Winter arrives in the Alps and so do Coldplay
The snow has finally arrived in and around Grenoble, but at the moment, it's not enough to fully open the ski stations this coming weekend. It is enough to put me off getting on the bike for a few days.
I visted London last weekend for a three days of tourism and Christmas shopping with the family. It was the first time I'd flown from Grenoble airport, and what a pleasant experience it was. The place is tiny. The car park is right outside the airport and within a minute, we were standing at the check-in desk of Easyjet. For 150 Euro, my wife, daughter and I were flying to Luton, just north of London. We'd also already booked our bus ticket online and then had a bus from Luton to central London. It was then a five minute walk from Victoria station to our hotel and it couldn't have been easier.
London was busy with life as well as with tourists. We went on the London Eye then a river cruise, which again had been booked through the internet saving us queues as well as fifty percent of the price. We also did a lot of walking to see the main sites around the centre on the first day, and then resorted to taking the bus on the second day. Hamleys toy shop was full of eager children and adults, with my daughter being no exception. We returned on the second day to buy toys, when the little one thankfully slept through the whole experience.
It was great to have convenience where we could eat at four in the afternoon and not be frowned upon. In France, if you go into a restaurant at seven, you're too early. London however seems to have been taken over by coffee bars and restaurant chains like Garfunkels. Starbucks was literally everywhere with each street and even some of the larger shops having a Starbucks. I'd always thought that McDonalds had taken over the high street, but Starbucks has taken this to a new extreme in London.
It seems that we'd missed the worst of the bad weather when we arrived back in Grenoble on Sunday afternoon. London had been cold and grey, but Grenoble airport however was sitting under a blizzard, and we had to run from the aircraft across to the terminal building. I've also seen that there are flights to Rome, Marrakech and Stockholm amongst other places from Grenoble which opens up new holiday destinations for the future.
Last night I joined about 5000 other people for an intimate evening with Coldplay in Lyon. They played the Halle Tony Garnier, a sizable hall with tiered seating at the back and standing room at the front. The British group Goldfrapp were providing support, and they entertained us for half an hour with a blend of mellow and fast moving pop. Their loud electronic bass penetrated the soul as well as the stomach with the vibrations from their songs vibrating my whole body.
Coldplay were incredible, and put on a great show. Apart from Chris Martin having to aplogise for making a mistake with his piano playing at the start of Trouble, everything was perfect. In between songs, Martin addressed the audience in basic French, with a few words in English when he couldn't find the word in French. At times, he would take a camera or mobile phone from the audience and take photos of himself and the band to give somebody a great souvenir.
It has been a long time since I'd been to a concert. I'd seen Frank Black in 2001 in Grenoble, but that was in a small room. The band were backed by a big screen that was often a blaze of colour or showing close up of the band as they played. The majority of the audience was obviously French, but they knew the words and were able to sing along with the songs, and for me, it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen.
We have Oasis and the Stereophonics coming to Grenoble at the end of January, so not too long to wait until the next gig.
I visted London last weekend for a three days of tourism and Christmas shopping with the family. It was the first time I'd flown from Grenoble airport, and what a pleasant experience it was. The place is tiny. The car park is right outside the airport and within a minute, we were standing at the check-in desk of Easyjet. For 150 Euro, my wife, daughter and I were flying to Luton, just north of London. We'd also already booked our bus ticket online and then had a bus from Luton to central London. It was then a five minute walk from Victoria station to our hotel and it couldn't have been easier.
London was busy with life as well as with tourists. We went on the London Eye then a river cruise, which again had been booked through the internet saving us queues as well as fifty percent of the price. We also did a lot of walking to see the main sites around the centre on the first day, and then resorted to taking the bus on the second day. Hamleys toy shop was full of eager children and adults, with my daughter being no exception. We returned on the second day to buy toys, when the little one thankfully slept through the whole experience.
It was great to have convenience where we could eat at four in the afternoon and not be frowned upon. In France, if you go into a restaurant at seven, you're too early. London however seems to have been taken over by coffee bars and restaurant chains like Garfunkels. Starbucks was literally everywhere with each street and even some of the larger shops having a Starbucks. I'd always thought that McDonalds had taken over the high street, but Starbucks has taken this to a new extreme in London.
It seems that we'd missed the worst of the bad weather when we arrived back in Grenoble on Sunday afternoon. London had been cold and grey, but Grenoble airport however was sitting under a blizzard, and we had to run from the aircraft across to the terminal building. I've also seen that there are flights to Rome, Marrakech and Stockholm amongst other places from Grenoble which opens up new holiday destinations for the future.
Last night I joined about 5000 other people for an intimate evening with Coldplay in Lyon. They played the Halle Tony Garnier, a sizable hall with tiered seating at the back and standing room at the front. The British group Goldfrapp were providing support, and they entertained us for half an hour with a blend of mellow and fast moving pop. Their loud electronic bass penetrated the soul as well as the stomach with the vibrations from their songs vibrating my whole body.
Coldplay were incredible, and put on a great show. Apart from Chris Martin having to aplogise for making a mistake with his piano playing at the start of Trouble, everything was perfect. In between songs, Martin addressed the audience in basic French, with a few words in English when he couldn't find the word in French. At times, he would take a camera or mobile phone from the audience and take photos of himself and the band to give somebody a great souvenir.
It has been a long time since I'd been to a concert. I'd seen Frank Black in 2001 in Grenoble, but that was in a small room. The band were backed by a big screen that was often a blaze of colour or showing close up of the band as they played. The majority of the audience was obviously French, but they knew the words and were able to sing along with the songs, and for me, it was one of the best concerts I have ever seen.
We have Oasis and the Stereophonics coming to Grenoble at the end of January, so not too long to wait until the next gig.
posted by Russell Standring at 2:26 AM
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