Visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget


Monterey, California’s biggest tourist draw is its aquarium.  Lines queue up to get in, which is one of the reasons why I became a field trip chaperone when my daughter Florence’s Waldorf School went for a visit.  Going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with a class of nine- and ten-year-olds allows you to fully appreciate the Aquarium I think.

We all started our trip to the Aquarium by walking from the Pacific Grove Gate to Pebble Beach where the school was located to walk downhill to Cannery Row in Monterey.  The kids were bouncing along and talking loudly all the way there.  By the time we arrived, they had all slowed down to adult speed and were quiet at the entrance to the sardine-canneries-turned-aquarium on breezy Monterey Bay.

The fifth graders split into two groups – the sea otters and the octopae.  I was in charge of the octopus group.  The octopus kids were not happy.

“We don’t want to be an octopus,” they said almost in unison as our Aquarium guide looked on in distress.

“An octopus is one of the smartest animals in the ocean,” I said.  “They squirt ink at their enemies and blind them, so they can away from them without getting hurt,” I continued.  That statement seemed to mollify them, but I noticed that the kids “lost” their badges during the course of our field trip.  I wanted to be in charge of the sharks on the next Aquarium visit.

A retired schoolteacher was our guide.  She was trying not to laugh as I dealt with the octopus issue.  She started our trip by describing an ecosystem and food webs – both relate how nature is related and interlocking in nature.  Disturbing one of the parts has an effect on the others. 

We received this introduction at the Inner Bay Exhibit, which has a towering and twirling kelp forest in its tank.  The kids swiveled as the guide spoke, helping them use more than one sense to retain the information being imparted to them.

I asked about an interesting fish there called a Sheep’s Head fish.  It was black on each end and orange in the middle.  That is what the male fish looks like.  If the male fish is taken out of the vicinity of the female fish, the orange-colored female fish will change into a male.  The Aquarium guide said the workers had discovered this when they took the male fish out of the tank and the female fish began to change into a male fish.

After this explanation, we then tramped up the metal stairs to the exhibits with star fish, which our guide said are also called sea stars.  Sea otters eat sea stars.  Sea stars  liquefy their food before eating it.  The guide gave us a sheet with images of the foods that are in the sea otter’s food web: abalone, crab, sea cucumber, pisaster star, sea urchin, and bat star.  I told the kids I would hold the handouts and give them back to them when we got back to school. 

Next we went into the Outer Bay Exhibit.  Bigger animals live out there as well as jellyfish.  The kids liked the orange jellyfish that bobbed up and down against a blue- lit background.  Our guide told us that sea turtles eat jellyfish.  She said that sea turtles sometimes mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and eat the bags, which “can be fatal.”

“What does ‘fatal’ mean?” one of the octopus kids asked.

“It means turtles die if they eat plastic bags,” I said, sparing the guide from shocking the innocent childhood of Waldorf students.

After that we went into the viewing room with the “tuna tank.”  All the kids lay down on the floor to watch the high stress, Type-A tuna dart about.  They all “oohed and aahed” when they hammerhead shark slowly swam amongst the tuna.

The guide said her tour was over.  I was left with the octopus kids for another two hours.  I suggested that we go see the sea otters being fed.  We went down the metal steps and across exhibit halls to see the sea otters being fed for half an hour until everyone got bored.  (I think they were all happy to be an octopus after that.)

My next suggestion was, “Would you like to pet the manta rays?”

“Yeah!”

“What are those?”

“Don’t manta rays sting”

“Where are they?”

“Follow me,” I said, feeling like the Pied Piper.

We tramped downstairs and back up and around the back of the Aquarium to the huge pool of whirling manta rays.  (My family had a family membership to the Aquarium, so I knew where everything was.)  We all put our hands in the water and let the manta rays flit and slither by them.  The manta rays are slimy, which necessitated hand washing before and after using the bathroom, our next tour stop.

After that I took the fifth-grader octopus group to the Splash Zone.  The Splash Zone was set up for preschoolers.  None were there, which made this a good stop.  The Splash Zone has slides, games, photo-op stands (everyone got photos taken as a penguin), and the penguin exhibit.  The penguins are the monkeys of the Aquarium.  I took the kids there to see the penguins.

I love penguins.  They thrash around when they swim, stand up and flap their flippers to dry off, and bite each other’s behinds when they are angry.

There was a little auditorium in front of the exhibit tank.   The Aquarium did a show to illustrate the differences between a rainforest parrot and a penguin.  My daughter Florence was dressed up as a penguin and her classmate “nemesis” was dressed as a parrot.

They were asked to make up some lines based on what they had learned.

“Penguins are ugly.”

“Parrots smell.”

“Penguins eat turds.”

“Parrots just repeat things.”

I am sure the Aquarium staff had them say some other things, but laughter does increase knowledge retention according to some academic researchers.

The only exhibit we did not visit was the ocean bird exhibit.    The ocean bird exhibit area is small and better suited for families I thought.  The Aquarium’s films about the deep sea creatures it is studying in the Monterey Bay Canyon are best seen as a family I thought, too.  The Monterey Bay Canyon is deeper than the Grand Canyon and is just as interesting as the moon to explore I think.

I have always enjoyed visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Permanent exhibits and took visitors to see them during the thirty plus years that I lived in Monterey.  The overall experience of visiting the Aquarium makes you feel as if you have been on a diving trip.

Our family purchased a yearly aquarium pass for several years when our daughter Florence Paget was small.

By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Visiting Avignon, France, the City of Dissenting Popes and the Famous Bridge with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting Avignon, France, the City of Dissenting Popes and the Famous Bridge with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget


Avignon is famous for its summer theatre festival, which uses dramatic lighting on the Porte des Champeaux entrance to the Palais des Papes (Pope’s Palace) as background.

My husband Laurent and I visited Avignon during their equally crowded Christmas festival and market.  We secured the last parking spot in the garage by our hotel for this festivity and did not mind our walk to the hotel in the pedestrian district amidst all the revelry.

Getting to the hotel made us appreciate how the city within the ramparts built during the 12^th to 14^th centuries was set up for defense and secret messengers; narrow, one-way streets abounded with what the French call “ruelles” leading off from the streets.  Ruelles are meant for one or maybe two pedestrians to pass where horses would have had trouble navigating.

Many of the one-way streets were closed due to the Christmas Festival, which had our GPS navigating system going haywire.  We spent a good half hour just trying to reach our hotel.  A call to the hotel outside the ramparts helped us find our way to the garage by the Pont d’Avignon (Avignon Bridge).

The Palais des Papes, which is right behind the Pont d’Avignon, is a Gothic structure that was built in the 14^th century.   It sits on a hilltop and is a multipurpose compound with a residence and church that also served as a fortress.  It was a fort within a walled city.

The Palais des Papes served as the papal see, a type of French Vatican, from 1309 to 1377.  This period in the history of the Catholic Church is referred to as the Avignon Papacy.  During this time, seven French popes held court at Avignon.

The first pope to live and rule from Avignon was Clement V (1264 – 1314), who refused to move to Rome and made Avignon a papal enclave.  Avignon was also the residence of antipopes, who resided there from 1378 to 1408.  Antipopes lived during the time of the Great Schism (1378 to 1417) in the Western Church when two or three different popes ruled in different regions.  Avignon was home to several rivals for control of the Catholic Church.

Today the French remember Avignon for its famous bridge, the Pont d’Avignon, which has been immortalized in a children’s song.  The famous lyrics for the song follow:

Sur le Pont d’Avignon,

On y danse,

On y danse,

Tous en rond.

(On Avignon Bridge,

We dance,

We dance,

Together in a Circle)

(Literal translation by Ruth Paget)

The Pont d’Avignon’s official name is Pont Saint-Bénezet (Saint Benedict in dialect).  Benedict was a shepherd, who left his flock in the care of angels to build this bridge in the 12^th century.  It is huge tourist draw for French families.

The Italian poet Petrarch (1304 – 1374) captured Avignon’s forbidding beauty in his sonnets to the beautiful Laura, whom he saw in church.  He wrote poetry for her in his Rime Sparse.  My souvenir from Avignon is a pledge to myself to read these sonnets in Italian.

By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

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Visiting Chateau Lafite-Rothschild in Pauillac, France with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting Chateau Lafite-Rothschild in Pauillac, France with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget


Even though Château Lafite-Rothschild did not advertise visits on their French-language website, I called them to see if I could obtain a visit for my 25^th wedding anniversary.

I am fluent in French and know from previous experience that that can work magic in getting things done in France.  “At the worst, they can say ‘no’ or refer me to another château for a private visit,” I said to myself.   I called, exchanged emails, and secured a tour five months in advance.

On the appointed day, my husband Laurent and I drove to Pauillac and did reconnaissance on where hard-to-find Château Lafite-Rothschild is located.  We also visited the wine store in town and let them know we were visiting Lafite-Rothschild and looked through the stock that they had.  We promised we would be back after the tour.

We still had time left before the tour, so we ate a seafood lunch by the Gironde Estuary with a white Bordeaux Graves wine.  We bought a laguiole knife with a wood handle that is perfect for cutting off wine bottle neck covers the right way.  Then we set out along the Route des Châteaux and took pictures of the showplace châteaux along the way.

Bordeaux is very commercial; it was created to serve foreign trade purposes.  It differs from Burgundy in this aspect, which has a more religious foundation to its winemaking.  This is not a criticism of Bordeaux.  The region has created an incredibly reliable luxury product that is available at several different price levels.

Lafite-Rothschild’s tradition as a luxury good began in the last 3^rd of the 17^th century according to Jancis Robinson in The Oxford Companion to Wine.  Bordeaux wines taste very good, because they are blends.  Each varietal brings something to the whole.  This blending of varietals differentiates Bordeaux wines from a single varietal cabernet sauvignon, for example. 

The Oxford Companion to Wine writes that Lafite-Rothschild wines are made up of:

71% Cabernet Sauvignon

  3%  Cabernet Franc

25%  Merlot

  1%  Petit Verdot

This combination alone does not tell the whole story of Lafite-Rothschild’s success.  I could see on our tour that the Château is hospital clean in almost every cellar and uses very sanitary production techniques to clarify their wines.

When we began our tour with the Château’s sommelier, he confirmed that Lafite-Rothschild is one of the First Growths listed in the 1855 Classification of 60 leading Médoc châteaux.  There are five levels of classification in the 1855 listing, which is still referred to today for quality wines.  The 1855 Classification was established by Emperor Napoleon III (1808 – 1873) to help sell French wines at the Exposition Universelle.

Before we walked down into the cellars, we examine a glass case with a cut of what the vine roots had to go down through.  I suspected it was for cabernet sauvignon as it was full of gravel on one layer and ended with sand.  The sommelier told us that water extended down to the sand, which was about six feet down in the glass case.

There was also a map in this antechamber, which showed the vineyards – first and second growth areas.  1/3 of Lafite-Rothschild’s production is produced by younger vines under the label Carrudes de Lafite according to The Oxford Companion to Wine.

On the tour we went through the spotless cellar rooms where wines are “elaborated.”  Winemaking is like music for me; I do not want to know all the details.  I just want to enjoy a glass or two of red Bordeaux with duck breast.

The one messy room at Château Lafite-Rothschild was the cellar with antique wines.  The Lafite-Rothschild visitor’s book says there are bottles in this cellar dating from 1797, 1798, 1801, 1805, and 1811.  Those must have been good harvest years.  The sommelier assured me that they were not vinegar, but did need decanting to be drunk.

Once past this room, there is the cellar with all the barrels for aging.  The barrels are all made at Lafite-Rothschild.  They are beautiful examples of French craftsmanship.  (The barrels made here also go to Château Rieussec in the Sauternes, which is also a Rothschild family property.)

When we went into the round cellar for aging second-year wine, the sommelier explained that Lafite-Rothschild clarifies wine of debris with egg whites before the second aging.  I remarked that the same technique is used in the sherry region of Spain.  I suggested that Lafite-Rothschild should make and sell Portuguese flan, which uses egg yolks only as a winemaking byproduct.

Dinners are held in this round cellar, and I thought flan would be a good dessert for one.  The room is the work of Catalan architect Riccardo Bofill.  Baron Eric de Rothschild commissioned the room in 1987 according to the Château’s visitor’s book.

We finished our tour with a wine tasting and many thanks for the lovely visit.

By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild - Laurent Paget Photography

Route des Chateaux - Laurent Paget Photography

Route des Chateaux - Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

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Visiting Vauban's Fortress at Besancon, France with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

Visiting Vauban's Fortress at Besancon, France with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget

A visit to Madigan’s Pub was the first stop my husband and I made in Besançon, France, famous for its Citadelle by Vauban (Born Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban 1633 – 1707).

Madigan’s serves Irish beer with French brasserie food such as Croque Monsieur (smoked ham sandwich with melted cheese served with French fries and salad), andouillettes (tripe sausage with mustard sauce and fries), entrecote Charolaise (Charollais beef steak), and salads with Celtic names.  Their selection of regional specialties appealed to us however.

I ordered escalope de volaille Franc-Comtoise (a gratinéed baked casserole with chicken breast, cream, mushrooms, and strips of the region’s flavorful ham).  The casserole arrived at the table bubbling hot in an oval dish.  It was served with fries and salad on the side.

My husband ordered jambon de Haut-Doubs braisé (braised ham from the Haut-Doubs region).  This came served with a white cheese sauce flavored with chives.

We shared a cheese plate for dessert and loved the pronounced flavor of the comté cheese.  Comté is solid and perfect for summer and winter dining, because it does not become runny.  The region’s cancillote cheese is liquid in all kinds of weather.  It was easy to spread on bread, but I thought it would be wonderful to cook with.  

I wondered if this were the cheese in the cheese sauce that came with the braised ham.  Chèvre goat cheese rounded out the cheese platter along with a salad dressed with a tangy dressing.

Besançon is close to Switzerland, which explains the hearty food for cold weather.  The town is located on an isthmus on the Doubs River.  Vauban’s towering and mammoth Citadelle Fortress dominates the town.  It has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is a major tourism draw for the town.

We set out along Grande Rue in the direction of the Citadelle (built between 1668 – 1683) and admired the Renaissance architecture along the way.   I had done research on Vauban and filled my husband in on details.  My husband patiently smiles when I do French tourism spiels.

Vauban was Louis XIV’s (1638 – 1715) chief military engineer.  He built 160 fortifications in France during his lifetime and invented techniques that revolutionized warfare: parallel trench fighting, ricochet fire, and the creation of the bayonet.  

His writings on fortifications and warfare technique have been translated in many languages.  According to the UNESCO World Heritage website, regions where his work has been perpetuated include: Europe, the American continent, Russia, Turkey, and the Far East.

Just as we were about to reach the zigzag road leading up to Vauban’s Citadelle, we discovered Victor Hugo’s birthplace (1802 – 1885).  Hugo’s father was a general, which explains his presence in a garrison town.  Right across the street was the home of August (1862 – 1954) and Louis (1864 – 1948) Lumière, who are considered to be the inventors of cinematography.

Right by these homes are the Square Castan and the Porte Noire.  The Porte Noire is a Roman Arc de Triomphe leading up to the Citadelle.  There are Roman ruins in the Square Castan that hearken back to Besançon’s ancient roots as the town of Vesontio.  The Square is now a park where there is a Roman theatre, a grotto venerating nymphs, and eight Roman columns.

I thought this spot would be perfect for children to play Romans and run up to the Citadelle to defend the town against invaders.

Photos of Victor Hugo's house and Roman ruins in Square Castan are below.

By Ruth Paget - Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

Click here for:  Ruth Paget's Amazon Books

Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

Laurent Paget Photography

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