London Round 2

Have no fear, the blog is here! We've already been in Europe for a weekend, and we're currently on a flight from London to Scotland. My roommate Gillian and I are on a whirlwind 9-day adventure through Great Britain and Ireland, hitting 5 cities along the way on a well-deserved spring break. Although this is the shortest of my European adventures, I've planned a full trip through the British and Irish cities of London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, and Dublin. Thanks for tuning in again to the blog!  First up: London.

Although I've been before, London does not disappoint on a second go-round in the largest city in Europe.  Gillian and I arrived after a direct flight from Baltimore to London Heathrow overnight. The flight was fairly short, but the all-night flights are always a struggle to sleep on for more than an hour or two. On Saturday morning, we arrived in London, passing through the UK border security and onwards to central London via train. After arriving at the wrong division of our hostel, just backpacks in hand, we took a leisurely stroll across Hyde Park to reach our actual hostel on the south side in Kensington. Definitely one of the nicer hostels I've stayed in, it was centrally located to public transit but in the quiter part of Westminster, the posh section of London. After dropping off our bags, we pushed through the jet lag to take advantage of the rest of our full day in London. 

Our first stop was Harrod's, the large and swanky department store in Kensington. We grabbed lunch take-away and rode the Egyptian escalator before picnicking in Hyde Park. Refreshed from a meal, we took the tube (subway) to Buckingham Palace, the royal monarchy's residence in the city. Once again, I missed the changing of the guards ceremony, but, alas, there were others sights to see in the city! From the park area, we made our way to see the British Museum (home of the archeological treasures of the Empire from places like the Parthenon and the Egyptian pyramids) and the National Gallery (full of famous works of art like two of Van Gogh's Sunflowers). The weather was fairly overcast and windy, but not as cold or rainy as it could have been in foggy London. The sun appeared for our walk between Trafalger Square, Piccadilly Circus, and Leiscester Square. 

Since Gillian is a theatre buff and soon to be returning to school in New York City for her MFA in theater management, we figured we had to enjoy a play in London's West End, the Broadway of Britain. After visiting the TKTS booth for half-price tickets, we decided to see Once, a musical telling the love story of an Irish man and Czech woman in Dublin. Before the show on Saturday night, we ate dinner in Chinatown on Gerrard Street at simple Chinese restaurant. Although I always try to travel frugally to see as many places as possible, it is difficult to stay on a tight budget in London with the British Pound (~$1.60) and the NYC-like prices. After dinner, we enjoyed Once from the middle balcony, and we were even able to go on the stage during intermission to get drinks from the "bar" where the play was set.  After a long, long day, we finally made it home to the hostel to clean up and collapse before our next and final day in London. 

On day two, we got off to an early start on the East End of London at the Tower of London.  This medieval fortress on the River Thames is home to the long-time seat of the monarchy, the Crown Jewels, and the site of several famous executions (such as St. Thomas More and several of Henry VIII's wives).  After living in Baltimore, where the main street of Fells Point is called Thames Street and pronounced "Thaymes," I had to readjust to pronouncing the river in the proper English way of "Tems." The tour around the fortress grounds includes time with a Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater, the palace guards and boisterous tour guides of the Tower. Our Beefeater tour guide, Colin, gave us many stats and stories of the Tower, including the fact that there are actually 20 "towers" within the Tower. After walking the grounds and viewing several buildings of historical artifacts, we began our walking tour down the Thames across the city from Tower Bridge to Westminister.  

Along the way, we walked the riverbanks past sights like St. Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and the Millennium Bridge. One of the interesting parts of this Sunday in particular was the running of the Virgin Money London Marathon, which spanned through the whole city. More on this later!  After stopping for lunch at an Italian restaurant on the south bank of the river,  we walked back to the north side to see Covent Garden, an outdoor market with upscale shopping and the scene of parts of the play My Fair Lady. To our surprise, the Oliviers - the British equivalent of the Tony theater awards- were taking place on Sunday, and we were able to walk right up the the red carpet before the actors arrived later in the evening. Note to self: see if Once won any of the 6 awards it was nominated for this year.

From the Garden, we walked down Whitehall street on our way to see Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.  Along the route, we passed sights such as Charing Cross train station, Churchill's War Room, and the entrance to 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence.  Right as we reached the main street to the Abbey, we ran into the marathon once again. However, this time we were unable to cross the course to reach the Abbey just a few meters away. After fighting through thousands of people, we walked around the city for nearly an hour (around St. James's Park and Buckingham Palace) to avoid the race before finally reaching the other side of the track. Although it was a Sunday when religious sights are closed, we were able to make it into the major ones. St. Paul's let us into the lobby for a viewing without being able to walk around most of the church. Westminister Abbey, however, is closed to all tourists on Sunday despite its many important sights like the Coronation Altar and the graves of Britian's most famous royals and residents. Luckily, we were able to "sneak" into a Palm Sunday evening Stations of the Cross meditation and organ event. First, we had to convince the usher that we were there for the ceremony and not just for tourism, then we had to sit through the concert despite the stupor of a long day taking over. 

Of course, we made it through our Abbey experience and crossed over the Thames to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament from a sunset view. After taking the tube up to King's Cross for a picture with Harry Potter's famous Platform 9 3/4 (which is now sectioned off by a tourist photograph company!), we wandered through the posh shopping neighborhood of Soho for dinner and drinks before calling it a wrap on London. Soho reminds me of the Marais in Paris with its narrow streets, colorful buildings, and plethora of shopping options. We took the tube home to Kensington to rest and pack up for our early flight to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland and the seat of Scottish culture. Although I've been to the UK previously, I am very excited to journey to see some new places in Scotland and Northern Ireland to tour more of the American motherland! 

London is such an easy and fun city to navigate. First of all, the fact that it is English-speaking makes the travel a littler easier. There are so many neighborhoods to explore, sights to visit, museums to explore, and places to experience. Other the getting used to cars and street crossings on the opposite side of the road, London is an easy city to get used to, and I always have a great time visiting. I hope to spend more time than a weekend in the future when I have more time and resources. For now, Scotland-bound!

Italia 2: Roma and Ciao

I am writing my final reborn blog post from the airplane connecting New York City to Baltimore. I have been traveling from Florence since 5am, but I had no problems on the journey through Amsterdam back to the USA.  It's hard to believe that my whirlwind 13-day, 9-country tour (the Netherlands, Norway, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Vatican City) has come to a close, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I especially enjoyed blogging again, bringing out my inner travel nerd. Maybe when I finish teaching I will backpack the world writing travel guides?  Dream on.

Yesterday, with my cousins out working like normal people with jobs during the summer, I decided to do a super quick trip to Rome, the Eternal City. I boarded the high-speed train from Florence to Rome, which got me to my destination around 10am and gave me about 6 hours to re-explore Rome. Upon pulling into the main train terminal (Termini), I bustled over to the subway armed with a 6€ day pass. While Rome is full of people and amazing sights like Paris, London, or Madrid, it definitely is grittier than any of the other major European cities. The subway is no exception with its dark passages and sweltering crowds. 

After surviving the subway, I went straight to my farthest point for the day, Vatican City, which as you may remember from previous postings is actually an independent micro-state led by the Pope. The Vatican really is timeless and hasn't changed much since my last visit. Opting to skip the long lines and crowds at the Vatican museums, I waited in the lines at St. Peter's Square to enter the basilica. The Vatican guards are still turning away scantily-clad tourists and shushing loud church visitors. The Vatican is nevertheless impressive and really shows the power of the Catholic Church in Italy and the world. 

From the Vatican, I crossed back over the Tiber River to blast through a monuments highlight tour including the Spanish Steps, the Fontana di Trevi, the Pantheon, St. Ignacio's church, and the Piazza Navona. In a city full of ancient Roman, medieval, Italian Renaissance, and modern landscapes, nothing has change in Roma since I last visited, which is part of its awesomeness. I stopped for lunch at a pizza restaurant, of course, to enjoy typical Italian pie, beer, and a cappuccino. I must look Italian enough because all day long people spoke to me in Italian. The old man sitting next to me on the train complained about the late delay to me in Italian without a reply from me, just a nod. The waitress at lunch let me order as much in Italian as I could. It's fun to try using my Romance language skills in different countries, and I think it always leads to better treatment when you try to speak the local language in Europe. 

The last stop was none other than the Colosseum, Rome's most recognizable monument. It is still so impressive to see what remains of the stadium and the surrounding Roman Forum, but the sweltering heat and sun was starting to take its toll on me.  After grabbing another high-speed train to Florence, I arrived back at the apartment before joining Joe and Dany for drinks. We went up to the Piazza Michelangelo, which overlooks all of Florence, for drinks and appetizers. It was so wonderful to close my last night in Europe over drinks and gelato with my cousins, who have always been such gracious hosts. We went home, snacked on some of Dany's leftover homemade lasagne (yum!) before calling it a night for my early morning flight. I am looking forward to seeing them again soon, maybe when Dany comes to NYC in September!

Overall, I can say that this 2013 trip to Europe was as amazing as I hope and worth every penny I spent of my hard-earned salary.  I am glad I did the trip on my own volition and money, but it was also great to have such wonderful hosts in Europe to come along the adventure with me. Thanks to Christina, Joe, and Dany for being part of what made this journey awesome! I am already feeling the travel bug again as I crossed past customs to return to the USA, and I'm glad that I have a few trips left this summer (Maine, San Francisco, and New Orleans) before returning to school/work in August. One of the benefits of being a teacher is the amount of breaks, so who knows where I'll go for spring break. Greece? Peru? See where I go next! Thanks again for being loyal readers, and ciao!!

Italia 1: Toscano and vino

On Monday night, I arrived in my last stop for this European adventure: Italia. After a train from Zurich to Milan, I had to run through the train station with just 3 minutes to spare to catch my connecting train to Florence with a delay on the first train. What ever happened to Swiss trains being perfectly on time? In truth, I think it's due to the cross over to Italian train lines, which are definitely less efficient. That being said, the high speed train from Milan to Florence was awesome.

As I did the last time I was in Italy, I am staying with my cousin Joe, who lives in the center of Florence. Upon my arrival, I met my baby cousin, Elizabeth, who is a one year-old handful. Also, my cousin-in-law Daniela cooked a four-course Italian dinner for us complete with prosciutto, melon, bruschetta, lasagna, veal, and chocolate lava cake. It's great to have a home cooked meal at the end of a long two weeks of travel. Joe and Dany have been amazing hosts as always, treating me to a great time in Florence (thanks, guys!).

On Tuesday, Joe and I explored Florence and some highlights of the city. We started the morning off with an American breakfast, which was great. Like Joe, it's hard not to miss some of the comforts of the US while in Italy, and a stack of pancakes really hits the spot. After breakfast, Joe drove us into the Tuscan countryside to Castello do Verrazzano, a vineyard and estate about 40 minutes from Florence.  Joe has taken almost every visitor to this place for a tour and wine tasting. Tuscany is one fo the most beautiful regions in all of Italy, much glorified in movies and books; and I believe that it certainly lives up to its reputation with the rolling hills and scattered villas.

Castello do Verrazzano was founded by the famous Italian explorer Verrazzano, who sailed to the New World, discovering parts of New York and Canada. The famous bridge, the Verrazzano Bridge, in New York City is named for him; and there are allegedly stones from the castle at the foot of the NYC bridge placed at groundbreaking. The Verrazzano family has since died out, and the castle and vineyards are now owned by a private family. The tour of the winery began with a trip through the castle and grounds, led by our trusty Italian tour guide. He was as Italian as they come with an unintelligble accent, popped collar, and dirty sense of humor. After the tour, we sat down for a wine and meat tasting. We had a glass of the vineyard's summer rosé wine, followed by three red wines. Tuscany is famous for its Chianti red wine, which is rigorously tested and certified by the growers and government to prove its authenticity. We were also served various cheeses, salamis, prosciutto, and amazing balsamic vinegar to pair with the wine. After the wine, we had almond biscotti dipped in strong Vino Santo (Holy Wine), then grappa (grape grain alcohol) and espresso. The tour was amazing and truly a Tuscan experience.

After the tour, we headed back to Florence to take in some old sights. The new Dan Brown book, Inferno, is set in Florence; and there are apparently tours that follow the book's path. Having read the book on the plane over to Europe, I was well versed on the famous sights of Firenze again. We saw the Bargello museum, which holds many famous sculptures, mainly by Donatello. We also walked by the Duomo, Orsanmichele church, and the Ponte Vecchino. This bridge is famous because it crosses the Arno River and is the last standing bridge after bombings in WWII. Additionally, I learned from the Dan Brown book that there is a network of secret passages, including over the Ponte Vecchio, that carried the medieval Medici rulers through the city between their castles without having to interact with typical Florentines. 

After stopping for espressos every hour (a very Italian process), we headed home to pick up Dany and Elizabeth for dinner out in Florence. We went to Za Za, a famous typical Tuscan restaurant, and we had an amazing meal filled with Chianti, appetizer meats and cheeses, and a huge portion of bistecca (steak). After dinner, we stopped at the best gelato place in Firenze, Grom, where I had coffee, pistachio, and stracciatella (chocolate chip) gelati. 

As Joe and Dany head to work today, I am currently on the express train to the capital, Roma, for the day. While Florence is great for Renaissance art and history, there is no place in Italy like Rome. Wednesday is my last dating Europe before flying out tomorrow, and it's going to be a great one exploring the sights of Rome. One more post coming then back to the USA!  Ciao!

Switzerland 2: French and German

It's hard to believe that my European adventures are quickly coming to a close. Today, I am writing from Zurich as I wait to board my train to Milan and onto Florence for my final stop. So far, I've really enjoyed being back here across the pond, but I can say that I miss the comforts of the USA. It has, however, been very nice to be staying at Christina's and soon my cousin Joe's apartments. Traveling in hostels is fun for a bit, but the creature comforts and personal space have their perks.

Yesterday, Christina and I took the train to Genève (Geneva) instead of making another long drive across Switzerland. The tickets here are, of course, expensive at $200 round trip from Zurich to Genève, but it was worth the scenic views and train instead of car. It takes about 3 hours to cross the country from Zurich in the north central part of Switzerland to Genève in the southwestern corner. Christina says that Swiss think an hour is a lot of travel, so this was a big day for us. As you cross the country via train, you watch the language and signs switch from German to French. Freiburg is the last bilingual city to cross through before reaching French Switzerland.

French Switzerland is much more like France than Germany, but it still has its Swiss touches. First of all, the accent is different than typical French francais in Genève and surrounding regions. Also, everything is expensive and posh as one would expect in Switzerland. The weather in Genève was beautiful, warm, and sunny, a change from cooler Zurich. As we hopped off the train, we walked towards the center of town across Lake Geneva (Lac Léman). One of the biggest tourist attractions is the large jet of water (jet d'eau) shooting 500 feet into the air over the lake.

The lake gives the city a more Mediterranean feel. Genève is just a few kilometers north of Mont Blanc in the French Alps, and the city isn't too far from the French Riviera. After seeing the jet d'eau and the l'horlage fleurie (Flower Clock) in the Jardin Anglais, we wandered through the streets to the Veille Ville (Old City). Much of medieval Genève is preserved, and we finally made it to the top of the hilly city to St. Pierre cathedral. Genève is known as the Protestant Vatican because it became the center of Protestant movements like Calvinism. Switzerland is about half Catholic and half Protestant. Genève is also home to many international organizations like the Red Cross and European headquarters of the United Nations. 

After seeing the old town, we stopped for a very French lunch, complete with roasted chicken, Provençal potatoes, and a glass of Swiss white wine. We wandered back to the train station and boarded the train back to Zurich. Trains are amazingly reliable given the high prices and almost always leave on time. After an awesome time in Switzerland (thanks for hosting, Christina!), I am excited to move onto my last stop in Florence. Today, we did a quick walk about Zurich downtown to the lake and down the Bahnhofstrasse before stopping for a bretzel (pretzel) and Swiss chocolate. Onwards to Italy then back to the good ole USA!  Ciao!

Switzerland 1: German and Italian

Christina and I finally made it to Switzerland after a day's drive from Belgium, and we haven't stopped driving since! Today we spent the day in the Swiss Alps and Italian Switzerland, and tomorrow we'll be headed off to French Switzerland. Switzerland is a small but diverse country with distinct regions and geography. After the long day's drive, we rested up at Christina's awesome apartment. She lives outside Zurich in a small village called Aadorf, which Christina says has two As at the front so it's first in the dictionary. 

Since I've already been to Zurich, we were not planning on spending too much time in the city, which is Switzerland's largest. We'll mostly be using it as a base for travel. Trains are amazingly efficient but expensive in Europe's most comprehensive network in Switzerland. Last night, we went out to a Swiss club in Zurich from Aadorf by taking the train into the city. Everything is super expensive here, as I experienced the last time I was here in 2010. It costs 40 CHF (about $42) to take a round trip train just 25 miles into the city, and you must pay an extra 5 CHF at night to pay for train security. As such as wealthy country, everything is well organized and regulated. Roads are clear and monitored, and there are even taxes/fees on placing a trash bag out for disposal to cut back on waste here.

Back to Zurich, we decided to go out on the Niederdorfstrasse, the main walking and drinking street at night. Drinks are expensive of course, although to be honest I don't even remember the price after handing a confusing and large 200 CHF bill to the bartender. Swiss ATMs hand out only big bills. After a few hours of dancing, we headed home on trains (which run all night on weekends) back to Aadorf for our first travel day. 

Today, we drove down to the Italian section of Switzerland near the Italian border. As I stated earlier, Switzerland is divided into four main cultural and linguistic areas. The vast majority (65%) of the country is German and in the north, including Zurich, Lucerne, Basil, and Bern. My friend Christina is German from Germany, and she often runs into "trouble" with her German German accent instead of Swiss German accent in this part of the country. Today, we drove to the far south to the Italian part (10%) near the Italy border at Milan. Tomorrow, we'll be doing to the west near France via train to Geneva, the main city of the French section (25%). There's also a tiny population (less than 1%) in the east near Austria which speaks Romansch, an old language derived from Latin.

To get to Lugano, the largest city in Italian Switzerland, we had to cross straight through the Swiss alps. We drove up and down massive mountains in Christina's little Volkswagen, but we made it just fine. The are tons of picturesque Swiss towns like you would imagine in the Alps, complete with cows on the side of the road with bells around their necks! The Alps even had snow still on many of the mountains, and of course we stopped so I could touch a bit of snow in July. After many ups and downs (literally), we finally made it to Lugano.

Lugano is situated on a lake in the middle of the mountains, and it looks much like what you would imagine Lake Como in Italy to be like. There are Italian signs and buildings, and it's amazing that you're in the same country as uber German Zurich just 3 hours away. Lugano is all about sailing and sitting down to eat Italian style food. After walking the city promenade around the lake, we sat down for a long pizza dinner and of course got amazing gelato for dessert nearby. There was also a Harley Davidson festival going on, which was odd seeing Swiss Germans in biker garb.

After relaxing in Lugano, we headed home to Zurich via highway instead of Alps, which cut the trip down by an hour and several thousand feet of altitude. We also passed through the St. Gotthard tunnel, which goes under the Swiss Alps and is the third longest tunnel in the world (16 km).  Soon, Switzerland will open the world's longest tunnel in 2016 at 57 km, longer than the Chunnel between France and England. We must have gone through a hundred tunnels today on our way down, as everything is super mountainous.

That's all on Switzerland for now. Looking forward to seeing French Switzerland tomorrow on my last full day before heading down to Florence, Italy, to visit my cousin Joe and his family. Ciao!

Bruxelles: waffles and fries oh my!

Today I am writing from on the road to Switzerland. Christina and I are roadtripping from Brussels to Aadorf, the village outside Zurich where she lives. Riding on European roads has been a new experience, especially with the speed limit signs in kilometers instead of miles. Luckily, Christina has a stick shift car, so I cannot assist in the driving. On the road, we passed through Belgium, Luxembourg (a new country for me!), France, Germany, and Switzerland. Rest stops in Europe are even different. At the place we stopped for lunch, there were no McDonald's or Burger Kings here in France, but there was a full service dining cafeteria. Only the French!

Back to Brussels. Prior to this trip, I had only stopped in Belgium via trains and planes to other countries, but I'm glad I visited for real this time. After hopping off the express train from Paris on Wednesday, I took the  Brussels subway over to meet Christina at our hotel near the center of town. Belgium is officially trilingual (French, Flemish Dutch, and German). The southern part of the country is French-speaking (Wallonia), and the north is Flemish-speaking, which is basically accented Dutch. In the capital of Brussels, they officially use both languages. In fact, every single sign on every street, building, or object is in both French and Dutch. The majority of the capital region speaks French though, and almost everyone speaks English, too. 

The city center of Brussels is pretty compact. We walked over to see the medieval town center, called the Grand Place or Grote Markt. This square is lined with beautiful old buildings, which once held different trade guilds. Additionally, the city hall and king's hall dominate each side of the square. As the capital of Belgium, Brussels competes interests with the city and the country as exemplified by the to massive buildings on the square. From the square, we walked down a tiny street to view the mascot of Brussels, Mannekin Pis, or the peeing boy statue. This tiny statue of a boy peeing water served as a well for the neighborhood, and the residents even have a society to protect him. He has over 700 outfits that he is dressed up in for holidays and special occasions. Customarily, dignitaries that visit Brussels leave outfits for him to wear of their home culture. Apparently the statue has been stolen many times, and the society has to replace it each time, meaning the original statue from the 1400s is long gone. 

 

Onto the famous food of Brussels.  We started by trying Belgian chocolates and waffles. The waffles were covered in strawberries, bananas, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream. I thought it was the best waffle I'd ever had until we had an even better one from the famous Maison Dandoy the next morning for breakfast. Chocolate shops and waffle stands line every corner of the city center, and it's hard to believe they can all stay in business. Next, we sampled Belgian beers on a tray of six types, most of which we could not pronounce. We also had beer called La Corne, which was served in a horn-shaped class like its namesake. We ended the night by trying a little of Brussels nightlife at the Delirium Bar. This is probably the most famous beer from Belgium, and the glasses and place were themed with the pink elephant logos.  

On Thursday, we started the day with a bike tour of Brussels. We were lead around the city in a small group of 7 by a young Belgian student slash tour guide. It was great to see the city via bicycle because you can cover more ground than walking, and having a local tour guide really gives you insight into what life is like in a country. We stopped at some of the big sights again before moving onto new ones. First, the Palais du Justice, the massive law center of the country built by the ambitious King Leopold II after the independence of Belgium from the Netherlands in the 1800s. The building is too big to take care of, and our tour guide said he has never seen it a day in his life without construction scaffolding on the exterior. Also, Belgian lawyers still dress in big black robes for court, so we several walking around the building.  

The remainder of the tour took place in the European quarter of the city, which is home to the institutional headquarters of much of the European Union. Brussels is the main seat for European Parliament and the Council of Europe. There are many giant office buildings in this area of town, and one can hear any of the 20+ EU languages being spoken on the streets. Also hidden in the European quarter are the most famous fries of Brussels, Maison Antoine. This stand has been serving famous frites for 60 years, and they were absolutely delicious. They are served fresh and hot in a big paper cone with a glob of mayo on top. You can choose any of the 20 sauces, and we also tried the house tartar sauce, which was awesome. After more biking around the city through parks and palaces alike, we finally took a break from the riding 

Our final stop in Brussels was touring the Cantillion Brewery. This is the last homemade beer brewery in Brussels, and they have been open since 1900. They brew traditional Lambic beer, which is actually a cross between beer, wine, and cider. While the taste left a little to be desired for us, it was nice to get out and see some traditional Belgian craft. Christina and I relaxed for our big drive today, about 7 hours and 700 km. Once we get to Switzerland, I will update more. We'll be taking a day trip or two to Geneva and maybe Italian Switzerland. More to come. Ciao!

Orléans: the vrai France

I am updating from my hotel in Bruxelles, where Christina and I have been having a great time in the so-called "Capital of Europe."  More on all the waffles and chocolate in another post. After two full days back in Paris, I decided to take a day trip to the Loire Valley to visit the small town of Orléans. I did my research on day trips from Paris to get out of the city, and the best options were Orléans and Champagne. In the end, I thought getting drunk on bubbly with a bunch of tourists was the less appealing options.

Orléans is about 130 km southwest of Paris. The city is most famous for its heroine, St. Joan of Arc, who saved the city from British Invasion during the Middle Ages. Her statue and name are on every street corner in the city. The largest statue of her in the city has a plaque on the side thanking the city of New Orleans for helping to restore the statue after bombings in the city during World War II. Orléans is probably second most famous for being the namesake of my hometown, La Nouvelle Orléans, in the United States. 

Orléans has only about 200,000 residents, and the city center is fairly compact. I only had about 4 hours to explore the city on Tuesday, which ended up being plenty of time. I took the train from Paris for under 40€ round trip, 2 hours down on the regional train and 1 hour back in the intercity train. There is a team line around the streets of Orléans, but the city is mostly navigable by foot. When I first hopped off the train at the super modern train center, I took a wrong turn away from the center (without knowing at first) to land in a rather unexciting part of town. I did, however, stumble upon a giant church, St-Paterne, which I thought was the city's main cathedral. After walking around the massive medieval church and realizing there were no people around, I wandered a little to finally find the city center. Luckily, there was much more of Orléans left to explore!

After walking down the main shopping street and past the statue of Jeanne d'Arc, I made it to the massive Cathedrale Ste-Croix at the city center. The church is massive, much like Notré Dame in Paris, and serves as the seat for the diocese of Orléans and the Loire Valley. Nearby is the oranate Hotel de Ville (city hall), which was once the seat of the great and powerful duchy of Orléans. I kept wandering through the city streets, which are awesomely preserved medieval stores and homes down stone streets. I eventually made it to the banks of the Loire River, which divides the city in two and continues throughout France. Orléans was a picturesque city full of history and traditional French culture. 

The big site to see in Orléans is the Maison de Jeanne d'Arc; however, any guide information will tell you that the house is just a 20th-century reproduction of what her house may have been like in the 1400s. Instead of spending money on the entrance, I treated myself to a typical French bakery lunch. For just 5.30€, I got a jambon beurre (ham and butter) baguette, a Coke Zero (they made to Europe too!), and a éclaire au chocolate. The woman at the bakery gawked a bit to hear my American accent in French, but she kept going and communicated with me in French. She was probably surprised to see a young American in Orléans, but it was nice to have a French person work with my French. So I took my lunch and picnicked on the plaza in front of the Joan of Arc house. 

Overall, it was a relaxing trip to get away from the hustle and bustle of Paris. That evening, I dined on to-go crepes in Paris at the top of Sacré-Coeur, overlooking the city at night. I walked through the Tuileries, the gardens between the Louvre and Concorde, which are still hosting the summer carnivals that we went to during my summer in France. Things don't change much!  Before heading over to the train to Brussels on Wednesday morning, I took in a few last sites of Paris. I went through the Latin Quarter to see where I studied abroad in Paris (CCIP), the fancy French grocery Au Bon Marché, and a trip down the 6e metro line, which passes back and forth above ground across the Seine overlooking the Tour Eiffel.

Being back in France has been awesome, and the French journey continues here in Brussels. We're driving down to Switzerland tomorrow from Belgium (isn't it awesome to drive through countries instead of states?), where I'll update with a Brussels post. Later gators.  

Paris: aller retour

I've already been in Paris for two days, and I am currently writing this blog post on a regional train to Orléans during my third day here in France. It's been a marvelous but exhausting few days so far as I relive the best of the City of Lights.

After arriving at Charles de Gaulle from Oslo, I boarded the trusty RER from the airport and headed straight to my hostel, where I've stayed two times previously, on the vibrant Rue Mouffetard. After dropping off my belongings, I hopped on the metro to Palais Royale-Musée du Louvre. I brought my Pass Navigo, the Parisian metro card for residents, from when I studied here in Paris, which gives me unlimited rides for a week for under 20€. Unfortunately, the week begins on Mondays, so I had to make due for my first day on Sunday. Therefore, armed with just two metro tickets, I decided to do Paris by walking. After arriving at the Louvre, I realized to my surprise that the first Sunday of every month is free museum day!  I also realized, to my horror, that the line to enter to Louvre was thousands of people long on free Sunday. So, I snapped a few photos and kept walking.

After leaving the Louvre, I walked through the streets of Paris past the Opéra Garnier, Madeleine, and Place de la Concorde on my way to the Champs-Elysées. I grabbed a quick lunch (a baguette with ham and butter) and walked to the Arc de Triomphe. After completing the quick picture snapping at Étoile, I walked over to the Tour Eiffel. I really never gets old. The crowds in Paris are probably at their height in July, with so many tourists one can barely make it down the sidewalks. After the Eiffel Tower, I walked down the Seine past Invalides to my favorite museum, the Musée d'Orsay, a former train station that holds mostly impressionist art. To my surprise, it too was free on Sundays for all and the line was only 20 minutes. I did a quick go around the museum (my third visit) and stopped for my favorite painting, Renoir's Bal au moulin de la Galette.  There's also an awesome view of the city from the roof, which I discovered for the first time. 

After a LONG day of walking, I returned to the hostel to rest and clean up. Being back in France has been awesome, but I must admit it took me day to get back in the swing of things. My French came back to me pretty quickly, yet my reading abilities far exceed my speaking skills. I wandered the Rue Mouffetard all the way to St-Michel and the Quartier Latin searching for a good place to eat. It's intimidating to eat dinner alone here (lunch isn't a problem), and I was nervous using my French. Still, I would rather use broken French than English here in Paris. Depending on the person, some Frenchmen respond to me in French and others in English. Either way, the actually haven't been too rude this time. One lady at a ticket office was especially nice to me for using French after a group of Italians in front of me royally pissed her off.  Finally, I stopped for dinner at a place near where I am staying with plenty of young university students dining. I treated myself to a fondue du fromage dinner with a half a bottle of white wine before calling it a night. 

My second day in Paris had a lot less walking with the unlimited metro pass; however, I still did an exhausting amount of traveling the city. I began by taking the train up to my favorite place in all of Paris, Montmartre. There in the 18e arrondissement, I spent much of my time the summer I lived here since my host mother's apartment was there. If I ever moved to Paris (ha!), I would probably live in this part of the city. It's quiet and calm, yet full of interesting people and places. From the Abbesses metro (100 stairs up), I walked to the Funiculaire (elevator) that takes you up the hill to Sacré-Coeur. This basilica with its famous white domes overlooks the entire city. The 6€ ticket to the top of the church gives an even better view of Paris. After snapping a few quick selfies with the low crowds in the early morning (less judgmental), I climbed down to wander through Montmartre over to the Moulin Rouge. 

From Montmartre, I traveled up the familiar 13e line of the metro (where I lived in Paris) up to the suburb of St-Denis. Although it has a sketchy reputation at night, St-Denis is also home to a giant cathedral that holds the remains of many of the great royals and leaders of France, including Charles Martel, Marie Antoinette, and too many Henri/Charles/Louis to count. From there, I headed way south to the Marais for lunch. I must tell you that I had the best falafel I've ever tasted. L'As du Falafel, in the Jewish quarter, is said to be a favorite of stars like Lenny Kravitz. From there, onto viewing Hotel de Ville and Centre Pompidou before stopping by the Louvre. Although it probably wasn't worth the 12€ ticket to see for the fourth time in massive crowds, I felt like any trip to Paris is incomplete without it. A hustle around the museum led me to La Jaconde (Mona Lisa), Venus de Milo, and an Egyptian sphinx. 

Whew! I am exhausted just reliving this day through blog, but its not over yet. Next, I went for a walk through Notré-Dame and Île de St-Louis, which isn't complete without a scoop of Berthillion ice cream. Next up, I went through more of the Quartier Latin to see the oldest standing church in Paris, St-Germain-des-Près, and the Jardin du Luxembourg. Finally, I headed back to the hostel to rest and buy dinner, which included bread, French cheese (Camembert et Roquefort), and beer (Leffe et Kronenburg). While we're on the topic of food, my hostel has individual servings of Nutella to use for breakfasts! I think we should get those in the US to prevent us from eating too much of the good hazelnut spread. Back to Paris, I took my dinner over to St-Michel and picnicked on the banks of the Seine as the bateaux-mouches (boats) and people passed by me. After listening to students play music and being run over by an old drunk French guy, I took the metro over to the Tour Eiffel for a night viewing. The TE is lit up at night, sparkling for 5 minutes on the hour every hour. Of course, for 3.50€ (amen for student/youth discounts in Europe) I took the stairs to the top of the second level. A little afraid of heights, I climbed carefully to the viewpoint over Paris before calling it a second night. 

Merci beaucoup to those of you made it to the end of this endless blog post! I will update soon on my day trip to Orléans, about an hour or two southwest of Paris, the namesake of my hometown of New Orleans. I figured I should try something new while I was here in France. One of my biggest regrets from my first big trips to Europe was not seeing more of France, so I am doing my best now but still have a LOT of land to cover (next time!). Tomorrow I'll be taking the Thalys luxury train up to Brussels, Belgium, where I will be meeting my friend, Christina, who is coming over from Switzerland. Pumped for the beer, waffles, chocolate, and French (Belgian?) fries. A bientôt!

Oslo: Vikings et al

I finally made it to Europe! It only took 3 flights and 20 hours, but I arrived in Oslo on Friday. Favorite moment: the people at the hostel front desk told me they liked my name when I arrived. Guess Eric is popular name in Scandanavia (Erik the Red?).  I walked around the city quickly to get acquainted before taking a 4-hour nap and sleeping another 6 hours. Changing time zones is the worst part of traveling.  When I did wake up in between around midnight, it was still fairly bright outside. From what I gather, the sun is out from 3am-12am in the summer!  Norway is very far north, probably the furthest north I've ever been. I've even been wearing a jacket here in the middle of July!

On Saturday, I woke up bright and early to begin my only full day in Oslo. Norway is probably the wealthiest country in the world, and my time in Oslo proves it. Every person has an iPhone. Most meals average between $15-40 dollars on the cheap side of things. I even spent $16 on a stupid McDonald's combo for lunch. Granted, it was probably the fanciest McDonald's I ever visited. I purchased a 24-hour

Oslo Pass, which gave me unlimited subway/bus/tram/ferry rides and access to most museums for free.  Oslo is full of museums to say the least!  I began on the ferry to Bygdoynes, a peninsula across the main port. There, I saw four museums in 3 hours. I started the Viking Ship Museum, which contains 3 full ships discovered in Norway from the 1300s. All the ships were well preserved and gave a good sense of the craftsmanship of the Viking sailors. Next, I walked to the Fram Museum, which documents the Norwegian ventures into the Arctic, North Pole, and Antarctica. Inside the museum, there are two giant ships that were created in the early 1900s specifically to cut through ice and water. Onwards, I moved to the Kon-Tiki Museum, which tells the story of Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl, the explorer who cross the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans on reed-made boats. Finally, I saw the Norwegian Folk Museum that displays homes and village elements from around the country in an effort to preserve old Nordic culture.

After returning to the mainland of Oslo, I first stopped at the Nobel Peace Center. Although Alfred Nobel was Swedish, in his last will he set Oslo as the location for his renowned peace awards. The Center displays all the winners of the peace prize, with a special exhibition on the latest winner, in this case the European Union. Next door was the Akershus Slott (Castle), where many Norwegian and Swedish monarchs lived and protected themselves in a fortress. After passing through Old Town, I made it to the newest addition to the Oslo skyline, the Opera. Built in 2008, the Norwegian National Opera rivals even the Sydney Opera House with its modern design and rooftop views of the Oslo fjords. It was quite a sunny hike to the top with bright white tile stairs, but the view cannot be beat.  Except...

My last stop of the day was Holmenkollen, a famous ski hill outside the city center about a 20-minute metro ride away. The Norwegians are famous for their winter sports, holding the most medals of any country in the Winter Olympics.  Holmenkollen is a massive alpine ski slope and stadium used for events. It holds the Ski Museum and a daunting elevator ride to the top. I braved the heights and took the ride to the top of the slope to visit the observation deck. While I didn't stay out there long, it was an amazing view of Oslo, the nearby forests, and the famous Norwegian fjords (straits of land in water). Forgot to mention, I went to the large city park before that, Vigeland Park. The massive green space is named for the sculptor Gustav Vigeland, who sculptures decorate nearly every inch of the park. 

After a long, long day in Norway, I am prepping to fly to France tomorrow morning. I will be visiting the best city on earth, Paris, where I studied for a summer in 2010. More updates soon!

Back in Business

Hello loyal readers! After almost three years, I am returning to Europe for a whirlwind 2-week, 5-country adventure. After a year of teaching in Baltimore with Teach for America, I decided to treat myself to a trip back to the continent where I studied for 6 months and learned a great deal about the world around me. This time, I'll be headed to a new country, Norway, as well as revisiting France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy. Along the way, I will be visiting and traveling with my friend from Georgetown, Christina, who lives in Switzerland. I am also going to see my cousin and his family again in Florence. I only have my iPad and iPhone with me for this quick trip across the pond, but I will do my best to keep the blog updated with posts and photos. Happy 4th to those in the USA, and adventures onward! -Eric

Photo of my first day in Europe, June 2010