French Boating - Southern Differences

You Ain't in Paris No More....
You see a lot of differences as you head south from Paris. We were only a few hundred kilometers away but how different it is. First off, the skies! Blue, with huge white cumulus clouds. It is noticeably warmer as well. We spent most of our time trying to hide from the sun to avoid being burned.

French Boating - Canalside Life

You See All Kinds of Things
Wildflowers.

French Boating - First Lock

Pay Attention, Lads
I remember bits and pieces of a childhood trip along the canals of England but nothing about navigating a lock. Within twenty minutes we reached the first of thirteen downhill locks. There was a red light because it was filling. Obviously, we were behind someone who'd recently gone through.

French Boating - Getting Under Way

Everyone to their Posts
I'm not sure how we ended up in our respective positions, Wayne at midship and me at the front - perhaps I was eager to get photos. We unhitched ourselves and puttered past our Chagny neighbors - longer, older canal boats that looked to be lived in full time.

French Boating - Checking out the Vessel

First Things First
Wayne and I started the day in style by having breakfast in the hotel garden. We then headed to the local grocers to pick up some provisions. Henry wasn't sure where we'd be able to get lunch so he suggested we get some bread and cold cuts. The previous night, after much discussion, we'd agreed to get started on our journey at 9am. We quickly learned that Henry isn't much of a morning person as he coaxed us into a later start.

French Boating - Arrival in Chagny

Deep in Wine Country
Actually, now that I think about it, all of France is wine country isn't it? More specifically, this is ground zero for the pinot noir and chardonnay varieties. Henry explained that in the Middle Ages the church was in charge of wine making in France. Seems so strange to me.

French Boating - Getting to the Boat

All it Takes is a Couple of Trains
Wayne and I snuck out of work at 1pm, backpacks in hand and walked ten minutes to Gare de Lyon in the southwestern corner of the city. It was glorious - all blue skies and warm breezes. This is the Paris summer you imagine but never get. We lunched at an Alsatian outdoor cafe that peered onto the gare's tower. The plan was to meet our captain, Henry, at the platform at 2:30.

Paris Weekend Preview

Boating in Burgundy
A colleague is taking his 26 ft sailboat from London to Marseille via canals and rivers in France. Every Friday he takes a train to wherever the boat is docked and moves it 50 miles or so, docks it and jumps on the train Sunday evening back to Paris. He started in September, docked the boat in Paris during winter for a few months and then resumed the trip in spring. This weekend another colleague and I are joining him. The boat is in Burgundy in a small town south of Dijon called Chagny, see the red flag below.

Paris - Mosque Planning Failure

I Shoulda Read the Fine Print
Back in Paris fighting the jetlag and my go-to ammunition is to stay away from the apartment until bedtime. I did some research on Google and found an after-work site to check out: the Grande Mosquée de Paris. It's the largest mosque in France and the second largest in Europe, built after WWI as a gesture by France to the muslims from their colonies who fought against Germany. I was looking forward to walking around the beautiful inner courtyard and having some mint tea and pastries at their cafe.

Singapore - The Towers, Part IV

Just One More Act to Go
I've been interested in the three towers being built on the marina and have followed them as they've gone up. I didn't know what they were at first but later learned they're the Singapore branch of the famous Las Vegas Sands hotel-casino. Check out the shots from Jan 2009, May 2009 and Feb 2010. They finally opened up for business so I took the old lady for a night's stay. Each tower has rooms facing either downtown or the ocean and a soaring lobby.

Singapore - Tennis Anyone?

Sports Stud, Part II
After giving out a ping pong flogging to MC, it was now time do the same to Ying Ying in tennis. Pingle rented a court for an hour for the ridiculously low sum of $4. When I saw how nice the court was I was surprised, I expected much less for the money. It was a single court with lights next to a mosque in a part of Singapore easily reached by the brand new Central subway line. I was already totally soaked in sweat just walking to the court: it was about 85 degrees and 2 million percent humidity. "This is insane" I thought to myself. Who plays tennis in such heat?

Singapore - Table Tennis

Proving I'm an All Around Athlete
I've never been particularly excellent in any one sport but I take pride in being able to play many without looking like a complete idiot. I first started playing table tennis in Wales and played some more in college. I've not played since. A few days back Pingle phoned me "Babe, you have a ping pong match tomorrow, you against MC. Go buy two paddles and some balls." MC is Pingle's competitive athletic girlfriend and she hates to lose, same as me. She used to play for a club or her high-school team or something. This was going to be fun.

Hong Kong - Random Shots

and Random Thoughts
I had a few remaining shots on the camera from Hong Kong so I figured I'd post em for posterity. This shot is from Kowloon, which is across the bay from the famed tall buildings of Hong Kong island. It has a nice park aptly named Kowloon Park. The trees on the western wall of the park practically reach out and touch the buildings on the other side of the street.

Singapore - Advanced Golf Technology

Will Be Hard to Return to a Regular Range...
Imagine my surprise when I went to hit balls at my regular range here in Singapore at Toa Payoh and found it completely remodeled. It's now an uber-range, fitted with advanced technology that made my head spin. Out in the range field at varying distances are elongated bins with thin rubber bands stretched across them. You try to hit your ball into the bins to score points. The further away the target is, the more points you get. How does it keep track of your score?