Nikki's European (mis)adventures

In search of sunrise

2005-05-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

This is it. Our last day on this continent.

Tomorrow we are picking up our packs and going on a long ride home.

We'll be up all night, waiting for the sun to rise over the Seine River, and say goodbye to a long journey, and hello to the way home, to another journey, to another sunrise.

Last days in Europe

2005-05-22T01:19:00.000-07:00

Watching the sunset from my uncle's balcony

Monmartre

2005-05-21T01:07:00.000-07:00

Brian, my cousin in law, took Alex, Quan and me to Montmartre. I saw the cafe where Amelie works, and the flower shop, and the Bateau-Lavoir, where Picasso painted Les Demoiselles D'Avignon, possibly the first work of cubism.

And then there were two. One of the remaining windmills out of the original 34 on the hill of Montmartre

Alex thinks Quan should share some of his gelato

Hanging out with mom

2005-05-20T01:02:00.000-07:00

Mum came to visit

Playing tourist in the Latin Quarter.

Goofing off with my brother on our way to the Luxembourg Garden

Shakespeare and Company

2005-05-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

The last real place on earth

Blurry me in front of Shakespeare and Co., the bestest bookstore in the world

Inside the bookstore.

Fontainebleau

2005-05-17T00:52:00.000-07:00

After two months of no bouldering, I get back into it, you know, starting back up with something light and easy, um, like Fontainebleau.

Basic essentials for climbing

My camera decided to go postal... or just purple.

Edhuardo, a crazy Brazillian guy I picked up in the woods. He's travelling around the world just to climb and tell crazy stories of climbing and travelling around the world.

Sun shining through the forest onto a boulder

Blue sky over Bleau

Climbing till moon rise

Thierry has a thing for roofs

Kim concentrating hard

Elephant skin... or rock? You decide.

Kim loves slabs, like, sometimes to a very disturbing degree.

I can't believe it's real sand. Someone explain to me how all this sand got here.

Oooooh. So that's why they call it Cul de Chien.

Paris encore

2005-05-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

We're back in Paris after an EPIC of an adventure to get back here. How? Oh, don't you want to know. Suffice to say that it's worth getting a chair and a beer, or ten. But I will write more about that later. Just so you know I am uploading a few representative, or misrepresentative pictures. So scroll back and show some love for visual technology.

I will be MIA for a while. MIA from the online world at least. Tomorrow (Monday) I will be heading to Fontainebleau with Kim for a week of rock loving. Then I'll head back to Paris for the weekend, then fly home on Monday.

I get back on Monday night, so Seattlelites, I'll be expecting the red carpet, or at least just some TLC, *nudge nudge wink wink*. (TLC as in tender love and care, not the channel, but of course you knew that.)

On Thursday I'm going on a road trip to Southern California to J Tree for even more rock loving. So updates will be sporadic. I am going to do my best to upload all of our pictures for your viewing pleasure first. Then the stories, and yes, something more interesting than, "we took the train". By the way, both of my middle fingers would like to fondly say hi to whoever commented on the previous post and said "your blog is so boring I am not entertained." Call me I'd be glad to donate some spare change to your Get a Life Foundation.

So I just drank the equivalent of 40 cups of coffee in green tea. I'm a little sleep deprived and a lot jittery. All of Paris spreads below me to the horizon. It is all so surreal and poetic. I love this city. I feel tingling all over. I don't know why. Though my friend Jin would say, "maybe you have to pee." Oh, I know why. My brother just informed me that The Daily Show will be on in a little bit. Hallelujah!

Bruges

2005-05-13T02:20:00.000-07:00

Leaving Bruges and going to Bruxelles. La petite Venice Brugge is. Our travels are coming to a close.

Gros bisous a tout.

Amsterdam

2005-05-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

I like Amsterdam.

This kitty needs lots of TLC. It suffers greatly from the second hand THC in our hostel, The Flying Pig downtown.

I wish my parking spot could have this view.

I'm sorry. I can't comment. It's a war memorial.

Berlin walking tour

2005-05-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

Here´s how our morning went: got in to Berlin at 9:30, the train was 2 hours late, I was delirious and disillusioned. Stumbled to the hostel 50 meters away from the train station. Got on a Berlin walking tour at 10:30. Took the S Bahn to East Berlin, waited around for a while, for... something. Apparently something was holding up something, or someone else, because of .... something. Oh Christ, I am not that drunk. No, I know what it is. Today there´s a huge commemoration of the end of the war. Loads of demonstrations. Loads of protests. Neo Nazis and extreme Leftists confronting each other. Signs of trouble that we gleefully did not see, or chose to ignore.

So we went on the tour. Hitler´s bunker. Charlie´s checkpoint. The wall. Hail. And then all hail came down! The third time we´ve been rained on like wet cats in Germany.

When it cleared out we started the tour again, or... not. The demonstrators were on both sides, and we were in the middle. What, is this a reenactment or something? No, Nikki, this is NOT a reenactment. Is that clear? NOT a reenactment. The Neo Nazis aren´t stage actors with makeup.

Oh.

No, I didn´t feel stupid at all. Thank you for wondering.

So the tour ended prematurely, and we got the hell out.

The infamous Berlin wall, now ironically fenced off. But you can get a piece of your own Berlin wall for 4 euros at gift shops. Ain't you glad capitalism took over?

And... here comes trouble.

What does this remind you of? I'll give you a clue. Two, even. One is shish and two is kebab. And no this isn't the world's biggest kebab shrine. It's the top of the Reichstag building, the German lower Parliament house.

Munich - The beer capital of the world

2005-05-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a walking tour of Munich. It was a wicked fun tour, and the tour guide made these corny jokes (I love corny jokes). Although, I did not enjoy the freezing rain and wind searing through my body. That, I could have done without.

Alright I will write more later I will have to go and unthaw my hands and feet.

The Glockenspiel in Munich. Quite possibly the most boring yet most famous glockenspiel in the world. If your neck doesn't get cramped from staring up waiting for something to happen, your ears will beg for mercy from the 500 out of tune bells ringing for what seems like 40 years. But hey, it's famous so you gotta see it. Though no one is quite sure why it's famous. Our tour guide said it's famous for being famous, so I guess it's like the Paris Hilton of glockenspiels.

Eating like the Bavarians

2005-05-06T15:59:00.000-07:00

For dinner we decided to do it the Bavarian way, in a beer hall. The Augustiner, actually. God, I swear, hot food and good beer do the body (and soul) wonder. Bavarian food is really diverse. You can have anything, as long as it's with sausage.

I spoke bad French to the French people next to us, and tried my luck at German with the German couple at our table. You can convince anyone you speak their language really well, as long as you have a really good accent.

The beer made us so happy we skipped around MarienPlatz until the rain started pouring down again. Then I took my first hot shower in 3 days. It was pure heaven.

"It tastes so good when it hits your lips!" What movie is that from? Bonus points if you can tell who said it. No points at all if you hung out at 5212 a lot that one summer.

Dachau concentration camp

2005-05-06T05:59:00.000-07:00

Change of plan. Was gonna go to Prague but hopped the night train for Munich instead. Got here super early. Like six o'clock in the morning early. Who said traveling and being a bum doesn't prepare me for work?

It's cold, rainy, and gray. Feels like home, actually. I miss the sun already. Almost wish I were back in Corfu, lying on the beach. Almost. It's funny because I was starting to get a little sick of too much sun. Then I come here, and I miss being able to wear shorts and tank tops. And bikinis, of course. Ah well, life's like that.

We went to Dachau. The weather did not improve. If anything, it got worse. Rain coming down sideway in the direction of the wind. I swear I could not feel my toes. It was probably mood fitting though, seeing the concentration camp and going through the memorial museum.

I felt like a wuss complaining about how cold and sick I was.

But I was very cold and sick.

Still no sleep and no rest for the wary.

Unknown prisoner statue

Vienna

2005-05-05T02:38:00.000-07:00

We are in Vienna, after a long ferry and train ride back to the main land. We stayed in northern Italy one last time for three days, then headed out East. We're in Vienna today and tomorrow, and then Prague.

I'm sick. I just lost about 10 pounds in snot. I know, lovely imagery eh? So yeah, I'm sick and a little tired. I want some soup. Homemade hot soup. And a bed. Whaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh mommy.

Shoulda tried the trashy novels to keep you awake, Quan.

Um, I have no idea either.

Who, me? Making fun of Contiki? Why would I make fun of people who go on packaged holidays, get driven around in air conditioned, tinted window tour buses, and mostly visit only the places with postcard pictures? Oh, who, me, snob? ;)

Milano to Venice

2005-05-04T07:04:00.000-07:00

The Duomo is still under construction, haven't you heard?

Had a falling out with my brother, but we talked it out like civilized people. And the gelato helped too.

Wandered around the canals for a while. Of COURSE I know where I'm going, I assured Quan. I've been here before. Because, you know, once is all it takes to know all the crooked streets of Venice, and I have an excellent sense of direction. Hah, I speak like a man.

Quan: Chances of me going back to Italy is very good, but chances of me going back to Venice is not so good.
Me: Why, you don't like it?
Quan: No, I like it. But the problem is too many people also like it.

Touristy or not. Loads of people or not. Venice is still one of my favoritest places in Europe.

Chances of me going back are very good.

Arriving in Verona, view from the Santa Lucia train station entrance.

For some, this is the end of the day at the office

Gelato: when you eat it five times a day, can it be considered a food group?

Verona

2005-05-03T06:49:00.000-07:00

I went to Juliet's house. And Juliet's tomb. So happy and emotional. Verona looks like Firenze, kind of.

And did you know that gelato can cure allergies?

Love notes on the entrance to Juliet's house

And Quan did fall in love in Verona. How romantic.

Outside of Juliet's tomb

Bari to Milano

2005-05-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

I am not peeing at the door. I promise. Trying to show that I have the worst tan line on the face of the earth, but the colors don't turn out very well. Trust me, the contrast is startling. And that's an understatement.

Sunrise over the Mediterranean. View from the ferry deck.

Me and my toe rings watching the sunrise.

Watching Giuseppe's orchestra play in the garden in North Milano

Long. Long. Long. Loooooooong train ride to Milano. Listened to Giuseppe's orchestra rehearse and record some songs. Had really good homemade pasta (thanks Giuseppe).

Leaving Corfu

2005-05-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

Today has been incredibly rough. It took me two hours to eat breakfast, and yet another two hours to move about 200 yards down to the beach.

Before you point and laugh and snicker, let me just assure you, that it hurts to move when your skin is on fire. It hurts very much.

With some luck, we will leave Corfu tonight to head up to exotic (not) Bari, and from there we'll catch the train to Milano in the morning. The next 24 hours will be ferry, wait, ferry, wait, train, wait.

To be honest, Pink Palace has been great, but it's not really traveling. It's not really exploring another part of the world. It's the Cancun of Greece, and we got some much needed R&R (why yes, alcohol and no sleep is part of said R&R). But really, we are anxious to get back to really traveling, backpacking, and walking from morning to night.

We're anxious to get back on the road again.

An explorer of souls and cities

2005-04-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

After this week, I realized why I like traveling so much. It's not really the destination or the place. No, don't get me wrong. I mean, yeah I really enjoy the beauty of each place I've passed by, and absolutely, I've loved meeting the people there, both locals and travelers like myself.

I don't know what it is, but I think I just really revel in the unknown, the journey to get there. We were on the bus leaving Athens, and my brother said, do you know where this bus goes? And I remember shrugging, um, I think it goes to Corfu. I'm pretty sure it goes to Corfu. Really, are you sure. No, but I'm pretty sure.

And I was giddy happy. I was happy being on this crazy bus with people speaking a foreign language, going somewhere I've never been to, or at least I thought it was going there.

When we left Gin's house in the Amalfi coast, we had a rough idea that we were going to Athens, and that was all. We were gonna try to make it there, but I don't think I would have minded if we ended up somewhere else.

So I think I just learned something about myself. Or relearned. That I am really a crazy and potentially unsafe travel partner.

Oh, and I took the title of this post from Jack Kerouac's Mexico City Blues, 33rd Chorus:

... I'm an idealist
who has outgrown
my idealism
I have nothing to do
the rest of my life
but do it
and the rest of my life
to do it...

Such a beautiful book. Get a copy. I recommend.

Burnt in Corfu

2005-04-30T06:59:00.000-07:00

It hurts. Everything hurts. Well, everything where the sun burnt my skin hurts. I'm now black, red, and burnt.

Today there was a celebration of the Orthodox Easter in Corfu town, and Alexandros, a Greek friend I met told us that we should go see it. Only problem is, the Pink Palace is on the other side of the island, and definitely not walkable. It's Easter so the buses don't run, and we could take the ATVs, but we think they're rather obnoxious to take into town and be all loud. So there, no exploring Corfu town.

Yes, I'm pouting. Big time.

On to plan B, we decided to join Jen and Amanda sea kayaking. We got all the way out to a little island, but couldn't land cuz there's no beach, so we turned around and found a quiet alcove and laid out in the sun. I climbed around on the boulders on the beach, and got weird look from a guy who owns the bar facing them.

Nikki, Amanda, and Jen. Kayaking extraordinaires. A few more weeks at the Pink Palace and we could go pro. Or check in an alcohol rehab. Or both.

I still have no sunscreen on. Yes, I'm brilliant.

Quan wanted to go back and go in the jacuzzi, so we paddled back. I opted out of the jacuzzi though. I mean, really, it's nicknamed the local sperm bank for a reason. So yeah, um, NO THANKS. Yes, I know the chlorine kills everything, but the thought of submersing myself around dead sperms is somehow a little revolting.

Anyway, that night there was a Pink Toga Party. What's a Pink Toga Party you ask? It's a brilliant, brilliant scam. You convince everyone to get into a pink toga, which they have to rent for 10 euros and they get 9 back if they remember to return it. Then, in order to avoid feeling a little ridiculous they'd have to get lots and lots of alcohol from your bar. And hoorah! Mulah baby. Mulah!

Oh Quaaaan, you look so lovely in pink.

Pink toga party, the pinkest scam in the world.

Corfu, Pink Palace

2005-04-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Nikki macking... err... making friends. We met Allexandros, who was coming home to Corfu for Easter weekend. Props to him because he taught us some Greek, knowing full well we will never really get it.

Corfu town. View from the ferry.

I am officially black. From now on, I will be checking the "African American" box on application forms and things like that, because my skin is as black as can be.

Actually, come and think about it, I wish my skin were all black, and not have some kind of cafe latte, chocolate vanilla thing going on.

So yeah, I did nothing today. Nothing. I got to the Pink Palace, had a shot of ouzo, dropped off my bag, and laid out in the sun, hanging out with Lindsay and a bus load of Canadian boys.

I was a lazy bastard today for a good reason. A very good reason.

Last night we decided that we saw enough of Athens, and hopped on a bus to Corfu. Oh Lord, it was a bus ride from hell. We left at 9, and the bus would keep stopping every other hour, for whatever goddamn reason. And the guy behind me must have thought it was Disco night at Roxy's or something, because he blasted his music to like 500 dB.

Then, we got off the bus at five in the morning, lined up to get tickets to get on the ferry. The ferry was cramped like Noah's ark, and everyone was smoking like a chimney in December.

So I got to the Pink Palace and crashed. Crashed and burnt.

I laid out in the sun without any sun block. I'm Asian. I don't burn. Yeah, WRONG. More wrong than wrong. Oh yeah, I burnt big time. I took a shower before dinner and wondered why the shower was so hot. Then I realized, oh, it's not the water that's burning, it's my skin.

Athens

2005-04-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

Woot! We enjoyed the Acropolis very much and not so much the National Archaeology Museum, mainly because it was closed when we got there.

What kind of museum closed at freaking 3 in the afternoon????

Alright alright, so maybe we should have checked the time, but that would go against the laissez-faire spirit of our trip.

So honestly, Athens is kinda overhyped. I mean, it's chocked full of historical importance, for sure, but there is only so much you can take in before exploding with facts and figures and dates and Greek and Roman names. It's also a great city if you have a fat wallet, which we definitely do not. So, we're gonna book it tonight and head to Corfu for some fun in the sun.

Yay!

Don't ever, ever, EVER tell these Greeks they are Turks

Patras to Athens

2005-04-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

Holy bloody hell! We made it to Athens. I mean, really. When we woke up yesterday in Gin's house in Vietri, we were like, yup, back on the road again, and we're going to Athens. That was all we knew. Weren't sure how, when, or where, just had some really, really, I mean really vague idea that it would involve hopping on some buses and trains and maybe a ferry or two.

But bullocks, we made it.

(Not done, will write more later)

Amalfi Coast, Vietri

2005-04-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

We did it.

We survived the craziness in Roma. And now we're in heaven. Or somewhere very close to it, but only better, because it's reachable by a three hour train ride from Roma Termini, and you don't have to confess all your sins for admission.

We're staying at Gin's place in Vietri, which sits on top of the hill overlooking the whole coast, and we honestly cannot stop rubbing our eyes or pinching our eyes asking, am I dreaming?

So yes, the Amalfi coast and Gin's hospitality have stolen our hearts.

You may never hear from us again. Or maybe not for a little while, because we will be busy laying on his rooftop soaking up the sun, playing with the kitty, and taking in the salty ocean air.

Someone put that song "Heaven" on.

Survival of the luckiest

2005-04-23T02:04:00.000-07:00

So yes, we have come to the conclusion that Charles Darwin might have been right about the survival of the fittest, but when you are in Rome, being fit has nothing to do with it. It is all about pushing your luck.

At least when it comes to traffic and crossing the street. I cannot tell you how many times we've been thisclose to going to meet the maker.

It's our last day here, and with any luck, and we've been doing good on that so far, we'll make it down to the Amalfi coast tonight.

And for that, I'll say a little Amen, even though I'm not religious, which probably puts me in the minority here in this town, because it seems like everybody is here for the whole Pope thing. And the end of the war celebration too. Lots of celebrating.

So yes, add total anarchy to a truck load of people from all over the world.

Hooray. We will for sure pray to lady luck tonight.

Anyway, the sun is shining and the gelato is calling. We are leaving the hostel now. Gonna go play with the cats on Palantino hill and chill on St. Peter's square for a little while, and marvel in the fact that we are still indeed miraculously walking among the million flying mopeds.

Bella.

Italian parking. Because my car might take up too much of the road, I'll use the sidewalk too.

Stuck in Rome

2005-04-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, you haven't really been to France or Italy until you live through this,

a STRIKE

Yeah, that's right. We are in Rome, with nowhere to go, and all the sites to see, because the Italian public transportation system is on strike.

We are stuck.

Yay.

Rome

2005-04-20T00:49:00.000-07:00

Hey look, it's Ariel's dad!

Quan ponders the meaning of life. Or dreaming about the next coco gelato.

I can't help it. Nikki bouldering in the Colosseum.

Leaving Firenze and coming to Roma

2005-04-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

Oh my god. The line. The lines. Both the lines to the Ufizzi and the Academy are as long as the history of this town. Jesus.

It rained. We stood in line for a total of 5 hours for both museums. And paid way to much to see David. I shouldn't have gone in. I don't know why I did. Oh yeah, I thought there was a student or youth reduction and I was paying and the guy is like, yeah, NO reduction sorry, then didn't even wait for me to say nay or yay, but just took my money and gave us the tickets and went, ok next. Bastard.

So I saw David again and five million other pieces of sculptures, which paled in comparison to David and looked like garbage after seeing David.

Who died and made you the art critic, Nikki?

Oh woops.

And then the Ufizzi line was ridiculous. Quan and Chris stood in line and talked about sports stats for three hours. I now understand why guys keep track of that sort of things. Wait, no, I don't, but at least it kept the boys occupied while I walked to the train station and got tickets to Rome.

Then inside the Ufizzi I walked straight to the Botticelli room and sat staring at Primevera and Birth of Venus.

Fast forward to Rome. We got here super late. The metro closed at 9 something, which is so retarded because it's a big metropolitan city, and we could not understand how the metro could close so early. So I asked in broken Italian how to catch the bus to Alessandro's place. We packed into this sardined bus, and I had NO idea where the stop was and when to get off, and by some miracle this guy understood my Italian enough to tell me when. We got off, realized the train stopped running, and Alessandro had to come get us. We were waiting for him at the deserted train station not knowing where the hell we were and wondered how he could find us.

Plan B was that we would take shifts sleeping.

But Alessandro came and took us home and cooked us dinner and we were once again spoiled rotten.

Train ride from Florence to Rome

Florence

2005-04-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

So we got here yesterday, and I tried to update but the server sucked. I think the content of the post was something like this:

Dead. So dead. Beyond dead. Going out now. Gonna be even more dead. Bye.

Ok anyway, we walked around to the Duomo and Santa Croce today, and up the hill to see Florence in all of its glory from up high.

At Matteo's place right now, eating, drinking, sleeping for free. Sweet deal, although the floor is cold to sleep on at night.

On the road again tomorrow. To Rome.

Ah yes, Roma.

And then to Naples.

Gonna sleep now. Later.

Spring in Florence

Florence

2005-04-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

Finally in Florence. At Matteo's house now. So dead. Dead. Dead. Beyond dead. But I guess we are going out now, so I will be beyond beyond dead after tonight.

See you on the other side.

Mateo's kitchen floor. Why yes indeed we did sleep here.

Pisa

2005-04-17T00:34:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, obligatory cheesy overused and abused tourist pose

A crack in everything - last night in the French Riviera

2005-04-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

So yes, the much anticipated event of the day did not happen today.

I am talking about going climbing at Annot, and how the weather god said, Nuh uh I don't think so.

"I was bummed out" is putting it lightly.

The day ended, though, in the best way I could ever imagine. George made a yummilicious dinner, and we drank, ate, and listened to some of the best songs I've ever heard.

One being Anthem by Leonard Cohen. And my favorite lines go:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

So this is it. Life on the Riviera. It's been pleasant, and the living's been easy and relaxing. Tomorrow, actually, make that in a couple hours, we will pull our backpacks over our shoulders yet once more, and hit the road. Going down to Pisa, and over to Florence to say hi to David.

I am dead tired, and the absinth is hitting, so I'll be signing out here.

Ciao bella.

As American as ...

2005-04-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

On my last day in Barcelona, after having searched for my stable: peanut butter, for forever, I found a small jar of peanut buttter-ish in a small shop tucked in a corner near La Rambla.

Quan said, "Why do they call it as American as apple pie? You can get apple pie anywhere, but not peanut butter."

"Omg! I know! That's right on!" I exclaimed.

Then here in France George was so excited when he came home from Paris, and he was boasting about how he just got a huge jar of extra crunchy Jif.

You'd understand too, if you walked in a grocery store and there are three aisles dedicated to Nutella, but not a peanut shell is in site.

I thought Quan had a good observation, so from now on, I'll say, "as American as peanut butter." And when I come home, I am going to buy a big tub of Adam's All Natural Extra Crunchy, and bask in all of its glory.

Travel essentials

2005-04-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

I was telling Quan this, about how travelling makes you realize the things you really need in life, not what you want, but what you need, the basic human needs.

I made a list: food, shelter, water, toilet paper, hot showers...

Then Quan said: um, digital camera, and people who speak English, hello!

Oh yeah, and don't forget, high speed internet connection.

There you have it, travel wisdom from us, free or your money back.

Travelling with Quan

2005-04-16T05:22:00.000-07:00

I have this brother, Quan.

He's a riot.

When we embarked on this trip, I was pretty sure we'd be fine, although I had no idea how it'd be with us hanging out with each other 24/7.

So far, it's been super fun. He makes fun of me. I make him walk all over the place, and he whines like a cat. "I was expecting beaches and women in bikini, not a hike!"

I have been to most of the cities we are passing by, but this time around with Quan it's not just about marathons of museums and racing through town to see everything built since the Ice Age. We just chill, hang out with locals, laugh at anything and everything. Nothing is sacred.

It's been awesome, and he's having loads of fun too. I told him there are no more hills from here on out, and no more high places to walk up to, except for Firenze, and Roma, and ...

Woopsies.

Home

2005-04-16T03:40:00.000-07:00

So I named this post "Home" because I'm listening to that song right now. Have you heard it? By Michael Buble?

I'm sitting in George's living room right now, in a small town called Mandelieu la Napoule, 10 minutes by train from Cannes. I have fallen in love with this place. When I crossed over from Spain, and when I arrived here, just last Monday, there was this sense of... coming home.

You know how there are places that are nice to see and nice to visit, but you're not sure if you could really live there. And there are places that you say, "yeah, I could live here", and the Côte d'Azur is definitely one of those places for me.

It is icky outside. Heavy rain tapping the seas, and the trees are doing yoga. It is both a blessing and a curse to me, because I was soooo ready to go to Annot to pull on some blocs. I woke up, realized that I had to run like Dash from the Incredibles and get to the train at some unhuman speed. Threw my stuff in the bag, and ran out the door, bumped into George. "Okay guys gotta run", I yelled. "Um, where are you going, and have you looked outside." Sure enough I could see Noah building his ark. Dropped my bag on the floor and pouted, "what, you mean I can't go climbing? Whaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!"

So the blessing is that I can get caught up on a few things, like laundry, and emails, and sitting around talking to George, and watching funny and raunchy commercials in every other language. And especially sitting down and writing all the thoughts I've had bottling up inside.

It is a chill day. I am not being a tourist. I live here. It feels like I do, at least.

I would tell Quan a bunch of times, "I could live here", and he's like, "without Internet?" And I'd go, um... negative.

People ask if I miss home, and I do, and don't. I do and I don't. It's weird, sometimes I feel like I can call any place home, and then sometimes I'm like, no, I've got to go home. Home home. Seattle home.

I guess I don't have a very solid notion of "home". Sometimes I am a stranger in my own town. I was walking around in Porto, talking to Rui, and I realized for one brief moment that I absolutely loved... that moment. There was no past or present or up or down, just now. Just here. So naturally, with the help of Port wine, I philosophised.

When you know that you only have so many hours and minutes at a certain place, you just... you take it all in and say, ok, this moment, I belong here. I won't be here long, but while I am here I will be here. Then that song by the Postal Service came to my mind, "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight", and I kept singing over and over, I am just a visitor here, I am not permanent. It wasn't just Portugal, or Europe, or even Seattle, I felt like a visitor to this... this world, this life.

Nice

2005-04-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Pictures

So, Nice is kinda boring.

Yes, yes, I know, I'm a snob.

First, everything is under either construction or restoration. So you are walking by a large poster of what something *would* look like if it weren't covered by ladders and nets. But that's ok, really, since we are not big on being a super tourist.

Then, the beach has no sand, and you are sitting on a large field of rocks. Plus, the wind chill factor made it a little uncomfortable. It's hard to enjoy a day at the beach when you are huddling in a little ball, trying to avoid hypothermia.

We walked up to the castle, and that was nice to see the coast from up high, but we were hungry and Quan was seriously hating walking, so we booked it hella fast.

The highlight of the day in Nice was probably eating really good crepes.

The train back to George's place even sucked because there were so many people packed in, I rode half of the way standing up.

So Nice, maybe we'll have better luck with it next time.

Mandelieu la Napoule

2005-04-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

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Lounged around for half a day and finally got up on our asses to walk to the beach. I know, how lazy can you be to be lazy to just walk to the beach, which is 15 minutes away?

Yes, life is hard.

Hoy, there's a castle!

Sur la plage, en plus!

So of course I had to boulder around every corner, while my brother rolled his eyes and whined, "Do you have to climb everything?"

Ah, and George came home from his business trip, so we finally met up and hung out, where else, on the beach, of course.

Sunrise over Mandelieu from George's deck

Cannes

2005-04-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

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The French Riviera

2005-04-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

Getting to Cannes in the morning

The rest of the pictures

Day 15 - Barcelona, a walk through

2005-04-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

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Day 14 - Barcelona, fun with haggling, and um are we still in Spain?

2005-04-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

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Day 13 - Barcelona

2005-04-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

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Segovia, fun with aquaduct

2005-04-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

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Day 11 - Madrid, fun with museum

2005-04-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

So we went from Lisbon to Porto to get some wine, and then to Madrid, which is where we are right now. In an Internet café on Gran Via. I know, I know. I said I´d write detailed updates. But things happened and I didn´t. I´ll probably have some chill time later in Cannes where I´m staying at a friend´s house, and I´ll give a jour-à-jour update. Or maybe not, the place is a 15 minute walk from the beach, so yeah.

As for pictures, they are beautiful, starring me and all, but they are all still in the flash card, so hold still.

We are heading to the Prado and the Thyssen for some culture, and then crash, because we spent all night sitting upright, or in my case, curling in a fetal position.

Tomorrow we´re heading to Segovia and then to Barcelona the day after that.

I´m hoping to go climbing in Barcelona, but haven´t found anyone willing to take me yet, so I just might have to be happy with climbing in Portugal for a while.

It´s nice and sunny here, and I just had some yummy paellas, and seafood soaked in butter and alcohol. What´s going on in your part of the world? Drop a line.

Love and kisses, and sunglasses tan lines rule.
N

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Day 12 - Porto

2005-04-06T17:51:00.000-07:00

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Lisbon, Castle St Jorge, Resto, Alfama

2005-04-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

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Cascais, Lisbon, Portugal

2005-04-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

Climbing

Dinner with friends

Belem, Cascais, Portugal

2005-04-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

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Sesimbra

2005-04-02T17:43:00.000-08:00

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After getting over all the wine and beer of yesterday, we went to Sesimbra, a beach town near Lisboa.

Helga drove, and her rearview mirror is held up by brown tape, and it was getting dark and wet and windy. And Lisboa has something like the highest car-related death rate in Europe.

We made it both there and back, and had some crazy rainy windy time at the seashore.

Lisbon! Lisboa! - Dia sete

2005-04-02T01:57:00.000-08:00

Obrigada!

Means "Thank you!" And that was my first word in Portuguese. So right. We decided that we had had enough of San Sebastian, and while bar skipping would have been fun, we had just begun our trip and our liver needed to function alright for the next two months, so we hopped on a 12 hour train to Lisbon on Thursday night.

The train ride was still cold, but I got to lay down bc Quan and I had the whole cabin to ourselves.

Portugal is beee ew tee ful. The rugged country side was just so cool to look at. I know, since I am full of prose and eloquent words, let´s just say that it was super duper wicked cool to see.

In Lisbon, we ran into a Canadian guy who´s doing a 4 month tour of Europe, and he gave us some good tips for good times in Greece. We wandered around town trying to figure out things on very limited Portuguese vocabulary. And by limited I mean none. Oh, except for "thank you". You gotta be polite, even if you´re an ignorant traveler.

Later on that day we met up with Helga, a girl I met from couchsurfing. She is awesome. The best host ever. We´re staying at her place for the next 4 days, and I´m using her computer right now as we speak, or read, type, whatever. It´s a sweet set up since cybercafes have raping rates, and their computers don´t even have random porn site pop ups.

So I went out to check out the Lisbon night life with Helga and her friends. Walked around the narrow streets lined with bars with a bunch of Portuguese and one Canadian, an aspiring actor/film maker who´s wandering around Europe for six months. God it was wicked fun. Like, fun to the fun degree. We just walked, drank, joked, stood around, surrounded by hundreds of other fun loving bar hoppers.

Oh, and did I mention Portuguese speak excellent English? My god they speak better English than some people back home!

So I got home at 5 in the morning, that was a couple hours ago. I´m up everyone´s asleep, even Helga´s hyper kitty is in sweet slumber. Oh, the cat. The cat stole my heart. It is so freakin cute! And it climbs! It´s a climbing cat! It climbed up the window screen and stayed there, working on some lock off strength I´m sure.

Anyway I think I´m gonna go back to sleep now. My neck is seriously torturing me like the Chinese army on human rights. Today we´re gonna head to a beach town an hour away, maybe, when we wake up. Then have a traditional Portuguese dinner with some friends.

Okay I am dropping like the 506th Parachute Infantry, so I´ll sign off here. Oh, here´s a stolen picture from the web: postcard Lisboa

Oh, and don´t ask for pictures from last night.

Just kidding nothing happened. Hi mom!

Pictures

San Sebastian - dia seis

2005-03-31T01:15:00.000-08:00

Got in to San Sebastian at 8:30 in the morning. The whole train ride was effing cold. Cold and colder. Cold air was blowing like November wind from the vent. No couchette. Yeah, and no blanket. What is this bullshit? Curled up in a fetal position and wrapped myself in my fleece as much as possible. Even used my brother as a shield. No go. Still effing cold.

And my coach sounded like a chorus of thunder, lighting, and machine guns. There is snoring, and there is firing BBs by breathing.

So I slept intermittenly all the way to the French border. Saw dawn break over the Atlantic through the coastal towns. Would have enjoyed it much, much more if I weren´t frozen like the Ice Age. Still, it was a beautiful sight to see nonetheless.

At Irun, (I know, world famous town we´ve all heard of) we changed train and ran into some Amerikens, whom I started chatting with like good ol´ friends. Two New Yawkers were heading to Madrid and the girl from San Francisco was going to lay on the beach on San Sebastian, so we hooked up.

SS is a mere 15 minute ride from Irun, and we got there smack monkey booty early in the morning. No one spoke any English, so thank god for my français that saved the day several times. This town, in one word, is beautiful. No, gorgeous. Gorgeous and dead. No one was out, well, that´s kinda an exaggeration, since there were people working and all. But it felt a little empty walking around.

We got our gluteus maximus in shape by walking up to see Jesus. Holy Donostia, the view! My brother whined like a bee eye tee see etch at the steep incline. In fact, he did this most of the day because we walked around uphill most of the day. Super funny kid. When you told me we´d be walking around Europe, you didn´t say uphill! No, it´s all downhill from here on, I promise. Really? Yes, after you walk up.

Oh, and did I mention there were boulders with chalk marks on the way up? YES! CHALK MARKS! YES! BOULDERS. BIG FAT YUMMY LOOKING BOULDERS THAT MAKE ME SALIVATE AND GOT INTO ROCKGASM MODE. There are climbers here. Omg. Can I have a private moment please. Me and sir rock here have some intimate business, so um, turn around.

After ogling at this town from above, we said goodbye to Jesus and made our way down from El Monte Urgull. Laid on the beach and fell asleep within 2 seconds flat. Got a tan on my right cheek only. You don´t get this fakin´and bakin´ baby! The sand was soft, the water blue and clear, the sky blue. What else could a girl ask for? Oh, I know, how about the wind to stop blowing, huh? It was 19 Celsius but the wind chill factor (why yes I do know my meteor terminology) made it feel like 19 degrees Fahrenheit.

After five in the afternoon, the whole town came alive. People were everywhere, playing some sort of tennis looking game on the beach. Zee hawt surfer boys strut their stuff. Groups of teenagers sat around on the beach. Families took stroll on the board walk. It felt so nice. So warm. So friendly. I luv eet.

I could live here. I told Quan.

Wait, maybe not. They don´t seem to have Thai food. So eh... maybe not. But it ain´t half way a bad place to be chillin like a villain. After all, a gorgeous beach front and more bars per capita then anywhere else in Europe, who could resist?

San Sebastian.

Pictures stolen from teh intarweb until our pictures are uploaded. In fact, most of them will look like this album.

Finally, our own pictures

Pareeeh - day threeh (hey that rhymes eh)

2005-03-30T00:29:00.000-08:00

So today, we did absolutely nothing.

Well, nothing considered "touristy" (because, you know, we´re sooooo local already). Woke up late. Lounged around. Listened to music. Hung out with Alex our nephew, who loooooooooves to run around and shrieks at 100+ dBA. Had a nice talk with my brother about life et tout ça. Ate too much brie. Hung out some more. Packed. Planned. I got the trip straightened out, yet once more. The itinerary keeps changing, of course. Got in touch with friends for some fun loving free loading couch crashing around Europe.

Went to visit my cousin, Alex´s mom, in the 13eme arrondissement. Headed to Montparnasse to catch our late night train, just to find out that it was actually leaving from Austerlitz. Stupid Eurail time table. Putain! Merde! Oui oui je jure! Luk aat mee I am giving cigarettes to a babee. Why? Becos I am French!* So we took a bus there just in time to make reservations, got our passes stamped, bought an overpriced panini, and got on the night train to San Sebastian.

Our little walk around this town has just begun.

* Robin Williams reference for those who know

Paris, jour deux

2005-03-29T13:32:00.000-08:00

This morning I woke up just in time to get a call from Seattle from my mom. Are you eating ok, sleeping ok, walking ok, talking ok, dressing ok? Yes, mom, yes, oh, all except for the dressing part.

I seem to have packed all the hobo clothes apparently, according to my mom. I cleaned your room and found all the nice clothes. What did you bring? You better dress nice. Don't look like a hobo at your uncle's house. "Oh, what, you mean I can't walk around in my boxers?" My brother wanted to know. "Oh by the way, mom, my pants have holes in them", I said. My mom hates us, or at least how we play with her.

Lounged around for a while and listened to music while my uncle went crazy. Do you know how to take the Metro? Do you have money? Do you know how to use the key? Can you get in? Have you learned your alphabets? Quan and I were like, let's get outta here before he gets spontaneous human combustion running back and forth worrying about us.

The sky cleared out as we walked around Paris, looking for an English bookstore to buy a guidebook. I was doing what comes natural for a girl: comparison shopping. Hmm which bookstore has a better selection and better price? "Hey, you know what, when people ask me what Paris was like, I'll tell them the bookstores are excellent", my brother said.

Sat in front of the Musée d'Orsay for 45 minutes waiting for Alice and Kuang, and played the "Spin the American tourist" game. It's like that scene from Indiana Jones, The Holy Grail, where Indiana is like, you'll never find him, and you see the guy walking around asking, "do you speak English?"

After lunch we walked to the Arc de Triomph, where two Chinese top secret agents parachuted down to meet us and asked us to perform a top secret mission. We were to buy them Louis Vuitton purses and wallets, because they can only buy 2 per passport. Alice and Kuang went, me and Quan were held at a gunpoint as hostages.

Interpol agents were on the rooftop, talking in their sleeves and recording everything. They entered the store, Alice and Kuang got snobbed out, and agents discovered their identities. Alice hung on to her LV wallets while being dragged on the floor by her hair, kicking and screaming, "400 Euros per wallet, what a bargain!"

Actually, two Chinese women asked if we could buy them LV stuff, and Alice and Kuang got adventurous and were denied, snob style, by the sales people.

Climbed up Arc de Triomph to see all of Paris. Well, more like, to see all of Paris traffic. Other people may go up there for the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur, Quan and I are up there to watch how six lanes of cars, motorcycles, and bikes merge into one big blob, and how they sort themselves out. Every second is an accident waiting to happen. We were perversely fascinated by that possibility.

It started to rain, and Alice and Kuang were leaving town, so we hung around for a little bit and headed towards the Louvre, where it was closed and there was a private party. The people making the movie "The Da Vinci Code" were there, scoping out the place. So don't forget, when it comes out, I was the original extra cast.

Anyhow this has been a super long day, and there'll be many long days yet to come. I'm signing off here. Tonight we'll take the train down to San Sebastian, and then into Lisbon.

See ya later.

ps. I love bagels.

Paris

2005-03-28T21:44:00.000-08:00

In Paree. A wee bit jet lagged. Eating my weight in sugar (mostly bunny chocolate) to stay awake. So much to write. The writer, the starry-eyed dreamer, the wanderluster is fiercely alive. Tout est fermé. It's Easter, so everything is closed. The weather too. It's cloudy and rainy. My brother is severely jet lagging, ie. sleeping like it's still Pacific Standard time.

My dad, paranoid about time as usual, dropped us off just a little early, we only had to wait three and a half hours to board at SeaTac. In my infinite wisdom I left my Lonely Planet book at home. Now it's just a lonely book on the couch.

We'll wing it, I told my mom, I'm sure some nice European guy wouldn't mind my company for a few days. Plus, us American girls have a reputation of being easy. This did not sit well with her, for some reason. Buy a guide there, she said nervously. They don't have bookstores in Europe mom, only bars, and she shook her head at me hopelessly, thinking, where did I go wrong?

The flights from Seattle to Chicago and Chicago to D.C. were bumpy, like a horse ride. Hello, turbulent city. "The Incredibles" were on twice. I caught bits and pieces of it between intermitten sleep bouts, namely when the flight attendants woke me up. Hi, your eyes are closed. You appear to be in deep sleep, but I'm not sure. In any case, tea or coffee?

The long layover in D.C. was sweet, because we got to hang out with Tammy, walking the near empty streets and crashing in one of the few restaurants that were open, which happened to be one of those high class dress-upsy places, where even the servers make you feel like an underdressed hobo.

My uncle picked us up at Charles de Gaule, and he drove us along the Seine, for my brother, really, since, you know, I've been here before, soooo many times, dahhhhling. That bridge! That street! Where I used to run and make fun of tourists. Le pont Mirabeau, which always makes me a poet, stands in the fog, with that ugly steel thing in the background. My brother is so excited, happy as a boundin' sheep, speaking for French that I had heard from him in years. I didn't even know he knew that many French words, even.

My nephew Alex still remembers me from my days of babysitting him. Maybe a little too well. Let's play! You wanna come play? Okay, you stop using computer now, and you come play with me. So, I ate two bars of ice cream, two pounds of chocolate, made houses and cars out of Legos, and played airplane, a game where I pick up a 7 year old boy and spin him around until I am blue dizzy and he falls down giggling, screaming, "again!"

Yeah, and I've spent the day checking emails, mostly from people who might let me sleep on their couches. Oh, and making some small changes on my website. Pretty proud of how I still remember to use the French keyboard. Like I never left. Okay except for the occasional snafus, like, %Hi ,o, so itùs &&M"à and I'm here, itùs so qzeco,e thqt Qlex still re,e,bers ,e: Qnyzqy I love you bye1%

Anyhow my brother's up, so we're gonna grab a taxi and go see Kuang and Alice, who are conveniently in town. Yay!

Later.

"I never look back, darling. It distracts from the now" ~ Edna "E" Mode

Pictures

Going away

2005-03-24T20:54:00.000-08:00

So, tomorrow I'm gonna have a little small au-revoir party before Quan and I start drinking our way through Europe.

If you're in the area, come by Deluxe on Broadway Friday night around 10:30'ish to have some burger and beer and send us off.

Would love to see you.

Cheerios (and milk!)

L-N.

La premiere fois

2005-03-24T20:25:00.000-08:00

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Explore. Dream. ~Mark Twain

So this is gonna be my European journal. I'll update as often as possible, so come back often!

Cheerios!