WOW

I just discovered something the other day.  Tina Turner lives
here!!!  She is married to a Swiss guy, and has just recently
become a Swiss citizen.  I was thrilled to know that - she has
been a kind of hero to me - she carries some kind of Goddess
projection!  
Not only does she live here, but her house is about 10 minutes
away from where I am living.  I walked by it yesterday, and
took this photo.

It's perfect lighting for the way I feel about this woman!!
She apparently does her shopping at the VERY expensive
food shop in the village.  I have walked by it several times,
but never had the nerve to go in there - because I know I'll
never buy anything.  But today when I went by, I slowed
down, peering inside to see if SHE was there.   She wasn't,
but she might be some day….and I'll be ready!

THURSDAY IN ZURICH

I took the train into Zurich yesterday, and got off at

a different stop than the one I'm used to.  It's about

a 15 minute trip - or maybe not even that.  The train

goes along the lake - Lake Zurich, or in Swiss German

Zurisee (the "u" should have an umlaut above it) 

and on a sunny day is a gorgeous little journey.  

Getting off at Stadelhofen, there is a confusing 

spaghetti-like merging of tram lines, and I couldn't

quite see which direction to take, so I did what any

tourist does, which is to follow the general flow.

It took me to the Quaibrucke, which is one of the

many bridges linking south to north.

Standing on the bridge, looking south

I had a couple of errands to do in town, and if I 

had just done the errands I would have been there

for about 45 minutes.  Five hours later…..yup.

I just wandered around, losing my way and then

finding it again, looking at the people, the shop

windows, the architecture, the menus posted outside

cafes and restaurants.  It was such a gorgeous day,

and the city is so beautiful, with so much to look

at, that the time just raced by.

This is actually a fairly steep climb - I went up and up
and up, with some stairs at the end of it, coming out
to the Lindenhof, which is a great big space full of trees,
and a couple of those giant chess boards with chess pieces
3' high, and people eating lunch, and taking photos, and
texting and talking on their phones.

This is one of the views from the Lindenhof, making it worth every step of the climb.

Just after I took this photo, I realized there was a man in one
of the upper windows looking at me, and I was a little
embarrassed - maybe he thought I was taking a photo of him?
or maybe I was a potential burglar, staking out the place?
Anyway, I pretended I was talking on my phone - in German.
Lots of Ja, ja and Nein, nein.  Then I walked away briskly
as though I were late for a meeting……sheesh.  What
an elaborate cover-up…..

I eventually realized that I was getting light-

headed from hunger, and that I'd better decide

what and where I would eat.  I chose a take-away

place, because there was a square just behind me,

and I could sit and eat and people-watch.  What I

didn't realize was that it was pay-by-the-weight,

and I was so hungry that each thing she offered I

was saying Yes to….and so I ended up paying 

20 Swiss francs for a big container of take-away -

which is more than $20.!!  I couldn't eat it all,

though, so it ended up being two meals worth.

It is an expensive city, and eating out is always

pricey.  But I didn't think a container full of rice

and chicken and some veg would add up to that

much!

Today has been a drifty sort of day - I haven't got

much done in terms of reading or researching.

It was a sunny day again, which is always a bit

distracting - I just want to be outside.  So I 

walked to the lake - a 7 - 10 minute walk from

here, and sat in the sun.  This is what I was 

looking at while I sat there….

Sort of hard to concentrate on your "studies" when this

is just down the street.

OK, now I'm going to do some reading….and this is

what's looking at me:

Good night, talk to you later….

AND…..

This afternoon I went for a walk in the Wanderweg,
which might translate literally as the wander-way,
or the ramble-trail - but I like the way it sounds and
looks in German.  This is the other side of Kusnacht,
which is that we are right next door to this:

The Wanderweg goes for miles, and there are lots
of different paths to take.  Today it led me to this:

It's an old fortress - dating from 700 AD, give or take a few hundred years.

It has been cared for, and restored, over the years.  The last restoration was in 1973, I think.

This was a bit creepy, it reminded me of an oubliette - a kind of a dungeon like a deep well,
with a hatch covering the entrance.  My imagination - or is it something I read? - tells me
that the only way in is to be lowered or raised by rope, or rope ladder.  The name comes
from oublier, to forget - which is also creepy.
I don't think this was actually one of those - but that was the first thing I thought of when I saw it.

Well, that's it for today.  More later - perhaps after I
have been into Zurich tomorrow…..

ARRIVING...KUSNACHT

I thought I would do a photo journey of arriving, starting with walking up from the train station….

I pass these houses every day, whenever I want to go anywhere….this part of Zurich
is called "The Gold Coast"….

I hear this church clock chime every quarter of an hour,
and at 11 am and 5 pm it rings so beautifully, calling
people to service?  There is something joyful and ancient in the
ringing of the bells.
Also, this is the graveyard where Jung is buried, and I love
to walk in it, because the Swiss tend the graves so lovingly
with flowers and small trees and sculptures and candles.

THE TRAIN FROM PARIS TO ZURICH, 12 DAYS AGO

Chaos on the train.  No space for luggage at the end
of the corridor that I can see, so I have to wheel my
two very heavy cases down the aisle, one in front and
one behind, and then they have to go up on to the rack 
above our heads, which doesn't look nearly wide 
enough.  Thankfully, I am sitting with an enormous 
Indian family, and the gracious father helps put the 
cases up on the rack - they are so heavy, I apologize 
and feel foolish and want to explain that it's only 
because I'm away for 6 months, and I had to pack for 
2 seasons and 4 different climates….I am happy to 
be with this family, cozy in the corner with my 2 
chocolate bars and my huge bottle of water -
WAIT!! WHERE'S THE LOO??  Oh, it's just behind
me. 
The taxi ride to the station, Gare de Lyons, is totally 
hairy, with a mad driver who clips a cyclist on the 
hand, or maybe it was just the handlebar - I hope it
was just the handlebar - and then she is racing to
catch up to scream at him, and he is trying to get 
away from her, but having to stop at red lights, and
I'm sitting in the back seat just praying that no matter 
what I would not miss my train.  Cars and motorbikes 
are cutting in and honking, and the driver is asking 
me things that I don't understand; a true test of 
bilingualism: talking to a taxi driver who is clearly 
not from Paris himself.   
In the station, thank God Marie told me about the
two stations, the old Lyons and the new one - 
because the notice board doesn't even announce 
the track until 20 minutes before departure, and if
I hadn't known to be in the new Lyons, I would have 
been running.  Everyone is rushing to get on the 
train, and there is a massive group of students who 
are blocking the way with their luggage and their 
iPhones and their excitement.  When I get on the 
train, I know that I'm looking for seat number 17.
But the seat numbers begin at 65, and I'm thinking 
that maybe I will have to get all the way down to
the other end of the train with my two heavy cases 
and two shoulder bags.  The numbers jump quickly, 
though, and now here I am watching other people 
rush for their seats, feeling smug.  When the 
conductor comes to ask for tickets, the father of
the big family shows him all the separate tickets,
and indicates where everyone is sitting, spread 
out over several seats, and the conductor doesn't
even see me - and the mother says to me, You're
part of the family.
Oh!  The train has started!  Goodbye Paris…

MORE IMAGES OF PARIS

I have been in Kusnacht for over a week, and still
haven't posted photos of Paris that I really love, so
will do that now.  Here goes….

I couldn't wait to get out and walk along the Seine.  They have created "beaches", you can see them
on the right bank, La Rive Droite, where people lie on lounge chairs in bathing suits as though they are actually on a beach.  It's a bit bizarre, but in a chic Parisien way.

The Conciergerie, a former prison, now the Palais de Justice - the Paris law courts.  It has a violent history; after being the seat of kings in medieval times, it then became a prison, with prisoners treated according to their wealth.  The poorest were confined in dark "oubliettes", where they would literally be forgotten and left to die. In the late 1700's, during the Reign of Terror, this was the last stop for nearly 2,600 prisoners before the guillotine, including famously, Marie Antoinette.

The famous Louvre Pyramid - the large one surrounded by three smaller ones.  The architect designed, among other building, Place Ville Marie in Montreal, and was engineered by a Montrealer along with a Parisien.  On either side you can see the wings of the Louvre, which I didn't enter.  There were just too many tourists, and I didn't feel I had the time I needed to really sink into all that famous and glorious art.

I didn't realize until after I had taken this photo that I had also got that sweet couple walking hand in hand as a part of it!  It seems like a perfect Paris picture with them as the centrepoint.

I didn't even try to get into Notre Dame - the line up was far too long,
and I knew I would be distracted by all the people, and the frenzied
whispering, and the guided tours, and the people taking photos with
flashes even though they're told not to.  I was sorry not to see those
glorious rose windows from the inside, though.

Boulevard St. Germain, on the Rive Gauche, the famous
Left Bank of Paris, and home to so many artists and writers
in the early 1900's: Matisse, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, and
Jean Paul Sartre.  It holds a mystique, still, of bohemianism
and artists starving away in garrets, of subversion and counterculture.

Loved this sign…. 

And this golden angel on top of the Paris Opera House...

Notre Dame from the bridge - love the spires reaching
up toward heaven.

My last morning, just an ordinary day on any old street
in Paris, but meaningful to me as my last one in this
gorgeous, crowded, busy city.

And now, on to Switzerland…..Here I Am!!

EN ROUTE, AND ARRIVING IN PARIS

To get from where I was in England to 
Paris, I had to navigate two train rides, 
a taxi ride from one London station to 
another, and two much-too-heavy 
suitcases.  I had a great cabby, a typical 
Londoner - he told me he'd lived there
all his life, in a great Cockney accent.  He 
kept saying, "It's a tough old town."  He 
told me that it has changed a lot, and that 
it really is quite rough now.  He lives alone 
in an apartment, and would really like to 
get himself a small bungalow out of town, 
but can't see how to manage it.  He heaved 
my cases in and out of the taxi without 
even a grunt, and was very pleased when 
I gave him a decent tip.  I like to think he
will be able to get that little bungalow
one of these days.

I had decided that I would skip London, just
because it seemed like such a lot of work, 
finding a place to stay and hauling my cases
around, and really not a lot of time - and on
one hand I was glad I made that choice.  I
was excited to get on to Paris.  But on the
other hand, once I was in that taxi I realized
I would love to spend some time in London,
and explore the different neighbourhoods
and perhaps see some shows, ride the 
Underground, and visit the British Museum.
I will just have to go back!!

The only photo I took in London, from the back
seat of the taxi, arriving at St. Pancras station.

The train from London to Paris was really 
fast - I think it only took 2 1/2 hours.
I was dreading the tunnel under the Channel,
(also known as The Chunnel) but on the 
approach, we had been in and out of several 
tunnels, so when we got to the
long one, I didn't realize that's where we
were - which is just as well.  There's something
a little creepy about being 150 feet under the
sea bed, with I don't know how many tons of 
water on top of you.  It only took 20 minutes!
The only way I knew we had been through it
was the shrieking teenage French girls who
cheered and said, "Nous sommes a la France!"
I don't know if they hated England, and had
been forced to go on a school trip, or if they
were just glad to be home.  Or both.

My Parisienne friend Marie met me at the
Gare du Nord, where her granddaughter 
was also arriving to stay.  We took a 
taxi to her home in Montmartre, and she
welcomed me with such excitement and
pleasure - I have been so moved by how
people have opened their homes to me,
and the really great visits I have had.
The first night, we went out for dinner
(mais oui!! what else to do in Paris??)
and then we went for a walk along the
Champs Elysees - which was really
packed with tourists.  But it was such 
fun to walk the long street, ending up
at l'Arc de Triomphe…

Here we are, Marie and I, on the Champs Elysees!!
Photo courtesy of Iris, Marie's granddaughter.

Grand-mere and Iris!

I took this in the middle of the street, while crossing - not
a really smart thing to do in Paris - mad drivers!!!!
And I mean crazy, not angry!!

I have so many photos from Paris - which is
a city I really loved!  It's funny how there
are certain places where you feel immediately
at home, relaxed.  Even though it is such a
noisy, busy city, I loved the feel of it.  It 
is somewhere else that I would love to live
for some time.  I mean, look at these….

This is the Sacree Couer, in Montmartre.  We took a funicular
up a very steep hillside to get to it, and it was, as you can see,
packed with tourists.  We lined up to get in and walk around - but
my favourite part was sitting in silence and meditating on … the Mystery.
There were too many people for the place to have that deep silent sacred
feel to it, and I was disappointed.

These were just some of the stairs going down!!

OK, I think that's it for Day 1 in Paris….more to 
come!

P.S.

This is NOT where I stayed, but I did visit it.  This belongs to a family of 6 - parents and 4 kids.  Oh, and a new puppy.

LAST FEW DAYS IN ENGLAND

I promised not to reveal the location of these photos, but this is the North Sea.  I put my feet in it, and it
wasn't as cold as I thought it would be!  I almost could have gone swimming.

I took this photo as I was leaving, because I thought it was a perfect image of a typical English village.

Curious, but very shy….

Not so shy - and check out those eyelashes!