Midsommar & Stuttgarter Lauf

I am now in the home stretch of this au pair life... so great about the job, very sad about the life(style). Anyhow, after traveling so much the past several weeks, I am really happy to have the next month+ just to hang out here in Germany and enjoy what I've got going on. This weekend brought some great things, simple sort of stuff, but well worth it.Friday nigth I went out with my Sweedish au pair friends to celebrate the Sweedish holiday Midsommar. I asked for some origins about the holiday, but they weren't really sure. It's celebrated the weekend after the summer solstice, so really a mid-summer celebration. The plan was to go to the Schloss park and drink Sekt (German sparkling wine) and eat strawberries - traditional for this holiday. But the weather was really terrible, and in our search for an indoor place to have our 'party' we came across a Sweedish bank that was offering free Sket and strawberries!! So needless to say, we sat ourselves down and took advantage of this great offer. Getting drunk in a bank... ah the memories, that I will come away with after this year. Anyhow, after that we went to a dance club, and had such a great time. It's not very often that I go out to clubs here, but the few times that i have i've always had a fiasco getting home - paying 40euro for a cab ride, waiting for the first s-bahn at 6am - both NOT good options. But Friday was the first time i managed to take the night bus home, and it was great. One hour and one bus change later I was back in Poppenweiler, with money left in my wallet! Between the free sekt and my free ride home I managed to only spend 6 euro on drinks, yay me. One of the most amusing parts of this is that the bus that took me from Stuttgart to Ludwigsburg had black lights and fance halogen track lighting!!! Seriously, look at the photo. It was like they kept the club going on. I wouldn't have been surprised to find a bar/dj/fog machine in the back; however, no such luck :-)Saturday I spent just lazing around the house, and managed to survive Ikea. I made it out of there in less than an hour and under 10 euro, quite impressive... really I didn't need a whole lot, but it was a fun experience. The family was gone from about 4pm on Sat to Sunday evening, so it was great to have the house to myself.

The most surprising news of the weekend, is that I ran a 7k!! It was sponsored by the Stuttgarter Zeitung (newspaper) and I signed up a while ago with a friend of mine, who was going to run it with her au pair mom. I was thinking it would be a great push to get me out there running, haha. I didn't train for it at all, in fact i went to the gym maybe twice at the most in the past two weeks, and hadn't run outside in over a month, so shock of my life, when i ran the whole thing! Mind you, not fast, but no walking, no stopping. It was pretty cool too because the last 200 m were inside the Daimer Stadium - this is where the Stuttgart footbal team plays and where some of the World Cup games took place. It was very cool to be there on the ground floor. So, I am quite happy with myself, and maybe now that i'm not afraid to run, i'll be able to get back into gear with this, and get back into shape for Greece (haha, i'll believe it when i see it :-)

Paris in less than 48 hours

Another of my British friends here in Germany is getting married, which meant yet another hen night. We didn't have nearly as much time to plan this one, only since the trip to Barcelona, but things went off without a hitch, and it was a great time. Half the group flew over Friday night, but I couldn't make the flight that early, so I opted for the overnight bus, which left Stuttgart at 9:30pm and arrived in Paris at 7am (real times : 10pm to 6:45am) The bus trip was quite amusing itself. There was another american couple and their 20 something daughter on the bus too, so we had a good laugh together as... we sped down windy roads to a middle-of-nowhere town where we filled up on gas at the random EuroLines garage; side-swipped some bushes trying get out of the town; someone in the back of the bus lit up and the bus driver had to pull over in some forest to tell them that you can't smoke on the bus (flash back to my plane ride back to SF for Christmas) as you can tell the trip was off to a good start, haha.

Good news is that I arrived ontime to Paris, and made it to the hostel ok, only to find out my friends were not away and I couldn't check in til 11 - it was 7am. So I changed, and headed out and walked through an open air produce market under the metro near the hostel, and grabbed a coffee and croissant for breakfast (when in France...) I headed up to the Montmarte area and the Sacre Coure next. It is such an enchanting area of the city. The streets are great to look at, there are lots of trees, cute restaurants and stores. I finally got a call from my friends saything they were up, and to head on back. There were 8 of us on this trip, which was a little more difficult to coordinate with, but we managed quite well actually. We made it onto the metro to head closer into town for a meal, and walked to the Orangerie Musuem. My need to pee and the fact that i would have to pay 7.5 euro to see something I had seen before, resulted in me sitting this one out, but it was ok. We walked to a cafe next and I stopped in the Grand Palais to see the amazing glass ceiling. There was an exhibit going on, but the guard was actually nice and let me walk into the entry area to get a better look and take some picts. On the way to the cafe, it started CRAZY raining which caused a good laugh, and me to think (yes, this is the way my life works, and I love it) Not to mention I was almost run over by a smart car as i was crossing the street because i thought it was parked!! This incident was preceeded 5 mins by my friend saying "If we're hit, it's our time" HAHA. Well, i guess it wasn't my time :-) After that we went to the Rodin Museum, quite possible my favorite in Paris. I went there with my Dad when we took a family vacation to Paris 10+ years ago. That was the day my sister got sick, and I got to spend the whole day with just one parent - Dad in the morning, Mom in the afternoon (little did my sister know that would turn out to be one of the best vacation days of my life, sorry laura :-) As a sibling it's not very often you get to be in a new special city, with just you and a parent. Ok, well back to this trip, the Rodin museum was actually updated since the last time i was there, and they were setting up for some event that evening, but it was still great and very special. I made a point to take a photo in the same position with 'The Thinker' as the first time I was there. It rained more on our way back to the hostel, causing us to stop along the way for an evening drink, and then back to the hostel to get ready for the night. The theme this time (definitely not a US tradition) was Cop and Convicts. My friend Sian and I had made the decorations and were very crafty, so everyone had a 'convict #' on the front and a sentence and crime on the back. Very amusing along with Eleanor (bride-to-be) dressed as a British Bobbie. We did dinner, followed by a stroll down the the Moulin Rouge for photo opts and drinks at a nearby bar. Good times.

The next morning we had to check out by 9am! Amazing that we all were able to get up again after only 5 hours in bed. We had breakfast, and then I separated from the group because I wanted to see some specific things. I went to the Musee d'Orsay, which I had been to before but didn't remember so well. It is such an amazing building with a GREAT collection of art work, specifically impressionists. The views from the roof were beautiful, and there was a student discount to boot :-) After that I went to the Eiffel Tower, way touristy I know, but I hadn't been in so long, I really wanted to see it. My intent was to go up it as well, but the top floor was temporarily closed, and the lines were WAY long, so I settled for some picts instead. It's such a nice area anyway, with lawn areas and a people sunning and enjoying the nice day, it was great to re-visit. I sat down for an ice cream and decided to go to the Champs Elysee. Just walking on the street and seeing all the stores, cafe's, trees is a special experience in itself. Some stores were even open, good for me because it started downpouring. I was in my cute little sun dress, seeing as that the weather forecast did not say rain on Sunday! This is one of the moments I realized the many uses for a pashmina (to cover one's head while caught in a sudden downpour, as a shawl on a cold night, scarf, barrier between one and the airconditioning on the over night bus, cushion on the overnight but between say your knee and the window/chair infront of you, a blanket) yes, it is good to carry one of the multi purpose items with you at all times. So the reason I was walking in the rain was to actually find a covered phone booth get in touch with Johannes, from the past weekend. Because the way my life works is that i got to Paris, made a couple texts, and ran out of minutes on my phone! Anyhow, it all worked up and we decided, because of the weather, a movie would be great. Lucky me that most movies are shown original language with subtitles. Judith came too and we saw Zodiac, which was good, partly because of the SF Bay Area location. After the movie, they metroed with my all the way to the bus station and saw me off. It was great to meet up again, even though only for a short time.

And that was it. The bus trip back, proved to be yet again amusing as the same bus driver took us back to the same small town, not only to fill up on gas, but to wash the entire bus! I'm talking professional portable car washing machine moved around the bus manually. A good laugh again with the couple in front of me who was also on the Friday night ride with me (oh ya, this all took place at 7am when I was supposed to be back in Stuttgart) But I finally made it home and started my week. I think I definitely made the most of my time in the city, and came away with some good stories. I saw the things i wanted to see, and am so happy to have been back.

picts at: http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2154625&l=b298e&id=3206990

Nice is nice

This past weekend brought yet another great trip to Nice, Cannes and Monaco of the Cote d'Azur in the South of France. Inspired more than a year ago to come to this area, it was great to finally make it there, and the weekend was very memoriable because it was spent with friends. I booked this trip several months ago, and planned to go by myself, but then a met a friend of a friend who was interested in going to the area with his girlfriend, and they decided to go the same weekend as me. Happened that I met Johannes and Judith in Cologne as well, so we got to hang out a bit more before this weekend. I stayed in a hostel in Nice the whole time, and they did the couch surfing thing, which was great because we were able to meet some great new people.

I arrived Thursday afternoon and met up with Johannes and Judith shortly after checking into my hostel. We walked down to the old Nice area and sat on the beach for a bit, and went exploring the old fort area with some great views of the city. That night we had dinner at the flat they were staying at. The couple hosting them cooked salmon, J&J made salad, and my 'american' contribution was quacamole with chips... oh so good!

The next day we got an early start and went to Monaco. The funny thing about these towns is that there really isn't a whole lot to do there. They are kind of pretty and being on the ocean is great, but really unless you've got TONS of money you can't shop there. But Monaco was great to see, we walked around the harbor, and up to the famous Monte Carlo area and casino.I went to the Aquarium while they went to the palace area, becuase I had heard that it was actually better than the Monterey Bay Aquarium... so NOT true!!! oh well, i did get to see some pretty fish and get a great view of the area. And while the aquarium wasn't worth my 6 euro, I am still glad I went because if I hadn't I would have always wondered if it was really better. On the way back to Nice in the afternoon, we got off the bus in a small town along the way and layed out in the sun for a while. We tried to swim, but there were poisonious jellyfish right there close to the shore, so that didn't really work out. That night we all went for drinks with Ellen and Pascal (the hosting couple) and got to see a little bit of Nice at night.

Saturday we got a later start on our way to Cannes, because another couple had come to couch surf, arriving at about 1am, that morning. This couple was from Brazil (Bhagavan and Marcella) and they were really cool and laid-back. Bhagavan was studing art in Barcelona, and Marcella had come to Europe for a month so they could travel together. The five of us went to Cannes and enjoyed the sandy beach (unlike the other rocky ones).After enought sun, we went walking around the city a little bit. We walked up to the old fort there, where there is still a church. In fact, a couple was getting married in there while we were visiting, how special! After seeing a bit more of the city, we took the train to Antibes to meet Ellen, Pascal and two of his friends for dinner. We had some excellent pizza and headed to a British pub afterwards for some socializing. Antibes has a huge British population because of the harbor and the yachting industry. We intended to catch the last train back to Nice a little after midnight, but there was a strike and the trians had already stopped. We ended up taking the bus to the Nice airport and then another one into town.

Sunday was spent in Nice. I wanted to go to the Chagall and Matisse museums, which J&J weren't that interested in, so I went there in the morning, while they all slept in (which you all probably know, i don't do too well) and then we met up in the afternoon. We just went to the beach and napped and enjoyed the last real day of vacation. Amazingly after 4 hours there none of us were sun burned! That night the three of us went to have some great traditional Nicoise dishes for dinner, and had a couple drinks to end the night.
Monday we met for breakfast and then I had to take off for the airport. Johannes and Judith were continuing to stay with a friend near Avignon for a couple of days, then back to Paris where they are doing a civil service year (though they are both German) It was a great trip, with beautiful weather and awesome people. It definitely was much better than seeing the area by myself, because like I said there isn't a whole lot to do there. I ended up doing a lot of walking to my hostel because it wasn't very close to the fun area of town where the others were staying, but in the end it all worked out and I got to see everything I wanted to, and have a nice, relaxing vacation.

links to the photos:
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152350&l=bae38&id=3206990
http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2152354&l=ec1b8&id=3206990

and... did you know that you can click on the photos in the blog and see them bigger? I didn't, until last week!