Category Archives: Home exchange

Architecture, Belgium, Blois, Cycling, Denmark, Germany, Home exchange

Happy New Year for 2020

January 3, 2020 Rosemary Kneipp 6 Comments

This post was written early January but somehow didn’t get published! It started by saying that I was earlier this year than I was last year in wishing you all the best for the coming but I was sad to say that my ideas of writing more blog posts have not come to fruition! I do have more spare time than before but it is mostly spent on welcoming family and home exchange friends, gardening, going on holidays, cycling and making the most of our yearly pass to Château de Chenonceau!

Our first trip of the year, in late March, was to Sicily which had been on my list for a long time. We rented a car and drove around the island, but I have to admit we were disappointed. On the whole we found the country very dirty and dilapidated and not particularly welcoming. We did have one wonderful evening though watching the sun set over the salt marshes near Marsala with good friends from my Fontenay days who just happened to be there at the same time.

We then stayed at home in Blois until the end of June, getting in as much cycling as we could in preparation of our summer holiday. Jean Michel built a beautiful stone retaining wall in the back garden where we dine al fresco as often as we can during the fine weather to make up for all those indoor winter months. Gardening has become one of my great pleasures but we have clay soil and a large slope at the back to give us that extra challenge. I retired on 30th June from my main translation work but am still doing 10 to 12 hours a week of certified translations.

We began home-exchanging again this year after a break of two or three years. I was able to arrange a one-week exchange in the outskirts of Copenhagen through www.homeexchange.com quite easily. In mid-July we left for Denmark by car with our e-bikes behind us via Belgium with a first stop at Namur along the Meuse. It was the first time we’d cycled in Belgium. Our spirits were a little dampened by the awful weather but we managed to cycle every day and one of the highlights was Dinant, the birthplace of Adolphe Saxe with all its saxophones from different countries. The cycling paths in Belgium are of uneven quality and are often conspicuously absent.

We then headed for Germany, visiting Aix-la-Chapelle, Münster and Lübeck. Even the north of Germany, with its industrial reputation, has lots of pretty villages and towns and the entire country is truly a cyclist’s paradise. Wismar, for example, is a world heritage site on the Baltic Coast from which we cycled to the neighbouring island of Poel joined to the mainland by a levee where I had the best meal since we left France in a little restaurant next to a marina – a seafood platter with scallops, calamari rings and shrimp, all very fresh. We went to the tip of the island where people were swimming in the Baltic but we didn’t join them even though the outside temperature was a good 22 degrees

After a final stop in the north of Germany, during which we visited Lübeck and Schwerin Castle, inspired by our own château de Chambord but built much later, between 1847 and 1857 by Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, we headed for Copenhagen. Because we had not thought to book ahead, we were not able to take the ferry so went the long way adding an extra 200 km to our journey, 500 km in all, via the 18 k_long Storebaelt bridge with its 33 euro toll.

We were very happy with our home exchange despite the small bedrooms, but the living area downstairs was very spacious and we had a large garden and an enclosed winter garden. Our first day in Copenhagen was somewhat marred by the overcast sky and three short downpours but it was easy to cycle the 13 km from Bagsværd to the centre of the city as the bike paths are excellent, although a little busy and frightening at times. I counted 35 bikes waiting for a green light. We managed to photograph the Little Mermaid without too many tourists.

All in all, I have to say that Copenhagen and Denmark were disappointing. We did not find the architecture very attractive and the countryside, with a few notable exceptions, was flat and uninteresting. It was also generally unsuitable for cycling apart from Copenhagen itself. We did enjoy our ride up the coast to Helsingor, site of the Elsinor Castle of Hamlet fame, and Frederisksborg Castle was quite stunning.

On the way, we went through a couple of little villages with quaint thatched cottages.

One of the policies in Denmark is to tear down old buildings and replace them with new ones rather than retore them. The town of Aarhus in Jutland houses an open-air museum called Den Gamle By (the old town) started by a teacher and translator, Peter Holm, in 1914, to save the mayor’s 16th century house (second photo) from demolition. Today there are 75 buildings from 20 towns, many furnished and often illustrating traditional services and trades. Not far away, in central Jutland, is my favourite modern building in Denmark – the Wave.

We decided to spend the next ten days in Germany, which is one of our favourite countries for cycling, visiting the Lake District, the spa town of Bad Bevensen where we treated ourselves to whirlpools every day, the Harz district with its stunning wooden churches, Marburg and Lahntal before returning to Blois via Sedan and Charleville Mézières where we cycled for an hour and a half in pouring rain!

We came back to the hottest summer on record although we had escaped the worst of it. Our poor Danish home exchangers were not as lucky! We weren’t even allowed to use our well water so our lovely green grass slowly turned a sad brown. Since then, I have studied up on all the flowering shrubs that don’t need much water and am planting lots of them in the spring so that, if we have another hot summer, we will still have flowers. We had a bumper tomato crop though!

And after the sun came the rain. After a few days cycling in Brittany late September we weren’t able to cycle very much. But the grass turned green again ….

The new rental studio apartment in the historical quarter of Blois, Châtel Rose, got off to a good start and was occupied for several months by an Australian retiree who wanted to live the French life and improve her language skills. I think she had found more friends than I have in five years by the end of her stay!!! Our aim is to give holiday makers a near-perfect experience, offering top-level services and an in-depth French experience.

This coming year we are buying a yearly pass to Château de Chaumont ncluding its wonderful garden festival. The permanent garden is already a great inspiration to me and the interior of the castle is richly furnished.

Our next travel project is Crete in March where we will be using our home exchange “guest points” to stay in Chania and Agios Nicolaos.

Thank you for remaining faithful despite my infrequent posting. I would like to wish you all a very happy new year – health, happiness and optimism!

Accommodation, Architecture, Cycling, France, Home exchange, Paris, Sightseeing

Discovering Canal Saint Martin in Paris

October 25, 2016 Rosemary Kneipp 9 Comments

We’ve come to Paris for a long week-end to celebrate a friend’s 60^th birthday, organised by her daughter as a surprise. As usual, we’ve fitted in a few medical appointments, as there is a severe lack of specialists in Blois, and some pleasure time with friends. I have found a home exchange with an Australian/French couple like us who live in a house in the west of Paris and exchange a two-room flat near Canal Saint Martin on the 5^th floor. It’s not an area we know very well but our friends Susan and Simon from Days on the Claise always stay in this part of Paris when they come.

A tempting little restaurant on Rue des Vinaigriers

From what we can see, the area is very trendy. When we arrived last night, there were bars and restaurants open everywhere with people milling around the streets and pavements.

The spiral staircase in our apartment building

We’re in Rue des Vinaigriers just a short distance by foot from the canal so we set off to walk along it to the Bastille market where we’re going to buy oysters to take back to the flat for our traditional Sunday lunch.

We arrive just as a barge is passing through the lock at the end of our street. There is also a swing-bridge for vehicles that opens to let the barge through. We’re not the only people watching. Several locals are enjoying the scene and there is a group of seniors on a walking tour.

View of the canal from one of the humpback bridges

There are several humpback pedestrian bridges that give us a bird’s eye view of the canal.

We pass the statue of “Frédérick Lemaître, Comédien, 1800 – 1876”. The French actor and playwright was one of the most famous actors on the celebrated Boulevard du Crime, the nickname given to nearby Boulevard du Temple because of the many crime melodramas staged every night. It is notorious in Paris for having lost so many theatres during the rebuilding of Paris by Baron Haussmann in 1862.

Just one of the beautiful buildings along the canal

We have already noticed the many beautiful Haussmann buildings with their finely sculpted doors and windows that line the street along the canal.

The next statue is La Grisette de 1830, sculpted in 1909 by Jean-Bernard Desomps. In the vocabulary of the 19th century, a grisette was a young seamstress who worked in soft furnishings and fashion, a flirt and coquette who occasionally sold her charms due to poverty rather than vice, so it would seem.

Richard Lenoir promenade above the canal

After a while, the canal goes underground and becomes a planted walkway called Promenade Richard-Lenoir. One of the four squares, Jules Ferry, is named after a French politician who drafted the 3^rd Republic bills that made lay education compulsory in France. Many schools in France are called Jules Ferry.

Bouly Ceramics — The former P. Bouly ceramic manufacture

P. Bouly, Carreaux de Faïence (ceramic tiles), on the left hand side is a reminder of the many factories that once flourished in the area.

Le Bataclan concert venue — Le Bataclan concert hall

On the right is a colourfully trimmed building surrounded by a fence – Le Bataclan, sadly famous for the terrorist attacks that led to the killing of 90 people in the concert hall on Friday 13th November 2015.

As we get closer to Bastille, we see a church in the distance on the left that we’ve never noticed before. Just in front is a sort of fenced-in area with small wooden huts. A sign on the gate says “La Friche Richard-Lenoir”. (Friche means “wasteland”). When I check it out later I learn it is a pop-up bar and open-air entertainment area with refreshment stalls, games and music that appeared in Septeember this year.

The memorial plaque to Merabet — The memorial plaque to Ahmed Merabet

A sobering sign on the promenade fence has a bouquet on top: “In memory of police officer Ahmed Merabet killee here on 7 January 2015 in the line of duty, a victim of terrorism. He was shot after firing at the gunmen’s car during the Charlie Hebdo shootings during which 11 people were killed.

The Bastille market on a Sunday morning — The busy Bastille market on a Sunday morning

After more Haussmann buildings on the left and more modern constructions on the right, we come to the bustling market which is very colourful and pleasant under the trees along the promenade.

Buying oysters at the market. Jean MIchel watches as the man with the cigarette hand-picks the fattest oysters!

We find our oysters (from the same supplier as those we used to buy when we lived in the Palais Royal in the centre of Paris) and pick up some butter and baguette from two other stalls (we brought our Sancerre wine with us from Blois).

Vélib' and baguette — Vélib’ and baguette

Now for the Vélib’ city bikes. We’ve only ridden them once before but after cycling in New York City, we figure we are experts. Although Jean Michel assures me they are exactly the same bikes, I don’t find them as comfortable. They are infinitely cheaper though. As an occasional user, you pay 1.70 euro for a one-day ticket (8 euro for 7 days). The first 30 minutes are always free (you can swap your bike at a Vélib’ station every 30 minutes or pay 1 euro for every additional half hour). (More information here). Three-quarters of an hour’s cycling in NYC (with Black Cat’s City Bike subscription) cost us near 20 dollars each!

More buildings along Richard Lenoir promenade

We follow the canal back up as far as Hôpital Saint Louis. As we walk back to our flat, I try the baguette and decide it’s not very tasty so we go looking for a traditional bakery called Du pain et des idées recommended by our home exchange hosts on Rue Yves Toudic. Unfortunately it’s closed on Saturday, like many of the other shops around us, most of which were open late last night.

The highly recommended bakery on rue Yves Toudic — The highly recommended Du Pain et des Idées bakery on rue Yves Toudic

On the way we pass a building with Douches (showers) written on the front. I don’t know whether these particular ones are still in operation but there are still a half a dozen free public shower establishments scattered throughout Paris. You can find the list here. Take your own towel and soap :).

We go back to our flat, past Café Craft, a co-working space. I later learn that it caters to people without offices who need a space to work. It has fast internet, a comfortable working atmosphere and healthy food and drink and you can spend the entire day there if you want. What a great idea! Next time I’ll check it out.

But for now, we are going to climb our five flights of stairs, open our oysters and our bottle of sancerre and enjoy our favourite Sunday brunch!

Accommodation, French language, Home exchange

Learning a Language with a Home Exchange

May 13, 2016 Rosemary Kneipp 7 Comments

As you know, I am a keen home exchanger. We have just redeemed three home exchanges in Australia (Coff’s Harbour, Adelaide and Drysdale) and enjoyed hospitality in Melbourne with the home exchangers of French friends in Paris. Jean Michel, less of a linguist than I am, had been studying and practicing his English for a month or so before we left.

Irene and Paul, who kindly gave us hospitality in Melbourne

Although the basic aim of the trip was not to improve his English but to meet up with my friends and family and visit new places, I was able to observe his progress according to the different types of home exchange.

In Coff’s Harbour, we were in a resort and had very little contact with the people around us which offered little change of Jean Michel practicing his English. Although we had started speaking to each other in English before departure, we fell back into French in Australia.

In Adelaide, we were in a suburban setting which, once again, left little possibility of speaking English except to my nephew who came to see us in the evening.

Our beautiuful home exchange in Adelaide

Our third exchange in Drysdale, about an hour from Geelong, could have been the same except that we had Australian friends join us while we were there and our hosts were also in the vicinity as it was a non-simultaneous exchange. We invited them for an aperitif one evening and also participated in their wine pressing!

But it was Melbourne where we were generously invited to stay with the home exchangers of the Parisian friends who triggered off our first exchange with Drysdale nearly four years ago that offered a real opportunity for Jean Michel to improve his English. We had never experienced hospitality and I was a little worried about spending 3 days with people whom I had only met once.

We needn’t have worried! Irene and Paul were with us the first and third evenings and away the second. While they were there, they took us for walks and meals in Melbourne and we also met up with our Parisian friends’ son. The rest of the time they continued their own lives while we visited other parts of Melbourne.

I would say that hospitality provides the ideal opportunity to improve one’s language skills. If the hosts are able to offer accommodation where the guests have their own bedroom and bathroom as we did in Melbourne, I think it’s an ideal situation.

If hospitality is not a possibility, I would suggest that you choose a downtown area with lots of opportunities to interact with people. Choose a local café and go there every day so you can establish a relationship with the people who work there. Go to the local market or a small shop every day to buy fresh food and buy from the same vendors. Plan a trip to the hairdresser’s.

If your language skills are already sufficient to hold a proper conversation, check beforehand on the existence of local home exchange meet-ups. Join a Facebook home exchange group and try and find other people in the area. Let your host exchangers know that you would like to practice your languages skills beforehand. They will probably be happy to organize meetings with their friends.

At the market, you can easily talk to the vendors

For example, I sent out a Twitter message when we went to Barcelona on a home exchange to get some insiders’ information on the city. As a result, we met up with Roser who looks after blogs & testimonials on the Home Exchange website and a friend of hers in a local café and we talked about things to do and see in Barcelona. When we were at Irene and Paul’s we talked about some of our previous exchanges and they spoke of a swap with Barcelona. I couldn’t believe it – they exchanged with Roser!!!

Otherwise, choose activities that will allow you to talk to people such as visits to wineries and cheese makers. See if there is a local walking group you can join. Throughout France, for example, there is a meet-up group called “On Va Sortir” which exists in London and New York under the name of Urbeez and is a wonderful way to meet people during your stay. Membership is free of charge. Our local group, whom we came across by accident, meets up informally at the open-air coffee stand at our Saturday market.

Having coffee on a Saturday at the market with members of On Va Sortir

Don’t forget to visit the local library where you can read the local paper and magazines. Remember – you can’t speak a language if you don’t know enough words and you need to spend at least an hour a day widening your vocabulary by reading, watching television or listening to the radio. In France, the France Info radio station is perfect because it repeats the same news and items of interest throughout the day. If you don’t understand the first time, you will the third time round!

If you prepare your home exchange with these various points in mind, I’m sure that you will get the most out of your stay language-wise. My dream is to spend a couple of months in Italy after I retire so that I can have a proper conversation in Italian but even two weeks would make a difference!

Australia, Home exchange, Travelling

Lost in Australia

March 8, 2016 Rosemary Kneipp 10 Comments

I can’t believe that we left Blois nearly a month ago! After our first brief stay in Delhi, we have been in Sydney, Armidale, Coffs Harbour, Adelaide and Melbourne. We are now in Kennet River on the Great Ocean Road on the southern coast of Victoria. We have been constantly on the go, visiting family and old friends and having to say goodbye, and making new friends whom we hope to see again. Although I have not been posting in Aussie in France, I have been posting every day (well, practically!) on my other blog, Loire Daily Photo, in the form of “postcards from Australia”. Sydney and Armidale, where I held a family reunion three years ago, are the only places I have been before.

Sydney with its stunning harbour and laid-back style, remains, for me, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. We stayed with good friends in Redfern, caught up with my brother, wife and three lovely sons in Parramatta, had an unforgettable dinner with Brainy Pianist whom you may remember from 2012, and discovered Cockatoo Island with one of my many cousins.

My grandmother's wedding bed — My grandmother’s wedding bed

Although I had been to Armidale before, I was able to better appreciate this lovely country town in the New England tableland, where buildings can’t be more than two storeys high. I stayed with my hospitable cousins and caught up with others, slept in my grandmother’s beautiful brass and ceramic bed, saw my elderly aunt who is still living in her own home every day, was invited to dinner, morning and afternoon tea with new and old friends alike and walked several kilometers every morning before breakfast with my fast-paced cousin.

A typical view from the ocean walk between Korora and Coffs Harbour

Coffs Harbour was a little too built up for me, although we enjoyed some lovely walks along the ocean front near our home exchange in Korora, but Sawtell, Nambucca Heads and the country towns of Dorrigo and Bellingen, had a different charm. I caught up with another elderly aunt and her son and was invited to dinner by friends of Armidale friends who have a stunning house overlooking the harbour.

The amazing botanical gardens in Adelaide

Adelaide, where we stayed in a lovely home exchange in the very attractive suburb of Toorak Gardens, has the most beautiful botanical gardens we have ever seen, but we found the city itself somewhat dry and dusty. The mythical Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale vineyards were sadly scorched due to an ongoing drought. but we tasted some fine wines and met up with retired friends from Brisbane who are making their way around the country in a mobile home. We loved the seafront suburb of Glenelg which we visited with my nephew. We met up with three Australian couples who have bought a house in the south of France and Jean Michel was delighted to be able to talk to them in French. I also had a wonderful visit with some old school friends whom I had not seen for 35 years!

The Yarra River in Melbourne looking with Southgate on the left

But whenever we said we were going to Melbourne for the first time, we were told “You’ll love Melbourne!” And they were perfectly right. We loved it from the minute we saw it. We loved the atmosphere, the buildings and the people, but I won’t say anything more here, because our visit deserves to be described in detail. So, keep tuned!

Architecture, Home exchange, Italy

Secret Venice – Carpaccio and Grande Scuola di San Marco

April 29, 2014 Rosemary Kneipp 9 Comments

As this is our second time in Venice and we’re (almost) living like locals, the main attractions are not on our list. Our home exchange is in Castello, which is a working class area of Venice. Our host, Pierleone, is waiting at the vaporetto station, Ospedale, when we arrive from the airport. He takes us in light rain through a maze of streets that I will never remember. I hope Jean Michel will.

Our first floor flat is on the a corner of two narrow streets. It is small but clean and appears to have everything we need. The windows give directly onto the street and we can see people walking past. Pierleone, who speaks French, has set out a handful of brochures on the table and tells us about several places to visit that are off the beaten track.

In our building at least, everyone hangs their umbrellas on the railing

We leave our luggage but don’t unpack, eager to be outside. We set out for nearby Piazza San Marco, taking photos of each little bridge and palazzo on the way, despite the rain. Even if there is no sun, it’s still Venezia la serenissima and our accumulated fatigue seems to melt away.

Strange as it may seem for people who know me well, we’re looking for Louis Vuitton near the Corer Museum on the corner of Piazza San Marco at Pierleone’s suggestion but don’t have the name of the street which turns out to be Salizzada San Moise. As we walk in, we’re given a long transparent plastic bag for our dripping umbrella. We head for the staircase, nodding at the shop assistants who all greet us with a friendly buon giorno. At the top floor, we browse through the books on display then enter a darkened room on the right.

There are two rather stiff-looking paintings by Vittore Carpaccio, a painter of the Venetian school (1465 to 1525), most of whose work remains in Venice, and two projections, one showing two women sitting on the ground on either side of a stone monument suffering some kind of angst, and the other depicting a diver splashing through the water with a sun in the background. We don’t find the artwork particularly interesting but we like the idea of a private exhibition!

It’s next morning and we don’t feel very refreshed. It turns out there is a very bright street light just outside our bedroom window which only has Venetian blinds (of course!) and we’re used to almost total darkness from wooden shutters in Blois and opaque curtains in Paris.

We send an SMS to Pierleone because we don’t seem to have a single sharp knife and one of our lights isn’t working. He obligingly comes by immediately, fixes the light and asks what sort of knife we want. We explain we want to cut up fruit and vegetables (it’s a fast day) so he brings us back two serrated knives. When we express surprise, he explains that it’s almost impossible to get a smooth-edged knife in Venice. Could this be true?

Campo des Santi e with the Scuola — Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo with the Scuola Grande di San Marco

Following another of Pierleone’s suggestions, we go to nearby Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo to visit the Scuola Grande di San Marco, originally a religious charity founded in 1261 and rebuilt in 1487. It is now a public hospital (Ospedale). The ground floor houses a majestic Renaissance hall but Jean Michel is sure there is something else to visit.

There are no signs to direct us and we are about to leave the building when a man in uniform indicates that we should take a flight of steps to the right. Halfway up we stop in amazement. Before our eyes is a magnificent gilt Renaissance caisson ceiling completed in 1519.

Glass cases around the wall contain primitive-looking antique surgical equipment all beautifully presented as part of the Museum of the History of Medicine.

The Sale Capitolare with its magnificent ceiling and cabinets of antique medical instruments

A smaller room contains books and paintings, mostly copies (some the originals are in the Accademia). The one that appeals to me most is by Gentile and Giovanni Bellini depicting Saint Mark preaching in Alexandria, Egypt, the original of which is in Galleria Brera in Milan. I later find further information on Venezia Blog where you can see a lot more (and better) photos.

We then have our first espresso for the day in the Campo to rest our weary feet and watch the gondolas and working boats plying the river. We sigh in contentment.

Opening Hours for Grande Scuola di San Marco

From Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30 am to 1.00 pm, 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm

Accommodation, Cycling, Home exchange, Hungary

Budapest – more accommodation problems

June 27, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 10 Comments

We’re driving along the motorway to Budapest pleased to have our Aschach and Bratislava accommodation experiences behind us.

This time, there should be no problems. We have organised a home exchange with an American couple who have a well-located apartment in the centre of Budapest which they let and exchange. They have kindly agreed to our arriving ahead of schedule because of the bad weather in Aschach. We can arrive on Wednesday around noon and L. will be there to give us the key.

We leave Aschach on Tuesday and stay overnight in Bratislava which is a two-hour drive from Budapest. We arrive about fifteen minutes ahead of time, park right in front of the appartment, get some florints out the bankomat, buy a couple of things for lunch and feed the surprisingly expensive parking meter.

L. arrives on cue, very apologetic. There is no electricity. His father has been looking after the apartment for A. but is now in hospital after major brain surgery and the last electricity bill has not been paid. He takes us up to the apartment, which is spacious and has everything we need, in particular a washing machine which is starting to become a major preoccupation.

Jean Michel goes into panic mode, much worse than in Bratislava and is looking furious. Neither L. nor I has A’s phone number unfortunately but L has sent her an email. Apologising profusely, L. goes off to look after the electricity problem saying he’ll be back in an hour or so.

We decide to have lunch in the meantime. Jean Michel is very pessimistic but I try to stay calm and be as nice to L as I can be. It isn’t his fault, after all! He soon returns with bad news. Even if he pays the electricity bill in cash, the electricity company will not put the power back on unless the owner of the apartment is present. L’s father has an official proxy but he doesn’t and A. is in the US. We’re in Hungary, he says.

Jean Michel wants to get out of Budapest as soon as he can. He looks up the Routard and finds an appartment to rent in Esztergon, a small town on the Danube an hour’s drive away, where we will be able to do our washing*. I have a look but am not convinced. I suggest Szentendre which is closer to Budapest and seems more promising but no apartments are listed. Jean Michel is adament, particularly after he discovers he has left his photo-grey sunglasses behind in the appartment.

Basilica in Eztergon — Primatial Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Esztergon

About a half an hour out of town, we enter a forest and the road starts winding up a small mountain. We finally come down the other side and into the very dismal little town of Esztergon. We pull up at the address in the Routard and I have another look at the description. I quote, “We don’t know why anyone would possibly want to stay in Esztergon, but if you do, here are a few addresses.” Jean Michel had not read that bit.

I start laughing and Jean Michel at last joins me. We park the car near Hungary’s biggest building, the Primatial Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so we can visit it before going to Szentendre. It is certainly huge but not particularly attractive.

We drive along the Danube to Szentendre, stopping off on the way at Visigrad and driving up a hill behind it from which there is a breathtaking view of the Danube.

The main pedestrian street in Szentender

Szentendre turns out to be a pretty little town with a pedestrian area in the middle and no fewer than five churches. After calling in at the tourist office for local bike maps just before it closes, we go to Roz Panzio the first of two hotels listed in the Routard under the prix moyens et plus chics category. We are shown two rooms and choose the largest. Then I ask about washing. The lady takes us to the hotel laundry, then phones someone on her cell. “No, I’m sorry”, she says, “not possible”.

We try the second address, Mathias Rex Panzio, which I actually prefer. Yes, there’s a double room for 50 euros including breakfast. Wifi? Yes. Parking? Yes. Washing? No. So I explain about the apartment falling through and our 10 days’ washing. “OK”, she says. “You can use our private washing machine.” I thank her profusely. The room isn’t very big, but it’s clean, it has a comfortable bed and a very interesting bathroom, that appears to be all moulded in one piece. We take it. Dinner? At Movies (actually Muvesz) down the road.

We change, take the bikes off the back of the car and off we go. It’s amazing how quickly the annoyances of the day disappear. From the height of the water in the Danube, we are lucky to be cycling at all. The whole area was obviously badly flooded.

Muvesz turns out to be an excellent address and for the equivalent of 30 euros for the two of us, we have two courses and a glass of red and white wine each. Tomorrow, we’ll visit Budapest.

*We have been unable to find a laundromat in either Germany or Austria despite a lot of time spent following up non-existent addresses.

Mathias Rex Panzio, Kossuth Lajos utca 16, Szentendre 2000, Hungary. www.mathiasrexhotel.hu info@mathiasrexhotel.hu

Home exchange

10 Do’s and Don’t’s of Home Exchange

May 15, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 7 Comments

We’re now up to 8 home exchanges and ready for more but I’ve drawn up a little list of do’s and don’t’s. If I have been remiss in any of these areas in the past, I hope that my exchangers will forgive me. I now know better!

So, in addition to a good bed, a clean house and a decent shower, here are my personal suggestions.

Do wash new towels: it’s great providing a set of new towels for guests, but remember to wash them first or your poor guests won’t be able to dry themselves.

Don’t leave perishables in the fridge or in the kitchen that won’t survive until your return. Not everyone eats the same food as you do. A bottle of wine, a vase of flowers or a frozen meal in the freezer will be appreciated more than fruit and vegetables that might end up in the bin.

Do leave a shelf in your pantry free: your guests may not be dining out every day and may prefer to be able to put their food away rather than leave it on the bench or table during their entire stay.

Don’t provide a washing machine that doesn’t work properly: you may know the trick of how to get your machine to spin properly, but your guests are not going to be happy if it takes 3 days to get their clothes dry.

Do leave hanging space with hangers: perhaps you don’t hang up any clothes yourself, but your guests may wear shirts every day – and don’t forget to provide enough hangers (count one shirt hanger per person per number of days’ exchange up to a week and two or three skirt/trouser hangers per person).

Don’t leave your fridge ¾ full: your guests need to have space to put their own food without having to shop every day. At least two empty shelves, including door shelves, should be left free.

Do provide a blanket as well as a dooner for the bed: you may be freezing at 15°C because you used to live in Africa, but your guests may prefer a light blanket at that temperature. Give them the choice.

Don’t use photos that don’t correspond to your listing, particularly as the cover photo: if you don’t live within walking distance of the sea, a picture of a fishing boat is not appropriate. Neither is a monument two metro stops away.

Do leave adequate instructions about your house: guests need to know when to put the rubbish out, how to work your expresso machine, and what the wifi code is (and why not change the original 26-character code to something easier for your guests?)

Don’t leave dirty sponges in the kitchen: provide a clean sponge for each new set of guests.

Do you have any other suggestions that will make your home exchange a more pleasurable experience?

Cycling, France, Home exchange, Sightseeing

Cycling on the Basque Coast #1 – Ups and Downs

May 6, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 14 Comments

The first day in our home exchange in Ciboure on the Basque Coast gets off to a good start with breakfast on the terrace overlooking the Pyrenees. There’s so much sun we even have to open up the awning.

After breakfast we go into the centre of Ciboure to buy fresh fish directly from the stalls representing the people who caught it. We choose a dorade rose (red sea bream) which is supposed to be the best of the sea bream family.

We then go to the Coopérative Maritime which sells clothing brands such as Saint James, Cap Marine and Armor Lux, very popular on the coast in France,particularly in the summer. I find a navy zippered cotton cardigan which will be perfect for cooler evenings by the sea.

Typical Basque architecture, even for recent homes

We go home and change into our cycling gear and set off by car to join the cycle path to Bayonne, a nice easy ride for the second day of the holidays. Jean Michel tries a couple of different places and then decides it’s the right one. Theoretically we’ve cycled along this path before but I don’t recognise it. But that’s not surprising – I don’t remember a lot of places we’ve been …

Instead of the flat path I thought we were taking, it starts with a steep hill. OK, I think, now it’s going to get flatter. But it doesn’t. We whizz downhill which is always worrying because there is inevitably a hill going up on the other side. Jean Michel then realises he’s somehow confused Saint Jean de Luz with Biarritz and the roller coaster bike path is not going to stop for quite some time. I groan inwardly.

The coastal scenery is admittedly very beautiful but I’m so busy changing gears that I can’t really take it in. I also can’t take many photos because there is no way I’m going to stop on the way up a slope or I’ll never get going again. Also, my first gear isn’t working which doesn’t make things any easier.

Le O restaurant, Plage de Cenitz, Guéthary — Le C restaurant, Plage de Cenitz, Guéthary

After a while, I realise that if we don’t stop soon, we’ll never get lunch. It’s already 1.30. I see a sign that says “restaurant” just before another hill. We’ve only done 6 ½ kilometers but I’m exhausted. The road goes downhill and we come to a concrete building with a sort of garden tent attached to it and tables and even deckchairs on the grass in front, with a stunning view of the sea.

Tables and deck chairs on the grass at Le O — Tables and deck chairs on the grass at Le C, Cenitz Plage Guéthary

We don’t hesitate. I go inside to find a table as there are no sunshades over the outside tables and it’s about 28°C in the sun. I gradually start to recover and my beetroot shade slowly disappears (I’m not burnt as I’ve slathered on sunscreen). I look at the menu. Twenty euro for harmburger meat and French fries seems a little exaggerated.

Then I spy the set menu for 19 euros – dish of the day, a glass of wine (will I ever get up the slope?) and café gourmand. The dish of the day is Spanish: small sweet peppers stuffed with garlic cream and cod, served with rocket. Sounds perfect. The waiter very sweetly brings us bread and some sort of spread while we’re waiting.

Jean Michel congratulates me on all the hills and suggests we go back to the car, load the bikes again and go to the place he meant to go to in Biarritz in the first place. Sounds like a good idea to me. I manage to cycle back up and down the hills, only getting off and pushing the bike twice.

When we finally get to the flat bike path, I’m not sure my legs are going to cooperate. But apart from a few initial undulations, the bike path really is flat. It’s also shady and I begin to wonder whether I was right to leave our sweat shirts in the car. After those horrible hills, it seems dead easy though. The sky isn’t as blue as it was when we started out.

At Bayonne, we find the café where we had a cold drink last time we cycled from Biarritz, next to the Adour River with a lovely view of the old town opposite. Afterwards we cycle around a bit. The sky is looking more and more threatening so we decide we’d better start making tracks.

On the quayside in Bayonne — Having a drink on the riverside in Bayonne

We stop and put our jean shirts on. The tide is turning and the air is much cooler. We hope it won’t start raining before we get back to the car because we obviously don’t have our rain capes. About 3 K before we reach our destination, we feel the first drops. We’re nearly back at the car when they start getting heavier and, thankfully, IN the car when it really starts to rain.

However, it doesn’t last that long and we follow the coast road back to Saint Jean de Luz, congratulating ourselves on not having to go up and down all those hills again.

This post is part of the Lou Messugo monthly All About France blog link-up. For other entries, click here

Home exchange, Spain, Uncategorized

Our Home Exchange in Barcelona

February 21, 2013 Rosemary Kneipp 6 Comments

I didn’t realise when I started looking for a home exchange in Barcelona that Paris might not be a peak time from people used to a warmer climate – particularly since our main motivation for going to Spain in February was to get away from the grey skies and cold of Paris! Home exchanges can be either simultaneous or non-simultaneous, depending on various factors. Considering the other home exchanges we were planning this year, a non-simultaneous exchange didn’t seem possible. However, I shall take this factor into account in the future.

I received several refusals but Pep, who lives outside Barcelona and has a one-bedroom flat near Sant Pau Hospital and the Sagrada Familia, fortunately agreed to the swap, although he wasn’t sure until the last minute that he would be able to come to Paris and then, it was only for 2 nights as opposed to our 6 nights. Having a second home definitely makes it easier to juggle with dates.

When Pep saw our listing, he immediately said that his flat was “modesto”. It’s true that we usually try to find equivalent accommodation, but the most important thing is that it is comfortable and clean and has an internet connection. That was certainly the case and we felt very welcome. We weren’t intending to do any cooking so not having a dish washer was not a problem, for example. When we stayed with my brother, sister-in-law, 3 kids and my son in a home exchange on the Gold Coast in Australia, it was a necessity!

When we arrived, Pep was waiting for us with a French-speaking friend in case we had difficulties communicating. But Pep’s French is more than adequate. He told us his favourite places to wander around and where to have pintxos. He also said that the neighbourhood eating places weren’t very interesting although we had a very “local” experience one evening in the bar opposite when we didn’t feel like going into the centre. It’s true that the food wasn’t anything special, but it was certainly authentic and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The ambiance more than made up for the quality.

The only drawback was the distance from the centre but, as I mentioned in previous post, Jean Michel worked out the buses and we probably got to see more of the city than we would have otherwise. Since we had 6 nights, it was not really a problem but for a shorter period it would have been less convenient.

Pep reached our appartment in Paris without mishap and was able to take the key from our code box next to the front door. These boxes are common pratice in Australia, but little known in Europe, although you can buy them in France without difficulty. It’s absolutely impossible to open the box without the code. Even if you managed to pull the box off the wall you still wouldn’t be able to get into the box. We find it’s a perfect solution.

When we were preparing for our holiday, I tweeted about off-the-beaten track places to visit in Barcelona and received an answer from Roser who lives in Barcelona and works for www.intercambiocasas.com, the Spanish version of the www.homeexchange.com website I use, inviting us to meet up for a coffee. I was delighted!

The very dynamic Roser came along with her blogger friend Isabel (http://www.diariodeabordoblog.com), about to embark of her first home exchange. We were able to ask all the questions that had been building up about Catalan and Barcelona over the previous few days and since Roser speaks excellent English and French, Jean Michel was able to launch a very interesting discussion about Catalan independence. Roser also has a blog (http://www.sempreviaggiando.com).

Roser and Isabel gave us lots of suggestions for places to eat but we ran out of days before we could use them all! Roser is also very interested in improving the website and service of homeexchange.com so would love to have feedback. In particular, she would like to know what is the most important thing when looking for a home exchange – location, size of the home, nearby attractions, etc.

Gaudi's lamppost in Plaça Reial — Gaudi’s lamppost in Plaça Reial

The day before we left Barcelona, we were sitting outside at a terrace café in Plaça Reial admiring Gaudi’s lampposts when I received a message from Pep who had just got back from Paris, suggesting we have a coffee. We were soon able to exchange our impressions of Barcelona and Paris and talk about what we’d be doing in our respective cities. Pep had enjoyed being right in the centre of Paris even though he found it a little cold!

Now we’re busy organising our next set of home exchanges – one in France in May then a series in Germany, Austria and Hungary for June/July as we’re going to cycle along the Danube. It’s proving a little difficult to find people outside large cities who are interested in coming to Paris, where we can only provide accommodation for two people. So if anyone has a two-person swap in Ulm and Linz, let me know!

France, French customs, Home exchange, Restaurants, Wine

Red Tape in France part 2

December 3, 2012 Rosemary Kneipp 6 Comments

Part 1 of the story of how I closed Leonardo’s one-man company ended with the drab tax office in Saint Maur so that leaves only two more places to go. First, the legal publications office, back in Paris, then the commercial court in Créteil, also in the eastern suburbs. It would have been more logical to start with the LPO, but I didn’t know that when I began. Of course.

Opéra de Paris

I drive to the LPO, but it’s just near the Paris Opera and there is absolutely no chance of parking. I can’t even find the street, let alone park. I take the car back to our garage and decide I’ll leave the LPO until tomorrow . When I get up to the 3rd floor and open the door, I can already hear the workers chiselling and talking loudly.

scaffolding — Scaffolding on my balcony in the Palais Royal

I change my mind about the LPO. Halfway there, on foot this time, I realise that I don’t have the right papers. I’m fading fast. I go back home but I don’t have the keys and can’t remember the downstairs door code . I try Relationnel but he’s not answering. I phone Black Cat who comes to my rescue. I have the code to the home exchange key box upstairs, so that’s fine. I can get in. And stay in.

The workers have not stopped. I dissolve into tears of frustration. I unplug my laptop from the large screen, keyboard, mouse and internet and go into the kitchen to try and get some work done. There is no internet connection. I eventually return to my office and plug everything in again. Nothing happens. The laptop won’t recognise the screen. I jab the plug in and out and it finally works. But the keyboard and mouse aren’t functioning.

printemps — Decorations on Printemps in anticipation of the next paragraph

I try all sorts of methods, to no avail. I can’t even turn the laptop off. I google solutions on my iPhone and finally manage to turn it off. I go and have a shower. When I get back, I turn the laptop on and everything works but by then it’s 6.30 pm and I’ve wasted most of the afternoon. The workers have gone home.

galeries_lafayette — Decorations in the window of Galéries Lafayette

It’s next morning so after waking up to the drilling and chiselling, I set out for the LPO. I have to go the long way because they’re making another film in the Palais Royal. Now I’m having problems finding the street again, this time with my iPhone. I ask a lady in a pharmacy who tells me it’s behind Galeries Lafayette. Well, she’s wrong, but at least I get to see the Christmas decorations at Printemps (not bad) and GL (not much better than last year). I go past a tearoom called Pouchkine that looks interesting and make a mental note to go there sometime.

cafe_pouchkine — Café Pouchkine 64 boulevard Haussmann

I finally find the street, around the corner from the Apple Store. Now why didn’t anyone tell me it was there? I hand over the announcement with Leonardo’s power of attorney printed out and signed by me. They don’t even ask for his identity card. I find that shocking. That means that anyone can make a legal announcement! I am asked for an advance payment of 250 euro. Why advance ? “Because it could be a little more or a little less”. What is this? Surely they can work out exactly how much it’s going to cost!

One step left: the commercial court in Créteil but we’re going to the wine fair during Relationnel’s lunch break and he’s already late. The court will be closed by the time I get there. Also I won’t feel like it after all that wine tasting! Right then, first thing Monday morning. Next and last episode coming soon.

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from the Tropics to the City of Light