Goodbye parents, hello volcano!

Unfortunately, or fortunately, mother earth decided to grace us with yet another natural disaster, a volcano in Iceland. What a fluke that the ash cloud from the northern volcano would prevent all flights out of Northern Europe for a whole week! Quite bizarre, indeed. I had to return to Clermont-Ferrand for classes, and my parents were stuck in Paris for an indeterminable amount of time. With the ash cloud not seeming to ease up in the next couple of days, they decided to make the best of their French entrapment and rent a car to visit Normandy. It would have been nice to show them C-F, however, there is really nothing to do here, plus it is 3.5 hours south of Paris by train. I am glad they were able to see Normandy, including the WWII beaches and museum, however, when they finally returned to the U.S. on Friday (4/23), I think they were definitely happy to be home and out of France!

The volcano affected a lot of people, conveniently occurring at the same time as the French train-union’s strike. My roommate, Kate was in Ireland, and could not get back by train or plane (due to water and ash cloud), so she ended up taking a 19-hour ferry from Ireland to France. Yikes! I had other friends stuck in Greece, the Netherlands, and Spain. One friend was stuck in Barcelona, among many others frantically trying to get back to Paris. He ended up finding a bus that could take him back to Paris, however, he needed to find 60 other people to ride with him to pay the full fare. This resulted in him walking around with a sign claiming “Bus to Paris,” with people actually begging to get on. The bus that came to pick them up apparently had a breathalyzer test on it before it could be driven, and it took the bus driver 2 hours to pass it before they could get on the road! I could not stop laughing when he was telling me of his misfortunes traveling back to France.

In Bruges

“Joli:” beautiful

The next day, (Saturday 4/17), we hopped on a 40 minute train to Bruges. I fell in love with the city the moment we started walking through it, and after having just seen the movie In Bruges, it really is like a fairytale city. It is filled with canals weaving around the cobblestone streets lined with old, Renaissance architecture. The town is not very big, with a population of only 117,000, we were able to walk most of it. From the train station, we ventured up through a park to the Beguinage, which is the grounds of a convent that previously held the nuns, Beguins, who were women who dedicated their lives to God, however, they made lace in order to make money. Today, there are no more beguins left, but nuns still live there. It contains whitewashed buildings all surrounding an open garden full of flowers and very tall tress. It was a very peaceful area to walk through, with signs along the sidewalks requesting silence. We left as soon as a huge tour group came marching through.

We zigzagged through the streets, stopping at interesting sights, up to the Markt square, (why they omit the “e” in Flemish, I do not know). This square contains the Belfort, which is the tall clock tower, the Town Hall, a church, and many little cafés. We found a lunch spot to, of course, have beer and food. I then proceeded to climb the 366 steps of the bell tower, hoping to emulate the experience the characters in the movie experienced (sans getting murdered). The steps were steep and wind-y and crowded, and I even lost my mom along the way to a bit of claustrophobia, so I was alone to see the marvels of the overhead view of the city. When I finally reached the top, slightly out of breath, I was a bit dismayed to see that three-fourths of the bell tower was closed due to renovation, including a cage around the actual bell, plus caged-fencing where you look out. It was a bit of a “wah-wahhhh” moment, but I can now say I climbed it anyway.

I made my parents walk about 20 minutes west to see the windmills on the edge of town as well as one of the four original “gates” into the town. We were fortunate to have lovely weather. As we were now far from the train station to get back to Brussels, my dad was trying to figure out how to get back by taxi or bus, but I insisted we walk along the river taking us back. “When will you ever get to walk 30 minutes along a river in Belgium??” That we did. It was quite a pleasant saunter, though we were glad to have a sit on the train back!

That night, back in Brussels, we decided to find some Swiss-fondue, because I had seen it in Bruges and could not get the idea out of my head. It was delicious; we had cheese and fondue bourguinonne (which is the hot oil you cook little pieces of beef in). After dinner we went back to the hotel lounge bar to have an after dinner cocktail and ponder how and if my parents would be able to fly home the next day because of the Icelandic volcano.

Belgium: Waffles, Chocolate, & Beer

“Gaufre:” waffle
“Chocolat:” chocolate
“Bière: Beer

First of all, I am not sure how anyone could stay thin living in this country. On every corner there is a waffle man ready to serve up fresh waffles topped with sugar, berries, chocolate, ice cream, whipped cream….we indulged one morning in waffles for breakfast--mine was covered with ruby red strawberries, and it was fabulous! There are chocolateries almost every third shop! I am not sure how one stays in business over another because they are all so close together! Of course we bought some chocolate, dark for me! Finally, the Belgian beer is delicious! It has so much m ore flavor than any other beer I have had. So many different kinds to try!

On the way back from Amsterdam to Paris, we stopped in Brussels, which is actually spelled Bruxelles. We arrived at about mid-day, and we were staying near this big square, the “Grand Place.” We wandered around the area to find somewhere to eat, and finally decided on “Les Chapeliers” (the hatter’s place). It was on a street lined with restaurants, again, I do not know how one stays in business over the other since they all seemed quite similar. I ordered a Chimay Bleu beer, and waterzooï, which is a traditional stew-like dish, mine with chicken and potatoes in a creamy stew sauce. It was delicious and quite hearty!

After lunch, we walked around the area for a bit, taking in the sites. We did not make it to the European district, which contains all of the modern buildings for the headquarters of NATO, also with Brussels being the capital of the European Union. That night we ventured to the Rue des Bouchers to find a place to eat. Apparently a famous street for people (or tourists) to eat on, it is lined with one restaurant after the other, most of them boasting lobster and seafood dishes. We walked a long the whole street to check it all out, along the way being called in by the restaurateurs, each claiming theirs is the best! We settled on one, where my mother and I both ordered non-seafood dishes, as we are not fishy eaters, but my dad had his healthy dose of the moules frites (mussels and French fries).

Holland: Tall people, Canals, Bikes & Strange Language

I was in this country for 4 days, yet the only Dutch I learned was straat, for “street” and gracht for “canal.” (and I only learned these from referring to the map so often!). What a funny language Dutch is! I have never heard anything like it, and I imagine it would be very difficult to learn!

My parents and I trained to Amsterdam on Monday morning (4/12), only having to suffer a 30-minute delay due to the lovely strikes. Fortunately, Amsterdam was sunny as it was in Paris, and would remain so for our entire stay. I loved this city! The layout resembles a large bullseye of circling canals alternating with the streets. Without a map, you could likely get lost wandering the maze of canals since they all look quite similar! The afternoon we arrived, we took a touristy canal ride to get ourselves acquainted with the city. One of the first things you notice when floating through the canals are the very narrow houses. Apparently, back in the days when houses were being built in Amsterdam, they were taxed on the width, so builders tried to make their houses as narrow as possible. The skinniest home in the city is a little more than 3 feet wide in the front! Along with canals there are many bridges throughout the city to transverse the watery highways. It was quite apparent that the primary mode of transportation throughout the city is bicycles. I have never seen so many bicyclists! Along every canal bridge there would be dozens of bicycles lined up, locked to the iron fencing. What amazed me was that most of the women riding the bikes still looked as chic as ever as well as wearing high heels! Whenever I imagine myself riding a bicycle, it’s in exercise shorts and sneakers, with me sweating! Only the European women can make riding a bicycle look fashionable. But damn, I can look good driving a car if I want to! ☺

The first night we ate a this cool restaurant called, “Five Flies,” which was an old house transformed into a restaurant, therefore there were a few tables in each of the little rooms throughout the building. They had a special 4-course “surprise” menu where you just got what the chef decided to make that night. We weren’t daring enough, however, so we settled with a 3-course set menu. One main difference between the French and the Dutch is that all of the Dutch speak perfect English! They do not seem to mind either, while it is more of a bother to the French. All of the people we encountered in Holland were super nice, and TALL!

Tuesday, (4/13), we spent museum-ing. We first went to the Rikjsmuseum which houses many of the Dutch masters, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Van Hels, Vermeer, et al. Afterward, we headed across the park to the Van Gogh museum, which I really enjoyed. The museum was set up chronologically to show the evolution of the artist’s style and his eventual downfall (he committed suicide). Its amazing how many of the other artists of Van Gogh’s time painted for 30-40 years and produced many masterpieces (Degas, Monet, Gaugin, Cezanne, etc.) when unfortunately his career lasted a mere 10 years—and his style/vision was so unique.

That night we had such a great dinner! Apparently Indonesian food is recommended in Amsterdam so we went to an Indonesian restaurant and ate this traditional meal called a “rice table.” It consists of big bowls of rice and about 15 little bowls of different things you can eat (vegetables, meats, spicy and mild). It was so delicious and unlike anything I have ever had before, although I think we all ate too much! We couldn’t resist dessert however, which I ordered a scoop of coconut ice cream and a scoop of cinnamon ice cream, both on a bed of exotic fruit. Yum.

Wednesday, (4/14), we had a driver, Ray, come pick us up bright and early to take us to see some tulips and to another town called den Haag. We first stopped in this big tulip garden/park with thousands of lovely tulips—pictures could not quite capture the beauty of the scene, however, my dad insisted on taking pictures of almost every individual tulip. My parents ordered 400 tulip bulbs to be sent back home in the fall that they can plant….they’ll sure be busy with those! Along the way to den Haag, we passed beautiful countryside with fields of tulips and the occasional windmill. From a distance, the fields just appeared as long strips of color—red, yellow, purple, but then as you neared, you could see the strips of color were actually huge rows of tulips! Quite pretty!

Den Haag is a little smaller town than Amsterdam, and the political capital of Holland. We walked through the Parliament area as well as went to the Mauritshuis museum. This modest museum houses Vermeer’s famous, Girl with a Pearl Earring masterpiece. As with the Mona Lisa, she is much smaller in person that you would imagine, however, I still loved her all the same. As with any famous painting, you will find a hundred people around it—fortunately, the hundred people surrounding this one were little Japanese women, so my tall parents and I did not really have an issue.
Our last day in Amsterdam was spent wandering around and shopping. There was a long street full of high-end boutiques and such as well as many little streets with arts and antiques. We stopped in the Diamond Museum, as Amsterdam is supposedly famous for diamonds, however, I found it quite boring, and was really only looking forward to perusing the “gift” shop (diamond store) after the tour. As my mom and I emerged from the dull upstairs, our eyes ready to be dazzled by sparkles, we were at a great dismay to realize the gift shop was closed. (Where are we, France??). I think my Dad was OK with it. We also visited the Anne Frank museum, which is in the actual house she and her family hid in during World War II. It was quite surreal to see their hiding quarters and hear quotes from her diary as we walked through. A very sad story, but pretty amazing that this little girl wrote so honestly about her experiences and emotions during that time, and that they found her diary after she was taken. Out of all 8 people that were in hiding at this house, Otto Frank, Anne’s father, was the only one to survive.

Unfortunately, the only chance I had to see the infamous Red Light District in Amsterdam was by day, with my mother. There were a few naked ladies, but not nearly enough to make it a wild experience. I must say, out of the women I saw, their key to success must be the cover of night because they were not so hot. We also did not visit any, “coffee shops,” it was quite a parent-friendly trip to Amsterdam. (although if you ask my mother now, she would probably say it was my dad and I who didn’t want to go…whatever Mom!).

I loved Holland! I will definitely return.

Paris avec mes parents!

"Voyager:" to travel

Paris was the first stop on my traveling adventure with my parents. I had all of last week off (thank you France for essentially giving us 2 Spring Breaks!), and they had been planning to come visit before I even got into the program!

I trained up to Paris the afternoon of Friday, April 8^th, to meet up with Mom & Dad as well as Alicia for the weekend. Due to the train strikes (such a lovely way to make a point), the train station in Paris was absolutely packed and I ended up desperately searching for Alicia among the thousands of other travelers in the station. It was crucial that I found her at the station because she was coming with me to the hotel. Did we exchange phone numbers before? No. Did we set up a meeting point? No. Did I tell her where the hotel was before? No. After about an hour and a half, a dramatic moment ensued where I saw my long, lost friend across the station, and we ran into each other’s arms, vowing to THINK next time we decided to meet in a public place.

We headed over to the ritzy, tourist area on Rue de Rivoli across the Tuileries where the hotel was located. When Alicia and I walked up to the fancy-schmancy hotel, I believe the doormen were a bit confused as to why we were there, but we walked up like we were the cat’s meow anyway. Alicia was just staying with me for the weekend before she headed down to the South of France.

I was very happy to see my lovely parents, who traveled miles to visit. Soon thereafter, and for the duration of our travels, I became “travel mom,” with my kids to take care of (Mom & Dad). I led them around, ordered them food, got them snacks, held their tickets, and tried to keep them in order. I think my dad was in awe when I took them down to the metro and actually knew how to use it…we would be like 2 stops away from our destination, and he would say, “should we just take a taxi?” haha…suburban folks.

During the weekend, we tried to dodge the crowds in Paris where possible, however difficult this was due to springtime tourist season! On Saturday, I took my parents to my favorite area of Paris called, Le Marais, which includes the Jewish Quarter, and many small streets lined with boutiques and cafés. We wandered around there for a while, had a sit in Place de Vosges, which is a lovely square with a park in the middle, and checked out the art galleries lining the square. I introduced my parents to the delights of sidewalk crêpes, where the crêpe man makes them right there for you, with your choice of fillings, and its all warm and gooey when you eat it! My choice is butter and sugar. Yum. We found a great lunch spot in the area and sat peudo-outside at an open window sitting in plush lounge-style chairs. After a bottle of wine and a delicious lunch, it was difficult for us to get up! Saturday night we met up with cousin Emily Majerle who is currently studying in Angers but was in Paris for the night. We ate at a lovely restaurant in the Latin Quarter, Emily and I translating the all-French menu for everybody.

On Sunday, I took my parents to some of the smaller museums they had not seen before. First, we stopped in L’Orangerie, which is a great museum situated in the Tuileries garden, with wall-to-wall sized Monet’s. There are two, large, oval-sized rooms painted all in white with four grand Monet paintings each. The setting is almost breathtaking, with the huge waterlily masterpieces consuming the entire area. After L’Orangerie, we made our way over to the Rodin Museum via the park leading to the Hotel des Invalides. We were fortunate to have a lovely sunny day, so strolling through the park filled with soccer players, and Sunday grazers was quite pleasant. The Rodin museum is a great museum as well because it is inside this old, large house, that even creaks with every step as you move around. Inside, you can learn about Rodin’s sculpting process as well as see some of his many, many studies he made before completing the big pieces. Surrounding the house is a huge garden, with his sculptures strewn about. We enjoying walking through the garden with the great weather, as well as marveling at the grand sculptors Rodin created, and even stopping to contemplate Le Penseur (The Thinker).

After walking and museum-ing, it was time for lunch. We stopped in a café and I introduced my parents to the famous French sandwich, Croque Monsieur. It is essentially a gilled ham sandwich with melted cheese on top…devilishly delicious. I prefer the Croque Madame, which is the same but with a fried egg on top. Yum! After lunch we made our way by foot over to the Eiffel Tower so we could get some good tourist photos. Since there were only three of us, at every photo stop, we would have Dad take a picture of Mom and I, then I would take a picture of Dad and Mom, then Mom would take a picture of Dad and I. A hilarious moment ensued when Mom tried to take a picture of Dad and I this time: she would take the picture, Dad would look at it, chastise for putting the Eiffel Tower coming out of our heads, or not using the “rule of thirds,” or not composing the picture correctly, or not even getting the Eiffel Tower in the picture….needless to say, it took her a few tries to get the perfect shot. Ha.

We headed back to the hotel via a stroll along the Seine River…though I think it may have been too long for my parents…haha…I just kept telling my Dad, “we’re almost there!” I don’t think they appreciated it at the time, but I’m sure they’ll look back and thank me for making them walk in Paris.