Discovering France and Switzerland

In the past weeks we went for a couple of walks around the neighborhood, so here’s a collective post with the most beautiful photos from these events.

First on: vineyards in Challex:

Plateau de Solaison:

 Ornex and view on Mont Blanc:

Vesegnin and sunset over fields (and Mont Blanc again):

Somewhere up Montreux:

Saint Jean de Gonville:

Quarry near Pugny and Radek in water:

View point (on Geneva and Mont Blanc) near Gex:
Chevry:
Now it seems like summer is over, making way to autumn, so the next post of this kind will be less green, more pastel.

Birdies, birdies, birdies…

When visiting Dombes region, Parc des Oiseaux (Bird’s Park) is an unquestionable must! I really can’t express how much I liked this place. We spent almost 4 hours there and I know it could have been even longer if we had had more time. The place is pretty big and it’s being expanded by new areas and new bird species. When we arrived, we headed straight to lories’ aviary because it was their feeding time and we could actively participate in this. Boy, it was fun… Apart from just marvelous, colourful birds, the real amusement was to actually give them food and to be able to touch them. Radek was lucky enough to experience close encounter of a third kind with some of the birds 🙂

When feeding was over, we still had some time before the big event – a bird’s performance organised by the park – so we just strolled around and watched different breeds.

Then, the show… We didn’t know what to expect so we were quite excited before. In principle, the main idea of the show was: birds flying just centimeters from the spectators’ heads. Me during the show: -Look at that! -Look at this! -WOW, look at that! – Oh, look  at this!… It was also educational because the lady was describing the birds, their habitats and habits.

 

When the show finished, we still had like 3/4 of the park to see. Fortunately, visiting all the aviaries was not tiring. There were few people and the path were made in such a way to make people feel being emerged in nature, rather than visiting a zoo. And so, we went past: parrots, flamings, chicks (these ones were pretty ugly, yet very cute), toucans, owls, ostriches, condors, penguins, ducks and many others I’m unable to quote… We even saw a kangaroo in an Australia-theme area of the park. Although I don’t like revisiting the same places – this time I hope I will have the chance to see those marvels again.

Exploring Dombes region

Today, because of Swiss holiday, we had a day off to use. Although it is September, the weather was like in July, so we decided to make a trip outside the city. Destination: Dombes region, France. The area is well known for its ponds and water-soaked grounds. Our plan for the day: les jardins aquatiques (water gardens), Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne village, Le Parc des Oiseaux (bird park), a medieval village of Pérouges. Looks like an action-paked day for us.

We started from a small but beautiful water garden, nurtured by a company selling water-garden stuff (like fish, pumps and plants). They really know their ropes – the garden was marvelous. It’s best known for koi carps – very colourful little fellows swiming in their ponds. I really enjoyed this short walk – it was a nice start of our day.

Next, we headed to a lovely village – Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne. There was nothing special to see or do there, so we just walked around narrow allays, visited the hill with a castle, sat down in a cafe and enjoyed the sunny day and the charm and idleness of the place.

Then, we drove to Le Parc des Oiseaux – but this is a place that deserves a separate post, so I will skip it here. A visit in the park took us almost four hours, so when we were actually free it was already late afternoon. Last in our plan: a medieval village of Pérouges. It’s listed among 'les plus beaux villages de France’ (the most beautiful villages of France). I would personally compare it to Yvoire, although I liked Yvoire more. When we arrived, the village looked… deserted. There were few people, restaurants were closed… It felt a bit strange. We had a fast stroll through the cobblestoned streets, tasted la galette de Pérouges – a local delicacy and went back to car.


’Moulin de vert’ walk

First day of September might foreshadow autumn, not this year though… With a truly summer-like weather, we went for a 'Moulin de vert’ walk by the Swiss side of the border, along the river.
We set off from the dame (pretty cool, I’ve never seen a dame from this close) and went down the turquoise river on our right and ponds on our left. We passed by many families doing barbecue, crossed a field, had a short climb up the cliff and sat down on a bench by a view point. Then, we went down to a small Swiss village – Cartigny (they are all so nice and neat!) and then back to the car through the fields and barbecue site. Très agréable!

European Dog Show

Today we went to a European Dog Show that was advertised to have witnessed over 3500 dogs. O boy, I was excited to see and pet all of them. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed by the venue. First of all, at the time we were there the contests going on featured only… small strange dogs. I was hoping more for wolf-like creatures 🙂 Second of all, it was not easy to pet the dogs… I only sneaked a couple of strolls (felt like a criminal). Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience to see such venue and get the gist how it looks like.

Paris Day 7: Au revoir Paris

We devoted our last day in Paris for strolling in a park, wandering through the less popular streets and a Batobus ride. We started the day from Le Jardin des Plantes – a huge place of greenery, with the National Museum of Natural History placed in the area. We decided to see just one part of the museum – hall of the skeletons. We felt too tired to visit the rest of the exhibitions – a week in Paris was an intense experience for us and we simply had had enough of pacing through the alleys with showpieces. Instead, we sat down on a bench in the park and enjoyed the summer.

Since the day was exceptionally hot (so hot it actually was too much for me), we decided to head to the closest cofee shop to cool ourselves with a big iced latte. On our way we passed by some yet undiscovered places – like Place de Bastille or Gare de Lyon. We finished the day with a Batobus ride and dinner in a restaurant. Au revoir Paris!

Paris day 6: Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, Père-Lachaise

Today we visited two places I like most in Paris – Montmartre and Père-Lachaise cemetary. Montmartre is just marvelous. Although it is very touristic nowadays, you can still feel the spirit of the past Boheme. Dali, Mondrian, Picasso, van Gogh – all of them lived and painted at Montmartre. The Sacré Cœur Basilica majestically reigns over Paris – being the prettiest in whole city, with its white stone and beautiful mosaics inside. Narrow streets, cafes, art galleries, various museums… And you don’t need to wander off far to leave the noisy tourists behind your back and find yourself at the heart of Paris. Truly remarkable place.

 After having a cup of coffee and grabbing a crêpe, we headed down from Montmartre – to Moulin Rouge and the red district.

The last plan for today was Père-Lachaise cementary. We visited this place 5 years ago and were enchanted by its grave and deep atmosphere so Radek insisted to see it again. I was too tired, so I stayed in a cafe while the other three went for a walk past the forgotten tombs and family vaults.

Paris day 5: Musée des Arts et Métiers, Napoleon’s tomb

It was the last the of our museum pass, so we first went to Musée des Arts et Métiers – museum of Arts and Industry. It was pretty interesting, not crowded and educational. At its doorstep we encountered one of many Statues of Liberty situated all over Paris.

After visiting the museum we went to see the tomb of Napoleon. Wow, that’s a big coffin for one person. Before that, guys went to see the museum of arms, and girls just rested in shade.In general, we decided this day would be less action-packed, because we needed a pause from the hectic Paris.

Paris day 4: Sainte-Chapelle, Notre Dame, Branly

Another exciting day in Paris… We started the day from visiting Sainte-Chapelle (yet another thing we didn’t see 5 years ago). It’s a beautiful, medieval, Gothic-style chapel with breathtaking stained glass windows.

Then we went to visit the Notre Dame cathedral. Quick tour inside and then climb up the stairs up to the tower (I didn’t dare and waited for the rest of the guys outside, at a doorstep of the church in a nice shade).

We still had some free time and a museum pass to be used up, so we headed to  musée du quai Branly, which  features indigenous art, cultures and civilizations from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.

Fewer and fewer must-see spots left in Paris for us 🙂

Paris day 3: Pompidou, Panthéon, Cluny, Notre Dame, Batobus

Day three of Paris trip passed under the sign of museums. First on – Pompidou – museum of contemporary art. It was a very interesting experience for us – people rather down to earth. I cannot deny – we had some laugh, but all in all it made us think about art as such and I consider the time spent there as valuable and enjoyable.

After Pompidou we went to a cafe for some crêpes and milkshakes and then headed to Panthéon – earlier a church, now a mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens – Skłodowska – Curie being the most prominent one in my opinion.

Next we decided to go for dinner, but on our way to a restaurant quarter we saw a nice museum of Middle Ages – Cluny, so we decided to pass by. Since we were not planning to visit Louvre, it was a nice alternative – small and private in a sense, with only a few tourists.

After dining out we still had some powers left to do something downtown, so we decided to take a Batobus ride. Batobus is like a bus, except it’s on water. Round trip around Paris takes 8 stops and lasts more than an hour. We thought it would be nice and not tiring way of seeing Paris from a different perspective. The stop was situated close to the Notre Dame cathedral, so first we had a look at its facades and took some photos.