Tag: french

Ready, Set, Vamos

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To say I am fired up (but equally nervous) for Friday’s Spain departure is an understatement. While I’ve done a fair amount of traveling, I’ve never totally flown by the seat of my pants like this. Really, the only part of the trip that is planned is my train ticket to the little village of St. Jean Pied de Port which is the starting point of El Camino de Santiago (the Frances Way).

After paying 62€, my one-way ticket goes like this: Orléans, Tours, Bordeaux (via the TGV which I’ve never taken before), Bayonne and finally St. Jean Pied de Port. I leave at 7am and should arrive around 4pm if all goes as planned. Yes, know it’s a long day, but I’ve never really traveled by train and I felt like this was just another part of the Camino experience.

I have spent all week preparing my backpack so it’s under the 6kg (about 13lbs) recommended for my body size.

First test run: 7.8kg (17lbs)
Second test run – 7.4kg (16lbs.)
Third test run – 6.1kg (13lbs.), which will just have to do because I’m not sure I could walk naked.

So, here’s what I got: 2 pairs of pants, 2 dry fit t-shirts, 1 tank top, 1 rain/polar jacket combo, 1 poncho, 1 pair of walking shoes, 1 pair of hiking sandals, 3 pairs of socks, 2 sports bras, 4 pairs of underwear, camera, iPod, cell phone, Kindle, 1 towel, 1 fancy sleeping bag, 1 hotel size shampoo, soap, conditioner, small flashlight, sleeping mask and ear plugs for my fellow pilgrim snorers, spanish phrase book, few first aid supplies, 3 individual packs of emergency instant coffee, mascara, bug spray and mace (a little gift from Corinne).

One big question mark is the weather. For the past few weeks, it’s been nothing but rain. The reason I am worried about this is the whole fact that I’ve never actually climbed a mountain before, which is what you do the first day from St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncesvalles (about 25km or 15 miles). This part is known as the most dangerous section should it be snowy (unlikely) or foggy (maybe). So, if that is the case, I will forgo the experience of crossing the Pyrenees and take a bus to Roncesvalles.  As of now, it looks like the rain will continue through the weekend, but after that, it’s clear and sunny skies for a couple of days. So, what I’m hoping and praying for is that the weeks of rain will turn the Spanish country side into a beautiful shade of green, like this:

A little taste of what my first day of hiking will look like.

Other than everything above, I have a guide-book and money, which I’ve found speaks wonders in tricky situations. Otherwise, I’ll just have to have faith that St. James will take care of the rest and lead me in the right direction.

Until my next internet connection, Adios!

If you’d like to read more about the Camino, check out this site: http://www.caminosantiagodecompostela.com/

London: The Good, Bad & Ugly

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To celebrate the 3 day weekend, the French family (Corinne, Jean-Paul, Veronique, Ludivine and Thomas) and I jetted off to London.  I was especially excited to be surrounded by English (aside from the 5 french people I was traveling with) and explore one of Europe’s most dynamic cities.

So, rather than to bore you with the every little detail of the trip, I’ll break it down for you like this:

  • Friday – Arrival. Amazing apartment with a view of Parliament and Big Ben. Beer. Fish & chips.
  • Marathon Saturday – Big English breakfast. Tower, London & Millenium Bridges. London Eye. Queens Walk. Big Ben, Parliament, Big Ben, Parliament, Big Ben, Parliament. Westminster Abbey. St. James Park. Buckingham Palace. Piccadilly Circus. Convent Gardens. My feet hurt.
  • Sunday – Big English breakfast. London Castle. St. Pauls Cathedral. Regents Park. Shopping. Beer. An orange cat wearing a leash and an Olympics t-shirt riding the metro. Yup, that really happened. I might need foot surgery.
  • Monday – Big English breakfast. Back to France. Foot soak.

So, let’s talk about the good, bad and ugly of “America’s truest friend.” (George Bush)

The Good:

  • Adorable accents and words. When asking if the kitchen was open one night the bartender responded, with a charming accent, “I’m afraid it’s not.” This only made me want to pinch her cheeks because it was so darn cute.
  • Perfect contrast of old and new. In many old European cities, you could never put a modern skyscraper next to an 17th century apartment building. Here, you find this all over the place, but it somehow works perfectly. Bravo, Urban Planners.

The Bad:

  • Service. Unfortunately, this was something we experienced several times throughout the weekend at restaurants and most specifically the airport (never fly with Ryan Air). Step it up London.
  • Prices. 10£ ($15) for a cup of Miso soup and a little bowl of Edamame. W.T.F.

The Ugly:

  • Fashion. To say the English are eccentric is an understatement. I couldn’t help but crack up when I saw a girl in hot pink spandex, 6 inch glossy blue platforms and a turquoise fish net tank top. Seriously, these kinds of crimes were happening all over town. Mind you, it was also 50 degrees and no one in London wears a jacket when it’s that balmy out.
  • Hair. True story – I saw a dreaded, mullet. For everyday of my life I will regret not taking a photo of this, but I couldn’t inconspicuously do it without blowing my cover because I was laugh hysterically.

Overall, a fab weekend with the Chevriers, but to my surprise, I was ready and happy to return to France. Could it be that the France is really starting to grow on me?

And for your viewing pleasure, here is a YouTube video (set to appropriate music).
Bonus points for those of you who get the song reference.

So Paris

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Jardin du Luxembourg

Friday after I finished classes at noon, I was off to Paris to spend the weekend with Marjorie. This weekend was especially exciting because it would be my first time in the city when it wasn’t gray, cold and freezing. So, of course, within moments of arriving, we hopped on the subway to walk around the Jardin du Luxembourg.  It was a beautiful afternoon and the place was packed with Frenchies soaking up the sun. We spent the rest of the day walking around and then at a bar listening to 4 different bands.

Spring is in full bloom in Paris

More beautiful gardens

Saturday, we slept in late and awoke to the Paris I know and love – cold and gray.  This called for brunch, which is the new, fashionable thing to do in Paris. There’s nothing like paying 22€ (about $30) per person for 1 coffee, 1 juice, 1 egg, bread, a bagel and fruit to remind you of how expensive Parisian life can be. So, because, we had a lot of carbs to burn  and it was gloomy, we decided Père Lachaise Cemetery was a perfect place to spend the afternoon.  This is where you will find (literally) thousands of tombs stacked on top of the tombs of Édith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Frédéric Chopin, Gertrude Stein and many other famous french people.  Père Lachaise has that dreary, beautifulness that is (sometimes), so Paris.  We were surprised to find a number of recent burials which only made me wonder, how does one get buried at Père Lachaise?  Well, basically you must put yourself on the waiting list and be living in Paris when you die. It also helps if you’ve lived in the city for a long time and if you are a french citizen. But even if you “get in”, you can only rent space for 10-50 years until they “get rid of you” and re-lease it to “someone else”.  People buried in the 19th century were lucky enough to have bought their space for perpetuite (forever).  This process makes me laugh because it is so Paris.  Unfortunately, we were trying to save our feet for Sunday’s marathon, so we didn’t explore too much, but I did manage to see the grave of Jim Morrison.

The grave of Jim Morrison

After our afternoon with dead people, we returned to Marjorie’s apartment and got ready for a party to celebrate one of her friends birthdays. Even though I was a tad shy because of my language ability (or lack there of), I still managed to have a good time and talk (mostly in french) with a number of people. I am grateful for Marjorie and her friends being so patient and gracious with me. This is evidence that Parisians can, in fact, be very warm, welcoming people. However, the most exciting part was not practicing my french, but the apartment where the party was held. I tried to play it cool, but I couldn’t help but totally freak out when the I looked out the living room wall of windows and saw a perfect shot of the glittering Eiffel Tour.  Please, someone pinch me.

Needless to say, a beautiful marathon course

We didn’t stay too late because Sunday we had to wake up early and head to Fontainebleau for the marathon. Apparently, Fontainebleau is to the Parisians as the Hampton’s are to New Yorker’s. Really, the place is totally adorable. After picking up our race numbers, we had lunch and walked around a little to look at the magnificent Château. In my opinion, this is the best castle I’ve seen in France so far (yes, even better than Versailles).

The magnificent Fontainebleau Château

When the race began I really tried not to focus on running, but to focus on soaking in the ambience and beautiful views. I took this time to think about how much has changed in my life since my very first 5k race 9 years ago. In 2003, I never dreamed that within the next decade I would have run several half-marathons, a full marathon and let alone a race in the French countryside. I ended up finishing in 2 hours and 19 minutes. Not too bad for my one run a week training schedule.

After the race and looking pretty good!

As you can see, I had an absolutely fabulous weekend and can not thank Marjorie enough. I’m sure all of you are a little sick of hearing stories from France so on Friday I am jetting off to London for the long weekend with the Chevrier’s. Pictures and stories to follow!