Back to the Island

Ya know ... I never thought I would EVER say I would glad to go back to the UK. I really did! When I left Swansea, I hardly looked back ... sure I would miss my friends there ... Zoe, Lucy, Chris ... but I certainly didn't think I would miss the country. Maybe it was the Welsh rain that was such a big turn off ... or the completely unappealing British diet. But I was wrong ... really wrong ...

I missed the UK. I missed speaking English. I REALLY missed the accent. I missed knowing where I was going & knowing how to get there. I missed it all ... even the rain sometimes.

So after my 5 days in France, I headed north to a country that I am becoming fond of. I flew into London Gatwick, which is SO much better than flying into Heathrow, Stansted, or Luton. The Gatwick Express makes London bearable as it gets you to London Victoria station in 30 minutes. Though I did not have time to run to Kensington to pick up my tea, I did make it to the bus station in time. Once there, I had the sudden realization that the bus I had originally booked was NOT going where I really wanted to go. Initially, Zoe & I thought I would just go to Newport where she would pick me up. Typically, buses to Newport stop in Bristol as well. So we figured we had our bases covered in case I needed to go to Bristol instead. Sure enough, I needed to go to Bristol as Zoe had moved there for the school year. Realizing my bus was going straight to Newport, I had to purchase another ticket before the bus left in 30 minutes. Luckily, I managed to do that.

So I called Zoe & informed her of the latest. Then I had to call her again once I was on the bus ... there was a major accident on the M4 & the police were diverting traffic around it. So now we would arrive in Bristol 30 minutes later. So FINALLY, at 9:45pm, I made it to Bristol & was greeted by a very happy Zoe!

Man was it good to see her! We stayed up & talked until midnight, trying to get caught up on everything that happened since July. The next day, we headed into Bristol city centre for shopping where I did some major damage on the cash - good thing mom sent me my British debit card in time! I think I spent 100 GBP ($200) by the time I left the country! I bought chocolates & colouring books (for the girls). Even bought a pair of shoes! Zoe & I had the best time in the kids' stores as we were looking for Christmas & Christening presents for her niece & nephew.

On Friday, we drove to Wales, getting away from those "blasted" English. We went to Pontypool where I got to see Zoe's family whom I dearly love. After dropping our things at her parents' house, Zoe, Wendy (her mom), & I headed to Abby's house. Abby is Zoe's older sister who has a son, Dylan who is about 6, & a daughter, Poppy who is 2). I LOVE Poppy! I cannot tell you how much I love this little girl. She is SO much fun to play with. And apparently when she found I was coming over, she kept calling for me. Plus I love her & Dylan's Welsh accent. :-) We all went to lunch with the kids & did a little shopping. Then Zoe, Wendy, & I went to Jason & Elaine's house. Jason is Zoe's older brother - he & Elaine have a son & daughter as well - Geraint & Becky. Geraint is 15, I think, & Becky is almost 13. Becky is a very talented dancer (ballet) & a little shy. Both kids are very well behaved. They made us tea when we arrived, which I thought was quite cute. After visiting with them for awhile, we headed back to Zoe's house where Zoe's dad Collin had arrived from work. He, of course, had a wonderful greeting for "George's baby" as he likes to call me.

Seb, Zoe's boyfriend, was coming in from Swansea. He, Zoe, Wendy, & I were to go to Cardiff to the comedy club that night. Once he arrived, we headed to Cardiff for some laughs. I really do like the Glee Club, especially when Zoe does not point out to the comedians that I am American. :-) The first act was a Canadian guy who was really quite crude. None of us particularly cared for him. The second guy was hilarious, we thought! Though the crowd did not seem to agree! The best part was that he was talking about the US & about a little town in KY called Beaver Dam. Now I really wonder how true his stories/jokes were because he was talking about how he was in BD at Christmas & it is a dry county. I'm actually not sure if BD is dry, but he was explaining how he couldn't get a drop alcohol & it was Christmas after all. Whereas in the UK, people use anything as an excuse to drink. His jokes were not the least bit crude which is why I think most people did not like him. But our party did ... The third guy was pretty good ... I don't remember much of his content, but I do remember that it was better than the first guys!

We returned from Cardiff about midnight & immediately headed to bed. Seb was staying the night as well as he had to drive to Windsor the next day (where his family lives).

The next morning, we were roused by Zoe's parents around 9:30am. Seb was awoken to "Come on you Englishman! Get up!" (Collin loves to harrass those of us who are not Welsh). Zoe's mom woke her up by having a conversation with her that Zoe does not remember at all. And I awoke on my own, thankfully.

Abby brought Dylan & Poppy over so she & Warren could do some shopping. Dylan was thrilled that Seb was there, as were Zoe & I because he played with Dylan while we entertained Poppy. We had races around the yard, threw paper airplanes, played with legos.

Around 12:30, Zoe & I had to head back to Bristol so we could meet Lucy at the movies. We had opted to go see Elizabeth: The Golden Age which was a really good movie. Plus I love Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth. Afterwards, Lucy invited us to dine at the pub where she works (& where her boyfriend is the managed). So we went & got to talk to Lucy while she was not busy as hostess. Zoe & I headed back to her place so I could repack & get some sleep as my bus to the airport was leaving at 5:30am.

At 5am we were out the door & on our way to the bus station. The bus arrived & I sadly said good-bye to Zoe. I wasn't ready to go back to Germany. I really would have preferred to head south again to France, but instead, I had to fly east. I got to Stansted airport in plenty of time to do some shopping (never a good thing) & then flew to Bremen where Dagmar picked me up.

We went back to Osterbruch. I was glad to see the girls when I got home, but a part of me was (& still is) on vacation ... in the UK & in France. I miss friends & I really wish I could see them more often ... especially the ones in the UK. Chris was unable to meet up while I was in town because he was at a job interview. I won't see my UK friends again until graduation in July & then I don't know when I will see them next ... hopefully they can plan a trip to visit in the summer. I'm still trying to convince Zoe to come to the US for a few months, but it's all dependent on money ...

Marseille

I love Marseille ... I really do ... despite the mountain Ashley made me climb.

At 8:20pm, we arrived at our hotel after walking through a "sketchy" section of Marseille. As our luck would have it, the hotel was closed. We're standing around, debating on what we should do when another guy walks up & starts pushing a buzzer. Luckily the night porter unlocked the doors & allowed us in. We explained our situation - we had a reservation & our train ran 40 minutes late. Instead of arriving at 8:20pm, we should have arrived at 20 minutes to 8. The guy found our paperwork & key & allowed us to check in. On the way to the hotel we had noticed a McDonald's up the street. After much debate about going out & looking for a decent meal, we decided to bite our tongues & eat at McD's. Ashley & I weren't exactly thrilled ... but that was our only option as neither of us seemed too enthused to go searching for an actual restaurant in an unfamiliar city. After hot showers & some BBC tv, we crashed into bed ...

We awoke at 9am, got ready for bed, & headed downstairs to the lobby to see if we could check out at noon instead of 11am. The receptionist informed us we could not, but that we could store our bags while we walked around & pick them up before we headed to the bus station. Ashley & I were sold, so off we went upstairs to collect ours bags & head towards town.

Marseille is an old city ... so old that we found a 5th century abbey. Anyway, it used to be a huge shipping port, so the vielle porte, or old port, still stands & maintains some interesting French sites. First off ... loads of boats ... mostly sail boats ... & how we wished we could be on one that day! It was a perfect day for a sail. Much to our despair, the port still hosts a nice little fish market ... with most of the fish flopping around in water, barely alive. And of course the stench is quite strong. We immediately hurried past the fish & gazed towards the small "mountain" we decided to climb. At the top of this "mountain," is a church called Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde which is absolutely breathtaking, both in view & interior.

From the church grounds, you can look out over all of Marseille. The early morning fog still lay nestled on the mountain peaks & it was quiet as most tourists were not up as early as we were.
You could see Chateau d'Iffi (where the Count of Monte Cristo was filmed) in the waters, beckoning boaters to visit. You could see the old forts guarding the entrance to the port.
It presented a picture of a city that you couldn't help but fall in love with.

(yes, I know this photo is blurry ... most of the interior pics are for some reason. :-()

Following our excursion inside the basilica which presented very impressive artwork & typified the costliness of the Catholic church, we headed south ... down the mountain. Needless to say, the walk DOWN the mountain was a lot easier than the walk up! We had every intention of visiting the old forts, but instead found ourselves at the entrance of an impressive 5th century abbey.
The abbey's simplicity, noticeably in its vaulted ceilings & stone interior, made you feel as if you were back in the 5th century awaiting mass. The abbey also housed many relics from various saints. It is amazing to see where reliquaries turn up.

After our visit to the abbey, we realized we needed to head back to the hotel to collect our baggage so we could get me to the bus station in time to catch the bus to the airport.

It was certainly hard to say goodbye to Ashley & to France ... Ashley & I promised to stay in touch & she promised to visit soon. We had already made plans to go to Paris for New Year's together.

It was disappointing to leave France because I love the country. I love the food, the culture, even the language. It was nice to go to a country where I could speak the language a little bit & could understand what people said to me (for the most part). Plus, I do enjoy the French men (I hope dad isn't reading this! :-D) But I really do love the country. I can't understand why some people don't like it ... they say it's because France doesn't know how to fight wars or that they are more worried about preserving their art & culture & are stuck up & snobby. Granted, you will run into rude people, but that is anywhere - NY, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome. Don't condemn the country because you had a bad experience with one of her people ... & don't condemn a country you have never been to.

The Camargue ...

I don't know how to describe the Camargue region of France to be honest. Every word I can think of does not adequately create a picture of this little part of France that I (& Ashley) have fallen in love with. Beautiful ... Stunning ... Addictive ... Hot (in more than one sense) ... Breath taking ... None of these really describe this place.

The Camargue, or more specifically Saintes Maries de la Mer, lies on the southern coast of France. It is home to hot French "cowboys" (gardians in French), "white" horses, black bulls, white sandy beaches, & pink flamingos. Stes Maries is like a little island ... it doesn't take long to walk it ... in October there are very few tourists & it is so peaceful, though nothing seemed to be open.

Because Ashley & I are great at finding water & horses, you can imagine where we headed first ... to the beach.
We had to play in the Mediterannean despite how cold it might be that October day. It was cold ... very cold ... despite the freezing toes, we enjoyed every minute of standing at the water's edge, watching it lap against our feet.
Ashley went so far as to take a little barefoot jog along the water's edge.
After our adventure in the water, we decided to find the tourist office to see if they had suggestions on horseback riding. Both of us have ridden, so we wanted some place that would allow us to do more than just go along at a nice little walk. At the office, we were handed a pamphlet of every riding facility on the island & a map. We started walking & immediately decided that the first facility we came across would be the "one." We found a great little hotel right as we walked out of the centre of town & chatted with the receptionist. For an hour & a half & for 20 euros, we could go for a ride through the marshes. We immediately said yes, explained our riding background, & often we went to wait 30 minutes for the other members of the group to show. All in all, we had about 13 riders & 3 hotel staff/wranglers/cowboys. Of the 13 riders, only 5 of us had ridden before, so at one point the 5 of us were allowed to break off from the group & go for a gallop across the marshes. However, we had to pull up quite quickly as the remaining riders, well, all but 2, had fallen off their horses! Once the horses were caught & the riders reassembled, off we went again for an exhilarting canter on a slightly uncomfortable saddle (it was like a leather seat & stirrups - no skirt to the saddle which hurt because the stirrup leathers pinched my knees, but oh well).

On the way back to the hotel, Ashley & I pulled our horses along side one another as best we could because our horses did not care for one another & proceeded to ogle over our "cowboy." I wish we had gotten a picture of him ... but needless to say, he certainly made the ride very enjoyable. :-D (I know, we're horrible, but we can't help it ... we appreciate men who can wear tight riding jods & handle his unruly horse.)

After saying good-bye to our horses & favourite gardian, Ashley & I decided to walk around a bit as we had time before the bus came to take us back to Arles. We found a wonderful leather shop that had some very finely made western saddles, a few hunt saddles, & some wonderful purses & boots. We certainly enjoyed smelling all the leather. Some people probably thought we were a little crazy, but oh well ... we enjoyed it.
We headed back to Arles around 5pm so we could make it to Marseille to check-in to our hotel by 8pm ...

Avignon to Apt to Arles

After our adventures in Montpellier, Ashley & I decided to head to Avignon. We weren't exactly thrilled with Montpellier's sites & she knew that Avignon wouldn't be much different. Avignon has two sites that are most notable: the Palais des Papes & the Pont du Avignon. The Palais is left over from the Avignon Papacy a long time ago when there were 2 popes - one in Rome & one in France. Obviously the Roman Papacy won out as that is where the Pope currently lives. But there are still remnants of the Avignon Papacy - the Palace. The palace is pretty impressive on the outside, but all that I had read stated that the price to go inside wasn't worth it as you just had the pleasure of staring at blank walls. So Ashley & I opted to by pass a tour of an empty palace & head to the waterfront.

Ashley & I are both water addicts, meaning that we have this inherent ability to find water - rivers, oceans, streams, fountains, you name it. As soon as we came upon the water, we immediately wished we had friends in Avignon who owned a boat as that would be the best way to enjoy the Rhone. Though we have no such friends in France, we chose to sit by the water & stare.



After about 30 minutes of staring & goofing off, we decided that we had our fill of Avignon & went to see when the next bus to Apt ran. Of course, our luck proved horrible as the bus didn't leave for another 3 hours. We headed to an internet cafe to make plans to visit the Camargue region of France, which is arguably the best place in France. We also chatted with a friend of Ashley's who lives in Avignon & decided to meet him for a beer. After our enjoyable (& inexpensive) beer, we decided to head to the bus station so we could visit the middle of nowhere Apt.


To get to Apt, you have to take a bus ... the ride, in total, lasts about an hour & a half. However, it feels like a 3 hour ride because the bus drivers are absolutely horrible at shifting! I think I am better than they & I have only been driving a manual for 3 months! We FINALLY made it to Apt & to Ashley's "house."

Ashley lives at the local high school in Apt. During the week, most of the students live on campus because Apt is the regional high school & some students would have to commute 1 hour to school every morning. So Ashley lives at the back on the school on the top floor with 2 other people - a Spaniard (Luis) whom I did not meet & another American (Jennifer). This is Jennifer's second year teaching English in France. The apartment is laid out quite interestingly. Imagine a hall of class rooms. On one side, some of the walls between the rooms have been knocked out. This forms the kitchen which houses a stove top (no over), a tiny fridge, a TV, & a table with 4 chairs. A long hallway leads to 3 bedrooms, smaller than my dorm at Transy. At the end of the hall is the shower & in a closet is the toilet. That's where Ashley lives. This is why we only stayed the night twice in Apt.

Our only full day in Apt saw us touring the city. Now, a tour of Apt generally takes 15 minutes .... but we drug it out to an hour & then headed to the grocery store to buy dinner. After that, we just farted around the school all day ... mostly talking, transferring movies from my IPOD to her computer, & sharing music. We made an amazing dinner - pasta, feta cheese, & random stir-fried veggies - & enjoyed a nice bottle of French wine. We went to bed early as the bus to take us to Avignon in the morning would leave at 5:15am.

We were out the door by 5am & on the bus to Avignon. In Avignon, we caught a train to Arles where we would then meet our bus to go to Saintes Maries de la Mer in the Camargue. Arles is actually a pretty cool city. It has an old Roman amphitheatre which is still used today.
We thought we had about 3 hours to kill before we had to catch our bus. In that time, we decided to find a bank for Ashely as she was in dire need of cash. By the time we found the bank, we realized we didn't have time to wait, thinking the bus would be there at 10:15am. So we rush back, which was no easy feat as we were aways from the bus station & the climb would be partially uphill. We made it, out of breath, to the station only to find that the bus we were expecting only ran during the summer. The internet failed to tell us this & we stupidly did not double check the times before we walked into town. So we decided to kill the remaining 2 hours by walking back to the bank. There, we successfully withdrew money from Ashley's bank account & then decided to head back to the station to lie in the sun & enjoy our yummy sandwiches we had made.

The bus arrived & we joyfully climbed on ... now for the 30 minute drive to the Camargue ... the most beautiful place in France ........

Vacation Week 2 - My Kind of Life - Germany to Montpellier

I was ready to go on vacation. I was ready to get out of Germany & go where I could understand the language. So where did I pick? France. Southern France, actually. Now I am by no means fluent in French, but I can at least get around & if someone asks me a question, I have an idea of what they are asking.

Ashley Koch, one of my sorority sisters, moved to southern France this past October where she teaches English in a French primary school. She lives in Apt, aka the middle of nowhere. As soon as she learned that she was moving, we immediately made plans for a visit. Originally we planned that I would fly into Montpellier on a Saturday, catch the train to Avignon, & then a bus to Apt, & I would fly out of Marseille to London Gatwick 4 days later to visit my UK friends. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned when I am involved.

After searching the SNCF website, I realize that it is impossible to get from Montpellier to Apt on a Saturday evening since my plane did not land until 6:30pm, which is when the last train left the station. So we decided Ashley would come to me & we would stay overnight in Montpellier. We would go to Avignon the next day & then to Apt where we would stay Sunday & Monday nights & then go to Marseille Tuesday & stay the night so I could catch my plane the next afternoon. Ashley & I really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but we knew it would be fun.

First off, getting to France was QUITE frustrating. My train to Hamburg left at 5:10am. From Hamburg, I would take the ICE (fast train) to Koblenz to catch a bus to Frankfurt Hahn airport (which really isn't in Frankfurt). The train to Koblenz ran 20 minutes late, insuring that I missed the bus. I spoke with the conductor & asked if I should stay on until Mainz (the next stop) so that I could catch a bus there, but he assured me that buses left for the airport at 20 minute intervals. Well that may be true during the week! I was leaving on a Saturday! So I get off at Mainz, walk to the bus station, & sure enough, the next bus didn't leave until 2 hours later. So I walked back to the train station, found a train going to Mainz & talked to another conductor. He put me on the train to Mainz & off I went with 18 Euro less (had to pay for the new ticket). I arrived in Mainz with time to spare, clamored on to the bus, & immediately went to sleep. (By this time it was about 1:30pm). We arrived at Frankfurt Hahn around 2:30, but check-in opened at 3pm. I checked in & waited for 5pm to arrive so I could get on the plane & go back to sleep. Finally, at 6:35pm, I arrived in Montpellier. I was completely prepared with my French. I went up to the information desk & asked about buses going to the train station. Haha ... in my dreams. They stopped running at 5pm, so I would have to take a taxi which would cost 20 euros. Well, I had no choice. I phoned Ashley, told her what was going on, & off I went in the taxi. 20 minutes later, we finally met up!

To say that Ashley & I were excited to see one another would be an understatement. We were thrilled! We hadn't seen each other since July 2006 & needed to catch up. She was lonely for a friend since she lived in the middle of nowhere France & I was lonely for someone my own age who spoke my language! We checked into our hotel & off we went to find dinner. I had already decided I wanted to eat at Le Pain Quotidien, which is an organic French restaurant Mom & I discovered in London last July. I had written the address incorrectly, so the hotel owner suggested another place which was right around the corner. In fact, LPQ was also right around the corner, so we ate there. Dinner was crazy. First we decided we would celebrate with a bottle of wine. We both ordered pasta & dessert. Now, important note: We were sitting next to a rather large window that pedestrians passed as they went down the side street. Well, needless to say, we had some visitors at our window. A group of guys walked by twice & decided to make faces at us. We tried to remain serious, but I guess we had consumed too much wine by that time & couldn't help but laugh.

By 9pm, we were both tired & decided it was time to head back to the hotel for a shower & bed. After all, I had been travelling since 5am! Our room was quite nice for a French hotel & the bathroom bigger than I expected. We had a bunkbed which also allowed the bottom bunk to pull out to a double bed. We were too lazy to climb to the top bunk, so we shared the double bed. I don't think either of us moved we were so tired.

The next morning dawned bright & early. We were up at 9am which was really 8am because we had forgotten to change our clocks. This certainly worked to our advantage as check out was at noon & we wanted to leave our bags in the room & walk around. We headed back to the square where we had eaten dinner. This begins the main pedestrian area of Montpellier.


In the center is a statue known as "The Three Graces" as well as the Opera House & a carousel (every good French town has one!).











As we wandered, we also came across an arch called the Ponte Peyrou. (I think every good French town has one of these arches as well.)








The best thing we saw, however, was an arch-type thing that sat above a pool of water. Because we were there early enough in the morning & it was such a nice day, we were able to see the reflection of the monument.







































After we walked around a bit more (nothing was open as it was Sunday), Ashley & I decided it was time to head to Avignon ...


Ashley, enjoying French food (as you will see, Ashely cannot take a serious picture)