House Hunters International, Chamonix-Mont Blanc

We participated in the scaled down version of House Hunters International; the Strohmaiers in France episode. In a nutshell it was the good, the bad, and the stinky. We were told that there wouldn't be much to pick from and this was so true. Each living space was different, some located in Vittel, some 15 minutes away. Some old, some new and one certified, 100%, rat hole.

The first place we looked had a great location, did not have a kitchen, just a sink and a cabinet under it, which is typical of renting or buying a home in Europe. It is usually the renter/buyers responsibility to install the kitchen counter, cabinets, appliances and light fixtures (just a bulb, if that, is hanging from the ceiling). Then when you move, you take it all with you. This concept doesn't make any sense to George or I, but that is the way it is. Only one other living space we looked at had a fully equipped kitchen, a newer home. It is rare to find carpeting in any home, mostly tile or wood floors.

But in the end, the fellow George has replaced at Nestle, offered his home to rent. It has everything we need and more, and is located in Bulgneville, a small village outside of Vittel. Nice kitchen, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, deck, 2 car garage, and small vegetable garden. There is plenty of room for guests. We moved in on March 8th.

And even though our belongings were still somewhat in boxes we felt we must have one more hurrah for skiing before spring. While there are tons of places to go skiing we chose Chamonix/Mont Blanc about 4+ hours away. The mountains reminded us of the Grand Tetons due to their abrupt and dramatic rise, but the tops of the mountains are quite pointy as you will see in the attached photographs. We stayed in a bed and breakfast, the owners didn't speak English but we managed okay. Our room view was Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps at 15,782 ft. Mont Blanc is located at the corner of France, Italy and Switzerland. Our second day of skiing offered views of Switzerland. Chamonix was the host of the first winter Olympics in 1924. It is a place that we know, we will return to, it offers a variety of outdoor activities.

Lastly, it was spring ski conditions and despite what your vision of spring skiing attire might be, I was able to capture some photographs of a couple of guys who took full advantage of the warm weather on St. Patricks day. See the attached photos...only in Europe!

http://flic.kr/ps/285kjt

Mirecourt, Paris

We live about 20 minutes away from Mirecourt, a small town known for string instrument craftsmanship dating back to the 1600's. It is home of the only French string instrument making school today. Mirecourt, at one time, also had a thriving lace making industry. We toured the small violin museum along with a luthiers' (someone who makes or repairs string instruments) workshop. You can find several locations around town where string instruments are being made.

Detailing pieces

                                                             

A belt and pulley system that 
runs the wood cutting saw

We were in Paris recently for the weekend. Paris, the city of lights, haute fashion, extraordinary museums, and exquisite shopping. So what did we do, when we went to Paris? Believe it or not, we attended an Agricultural Expo. It was huge. We live in a very small town near wheat fields and cow pastures. During lunch the previous day I swear I heard a cow moooo, George thought I was crazy. But in fact they were truck'in the cows, and sheep, and chickens, and any farm animal you can image. The poor animals must have thought, where the $%#@ are we, this doesn't look like home!!!

We learned a lot about France and the different regions as they are varied. Now some of you might think we just went for the wine tasting, but erase that from your mind, because there was beer too. And lots of food to see and sample. There were many unusual (unusual to us) things to see. We were surprised to see a fully grown bull escorted by one person through the crowd on the show floor. Makes me wonder if anyone was wearing red. It was exceptionally clean, there were boys catching "you know what" in buckets before it hit the ground.

Besides this goat having interesting horns,
he/she was wearing a wooden collar.

But then we took in the typical Paris sites. Place de la Concorde, covers 20 acres, the largest square in Paris located between the boulevard Champs Elysses and Tuileries Garden. Marie Antoinette and King Louis 16th were beheaded here in the late 1700's. The Obelisk given to the French by the Egyptian government in the 19th century is more than 3200 years old. It once marked the entrance to the Luxor temple. In 1833 it was erected on the square. Images at the base of the monument portray the monumental task of transporting it from Egypt to France and erecting on the square. I found this monument very interesting, but I felt that something that old should be in a museum, rather than out in the elements...but maybe some day they will. 

We also visited the Museum d'Orsay, housed in a former train station. A gorgeous architectural structure, let alone the fabulous art it holds.


Here's some more photos and videos:


http://flic.kr/s/aHsjysUgoG