Richard was invited to present his research at ETH Zurich (an engineering, science and technology university), so the girls and I accompanied him, making this our last trip in Europe before our return home to Canada. Richard was thrilled by the opportunity to visit this prestigious university whose most famous alumnus is Albert Einstein!
We were all impressed at how clean, wealthy, efficient and quiet (no horn honking!) it is in Zurich. The train ride from the airport took all of 11 minutes! We had so much fun browsing the chocolate shops (and sampling, of course) and window shopping on Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich’s main downtown street and one of the world’s most expensive and exclusive shopping avenues. With the city’s Christmas markets, lights and decorated trees, we couldn’t help but get in to the Christmas spirit!
Views of Zurich from Grossmünster church
The streets of Old Town
Caitlin and Brigitte along the Limmat River
The Glühwein (mulled wine) stall in front of our hotel
There were Christmas trees everywhere!
The twinkling suspended lights along the Old Town streets
The incredibly tasty and warm pretzels
The Swarovski Crystal Tree at the Christmas market in the train station
I wonder if a Raclette stall would do well in downtown Guelph?
So tasty!
Lake Zurich
The outdoor cafés provide faux fur and blankets
The guild houses along the Limmat River. We climbed one of the towers of the Grossmünster church
Window shopping on Bahnhofstrasse
Brigitte at the Munich airport – “please, Mom? It’s only €60!”
We visited Carcassonne on two occasions: with the McCurdy family in early September and then again in early November with Richard’s brother, Ken, and his family. Just 85 km east of Toulouse, Carcassonne is an 11th and 13th-century world of towers, turrets, and cobblestone alleys and the best preserved walled city in the whole of Europe. The Château Comtal, built in 1125, had the distinction of becoming Nottingham Castle when “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” was filmed here in 1991. It doesn’t take much imagination to picture knights chasing each other through the streets on horseback with swords drawn and armor glinting in the sun.
Aerial view of Carcassonne courtesy of the Internet
Brigitte, Jaclyn and Ellen at the drawbridge
A rare family picture in the double row of fortified walls
a sudden swarming of bees!
Aimee, Caitlin, Brigitte and Kiki
Richard McCurdy with the girls
The popular French brand, Little Marcel
The two Richards and Lynne (sporting her new Little Marcel scarf)
The yummy La Cure Gourmande candy store
Richard and Ken took the girls to the Haunted House. This is the “before” picture. I could not take the “after” picture, because I was busy consoling Brigitte. It was a very frightening experience for all! It’s a good thing they asked for “medium scary”!
The recipe for cassoulet on the wall of the restaurant, La Maison du Cassoulet
our lunch of cassoulet, a traditional hearty stew of white bean, duck and sausage
Brigitte and her cousin, Jaclyn
The students in France have a fall break called, La Toussaint, which, for Caitlin and Brigitte, ran from October 24 until November 4. With time running out on our stay in Europe, we decided to visit Rome for 4 days. We all fell in love with this beautiful city filled with magnificent cultural monuments and delicious food. Our highlights included: the bike tour with a private guide, the pasta and panna cotta, the spectacular fountains and the Sistine Chapel.
St. Peter’s Basilica at sunset
Richard and I at the Colosseum
Inside the Colosseum showing the lower level where the caged animals were kept
The Roman Forum
The Pantheon – the most well preserved building in ancient Rome
Brigitte with view of the Pantheon’s central opening or oculus
Gearing-up for our bike tour
Piazza Navona
Brigitte and I at Neptune’s Fountain in Piazza Navona
Richard and Brigitte at the Spanish Steps
sisters at the Spanish Steps
The Trevi Fountain – a very busy, but happy place
The Trevi Fountain up-close
Caitlin tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain – she will certainly return to Rome!
Antipasti in an open-air café on the beautiful Piazza Navona
Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe, With Cheese and Pepper, at Maccheroni’s
Tramezzini – we didn’t eat any, but they sure looked pretty!
Vatican City
Michelangelo’s la Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica
Michelangelo’s the Last Judgement wall in the Sistine Chapel
View of St. Peter’s Basilica across the Tiber River
Castel Sant’ Angelo
Caitlin in the Borghese Gardens
Véronique’s daughter, Aurélie, goes to school in Narbonne, a short train ride away on the Mediterranean coast. She comes home every weekend and the girls like to spend time with her practicing their French and baking in her kitchen. They bake little gâteaux moelleux (small moist cakes) filled with Nutella, profiteroles and have even attempted éclairs au chocolats (they didn’t turn out so well!).
Aurélie’s cookbook of classic French recipes
Geared-up at Tépacap outdoor adventure park
Challenging our balance and coordination skills on one of fifteen acrobranche obstacle courses
Aurélie on the longest zip line
our favourite restaurant, L’Entrecôte, with Véro and Aurélie
Making friendship bracelets
Halloween 2011
The Devil and the Kitty Cat
And
Vampire Santa
I drove the girls around the deserted streets of two nearby villages. They were the only ones out trick-or-treating, but managed to get a handful of mints!
After our day trip to the Pic du Midi, we went on a weekend getaway with Richard’s mother and brother to the Dordogne region of France. The drive north to Bergerac showcased the French countryside at its best: chateaus, vineyards, small towns and villages, and breathtaking geography. Bergerac is on the plains of the Dordogne River, and has a charming old town with attractive medieval half-timbered streets and squares. Contrary to popular belief, the 17th-century dramatist, Cyrano de Bergerac, had very little to do with the town of Bergerac. There are two statues in honour of him in the heart of the old town, but he only spent a few nights here in his lifetime.
the Dordogne River
Cyrano de Bergerac
the streets of Bergerac
Kay, Caitlin, Peter, Brigitte and Richard
pre-dinner drinks
Caitlin and Grandma Kay along the Dordogne River
We were told that the Padirac Caves were the most impressive in France, but that they were really out of the way. We figured that with a GPS (aka “Ursule”) we would find it. What should have taken us 45 minutes from Bergerac, turned into a 3 hour driving adventure, through narrow winding backroads and tiny villages. It was definitely worth the drive! This spectacular cave complex was impressive on a large scale. We descended into the cave through an enormous chasm and then rode a boat for an eerie 1km trip along a subterranean river. We then journeyed on foot another kilometer through stunning natural rock formations, the stalactites measuring up to 75 metres!
Around every narrow, hairpin curve was something unexpected…
…like this suspension bridge!
“This is a crazy drive!”
the chasm of Padirac
Grandma Kay and the girls descending the chasm
Pictures of the caves courtesy of the Internet
Our French host and Richard’s colleague, Annie, organized a group day trip to the Pic du Midi. This impressive mountain, at 2877m, is in the French Pyrenees and is famous for it’s astronomical observatory, from which Nasa scientists mapped the surface of the moon for the Apollo landings. It is also a research centre on the sun.
We took two impressive cable car rides to the top, “docking” at the space station, and stepping out onto what looked like the set of a James Bond film. The panoramic views were spectacular!
front row: Caitlin, Brigitte, Francis (Annie’s husband), Annie, Kay (my mother-in-law), moi, Supatra and Pariyaporn (visiting scientists from Thailand)
back row: Richard and his brother, Peter
The dizzying ride to the peak
the observatory
Observing the sun through a special telescope
Feeling at home on the small patch of snow we found
Catching some rays
“may I have a bite of your soufflé, Grandma?”
Not far from the Pic du Midi is the famous pass crossed by the Tour de France, le Col du Tourmalet
Below is a picture of the statue, the Giant of the Tourmalet. It was not there when we visited because it is removed for safe storage each winter.
We do not have an oven, so roasting a turkey for Thanksgiving was not an option. I don’t think I could have found a whole turkey at this time of year anyway. We opted for oysters instead and headed west towards the Atlantic Ocean, driving through Bordeaux and then south towards Arcachon.
This popular area was quiet at this time of year, so it felt like we had the beaches to ourselves. The rain stayed away and the cloudy skies made for very moody pictures, especially of the menacing graffiti-covered World War II bunkers we discovered on the beaches. Caitlin and Brigitte were thrilled by the Dune de Pyla, charging up the massive dune and exclaiming, “it’s like being in the desert!”. The Dune de Pyla is Europe’s largest, over 100m high, half a km wide and 3km long! The sand is incredibly soft and deep, making the run down to the Atlantic Ocean a blast, but the climb back up hard work!
We drove around the Arcachon Bassin to Cap Ferret at the tip of the peninsula. It is a picturesque area with pine forests, oyster shacks and long wild beaches.
the promenade on Arcachon Beach
the fishing pier in Arcachon
Brigitte is not yet taller than me – it’s an optical illusion!
art in the ocean
Dune de Pyla – Richard (in red) opted to forego the stairs
the steep climb!
dark green pine forest as far as the eye can see!
Quelle merveille! A geological wonder
the speck in pink is Caitlin
we found someone to take a family picture
examining bullet holes in a WWII bunker
baguettes, wine and cheese bought at the Arcachon market
Cap Ferret lighthouse
low tide at Cap Ferret
view of Dune de Pyla from Cap Ferret
Ostréiculteur or oyster farmer – we ate lunch here
the setting for Thanksgiving lunch
we found this long trail to the ocean by accident
the choppy, bracing Atlantic Ocean
eerie WWII bunker
we counted eleven bunkers
September 25, 2011- Happy 11th Birthday Brigitte!
Brigitte sporting her new beret
Julia, Martha, Aurélie and Véronique
4 octobre – Joyeuse Anniversaire Grandmaman Martha!
cousins on the Mediterranean Sea – Narbonne Plage
cycling on the Canal Midi
Grandma Martha riding along the Canal Midi
The girls before our shopping day
Caitlin, Julia and Martha – touring Toulouse on Le Petit Train
Dinner at Caitlin and Brigitte’s favourite restaurant in Toulouse – L’Entrecôte
Walking off dinner!
After several days of touring and shopping in Toulouse, we took my mother and niece on a short day trip to Albi. This beautiful red brick village on the banks of the River Tarn, is less than an hour’s drive from Toulouse. The site includes the massive 13th/15th-century fortress cathedral of Sainte Cécile (the largest brick structure in the world) and the Palais de la Berbie, one of the oldest and best-preserved castles in France. The Palais is now the Toulouse-Lautrec museum which was a delightful surprise and a highlight of our day.
the Tarn River
Palais de la Berbie courtyard
Palais de la Berbie – Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Museum
formal French gardens of the Palais
the imposing Ste. Cécile Cathedral
a splendid lunch
the entertainment during lunch
With September coming to a close, it was with great anticipation that we awaited our first family visitors. I met my mother, Martha, and niece, Julia, in Paris where we spent three wonderful days touring the city of love. It was Julia’s first visit to Paris and my mother’s return after 27 years. We stayed in the charming Hotel Eugenie in the heart of the Latin Quarter, just around the corner from the Saint Michel Fountain and Notre Dame Cathedral.
View from the top of Notre Dame Cathedral
The gargoyles of Notre Dame Cathedral
View of Montmartre and the Sacre Coeur
Sacre Coeur
L’Arc de Triomphe
Le Moulin Rouge
The magnificent Sainte Chapelle
pause café Parisienne
Fontaine Saint Michel
mother and daughter at the Louvre
gailintoulouse 