Whats with all the friggen flags, eh?

Seriously.

Ok, I admit, I’m biased- I don’t like Canadians as a general rule.  I have met a few decent ones, a rare, occasional cool one, but overall Canaydia gets a thumbs down from me. 

This is mainly because of two things, one of which, is “The Rant” 83.7% of all Canadians, as soon as they find out they are talking to an American launch into “The Rant”. (I got this statistic from National Geographic, swear to god.)  Where they begin to compare America unfavorably with Canada.  If they are not speaking with an American they will compare whatever country they are currently in unfavorably with Canada.  Which, in my humble opinion, is an incredibly rude thing to do with someone you just met.  I also claim a monopoly on wingeing, thanks.

The second thing is the flags.  I think there must be some sort of Canadian law that requires all Canadians to wear at least one flag while traveling abroad.  The other day on the train there were four Canadians traveling together that had between them 9 visible flags.  (and the female member who would screech in the most annoying voice known to mankind ïs this our stop?!?” at every stop. for two hours.)  They didnt seem to get my joke of “so where are you guys from?”that I said as C and passed- the response was a flat-footed “uh, Canada.”

Anyway, with that rant out of the way I am writing from Marseilles, with C and I’s probe of France’s nether regions nearly complete.  After Carcassonne we went to Avignon then Arles and finally Marseilles.  I was worried that at one day each there wouldn’t be enough time but one day per town is just about right.  (Well Arles is more like a 3 hour town then a one day town, it is easily a morning trip from Avignon which is what we did)  The Roman Ruins in Arles are still quite impressive.  I was disappointed by the bridge in Avignon, or at least the song about the bridge.  At the center near the bridge they would have you believe that it is the best. song. ever.  Even better then Wierd Al’s “Eat it” which is clearly impossible.  The bridge itself and the nearby battlements are worth the trip for sure, however. 

Today C and I went by the Abby of St. Vincent that holds one of southern France’s black Madonnas, however there was not a single Freemason or Illuminatus to be found, damn that Dan Brown.

Tomorrow we head into Italy bidding France a fond farewell.  (Mostly a farewell to the wine and bread and cheese)  A short 11 hour hop over the border and we will be in Milan.

Playing “Carcassonne” in Carcassonne

There is some sort of transportation union that is on strike at the moment.  Not all lines and not all trains are affected by it though.  It seems that the only ones that are having interuptions in service are the ones that C and I want to use.

We were lucky in that so far that the strike has only caused alot of inconvenience and not any serious problems.  We returned from Barcelona back into France; and headed out to Carcasonne.  Since there were no trains running to Carcasonne we had to use a replacement bus service.  The bus  took us on a three lane road- one in each direction and a passing lane.  The bus driver decided to make our trip a bit more fun by playing chicken constantly with on-coming cars trying to pass a pressurized chemical truck.  I thought maybe only I was worried but everyone else in the bus seemed to be busy praying to what ever god/demon/flying spaghetti monster would listen.  I would have  gotten a picture but I was to busy kissing my own rear good bye.

We finally arrived in Carcassonne; a town dominated by a huge fortress on a hill.  It turns out that our hostel was located inside of the castle itself.  Which was pretty cool- we have slept in a castle, have you?

 From there we had a few more lucky breaks.  The receptionist at the hostel gave us free hostel cards.  Without them you have to pay a higher rate.  She also put us in a four bed dormitory when we had payed the lowest rate; and marked the room as full so that we basically got a private room for the price of two dorm beds.  She rocked.

The next day was windy, rainy and cold.  It kinda stank going from a balmy 24 degrees in Barcelona to a rainy windy 10 degrees in Carcassonne.  We did what sight seeing we could but it was just too cold to get out much.

That evening we met an American named Kevin at the hostel.  He had bought a boardgame in town called “Carcassonne”.  It is obviously named after the town we were visiting but it is for sale internationally.  Apparently a few other travelers at the hostel had heard of it.  We played a couple of quick 30 minute games.  C won both times; and its really kind of fun for a board game.

While the fortress of Carcassonne is really something to see it is filled with the usual tourist trap places.  The castle itself is still more then worth the trip.

 The castle was free to tour but the keep was 10 euros each.  There was a reduced rate if you were unemployed; which we are, but you need an unemployed card to get it, which we obviously don’t have.

Today we came out to Avignon to see the papal palace from when the Catholic church split into three pieces.  When we got our tickets the woman asked if we were under 26 to get the youth admission rate.  I jokingly replied no, but we are unemployed.  (pro tip- apparently you don’t need an unemployed id card to get reduced admission at the Palais de Papes.  Which rocks.)

Boar and Dog fights and more!

It was rainy in Barcelona today, which put a damper on what we could do today.

Swung by the Picasso museum, it was very well put together, having the work grouped by period and style, so that room by room you could see his progression.

Funny that my junior high art class never mentioned all the pornographic drawings that he did. I am sure that would have held my classmates and my attention much better then his cubist phase.

I knew our hostel was in the country side a bit, but C and I were still surprised to find 5 tiny boar rooting around outside the kitchen this morning. In just a few moments the small boar did an incredible amount of damage to the turf.

Apparently also he did alot of ceramics. While I could appreciate his other artwork, to me, alot of his ceramics looked like something a kindergarten student produced on mothers day.

Later while walking toward the Olympic Village, suddenly from behind us what appeared to be a bloodhound and an Irish wolfhound started going at it hammers and tongs. I (with my jungle-cat like reflexes and perfect thinking) quickly jumped over a fence, that was no more then eight inches tall, and pulled C after me. It was not much, but I am positive it would have protected us from the 80 pound dogs trying to kill each-other. Then about thirty seconds later the dogs trotted off together, happy as could be.

Tomorrow morning we are going back into France to explore its nether regions. Or the southern bits anyway.

Bordeaux, Barcelona and more

Bordeaux was great, in the end.

We got there on a Saturday. C and I, still recovering from our cold decided to get a room for the night instead of taking the night train from Bordeaux to Barcelona per our plan.

The room was a bit spendy at 52 euros, but it was in a good location from central bordeaux, clean, and with very very helpful staff. (Notre Dame hotel) The only problem was the shower was a bit off, hot water worked well but the shower head only wanted to face the wall.

Since it was a Saturday and we arrived in the afternoon, we found all the wine tours were already booked up. At first we were a bit disappointed thinking that there wouldn’t be much to do. However, we soon found a wine bar that carried wine from several different locations in the valley. Having already done some wine touring in California, this actually turned out to be a lucky turn for C and I. The wines were fairly cheap compared to getting the same wines in the states(most 2-3 euros a glass, not a taste). I don’t know much about wine but I could recognise some of the appellations etc. But for a fraction of the cost of a wine tour, C and I had a chance to sample several different wines from several different areas. Many of the wine shops also offered tasting, but as C and I are still a bit young, and were a bit bedraggled from the journey from France, they didn’t offer many tastings to us. (pro tip- look like you have money for people to offer you free stuff) We picked up a couple of bottles for much cheaper then we could get them in the states. I hope we can drink them soon as I am tired of lugging them around. We were both disappointed to have to go to bordeaux while recovering from colds but thankfully our sinuses cleared enough that we could enjoy it somewhat.

I know it is a bit uncouth for Bordeaux but we ate lunch at MacDonald’s. I just had to get a Royal with cheese a la the movie “Pulp Fiction” one disappointment- it is no longer a glass of beer, but a small McDonald’s water cup sized beer for the normal size.

The next morning was Sunday, which we should have learned from our first day in Paris, that everything closes down in France on Sunday pretty much. Bakeries were still open and we got some very nice bread and eclairs for breakfast before heading out to Barcelona.

When we were riding the tram to leave for Barcelona, there was a crazy bum in the car. He wore a dirty brown beret and a skirt. C and I still aren’t sure if it was a proper skirt or just random rags he had tied around him. He stank up the car smoking cigarillos and muttering and laughing to himself. Also we met a much more sane woman who struck up a conversation with us. Apparently she was a French woman just returned from 5 weeks in Mongolia and Russia, and was already missing the traveling life.

Even with reservations, we had to ride 2nd class for half of the trip to Barcelona, (we have 1st class eurail passes for the longer train trips) it was a long and tiring journey. First class and second class are quite different, the chairs are of course more comfortable but the main difference is the people who ride. First-class is mostly ridden by 1- Backpackers using a pass and 2- old people. I soon dubbed our 2nd class car the “TB wagon” because it seemed everyone in the car (C and I included) had a dry, hacking cough. Most people were young, and almost everyone had a frame backpack for traveling.

C is backseat blogging at the moment:

Our guess is that most of the people were going to Barcelona for La Marce festival thats going on right now. Theres lots of concerts, free shows, in the touristy bits of town.

We are not sure if its the town or the festival, but people here are alot friendlier then other places we have been thus far. When we were lost trying to transfer to a different train line, two girls walked 10 minutes out of their way to show us how to get to our station. (We weren’t that far lost, the train station was just that far away)

The highlight of the day was the Temple de la Sagrada Familia. It is still under construction (having been started a mere 130 years ago- I hear the Spanish like a siesta or two but get the lead out already) The lead designer was the famous artist-architect-whatever Gaudi. Alot of the elements are breath-taking, but all together the building kind of looks like a wedding cake covered in melting cheese. It was very interesting however, to tour the building, then go down to the crypt (where they have a mini-museum set up) where you can see the inspiration for the various elements used in the decoration and construction, then go back up and look at the decoration again.

Toward the evening, we walked down toward the beachfront area.  It reminded C and I alot of Venice beach- lots of Palm trees, blue Ocean and Tattoo parlours.  Venice beach had alot more Hare Krishnas, Barcelona, slightly more people speaking Spanish.  (If I didnt know better I would swear every sorority sister and frat boy in the states are here in Barcelona at the moment.)

Trouble in Paradise- the Paris I have been looking for

C has been sick lately. Nasty cold; fever; the whole bit. But like a trooper she soldiers on. Now however, she is on the mend but I have got the nasal spigot.

Because of this we have been taking it easy the last few days. The cold really knocked C around so we only went out for a few hours every day. Two days ago was our first full day out. We spent the day touring Versailles. Finally here we could find the Paris and Parisians we have been looking for. Until now Paris as a whole was quite the disappointment when it comes to the legendary rudeness of the French. The staff at Versailles (except for one very helpful woman) generally conveyed a mixture of rudeness and arrogance I have not come across since Beijing. Every one we found took great pains to let us know how much they dislike their occupation; and us in particular.

VIVA LA FRANCE!!!

One thing you could learn by touring Versailles is that if there was one thing that Louis XIV liked; it was himself. It was a very beautiful place but it does get a bit old in room after room- here is Louis as a young man; here he is as a slightly older man; here he is as the sun god Apollo.

It was not just Louis XIV either; all of his descendants, relatives, and wife, posed for picture after statue after picture. Perhaps if they had spent less time posing and a little more time governing a certain later monarch might not have lost his head but what do I know?

Speaking of Marie-Antoinette we got to visit her little faux village she had built. Apparently she had an entire village constructed on the estate, staffed with real peasants tending artistically laid out gardens and animals so she could play make-believe. It reminds me alot of Brad Pitt, Ms. Jolie and other celebrities flying around Africa on private jets. They get to feel good about themselves without really any impact on their day to day life. Of course, they still want the regular joe to pay for their pet charities through taxes while they claim residence in low income tax countries (ahem- BONO!) But I am getting off the subject of Europe.

Yesterday we strolled through the Champs-Elysees. I’m pretty sure its the main road in Paris simply because its the only one that goes for more then twenty meters without stopping or twisting or changing names. Its mostly like a large open air American mall with a multiple lane street running through the middle of it- a variety of shopping from high to low-middle end. All it needs is an Orange Julius and a Starbucks. (It has a McDonald’s but you half to walk a block off of the Champs to find a Starbucks though)

At the end of the Champs-Elysees is Napoleons most famous landmark. In honor of the occasion I had planned to get C to help me make a little video. I was going to combine a little historical reenactment with a tribute to the eventual expulsion of the National Socialists by goose-stepping OUT of the arch. However a heavy police presence who apparently frowned on the idea combined with a series of barriers nipped that idea in the bud. And here I thought the fascists had been expelled back in 45.

Today we went through the Basique du Sacre Coeur. (I am fairly sure that translates to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart but even after years of French in HS, the only thing I am sure of is Voulez vous coucher avec moi, ce soir)

It was very beautiful except for the aggressive gangs of east Africans trying simple cons (excuse me! excuse me! where you from? Australia? me, Cameroon!)

Tomorrow we are on to Bordeaux and then Barcelona.

Gay Paris

So, I found one sure way to direct ALOT more traffic to your site is to start using the words “whore” and “heroin” in your blog posts. For all of you who found my page that way, sorry it is probably not what you are looking for. Enjoy your stay. Perverts.

Anyway; who knew the Catholic Church was so heavy metal! I found this bad johnson in Notre Dame in Paris. Rock On.

I tried to get a good shot showing how overwhelming Notre Dame can be but it is impossible of course. (my pic there in its shoddy glory; still not sure what kind of layout I like)

Notre Dame was interesting in several ways. We could tour the ground level for free during mass. It was dark as darky darkness in there so taking pictures was difficult. C and I could still enjoy the building, however.

It was also interesting in the number of pick pockets who were cruising the crowd. I am not saying there were tons, but I haven’t found this many strange mens hands in my pockets since my buddy Boyd talked me into going to a club called “The Man Hole*.” (for laughs he said- pffft!) I held onto my wallet like Michael Jackson holds onto little boys and no catastrophe yet. (knock on wood, and I keep no more then 50 euro or so in my wallet at any one time, the rest being in money belts cause I am paranoid) They werent particularly subtle, either it was more like “HELLO! what are you doing back there” (again, alot like “The Man Hole*”)

Nothing special, just one of the few shots from inside the cathedral that I liked.

And while I have the chance a few more pics from various parts of our trip.

Beer Tasting on the streets of Brussels. There were others but this is the best shot.

Here is just one of the bridges leading into Luxembourg.

Cause it makes me giggle.

*There is no place called “the man hole” but if I were to open a gay bar; that is what i would name it.

Luxembourg a go-go

Its Sunday here in Paris. The only computers open are the ones here at the hostel, which of course means that they have no ISB ports or CD roms available for use. At least it is a qwerty keyboard, all gods be praised. I’m glad I burned a CD when I could back at Baztron’s place. If you think this blog is crappy, you should see how my midget porn site has become.
Yesterday we woke up in Brussels, hopped on a train and went to Luxembourg. Its a small city, and the five hours we spent there were plenty to explore. When we left the train station a man ran up to me smoking a cigarette and holding and pointing at a 10 dollar 35 mm camera. He yammered at me in French and I shrugged my shoulders and walked away. He yelled after me “Give me 20 euros! I have nothing! ” But from where I stand, I think he has too much already. Specifically, he has a cigarette, a cheap camera, and a raging heroin addiction.
Luxembourg was home to other touching scenes of tenderness. For example I saw a mother in her mid 40s giving her teen age son a drag off her ciggie. It is comforting to know that family values are still going strong in the good country of Luxembourg.

While we were there we took a tour of the cassements (a series of tunnels in the cliff-walls that surround most of the city. If the guide is to be believed, the word cassements come from the Spanish words “house” and “to kill”) led by a teenage girl who spoke three languages apparently fairly well. And here I was all proud of my one and a half. Luxembourg was very pretty. Also dogs. Lots of dogs. It was a Saturday and it seemed that every third person was walking a dog.

Today was our first day in Paris. I dress like a slob, and most people pick me out for a tourist right away. C dresses rather well for being a tourist, so most people look at me, then turn to C and start to talk to her in French. It reminds me of Japan, only with Japanese instead of french, of course.

Almost out of credit on this usurious Internet access. Will have to hunt down a proper cafe tomorrow.

Them Fightin Belgians

Today was a beautiful day here in Brussels. Went to the beer museum. It was kind of a rip-off, to be honest, but there was good beer at the end so it kind of evened out. After that C and I went to a beer tasting which was SO good. We also spent a fair bit of time gorging on waffles with creme, chocolate and fruit toppings.  We also spent a few moments people watching in the Grand-Place (referred to by Victor Hugo as the “most beautiful square in the world”)

While we were at a mall/supermarket shopping for dinner, we set down to rest a moment on a bench. Next thing I know two guys behind us are taking turns punching eachother in the face. I quickly deduced it was not some form of Belgian drinking game due to the lack of alchohol present nearby. (just like sherlock holmes)

After years of living on the mean streets of the suburbs; my reflexes are honed to that of a jungle cat.  Thinking quickly I shoved C toward the danger while I beat a tactical retreat. (discression is the better part of valor)

Ok, I didnt shove my wife toward two fighting hooligans but it is more entertaining then what we actually did, which was to grab up our waffle and beer laden bellies and waddle away.

Tomorrow we are on to Luxembourg and then Paris.

Quick from Brussels

A quick vid from Brussels. I wanted to put this in the previous post but wordpress was giving me the run around for two vids in one post apparently. So, inside St. Michels from Brussels.

Sorry if it is crappy. I am shooting from a hand held cam. Also, i am mostly incompetent.

The Whores of Amsterdam

Today we arrived in Brussels from Amsterdam. I wanted to write a longer update, but the keyboards here are non-qwerty. This means that typing is almost as fun as pulling your own teeth. The a is in the q position, etc. So typing is defiantly fun filled.

I decided to post some short videos I took. The first is the bells ringing in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. enjoy.

Now the moment you have been waiting for- the whores of Amsterdam. C and I went wandering in the red-light district in Amsterdam. Surprisingly enough; it turns out that the prostitutes are a widely diverse group of people.

Some of them were quite cute. They seem to spend alot of time talking on the phone. Which makes sense in a way. My guess is that most of them didn’t go into the profession because they are hard working. The only ones that were really working it, were the unattractive ones. I guess life is always harder for the ugly chicks.

A fair number of them were well into the granny stage of their lives. I don’t quite get it but; there is probably a niche market for it, so I shouldn’t judge too harshly.

The most physically attractive prostitute was holding a very strange pose while seated. I guess she thought it was attractive; but it looked to me as if she was straining on the john. Again there is probably a niche market for that too.

In all Amsterdam was a beautiful city. Very friendly people considering at any one time maybe half the cities populace are tourists. Half of those are out of their minds at any one time any any number of substances.

Brussels is alot like Amsterdam; but, alot dirtier, alot more graffiti, many,many more beggars. Less marijuana though.

edited to add-(on a qwerty keyboard and free Internet)  Amsterdam itself is an awesome city, easy to get around with lots to see.  The best place we went to was the Ann Frank house.  (pro tip- go in the evening, they only let so many people in at once so the queues are long, but they clear up in the evening and the place is open until 9p.m.)  We stayed at Marionś house.  Its not quite a hostel, not quite a hotel.  The rooms are big and have beautiful furnishings.  There are also shared bathrooms and a kitchen on every floor.  The staircase is a standard dutch staircase (read heart attack inducing if you are afraid of heights)  The owner is helpful and kind.  The free breakfast is a few pieces of bread,  some eggs, orange juice etc.   Nothing elaborate but very good for the “budget” side of the spectrum.