A day out in the country: A church, a castle and flowers

France: Venansault - Now this is more like it

I'm sitting outside in the sun on a park bench. There is a garden to my right. Christelle's father has planted the following: strawberries, raspberries, peach trees, plum trees, thyme, bay leaves, flowers of all kinds, sizes and colors, olive trees, tomatoes, lettuce...I can't even remember what else. It is impressive, but it's only the middle of April, so I'm missing out on the bloom of May. To my right/ahead of me is a neighbor's farm with cows. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the house/feral rescue cat and I have already made friends.

Prior to arriving here, I booked a week long trip to Barcelona. I immediately regret not spending more time here. That is a silly thought of course as anywhere I go on this trip has been and will continue to be perfect.

Before I started this adventure, my hairdresser (who I love to pieces) told me "You won't recognise yourself when you get back." Meaning, I am going to be able to be me entirely on this trip. I can do and see the things I want to and I will learn and grow the whole way. So far, I have realised that just because I'm on this amazing trip, doesn't mean I'm going to all the sudden make friends all over the world. I am still me, and am shy as hell when it comes to speaking another language. I am ok to talk to strangers on a whim but I haven't felt like it yet. As a matter of fact, I'm looking forward to Barcelona because it will be a week of alone time. Time where I can sleep in late or skip sightseeing and enjoy room service. I have also learned that being here, in the country, is more my style. It is where I find peace. Just as incredible as Notre Dame was (and it did completely blow my mind), I am as joyfully in awe of beautiful green grass, song birds, walking on gravel and watching a flower bud open in the morning.

I have three more days here and I am going to enjoy every minute of it.

P.s. I have a head cold, but my cough is almost gone. The slow pace of the country and the warmth of the sun (plus neurofen and panadol and the occasional cough syrup) will heal me right up.

France: ok. I'm sick.

I've been fighting a cough for a few days. First, it was a dry tickle. Then it was gone. And yesterday I felt like I was trying to cough up a stuffed animal that did not want to let go of my lungs. I took cough syrup which said nothing about "causing drowsiness" and then I fell into the coma of naps. For the last 24-48 hours, I've been just plum wiped out. Today, my cough is come and go. My exhaustion is also come and go. I wanted to believe I was healthy/just tired from being on my feet, but I've resigned myself to the truth. I am sick. Some French bug got me and I'm going to aggresively fight it with sleep and a trip to the country for some fresh air. Today, Christelle and I are taking the train to La Roche Sur Yon to visit her father. 

I didn't want to write about anything crummy like having a cough (or the plane crash that happened while I was in Florida), but we are human after all and these things do happen.

I have confidence that I will recover quickly. I have medicine and faith.

Ok, off to the train.

France: Day off

I slept in today until 10:30. Then I did laundry and not much else. It was glorious. My body is tired and I am letting it rest. I might go out later for a coffee or a meal, but if I do or if I don't is alright with me. 

Today's blog is going to cover a few general topics.

First, I'd like to start with smiling. I'm a smiler. I like to smile at people as I walk by. It might be just the thing they need to cheer up their day and their return smile always makes me happy. But when you're traveling in a big city or on a subway, smiling can be seen as a sign of weakness or vulnerability. It gives charming scam artists or pickpockets a way in. You smile, they smile and then your guard is down. So, I naturally reserve my smiles for safer situations, but smile or not, when I'm travelling I am happy. And if a little kid is crying or a woman needs help with her bag or her subway seat, I'll send out a smile to help every body's mood. I try to make sure I don't judge a city on the smiles or lack there of while walking around. People who live in a city known for pickpockets should keep their wits about them and a straight face is culturally responsible. When two people who know each other meet on the street, genuine smiles are there and it's wonderful to see. So, go ahead and keep that straight face, Paris. I know you are happy with your baguettes and your gardens. I know you are secretly thrilled to be meeting your friends for dinner after a subway ride. How could you not be happy? You're in one of the most amazing cities I've ever seen, with your coordinated architecture and your delicious food, with your convenient public transportation and your cultural diversity (I've seriously never seen so many different kinds of people anywhere else and Australia is pretty damn diverse). 

Next I'd like to quickly hit up the subject of smells. For anyone who has ever heard or said that French people smell, which is something that is the butt of a joke or two in America, I say this, "shut up." First of all, that's just rude. Secondly, I think you might believe that because you'd never taken public transportation in your life until your vacation to France. Ride a subway or a bus in any city anywhere. People smell. Especially people who work hard all day, or who ride a bike and then get in a small, hot, enclosed space. The only time I noticed any body odor was while on a train during rush hour and, even then, I wasn't sure if it wasn't my own because I had been walking for 5 hours. I did stand in a tight crowd on the train the other day and couldn't figure out which person smelled amazing. Seriously, it was the best cologne I'd ever smelled. I wanted to sniff people, but thought that might be odd. But then the subway went through an underground rotten egg factory...seriously, I'm glad the window was open, because the cool air is nice, but there is some kind of nasty fuel odor that overwhelms occasionally. 

Ok, next topic: Coffee. When I was between 16-20 years old, I was living in America drinking black coffee. I'd have the occasional Starbucks Mocha, but you'll have to forgive me for that because Starbucks was new (I may not be young). While living in Australia, I settled on soy cappuccinos. Australia is proud of their coffee culture. They have flat whites, long blacks, caps, lattes, etc. They make good coffee drinks that are mostly milk with medium to strong flavored coffee in them. When I traveled to the US in March, I wanted to find a good coffee, but decided to stick to my soy cappuccino (as I'd grown to love in Australia). I think this was a mistake. The US is not good at making cappuccinos and they certainly don't know anything about soy milk. Seriously, it froths like bubble bath and that's just not right. Needless to say, I did not find a "good coffee" in America, though Seattle did have the closest thing. But this was my fault. I wasn't having the type of coffee that they're known for or good at. America is very focused on the coffee bean for "drip coffee"or black coffee. And this is what I should have been trying. When I got to France, I learned that if you order "un café" or "a coffee" they will bring you an espresso in a small mug with 1 sugar packet on the side. This is their drink and damn it, it's good. They know what they're good at. You don't even have to specify, "I'd like an espresso, please". Nope. Just say "coffee" and they know you want the good stuff. So, now that I've figured out I need to have what the locals have, I might get back to my cappuccinos after all when I'm in Italy on April 24th. I'll let you know.

I guess I'd like to extend that last coffee rant to food as well. To summarize, "Have what the locals are having." Chances are if they're ALL having it, it's good. (I reserve veto rights. No, I did not have haggis in Scotland, nor did I have tripe in France when offered.)

Ok, I think that's all for now. À tout à l'heure.

France: The Louvre and Opera House

The Louvre Museum is massive. The rooms are big, the halls are LONG, the ceilings are TALL, the stairs are many and the art is EVERYWHERE. But it's not the sheer size of the place that hurt my poor feet. The biggest problem was just how gobsmackingly beautiful everything was and how much there was to look at. 

I knew going in that the Louvre was too big to see in a day. Christelle even told me to have a plan. So, my plan included the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and sculptures (my favorite type of art). Saying "sculptures" in the Louvre doesn't narrow it down enough. There are Italian sculptures and Greek sculptures and Egyptian and on and on. But not only that, just trying to get to the start of one's plan is difficult. Let's say, for example, that you are trying to get to the Mona Lisa. You might find yourself in a room where this is the ceiling (And how the hell are you supposed to just blow by it to get to your "plan", which I'm sure is good, but is it as good as what's on the damned ceiling? Let alone all the other art on the walls that you're trying to ignore.)

So, now that you have an idea of just how distracted you'll get by every square inch of the place, here is my advice. At the Louvre, you can spend 5 Euro for an audio guide. DO IT. It is not JUST an audio guide but it is also an interactive map on a Nintendo DS. I suggest you get this, sit in a cafe or food court and explore for an hour. Just play around with the DS. Get to know the layout of the Louvre on the interactive map, where the art is, which art you might like to see. Save your poor feet having to walk through each room. This guide is easy enough to use and has features like the standard audio commentary, but also 3D views of major art or HD views. It's worth playing around with and isn't at all a waste of time to sit there with the DS rather than walking around. Your feet with thank me. 

I eventually did see the Mona Lisa, which is smaller than you'd think, but I'd heard that a lot so it was larger than I thought it would be. I also saw the Venus de Milo. I was lucky on both accounts because the crowds were relatively reasonable. I was able to get in there for a good look and a picture or two, but I'm not super into art because others say I should be, so I basically snapped some shots and said, "ok. next." 

  

How excited do I look?

Having hit the major sights, we wandered around the Greek and Roman sculptures for a a while. At some point, we pulled ourselves away to have quiche lorraine and apple tarts (both BRILLIANT). And then went back to the sculptures and, for a change, some Italian paintings. Here are some of my favorties. I won't pretend to know who created them or what they represent but if you're interested, let me know, I did take pictures of that information.

The detail of feet and hands in sculptures always impresses me 

Michelangelo's Captif (or Slaves). This one is dead tired.

Apollo and I taking selfies

Oh and some paintings too.

After all this wonderful art, my feet HAD ENOUGH. Luckily, there was a garden right outside the Louvre. In this garden, I saw at least three fountains the size of small lakes, a few cafés (which meant coffee and crĕpes), more sculptures and beautiful grassy/flowery areas.

Then we walked to the Paris Opera House for our final sight to see for the day. Here are a few pictures I took along the way (and photos of the Opera House itself).

Recognize this from the end of The Devil Wears Prada?

It was another gorgeous Parisian day. Loved every minute of it.

France: The Eiffel Tower and food

I'm going to keep this post really short, because I just got home and it's after 12:30am. Today started late and included lunch with a friend (who Christelle and I both know from Australia), a nap in the sun on a very warm Parisian day and dinner with some of Christelle's family at a Moroccan restaurant. Said nap was on the grass under the Eiffel Tower. My eyes would flutter open and see this magnificent work of engineering & design literally towering over me. C'est manifique!

Also, it wouldn't be a trip to Paris if there wasn't a strike/demonstration!

Now, here are too many pictures of The Eiffel Tower.

This one made me think of Superman II

Did I forget to mention that we got ice cream? 'Cuz, yeah, we did.