Check the price of a Coke!

One last nutella-fest for breakfast.  Deeee-lish!  Then I left my bags in Mom’s room and we took off for our last morning in town before I had to head off for my afternoon flight back to Amsterdam.

The Pantheon was closed when we were by a few nights before but it is open in the daytime.  It’s beautiful.  As with most of these landmarks though, it’s tough to get the perfect photo so I mostly just made ‘mental-photographs’ and sat back and took it all in. 

We then wandered back over to Piazza de Navona for lunch.  I learned a new lesson about eating in touristy places!  So imagine you use a pizza or a bowl of minestrone as your price gauge for how expensive a restaurant is.  You can determine which restaurants are over charging for the same thing fairly easily as you go from restaurant to restaurant.  Never did I think to check the price of a Cola Light!  I thought the waiter had made a mistake when our bill arrived after an admittedly delicious lunch.  16Euros 50 cents for drinks?  But we just had 3 Cola Lights.  Yep – 5.50 each!  Holy crap!  We got taken.  Well – now I’m wiser in that respect and will keep an eye out to include drinks in my gauge-system from now on.

A few last shops to visit on the last walk back to the hotel before heading back to the train station.  I bought myself a little purse intended to replace the M.E.C. purse I bought for $15 in 2001 for my Peru trip.  Somehow I always come back to that one but here’s hoping my ‘Italian leather purse’ can class me up a bit!

Walking to the train station to leave for the airport was tough on me.  I felt like I did when I’d come home for weekends during university at Sunday dinner knowing that I’d have to hit the road shortly and leave back to Edmonton.  I didn’t want to say goodbye to Mom and Kari.  Family is a big missing part of my life this year and it’s been a tough year.  I won’t be home at Christmas this year either but back for Susan’s wedding in March.  I was sorry that the weekend was over so fast but am glad for the 4 days we all had together.

Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel

Nutella again.  I don’t care.  We’re walking a lot and it’s delicious.  One of life’s guilty pleasures!

We left the hotel early enough to plan for a couple of 64 buses to pass that we couldn’t get on on our way to Vatican City.  We jumped onto the 3^rd but Mom got on at the front and we got on in the middle.  The bus was so packed that we couldn’t see her for most of the journey and we were worried she’d get off at the wrong stop.  Fortunately the bus emptied further on and we re-grouped. 

As soon as we got off the bus the skies opened up.  Those hawkers are clever though and within moments umbrellas were for sale everywhere.  Mom got one for 5 Euros.  Not a bad deal.  Regardless, our feet got soaked while walking to find ‘Mark Anthony’ (our guide from the Forum the day before) at the Foot Locker of all places near the Vatican.

We paid 45 Eruos for our ~4hour tour to see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.  We were in the ‘fast lane’ and still waited for about 45mins in line.  Mondays are apparently the busiest day.  A Monday in October though seemed surprisingly busy.  Ah well.  Once in, we lined up for our headsets.  Technology is amazing and Mark Anthony had a headset with a microphone and we all had headsets set to channel 3 and we could hear him talk (most of the time).  This meant that I could wander a bit to take pictures and still listen.  Love it.  He said that there are more than 1100 rooms open to the public and if you stopped at each piece on display for 3 seconds you’d be in there for more than 7 years.  He shared the highlights with us which was just fine.

We got a nice story on Michaelangelo and the Sistine Chapel and information on many paintings, statues and tapestries.   The highlight was the Sistine Chapel despite it being packed with rude, rule breaking tourists.  Tisk tisk.  My favourite part of the ceiling was the Creation of Adam and the Garden of Eden.  Cool to see the before and after differences from the restoration work (about a 10 year effort in the 90’s).   They did a great job.

We all looked at each other with shock when we saw the line for St. Peter’s Basilica.  After 4 hours we didn’t have any desire to stand in THAT line!  Too bad but we were tired and hungry and wouldn’t have enjoyed it.  Best leave something to see next time! :o)

A tasty lunch (pizza for me again), another cappuccino and then nap at the hotel before dinner re-energized all of us.  Given that it was my last night, I suggested wandering in the direction of the Coliseum for dinner.  We had passed through a funky little neighbourhood on our way there Sunday morning and sure enough we found a fantastic and DELICIOUS restaurant where we had our ‘last supper’.  Pumpkin (zucca) ravioli for me and some wine made me happy.

After dinner we wandered down to the Coliseum.  It felt good to walk off the pasta-baby.  The Coliseum at night was eerie and beautiful and best of all – practically deserted.  I got some great night shots from several angles as we walked around the giant amphitheatre.  That’s the way to see Rome.  At night, when everyone is indoors eating!

Yay - the Coliseum!

We walked down the hill after breakfast and it only took about 10 minutes to have our first view of the Coliseum.  It’s impressive from any angle and daunting as you approach and see the hordes of tourists in line to buy entrance tickets.  Good thing for pre-purchase tickets on the internet!  We ended up on a tour for 8 Euros for the Coliseum and the Forum in English.  Not a bad deal and it was a warm and sunny day – which is lucky for the end of October.

The Coliseum is more amazing in person than pictures and we were all suitably impressed.   We didn’t have long to sit and absorb the atmosphere since our tour to the Forum was leaving 30mins after our guide set us free.  Just as well, you’d never soak up all the historical details and again, the place was so busy with tourists that it was tricky moving around and avoiding being the doofus walking right in front of someone about to take a picture.

The Forum is more in ruins that I realized.  It is also an amazingly photogenic place.  At this point, several hours into our day, we were hot, tired and getting hungry.  I’ve discovered that I don’t have ‘tourist-stamina’.  I have to do my visits in several short bursts otherwise I just go on autopilot and stop caring about anything other than the nearest seat or cafe or loo.

We hopped on a bus and headed back into town to grab lunch.  Kari and I split yet another pizza.  Mom tried again for her Panini but she was still on the hunt for a good one!  We wandered around, stopped for a coffee at this funky bar and were surprised to learn that our bill was only 5 Euros for 3 cappuccinos and one piece of cake (3 forks obviously).  Amazing!

We headed back to the hotel for a snooze – which was a nice luxury.  I remember our hotel was on a completely different island in Venice.  No napping there.  I crashed hard and my legs felt paralyzed!  I think all the walking and standing was taking its toll.  I guess I’m an old lady already!

For dinner we tried to hop on the 64 bus but several passed by stuffed to the brim.  We walked.  The Campo di Fiori was about 20-30 mins by foot but along the way were several shops.  I was getting the hangries so I had to ask Mom and Kari if they could please hold off shopping until after dinner!  We found a cute restaurant (or make that cute waiter!) just off the square for dinner.  Heineken, bruschetta and lasagne for Kari and me.  Mom had her usual soup and salad. 

Then we wandered over to the Piazza Novano for gelato.  Yum.  It’s beautiful there and the moon, one day past full, was gorgeous.  I wanted to do a geocache and so I plugged the numbers in to my GPS sitting outside the Pantheon.  The hints weren’t great and the signal was poor in the alleys so we gave up once we were supposedly 15m, no 20m, no 3m (!) away from the destination.  Instead we managed to find a cute wooden bench with a Pinnocchio to pose with that we wouldn’t have found otherwise.

[note – It was only a few days later that I clued in that the geocache was probably at Pinnocchio’s bench.  My suspicions were confirmed as I checked out the logged comments for the cache once home.  Grrr....how frustrating.  Well, maybe I’ll just have to go back!]

Family Reunion

I left the hotel after breakfast but didn’t make it very far.  I found a nearby market and bought a gorgeous vest.  Back to the hotel.  Dumped the bag.  No problem – I had a full bladder anyway!  Ha!  The Italian coffee works fast!  And I also go to switch my umbrella for my sunglasses.  Good deal.

Take 2: I wandered around to Santa Maria Maggione church where I saw tourists toting guidebooks, hawkers, and nuns in the square.  Yep – there must be something to see here.  Walking in I was quite impressed but just decided to soak in the beauty of the place.  I have long given up on knowing all the history and details of where I go; Rome of all places has so much history.  I saturate with information quickly and never retain it anyway!  Cool facts, maybe, but I’ve just accepted that I really prefer aesthetic value over all else.

1PM: I was waiting at the end of Track 10 in the Termini train station after the first of two possible trains from Orvieto pulled up.  I was so excited and actually tearing up as I waited to finally see Mom and Kari.  After about five minutes most people had cleared out so I started to keep an eye out down towards track 2 where the other train was due in.  I started to wonder what I’d do if I didn’t find them when I turned my head and saw Mom in a bright turquoise hoodie walking behind me.  Phew!  Good catch.  And now – let the weekend really begin.

We headed back to the hotel with Sue McLennan from the ride and got ourselves sorted in the hotel while Sue tracked down her hotel (her travel documents went missing – yikes).  After a bit of time, we wandered out for a pizza and a stroll down to Barberini Square and the Fontana del Tritone.  Then onward to the Spanish steps which I was very excited to see...until I saw all the people.  Oh...my...God!  There was an infestation of people.  They were everywhere!  We got a few pictures but didn’t stick around to see the beauty of the area, since we could hardly see it anyway.

 

Next was a wander to the Fontana di Trevi which was also beautiful and also PACKED with people.  A pick-pocket’s dream no doubt.  Afterward we headed to see a multi-media show on the history of Rome.  Why not?!  It was something different for sure.  We learned all about Romulus and Remus and the wolves and they did a good job with the reconstructions of the ruins.  Very interesting if not a bit cheesy.

My pasta baby-belly is starting to grow.  Nevermind the cream cheese icing that Kari brought me (she knows me so well), tonight’s pasta dinner was lekker!  We had a rude waiter and Kari and I got the giggles.  (Dinner table + Kari + me = giggles.  I don’t know why but I love it).

Roma - Made it!

Living in Europe (and I still pinch myself that I can say that) you get used to hearing different languages all the time.  So it was no wonder that it took me a while to start noticing that the dominant language around me on the train was Italian.  My hands were getting jumpy – they’re ready to play along too and start gesturing.  Phrases like “Ciao Bella” and “Grazi” were on the tip of my tongue.  Welcome to Rome.

I almost didn’t make it.  With all the travel under my belt I really reprised myself today.  I thought I was past stupid, rookie mistakes.  My toiletries were all set up in their travel sized containers in a clear plastic case days before the trip.  My travel outfit was chosen to minimize any necessary removal of clothing at security.  I’d printed out my boarding pass the night before.  Good to go.  So at 15:58, as the train started pulling out of Den Haag Centraal, I gasped.  My passport!  Instant panic.

At the time I was on the phone with Charlie.  He did his job and remained calm, contrasting my frayed nerves.  What to do?  Go on?  Take a chance?  Turn around and risk missing the plane?  Jocelyn.  Jocelyn knows about Schengen countries and the rules.  Call her.

My call for advice turned out to be a call into action.  ‘What would you do’ was met with a ‘Where are you?  Yeah – okay, go back.  What can I do?’  Maybe an excuse to leave work early on a Friday was just what she was itching for but bottom line, it was such a relief to have a friend jump to help like that.

So – I got off at Leiden, bought a new ticket (debated this but had time), caught a train back to Den Haag Centraal with 2 minutes to spare.  I waited 2 mintues for the #9 tram back to my place and checked in with Jocelyn.  She informed me that she was in my house (finally .... after a dash to her home without her house-keys and some back and forth to the office during my time on the train) and was upstairs looking for in my bedside table for my passport.  We had a near miss as I have 2 passports (one has my original Visa to live and work in the NL) and the expired one was in the black case I told her to grab.  She thought to double check and managed to find the valid one further back in the drawer with a little more searching.  Good God!

Then we both hopped into Gigi.  16:35.  Not bad.  Pretty impressive actually.  Light traffic because of school holidays meant that we made it to Schiphol by 17:15.  It was a nice opportunity to visit and catch up plus it calmed me down to talk about other things.

I made it through security with time to kill so I could grab some dinner.  Amazing!  Needless to say, the adrenaline spiked and ran its course and I was exhausted by the time I got to the Caravaggio hotel.  But at least I made it to Italy!

La Source - Balance and Simplicity!

Their website states that: “La Source is a unique green ski, yoga and adventure sports lodge in Samoens, the French Alps, 1 hour from Geneva. The designer eco-renovated 1865 farm has been described as a ‘Hip 21st Century Commune’! Founded on principles of sustainability, inter-connection, and personal growth, La Source is a place where you can tune in to your own beat and just ‘be’!”



I was just as happy to ditch ‘Corporate Christy’ back in Holland. Time to just ‘be’...as the ‘real’ me! A week to get back to nature, out of the city chaos, away from light pollution obscuring the stars, where the air is fresh and the sound of cowbells chimes through the fields. And hey – you can always use a little more cowbells!

La Source runs its weeks from Sunday to Sunday. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to check out a new city, I flew to Geneva on Friday night and stayed through to Sunday mid-day. Friday night wasn’t much. I flew in, took the 10min train journey into town and headed straight for the hotel. A little research ahead of time with Google-Street-View paid off since I didn’t want to look like I didn’t know where I was going when I was arriving late in the evening and was walking with all of my bags the 300m to the hotel. Of course, a little research ahead of time might also have tipped me off that the view from my room to the street would provide a unique vantage point to watch all of the prostitutes at work.

I wandered around town all day Saturday in the warm sun. I packed for my trip on a grey day in the Netherlands and regretted not packing lighter clothes! Geneva is a beautiful little city. The lake and the Jet d’Eau feature prominently in the city. Runners, cyclists and beach-goers all took advantage of the sunny day that I was there. I made sure to check out St. Peter’s Cathedral in the middle of the old town and was impressed with the views from the top of the bell tower. That was a climb worth doing!


Sunday I hopped on the train to check out the Red Cross Museum. I got off at the Nations stop and saw the front of the UN headquarters. I walked along Avenue de la Paix and into the museum. It was quite an interesting find. I was interested to know how it started and what projects it is involved in now. The room with all of the orphans from Rwanda absolutely broke my heart though.

At 3PM on the Sunday, I met Chris and Duncan at the Jazz Cafe at the airport. Veronica joined us and we were off to La Source in Samoens, France. The car ride only took an hour and I got to know the 3 of them a little better before meeting Chrissie and Julian plus Harmon, Glen and Saskia and the kids once I got there. Initially I thought I would have to share my room but there were only 4 of us guests there that week so I got a room to myself. Yippee.

The town of Samoens is absolutely adorable. It kind of reminds me of Canmore since it’s a ski town in the winter and a climbing/hiking town in the summer. Being there the first full week of September meant that most things were closed though. While some things are open another couple of weeks, it was quickly going into hibernation mode until the start of the ski season mid-December.

The meals at La Source were amazing! They serve organic and vegetarian meals, often with ingredients from their own garden. Debbie the chef made some delicious meals and it felt like we were at a 5 star resort. I took some notes and am inspired to try a few when I get home, particularly the butternut squash risotto. Lekker!

Activity-wise, I had expected to do more than I did. Initially I was going to go canyoning, biking, hiking, etc. I was still really active but I kept it more simple. I did yoga 5 days in a row with Saskia and crew. I was mildly reluctant as a non-yoga-gal but the classes were nice, especially the first which we had down at Lac Bleue after a hike down the hill. The other classes were in the chalet. I’m not sure how much I’ll keep it up but was pleased to have discovered some new stretches to help me with my flexibility. I also picked up some interesting balance and breathing exercises.

I went walking, hiking and running too. The running I did from town where it was flat. I was just getting over a nasty head-cold and I live in Holland where it’s flat, so what can I say?! I wasn’t up for running from the chalet up in the hills! Hiking around in the hills was okay because I went slow and steady! I did a couple of walks on my own which was good for me and helped me clear my mind while keeping my quiet. I also went with Veronica, Chrissie and Julian up to a back-country hut in an Alpine meadow. It was stunning! And the stars! One of the kids who was up there with us told her dad she’d seen the Milk Street...love it!

The one adventure I did sign up for was the ‘Acro-branche’ or ropes course up in the trees. It was so fun. I was strapped in with a harness and two ropes, like with a via-ferrata, so I never felt that I wasn’t safe. Still, there were times where bravery was called for. Jumping from some platforms to others, going on the zip-wire across the lake or inching along a horizontal pole was tough but doable. I had to do the ‘walk of shame’ from one of the ‘jeux’ though. I think I thought about it for too long and couldn’t jump across the platform to the net on the other side. Ah well!

I only read a little bit and only got through a few Sudoku’s. I think I’d expected more down time but like the meerkat I can be, I was too interested in knowing what was going on with everyone else that I tended to be more social than I’d planned. I obviously needed more time away! A week just wasn’t enough. Fortunately I noticed that I’d stopped having work dreams and was having far more interesting dreams (not that I remember them right now!). Dream-time is NOT for work anyway but it had been pretty heavy for the past several weeks as evidenced by my dreams, my headcold and another bloody cold-sore on my face. Cripes!


It was a successful week in terms of putting certain things into perspective. Saskia, Chrissie and Julian proved to be great role models and sounding boards. One thing I was reminded of was that I am a country-kid at heart. I live in the city now because I am on my own but I really belong in a rural setting. I think there’s a hippie in me trying to get out but my corporate self seems to be the boss right now. A change is in order and soon. I need to implement simplicity. I need to simplify my current life so that I can live on less. I need more balance. I’m getting caught up in an artificial lifestyle and I’m not sure sustaining it wouldn’t be at the expense of my happiness. Lots to think about...

De Retour...

So I’m back in Den Haag.  I still feel amazed that this is ‘home’.  SUCH a pretty city.  Really, really. 

It was a fairly chill trip back from Montpellier.  I walked from Rue Gambetta through the Polygone to the Place de l’Europe where the 1.50Euro shuttle bus picked me up to take me to the airport.  I could resist a couple of cups of coffee and a pain-au-chocolat for the road to enjoy with my book on a terrasse one last time.  The flight from Montpellier to Paris was the longest of the two legs at just over one hour.  Paris to Amsterdam was about 45mins maybe?  Too bad because somehow I got bumped to business class.  Why does this only happen on hour long flights (once before from Calgary to Vancouver).  Not that I’m complaining but it would be just so much more delicious if it was over an ocean!

So yesterday morning I happened to wake up relatively early and went down for breakfast where I indulged in crepes, tarte au poire, a croissant, homemade jams and coffee by myself.  I was just wondering what I was going to do with the day when I heard an ‘’Oh, thank God’’ and looked up to see Deanna!  She’d had a migraine the night before and couldn’t make it to the hotel but had no way of letting me know.  They’d found me that morning and it was all good.  She’s resourceful, that girl.  The last time I saw her I was walking down a road in Goa in India and I heard a ‘’Chriiissssttttyyyy” go by as some crazy blonde chick whizzed by on a motor bike and then did a U-turn to sidle up to Jocelyn and me.  We’d made loose plans to meet; she knew the day and rough location where I’d be – I hadn’t had a chance to get any more details to her.  Didn’t matter!

Our reunion this year in France was a bit longer but not much.  We spent most of Saturday together in Carcassonne in the castle and around the ramparts.  I met her boyfriend, Steve, and the 3 of us started out with a coffee up in the old town.  We all went in to the castle to check it out.  It was pretty impressive.  As a Canadian, I’m always impressed with how old things are in Europe but I was pleased to see that Steve, from England, was also impressed.  The original 4^th century enclosure was still protecting the city during a siege in 1209.  After 1226, the city was fortified by a second enclosure, nevermind the moat!  During the life of the defences around the castle, it was never taken.  It’s no wonder!  I learned a whole bunch of new words on this tour like barbican and machicolation!  You didn’t want to mess with those guys!

It was such a warm hot day that after the castle we wandered over the old bridge and then bee lined it to the first ice cream shop we could find.  It was a nice way to end a short but sweet visit.  I do wonder where I will meet up with Deanna next!!!

Humility Reigns

This morning I went through a full range of emotion from pride to annoyance to defensiveness to boredom to doubt to introspection. In my head, I am bilingual. I have known French for 29 years (holy crap!), it is in me. Or is it? It seems that I have neglected it for the last decade and I am seeing the consequences of that in the form of a disconnect between my perceived ability in French and my actual ability. Oh man!

I am tripping over words, genders, tenses and accordances. Sigh. This used to be so much easier. This is a truly humbling experience. Then again, life is all about learning and continuing to do so. As for the French, it seems that a week won’t be enough to dust off the cobwebs in my brain! Would I ever love to live in France for a year or two! Or maybe Québec (how I love Montreal!)? Or maybe join a local Alliance Francaise? Or maybe watch more French TV? It's important enough to me that it'll be worth the effort to keep up and work on. It's a skill that needs honing, it’s just a bit rusty right now!

A pleasant afternoon was had at the beach today though. Nicole and I hopped on the bus to take us to La Grande Motte beach, a beach a bit further out and, from the map – what looked like the last stop for bus 106. An hour later we realized that we may have missed our stop – it was only supposed to take 45 mins to get there. That’s the trick with the ‘’next stop’’ button on buses – they only work for those who know the route! Instead we spent a couple of hours at Le Grau Du Roi beach - no problem. It had lots of sand. It had the sun. It had the 1000’s of scantily clad bathers you would expect on a hot day in ‘Southern France’. Both Nicole and I looked at each other and knew this wasn’t exactly our scene. Still, we managed to find a spot and relax for a bit. I waded in the La Golfe d’Aigues-Mortes which was lovely despite the film of sunscreen on the water’s surface. It sure did the job to cool me down and the popcicle we had afterwards did too!


As a result of all of the carbohydrates we’ve been eating, my ‘bread-baby’ couldn’t be hidden while in my bikini. Sigh. Good thing we’ve been walking everywhere and running in the mornings. Man, I don’t know how the French ladies do it. They have bread and cheese every day and they all look fabulous! Well – tonight we opted for our 3rd ‘picnic’ in a row at our French pad. The place is really cute – the owners are obviously artists. Oh – today I learned the French word for ‘gezellig’. It’s ‘douillet’. So there we go! Ici, c’est douillet! We ate upstairs on the térrasse and did some homework. What we get out of this week is a direct result of what we put in after all! Alors, en conclusion – aujourd’hui était une bonne journée mais maintenant je dois faire dodo. Je suis fatiguée!

Favourite French expression learned today: métro-boulot-dodo et pédalo-boulot-apéro!

Je n’aime pas le subjonctif!

Today was a longer day at school; we had two hour and a half classes in the morning and one hour and a half class in the afternoon. Boy – did I ever have flashbacks to junior and senior high today. It seems you always go over the same things in French classes: when to use the imparfait vs. the passé compose tenses and practice of the use of the subjunctive tense. I honestly believe that the only reason I know anything about verb tenses is because I studied French and we would go over grammar all the time. We didn’t learn much about the conditional tense or about past participles in English class, that’s for sure! Verb conjugation itself is relatively easy for me but when to employ which tense? Yuck! And, yes, this is how I chose to spend my vacation!
In the second and third classes today we had debates, one on the controversial topic of banning bullfights in Spain, one on the belief in superstitions. Even in English, I still struggle in debates. Just call me Miss Gray (vs. Black and White), or Ms. Fence Sitter, or Madame Ambivalent; I find it difficult to choose one side and really fight for it. I see both sides. Whaddya do? Come on – can’t we meet in the middle?
It turned out to be a bit of an endurance test for some of the classes today but at the same time the day did pass by fairly quickly. I’m learning a lot and am meeting some very interesting (and young!) individuals who are making interesting choices in their lives. I really wish I’d done this years ago. Why didn’t I? The answer is likely “because there are a million other things I love to do”. In that case, I’m glad I’m doing it now. I am thrilled that I have found some way to combine travel, meeting new people, learning and even a little summer sunshine too! Life is just so full of fun things to choose from! I pinch myself that I am lucky enough to have such rich and enjoyable experiences.

Gezellig!

Day 1 of classes is over at Accent Francais here in Montpellier. I am glad I’ve signed up for this. My thoughts wander back and forth between wishing I’d signed up for longer and thinking that five days will be just right.
My class is made up of 9 people, 8 of whom are fairly quiet! They are a mix of people from Russia, Poland, China, Palestine and Germany. They are a mix of levels. They are a mix of ages. It’s really interesting finding out how they heard about Accent Francais, how long they are staying for and why they are studying French.

Today was a short day of classes, 10h-13h15. Nicole and I were starving by this point and not knowing the city any better, ended up sitting at a cafe that was only so-so to stave off the “hangries”™(!). Later on in the day we got a tour of the city as part of the welcome package put on by the school. Prior to the tour, neither of us were convinced that the city had much to offer. Fortunately, about half an hour in to the tour and a few zigs and zags later, we found several lovely little areas in the heart of the historical part of town. We’re both looking for ‘gezellig’ and some of the smaller squares really do have a cozy feel. It seems that we are both aligned on our ‘gezellig’ rating scale!

A la campagne, part deux

Nicole suggested a day trip on Sunday. Perfect. It meant picking her up in the city of Montpellier. Gulp. Having learned my lesson about planning ahead, I did some homework. After studying Google Maps to figure out where her hotel was in combination with the address programmed into the GPS, I thought I was set. I didn’t count on all the construction. Lord help me! I think I just need to accept that driving in unknown cities is a source of stress. I don’t know why I care or get so bothered, but I do. The sooner I come to accept and embrace this fact, the better.
So GPS lady wanted me to turn gauche and droite right into roads that were closed off for the construction of tram line #3. At least she could recalculate the route a couple of times but after driving around and seeing the same landmarks a second then third time, I pulled over and made a phone call. Nicole – I don’t know where you are and I don’t know where I am but I cannot drive to you. Please put me out of my misery – I am NOT having fun anymore!
Not a great start to the day but I eventually found her and having a real person as co-pilot made a world of different. We slowly snaked our way through the mess and were soon on our way to have a day in the countryside. We ended up going to the Pont Du Diable - which is where I’d spent quite a bit of time the day before en-route to St. Guilhem le Desert - an absolutely amazing little town that was a great find! While I’d stopped at Le Pont for a drink and some lunch, I kept wishing I’d had my swimsuit so I could join all the swimmers at this wildy popular summer spot. It is absolutely a stunning location along the Hérault River where the cliff walls are carved out and a wide bend makes for a pleasant beach area. THIS is what summer vacations are all about! The next day I couldn’t resist taking Nicole there so we could get in and test the waters.
After a wonderfully lazy and relaxing couple of hours in the cool waters and on the rocky shore, we hit the road for Pézenas, one of France’s most beautiful towns, to grab dinner. The clouds had been building all day so we got caught in quite the storm. With all the rain we sought shelter on the high street, where we mananged to fit in some shopping before stopping for dinner. We’d both eyed this cute little restaurant in our reconnaissance tour of town; it was very gezellig! Galettes for both of us. Yum!
Based on the morning’s nightmarish attempt at navigating the city, the thought of returning the car weighed heavily on me on the drive back to Montpellier. The construction in the city in combination with GPS-lady’s unawareness of the ‘new’ highways made for an interesting combination between suspicion at her directions and necessary trust in where she told me to go. Amazingly, we made it into town to the car rental return fairly easily. With Nicole as co-pilot, she was able to spot the place to turn to drop off the car. Finding the key drop location was another story!

Reflections on some lessons learned.

I must first start by tipping my hat to an amazing lady. My Grandma’s 95 years old today. Although I’m 8 hours ahead and it’s only 10 past midnight, I’m sending her birthday wishes. Ninety-five years is quite the accomplishment.
I’m sitting in the dark, around the pool at Le Patio 34 with a glass of rosé handed to me by Stéphane, the hotel owner. Could he tell I was frazzled and that I needed a drink? Well, no matter, I’m now officially on vacation and it is desperately needed!
So a couple hours into my adventure and what have I just learned? Well, playing-it-by ear travel is fun. True. Unfortunatley, playing-it-by-ear travel can also be expensive. Sigh. I didn’t book ahead for the rental car and I arrived at the Montpellier airport at 11PM tonight. I got the last car, a medium size and will pay roughly 300 Euros for two days. Ouch. That’s worse than Iceland and I thought THAT was expensive! Still – I am an advocate of going where the wind-blows you and not overplanning. I just want the flight and the first night’s hotel booked. After that – let the wind blow!
Another thing I’ve learned is that my efforts to fight my way through the learning curve of learning to drive a manual transmission car were worth it all those years ago. When I sat down in the rental car tonight and looked at the stick shift, I took a moment to appreciate that it wasn’t a problem for me. By contrast, I know several otherwise competent and capable people who simply cannot drive anything but an automatic. Knowing how to drive a stick certainly makes things easier when renting cars internationally and opens a lot more doors to seeing and doing things off the beaten path.
What else have I learned? Well, turns out I have joined the ranks of those who rely on GPS’s to get around. Part of me feels that they encourage laziness and they dull people’s ability to follow road signs and read maps, but that part of me was in the minority tonight when I showed up to the car rental place with nothing more that the address of the hotel ready to key in to that pretty handy little device that I have such mixed feelings over. However, when you’re on your own and you have no co-pilot, the company of What’s-Her-Name is better than nothing when trying to find the way.
I made it to the hotel in the dark eventually. It was rather tricky to find but I ‘tourner-ed a gauche’ when she said and took my foot off the accelerator when I ‘’depasser-ed la vitesse limite’ a couple of times! I’m here, it’s warm and summery even after midnight. I’m definitely on vacation!

Tout Fini!

All done.  I got my little certificate of completion today.  People still couldn’t believe I was only staying 1 week.  Most people stay 1 month.  Most people don’t have jobs.  Most people are on summer holidays from school.  Sigh – how I remember those – but then again, I had to work then.  How do these people do it?!  It’s always fascinating to learn more about how people just make things happen.  There is no straight path and it’s amazing to hear of all the different trajectories people make possible.  I am honestly kicking myself for not having done this years ago.  That’s where role models come in handy.  I think if I’d known someone who’d done this kind of thing, it would have been so much more possible for me to do.

Both Nicole and I found that we were just getting into our groove with the 5 days of classes and were both wishing for at least another week.  No luck.  And so it was that we parted.  She was off on an excursion to Aigues Mortes and I was hopping a train to Carcassonne.

The train ride was and hour and a half.  I have never seen such a disorganized train in my life.  The train was a bit late although that wasn’t such a big deal.  Once I got on though, I had to walk over and around bags in the aisles, bicycles at the ends of the cars all stacked next to each other blocking the doors.  I managed to find a seat by making some kid move his bag.  I was not going to stand the whole way.

I arrived in Carcassonne around 5PM and thought my hotel was a 10min walk from ‘la gare’. Not so.  Twenty is more like it if you know where to go directly.  It turns out I was so close but wandered around lost for a good 10mins.  Sigh.  The heat doubled the weight of the bags I was carrying, I am sure!

The hotel was very, uh...minimalist.  It’s new and it was charming though.  I couldn’t believe it when I asked the proprietaire about the internet and when the password wasn’t working for me on my iTouch, he just gave me his Mac notebook to take into my room!  Wow.  That made an impression!

I was hoping to catch up with Deanna and Steve that night.  The plan was to meet at the hotel around 6 or so.  No sign of them by 6:30 so I started Happy Hour and two glasses of wine later I assumed we’d have to try again the next morning.  And so – camera in tow, I wandered up the big hill to the Carcassonne Citadel.  J’etais ‘baba’ – as they say in French, or rather I was so mesmerized while walking around and exploring that I actually caught myself saying ‘wow’ out loud on numerous occasions!

Page 228 – Neuschwanstein Castle

I believe it was the book Wonders of the World by Lionel Grigson that was given to me at Christmas when I was 9 or 10 that started it all. Well, that and the scene in Mary Poppins where Bert is out doing street painting and with a little persuasion and magic they all jump into the painting and go on a jolly holiday in the cartoon world. I loved that scene. I would watch it over and over and over. And so it was that when my 10 year old self turned to page 228 of this magical book and gazed upon a fairy tale castle near a lake, in the mountains, on a clear fall day, she wanted to jump right inside the picture and go explore.

Twenty five years later (how is it possible that I can even make a statement like that?!) I did go and explore that castle and it was even more magical and fanciful on the inside than I ever imagined. That’s thanks to kooky Ludwig II, the Mad King of Bavaria.

Marla and her family were visiting her in-laws in Germany at the end of May this year. I couldn’t not go see them – especially since it’s only an hour and fifteen minute flight from Amsterdam to Munich. Done.

I hopped on a flight after work on May 28th, the Friday night. Driving back to the small, nearby town of Ergolding, I noticed, of all things, topography! So unlike Holland which is flat, flat, flat - great for biking but gets variety is good. We had a nice dinner in a nearby restaurant on a lake and I had some schnitzel, white beer, and some sort of German dumpling. We capped the night off later with some Schnapps, promising start to the weekend.

The next day, Marla and I were flying solo. She left the twins with Daddy and she and I hit the road. First stop – the bakery. Coffee and pastries please. The drive south to Schwangau near the Austrian border was beautiful once we got off the concrete jungle of highways 92, 99 and 96. We drove through the foothills of the Alps which were hilly and green and stunning. It only took 2 hours to get there. I was surprised to be able to see the castle from the highway. I suppose that makes sense given how big it is. It can be seen for miles.

Once we dealt with the masses at the bottom of the hill to buy our tickets we started the hike up the hill. Other options were minibus and caleche but we opted for the walk because we had so much time before our tour and it was a beautiful day. It’s always funny when they give hike time estimates at tourist spots. They obviously aim for the average time and pad it a bit. We were up in half the time so we made sure to stop and have a white beer and some lunch.
It can be a danger letting dreams into your reality but this castle did not disappoint…although it nearly did because somehow we missed the start of our tour and were locked out until some nice woman came and let us in. We caught up with the tour and were taken in to the world of a true dreamer. The castle is fanciful and no expense was spared. The bedroom had the most intricate woodwork. The sitting room was decorated with scenes from Wagner’s operas (Ludwig had a thing for Wagner!) and over 200 swans in paintings, carvings, coats of arms and even door handles were made in the shape of swans. And through one of these doors was a faux-cave that he had built to …er…well, it’s hard to say really. There was a beautiful winter garden off of it and rumour of a trap door that he would open to listen to concert halls in the concert hall directly above. Apparently every September the Schwangau region puts on concerts in this concert hall. While most tourists think ‘wow, wouldn’t that be nice’, THIS tourist thought ‘September, eh?!…I’ll look into that’. Not surprisingly, the tickets sold out early on but I am on the waiting list. Otherwise, I try next year.

It’s sad to think that while it took years to build, Neuschwanstein Castle was really only occupied for 6 months before Ludwig was declared unfit to rule and a day later died under suspicious circumstances. Ah those mad 19th century geniuses!

The rest of the weekend involved visiting with Josef, his brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew and parents plus their twins, Kira and Josie. Marla and I had a great visit and we’ve now added another country to our list of places we’ve travelled together. I can’t believe I have to wait 9 more months until I see them again. In the meantime, I see that Iceland is featured on Page 210….

36 And Counting

So I've kept a little list of places I've been to help me remember my travels over the years. It's also a little game. I'm curious to see how many places I've been and watch the numbers grow. I suppose I get the same thrill from watching my savings grow? Of course, travelling and savings seems to be mutually exclusive events!

I spent too much time updating my list with details like dates, travel companions and trip highlights and then it got too long. So...I made a 2nd, more compact version that I'll share here now. The other version may make its way in to this blog at some point. We'll see how it goes. For now, may I present "Christy's Country Count" updated in May, 2010. How many have you been to?

1. Canada!!!!
2. United States
3. England
4. Republic of Ireland
5. Northern Ireland
6. Cuba
7. Scotland
8. France
9. Holland
10. Belgium
11. Switzerland
12. Germany
13. Costa Rica
14. Peru
15. Spain
16. Gibraltar
17. New Caledonia
18. New Zealand
19. Australia
20. Honduras
21. Thailand
22. Malaysia
23. Belize
24. Namibia
25. South Africa
26. Sweden
27. Mexico
28. Singapore
29. Cambodia
30. Brunei
31. Austria
32. Hungary
33. Italy
34. India
35. Denmark
36. Morocco

Why not?

A blog? Who has time to blog?! Who puts their life out there? Who on earth goes and reads them?

I've deliberated about starting a blog for a while now. It's not like I have incredible words of wisdom for the world, but rather I want this to serve as my travel journal and keepsake for years to come. I'm in a very fortunate position and an interesting point in my life and would like to have some of my experiences captured somewhere that I can find years down the road.

I'm living in the Netherlands on an overseas posting as an expat. I have no spouse, I have no kids, I have no pets. So until I get those things I know I want, I am keeping busy. And how! Sometimes I feel like I'm trying to cram a lifetime into my first 40 years! This generally involves hopping on airplanes, trains or my bike and going here, there and everywhere. I am leading as full of a life as I can manage while putting in my hours to get my monthly 'sponsorship' and still trying to get in some downtime to do laundry!

So this is ultimately for me but you are more than welcome to follow along. I want this to serve as a way to say 'Wow...I really did that?'. I want this to provide those memory jogs to relive some of the more crazy adventures when I'm stuck at a point where every day feels like a dreary, grey Groundhog Day. I've written journals before but I can type a heck of a lot faster than I can write and well - why not give this a go? If I look at it as another adventure then that's all the convincing I need.