Check out Jacob's performance at the Placard Headphone Festival in Paris. http://feeds.feedburner.com/scallopshell
A big thank you to Chris
Friday, July 25, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Books I've read while on this trip
Can I just say that I love the Kindle. I brought along so many books and only have to carry one. Since I don't have to read for school anymore, I've been happily reading for pleasure. Thus far, I've read:
- the entire Harry Potter series
- The Omnivore's Dilemma
- In Defense of Food
- May's issue of The Atlantic
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- 3/4 of The Blue Fairy Book
What can I say? I have a fondness for children's literature. And I really wanted some reading that was the opposite of what I had been reading for the last two years.
Right now, I'm reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States and a new book we picked up in Cairo called Taxi which collects the stories and musings of taxi drivers in Cairo.
- the entire Harry Potter series
- The Omnivore's Dilemma
- In Defense of Food
- May's issue of The Atlantic
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- 3/4 of The Blue Fairy Book
What can I say? I have a fondness for children's literature. And I really wanted some reading that was the opposite of what I had been reading for the last two years.
Right now, I'm reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States and a new book we picked up in Cairo called Taxi which collects the stories and musings of taxi drivers in Cairo.
A complaint about the Lonely Planet Guide to Rome
The maps in this book, which was published in 2008 were really bad. Jacob and I got lost several times looking for sites that were marked on the map and coming up on random buildings housing something else. It was quite frustrating and put us off Lonely Planet for the near future.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
When in Rome, Part II
So what did we do in Rome? Enjoyed the good food, walked around, and rode the bus. It was nice to be in a bigger city and to mix with actual Italians again going about their own lives. We really enjoyed the hotel's location because it was in a residential quarter where we didn't really run into any other tourists.
We did get so see some of the sites. One day, we went to the Coliseum, which is an amazing and always impressive structure. I enjoyed catching a seat in the shade and watching the tourists mingle with the vendors and random people in costume.
Did I mention it was hot in Rome? Really, really hot and crazy humid. Though a little less so than in Florence. After walking around the Coliseum and then standing in line in the sun for 30 minutes to get tickets only to be told that we could not pay for them with credit cards, Jacob and I gave up the effort for the day and went to find a nice park to have lunch.
In the afternoon, we decided to make our way to a less crowded site, the Baths of Caracalla. They are some of the most striking ruins in the city and their architecture served to be the basis for the grand hall of Penn Station.
After this successful outing, Jacob and I looked through our guidebook, a Lonely Planet Rome that was in the hotel lobby and decided that we wanted to see the Apian Road and the aqueducts that were pictured along the road. We hopped a bus and rode out of town and did end up on the Apian Road. Unfortunately, the road is lined with mostly private homes that are walled off. We walked along its cobblestoned length looking fruitlessly for a sign of the aqueducts. After about a half mile or so, we came to a cafe and stopped for a quick ice cream and asked for directions to the picture in our book. The owner of the cafe said that we wanted to get off the Apian Road and head back towards town for the Park of the Aqueducts. On questioning someone else, we learned the photo was of a fragment that was located another 4 km away.
We decided to go for the surer and closer bet figuring a place called Park of the Aqueducts had to have something. We hopped on another bus, walked another mile or so through some dodgy areas where it was just us, some junk yards and some large guard dogs. There was one large aqueduct running through the dodgy area which was interesting but not exactly picturesque. Then we got to a metro which we took and after a 15 minute walk, we arrived at the park to find this intact aqueduct from the 16th century.
It was indeed an aqueduct....but it still wasn't the graceful arches that we were looking for. So we walked a little further into the park to take pictures and see what else we could find.
This aqueduct dated from 38 AD.
On another day in Rome, Jacob and I hung out at the river near the Trastevere area. There happened to be a festival being held on the banks and we saw Romans out and about enjoying the beautiful evening.
Our last day in Rome, we spent most of the morning packing to make our two o'clock flight. This time, we arrived in plenty of time to check in. And we ended up waiting in line for most of that time as the agents working the ticket counter for Egypt Air did not decide to start checking in passengers until 30 minutes before departure. This gave us plenty of time to change our remaining Euros back into dollars so that we could pay the visa fee for Egypt. (We knew from our research that you could get visas at the Cairo airport. However, we did not know if they would accept Euros. We definitely knew that they would accept American Dollars.)
After getting our boarding passes, we were then confronted with the problem of only having twenty minutes to get to the gate, which we thought was doable until we saw that you had to clear immigration on the way out of Italy as well, and immigration was much slower than security. There were no set lines, just a mob of people all trying to jostle their way to the front. So I grabbed Jacob's hand and wound my way through the crowd to get us through to the gate.
All of this rushing, however, proved to be utterly useless because in the end, the flight was delayed 10 hours. Through Italian law, the airline took us from the airport in buses to a hotel and gave us all rooms and fed us dinner. Jacob was very impressed by this service. I was less so when we arrived in Cairo with red rashes all over that I swear we got from that fleabag airport hotel.
We did get so see some of the sites. One day, we went to the Coliseum, which is an amazing and always impressive structure. I enjoyed catching a seat in the shade and watching the tourists mingle with the vendors and random people in costume.
Did I mention it was hot in Rome? Really, really hot and crazy humid. Though a little less so than in Florence. After walking around the Coliseum and then standing in line in the sun for 30 minutes to get tickets only to be told that we could not pay for them with credit cards, Jacob and I gave up the effort for the day and went to find a nice park to have lunch.
In the afternoon, we decided to make our way to a less crowded site, the Baths of Caracalla. They are some of the most striking ruins in the city and their architecture served to be the basis for the grand hall of Penn Station.
After this successful outing, Jacob and I looked through our guidebook, a Lonely Planet Rome that was in the hotel lobby and decided that we wanted to see the Apian Road and the aqueducts that were pictured along the road. We hopped a bus and rode out of town and did end up on the Apian Road. Unfortunately, the road is lined with mostly private homes that are walled off. We walked along its cobblestoned length looking fruitlessly for a sign of the aqueducts. After about a half mile or so, we came to a cafe and stopped for a quick ice cream and asked for directions to the picture in our book. The owner of the cafe said that we wanted to get off the Apian Road and head back towards town for the Park of the Aqueducts. On questioning someone else, we learned the photo was of a fragment that was located another 4 km away.
We decided to go for the surer and closer bet figuring a place called Park of the Aqueducts had to have something. We hopped on another bus, walked another mile or so through some dodgy areas where it was just us, some junk yards and some large guard dogs. There was one large aqueduct running through the dodgy area which was interesting but not exactly picturesque. Then we got to a metro which we took and after a 15 minute walk, we arrived at the park to find this intact aqueduct from the 16th century.
It was indeed an aqueduct....but it still wasn't the graceful arches that we were looking for. So we walked a little further into the park to take pictures and see what else we could find.
This aqueduct dated from 38 AD.
On another day in Rome, Jacob and I hung out at the river near the Trastevere area. There happened to be a festival being held on the banks and we saw Romans out and about enjoying the beautiful evening.
Our last day in Rome, we spent most of the morning packing to make our two o'clock flight. This time, we arrived in plenty of time to check in. And we ended up waiting in line for most of that time as the agents working the ticket counter for Egypt Air did not decide to start checking in passengers until 30 minutes before departure. This gave us plenty of time to change our remaining Euros back into dollars so that we could pay the visa fee for Egypt. (We knew from our research that you could get visas at the Cairo airport. However, we did not know if they would accept Euros. We definitely knew that they would accept American Dollars.)
After getting our boarding passes, we were then confronted with the problem of only having twenty minutes to get to the gate, which we thought was doable until we saw that you had to clear immigration on the way out of Italy as well, and immigration was much slower than security. There were no set lines, just a mob of people all trying to jostle their way to the front. So I grabbed Jacob's hand and wound my way through the crowd to get us through to the gate.
All of this rushing, however, proved to be utterly useless because in the end, the flight was delayed 10 hours. Through Italian law, the airline took us from the airport in buses to a hotel and gave us all rooms and fed us dinner. Jacob was very impressed by this service. I was less so when we arrived in Cairo with red rashes all over that I swear we got from that fleabag airport hotel.
When in Rome, Part I
After five days and one scooter accident, Jacob and I were ready to leave Florence. Our trip to Rome was relatively easy if really hot by train. We thought we were getting an air-conditioned train but the AC broke about 30 minutes into the trip and didn't start working again until about 15 minutes before we reached our destination. And, because the train was air-conditioned, the windows wouldn't open. This all meant that I spent the whole four hours falling asleep watching the hills of Italy roll by the window. Jacob spent his time figuring out his classes for next semester.
By the time we got to Roma Termini train station, we were both a little out of it which was why it took us about an hour to figure out:
- there was no information desk open at the train station that was not a privately-owned venture looking to book you on expensive tours
- where our hotel was in Rome since Jacob booked it quickly online in the hour we had at the Internet cafe in Florence and only remembered to write down the address and phone number
- how best to get to the hotel, the cheaper the better
All in all, though, we did alright. We found a bookstore with large section of maps of Rome and determined that the hotel was in the northern part of the city and about 2 km from a metro. We decided that buses would be the best mode of transport in Rome and after a bit of wandering around in front of the train station found the information desk for the buses, which did not provide you with a bus map nor with tickets but could point you to a local newsstand that had both. I must say that the bus was our mainstay in Rome. It was efficient and cheap. From there it was a really quick trip on the bus to our hotel.
The Hotel Aniene was a great surprise after our experience with Residenzia Belli in Florence. This was a boutique hotel that had just opened 20 days prior. The rooms were spacious, even ours on the first floor which lacked a balcony, everything was clean and the staff was exceedingly nice. We did have a weird incident where in picking up the telephone by the bed would turn on and off the light in our entry way and the phone would not actually make calls. But Jacob quickly resolved that problem. I highly recommend the place, if you're ever in Rome.
That first night, after unpacking and resting a little bit, Jacob and I decided to take in a little bit of site-seeing by going to the Spanish Steps. Jacob had heard that they afforded a good view of the city at sunset. The only problem was that the place was mobbed with tourists and souvenir hawkers. You couldn't find a square-inch of space free on which to sit until you got to the very top. We got to see the skyline of the city. The best thing, though, was the great gelato shop that we found on the way back to the bus.
Below is a sunset picture of the Roman skyline from another, less crowded hill a few days later.
Our booking had mentioned a free breakfast, so the next day we walked downstairs expecting the usual uninspired continental breakfast that most places layout. I actually laughed out loud when we were greeted by good fresh coffee, oj, fresh croissants, two types of cakes, yoghurt, fruit salad, eggs, bacon, toast and a selection of preserved meats. All warm and really well-cooked. From that point on, we knew that we would enjoy Rome more than Florence.
By the time we got to Roma Termini train station, we were both a little out of it which was why it took us about an hour to figure out:
- there was no information desk open at the train station that was not a privately-owned venture looking to book you on expensive tours
- where our hotel was in Rome since Jacob booked it quickly online in the hour we had at the Internet cafe in Florence and only remembered to write down the address and phone number
- how best to get to the hotel, the cheaper the better
All in all, though, we did alright. We found a bookstore with large section of maps of Rome and determined that the hotel was in the northern part of the city and about 2 km from a metro. We decided that buses would be the best mode of transport in Rome and after a bit of wandering around in front of the train station found the information desk for the buses, which did not provide you with a bus map nor with tickets but could point you to a local newsstand that had both. I must say that the bus was our mainstay in Rome. It was efficient and cheap. From there it was a really quick trip on the bus to our hotel.
The Hotel Aniene was a great surprise after our experience with Residenzia Belli in Florence. This was a boutique hotel that had just opened 20 days prior. The rooms were spacious, even ours on the first floor which lacked a balcony, everything was clean and the staff was exceedingly nice. We did have a weird incident where in picking up the telephone by the bed would turn on and off the light in our entry way and the phone would not actually make calls. But Jacob quickly resolved that problem. I highly recommend the place, if you're ever in Rome.
That first night, after unpacking and resting a little bit, Jacob and I decided to take in a little bit of site-seeing by going to the Spanish Steps. Jacob had heard that they afforded a good view of the city at sunset. The only problem was that the place was mobbed with tourists and souvenir hawkers. You couldn't find a square-inch of space free on which to sit until you got to the very top. We got to see the skyline of the city. The best thing, though, was the great gelato shop that we found on the way back to the bus.
Below is a sunset picture of the Roman skyline from another, less crowded hill a few days later.
Our booking had mentioned a free breakfast, so the next day we walked downstairs expecting the usual uninspired continental breakfast that most places layout. I actually laughed out loud when we were greeted by good fresh coffee, oj, fresh croissants, two types of cakes, yoghurt, fruit salad, eggs, bacon, toast and a selection of preserved meats. All warm and really well-cooked. From that point on, we knew that we would enjoy Rome more than Florence.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Florence in summer
I have always loved Florence with its narrow roads, lovely architecture, museums, great restaurants, gelato shops,etc. I have to say, though, Florence in the summer is a big pain. The city is overrun with tourists. It's hot and humid and there are lines for all of the major sites.
Jacob and I stayed at a hotel near Santa Maria Novella, a relatively central location which enabled us to enjoy much of the city be walking. The Residenzia Belli, however, left a lot to be desired, cramped rooms, unfriendly staff, bugs, and strange odors. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. We were particularly not happy with the fact that the website advertised Internet access in every room to find out that there was a communal computer in the lobby of another hotel that we could only use in 30 minute intervals.
Actually, wi-fi access in Florence was really limited. Coming from Paris, where even the parks have free wi-fi, this took a little getting used to. After a few days, we finally found out that the Italian government passed a law a few years ago that required all places offering Internet access to register the identify of all of their users. Whenever, you went into an Internet cafe, you would have to present your passport. This wasn't particularly important, except that Jacob had to finish some school stuff and that we needed to find accommodations for our stay in Rome.
We found, however, that we really enjoyed just walking around the city, staying in the shade and finding gardens when we could. My favorite was the site of the Duomo towering over the narrow side-streets. Jacob and I hiked up to San Miniato to get a look at the city at sunset one evening.
We also got a tour of Santa Croce, which was not nearly as crowded as the Duomo. The small museum in the back was blessedly free of tourists and we spent some time admiring Brunelleschi's chapel.
One thing I noticed when we were walking around and never got a chance to ask an Italian about: In many places we found large, bristling groups of padlocks around iron grates. Many of them had initials carved into them. There was a whole bunch of them on the Ponte Vecchio and in San Miniato.
In the end, Jacob and I wanted to get away from the masses of tourists so we decided to rent a scooter for a day and take it into Chianti. We found a place with a good rate for rental, though the shop reeked of wet dog because they had a giant doberman locked behind a gate inside. The landscape of Chianti is really idyllic, rolling hills with vineyards and olive orchards dotted with picturesque villas and towns.
We brought along a picnic lunch of sandwiches and fruit assembled from the vendors in the Mercato Centrale that we ate on the side of a hill overlooking a vineyard.
Mostly, we had a great time. The one thing that marred the day was that we wrecked the scooter making a sharp left turn. It wasn't a bad accident. Jacob ended up being thrown from the bike and rolling a few feet on the road. I ended up sliding with the bike until it stopped. There were a couple of other people on the road on motorcycles who helped us up. And we were able to patch ourselves up with our first aid kit.
And, it being Chianti, the spot the we wrecked in was an impossibly beautiful intersection.
We were really lucky, though, and did not end up with any serious injury. Since I slid with the bike, my left knee ended up being pretty scraped up. Thoughtfully, we had dressed in long pants. So it wasn't too bad. It looked pretty gross, though, with raw skin and massive bruises all over the knee. Writing this two weeks later in Cairo, my knees almost better. The scabs are mostly gone and the bruising's pretty much disappeared.
I have a really gross picture of it if anyone wants me to send it to them.
Jacob and I stayed at a hotel near Santa Maria Novella, a relatively central location which enabled us to enjoy much of the city be walking. The Residenzia Belli, however, left a lot to be desired, cramped rooms, unfriendly staff, bugs, and strange odors. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. We were particularly not happy with the fact that the website advertised Internet access in every room to find out that there was a communal computer in the lobby of another hotel that we could only use in 30 minute intervals.
Actually, wi-fi access in Florence was really limited. Coming from Paris, where even the parks have free wi-fi, this took a little getting used to. After a few days, we finally found out that the Italian government passed a law a few years ago that required all places offering Internet access to register the identify of all of their users. Whenever, you went into an Internet cafe, you would have to present your passport. This wasn't particularly important, except that Jacob had to finish some school stuff and that we needed to find accommodations for our stay in Rome.
We found, however, that we really enjoyed just walking around the city, staying in the shade and finding gardens when we could. My favorite was the site of the Duomo towering over the narrow side-streets. Jacob and I hiked up to San Miniato to get a look at the city at sunset one evening.
We also got a tour of Santa Croce, which was not nearly as crowded as the Duomo. The small museum in the back was blessedly free of tourists and we spent some time admiring Brunelleschi's chapel.
One thing I noticed when we were walking around and never got a chance to ask an Italian about: In many places we found large, bristling groups of padlocks around iron grates. Many of them had initials carved into them. There was a whole bunch of them on the Ponte Vecchio and in San Miniato.
In the end, Jacob and I wanted to get away from the masses of tourists so we decided to rent a scooter for a day and take it into Chianti. We found a place with a good rate for rental, though the shop reeked of wet dog because they had a giant doberman locked behind a gate inside. The landscape of Chianti is really idyllic, rolling hills with vineyards and olive orchards dotted with picturesque villas and towns.
We brought along a picnic lunch of sandwiches and fruit assembled from the vendors in the Mercato Centrale that we ate on the side of a hill overlooking a vineyard.
Mostly, we had a great time. The one thing that marred the day was that we wrecked the scooter making a sharp left turn. It wasn't a bad accident. Jacob ended up being thrown from the bike and rolling a few feet on the road. I ended up sliding with the bike until it stopped. There were a couple of other people on the road on motorcycles who helped us up. And we were able to patch ourselves up with our first aid kit.
And, it being Chianti, the spot the we wrecked in was an impossibly beautiful intersection.
We were really lucky, though, and did not end up with any serious injury. Since I slid with the bike, my left knee ended up being pretty scraped up. Thoughtfully, we had dressed in long pants. So it wasn't too bad. It looked pretty gross, though, with raw skin and massive bruises all over the knee. Writing this two weeks later in Cairo, my knees almost better. The scabs are mostly gone and the bruising's pretty much disappeared.
I have a really gross picture of it if anyone wants me to send it to them.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Last Days in Paris
After the weekend in Dijon, it was nice to come back to our flat in Paris. We spent the rest of the week doing very little but enjoying the warmer weather, walking around the different neighborhoods, and trying to take care of last minute details while we had free access to Internet.
We did get a chance to see JP a couple of times before we left, once for lunch at the Jardin des Plantes where he was working and another time at the Cite de la Musique where he has his main office. Maybe half of the museum was closed for renovations but JP was able to escort us through that area and a tour of his workshop. The museum offers a great collection of instruments that have fallen out of use in more recent times.
There was also a fascinating exhibit on the tools used in promote virtuosity in young performers when speed and agility were greatly prized. Check out the different ways you can widen the spaces between a person's fingers.
One of my favorite sections, however, was the twentieth century musical instruments. This exhibit showed the shift from acoustic to electronic. This area had these gigantic boards with knobs on them that allowed musicians various ways to distort sound. Jacob really wanted to play one.
Continuing on the vein of music, Jacob had made several connections in Paris and one of the last things we did there was to attend the Placard Headphones Festival in a squat on the outskirts of the city where Jacob got a chance to DJ a set. The squat was held by this artists' community that had moved from a building in Belleville. The artists were having an open studio and block party in conjunction with the Placard Festival.
The space where for the Festival was this old modular home from the 1960s.
It was Jacob's second excursion as a DJ, and I thought that it was pretty good. Everyone really enjoyed the music.
And then it was frantic packing and last minute tasks before we set off for Italy.
We did get a chance to see JP a couple of times before we left, once for lunch at the Jardin des Plantes where he was working and another time at the Cite de la Musique where he has his main office. Maybe half of the museum was closed for renovations but JP was able to escort us through that area and a tour of his workshop. The museum offers a great collection of instruments that have fallen out of use in more recent times.
There was also a fascinating exhibit on the tools used in promote virtuosity in young performers when speed and agility were greatly prized. Check out the different ways you can widen the spaces between a person's fingers.
One of my favorite sections, however, was the twentieth century musical instruments. This exhibit showed the shift from acoustic to electronic. This area had these gigantic boards with knobs on them that allowed musicians various ways to distort sound. Jacob really wanted to play one.
Continuing on the vein of music, Jacob had made several connections in Paris and one of the last things we did there was to attend the Placard Headphones Festival in a squat on the outskirts of the city where Jacob got a chance to DJ a set. The squat was held by this artists' community that had moved from a building in Belleville. The artists were having an open studio and block party in conjunction with the Placard Festival.
The space where for the Festival was this old modular home from the 1960s.
It was Jacob's second excursion as a DJ, and I thought that it was pretty good. Everyone really enjoyed the music.
And then it was frantic packing and last minute tasks before we set off for Italy.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
A weekend in the country, Part II
With the rental car, we were also able to drive around the countryside of Dijon. JP had recommended a beautiful former abbey called Fontenay. Jacob, Eric and I decided to go there one afternoon. The structure was no longer being used as an abbey. It had been converted in the late 1800s into a paper mill. In the early 1900s, that the current owners acquired the land and restored the buildings and grounds to their original state. It's in excellent condition, partly because it had been used as a paper mill, which kept it from being razed as many other religious buildings were in the wake of the Revolution.
I agree with JP. There is a feeling of immense peace that you can find sitting on the grounds and in the main church.
We also got a chance to drive through the Comte region of France and into Switzerland. Jacob discovered that his paternal forebears came from an area near Bern. We spent a really nice day driving through farm fields and vineyards. We had lunch in the shadow of a large chateau overlooking some grapevines and a beautiful lake.
Afterwards, we all lounged around in the shade of an orchard.
While we weren't able to meet up with anyone bearing Jacob's last name, some rigorous Google-searching and persistence in the face of ill-marked roads did lead us to some limited success.
On the way back, we stopped at a little restaurant in a small town close to the French border and had dinner, mostly meat and various iterations of potato.
The drive back to Paris was overcast and a little rainy. Jacob and Eric were able to be good samaritans by trying to pushstart this old couple's car.
Unfortunately, the engine had locked up. So after several minutes of pushing the car around the gas station, the owner decided to take it to a garage.
Getting back into Paris was a little less hectic than getting out. We timed our return for before the start of rush hour, which we mostly missed. However, coming back into town, we did run into this large truck carrying some really weird cargo.
I agree with JP. There is a feeling of immense peace that you can find sitting on the grounds and in the main church.
We also got a chance to drive through the Comte region of France and into Switzerland. Jacob discovered that his paternal forebears came from an area near Bern. We spent a really nice day driving through farm fields and vineyards. We had lunch in the shadow of a large chateau overlooking some grapevines and a beautiful lake.
Afterwards, we all lounged around in the shade of an orchard.
While we weren't able to meet up with anyone bearing Jacob's last name, some rigorous Google-searching and persistence in the face of ill-marked roads did lead us to some limited success.
On the way back, we stopped at a little restaurant in a small town close to the French border and had dinner, mostly meat and various iterations of potato.
The drive back to Paris was overcast and a little rainy. Jacob and Eric were able to be good samaritans by trying to pushstart this old couple's car.
Unfortunately, the engine had locked up. So after several minutes of pushing the car around the gas station, the owner decided to take it to a garage.
Getting back into Paris was a little less hectic than getting out. We timed our return for before the start of rush hour, which we mostly missed. However, coming back into town, we did run into this large truck carrying some really weird cargo.
Friday, July 4, 2008
A weekend in the country, Part I
We've been having a great time in Paris, hanging out, seeing the sights and enjoying the experience of getting to know a different city. However, with the weather getting warmer and three weeks into our time in Paris, Jacob, Eric and I gladly accepted an invitation to visit JP's brother, Henri, in Dijon and spend an afternoon their home village of Etaules.
As ever, we didn't settle on an itinerary until the last minute. Looking at the cost of train tickets to get to Dijon, we decided that it would be cheaper and allow us greater flexibility to rent a car. The idea would then be to spend a few days in Dijon, go out to Etaules and then spend a day or two driving around to surrounding villages and maybe an excursion into Switzerland.
Jacob found a great deal on a Renault Clio with diesel engine. The most exciting feature was that it got 70 miles to the gallon and comfortably fit four people. Jacob wants one when we get back to the states.
The drive out to Dijon was really pretty, once we got through the mess that was Paris traffic. There were little farm stands selling freshly picked cherries and raspberries.
We took a little coffee break in a town called Avallon.
Henri's place was in the middle of Dijon, an apartment in a five floor walk-up with great views of the city scape.
Henri was also a great host, taking time out of his schedule to show us around the city and introduce us to his friends.
On our second day in Dijon, we went out to Etaules to visit JP and Henri's mom, Claude. JP, Christine, Enzo and Camille had driven down from Paris. We drove over with Henri and spent a really nice afternoon. Claude made a great tart with mirabel plums and we had some cool cheese, that I've forgotten the name of.
We were lucky to be in Dijon for France's annual Fete de la Musique, a day of free concerts all over the country. Anyone could perform in the streets. I had been to the Fete in Paris on my first trip to France. That was admittedly a more harrowing experience since I was 16. The crowds were amazing. We didn't know where to go and some of the metro stations were closed. What I remember of that night was the press of drunk people, the noise, the chaos. Looking back, I have great sympathy for the teacher that accompanied us on that trip.
The Fete de la Musique in Dijon was a lot better. Having been in a few bands, Henri knew where the good ones were playing. He seemed to know at least one person in every band. Jacob was able to record a lot of bands that we heard, so will hopefully upload the performances to his podcast soon.
As ever, we didn't settle on an itinerary until the last minute. Looking at the cost of train tickets to get to Dijon, we decided that it would be cheaper and allow us greater flexibility to rent a car. The idea would then be to spend a few days in Dijon, go out to Etaules and then spend a day or two driving around to surrounding villages and maybe an excursion into Switzerland.
Jacob found a great deal on a Renault Clio with diesel engine. The most exciting feature was that it got 70 miles to the gallon and comfortably fit four people. Jacob wants one when we get back to the states.
The drive out to Dijon was really pretty, once we got through the mess that was Paris traffic. There were little farm stands selling freshly picked cherries and raspberries.
We took a little coffee break in a town called Avallon.
Henri's place was in the middle of Dijon, an apartment in a five floor walk-up with great views of the city scape.
Henri was also a great host, taking time out of his schedule to show us around the city and introduce us to his friends.
On our second day in Dijon, we went out to Etaules to visit JP and Henri's mom, Claude. JP, Christine, Enzo and Camille had driven down from Paris. We drove over with Henri and spent a really nice afternoon. Claude made a great tart with mirabel plums and we had some cool cheese, that I've forgotten the name of.
We were lucky to be in Dijon for France's annual Fete de la Musique, a day of free concerts all over the country. Anyone could perform in the streets. I had been to the Fete in Paris on my first trip to France. That was admittedly a more harrowing experience since I was 16. The crowds were amazing. We didn't know where to go and some of the metro stations were closed. What I remember of that night was the press of drunk people, the noise, the chaos. Looking back, I have great sympathy for the teacher that accompanied us on that trip.
The Fete de la Musique in Dijon was a lot better. Having been in a few bands, Henri knew where the good ones were playing. He seemed to know at least one person in every band. Jacob was able to record a lot of bands that we heard, so will hopefully upload the performances to his podcast soon.
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