After our return from Spring Break, Anna left to go back to the states for 5 days and Cara and I took the week to relax. We were fortunate that the weather was perfect for picnicking in the park and lying in the sun. As I live close to the Eiffel Tower, Cara and I spent several days laying out on Champs de Mars (the grass in front of the tower) with the rest of the youth of Paris. It's a fun and lively environment and I got a little color in my face!
Cara and I found little things to do in Paris to occupy our time for the rest of spring break. We visited the National Gallery of Contemporary Art which had some strange pieces (to be expected) and one really large installation of an artist I don't know. We also visited the Arc de Triomphe and saw the grave of the unknown soldier. We went out to a great vegetarian meal at a cute little place in Montmartre called le Soleil Gourmand. Before we chose this place though, we happened upon another vegetarian restaurant in the same area that was about the size of my studio here. Inside were about 5 tables and you could see into the kitchen where the chef/ waitress was the sole person working in the restaurant. The vibe was very odd as the restaurant was almost completely silent (despite every table being filled) and we opted for a more conventional dining experience.
As a last hurrah with our Abroadco group, we took a dinner cruise down the Seine. It was fun to see everyone again and a nice way to say goodbye.
One night later in the week, I was invited to a party by a Japanese woman in my french class. I had never really had a conversation with her up until that point and had no idea who was going to be at the party but seeing as I had nothing else to do that night and the opportunity to speak french is always welcomed, I decided to go. I dragged Anna along for emotion support. There were about 30 people there from China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Their french was hard to understand but they were friendly, and once they started drinking, they got REALLY friendly. What I liked most about the experience was the opportunity to hear all the reasons why people were in Paris. So many peoples' lives have taken such different trajectories than my own, it challenges my ideas about what a life "should" involve. Being in Paris has not only opened my eyes up to the lives of people native to this city but also to the lives of people from all over the world.
Anna and I, in the attempt to discover all the interesting things in Paris before we leave, went on an adventure last weekend in search of the Viaduct des Arts. It turned out to be a raised pathway above the streets of Paris that had been landscaped. It was a cool little world floating above the busy streets with rose bushes and benches at every turn. At the end of the long road, we discovered a little park in which we picnicked and sunbathed (this is a recurring theme in my last days here). We wandered over to Pere Lachaise which is a large cemetery which houses the remains of many famous people including Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust and Jim Morrison. It was a beautifully landscaped cemetery with hundreds of years of history.
This past wednesday, my first guest since Prakash and my family arrived. Tommy is the longtime love of my best friend and after his semester of study in Berlin, he made a trip to visit me. He was a fun and easy guest, content to wander the streets of Paris with no agenda. The day he arrived was his birthday and Paris greeted him with a grand thunderstorm and unrelenting rain. He was a good sport though and the rain didn't stop us from seeing the important things. The best part about having him here is I got to see the stuff that I probably wont visit before I leave.
With two weeks left of my time here, I am getting impatient to come home. I am also shocked that my time here is almost over, it feels like I just arrived. I just have to soak up every day that I have left as there is not much else I can do.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Spring Break 08
For our two week spring vacation from French classes, Anna, Cara and I planned a 9 day tour of 3 European cities. Our two priorities were Amsterdam and Prague but to get to Prague on a budget, we had to add in a third city which ended up being Dublin. So needless to say, we bounced all around. It was a great trip, we met interesting people and as always, there was never a dull moment.
Our trip began with a train ride from Paris to Amsterdam. Before we even got on the train, Anna and I hit a road block. We weren't able to pick up our tickets at the ticket machines because they couldn't read our American credit cards and we never wrote down our confirmation numbers so the ticket sellers couldn't pull up our reservation. We ran around the station like chickens with our heads cut off for about 10 minutes until we realized that we could call our loved ones and they could retrieve our confirmation numbers for us. We were able to get the information we needed and pick up our tickets just in time to hop on the train. Cara and I rode with the bourgeoisie in first class, and Anna purchasing the last second class ticket, rode with the peasants. Once the train left the station though, Anna snuck into our car so we could celebrate Cara's 21st birthday. Anna and I made Cara coffee cake and we had quite a feast.
Once we arrived in Amsterdam, we realized that we hadn't written down where our hostel was located, how to get there or it's phone number. Because of our lack of planning, we had to wait in the tourist office for an hour to speak to a representative who could tell us where to go.
Once we had the correct directions, we made it to the hostel in no time. The staff was very friendly and we were placed in an 8 person room with a socially awkward German and three 19 year old Canadians. We dropped off our stuff and met up with one of Anna's college friends and her traveling mates. We visited the Van Gogh Museum which was surprisingly small, and I discovered that I don't like Van Gogh very much. After taking in a bit of culture we went to our first coffee shop called the Rockery.
Amsterdam is known for its Chinese food (we never found out why this was) so we decided to treat ourselves to this for our first night. I must say the spicy tofu hit the spot.
Our second day in Amsterdam, I wandered around the city with Anna and Katelyn all day. We decided that Amsterdam would be our vacation city so we didn't do a lot here other than relax in the park and walk up and down the canals. It was lovely.
Our last day in Amsterdam we rented bikes and rode around the city all day. Biking is as popular here as in Davis, there are definitely more bikes than people.
We found the red light district but weren't there for very long because it was too sad and for dinner we discovered and out of the way vegetarian place that was fantastic.
The next morning we left early for Dublin. We were a little more prepared for the Dublin hostel and didn't have to waste any time in silly tourism offices. We checked into our hostel which happened to be housing a large group of French 10 year olds, the vibe was a little different than that of the Flying Pig which had a bar in the basement. We spent the day in Dublin wandering around orienting ourselves and seeing the main sights. We saw Stephen's Green, a beautiful little park in the heart of Dublin. It was a beautiful and warm day so we relaxed on the grass for a bit and watched the antics of the Irish youth.
Anna was dying for Quizno's so she made us go there for lunch and we ate our quasi American food (the menu and ingredients was nothing like it is in the states) by the river. We saw Trinity College which was nice and historic and a beautiful campus which reminded us very much of colleges at home. Then we wandered down Grafton street (the popular shopping street of Dublin), and went to Temple bar to experience the pub culture of Dublin. We ended up picked a great place called Quay's which had live Irish music and a local population. It was great people watching and a lively time. For dinner we went to the best fish and chips in Dublin (as we were told) and ate it on the steps of Christ Church. Thank goodness we decided to share the meal because it was literally a whole fried fish and I think at least a pound of fries.
We flew to Prague early the next morning. (The reason we were in Dublin for only a night was because it was much cheaper for us to fly round trip from Dublin to Prague and then from Dublin home to Paris than to fly directly from Prague to Paris). We found our hostel easily. It was on the edge of town but fancier than any hostel we had yet experienced. We shared a room with an eclectic group of guys, an American who had been living in Israel for a year and who was now traveling, a Brazilian tech guy who took a month off from work to travel through Europe and a German who was extending his business trip. I will come back to these personalities. After we dropped our stuff, we took off to sight see and discover the refuge of Americans in Prague, Bohemia Bagel. This restaurant is very similar to Noah's Bagels and it was the best taste of home to date since I have been in Europe. It served great bagel sandwiches, vegetarian chili that was actually spicy (something that is hard to find in Europe) and full American breakfasts like French toast, make-your-own omelettes and drip coffee. We were in heaven. After filling ourselves to the brim, we took off to see the Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge and whatever else Prague had to offer us.
I thought Wenceslas Square was reminiscent of the Champs Elysee, it felt too commercial and not "authentic" enough. Old town square was awe inspiring, no matter what direction you turned, there was another beautiful building reaching up to the sky. Charles Bridge was definitely deserving of it's fame. After a full day of wandering, we went back to the hostel and invited all our roommates to dinner at a Mexican place (don't ask me why we decided on this food choice but they did a pretty good job for being on the other side of the world from Mexico, sombreros and all). Dinner was an interesting cultural experience as we had people from all over. The Brazilian and the German clashed frequently but I think overall everyone had a good time. The guys were looking for friends so I think they appreciated an opportunity to go to dinner as a group.
The next day we went to Bohemia Bagel again (it was just so good and we had to try the other things on the menu) and then ventured to the other side of the river to check out Prague Castle. The castle was sort of interesting, part of it was closed but we saw the nun's convent, a torture chamber, some medieval attire and armor, a blacksmith's demonstration and the castle's cathedral. We also had a great view of the whole city from the top of the hill. We made the mistake of climbing the spire of the cathedral, which was thousands (it seemed) of steps up a tiny spiral staircase that people were trying to simultaneously go up and down. It would be generous to say that the view was worth the difficult climb and claustrophobia suffered.
After the castle we visited St. Nicholas' church which is a baroque cathedral close to the castle. This was one of my favorite churches I have been into in Europe. It was so elaborately decorated yet not so big that I was overwhelmed. I was just inspired with awe at this beautiful monument to god.
On our way down the hill we happened upon a beautiful little garden with a strange dripstone wall that was adjacent to the senate building, so we stopped to take a few photos.
After this we visited the Lennon wall which was a graffitied monument to peace.
We wandered across Charles' Bridge again and stopped for a pastry on the street that tasted a bit like a cinnamon roll. We also hit up a lot of souvenir shops while in Prague. I don't know whether the souvenirs were actually better than in Paris or they were more novel but I found some great stuff. What was most amusing was the rampant theme of cats on mugs and t-shirts and jewelry etc. We never did discover why cats and Prague went hand in hand. For dinner we went to an out of this world vegetarian restaurant called Radoust recommended by several several friends. It was a cool loungy atmosphere and great food. After dinner we met up with one of Anna's high school friends at a popular wine bar that was a maze of 15 rooms with masses of lively young people. Definitely a different evening scene than that of Paris.
Our last day in Prague it rained all morning. This put a bit of a damper on our desire to explore but we pushed through. We went to the jewish quarter but couldn't afford to pay to visit all the synagogues so we skipped this event and went to a big flea market on the outskirts of the city. All we found here were stand after stand of knock off clothing and purses. For dinner we went to the vegetarian restaurant again with Anna's friend (I know we were not very creative with our restaurant choices while in Prague but we were satisfied). Afterwards, her friend brought us to a huge beer hall where we were given poor service and I ordered a water which was 3x the cost of a liter of beer.
We left the next morning to go back to Dublin where we checked into the most unfortunate hostel of the century. To start, we were in a 20 person room, there were no lockers for our luggage, the hostel did not provide a top sheet or a blanket unless we wanted to PAY for them, the bathrooms were dirty and moldy, the showers were clogged, one of our roommates was a 50 year old man who smoked in the room, walked around in his boxers and acted like he was on drugs AND to top it all off, a girl brought a guy back to the room in the middle of the night and they what we all hoped they wouldn't. That aside, our time outside of the hostel was well spent. On Saturday we biked around Phoenix Park which is the largest gated park in Europe. Afterwards, per recommendation by the bike rental lady, we got the best Irish coffees I have ever (real cream and all) had at a cool little pub by the park. We wandered by the Jameson Distillery (didn't go in as none of us are big whiskey drinkers) and for dinner we went to Temple Bar for dinner. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Apparently Temple Bar on a Saturday night is like the Brit's Las Vegas. At every turn there was another group of drunk women in bachelorette party costumes or a group of drunk men following girls in dresses that were too short and heels that were too high. It did make for good people watching though.
In the morning we went to a seaside town called Howth. Upon arrival we found a cool little farmer's market where we bought a mini feast. Cara and I bought the most delicious blueberry scones in the world, we got real cheddar cheese and sourdough bread! We walked along the sand, found sand dollars and splashed in the water. It was a perfect day to be at the water.
We wandered around the town a little more and then headed back into Dublin, boy were we ready to be back in Paris, 3 cities in 9 days is a lot. Of course the adventure wasn't over. We got the the airport and checked through to our gate with 2 hours to spare. Our flight was delayed but we didn't have enough money to buy food so we just wandered from store to store gazing and the things we couldn't have. We finally made it on the plane and landed in Beauvais. Beauvais is an hour outside Paris so we had to take a bus from there into the city. By the time we actually got into the city the metro had closed but we couldn't afford a taxi so we were forced to figure out how to get home using the night bus system. After some wandering of the streets of Paris at 1am, we found the lines that would take us home. I walked in the door at 2am. Being away re-affirmed how much I love Paris :)
Our trip began with a train ride from Paris to Amsterdam. Before we even got on the train, Anna and I hit a road block. We weren't able to pick up our tickets at the ticket machines because they couldn't read our American credit cards and we never wrote down our confirmation numbers so the ticket sellers couldn't pull up our reservation. We ran around the station like chickens with our heads cut off for about 10 minutes until we realized that we could call our loved ones and they could retrieve our confirmation numbers for us. We were able to get the information we needed and pick up our tickets just in time to hop on the train. Cara and I rode with the bourgeoisie in first class, and Anna purchasing the last second class ticket, rode with the peasants. Once the train left the station though, Anna snuck into our car so we could celebrate Cara's 21st birthday. Anna and I made Cara coffee cake and we had quite a feast.
Once we arrived in Amsterdam, we realized that we hadn't written down where our hostel was located, how to get there or it's phone number. Because of our lack of planning, we had to wait in the tourist office for an hour to speak to a representative who could tell us where to go.
Once we had the correct directions, we made it to the hostel in no time. The staff was very friendly and we were placed in an 8 person room with a socially awkward German and three 19 year old Canadians. We dropped off our stuff and met up with one of Anna's college friends and her traveling mates. We visited the Van Gogh Museum which was surprisingly small, and I discovered that I don't like Van Gogh very much. After taking in a bit of culture we went to our first coffee shop called the Rockery.
Amsterdam is known for its Chinese food (we never found out why this was) so we decided to treat ourselves to this for our first night. I must say the spicy tofu hit the spot.
Our second day in Amsterdam, I wandered around the city with Anna and Katelyn all day. We decided that Amsterdam would be our vacation city so we didn't do a lot here other than relax in the park and walk up and down the canals. It was lovely.
Our last day in Amsterdam we rented bikes and rode around the city all day. Biking is as popular here as in Davis, there are definitely more bikes than people.
We found the red light district but weren't there for very long because it was too sad and for dinner we discovered and out of the way vegetarian place that was fantastic. The next morning we left early for Dublin. We were a little more prepared for the Dublin hostel and didn't have to waste any time in silly tourism offices. We checked into our hostel which happened to be housing a large group of French 10 year olds, the vibe was a little different than that of the Flying Pig which had a bar in the basement. We spent the day in Dublin wandering around orienting ourselves and seeing the main sights. We saw Stephen's Green, a beautiful little park in the heart of Dublin. It was a beautiful and warm day so we relaxed on the grass for a bit and watched the antics of the Irish youth.
Anna was dying for Quizno's so she made us go there for lunch and we ate our quasi American food (the menu and ingredients was nothing like it is in the states) by the river. We saw Trinity College which was nice and historic and a beautiful campus which reminded us very much of colleges at home. Then we wandered down Grafton street (the popular shopping street of Dublin), and went to Temple bar to experience the pub culture of Dublin. We ended up picked a great place called Quay's which had live Irish music and a local population. It was great people watching and a lively time. For dinner we went to the best fish and chips in Dublin (as we were told) and ate it on the steps of Christ Church. Thank goodness we decided to share the meal because it was literally a whole fried fish and I think at least a pound of fries.
We flew to Prague early the next morning. (The reason we were in Dublin for only a night was because it was much cheaper for us to fly round trip from Dublin to Prague and then from Dublin home to Paris than to fly directly from Prague to Paris). We found our hostel easily. It was on the edge of town but fancier than any hostel we had yet experienced. We shared a room with an eclectic group of guys, an American who had been living in Israel for a year and who was now traveling, a Brazilian tech guy who took a month off from work to travel through Europe and a German who was extending his business trip. I will come back to these personalities. After we dropped our stuff, we took off to sight see and discover the refuge of Americans in Prague, Bohemia Bagel. This restaurant is very similar to Noah's Bagels and it was the best taste of home to date since I have been in Europe. It served great bagel sandwiches, vegetarian chili that was actually spicy (something that is hard to find in Europe) and full American breakfasts like French toast, make-your-own omelettes and drip coffee. We were in heaven. After filling ourselves to the brim, we took off to see the Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, Charles Bridge and whatever else Prague had to offer us.
I thought Wenceslas Square was reminiscent of the Champs Elysee, it felt too commercial and not "authentic" enough. Old town square was awe inspiring, no matter what direction you turned, there was another beautiful building reaching up to the sky. Charles Bridge was definitely deserving of it's fame. After a full day of wandering, we went back to the hostel and invited all our roommates to dinner at a Mexican place (don't ask me why we decided on this food choice but they did a pretty good job for being on the other side of the world from Mexico, sombreros and all). Dinner was an interesting cultural experience as we had people from all over. The Brazilian and the German clashed frequently but I think overall everyone had a good time. The guys were looking for friends so I think they appreciated an opportunity to go to dinner as a group.
The next day we went to Bohemia Bagel again (it was just so good and we had to try the other things on the menu) and then ventured to the other side of the river to check out Prague Castle. The castle was sort of interesting, part of it was closed but we saw the nun's convent, a torture chamber, some medieval attire and armor, a blacksmith's demonstration and the castle's cathedral. We also had a great view of the whole city from the top of the hill. We made the mistake of climbing the spire of the cathedral, which was thousands (it seemed) of steps up a tiny spiral staircase that people were trying to simultaneously go up and down. It would be generous to say that the view was worth the difficult climb and claustrophobia suffered.
After the castle we visited St. Nicholas' church which is a baroque cathedral close to the castle. This was one of my favorite churches I have been into in Europe. It was so elaborately decorated yet not so big that I was overwhelmed. I was just inspired with awe at this beautiful monument to god.
On our way down the hill we happened upon a beautiful little garden with a strange dripstone wall that was adjacent to the senate building, so we stopped to take a few photos.
After this we visited the Lennon wall which was a graffitied monument to peace.
We wandered across Charles' Bridge again and stopped for a pastry on the street that tasted a bit like a cinnamon roll. We also hit up a lot of souvenir shops while in Prague. I don't know whether the souvenirs were actually better than in Paris or they were more novel but I found some great stuff. What was most amusing was the rampant theme of cats on mugs and t-shirts and jewelry etc. We never did discover why cats and Prague went hand in hand. For dinner we went to an out of this world vegetarian restaurant called Radoust recommended by several several friends. It was a cool loungy atmosphere and great food. After dinner we met up with one of Anna's high school friends at a popular wine bar that was a maze of 15 rooms with masses of lively young people. Definitely a different evening scene than that of Paris.
Our last day in Prague it rained all morning. This put a bit of a damper on our desire to explore but we pushed through. We went to the jewish quarter but couldn't afford to pay to visit all the synagogues so we skipped this event and went to a big flea market on the outskirts of the city. All we found here were stand after stand of knock off clothing and purses. For dinner we went to the vegetarian restaurant again with Anna's friend (I know we were not very creative with our restaurant choices while in Prague but we were satisfied). Afterwards, her friend brought us to a huge beer hall where we were given poor service and I ordered a water which was 3x the cost of a liter of beer.
We left the next morning to go back to Dublin where we checked into the most unfortunate hostel of the century. To start, we were in a 20 person room, there were no lockers for our luggage, the hostel did not provide a top sheet or a blanket unless we wanted to PAY for them, the bathrooms were dirty and moldy, the showers were clogged, one of our roommates was a 50 year old man who smoked in the room, walked around in his boxers and acted like he was on drugs AND to top it all off, a girl brought a guy back to the room in the middle of the night and they what we all hoped they wouldn't. That aside, our time outside of the hostel was well spent. On Saturday we biked around Phoenix Park which is the largest gated park in Europe. Afterwards, per recommendation by the bike rental lady, we got the best Irish coffees I have ever (real cream and all) had at a cool little pub by the park. We wandered by the Jameson Distillery (didn't go in as none of us are big whiskey drinkers) and for dinner we went to Temple Bar for dinner. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Apparently Temple Bar on a Saturday night is like the Brit's Las Vegas. At every turn there was another group of drunk women in bachelorette party costumes or a group of drunk men following girls in dresses that were too short and heels that were too high. It did make for good people watching though.
In the morning we went to a seaside town called Howth. Upon arrival we found a cool little farmer's market where we bought a mini feast. Cara and I bought the most delicious blueberry scones in the world, we got real cheddar cheese and sourdough bread! We walked along the sand, found sand dollars and splashed in the water. It was a perfect day to be at the water.
We wandered around the town a little more and then headed back into Dublin, boy were we ready to be back in Paris, 3 cities in 9 days is a lot. Of course the adventure wasn't over. We got the the airport and checked through to our gate with 2 hours to spare. Our flight was delayed but we didn't have enough money to buy food so we just wandered from store to store gazing and the things we couldn't have. We finally made it on the plane and landed in Beauvais. Beauvais is an hour outside Paris so we had to take a bus from there into the city. By the time we actually got into the city the metro had closed but we couldn't afford a taxi so we were forced to figure out how to get home using the night bus system. After some wandering of the streets of Paris at 1am, we found the lines that would take us home. I walked in the door at 2am. Being away re-affirmed how much I love Paris :)
Giverny and Monet's garden
Playing catch-up is always frustrating and as time goes on I get worse and worse with keeping my blog up to date. As a result we must skip back a couple weeks to my adventure to Giverny with Anna and Cara.
As our time here in Paris comes to a close, Anna, Cara and I have started to feel the pressure to squeeze in as much fun and culture as we can before we have to return to our hum-drum lives and responsibility in the states. AS a result, we made a list of all the things we wanted to do before we left. At the top of our list was a bike ride through the countryside and a visit to Monet's house and garden where he painted his famous waterlily canvases.
We took a short train ride to Giverny on a perfect, sunny, Saturday. We rented bikes from a little restaurant by the train station and rode 3 beautiful miles through the countryside of France. The ride was so idyllic, it was almost comical.
Monet's garden was absolutely unbelievable. We couldn't have chosen a better day to visit the gardens as every spring flower was in bloom. The landscape was awash with color.
We sketched by the waterlily ponds and attempted to channel Monet (I think this was an optimistic attempt but the other visitors were impressed).
On the bike ride back to the train station, we HAD to stop and make daisy chain crowns.
It was one of those days that was just perfect.
As our time here in Paris comes to a close, Anna, Cara and I have started to feel the pressure to squeeze in as much fun and culture as we can before we have to return to our hum-drum lives and responsibility in the states. AS a result, we made a list of all the things we wanted to do before we left. At the top of our list was a bike ride through the countryside and a visit to Monet's house and garden where he painted his famous waterlily canvases.
We took a short train ride to Giverny on a perfect, sunny, Saturday. We rented bikes from a little restaurant by the train station and rode 3 beautiful miles through the countryside of France. The ride was so idyllic, it was almost comical.
Monet's garden was absolutely unbelievable. We couldn't have chosen a better day to visit the gardens as every spring flower was in bloom. The landscape was awash with color.
We sketched by the waterlily ponds and attempted to channel Monet (I think this was an optimistic attempt but the other visitors were impressed).
On the bike ride back to the train station, we HAD to stop and make daisy chain crowns.
It was one of those days that was just perfect.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Sun in Provence, Snow in Paris
As part of the Abroadco program package, we are entitled to attend a demonstration at the Cordon Bleu. Last week Anna, Cara, Cara's mom and I all took advantage of this opportunity to pick up some secrets of the Cordon Bleu chefs. We watched the chef prepare an Asian flavored chicken salad and sea bass with shellfish. I was most impressed by our chef's ability to butcher and fillet an entire bass. Granted it made me a little sick to my stomach to see blood squirting everywhere while he hacked away at the fish with a hatchet, but I can appreciate the skill involved. Each dish was fairly complicated, definitely not something that I could replicate at this point in my cooking career but it was eye opening to see the attention to detail coupled with speed in everything the chef did in the kitchen. The food turned out flawless. To me, the sea bass dish was perfection. 
The weather was beautiful all week and on Friday, Anna and I had a mini picnic on the grass at Champs de Mars (the park in front of the Eiffel Tower) and attempted to soak up a little sun, not that we needed to as we left for Provence the next day.
Our last excursion with Abroadco was an overnight trip to Aix-en-Provence and Cassis. Provence was so beautiful, never a cloud in the sky the whole time we were there and it was warm enough to wear a dress without tights (although I think I may have blinded the population with my city "tan").
In Aix on Saturday, there was a huge outdoor market that sold everything from lingerie to table cloths to produce and flowers. We arrived too late to spend much time wandering around but it was quite a bustling spectacle that spanned several of the town's squares. 
We took a walking tour of the city and learned of its history. There was a church in one part of the town that contained architectural remnants from 3 different time periods: Roman, Gothic and Baroque, it was sort of strange looking but a neat voyage through Christian architectural history. Aix is full of college age students and it was a fun change from the more reserved energy of Paris. The one disappointment/surprise of Aix was that many more people were rude in comparison to Paris.
The second day we went to Cassis, a seaside and vineyard town. It is the home of Creme de Cassis, the key ingredient in Kir. While there, we took a mini boat cruise around the inlets along the coastline. I fell in love with the Mediterranean.
After the cruise we were left to our own devices so Anna and I had a long meal sitting in the sun. We tried the regional aperitif, Kir Royal, and I had some of the best scallops of my life. After filling ourselves to the brim we hung out on the beach, hoping for a little tan. 
We could only put our feet in the water because it was so cold but it was such a treat to be at the ocean. When we arrived home everyone was riding on a high from two whole days of sun, only to be hit with freezing weather that brought snow to Paris on Monday morning. I loved the south and can't wait to go back!
The weather was beautiful all week and on Friday, Anna and I had a mini picnic on the grass at Champs de Mars (the park in front of the Eiffel Tower) and attempted to soak up a little sun, not that we needed to as we left for Provence the next day.
Our last excursion with Abroadco was an overnight trip to Aix-en-Provence and Cassis. Provence was so beautiful, never a cloud in the sky the whole time we were there and it was warm enough to wear a dress without tights (although I think I may have blinded the population with my city "tan").
In Aix on Saturday, there was a huge outdoor market that sold everything from lingerie to table cloths to produce and flowers. We arrived too late to spend much time wandering around but it was quite a bustling spectacle that spanned several of the town's squares. We took a walking tour of the city and learned of its history. There was a church in one part of the town that contained architectural remnants from 3 different time periods: Roman, Gothic and Baroque, it was sort of strange looking but a neat voyage through Christian architectural history. Aix is full of college age students and it was a fun change from the more reserved energy of Paris. The one disappointment/surprise of Aix was that many more people were rude in comparison to Paris. The second day we went to Cassis, a seaside and vineyard town. It is the home of Creme de Cassis, the key ingredient in Kir. While there, we took a mini boat cruise around the inlets along the coastline. I fell in love with the Mediterranean.
After the cruise we were left to our own devices so Anna and I had a long meal sitting in the sun. We tried the regional aperitif, Kir Royal, and I had some of the best scallops of my life. After filling ourselves to the brim we hung out on the beach, hoping for a little tan. We could only put our feet in the water because it was so cold but it was such a treat to be at the ocean. When we arrived home everyone was riding on a high from two whole days of sun, only to be hit with freezing weather that brought snow to Paris on Monday morning. I loved the south and can't wait to go back!
Monday, March 31, 2008
The family visits
As I mentioned before, as Prakash was leaving Paris, my family arrived. They moved into the same apartment that Prakash was staying in so I was lucky to be close to them during their stay. The first day we had together was Palm Sunday so we went to Notre Dame to see a service. The ceremony lacked the peaceful spiritual nature that church services usually have due to the massive amount of tourists milling around the chapel; additionally, I think we missed the main message, as the service was in French and we only picked up the elementary words like God and son. Afterwards, we walked over to the Marais so my mom could check out the little boutiques, Ian could try a yummy crepe and they all could see the Picasso museum.
The fam left for the south of France for a couple days and I was left to my own devices. My friends and I went bowling one night. We had a great time, everything about bowling in Paris is the same as in the States with the exception that the alleys stay open much later here.
When my people returned, I dove right back into tour guide status and took them around the city. We went to all the major museums (Louvre, D'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, Rodin) and saw the major sights. I saw the Moulin Rouge for the first time and was sorely disappointed, it looked much more glamorous in the movie.
We visited the famous high fashion department store, Galleries Lafayette which had an absolutely stunning interior
One night I took I an out to his first bar. We went to the highly popular "Chez Geroge" which is and underground cave where the Nazis used to keep Jews during WWII and it has now been taken back by the Jewish community and bah/bar-mitzvahs music is played frequently. I had a good time and so did Ian, despite the fact that we were jammed in there like sardines.
My favorite discovery of their visit was Saint Chapelle catherdral. It was a very small church hidden in the middle of a lot of government buildings. From the street you can only see the spire so it seems like a protected, secret place. The church is 2 stories and the second story is absolutely breathtaking. The walls are made up almost entirely of stained glass and all the detailing of the church is in gold and midnight blue. I liked Saint-Chapelle better than Notre Dame in that it was much smaller and much less trafficked. The stained glass was the most impressive display I have every seen.
The stay was rounded out by some solid shopping. I was sad to see my family go, time just flies way too quickly, and now its already April! Only two months left.
The fam left for the south of France for a couple days and I was left to my own devices. My friends and I went bowling one night. We had a great time, everything about bowling in Paris is the same as in the States with the exception that the alleys stay open much later here.
When my people returned, I dove right back into tour guide status and took them around the city. We went to all the major museums (Louvre, D'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, Rodin) and saw the major sights. I saw the Moulin Rouge for the first time and was sorely disappointed, it looked much more glamorous in the movie.
We visited the famous high fashion department store, Galleries Lafayette which had an absolutely stunning interior
One night I took I an out to his first bar. We went to the highly popular "Chez Geroge" which is and underground cave where the Nazis used to keep Jews during WWII and it has now been taken back by the Jewish community and bah/bar-mitzvahs music is played frequently. I had a good time and so did Ian, despite the fact that we were jammed in there like sardines.
My favorite discovery of their visit was Saint Chapelle catherdral. It was a very small church hidden in the middle of a lot of government buildings. From the street you can only see the spire so it seems like a protected, secret place. The church is 2 stories and the second story is absolutely breathtaking. The walls are made up almost entirely of stained glass and all the detailing of the church is in gold and midnight blue. I liked Saint-Chapelle better than Notre Dame in that it was much smaller and much less trafficked. The stained glass was the most impressive display I have every seen.
The stay was rounded out by some solid shopping. I was sad to see my family go, time just flies way too quickly, and now its already April! Only two months left.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Paris, Brussels, Vienna, London
I know I have been truant and I apologize. I will attempt to catch up on the happenings of the past month in a concise manner.
It was an absolute joy having Prakash visit. As he has been to Paris several times and seen all the major sights, we just took time to relax, I showed him may favorite spots and we just wandered around in little out of the way places. Although Paris is supposedly the romantic capital of the world, we wanted to take a romantic weekend to visit another European country, hearing that Vienna was both beautiful and romantic and seeing as neither of us had been there before, we chose this as our destination. We left on a Thursday morning so we could have three full days in the city. Our quaint hotel was in the eastern part of Vienna and we had to pass through the run-down portion of the city to reach it. My first impression of Vienna was not one of amazement, fortunately this soon changed after we took the first day to check out the major sites and a museum. The architecture was very beautiful with soaring steeples and ornate exterior detailing. Hofburg palace was very grand.
We visited a museum that had just received a donation of a huge private collection of works from the impressionist period through the Abstract Expressionists. What impressed the me most was that the couple that had collected the art over the years had the insight to recognize the talent of the artists, all which are now household names. That evening we went to the famed Viennese opera to see Les Contes d'Hoffman. The production was fantastic, I was blown away by the vocalists. This marked one of the highlights of the trip.
The next day we visited Schonbrunn palace, the former summer residence of the Viennese royal family. We took a guided tour of the house. The amount of detail paid to each room absolutely blew me away. The final room was the bedroom of the king and queen, the bedspread was made of red velvet and embroidered with gold and silver. The grounds were enormous, mostly covered in a forest of spindly trees although areas were landscaped with perennials and fountains but spring had not yet sprung in Vienna so we were left to imagine running water and blooming flowers. We did some more wandering around Vienna after seeing the palace and came upon a beautiful Gothic church
We also went to a Viennese coffee shop to get re-energize. Apparently Vienna is the city of origin of the European coffee shop culture I love so much so we had to take the time to experience it here. The coffee was delicious!
We visited Vienna's modern art museum which was putting on an exhibition with the theme of art and geometry. I must say there are only so many squares and rectangles I can see before I start making geometry jokes. Fortunately, on the bottom floor of the museum was an interesting collection of European Pop art. For dinner we went to one of Vienna's premier restaurants, Ann Sacher, in the Sacher hotel. The food was indescribably good, one of the best meals I have ever had. After dinner we went to a funky little bar/club called the Office. It played decent music and it was amusing people watching. I found out afterwards from an Austrian friend, that it was a trashy bar for young people to go and get wasted, woops!
We were tired on Saturday so we just did some more wandering. We saw Karl's Church (but only from the outside because that would require paying an entrance fee which I didn't want to do), attempted to go to a museum that was mysteriously deserted, and found the oldest wiener schnitzel place in Vienna, Griechenbeisl. We discovered that instead of a fancier version of a hot dog, wiener schnitzel is in fact fried and breaded veal, blah!
After some more wandering around, we decided we needed to eat again so we found a cute tea house and got delicious hot chocolate. I had a fantastic calzone for dinner (better than the one I had in Rome) to round out our eating extravaganza and trip to Vienna.
The second week of Prakash's visit to Paris continued to be relaxing, which most included wandering and eating. To spice things up we decided to go to out to a few clubs one night. We started off at one called Favella Chic which, much to Cara's joy, played reggae and R & B. I liked the relaxed shabby chic vibe of the place but the music didn't inspire high energy dancing. We left there close to closing and went to a gay club on the Champs Elysee called Queen (we chose this because it was ladies night and free for us). We walked in to a strip show happening in the middle of the dance floor. I was shocked and I think Prakash was a little grossed out but hey, when in Rome right?
The last weekend Prakash was here we went to London for an evening so he could visit and I could meet his aunt and cousins. We took the high speed chunnel train which got us to London in just over 2 hours. Prakash's cousin Shenth met us at the station and took us around London. We went to the Eye, a huge Ferris wheel that is supposed to give you a great view of the city (I suppose this would be the case if it wasn't raining and you knew what you were looking at).
I got to do a bit of shopping on Oxford street which was great except with the dollar to pound ratio, nothing is cheap. For dinner we went to Prakash's Aunt's South Indian restaurant and had a great meal. It was fun spending time with the family and seeing a snippet of London. Of all the cities I have visited so far in Europe (which granted aren't that many), London reminded me most of the United States. It wasn't the language so much as the pace and the vibe, I could have been in New York but for the cars driving on the wrong side of the street.
My family arrived the same weekend Prakash left so we all were able to have dinner together on Prakash's last evening in Paris. It was great to have him here with me and so hard to leave him at the airport. Fortunately, I had my fam to keep me company for the two weeks after he left.
It was an absolute joy having Prakash visit. As he has been to Paris several times and seen all the major sights, we just took time to relax, I showed him may favorite spots and we just wandered around in little out of the way places. Although Paris is supposedly the romantic capital of the world, we wanted to take a romantic weekend to visit another European country, hearing that Vienna was both beautiful and romantic and seeing as neither of us had been there before, we chose this as our destination. We left on a Thursday morning so we could have three full days in the city. Our quaint hotel was in the eastern part of Vienna and we had to pass through the run-down portion of the city to reach it. My first impression of Vienna was not one of amazement, fortunately this soon changed after we took the first day to check out the major sites and a museum. The architecture was very beautiful with soaring steeples and ornate exterior detailing. Hofburg palace was very grand.
We visited a museum that had just received a donation of a huge private collection of works from the impressionist period through the Abstract Expressionists. What impressed the me most was that the couple that had collected the art over the years had the insight to recognize the talent of the artists, all which are now household names. That evening we went to the famed Viennese opera to see Les Contes d'Hoffman. The production was fantastic, I was blown away by the vocalists. This marked one of the highlights of the trip.
The next day we visited Schonbrunn palace, the former summer residence of the Viennese royal family. We took a guided tour of the house. The amount of detail paid to each room absolutely blew me away. The final room was the bedroom of the king and queen, the bedspread was made of red velvet and embroidered with gold and silver. The grounds were enormous, mostly covered in a forest of spindly trees although areas were landscaped with perennials and fountains but spring had not yet sprung in Vienna so we were left to imagine running water and blooming flowers. We did some more wandering around Vienna after seeing the palace and came upon a beautiful Gothic church
We also went to a Viennese coffee shop to get re-energize. Apparently Vienna is the city of origin of the European coffee shop culture I love so much so we had to take the time to experience it here. The coffee was delicious!
We visited Vienna's modern art museum which was putting on an exhibition with the theme of art and geometry. I must say there are only so many squares and rectangles I can see before I start making geometry jokes. Fortunately, on the bottom floor of the museum was an interesting collection of European Pop art. For dinner we went to one of Vienna's premier restaurants, Ann Sacher, in the Sacher hotel. The food was indescribably good, one of the best meals I have ever had. After dinner we went to a funky little bar/club called the Office. It played decent music and it was amusing people watching. I found out afterwards from an Austrian friend, that it was a trashy bar for young people to go and get wasted, woops! We were tired on Saturday so we just did some more wandering. We saw Karl's Church (but only from the outside because that would require paying an entrance fee which I didn't want to do), attempted to go to a museum that was mysteriously deserted, and found the oldest wiener schnitzel place in Vienna, Griechenbeisl. We discovered that instead of a fancier version of a hot dog, wiener schnitzel is in fact fried and breaded veal, blah!
After some more wandering around, we decided we needed to eat again so we found a cute tea house and got delicious hot chocolate. I had a fantastic calzone for dinner (better than the one I had in Rome) to round out our eating extravaganza and trip to Vienna. The second week of Prakash's visit to Paris continued to be relaxing, which most included wandering and eating. To spice things up we decided to go to out to a few clubs one night. We started off at one called Favella Chic which, much to Cara's joy, played reggae and R & B. I liked the relaxed shabby chic vibe of the place but the music didn't inspire high energy dancing. We left there close to closing and went to a gay club on the Champs Elysee called Queen (we chose this because it was ladies night and free for us). We walked in to a strip show happening in the middle of the dance floor. I was shocked and I think Prakash was a little grossed out but hey, when in Rome right?
The last weekend Prakash was here we went to London for an evening so he could visit and I could meet his aunt and cousins. We took the high speed chunnel train which got us to London in just over 2 hours. Prakash's cousin Shenth met us at the station and took us around London. We went to the Eye, a huge Ferris wheel that is supposed to give you a great view of the city (I suppose this would be the case if it wasn't raining and you knew what you were looking at).
I got to do a bit of shopping on Oxford street which was great except with the dollar to pound ratio, nothing is cheap. For dinner we went to Prakash's Aunt's South Indian restaurant and had a great meal. It was fun spending time with the family and seeing a snippet of London. Of all the cities I have visited so far in Europe (which granted aren't that many), London reminded me most of the United States. It wasn't the language so much as the pace and the vibe, I could have been in New York but for the cars driving on the wrong side of the street.
My family arrived the same weekend Prakash left so we all were able to have dinner together on Prakash's last evening in Paris. It was great to have him here with me and so hard to leave him at the airport. Fortunately, I had my fam to keep me company for the two weeks after he left.
Monday, March 3, 2008
the term "tourist" owned
As can happen in a week, lots has happened and Rome feels like a lifetime ago. This past week was fashion week in Paris so every day all over the city was runway show after runway show. On Tuesday, Anna and I were able to acquire tickets to one of these shows (I don't remember the name of the designer now). The event was held inside the Louvre. We had standing tickets but as the all the seats were not full, Anna and I were ushered to the third row. It was so much fun being there at the show with all the fashion people milling around looking stylish, the entire ambiance was cool; the loud music the strange clothing, the emaciated models, the hundreds of photographers. The show lasted no more than 30 minutes but that was plenty of time to get a taste of the high fashion world of Paris. Cara attempted making homemade chocolate chip cookies this night with a make-shift ingredients, they turned out pretty well and they were a nice reminder of home.
On Wednesday I went to the Centre Pompidou with my Art History class. It was a great experience to have lecture in the museum with the artists' paintings and sculptures in front of me. My professor has so much knowledge to share and it is so much easier to comprehend what she has to say about the art when the piece is sitting in front of you and it's in focus.
Thursday, Cara's friend from high school, Dina, arrived so we all went out to dinner together. I thought I ordered scallops for my meal and when my plate arrived, it turned out that I had apparently asked for chicken parmesean... I am still making these novice errors, when will it end!
Friday Prakash flew in so I met him at the airport. It is so much fun to have him here with me so I can share my Parisian lifestyle. We went out to lunch at a great little restaurant where there were no English translations on the menu and the waiter didn't revert to speaking English with me when I tried to order in French. I want to find more places like this in Paris. We then moved Prakash into the apartment that he will be staying while he is visiting. It is a beautiful place with hardwood floors and a real kitchen, and the best part is that it is around the corner from me. That night we invited Anna, Cara and Dina over for dinner and I attempted to make tuna casserole from memory and French ingredients. No one threw up but no one went back for seconds either, I think I may stick to a recipe next time.
On Saturday, Prakash accompanied me on my trip to Brussels with Abroadco. We took an 8am train and were on a tour bus by 10am. We listened to an hour and a half recorded tour of the city while we rode around in a double decker bus (you can't get more touristy than that). We were able to see several parks and the eclectic mix of architecture in the city. There was everything from medieval to art deco to contemporary. I liked that the architecture was different than any other city yet visited in Europe, some parts of the city was very beautiful other parts were unsightly and a significant amount of older building were under renovation. This tour did remind me why I don't pay extra money to take audio tours. After the tour we had a "traditional" Belgian lunch (we were told). I ordered a large white beer, only to be presented with a 1 liter mug of beer (needless to say I didn't finish this). Our appetizer was a fried cheese dish which was comforting in light of the fact that it was freezing outside and we wanted anything to warm us up. My vegetarian meal consisted of a cooked carrot dish with a seemingly Asian flair and soy chicken nuggets. After lunch the group was allowed to split up so Prakash, Anna, Cara, Dina and I went to the chocolate museum where we learned how they make Belgian pralines (chocolate shells filled with chocolate). The presentation was interesting and we got to sample phenomenal chocolate but the rest of the museum was uneventful. After this we went to the modern art museum. The bottom floor was all 20th century art which was all we had time for, it was a fun exhibit. It was set up in semi chronological and thematic order so it was an interesting historical as well as aesthetic exhibit. After this we hit up a chocolate store so we would have something to show for our Belgian visit and then, stopped at the ultimate tourist waffle joint to get Belgian waffles and fries. My waffle was very good, the fries were mediocre and the service was terrible. We met back up with the group in time to travel to the train station. Part of the group was late so we had to run through the train station to try to catch our train, which we still missed (several individuals were stampeded over in the process, Anna being one of them). Never a dull moment with Abroadco. When we got home our little group went to a Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese place for dinner. I ordered pad thai which was palatable (we needed a break).
Sunday Prakash and I dragged ourselves out of bed so we could take advantage of the fact that all the Paris museums were free (due to it being the first Sunday of the month). We went to a brasserie close to Prakash's place for breakfast and then walked to the Rodin museum. It wasn't too cold and there was no rain so we were able to enjoy the garden in addition to the indoor part of the museum. I loved the garden, it was a refreshing venue to enjoy sculpture with a lush green backdrop and no one breathing down your neck. After this we met up with Cara and Dina and went to L'Orangerie, a little impressionist museum in Jardin des Tuileries. The museum was small but had some Cezanne and Matisse which I loved and of course Monet's waterlilies which were beautiful; I was blown away by their size. After this we went to the Marais to eat at a creperie a friend recommended. I ordered a goat cheese, tomato and basil one which blew me away! We wandered around a little more and then went home to relax and do laundry. As I'm sure I have mentioned before, most everything in Paris is closed on Sundays (including eating establishments) so by 9:30 we were hungry and a little worried about where our next meal would come from. We decided to venture into the realm of French delivery and found a Pizza place that was still open and nearby. I was chosen as the individual to make the call and was able to successfully order a pizza entirely in French (a small victory I will cherish)! Needless to say the pizza was terrible but it was a fun experience.
On Wednesday I went to the Centre Pompidou with my Art History class. It was a great experience to have lecture in the museum with the artists' paintings and sculptures in front of me. My professor has so much knowledge to share and it is so much easier to comprehend what she has to say about the art when the piece is sitting in front of you and it's in focus.
Thursday, Cara's friend from high school, Dina, arrived so we all went out to dinner together. I thought I ordered scallops for my meal and when my plate arrived, it turned out that I had apparently asked for chicken parmesean... I am still making these novice errors, when will it end!
Friday Prakash flew in so I met him at the airport. It is so much fun to have him here with me so I can share my Parisian lifestyle. We went out to lunch at a great little restaurant where there were no English translations on the menu and the waiter didn't revert to speaking English with me when I tried to order in French. I want to find more places like this in Paris. We then moved Prakash into the apartment that he will be staying while he is visiting. It is a beautiful place with hardwood floors and a real kitchen, and the best part is that it is around the corner from me. That night we invited Anna, Cara and Dina over for dinner and I attempted to make tuna casserole from memory and French ingredients. No one threw up but no one went back for seconds either, I think I may stick to a recipe next time.
On Saturday, Prakash accompanied me on my trip to Brussels with Abroadco. We took an 8am train and were on a tour bus by 10am. We listened to an hour and a half recorded tour of the city while we rode around in a double decker bus (you can't get more touristy than that). We were able to see several parks and the eclectic mix of architecture in the city. There was everything from medieval to art deco to contemporary. I liked that the architecture was different than any other city yet visited in Europe, some parts of the city was very beautiful other parts were unsightly and a significant amount of older building were under renovation. This tour did remind me why I don't pay extra money to take audio tours. After the tour we had a "traditional" Belgian lunch (we were told). I ordered a large white beer, only to be presented with a 1 liter mug of beer (needless to say I didn't finish this). Our appetizer was a fried cheese dish which was comforting in light of the fact that it was freezing outside and we wanted anything to warm us up. My vegetarian meal consisted of a cooked carrot dish with a seemingly Asian flair and soy chicken nuggets. After lunch the group was allowed to split up so Prakash, Anna, Cara, Dina and I went to the chocolate museum where we learned how they make Belgian pralines (chocolate shells filled with chocolate). The presentation was interesting and we got to sample phenomenal chocolate but the rest of the museum was uneventful. After this we went to the modern art museum. The bottom floor was all 20th century art which was all we had time for, it was a fun exhibit. It was set up in semi chronological and thematic order so it was an interesting historical as well as aesthetic exhibit. After this we hit up a chocolate store so we would have something to show for our Belgian visit and then, stopped at the ultimate tourist waffle joint to get Belgian waffles and fries. My waffle was very good, the fries were mediocre and the service was terrible. We met back up with the group in time to travel to the train station. Part of the group was late so we had to run through the train station to try to catch our train, which we still missed (several individuals were stampeded over in the process, Anna being one of them). Never a dull moment with Abroadco. When we got home our little group went to a Thai/Vietnamese/Chinese place for dinner. I ordered pad thai which was palatable (we needed a break).
Sunday Prakash and I dragged ourselves out of bed so we could take advantage of the fact that all the Paris museums were free (due to it being the first Sunday of the month). We went to a brasserie close to Prakash's place for breakfast and then walked to the Rodin museum. It wasn't too cold and there was no rain so we were able to enjoy the garden in addition to the indoor part of the museum. I loved the garden, it was a refreshing venue to enjoy sculpture with a lush green backdrop and no one breathing down your neck. After this we met up with Cara and Dina and went to L'Orangerie, a little impressionist museum in Jardin des Tuileries. The museum was small but had some Cezanne and Matisse which I loved and of course Monet's waterlilies which were beautiful; I was blown away by their size. After this we went to the Marais to eat at a creperie a friend recommended. I ordered a goat cheese, tomato and basil one which blew me away! We wandered around a little more and then went home to relax and do laundry. As I'm sure I have mentioned before, most everything in Paris is closed on Sundays (including eating establishments) so by 9:30 we were hungry and a little worried about where our next meal would come from. We decided to venture into the realm of French delivery and found a Pizza place that was still open and nearby. I was chosen as the individual to make the call and was able to successfully order a pizza entirely in French (a small victory I will cherish)! Needless to say the pizza was terrible but it was a fun experience.
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