Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Checking in from Americuh
Very excited to be back in the States and looking forward to seeing all the friends and family I haven't seen in a while. But, in quite a fitting end to my trip, I somehow managed to lose my camera at some point during my last 48 hours in Iceland. I'm still hoping to retrieve it, but won't have any of my pics from London or Iceland for a while (if at all), so those summary posts might not make it up for a while.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Paris
I think the extended title for this blog should be: "Paris - a beautiful city overlowing with unfriendly people and amazing food"
Day 275 - Monday, October 22
My flight on Ryanair lived up to the expectations, with them doing everything possible to get every possible cent from every passenger. It started at the check-in, where about 1/3 of the people had to get out of line and reshuffle their luggage because it was over the weight allowance; even overages less than a pound were not given a pass. Then, in line at the boarding gate, they were strictly enforcing the only-1-carry-on-item rule, forcing all women with a purse and a bag to fit the former inside the latter, and then making sure that all such carry-on's would fit inside the little metallic measuring frame/box.
One poor girl was struggling mightily to reorganize her bag to get it to fit with her rather large purse/handbag inside, but it was becoming painfully obvious that there was no way her bag was going to pass muster, which would cost her ~$65 to check a bag at the gate (probably more than she paid for the flight). So I did my did good deed for the day and made an effort to fix the notion that Americans hate the French by pulling my fleece out of my bag, leaving plenty of space to offer her for her overflow. She readily accepted the offer. After boarding, the entire 2-hour flight was filled with non-stop efforts to sell stuff to the captive audience. Perhaps most shameless was a swimsuit calendar ostensibly featuring Ryanair employees. Here's betting the models were only employees long enough to pose for the calendar and collect a check.
It turns out my effort to get karma on my side at the airport didn't do anything to shield me from the disdain the French apparently have for (American?) tourists... When I checked into my hostel, I was assigned a top bunk, but when I got to the room, it was entirely empty - clearly I was the first to check into the room. So I went and asked if it would be possible to move to a bottom bunk... And then I got yelled at and berated in what easily qualified as the rudest exchange and rudest hostel/hotel worker I had experienced my entire time traveling. The guy was literally yelling, just because I had asked to move to a bottom bunk. I guess Paris is filled with rude assholes after all because if this guy was the best option to work in customer service at a hostel, I can't imagine what the general population must be like.
Later, I headed out for some food. With the help of the internet (I certainly wasn't going to ask the guy at reception for a recommendation!), I ended up at Chez Omar, one of many restaurants in Paris that feature couscous in various forms as their primary dish - definitely a first for me. And it ... was ... fantastic:
On the way home ran into real life Ratatouille roaming around the display case of a bakery.
Day 276 - Tuesday, October 23
With only 2 full days to see the city, I spent Tuesday checking out the sites...
A 500-year old town square:
Notre Dame:
Luxembourg Palace & Gardens
I hung out in the general vicinity of the Eiffel tower long enough for the sun to set and the tower to be lit up, and I apparently felt the need to take a picture every time there was a slight change in its appearance. It's just so damn iconic...
Then I had some fun with the passing cars at the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees
The Louvre (I never actually made it inside):
Finally I sat down for another meal, which featured the greatest piece of cheesecake I've ever eaten. I guess it's more like a mini-cheesecake than it is a piece of a larger cake. I really had no intention of taking a picture of it until I took a bite and experienced the excellence:
France may have a lot of rude and pretentious people, and anyone who can't speak French may be scoffed at and treated with disdain, but I'll be damned if Paris doesn't have some of the best food I've had anywhere. I would probably go back to Paris just for the food. In addition to all the great restaurants, there's also amazing bread, pastries and crepes never more than a block away.
Day 277 - Wednesday, October 24
Wednesday, the weather wasn't nearly as nice, but I explored a bit more and took more photos anyway, because that's what tourists do.
A black and white photo, because, you know, it's kind of arty and Paris is arty. Me, I'm not really arty, which is why I spent two days in Paris and didn't go inside a single museum.
Day 278 - Thursday, October 25
Thursday, I hopped on a bus to London. Of course there is no road that connects France and England, so the bus was loaded into a railcar to make use of the chunnel, which was an interesting experience:
Day 275 - Monday, October 22
My flight on Ryanair lived up to the expectations, with them doing everything possible to get every possible cent from every passenger. It started at the check-in, where about 1/3 of the people had to get out of line and reshuffle their luggage because it was over the weight allowance; even overages less than a pound were not given a pass. Then, in line at the boarding gate, they were strictly enforcing the only-1-carry-on-item rule, forcing all women with a purse and a bag to fit the former inside the latter, and then making sure that all such carry-on's would fit inside the little metallic measuring frame/box.
One poor girl was struggling mightily to reorganize her bag to get it to fit with her rather large purse/handbag inside, but it was becoming painfully obvious that there was no way her bag was going to pass muster, which would cost her ~$65 to check a bag at the gate (probably more than she paid for the flight). So I did my did good deed for the day and made an effort to fix the notion that Americans hate the French by pulling my fleece out of my bag, leaving plenty of space to offer her for her overflow. She readily accepted the offer. After boarding, the entire 2-hour flight was filled with non-stop efforts to sell stuff to the captive audience. Perhaps most shameless was a swimsuit calendar ostensibly featuring Ryanair employees. Here's betting the models were only employees long enough to pose for the calendar and collect a check.
It turns out my effort to get karma on my side at the airport didn't do anything to shield me from the disdain the French apparently have for (American?) tourists... When I checked into my hostel, I was assigned a top bunk, but when I got to the room, it was entirely empty - clearly I was the first to check into the room. So I went and asked if it would be possible to move to a bottom bunk... And then I got yelled at and berated in what easily qualified as the rudest exchange and rudest hostel/hotel worker I had experienced my entire time traveling. The guy was literally yelling, just because I had asked to move to a bottom bunk. I guess Paris is filled with rude assholes after all because if this guy was the best option to work in customer service at a hostel, I can't imagine what the general population must be like.
Later, I headed out for some food. With the help of the internet (I certainly wasn't going to ask the guy at reception for a recommendation!), I ended up at Chez Omar, one of many restaurants in Paris that feature couscous in various forms as their primary dish - definitely a first for me. And it ... was ... fantastic:
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| From Paris |
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| From Paris |
Day 276 - Tuesday, October 23
With only 2 full days to see the city, I spent Tuesday checking out the sites...
A 500-year old town square:
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| From Paris |
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Day 277 - Wednesday, October 24
Wednesday, the weather wasn't nearly as nice, but I explored a bit more and took more photos anyway, because that's what tourists do.
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| From Paris |
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| From Paris |
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| From Paris |
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| From Paris |
Day 278 - Thursday, October 25
Thursday, I hopped on a bus to London. Of course there is no road that connects France and England, so the bus was loaded into a railcar to make use of the chunnel, which was an interesting experience:
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| From Paris |
Friday, November 2, 2012
Sevilla
Day 270 - Wednesday, October 17
As I think I've mentioned before, I've found how much I enjoy a location is highly dependent on how much I like where I stay. So despite an original plan that included heading northwest from Madrid and stopping in San Sebastian and Bordeaux, I changed plans and headed south to Sevilla because it didn't look like there were any good accommodation options in San Sebastian or Bordeaux, and Sevilla had several hostels that looked pretty great. I also found a flight from Sevilla to France that actually made it cheaper to go to Paris via Sevilla rather than taking the bus/train along my originally planned route.
When I got to Sevilla, I was pleased to find that the Garden Backpacker seemed like a great spot to spend a handful of days relaxing.
Day 271 - Thursday, October 18
When I woke up on Thursday, it was the first time I didn't feel awful in about a week. I still wasn't feeling great, but definitely better. Unfortunately, it seems the rain was following me around Spain because it rained all day Thursday, so I never left the hostel.
Day 272 - Friday, October 19
By the time I woke up on Friday, the rain had stopped, so I went out and explored a little bit, including catching my first glimpse of Sevilla's famous "mushrooms."
Friday night was the first time I really went out since Barcelona because it was the first time I really felt healthy enough to do so. And for the first time on my trip, I think Americans were in the majority in our group. Prior to Spain, I had run into very few Americans while traveling, especially compared to other much smaller countries, but in Spain, and especially in Sevilla, there was quite an American contingent.
Day 273 - Saturday, October 20
Saturday was a beautiful day, so after tending to some laundry, I went and explored some more before settling in in front of the computer for about 7 hours of college football. Photos:
It seemed none of the Americans in Sevilla were very big college football fans because they all seemed baffled that I'd rather sit in the hostel and stare at a computer screen than go out. Perhaps you agree with them. Well, no one asked for your opinion, did they?
Day 274 - Sunday, October 21
My last full day in Sevilla was another rainy day, but luckily I got my clothes from the drying racks on the roof about 20 minutes before the rain hit. My hostelmates and I were not deterred by the rain, and we joined a tapas crawl/tour, sampling some pretty awesome tapas as we jumped around from spot to spot (not exactly the best idea when it's pouring rain outside). A photo courtesy of my American friend, Cate:
Day 275 - Monday, October 22
A European vacation would not be complete without at least one trip on the legendary Ryanair. So on Monday, I jumped on a cheap flight to Paris, and by "Paris," I mean Beauvais Airport that's actually 60 miles and nearly 2 hours from Paris, but it's a lot easier for Ryanair and other low-cost airlines to sell tickets there if they call it a "Paris" airport.
As I think I've mentioned before, I've found how much I enjoy a location is highly dependent on how much I like where I stay. So despite an original plan that included heading northwest from Madrid and stopping in San Sebastian and Bordeaux, I changed plans and headed south to Sevilla because it didn't look like there were any good accommodation options in San Sebastian or Bordeaux, and Sevilla had several hostels that looked pretty great. I also found a flight from Sevilla to France that actually made it cheaper to go to Paris via Sevilla rather than taking the bus/train along my originally planned route.
When I got to Sevilla, I was pleased to find that the Garden Backpacker seemed like a great spot to spend a handful of days relaxing.
Day 271 - Thursday, October 18
When I woke up on Thursday, it was the first time I didn't feel awful in about a week. I still wasn't feeling great, but definitely better. Unfortunately, it seems the rain was following me around Spain because it rained all day Thursday, so I never left the hostel.
Day 272 - Friday, October 19
By the time I woke up on Friday, the rain had stopped, so I went out and explored a little bit, including catching my first glimpse of Sevilla's famous "mushrooms."
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| From Sevilla |
Day 273 - Saturday, October 20
Saturday was a beautiful day, so after tending to some laundry, I went and explored some more before settling in in front of the computer for about 7 hours of college football. Photos:
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| From Sevilla |
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| From Sevilla |
Day 274 - Sunday, October 21
My last full day in Sevilla was another rainy day, but luckily I got my clothes from the drying racks on the roof about 20 minutes before the rain hit. My hostelmates and I were not deterred by the rain, and we joined a tapas crawl/tour, sampling some pretty awesome tapas as we jumped around from spot to spot (not exactly the best idea when it's pouring rain outside). A photo courtesy of my American friend, Cate:
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| From Sevilla |
Day 275 - Monday, October 22
A European vacation would not be complete without at least one trip on the legendary Ryanair. So on Monday, I jumped on a cheap flight to Paris, and by "Paris," I mean Beauvais Airport that's actually 60 miles and nearly 2 hours from Paris, but it's a lot easier for Ryanair and other low-cost airlines to sell tickets there if they call it a "Paris" airport.
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