10 October 2011 - some more pics

Having been unceremoniously tossed from the "service" option that I was trying to get involved in, and no doubt because I am tired I am miffed, I have decided to come and camp at the coffee shop and write a little more. I actually cannot get over the attitude of the arrogant overaged-trying-to-be-hip-teen-middle-aged-man who seemed to think that he could be as objectionable as he wished.

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Okay, that over - see that the castle at the end of the road did not upload correctly, and try as I might, I discover that I cannot get in to edit my post - so herewith the pic that belongs to the castle from last night's posting!



Just gone and got myself a realy decadent hot chocolate - so I am sure that things will improve in the tiny mind of Wendy Robb!

So, to continue the journey - well the parade. All the key figures and I think the main films were featured on the various floats - much to the joy, excitement and at time absolute awe of the children and adults congregated on the sidewalks.

Some reflections and memories recalled on 19 October 2011

And, for once I write at a more reasonable hour of the day - or at least make a start on it.

We had the hurdler, Colin Jackson speak to us today - and he and the woman from Save the Children, who spoke yesterday, both sent one main message that I fould really worthwhile. Success for them was partly achieved through their own belief in themselves, their training - but for both, it was in a very large way, the fact that other people had confidence in them and believed that they could do things. It is something that has really resonated with me, not just because I am a teacher and thus in the business where we need to believe in our young charges, but also because it is often those people in whom I have placed my confidence and belief that have always risen to the occasion - and never been afraid to stop along the way and ask if in need of direction, but on the other hand, knowing that I believe that they can do things has empowered them - just as I had been empowered (and continue to be so) when people have told me how much they believe in me. Special indeed.

So, back to Euro Disney and the trip.

The parade that we watched was really over the top in such an extreme manner - but just resonated with all that Disney seems to be about. There was a scene where the people were gathered from the crowd and had a chance to dance with some of the Disney characters, but for the most part, it was a case of trying to balance experiencing the experience in real time, and then through the eye piece of a camera.

It is something I have spent quite a bit of this trip working at - trying to find the balance of being "in the moment", but also being able to take pics so that I have very real memories from the moment too!

Brief comment about 18 October and then - "Back in time - 10 October 2011"

So, I know that people are looking at this - but there are no comments being left - feeling neglected!!

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Today has been a case of going from something like what felt like 300 kms an hour to 10 - and I am feeling more than a little whiplashed as a result. We have spent most of the day in metings and discussion groups,and despite the fact that we did not have to wak at my usual early hour, I basically slept through my alarm that went on "alarming" for 45 minutes until I switched it off at 6:45. I only discovered this when I sat down to have dinner with Christine Ashton, who has the room opposite me, this evening, and made the comment that I had battled to wake this morning. She then said that she had heard an alarm going off perpetually, and had thought that the girl in whose room she is sleeping, and who had left some of her stuff in the room in a suitcase under the bed, must have left something that had an alarm, and she had hoped that the thing would effectively have flattened its battery by this evening. So, I guess a case of, "Boy was my face red!"

Back to the trip before the Conference and some of what I experienced.

Okay, so for those of you who diligently follwed my Facebook postings there will be some repeats here, as I think I do need to chronicle things a little - especially for when I one day get Altzheimer's - like my Mum

10 - 11 October - EuroDisney

This has never been a place that I have had a craving, or even a simple desire to visit, and yet when Helen suggested that we might wish to go along there since we were going to be going to Paris in any event, it became something we thought the kids would enjoy, and certainly then became an item of interest for me.



This is the entrance to one of the two theme parks that they have at the centre. I think it is also a hotel (there are apparently about 9 or 11 hotels in and around the actual park - and then there are a maze of parks that are a little further off - but serviced by a bus shuttle to and from the park for free every ten to twenty minutes.

I have to confess that both Christine and I felt completely overwhelmed when we encountered this. We actually arrived and had to look around at the three entrances (two to the two parks and the third was the entrance to the place that was home to various restaurants and a massive cinema complex, which we discovered on the Tuesday morning, mainly showed French films.

We then walked into the one theme park itself and that was even more of an "information overload" for us.



This was what was called "The Main Street" - and along the top "floor" there ran a train that Christine and I thought might take us around the park and give us a chance to discover the various sights of the park. We later discovered that this was actualy not the case, but it was not the end of the world - we enjoyed the time off our feet!

We passed under this and were greeted by a main street and at the end of that a massive castle - very "Sleeping Beauty" or such like.



The street was lined with a myriad of shops trying to sell their various Disney wares. We soon discovered, after walking around with Mickey Mouse ear eyes, that each shop basically had similar merchandise, with one or two things a little different to another shop. Although, here and there there were shops selling slightly more specialised goods - such as crystal encrusted jewellery or other such like things. But there were more than just one of each of these stores too.

As anyone who has been to Disneyworld will know, there are a number of different themed areas, and soon Christine and I discovered ourselves in what was called something like the "Frontier Park" - an aspect of the park dedicated to the whole American frontier discoveries.

I had made a promise to myself that I would ride at least one ride, and finally convinced Christine that we would ride the "Big Mountain" ride - or something to that effect and so we went on this funny train like affair -that we discovered was controlled remotely - and was a kind of roller coaster. Unbeknownst to us there is a camera somewhere along the ride, so at the conclusion, as one staggers out of the area, there is an old fashioned photo type stall where they sell copies of the pic that was taken digitally during the ride. We made it to the front of the pic - white knuxckles and all - and rather interestingly both commented that until that point we had never understood why people scream while on those kinds of rides. Well, we now know - you just do!



Christine also manged to lose her old reading glasses that you can see secure around her neck in this pic, but at the end of the journey, all that was left was the string that kept them around her neck. Fortunately they were her old ones, and fortunately she had brought the new ones along, so while it was a loss, it was not monumental.

We had lunch at the Toy Story section of the park, where we had a hamburger, fries and a coke for ten euros. The two former were not at all warm either!

That afternoon we meandered the streets, took the train ride around the outskirts of the theme park, but saw very little of the actual park itself, and then made our way to the street leading up towards the castle, in preparation for the Disney Parade that takes place at 5 each afternoon.

Marshalls, in a relatively (and possibly for the French very) polite manner kept people from standing in the street to catch close ups of the parade and made sure we remained on the sideewalks. We snapped away - Christine and I.

And so for the grand entrance of Mickey and Minnie:



And a rather larger than life Donald Duck:



And then we had the whole caboodle of Alice in Wonderland:



Followed by the green soldiers and then "Toy Story" characters:



And now, dear people - my washing ought to be washed and dried, and so bed calls - before midnight - hard to believe!!!

17 October 2011

Too late to really post anything worthwhile - so am afraid you will have to be happy with a rather half-baked affair! :-)

Today has been another journey – literally. We have travelled from our hotel in Paris, via the Metro carrying bags of luggage and bits that had been bought during our time in Paris and the more rural area of Ambroise. It was quite a mission, and true to my usual form, I carried more than I ought in the form of my netbook case and all the bits therein, my camera and all the bits therein, a bag that I had kept for luggage and toiletries that had been needed for the last three days (including today) (which was most organised of me, if a little clumsy in terms of lugging things about.

So, we marched through until the station for the Eurostar – and that it where this finds me writing this. It will give me a chance to try and catch up on the week thus far in terms of what we were fortunate enough to enjoy.

So, I got the point of day one where we went for a tour of Versailles. I was most intrigued that this castle was built in response to the Louis reigning at the time who got miffed at the fact that his palace had been the Louvre, and when, I think it was his tax collector commissioned a massive home for himself, Louis got jealous and so decided he needed something a little more fitting for a king – and so the palace of Versailles was built – or added on to, as it had served as a hunting lodge for the king and his acolytes. ( I have a suspicion that I shared this on FB - but you will all have to be patient.

And now, because I am too tired to write much - some pics from Versailles:

The palace from a little distance



The central block that is somewhat obscured by the great gates is the old hunting cottage



The famous "Hall of Mirrors"

I guess it is 17 October 2011

12:27 - and I guess I ought to be spending some time trying to catch up on some sleep. Instead, I have got caught by the "bug", and also by the sense that time is rapidly marching along!

This time tomorrow evening, I am hoping I will be soundly asleep in a bed on English soil at Wellington College. This week has just been one evening after the next of late nights for a myriad of reasons, and I feel certain that there will be more in the next week. Thankfully, Uncle Dave and Aunty Pam have acknowledged the fact that I am probably going to be collected in a heap next Sunday, and have said they suggest that I do take some time to just gather my scattered wits.

I am often reminded of a comment made by Rev Dan when he was at the bus one day when Mum was collecting me from some trip or another, and he smiled in his benevolent manner and stated quite matter of factly, "Wendy, you are blessed.". And, indeed he is and was right. I have been blessed with so many things in my life - and continue to be blessed in so many ways.

Today, I was able to cycle on what started as a relatively brisk morning in terms of the weather, but turned into the most charming day. I cycled through a French hamlet, took in a castle on the Loire River and enjoyed a baguette at the conclusion of the cycle ride at the entrance to the castle.



This was the magnificent view to which we were treated along a side path of the Loire River of the castle outside which we enjoyed our lunch of baguettes, etc.

I have also had the chance in one short week to enjoy such things as a one and a half day trip to Euro Disney, and despite this never being something that was on my "bucket list", it is wonderful to have been there and had a chance to experience the fun of the place in general terms.

When I am with Aunty Pam and Uncle Dave I will try and take a pic of the pic that Christine and I bought at the park that was taken of the two of us screaming our heads off on a silly, but scary enough ride on some "mountain" in the frontier park. Not the most flattering pic of either of us, but certainly the white knuckles gripping the carriage or bar that held us in, was indicative of the manic manner in which we hurtled around the ride.

Then, the next adventure as we had to herd nine kids, all our luggage and purchases, and ourselves across Paris in the RER train, cross to the Metro system, board the metro train, change trains and then negotiate our way down a none too savoury part of Paris before arriving at our "home" for almost the whole of the last week. (All but last night has been spent with this hotel as our base on the banks of one of the Parisian canals). It was quite weird to return this evening and know that this was where we were and we might have been in different rooms, but we were very familiar with what was here and what was not.

And then the whirlwind, and as someone said when we had coffee and hot chocolate this evening, this really is a city with so many (possibly the most) famous landmarks, many of which we would "take in" during the course of the week.

We started on Monday with Notre Dame. Photos do not do it justice, but in this you get a sense of the magnificence - with the boys gathered in front in one of my "gather round boys" shots of one of the land marks.



Then a lunch and off to the Palace of Versailles. Beautiful gardens that our visit just could not do justice to. The most incredible palace - built and furnished by men with egos so great, and in the main, statures so small. It was the start of the surreal experience of walking the paths of men and women I have read about in books, watched films telling their stories and generally become familiar with through my various sorties into historical information.

And so, with that, I think that I will call it a day. I hope I have a chance to continue this journey in a more or less logical fashion (as I am conscious that this is what Mum would appreciate! :-)), but I am not confident that this will indeed be the case.

Later this morning will be a traipsing across parts of Paris to what we have located as the nearest Metro in order to catch a train to the Eurostar station and then book in to go across to the UK. Another day, another adventure!

All for now as the eyes are getting droopy and dreams call!

16 October 2011

This will be brief, as I have just 5 minutes to ensure that I can get this to work properly. With some luck I will be able to post something a little later.

Well, this year, I have done (apart from the obvious, which only struck home when I read Mum's email - "enjoy your last night in France") - but I have now done a third thing that is a first for me!

While on the Namibia Conference - I quad biked (and fell off the bike! - my Trademark! :-)) over the dunes of Swakopmund. I showered under the stars at Kamoka Bush School when we were there on our Project. Today I cycled 20 kms through the countryside of France - including through forests, vineyards, and along the Loire River - and only managed to fall off the bike three times - hey, what would a bike or other ride be if I did not fall off!

Okay, five minutes are up - have to go and negotiate Metro trains and have dinner. Will try and add to this - and put up some pics!

Much love!

15 October 2011

It has been a week of such strange experiences. I have tried to capture some of this in my Facebook postings, but space is limited, and so I thought it was time to return to my blog.

First it was a case of coming to France - the country that always seems synonymous with all things romantic, fashionable, chic, and so on and so on.

It is much of that, but as I have just commented to my aunt - who I sent a text to not realising quite how late it was! - it is also a country where there are strange anomolies.

By this I can think of how beautiful the Eiffel Tower looked last night when they switched on the flashing lights - which they apparently do for 10 minutes every hour on the hour after nightfall - and we were fortunate enough to witness two displays for various reasons!

The photo does not do justice to what we saw - but, better than nothing!


But on the other hand, much of what I have personally seen and experienced also just seems to need one of the highveld serious storms that come down at the end of a dry and dusty winter and wash everything clean. However, I do believe that mother nature will have to haul out some of the jik or domestos to aid her clean of some places!

I wil be posting my ramblings and thoughts and experiences on this instead of Facebook from now on - so do pop in and see what has been happening every so often!

All my love
Wendy

This was written yesterday, but battling to post it - not sure why!