Cruising the Mediterranean

Oct 16: Avignon

By the time we arrived in Avignon, it was early evening so we checked into the small apartment hotel we had reserved, and then went out to find some dinner.  Helene’s car is a Kia Opirus---it must be the largest model they make.  She was amazing -----squeezing through the narrow winding streets of the old part of city of Avignon, backing up when the street became impassable, avoiding pedestrians and parked cars and finally negotiating our way into a parking garage with ramps so narrow we had to hold our breathes to squeeze through.  Finally we found a typical little French bistro and had dinner.  The next morning we visited “Le Palias des Papes,” (Popes’ Palace) which became the seat of the Christian world in the 14^th C, when 9 different popes resided there--- in sumptuous luxury and debauchery. It is apparently the biggest Gothic palace in the world.  We didn’t have time to take the full tour, as we had to be on our way to Marseille to board our ship in the afternoon.  The legendary bridge of Avignon was also at that site. “sur le pont d’Avignon,  l’on y danse….”

Oct. 17: Marseille

The most “striking” thing about Marseille was the garbage.  This was the third or fourth strike we came across in France, which I was told, is what happens there whenever there is a holiday.   So far we have been very lucky though.  The trains are on strike, so we travelled by car.  Then we heard there was no gasoline deliveries, but were able to find enough available.   Finally our ship just barely was able to sail, as the harbor pilots were also striking. 

But sail we did, leaving Marseille around suppertime on Sunday.  Almost all of the 800 people on the cruise are from France, or are French speakers.  I have been told there are a few Norwegians on board also.  We have met a couple from Quebec.  The crew who are from all over the world, the Philippines, South America, Vietnam, etc. speak English, some fluently.    Every thing is in French---the entertainment, the menu, any announcements, the daily newsletter, everything.  This is somewhat disappointing to me--- I thought I might find a few English speakers to visit with.   Of course my travel companions can translate for me, and occasionally I can have a very brief dialogue with someone at table, etc, but it is a bit awkward.  The cruise ship is very nice—and of course there is no end to good food and wine. 

Oct. 18: Ajaccio

Monday morning we docked in Ajaccio, on the isle of Corsica, which is now French, but has bounced back and forth from Italy to France, and I suppose others, over the years.  The people don’t consider themselves either French or Italian, but fiercely identify as Corsican.  The city is on a hill, as are all of these port towns.  Ajaccio has a series narrow passages leading down from the top of the hill to the sea, running perpendicular to the streets.  These were for the people to escape to the sea whenever they were invaded or there was some kind of disaster.

We had most of the day to explore the area.  All of us walked through the old city in the morning, doing some shopping and visiting some churches.  We returned to the ship for lunch, and Gloria stayed behind, as we headed out again.  I visited the Fesch museum, which has the largest collection of classical oils in France, outside of the Louvre.   They were once the private collection of Cardinal Fesch, whose “palace” is in the area.  Ajaccio is also Napoleon’s hometown.   The cruise we are on is called “on the path of Napoleon. “ Loriane and Helene walked through most of the old and new cities.

Oct. 20: Valetta, Malta

Tuesday we were at sea all day, and on Wednesday we docked in Valetta, Malta.  We only had the morning on shore, so Loriane, Helene and I took a bus to the city centre and then did a lot of exploring from there.  Each city has a distinct flavor.  The old city of Malta is walled.  The area is beautiful, the air warm and fresh.  The official language is English, because England held it last before its independence in 1964.  However most of the English we heard had a very strong Italian accent.  There are definitely vestiges of England’s presence--- the red phone booths and a Marks & Spencer’s store for instance.  Talk about a place that was always being occupied by some outside force--- the large swanky hotel in the centre of the city is called “The Phoenician!”

Last night’s show was especially great—a revue called “Destinations,” presenting singing and dancing from many different countries.  “Danny Boy” brought me to tears.

We are all doing well--- minimal seasickness—although the sea has been rough at times.  We are having a great time.  Next on to Italy.

I hope all is well where you are.

Love, Maggie Rose

Heading Out to Sea

Helene, Loriane, Gloria and I are going on a Mediterranean cruise after all.  Helene found one that is 8 days and 7 nights, for 390 Euros, which is about $80 per day Canadian. We depart from Marseille, France on Sunday, then to Ajaccio (in Corsica), Valetta (Malta), then Naples, Civitavecchia/Rome, Elba, and back to Marseille. We are driving to Marseille--probably leaving here on Saturday morning and spending the night in Avignon.  It’s a 3-star boat, the Costa Marina, and we have inside cabins, but that’s just for sleeping anyway.  We get into port at each of our stops, so there is plenty of time for exploring.  I will probably take a tour into Rome--- how could I miss that?  I can barely imagine that I am actually having this experience. 

I hope to post about the cruise, but may have to wait until we return, as I am not sure how Internet access works from the ship--- it is available, but the cost may be too high. 

The weather has turned colder here, the summery days are gone, and I am told there will probably be snow on the mountains when we return here, on Oct 24. The valley where we are still stays quite mild all winter.  And not much rain either. It’s just about perfect, from what I hear.

Thanks to all who encouraged me to take this marvelous trip!  I really never thought I would get here. 

Sion

Today, Wednesday, Oct. 13, we visited Sion, which is the capitol of the canton we are in, Valais.   We were invited for lunch at a friend of Helene’s, Nadine, who is an architect, and designed the building and the beautifully decorated penthouse apartment where she lives.  She has the most amazing view of the beautiful city on one side, and of the vineyards and mountains on the other.  Exceptional! 

We were invited for a very special lunch.  In the Sion area it is traditional to have a meal of roasted chestnuts at harvest time.  Our meal consisted of the chestnuts (which we had to crack open), several kinds of cheese, and wine.  It was very interesting and very good. 

After lunch we walked around Sion, through the narrow winding streets, visiting some churches, and other sites. I took lots of photos, but haven’t off loaded them yet. There is a huge castle and an even bigger church on the top of a hill in Sion that are magnificent.  We also visited a Romanesque church built in the 11^th century.

It’s so wonderful visiting a place where you know someone and have the opportunity to visit people’s homes and experience something of the real life there.  I am thoroughly enjoying these experiences, even with the language differences.

Life in Martigny

Multi-Lingual Card Game

Yesterday a friend of Gloria’s came for lunch.  Her name is Olga, and she is in her mid-eighties.  Gloria met her on her last trip here, and they really hit it off.  We ate out on the patio, which we do usually for lunch, as it is still quite warm here in the middle of the day.  With our meal we had local wine, grapes that just came off the vine, figs from the tree in the backyard, local cheese and of course, Swiss chocolate. 

After lunch, they wanted to play cards, and needed a fourth, so I joined in, along with Loriane.  It was the funniest thing, like something from Alice in Wonderland.  Olga was going to teach us a traditional Swiss card game that was new to all of us.  Olga was instructing us in Swiss French.  Sometimes Lorianne had to translate for Gloria because of the differences with Quebec French.  Gloria would say things to Olga in English sometimes, and to me in French.  After they got the gist of what was going on, Loriane tried to pass it on to me in English. I tried to listen and pick up what I could. We started laughing so hard about all of this, and made it through the game.  Loriane and I actually won.  Then we played another game that was new to Olga, and that was just as funny.  So there we sat for much of the afternoon-----Olga, who spoke very little English (I was told that people her age usually only learn the three official languages—French, Italian and German, but kids in school now also have the option to take English.) -- Gloria with her “Franglish”, Loriane, a Swiss who is an English teacher, and me with my smattering of French.  At least I know my numbers.  It was a delightful experience.

Later we drove Olga home to the village where she lives way up in the mountains.  It was just like one imagines villages in the Alps.  Until fairly recently they did not have a grocery store, but trucks would stop by and the people would buy the things they needed right from the truck. 

The Roman City

Today we visited a number of places in the city where old Roman buildings have been excavated.  There is a Roman style house built around 380 AD that had central heating and baths.  Also an amphitheatre, which is now used for cow fights (not bullfights, but cows. When the cows come down from the mountains in the fall, they want to fight to see who is the “queen cow.”  The locals take great pride in their cow being queen, so they bring them together in the amphitheatre to fight it out.)  There is part of the Roman Road that came through Martigny, on the way to Londinium.  Often these ruins are found when a new building is being built, like the apartment building we saw where a large Roman villa is underneath, protected by a concrete and steel floor and then the apartment build on top.  What a nightmare for the contractor when they begin to dig and uncover something like that!

Arrival in Martigny

The flight to Switzerland went pretty smoothly-- probably as well as can be for a long overnight flight.  We didn't do quite as well getting assistance as on the Vancouver to Montreal flight.  We were supposed to have wheelchairs at the Montreal airport, because that was the only option, no carts, so they said, even though we saw some there.  The airport was very busy, and there was a lineup of people waiting for wheelchairs. Of course, I couldn't get Gloria to get help unless I did, so we waited quite awhile.  Gloria was getting worried that we wouldn't get to the gate in time, so finally I took one of the wheelchairs and after struggling a bit with Gloria about who was riding and who was pushing, she got in and I piled all our carry on stuff on top of her, and off we went to the gate.  It wasn't too far.  When we arrived in Geneva, we waited a little while for Hélène (Gloria's daughter, where we are staying) as she got stuck in a traffic jam.  She had us paged so we had some coffee/hot chocolate and waited just a short time.  We stopped at Jean-Francois' place (Hélène's son) on the way home, where he had lunch prepared for us. Victoria (his 4 year old daughter) was there also. We got to Martigny at about 2;30 pm, I think.  I fell asleep on the way, and just kind of stumbled to my bed when we got there. 

I think I have taken longer to get over jet lag than Gloria has.  At least she got up earlier than I did this morning (Saturday).  I slept through the night last night, finally.

On Thursday, Hélène was working, but came home for lunch and took us to market day in town. Yesterday (Friday) in the afternoon, we went to the Valias Fair, (like the PNE, but with half the exhibits being wine tasting booths.  Besides lots of wine, we saw an amazing exhibit from Imperial China.  There were life-sized replicas of lots of that Terracotta Army, the life-sized soldiers and horses found in an emperors tomb, discovered in Xian in 1974. The exhibit was amazing. 

Speaking of amazing, Gloria just got back from a trip to the nearby supermarket on Loriane's big scooter. (Loriane is Helene's 30 year old daughter, who is living at home right now)  I have photos to prove it. Hélène is away this morning taking her sailing test. 

It is so beautiful here!  I love it.  Too bad my French isn't better.  I even have a hard time saying that I don't speak French, but I almost have that sentence down!  Je ne parle pas en Francais. 

Martigny is a very interesting city.   Check out this link for more info. Martigny, Switzerland

Amazing Journey

I am certainly in the process of “savouring” right now!  I am sitting in my bedroom in Martigny, Switzerland, a nice breeze coming in my window, from which I can see one of the Alps Mountains, about a kilometer in from of me.  The house I am staying in belongs to Helene Chevalier, daughter of my 87-year-old housemate, Gloria.   Helene’s daughter, Loriane, also is currently living back at home. 

How I Got Here

This trip came as a real surprise to me.  Three weeks ago, Helene phoned us at home in Burnaby, BC, and proposed that we come for a visit, stopping in Montreal enroute. Gloria had not been to Switzerland for five years and or in Montreal for more than 15 years.  My first reaction was “I’d love to but there is no way I can’t afford it. “  I didn’t say this however, because my heart was saying “Wow!  I’d love to.”

The decision had to be made quickly, because Helene and Loriane are both teachers and their two-week autumn holiday began October 8, and we wanted a week in Montreal on the way.  So, three days later, we made out airline reservations, and left nine days after the initial invite.  Wow!

First Stop- Montreal

My stay in Montreal was very pleasant.  We stayed at the home of Gloria’s son, Denis, and his wife, Lisette, who live in Laval.   We spent much of our time being entertained by family—practically every night was dinner out at someone’s home, or a restaurant.  Most of the conversation was in French, of course, which I can occasionally follow.  I am becoming a little braver about trying to use the words I know.  They were all very kind in including me and I enjoyed these visits.  It was especially wonderful to Gloria reunite with her younger brother, Paul, who was celebrating his 86^th birthday.

I managed to spend two days in the city, and would have liked to have another day there.   I did take a 3-hour bus tour, which gave me a good overview of the wonderful historic buildings and gave me a flavor of the city.  We also drove north to the Laurentians one day, where Denis and Lisette have a beautiful lakefront chalet.  The fall colors were beautiful--- much like in my native Minnesota. An awesome time of the year! Of course, I had some Montreal smoked meat at Dunn’s, visited the Oratoire St-Joseph, and did some shopping in the Underground and on Rue St. Catherines. 

The week went by very quickly.  This was my first real visit to the Montreal area, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.   We had a great time in Montreal -- "Merci beaucoup" to Lisette, Denis, Philippe, Caroline, Luis-Philippe, and everybody who entertained us so lavishly.  

Now on to Switzerland!

Downsizing

I am in the process of moving--- again. I have moved many times in my life, particularly in certain periods. My move previous to this one was when I returned to Canada from Minneapolis a little over two years ago. My current residence is in a new suburban neighborhood-- it is the lower suite of a house that was brand new when I moved in. It is a nice space, but I don't need 4 rooms at this point in my life, and I want to be closer to downtown Vancouver.
I also do not want to live alone. I have found a very interesting situation--I am going to be moving into the home of a 86 year old woman, whose husband died a few years ago, and who also does not like living alone. This will be quite an adventure, and perhaps a challenge after living alone for some time. There is an additional twist to this, in that my new roommate, Gloria, is Francophone. She does speak English as well, but her main language is French. My French is basically non-existent. However, since first moving to Canada 20+ years ago, I have had the desire to learn French, and so now is my chance. Everyday life will be like being in French immersion school. I will write more on that later. But today's topic is downsizing.


Even though I have moved often, I have still been an accumulator, having far more stuff than I need. I have hauled much of this on my journey, always letting go of a certain amount each time moved, but managing to accumulate again. Books, sewing and knitting materials, clothes and CD's have been particular downfalls for me.


In my Positive Aging workshop program, I have a unit on "Clearing the Debris" which is more about spiritual and emotional housecleaning, but I think this needs to cover the area of material baggage as well. In our consumer oriented society, most of us have too much stuff. Our current recession was fueled by greed and grasping for more of everything. Our environmental crisis means we need to learn to live more simply. But getting there is not easy.


I have been donating books and other things, selling furniture on criagslist, and I had a Moving Sale last Saturday. My goal is to reduce my possessions by about 70%. I feel lighter already. I am letting go of projects I know I will never get finished, books I haven't read, and clothes I haven't worn for some time. I have some struggle with the guilt that I spent the money to buy these things in the first place, but holding on to them does not change the situation. I realized that I bought and paid for them, so I can dispose of them as I wish. I am trying to keep from putting things in the dump. Instead my goal is to get these things back into circulation so others can use them.


Downsizing is a very spiritual process. I am making room for more good things in my life, and releasing things I no longer need. That includes resentments, hurts, losses, and possessions. I want to be free to live and to love.


Maggie Rose