Last Night in Paris & End of Trip

I arrived safely in Paris five hours later, trains really are great for travel in Europe (heck in SE Asia too!). I relaxed a bit and checked email to find out if Carrie was still around and where in France she had ended up after Nice. Pedro decided we should go out for a nice French dinner since we had been cooking at home (well let's say Rebecca had) most nights. So, we headed down stairs and just around the corner to Table d'Hote where we tried the special of fettucine with a cream sauce, ham, and salmon. I would never have put the ham and salmon together but it was great. For dessert (yes of course I had to!) I tried the strawberries in wine. Mmmmm, more wine!

We attempted to catch a movie on the Champs Elyssees but we were too late, yes everyone eats late in Europe. So, instead we had a drink at a little bar we found on our walk and came home not too worse for wear. Sunday morning Pedro made us all eggs and before long I was saying goodbye to my friends and catching a taxi as I decided to splurge on the transportation back to the airport. The rain had arrived and I was weary of taking three metro lines to arrive at least an hour later (with my pack).

So, my Icelandair flight went first to Rejkavik (3 hours) and on to Baltimore-Washington airport (6 1/2). The first leg went quickly but the last one felt like days! Of course the audio was messed up on my side of the plane so I couldn't hear the movie or listen to music. My legs were so cramped and annoyed at being stuck under the seat for so many hours with only a few bathroom/toilet breaks. Ah, well I must say I forgot all about it when my brother and his husband Scott were waiting for me when I came out. YEAH!

I am so glad I did this trip but I felt ready to come home. I did a count and in total I visited 16 different countries in 5 1/2 months. Wow, yes I am exhausted! And, how great to see my friends Dana & Doug and their daughter Sydney (my surrogate niece). I mean who couldn't be happy to arrive home to friends, family, and laughing baby girl giving you hugs! This is home for certain.

Next post I'll give you an update on adjusting to being home, etc. Again, I want to thank every person who shared their time, knowledge, homes, and friendship along the way. I met some incredible people and even those I don't continue to keep in touch with have affected my life in some way. Thanks also to my friends and family at home who sent emails of support, read my blog, and thoughts of who kept me sane during some crazy times. Love to everyone!

Side-Trip to Germany (April 12-15)

Karlsruhe
I decided to go ahead and take the train to Karlsruhe, Germany to visit my friends I met while in Costa Rica five months earlier. Steffi & Susi had some time off for Easter break so I hopped on the train and five hours later arrived to a smiling German face I remembered! Although we didn't have the best weather while I was there (cold and grey) it didn't really rain on us so we walked around four towns (two German & two French) and the Black Forest!

Steffi took me on a little walking tour of Karlsruhe, very cute town with a great rail and tram system. Just watch out when you cross the street, there might be three trams coming and going at once. The layout is radial with all roads leading to the palace. It was so nice to catch up with a friend who I had only met while traveling and hadn't seen in months.

Heidelberg
Steffi and her boyfriend Marcus drove me to Heidelberg, a bigger but still cute town with the river running through it (hmm, isn't that a movie?). The town is actually on the River Neckar and is Germany's oldest university town. The architecture was different, with the traditional style German houses with the wooden slat design. After walking to the old bridge, only used for pedestrian traffic now, we walked through the other side of town back to our car. On the way we stopped by the church/cathedral (what is the difference anyway? or is there one?) Steffi was a good traveler and packed some snacks for us! We drove up the hill to the castle ruins, pretty massive with gardens but not quite livable these days. It towers over the old quarter of the city. :) When we returned to Karlsruhe they took me to a restaurant for some traditional German food. I tried schnitzel and mal???, the latter was my favorite but who doesn't love pasta rolled with filling and then fried! Mmmmmmmmmmm, don't worry I also had a salad for my health.

Black Forest (Germany), Strasbourg & Lauterbourg (France)
Despite some grey and foreboding skies Steffi, Susi, and Marcus took me to the Black Forest or Schwarzwald, with a much higher elevation. Turns out they still had a bit of snow there so I didn't miss out entirely on the wintry weather. It was amazing to see the huge firs and pines. It consists of mountains and forests 200 kilometers long and 60 wide and extends along the River Rhine. We didn't walk around the lake because we couldn't actually see across because of the fog. Walking on the icy snow was also not great in our current footwear. We quickly headed to the border to cross over to Strasbourg. Oh, did I mention that there are sections of the highway that don't have a speed limit in Germany? At least for a minute we were going 143 miles per hour! Crazy huh, don't worry family Marcus was a good driver too.

We arrived in Strasbourg to a bit better weather so we walked around (again it has the water through & around town) the city. Very cute with an interesting mix of both German and French architecture coming from the times when it was passed back and forth between the two countries (not amicably I think). We all, except Steffi who obviously has great willpower, had to test out the Haagen Daz ice cream. Yup, it tastes great in France too! We visited the cathedral of course, there was an interesting astrological clock at the entrance. As this was Good Friday most of the shops were closed, good for me since my budget doesn't include ANY more purchases!

So, I realized after we left town that we weren't headed straight back to Karlsruhe. Evidently I missed the conversation in German where my friends decided I need to try this Alsace region food called Flamkuchen (flame cake). After one fals start in Wizembourg we found a place in Lauterbourg. Basically, this is a thin crust pizza with sour cream, fried onions, and ham (everything in France & Germany has ham-speck-jambon). We added mushrooms and cheese just to make ours more healthy. Then for dessert we had one with sour cream, apples, cinnamon, and a liquor that they lit on fire. Oh, my I loved both the dinner and dessert. I think I can make it back home too. Thanks to my friends for thinking of me (and my health).

Back home we decided to head to a bar for some drinks since it was my last night there in Germany. I loved the Hefeweizen, yummy! Steffi & Marcus took me to the train station and even waited by the platform until it left. We worked out some good hand signals through the train windows and tried taking photos of each other!

It was so great to see the girls again and meet Marcus. It was well worth the visit even if we had just stayed in Karlsruhe. Thanks so much to Steffi, Susi, and Marcus for spending their holiday time with me and taking me all over the place! I miss you already!

Paris (April 4-16) : City of Lights

Arriving & Making it to the Apartment
I met a New Zealander (originally) who has lived in Paris for 7 years on the plane trip here, poor guy dislocated his shoulder in a snowboarding accident in Italy. He and his girlfriend were kind enough to lead me in the right direction on the train and then the metro. I made it to the apartment with no problems and it is in a great area near the Eiffel Tower. In fact my first photo was taken of me with the Eiffel Tower on the Pont D'Alma by some American girls.

It was wonderful to arrive at my friend's home, thanks so much to Pedro, Rebecca, Alexandra, and Eduardo for having me as their guest for almost two weeks (with a side trip to Germany). Just like when I arrived in Israel to stay with Johnette and Pete it felt so comfortable to be with friends in Paris. So, Pedro was working during the days and Rebecca has Alexandra to watch so mostly I was on my own to explore the city. I think my favorite thing about Paris is just walking around the streets and seeing the history, culture, and people.

I've seen a number of great sites and art during my visit so here are the highlights:

Walking Paris
One day I took a walk to Arc de Triomphe at Place Charles de Gaulle Etoile and then strolled down Champs Elyssee where I stopped at a cafe for a tea and chocolate croissant. Although it has mostly been cold it didn't rain for me until my last day in Paris. So, on my way to Hotel des Invalides I passed by the Grand and Petit Palais and crossed a beutiful bridge called Pont des Invalides. The Hotel des Invalides was used by Napolean as a hospital for his troops and his crypt is in the fancy church there (I didn't make it in there, too late in the day & tired from walking). I was impressed by the size of this place and walking through the entrance to the inner courtyard I could picture troops filling the space.

Day of Art
So, today I put on my walking shoes and my art lover hat and headed to the Louvre. Out of the metro I came to Place de la Concorde and walked through the Jardin des Tuileries. Too bad it's not further along in spring for me to experience things in bloom. When I walked through the arch to see the full view of the Louvre I was struck by the fact that this was an incredible place and, that this was gong to be a long day! How the heck was I going to see anything in this place? But, my feet didn't fail me and I saw so many things including Napolean's apartments, Mona Lisa by Van Gogh, and Venus by Michelangelo. I spent five hours walking around and 1/2 hour at lunch.

Ile de la Cite
This was a day spent on one of the islands (Ile de la Cite) in Paris to see Notre Dame, Pont Neuf, Square du Vert-Galant, St. Chappelle, and the Conciergerie (prison). The weather was cold but sunny for most of the day. Notre Dame from the outside was an amazing sight, the inside was nice, and the walk up and around the towers was the best! When I saw the bell tower that Victor Hugo used in his story Hunchback of Notre Dame it was almost magical. At the top of the tower I had a close look at the gargoyle statues, pretty cool - especially one that had a chicken in its grip. Yeah, sounds strange but I swear it is true! St. Chappelle has a beautiful chapel that surrounds you in stained glass, what makes it more compelling is the smaller size then many of the cathedrals. As I exited I came directly in front of the Palais de Justice with the famous words, Liberte-Egalite-Fraternite. This is currently being used as a court. As I walked down to Pont Neuf (oldest bridge) I came to a beautiful little place called Square du Vert-Galant, right on the tip of the island with a beautiful green garden. From this place of beauty I headed straight to the Conciergerie, the home for both the innocent and guilty in French history. They had a great photo exhibit focused on the River Seine which included a variety of photo artists from different times in history. Once again, I arrived home tired out from walking all over the city.

Pere Lachaise Cemetary
So, today we went to the cemetary! Pedro packed up little Alexandra and we headed out on Saturday to see the place where many famous people are buried including Chopin, Moliere, Isadora Duncan (dancer), and Jim Morrison, just to name a few. It was incredible how many graves are packed together with such a variety of headstones, family crypts, etc. I feel like there is a lot of beauty among the graves, the care that was taken for each loved one makes me think of those who care about me and also makes me appreciate every day of my life. It wasn't exactly sunny for us although Pedro was optimistic when he put on not only his sunglasses but Alex's special glasses too (no cheapy ones for this baby of outdoor adventure parents). Instead of going out tonight we had dinner and drinks at the house and just chilled out. Pedro shared a particularly non-masculine "karate" move with us as the martini's took hold. Don't worry Pedro, I know you are really a manly man. I mean you wouldn't climb mountains of ice and rock if you were wimpy right? :)

Montmartre & Sacre Coeur
Today, Rebecca and Alexandra came with me to explore the artist community of Montmartre and climb many stairs to reach Sacre Coeur. There is a great view of the city from Sacre Coeur although I never really had any clear days for views of the city anywhere. We walked through the square with artists showing their work, I had to keep my hands in my pockets so I wouldn't buy anything but their was beautiful work. After we saw the church we had some crepes and hot chocolate before heading back home. We also came upon a park at the bottom of Sacre Coeur that had an incredible view of the church. On our way to the metro we found the Moulin Rouge (yes it really exists, not just in the movie!) which also happens to be in a "red light district" with lots of peep shows and specialty stores. It looked fairly innocent in the light of day but I'm sure its different at night.

Visit to Pedro's Office
I decided against going to Versailles and instead I took the metro to meet Pedro for lunch at his office near Pont de Sevres. His building complex is an old estate that was given to Louis the ?'s(hmm, not sure which one) brother. It is a beautiful area with a gorgeous garden, they had the most incredible smelling hyacinth blooming as I entered. Pedro gave me a tour and some history of the complex and then we went to have some traditional food...sushi! Mmmm, mmm, good! Instead of trying to visit someplace else I came back and hung out with Rebecca and Alex and got ready to head to Germany for a short side-trip.

More on Germany and then my last night in France!
P.S. I will add photos later on.

Cinque Terre & La Spezia (March 27-April 4)

Arriving by train to La Spezia later in the evening we found no hostels so we stayed in a hotel for 25 euros each (we were attempting not to go over 20). So, we walked down towards the main town (the hotel was down some stairs from the train so it made it easy) to get to the Internet and find a restaurant. Success on both counts, especially when we stopped in to eat at La Tavernetta. The owner, Fabrizio, helped translate some menu items in English for us - THANKS! The result was a yummy pizza with zucchini. The place had a really warm feeling inside and Fabrizio made us feel at home.

The next morning we bought the Cinque Terre 7-day pass to use the train and walk on the park trails as much as we wanted. It was a good deal because we really used the trains and the main coastal trails. Our walk UP (and I mean UP, talk about gravity wanting to keep you and your bags down) the hill from the train in Manarola to Ostello was a challenge. Again, we were cursing not having a tiny pack. We made it to Ostello hostel for a dorm bed at 18 euros and although we thought it cute there were some issues. First, you have to be out of your rooms by 10am and then out of the hostel completely from 1-4. The last straw was having to be back in by midnight for lockdown (oh and in case you want to leave before 7am, you can't! Not that I would.)

So, we met up with Fabrizio at the hostel and ended up playing board games before going out for dinner in Manarola. I haven't played SORRY! and LIFE in YEARS! At dinner he ordered up some great seafood antipasto - yummy. We didn't know it but we even had anchovies, but in fresh fish version not like I normally see them. And after all that we ended up with seafood pasta as the second piatti. We tried some local Ligurian (the region) white wine and loved it, even better that it came from a bottle with no label. Thanks to Fabrizio for treating us to a wonderful dinner out and ordering everything in Italian so we didn't have to try to translate!

On our way back we met a cool girl, Neva, who was holding out 'til the midnight curfew to return to the hostel! Not a great night of sleep considering two people across from us were snoring, one so loud that my ear plugs didn't do a damn thing! The next morning we tried to check out before 10am but turns out we had to let them know before midnight. So one more night at the prison (don't get me wrong the people were really nice) and we had a great organic homemade pesto here.

From Thursday through Tuesday morning we ended up going back to La Spezia to stay at the hotel room above La Tavernetta, thanks to Fabrizio giving us a great deal for our own room. No snoring unless we did it to ourselves - mostly we just laugh out loud in our sleep. Carrie woke herself up and I woke her up laughing a few times. Crazy huh! At least it must have been good dreams right! Most night we came back to eat dinner at La Tavernetta.

We did the main walk along the coast of the Cinque Terre (Five Fingers or Villages) over a few days of mostly good weather. Riomaggiore to Manarola (Via dell'Amore or Love Trail, oh how romantic right? hee hee)/Manarola to Corniglia/Corniglia to Vernazza/Vernazza to Monterosso. The two toughest walks were the last two portions and the towns are listing from south to north. The Cinque Terre park is a nature sanctuary and UNESCO word environmental and cultural heritage site. The towns are on rocks hidden in steep valleys along the high and jagged coasts overhanging the Mediterranean Sea. The trails follow along the cliffs, through olive groves, wine terraces, and along some incredibly difficult and steep stone stairs and paths. Other paths we didn't get to cover the middle terraces over to the other side. They are known for the white Ligurian wine, fish, crafts, olive oil, lemons and lemon products. We really enjoyed each town and felt that it would be great to come back in a bit warmer weather to enjoy the area more fully. The trains go along all the towns and allowed us to travel back to our room in La Spezia quite easily.

For Carrie's birthday (April 1) we did a mini celebration Friday night at La Tavernetta. They had some lives music, great singing! And, we had some food and finished with a visit from Neva and her friends and finally with some champagne from Fabrizio. Thanks! The night of the 1st we ended up going with Fabrizio and his uncle Giovanni to a club for dancing from 1am to 4am, late one for us but it was a great time. We even went (with Fabrizio's help to translate) to get our hair cut, it felt great after 5 months of growing mine out. It even works pretty well without a hair dryer or any real styling! The main reason I miss the hair dryer is going out in the cold weather with a wet head. My mother always told me that's how you get sick, and I think she was right! No real sickness though but some minor cold symptoms here and there.

It was hard to leave Italy but great to know I would be seeing my friends Pedro and Rebecca, and their little girl Alexandra (6 months old). Oh, and I can't forget the dog Eduardo too. Pedro is working here in Paris so they have a commitment of two years at minimum. The train to Milan, shuttle to Milan Malpenso airport, flight to Paris (CDG), then train and metro to the apartment all went without a problem. Couldn't believe it! And thanks to some nice people I met on the plane I found the right train and metro to get to Pedro's place! I even got a photo on the bridge with the Eiffel Tower behind me! Yahoo!

Firenze & Venezia - Museums & Canals (March 20-27)

Firenze (Florence)
We arrived and found a hotel seller (they flock to the arriving trains) that actually represented the hostel we looked up earlier, David Inn. Found a cheap room there to share with only one other girl with lots of space. Bathrooms not the most ideal but ended up being hot, mostly. Turns out another girl was staying in an adjoining room (looked like a closet) so she entered and exited through ours. A bit of a surprise when she first walked through.

We liked being able to walk around the city (unlike Rome where you needed the metro) so we took full advantage our first day. Saw a few cool looked Piazza's, including one near Palazzo Vecchio where they also had a mostly open area (just covered by a roof) with a number of beautiful statues (a few representing famous rapes, but still beautiful sculptures). We walked around the Palazzo ? but couldn't get ourselves up the incredible amount of steps to hit the Porcelain museum portion. On our way back we went inside the Duomo designed by Bruneleschi. The outside is just gorgeous, very detailed and huge but the inside is very simple except for the painting in the dome. Some friends we met took us to see Pazalle Michelangelo, which is like a square but larger and with an incredible view of the entire city.

It was fairly drizzly with rain most of the time or at least grey so we did go to the Uffizi Museum one day. It was a bit overwhelming and we decided to be cheap and buy the two earphone audioguide. Not exactly the best thing to be attached together pretty close in a crowded museum trying to navigate the museum. After a few hours or maybe more we left to take a nap (Carrie) and read (me). Then I went by myself to the Accademia to see Michelangelo's sculpture of David. The 30 minute wait (even at 5:30 pm) was worth it just to see this masterpiece. I had no idea it was so big and he carved it out of one piece of marble, taking 10 years to complete. WOW! Truly spectacular, I just spend time sitting and staring.

Venezia (Venice)
We arrived by train and the nice lady Anna who sat next to us walked us from there to the area we were staying, Campo Margherita. I tell you we would have been a bit lost without her at that point, so many bridges going over all the canals. Crazy stuff! And, of course it wasn't the nicest with our big packs. Carrie has at least one extra bag so it must have been worse for her! We made it to Hotel Antica Capon and only had one roommate and the bathroom in the room, yeah! Always a plus. Some musicians setting up led us to enter a wine bar so we ended up staying to listen to the music and test out some Italian wine (Yummy!). The owner (& bartender) Max was really nice and gave us some free tasting! The next day we spent the time roaming around the streets and over the canals to visit every glass shop we saw (maybe that is a slight but only slight exaggeration). The Venetian glass is just gorgeous and they have beautiful pieces of jewelry, vases, etc. Too bad I couldn't buy some bigger items, maybe next visit!

A highlight was St. Marks Square and Cathedral, it didn't seem possible that such a large open space could be hidden among the canals, narrow streets, and bridges of Venice. We visited the cathedral and the palace later on.

We visiting our new favorite wine bar about every night, great wine and company. One night we met some locals who spoke a little English and French and they invited us to their home that night for some pasta. Our crazy group of older Venetians were hysterical and they did make good on the offer of pasta as well as some cheese and prosciuotto. Yummy food and crazy people make for some good times. Max (owner of the wine bar) offered to take us around on his boat Saturday. Turned out to be a mostly pretty day and it was wonderful to ride around on the boat and see the city by water. Thanks so much for his hospitality, it was great! He even took us over to Murano to see a glass blowing demonstration. The artist got Carrie to try and let's just say it's obviously an art that takes lots of time, practice, and talent.

I really loved this city for the water, walking, glass, and people. Where we stayed was a University area so there were also some cute little bars (Chet Bar) and lots of good Gelato! One of our nightly visits to the wine bar included Carrie singing to Supertramp songs, not a surprise if you know Carrie. In a small way the city reminded me of my hometown of Annapolis, just because it is also on the water (but no canals and bridges everywhere). It was harder for me to leave this place compared to othere places in Italy like Florence and Rome. The other nice thing is that we didn't feel like we had to see a bunch of museums (although they do have some). This was a time just to soak up the culture by being in the midst of the city itself. Ciao Venezia!