Beautiful Valencia

In the Spanish alphabet the "V" is pronounced like a "B," just so you all know. I'm typing on a foreign keyboard again, so it will be a miracle if this gets published, especially since Ann just concocted me a nightcap which is currently waiting for me on the table below. Valencia is currently hosting the World Cup, where the winner will compete with America's champion. Lots of boats, the horizon during the day was beautiful. The city was like most of those, lots of shops, gorgeous, clear beaches. Big city though. I'm currently staying in Alcalali, between Valencia and Alicante. Ann and Brian are kind enough to be my hosts for the next few days....for those of you that have been reading along, Ann and Brian are Sarah's aunt and uncle who recently relocated to Spain from England and I met them in the South of France a short month ago. They live in a beautiful hacienda in the mountains, about 20 minutes from the sea. When I think of Spain, the area where they live is what I think of and the place that I love. Cool breezes on the veranda at night, beautiful sun during the day, romantic language to go along with it all. That's the Spain I fell in love with. They are my tour guides for the next few days and then I'm headed down to Alicante, where I studied in college. Meeting a friend there and then closing out my trip with a former colleague, which should be fun, help me get my tolerance back up in time for my summer family escapades, and I'm hoping she won't get me kicked out of any bars in Spain. I attended my first "quiz night" in Spain, which was a ton of fun. I was able to answer a few questions about the US, given that the locals were all brits, so I felt useful at least! The view on American intelligence in the South of Spain has been saved. ha-ha. I will update pictures at a later time, as I still need to figure out how to compress the files when I download. Ridiculous, but then again, I don't really have the time to look at the directions.

Happy birthday Christie!

Pics from Lagos

I finally had enough time to upload them.

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Lovely Lagos, Portugal

I love this tiny little village in the Algarve. Filled with beautiful beaches and these really cool cliffs, grottos, and SAND! I was so excited to walk on sand. Although the beach is filled with seashells, some of which have been broken to bits and can pinch your toes, but it’s not too bad. This sleepy little town reminds me a lot of Mexico. The white washed buildings are all 2, maybe 3 story’s tall and you can see the church bells cascading above them. The marina is never too far and everyone just seems so relaxed. I guess that’s what you can expect to find in a resort-town, but still, I love it. The weather was a little funky while I was here, overcast in the morning, sunny in the afternoon, but a chilly wind that was relentless. I guess last week they were experiencing hotter than normal temperatures, so this was a nice break, but I’ve been told the wind at least is usually a warm desert wind. I can’t complain I would rather have a slight chill than be sweating to death on the beach. And, this place has the best fresh squeezed orange juice I have ever tasted, it’s amazing. I don’t know what they do or don’t do to them, but I wish I could take some home. In other news, this sleepy little town has been quite busy lately. The little girl, Madeline McCann, who was abducted from her hotel room while sleeping; her family was staying about 10 minutes from Lagos. Not sure what kind of coverage this has received in the states, but it has been all over the news here, I first heard about it in France. Turns out a bunch of reporters were staying in my hotel, and since I’m traveling alone, I have been mistaken for one of them. I also had a women tell me she thought I was 22, I replied with, “I love you and you are my favorite person in the world.” I didn’t start putting eye cream on at 15 for nothing! I digress. Tonight I head over to my favorite country, Spain. Another overnight train, but thankfully this one is only 10 hours and most importantly I get a bed. I believe it will be a small compartment with 3 bunk beds on each side with just enough room between the two to turn around. My butt is just happy I won’t be sitting for that stretch of time. In the meantime I’m rationing my liquids as for some reason you are not allowed to use the WC on a Portuguese train while the train is at a station. Why, I’m not sure, but if everybody is trying to aim while the train is motion, you can imagine eventually some people miss. I prefer not to attempt it anymore at this point—oh to be a man at these moments! Anyways, my eventual destination tomorrow is Costa del Azahar, and I will continue to make my way further South, keeping on the beach, although I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. I’m shocked I haven’t woken up on a day where I have to check out and realized that I haven’t got a clue where I’m staying next. Lucky for me I’ve always remembered at least the night before. Let’s hope that trend continues. Hasta luego and buen viaje for all of you traveling today as well.

Happy early birthday (by a day) to Gary!

Will upload photos later as it´s taking forever and I have to catch a train!

La Comida

This is more of a rant than anything. I talk to myself enough as it is and I've realized it's getting a tad worse, as I now speak out loud to myself in public places. LOL. I catch myself for the most part, but still. So my question is, are shrimp shells edible? I mean if you cook them enough do the shells become soft enough to eat? I would say never, but it seems in Europe, if you order anything with shrimp, it's still in its shell, legs, feelers and all. Now maybe in the US we're spoiled, but I don't think so. It's not like I am ordering peel and eat shrimp either. Today was seafood rice, meaning it was in a sauce; peeling the shrimp with my fingers is out, and using a fork and knife to do it is next to impossible. They also left the crab leg in tact. What am I supposed to do with that? I tried to break it open and ended up spraying the table with the sauce. Not pretty. What's odd, the restaurant de-shelled the clams and mussels, two shellfish that are totally do-it-yourself compatible. So maybe that's it, the chef is lazy. Who knows. It makes me not want to order anything with shrimp and I love shrimp. I'm bummed because I was so looking forward to paella in Spain and I can't remember if they de-shell them or not. The begining of my dinner will provide entertainment for some of you....I sat down and shortly after getting settled in, I noticed there was an 8-legged "A" thing on the wall, which my table was next to. You would all be proud, as I did not scream, but rather moved the table away from the wall. I then contemplated taking my shoe off and smushing it, but there were other people present and I didn't think I'd get a good angle and I might lose it. Given the language barrier my waiter moved the oil and vinegar first, then the flower vase, (all the while I'm trying to get around him to crawl out of my chair for fear the thing goes the wrong way), and finally when I was pointing frantically to the wall and a safe distance away, he picked it up (it was very similar to a daddy-long-leg), handed it to another guy and out the door it went. They saved it, I'm sure that makes some of you (Andy) very happy. I'm probably going to have nightmares now and never get to sleep tonight. I need therapy, I know.

Portuguese

People say that Portuguese is close to Spanish, but I actually think it sounds like Russian. If I see the writing, I can make out what on earth I'm buying or eating, but listening, I got nothing. Currently in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Big city, beautiful architecture surrounded by old castles, mountains, and the ocean. I've been reassured by several people (after I answer and say shhh, don't tell anyone I'm American), that Portugal is the end/begining of the world. Once you leave land there is only ocean between Portugal and America, and that makes us neighbors. I arrived via a God awful 14-hour overnight (sitting up) train from Biarritz. The train ride was rough, but after the crazy guy was carted off the train (he didn't have a ticket) at least there was some peace and quiet. I spent the last couple hours of the trip speaking (attempt at least) Spanish to my two remaining compartment mates, one Spanish, one Portuguese, both fantastic people. The people here have been so nice, although a weirdo greeted me on the corner today by trying to put his baseball cap on my head--very strange and ewe gross, luckily the traffic cop waved me past so I wouldn't have to stand there with him. Nice traffic cop. The wonderful thing about Lisbon is that the sidewalks are all made out of small stones. Do you know what the best thing about stone sidewalks is? Yes, of course it's much prettier than cement, but the best part is that it's slippery as hell! Any type of shoe, slips and slides without careful steps, foot after foot, strategically placed. I smacked a guy while flailing my arms trying to prevent myself from wiping out; luckily he was attempting to save me so I didn't feel like a complete jerk. Then of course I scared a poor girl when I slipped off the sidewalk (in front of a packed cafe mind you). For those of you that have played softball, sloshball or sailed with me, or really anything that might induce fear, if you remember, when scared I inhale deeply, which creates a squeak noise. Sometimes louder than others depending on the level of anxiety. This poor girl was in front of me when I slipped and squeaked, she reached out her arms to grab me and shrieked a bit herself, but luckily when my foot hit the safety of concrete, I was stabilized. I always laugh attempting to avoid embarrassment and remind myself that I will never see these people again, but my face still turns red from humiliation. I'm hoping my next stop in Portugal is full of cement, otherwise I'm going to have figure out how to put traction on all my shoes.

Biarritz

Located near the border of Spain in Northwestern France, Biarritz has been called a surfer's paradise, and the waves did not disappoint (as long as you had a wetsuit). A torrential downpour occurred upon my arrival late Monday night. The rain held off yesterday and the sun came out, but it was still chilly with the wind. Unfortunately I decided that today would be a better day for the beach, when instead, it was another excellent day for surfing, as the wind was fierce and it was colder and overcast. Still a fun city to be in. You can walk everywhere, which is nice and there are plenty of places to watch the surfers in action, whether inside or out. I opted for inside today, since the sun didn't peak out until around 5 p.m. The ocean here is dotted with these massive rocks, which reminds me a little of the beach in Monterosso; the beach here is bordered by beautiful cliffs, one of which has a cute little lighthouse looking out to the Atlantic. Needless to say the weather dashed my hopes of learning to surf, maybe mother nature was looking out for me! Biarritz will be known (to-date) as the city that hit my wallet the most, as without a warm beach to lay on, I shopped and shopped. Among my purchases is a new camera, which I hope to get set-up shortly and share a couple pictures of my current home. I'll add those later once I learn all the in's and out's of my new gadget. I never learned all there is to know about my last camera, so this should be a fun task. At least I have time to kill on a train, hopefully I can learn it all then.

A special note to my family...I'm sending positive thoughts and all my love to each and everyone of you from halfway around the world. I'm there beside you all in heart, mind, and soul.

Figured it out...
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Aix en Provence

Another very cute, quaint little town tucked away in Southern France, just North of Marseille. It's more of a wandering city, tons of little shops and places to perch outside and watch the world go by. Luckily, not too many photo ops since I don't have a camera; again, it's a city more for wandering and enjoying the town rather than sightseeing. Unfortunately, I chose to visit on a Sunday, when everything is closed. They had a very cool antique market lining the major pedestrian thoroughfare, and had I lived nearby or had the means to ship things, I could have done some damage. Lucky for my wallet--neither were true. So, after window shopping all I could, I sat down to read a magazine, people watch, and enjoy a glass of champagne on a lovely Sunday afternoon. The clouds took over eventually and the breeze turned from warm to cool, so I hightailed it back to the train station and made it home before any rain started. Hopefully it passes me by altogether. Headed for a few days on the beach tomorrow and looking forward to soaking up some sun.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mother's out there! Love you mom.

Avignon

Lets start out the story with the train station experience in Marseille. I'm not sure which futbol (aka soccer) game was being played today, but the favorite team color in Marseille was light blue. The place was packed, absolutely crammed with soccer fans. I got to the station about 45 minutes early because I needed to book some tickets and was thoroughly entertained by the chanting and singing that broke out every 10 minutes or so, complete with air horns, pot smokers and beer drinkers, all before noon--I guess they too live by the rule, "it's 12 o'clock somewhere!" Of course, my train boarded the same time the riled fans did and as luck would have it, I was going against the crowd. I was only knocked sideways once, and saved by a suitcase and the guy I fell on; but, anytime I put my arm up to push or shove or balance myself, somebody grabbed it to "pump" my arm in the air to coincide with the chanting and singing. Quite comical to say the least. So after the struggle to the train, I took a quick trip over to Avignon, about 30 minutes outside of Marseille. It is a walled city and so quaint and cute, a great afternoon. Massive palace, that looked more like a castle, built by and for the Popes when Italy was experiencing some political unrest. Toured the inside and took in the views from the terraces. There is the grand cathedral, a bridge that had a song made about it, and a ton of little side streets to get lost on, which I did, but found my way in time to catch the bus back to the train station. Unfortunately, there are not too many pictures from this adorable place in France because my camera decided that it doesn't want to take photos anymore. Everything works except for the lens, all pictures are black. While my goal of course is to get a new one as soon as possible, I'm not sure when that will be. I'm hoping tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest. I'm still holding out hope that it just wants a break and will work in the morning (normally when it does this it works when I turn it back on, not so lucky today); so, I fear it's finally had enough--It's been a terrific travel companion for the past 4 years, so I can't complain!

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Marseille

Dubbed the meeting place of the world. It's quite a large city, second only to Paris, which I was not aware of. The people are friendly, the old port is loaded with boats (although nowhere near the standards of Cote d'Azur), the restaurants are plentiful and the people watching is fun, as always. I toured old town and the large basilica at the top of a peak, which stands guard over the city. Old town was cool but nothing too exciting; small windy streets where you have to hug the wall when a car drives by. I took a little trolley to both places, which was fun, although I may as well have tatooed "tourist" on my forehead. Who cares, I'll never see these people again! The basilica was fantastic, mainly for the view. The inside was very ornate and beautiful, the crypt was cool, but unfortunately blocked off, which messed up my picture. I feel like everything is under construction when I go. Jeez. The view of the city from the basilica was amazing, absolutely gorgeous! I could have spent hours up there making my way around. All in all though, I wasn't that impressed with the city and on future trips, would skip it. I should probably wait to post that until I've safely left the city. I've rented a small apartment this time around and while I'm enjoying the space (and again, the washing machine) it's not everything it's cracked up to be. I was looking forward to grocery shopping and curing some of my food cravings, but I forgot that the basic spices (like salt) are not supplied and it's not worth it to buy them for a few days (it's not like I'm doing tequila shots on a regular basis), so, I probably won't be doing this again. Lesson learned; I have to wait until I get home to experience the comforts of it. Life is so unfair. ha-ha.

P.S. Nobody ever buy Old El Paso pre-made queso or guacomole, it's just not worth it!

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Nice is Nice and Cannes too!

So I've been hanging out in Nice for the past week, taking day trips to Eze and Cannes. Eze to the East and Cannes to the West. Cannes was o.k., beaches, shopping, not too much different than Nice--although next week it will of course be pure mayhem with the film festival in town. My thorough enjoyment of Cannes came from checking out all the beautiful boats docked there...and my waiter took a liking to me and provided me with some free champagne and food, I guess I looked sad all by my lonesome. The champagne helped me sleep on the two-hour bus ride home, ridiculous! Traffic was awful and I was so worried I would have to pee, so I was glad to have slept right up until the end. Back to Nice. The beaches are pretty, water is gorgeous; but, the beach is made of rock, and not little pebbles, but ouch that hurts to walk on, rock. Yes, you leave cleaner, but it's not the most comfortable to lay on, there is always something stabbing you (Ms. Katz you were much younger when you were here), my body hates me. The water is still a bit chilly, but I have come to the conclusion that people are swimming in it because they fell into the water when a wave hit them because the rocks hurt their feet to bad to remain standing. At least that is what sped up my dip in the Mediterranean. There are pigeons here too...and I was attacked by one on my first day. It divebombed my face--I'm still not certain somebody didn't throw bread my way just to be funny. Luckily I had my face covered to block the sun so I wasn't clawed, but it scared me half to death. I hate those things. Let's see, what else....have I mentioned I think the US should introduce public toilets that you pay for? They are so much cleaner, I don't feel like there is some strange disease to avoid and I can actually breathe in them, fifty cents, that's all, so worth it. That's my soapbox for the day. I have enjoyed this city, but I'm looking forward to moving on to sandier places!

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Eze--The Scent Stays With You

The little town of Eze is situated about 20 minutes East of Nice. An absolutely beautiful place perched on top of a mountain. It's extremely small and can be toured easily in an afternoon. The main business that I found was the parfumerie, Fragamond. I did buy some perfume, which is lovely, but they must have sent me home with a scented card or something (which I cannot locate), because every time I'm in my room, I can smell it. I have no clue where it's coming from, not the scent of the perfume I bought and frankly, I'm not too keen on it. Luckily, I leave tomorrow and will hopefully not bring the scent with me. And no, it's not me. So my perfume experience was interesting. I figured I would go on a tour through the factory to see how the stuff is made. There was a group of college kids about to start and English tour, so they let me join that one. About 15 minutes into it I was bored to tears (my tour guide was not so good and the group was huge)--plus, it was a gorgeous day outside and I wanted to be part of it. I discovered a door on the opposite side of the factory that led outside to the parking lot and I could see the stairs to climb up to the old town, which is where I wanted to go; but, I couldn't get to it from my side, we were blocked. My group headed up one staircase and in the middle, it crossed the staircase which led to the other side of the factory, which had access to the door. Because I'm so smart, I thought I could easily hop over one side to other. Mind you, they were metal railings, not much to grab onto, and I was wearing a dress and didn't want to flash the stragglers in my group who could still see me. I almost thank God they were still there since I was so concerned about being humiliated, it was the only thing that kept me upright. My "hop" was not so graceful and I think I pulled a muscle in my arm while trying to prevent myself from falling smack on my face (and of course then rolling down the cement stairs). Not pretty, but I made it and quickly ran out the door, across the parking lot to the stairs up to old town in order to get out of sight of my tour group, never having to see them again! The old town was absolutely beautiful. All these small windy stone streets. The views across the ocean and mountains were so picturesque. A fun place to go see and glad I returned unscathed.

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Election Night

For those of you not living in France (or visiting), you might have missed the news today that Sarkozy, from the conservative party, beat Royal, from the socialist party, and is the president-elect of France. CNN is the only English speaking TV station and since I’m in France, I’ve been watching the coverage now for over two hours. Same speeches, over and over again, can we move on please? Now, Royal had said that riots would break out if Sarkozy won. I, being in Nice, a beautiful coastal city, was obviously naïve to think my little town would be unaffected. It started right after the announcement that Sarkozy won, cars honking their horns, cheers in the street, etc. However, apparently I am currently staying in the center of it all, as a huge crowd gathered right below my balcony on the street, there was a lot of yelling (more women this time so I figured it was an attempt to stop a fight), sure enough fighting started. A few cops showed up and the group began to slowly disperse. Then, the paddywagon showed up and out of all available doors of the van, 10 cops jumped out, batons in hand, ready to kick some ass. They guarded the intersection and when I stuck my head out the balcony, I could see that the dispersed police were finally getting everyone in their cars. There is still a large crowd down the street, gossiping about the recent events I’m sure. I have a feeling I won’t get much sleep tonight. I should have kept the ear plugs. Crazy French.

Cote d'Azur

I survived the long weekend with the adults. ha-ha. Actually, what I survived was Larry's driving a stick shift van with crazy Frenchman veering all over the place. We stalled, a few times, there were some four letter words dropped, but all in all, it provided good entertainment. Thank God for roundabouts. We even managed to get 6 people with luggage smushed into the car so they could take me back to Nice with them. Very appreciative for the squish ladies! I had a great time with Larry, Gretel, Peg, Ann, Brian, Angie, and Stan. The van load picked me up at the train station in Monaco/Monte Carlo and we toured the city by getting lost, which is the best way if you ask me. Larry and I climbed up to the castle in Monaco and toured the gardens, which were nice. Lunch in Monte Carlo and then we headed back to Grimaud, where we were staying. The weather took a turn after that and it poured all day Thursday, but I can't complain, as the "rain day" provided me with the perfect opportunity to do all my laundry. That's a very exciting thing for me nowadays; don't I live an exciting life? The weather gods were kind enough to stop the rain while we toured St. Tropez. Angie assured us of its beauty, even though the clouds and gray sky tried to hide it. I missed out on making daquiris, as Larry and Brian drank most of the rum upon their arrival...our quest to find more Bacardi was unsuccessful, next time.

A huge thank-you to Larry and Gretel for inviting me along on their vacation, and treating me as one of their own; to Peg, Ann, Brian, Angie and Stan for letting me crash the vacation; and to Angie and Stan for opening up your home (and washing machine) to me. I had a lovely time.

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Halfway Point

For those living vicariously through me….my life will become somewhat less interesting I feel from here on out. I have tired of the big cities and am sticking to the coast line (it’s warm and sunny why should I veer off). Needless to say, I doubt I will update every day, but who knows, interacting more with the locals could provide even better entertainment than my own daily findings. I am meeting some Texans tomorrow in the South of France; the Smith’s (Sarah’s parents) complete with Grandma Smith and of course Larry and Gretel. Larry is expecting daiquiris (as always) and I’m hoping Gretel doesn’t get us kicked out of a casino in Monte Carlo! Will be a ton of fun to be an adopted daughter for a few days and I’m looking forward to hearing Larry’s southern twang…I’ve been away from the South for far too long and am looking forward to getting back to my roots in early fall. As I’ve reached the 2-month mark, I thought I would note the tally to-date, 22 cities and 9 countries. Not too shabby. From what started as a trip that I thought would take forever, I find that in my last two months, I do not have the time to see and do all that I want and I wish I could stay. Not that I don’t miss you all back home and look forward to chatting over drinks and dinner upon my return, but I wish even more that the rendezvous could take place over here so you each could experience my current "fabulous life." Don’t hate me because I’m on vacation! Lol.

Happy early birthday to Coree!

Animal Farm

I’m currently stationed in San Remo, Italy, right on the Italian/French border. Lovely little town, from what I’ve seen of it. I got in late yesterday afternoon and didn’t meander from the hotel given the fact I lucked out with a balcony looking out over the ocean. Today I hit the beach, hopefully I didn’t get too much sun, we shall see once I get in front of a mirror. You have to have a card for the electricity to work and the cleaning man took mine. Luckily, the sun hasn’t completely set, so I have light in the main room, but not the bathroom. The town sort of reminds me of Galveston, which makes it sound awful, but it’s not. Palm trees everywhere, big strand along the ocean, all these little beaches. My room has a little kitchenette and there’s another bedroom with two bunkbeds-I guess that’s what really reminds me of Galveston. In regards to the animal farm, I currently hear birds chirping and dogs barking. Last night however, it was the frogs first, then the dog howling, then the cat fight in the street. You would think with my ability to tune out ambulance, police and fire sirens, taxi horns, and drunken locals, I would be fine; but, apparently I now find nature difficult to sleep in. Oh the joys of the little things New York does to you. Tonight is my last night in Italia and I’m ready to leave. The country has been great but I think I’m ready for a new language…and more importantly to move closer to the one I can actually speak! Ciao, Ciao.

I didn’t take many pictures…as I was on the beach all day.
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