merry-land

well, i'm back. i've been back in the US of A for a few weeks now and i must admit it hasn't been that jarring. i know what to expect here and so far i haven't had much difficulty transitioning back into the american lifestyle. though the abundance/diversity of food and the almighty (ha) dollar are making it quite a bit easier.

my friend courtney thought i might start to miss france and all the traveling after the first few weeks home. and, truth be told, i do. so some time ago we had started planning a little road trip for memorial day weekend. we had initially planned a night in annapolis and a night at assateague with a pit-stop for pie (pie-stop?). but when the couchsurfer fell through and the campsites were full we had to improvise. the pie remained a cornerstone.

our trip, now a day trip, started early saturday morning as we headed out to our first destination: bowie, maryland. it turned out to be just a 40-minute drive but a very important stop. we were a bit early to pick up our pies (we ordered ahead of time) so we explored bowie (pronounced boo-ee). or the particular interstate exit somewhere near bowie. we found a marsh with wildlife - in the form of a heron and a turtle. after getting some ice and preparing the cooler (the newly-bought pie-specific cooler. oh yes) we were ready to pick up our delicacies. the man at best pie company was very friendly but insistent that we were somehow related. 'are y'all twins?' 'sisters?' 'y'all from the same hometown?' 'aw, so you were in the same sorority.' fine, sure.

we left happily with our pies (courtney was rather protective) and once they were safely nestled in the backseat, we were back on the road. we drove on for another hour until we hit the small town of easton. purportedly voted the 8th best small town in america. this claim seems rather dubious; it never seems to say when or by whom. at any rate, it was very cute/charming/quaint. we arrived in time for the highly touted farmers' market which ended up being about 10 stalls of produce and handcrafts BUT had live music (a nice little folksy band made up of senior citizens). everyone was very nice, asking us where we were from and even if we were professional photographers. i suppose the locals don't wear cameras around their necks to the farmers' market.

we continued on down the main street window shopping along the way. from the looks of the store windows you'd think the town was made up entirely of middle-aged women. think knitting supplies and embroidered activewear. we passed a few bar/restaurants and cafes but were looking for more authentic (and less expensive) place to enjoy our easton lunch. then we passed an old pharmacy with a small diner in the back. jackpot. we sat at a booth and had a hamburger and patty melt respectively. it was my first patty melt, greasy and delicious. it would be the first of many firsts that day.

we continued walking and mused, 'wouldn't it be great if we found a local ice cream shop to accompany our pie?' and what do we find but the olde towne (yes, with e's) creamery. the girl working there, who couldn't have been more than 17, put up with us explaining our pie-accompanying requirements and even went to great lengths to find us bigger containers for our pie-eating needs. also, we learned the secret to being left alone to run an ice cream store: she's lactose intolerant.

then it was pie time. we went back to the car for our much-anticipated dessert. courtney had mixed berry (raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry) and i opted for the lemon chess (another first). as you can see courtney was pretty excited about the pie. i'd have posted a picture of her enjoying the pie, but they border on obscene. after thoroughly enjoying our dessert we continued on to a bookstore where the featured book was entitled, "the sweetness at the bottom of the pie". we walked on a bit farther to our last stop in easton, the academy art museum. it was free (but only until august?) and included a small exhibit, selections from the local schools and two rooms of donated landscapes. it wasn't as exciting a collection as had been promised, but a pleasant enough half-hour.

after this bit of culture, we hopped in the car and headed on to our big destination, assateague. we were hoping to a) see some wild ponies and b) that the place wouldn't be overridden with bikers (many of whom come to the dc area for memorial day). we encountered, among other things, lots of roadkill. all in all we counted 20 items (specimen?). though i suppose #16 wasn't technically roadkill until after it flew into our windshield.. and bounced on the road behind us. on a more pleasant note, we also stopped for a photo op with a field of yellow flowers. they looked like buttercups but guessed they were perhaps mustard? i remember seeing fields of this same bright yellow in france.

after crossing a few more bridges and getting onto smaller and smaller roads we could start to smell the salty air. in a little less than two hours we had reached assateague. on our way to the park entrance we saw our first pony! he was on the side of the road and we hastily pulled over for a better look from the car window. pretty soon he moved on and so did we. a little farther on we entered the assateague island national seashore for a rather hefty $15. (good for seven days. great.) we were hesitent but holding out for more pony sightings.

after driving the length of the park it became clear to us that the park seemed to have little more than a few beaches, lots of camp sites and three trails through the marshes. we parked at the end and checked out the beach. we dipped our toes in the cold water and i realized it was the first time i had been on this side of the atlantic in a long time. we played a little (american) football, finally! it was so nice to play again. even if more of our time was spent trying to choreograph touchdown dances or stage dramtic catches.

soon we moved on to our main goal, tracking down ponies. we thought we may have better luck on foot and tried out two of the main trails, named 'life of the forest' and 'life of the marsh'. (we never did find 'life of the dunes'.) the trails were largely loops that took you around woodsy or marshy areas on wooden gangplanks. they were each only a half-mile long but all claimed to be thirty minute walks. we couldn't figure out how they would take that long even if you tried. they also seemed to be full of large, numbered stops with no signage or information. it wasn't particularly picturesque but we had some nice walks.

as we were out on the main road driving back through the park we came to the sad realization that the only horses we might see that day was the one we had seen before we even entered the park (and forked over the 15 bucks). this was a rather sobering thought and so the drive back was a little quiet. until.... we spotted a horse! this time we wasted no time in pulling over and getting out of the car to explore on foot. the horse retreated into the brush but we followed him. he led us to a clearing where we found even more horses, including one baby (foal?) grazing. we took lots of pictures trying to capture them looking roaming free and looking like the wild ponies they are. but mostly they seemed to be interested in eating. not very inspiring, ponies. at any rate we were very happy to have found some wild horses and once we had driven them back towards the road (you're welcome, other tourists) we got back in the car and left the park. but much more satisfied.

our very last stop for the day was the town of berlin (apparently pronounced ber-lun). in between assateague and ocean city, we had heard it was a charming little town. its most recent claims to fame is that it was featured in the movies runaway bride and tuck everlasting which are still prominently featured in the town's video store. which also happened to be the only store opened past 5pm which is when we happened to visit. the main street (since that seemed to be the entirety of the town) was bordered by almost identical stone churches on either end, leaving a mile of brick antique stores and diners in between. it did seem like it would have been a cute town if a little livelier. we decided to crack open our picnic basket and enjoy a dinner of hummus, pita, chips and salsa on the side of the road. from our stretch of curb we had a nice view of the little theater/concert hall and big hotel at the center of town. during our meal we overheard that the hotel was haunted though the only thing that seemed strange about it to us was the way the outdoor diners stared at us as we walked by. apparently they don't get many visitors. or at least after 6pm.

from there we had a three hour drive to get back home. we had to stop for a view of the sunset, a lovely end to our day. we really enjoyed our little trip into small-town america. everyone was friendly, we got some exercise and had beautiful weather. and our main objectives had been fulfilled. the wild ponies, and, of course, the pie.

beginning of the end

well, my time here is quickly drawing to a close. time to pack up, say my goodbyes and readjust to another lifestyle. again. though this blog has been geared more towards my trips than my time in lyon i think it's worth saying a few words about my seven months here, which i'll probably look back on as one of the most carefree periods of my life. there are few people who get to work 3-day weeks interspersed with several 2-week vacations. all this and in living france too. i'm pretty sure it will be hard to readjust to the american work schedule; i've been very spoiled.

i'm afraid this recap will be very boring, as i have no real complaints about this year. my job, though unfortunately a (costly) 50-minute train ride away, was great. some of the other assistants complained about the kids or the lack of preparation, but for me it was just the right amount of teaching without being stressful. plus french kids are adorable. one girl asked if i'd bring her back to america with me in my suitcase; i should have said yes. stupid weight limits.

probably the hardest part was getting settled - finding an apartment, opening a bank account, and doing endless paperwork - all while adjusting to a new country. i don't think i ever felt anything i would consider culture shock but the biggest difference was probably the sheer extent of french bureaucracy. once we had figured that out (after the first few months) things calmed down and we felt better adjusted.

i met some fantastic people here who i will miss dearly. but i think i may miss the city itself just as much. never having actually lived anywhere but suburbs, i really loved being able to walk around the city, especially one so beautiful. i felt so lucky to live here. i still remember walking over my bridge for the first time almost in disbelief. i feel so fortunate i got to live in this city and got to know it so well. it's wonderful being able to walk - or bike - everywhere. oh and the bikes. i think i'll miss them most of all.

and of course a good deal of my time here was spent traveling. i was able to take some wonderful trips, though sometimes i thought i should have tried to visit more new countries. still, i had some amazing experiences. some highlights/best of's:

• best country: tunisia
• best city: sevilla
• best experience/people-watching: carnevale in venice
• cutest: colmar in winter/annecy in spring
• exhibit: 'picasso and the masters', paris (the only one that wasn't free); joaquim mir, barcelona; 'repartir a zero', lyon; gerhard richter, grenoble; kazimir malevich, madrid
• museum: egyptian museum in turin, miniatures museum in lyon
  
• festival: fête des lumières
• hiking: cassis for the view, deux alpes for the mountians (sorry, andorra)
• meal: paul bocuse brasserie (le sud) in lyon; homemade meals in turin and st-étienne
  
• crêpe: fresh strawberry/nutella crepe in paris
• pastry: strawberry tarte in grenoble, praline tarts all over lyon
• bread: pain complet in aubagne (tiny town between aix and cassis)
  
• market: barcelona's boqueria for food; aix-en-provence for crafts
  
• city view: bastille in grenoble, arc de triomphe in paris
  
• purchase: kilim in sousse, scarves in faro
• chapel: matisse chapel in vence, arena chapel in padua
• church: fourvière
  
• cathedral: sevilla, milan (for the facade)
  
• palace: the alcázar
• square: plaza de españa, sevilla
  
• park: maria luisa (sevilla), tête d'or (lyon), parc guell (barcelona)
• sunset: on our hotel roof in kairouan

though this is the end of my time in france (for the time being) it's certainly not the end of my travels. though for a while my trips might be a little more, shall we say, domestic. still, i'm sure i'll be jetting around when i can.

stay tuned.

last meal

my time here is quickly drawing to a close. in fact today was my last day of work. the kids at all my schools were very sweet and they gave me lots of kisses and drawings, in typical little kid fashion. also today, a teacher from one of the schools invited me to her house for dinner. i accepted, naturally. it seemed like a fitting end to my time in st-étienne. also fitting because the experience seemed to encapsulate everything i've gleaned here about french etiquette and eating habits.

i arrived at my teacher's house (that's right, house. not apartment, ooh) where i took off my shoes and was offered a pair of slippers. the teacher showed me the house with a nice view of the admittedly ugly city and their big garden in the backyard. i was offered juice (or an aperitif) which i accepted and we chatted about their trips to the US and my time in france. eventually she and her husband began preparing dinner and got out some amuse-gueules in the way of pistachios and little croutons with red pepper and tomato spreads (very tasty). they ate slowly and deliberately, placing the knives on separate plates and the pistachio shells into a separate bowl. they also offered me a sweet wine (muscat) which i gladly sampled.

when the kids got home and dinner was ready we ate. the family served the food for everyone, which she explained would normally be eaten in three separate courses. mais bon. we had a salad with a light dressing, scalloped potatoes with heavy cream in a pastry crust, and filet mignon (!) served with (of course) a sauce that i was told was made from mustard (though it didn't seem mustardy). the meal was, naturally, accompanied with bread, which is always placed on the table - not the plate. the principal purpose of the bread is not to be eaten but rather to scoop up the remaining sauces on your plate.

after all this food i was sufficiently stuffed.
then they brought out the cheese plate. they had five or six varieties, including one or two smelly ones. of course i had to sample and as i did so they told me which region each cheese came from. i assumed this was dessert, but no. there was more. in french fashion, we had fruit (pears) but they were accompanied with french vanilla (ha) ice cream and drizzled with dark chocolate sauce. so delicious. i'm surprised i could even move after all this. my teacher drove me to the train station where i fell right to sleep on the train for the first time since i've been here. i guess all it took was a ton of food and red wine, go figure.

it was a little sad realizing i'll (probably) never be back in st-étienne again. though this was a very nice way to go out.

antsy for annecy

after our 10-day holiday in spain kelly and i lounged about and fully enjoyed the luxuries of staying in one place and being able to sit in pajamas and watch back-to-back office episodes. that said, we also saw the best of lyon, including the old town, the main squares, the park and even a few new things. notably the miniatures museum (so cool!) and paddleboating on the lake. and kelly explored quite a bit on her own while i was at work too. i think she enjoys the rivers as much as i do.

going along with that water theme, we decided to try annecy for our day trip on wednesday. i've heard good things and somewhat regretted not going with a few friends in october so i was anxious to see what all the fuss was about. it's supposedly the 'venice of france', a term which apparently gets thrown around a lot. basically my expectations were: pretty.

we paid more than we had hoped - and in fact almost scrapped the trip entirely - but did eventually decide to go. we opted for the "autocar" (read: bus) which got us there faster and without changing trains. it was a pretty drive and in just under two hours we were in annecy.

even just outside the train station the city looked beautiful. there were fountains and flowers (lots of tulips) evvverywhere. we wandered on, stopping for postcards, delicious smelling bread or whatever else caught our attention. we eventually found the tourism office for a map which we didn't end up needing because all you do is wander around and enjoying the sights. from the tourism office we were directly opposite a giant field in front of the lake filled with people lounging and playing games. the lake (lac d'annecy, original) is a beautiful color and the mountains behind still had a few snow-capped peaks. this coupled with the blooming flowers and beautiful weather made it seem perfect. i'm definitely glad i waited until april.

we slowly made our way around the lake, past all the vendors trying to peddle their paddle boat rentals. just over a cute little bridge, the neighboring park had big shady trees and lots of flowerbeds. basically this town is picturesque almost to a fault. we walked on along the lake and stopped on a bench to enjoy our picnic lunch (no overpriced restaurants for us). it may have been the most beautiful view i've picnicked in front of. and that's saying something.

all this was before we even made it to the canals. which i guess just refers to the one main canal that runs through the old town. it was very nice (though the window boxes full of flowers were conspicuously absent) and made a perfect setting for our ice cream cones (we had to).

from there we wandered through the old town and uphill. we paused for a moment to enjoy a view of the typical european red roofs (i love that) before seeing the 'castle' - not very impressive - from the outside. we continued on what appeared to be just a residential street. interesting side note, even though annecy is renowned for being one of the most expensive cities in france the people living in these surely multi-million euro homes overlooking the lake had little compact peugeots in their driveways. but anyway. we continued on where we happened upon the basilica of the visitation, apparently a pilgrimage church despite its recent construction (1922). it was up a big hill which gave us a nice little view as well.

back down, we wandered the quaint little streets of the old town. almost too quaint. you tell me that wheelbarrow wasn't taken to lure tourists to take pictures. though why you'd want people wandering in front of your house all the time i'm not sure. we eventually made our way back down to the main streets where we walked along the canal and popped in and out of various shops and churches.

we felt we had seen everything we needed to so we went back to the lake for another round of picture taking and relaxing in the park. after a nice rest we made our way back to the train station, stopping to buy some pastries and a nice little market bag for myself. a perfect end to the day.

CAdeeth

our last stop was cadiz, which we had heard was just a typical beach town. to get there we had to take a bus to sevilla, walk across town to the other bus station, and catch the bus there to continue on to cadiz. thanks to an accent (`) and the spanish lisp the name of the city is pronounced rather strangely. it took me several minutes to realize our british couchsurfer was not talking about cardiff.

we arrived in cadiz's new town, which doesn't mean too much considering that cadiz is the self-proclaimed oldest city in europe. they've dated it to at least 1000 BC (though hercules was said to have founded it 2000 years earlier) and their claims seem to hold up to scrutiny (perhaps not the hercules one). the city is actually an island so you're never far from the water. shortly after we arrived our host matthew took us up to a nearby tapas place on the beach for lunch. we sampled some local specialties, including a tasty swordfish, chicharrones (little fried squids), bull's cheek (delicious!), and salmorejo (like gazpacho). we were lucky to have such a knowledgeable host/menu guide.

we continued walking along the water towards the old town. as we approached we could see the cathedral with its dome of the rock-like (e.g. gold) dome. we stopped in a very pleasant square in front of the cathedral for a coffee before matthew left us to fend for ourselves. we set out but didn't get very far as we found a cute little store next door with all kinds of fun stuff we didn't need. apparently we did need earrings though so we bought those (never a bad decision). we continued on, wandering through the streets marveling at how many shops were closed - the joys of siesta.

we gave up on shopping and had an ice cream which we enjoyed at another nice square - cadiz is full of these. we walked on until we hit the water again and decided to follow the shoreline around the island. the french guide book we found compared this city to st-malo, a small beach town in brittany, and i could see the resemblance. we continued walking along the city walls, stopping whenever we found a nice looking garden or park, which was quite often. we found various benches, fountains, gardens, and even a waterfall. kelly was particularly excited about that one. we continued on to the marina where the sun was starting to go down over the boats in the harbor.

we hurried to meet matthew since we were running behind (what with all the waterfall-finding and picture-taking). after beer and a bit of a philosophical conversation we walked on to find dinner. he took us to a great little tapas place he knows where we had even more of the local delicacies. this time we enjoyed a montadito (a bocadilla - sandwich - but hot, we think) de lomo (like virtually every meat in spain a kind of ham), abondigas (delicious meatballs in a tomatoey sauce), and gambas (shrimp), which the southern coast is especially known for. afterwards we went with matthew to the weekly intercambio (language exchange), where we met mostly spaniards, but also a dutch girl, an american, and a very peppy norwegian. luckily we were there for the english hour, so we had no trouble. when we went back to the apartment we may have thought the night was over but not so. one of matthew's roommates had just returned from a massive beatboxing convention (very professional, i know). he calls himself ram-z. as you can imagine, he was quite a character and very excitable after the big weekend. he gave us a sample of his work and showed us some of the videos he took there. if you want to see more, you can find him on myspace (he gave us his card). and if that wasn't enough our host did some card tricks for us too. we were thoroughly entertained.

the next day was our last in spain. we decided to head up to jerez de la frontera, from where our bus would leave that evening. the town is known for sherry, horses, and flamenco. when we arrived we were disappointed to find that it was rainy and cold but even more disappointed to find that there were no lockers in either the train or bus stations (luckily located next to one another). it seemed there were once but they had been taken out. as kelly pointed out, why take out lockers? once they're there they don't cost any money to keep up. and the space was certainly not being used - the whole terminal was very empty. we left, rather annoyed, with all our luggage.

we decided to try to see the town anyway. we spent a very long lunch (and several games of phase 10) in one bar before venturing out again. the city itself was fairly unremarkable though it did have a nice cathedral and some pretty streets. we didn't see any horses or (being daytime) flamenco but we did entertain ourselves by shopping. we found a grocery store to stock up on cheap supplies before going back to french prices. and across from the bus station we found a nice place to enjoy some tea and hot chocolate. next door we had our last spanish dinner, appropriately paella and tapas with tio pepe, the brand of sherry that jerez is best known for.

then at 11.30 we boarded the night bus (it was full!), dozed off, and woke up the next morning in madrid. we were dropped off at the airport and spent our last few hours snacking and playing cards. overall a really nice vacation. and made even nicer by the fact that kelly joined me in returning to lyon.

huelva y vuelva y huelva

our next stop on this little adventure was huelva. this city, like most on our itinerary, was decided on randomly. basically outside of sevilla we chose cities where we either found an affordable hostel or a couchsurfer willing to host us. (a quick plug for couchsurfing, thanks to which we had a much better spanish experience and saved some money)

this is how we ended up in huelva. even our host, a really lovely american girl who loves the city asked, 'so how did you end up in huelva for three days?'. it's a nice coastal town and we had a great time but there's just not a lot to do there. our host nicole took us around and showed us the major sights in the city. she took us to the beach for a relaxing afternoon and some (essential) ice cream and took us out to a really authentic tapas place she knows. on our own kelly and i did some exploring of the city which mostly included shopping and stopping for cafe con leche or hot chocolate.

the rest of our time in huelva we spent outside the city itself. one day while nicole was at work we decided to check out la rabida (which is fun to say if you roll your r just right) where there's a monastery of note and replicas of colombus' ships. we were told to take a bus to 'campus carmen' from where we could walk to the town itself. we got conflicting information from the woman at the bus station info desk and the bus driving buying lotto tickets but eventually we got onto the number five bus. we got off at a stop where we saw 'campus del carmen' only to realize that we were in the city and nowhere near any water. we came to the realization that the number 5 bus goes in a loop around the city and was decidedly not what we wanted. we went back to the bus stop, paid for another ride, and rode around the other half of the loop back to the station.

so we were literally back to where we started. we tried again, this time asking for a regional bus that went to la rabida. the ticket was actually cheaper and we got on a nice looking bus to take out of the city. this time we got it right. after confirming with the bus driver that it was indeed the stop we wanted, we got out and walked towards the monastery. along the way we enjoyed the little gardens and statues. we arrived at the monastery only to realize that it was monday, so of course it was closed. such a rookie mistake, ugh. we walked pitifully around the monastery (and around the locked public bathrooms) before decided to try and find the ships. we wandered down the hill, past a giant ampitheater, and down to the water only to discover that the ships, too, were closed. go figure. we tramped around the marshy area nearby to take some pictures before admitting defeat and heading back. we found a fun little playground on the way though and after rediscovering the joys of the teeter-totter all was forgotten.

we waited on a nearby bench for about 30 minutes for the next bus. once on, kelly realized that in our haste to make sure the bus driver didn't pass us, she had left her scarf. so we got off and walked back. it was there, luckily, and we waited a few more minutes for the next bus. and incidentally anyone reading this who thinks it wasn't worth going all the way back for a scarf just doesn't have their priorities in order. so, total number of bus trips made/paid for that day: 5.

on our last day in huelva we had planned to spend the day shopping. but after a few hours we realized we may have exhausted our shopping options. we headed back to the bus station (probably the single place we visited the most in huelva) to see where we could go. after consulting our tourism office booklets and the bus information we decided on niebla, an old walled city. thirty minutes later we arrived in niebla and the clouds rolled in. we quickly realized we were not dressed appropriately in our capris and light jackets. we blamed spain. still, we enjoyed wandering through niebla's white streets and little squares. most impressive, we found a bar serving pizza that was open during siesta for a nice lunch. the rest of our time there we spent wandering around and whining about the cold and the wind.

all in all we had a great time in huelva and its surrounding area. there were a few hiccups but any vacation where you can shop, eat tapas, and go to the beach can't be that bad.

north dakota, portugal

we loved sevilla, it's true. but after our night battling crowds and sleeping in the bus station (funny that didn't make it into my romanticized sevilla post) and a full day of sightseeing and eating we were ready to move on. we hopped on a bus headed to faro (not to be confused with fargo). the bus ride was easy and after a few short hours we were in portugal. we were trying to determine how portugal was distinct from spain but all we noticed was that it seemed more rural and a little poorer.

we were let off at the bus station, situated right on the marina and off of a big plaza. after finding a pretty sketchy xeroxed map at a nearby hotel we made our way to the hostel. we quickly discovered faro was a small town, after traversing the entire old town and walking along the train tracks to arrive at our hostel in about 20 minutes.

the hostel was nicer than expected and the woman at reception was great. we wandered around the city at dusk (or was it twilight?). the city's rather small and we managed to wander all through the 'tourist' district and down to the marina. we caught it at a beautiful time of night. we were encouraged to find a restaurant that wasn't on the pedestrian (i.e. touristy) street but all we found was a chinese place so we went for it. chinese portuguese food. not bad. in our walking we discovered the principal difference between portugal and spain.. (besides the language, which is beyond bizarre. it looks like spanish but sounds like something slavic) the portuguese aren't really known for staying out late. though to be fair, we did go directly from the craziest week in sevilla to a small coast town in portugal. for an interesting comparison we happened upon a similar holy week procession on our way back to the hostel. the biggest difference was that people seemed to be taking it much more seriously. everyone was quiet and many of the townspeople seemed to have joined in the procession behind it.

the next day we enjoyed the hostel breakfast (delicious cafe con leche, yogurt, bread/meat/cheese) before heading out to explore. we went to an indoor market the hostel woman had recommended and we were not disappointed; it was great. between the produce stalls and the grocery store below we came away with cheap chocolate, delicious strawberries and pears to last us the rest of the day. we did a little window shopping and had a tasty pizza lunch before taking the bus to the beach. while waiting for the bus we discovered a little market where we found some lovely (and cheap!) scarves. kelly doubled her scarf collection in one day; i was so proud.

twenty minutes and less than two euro later, we were at the beach. the beach was beautiful and virtually deserted. this was probably because it was rather windy (a trend that continued throughout the rest of our trip) and some clouds were floating through. the difference between the full sun and when the clouds passed through was dramatic. we still enjoyed our time at the beach, variously reading and napping on the sand. i felt very authentic, reading my josé saramago in portugal. kelly.. well i'm not allowed to divulge what she was reading but i will say.. i've mentioned its name somewhere in this post..

the rest of our time in portugal we spent wandering the streets and enjoying the architecture of the city. what i remember most of portugal is peeling, fading paint jobs. after wandering and taking pictures we visited the market and made our way back to the hostel for a homemade meal. we had a very healthy salad and then gorged ourself on bread, cheese, chocolate, and strawberries. it was delicious. we played cards until we were kicked out of the common room (why even have a common room?) and forced to continue in the hallway - but not without getting scolded by the night guard. he suggested we play outside.. where it was dark, windy and cold.

the next day was easter but we didn't notice any real difference. we visited our favorite market and walked the streets before getting on a bus to head back to spain. it was great to have seen portugal and faro was a nice little town that seemed to have avoided being overly touristy. but it would have been nice to see more of portugal; the coastline seem to just get nicer as you travel down the algarve. another time, perhaps.

maravillas de sevilla

semana santa was definitely a site to behold but sevilla unquestionably merits its own post beyond these celebrations. we visited several charming cities on this tour of southern spain but sevilla remained our favorite. there was something about it that just made it especially inviting and of all the places i've been in europe it's the only other place (besides lyon) where i could see myself living. i'm sure there are many smaller reasons for this but here were some of the main attractions:

the alcázar.
wow. i was expecting some sort of alhambra-lite but this place faaaar exceeded expectations. the moorish architecture was absolutely phenomenal; the stucco work and carved ceilings were sublime. and the bright yellow walls make it look so warm. i could have wandered around this place for hours and if i lived here i would probably do so on a weekly basis (it's free for students, or people who happen to have outdated student IDs). i'm at a loss for words here because the architecture itself is just so stunning. and if that weren't enough there are the gardens, which include palm trees, hedge mazes, orange trees and all sorts of flowers and fountains, and apparently peacocks (though we saw none). the amazingness of this place was only enhanced by the gorgeous weather we enjoyed - clear skies and low to mid 20's (that's 70s for you fahrenheit folks). we didn't want to leave. ...and then we hit the bookshop. these people saw me coming a mile away. everything was just details of the tiles. sold!

la comida.
one of the things europe seems to do well is bar food. italy's got its aperitivos and spain has tapas. though we had more tapas elsewhere in spain, i just thought i'd pay homage to the general brilliance of the idea, yet another thing sevilla's got going for it. what we did enjoy in sevilla was sweets. ice cream was plentiful and delicious (dulce de leche was a fan favorite) but the churros were downright ridiculous. that amount of grease on a plate is just obscene. still, we managed to fit in a few helpings of churro con chocolate every day. just beware: if you only get even one razione, be prepared not to eat for a long time. or in our case, another helping of churros a few hours later.

plaza de españa.
there's not really much to this square; in fact i don't even know what purpose it actually serves. all i know is that it's a big square with a fountain, lots of fun brickwork, tiles and bridges. to add to the charm there are picturesque horse-drawn carriages with bright yellow wheels that are constantly circling the square carting around tourists. each of the little niches in the edifice showcased (in tile) a representation of one of the bigger spanish cities. what fun. my only complaint was that half of them were shrouded for what i imagine was restoration.

parque de maría luisa.
this place is a gem. not surprisingly it's been called one of the best parks in all of europe. from what we saw it seemed pretty big. we didn't have time to explore the whole thing but everywhere we went to discovered a new fountain or section of palm trees. we found this nice spot where kelly enjoyed a catnap while i watched a cute spanish famillia take a family portrait. doesn't it look incredibly lush and green? well it is. oh and then have tandem bikes (with little roofs) you can rent. which reminds me. did i mention that sevilla has the same public bike system as lyon? (not like the weird barcelona ones) no wonder i loved it there.

la giralda/the cathedral.
the cathedral, like most big sites in andalucia, has muslim origins. today la giralda (the former minaret) remains while the ceiling inside the now-christian church is almost as impressive. the rest of the church seems to be filled with typical busy spanish decorations and design. also the remains of christopher columbus are in there for some reason. we climbed to the top of la giralda to take in the view of the city. from there you can see the alcazar and the gardens beyond, the plaza del toros and the rooftop pools of all the people you really hate.

i think we did the city justice in the few days we had but i could see myself staying longer. in the words of vince, 'who knew sevilla was effing awesome?'

semana santa, sevilla style

well i've just returned from my last vacation here in france. that's right, i have to endure a whole two weeks without vacation before i return home. honestly sometimes i don't know how i'm going to handle 40 hour work weeks and american vacation time. it's going to be a struggle. at any rate, i thoroughly enjoyed my last vacation, traveling through southern spain and even a bit into portugal.

i flew into madrid where i met my good friend kelly (of almost 10 years, we realized). she somehow managed to get herself 3 weeks vacation, and from the coast guard no less. we spent a pleasant afternoon in madrid (found a free fauvism exhibition) catching up before hopping on a bus to sevilla. we had wanted to witness the madness of semana santa for ourselves and additionally visit my friend annie. we arrived that evening in the midst of the craziness. i think craziness might even be an understatement. from the bus station things appeared normal. so we walked on blindly, into the heart of the insanity. the streets began to get more crowded as people assembled for the processions. as we continued on we found the path to our hostel blocked at almost every turn. naturally, it was located right in the middle of the festivities. at various times we were stuck in the crowd, between the marching brothers (or floats, see above) and the crowds of onlookers. we even had to walk through the procession once or twice. and all this dragging our suitcases around as well. if we heard the word 'maletas' one more time, we might have lost it. in short, we arrived and hour and 20 minutes later at our hostel that should have been a 10-minute walk.

perhaps i should take a moment to explain what semana santa is. as best i can understand it's the celebration of holy week whereby each brotherhood marches through the street carrying giant candles, crosses or a giant float. the floats are invariably filled with flowers, covered in silver or gold and adorned with a shiny plastic jesus or mary or any other various gaudy (pardon my judging) decorations. the brothers wear the large pointy hoods (jarring for most americans) and walk slowly for hours often in bare feet - a bold move in any european city.

the weird thing was, nobody seemed to care. sure there were people everywhere, crammed into every corner of the old downtown. families got together, dressed up the kids, and saved seats near the front for hours. but when it came to the actual spectacle, nobody actually seemed to pay any attention. people were eating, drinking and generally socializing into all hours of the night but very few people seemed to take the process seriously, much less piously. maybe this is because the celebration in sevilla is so popular but for whatever reason it didn't seem like a very serious occasion. one fun tradition, which i imagine was invented to entertain the children through these hours-long processions, was the collecting of the wax. little spanish children would roam the streets, looking for friendly brothers to give them some wax from their giant candles. i'm told this is a big deal and the kids keep the wax balls for years to come.

kelly and i watched the processions for quite a while (as we couldn't get more than 50 meters from our hostel without a struggle) which turned out to be much more pleasant without our suitcases. still, after one night of processions we figured we had seen all we needed to of semana santa. (they carry the same floats every night.) i was glad we had experienced it, but after realizing it tacked on an extra mile to get to virtually any destination in the city, we were over the excitement.

andorra-ble

my bus ride into andorra was largely uneventful. this was disappointing as i was really looking forward to a nice 'andorra' stamp in the old passport. and i was so determined.. too bad.

at any rate i made it to andorra, which, incidentally, i have theorized is the hardest country to get to in europe. though i should double-check lichtenstein. i met my friend kathy (a prior lyon resident) after some brief confusion of which mcdonalds we were at. we stopped to catch up at a nice little park (the only park) with blooming flowers, a concrete-lined stream, and a nice view of the mountains all around. kathy said having the mountains constantly surrounding you can be a bit overwhelming. after a nice chat we crossed the river into the 'old town' - which consists of approximately two streets. we went into a building, took an elevator up and ended up outside higher up on the hill, it was odd. here we enjoyed a very windy break with delicious cheesecake and i met her friend robert. he is a fulbright scholar and has been in andorra for a year and a half which means he knows pretty much everyone.

robert turned out to be a wonderful tour guide since, as it turns out, he's studying to be a tour guide. the three of us walked all over the city (yes, there are cities. more than one, even) which consists mostly of stores and giant glass spa. we went up the glass tower to see a view of dusk setting in over andorra la vella.

it's hard to describe andorra. kathy asked me if it was different than i thought it would be. it was certainly very commercial (it's a tax haven). i'm not sure what i was expecting though i was surprised that it did feel like a distinct country. this probably has a lot to do with the prominence of catalan (as the only country that has it as its national language). i asked robert how he would characterize andorra. he said greed. greed and portuguese.

the following day robert convinced kathy and myself to go on a hike up one of andorra's many mountains. apparently they had attempted it before but only made it part of the way up before turning back. robert made it known that he was determined to make it all the way up this time. i was hopeful but also ill-prepared in my traction-less french tennis shoes. we started out with high spirits and lots of energy. this was buoyed with frequent breaks and giant bar of delicious honey and almond chocolate. things were going well until we hit the giant mound of ice. or, specifically, the mountain path that was covered in ice and snow. it was a struggle, something like one step forward two slides back. after falling several times and getting some choice bruises it became clear to kathy and myself that we were not going to make it up the mountain. robert seemed disappointed (his pep talks were of no use) but it was just not happening. and if going up was dangerous, going down was absolutely treacherous. i think i slid and fell more than i actually walked. somehow we made it all the way down.

we decided instead to try what we dubbed the 'country lane'. with this we had much more success. no ice or snow - i have never been so glad to see mud. we had a nice view of the other mountain and from the top we could see the chain of mountains that surround the city. it was very 'sound of music'; we were mere miles from the spanish border. at the end of the day we rewarded ourselves with some nice cold drinks at a cafe in town. i had an horchata!

all in all i think my time in andorra was well-spent. there aren't many times you can say you've seen most of a country in two days.

barceloner

months ago i had planned a short weekend trip to catalunya. i already have wednesdays and fridays off so i thought i would 'faire le pont', as they say, and skip thursday to make it a nice five-day weekend. fortunately for me, france decided to choose this thursday to go on strike, so they did it for me.

after a late night before (st. patricks day..) i set out early on wednesday for my 9.45 flight. in a quick hour i was in spain. i took the bus into the city where it struck me how big the city is. outside of paris it's the biggest city i've been to in the past year. parts of it seemed very new york-like (though i suspect that had something to do with the helvetica in the metro). i arrived at the top of las ramblas, having a full afternoon ahead of me. having been to the city once before, i didn't feel too rushed and was able to take my time, enjoying the nice weather and all the weirdos that street seems to attract. the city is just undeniably colorful and lively. i found it particularly entertaining to watch the so-called 'living statues' take a cigarette break or walk around in normal clothes with bright green all over their faces.

my first stop was la boqueria, the fantastic produce market that courtney and i stumbed across our last time in the city. it did not disappoint; it had all the fresh fruits, nuts, (etc) and juices that i remember. i found myself some strawberries and pineapples and a sunny spot to enjoy my homemade sandwich. it was a perfect welcome to spain. well, until i got totally ripped off by this guy selling chocolates. somehow i got roped into buying some; i just thought i'd sample a few; it couldn't have been more than six individual pieces. the price? 3,25€. what?! lesson learned: never buy anything that doesn't have a price.

i tried to shrug that unpleasantness off and continue on, looking for the cathedral. the entire facade had been shrouded in scaffolding the last time courtney and i had been there and i was looking forward to seeing it for real. guess what? three years later, and the scaffolding hasn't moved. though i think they have added an ad across the front.

i continued on to the passeig de gracia where some of the many gaudi buildings can be found. if you don't know, antoni gaudí is a turn of the century catalan architect who seems to have single-handedly shaped the dynamic of barcelona. his works border on fantasy, mixing color with a weird fetish for nature. at any rate, i made it to the street where i saw the casa batllo, one of his most well-known and bizarre works. this, and its truly unique interior, have bumped the entrance fee up to over 16€. i passed and instead opted for the casa mila just down the street. it has a very distinct shape itself.. it kind of looks like where a smurf might live. a progressive, early 20th century smurf. i went inside and was captivated by all the little details that either gaudi or the successive families had added. i thought the light coming in through the lace in the windows was particularly nice. the real show was on the roof, where gaudi has constructed a strange landscape with amorphous yet somewhat menacing pseudo-heads.

from there it was back down to barceloneta where i finally saw the actual beach. my CS host showed me around a bit before serving up some homemade indian food and awkward conversation.

the next day i got started early and mounted montjuïc, something courtney and i had regretted not doing the previous time. it was quite high though the view wasn't necessarily that great. i walked around a bit and saw some of the gardens but i'm guessing there was still more to see. on the way down i saw the massive fountains that i imagine are pretty spectacular at night. at the foot of the hill i found the so-called barcelona pavilion. (funny i didn't connect the dots on that sooner.) it was constructed by mies van der rohe for the world's fair in 1929 and, if prof. dreiss has not misled me, was then deconstructed (and lost?) but later rebuilt. it's a total 180 from gaudi, very simple and spare but with really high-quality materials. so.. austere yet luxurious? it was good to actually see it in person.

from there i metro'd to parc guëll and climbed (or.. you know, escalatored) up the big hill. at the top i went to the main square - if you can call it that - to have my makeshift lunch and enjoy the sun. after lingering over my sandwich and fruit i made my way around the curvy mosaic-ed benches that encircle the area. i wasn't shy about butting in right next to napping tourists to take pictures of the tiles. that seems to be what people do, incidentally. they find a nice sunny spot on the bench, park themselves, and nap. besides sleeping tourists i spotted obnoxious american girls and some really choice mullets, a spanish necessity.

from here i descended and found myself back on the passeig de gracia, home to more gaudi. i was looking at the facade of casa batllo and compulsively decided to go up and buy a ticket. i got the student price, a mere 13,50€ (ouch) and rationalized it by telling myself i didn't know when i'd be in barcelona again. the audio guide (thankfully included in the price) was a bit much.. "gaudi, the most universal genius in history".. but the house itself was pretty impressive. it's said that it has no straight lines, though i wondered about the floors. it definitely has a nature-inspired vibe, reminiscent at times of mushrooms, amoeba, sea urchins, and dragons. though i've never labeled anything as 'whimsical' myself this would probably be the closest i've seen.

after this stop i popped over to the sagrada familia to cram in a little more gaudí before heading back to my CSer's place. one B bollywood movie and a few hours of sleep later i left early to catch the bus to andorra. i took a last stroll along the beach and made my way to las ramblas where i had to pop into the market one last time. i got some choice fuji apples and an entire kilo of strawberries for one euro. fantastic. of course now i'm completely spoiled. i don't know how i can go back to paying upwards of 3€ for a small basket of french strawberries. these made for lovely snacks on my international bus ride.

alpengeist

for our final day we decided to venture outside the city and "faire les alpes". it does seem a little silly that we've lived so close and hadn't gotten a chance to really experience the alps. we hopped on a bus for under 4€ that took us up into the moutains. in about an hour we were surrounded by alps. we missed the stop for the 'cute' little town we were planning on getting off at and instead ended up in les 2 alpes (so very alp-y it's even in the name of the town) which is apparently the premier place to ski around here. but we were without ski equipment and the sufficient funds so we settled for hiking.

we got some advice from the tourist office and after actually finding where it started it was quite easy. it was a nice, gentle slope, snowy but not too much for my new hiking shoes (that i was so excited to finally get a chance to wear). the path took us under the ski lift and right through the actual ski slope, which was a bit daunting. it was such a clear day and it actually got quite warm. we had shed several layers before we sat down for our picnic lunch - thanks to a supermarket we found that's open all day sunday (unheard of in france). we enjoyed the view and watched the skiers going down the slopes. we were hoping for some good falls but i guess that's more of an ice skating thing. we also decided the french must use skiing as their outlet for actually wearing color, based on some of the yellows and reds we saw.

on the way back down (we couldn't go any farther without snow shoes) we stopped to take some jumping pictures, vince's forté, before descending completely. at the bottom we discovered we had some time before the next bus so we enjoyed some drinks in the sun with a view of the mountains around us. from there we took the bus back to grenoble and just barely caught the train back to lyon. a fun little sojourn and a nice end to our mini-vacation. and i feel so much more accomplished now that i've been to grenoble and 'done the alps'.

le plus (gre)noble

so in attempts to squeeze in as much france as i can before my departure (which is quickly approaching) i went away this weekend to check out another departement, the isère.

vince and i, decidedly good travel companions, headed out friday afternoon for grenoble. the train ride was so short (a mere hour and a half) that i didn't even crack open my book. at the train station we met our couchsurfer, easily recognizable with his shaggy bleached-blond hair. he led us to his apartment, a 20 minute walk through the downtown. it was a beautiful day, the first day of nice weather this season, and everyone seemed to be out enjoying it. after depositing our things, our host (adrien) showed us around the city a bit before heading off to work. we walked through the small downtown area, saw the main churches, restaurants, and bars and then crossed the river. on the other side of the river there are a few streets lined with older buildings that lead up to the giant hill known as the bastille. it's not unlike crossing the saone into vieux lyon, whose buildings line the base of the hill that leads up to fourvière.

we decided to mount the bastille, as it were. every time i've asked for advice on what to do in grenoble this has been one of the first mentioned. you can reach the top either by walking a set of steep stairs and ramps (about 45 minutes without stopping) or take the boules, fun little silver cable cars that resemble the balls of the same game. needless to say, we elected to take the boules. with our student cards (ahem) it was a deal. going up was a little nerve-wracking at times (mostly for vince), especially when we discussed where the worst place to land would be. the view from the top was wonderful! from there you can see all of grenoble and the three mountain chains that surround it. this makes for a beautiful landscape but it also makes for heavy pollution as the air can't leave the city limits. if you ignore the fact that it's smoggy air it's actual rather mystical (mistical?) and pretty. we took some pictures and had a snack while enjoying the view before we headed over to the bastille (the actual fortress) to explore. there doesn't seem to be much left to go inside but we did stumble upon some caves that were fun to wander through, albeit damp (read: muddy).

we made our way down on foot leisurely, stopping for nice graffiti, playgrounds, possible squatter sightings, and many joggers/bikers (why you would bike there, with intermittent staircases, i don't know). by this time it was getting dusky and we were hoping for a nice place to sit and relax. grenoble seems to be full of students which is probably what gives it its international flair. at various times it reminded us of italy, spain, switzerland and england. it also seemed to have lower prices than lyon which we chose to take advantage of. though we didn't find a cafe (we got sidetracked by the pretty sunset) we did choose a nice indian restaurant where we splurged on tandoori chicken, naan, and rice (unfortunately not american-sized portions). the resto was very popular as it was full and the manager was clearly trying to get rid of us. we lingered a while to spite him and then returned to adrien's.

all the walking must have taken its toll as we were completely exhausted. adrien returned from work at around 10 to find us dozing on the couches. he chided us a little but kept most of the mocking to himself as he prepared the couches for us to sleep on.

after about 10+ hours of sleep we were treated to a lovely breakfast of homemade bread and jam and fresh croissants that adrien went out and bought. afterwards adrien and jean-yves (another roommate) drove us and another friend, claudia, to a nearby festival they had told us about earlier. we were told it was very authentic. it was outside the city in a nearby mountain village. not knowing precisely where it was, we elected to get out and hike. we followed a path up the mountain that followed a small stream. when this ended we cut across to a nearby stone barn where the path seemed to end. after about 30 minutes of hiking we were ready to head back down but decided to try the other direction. several minutes and several barbed wire barriers later, we realized this would not work and backtracked the way we had come.

at this point we were hungry and eager to find this festival, which we did (we had passed it on the drive up). it was called the foire du boudin, boudin being a blood sausage typical to this region. quite literally, a sausage fest. it was late and they had run out of platters so we chose to buy a meter to split amongst us. i was expecting some sort of strong sausage but when we cut into the gland (yes, gland) a heap of warm, mushy entrails spilled out. it looked like wet dog food but we tried it with an open mind. it was.. how to put this delicately.. revolting. we had trouble keeping it down. luckily the frenchies were off searching for a bakery (in trypical french fashion, they have trouble eating anything without bread) so they did not witness our pitiful attempt. they happily scooped up the sausages while we took care of the basket of fries. they teased us for a bit (and told us the french think jell-o is disgusting) but then moved on to mocking the 'paysans' who were in attendance. they used the word 'beauf' quite a bit which, roughly translated, means redneck.

back in the city, vince and i had a much-needed snack (delicious pastries!) before heading to the modern art museum. though we were lucky to be in a great location, nothing in grenoble seems very far away. got our 2€ student tickets and enjoyed the gerhard richter exhibit (!) that just happened to be there. one complaint (that maybe extends to french museums at large): almost no wall labels. i suppose this is in efforts to force us to buy the audio guide. well it didn't work.

we did some more wandering at dusk before vince suggested we check out the view of the city by night. so we hopped on the boules again to check it out (i just can't get enough of these things.. i think they made it into 60% of my pictures). the view was really spectacular. though we just missed the actual sunset, seeing the lights come on in front of the bright blue sky was really lovely. we got our fill of pictures before descending in the boules for the first time. they go fast! it was a little scary, i'm not gonna lie.

after our ride we walked about 3 minutes to our couchsurfer's place where he had prepared a dinner for us - gratin dauphinois (scalloped potatoes), a roast chicken and more baked bread. so much for the bread boules (yes, more boules) we brought as an offering. it was quite a spread and we were very grateful. we decided to go out afterwards, partially to experience grenoblois nightlife and partially so we wouldn't be mocked for turning in before 11 again. we went to a bar courtney had suggested that was literally "1 minute" on foot according to googlemaps. it's called the 'boîte à sardines' and was definitely warm and homey. we tried chartreuse, the local drink (formerly made by monks in the town of the same name). wow, it was strong. and minty. mountain minty? it took some effort but we managed to finish them and stayed up past 12.

doors doors doors

i just thought this mosaic-making tool was particularly awesome.

marché march

well i'm back in france and readjusting quite nicely, thanks in part to the warm weather this weekend. i hope spring is on its way but i don't want to jinx anything.

with the realization that my flight home is in exactly two months, i thought i should make a list of things i'd still like to do and see in lyon..

• the lumière institute. even if i can't afford to actually see a movie there
• boating on the lake. one of the few lake attractions that is not geared solely to children. the zoo's worth a second visit as well.
• the miniatures museum. i've heard good things.
• the city murals. there are many, and they're all over.
• île barbe. an island in the saône that's home to old monasteries and churches. just a pleasant bike ride away
• churches. as with any french city there are many scattered about. there are several i've passed that are worth a trip inside.
• pastries. courtney, you will be happy to know that i've decided to sample a pastry once every other week (okay maybe every week..). it does seem pretty stupid to be in the land of pastries and not enjoy them. though i have been fully taking advantage of the fresh bread.
• markets. i love doing my shopping at these outdoor markets. there's something about seeing the produce outside in the sun that just makes it that much more enticing. i was reminded this morning of how much i enjoy being outside, seeing the displays of cheeses, the fresh strawberries, the tulips (in pretty paper, not that crinkly plastic). in the rest of my time here i want to make sure i continue taking full advantage, visiting my market (above) at least once a week.

now i just have to wait for it to get warm...