de Bellegarde</a> to talk to Jonathan and find out just what we'll be up to this week. I'm not good at early mornings - but seems you need to sacrifice some things to get the best light and the best atmosphere. Fortunately here on the south-west coast of France in October, early morning means 7.30, not 5.30. That's a relief. The forecast for this week is just fantastic - cool nights and warm, sunny days of 23-25 celsius. Even better, if there's no wind, we can expect lots of mist and fog over the areas close to the coast.<br />
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So, back to our first chat with Jonathan. Seems like we all have different gear and different experiences, but some common goals. We want to improve the way we see and photograph the world. We want to be able to communicate what we feel through our images.<br />
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But seeing something and being able to capture it are two very different things - and that's where the histograms come in. It's a funny little graph thing that you can call up on your camera and if you've got the exposure on your shot right (or at least good enough) then the histogram will basically tell you that. You just have to know where to find it and how to interpret it.<br />
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So that's our homework. Work out where and how you can find the histogram function on your camera and be ready to use it first thing in the morning.<br />
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And duct tape? The other woman in our group, Tiggy, is tough on her gear. She has already been on one of Jonathan's courses earlier this year, where she damaged her camera body. Wrapping it up in duct tape meant she could continue and finish the course - with virtually no impact on the images she shot during the rest of the course.<br />
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Of course, that tale lead to other helpful traveller hints. It seems in our security-conscious era when sharp objects are something of a no-no for air travel, that dental floss can also be a traveller's best friend. Cutting a tomato? Need to sew on a button? Dental floss is far more useful than its maker's original intention!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfRHtNEWDQtPKhIDAmXSdTl1tljI88xCaJuH0l5cJZuoa6rvqvvgjZoWRi-Mpe9xQQudK5TiokO-B5-yeX3sjTsR6UXHzaB_h1eewpfEbEcEWUtpOYgRYfnRX-3dOmMFAUiB_JisS_eU/s1600/IMG_0523.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfRHtNEWDQtPKhIDAmXSdTl1tljI88xCaJuH0l5cJZuoa6rvqvvgjZoWRi-Mpe9xQQudK5TiokO-B5-yeX3sjTsR6UXHzaB_h1eewpfEbEcEWUtpOYgRYfnRX-3dOmMFAUiB_JisS_eU/s320/IMG_0523.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
So two photo shoots down, and an editing session later this afternoon. Histograms are now my best friend. And I'll keep working on the rest.Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-9975582726834359292011-09-30T23:26:00.002+10:002011-10-12T01:01:00.906+11:00Planning for Paris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OfSqqFbuw128woZvr01DPjVPM98Xkaw38RsU9iiLDOhWzVzng6ikTi5Rzd3Ks6ByLI2XaePAvKIryW-8IA5jVl2p9xMpOYTVeWvtlKXXkE7ugfsMDRPqquJeSEeubUYT3X9diIOL1Lo/s1600/MC_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OfSqqFbuw128woZvr01DPjVPM98Xkaw38RsU9iiLDOhWzVzng6ikTi5Rzd3Ks6ByLI2XaePAvKIryW-8IA5jVl2p9xMpOYTVeWvtlKXXkE7ugfsMDRPqquJeSEeubUYT3X9diIOL1Lo/s400/MC_8.jpg" width="250" /></a></div>I have no idea where the last seven or eight weeks have gone, but with only a week to go before I leave for France, I'm trying to find some new things to do that aren't necessarily on the main tourist tracks.<br />
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Where to start? Well firstly there's my local district - or quartier - which is the 18th arrondissement. More commonly referred to as Montmartre, and home to much of the action in the hit movie Amelie.<br />
<br />
My home away from home, courtesy of <a href="http://www.haveninparis.com/">Haven in Paris</a>, is directly opposite the Abbesses metro station. Which prompts me to think about transport around the city for two weeks. If you have a smattering of french, check out the <a href="http://www.ratp.fr/">RATP</a> website for all things metro and public transport in Paris. You will lose a lot of the good stuff it you try the English version - you'll just get good old tourist details (which is fine, but not as good as the full version).<br />
<br />
Rather than buy the Paris Visit card, it appears I can get a Navigo Decouverte pass by the week. Most of the Navigo (stored value card) passes are only available to people living or working in Paris. But this one appears to be immediately available to anyone. And here's the best bit: a week's Navigo pass will cost you 33.40 euros for zones 1-5 (that includes all the way to Versailles); the best you can do with a Paris Visit card for the same zones is five days for 51.20 euros.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"> </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So, transport sorted, my <a href="http://www.elfe-paris.com/">french school</a> booked for an intensive five hours a day (what <b>was</b> I thinking when I booked that!), it's now allez! allez! to work out what to do with the rest of my time. </span><br />
<br />
Thirteen days, 312 hours in total! Allowing some for sleep, time booked at french school and I reckon I've got about 150 hours all up to really get to know Paris. And possibly squeeze in a weekend visit to Mont St-Michel on the west coast.<br />
<br />
I think it would be nigh on impossible to get bored in Paris. But imagine my excitement when I discovered that there will be a <a href="http://www.salon-du-chocolat.com/accueil.aspx">Salon du Chocolat</a> from 20-24 October. At 5 pm each day, there is a fashion spectacular where the models will be, yes, wearing chocolate creations. The show is a "link between those who grow cacao - and those who consume the end product, chocolate". OK, that's the diet in remission for at least one day.<br />
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Which brings me to another of Paris's grand traditions - la belle cuisine. So much choice, but where to start. Here's a couple of really good local/insider style websites to use for inspiration: <a href="http://www.lebestofparis.com/">Le Best of Paris </a>and <a href="http://hipparis.com/">Haven in Paris Blog.</a> This latter one is full of inspiring blogs such as "where to find good coffee in Paris". Not such a bad idea, because Paris while brilliant at many things is not known for its coffee culture.<br />
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So, bed, transport, school, food, coffee. Sorted. Now for some culture. And maybe some vicarious romance? After all it's the city of lights, the city of love. More to follow . . . !Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-88672591359825230812011-08-24T22:49:00.001+10:002011-09-22T20:15:12.494+10:00The "green thing"<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">OK - so this post isn't really about travel, but it does put a bit of perspective on my life's journey! </span>I received an email from a dear friend tonight, which got me thinking about how life has changed in so many ways, some good - and some are just changes that have crept up on us. Here's what her email said.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Checking out at the supermarket, the young cashier suggested to the older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The cashier responded, "That's the problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations."</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>She was right - our generation didn't have the "green thing" when we were young. Back then, we returned milk bottles, soft drink and beer bottles to the shop. The shop sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilised and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>But we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day. We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>But she was right. We didn't have the "green thing" in our day. Back then, we washed the baby's nappies because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts - wind and solar power really did dry our clothes back in our early days. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>But that young lady is right; we didn't have the "green thing" back in our day. Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house - not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?) not a screen the size of the state of SA. In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric gadgets to do everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used wadded up old newspapers to cushion it, not styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap; brown paper and string, not plastic padded envelopes. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn fuel just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>But she's right; we didn't have the "green thing" back then. We drank from a fountain (or even a hose) when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing pens with ink (does anyone remember ink monitors?) instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>But we didn't have the "green thing" back then. Back then, people took a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their mothers into a 24-hour taxi service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint. We used a telephone directory and a map. Or cooked at home.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>So to all you young ones out there - something to remember: don't make older people mad. We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to piss us off!</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">My friend then went on to tell me how her local tip (renamed a "resource centre") has been bought out by a private company, which has stopped making piles of old timber and potentially recyclable building materials being available to crafty, resourceful citizens. Now everything has to go into bins to be crushed and used as landfill. How sad. No more old timber recycled into quaint chook sheds or old windows being used as cold frames to raise seedlings in the cold climate where my friend lives. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-60363300733458381642011-03-17T23:49:00.006+11:002011-03-17T23:56:04.103+11:00Chasing the light in 2011<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Light was a recurring theme in my 2010 travels. Sadly I didn't get to see the Northern Lights, but I did have some amazing experiences in just three or four hours of daylight in Scandinavia.</span><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As an enthusiastic photographer, I also learnt a lot about using what light there is - and so I've decided to combine my two loves this year and do some photography workshops and courses in France! I've found a great outfit called <a href="http://www.oceancaptureadventures.com/">Ocean Capture Adventures</a>,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> based near Biarritz in the south-west. First up will be a three-day workshop in Soustons, 45 km north of Biarritz, then a three-day tour focusing (literally) on the stilt fishing huts of the Gironde. So that's the first week of my three week stay in France. More to follow. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And back to the Alliance Francaise next week with added motivation! </span></span></div>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-57482957177161107902010-12-27T14:58:00.000+11:002010-12-27T14:58:16.224+11:00Home at lastThere's something really comforting about being in your own home after such a long time! Lola and Charlie (my two dogs) looked out of the door in disbelief and wasted no time in checking out what I had in my luggage. Nothing of any great interest, but my clothes had some interesting "foreign" odours that occupied them for a few moments.<br />
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So, unpacked, a week of holiday left to recover before starting back at work. Probably time to start thinking about my next adventure!<br />
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More in the new year.Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-70094220861552098002010-12-22T22:05:00.003+11:002010-12-24T03:06:22.423+11:00Merry Christmas - wherever in the world!<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Christmas has special meaning for people in many corners of the world. While the heart of the season is the same wherever you might be, the way in which you celebrate depends on just where you happen to be. Here's just a flavour of some of the variations in the countries I’ve visited:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">God Jul or Gledelig Jul (Norway)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In Norway almost everyone has either a spruce or a pine tree in their living room - decorated with white lights, tinsel, Norwegian flags and other ornaments. Children make paper baskets of shiny, colored paper, which are filled with candy or nuts. Chains made of colored paper are also very popular. </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The Norwegian "nisse" differs from both Santa Claus and St. Nicholas. The name "nisse" probably derives from St. Nicholas. But "nisser" - which are elves (or gnomes) are old figures that existed before the birth of Christ. There are several types of "nisser" in Norway. The most known is the "fjøsnisse" who takes care of the animals on the farms. The fjøsnisse is very short and often bearded and lives in a barn or a stable. He wears clothes of wool and has a red knitted hat. The fjøsnisse often plays tricks on people. Sometimes he will scare people by blowing out the lights in the barn or he will scare the farm dog at night. He can become very friendly with the people who live on the farm, but one should never forget to give him a large portion of porridge on Christmas Eve.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">There is also a Christmas nisse (julenissen) who is similar to Santa Claus. The julenisse brings presents to all the nice children on Christmas Eve. He is not as shy as Santa, since the julenisse delivers the presents in person, rather than coming down the chimney in the middle of the night.</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">God Jul and (Och) Ett Gott Nytt År (Sweden)</span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In Sweden, Christmas begins with a Saint Lucia ceremony on 13th of December (I saw one of these at my hotel in Kiruna – very lovely!). Lucia was a Christian virgin who sacrificed herself for her devout faith in Christianity in the 4th century at Syracuse. The ceremony held in her honor is quite recent and is often associated with the traditional thanksgiving for the return of the sun. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On this day, the youngest daughter from each family puts on a white robe with a red sash before dawn and wears a crown of evergreens with tall-lighted candles attached to it. Then she wakes her parents accompanied by other children and followed by star boys in long white shirts, pointed hats and carrying star wands, and serves them with coffee and Lucia buns. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Christmas trees are set up in Sweden two days before Christmas and are decorated with candles, apples, straw ornaments Swedish flags and small gnomes wearing red tasseled caps. Christmas home decorations include red tulips and pepparkakor (gingerbread biscuits). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Christmas Eve is known as Julafton in Swedish. Traditional Christmas Eve dinner includes smorgasbord or a buffet may also be arranged featuring Julskinka or Christmas ham, pickled pigs feet, lutfisk or dried codfish and variety of sweets. A popular Christmas tradition is to serve risgryngrot, a rice porridge with a hidden almond. Whoever finds the almond is believed to marry in the coming year. After the festive Christmas Eve dinner, a friend or family member dresses up as Tomte or Christmas gnome who is believed to live under the floorboards of the house or barn and rides a straw goat known as julbok. Tomte has a white beard and red robes and carries a sack with gifts in it. He gives out the gifts and presents, often accompanied by funny rhymes hinting at the contents of the package. Previously, it was Julbok who gave out presents and then Tomte or Santa Claus came in. Today, Tomte and Julbok are no longer associated together, although a little brownie known as Jultomten, helps Santa Claus to give gifts to good children in Sweden. </span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hyvaa joulua (Finland)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Finnish people clean their homes well before Christmas and prepare special treats for the festive holiday season. Fir trees are cut and taken to homes by sleds on Christmas Eve and are decorated. A sheaf of grain, nuts and seeds are tied on a pole, which is placed in the garden for the birds to feed on. Only after the birds eat their dinner do the farmers partake of their Christmas dinner. Christmas dinner traditionally begins with the appearance of the first star in the sky (which at this time of the year isn’t so late in the day!). Candles are lit on the Christmas tree, which is decorated using apples and other fruits</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">, candies, paper flags, cotton and tinsel. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Just before the Christmas festivities begin, people visit the famous steam baths and dress up in clean clothes for the dinner. Christmas gifts may be exchanged before or after the dinner. Children do not hang up stockings in Finland but Santa visits the household with about half a dozen Christmas elves to help him distribute the presents. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The traditional main dish for Christmas dinner is boiled codfish (soaked for a week beforehand in a lye solution to soften it) served snowy white and fluffy, roast suckling pig or a roasted fresh ham and vegetables</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">. It is accompanied by allspice, boiled potatoes, and cream sauce. Children go to bed right after dinner while adults chat and drink coffee until about midnight. Christmas Day services begin early at six in the morning and people visit families and reunions are arranged on this day. Star boys tour the countryside singing Christmas songs and everybody wishes each other “hyvaa joulua” or “merry yule”.</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Joyeux Nöel (France)</span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In France, children leave their shoes by the fireplace on the Christmas Eve so that Père Nöel can fill them with gifts - and on Christmas morning, they usually find sweets, fruits, nuts and small toys for them hung on the tree. Puppets and plays conducted in cathedral squares re-enact the Nativity. Almost all French homes decorate their homes at Christmastime with a Nativity scene or crèche with little clay figures called 'santons' or 'little saints' which are made from moulds that have been passed down since the 17th century. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Figures of local dignitaries are often added to these Nativity scenes along with the Holy Family, shepherds and Magi. Christmas trees never became popular in France and the use of a Christmas “yule log” is also diminishing. However, there is a traditional yule log-shaped cake</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> called the “buche de noel”. Trust the french to bring chocolate into the decorations!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The main Christmas feast is quite grand and is known as “le reveillon”, served as a very late supper held after midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Different regions have different traditional menus. Goose is served as the main course in Alsace while turkey</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> with chestnuts is served in Burgundy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Parisians love oysters and pâte de foie gras. Other dishes include poultry, ham, salads, cakes, fruits and wine.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> In South France, people burn yule logs continuously from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day and once a part of this log was used to make the wedge for the plough as good luck omen and plenty of harvest in the coming year. After dinner, the family leaves the fire burning and food and drink on the table for Virgin Mary. In northern France, children get gifts on St. Nicholas' Day instead of Christmas Day while adults share presents on New Year's Day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">French families also bake a Three Kings Cake (galette de roi) with a bean hidden in it on the Twelfth Day. The lucky person to find the bean in their slice is crowned the king or queen for the day.</span></span><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Froehliche Weihnachten (Austria) </span></span></b><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In Austria, Christmas begins with the feast of St Nicholas or Heiliger Nikolaus on 6 December, when the saint and the devil ask the children about their good and bad deeds. Good children get sweets, toys, apples and nuts. Gifts under the tree are opened only after dinner on Christmas Eve. Brass musical instruments play chorale music while carol singers go from door</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> to door carrying blazing torches and a manger. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The famous carol </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Silent Night</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> was first sung in 1818 in the village church of Oberndorf and there is an interesting story attached to it: on Christmas Eve, the priest of the church found that organ was not working properly and its leather bellows were full of holes. So, the priest consulted the organist Franz Bauer and showed him a new Christmas hymn he had written. Franz was quick to compose a tune for the hymn that could be played on the guitar – and now is played all over the world!</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Traditional Austrian Christmas dinner includes baked carp, Christmas trees are put up on 24 December and are lit only when the Christ child comes and brings presents for the children. Tinkling bells announce his arrival and he is greeted by a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments, candies and just-lit candles while the family sings Christmas carols and exchange Christmas wishes.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For my new friends in Spain: feliz navidad; in Switzerland: take your pick of the German froehliche weihnachten or French joyeux nöel; and although Christmas is not widely celebrated in the middle east (other than commercially!), an Arabic greeting is idah saidan wa sanah jadidah! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
To all my English-speaking friends and family: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And <a href="http://www.newseum.org/yesvirginia/">yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus</a>!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Post script (23 December): </i>I forgot I was passing through Turkey - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Noeliniz kutlu olsun!</span></span></div>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-21442579870126579642010-12-22T09:23:00.001+11:002010-12-22T20:56:31.257+11:00The importance of a good "Plan B"Shortly before I left on my travels, I was involved in organising a business continuity exercise at work. Little did I realise at the time just how useful the skills I need for that type of work would be during my trip!<br />
<br />
On the first occasion, I was confronted with an immediate problem. My ship was not going to be calling into the port where I was (Svolvaer) because of weather problems. A couple of emails and phone calls later and "Plan B" was in place - an almost three hour taxi ride on dark, icy roads, through sleety weather, to reconnect with my ship in a harbour that wasn't facing the open seas. <br />
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The second problem hasn't actually happened yet. My plan B has been developed based on the likelihood of a problem arising. My original plan was to return to Australia from Oslo via Paris and Dubai. With the current weather problems in central and western Europe, and the ensuing transport chaos in the UK, France, Belgium and Germany - it simply wasn't possible to say whether my original flights would get through or not.<br />
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Yes, some flights are getting through Paris with some delays, while other flights are being cancelled. While weather problems can create havoc at any time of the year, the week before Christmas complicates the issue, because there is simply no spare capacity on the following days. Some airlines have been reportedly picking up displaced passengers and bumping those holding tickets for a flight that actually takes off.<br />
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While again it's impossible to accurately forecast the weather, when I stacked up what we do know: snow and continuing sub-zero temperatures are forecast until Christmas at least; infrastructure to deal with snow and ice is not as good in Paris and London as it is in Scandinavia, Russia or other areas where flight operations routinely take place in this sort of weather. And in some airports, supply of critical de-icing fluids has been compromised by road transport delays. Knock-on effects from the initial delays last weekend are expected to take until after Christmas to clear up.<br />
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It doesn't take a crystal ball to realise that travelling through Paris this week is going to be high risk. And more importantly, I actually don't <b><i>need</i></b> to be in Paris for any reason other than to connect with my flight home. So in a way, I would be needlessly contributing to the congestion problems if I stuck with my original flights.<br />
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So, a few more phone calls, emails and web research, and I've uncovered a very good alternative routing to Dubai via Istanbul. I have to cancel one flight, book one new flight from Oslo to Istanbul, and reroute my original Paris-Dubai-Sydney Emirates flight to Istanbul-Dubai-Sydney. Well, not personally. My travel agents have swung into action and made numerous phone calls and confirmed that my revised flight arrangements are now in place.<br />
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When I stopped to think about it, my willingness to get a Plan B (C, or D if necessary) in place bears some resemblance to working on a business continuity exercise: firstly, make sure you have the right people on your team and that they understand exactly what you want or need (importantly, know what you want as well). Be prepared to compromise. Don't blindly accept everything you're told, especially when it's an opinion rather than a hard fact. Get the facts or other backup for the advice you're given. Know what questions to ask, or failing that, just ask as many questions as you need to get the result you want.<br />
<br />
Prevention is better than a cure. Read, forecast, estimate (and in business continuity terms, assess the risk). If things look bad and are getting worse, don't just pray for an upswing when you need it. Know what you can control or change and what you can't - and have the wisdom or judgment to know the difference! If you see trouble ahead, try and navigate around it rather than just keep on going because you don't know what else to do.<br />
<br />
There's often more than one solution (in my case, Christmas in Oslo was a temporary Plan C, now abandoned). You may need to trade off something to get to the optimal solution - again in my case it was time, money and possibly some lost frequent flyer points. But in contrast to my goal of being home with family and friends for Christmas, this wasn't such a big compromise to make.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, business commentators on BBC World (my primary TV source here) have been saying that the current weather situation is not new to Europe and that quite a few lessons have been learnt from previous serious weather events here and particularly in the US. However, the learnings have mostly been applied to fixing problems as they arrive (how familiar does that sound), rather than forward prevention and planning. Of course we can't predict or control the weather, but airports and airlines could have had better contingency plans around de-icing fluid supplies, manpower, ice and snow clearing - and even more importantly, dealing with the human welfare and communication aspects of these situations.<br />
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The media has been brilliant at filling the gaps, and most airport websites have some information about the status of flights and delays, but there is no concerted, partnership effort to communicate and care for those caught up in the middle of the problem through no fault of their own. This is the area where considerable improvements need to be made by airlines and airport operators alike.<br />
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And the best thing about having Plan B in place, is that I can now relax and enjoy the last few hours of my holiday! Now that's the biggest bonus of all!!Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-88691105590228384312010-12-22T08:21:00.003+11:002010-12-22T08:27:19.731+11:00Hunting the lightWhen I arrived in Bergen after a week spent north of the arctic circle, I came back into true daylight, well at least for five hours or so a day - what luxury! As an Australian, I could only have imagined what almost continuous night-time would be like. I found the experience quite surreal. People not only get up and breakfast in the dark, but go about their work in the dark, kids are at school in the dark, and you start to think it must be dinner time at around three in the afternoon. Disconcerting to say the least.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So when I boarded one of the famed <a href="http://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/norway/">Hurtigruten</a> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">ships - mine was called, somewhat inappropriately, Midnatsol (midnight sun) - I was intrigued to find that their winter cruising season had been branded "Hunting the light".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">While this is a direct reference to the desire of guests to see the famed northern lights (or aurora borealis), I started to think more about the importance of light and its place in our sense of well-being. And in the middle of my first arctic winter, I really liked the notion of "hunting" for light and making the most of whatever light is available - or even creating a feeling of light.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In Scandinavia, there is no shortage of lighting in mid-winter! Every home is ablaze with Christmas lights in the windows (curtains are almost invariably left open, which of course makes you wonder about the cost of their energy bills). The extensive snow cover then magnifies, refracts and reflects any available light, giving it a sparkling, crystalline, fairy-garden appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Almost without exception, the main reason people travel so far north in mid-winter is to see the elusive northern lights. In my case, they lived up to their "tricky lady" reputation - and remained out-of-sight from me, despite this being one of the best years for the lights. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Auroras are seen more frequently when the sun is active - increased solar wind provides the energy needed to send particles hurtling towards the earth, where they are steered under the influence of the earth's magnetic field and interact with the atmosphere, giving off light in the process. While this process is not unique to the earth's poles, the weather conditions also need to be just right for the lights to be seen. So, as warned by all of the tourism operators, you can try all you like to hunt the lights, but you are totally at the mercy of mother nature! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So, all of this got me to thinking about the influence of light on our everyday lives, apart from the obvious advantage of providing us with the sense of sight! Photographers and artists use light to convey emotion and meaning. We talk about lightness of spirit, feeling light-hearted. We are enlightened when we have knowledge and education. We light candles for loved ones. A light in the darkness can be uplifting, welcoming - and make you feel safe and secure.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Hunting the light. I like it. It captures the feel of my travels - and I particularly like the idea of actively seeking and chasing the light, not just waiting passively for the light to find me.</span></span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3E4l8yUqdERWFq5V0MjVuo1tIul4XHgpU_1cjN2UEOBlJ9HVc3WdJasXSoqmhVA-QMlzxuuDl6ps6F-VdDyYh_jOhbdDZY96yVbwSi7eus-RJTI43ngYhgXfKsXzs8PkSttzBx9EQWIg/s1600/IMG_5510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3E4l8yUqdERWFq5V0MjVuo1tIul4XHgpU_1cjN2UEOBlJ9HVc3WdJasXSoqmhVA-QMlzxuuDl6ps6F-VdDyYh_jOhbdDZY96yVbwSi7eus-RJTI43ngYhgXfKsXzs8PkSttzBx9EQWIg/s400/IMG_5510.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Kristallwelten, Innsbruck, Austria</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-85983493435205402192010-12-15T09:40:00.001+11:002010-12-15T09:43:01.168+11:00I still call Australia home . . .There comes a moment in every journey where you start to feel - well let's admit it - a bit homesick. Mine came today. I expected today to be a bit of a challenge because of my travel arrangements: a two and a half hour train trip from Kiruna in far north Sweden to Narvik on the Norwegian coast. That was pretty straight forward and came with spectacular scenery, especially at the Norwegian end of the trip.<br />
<br />
I then had to transfer to the bus station in Narvik for a four hour bus trip to a town called Svolvaer in the Lofoten Islands - a string of islands in the north-west of the country - where I was booked into some gorgeous "character" accommodation fashioned out of old fishermen's cottages and similar historical buildings.<br />
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Here's what you don't get told in the glossy brochures and websites: firstly, people don't always give you good directions, especially when you take into account language differences. When told it was only "ten minutes to the bus station" in Narvik, I figured it would do me good to stretch my legs after a period of inactivity, and proceed to follow the tourism office's directions to "turn left" as I left the train station. After ten minutes, I check some landmarks against the map that I'd been given and realise that "turn left" actually means "turn right" - and head back in the correct direction. By this time, I've managed to confuse myself, and take another wrong turn (another 10-20 minutes gone), before I'm heading in the right direction. Eventually a kind young man asked me where I am going and guides me all the way to the bus stop - yep, hardly a station as we know them, but just an outdoor bus stop.<br />
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Secondly, the "cute, character" accommodation that looks fabulous on the website (and it may well be when I get to view it in daylight) is about as welcoming and sympathetic as the ice on the ground. Snow I can manage, ice is treacherous. Cute, character accommodation doesn't come with 24 hour reception. So checkin is done in the bar-restaurant area. Well, OK, that I can handle. But I realise that my room is in one of the cabins, scattered around the property and reached via said treacherous icy paths and roads. Not so good from my point of view, but having been told that it's straight out the door and two cabins over, I'm beginning to think I can cope.<br />
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I take my key and hoist my luggage - no offers of help are forthcoming - and head off to find my room. Well, I should have remembered point one: don't trust vague directions. I can't begin to find the room I've been allocated, I come close to slipping on the ice at least twice, and it's dark. So I head back to the bar/pub, walk in the door and promptly burst into tears.<br />
<br />
The snotty (male) manager basically ignores me, but another guardian angel in the form of the young girl serving behind the bar comes to my help. She moves heaven and earth to get things under control: I'm settled on a sofa with a coffee and she offers to help me and my luggage to my room. When I explain why I'm nervous about the ice, she promptly finds a room much closer and then actually helps with my luggage. Later she comes over with my breakfast supplies, then when I ask about the internet, goes back to the bar to retrieve a login code and password. What a sweetheart.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately for the <a href="http://www.anker-brygge.no/visartikkel.asp?art=279">Anker Brygge</a>, cute you may be, but you totally lost me with your careless attitude today. And made me remember just why I will always call Australia home!!Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-2796109722879552022010-12-13T09:38:00.002+11:002010-12-19T20:41:04.486+11:00How to make an ice hotel<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DZnfLrUJPLLTRBdrNXU0IeSJHqMfQhj5WakGA0bE9tc4ofCu0I9CYBGeG9j96RaJ8D42L0YyOELsOkYS4Pvprb_NjAomrsCZooYwaJHZDKeE7uTVYGxnNtG1WfJiq7DhH3xSq0-xHf8/s1600/IMG_6994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3DZnfLrUJPLLTRBdrNXU0IeSJHqMfQhj5WakGA0bE9tc4ofCu0I9CYBGeG9j96RaJ8D42L0YyOELsOkYS4Pvprb_NjAomrsCZooYwaJHZDKeE7uTVYGxnNtG1WfJiq7DhH3xSq0-xHf8/s200/IMG_6994.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice Hotel main hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>When you think about it, building a hotel out of ice and getting people to pay hundreds of euros a night to sleep on a bed of ice, in temperatures of around -5C, isn't something you would put at the top of your "great business ideas" list.<br />
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The Ice Hotel in the far north of Sweden has been operating now for 21 years - as a hotel actually made out of ice. How it came about and its early development is one of those fascinating stories about luck and opportunity - and determination to follow through on that opportunity when it arose.<br />
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For starters, outside of Sweden, who had ever heard of the tiny village of Jukkasjärvi? The village was popular for a few months in summer and a local hotel owner started to think - as all good tourism operators do - about ways to extend his product through to the colder months. The first idea was to mount an art exhibition in an igloo built from ice on the Torne River, which runs alongside of Jukkasjärvi. Needless to say, the river freezes over during winter.<br />
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In 1990, a group of hardy tourists was unable to find a room in the hotel, and asked whether it would be possible to stay in the igloo overnight - they became the first guests of the "Ice Hotel". And from such inauspicious beginnings, a major tourism phenomenon has developed.<br />
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The igloo built on the river was unfortunately unable to cater for the growing crowds of visitors and in subsequent years was moved to the land between the river and Jukkasjärvi. From a small construction of approximately 60 sq m in the first year, the hotel now occupies some 6000 sq m with dozens of hotel rooms, a main hall, an Ice Bar, in partnership with Absolut Vodka and a church (the Ice Hotel is very popular for weddings, especially for Scottish couples for some reason).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzN_PEfBWf4IkCdWp5zN6cBgXfXG10086-hLwux7d4STK_uqrU5ClcgMJVIsBiUOD7olrIOpyg1g3ZoKlBBLyI1FlLvLS1fwwonFynWCR_wZDWBBuvE9vnXSyHR4lP5A3Q7o6bOYflAr4/s1600/IMG_6993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzN_PEfBWf4IkCdWp5zN6cBgXfXG10086-hLwux7d4STK_uqrU5ClcgMJVIsBiUOD7olrIOpyg1g3ZoKlBBLyI1FlLvLS1fwwonFynWCR_wZDWBBuvE9vnXSyHR4lP5A3Q7o6bOYflAr4/s200/IMG_6993.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Snice" moulding on wall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The hotel is built anew every year, with ice harvested from the Torne River at the end of the previous winter and a composite material called "snice" - as the name suggests something that is in between snow and ice.<br />
<br />
There's quite an art to the cultivation of ice with the clarity and purity that is needed for the ice hotel - and here's where Jukkasjärvi's position next to the Torne River becomes its competitive advantage. The water in the Torne is clear and well oxygenated, and it flows at the right speed needed for ice to form and grow in spectacular, crystal clear sheets.<br />
<br />
Construction generally takes place between October and December each year, with full operations ramping up from mid-December onwards. Day-trippers are welcome during the construction phase, and depending on the weather (temperature), overnight guests can sleep in "cold" accommodation from mid-December onwards.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi39yuqjpQGSolnByqXdXoDkiKB7_UBY3gj6JTMEBjgvTHfxj0-r1eeaqwY4_UfSW6c70PfSDMB4VSMVkyS-fWDRiFGSJ44HUJzaRXODzso9gMQPgfaIdnmsmb0qUzCLHezBuxqknvgRQ/s1600/IMG_6999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi39yuqjpQGSolnByqXdXoDkiKB7_UBY3gj6JTMEBjgvTHfxj0-r1eeaqwY4_UfSW6c70PfSDMB4VSMVkyS-fWDRiFGSJ44HUJzaRXODzso9gMQPgfaIdnmsmb0qUzCLHezBuxqknvgRQ/s200/IMG_6999.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The basic "snow room"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>There are three levels of accommodation: a basic snow room, an ice room and and an ice "art suite". The art suites are individually designed following the competitive selection process mentioned earlier.<br />
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Successful designers win the right to come and work 12 hour days for two to three weeks to personally construct their winning design.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwsHvdXijQ0Y5-pP81SAeegqX9owK-AglJPZDz9nP3Knk7Eiihyphenhyphen2xK42REQ3fXRyo36M5XKeu_A3wYra9WMe7XG5xZI1W-SJhYCnahe4sEB0s6t7WqCft3yFy6uPYfIeibYdrTHfNMDr0/s1600/IMG_6996.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwsHvdXijQ0Y5-pP81SAeegqX9owK-AglJPZDz9nP3Knk7Eiihyphenhyphen2xK42REQ3fXRyo36M5XKeu_A3wYra9WMe7XG5xZI1W-SJhYCnahe4sEB0s6t7WqCft3yFy6uPYfIeibYdrTHfNMDr0/s200/IMG_6996.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The standard "ice room"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>From its early history arising from an art exhibition on a river, the river is now used to create art that can be experienced in a most intense way!<br />
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According to my charming guide - who kindly turned his 4 pm Swedish language guided tour into an English language tour as I was the only one in the group - the construction of the ice hotel is a year-round operation.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRjhceLVK8cEDbw3eHHn-ay6AquunLZeDRb3uqVaCJZW1tl6umWxJcLKw_RbRGUJrFhbCsqJe4-xjW_t1Q7TQj4kbxa0d1w9_8mYVz0nYmLquw7_oHvOkTu-np9UirIEJg8Bx-VSxttM/s1600/IMG_6972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHRjhceLVK8cEDbw3eHHn-ay6AquunLZeDRb3uqVaCJZW1tl6umWxJcLKw_RbRGUJrFhbCsqJe4-xjW_t1Q7TQj4kbxa0d1w9_8mYVz0nYmLquw7_oHvOkTu-np9UirIEJg8Bx-VSxttM/s200/IMG_6972.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice "art suite" - one of a kind</td></tr>
</tbody></table>While the construction takes place at the start of winter, the raw material (the ice) is grown and harvested during the winter, then harvested and stored close to the hotel site, ready for use in the following season. The reason for this is that the ice hasn't grown thick enough to form the supporting pillars and other structural elements of the hotel at the start of winter - so the ice in this year's hotel was grown and harvested in March-April this year!<br />
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So just how do you sleep on a bed of ice, in sub-zero temperatures? The thing is to have exactly the right amount of clothing. Basically a couple of good thermal underlayers inside of a high quality down sleeping bag is what's required. If you try and get into the sleeping bag with too much clothing, you will paradoxically be colder than if you take off your cold outer clothing and get into the sleeping bag with your warm inner layers on.<br />
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Children are not encouraged at the Ice Hotel - not because they will damage the furnishings or make too much noise - but can you imagine having to get up in the middle of the night to take little ones to the toilet? None of the rooms has an ensuite!!<br />
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And for somewhere uber-cool to chill out in the evening, of course there's the Ice Bar. Cheers!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-50515693185326477252010-12-13T07:54:00.001+11:002010-12-13T07:56:03.526+11:00The plus side of winter tourismTravelling above the arctic circle in December? You have to be slightly mad to even consider doing so, but having now had a couple of weeks to acclimatise to the northern hemisphere winter (and one that has come earlier and colder than usual) I've also had time to consider some of the benefits of winter tourism.<br />
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Here's a short list:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbTL3l2IQ3SNsc2enJhi93VA72vD_Y11M9gnfra46Oi4fkTQb4gOqeCXjTZNvW_mL4e_Fc4c5nWsbz8hraPBrQCTf_noHsIb_AGq79JNmNHie1QRjEdxF2M9OzawSFRc6DLYT5tLaDtY/s1600/IMG_6964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbTL3l2IQ3SNsc2enJhi93VA72vD_Y11M9gnfra46Oi4fkTQb4gOqeCXjTZNvW_mL4e_Fc4c5nWsbz8hraPBrQCTf_noHsIb_AGq79JNmNHie1QRjEdxF2M9OzawSFRc6DLYT5tLaDtY/s200/IMG_6964.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting to know my dog team</td></tr>
</tbody></table><ul><li>you get to sleep in - or at least have a good excuse for doing so, when the sun rises at around 10.30 am and sets at around 1-1.30 pm - and in between it's sort of like a continuous twilight!</li>
<li>sightseeing can generally be done indoors (at least in the major cities) - museums, galleries, shops and cafes</li>
<li>in the snow, everything looks like the Christmas of my childhood fairy tales and Christmas cards. You can almost hear Bing Crosby crooning "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas . . ." as you travel around the snowy landscapes.</li>
<li>you don't get the huge crowds that you do in mid-summer (with the minor exception of Christmas shoppers)</li>
<li>the Christmas lights make up for the lack of daylight - and are, if anything, enhanced by the snow which serves as a great reflector!</li>
<li>you can eat more - after all, you burn up calories to stay warm, right?</li>
<li>the northern lights are only visible in winter - but the tricky lady has yet to appear (at least where I am - there are reports of faint lights only at the moment here in Kiruna - and only outside the town).</li>
<li>you get to do fun things like dog-sledding, snow-mobiling - and eating reindeer stew at every second meal!</li>
</ul><div>Of course, there are a few challenges - it's hard to really say what's an average temperature here, because it really depends where you are and what you're doing. In the town, it's somewhere between -5 and -10C most of the day. In the wilderness areas, it's much colder, especially on the frozen lakes and rivers, which are around -25C or even colder at night. </div><div><br />
</div><div>A typical day here starts with layers. First the underwear layer, then a thermal layer, then a light woollen top and trousers, at least two pairs of socks and a pullover or jacket. And that's just to go to breakfast!</div><div><br />
</div><div>For outdoor activities, I've been supplied by the local tour guide company with heavy duty overalls, boots, hat and gloves. And the operative word is "heavy" - my kit must weigh at least 7 or 8 kg, with around half of this being in the boots, which have the look of steel-capped boots, but made of some sort of synthetic rubber type of compound.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Needless to say, you don't move very fast in this sort of outfit, but you are very stable and protected. </div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Y3G1YggdHt3pkkBZnuifQ2k_P_yYGv-EgHdDSLkmtc0Uy_a4sP6JUT1QKC2SeNs2gtWdnMkOOTdGIuFX7zoQDcSKsc4FV_OxoBrEFi8Z6G3lLR4isI8HYyYa1dMXOlUauGZEN_UQ1uU/s1600/IMG_6953.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Y3G1YggdHt3pkkBZnuifQ2k_P_yYGv-EgHdDSLkmtc0Uy_a4sP6JUT1QKC2SeNs2gtWdnMkOOTdGIuFX7zoQDcSKsc4FV_OxoBrEFi8Z6G3lLR4isI8HYyYa1dMXOlUauGZEN_UQ1uU/s320/IMG_6953.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowmobile night - dinner in uninsulated hut!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-19509594694319323902010-12-10T19:56:00.007+11:002010-12-11T01:46:51.291+11:00Breathing the music8 December 2010: the Nobel Prize Concert, Stockholm Concert Hall. The Nobel Prize Concert is held every year on 8 December, two days ahead of the actual prize-giving ceremony. The concert has a reputation for attracting some fabulous music talent - such as Yo-Yo Ma and Renee Fleming - and this year was no exception.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYeyRcdQBmazX8JH1VnTlqFJdERVtLpUA7DGUO0jH4ouHLls0FQjdvQ4REGC-OjKHOYJQX6Yd8FjfrAMeNek4G64a9BB2ozDDTzkmywLj_UsVA1ldehO-R_rIYlnN89HmXsqPShg59mjA/s1600/joshuabell_stage_concert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYeyRcdQBmazX8JH1VnTlqFJdERVtLpUA7DGUO0jH4ouHLls0FQjdvQ4REGC-OjKHOYJQX6Yd8FjfrAMeNek4G64a9BB2ozDDTzkmywLj_UsVA1ldehO-R_rIYlnN89HmXsqPShg59mjA/s200/joshuabell_stage_concert.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>The soloist was Joshua Bell, touted as "a young, brilliant and world famous violinist". According to his bio, he's 43, but when he comes on stage he looks more Gen Y than Gen X. The first thing you notice is that he's dressed more casually (shirt over his trousers) than the rest of the orchestra.<br />
<br />
The next thing you notice is how he approaches his performance.<br />
As he arrives on stage, he is quite a showman - acknowledging the applause, the conductor and the leader of the orchestra. But then, as the orchestra starts to play, Joshua appears to physically lean into the music and start to "breathe" it in, to become immersed in the music - before he starts his performance.<br />
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And what a performance! Of course the Stradivarius he plays is a fabulous instrument, but in the hands of Joshua Bell, this is a spellbinding, dramatic, totally compelling <i>experience</i>. And I think this is the <i>mot juste</i> - you don't just go to listen to Joshua Bell, you go to experience him. Here is a link to a short excerpt from <a href="http://nobelprize.org/nobel_organizations/nobelmedia/concert/2010/">Joshua Bell's performance </a> on Wednesday. Joshua is playing the last movement of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major - which appears to be a fiendishly difficult and challenging concerto.<br />
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Notice also the fabulous conductor and how he interacts with his orchestra and soloist. Sakari Oramo is Finnish by birth and started his musical career there. Like Joshua, he is still relatively young in the music world at 45 years of age. He has only recently returned to Scandinavia to take up the position of chief conductor and artistic advisor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (as well as maintaining a longer term role as chief conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra) - following a 10-year stint at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which catapulted him onto the wider international scene.<br />
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Sakari's performance is also mesmerising. His energy is immense, without being overwhelming. He is, like Joshua, enmeshed in the music, without ever losing his sense of leadership and orchestral management. And he leads a performance with great artistic and creative flair, a sense that is manifested more commercially when you discover he has recently brought the RSPO to world respect with a new recording of the complete Schumann Symphonies - a recording that has brought acclaim such as "their live recording combines youthful and strong energy with elastic ease". That sums it up beautifully for me.<br />
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Back to Joshua briefly: of all the concerts he has given (and he performs a heroic number each year, around 200 or so!) the one that gained him greatest global renown took place one frosty morning in January 2007 at a subway station in Washington, where he played six pieces by JS Bach in 45 minutes. Six people stopped to listen; 20 people walked past and tossed him a coin or two without stopping, earning him a total of $32. When Joshua stopped playing, no one reacted, no one applauded. No one realised that the busker in front of them was one of the world's most virtuoso violinists, playing an instrument worth $3.5 million and who, just two days before, had played to a packed concert hall where tickets cost $100 a piece!<br />
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This unusual performance was a social experiment set up by the Washington Post: can we recognise talent in an unexpected milieu, and if not, how many other great experiences do we miss? A lesson for us all to ponder, I suspect.Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-38941165352754228032010-12-06T00:43:00.001+11:002010-12-06T00:44:50.797+11:00Winter wonderlandI can't help it - I love the idea of Christmas being in the depths of winter. Being an aussie, that's really, really unrealistic, but guess my generation was somewhat brainwashed by our very British heritage and upbringing.<br />
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So, when I flew out of Paris for Helsinki yesterday, it was quite an experience. The first piece of fun was being told that our flight would be at least (another) 20-30 minutes late while we underwent "anti-icing". This is not like the de-icing that takes place on planes parked overnight at Canberra. This is a full-on prevention operation just before the planes hit the runway for takeoff under the conditions that prevailed yesterday.<br />
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There are guys sitting in cherry-pickers (enclosed and heated, judging by the fact that one of our operators was wearing thongs) on top of remote controlled trucks that swing into action as your plane pulls up. Then the entire plane (emphasis on the wings) is sprayed with in a two-step process - and having an inherited interest in all things airports, I had to check out the <a href="http://www.icao.int/anb/FLS/flsicing.html">requirements</a>! Followed by the specifics that are in place in <a href="http://www.icao.int/anb/fls/aea_deicing_v23.pdf">Europe</a>!!<br />
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So it's OK to fly in snowy weather, right? I mean it's just like flying in the rain, but the rain has set into snow crystals. Despite having a science background, I suffer from internal mental conflict between the rational part of my brain that understands <a href="http://library.thinkquest.org/2819/bernoull.htm">Bernoulli's principle</a> - and the emotional part that sees a plane as having more in common with an apartment block than a bird! And I <b>know</b> just how much my own luggage weighed, and multiplied by the 200 passengers on board, I can't begin to comprehend why the plane will even move, let alone become airborne.<br />
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But, airborne we became. And the child in me took over. I can't remember ever before having flown out of an airport covered in snow, but it was so beautiful. Grey and white, and limited visibility to be sure - but just like Santa's distribution hub.<br />
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Then 10 minutes later we were above the weather and flying for more than two hours in clear blue, sunny skies. And then back to earth, only an hour late, in Helsinki, where at 3.30 pm the daylight had almost disappeared. By the time I reached my hotel (the fabulous <a href="http://www.hotelkamp.com/">Hotel Kamp</a> in old Helsinki) it was dark, but the snow and the Christmas lights made my heart beat just a little faster. It feels like you really are close to Santa in this part of the world (and of course you are. The Finns claim to own the home of Santa Claus - rather than it being at the north pole!)<br />
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Today I've walked and taken trams around the city, drunk fabulous mulled wine, and just revelled in being in a snow-covered city for the first time in my life. My only regret is that I will miss the start of the Christmas markets just over the road from my hotel.<br />
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Tomorrow is <a href="http://www.finnguide.fi/calendar/publicbankinfo.asp?month=12&p=79">Helsinki's national day</a>. It's an official flag-raising day and apparently much loved by the Finns, who light two candles in their homes to honour the day. Kippis!Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-28228384268947930522010-11-27T05:04:00.003+11:002010-11-27T08:53:04.274+11:00Ceci et cela - this and that!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
Because it's been a little while since I've been inspired to write a full blog - here are some extracts from my Facebook posts over the last couple of weeks.<br />
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<b>Friday (26.11):</b><br />
<ul><li><i>“Il neigait quand je suis arrivee a Lyon! It was snowing when I arrived in Lyon!!”</i></li>
</ul><div>(Lyon is my last big adventure in France for this trip. As well as checking out the traboules of the Croix Rousse - the old tunnels used by the silk workers hundreds of years ago - I hope to catch up with a friend from Montpellier who’s visiting her son here this weekend. Quelle chance!)<br />
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<b>Wednesday (24.11)</b><br />
<ul><li>Posted new photos of Montpellier at night and said <i>"Not only snow forecast, but the Christmas lights are up, there's a festival of the vines this weekend - and to top off my night, found the cutest little restaurant that I'd be happy to take girlfriends too again!!"</i></li>
<li>Earlier that night <i>"Susan est etonné par the prévu météo pour ce weekend – il fera neige!! Oui, ici a Montpellier!! (Susan is surprised to see that snow is forecast here in Montpellier this weekend. We are on the Mediterranean!!</i></li>
</ul>(For the record, the forecast has changed since Wednesday - it's just going to be cold instead! And the restaurant is called L'acolyte.)<br />
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<div><b>Sunday (21.11)</b><br />
<ul><li>Posted photos of the Cite Mediaeval at Carcassonne, which is about halfway between Montpellier and Toulouse and noted <i>“Dame Carcas was one hell of a PR practitioner - way back in the middle ages!! Legend has it she defeated a siege by tossing a pig stuffed with grain over the ramparts. The surrounding army took this as a sign that the inhabitants had enough food to withstand the seige and decamped!! Great thinking!!"</i></li>
</ul></div><div><b><br />
</b></div><div><b>Saturday (20.11)</b><br />
<ul><li>After arriving in Carcassonne, courtesy of friends living in Montouliers, near Bèziers (and if anyone is looking for a fabulous rural gite in the south of France, do check out <a href="http://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_1633698269"></span>6 Place Aux Herbes</a> in the charming town of Bize-Minervois - I can personally recommend this for value and location!!) <i>“OMG - died and gone to heaven - dinner at La Barbacane in Carcassonne. Even the mint tea was made from fresh mint leaves. Don't want to know about my credit card any more :-)”</i> and</li>
<li><i>“is cocooned inside the old city of Carcassonne in 5* luxury. Oh bliss!!!"</i></li>
</ul>(For the record – the hotel was the <a href="http://www.hoteldelacite.com/">Hotel de la Cite</a>).<br />
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<b>Friday (19.11)</b><br />
<ul><li><i>“can't believe her holiday is officially halfway over (or to be more positive - I still have half my holiday to look forward to!!!!!!!)”</i></li>
</ul>(And that goes double today, a week later, but less holiday remaining. Watched a <a href="http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap101124.html">timelapse video</a> of the aurora borealis this evening – things are looking good for a spectacular season for the northern lights).</div><div><br />
</div><div>. . . and on a similar note . . .<br />
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<b>Wednesday (17.11)</b><br />
<ul><li><i>“The<a href="http://www.icehotel.com/"> Ice Hotel</a> in Sweden is already open for business this winter - I will visit (but not stay) here in three weeks' time! It's an amazing construction and design feat each year."</i></li>
</ul></div><div><br />
</div><div>Looking back over the last 14 days, I can add the following:</div><div><ul><li>I’ve attended french school for 44 lessons (45 minutes each lesson) and that includes four 1 on 1 lessons, where you just can't hide!</li>
<li>Had at least two long conversations in french with native french speakers and fellow students</li>
<li>I’m now good friends with the man and his wife who make my coffee each morning (of course!)</li>
<li>I’m no longer fearful of ordering taxis, meals, train tickets, and heaps of other day to day activities – but I will do anything to avoid a phone conversation in french with someone I don’t know!</li>
<li>I've started reading Le Petit Prince in french. And loving it!</li>
</ul>All in all, a good couple of weeks. I love getting comments on my posts - so don't be shy, post away!!</div></div>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-57103073436946816562010-11-17T05:10:00.000+11:002010-11-17T05:10:56.307+11:00Finding my way - linguistically - in FranceA couple of weeks ago, my friend Erin picked my mum and me up from our Paris hotel to spend the day with her in Versailles. It was a splendid coincidence that we were talking about how to make ourselves understood by native french speakers, when we were stopped by a minor traffic accident in front of us.<br />
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After some thought and with horns blaring behind us, the drivers immediately in front of us carefully edged their way onto the footpath, behind a removal van and back onto the road ahead of the accident. At about this time, Erin was telling us a story about how she needed to make herself understood - so that she could work out whether to move her car out of the way of another vehicle. After several attempts to say "is my car in the way?" in French, she sidetracked and said instead "would you like me to move my car?"<br />
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The symbolism of this story combined with our manouevres to get round the traffic accident has stayed with me these last couple of weeks as I try to come to grips with speaking French for most of the day. I start out to ask for something, or tell a story as I would in English. And then I have to stop - and find my way around the "traffic accident" that is about to occur with my current skill level!<br />
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So lesson 1 in learning French: if you have some vocabulary and some grammar, just keep working with what you've got and find a way to express yourself. Don't be afraid to have a go. This works really well in Montpellier, where the locals are very patient with students such as myself. They don't rush you (as the Parisians do) and they don't try and second guess you (as the Parisians are also wont to do!)<br />
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I'm in a different class this week - there are students from England, Spain, Italy and Switzerland (Suisse-Allemande), whereas last week, most of the students in my class were English-speaking. The teachers here like having a mixed class, because it promotes the use of French between students during breaks and socially. Mondays are tough - especially if you've spent the weekend with English-speaking companions - it takes an hour or so for the brain to reset into "I'm speaking french" mode again.<br />
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Another thing that occurs to me as I eavesdrop conversations on the tram or train these days (and yes I'm getting better at it!) - is that it doesn't really matter if I know the words or sentence construction or not, if I'm missing the context, the history or the culture, then I'm really not going to be able to understand what is said.<br />
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Alors - lesson number 2: don't just learn the language, get out and about and try and work out what makes people tick in the particular city or region. For example, on a tram yesterday, I sat opposite a man wearing a baseball cap with the words "Diable Rouges" on it. That would have meant nothing to me a couple of weeks ago, but yesterday, I was able to place this man as a rugby (league) fan. Diable Rouges is the name of Montpellier's league team!! Of course, you can read Wikipedia or a travel guide, but the most useful things are to read the local papers, watch local TV, or just talk to the locals (as best one can).<br />
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And for today's post, the final tip is to stop people trying to practise their English with you!! As Erin said - and I paraphrase - "For goodness sake, we're in France, we're supposed to practise our French, not their English!" So even if people try to help me out, I generally respond "J'essaie en francais, ca va?"<br />
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Oh - and if you want to learn to speak french in France - the school I'm at (<a href="http://www.ila-france.com/">Institute Linguistique Adenet</a>) is good - and there are options in many other cities as well. Check out the website of the <a href="http://www.ialc.org/">International Association of Language Schools</a> and search for courses by the language and country of interest.Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5233994532509853403.post-35943365320839590832010-11-12T08:53:00.003+11:002010-11-12T17:39:36.846+11:00Discovering Montpellier<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">11 November 2010: Today was a "jour férié" - a public holiday - </span>in France. In Australia, we get a minute's silence for Remembrance Day, in France it's an entire day! And when the public holiday is mid-week, lots of workers take an extra day - a practice known as "faire le pont" or literally to "make a bridge" to create a long weekend. I'm starting to think I could live here.<br />
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Because of the public holiday, I didn't have classes this morning, so I decided to extend my tour of discovery a bit further, especially as we had beautiful sunny weather as well.<br />
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Montpellier is a fascinating city, in one of the oldest region in France - the Languedoc-Roussillon region. If you're interested in the history and geography of the city, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montpellier">Wikipedia</a> does a pretty good job of outlining the main points of interest.<br />
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What Wikipedia won't tell you directly is that the greater urban area of Montpellier is known as an agglomeration, so you have the transport system - TaM - which stands for Transports de l'agglomeration de Montpellier. For someone who loves great brand and design - Montpellier has really pulled it all together. And I love the notion of being part of an agglomeration, rather than just an urban sprawl.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> </span></span><br />
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The tram system is great, with two lines currently in operation. The lines intersect in a wavy, wobbly "X" shape that crosses at 2 or 3 key points around the city. "La comedie" as it is known, is the heart and symbol of the city, but it definitely pays to move on and out from the main plaza to discover some other hidden gems.<br />
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Today, rather than get off at Gare St Roch as usual, I went on for a few more stations and got off at Le Corum where the main congress/exhibition centre is situated. From here you can stroll through a long allée (or park) that would be fabulously leafy in summer, with heaps of open air cafes, and take in a photographic exhibition (free) or the beautiful <a href="http://museefabre.montpellier-agglo.com/index.php">Musée Fabre</a>, which was unfortunately closed today.<br />
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Montpellier has many famous people connected with it, but its modern hero - or perhaps anti-hero would be a better term - is a young man called Remi Gaillard. Remi is a bit of a prankster, with a wicked sense of humour that is often directed at authority figures. His <a href="http://www.nimportequi.com/en/">website</a> links to heaps of short video clips, many providing great travelogues of Montpellier. I found out about Remi from the sons of some new friends at dinner last night. Not the sort of thing you see in guidebooks, but maybe they should be there.<br />
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Montpellier is also known as a centre for study. On any day there's something like 70,000 students in Montpellier, many of whom, like me, are here to study for a short period of time. This ensures a lively cultural life in the city throughout the year, not just in the peak summer travel season. Good restaurants, clubs, bars and shops are dotted throughout the narrow stone alley-ways of the old city. Most areas in the old city are free of traffic, apart from delivery vehicles, taxis, trams and buses.<br />
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I'm still checking out the best places to eat, shop, get coffee and so on - at the moment I've got some worth going back to and others to avoid! Hard to know what will be good - everything looks wonderfully quaint because of the fabulous setting.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Susan Whitbreadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10681304337834776120noreply@blogger.com0