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By: Angelblue In France
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| Thursday, 26-Jul-2007 12:00 |
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Nuremberg 6th July
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The following weekend, I had gone on a trip organised by my boss to Nuremberg. He had worked as a judge there and still kept contacts at the Nuremberg Court. It was a chance really, that I didn't want to miss as how else would I ever get to go to Courtroom 600 where the Nuremberg trials were held???
This time round, I asked Vera if she wanted to go, and she did, so I told my boss. He booked hotel rooms for all of us and they were really close to the Hauptbahnhof so it was convenient. It was just a matter of finding our own transport. Vera and I hunted around and finally came up with Lufthansa. we had to fly to Hamburg before we arrived in Nuremberg and the return journey was via Munich. We flew on one of those teensy weensy airplanes, that sat between 40-60 people, so it can be buffeted more easily by turbulence...Unfortunately, there was a lot of bouncing around, take-off, landing and even during the flight itself. Vera doesn't travel well unfortunately, and she looked really pale. She almost threw up even...
Anyways, we got to the hotel Friday evening and even though we were invited to go for dinner with the group, we decided against it. Just got a couple of hot-dogs and started walking around the shopping areas (What else???!! Vera and I are avid shoppers!) to get an idea of where we wanted to go so we woúldn't waste time. The schedule that Ekkehard (my boss) had organised was packed and there wasn't a great deal of free time. We didn't however want to make it known that the other half of the reasons we went to Nuremberg was for the shopping. A bit embarrassing, really... 
We also went round to the Opera house and I more or less persuaded her to go watch the Barber of Seville with me. It wasn't too difficult as she had never seen Opera and it would be a nice experience. I was really ecstatic as there was just that one show on Saturday evening, and we happened to have Saturday evening off...
So, we decided come Saturday, we would go to the Court house in the morning as Ekkehard arranged and then run after the presentation at the Courtroom to the Opera house to get tickets and then run to do a little shopping, skipping lunch by getting Nuremberg sausage sandwiches and then meet up with the rest to go to the Documentation Centre....
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| Wednesday, 25-Jul-2007 08:10 |
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Last day in Avignon
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So, now we come to the last day of our stay in Avignon. Basically, it was shopping day. I had gone off from Debbie and Melina to do shopping on my own as I had specific things I wanted to get. I had fondly imagined that Nisha (former head of Staff Admin in HR)'s baby shower was the week after I got back from France and I wanted to get stuff from Petit Bateau for her. There was a Petit Bateau, but it was terribly, more than half empty. I finally got a stuffed rabit from there, with long ears that you can tie up next to the cot or pram. Then as I was walking around, I came across this cute little shop where they sell little unique stuff. I was torn between an aeroplane spoon (with which to feed the baby via the "aeroplane") and a picture tape. THe picture tape is a measuring tape that you can hang on the wall, and along the tape, you can measure the baby's height and leave a picture momento of the baby at the age he was at that height. I finally caved and bought the picture tape. It was likely to be a present that could keep on giving for the family, as it wasn't limited to just when Baby was a baby... 
In any case,, I bought them, then ran off to do some shopping of my own. I wanted in particular to get tube tops as I can't seem to find any in Holland.... I had a really good shopping trip in just 2 hours... bought a pair of ballerina slippers as well, so I was well pleased. Then it was time to get our bags and go off to the train station to catch our TGV to Marseilles, and then from Marseilles, catch the bus to the airport. Our timing was fantastic as the bus was about to leave after we bought our tickets!
THen it was on to the frustrating long queues at the airport. Debbie had kept an eye open for the opening of another queue and when that happened 30 mins later, while we were still a long way from the counter in our first queue. She immediately zipped over to the new queue. I have never seen anyone move that fast before! We were then second in line and got to the counter double quick. Debbie says that's the reason why she travels with only a backpack. So she can zip around and run when new queues open. 
There was a brief moment of inquietitude as we weren't still 100% sure that they would let Debbie on the plane despite the police report and the document she was holding, but luckily they did!!! YAH!!! I'm not sure that SIngapore authorities would have allowed that.
Anyways, to cut it short, we arrived back in Eindhoven, and caught the bus from the airport to the train station and waited for the train back. It takes 2 1/2 hours to get back to The Hague, and since Debbie had lost her keys, she stayed with Melina that night. Luckily, she had a set of spare house keys at the office.
My goodness, I was really tired when I got back, as by that time, it was almost 1am and I had work the next day. This trip wasn't a vacation in the truest sense of the word. It was a trip, and a trip where we all worked/walked/ travelled around so much, it was hard work!
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| Tuesday, 17-Jul-2007 12:00 |
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South of France: Provence - Súnday's Lavender tour
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Back to the hotel, and after a quick swipe at the toilet, we were off in a mini-coach to see the sights! You can go to http://www.provencereservation.com/en_2/detail.php?id_prod=5 to see our planned itinerary but you can also read on...
FIrst stop, pick up rest of tour at various other hotels, then it was off to L'Isle sur la Sorgue to visit the huge market there (45 mins stop which was not even close to being enough) then to the Lavender musuem for a movie and exhibits plus of course, lavender shop products (where incidentally we learnt the difference between lavender and lavendine...  ) then it was off to a proper honest-to-God lavender field for a short 15 mins photo-taking session, then on to Gordes where we were advised to try and get lunch plus try the lavender-flavoured ice-cream, then a brief stop near the abbey of Senanque to take pictures then onwards to Rousillion where I got some freshly baked lavender flavoured cookies plus of course, chocolate chip cookies at the market there, then (take a deep breath!!) a slightly longer journey to Les Baux where we were given 90 mins!!!! to wander around which again was completely insufficient to really see the place, and well, to let one know that one had to go back again! Then onwards ho!! to the Pont du Gard in Nimes. We couldn't unfortunately squeeze in the trip to see Les Antiquites, but after Pont du Gard, the roman aqueduct, our guide did bring us to outside of Avignon to take nice panoramic pictures of Avignon and of course, the bridge, the famous Pond d' Avignon! By which time it was already 7pm.
It was a tremendously long and tiring day and just count it!! 9 stops in almost 9 hours! Completely crazy and as the price was 100 euros, quite worth it as well.
One thing though, if you're prone to car-sickness, sea-sickness, motion sickness of any kind, the fast speed at which the guide drives around the windy, bendy roads of the Luberon, you might get sick, like Debbie did. She felt so bad that she couldn't walk around Les Baux, which was such a pity!
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| Tuesday, 17-Jul-2007 12:00 |
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South of France: Provence - Súnday's Lavender tour
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Back to the hotel, and after a quick swipe at the toilet, we were off in a mini-coach to see the sights! You can go to http://www.provencereservation.com/en_2/detail.php?id_prod=5 to see our planned itinerary but you can also read on...
FIrst stop, pick up rest of tour at various other hotels, then it was off to L'Isle sur la Sorgue to visit the huge market there (45 mins stop which was not even close to being enough) then to the Lavender musuem for a movie and exhibits plus of course, lavender shop products (where incidentally we learnt the difference between lavender and lavendine... ) then it was off to a proper honest-to-God lavender field for a short 15 mins photo-taking session, then on to Gordes where we were advised to try and get lunch plus try the lavender-flavoured ice-cream, then a brief stop near the abbey of Senanque to take pictures then onwards to Rousillion where I got some freshly baked lavender flavoured cookies plus of course, chocolate chip cookies at the market there, then (take a deep breath!!) a slightly longer journey to Les Baux where we were given 90 mins!!!! to wander around which again was completely insufficient to really see the place, and well, to let one know that one had to go back again! Then onwards ho!! to the Pont du Gard in Nimes. We couldn't unfortunately squeeze in the trip to see Les Antiquites, but after Pont du Gard, the roman aqueduct, our guide did bring us to outside of Avignon to take nice panoramic pictures of Avignon and of course, the bridge, the famous Pond d' Avignon! By which time it was already 7pm.
It was a tremendously long and tiring day and just count it!! 9 stops in almost 9 hours! Completely crazy and as the price was 100 euros, quite worth it as well.
One thing though, if you're prone to car-sickness, sea-sickness, motion sickness of any kind, the fast speed at which the guide drives around the windy, bendy roads of the Luberon, you might get sick, like Debbie did. She felt so bad that she couldn't walk around Les Baux, which was such a pity!
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| Monday, 16-Jul-2007 08:26 |
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South of France: Provence - continued!
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Ok... I have to get this down before I forget... We last stopped at Avignon, right? At least, we left Marseilles for Avignon and got to our hotel etc...Ok Sat, 30 June. We had decided to take a trip to ARLES, where Van Gogh llived when he was living in the South of France. Debbie had been there before, so we took the train to Arles, then walked into the city... Saw the Arena where bull-fighting (the humane kind) still takes place, late summer, not when we were there...unfortunately. Had lunch, souvenir shopped, I bought a locally made, very pretty skirt, which is indigenous of the area...blah blah blah....Now the important part. After walking around all day, we were tired and had about an hour to go before we caught our train...so on our way back to the train station, we stopped to sit and rest and enjoy the very welcome cooling breeze at a petanque field. It really was enjoyable, 4 gossipy men sitting behind us, and a group of seniors playing petanque just a little way in front of us.... then this guy came up from behind us and snatched Debbie's bags...She had been sitting with her hand on her handbag and shopping bags, but she was so relaxed that this completely caught her off-guard. The thief of course ran off and he actually had an accomplice on a motorbike and of course, in less than 10 seconds, it was over. I had actually seen the whole thing as when the guy came behind us, I was startled and jumped up and ermmm...apparently screamed. Melina was seated between us and was completely shocked, and well Debbie, Debbie had fallen asleep and had no idea what happened until it happened. Stupid me, however, all I could think of doing at that time was shout." Hey, Hey" as if I were calling a friend... Ran a little bit after the motorbike of course, but it was too late.
Unfortunately, Debbie had put everything into her bag that day...Passport, Dutch MFA card, wallet ICC staff badge, credit cards, even house keys, everything. We had been caught completely off guard and the men seated behind us were useless as well...
Went off to the Police station, only to be told, they were closed and to come back again...  WHat?? Yup, the nice police officer asked us what we were doing in ARles, (Sight-seeing), when were we staying till (Monday) and to come back on Monday. They were closed and could do nothing. I then told him our hotel was in Avignon, to which his reply was "Go to Avignon and make your report there" I specifically asked him if he was sure they would be open...to which his reply was "yes" BIG FAT LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
He was just lazy and didn't want to do the report for us. Well, Debbie and Melina and I walked back towards the train station and intended to have a look-see, as maybe the thieves had discarded her belongings after they ransacked it. They had immediately switched off her phone... I called after the robbery to see if we could locate the thieves... No luck however, and we went back to the train station where Debbie borrowed my credit card to call back to Holland to cancel her cards.
Back in Avignon, we went to the police station again and waited for 30 mins before we were attended to by yet another police officer (female this time) who refused to entertain us in English, so I acted as interpreter again...and told us to come back the next day to file the report as the office was closed. THis was completely shocking to Melina as during this time she had seen police officers come and go and kissing each other on the cheeks to say hello or goodbye. In her opinion, they could get more things done if they stopped kissing and actually worked for a change. Debbie and I weren't all that surprised but still...it's at times like this that you appreciate the police in Sg!
Anyways, we were told to come back at 8 on Sunday, and to be honest, we didn't thinkt here was much chance of us getting the report. After all, if they wouldn't do it on Sat, why should we think they would do it on Sunday? All that evening, we sat around and debated worst-comes-to-worse plans.... Debbie would take the train up to Paris, go or do not go to the SG embassy there, try to get back to NL by Thalys, should we go with her, when to leave if we had to leave by train....
Small blessings though. Of the 3 of us, Debbie was the most poised. Melina would have been an absolute disaster. She would have had a thorough breakdown... 
Anyways, we decided that I would go to the police station with Debbie to help in interpreting but that we would do everything possible to go for our Lavender fields tour. AFter all that had happened, we didn't want the thieves to rob us of our enjoyment of the lavender fields as well... and Sunday, starting from 9am was to be a fully packed day for us.
Luckily for us,we did get our report filed on Sunday and got to go for the tour as well...We left around 7.30 to get to the Police station before 8 and actually the police who met us at the door..(couldn't actually let us step into the station itself, would have been more difficult to dislodge us without doing a thing!!) wanted us to go get our papers from the embassy...which of course would have been impossible without a police report... and when he realised or his boss realised that we only wanted the report and not make a complain...(You see, the COMPLAINTS office was closed...), well then we could get the report! The police in Avignon was disgusted that the police in Arles wouldn't help us...but, well, c'est la vie. Someone had to take our report!!!!
after about 45 mins, we got it done and was about to leave when Debbie asked me to ask if there were some kind of official document issued by the police to declare the loss of her papers that might help her get on the plane back to NL... To our great surprise, there was! It took another 15 mins,but we got it! That left us with 20 mins to get back to the hotel in time for the tour... Would wonders never cease???!!!!!!???????
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| Tuesday, 10-Jul-2007 12:00 |
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South of France: Provence
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Ile d' IF from the boat
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Out at sea...(sort of...)
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Boats, fishing, yachts and others...
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Here, I shall relate the happenings during my short but packed trip to the South of France, Provence to see the Lavender Fields....
I left after work on the 28th June to fly to Marseilles. I took a budget flight, RyanAir that flew out of Eindhoven airport to Marseilles. The trip to Eindhoven was long, and as Debbie and Melina went from Centraal Station, and I left from the office, we only met up at the airport. I loke Eindhoven airport. It's small but not a lot of people use it, so checking in was quick and easy, and I was really excited about the trip. Only thing was, we arrived fairly late in MArseilles, so it was easier for us to take a cab to our hotel. I had booked the hotel rooms for us and in Marseilles, the hotel was Rome and St Pierre. WE were given this HUGE room, with a 2 double beds and 2 single beds, divided into 2 rooms. We entered the room into a small antechamber where jackets and stuff could be hanged, then walked up some stairs to hit the main room. To the right was another room with a double bed and a single bed. The main room itself also had a double bed and a single bed. To the right of the room were the shower and bath facilities. There were even 2 sinks! Debbie and Melina took the inner room and I took the outer room. It was great as it was hot and I had the airconditioning in the main room, though of course, the door to the inner room was open so they could get some cool air inside as well...
Anyways, we checked in then went for a short stroll. THe hotel is really located very close to the port of Marseilles, so it was really nice to be able to walk around. Mind you, because it was in the center of town, and our hotel was a 3* hotel, if i'd been alone, I wouldn't have felt completely comfortable walking around at night on my own. As we were three, it didn't matter.
Next morning, Melina and I got up early to walk around the port, we then met Debbie around 11.30 to check out of our rooms and make further plans to explore MArseilles. As we were leaving for Avignon that evening, we then decided to take the "petit trains" through the old town of MArseilles as well as the train that would bring us to the church, Notre Dame. Big surprise there, that the church would be Notre Dame eh??
It was really hot and I was sweltering and to be honest, I never dealt well with the heat,  so after the tours, Melina and Debbie were going to take a walk to hunt for a park on the map, but I decided against it. It was hot enough that I really wanted to take a boat ride out of MArseilles to one or two of the islands lying close by. After a quick check to ensure that I would be able to return back to Marseilles in time to get to St Charles train station to catch our TGVs to Avignon, I took the boat to Ille d' If. the boat went to 2 islands, but I only had time for a stop on one, so I stopped at Ile D'If to have a look-see at the Chateau d'If. I didn't have much time, only about 20 mins, but the island was so small, and really, it wasn't worth it to pay for admission to the castle.
All in all, it took about 2 hours for the boat ride, so i got back to the hotel on time and off we went to the train station. We walked to the train station and upon arriving, quite horrified to find out that there were a gazillion stairs to get to the top.  Bear in mind that we had been walking around since 9am and we were all tired and hot and bothered and dehydrated as well. Luckily, I asked this girl if there were lifts or escalators up and she kindly brought us to the escalators there were in the metro station that led up to the train station! Otherwise, I'm quite sure that it would have taken up at least 20 mins to slowly clamber up the stairs!
So, we took the TGV to get to Avignon and unfortunately, when we got there, I realised that it was the TGV station we stopped at, not the Avignon Centre station that we got off at. We didn't know however and Debbie and Melina were quite prepared to walk to our hotel. Luckily, I saw a bus that went to the centre and kinda decided that since we were all hot and tired, it would be better if we took the shuttle bus (navette). Good thing we did, cos the bus trip took 15 mins. On foot, we would have taken an hour and most probably have gotten lost! 
Checked into our hotel, also along the main street of Avignon, so really convenient, though of course, our room sink was stuck and we couldn't use it. We had a bidet however, so we mostly used that. Had dinner (vietnamese) and then walked around to the Pope's palace after dinner. It was a warm night and we were delighted to find out that the square in front of the Pope's palace had all kinds of activities going on. We stayed for quite a while, watching local french people dancing the tango, at the square. It is such a delightful and amusing thing to do, to organnise a sort of impromptu dance session for everyone from beginners to advanced dancers and watching them swirl around, really made me want to sign up for classes again! 
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| Monday, 9-Jul-2007 15:42 |
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Brugge photos at long last!
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I really should put on the photos from Brugge...so here they are! These are actually photos taken off my phone, but the quality isn't bad at all!!
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| Monday, 18-Jun-2007 10:52 |
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I think the size comparison is better here...
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The chicken's actually really big!
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I just thought I'd add some quirky shots that I took at Dordrecht.
I'd actually gone down to Brugge this last weekend. The weather wasn't so good. Like SG really, it started to rain heavily, winked out in 5 minutes, sun shining brightly for 30 mins before it started to pour again...The cycle repeated itself and was a nuisance. Grabbing the umbrella, keeping it, closing it again etc....
i'd gone down with Melina and Debbie by tour bus. It was actually really cool, as the time taken for the trip was no longer than by train, once you factor in waiting for the trains and the connections. Plus we got to see some really nice scenary, by the beach, across the longest bridge in Holland in Zeeland I think the province/town is called... Of course, I slept a lot of the way. Somehow, trips that take over 1 hour, by train,car or bus, i can fall asleep really quickly, but planes, I can't sleep, especially on long-haul flights. A quirk of my nature I think.
Anyway, Brugge was fun. I'd made my goal of seeing Michaelangelo's Madonna and Child, bought a really nifty trenchcoat (black) from H&M..( I honestly think I'm cheap! I went hunting for trenchcoats and no matter where I went, I couldn't find one that fit well, and looked good at a reasonable price, except at H&M!! It's like, I can only shop from H&M!!) and of course, tons of Belgian chocolates. I brought them to share with HR this morning... made lotsa people happy! But I was glad I bought my trenchcoat, so I figured I'd share the joy!
Anyways, photos are from Dordrecht, not Brugge
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| Wednesday, 30-May-2007 09:53 |
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Last weekend + Apenheul pictures
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Last weekend, we couldn't quite decide where to go as the weather forecast for the weekend was quite dicey. In the end, we just decided to toss a coin and see where the chances would take us. Actually, if the weather was good, we'd have gone to Arnheim (I think that's how it's spelt) and spend time at the open-air musuems there, but if the weather was bad, we might have gone to Amsterdam's Rijksmusuem. We were planning to get the 1-year musuem card, and made a trip to several musuems included in the card. It would definitely have been worth it. Either that, or go to the Dolfinarium. I was up for that, I do like dolfins, but, in the end we chose Dordrecht, just a bit further south of Rotterdam. It was for the shopping really, and shopping was good! We'd chanced upon a glassware shop, Lades, which sold the most fantastic pieces of coloured, decorative glass for a reasonable price. If I weren't moving, I would have bought stuff, like candleholders, or ornamental stained-glass pieces of tulips. As it was, i bought a beautiful choker...
We decided that we would go to an Indian place at Scheveningen, Den Haag with Indian buffet for dinner, but it turned out fairly disappointing. Debbie has an idea that all the nice things in Holland disappear eventually... Not sure I don't believe her... The Indian Palace, turned out to be slow, and the food, just a touch too salty for my tastes...oh well, once bitten, twice shy. Though Debbie and Melina had good food the last time, I'm pretty sure they won't go back again...
Anyway, monkey pictures from Apenheul, Apeldoorn!
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| Wednesday, 23-May-2007 12:00 |
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Zaanse Schans
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A picture speaks a thousand words. In which case, I should just shut up...
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I NEED A BREAK SOON! 
