Amsterdam

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ Leave a comment

 

This city is full of interesting stories. If these houses could talk I would listen all day.

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These are called “Dancing Houses” because they tilt toward each other.

Our Red Light District walk was full of window shopping that you wouldn’t see at home. Magic mushrooms to create any feeling you are hoping for. Condoms in many shapes and colors and all kinds of marijuana treats. Adam and I busted out laughing when three guys in a bar flashed us by lifting up their shirts and sticking their bare bellies to the window. Slideshow below for adults only.

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I went on a tour called Humans of Amsterdam, through AirBnB Experiences, that was all about the people who live here. Our tour guide, Alexandra, was such a great story teller and created a unique experience for six people, from three different countries, to feel like friends by the end of the four hour walking tour. We visited a Coffee Shop (surprise they are really for selling marijuana), DE PRAEL Brewery,(started as a beer hobby that turned out to be much more) Uglies (a used furniture store run by a man so fun to listen to that he should have his own reality tv show) and finally an interview with Sunny, a sex worker, that explained how the brothels are run. If you want to hear more about this tour I am happy to share more with your in person, just ask.

 

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This is a grocery store parking lot. There are bikes parked everywhere. I saw many babies carried on bikes, people hitching a ride side saddle style and more than once a parent bicycling with a kid on the front and another the back of the bike. No helmets. We asked a local about this and he said that there are so few accidents bike helmets aren’t needed.

 

 

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The buildings here are just fantastic. There are the very old and tilted, full of charm.

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Rows of fine brick city houses.

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Modern architecture with cool glass windows. And lots of floating homes on the canals.

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While walking in Vondelpark on Saturday we came across this group of men dressed as sailors and singing what seemed to be Dutch folk songs and accompanied by three accordianists. The man directing even had wood shoes on. What was so wonderful about this was watching the people coming down the park path immediately joining in to sing with them. Huge smiles on their faces. This community sing-a-long just made me smile. This is the kind of travel magic I love, unexpected moments of pure happiness.

Thanks for traveling along with us.

Love to all,

Ali

Vannes, France

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 4 Comments

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Just a few things I love about this walled, medieval city that is older than your mind can imagine.

  • People bring their own bags to the grocery store. It is just normal life.
  • I have not seen a Starbucks or McDonalds. It is great that some places still look unique. I have also seen very few signs in English.
  • They have a welcoming swing dancing community, Yes Swing. Adam and I got to be guest teachers one night teaching Lindy Hop. This wasn’t easy since there was a communication gap but everyone was gracious.

And for those of you interesting in education.

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Googlemaps has become my new best friend. I can step out and not have to worry about where I am because I can always find my way back as long as my phone is charged. This is such a gift.

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Vanes was founded by the Romans in 56 BC.  It was the residence of the Dukes of Brittany.  We found buildings with deteriorating timbers and old stone arches.

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The two carved figures on the is build are suppose to be Vannes and his wife. They appear on the façade of a 16th-century house that is a listed Historic Monument.

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These lavoirs, wash-houses, were built between 1797 and 1807 next to the Marle River. To cope with the affluence of the launderers, they were enlarged twenty years later. In 1951 the city forbid further use of them.

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Thanks for traveling with us.

Love,

Ali

 

Quiberon, France

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 2 Comments

Quiberon is almost an island. At the Farmers Market we met a woman selling rocks who was originally from Seattle, Washington. When I asked about it getting busier in the summer she said the winter population is 4,000 and in the summer it is 100,000. Wow. So we were fortunate to not have to share the sites with a few thousand others. One of the gifts of traveling off season.

Today was our 23 anniversary. We have experienced so many great travel memories together and are both feeling grateful to have each other, family and friends to share life with.

Yes, someone actually lives here.

Any sailor would love to live or at least vacation in this area full of islands and beautiful waterways.

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We had lunch at this restaurant with amazing views. We weren’t quite sure what we ordered so it was a fun surprise to see what we got. Adam thought he was getting a lobster.

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Surprise. That is what traveling is all about. Exploring, sharing, trying new things and being surprised by what shows up in your day.

Thanks for traveling with us.

Love,

Ali

Avoiding a Faux Pas – 6 Rules to Follow

~ Ali Grimshaw ~ 2 Comments

Author’s note. Please don’t expect to learn much from this post. This is my attempt to laugh at my own humanity.

FAUX PAS (fo-pa): noun. A social blunder, indiscretion, or tactless act that violates social norms, customs, or etiquette. Literally means “false step” in French. 

  1. Always try to speak in French. (Well that is humiliating since I know about 6 words and when I say them I doubt anyone who is French thinks I am speaking their language.)
  2. Never flaunt your wealth in conversations. (Easy, I can’t speak French and currently don’t have an employer.)
  3. The American OK sign which is made by forming a circle using the thumb and index finger while the rest of the fingers are straight, can mean “zero” or “worthless”. Avoid it to avoid getting misinterpreted. The French OK sign is the thumbs up sign. (I didn’t know this when Adam and I were teaching a Lindy Hop dance lesson this week. Luckily, I have spent a lot of time working with kids learning English and defaulted to my “Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down” to check for understanding. Whew!)
  4. Shaking hands is for formal acquaintances. If you’re greeting someone familiar to you use a “la bise” or kiss on the cheek. (Actually, when we met our new swing dancing friends, Murielle and Hervé, we kissed on both cheeks. But it is actually “air kissing.” I am glad that Adam already filled me in on this before we arrived for dinner at their beautiful historic home. What I didn’t expect was to do this again when their teenage daughter came to tell me goodnight. It is a kind way to greet each other and much shorter than The Jenkins’ Goodbye.)
  5. In other cultures, it is perfectly okay to bring wine to someone’s house when you’re invited for dinner. But in old France custom, some people might consider this as an insult that the host could not provide the guests with good wine. Unless you’re quite familiar with the hosts and you’re bringing a good wine that you would like them to try. (The only wines I know are white and taste good to me. Adam and I opted to play it safe and not bring wine as a hostess gift. Another close call since I often bring wine to others at home.)
  6. Chewing gum in public is a no-no and could come across as vulgar. (I love chewing gum but have kept it in my suitcase for use in Amsterdam. I haven’t seen any being sold at the grocery store checkout either.)
  7. There are many customs/manners involved with eating in French restaurants. I will spare you this separate list. You can look them up if you plan to visit France. I am sure I have made mistakes but the food we have had has been marvelous and the people have been very friendly. So far, I have escaped any major embarrassments unlike in Munich when I set the grocery store alarm off by exiting the store the wrong way.)

These awesome travel trips are from an interesting article called,

45 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FRENCH TABOOS

Here is a lovely photo from our stay in Vannes for those of you who managed to make it to the end.

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Thanks for traveling along with me.

Love,

Ali

Working in Europe, So Far

~ agrimshaw62 ~ Leave a comment

I’m having fun and meeting a lot of very interesting and friendly people.  I worked for 10 days in our site in Puchheim, near Munich, and a week so far in our site in Pluvigner, in Brittany, France.

I was received warmly by the my German colleagues with whom I work most closely, but once we got through the first day of meetings, they left me largely to myself.  They set me up in a very nice office facing the rising sun and looking over a stream, some trees, and farmland beyond.  It was quite pleasant, but I felt a bit isolated.

I knew the experience in France would be different very soon after being welcomed by the local staff on the same project on which I am working.  Thomas, the local Project Manager, came out to meet me on arrival and shook my hand, smiled warmly, and welcomed me.  Then, he proceeded to shake the hand, smile, and say, “Bonjour!” to every man he met before introducing me.  And then they all shook my hands as well.  The standard greeting for the women is an air kiss on each cheek where you’re just touching cheeks.  No handshake with the women.  It was the same kiss kiss greeting woman to woman as well.  I found myself reaching out to shake women’s hands as I would at home and in Germany only to find them already leaning in for the double air kiss.  I like it, but it takes some getting used to.

Everyone was super friendly.  They showed me to a cube to work in, and it was a steady flow of people coming to meet and greet me after that.  Everyone has been super patient and supportive whenever I try to speak a bit of French.  When you introduce yourself, French people really do say, “Enchante!” which means, “I’m enchanted”.  It’s kind of a stereotype of French people in the movies, but it’s the real deal and it apparently never got too old-fashioned for them.

I’m driving to work in France.  We are staying in Vannes, a small city about 30 kilometers away from the plant in Pluvigner.  The roads are good, but the signs are pretty confusing sometimes.  The French really like their roundabouts.  Just about every intersection has a roundabout, even out on the highways.  Their freeways are much like ours.  Drivers take the “keep right except to pass” very seriously.  When you’re done passing, everyone gets right over, even if they have to cut into your lane with just a car length of open space.  Getting cut off is a normal part of driving here.  Most drivers are pretty good here, but there seems to be a relatively high percentage of poor drivers wandering across their lanes, not paying attention and going far below the posted speed limits.  There are not many drivers going much above the speed limit, probably because it costs $60 Euros (about $70) to fill up a relatively small tank of gas and they seem to have automated speed radar everywhere.

I’m loving France.  The food is good, the towns are incredibly charming, the countryside and coastline is lovely, and the people are all super nice.  We also love our apartment.  It’s quiet and really pretty nice.  Life is good.  We feel lucky.

That’s enough about work life.  I’ll get back to reporting about all the fun stuff we are doing, great people we’re meeting, and beautiful places we are seeing on the next post.

Adam