outer banks

continuing my travels down the east coast, this time i headed south to north carolina (counter intuitive, no?). a few friends and i were headed to that ultimate yuppie northern virginia family vacation destination, the outer banks. i got a friday off work and we drove straight down thursday night, trying to see if we could go the whole way finding only michael jackson songs on the radio (yes, this was the fateful day). the drive was dark and uneventful and we arrived at the 'ocean house hotel' just after midnight. it wasn't quite an ocean view and it had some fantastic wood paneling and very hotel-appropriate faded paintings. but the price was right and it was right on the water, as promised. after hauling our stuff in we went konked right out.

when we woke up we were ready for a big day at the beach. after a trip to cvs for milk, beer, and a commemorative michael jackson newspaper (the essentials) we were ready to start the day. the morning consisted of sitting on the beach, playing frisbee, giving up on frisbee and using it to play uno, and, of course, enjoying the ocean.

after hours of general relaxing and frolicking we were ready for some lunch. we found a little mexican place with an odd name (mama kwan's) where we enjoyed a good meal and got some free plastic cups. then we headed over to kitty hawk to check out the sites before it got too late. it was starting to get overcast and a bit windy, but i suppose it just made the experience that much more authentic. the wright brothers did choose the spot for its wind after all. we walked through the small exhibit and heard an explanation of the plane and the historic flight. then we headed up to the big glastonbury-tor-like hill with this monument atop it. from there we had a nice view of kitty hawk and kill devil hills as well as the clouds rolling in.

on the way back to the hotel we treated ourselves to some frozen custard, apparently kill devil hills' finest, and then walked it off with a stroll along the beach at dusk. (i found a fish skeleton!) from the abandoned lifeguard chair we had a pretty good view of the ocean and sea oats below. the rest of the night was spent in our hotel room commemorating michael jackson's life with hours of hastily put together documentaries and file footage, followed by a night swim in the hotel pool.

the next day we started off with one last dip in the ocean and quick shower before driving south to our next stop, cape hatteras. on the way we stopped for a quick excursion in the tall grass and some cold root bears. a few hours later we were approaching our campsite, frisco woods. after some confusion over our reservation and a run-in with the neighboring boy scouts we were able to set up our tents before dusk had set in. we stopped to enjoy the view of the sun on the bay before heading over to the cape itself.

we managed to get to the lighthouse before dark and had the place to ourselves, tramping around the walls of the lighthouse and the lighthouse keeper's former home. becca had fun explaining some of the vernacular architecture to us and the rest of us had fun spotting little frogs that seemed to be everywhere. just at dusk we managed to see the light come on, which made for a lovely view.

on our way home we picked up some hot dog and s'mores fixin's for a typical campfire. we also picked up some flicka flames, which are supposed to make the fire change color.. not so successful for us. we had a well-deserved meal and then called it a night.

after some debate the next morning we decided to head south for quick trip to ocracoke island. the only way to reach it is by ferry so we drove our car onto the boat (a little surreal) and watched as we 'drove' onto the water. we got out to enjoy the sunshine and watch the droves of seagulls that seemed to be following our boat. about half an hour later we arrived on the very quaint ocracoke island. like most land forms in the area, it too is long and narrow. we drove from one end to the other, where we found the hub of island life. there were lots of little cape cod houses with white picket fences and hydrangeas. most people staying on the island seem to get around by bicycle and it seemed like a very attractive option (especially during the 10 minutes we were backed up in one-lane traffic). we walked up to the (much smaller) lighthouse which is privately owned and in fact in someone's backyard. we didn't stop to explore any of the many souvenir shops but we did enjoy a nice seafood lunch before we headed back north.

after the ferry ride and an expensive gas stop we started on the eight hour drive north. we took turns driving and doing mad libs and made it back with only one stop at arby's and little traffic. the weekend seemed like it had a little bit of everything: lighthouses, beach fun, history, custard, campfires, and of course, mama kwan's.

phantastic philly

on the heels of my new york trip i decided to trek back up north to check out philadelphia. i'm ashamed to admit that it was my first visit to the city, despite living about three hours away for the better part of my life. a visit was long overdue, i figured, and i had the bonus of being able to see two good friends there.

i left just after work on friday and managed to avoid any too horrendous traffic as well as paying one of the tolls (sometimes you just don't have any cash). i arrived at my friend katie's house, just west of the city, just after 9. which fortunately was just in time to rush over to a happy hour at a bar downtown. the bar was right inside the city limits and on the way in we had a pretty spectacular closeup view of the ben franklin bridge all lit up. if i had been a bit more with it, i would have taken a picture since this is the only chance i'd get all weekend. at any rate, we made it to the bar where we took advantage of $2 drinks and met some friends of friends, most of them from UVA of all places. after we'd had our fill and emptied our wallets we headed back to katie's absolutely beautiful house. we stayed in the fully finished and very well-appointed basement, complete with pool table, basketball net, dartboard, and wet bar. unfortunately we did not make use of any of these, just the very comfy bed.

the next we were up early(ish..) and walked upstairs only to find a film of rain coming down the glass windows of the sun room. the forecast had called for no rain and i was a little discouraged but after lingering over breakfast we started our trip into the city. we got stuck in traffic going over one of the covered bridges (not as cute as it sounds) and eventually made it into the city around noon. we drove in through south street, which was a fun way to start the city. basically it's the little hippie/alternative mecca of the city. for lunch i was hoping for a cheesesteak but had to be content with an enormous slice of greasy, delicious pizza from lorenzo's instead. this is also where i was introduced to the term 'water ice'. this, for all of you non-philadelphians/normal people, refers to what i would called shaved ice or italian ice. also note, if you point out the apparent redundancy of the term 'water ice' to philadelphians, they get a little defensive. understandably so.

anyway. we walked down south street, popping in the little boutiques with cheap plastic jewelry and fake tattoos. so colorful! from there, thanks to katie's iphone, we were able to navigate ourselves over to the city center (other cities have downtowns; philadelphia has a city center) on foot. it was a short and pleasant walk, filled with trees and historic rowhouses. eventually we made it to market street, which leads right up to the unmistakable city hall.

from there we headed over to the reading terminal market, which courtney highly recommended. it was pretty incredible; much more than a produce market. it seemed liked every food group, as well as numerous ethnic groups, were represented in the form of food stalls, small restaurants and little shops. here katie and i happily wandered before meeting my other two friends from school. they grabbed some gyros and ice cream and we continued exploring the indoor bazaar.

here, unfortunately, katie had to leave us so we said our goodbyes and were down to three. after catching a glimpse of the city hall and the grand lodge of pennsylvania, we walked back down market street towards the historic district. one great thing about the city how walkable it is. everything seems to be just a few minutes on foot. we walked on a few blocks until we hit independence mall state park, which i'm sure i'm supposed to tell you is called "America's most historic square mile." the (free) tickets for indpendence hall were unfortunately sold out for the day, and we didn't feel like waiting in line to file past the liberty bell our meanderings here were largely uneventful. aside from our sighting of the masaryk (former czech president) plaque, which john was happy to find.

we continued on, stumbling across some historic-looking alleys and self-described historic landmarks (like the second bank in america..). eventually we found christ church, which had a very pleasant interior, in spite of the windows behind the altar facing into the adjacent apartment. we walked on towards the delaware, which apparently serves as the divider between pennsylvania and new jersey (who names these things). we arrived at penn's landing where we had another view of the ben franklin bridge, a little less impressive by day. there was some sort of african/islamic music festival going on, which, while we were there, mainly consisted of a self-proclaimed rick james impersonator trying to kill time during technical difficulties. unimpressed, we walked on and arrived right back at south street where we got in the car and left the city just as the rain started up again.

we spent that evening and the following morning in the charming langhorne (and the neighboring newtown which, despite the lame name, is apparently very hotsy totsy). langhorne was adorable in a very unassuming way, with a variety of stone and brick houses with character, many of which were decked out for flag day. i was very smitted with annie's house in particular, which you can find down the street with the handmade sign that reads 'country lane'. after an evening at the mchales and a sunday brunch in newtown (about a five minute drive) i said my goodbyes and headed back into the city for a little more sightseeing.

good old karen (the gps) took me right into the city where i was even able to find a free spot in the parking lot behind the art museum. i headed up the hill to the imposing edifice and entered the museum, handily free on sundays. the collection is impressively extensive and i only had a few hours left in the city. so i tried to do it justice and hit some highlights: the giant chagall in the back lobby, the french cloister, the japanese temples, and various modern pieces (duchamp's large glass is there). i also had to go out the front to the so-called "rocky steps" and check out the view. and no, i did not do the rocky pose. though later on my drive i did see a couple taking their wedding picture with the bronze statue of rocky down the hill.

after covering the collection as best i could i wandered back down the hill, where there are a series of gazebos and other structures that look like they belong in some sort of greek acropolis theme park. once at the bottom of the hill, though, there was a nice view of the buildings above and the river leading into the city. in spite of its weird name (and impossible spelling), the schuylkill river is really pleasant to walk/bike along and a lot of people were doing just that.

from there it was almost time to head back home but i had one last stop. i figured my trip to philly wouldn't be complete until i had at least sampled a cheesesteak. i mean, 'steak'. so i drove down where i found the two most famous steak emporia, geno's and pat's respectively. not having any allegience i had planned on going to which ever struck my fancy. this plan changed as i approached and realized how long the lines were! and while cheesesteaks are fast food they evidently are not made very fast. after waiting impatiently for a few minutes and debating between the lines i eventually decided to cut my losses and try to find a less-famous steak elsewhere. there were no shortage of places nearby and in a few minutes i had settled on a little hole in the wall where i got my steak and water ice. and even with no line at all this order took about 10 minutes to prepare. i fully enjoyed my last taste of philadelphia before heading back down south. it was a good trip but i have a feeling i just skimmed the surface of what philly has to offer.

big apple, little bite

so on wednesday of last week my mother and i rather spontaneously decided to go up to new york for the weekend. after a few hours we had booked our bus and hotel and were ready to go. friday night we went to chinatown, grabbed a salad from chop't (huge and delicious!) and hopped onto the 8.00 bus (a mere $35 round-trip). after a four-hour nap with plenty of room to spread out, we arrived at penn station right around midnight. we walked the two blocks to our hampton inn, very pleasant overall.

having already been to new york several times this wasn't the typical touristy, see-everything type trips that i usually make. that said, we started off heading all the way up to the bronx to find the new york botanical gardens. we made it before 12, excited to take advantage of the free admission. come to find out that was only to for the grounds; a visit to any sort of conservatory or other building would cost us a whopping $18 (and that's the discounted rate). we decided to see if the grounds alone were worthy of our free admission. in the little area we explored there was an english-style garden with a nice mix of herbs and unusual flowers. the weather was beautiful and we stumbled across a wedding party with bridesmaids with parasols and very well-dressed guests.

after our short trip in the bronx we headed back downtown for a stop near columbia university. first, though, we stopped for a new york slice (no, not sbarro). actually 4 of them, plus a soda which still came out under $10. and, sorry, but new york pizza beats chicago's deep dish any day; it was delicious. we continued on to riverside church which were lucky to be able to go into before the wedding. the interior was really lovely; the clerestory windows were apparently modeled after chartres and the wrought-iron light fixtures were particularly cool. unfortunately we couldn't go up the 400-foot tower (home to the largest carillon bell in the world) as it's apparently been shrouded in scaffolding for 3 years and counting. scaffolding continues to be the bane of my existence. still, a nice church nonetheless. perhaps my favorite in new york though there isn't too much competition. (st. john the divine has some scaffolding issues of its own..)

we continued downtown, stopping at union square and passing through the farmers' market. we walked over to the strand and strolled the '18 miles of books' until we were too tired to go on. we each found a book and probably would have found many more given enough time. even the islamic art section was impressive. we continued walking on to washington square park where we spent a while leisurely reading and enjoying the view of the fountain (where local children frolic/bathe?). from there we headed up towards murray hill where we were hoping to find something good and quick (indian?) for dinner before our show. we rushed around trying to find something suitable. we went to a little chinese place where we got noodle soup and chicken curry. we ate quickly and, again, cheaply before walking the remaining blocks to the theater district.

the show we had decided to see was called 'reasons to be pretty'. i'm still not sure why they chose that particular title. it's a new play and has been nominated for three tonies which, as it turns out, were the following night. the acting was pretty good (not great) but the writing itself didn't seem all the great. the jokes struck me as a little sitcom-y. the audience seemed to enjoy it though.

we walked home through times square, part of which is currently blocked off. there's a pedestrian zone right through the middle of the area with lawn chairs. it's a bit surreal to be able to park yourself in the middle of one of the busiest streets in the world. on our way home we picked up some glazed nuts and drinks (i love all the delis that stay open late). then back at the hotel we relaxed with an SNL rerun. how 'new york' of us.

the next day we set out earlyish in search of flea markets. i was mildly devastated to discover the brooklyn flea market i was so looking forward to checking out was canceled for that weekend only. it starts back up next weekend under the brooklyn bridge. oh the injustice. at any rate we wandered to another one just blocks from our hotel that it turns out my mom and i had both been to before. man, we're like natives we're so good. there was a lot of good vintage clothes and my mom even scored a piece of british royal memorobilia (nevermind).

we hopped down to chinatown where we walked allll the way down canal street in search of a purse. amazingly even in that mecca of questionable designer accessories (gucci? prada? louis vuitton?) i did not find what i was looking for. but i did brush up on my ignoring street vendors' come-ons. wouldn't want to get rusty.

by the time we hit bowery we were pretty exhausted and hungry. we turned down the street in search of dim sum. the first placed we found was packed so we continued on. the next place we found seemed good and slightly less crowded. the clients were all chinese so we figured it had to be authentic. and when i say all chinese i mean, quite literally, we were the only white people in there. half the servers bringing around food had to grab someone to translate their contents into english. we had a serving of shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings and some steamed buns. between those little dishes we somehow ended up very full. i would have taken photos had i not been intimidated by the other couple sitting at our table. that couple, incidentally, put us to shame, order seven orders of dim sum to our three (all different than ours). i imagine they finished after we left but i'm not sure how they managed. apparently we had good reason to be intimidated.

after some subway mishaps (wrong way twice - yes it's possible - and a system malfunction) we had only a little time to wander around greenwich village. i had hoped to find papaya dog for a refreshing fruit drink and, in an uncharacteristic stroke of good luck, we happened upon it right outside the subway exit. we wandered and enjoyed our mango and piña colada (so cheap). we also managed to find a deli to pick up some dinner for later. this nicely rounded out our weekend of eating cheaply but well. though we did have to make a special stop for dill pickles ($1 apiece).

we got our bags from the hotel and walked the few blocks to penn station where the bus was already waiting. apparently the 5.00 back to washington is a popular one and it was full. we managed to sleep most of the way back, waking up around 8 for our dinner of authentic new york deli sandwiches, packed with more meat than i could ever hope to eat in one sitting, and a bag of sundried tomato pesto chips (classy, right?). i only made it through half of the sandwich but in attempts to appease my 'healthy' side (ha) i had an apple too. the rest of the ride was largely uneventful, aside from a jerky bathroom door and a somewhat dysfunctional family. pretty much par for the course on a bus. then it was back to chinatown and the familiarity of the dc metro. good to be home.

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?'