Schnauzer finishes up in Normandy and Copenhagen
Jul 21st, 2010, 01:25 AM
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Schnauzer finishes up in Normandy and Copenhagen
I am back in Aus now but have had some requests to finish up my Normandy and Copenhagen section of my trip. So here goes for those who may be interested.
We left Paris by train to Lisieux which was the closet town to where we were headed in the boon docks of Normandy. We had made the decision not to rent a car for the three nights we were away so it would 'force us' to walk everywhere and really see the countryside rather than be tempted (which I am always) to race around from village to village trying to see them all. We caught a taxi to Notre Dame de Livaye which was about 15-20mins away and this cost 30E which I thought was quite a bit expensive for the actual distance covered. Not to worry.
We are arrived to a very friendly welcome by our hosts at the B and B called Les Pommiers de Livaye http://bandb.normandy.free.fr/. It was a really old farm house in the typical Normandy style. Marie-Jo our hostess was born in the house and her family had lived there for over five generations. In fact she couldn't speak English and had only been out of Normandy very occasionally for a trip to Paris. She was the authentic Normandy farmer's wife- very sweet. A lovely cup of tea and some of her home made apple cake arrived on the beautiful outside table under the shade of the old trees for us to have after our journey.
The B and B was good but still needed a couple of things to make it perfect for me. Just minor things like a bar of soap, only pump soap and more than one towel each. It was 91E per night for the room which I thought meant we should have a few more luxuries.
It was an absolutely stinking hot day over 30oC but I ventured out for a walk, start as I mean to go on, to the local church and back which was about an hour and a half all up by the time I had check out the tiny churchyard etc. Pommiers des Livaye is a working farm with cows, lots of horses and apple trees!! Not to mention the goat, chickens and ducks, donkeys et al. Very rural and the complete contrast of Paris.
I borrowed some maps and checked out our plans for the next couple of days. The slow nagging feeling of "hmm, maybe we should have hired a car', began in my mind. Yes there were lots of villages nearby but they were tiny and at least a five/10 kilometre walk away. Well, we had come to walk so.....
We were called to dinner at 7.30 inside the main house. We were staying in the renovated barn next door. I had booked our evening meals for the three nights knowing we were basically locked in to the house at night. The table was elegantly set and we were handed a menu with a choice of entree and dessert. The meal was 28E each, without wine which I thought was rather steep, and thought so even more after we had finished it. We had a choice of soup or home made pate, then a smoked salmon crepe, a cheese plate and then dessert which we chose blackcurrent sorbet.
The meal was pleasant but certainly not 28E worth. We were asked if we wanted coffee, we said yes thinking this surely had to be included in such a high price. Well it tasted like instant and we found out at the end of the stay we had been charged 2E each cup. hmmm. Nothing we could do as we didn't have transport to go anywhere else.
Off to sleep as we had had a stressful day getting from Paris to the B and B by public transport (actually we caught a taxi to Gare Lazarre but...)
The next morning dawned a bit gloomy and damp, such a difference to the heat of the day before. Better for walking anyway. I quite liked the breakfast as I am into cake and toast but Di wasn't so keen. We were served chocolate flake things in a tiny bowl with no room to add milk - were we meant to eat them dry?? Fromage frais and home made marmalade and jam and very weak tea. When Marie-Jo came to clear the table she asked was everything OK, Di had been telling me about a friend who just asks for things and gets them, so nothing ventured...... We said we would like museli and banana for breakfast the next day as the chocolate flakes and cheese wasn't up our alley. She appeared abit perplexed as to the idea of museli but we left it with her.
Wearing our little day packs and clutching our maps we headed off into the countryside. My main aim for the day was to see the Chateau de Grandchamp. I had recently purhcased a gorgeous coffee table booked titled "Manor Houses of Normandy" and this Chateau was close by and had taken my fancy. We only had to walk a few yards on a National road, which was horrible, but we soon got onto the quiet D roads of the countryside. Marie-Jo had said that St. Crespin was a pretty village so we headed there first, thinking good timing for a coffee. Wrong..... St. Crespin was pretty - pretty small with no cafes!!! A small church complete with War Graves - two, and a couple of little houses and a tiny Mairie. Okay then... asking the first person we saw (we saw two) we asked for the closest place where we could get a coffee, oh, about 4 kilometres in the totally opposite direction!! FAbulous. Di was all for heading off, but I managed to convince her that walking four kilometres in the wrong direction for a coffee only meant that by the time we walked back again we would want another coffee so we should just keep heading the way we actually wanted to go. ie to the Chateau. Reluctantly she agreed so walk we did.
We came across the Chateau in the distance but kept going another kilometre or so until we reached St. Julien Faucon where we had been told there were two cafes and two restaurants - positvely a thriving metropolis!!! We had spent too long in Paris where of course cafes are every 20 feet. Phew we got there, not in time for coffee but for lunch and a reasonably late lunch to boot!!! The cafe was offering a formule lunch for 10.99, all you can eat buffet for entree, fish or veal for main, a cheese platter and choice of dessert and a bottle of wine that you drink as much as you want from. Sounded good to us. We made short work of the buffet, both had the fish, the cheese platter was huge and we had to restrain ourselves from polishing it all off, I had creme caramel and Di an ice cream. Not bad at all. Feeling fed and watered we walked quickly around the village, only quickly cos there wasn't too much there!! We then decided to have our coffee in the tabac next door to the cafe just to experience somewhere else. Big mistake, the man in the tabac had a gambling issue, and it would appear he had just lost on the races. He was really rude and actually threw our change down on the counter at us. Shame to have this experience, but the Chateau was awaiting.
The Chateau looked grand but as we were not expected the gates were locked and we couldn't get in to have a closer look. My book didn't actually state whether you can get in to see these places, but we had hoped someone might have been home and taken pity on two Aussies in the middle of nowhere. No such luck. Okay then, the return journey - which way? Looking at our map we could see a few tracks which appeared to lead across some fields and by a river which would cut off a few kilometres for us. Stopping to ask along the way and trying to comprehend the instructions from a strong Normandy accent we did make it. At one stage we did have to put Shanks Pony into four wheel drive to get across the stream, clutching a barbed wire fence to stop ourselves from falling into the water. We made it back at 6.00pm on the dot having walked we reckon about 25 kilometres. Not bad for a days work. We saw the vrai countryside, stopped and oohed and ahhed at gorgeous old houses (renovaters delights), admired the scenery and decided it was a very pretty part of the world indeed.
A hot bath and then dinner were in order. Unfortunately Di realised she has an allergy to walking on bitumen roads so by the time we headed in for dinner her legs were covered in bright red spots and itching like mad. We showed Marie-Jo and hoped for the sympathy vote and maybe a lift somewhere the following day!!! Worked a treat and she offered to drive us to Cambremer in the morning.
Dinner was underwhelming again and we made sure we didn't order the coffee this time. Legs like lead we went to bed and slept like logs.
Masterchef due to come on, so will write more later!!
Schnauzer
We left Paris by train to Lisieux which was the closet town to where we were headed in the boon docks of Normandy. We had made the decision not to rent a car for the three nights we were away so it would 'force us' to walk everywhere and really see the countryside rather than be tempted (which I am always) to race around from village to village trying to see them all. We caught a taxi to Notre Dame de Livaye which was about 15-20mins away and this cost 30E which I thought was quite a bit expensive for the actual distance covered. Not to worry.
We are arrived to a very friendly welcome by our hosts at the B and B called Les Pommiers de Livaye http://bandb.normandy.free.fr/. It was a really old farm house in the typical Normandy style. Marie-Jo our hostess was born in the house and her family had lived there for over five generations. In fact she couldn't speak English and had only been out of Normandy very occasionally for a trip to Paris. She was the authentic Normandy farmer's wife- very sweet. A lovely cup of tea and some of her home made apple cake arrived on the beautiful outside table under the shade of the old trees for us to have after our journey.
The B and B was good but still needed a couple of things to make it perfect for me. Just minor things like a bar of soap, only pump soap and more than one towel each. It was 91E per night for the room which I thought meant we should have a few more luxuries.
It was an absolutely stinking hot day over 30oC but I ventured out for a walk, start as I mean to go on, to the local church and back which was about an hour and a half all up by the time I had check out the tiny churchyard etc. Pommiers des Livaye is a working farm with cows, lots of horses and apple trees!! Not to mention the goat, chickens and ducks, donkeys et al. Very rural and the complete contrast of Paris.
I borrowed some maps and checked out our plans for the next couple of days. The slow nagging feeling of "hmm, maybe we should have hired a car', began in my mind. Yes there were lots of villages nearby but they were tiny and at least a five/10 kilometre walk away. Well, we had come to walk so.....
We were called to dinner at 7.30 inside the main house. We were staying in the renovated barn next door. I had booked our evening meals for the three nights knowing we were basically locked in to the house at night. The table was elegantly set and we were handed a menu with a choice of entree and dessert. The meal was 28E each, without wine which I thought was rather steep, and thought so even more after we had finished it. We had a choice of soup or home made pate, then a smoked salmon crepe, a cheese plate and then dessert which we chose blackcurrent sorbet.
The meal was pleasant but certainly not 28E worth. We were asked if we wanted coffee, we said yes thinking this surely had to be included in such a high price. Well it tasted like instant and we found out at the end of the stay we had been charged 2E each cup. hmmm. Nothing we could do as we didn't have transport to go anywhere else.
Off to sleep as we had had a stressful day getting from Paris to the B and B by public transport (actually we caught a taxi to Gare Lazarre but...)
The next morning dawned a bit gloomy and damp, such a difference to the heat of the day before. Better for walking anyway. I quite liked the breakfast as I am into cake and toast but Di wasn't so keen. We were served chocolate flake things in a tiny bowl with no room to add milk - were we meant to eat them dry?? Fromage frais and home made marmalade and jam and very weak tea. When Marie-Jo came to clear the table she asked was everything OK, Di had been telling me about a friend who just asks for things and gets them, so nothing ventured...... We said we would like museli and banana for breakfast the next day as the chocolate flakes and cheese wasn't up our alley. She appeared abit perplexed as to the idea of museli but we left it with her.
Wearing our little day packs and clutching our maps we headed off into the countryside. My main aim for the day was to see the Chateau de Grandchamp. I had recently purhcased a gorgeous coffee table booked titled "Manor Houses of Normandy" and this Chateau was close by and had taken my fancy. We only had to walk a few yards on a National road, which was horrible, but we soon got onto the quiet D roads of the countryside. Marie-Jo had said that St. Crespin was a pretty village so we headed there first, thinking good timing for a coffee. Wrong..... St. Crespin was pretty - pretty small with no cafes!!! A small church complete with War Graves - two, and a couple of little houses and a tiny Mairie. Okay then... asking the first person we saw (we saw two) we asked for the closest place where we could get a coffee, oh, about 4 kilometres in the totally opposite direction!! FAbulous. Di was all for heading off, but I managed to convince her that walking four kilometres in the wrong direction for a coffee only meant that by the time we walked back again we would want another coffee so we should just keep heading the way we actually wanted to go. ie to the Chateau. Reluctantly she agreed so walk we did.
We came across the Chateau in the distance but kept going another kilometre or so until we reached St. Julien Faucon where we had been told there were two cafes and two restaurants - positvely a thriving metropolis!!! We had spent too long in Paris where of course cafes are every 20 feet. Phew we got there, not in time for coffee but for lunch and a reasonably late lunch to boot!!! The cafe was offering a formule lunch for 10.99, all you can eat buffet for entree, fish or veal for main, a cheese platter and choice of dessert and a bottle of wine that you drink as much as you want from. Sounded good to us. We made short work of the buffet, both had the fish, the cheese platter was huge and we had to restrain ourselves from polishing it all off, I had creme caramel and Di an ice cream. Not bad at all. Feeling fed and watered we walked quickly around the village, only quickly cos there wasn't too much there!! We then decided to have our coffee in the tabac next door to the cafe just to experience somewhere else. Big mistake, the man in the tabac had a gambling issue, and it would appear he had just lost on the races. He was really rude and actually threw our change down on the counter at us. Shame to have this experience, but the Chateau was awaiting.
The Chateau looked grand but as we were not expected the gates were locked and we couldn't get in to have a closer look. My book didn't actually state whether you can get in to see these places, but we had hoped someone might have been home and taken pity on two Aussies in the middle of nowhere. No such luck. Okay then, the return journey - which way? Looking at our map we could see a few tracks which appeared to lead across some fields and by a river which would cut off a few kilometres for us. Stopping to ask along the way and trying to comprehend the instructions from a strong Normandy accent we did make it. At one stage we did have to put Shanks Pony into four wheel drive to get across the stream, clutching a barbed wire fence to stop ourselves from falling into the water. We made it back at 6.00pm on the dot having walked we reckon about 25 kilometres. Not bad for a days work. We saw the vrai countryside, stopped and oohed and ahhed at gorgeous old houses (renovaters delights), admired the scenery and decided it was a very pretty part of the world indeed.
A hot bath and then dinner were in order. Unfortunately Di realised she has an allergy to walking on bitumen roads so by the time we headed in for dinner her legs were covered in bright red spots and itching like mad. We showed Marie-Jo and hoped for the sympathy vote and maybe a lift somewhere the following day!!! Worked a treat and she offered to drive us to Cambremer in the morning.
Dinner was underwhelming again and we made sure we didn't order the coffee this time. Legs like lead we went to bed and slept like logs.
Masterchef due to come on, so will write more later!!
Schnauzer
Jul 22nd, 2010, 05:05 AM
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Hmmmm, Interesting. At least you had a friend with you. In my younger days, I would tackle such adventures on my own and occasionally was left with a resounding " What was I thinking!" The countryside sounds lovely and the idea of walking wherever is intriguing. I would, however, been disappointed in the meals. One usually finds better meals in B&B's. And, no wine! What would Voltaire say about that 
!
But all less than ideal situations aside, a wonderful adventure. Thanks for the report.
!But all less than ideal situations aside, a wonderful adventure. Thanks for the report.
Jul 22nd, 2010, 08:39 AM
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Can sympathize with the meals in particular; we've done that with the "demi-pension" situation....sometimes the meals are spectacular and sometimes, well, not so special...and my husband is one of those "Go ahead, (to me)just ask. I'm SURE they'll substitute"...Hello, can you say, "Nous sommes en France, maintenant mon cher!"
Jul 23rd, 2010, 10:20 AM
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Oh, I know that area. I wish I could have warned you it's not the best place to not have a car. But then I guess you had walking and small town life in mind. It is lovely countryside nonetheless and at least you got to experience that, if not take home some quirky memories as well.
Jul 23rd, 2010, 10:45 AM
#6
klondike, two of the most famous French expressions are:
1. C'est impossible. (It's impossible)
2 Ca ne se fait pas. (It isn't done.)
As the years pass, you don't hear that too often in the big cities, which have seen everything, but in the villages you might have to wait another 40 or 70 years.
1. C'est impossible. (It's impossible)
2 Ca ne se fait pas. (It isn't done.)
As the years pass, you don't hear that too often in the big cities, which have seen everything, but in the villages you might have to wait another 40 or 70 years.
Jul 24th, 2010, 01:46 PM
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HI Trophywife, a bitumen road, is asphalt. ie normal road!! Next installment should come this afternoon. been busy getting my house in order after being away for so long. Had to bath and clip the schnauzers as well!!! Need to clip the back garden also but have to feed the rescue doggies this morning!! All go down under!!
Trying to work on the photos as well, a big photo company has a special offer here at the moment for 10c a copy so I want to take advantage of that. Hopefully I will also work out how to post some on Fodors for you all to have a look at.
Schnauzer
Trying to work on the photos as well, a big photo company has a special offer here at the moment for 10c a copy so I want to take advantage of that. Hopefully I will also work out how to post some on Fodors for you all to have a look at.
Schnauzer
Jul 25th, 2010, 12:13 PM
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Enjoying your report. You were very brave to try this without a car! But it's very beautiful countryside. I absolutely love Normandy. Too bad the meals weren't up to par, though. Looking forward to the rest of your adventures!
Jul 25th, 2010, 10:54 PM
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Alright, I really must push on with this saga.
The next breakfast proved more exciting, Marie-Jo very pleased with herself showed us the box of museli 'sans sucre' to boot as we had said we didn't like sugar cereals, and lo and behold two bananas arrived as well. See, ask and ye shall receive!!! Still had the cheese but....
Marie had very generously offered to take us to Cambremer which is a slightly larger village which also boasts one of the top gardens in Normandy. We hadn't even known that so that was a definite bonus. She also told us that she was out for a wedding at the local church and wouldn't be home to cook dinner for us (phew) her daughter could drop off a cold platter, (not for 28E thanks) or she could book us into the restaurant in Cambremer which was meant to be excellent, we opted for the latter. The plan was fixed, we would relax in her beautiful garden and read until 12.00 and then she would drop us off in the village and we would walk home the 5kms after dinner. It was still light until just after 10.00pm so this would not be a problem. And hey 5kms - a walk in the park for us after yesterday.
As we were driving to Cambremer through the little back roads we were following closely where to go, easy says Marie Jo, when you leave Cambremer turn a gauche and a gauche again, we also had a church as a reference point for one of the a gauches. As we neared Cambremer we both saw signs for the garden and independently thought 'oh this looks like a bit of a hike from the village', anyway as we got into the village there was the main entrance to the garden right there, how good was that. (keep this noted for later...) Marie Jo dropped us off and made a booking at the Au P'tit Normande for 7.00pm. We waved our goodbyes with her saying if anything happened or we needed a lift to ring her. We'll be fine we assured her.
The first stop had to be for a coffee, we even had a choice of cafes, Cambremer is a very typical Normandy village, half timbered houses, apple and cherry trees everywhere and overall very 'cute'. The coffee was good - yay! Our first stop was to be the garden www.lesjardinsdupaysdauge.com. The owners had only bought the land in 1994, there were definitely some 'bones' already in place but it was truly inspiring to see this incredible garden - a sheer work of art they had produced in such a short time. Amazing what money can do!!!! But before we headed around this enormous garden it had to be crepe time!!! There is a creperie on the premises serving lovely fresh homemade lunches. I couldn't decide between the interesting main course crepes and the outrageous dessert choice crepes - what to do??
Hedging my bets I ordered a simple ham and cheese crepe for mains so I could try a delicious pear and chocolate sauce crepe with salted caramel ice cream for dessert!! This worked well and yet again we were satisfied and ready to head off through the gardens. The owners had found several little out buildings throughout their land and surrounding countryside which they had moved lock stock and barrel and completely renovated in situ. All very effective and they certainly added another interesting element to the well designed and planted gardens. If you are 'into' gardens this is one certainly to be recommended. It took us nearly two hours to walk around enjoying the ponds, the frogs, all the vistas and bedding plants. Time to walk back to the village for a cup of tea. The sun was really pounding down by now and we needed shade!!
Trying the other cafe in town we sat and had a leisurely cuppa taking in all the quirkiness of the village. They certainly had a 'thing' for what could only be described as a combination flower pot man and scarecrow!! They were everywhere, even way way up in the church clock tower. These sculptures were nearly life size so certainly noticeable. We looked in all the little shops and had a good wander around the village, it was interesting to note how much cheaper the cakes were in the cake shop to Paris!! But we resisted knowing a good evening meal was hopefully coming our way. Before we knew it, time was up and we made our way to the restaurant. The staff were excellent, the food very fresh and authentic Normandy cuisine. "Mamman" was in the kitchen and we selected her specials of the day. The restaurant was absolutely full with mostly locals but also some 'foreigners' as well! Obviously THE place to be on a Saturday night. So glad we had booked earlier in the day. We ended our lovely meal with the gourmand coffee, this is something we cracked onto during our trip. Rather than buying a coffee and dessert separately, lots of restaurants do their gourmand coffee which is a small coffee with a (usually four) selection of mini desserts. A great way to try a good selection of desserts instead of just one and also you get a coffee all for usually the price of one dessert. This is something to check out if you haven't already done so. Okay, so it is now 9.00pm and time for the walk home, how hard could this be???
We turned up past the gardens and kept walking up a hill which we weren't sure we had come down, but.... finally after about 1.5kms we came to the main national road, ok, what was it? turn left then left again. We knew the second left was by the church. We kept walking and walking and walking and walking - you get the idea? We had walked past the sign which we were both convinced we had seen earlier in the day - the one we had seen outside of the village. But we were now a long way past this with no church in sight, in fact it all looked terribly unfamiliar. It was now approaching 10.00pm and the light was fading quickly. What to do? Okay, Marie Jo had said ring her, so we did. Di made the call and told her we were at the creperie? huh? not quite Di!!! We had walked past the creperie/garden sign about 3kms beforehand, oh well, I didn't want to be Mrs. Bossy boots as normal so I didn't jump up and down and figured Marie Jo would find us along the main road, which Di had also told her we were on. We started walking back and were approached by a couple in their little van asking were we lost? Yes, we were, but we had it under control thank you. They were definitely not convinced of this, however, they drove off in the opposite direction but before we knew it they were back again, saying it was now getting dark and really they should give us a lift. We did tell them we had called our lady from the B and B but they convinced us it really was late and she wouldn't see us anyway so they had better drive us home. In the back we hopped, and of course drove back the way we had originally come. We ducked off the main road left and then kept driving through these little roads until we reached Crevecour en Auge which I knew was the next village to where we were staying. They had come yet another way back to Notre Dame de Livaye. We drove in the driveway to be met by our host (never remembered his name)wondering what the heck was happening. Marie Jo had of course dashed off to rescue us without her mobile so we couldn't even ring her to say we were now back. Anyway we were making polite conversation with our rescuers when Marie Jo turned up again, having been to the creperie asking for a blonde and a brunette!!! As she didn't find us she did the sensible thing - thank goodness - and came back to base. It was very embarrassing and we were all apologies and red faces to put everyone to such trouble. fortunately the wedding had been a good one and Marie was in good spirits and didn't mind too much. The interesting thing was that the couple just didn't seem to want to leave. It was starting to get a bit embarrasing and I was ready for bed! Eventually Marie jo offered them a gift for bringing us home, they had a choice of jam or cider which the B and B made both. They said they didn't mind and were given a bottle of cider, with that they finally headed home themselves. We were left wondering if this was customary, it kind of spoilt the good samaritan act if they expected paying or a gift. I would have just dropped us off and said there you go and left. (If I had been the rescuer). More apologies and finally to bed. Marie Jo had very kindly offered to drive us to Beuvron Auge the next day and said she wouldn't leave us there to get home by ourselves she would come and pick us up as well!!! Di and I were so perplexed as to how we had seen this other sign again and yet not gone the right way, it will remain one of lifes little mysteries, especially as the next day we retraced our steps with Marie Jo. And of course it wasn't hard left on the main road, but right and then left in a dog leg, of course, silly us why hadn't we remembered this?????
Have to make the schnuzers dinner - will continue soon. Still working on those photos, actually I am not, I am writing this, but will start working on the photos!!
Schnauzer
The next breakfast proved more exciting, Marie-Jo very pleased with herself showed us the box of museli 'sans sucre' to boot as we had said we didn't like sugar cereals, and lo and behold two bananas arrived as well. See, ask and ye shall receive!!! Still had the cheese but....
Marie had very generously offered to take us to Cambremer which is a slightly larger village which also boasts one of the top gardens in Normandy. We hadn't even known that so that was a definite bonus. She also told us that she was out for a wedding at the local church and wouldn't be home to cook dinner for us (phew) her daughter could drop off a cold platter, (not for 28E thanks) or she could book us into the restaurant in Cambremer which was meant to be excellent, we opted for the latter. The plan was fixed, we would relax in her beautiful garden and read until 12.00 and then she would drop us off in the village and we would walk home the 5kms after dinner. It was still light until just after 10.00pm so this would not be a problem. And hey 5kms - a walk in the park for us after yesterday.
As we were driving to Cambremer through the little back roads we were following closely where to go, easy says Marie Jo, when you leave Cambremer turn a gauche and a gauche again, we also had a church as a reference point for one of the a gauches. As we neared Cambremer we both saw signs for the garden and independently thought 'oh this looks like a bit of a hike from the village', anyway as we got into the village there was the main entrance to the garden right there, how good was that. (keep this noted for later...) Marie Jo dropped us off and made a booking at the Au P'tit Normande for 7.00pm. We waved our goodbyes with her saying if anything happened or we needed a lift to ring her. We'll be fine we assured her.
The first stop had to be for a coffee, we even had a choice of cafes, Cambremer is a very typical Normandy village, half timbered houses, apple and cherry trees everywhere and overall very 'cute'. The coffee was good - yay! Our first stop was to be the garden www.lesjardinsdupaysdauge.com. The owners had only bought the land in 1994, there were definitely some 'bones' already in place but it was truly inspiring to see this incredible garden - a sheer work of art they had produced in such a short time. Amazing what money can do!!!! But before we headed around this enormous garden it had to be crepe time!!! There is a creperie on the premises serving lovely fresh homemade lunches. I couldn't decide between the interesting main course crepes and the outrageous dessert choice crepes - what to do??
Hedging my bets I ordered a simple ham and cheese crepe for mains so I could try a delicious pear and chocolate sauce crepe with salted caramel ice cream for dessert!! This worked well and yet again we were satisfied and ready to head off through the gardens. The owners had found several little out buildings throughout their land and surrounding countryside which they had moved lock stock and barrel and completely renovated in situ. All very effective and they certainly added another interesting element to the well designed and planted gardens. If you are 'into' gardens this is one certainly to be recommended. It took us nearly two hours to walk around enjoying the ponds, the frogs, all the vistas and bedding plants. Time to walk back to the village for a cup of tea. The sun was really pounding down by now and we needed shade!!
Trying the other cafe in town we sat and had a leisurely cuppa taking in all the quirkiness of the village. They certainly had a 'thing' for what could only be described as a combination flower pot man and scarecrow!! They were everywhere, even way way up in the church clock tower. These sculptures were nearly life size so certainly noticeable. We looked in all the little shops and had a good wander around the village, it was interesting to note how much cheaper the cakes were in the cake shop to Paris!! But we resisted knowing a good evening meal was hopefully coming our way. Before we knew it, time was up and we made our way to the restaurant. The staff were excellent, the food very fresh and authentic Normandy cuisine. "Mamman" was in the kitchen and we selected her specials of the day. The restaurant was absolutely full with mostly locals but also some 'foreigners' as well! Obviously THE place to be on a Saturday night. So glad we had booked earlier in the day. We ended our lovely meal with the gourmand coffee, this is something we cracked onto during our trip. Rather than buying a coffee and dessert separately, lots of restaurants do their gourmand coffee which is a small coffee with a (usually four) selection of mini desserts. A great way to try a good selection of desserts instead of just one and also you get a coffee all for usually the price of one dessert. This is something to check out if you haven't already done so. Okay, so it is now 9.00pm and time for the walk home, how hard could this be???
We turned up past the gardens and kept walking up a hill which we weren't sure we had come down, but.... finally after about 1.5kms we came to the main national road, ok, what was it? turn left then left again. We knew the second left was by the church. We kept walking and walking and walking and walking - you get the idea? We had walked past the sign which we were both convinced we had seen earlier in the day - the one we had seen outside of the village. But we were now a long way past this with no church in sight, in fact it all looked terribly unfamiliar. It was now approaching 10.00pm and the light was fading quickly. What to do? Okay, Marie Jo had said ring her, so we did. Di made the call and told her we were at the creperie? huh? not quite Di!!! We had walked past the creperie/garden sign about 3kms beforehand, oh well, I didn't want to be Mrs. Bossy boots as normal so I didn't jump up and down and figured Marie Jo would find us along the main road, which Di had also told her we were on. We started walking back and were approached by a couple in their little van asking were we lost? Yes, we were, but we had it under control thank you. They were definitely not convinced of this, however, they drove off in the opposite direction but before we knew it they were back again, saying it was now getting dark and really they should give us a lift. We did tell them we had called our lady from the B and B but they convinced us it really was late and she wouldn't see us anyway so they had better drive us home. In the back we hopped, and of course drove back the way we had originally come. We ducked off the main road left and then kept driving through these little roads until we reached Crevecour en Auge which I knew was the next village to where we were staying. They had come yet another way back to Notre Dame de Livaye. We drove in the driveway to be met by our host (never remembered his name)wondering what the heck was happening. Marie Jo had of course dashed off to rescue us without her mobile so we couldn't even ring her to say we were now back. Anyway we were making polite conversation with our rescuers when Marie Jo turned up again, having been to the creperie asking for a blonde and a brunette!!! As she didn't find us she did the sensible thing - thank goodness - and came back to base. It was very embarrassing and we were all apologies and red faces to put everyone to such trouble. fortunately the wedding had been a good one and Marie was in good spirits and didn't mind too much. The interesting thing was that the couple just didn't seem to want to leave. It was starting to get a bit embarrasing and I was ready for bed! Eventually Marie jo offered them a gift for bringing us home, they had a choice of jam or cider which the B and B made both. They said they didn't mind and were given a bottle of cider, with that they finally headed home themselves. We were left wondering if this was customary, it kind of spoilt the good samaritan act if they expected paying or a gift. I would have just dropped us off and said there you go and left. (If I had been the rescuer). More apologies and finally to bed. Marie Jo had very kindly offered to drive us to Beuvron Auge the next day and said she wouldn't leave us there to get home by ourselves she would come and pick us up as well!!! Di and I were so perplexed as to how we had seen this other sign again and yet not gone the right way, it will remain one of lifes little mysteries, especially as the next day we retraced our steps with Marie Jo. And of course it wasn't hard left on the main road, but right and then left in a dog leg, of course, silly us why hadn't we remembered this?????
Have to make the schnuzers dinner - will continue soon. Still working on those photos, actually I am not, I am writing this, but will start working on the photos!!
Schnauzer
Jul 26th, 2010, 03:27 AM
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Okay, doggies fed. Where was I?
Last day in Normandy and we finished it off in Beuvron en Auge one of the most beautiful villages in France. Again right on our doorstep. As promised Marie Jo dropped us off in the village with instructions as to where she was going to pick us up and that we were not to deviate from this plan at any cost!! Beuvron is again the typical Normandy village. It is a protected village and as such has turned into a bit of a tourist trap. A coach load of Japanese tourists had already beaten us to the village by 10.00am. It is not a big village and didn't even sport an ATM which we needed desperately as the B and B didn't take credit cards, oops. There were lots of little shops but selling mostly touristy stuff if I can call it that. We stopped for the coffee break which was very relaxing sitting in the sun, the local bikers had dropped in en route and had bought sticky buns at the local cake shop to have with their coffee. I love that one is allowed to BYO cakes!! A tall very blond and fair skinned chap came and sat next to us, we struck up a conversation (in French bien sur) with him and discovered he ran the local Century 21 franchise and his family had lived in the same area for over 600 years. In fact they had lived in the same farm house for generations as well, very similar story to our B and B lady. He was of Viking stock thus the blond hair etc. It was good to chat and feel confident enough to do so. He had his six pack of cider bottles that needed re filling so off he went to the local fill up station around the corner bidding us farewell.
We did the walk around and marvelled at the new housing estate being built right in the village, all reproduction houses and true replicas of the originals, a thatched roof on one. Well done, Beuvron. As our train was at 1.30pm we decided to buy a bagette sandwich to eat in the garden before we left for the train. Marie Jo's husband came and got us and we had to take a detour to Cambremer to get some cash. Back for lunch in the sun and then the taxi arrived to take us back to Lisieux. The costings for the taxis was interesting. The first journey on a Thursday had cost us 30E which we thought for a 20 mins journey quite a lot. However, when we got into the taxi on Sunday there was already 20E on the clock, hmmm, this was going to be expensive. When we arrived at the station the total was 38E, we argued the 20E flag call etc but to no avail, this was the way it was on a Sunday. Okay then, so take off the 20E which left 18E, so how come the first journey had cost 30E? Somebody was ripping us off left right and centre, I think both ways were to be honest. Again the perils of not having a car. oh well... we had been very lucky with Marie Jo's generosity. The train journey was non eventful and we caught another cab to CDG as our bags were just too heavy for two changes on the metro and then the RER. We had booked ino the Hilton at Roissy for the night to be in situ for our morning flight to Copenhagen. This worked well and we got a deal which included dinner and breakfast. The World cup final was on so we got entertainment as well!!
Bye Bye Paris.
The flight was short and over before we knew it. Anything under 9 hours for us is quick!!! We arrived at the airport and it was stinking hot, well over 32oC. Unfortunately Di didn't have the address of the hotel (huh?) so we werent' sure where to go exactly. We had the general idea having searched the locale on the net etc. But the exact street, no.(we had shared the responsibility for bookings etc) Somehow she was also convinced that the hotel may come and pick us up. Had she actually booked this? well no, but you never know they may!!! Wishful thinking on Di's behalf there! Needless to say no one was there and there was no shuttle bus. We had booked into the Admiral Hotel in Nyhaven. Di asked for the correct metro station to get off at. The ticket seller suggested we took X train and then change for the metro. The metro in fact went straight there so why didn't he tell us just to get the metro? Not sure on that one. Then the train dedided not to stop at the right station so we had to catch another train to get us to the metro line, so we could catch the metro. Needless to say, we we getting very hot and bothered and a little cranky with each other by this stage. Biting our collective tongues we did finally get out at the right stop but of course could only head in the general direction dragging our bags and baking in the hot afternoon sun which was beating down upon our rapidly diminishing enthusiasm!!! Do you get the picture? Rather than cast about from street to street Di decided to ask everyone we passed whether they knew of the hotel, eventually someone did and gave us very circuitous directions. Huffing and puffing we arrived, the hotel was stinking hot, normally I don't like air conditioning and it is really never an option I look for but.... the hotel was an old wharf warehouse and it was an absolute hot box. We were on the 4 floor and had tiny windows which hardly opened. We were given a fan which helped but even outside of the room in the coridoors it was unbearable. There were ice machines on each floor, again something I very rarely see and they were all empty, I had to go to each floor and finally found a trickle of ice to add to some water. Gulping this down we took stock decided to walk along the water's edge. All the old warehouses along the edge of the water had been converted into great looking apartments. Looking at our map we realised we were heading in the direction of the Little Mermaid, I was aware this could be a big fizz in the grand scheme of things, but as we were nearly there we kept walking. Past Fred and Mary's gaff etc. Blow me down with a feather - The Little Mermaid had disappeared!!! Apparently she had gone to Shanghai - talk about being Shanghaied!! In place was some pathetic 'picture thing' and sitting on top of the rock were all the Japanese tourists having their photos taken, ripped off big time. Disgusted we turned around and walked back. A drink on the terrace and some people watching was in order. We were also starting to feel hungry and took a quick whirl to the canal to see what all the many restaurants offered. We had been warned about how expensive Copenhagen was and they weren't kidding. The price of food and drink was unbelievable. We decided the hotel food was actually better priced, which is surprising but true, so we went back to our terrace table and had our dinner there. Nothing terribly exciting but it did the job.
Off to the room to crank the fan up as high as it would go. I actually slept not too badly but Di struggled with the heat.
Day two: The heat had cooled off temporarily and in fact the skies looked most ominous. Breakfast had not been included in the price and the terrace cafe didn't open until 11.00am, the breakfast buffet was outrageous in price so not an option. We decided to get a coffee from the bar inside the hotel, this was not a good idea, the barista took forever to make it and then it was like mud by the time he had finished, yuk. He had Danishes on the bar bench so we had one of those as well.
The first course of action was to check out the Stroget which is the longest pedestrian street in the world, or it is Europe? Anyway, it had a big rap in the guide books so off we went. Bascially it is just hoards of people going in and out of all the shops and cafes. There are all the big names like Georg Jensen and Royal Copenhagen etc. In fact they have a good system in the way that some of the shops link with each other and you don't even have to go outside to get from one to the other!! This worked well as the heavens had decided to open and we managed not to get soaked by doing this shop hopping. Di spent nearly an hour looking at things and buying some last minute gifts in Georg Jensen. We found a little hole in the wall place for a cheap lunch and drink and decided that just walking along this road wasn't much fun and we should venture somewhere else.
A bit like me, I am going to venture to bed now, the schnauzers need to go out and chase the possums for a minute as well!! I will finish up tomorrow - finally.
Schnauzer
Last day in Normandy and we finished it off in Beuvron en Auge one of the most beautiful villages in France. Again right on our doorstep. As promised Marie Jo dropped us off in the village with instructions as to where she was going to pick us up and that we were not to deviate from this plan at any cost!! Beuvron is again the typical Normandy village. It is a protected village and as such has turned into a bit of a tourist trap. A coach load of Japanese tourists had already beaten us to the village by 10.00am. It is not a big village and didn't even sport an ATM which we needed desperately as the B and B didn't take credit cards, oops. There were lots of little shops but selling mostly touristy stuff if I can call it that. We stopped for the coffee break which was very relaxing sitting in the sun, the local bikers had dropped in en route and had bought sticky buns at the local cake shop to have with their coffee. I love that one is allowed to BYO cakes!! A tall very blond and fair skinned chap came and sat next to us, we struck up a conversation (in French bien sur) with him and discovered he ran the local Century 21 franchise and his family had lived in the same area for over 600 years. In fact they had lived in the same farm house for generations as well, very similar story to our B and B lady. He was of Viking stock thus the blond hair etc. It was good to chat and feel confident enough to do so. He had his six pack of cider bottles that needed re filling so off he went to the local fill up station around the corner bidding us farewell.
We did the walk around and marvelled at the new housing estate being built right in the village, all reproduction houses and true replicas of the originals, a thatched roof on one. Well done, Beuvron. As our train was at 1.30pm we decided to buy a bagette sandwich to eat in the garden before we left for the train. Marie Jo's husband came and got us and we had to take a detour to Cambremer to get some cash. Back for lunch in the sun and then the taxi arrived to take us back to Lisieux. The costings for the taxis was interesting. The first journey on a Thursday had cost us 30E which we thought for a 20 mins journey quite a lot. However, when we got into the taxi on Sunday there was already 20E on the clock, hmmm, this was going to be expensive. When we arrived at the station the total was 38E, we argued the 20E flag call etc but to no avail, this was the way it was on a Sunday. Okay then, so take off the 20E which left 18E, so how come the first journey had cost 30E? Somebody was ripping us off left right and centre, I think both ways were to be honest. Again the perils of not having a car. oh well... we had been very lucky with Marie Jo's generosity. The train journey was non eventful and we caught another cab to CDG as our bags were just too heavy for two changes on the metro and then the RER. We had booked ino the Hilton at Roissy for the night to be in situ for our morning flight to Copenhagen. This worked well and we got a deal which included dinner and breakfast. The World cup final was on so we got entertainment as well!!
Bye Bye Paris.
The flight was short and over before we knew it. Anything under 9 hours for us is quick!!! We arrived at the airport and it was stinking hot, well over 32oC. Unfortunately Di didn't have the address of the hotel (huh?) so we werent' sure where to go exactly. We had the general idea having searched the locale on the net etc. But the exact street, no.(we had shared the responsibility for bookings etc) Somehow she was also convinced that the hotel may come and pick us up. Had she actually booked this? well no, but you never know they may!!! Wishful thinking on Di's behalf there! Needless to say no one was there and there was no shuttle bus. We had booked into the Admiral Hotel in Nyhaven. Di asked for the correct metro station to get off at. The ticket seller suggested we took X train and then change for the metro. The metro in fact went straight there so why didn't he tell us just to get the metro? Not sure on that one. Then the train dedided not to stop at the right station so we had to catch another train to get us to the metro line, so we could catch the metro. Needless to say, we we getting very hot and bothered and a little cranky with each other by this stage. Biting our collective tongues we did finally get out at the right stop but of course could only head in the general direction dragging our bags and baking in the hot afternoon sun which was beating down upon our rapidly diminishing enthusiasm!!! Do you get the picture? Rather than cast about from street to street Di decided to ask everyone we passed whether they knew of the hotel, eventually someone did and gave us very circuitous directions. Huffing and puffing we arrived, the hotel was stinking hot, normally I don't like air conditioning and it is really never an option I look for but.... the hotel was an old wharf warehouse and it was an absolute hot box. We were on the 4 floor and had tiny windows which hardly opened. We were given a fan which helped but even outside of the room in the coridoors it was unbearable. There were ice machines on each floor, again something I very rarely see and they were all empty, I had to go to each floor and finally found a trickle of ice to add to some water. Gulping this down we took stock decided to walk along the water's edge. All the old warehouses along the edge of the water had been converted into great looking apartments. Looking at our map we realised we were heading in the direction of the Little Mermaid, I was aware this could be a big fizz in the grand scheme of things, but as we were nearly there we kept walking. Past Fred and Mary's gaff etc. Blow me down with a feather - The Little Mermaid had disappeared!!! Apparently she had gone to Shanghai - talk about being Shanghaied!! In place was some pathetic 'picture thing' and sitting on top of the rock were all the Japanese tourists having their photos taken, ripped off big time. Disgusted we turned around and walked back. A drink on the terrace and some people watching was in order. We were also starting to feel hungry and took a quick whirl to the canal to see what all the many restaurants offered. We had been warned about how expensive Copenhagen was and they weren't kidding. The price of food and drink was unbelievable. We decided the hotel food was actually better priced, which is surprising but true, so we went back to our terrace table and had our dinner there. Nothing terribly exciting but it did the job.
Off to the room to crank the fan up as high as it would go. I actually slept not too badly but Di struggled with the heat.
Day two: The heat had cooled off temporarily and in fact the skies looked most ominous. Breakfast had not been included in the price and the terrace cafe didn't open until 11.00am, the breakfast buffet was outrageous in price so not an option. We decided to get a coffee from the bar inside the hotel, this was not a good idea, the barista took forever to make it and then it was like mud by the time he had finished, yuk. He had Danishes on the bar bench so we had one of those as well.
The first course of action was to check out the Stroget which is the longest pedestrian street in the world, or it is Europe? Anyway, it had a big rap in the guide books so off we went. Bascially it is just hoards of people going in and out of all the shops and cafes. There are all the big names like Georg Jensen and Royal Copenhagen etc. In fact they have a good system in the way that some of the shops link with each other and you don't even have to go outside to get from one to the other!! This worked well as the heavens had decided to open and we managed not to get soaked by doing this shop hopping. Di spent nearly an hour looking at things and buying some last minute gifts in Georg Jensen. We found a little hole in the wall place for a cheap lunch and drink and decided that just walking along this road wasn't much fun and we should venture somewhere else.
A bit like me, I am going to venture to bed now, the schnauzers need to go out and chase the possums for a minute as well!! I will finish up tomorrow - finally.
Schnauzer
Jul 27th, 2010, 04:37 AM
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Okay, I am downloading the photos, or uploading whichever it is onto Kodak so I will be able to post them on here! For those who haven't yet fallen asleep with total boredom.
Let's finish the day above. We walked to the Botanical Gardens which proved a really good idea. They were really gorgeous with a beautiful lake in the middle which still had a temporary exhibition "floating' on it. I think this exhibition may become permanent or at least last as long as the installation lasts. There are eight fibre glass bowls with a diameter of about 1.5m each, they are clear but with dried flowers inserted between the layers of fibre glass. Very, very effective. They are left free to blow in the breeze moving slowly along the lake and little streams. I couldn't believe such a simple idea could be so effective. Needless to say I took heaps of photos.
Next we moved on to the Royal Gardens, if some of these terms are not 100% correct forgive me as it is late and I can't be fussed to go and get my info out of the cupboard. There is a Royal Palace where the Treasury and the Crown Jewels etc are kept. Again it was very expensive to go in so we just had a cup of tea in the delightful courtyard tea rooms. We decided that after so many trips abroad we are over a lot of museum visits. We walked back through the town and ended up at our hotel via Fred and Mary's house again.
We had noticed in the morning that another room had become vacant up the hallway which had a double door opening fully with a water view also. We asked to change rooms thinking this would be much cooler. So back to the room to enjoy a couple of small bottles of wine we hadn't been able to drink on the plane due to severe turbulence. (we werent' going to leave them on board!!)We ate down at the hotel terrace restaurant again, I know, not very adventurous but we were kind of over the whole looking for a restaurant thing by now. We did however manage to get to the ice cream shop for a jumbo cone of mouth watering blackcurrent, chocolate and hazelnut ice cream!! We then proceeded to walk again around the town, we thought we had crossed the river into Christian Haven at one point. We were following (discreetly) a ladies tour group, it was in Polish so we didn't have a clue what we were actually looking at but it opened up things we hadn't seen before. Anyway we realised eventually that we were still on the main island particularly when we arrived at the Tivoli Garden in full swing. We also found the Town Hall and the begining or the other end whichever way you look at it, of the Stroget,but definitely the seedier end. Two hours later and we were back at the hotel.
Earlier that evening, after the ice cream and before the walk we had come across the little hop on hop off bus. We had wanted to know if we could get on but the diver said they finished at 8.00pm, he was on his way home. We asked the price and he told us 23.50kroner for adults and 16kroner for under 16s. We batted our eyelids and asked did he think we could get on for the under 16s?? He said if he was on the bus tomorrow then he would let us on for the cheap price. We decided we would do the bus tomorrow and try and get to Christian Haven. There were too many Christian things and I got confused, the bus didn't go to Christian Haven but to another Christian place!! Anyway I am jumping ahead. (yes please I hear you say)
That night we found out that the new room was directly above the restaurant and bar and whether it was from there or another place nearby but the noise went on ALL night, whooping and hollering, drove us mental so we had to shut the doors to keep out the noise and consequently got really hot as this room didn't have a fan.... dang. I didn't sleep well at all, so much for the great move.
We took things slowly in the morning, packing and getting organised for the big trip home. We left out a change of clothes as we knew we could shower that evening in the SAS lounge at the airport before we boarded our flight which didn't leave until nearly 11.00pm.
Foregoing the mud coffee at the bar in the hotel we found an Irish Bar/gastro pub (had a chuckle at that one) by the canal run by an Aussie and had the best coffee of the trip - funny that!! We Aussie sure make a mean cappucino. Fortified we paid, I didnt' want lots of loose change so I made sure I had a 50Kroner note rather than coins. (for some reason I thought this was a good idea). We found the little hop on hop off bus and jumped aboard, it wasn't the same driver but a fellow equally as nice if not nicer. I tried to pay with my note to be told he didn't take notes only change, grrrr. I explained my dilemma - ie no coins sorry. he then whispered if we didn't tell, he wouldn't tell and get on the bus for nothing!!! better than half price. They were so very friendly, and unlike Aussie bus drivers couldn't give two hoots whether you paid or not. He even gave us a running commentary of what we were seeing which was great as we had seen it all the night before in the dark and hadn't known what we were looking at half the time. Even the maps handed out by the hotel were in Danish. We even had a change over of bus drivers and he told the new driver we were riding for free!!! We were the only ones on the bus anyway so at least they had company. We asked how to get to Christian Haven - he dropped us off at an ordinary bus stop - get the number 2A, easy done, it came along straight away.
We walked around the canal areas which were beautifully restored found a cute french cafe (huh?) and had a lovely tuna salad for lunch. We jumped on another bus heading to the Opera House. It wasn't open for visitors at that time for some reason but we had a good gander at all the renovated buildings along the foreshore which were now offices, art schools and apartments. Chatted to a couple of fellows who explained the reason it was so quiet in Copenhagen was that everyone, particularly the students, were on holidays. They ran a commerical real estate business from out of one of the groovy new offices. Warming to our public transport theme we jumped on a ferry heading to the other side of the river and found ourselves near to the ice cream shop again.... with our last 65kroner (I had 2 kroner left to my name now) we bought ice creams. I was determined not to go home with any cash.
We picked up our bags, took the metro all the way to the airport, I don't know what the daft suggestion was when we came in was to take the train. But it made no sense, don't listen to anyone if they tell you this!!
Found the lounge, had a lovely shower which was great after the hot day we had had. Boarded the plane and changed in Bangkok, again we had the lounge facilities, another shower and hair wash worked well as did the complimentary neck, arm and back massage courtesy of Thai Airways Spa. Arrived back home at 7.00am to a cool but sunny day. Home safe and sound, the best way to be.
The photos are still down/up loading, will post them tomorrow as it is past my bed time now.
I hope you have enjoyed my journeys, you will be pleased to see the back of me for a while!!!
Until next time, Schnauzer
Let's finish the day above. We walked to the Botanical Gardens which proved a really good idea. They were really gorgeous with a beautiful lake in the middle which still had a temporary exhibition "floating' on it. I think this exhibition may become permanent or at least last as long as the installation lasts. There are eight fibre glass bowls with a diameter of about 1.5m each, they are clear but with dried flowers inserted between the layers of fibre glass. Very, very effective. They are left free to blow in the breeze moving slowly along the lake and little streams. I couldn't believe such a simple idea could be so effective. Needless to say I took heaps of photos.
Next we moved on to the Royal Gardens, if some of these terms are not 100% correct forgive me as it is late and I can't be fussed to go and get my info out of the cupboard. There is a Royal Palace where the Treasury and the Crown Jewels etc are kept. Again it was very expensive to go in so we just had a cup of tea in the delightful courtyard tea rooms. We decided that after so many trips abroad we are over a lot of museum visits. We walked back through the town and ended up at our hotel via Fred and Mary's house again.
We had noticed in the morning that another room had become vacant up the hallway which had a double door opening fully with a water view also. We asked to change rooms thinking this would be much cooler. So back to the room to enjoy a couple of small bottles of wine we hadn't been able to drink on the plane due to severe turbulence. (we werent' going to leave them on board!!)We ate down at the hotel terrace restaurant again, I know, not very adventurous but we were kind of over the whole looking for a restaurant thing by now. We did however manage to get to the ice cream shop for a jumbo cone of mouth watering blackcurrent, chocolate and hazelnut ice cream!! We then proceeded to walk again around the town, we thought we had crossed the river into Christian Haven at one point. We were following (discreetly) a ladies tour group, it was in Polish so we didn't have a clue what we were actually looking at but it opened up things we hadn't seen before. Anyway we realised eventually that we were still on the main island particularly when we arrived at the Tivoli Garden in full swing. We also found the Town Hall and the begining or the other end whichever way you look at it, of the Stroget,but definitely the seedier end. Two hours later and we were back at the hotel.
Earlier that evening, after the ice cream and before the walk we had come across the little hop on hop off bus. We had wanted to know if we could get on but the diver said they finished at 8.00pm, he was on his way home. We asked the price and he told us 23.50kroner for adults and 16kroner for under 16s. We batted our eyelids and asked did he think we could get on for the under 16s?? He said if he was on the bus tomorrow then he would let us on for the cheap price. We decided we would do the bus tomorrow and try and get to Christian Haven. There were too many Christian things and I got confused, the bus didn't go to Christian Haven but to another Christian place!! Anyway I am jumping ahead. (yes please I hear you say)
That night we found out that the new room was directly above the restaurant and bar and whether it was from there or another place nearby but the noise went on ALL night, whooping and hollering, drove us mental so we had to shut the doors to keep out the noise and consequently got really hot as this room didn't have a fan.... dang. I didn't sleep well at all, so much for the great move.
We took things slowly in the morning, packing and getting organised for the big trip home. We left out a change of clothes as we knew we could shower that evening in the SAS lounge at the airport before we boarded our flight which didn't leave until nearly 11.00pm.
Foregoing the mud coffee at the bar in the hotel we found an Irish Bar/gastro pub (had a chuckle at that one) by the canal run by an Aussie and had the best coffee of the trip - funny that!! We Aussie sure make a mean cappucino. Fortified we paid, I didnt' want lots of loose change so I made sure I had a 50Kroner note rather than coins. (for some reason I thought this was a good idea). We found the little hop on hop off bus and jumped aboard, it wasn't the same driver but a fellow equally as nice if not nicer. I tried to pay with my note to be told he didn't take notes only change, grrrr. I explained my dilemma - ie no coins sorry. he then whispered if we didn't tell, he wouldn't tell and get on the bus for nothing!!! better than half price. They were so very friendly, and unlike Aussie bus drivers couldn't give two hoots whether you paid or not. He even gave us a running commentary of what we were seeing which was great as we had seen it all the night before in the dark and hadn't known what we were looking at half the time. Even the maps handed out by the hotel were in Danish. We even had a change over of bus drivers and he told the new driver we were riding for free!!! We were the only ones on the bus anyway so at least they had company. We asked how to get to Christian Haven - he dropped us off at an ordinary bus stop - get the number 2A, easy done, it came along straight away.
We walked around the canal areas which were beautifully restored found a cute french cafe (huh?) and had a lovely tuna salad for lunch. We jumped on another bus heading to the Opera House. It wasn't open for visitors at that time for some reason but we had a good gander at all the renovated buildings along the foreshore which were now offices, art schools and apartments. Chatted to a couple of fellows who explained the reason it was so quiet in Copenhagen was that everyone, particularly the students, were on holidays. They ran a commerical real estate business from out of one of the groovy new offices. Warming to our public transport theme we jumped on a ferry heading to the other side of the river and found ourselves near to the ice cream shop again.... with our last 65kroner (I had 2 kroner left to my name now) we bought ice creams. I was determined not to go home with any cash.
We picked up our bags, took the metro all the way to the airport, I don't know what the daft suggestion was when we came in was to take the train. But it made no sense, don't listen to anyone if they tell you this!!
Found the lounge, had a lovely shower which was great after the hot day we had had. Boarded the plane and changed in Bangkok, again we had the lounge facilities, another shower and hair wash worked well as did the complimentary neck, arm and back massage courtesy of Thai Airways Spa. Arrived back home at 7.00am to a cool but sunny day. Home safe and sound, the best way to be.
The photos are still down/up loading, will post them tomorrow as it is past my bed time now.
I hope you have enjoyed my journeys, you will be pleased to see the back of me for a while!!!
Until next time, Schnauzer
Jul 27th, 2010, 08:13 PM
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my photo link to a slideshow. I will post separately as well.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/...hotos-_-Sharee
Schnauzer
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/...hotos-_-Sharee
Schnauzer
Jul 29th, 2010, 03:34 PM
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I found you here too You haven't tagged it as Denmark, this is why I've almost missed this report.
"Blow me down with a feather - The Little Mermaid had disappeared!!!" - I am about to give you a heart attack! Yes, she was Shanhaied BUT a little research told me her "sister" - a copy that the sculptor had in the family - is on display in Tivoli.
You mention Tivoli in your report - you didn't see the mermaid? If I can I'll take a photo for you.
You haven't tagged it as Denmark, this is why I've almost missed this report."Blow me down with a feather - The Little Mermaid had disappeared!!!" - I am about to give you a heart attack! Yes, she was Shanhaied BUT a little research told me her "sister" - a copy that the sculptor had in the family - is on display in Tivoli.
You mention Tivoli in your report - you didn't see the mermaid? If I can I'll take a photo for you.
Jul 30th, 2010, 04:28 AM
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How fun to read your report. We have just returned from Copenhagen (and the Hotel Admiral--I finally asked for a fan) and we leave in a couple of weeks for Normandy and Brittany. We too went to the Botanical garden and to Christians Haven (did you see Christiania, the squatters commune?) and loved Tivoli. If it's any consolation the temps in all of Scandinavia have been at record highs for the last several weeks. We're sorting through our pix now. I hope some of ours are as good as yours. Thanks for all the work putting this together. Enjoyable.
Jul 30th, 2010, 04:39 AM
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Hi Julie, sorry we were not there at the same time, we could have shared the fan!!! ha ha. Yes, we did see the sqatters commune - hmmm interesting. I hope your pix turn out well, don't forget to share them with us all.
Farremog, I just used a small Panasonic Lumix camera, and took them all (expect the black and white) on Auto Intelligent setting. So I cheated all the way!!! I do take a bit of time to try and get the best setting, looking at anything that may show up when printed ie. power lines, posts in the way etc. The flower ones I took with the macro lens.
It is a good little camera that is for sure. thanks for the compliments.
Schnauzer
Farremog, I just used a small Panasonic Lumix camera, and took them all (expect the black and white) on Auto Intelligent setting. So I cheated all the way!!! I do take a bit of time to try and get the best setting, looking at anything that may show up when printed ie. power lines, posts in the way etc. The flower ones I took with the macro lens.
It is a good little camera that is for sure. thanks for the compliments.
Schnauzer
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