Puppets in Paris - Guignol and Friends

We found this wonderful Guignol puppet theater while stolling along the Champs Elysées.




The barker rang his bell to draw the audience, and then he went into the theater to become one of the puppeteers.





A musical overture.




The announcer invites the kids in the audience to participate.





Mrs. Guignol appears, then leaves to fix food for her guest:






Mr. Guignol's brother, Don Christobel!





Guignol's son, Jérome, appears and is full of mischief - to the delight of the kids in the audience.





Most of Jérome's mischief is at the expense of Uncle Christobel.





In this scene, Jérome has just conked poor Christobel on the head with a frying pan!





The audience loves it!





Enter the Gendarme to revive poor Christobel, and to catch that rascal Jérome.




The kids are helping . . .

. . . and totally mesmerized!

At last, Jérome is caught, and hauled off to jail!

Curtain. The End.

Some photo shots of France...

Origin of "Bike Dreams"

This trip to France and Switzerland, sometimes known as "Bike Dreams," grew out of an improbable dream idea involving the marriage of two crazy obsessions. First, my obsession with France and all things French; second my obsession (shared by several of our children) with the Tour de France bicycle race. One day, about 3 years ago, I suggested (only semi-seriously) that it would be cool to take a trip to France themed around the Tour de France - where we would travel around France with a series of bicycle rides to sample all the sensations of France in our own version of the famous Tour. As soon as I gave words to the idea, I was locked-in because all the bikers immediately signed on!

From that moment, the Bike Dreams trip became a concrete expectation, even though the date was very fluid. No one was ready to do it immediately. It had to be coordinated with all kinds of other priorities, from new babies to work schedules to Nan's racing schedule to saving for the cost, etc., etc. We came close to setting a date for fall of 2010, but finally pushed it to late May, 2011. That was after at least a year of scheming and dreaming, and more than a year away when decided, and seemed far enough into the future that no one had any concrete conflicts.

Everyone in the family was invited (all 11 children and their spouses), but from the outset it was understood to be Dutch treat - each couple would need to pay their own way. Sorry, I'm not Daddy Warbucks, just Papa Duck (as in "Scrooge," you say?). I hope no one felt pressured to go - that was never my intent. Some of the couples decided early on that they were either not interested or not able to go. Some held out hope, but eventually decided it would not work for them. Elisse/Garry and Ashley/Matt decided early on that they were definitely in. Their commitment locked me in. Aaron and Nan were always a strong probably, and participated in the planning, but didn't finally pull the plug on the airline tickets until about 3 months out. With at least two couples in, I could hardly back down, now could I?

So, with input from Matt (on which bike rides to do - just the most famous mountain stages from the real Tour) and Garry (on other things to see - castles, villages, museums, Paris), and taking into account the need to plan alternative activities for Suzanne and any other non-bikers, I began to lay out the itinerary. The more I studied, the more I realized how much there was to see and do. We could have spent several days in each locale, but we had to keep moving in order to hit all the bases within our limited time frame. This was not going to be a vacation for casually enjoying all the amenities of any swank resort h0tels. Instead, it was going to involve finding our hotels in the evening (possibly after dark) each day, and leaving them early the next morning. Yet the participants did not want a string of Motel 6's, they wanted the flavor of France even in the hotels.

We had to decide whether to use one giant vehicle or two medium ones. Whether to bring bikes from home or rent them in France. Bringing our own bikes would require bigger vehicles, and present the problem of packing the bikes around even when we were not using them. So, the decision was made to rent bikes. We settled on two cars large enough for all our baggage, so that the non-bikers would have wheels to go sight-seeing while the bikers did their thing. I searched the Internet until I found a bike rental shop at the base of each of the three mountains. And I searched for hotels in each locale.

The final plan was to leave home Friday, arrive in Geneva Saturday and spend the weekend adjusting to the jet lag while visiting our dear friends Gisèle and Philippe Dubrez. From there to Grenoble as the base for biking the Alpe d'Huez on Monday morning. That evening to Provence (near Avignon) for biking the Mont Ventoux on Tuesday morning. Tuesday p.m. and Wednesday sight-seeing in Provence and Carcassonne and traveling to the base of the Pyrénées. Thursday morning biking the Col du Tourmalet, and then driving to the Loire Valley by nightfall. Friday, take in one of the chateaux of the Loire (Chambord), then Versailles in the afternoon, and arrive in Paris by nightfall (with a stop in Chartres for its famous cathedral if time permits). Saturday and Sunday in Paris, and fly home on Monday. A whirl-wind itinerary. At the last minute, I revised the plan for the non-bikers so we could visit friends in Perpignan (Spanish/Mediterranean border) and Brive (half-way to Paris), while the bikers did their Pyrénées climb without us.

That's how the trip came to be, and how the plans evolved. The actual trip went mostly according to plan, with wonderfully few hiccups. I'll try to fill in the details in later posts. Pictures too, I hope.

Papa Duck

Oooh la la...what a great time!

Special memories dedicated to my people at home (Elisse)

For T:  One of the days we hiked to the top of a big mountain, and found a big castle on the top.  At the top of the castle, were the horse stables that were specially reserved for the knights. These knights used to have big swords and javelins. And they used to fight "hiyaa" just like you like to do.


For R:  Yesterday, in Avignon (where the famous bridge that people dance on is), we saw the "Pope's Palace."  In front of the Pope's Palace is a gigantic courtyard.  That's kind of like a park, but no grass--it's all bricks under your feet.  And in front of the courtyard were several tall old buildings.  Probably about 1600 years old.  The building right in the middle of the whole row of buildings that face the courtyard is a music conservatory.  A music conservatory is a school and also a store for music and musicians.  I kept thinking of you while we waited in that plaza (courtyard) because you will start playing the piano in the fall.  Maybe one day you will study in a music conservatory.

For S:  Yesterday after we left the Pope's Palace and after we danced under the bridge of Avignon.  (Originally, the song was about dancing under the bridge, not on it.)  (By the way, look at the pictures and see if you can pick out the Bridge of Avignon. It is the one that only goes half-way across the river.)  Anyway, after we danced under the bridge, we drove to a wonderful old ruin called the "Pont du Gard." This is an aqueduct (ask Ar what that is) that was built by the Romans.  It was built during the time of Caesar Augustus when Jesus was about 19 years old.  This aqueduct is the tallest surviving Roman structure in the world!  It is amazing.  When I saw the aqueduct, and how amazing it is, I thought of you because you can figure things out (like the Romans).  You would have thought it was pretty neat.  Also, you would have gone swimming in the super cold river below the bridge.  There is a picture of Aunt Ashley and Uncle Matt swimming in that river.  Only certain very cool people are able to swim in very cold water.  (Anna is also one of those kinds of people.)


For An:  Today (May 23), I had dinner with about 7 friends of Papa Duck.  These are people that he met 40 years ago when he was a missionary here in France. He has kept writing to them, and has stayed friends with them all these years.  When we walked in the door, they gave us kisses and hugs, and then fed us 6 courses (3 hours) of yummy food.  You would have loved meeting them. They told jokes and stories and laughed and talked!  And the food was so delicious!  You would have loved it!


For Ar:  While the bikers were out riding up a hard mountain, Daddy and I went shopping at the market with Gma Suzi.  At first, we didn't expect a very good market because our guide-book says there is a better one.  But when we got there it was so quaint and fun!  The first thing we saw was a vendor of olive oil.  Then a bread vendor.  Then a cheese vendor.  Then a meat (sausage) vendor.Then someone selling table linens, then clothes, then jewelry, etc.  At one of the shops, I bought some olive oil that tasted so fresh I was sure it had just been pressed that day.  At another, I bought some fig jam and some "real" nutella.  This stuff is the real deal!  It has pop rocks in it!  Of course, I didn't buy it just for you--we all have to share, but I know you will love it!! I wish we could have a constant supply of pop rock nutella!!!


For Aunt Dusty and fam:  After we left the market, we drove by an old abbey.  It was around the corner and down in a valley.  At first we didn't recognize what they were growing all around the valley.  But up close, we saw that it was fields and fields of lavender.  I can imagine how beautiful it smells in June and July when the flowers are in bloom.  I'll bet people get better just from breathing the air there at that time of year.  Anyway, this is what's called a Cistercian Abbey. (You probably know more about Cistercian than I do.)  Driving down from the hill, it was a very impressive sight with it's large grounds and nestled in the hills like it was.

Another view of L'Alpe d'Huez

Photo removed at request of author John Whitfield. By Papa Duck

Paris second night (Elisse)

Paris is a late town.  We were out on the Eiffel Tower until 12:30 in the night before we realized how late it was.  At that late hour, we bought crepes from a street vendor.  (But that isn't this story--that was the previous day, our first night in Paris.)

Our second day in Paris was a whirlwind of museums.  We bought a comprehensive museum pass and wanted to get the most out of it.

Our first museum was the Notre Dame Cathedral.  Its flying buttresses and rose windows were so beautiful.  And I got a picture of a gargoyle looking directly at me.  It was a strange mix of worship and tourism there because it is still a functioning church.
The second museum was the Pompidou museum of modern art.  This famous museum houses a large collection of Picasso paintings as well as other modern artists.  One piece of art was a two-room piano studio lined with large rolls of felt.

The third museum was the Louvre.  This one-time-palace of the king now houses every greek statue, every famous and non-famous painting--basically every piece of art created anywhere in the world at any time.  It is huge.  We hurried through, saw the Venus de Milo, Mona Lia and Michaelangelo's statues.  In the process of going to those three places, we saw 5000 other beautiful paintings and statues.

Our fourth museum was our favorite.  The museum of music. Before we finally found the large plaza and the obviously marked location on our map, we explored a Parisian suburb with a similarly named street.  It took us about an hour wandering around apartment houses and parochial schools before we found someone who corrected our error and set us in the right direction.

Enfin, we almost missed out on this fabulous museum.  We arrived just minutes before they cut off admissions for the day.  Then we spent so much time listening to the music and admiring the instruments of a past era (1500's, I think) that we only got o enjoy half of the museum.  But we truly did enjoy it.  Matt, Ashley and Garry are all musicians at heart, so every note and every instrument were magical time machines for them.  And I appreciate music and beauty, so I loved it as well.  We were eventually ushered out at 15 minutes before closing time because (evidently--we didn't know, but it was evident to the workers) the guests were required to leave far enough before closing time that the workers could then actually leave at closing time.  (If not such a worker-friendly environment, I am sure they would have been on strike and we would have missed the museum altogether.)

Foot-sore and art-exhausted, we still had one more stop before turning in for the night.  The Paris Opera House.  (Think: Phantom of the Opera.)  Although it was too late in the day for an interior tour, we admired the architecture from the outside.  For dinner, we ate sausage and chicken sandwiches on baguette that we picked up from a street vendor outside the Music Museum.

Paris Must-do check-list for this day:
1- See famous art -- check, check, check
2- Get lost in Paris -- check
3- Eat street vendor food -- check (not very yummy, but perfectly timed and not very expensive)
4- Party in our hotel room until late -- check (It was fun to compare notes with the rest of the group at the end of the day.  We did many of the same sites at different times of the day and had totally different experiences.)