British Virgin Islands

Hello Mates!
We just returned recently from a week-long sailboat charter in the British Virgin Islands. A trip that was planned several years ago, was postponed and rescheduled before we knew we were moving to France. Our transportation to get there included everything but a camel - car, train, plane, ferry and finally our destination mode of travel, a 47' sailboat named Caca Fuego, translation please - Shit Fire. We cruised amongst the islands of Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda, Cooper Island, Anegada, and Norman Island. We snorkeled, relaxed, shopped, rented a car for a day, and had a wonderful time with our friends from Ohio.

As you might imagine this scene - waking in the morning by the ocean to the sound of sea gulls. Well my friend, that was not the case. A loud and quite early, cock-a-doddle-doo was our wake-up call every morning! They were mostly everywhere including outdoor bars. Perhaps this is where the joke began...a chicken walks into a bar! Goats were plentiful too, we could see them along the shore line or grazing high in the mountains. A buffet we saw had goat on the menu, I did not partake. Our taxi driver on Anegada zoomed past cows and donkeys that were at road's edge, at top speed I might add, telling us they were wild, no one owned them.

The gazillion stars in the night sky were spectacular with the Milky Way stretching from horizon to horizon.

The people living and working on the islands are extremely nice and oh, so trusting. If a cab driver dropped you off at one location and then picks you up at a later time, they didn't expect to be paid until after the round trip is completed. This is highly unlike the world I am familiar with.

Each island had its own appeal and level of rustic to modern. Here's a quick synopses of each island.

Tortola - The start of our trip. Here is where we discovered they drive on the left, as a true Brit, but the currency is the US dollar, go figure. Every full moon there is a party at Trellis Bay. This photo is a fire ball that local artists create, then a fire is built inside the ball. They are beautiful, I want one.

Jost Van Dyke - Several hammocks under the shade of palm trees by the water's edge. Rustic restaurant/bar facility, very quiet, anything-goes kinda place.

Virgin Gorda - The island is about 10 miles long, we stayed 3 nights at two different bays on this island. More modern facilities here.

Cooper Island - The lunches were so good here, we stopped twice, great fresco dining. While moored (boat attached to a floating ball anchored on the ocean bottom) a vendor would come by in a small boat selling fruits, water, and alcohol.

Anegada - While the other islands were formed by volcanos, this island is just 28 feet above sea level, known for its lobster, white sandy beaches, and coral reefs; we snorkeled here. We saw clouds with a greenish tint to them, I'm assuming because of the reflexion off the beautiful blue/green water.

Norman Island - Very protected harbor, rustic restaurant, bar located on a floating old ship. Excellent snorkeling nearby.

Click on this link below for more photos.

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

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

Switzerland

In Switzerland for 3 days. George had meetings in Vevey, Nestle World Htqrs. We skied on Sunday at Leysin. If any of you can recall our death defying ride to our last ski destination, LaBresse, well that was nutt’n. This truly was a ride - on a road - on the side of a cliff. The photos really don’t convey what I was seeing outside my window. Guard rails, I think, are just for looks. If our car would have veered into them, well it would have been bye-bye world. The drop off was unbelievable high.

The skiing was great. Check out this bar (our sensor was beeping-research) we found at the top. The bar tender was serving various beverages including vin chaud (warm wine). Warm wine might not sound very good, and at first I wasn't sure I wanted it, but I have to say it was delicious. I want the recipe! As close as I can describe, it tasted like warm sangria.

Monday and Tuesday I was on my own discovering the town of Vevey, Montreux and Lausanne all on the shores of Lake Geneva, often referred to as the Swiss Riviera. Most everything is very expensive in Switzerland. I toured Chillon Castle, dating to the 12th century. Freddy Mercury of the rock band, Queen, lived in Montreux and so there is a statue of him by the lake. Lausanne is the home of the International Olympic Committee. Unfortunately, the Olympic Museum was closed for renovation until 2014. I was disappointed I couldn't go through it.


Check out more photos and videos here.

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjyM2THH

Vittel photos

Here's some photos of Vittel, surrounding communities, and countryside.

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

Opening a bank account

What an adventure opening up a bank account. If any of you can recall the last time you opened a bank account or applied for a bank card, it's pretty easy and quick, right. Well, not so easy and not so quick here in France or at least here in Vittel.

First we had to make an appointment with the bank-understandable! We were in the bank for 1.5 hours just applying for a checking account and a bank card, ugh. I don't recall our application for a mortgage taking that long. Lots of paperwork to document this event and lots of signatures. You would think maybe two signatures, one for the checking account, and one for the bank card, but it was alot. OMG, we were so glad when it was over, my patience was running thin, we have no idea it would take so long! In about 10 days we'll get our checks and bank card.

So 10 days has passed now. We make another appointment with the bank to pick up our checkbook and bank card. George wanted to get a credit card for his job so we applied for that, we discussed obtaining rental property and car insurance, (a service the banks provide here) and one last thing, a money wire transfer from our US bank to the French bank (which required the French bank to give us some account numbers). This time we were in the bank for 2 hours. The guy helping us had a slip of the tongue and said it would take 5 years to get our passwords, enabling us to withdraw funds from an ATM. We burst out laughing and that was truly the joke of the evening...5 years, he meant to say 5 days. I don't think he quite understood why we found that so hilarious.

George reminded me that we had been in this French bank longer than any US bank, in our entire married life.

Buying A Car

Today was a car shopping day. We had appointments with dealers of Peugeot, Mini Cooper, and Alfa Romeo.
Alfa Romeo was our first stop. Our original appointment person did not speak English, so they called another sales person, Sebastien. Sebastien spoke English good enough for us. We test drove a car. Most cars available are manual transmissions, so I am thankful that I know how to drive a stick, but you probably couldn't have convinced anyone of this, watching us leave the lot. The clutch on the car was tight so off we go stalling and bucking the whole way out of the lot. I think I stalled it twice and they say it takes a day to experience body trauma, whiplash is what I am referring to here. So who knows tomorrow what George, Sebastian and I will be feeling.

There was heavy traffic once we get on the road, me behind the wheel, okay we know that...I did not want to stall this thing in heavy traffic. So what does a common sense female behind the wheel trying to prevent a stalling situation do - let out the clutch and floor it, you are so right. Sebastian remained calm and casually looked over at me in the front seat and said, and I quote, "Madam, you just laid some French rubber." It was all George and I could do to contain ourselves.
I can not begin to top this moment for the rest of our shopping experience so I will end it here!