Nice beaches

Travel day today. We slept in a little, packed, and checked out of our hotel. We hopped on the Paris Metro for the last time (this visit) and made it to Gare de Lyon to get our main line train down to Nice. The train that we wanted to catch at 1:50 was full so we had to wait for the 3:50 train. We sat in the terminal and rested. There was free wifi in the terminal so we got to check our emails and I posted those previous blogs. At 3:30 we started heading for our train when we found it was 3:40 and the conductor told us that even though the lady at the desk had validated our eurorail passports she had not given us a reservation ticket so we were going to have to pay 10 euros more each. We said no way and ran all the way back to the counter the girl was gone but someone else was helpful and got us our reservation ticket. Then we just started running with our backpacks trying to get back to our train before it left us. It was such a movie/tourist thing to do so we were all laughing as we were running. I think partly out of nerves that we would miss our train but it was fun none the less. We made it aboard and just after we took our seats the train started to roll out of the station.

Our seats face each other and have a table in between them so we are nicely situated. Of course next to us there are the French teens who like to listen to their French hip hop which makes me chuckle. The countryside we’re passing is beautiful and the train ride is pretty long so I should have plenty of time to enjoy it.

When we got off our train tonight we’ll be in Nice…the south of France. Unbelievable.

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We have finished our short glance of Nice France. We were only here for one day really because the second consisted of traveling out and that always takes more time than one expects. Nice was a little shadier than Paris but also has a way different feel. Paris has a magnitude that surrounds it because there is so much to see and every where you look there is something famous or someone…(cough) Ben Stein. The beaches and water of the French Riviera really were beautiful, not south pacific beautiful, but definitely beautiful. We went to the modern art museum in Nice as well, and there were some interesting exhibits.  It was strange to compare the art that we saw there to the art that we saw in the Louvre.  The different approaches to conveying messages and beauty.  There were some fun markets to explore whether it be fruit, food, flowers, or footwear. We had the most amazing lunch. Our table was back dropped by the local flower market and the calamari was delicious. We only had one day here so this is a little short, sorry.

Paris Day 3: “Oh yeah, there’s the Eiffel Tower behind me, no big”

We woke up this morning and walked to a nearby patisserie to get some breakfast.  I got a little pastry that was basically a warm…pastry, with butter and sugar with more sugar.  It was good…not mind blowing…but the bread was really fresh and different/French so it was good. 

The weather was gray so instead of going to the Eiffel Tower to start we decided to go to Sacre-Coeur.  This is a cathedral at the top of a hill in Paris.  It was truly beautiful, it would have been more magnificent if the sun had been shining off its white roofs but it was still great.  There were tons of steps leading up to it so we got a good work out on the way up.  From there we walked around to a little artists district where they sold their art and offered to sketch your portrait.  Some of the artist’s sketches were really good and it was fun to watch them do it.  Then we headed down stairs and side streets trying to find the Moulin Rouge.  This of course took us through the red light district of Paris…which wasn’t really sketch at all but just really decadent in a Vegas on steroids kind of way.  It was fun to see the Moulin Rouge and the red light district was really an interesting experience but it was kind of like visiting Hollywood…which is kind of a let down from Notre Dame. 

Then we went to see the Eiffel Tower, it was still gray but wasn’t really raining anymore.  Since it was grey we decided to picnic beside and see if the sky would clear.  We sat on the roots of a tree and made our sandwiched while the pigeons gathered.  The Eiffel Tower was amazing.  We had seen it from distance and it was awesome but up close it was so much more impressive.  I was standing there thinking…”I’m in front of the Eiffel Tower…THIS IS AWESOME!”  However it was still grey so we didn’t go up to any of the decks, swearing that we would return on our way back to London to experience it in the sun. 

After the Eiffel we went to the Military Museum, which used to be a “hotel” veterans of the wars that France had fought.  This blew my mind because it looked like a palace.  It had a golden dome and gardens and art galore.  However, I’m sure that the décor was redone when they decided it would also house Napoleon’s tomb.  When we first arrived we had just wanted to see the golden dome but decided to see how much tickets were.  They weren’t too expensive but we weren’t interested in anything else but Napoleon’s tomb (because beyond Napoleon are we really interested in France’s military endeavors?  No.)  So we were exhausted and were just sitting in front of the ticket booth resting.  We sat there for a while and Michelle and Rose were falling asleep when the guy at the ticket counter asked if we had been to the museum yet.  I said we hadn’t because we only wanted to see Napoleon he waived us over and gave us free tickets to the museum.  We got to the exhibit and outside there was a sign that said “no free admittance to Napoleon’s Tomb.”  Boo yah!  The tomb and surrounding catacombs were really awesome. 

After the tomb we headed out to look for dinner.  It took us a while to find a place with good ambiance and affordable prices.  Finally we did and got our table we had our onion soup (the “French” is left off since we’re in France…apparently) and our grilled sandwiches.  The food was good but meals have just been amazing because the experience is so French and such a good time to look back on our day. 

We sat at our table until the sun had almost gone down then we made our way back to the Eiffel Tower.  Just as we were walking into the park in front of the tower it began its light show.  And everything that I previously had said about the Eiffel Tower being awesome was out done.  Suddenly my past experience with it paled and there before me was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.  I know I keep saying that but this trip has already been absolutely astounding.  The Eiffel Tower at night is so much more beautiful than during the day and that experience alone out did everything else. 

I can’t explain to you all how amazing this has been.

Paris Day 2: Venus is the Queenus

Today was an amazing day. I have never been so overwhelmed by beauty and happiness and just feelings of wonder. We started the on the metro heading to Notre Dame. But on the way we saw St. Michel’s fountain and St. Chapelle’s cathedral…and the police station, and this greenhouse, and this square, and a courthouse…and then NOTRE DAME! It was pretty amazing. There was so much beauty and grandeur in one place. It wasn’t as quiet as I most cathedrals are and it is super touristy now but at the same time it is really still amazing to think of how it must have been to visit this magnificent cathedral in times when you haven’t seen pictures of it in textbooks and seen it on TV. You were a peasant living in a poor village and you make the pilgrimage to the most amazing cathedral of all time. As amazing as it is, it had even more amazing then.

Oh yeah, and then as we were grabbing some crepes right next to Notre Dame Ben Stein walked by and made eye contact with me…I’m pretty sure he wanted me to get into his limo with him and then take his private spaceship to the top of the Eiffel Tower and party like it was 1999…but I said no with my eyes.

From there we took the metro over to the Louvre. Where yet again someone decided to give me free ticket…do I look that needy? This was one of the more overwhelming experiences of my life. It is so big and contains so much and you are so overly stimulated that time seems to evaporate and you have no time to do anything. Your mind numbs because you simply cannot take in everything that you are seeing. Out of everything we did see the two most famous were for sure the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa. Which again were things where I was just standing there thinking about how many times I had heard and read about these pieces and now there I was before them. And I love the architecture of the Louvre too, the fusion of classic and modern is beautiful to me.

After the Louvre we got on a giant Ferris wheel out side of it in the park. This was the best choice we made all day…even though I have a little fear of Ferris wheels and Erin knows what I’m talking about. Not only was the Ferris wheel fun but we could see EVERYTHING from it. Everywhere we looked there were beautiful buildings and statues and fountains. It was breath taking.

After the ferries wheel we went to dinner at an awesome little restaurant. The food and ambience and service and price we fantastic. There was even a little guy who came in and played the accordion…awesome.

Paris Day 1: Wow

I have arrived!  Michelle, Rose, and I left our rooms at Roehampton (which now actually seem fairly comfortable to me after spending a few days there) this morning and headed out to Waterloo station.  We were a little surprised that we had to pay 50 pounds to cross the chunnel…100 dollars are you joking me?  But what were we going to do, because of our Eurorail passes we did get a 66% discount…but 100 dollars are you joking me? 

The chunnel was shorter than I expected, I thought it was going to be about an hour or so but it was just probably twenty minutes.  In the tunnels before the chunnel there were some crazy pressure changes so I thought the chunnel might be an ear/mind blowing experience but it was much better than the tunnels and wasn’t even stuffy.  When we arrived in Paris I began to feel a little farther from home.  I don’t know if it is the language difference or what it is but it certainly feels more foreign.  It took us a little while to figure out the metro system but once we did our hotel was actually right at the top of the stairs of our stop, Oberkampf.  Our hotel is actually pretty nice and not poorly located, since its so close to the metro no matter where we go it only takes us a second of walking when we’re on our way home. 

After we dropped out stuff off at the hotel we went to see the Arc de Triomphe, which was really impressive.  It’s one of those things that is so huge and so beautiful that you are just in awe and wonder of it.  We tried to take pictures in front of it but could n’t fit it in the frame.  From the Arch we could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance but we’ll go to see that later.  Then we walked the Champs E’llysee…Tour de France style.  After the chunneling, train rides and the hotel finding/site seeing it was pretty late but we found an amazing restaurant for dinner.  The food was so good and the waiter was friendly and spoke English really well…until you asked him a question that wasn’t about something on the menu then suddenly he knew nothing.  We are now back to the hotel, and looking forward to tomorrow.

Oh and Margie…there was poop in the subway station…but not in a cardboard box…FRANCE!

Let the adventures begin…

So after a few days of “surviving” London Michelle and Rose have arrived and we’ve made plans and charted our course. Nothing with finality, but for now we’ve booked hostels in Paris and Nice. Tomorrow morning we get up and head out for the Chunnel…intense. Silence, darkness, tight spaces, stale air = pick-pocket/thug paradise. Even just writing about this get’s me excited to do it. It’s great to have people here to laugh with and plan with now.

We went out to dinner tonight in Putney and went to a little Italian place…where everyone who worked there was Italian. It was strange to think that from now on when we eat or when we order it could be an even more complicated process of deciphering hand gestures and pointing (with the possible addition of animal sounds). I’m so excited for this to begin, it feels like I started this process forever ago and I’m just now beginning to live it.

And yes, I do realize that even though I am pointing to a Cackling Goose the image layered onto the photo is that of what could be assumed to be a Mallard if not a Red-Breasted Merganser.

It’s Tea Time

I have finally arrived at my hotel, 20 hours after arriving at the airport. LAX wasn’t too bad at all except for the fact that things got closed down a little bit when Nick Lachey was walking around. Got on board without a hitch, I thought they were going to try and steal my badminton racket from me (because let’s be honest, it’s a weapon in the right hands) but they didn’t. My seat on the plan was next to a nice Italian man who spoke very little English so there wasn’t much conversation occurring. We talked a little bit toward the end of the flight but that’s a ways a way. I mostly slept during the flight, except for when Arrested Development was playing on the planes entertainment service, and tried to get ready for the time change. When I woke up I have never felt such knee pain. It was terrible and they ached for the rest of the flight. When the plane landed I got off went smoothly through customs, gained some pounds, boarded the underground (the Piccadilly line to the District line, duh), hailed a taxi and found Roehampton University. The best part is that as I was just walking through the airport a guy gave me his travel day card so I didn’t have to pay for the underground or the bus I used to get to my hotel.

At Roehampton there was an incredibly friendly and helpful lady who let me drop off my luggage and directed me towards my hotel. Even after I got off the bus it was still quite a walk to the hotel but I’m here now and showered. I wish I had some sweet pictures of me standing next to sweet Londony things but this is pretty much all I’ve done. I can’t believe I’m here and that my voice has the accent of a foreigner.

I’m on my way…

I’ve finished packing and am about to leave for the airport.  I’m am so ready for this trip to begin, all the transitions of the last week have been a little tiring and I’m excited for this last transition to get underway.  Even though it brings even more transitions along with it.  I’ll write more when I can.

 I’ll miss everyone.

San Dimas High School Football Rules

Sorry for the absence.  I made it home Monday just fine.  I left Amarillo Sunday at 1:15 pm (Central) and arrived home at 1:45 am (Pacific).  The drive wasn’t bad at all it must have been raining the days before I drove through New Mexico and Arizona because the desert was green and beautiful.  There were still a few showers as I drove which gave me some cloud cover the whole way through the desert so the daytime temperatures never seemed to get above 85.

It was strange to leave Texas because I don’t think I truly realized that that time was over.  It seemed so quick.  And now this time at home seems even quicker.  I got home on Monday and it’s already Thursday, and I leave on Monday.  There are so many changes happening in my life right now that its kind of hard to get a footing.  I don’t feel settled anywhere, so although I am totally looking forward to traveling Europe/Euri  my heart is looking forward to starting school where I can have a consistent bed and some sort of a schedule.

Unfortunate Timing

So apparently, as I’m sure a lot of you have heard, a terrorist plot to blow up airlines flying from London to the US was uncovered today.  Airports are clamping down security, airlines are cancelling flights, and lines are longer than ever.  I guess it’s not the worst timing possible…and at least the odds of there being another terror attack before I have already come back home from London slightly lower, hopefully.  But this isn’t going to make any one’s heart rest easier.

Last Good Days

I’m in my last week and experiencing a lot of lasts. My last Monday, my last Tuesday, my last episode of Treasure Hunters with Margie. It blows my mind that I am leaving in less than a week and will also be home in less than a week. I think that the drive out here is kind of like child birth in the way that the memory of the pain fades quickly. I am still thinking, “yeah, I can make it all the way home without stopping. It wasn’t that bad.” And the sad part is that even though I know it was worse than i remember, I can’t remember how bad. I look back fondly on the trip and I guess that’s how I’ll look at the drive back until I’m forced to remember by my desire to die rather than live another second in the heat.

I had an good day today. Made a lot of visits and actually got to deliver a milkshake to a woman in physical therapy and dinner to a man in the hospital. It was nice to be able to care for people’s physical needs and desires too. Although, I am saying goodbye to people that I’m just starting to feel like I know and who are just now remembering my name.

I was out late visiting tonight and didn’t get back to the church until around 6:15 and as I was walking into the building I heard someone yelling to me.  It was a man who looked like he needed a little help I let him into the church and he told me that his car had broken down and that he had been out in the heat all day trying to find some help.  I didn’t tell him I was the worst person for him to talk to at the church since I have no authority, no keys, and no knowledge of who or where he could get help.  But I walked him to the a couch and got him a cup of water while he sat in the air conditioning.  When he stood up to get the cup he got dizzy and had to sit back down.  So i sat with him for a while talking and just cooling off.  Eventually he said he felt better and was ready to go, I told him I was sorry that all I could offer him was a cup of water but he genuinely didn’t seem upset and was rather thankful.  So again, I had the opportunity to care for someones physical needs.  It was a good day.