I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. -Henry David Thoreau
Arc de Triomf, Barcelona
Blending in with the Amsterdam art scene
Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand
Akaka Falls State Park, Hawaii
...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. -John 10:10 NIV
This is for all friends/followers/lurkers/blog-stumble-upon-ers who see this:
Please help. Aidez-moi.
In six short weeks, the roommate and I will
(fly)
to
(France)
Part of the trip is planned. Part of the trip is not. This is where you come in. We have 16 delicious days to explore as much of the country as we can.
We need ideas!
If you have ever been to, or dream of going to France, let me know! We'll be starting and ending in Paris, and while there is a Loire Valley wedding to attend, we also intend to pay a visit to Provence and Côte d'Azur. France is a big country and while two Eurail passes may get us around it, we definitely want to experience the best it has to offer.
In March, I flew across the country for spring break. The highlights:
Well, this, obviously.
Ok, ok. Arrived in Boston on St. Patty's Day. I drank some Guinness. It seemed like the thing to do.
St. Patty's Day carnage
Met up with my good friend Mel for some good old-fashioned fun for a week. In Boston, we rely on the trusty MBTA to get us around, affectionately known as the T. When I first moved to Boston, my dad got a huge kick of singing the old Kingston Trio song "Charlie on the M.T.A." to me. Something about being "lost under the streets of Boston" and how I'd "never return." Not to be outdone, the Dropkick Murphys remixed/updated the song and came up with "Skinhead on the MBTA." Don't think my dad knows that version.
The next red line train is now arriving. Please stand clear of the doors...
Mel and her man took me to Davis Square (red line stop of the same name), which is really the convergence of six streets in downtown Somerville, so the term "square" is misleading and the area can be confusing. We hit up J.P. Licks for some delicious seasonal ice cream (apparently March is the month for flavoring everything like alcohol (stout, Irish coffee, Bailey's)... who knew?), then it was on to Magpie, an awesome quirky little store chock-full of offbeat stuff.
Davis Square, Somerville, MA
Only a little further down the street was possibly the coolest store in the existence of the world, Kickass Cupcakes (Mom, I didn't name the store, I'm just telling it like it is). Novelty cupcakes in flavors like Mojito and Cinnamon Chai Pecan Sticky are the kinds of food that we'll probably find in heaven. Nom.
As if the cupcakes weren't enough, they have awesome signs as well.
We returned to downtown Boston and wandered through the Common and the Public Gardens, paying a visit to the duck statues. Robert McCloskey's children's books were family favorites as kids (and secretly still some of my mom's favorites), ergo a must-see. Plus the kiddies with accents and corduroy pants playing on them were pretty cute.
Make way for the duckling
The direction we didn't walk in
Mel and I spent an afternoon shopping on Beacon Hill, browsing all the antique stores, quirky little shops and delightful boutiques like the fabulous Koo de Kir to our hearts' content. We wrapped up our day's adventure by tossing bits of our Chinatown purple taro pastry to the ducks in the Charles River and eating Thai food at the King & I restaurant on Charles St.
With Mel on the Charles
Among other highlights from a weekend spent with Melanie were taro boba tea in Chinatown, the Trojan Cow in South Station (really), and a visit to some friends in Marshfield. I don't have pictures from that day, but it was a beautiful drive through hardwood forests with old stone boundary walls, cranberry bogs and harbor towns for a night of Cary Grant, old friends, and J's good cookin'.
Another day was spent with two other friends indulging in sushi and high-end shopping on Newbury Street. I also taught Jia (below) what a consignment store was. Haha.
Last month, I went to Boston for spring break. Therefore, we're taking a tiny break from visiting Paris to see Boston. This is a post in two parts: Then and Now.
Background: I went to college on Boston's south shore for a little over a year, before transferring back to my native Northwest. I played DIII soccer for the school (during which I experienced most of greater New England by chartered coach), became acquainted with Nor'easters, and made a trip to Hawaii and New Zealand with the biology department.
When my mom went to Boston with me for the very first time, in January 2006, we spent our free hours drinking in the city. We walked the Freedom Trail (that handy brick path that wends its way to all the important historical sites, like the Old North Church and really old burial grounds), chowed down on seafood, and shopped at Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.
After getting familiar with the MBTA (this did not happen to me, obviously haha), it was all about the museums, the sports venues, and the Italian food in the North End.
Museums-
I love the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Back Bay. It's a huge house with an enclosed courtyard turned solarium, full of original art and correspondence from celebrities of centuries past.
The MFA rocks my world. Free admission for students always does! Besides the immense collection of perennial art, the changing exhibitions are awesome. I went to the Fashion Show: Paris Collections 2006. I love clothes. I love style. I love seeing Valentino and Christian Dior and Viktor & Rolf creations up close.
Would have loved to spend more time in the Museum of Science. As it was, L (same one I visited in Paris) and I went to see Body Worlds 2. Amazing. Anatomy student heaven.
Visited the Harvard Museum of Natural History for a biology class assignment. While strolling through said museum, I noticed a photograph that looked oddly familiar. As it turned out, the subject was a gravel shed from my hometown, 3000+ miles away in Oregon. Small world. There were also a plethora of blown glass botanics and lots of taxidermy. Sweet.
Home at Harvard!
Big bones in the HMNH
Sports-
Bypassing Fenway and TD Banknorth Garden (everyone knows those names) in favor of...
New England Revolution soccer! L and I met and bonded over this team. She had extra tickets, and I a quiet desperation to see them play. She drove all the way to my school to pick me up, and we rocked out to the Dropkick Murphys (locals gotta represent!) all the way out to Gillette Stadium and back. Our first game was in cold, pouring rain, but we sang our lungs out with the Midnight Riders and I bought my first MLS gear. Later on, we made banners urging the club to "Free Clint" and now I support his London club, Fulham FC. While I am a self-described equal opportunity footy enthusiast, it's so great having a local team.
Drenched, hypothermic, and exhilarated
Other highlights of my time in Boston include-
The Christmas tree lighting in Boston Commons. December 2006 was unseasonably warm... we went downtown in t-shirts and ate ice cream after the fireworks and the crowds dissipated. We met the nutcracker, Clara, and the Mouse King from the Boston Ballet.
I missed the chance to hit him with my shoe.
A soccer friend, Brittany, and I made an excursion to the New England Aquarium. The NEAQ is all right, but the one in Oregon is much better. While Boston's is a hot date spot, I can think of much more creative places to go. ;) The NEAQ does have a huge central tank with turtles and sharks and occasional SCUBA divers in it, which is awesome, as well as oversize penguins stalking the entrance.
Brittany and I getting some Pengzilla lovin'
That was three years ago. While I still love all these things about Boston, I've changed so much in my time back home. For example, I'm a big girl now! Tune in next time to see me write about my return trip and all the cool stuff I did this time. :)
Apologies for the lack of pictures. Many of my old Beantown photos were swallowed during the Great Computer Crash of 2007.
The afternoon of my first full day in Paris with L, we commenced sightseeing in our very best manner. We went to the seventh arrondissement and then crossed the Seine. Here's the highlights, aka More Things I Love About Paris.
See the shiny gold dome in the distance? Les Invalides- the final resting place of Napoleon.
I wanted to go to the Musée de l’Armée
I have to admit that I didn't find it necessary to wait in line to go up the Eiffel Tower, which is actually celebrating its 120th birthday this year. The view from Montmartre is fantastic and therefore satisfied my Parisian panoramic needs, so I pocketed my 10€. We skirted the mass of tourists huddled beneath it and entered the seventh arrondissement to take this picture. Pretty.
La Tour Eiffel
The natural continuation of this path led us across the Seine, where we stopped at the unofficial memorial to Princess Diana above the tunnel on the bank of the river. The torch is a copy of the Statue of Liberty's, and is officially a tribute to French-American friendships. People scrawl loving messages to Princess Di on the concrete with whatever they have on hand, even nail polish.
Memorial to Princess Diana
On, on.
L'Arc de Triomphe (or, if you ask Dave Barry, The Lark of Triumph)
L'Arc de Triomphe- oh, one of my favorite things in Paris. Belonging to a military family has given me an intense appreciation for things militaristic in nature, and this especially. Patriotism was intensified by an enormous French flag displayed alongside an EU flag inside the arch, due to the EU headquarters moving to Paris.
It's in the middle of the scary traffic circle, known as Place Charles de Gaulle, which feeds no less than 12 streets, all named for famous military leaders. Traffic accidents inside the circle are equal fault of drivers involved- damages are split 50-50. A tourist enters the arch by way of damp underground tunnel, and is protected from said traffic by means of a flimsy chain strung round the monument. One tourist actually stepped over this barrier and out into traffic to take a photo of her group. She was quickly herded back by French policemen, but this sort of behavior is surely what prompted Dave Barry to write:
"Another well-known Paris landmark is the Arc de Triomphe, a moving monument to the many brave men and women who have died trying to visit it, which we do not recommend because it’s located in the middle of La Place de la Traffic coming from All Directions at 114 Miles Per Hour."
L and I spent some time reading the plaques and dedications inside the arch, which can be a difficult task since most are set into the ground and most tourists ignored us and walked over them while we stood there apparently concentrating on their migratory patterns. Not that I'm bitter.
Tomb of the unknown soldier
The Arch and the grave reminded me of one of the greatest scenes in the movie Casablanca:
Liberté, Liberté chérie, Combats avec tes défenseurs!
Avenue des Champs-Élysées, replete with gawking tourists such as myself
We needed food, so we left L'Arc de Triomphe via the Champs-Élysées and the Métro and went back to the fifth arrondissement.
Fontaine Saint-Michel in Quartier Latin
In the cities of Europe, there are so many restaurants that most establishments have developed a gimmick to attract customers. Some send out attractive men to verbally woo the ladies inside (creepier than it sounds), some have entertainers like musicians and jugglers outside to grab attention. This man was smashing crockery on the sidewalk.
We stopped to eat at a little crêperie (fancy French word for tasty pancake) near St-Michel that L knows and loves. It's called La Crêperie des Pêcheurs* (crêperie of the fishermen) and it looks like a ship's interior, complete with figureheads and fishing nets. The place is tiny. L and I were next to the door at a little table for two that was so small it was hinged to let me in to sit against the wall. It faced the open kitchen, and our pre-dinner entertainment were the masses of hungry tourists pausing mere steps away to consider the menu and have a peep at the atmosphere (naturally, us.) They serve both savory crêpes (salées) and sucrées (dessert), with le cidre, the traditional companion of a crêpe. I had something delicious with mushrooms and tomato, L and I shared a bottle of cidre, and then we ordered dessert. We chose the Grand Marnier crêpe flambé, which is served wreathed in blue fire and accompanied by a dish heaped with whipped cream and is very, very tasty.
*French punctuation makes this funny: a pêcheur (note the accent circumflex) is a fisherman. This word is but a mark away from being a pécheur (accent aigu), which is a sinner.
After dinner we stopped into a little English bookshop on the left bank of Seine called Shakespeare & Company. It's one of the 10 or so English-speaking bookshops in the city and is really a lovely little place. J'aime les librairies.
Maybe the next post will be less talk, more see. It's hard to write about places when the pictures make you miss it intensely, but hope remains! Possibly more on that later.
I'm a small-town girl in a big, exciting world, and there's so much I want to see. So far, I've made it to 14 countries and 46 states, but my heart is in the northwest USA. Traveling, cultures and languages are among my passions. Soccer is my favorite thing to do. I love coffee and meeting new people.
The quote is from Shakespeare's Coriolanus. It reminds me that life is bigger than my own little pocket of consciousness. All the inspiring quotes and perfect photographs in the world can never add up to our experiences and the memories we make, but here I try to recreate them anyway.
(fly)
(France)
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