Since we were staying Sunday and Monday at Hotel Nord in Besancon, France we did not have to wake up and rush to get out by check out time. We woke up at noon, showered and walked the town for a bit but not too long because it was Sunday and the shops were all closed. We headed up to Max's flat, he was out with his girlfriend (Julie) for the day at some friends house but was nice enough to allow us to hang out at his place and wait for him. Craig, Nicole and Wyatt spent the downtime napping, Jason did some book keeping and journal writing and I sat in a chair in the kitchen with the window open enjoying the French afternoon breeze eating cheese and bread. max's flat is roughly five stories from the bottom and it over looks a cobblestone courtyard covered with patches of moss here and there. The sky was so blue that day with the whitest puffiest clouds you can imagine and off to the right sits a church top with beautiful mosaic turquoise tiles and some terracotta looking to contrast. When we first arrived in France I noticed that every second home or apartment (aka flat) had a window of which a person was peering out of. At that moment I realized why, I was so relaxed in absorbing the outside beauty from the comfort of "my" space, I could have sat there all day.
Max and Julie came home around five and Julie cooked up an amazing dinner consisting of escargot, yep..snails, frog legs, cheese, wine and brochette with pesto and garlic on top. Absolutely amazing. Escargot is certainly not for everyone but I, for one, love me some snail!! I had only had escargot one other time before at a restaurant back home and it was served in a mushroom cap covered in garlic butter and I loved it. I was a little put off, yet still pretty confident I would like them, because the escargot was served...still in the shell and we had to take a toothpick and dig the snail out. It was delicious. On to the frog legs, I had never had had frog legs before and had been told by many, "They taste just like chicken". Not the case, to me they tasted more like fish. It wasn't bad, the texture was a little slimy but that did not stop me from eating six of them!! I don't think I need to elaborate on the cheese, wine and bread. It's France, enough said.
After dinner, Max and Julie took us on a tour of the city, we walked maybe five miles looking at all of the history. The highlight of the tour was a stop we made atop a hill that overlooked the entire city which is surrounded by a canal (somewhat like a mote) on the outside of the canal are a range of mountains, which if a circle had sides, each side had a fortress which over looked the city and protected it during ancient times of war. I am fascinated with history and to have that access to the history of that city was such a great experience, you can feel it in the air and see it on the moss covered cobble stone roads and walls. This is nothing you can learn in a classroom.
The walk back to the hotel was easy and the weather was perfect, we called it an "early" night and said au revoir to our friends Max and Julie until tomorrow.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Adventures to, in, around Europe and back! DAY 2
We woke up eleven A.M, showered and met everyone downstairs and headed to the tour managers (Max) home town of Besancon, France. The drive was about two hours and Max took us on a scenic route to avoid tolls and to give us a view of the countries rolling green hills filled with cows and horses grazing lazily and some amazing architecture.
We stopped by Max's friends house, Zombie (he told us his real name but I can't remember it). He lives with his parents in an quiet neighborhood with huge green yards (front and back). Zombies mom was tending to her garden and stopped for a moment for introductions, no english but she had a great smile and seemed genuinely happy to meet us.
After meeting Zombies mom, we toured the backyard enjoyed the peace and then headed to the front and hung out in the drive way. As we were all sitting around, talking and having some lager Zombies mom came and presented me with a bunch of Lily of the Valley Flowers (they look like tiny little white bells and smell so fresh!). I was told that May 1st is a holiday as a springtime celebration and women around the country a presented with bunches of Lily of the Valley flowers. Shortly after she brought a bunch out for Nicole as well and told us she made sure she gave us the roots so we could plant them in our yards and have them forever. She was so sweet to think of us and I wish customs would have let us take our plants home.
After our visit we got back on the road to get to the hotel for check in. The hotel was smack dab in the middle of town, surrounded by shops, cafe's, pubs and the architecture, wow. This town has some serious history, it's first recordings were reported by Julius Caeser and I believe was established as Besancon in the 11th century.
Parking the car to check in was an ordeal, I was driving and since the streets are so narrow the locals drive up on the curb and park on the sidewalk. I was not comfortable doing this so I woke Nicole up and made her do the parking job, I was not going to be responsible for popping a tire! After we were all checked in we met back downstairs to head up to Max's place but had to park the car somewhere because we couldn't leave it on the sidewalk. The drive up this hill to park was not bad but the walking down the hill to Max's flat brought us to the realization that we were going to have to walk back up that hill to get the car on 3 days later. At Max's flat, which was another five flights of tiny wooden spiral stairs, we relaxed, drank wine, had some cinnamon vodka and jager shots along with cheese, wine, smoked salmon and quiche. A couple of Max's friends came over and then we went out to a pub for a few hours. Thankfully, non of us had to drive because everything is in walking distance! We headed back to the hotel around two-thirty A.M. It was a long good night hanging out with the locals.
We stopped by Max's friends house, Zombie (he told us his real name but I can't remember it). He lives with his parents in an quiet neighborhood with huge green yards (front and back). Zombies mom was tending to her garden and stopped for a moment for introductions, no english but she had a great smile and seemed genuinely happy to meet us.
After meeting Zombies mom, we toured the backyard enjoyed the peace and then headed to the front and hung out in the drive way. As we were all sitting around, talking and having some lager Zombies mom came and presented me with a bunch of Lily of the Valley Flowers (they look like tiny little white bells and smell so fresh!). I was told that May 1st is a holiday as a springtime celebration and women around the country a presented with bunches of Lily of the Valley flowers. Shortly after she brought a bunch out for Nicole as well and told us she made sure she gave us the roots so we could plant them in our yards and have them forever. She was so sweet to think of us and I wish customs would have let us take our plants home.
After our visit we got back on the road to get to the hotel for check in. The hotel was smack dab in the middle of town, surrounded by shops, cafe's, pubs and the architecture, wow. This town has some serious history, it's first recordings were reported by Julius Caeser and I believe was established as Besancon in the 11th century.
Parking the car to check in was an ordeal, I was driving and since the streets are so narrow the locals drive up on the curb and park on the sidewalk. I was not comfortable doing this so I woke Nicole up and made her do the parking job, I was not going to be responsible for popping a tire! After we were all checked in we met back downstairs to head up to Max's place but had to park the car somewhere because we couldn't leave it on the sidewalk. The drive up this hill to park was not bad but the walking down the hill to Max's flat brought us to the realization that we were going to have to walk back up that hill to get the car on 3 days later. At Max's flat, which was another five flights of tiny wooden spiral stairs, we relaxed, drank wine, had some cinnamon vodka and jager shots along with cheese, wine, smoked salmon and quiche. A couple of Max's friends came over and then we went out to a pub for a few hours. Thankfully, non of us had to drive because everything is in walking distance! We headed back to the hotel around two-thirty A.M. It was a long good night hanging out with the locals.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Adventures to, in, around Europe and back! DAY 1
I cannot promise this will be an easy read. I have no idea, no rules in mind for the way this story will be told so beware and proceed with caution, it may be a long one!
Wednesday April 27, 2010
Nerves are high as I prepare for a trip thousands and thousand of miles from home. On one hand I want so badly to go travel the world with my husband but on the other hand I don't want to leave my daughter and our dogs! Needless to say I was feeling a little torn. I left work early to get things done around the house and pack. Kiah had her debut dance performance at the high school that night so I was glad I was able to see her perform! After the show, I picked Nicole up at 10:30 p.m - we came back to my house and I started to pack and of course during that process we both thought of some last minute things we should get so we took a trip to Wal-Mart (only place open at midnight).Nicole and I came up with the great idea of staying awake all night so we could get accustomed to the nine hour time difference (in the end I do believe that was a great idea but at that time man were we tired!) There are a few hours in there of which I don't even remember due to lack of sleep but no worries, I'm sure you didn't miss out on anything too exciting. Nicoles dad picked us up at my house at 0420 and took our happy, sleepy asses to the airport. Traffic was horrible and the airport was ridiculously busy for such an early hour. The line for baggage check in was insane, we get in line and poor Nicole is toting around a 30lb piece of luggage which contained CD's and vinyl records for Hogjaw to sell so I thought I'd check to see what we could do about getting that bad boy checked outside. Success! Off we go to our gate. At first they said our flight was delayed an hour because they were waiting for a part to arrive from LAX, well the part got there and installed so we were only about 20 minutes delayed. I think I slept on the flight to Atlanta but I can't remember. Atlanta to Stuttgart, Germany was uneventful, smooth flying! I know I slept on that flight, uncomfortably so but sleep it was! We arrived in Germany at 0900 on Friday morning, our luggage came out and we headed to the rental car booth. All went smooth with that as well, so far we were pretty happy with how things were going. The car was adorable and hooray for manual transmissions, fun..fun..fun! I had printed the directions from the airport to the club Hogjaw would be playing at that night so Nicole drove and I navigated. The people in Germany drive just like the people in California, maybe a little faster. Everyone has a Mercedes and if you see a Mercedes emblem in your rear view mirror...get out of the way...quickly! They are not afraid to hook themselves to your bumper and roll down the highway. The drive from Germany to Ensisheim, France was a little over two hours with a few stops here and there but it wnet by quickly as we both absorbed the scenery. Coming in from the desert with nothing but dirt, it was a humbling experience to see lush green hills with buildings older than our state.
As we arrived to Ensisheim, I let Jason know we were in town but they were still a good five hours away, they were driving from Belgium. Nicole and I happened upon the club, parked the car, went inside to meet the owner, a lady probably in her seventies, who spoke no English. The language barrier was difficult but we managed to introduce ourselves and find the restroom. We had a few hours to kill so being the amateur photographers we are, we walked the streets of Ensisheim and took pictures of amazing architecture and landscapes. We sat at a cafe and sipped espresso, I learned how to say "the key" in French, "La cles" - I needed the key for "les toilettes". We walked back to the car, that was parked at the club, and took a nap in it for about 30 minutes. Changed our clothes in the car and went inside to eat, have a drink and wait for the guys. About 20 minutes go by and I look out the front door from where I was sitting and see a big blue Mercedes Sprint van!! They were finally there!! Big greeting hugs and kisses all around, it was so good to see those stinky travelling fools! We let them get the equipment out of the van and set up and ready for sound check..one problem..no one could find Jasons drum sticks! I went to the bartender (the son of the owner) asked him if there was a music store around, we needed drum sticks. Sure there was a music store but it closed 15 minutes ago but it just so happend that he was also a drummer and said it would be no problem for Jason to use his sticks, yeah! The show will go on! The rest of the night consisted in a good group of people, great music and lots of drinks. There was one little thing that made me a little nervous. Damon, AKA Elvis DD, had a couple of friends from Germany come out to see the show and he decided since the band had the next three days off, he was going to head to Switzerland with them and meet back up with us on Monday.
Wednesday April 27, 2010
Nerves are high as I prepare for a trip thousands and thousand of miles from home. On one hand I want so badly to go travel the world with my husband but on the other hand I don't want to leave my daughter and our dogs! Needless to say I was feeling a little torn. I left work early to get things done around the house and pack. Kiah had her debut dance performance at the high school that night so I was glad I was able to see her perform! After the show, I picked Nicole up at 10:30 p.m - we came back to my house and I started to pack and of course during that process we both thought of some last minute things we should get so we took a trip to Wal-Mart (only place open at midnight).Nicole and I came up with the great idea of staying awake all night so we could get accustomed to the nine hour time difference (in the end I do believe that was a great idea but at that time man were we tired!) There are a few hours in there of which I don't even remember due to lack of sleep but no worries, I'm sure you didn't miss out on anything too exciting. Nicoles dad picked us up at my house at 0420 and took our happy, sleepy asses to the airport. Traffic was horrible and the airport was ridiculously busy for such an early hour. The line for baggage check in was insane, we get in line and poor Nicole is toting around a 30lb piece of luggage which contained CD's and vinyl records for Hogjaw to sell so I thought I'd check to see what we could do about getting that bad boy checked outside. Success! Off we go to our gate. At first they said our flight was delayed an hour because they were waiting for a part to arrive from LAX, well the part got there and installed so we were only about 20 minutes delayed. I think I slept on the flight to Atlanta but I can't remember. Atlanta to Stuttgart, Germany was uneventful, smooth flying! I know I slept on that flight, uncomfortably so but sleep it was! We arrived in Germany at 0900 on Friday morning, our luggage came out and we headed to the rental car booth. All went smooth with that as well, so far we were pretty happy with how things were going. The car was adorable and hooray for manual transmissions, fun..fun..fun! I had printed the directions from the airport to the club Hogjaw would be playing at that night so Nicole drove and I navigated. The people in Germany drive just like the people in California, maybe a little faster. Everyone has a Mercedes and if you see a Mercedes emblem in your rear view mirror...get out of the way...quickly! They are not afraid to hook themselves to your bumper and roll down the highway. The drive from Germany to Ensisheim, France was a little over two hours with a few stops here and there but it wnet by quickly as we both absorbed the scenery. Coming in from the desert with nothing but dirt, it was a humbling experience to see lush green hills with buildings older than our state.
As we arrived to Ensisheim, I let Jason know we were in town but they were still a good five hours away, they were driving from Belgium. Nicole and I happened upon the club, parked the car, went inside to meet the owner, a lady probably in her seventies, who spoke no English. The language barrier was difficult but we managed to introduce ourselves and find the restroom. We had a few hours to kill so being the amateur photographers we are, we walked the streets of Ensisheim and took pictures of amazing architecture and landscapes. We sat at a cafe and sipped espresso, I learned how to say "the key" in French, "La cles" - I needed the key for "les toilettes". We walked back to the car, that was parked at the club, and took a nap in it for about 30 minutes. Changed our clothes in the car and went inside to eat, have a drink and wait for the guys. About 20 minutes go by and I look out the front door from where I was sitting and see a big blue Mercedes Sprint van!! They were finally there!! Big greeting hugs and kisses all around, it was so good to see those stinky travelling fools! We let them get the equipment out of the van and set up and ready for sound check..one problem..no one could find Jasons drum sticks! I went to the bartender (the son of the owner) asked him if there was a music store around, we needed drum sticks. Sure there was a music store but it closed 15 minutes ago but it just so happend that he was also a drummer and said it would be no problem for Jason to use his sticks, yeah! The show will go on! The rest of the night consisted in a good group of people, great music and lots of drinks. There was one little thing that made me a little nervous. Damon, AKA Elvis DD, had a couple of friends from Germany come out to see the show and he decided since the band had the next three days off, he was going to head to Switzerland with them and meet back up with us on Monday.
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