[Travels with Stuart] Disaster Averted in Paris – Whew!

As a writer, speaker and America's International Travel Expert^®,  I'm on the go a lot and I'm always looking for items that make my travels simpler. I like to pack light and wear clothes that are multi-purpose and require minimal care. For our two-month stay in Paris, France, I decided to bring a pair of jeans. By the way, did you know that the jean material denim is named after a fabric that was first made in the city of Nîmes, France – “De Nîmes” became “denim.” I normally don’t wear jeans when I’m traveling, but I figured they might come in handy for the two months, especially around the apartment.

We’d been in Paris for a week when I went to the airport to meet our daughter. I wore jeans that day, taking a break from the pants I had been wearing. We’d caught the shuttle from the terminal to the train, rode the train to Gare du Nod, and as I stepped on to the Metro, a man stepped in front of me and then stopped. As he did that, I was pushed back and that’s when it happened. I felt my wallet being taken from the back pocket of my jeans. I turned around and yelled in English – much to the astonishment of all the French on the Metro – “HEY! Give me back my wallet.” The accomplice looked dumfounded. “What, me?” was the look on his face as he held the out-of-place overcoat closed. I pulled open the coat and he dropped my wallet. I picked it up, quickly checked it (nothing taken), and I pushed him out the still-open door. “You, too,” I told the first man who quickly hopped off.

Well, that was a wake-up call that didn’t need to happen. An important part of my apparel for this trip is a set of clothing from Clothing Arts (www.clothingarts.com). I had been wearing their Pick-Proof Pants^TM, almost every day before that incident, and they’re about the only thing I’ve worn since (we’ve now been here over five weeks, with three more to go).

I’m mostly wearing the Adventure Traveler Pants with their double- and triple-protection pockets. I save the Business Pants for when we go out in the evening, and the shorts have seen some wear on the few really warm days. I don’t need to worry if my wallet is safe, or the credit cards, or the cash that is in a separate holder. It’s all safe and secure behind zippers and buttons.

 

The Business Pants (www.clothingarts.com/pickpocket_proof_pants_business_traveler) don’t have the same flaps and buttons as the Adventure pants; their clean lines are perfect for the dressier look while still keeping all your items secure. They look great with both short sleeve and long sleeve shirts, and no one will know they’re not “regular” slacks.

I felt a bit foolish having my wallet taken, even if only for a few seconds, because I knew better. I’d warned people about the busy places where the slightest distraction provides an opportunity for thieves. Now that I wear the Pick-Proof Pants^TM from Clothing Arts, I’m much more comfortable knowing that I don’t even have to think about keeping my items secure. Not only are the shorts and pants durable and secure, they’re also ideal for travel because they hang dry overnight (quite handy when your apartment doesn’t have a clothes dryer and it’s raining outside).

You can take this as a hearty recommendation from America's International Travel Expert^® that the Pick-Proof Pants^TM from Clothing Arts at www.clothingarts.com (both for men and women) are the ideal travel item for comfort, style, and safety!

Stuart Gustafson

(currently in Paris, France)

www.stuartgustafson.com

p.s. The photos were taken on different days, and, yes, I do have more than one shirt with me -- pure coincidence that I was wearing this easy-to-care-for shirt that I ought at REI (I have a reddish one also).

Opéra Garnier in Paris France

We went to Opéra Garnier yesterday, the amazing building that was dedicated in 1875. Its opulence reminds one of Versailles, Catherine's Winter Palace, and Peterhof. There were two disappointments: the 90-minute guided tour lasted 65, and we weren't able to go inside the auditorium. Rather than post pictures in this post, I've added them to the Photos - Paris, France; Summer 2014 page at stuart-gustafson.blospot.com (and at stuartgustafson.com/travel/travel-photos-videos/) so they're more accessible.

It's been called the most famous opera house in the world (although the much newer Sydney Opera House might now have that distinction). Part of its popularity is due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and, especially, the novel's subsequent adaptations in films and Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular 1986 musical. By the way -- Yes, there is water underneath the building, but there is no lake!

The actual auditorium only seats about 2,000 people, but that wasn't the primary purpose -- it was built in the era when rich people wanted to be seen. Thus the grand staircase enables many views of the wealthy as they slowly walked up to their box seats. Interestingly, the Orchestra section -- now considered a prime place in most venues -- was for the middle class. It was underneath the chandelier and the candles dripped wax. Also, the rich people were more easily seen in their exclusive box seats on the sides.

When you're in Paris, visit Opéra Garnier, but save a few coins and just wander through on your own; you can go at your own pace, use an audio guide headset, and you'll see everything that we saw on the guided your.

Au revoir!
Stuart
p.s. Don't forget to view the pictures the Paris photos page!

Sometimes You Just Have to Improvise

We all like the “creature comforts” of home, no matter where home is, no matter how big (or not-too-big) it is. We have the things that we need within reach or at least only a minute or two from where we need them. That’s not always the case when you’re traveling. You might go to get something, and then you realize, “That’s right; I’m not at home.”

Such is the case on our current two-month stay in Paris, France. We rented an apartment through airBnB.com, and, for the most part, the experience has been good. But occasionally we need something, realize it’s not here, and then we come to the conclusion, “Sometimes you just have to improvise.”

Windows. It’s summer time and it gets warm. There are only two windows in this apartment; both of them are about four feet wide by ten feet tall and they are on opposites of the main area. Sounds like great cross-circulation, right? Well it would be if the one in the kitchen area wasn’t painted shut. We do open the other one, which is also our access to the patio area, but that still doesn’t provide much moving air. Our solution? We use a floor model oscillating fan that we move from the living room area to the bedroom loft when we go to bed (because we’re not leaving that giant window open at night). It’s not THE best solution, but it is A solution.

Squeaky doors. How many cans of WD-40 do you have around the house and in the garage? I don’t know how many we have, but I know it’s more than three, and I know where at least two of them are at any time. The bathroom door in our apartment squeaked, and it was irritating especially at night. The hallway door to the stairs is also very noisy, but I knew the answer to both of those problems – buy a can of WD-40 and spray away the squeaks. I spotted the familiar yellow and blue WD-40 can while we were at the hardware store to get a few other items. They had it, and then I noticed the price of 7€, almost $10. I wasn’t going to spend that much money for just a few sprays of it. Our solution? We took a little olive oil, put it on a paper towel, and wiped it on the hinges. It didn’t penetrate as well as the spray, but it got rid of the squeaks (and I saved a ten-spot!).

Baguettes. You’re probably thinking right now, How can he have a problem with baguettes? They do seem to be a staple around here. Every store sells them, and you see people walking home from work with one in a wrapper. The problem is that the hard crust gets almost rock-like after one day, and the inside becomes one massive long crouton! We do like baguettes, but we don’t typically eat a lot of bread, so ours were going to waste (and possible to our waists) the following day. They’re not terribly expensive, but it still seemed a shame to throw them away. Our solution? We moistened a paper towel, wrapped it around the baguette, and put it back into the wrapper and closed off the end. Our baguette lived to get eaten another day!

What improvisation have you done when traveling? I’d be happy to share your story with others if you want to send an email to stuart.a.gustafson@gmail.com

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Au revoir for now!

Stuart Gustafson

Summer Solstice in Paris, France

There are many rituals all over the world for celebrating the summer solstice, the day when the sun is the highest in the sky (in the northern hemisphere). Falling on a Saturday this year, the people in Paris, France, turned out in huge numbers to celebrate!

Weekends in Paris always see large crowds along the Seine River and its tributaries. We're staying in the 10th district, just a one-minute walk from Canal St. Martin, and locals and visitors alike are drawn to the water when the weather is nice. Saturday, June 21st, was a fantastic weather day with bright blue sky and a high temperature of 24C (75F). We went outside the apartment around 8:30 to enjoy the evening and to see "what was happening" in this city that's our home for two months.

The tradition that we were unaware of was the playing of music all over town on the night of the summer solstice. There was a 3-piece rock 'n roll band in the tapas bar across our street, playing songs from Chuck Berry, Rolling Stones, and others. Around the corner we saw three young men wearing shorts as they played classical music from Bach and Vivaldi -- it was an interesting sight seeing the string trio on the sidewalk as the evening trash truck drove by. We walked around and saw lots of other groups as well as some DJs sending out tunes to the masses gathered around. There were a calypso group, a marching band complete with a white tuba, an Italian vocal group, and others who were content to play for free for anyone stopping by to listen.

My smartphone failed me -- I thought I was taking videos of these groups only to find out that I had blurred snippets of something else. I'd used it before with great results -- not sure what I did wrong this time. I've already gone online and bought a hand-held camcorder that will be at home once we return in about four weeks.

Fortunately, the one video that I took with my flip video turned out fine -- it shows the hundreds (or more) of people lined along Canal St. Martin at 9:50 PM as they partied, enjoyed friendship, and even waved to me. You can view the video at this YouTube link.

How did you welcome in the summer? Did you party with friends, enjoy the "longest day" of the year, or what it just another Saturday for weekend chores and routine activities?

If you have any questions about international travels, send me an email and I'll do my best to answer it for you.

Also, if you enjoy reading about travels to new and exciting places, please tell others about it -- stuart-gustafson.blogspot.com.

Until the next time,
Au revoir!
Stuart Gustafson, America's International Travel Expert® 

Paris People Photos

Below is a collection of people photos that I've taken here in Paris during our 4+ weeks here so far. Some of the photos might be self-explanatory; other might need a little extra. But I'll just use a caption and let you come up with you own description in case the caption isn't enough.

Late-morning coffee with Alessandro near Bastille

 Friends along Canal St. Martin

 

Friends along Canal St. Martin

Sunny afternoon along Canal St. Martin

Boat ride in the locks in Canal St. Martin

Outdoor cafe with friend and beautiful dog

Friends along Canal St. Martin

Playing Boule

Is a caption really needed here?

Writing on, buying, and selling "Love Locks" on Pont Des Artes

Just placed their lock on Pont Des Artes

Kiwi bartender Richard at Irish pub Cork & Cavan

Why you should NOT do a selfie along the Seine River

"Third Floor Lady" photo #1

"Third Floor Lady" photo #2

"Third Floor Lady" photo #3

Life is good in Paris, even though everyday isn't a sunny day. But, hey, who cares, it's Paris!

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Au revoir for now!
Stuart (and Darlene)

Visit to Normandy and D-Day Sites

June 14, 2014

The 70th anniversary signs and banners are still flying in Bayeux, the small Normandy town closest to the D-Day beaches and the only town not to be 80% (or more) destroyed by the bombing in World War II. Our train (not affected by the national rail strike) pulled into the station around noon, and we found a small place to have lunch.

Matt, our guide from Normandy Sightseeing Tours, had excellent online reviews, so we were quite pleased to have him take us around the areas in the 9-person van (8 guests plus Matt). Our first stop was the German Cemetery in La Cambe where there are 21,145 fallen German soldiers.

The symbolism of the large mound is that it's made of all the dirt from the graves that were dug. The statue on top represents parents who've lost their children in the war. The thing to remember is that by 1944, German men of all ages were being conscripted into the army -- they weren't all Nazis; many of them were against Hitler; but they had no choice. The five cross gatherings are purely symbolic and do not mean five soldiers are buried there.

Pointe du Hoc is the famous site where 225 U.S. Army Rangers had to scale the cliff to immobilize the guns and the range finder. Despite all the heavy bombing the night before, the heavily fortified gun emplacements (10 feet thick of concrete and re-bar) were still in pretty good shape. Even this World War I gun was being used and is still in place today. The Dagger monument is to honor those brave soldiers who really began the turning point of the war. With staggering losses, the remaining Rangers didn't find the guns; they'd been moved inland where they were found and destroyed.

The long flat area called Omaha Beach was the ideal landing site for the Allies -- long, flat, but exposed to so many weapons. The low tide really lays open the sand as we experienced, even though the tide wasn't all the way out.


The first area captured was the Southern point (pictured here); from there the Allies continued to move North and take one sector after another.




The final stop on our tour was the American Cemetery and Visitor Center. Standing on American property was quite amazing. Although the main 70th anniversary ceremonies had taken place eight days earlier, there were plenty of people there on this Saturday. One veteran from New Jersey had his VFW hat on, sporting many of the same Navy ribbons that my Dad had from WWII. I shook his hand and said (as I try to do to all veterans), "Thank you for your service." He smiled at me, with tears in his eyes. That caused my own eyes to tear up.

We walked through some of the areas (many were "Closed for maintenance") looking at the graves, most with a cross, and some with a Star of David (many of them had pebbles on the Star). Our nephew Chris and his family brought American flags with them from Naples to place on some of the graves. My Dad and Mom are buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, and so we're used to seeing the headstones perfectly aligned. They are even more spectacular here -- all facing west in perfect symmetry.

The reflection pool and the semi-circular memorial are a focal point for most activities, and so it was quite busy. Some people were placing wreaths; others were listening to tour guides.

 The Visitor Center has a short film, but I think the best part is this rippling pool that leads out to the ocean. As the shallow waves come toward you, you can envision the waves on Omaha Beach.

We took the train from Bayeux back to Paris; all of us were exhausted from the sights, the history learned and re-visited, and the wind that blew in from the ocean, reminding us that life is ever changing. It was a great experience -- glad we did it!

From Paris, France --
Au revoir!

Stuart (and Darlene)