I can't run! I can barely move. Eeeeesh. My range of motion is super limited in my low back and I have no idea what I did to myself (but getting pounded into the sand didn't help the situation when I was playing in some ferocious waves on Wednesday...... seemed harmless at first, but in retrospect, not the most brilliant idea considering how strong the waves were. I was planning on simply frolicking in the waves - they didn't appear ferocious - but once I was thigh deep, I realized frolicking was not an option. Pulverization was my only option. I called it quits pretty quickly, but apparently not quickly enough).
I went to see a physical therapist yesterday (and am incredibly grateful to my cousin for taking me) and I'm desperately hoping that I start to feel better in the next few days. I'm getting quite worried about the WWOOF-ing situtation if my back doesn't improve. The whole point of WWOOF-ing is for me to HELP on the farm, physical labor in exchange for food and lodging. The concept is a marvelous one unless I can't move. Even filling up my water bottle bothers my back. Really?!! 1 liter of water ...... I can't handle 2.2 lbs of weight in front of me? This is no bueno. And I'm supposed to start on my first farm in Ireland in exactly 2 weeks (it's INSANE how quickly time is going).
So I'm behaving and not running, but it is incredibly depressing to not be able to run through vineyards in Bordeaux. This is one of my favorite places to run. And the thought of not being able to run in Ireland is dismal indeed. We shall see. I'm holding onto the hope of a quick recovery!
Friday, August 24, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Rennes
Also enjoyed a light display (a bit more mysterious and bizarre than either of us was expecting) on the facade of the Parliament building. Whoever created the show had mad skills. Here you see the building "on fire" from when the Parliament burned in 1720 and 1994.
More to come later. For now it is bed time!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Fun Friday
Today was spectacular.
- I got to start my day talking to one of my best friends in Seattle (90 minutes is so insufficient to cover 10 weeks!!)
- Quick little run to pick up bread at the boulangerie. Yum! The simple pleasure of fresh baked bread never ceases to amaze me and make me smile.
- 2.5 hour blackberry-picking excursion with my uncle. Which resulted in a new discovery for me: fresh blackberries with red wine and sugar. Scrumptious!!
- Lunch outside under a perfect summer sun
- Two games of Pétanque (lawn bowling) with my aunt and uncle. The first game was decent, at one point we all had 5 points, but the second game, I managed to get a "fani" (as 'funny' as it may sound, it's quite pathetic really, it's when you don't score a single point before the winner scores their 13. Yowzers!) However, this picture is not a set up! I really did make that happen (first game) =)
- I got to start my day talking to one of my best friends in Seattle (90 minutes is so insufficient to cover 10 weeks!!)
- Quick little run to pick up bread at the boulangerie. Yum! The simple pleasure of fresh baked bread never ceases to amaze me and make me smile.
- 2.5 hour blackberry-picking excursion with my uncle. Which resulted in a new discovery for me: fresh blackberries with red wine and sugar. Scrumptious!!
- Lunch outside under a perfect summer sun
- Two games of Pétanque (lawn bowling) with my aunt and uncle. The first game was decent, at one point we all had 5 points, but the second game, I managed to get a "fani" (as 'funny' as it may sound, it's quite pathetic really, it's when you don't score a single point before the winner scores their 13. Yowzers!) However, this picture is not a set up! I really did make that happen (first game) =)
- Solo super brief bike ride to see wind turbines (éoliennes). There are 4 set-up only 3.5 km from my uncle's house. So impressive! I tried to capture some of the Normandie countryside while at it!
This is me impressed. =)
DANG IT!! I had 6 more pictures I wanted to post and the computer is freezing up and won't let me. Well, I guess that will be for another night. (haha, upon looking back at the pictures, do you notice a theme with Elodie and her mouth open? =) But if you look closely, you can see that they are different expressions ranging from ravenous, to excited, to impressed).
- Before my final frustrating encounter with the computer tonight, we ended the evening with a game of cards, which has become our tradition the past 3 nights and which I truly love! It's not a complete visit with my French family if it doesn't involve card games. =) I will go to bed tonight partly satisfied with at least getting some pictures up.
Tomorrow, I take a train to Rennes to meet up with an old friend from 2008 who was also a teaching assistant in Saint Lo. We get to spend the weekend together, and I'm super excited to see her again and spend more time in one of my Top 3 favorite French towns!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Successful Castle Quest!
Hooooorrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy!!! Check and check on solo ride to the Balleroy Castle and another bike outing with my uncle. AND this time I have pictures. Today, I rode the whopping 9 km to Balleroy to do the guided tour. It was another lovely bike ride through Norman countryside and having a castle destination doesn't hurt either. (ARG!!!! But have run into unintended technical difficulties, and the extent of my technological skills are not sufficient for problem solving. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. Keeping fingers crossed for a solution by tomorrow night).
I have, however, lost all motivation for blogging tonight, as I was super excited to post all kinds of pics. So for now, I'm going to bed and hopefully tomorrow this post will be populated by fantastically Norman pictures.
I have, however, lost all motivation for blogging tonight, as I was super excited to post all kinds of pics. So for now, I'm going to bed and hopefully tomorrow this post will be populated by fantastically Norman pictures.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Reunited with my bicycle!!
WOW!! I didn't realize how much I missed biking in Normandie until I finally got to ride here again after 4 years. Oh my. How to explain the pure bliss. It's so good for my soul. The countryside is inexplicably gorgeous with all of the greenery of fields and shrubs and hedges. I absolutely love the asymmetry of the fields with golden shades of wheat in stark contrast with the dark green shades of corn. The rolling hills are a decent challenge and then open the world on either side to these fabulous sights. I went out with my uncle for a 35 km ride on Tuesday and was soaking in every moment. It was extraordinary: blue sky, sunshine, little pockets of white clouds and me pedaling through the glory of Normandie on the bike I used to ride when I lived in Saint Lo in 2008. Faaaaaaaaaabulous!
And here's the grand reunion!!
For the pertinent updates:
1.) I had an absolutely FANTASTIC experience couch surfing in Lille with my friend Rose. It was my first time couch surfing and I am now a wholehearted CS supporter and surfer! Our hosts were amazing and made the experience so much more rich than if we hadn't had their interaction, advice, tips, and company.
2.) In stark contrast, the hostel I stayed at in Belgium was mediocre at best. Boo. I severely regretted not having done CS for Belgium, but I had not yet experienced the amazing-ness that is CS. Brussels was also disappointing; with lots of less-than-ideal interactions and a very mundane metropolis. It's a big city, and indeed, the capital of Europe, so I wasn't expecting a quaint little village, but I thought there would be more appealing architecture. The Grand Plaza is absolutely breath-takingly gorgeous and was hands-down my favorite place in Brussels, but the rest was sub-par and at times a little sketchy.
I followed a few suggested walking tours and found the parts of the city that I saw to be very unremarkable.....to the point where I was questioning why they were part of a walking tour. My favorite part of Brussels (after gawking at the Grand Plaza) was doing a little treasure hunt for the 3 pissing statues. I found them all (Manneken Pis, the original little boy, his sister, and now a dog) and I find them quite hilarious, especially that the little boy actually wears a costume and that the costume is changed multiple times/month. Really??!! Really!
I did get to visit three other towns in Belgium: Tournai, Ghent and Brugge, and the last two are by far my favorite Belgian towns. They also definitely make top 10 European towns for me. I got to visit Ghent during a music festival and it was quite fun; highlight of the day was meeting some very friendly and proud Belgians who bought me a Ghent Tripl (a beer that I actually discovered I really liked and is made specifically for the town of Ghent) COOL!!
3.) I got a sunburn playing in the pool that my cousin has in his backyard! I hadn't had that much sun in a while! (The summer here has been terrible with ridiculous amounts of rain and much colder temperatures than usual, and everyone's gardens now reflect the sub-par summer with various plant maladies and severely diminished harvests. Sad!) The pool was incredibly fun to frolic in though! It's above ground, but about 4 feet deep and 20 feet in diameter ...... sufficient for much fantastic fun. I was very thankful I didn't have to carry my bag for a few days though, because my shoulders were severely sensitive to the slightest pressure; 45 lbs on them would have been quite unpleasant.
4.) I got to swim in a pool with a retractable roof!!! SO COOL! Near my aunt's house she has a public pool with a roof that can be opened on days deemed worthy. I was lucky enough to catch one of those days! I swam 3 days while I was there, and only on 1 day did they open the roof. I thought the other days were nice enough for open sky swimming, but apparently they did not concur. It was a splendid experience!
5.) With a 90 minute wait for a train in Metz, I found a little park and did some yoga in the park, and decided to take some pictures of it too. It was hilarious! I had a grand old time and will show you some of the pictures (soon). KC - if you are reading this, I thought of you and the picture you suggested for the blog. I tried a variation. =)
6.) I said goodbye to my parents before they head back to the States, and it was much harder than I expected, considering we've grown quite accustomed to goodbyes between visits. Parting ways on August 3rd was quite emotional yet still surreal that that was our final French goodbye. They're still in France for a few more days, but they're visiting other family in Paris, and I came straight to Normandie. Getting to spend multiple weeks with them this summer made for many a wonderful memory.
7.) I got to spend a few days visiting a friend I'd met in 2008 who it turns out, now lives only about 10 km from my uncle! Who knew!! She's now married and has a 2 year old daughter who is absolutely precious!
During my stay, we visited another couple I'd met in 2008 who have bought an old stone house with tons of land, and are building an add-on to the house themselves and growing a huge garden. They are also going to start beekeeping which I find amazing on multiple levels, primarily because she'd been reading up on "how to" and was registered for a class, when suddenly, a group of bees (I don't know what the term is for a group of bees, but we're talking the whole party, appx 50,000 bees) flew into their yard and made a temporary home out of their apple tree. They called local beekeepers and got everything they needed to make a hive for them, and they now have a "group" of bees! Talk about meant to be!
They are very very environment-friendly-minded people, and it was incredibly refreshing to hear their story and see what they are accomplishing with their lives. Dinner was a chicken they had raised and potatoes from their garden with herbs they grow as well. Divine!!
The next day we went to the beach and timed a quick 10 minute dip in the English Channel perfectly before a storm hit and the downpour drenched the remaining, stubborn people on the beach. It was a COLD dip, and the worst part was not having sunshine to warm us up afterwards. Definitely did not feel like a summer day in August! But we went home and had hot tea and a chocolate lava cake that we'd made - exquisite!!
Her apartment happens to be a 2 minute walk from a castle! I LOVE IT! I'm still obsessed with castles. I got to go for a run around the castle grounds. It was fabulous!
She brought me to my uncle's house on Tuesday (about a 15 minute drive away) which made for one of the easiest house transitions I've had yet! I think it takes number 1. =) After lunch with my aunt and uncle; the glorious reunion of bike and rider took place, and now we're back where this story started, with the 35 km bike ride through the fantastic Normandy country-side. Tomorrow, a 50 km ride planned with my uncle (who is over 70 years old and floors me with his fitness!!) and perhaps a quick solo jaunt by bike over to a castle to satisfy my castle obsession.
And here's the grand reunion!!
For the pertinent updates:
1.) I had an absolutely FANTASTIC experience couch surfing in Lille with my friend Rose. It was my first time couch surfing and I am now a wholehearted CS supporter and surfer! Our hosts were amazing and made the experience so much more rich than if we hadn't had their interaction, advice, tips, and company.
2.) In stark contrast, the hostel I stayed at in Belgium was mediocre at best. Boo. I severely regretted not having done CS for Belgium, but I had not yet experienced the amazing-ness that is CS. Brussels was also disappointing; with lots of less-than-ideal interactions and a very mundane metropolis. It's a big city, and indeed, the capital of Europe, so I wasn't expecting a quaint little village, but I thought there would be more appealing architecture. The Grand Plaza is absolutely breath-takingly gorgeous and was hands-down my favorite place in Brussels, but the rest was sub-par and at times a little sketchy.
I followed a few suggested walking tours and found the parts of the city that I saw to be very unremarkable.....to the point where I was questioning why they were part of a walking tour. My favorite part of Brussels (after gawking at the Grand Plaza) was doing a little treasure hunt for the 3 pissing statues. I found them all (Manneken Pis, the original little boy, his sister, and now a dog) and I find them quite hilarious, especially that the little boy actually wears a costume and that the costume is changed multiple times/month. Really??!! Really!
I did get to visit three other towns in Belgium: Tournai, Ghent and Brugge, and the last two are by far my favorite Belgian towns. They also definitely make top 10 European towns for me. I got to visit Ghent during a music festival and it was quite fun; highlight of the day was meeting some very friendly and proud Belgians who bought me a Ghent Tripl (a beer that I actually discovered I really liked and is made specifically for the town of Ghent) COOL!!
3.) I got a sunburn playing in the pool that my cousin has in his backyard! I hadn't had that much sun in a while! (The summer here has been terrible with ridiculous amounts of rain and much colder temperatures than usual, and everyone's gardens now reflect the sub-par summer with various plant maladies and severely diminished harvests. Sad!) The pool was incredibly fun to frolic in though! It's above ground, but about 4 feet deep and 20 feet in diameter ...... sufficient for much fantastic fun. I was very thankful I didn't have to carry my bag for a few days though, because my shoulders were severely sensitive to the slightest pressure; 45 lbs on them would have been quite unpleasant.
4.) I got to swim in a pool with a retractable roof!!! SO COOL! Near my aunt's house she has a public pool with a roof that can be opened on days deemed worthy. I was lucky enough to catch one of those days! I swam 3 days while I was there, and only on 1 day did they open the roof. I thought the other days were nice enough for open sky swimming, but apparently they did not concur. It was a splendid experience!
5.) With a 90 minute wait for a train in Metz, I found a little park and did some yoga in the park, and decided to take some pictures of it too. It was hilarious! I had a grand old time and will show you some of the pictures (soon). KC - if you are reading this, I thought of you and the picture you suggested for the blog. I tried a variation. =)
6.) I said goodbye to my parents before they head back to the States, and it was much harder than I expected, considering we've grown quite accustomed to goodbyes between visits. Parting ways on August 3rd was quite emotional yet still surreal that that was our final French goodbye. They're still in France for a few more days, but they're visiting other family in Paris, and I came straight to Normandie. Getting to spend multiple weeks with them this summer made for many a wonderful memory.
7.) I got to spend a few days visiting a friend I'd met in 2008 who it turns out, now lives only about 10 km from my uncle! Who knew!! She's now married and has a 2 year old daughter who is absolutely precious!
During my stay, we visited another couple I'd met in 2008 who have bought an old stone house with tons of land, and are building an add-on to the house themselves and growing a huge garden. They are also going to start beekeeping which I find amazing on multiple levels, primarily because she'd been reading up on "how to" and was registered for a class, when suddenly, a group of bees (I don't know what the term is for a group of bees, but we're talking the whole party, appx 50,000 bees) flew into their yard and made a temporary home out of their apple tree. They called local beekeepers and got everything they needed to make a hive for them, and they now have a "group" of bees! Talk about meant to be!
They are very very environment-friendly-minded people, and it was incredibly refreshing to hear their story and see what they are accomplishing with their lives. Dinner was a chicken they had raised and potatoes from their garden with herbs they grow as well. Divine!!
The next day we went to the beach and timed a quick 10 minute dip in the English Channel perfectly before a storm hit and the downpour drenched the remaining, stubborn people on the beach. It was a COLD dip, and the worst part was not having sunshine to warm us up afterwards. Definitely did not feel like a summer day in August! But we went home and had hot tea and a chocolate lava cake that we'd made - exquisite!!
Her apartment happens to be a 2 minute walk from a castle! I LOVE IT! I'm still obsessed with castles. I got to go for a run around the castle grounds. It was fabulous!
She brought me to my uncle's house on Tuesday (about a 15 minute drive away) which made for one of the easiest house transitions I've had yet! I think it takes number 1. =) After lunch with my aunt and uncle; the glorious reunion of bike and rider took place, and now we're back where this story started, with the 35 km bike ride through the fantastic Normandy country-side. Tomorrow, a 50 km ride planned with my uncle (who is over 70 years old and floors me with his fitness!!) and perhaps a quick solo jaunt by bike over to a castle to satisfy my castle obsession.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Running Through Vineyards in Bordeaux & Stuck Behind a Herd of Cows in Normandie!!!
Heaven!! Running in Bordeaux was absolutely fantastic! And being stuck behind a herd of cows in Normandie was hilarious. Their butts were eye-level. I was amazed, I'd never been that close to the hind end of a cow before. It was an "eye-opening" experience (ha! I feel clever!)
This post will be dedicated to my favorite runs so far..... (but for now I need to go to bed, so I will leave you anxiously awaiting details!!)
In a Nutshell!!! (a very long, loooooooooong nutshell).
Phew! So much to experience, so much fun, and so little time for computers, here's what's happened the last month, in a nutshell =) A picture-less account, sorry!
NOTE: For news on WWOOF-ing, see near the bottom of this novella! And for the upcoming itinerary, see about midway through.
June 11th - June 19th: Stayed at an aunt's house in Le Mesnil St Denis, the town we used to live in when we lived in France for 3 years. It was so fun to see the apartment we used to live in and the school I used to go to. Saw my former best friend's mom and learned that she's in her 10th year of medical school - holy shlamola! This is where I met up with my parents and sister.
June 16th: The four of us, along with most of my extended French family, went to one of my favorite cousin's weddings. SO FUN! Started at 4:30 pm for the church service (in an incredibly quaint, small, stone church) and ended with a crazy fun dance party until 4:30 am. Dinner started at 10 pm, dessert was served at 12 am, but this is also when the dancing started, so I took my dessert break at 1 am. Ha!! So French. If I ever get married, that is the way I want my wedding to go! "Incroyable!!"
June 19th - June 22nd: Visit an uncle in Aubière; a small town in the Auvergne region which is gorgeous with volcanoes extending as far as you can see. Magnificent! I went on a couple of great runs with phenomenal views of volcanoes, one morning with fog clinging to the bases and it was breath-taking.
June 22nd - June 28th: Visit a cousin near Bordeaux. Got to run through vineyards on three different days and felt absolutely surreal! We spent a day visiting St Emilion and took tours of the underground church and some wine caves. We also spent a day at the beach near the Bassin D'Arcachon and played in the waves. Some of the waves beat the crap out of me, but it was tons of fun!! One of the days was dedicated to Bordeaux proper, and it still remains one of my top 3 favorite French cities (Bordeaux, Montpelier and Rennes top my list) =)
I got to celebrate my birthday on multiple days! Woohoo! =) We celebrated early on W 6/27 with some decadent ice cream (this was also the day at the beach, which I consider an absolutely fabulous way to celebrate my birthday). The actual day of, we spent driving from Bordeaux back to Aubière, and we stopped in this AMAZING little village called Turenne. It was magical! Built on a hillside, a fotified castle atop it all, and quaint houses with slate roofs and narrow streets. It was very fun to explore, although insanely hot! We ate lunch at a restaurant outside in the shade, and just sitting there, I had sweat rolling down my back. Eeeesh, not the most pleasant way to enjoy a meal. Afterwards though, it was hilarious as we did all we could to cool off, including soaking our paper napkins with water from our cups to dab the neck and face, and getting our hats wet in the bathroom. I think we were quite a specatcle. =)
That night we celebrated my birthday again with a delicious chocolate cake. YUM!! So extravagant and so fun!
June 29th - July 5th: Met my friend Aaron in Cannes, in the south of France on the Cote D'Azur! So much fun to hang out with him and explore a brand new place! I've never been to the Cote D'Azur before, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Every day we spent at least a few hours at the beach, swimming in the Mediterranean and lounging on the sand. One day was spent exporing Isle St Marguerite, which has a fort and prison (one of the four prisons where the "Iron Mask" was kept, if anybody saw the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio). We took a guided tour of the fort and prison and learned all kinds of cool stuff, which I leave Aaron to remember most of, as my retention rate is so appalling. Another day was spent at Isle St Honorat, which has a fortified monastery - INCREDIBLE!! This was my favorite day. The ancient monastery is absolutely phenomenal. Once I put pictures up, I will definitely show you. I stopped dead in my tracks and gawked once inside.
Our last day there we went to St Raphael, but after a short exploration of the town, ended up on the beach as well! The best part of St Raphael was this awesome German Shepard named Venus who learned quickly that we would do as she asked, so Aaron spent a good 30 minutes throwing a pine cone for her. It was so fun! We'd stopped to watch a game of Pétanc (lawn bowling, I believe we call it) but were more entertained by their dog. =)
I think my two favorite parts of Cannes were:
1. The market we went to every day (except Monday as it's closed) to buy fresh fruits, veggies, and other delicious treats for picnic lunches.
2. Walking on the beach barefoot. LOVE IT!! (oh yes, and having gelato while walking helped too - one scoop of coffee, and one scoop of hazelnut) =) It's very refreshing, their 1 scoops here are actually the size of 1 scoop versus our scoops, which I feel have grown to gargantuan portions of 2-3 scoops but try to still go by 'single scoop' labels.
Oh yes, and I got to go on two amazing runs while I was there. One was right along the Mediterranean, and I ended up in a different town. I love running past city limits! Can't explain why it gives me so much joy, but it does! The other run had some serious hills and one SPECTACULAR view of the sea and coast from the top. Talk about a serious reward for hard work. That is what I love about climbing hills. The views are absolutely priceless. The biggest bummer is that I keep forgetting to bring my camera on runs, so I have yet to capture any of the gorgeous things I see on my runs. They're just burned into my memory; but I wish I could share them with you!
July 5th - July 11th: Normandie!! Met back up with my parents (my sister unfortunately had to go back to work - I MISS YOU CHANTAL!!) for my uncle's 50th wedding anniversary! HOLY SHLAMOLA! Getting to experience someone's 50th wedding annivesary was incredible and very thought and emotion provoking. It is truly unbelievable the things that they have lived through and all of the lives they have affected.
The celebration was on Saturday, July 7th and started at 3:30 pm at the mayor's house. At 4:30 pm we all went to the church (another very cute, quaint, small stone church) for the service and at 5:30 pm the celebrations began at the "Salle des Fetes." We didnt't start eating until 10 pm again, but this dinner was much more drawn out and had more courses (7 to be exact) with singing scattered here and there (they were very organized and even provided handouts with lyrics!!) We started eating the salad at 1:15 in the morning. It was crazy! But very French! I was out of steam by 2 am for this party though, so called it a night at 2:30 am.
The rest of the days were spent with family, either helping to set-up or clean up from the festivities. We spent one day going to St Lo with my parents so I could show them the town I lived in for 9 months during my teaching assistantship. I took them to my favorite path to run on which is right by the river and has a spectacular mansion / castle along the way. It was so wonderful to be back!
I went on two absolutely fabulous runs in Normandie and realized how dearly I miss living there! On my first run, I actually got stuck behind a herd of cows for 5 minutes as the farmers transferred them from one field to another. =) Only in Normandie! Running and biking through the Normandie country-side is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. It actually beats running by the Mediterranean, if anyone can believe that. I don't know what it is, but I'm terribly drawn to rainy, lush green places (check: Normandie and Seattle!!)
Today, W 7/11 I took the train back to Paris to meet up with my aunt and uncle back in Le Mesnil. Tomorrow morning we leave for L'Isle de Noirmoutier. =)
And now, projected plans for the month, as who knows how long it will be before I get back on to blog again:
July 12th - July 15th = Noirmoutier with aunt and uncle to start, then my cousin and his new wife will join for a short weekend. Return with my cousin on Sunday night to be in Paris on Monday morning.
July 16 - July 20th = meet my wonderful friend Rose in Lille, France. Another totally new place to explore! I haven't seen Rose in far too long as well, so I'm extremely excited about the whole thing!
July 20th - July 24th = going on my first solo adventure to Brussels! WOOHOO!! I can hardly wait! Never been to Belgium and am super psyched to explore it!
July 24th - July 29th = Back to France, in the NE to a little town called Luttanges to visit another favorite cousin. Will be meeting back up with my parents at this point until August 3rd.
July 29th - August 3rd = Quick trip to a nearby town called Sarrebourg to visit an aunt and uncle.
August 3rd - August 20th = Return to Normandie. Can never spend too much time here! OH!! And talk about "meant to be"!!! I think I may end up WWOOF-ing there in March. My parents and I stayed at a 'gite' in Normandie at this incredibly cute farm and it turns out they're looking for help next year and are going to list themselves on the WWOOF website. WHAT??!!! You don't say! How incredibly cool! They're extremely nice people and I simply love the idea of working with them - we are very like-minded and they have bikes and badminton, and a gorgeous flower garden and tea garden....the list goes on and on. We exchanged emails and plan to keep in touch. I see myself there, but I guess we shall see how it all works out.
In other WWOOF-ing news!! I have two farms set up in Ireland and two in Scotland. All are set for stints of 3 weeks. I'm so excited about it I can hardly stand it! My first farm host has also just started an at home bakery so I get to help bake bread the first two days I am there! I start on September 7th on a farm near Dublin.
Until that point, I've got: August 20th - 27th back at Bordeaux with another favorite cousin and together we'll go to an old family house that's been passed down the generation in an area called La Creuse. Should be there from August 27th - September 2nd. This house used to be so rustic that we took showers outside when I was little. Great memories! They have since added a shower inside. It's such a fun place and so full of memories, I'm really excited to go back.
September 3rd: Depart for Ireland! I just got my plane ticket today and am also SUPER EXCITED (do you see a trend??) =)
But, all of that being said, and having purchased travel arrangements and hostels, etc.... I have spent about 6 hours at the computer today, so I am going to call it quits now. We'll see if I feel motivated enough for morning of TRX before we leave tomorrow. It's so much easier for me to get out of bed to run than TRX, but we shall see, it's sleepy-time!
NOTE: For news on WWOOF-ing, see near the bottom of this novella! And for the upcoming itinerary, see about midway through.
June 11th - June 19th: Stayed at an aunt's house in Le Mesnil St Denis, the town we used to live in when we lived in France for 3 years. It was so fun to see the apartment we used to live in and the school I used to go to. Saw my former best friend's mom and learned that she's in her 10th year of medical school - holy shlamola! This is where I met up with my parents and sister.
June 16th: The four of us, along with most of my extended French family, went to one of my favorite cousin's weddings. SO FUN! Started at 4:30 pm for the church service (in an incredibly quaint, small, stone church) and ended with a crazy fun dance party until 4:30 am. Dinner started at 10 pm, dessert was served at 12 am, but this is also when the dancing started, so I took my dessert break at 1 am. Ha!! So French. If I ever get married, that is the way I want my wedding to go! "Incroyable!!"
June 19th - June 22nd: Visit an uncle in Aubière; a small town in the Auvergne region which is gorgeous with volcanoes extending as far as you can see. Magnificent! I went on a couple of great runs with phenomenal views of volcanoes, one morning with fog clinging to the bases and it was breath-taking.
June 22nd - June 28th: Visit a cousin near Bordeaux. Got to run through vineyards on three different days and felt absolutely surreal! We spent a day visiting St Emilion and took tours of the underground church and some wine caves. We also spent a day at the beach near the Bassin D'Arcachon and played in the waves. Some of the waves beat the crap out of me, but it was tons of fun!! One of the days was dedicated to Bordeaux proper, and it still remains one of my top 3 favorite French cities (Bordeaux, Montpelier and Rennes top my list) =)
I got to celebrate my birthday on multiple days! Woohoo! =) We celebrated early on W 6/27 with some decadent ice cream (this was also the day at the beach, which I consider an absolutely fabulous way to celebrate my birthday). The actual day of, we spent driving from Bordeaux back to Aubière, and we stopped in this AMAZING little village called Turenne. It was magical! Built on a hillside, a fotified castle atop it all, and quaint houses with slate roofs and narrow streets. It was very fun to explore, although insanely hot! We ate lunch at a restaurant outside in the shade, and just sitting there, I had sweat rolling down my back. Eeeesh, not the most pleasant way to enjoy a meal. Afterwards though, it was hilarious as we did all we could to cool off, including soaking our paper napkins with water from our cups to dab the neck and face, and getting our hats wet in the bathroom. I think we were quite a specatcle. =)
That night we celebrated my birthday again with a delicious chocolate cake. YUM!! So extravagant and so fun!
June 29th - July 5th: Met my friend Aaron in Cannes, in the south of France on the Cote D'Azur! So much fun to hang out with him and explore a brand new place! I've never been to the Cote D'Azur before, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Every day we spent at least a few hours at the beach, swimming in the Mediterranean and lounging on the sand. One day was spent exporing Isle St Marguerite, which has a fort and prison (one of the four prisons where the "Iron Mask" was kept, if anybody saw the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio). We took a guided tour of the fort and prison and learned all kinds of cool stuff, which I leave Aaron to remember most of, as my retention rate is so appalling. Another day was spent at Isle St Honorat, which has a fortified monastery - INCREDIBLE!! This was my favorite day. The ancient monastery is absolutely phenomenal. Once I put pictures up, I will definitely show you. I stopped dead in my tracks and gawked once inside.
Our last day there we went to St Raphael, but after a short exploration of the town, ended up on the beach as well! The best part of St Raphael was this awesome German Shepard named Venus who learned quickly that we would do as she asked, so Aaron spent a good 30 minutes throwing a pine cone for her. It was so fun! We'd stopped to watch a game of Pétanc (lawn bowling, I believe we call it) but were more entertained by their dog. =)
I think my two favorite parts of Cannes were:
1. The market we went to every day (except Monday as it's closed) to buy fresh fruits, veggies, and other delicious treats for picnic lunches.
2. Walking on the beach barefoot. LOVE IT!! (oh yes, and having gelato while walking helped too - one scoop of coffee, and one scoop of hazelnut) =) It's very refreshing, their 1 scoops here are actually the size of 1 scoop versus our scoops, which I feel have grown to gargantuan portions of 2-3 scoops but try to still go by 'single scoop' labels.
Oh yes, and I got to go on two amazing runs while I was there. One was right along the Mediterranean, and I ended up in a different town. I love running past city limits! Can't explain why it gives me so much joy, but it does! The other run had some serious hills and one SPECTACULAR view of the sea and coast from the top. Talk about a serious reward for hard work. That is what I love about climbing hills. The views are absolutely priceless. The biggest bummer is that I keep forgetting to bring my camera on runs, so I have yet to capture any of the gorgeous things I see on my runs. They're just burned into my memory; but I wish I could share them with you!
July 5th - July 11th: Normandie!! Met back up with my parents (my sister unfortunately had to go back to work - I MISS YOU CHANTAL!!) for my uncle's 50th wedding anniversary! HOLY SHLAMOLA! Getting to experience someone's 50th wedding annivesary was incredible and very thought and emotion provoking. It is truly unbelievable the things that they have lived through and all of the lives they have affected.
The celebration was on Saturday, July 7th and started at 3:30 pm at the mayor's house. At 4:30 pm we all went to the church (another very cute, quaint, small stone church) for the service and at 5:30 pm the celebrations began at the "Salle des Fetes." We didnt't start eating until 10 pm again, but this dinner was much more drawn out and had more courses (7 to be exact) with singing scattered here and there (they were very organized and even provided handouts with lyrics!!) We started eating the salad at 1:15 in the morning. It was crazy! But very French! I was out of steam by 2 am for this party though, so called it a night at 2:30 am.
The rest of the days were spent with family, either helping to set-up or clean up from the festivities. We spent one day going to St Lo with my parents so I could show them the town I lived in for 9 months during my teaching assistantship. I took them to my favorite path to run on which is right by the river and has a spectacular mansion / castle along the way. It was so wonderful to be back!
I went on two absolutely fabulous runs in Normandie and realized how dearly I miss living there! On my first run, I actually got stuck behind a herd of cows for 5 minutes as the farmers transferred them from one field to another. =) Only in Normandie! Running and biking through the Normandie country-side is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. It actually beats running by the Mediterranean, if anyone can believe that. I don't know what it is, but I'm terribly drawn to rainy, lush green places (check: Normandie and Seattle!!)
Today, W 7/11 I took the train back to Paris to meet up with my aunt and uncle back in Le Mesnil. Tomorrow morning we leave for L'Isle de Noirmoutier. =)
And now, projected plans for the month, as who knows how long it will be before I get back on to blog again:
July 12th - July 15th = Noirmoutier with aunt and uncle to start, then my cousin and his new wife will join for a short weekend. Return with my cousin on Sunday night to be in Paris on Monday morning.
July 16 - July 20th = meet my wonderful friend Rose in Lille, France. Another totally new place to explore! I haven't seen Rose in far too long as well, so I'm extremely excited about the whole thing!
July 20th - July 24th = going on my first solo adventure to Brussels! WOOHOO!! I can hardly wait! Never been to Belgium and am super psyched to explore it!
July 24th - July 29th = Back to France, in the NE to a little town called Luttanges to visit another favorite cousin. Will be meeting back up with my parents at this point until August 3rd.
July 29th - August 3rd = Quick trip to a nearby town called Sarrebourg to visit an aunt and uncle.
August 3rd - August 20th = Return to Normandie. Can never spend too much time here! OH!! And talk about "meant to be"!!! I think I may end up WWOOF-ing there in March. My parents and I stayed at a 'gite' in Normandie at this incredibly cute farm and it turns out they're looking for help next year and are going to list themselves on the WWOOF website. WHAT??!!! You don't say! How incredibly cool! They're extremely nice people and I simply love the idea of working with them - we are very like-minded and they have bikes and badminton, and a gorgeous flower garden and tea garden....the list goes on and on. We exchanged emails and plan to keep in touch. I see myself there, but I guess we shall see how it all works out.
In other WWOOF-ing news!! I have two farms set up in Ireland and two in Scotland. All are set for stints of 3 weeks. I'm so excited about it I can hardly stand it! My first farm host has also just started an at home bakery so I get to help bake bread the first two days I am there! I start on September 7th on a farm near Dublin.
Until that point, I've got: August 20th - 27th back at Bordeaux with another favorite cousin and together we'll go to an old family house that's been passed down the generation in an area called La Creuse. Should be there from August 27th - September 2nd. This house used to be so rustic that we took showers outside when I was little. Great memories! They have since added a shower inside. It's such a fun place and so full of memories, I'm really excited to go back.
September 3rd: Depart for Ireland! I just got my plane ticket today and am also SUPER EXCITED (do you see a trend??) =)
But, all of that being said, and having purchased travel arrangements and hostels, etc.... I have spent about 6 hours at the computer today, so I am going to call it quits now. We'll see if I feel motivated enough for morning of TRX before we leave tomorrow. It's so much easier for me to get out of bed to run than TRX, but we shall see, it's sleepy-time!
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