After Nice we took a train to Pisa, Italy. We had two connecting trains so it was a bit of a long day, about six hours of travel. The cabins in the train were like the ones in Harry Potter, pretty cool. There was even a food trolley! Unfortunately, we didn't have a reservation and it was assigned seating so we were stuck sitting in the fold down chairs in the hallway with our backpacks under us. Every time somebody walked down the aisle (at almost every stop) we had to get up to let them by.
Once we got to Pisa we took a bus and then walked the rest of the way to our hostel. By that time we were pretty tired of carrying our backpacks around. Our hostel was right next to the Leaning Tower, it was a town house converted into a hostel with only three guest rooms. We were in a six bed mixed dorm. The next morning we went to see the tower and take some touristy pictures, after we headed to our next destination, Florence.
It was nice walking around the city, it is easy to get lost in Florence so we didn't make many plans (not that we would really anyway). Most places are closed on Mondays (which was our full day there) because of this we didn't hit the usual tourist spots and just walked around enjoying the city. We got some delicious pizza and went to see the duomo. Rain was in the forecast in the morning but we didn't really worry about it because our hostel isn't too far away and it was a warm afternoon. In the late afternoon when we had wandered about an hour away from our hostel the clouds above us started looking very nasty so we started to head home. I was thinking we may get caught in a light rain but I thought we would probably make it back in time to miss it. I was wrong on both accounts.
On our way back, when passing the Duomo, all of the sudden people started screaming and running away from the building. I had no idea what was going on, thinking maybe someone had gotten hurt or something really horrible had just happened. We waited a ways back to see what happened, then came the first raindrops where we were standing. Apparently rain had started by the Duomo first and so people started to scatter.
Udara & I continued on our way, disregarding the rain and hoping to make it back soon as we already couldn't remember which street we were supposed to turn on. Under every overhang people were huddled for shelter and we were two of the few walking through the weather. Then came the first flash of lightening. Lovely! Then came the true downpour. Relentless showers of rain poured and winds blew through the streets making it very difficult to look at our map. Finally the rain got so bad we found shelter under a closed store's overhang. When we were standing there people tried to sell us umbrellas about 15 times. As the thunder & lightening got closer the rain got much worse. Udara & I started to sing the thunder buddy song from Ted...it was pretty amusing.
The rain died down a little for a few minutes so we went on our way again, this time in the right direction. On our way we walked through a street which had a lot of vendor carts with cloth overhangs. These overhangs had been collecting water since the storm started (about 45 minutes before.) Riiiiiight exactly when I walked under one of them the cloth gave way and I got a waterfall on my head. Udara was thoroughly amused by this. Finally after about an hour being lost in the rain we made it back to our hostel, looking like drowned cats.
Today we checked out of our hostel in the morning and headed to the train station yet again to make our way to Rome. We are now in our HOTEL in Rome, it is very quiet compared to what we have been used to the past week. We went to check out the Roman ruins and Colosseum tonight. Had a good dinner four cheese gnocchi and tiramisu! We will be here the next few days then off to Venice (probably.)
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Nice; The French Riviera 6/19-6/22
tOn the 19th Udara & I arrived in Nice by train after an almost six hour ride from Paris on the TGV. It was our first use of our Eurail pass and it went very smoothly. In the afternoon we went to Old Town Nice and walked around the area for a while. My first views of the Mediterranean were breathtaking. The water is turquoise and turns to a beautiful dark blue in the distance. On our train ride to Nice we passed through other cities along France's Côte d'Azur, Cannes and Antibes. The red rock along the coast is a sharp contrast against the dark blue sea and it was the perfect first view of France's Mediterranean coastline.
Our hostel there, Villa St. Exupery Gardens is much more lively than our hostel in Bergen. The hostel has a huge common room which they call 'The Chapel' because the building was once a chapel. There is decorative stained glass on the wall and plenty of areas to sit. There are always people in the chapel and music is usually playing. This hostel also includes breakfast which is nice, one less thing to have to remember! There is a shuttle that runs every 15 minutes from the main city to the hostel which has been very convenient, the walk is very steep but a good workout!
Yesterday we bought a three day pass for the trolley which runs from old town area to the stop where the hostel shuttle picks us up. Yesterday we went down to the beach and relaxed while enjoying the ocean. I have missed the beach! Unlike back home though, the beaches here are rocks. Rock beaches are nice because sand doesn't get everywhere (no towel really necessary and eating on the beach doesn't mean a side of sand.) And surprisingly, it can be comfortable to lay on the rocky beach once you get settled. So comfortable in fact, that when we went back to the beach after our trip to the medieval fortress Udara fell asleep. Me being the great friend that I am, I built my own stone fortress while she slept....on her back. She had absolutely no idea until she woke up (a while after I was done with my masterpiece.)
In between our beach adventures we went to visit the medieval castle on top of one of the cliffs. It has amazing views of the city and the sea. We thought it was just one small look out area, but once we got up there we realized it was a much larger area with really cool ruins of the fortress, dungeons, and cemetery (which was more recent, but still had some tombs from the 1800s.)
The next day went to a different beach, I didn't get tooooo burnt, but it's inevitable being the first long beach excursion of the summer. While sand beaches may sometimes be a bummer when trying to eat, they are much better than rock beachs, more comfortable to sit on sand and you aren't beaten up when waves crash on the shore. Our last night in Nice was La Fete de la Musique, a celebration throughout France because it is the official first day of summer and the longest day of the year! It was an amazing experience and my favorite night/event of the trip so far. Every street had a different musician or band playing. It seemed as if every local and tourist was out in the city enjoying the warm night and the music. We found one DJ using two gameboys and a switchboard to make some cool sounding music. This was my favorite part, everyone was dancing in the streets having a good time. Some cars were attempting to drive through the crowds which was amusing to watch, if any happened to have their window open as they passed they were greeted by high fives from the crowds.
Our hostel there, Villa St. Exupery Gardens is much more lively than our hostel in Bergen. The hostel has a huge common room which they call 'The Chapel' because the building was once a chapel. There is decorative stained glass on the wall and plenty of areas to sit. There are always people in the chapel and music is usually playing. This hostel also includes breakfast which is nice, one less thing to have to remember! There is a shuttle that runs every 15 minutes from the main city to the hostel which has been very convenient, the walk is very steep but a good workout!
Yesterday we bought a three day pass for the trolley which runs from old town area to the stop where the hostel shuttle picks us up. Yesterday we went down to the beach and relaxed while enjoying the ocean. I have missed the beach! Unlike back home though, the beaches here are rocks. Rock beaches are nice because sand doesn't get everywhere (no towel really necessary and eating on the beach doesn't mean a side of sand.) And surprisingly, it can be comfortable to lay on the rocky beach once you get settled. So comfortable in fact, that when we went back to the beach after our trip to the medieval fortress Udara fell asleep. Me being the great friend that I am, I built my own stone fortress while she slept....on her back. She had absolutely no idea until she woke up (a while after I was done with my masterpiece.)
In between our beach adventures we went to visit the medieval castle on top of one of the cliffs. It has amazing views of the city and the sea. We thought it was just one small look out area, but once we got up there we realized it was a much larger area with really cool ruins of the fortress, dungeons, and cemetery (which was more recent, but still had some tombs from the 1800s.)
The next day went to a different beach, I didn't get tooooo burnt, but it's inevitable being the first long beach excursion of the summer. While sand beaches may sometimes be a bummer when trying to eat, they are much better than rock beachs, more comfortable to sit on sand and you aren't beaten up when waves crash on the shore. Our last night in Nice was La Fete de la Musique, a celebration throughout France because it is the official first day of summer and the longest day of the year! It was an amazing experience and my favorite night/event of the trip so far. Every street had a different musician or band playing. It seemed as if every local and tourist was out in the city enjoying the warm night and the music. We found one DJ using two gameboys and a switchboard to make some cool sounding music. This was my favorite part, everyone was dancing in the streets having a good time. Some cars were attempting to drive through the crowds which was amusing to watch, if any happened to have their window open as they passed they were greeted by high fives from the crowds.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
My feet hate me.
So the past three days have been pretty busy! (Especially the last two)
Friday we went to the spot where Udara took a picture as a child and took a picture of that picture in the exact spot. We ran into some pretty cool street performers, they were hip hop dancers. They got the crowd pretty involved & they are the first (and only so far) street performers I actually listened to enough to pay. We went to the Jardin du Luxembourg, a nice park and garden and area to sit and relax to enjoy the beautiful day. Friday night from 6-945 the Louvre is free for people under 25 so we went to the section of the Louvre where I have been before, Denon. We could have gone somewhere new, but I told Udara she needed to see the Mona Lisa. Also, it was interesting looking at the paintings again because I have since taken two art history classes.
Saturday we went to Giverny which was our second day trip out of the city (our first visiting family only a little out of the city.) We went to Claude Monet's home & gardens in Giverny and they were beautiful but I learned that I have some major pollen allergies. I have never sneezed so much in my life. When I woke up this morning my eyes were still puffy. We walked about five miles to get there from the train station in Vernon because instead of taking the bus we decided to walk. And of course we got lost first...went 30 minutes the wrong way, so we walked 30 more minutes back to where we started. We are pretty proud of walking though! And I guess i'm gonna need to get used to it being that I signed up for the Carlsbad half marathon in January.
Today(Sunday) we went to Le Chateau Versailles. Versailles is amazing! There is so much to see, we were there for seven hours and didn't see it all. And me not thinking about being in the sun for seven hours didn't bring sunscreen....I've got a niiiice sunburn now. We got a full 'passport' to see Marie Antoinette's Chateau which was formerly the family 'summer home', the palace, and we walked through the gardens for a while. In the late afternoon they turned on all of the fountains for a water show.
Overall i'm glad we got to go on these two day trips, we have gotten some good walking in and our feet are telling us. We were going to go to Mont St. Michel tomorrow but I can't even think about walking that much another day so we will probably end up doing that when we come back to Paris in July. We will be doing Disney Paris when we come back too!!! Can't wait for that :)
Friday we went to the spot where Udara took a picture as a child and took a picture of that picture in the exact spot. We ran into some pretty cool street performers, they were hip hop dancers. They got the crowd pretty involved & they are the first (and only so far) street performers I actually listened to enough to pay. We went to the Jardin du Luxembourg, a nice park and garden and area to sit and relax to enjoy the beautiful day. Friday night from 6-945 the Louvre is free for people under 25 so we went to the section of the Louvre where I have been before, Denon. We could have gone somewhere new, but I told Udara she needed to see the Mona Lisa. Also, it was interesting looking at the paintings again because I have since taken two art history classes.
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View of the Louvre from inside  |
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| Marie Antoinette's Gardens |
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| Chandelier in the Palace |
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Inside Marie Antoinette's Chateau |
Thursday, June 13, 2013
BANDU
Today we started out with the goal to put our lock on the bridge at Pont des Arts. We got off the metro and walked around the garden area right outside of the Louvre, Jardin Tuileries. This park reminded me of the Great Park in Orange County (a finished version.) There were a lot of cool statues, fountains and ponds. It rained today so the park was fairly empty. It was nice walking around in the not crowded post-rain park.
We walked up the street to the Opera and back down the street (got macaroons on the way), ending up at a bridge (not sure which is Pont des Arts) there are lots of bridges with locks on them. But we will know where the lock we left is; it is on the bridge right out of the Jardin Tuileries on the 13th panel, its 2013 after all! Udara took some cool pictures of the lock on the bridge.
So explination for what I carved into the lock:
1. BANDU= Bethany and Udara
2. Homance= Female equivalent of a bromance
Today there was also a second spider sighting. A few days ago I found a spider on the shower curtain and it got away....I was kind hearted enough not to tell Udara until after she showered. I spared her from the thoughts of a spidery death I had while I showered. Today Udara found the spider again...freaked out and came to get me to 'take care of it.' Couldn't find it again. Now she refuses to shower until we find it....she is truly embracing the French culture.
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| Couldn't get her shoe back on :( |
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| Dramatic umbrella photoshoot |
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Miam! Miam! |
1. BANDU= Bethany and Udara
2. Homance= Female equivalent of a bromance
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| BANDU |
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#homance |
Parfait (Perfect)
Tuesday Udara & I went back to the area where we went to Montmartre & Le mur des j'taimes. This time we walked up the hill to La Basilique du Sacre Coeur. First, we had lunch at the same cafe where we had quiche last time, it's so delicious and the people are so nice there! They are patient with our broken French.
We explored the square outside, there were artists all around the square. It was interesting looking at all of the art, many of them were of the same thing (Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, etc) but had their own twist so were all different. If they weren't so expensive I would have gotten one, they were awesome! I guess I'll have to stick with an attempt at a replica when we get home, new art project :)
Sacre Coeur itself is beautiful. The mosaic in the dome is a sight to see. Overall it was a good day walking around this area in and out of the cobblestone streets.
On our way back we got some nutella flavored gelatto (yummy!)
Tonight we went to Champs-Elysees for dinner. Udara's uncle is the chef at a Japanese Barbecue and we had a feast there! I have only had Japanese food a few times so it was a nice change. I love trying new foods. I ate raw fish for the first time, and personally dismembered my own shrimp. I'm forcing myself to do things I wouldn't at home...one of them trying lots of new foods I wouldn't necessarily choose. Overall the meal was delicious and it was fun barbecuing it ourselves.
When we went to the bathroom after the meal it had a (very) little room for waiting and then the separate male & female stall. We were in there by ourselves so we used both. A young boy came in after Nishadie came out of the men's stall, he looked at her really funny so it was pretty amusing. An older man pushed open the door and it hit me in the back, so he stopped. I moved & opened the door and he stared at me, dumbfounded. I told him in French it was for both..and he still stared for a second before he realized what I said. After Udara was fixing her hair in the mirror & the guy said (apparently very creepily) 'parfait.'
Yesterday we went shopping and to a place called La Defense, on the outskirts of Paris. It is the last stop on the 1 metro line. It was a little bit of an eerie place with a huge open area surrounded by tall buildings made of windows which were partially businesses, partially mall. Yesterday night we saw The Bling Ring with Emma Watson. I didn't think it was a very good movie, and it is yet another movie that makes American teenagers look horrible.
Not sure yet what we are doing today, maybe back to Pont des Arts to add our lock!
Tomorrow we are probably going to go to La Jardin du Luxembourg & the Louvre. The Louvre is free Fridays from 6-945 :)
We explored the square outside, there were artists all around the square. It was interesting looking at all of the art, many of them were of the same thing (Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, etc) but had their own twist so were all different. If they weren't so expensive I would have gotten one, they were awesome! I guess I'll have to stick with an attempt at a replica when we get home, new art project :)
Sacre Coeur itself is beautiful. The mosaic in the dome is a sight to see. Overall it was a good day walking around this area in and out of the cobblestone streets.
On our way back we got some nutella flavored gelatto (yummy!)
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| Sacre Coeur |
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Skyline of Paris....and a bunch of photobombers |
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| Miso soup, sushi, barbecued pork, fish & beef. |
When we went to the bathroom after the meal it had a (very) little room for waiting and then the separate male & female stall. We were in there by ourselves so we used both. A young boy came in after Nishadie came out of the men's stall, he looked at her really funny so it was pretty amusing. An older man pushed open the door and it hit me in the back, so he stopped. I moved & opened the door and he stared at me, dumbfounded. I told him in French it was for both..and he still stared for a second before he realized what I said. After Udara was fixing her hair in the mirror & the guy said (apparently very creepily) 'parfait.'
Udara, Nishu and I walked to l'arc de Triomphe. We had to walk underground because the arch is in the middle of a roundabout. We realized in the tunnel you had to pay to get up there so we skipped that and took pictures from the other street.
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L'arc de Triomphe |
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| Setting of a dystopian novel? |
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| thumb? |
Tomorrow we are probably going to go to La Jardin du Luxembourg & the Louvre. The Louvre is free Fridays from 6-945 :)
Monday, June 10, 2013
No sign of the Hunchback.
Today Udara & I explored the Metro stop St Michel. We saw the St Michel Fountain & Notre Dame. Notre Dame is just as amazing the second time. The vaulted celings make the church feel very open. Last time I visited Paris we walked through the church but this time Udara & I did a little more. We visited the treasury & walked to the top of the bell tower. The belllllls!
This year is the 850th anniversary of Notre Dame so they are in the process of restoring the organ and some of the bells (so we had a cool view of the top but we didn't walk into the bell tower just on top). In the front of Notre Dame were some bleachers, another part of the 850th celebration. We got lots of awesome pictures, the 5.5 euros to go to the top was definitely worth it (especially because entrance to the church is free)
Climbing the stairs of Notre Dame/coming back down was a little nerve wracking. The stairs are spiral-never-ending-get smaller as you climb up. Dizzy but still worth it and an interesting experience nonetheless.
After we got crêpes and ate them in a nearby park...where Udara fell asleep after she ate hers. Cute...asleep on a park bench.
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| St. Michel Fountain with dancing golden man |
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| Front of Notre Dame |
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| Amazing stained glass windows |
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| New seating area at Notre Dame |
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Favorite picture of the day!  |
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| Never ending spiral staircase! |
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Everything is Greyish-Blue
So...I forgot to admit that a few days ago I did all of my laundry in one load to save soap/water/time. There wasn't much laundry and I didn't have any reds or bright pinks. That didn't matter though, my (not even bright) blue shirt turned all of Udara's socks & two of my shirts greyish-blue. Lovely, lesson learned I guess. Separate laundry, or else!
Today we went on our first excursion outside of Paris, we took a train to visit some more of Udara's relatives in Colomb. We had a really good Sri Lankan food lunch & I tried anchovies for the first time! (found that out after I ate them ;) After we played poker...let's just say I wish we were playing with money.
Today we went on our first excursion outside of Paris, we took a train to visit some more of Udara's relatives in Colomb. We had a really good Sri Lankan food lunch & I tried anchovies for the first time! (found that out after I ate them ;) After we played poker...let's just say I wish we were playing with money.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Quod tu es, ego fui, quod ego sum, tu eris
Quod tu es, ego fui, quod ego sum, tu eris is a Roman epitaph which means 'What you are I once was, what I am, you will become.' It is something that I learned in my art history class this past semester and it is what was on my mind on part of our adventure today.
Today we ended up at the Pantheon, resting place of many prominent French figures and former church. We were trying to go to Pont des Arts again to leave a lock on the fence, but went the wrong way and ended up at the Pantheon. The high arches, intricate carvings, statues, and paintings are seen on the celing and walls. High windows bring the light into the main building and illuminate the carved figures. Once in the crypt we walked by the tombs of people such as Rousseau, Voltaire, Braille, Marie Curie & Victor Hugo.
After we left the Pantheon we stumbled upon a flea market for antiques. It was interesting to walk through and see all of the items that were for sale.
We went out tonight to meet with a friend of Udara's from school...missed the memo that it was supposed to rain tonight. So we were trying to figure out which way to go down the streets, in the pouring rain...all part of the adventure, gotta get lost sometimes. Even if when you ask directions you are standing right in front of the street sign you are looking for....Direction challenge problems....this is why we don't make plans!
Today we ended up at the Pantheon, resting place of many prominent French figures and former church. We were trying to go to Pont des Arts again to leave a lock on the fence, but went the wrong way and ended up at the Pantheon. The high arches, intricate carvings, statues, and paintings are seen on the celing and walls. High windows bring the light into the main building and illuminate the carved figures. Once in the crypt we walked by the tombs of people such as Rousseau, Voltaire, Braille, Marie Curie & Victor Hugo.
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| Part under construction because stone are cracking/breaking |
We went out tonight to meet with a friend of Udara's from school...missed the memo that it was supposed to rain tonight. So we were trying to figure out which way to go down the streets, in the pouring rain...all part of the adventure, gotta get lost sometimes. Even if when you ask directions you are standing right in front of the street sign you are looking for....Direction challenge problems....this is why we don't make plans!
Paris by Metro
Udara & I have been using our metro pass to explore the city. A few days ago we went to an inexpensive shopping area, on accident actually. We got off at the metro station and we followed the signs for exiting, but I guess we took the wrong way, and ended up in a mall. Oh no...budget spender's nightmare :( We also found a place to get our ticket to Nice for the 19th, it was 9 Euros to make the reservation with our Eurail pass. We will be taking the TGV, that should be fun! Our metro pass ends Sunday...we might have to renew it, there is still a lot to explore!
Yesterday we went to the historical Maison de Balzac & Musée National de la Marine. The second was interesting, there were models of ships from many different time periods and the first had a pretty good view of the Eiffel Tower.
I have been loving the food in France...pain au chocolat, crêpes, quiche, baguettes, cheese...SO DELICIOUS!
Yesterday night we went to see The Great Gatsby, I forgot how good of a story that is!
Not sure what we are doing today, waiting to go see Notre Dame & Sacre Coeur for rainy days because they are inside (rain forecasted for next week)
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| Fountain at the mall |
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| One of the stamps used to illustrate Balzac's novels |
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| One of the models & one of Napoleon Bonaparte's royal fleet |
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| Another view of the Eiffel Tower |
Yesterday night we went to see The Great Gatsby, I forgot how good of a story that is!
Not sure what we are doing today, waiting to go see Notre Dame & Sacre Coeur for rainy days because they are inside (rain forecasted for next week)
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Tackled under the Tower
Today Udara & I worked on trying to figure out our Eurail pass & which trains we need to make reservations for. It is all pretty confusing so we figured out what stations we need to go to and we are going to go to the train station tomorrow to the Eurail booth to figure out which trains we need reservations for. Maybe it's easier than it seems...
This afternoon we went to the grocery store....I can't get over how cheap the food is here. Norway first was a good idea, start with the most expensive, it only gets better from there price wise! We had sandwiches & chocolate eclairs....and I bought a reasonable amount of chocolate bread....it's delicious, chocolate infused croissant. So much chocolate!!!
Tonight we went out...Paris at night is always interesting. We wandered to a cool looking building which we saw a group of people sitting in front of with candles lit. Udara, Nishadhie (Udara's cousin), and I were trying to listen and figure out what it was for. Eventually Nishadhie asked a woman and she said it was a group gathered to protest gay marriage through poetry....so we left. Too bad it wasn't something worthwhile.
We walked to the Pont des Arts bridge where people put 'love locks' which are padlocks locked on the fenced wall of the bridge.
After, we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower area, we bought crepes and were eating them on the way to the tower when we heard whistles and cheering. From the sounds at first I thought it was a street preformer. As we got closer we saw a huge group jeering police officers and one break away out of the crowd, sprinting. Six officers chased him and tackled him to the ground. I have no idea what he individually did, but the people in the group were yelling at the police officers and marching towards them in formation. It was a crazy thing to see. After, many more police came and the crowd dispersed to blend in with the tourists around the tower. Crazy! I think they were chanting about oppression and anti-socialism.
This afternoon we went to the grocery store....I can't get over how cheap the food is here. Norway first was a good idea, start with the most expensive, it only gets better from there price wise! We had sandwiches & chocolate eclairs....and I bought a reasonable amount of chocolate bread....it's delicious, chocolate infused croissant. So much chocolate!!!
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| Obsessed with chocolate bread. |
Tonight we went out...Paris at night is always interesting. We wandered to a cool looking building which we saw a group of people sitting in front of with candles lit. Udara, Nishadhie (Udara's cousin), and I were trying to listen and figure out what it was for. Eventually Nishadhie asked a woman and she said it was a group gathered to protest gay marriage through poetry....so we left. Too bad it wasn't something worthwhile.
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| Udara's Instagram Collage! |
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