Brays' Adventures

We have a love/hate relationship, Paris and I. After several unsucessful visits...rude sales people (outright refusal to serve us), folks peeing on the metro, angry/drunk homeless people, nearly getting mugged, etc...I had developed a firm dislike for this city. But after working with and becoming friends with several "Parisiennes", they had started to wear me down. When my mom and sister were able to come to Paris for my second week here, I decided I would give Paris a second chance.

I arrived yesterday as I have one week of training before my vacation. The flight was late, the guy siting next to me on the plane went from friendly to creepy (creepy like in the movie "Taken") in about two seconds, the taxi driver didn't know where to go and everything is (of course) closed on Sundays particularly in La Defense where I am. Fun. Still, I am resolved. Paris gets a second chance. I met up with two old friends yesterday evening and things improved.

Today was a good day - the training has better than expected with lots of interesting people from around the world and two more old friends (unexpected surprise!) in the class. I have mastered the use of "Bonjour", "Oui" and "Merci". Tomorrow I might even test out a "Je voudrais"...

I know...I am very non-chalant about the fact I am here in Paris for a week of training. Despite my outwardly tough exterior, don't worry - I am aware that I am incredibly fortunate (even though I am expected to work at night during the week of training....). I am thankful that my company believes in training and that training should be done by the mothership.

This is my hotel...very nice!

And this is part of my daily walk from the hotel to the training...

A+ for now!

We spent five nights at Constance Moofushi Resort in a water villa (more on the villa later...) and we were very pleased with the resort! It was a small island with a combination of beach villas, water villas and senior water villas (larger than the regular ones).

There were four "beaches" although you could swim/access the sea from just about anywhere! The sand was as gorgeous as it looks in the pictures and so soft! The water was warm and clear and there were many, many places to snorkel. There were spots at each beach, plus around all of the water villas. Most of the time, the water was shallow enough for me to stand in all the snorkel spots (a bit further out and it was deep). For me, as a beginner snorkel-er, it was perfect! Snorkel gear, paddle boats, kayaks, windsurfing equipment - were all included in the package. If you had a license, there was a catamaran also included. There was beach volleyball on the main beach and "try scuba diving" every day in the pool. Add to this the spa, diving and excursions (snorkeling, dolphin sighting, etc) that were also available (for an extra cost), I don't see how anyone could get bored! We didn't come looking for activities though - we came to relax. I spent most of the time in the villa, reading/sunbathing when C was diving and we did a lot of snorkeling together!

C did four dives and he really enjoyed them and the crew at the Diving Centre were very professional and efficient. He saw big reef sharks, turtles, a Napoleon fish and hundreds and hundreds of other fish! Even I went snorkeling with a small reef shark who happened to be swimming around the villas when we were out!

There was one main restaurant (Manta) that also had a bar adjacent to it (Manta Bar!). There was an a la carte restaurant (Alizee) and another bar that also served drinks, lunchtime snacks, coffees and pastries (Totem Bar). The main restaurant had a large covered "hall" as well as tables on the beach and a small jetty that went out over the water with tables as well. This was our favorite spot and we went there most nights when dinner opened at 7:30, just so that we could have a table over the water. One dinner in the a la carte restaurant was included, otherwise we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in the main restaurant which was a buffet. We didn't have any complaints on the food, other than maybe it could have been a bit spicier at times. Considering I can usually only eat half of a buffet - I wasn't bored with the food and enjoyed several courses each night! We particularly enjoyed the BBQ night - fresh fish, steak and the "forbidden meat"! The dinner at the a la carte restaurant was nice - somehow they even managed to make me some delicious gluten free bread! The package also included drinks (coffee/tea, water, juices, wines, spirits, beers, etc). There was a nice wine list and two helpful sommeliers - we enjoyed trying a new wine each night!