Thursday, March 27, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
A Cold Day in Arles, France
I should have realized bull fighting was going to be difficult for me to watch, but I didn't think about it until I got there. I wasn't even sure they were going to kill it, they don't usually in France. But then I saw blood streaming down from the several spear-ladden streamers it had been stabbed with. I cried watching the first bull go down. But I got desensitized watching the next four - kind of creepy how quickly that happens.
The bulls were so mad, fighting desperately, trying to get the spears unstuck from their back and trying to get the fuckers that put them there. It killed me that they kept going for the stupid red cape instead of the tiny man standing there fully exposed. This is a lesson in brains over brawn.
Watching something fighting with every ounce of its strength for its life and losing is intense.
At least it wasn't a gladiator fight. This arena is old enough that there have been gladiator fights in it.
The rest of the day was an attempt not to freeze to death. Yesterday I moved from my posh hotel to a youth hostel where they lock you out from 10am to 5pm. Today was a cold cold day.
I found temporary refuge in a basement-like internet cafe that turned out to be run and patronized almost exclusively by Arabs. I half-heartedly read the news and wrote some emails. I was more focused on listening to people speak and picking out what I could understand. The hourly price was worth it for the arabic and the shelter rather than the internet.
As I left the cafe I talked to the cashier and was instantly surrounded by 5 arabic-speaking men who were shocked to hear an American tourist speak arabic. This happens regularly. I think me being an attention whore is a significant part of my drive to learn Arabic.
An hour of walking around in the cold later I happened upon a PUBLIC LIBRARY!! This was a gift from god to a person who hadn't warmed up since sitting on a cold stone ledge watching a bullfight five hours earlier. Oh it was warm!! And had cozy couches!!! I can't tell you how fortunate I felt to be sitting there and reading a newspaper.
Now I'm here using internet at a crowded McDonalds on a rainy night. There is techno blairing just outside on the main street because of the torreador festival going on this weekend. I have one chicken nugget left.
I leave you for now..... Love, S E L A H
The bulls were so mad, fighting desperately, trying to get the spears unstuck from their back and trying to get the fuckers that put them there. It killed me that they kept going for the stupid red cape instead of the tiny man standing there fully exposed. This is a lesson in brains over brawn.
Watching something fighting with every ounce of its strength for its life and losing is intense.
At least it wasn't a gladiator fight. This arena is old enough that there have been gladiator fights in it.
The rest of the day was an attempt not to freeze to death. Yesterday I moved from my posh hotel to a youth hostel where they lock you out from 10am to 5pm. Today was a cold cold day.
I found temporary refuge in a basement-like internet cafe that turned out to be run and patronized almost exclusively by Arabs. I half-heartedly read the news and wrote some emails. I was more focused on listening to people speak and picking out what I could understand. The hourly price was worth it for the arabic and the shelter rather than the internet.
As I left the cafe I talked to the cashier and was instantly surrounded by 5 arabic-speaking men who were shocked to hear an American tourist speak arabic. This happens regularly. I think me being an attention whore is a significant part of my drive to learn Arabic.
An hour of walking around in the cold later I happened upon a PUBLIC LIBRARY!! This was a gift from god to a person who hadn't warmed up since sitting on a cold stone ledge watching a bullfight five hours earlier. Oh it was warm!! And had cozy couches!!! I can't tell you how fortunate I felt to be sitting there and reading a newspaper.
Now I'm here using internet at a crowded McDonalds on a rainy night. There is techno blairing just outside on the main street because of the torreador festival going on this weekend. I have one chicken nugget left.
I leave you for now..... Love, S E L A H
Monday, March 17, 2008
Paris and Massy
Well, I finally picked a place to go, and I'm on the train to there right now. Arles, near Marseille, in southern france. It's known for bull fighting, Roman ruins, and Van Gogh. He painted several of his famous paintings in Arles and then went crazy there too. More about Arles when I have actually spent some time there. For now I'll write a bit about my month in Paris.
So... Paris... it's pretty cool. It is all those things that Paris is supposed to be. Lots and lots of patisseries, and cafes with excellent bread, quiche, coffee and tarts. Miles and miles squared of beautiful old buildings with wrought iron balconies. Second hand bookshops and antiques. Lots of tourists. Lots of people in general. Beautiful city parks. Nice public transportation. I saw the big sights, the Notre Dame cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc du Triomphe, and lots of other stuff too.
Massy, the small town in the suburbs where we stayed, wasn't that bad either, despite the bad things I had heard about it from coworkers (boring and ugly). You didn't have to walk far to find cute neighborhoods with cute old stone houses. The yards had patches of pretty spring flowers, like violets and crocuses, interspersed with the grass. I found a big gypsy camp on the side of the highway. On the other side of the Massy train tracks we and Anna fond a nice patisserie, and an slightly shady, but delicious restaraunt/bar with an excellent chicken cous-cous dinner, an assortment arabic speakers, and no shortage of wine in carrafes.
Argh, I have several bits and pieces of stories and things I did that I'd love to share, its always a struggle to decide what to write...
Luxembourg Park in Paris is my favorite city park ever. It's very manecured, with lines of trees cut into perfect squares and such. But what I love is that there are there are people doing all sorts of things I love to do, all in one place. There are people playing tennis, a pavillion of people playing chess, some with spectators. People having tasty picnics of bread, wine, and cheese. Ducks, pidgeons, and sparrows begging for food. Pick up games of basketball. People sitting in the sun reading. People sipping coffees at outdoor cafes. If there was one drawback its that the park was crowded, but hey, the more people there to enjoy it, the better.
To finalize our last day in Paris, me and Anna decided to walk to the eiffel tower to see it lit up at night. It started raining about halfway, but what the heck, we were almost there. Except the eiffel tower is very big, which makes it look decievingly close. We got there eventually, and it was big and beautiful and lit up and worth it, despite the fact that we were wet and shivering. As we walked away they lit up flashing lights over the whole tower, so the whole thing from top to bottom was sparkling. It looked like a firework, and it was a wet night so it reflected of all the puddles and wet cars and windows as we walked away.
On another note, don't ever order Andoullette unless you are prepared. I'm pretty confident that I can eat anything, so, even though I was feeling queezy from too much wine the night before, I just picked something randomly off the french menu, "something something andoullette something". I ended up with one large sausage of smoked pig intenstines. Tripe tastes like horses smell. And horses smell like horse poop. I TRIED to eat it, believe me, but in the end the tripe won.
Alright, well that is enough for now. I'll have some new stores about Arles soon. And I'll probably post a big slew of pictures at the end of this trip when I'm in the airport waiting for my plane to Oman.
So... Paris... it's pretty cool. It is all those things that Paris is supposed to be. Lots and lots of patisseries, and cafes with excellent bread, quiche, coffee and tarts. Miles and miles squared of beautiful old buildings with wrought iron balconies. Second hand bookshops and antiques. Lots of tourists. Lots of people in general. Beautiful city parks. Nice public transportation. I saw the big sights, the Notre Dame cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc du Triomphe, and lots of other stuff too.
Massy, the small town in the suburbs where we stayed, wasn't that bad either, despite the bad things I had heard about it from coworkers (boring and ugly). You didn't have to walk far to find cute neighborhoods with cute old stone houses. The yards had patches of pretty spring flowers, like violets and crocuses, interspersed with the grass. I found a big gypsy camp on the side of the highway. On the other side of the Massy train tracks we and Anna fond a nice patisserie, and an slightly shady, but delicious restaraunt/bar with an excellent chicken cous-cous dinner, an assortment arabic speakers, and no shortage of wine in carrafes.
Argh, I have several bits and pieces of stories and things I did that I'd love to share, its always a struggle to decide what to write...
Luxembourg Park in Paris is my favorite city park ever. It's very manecured, with lines of trees cut into perfect squares and such. But what I love is that there are there are people doing all sorts of things I love to do, all in one place. There are people playing tennis, a pavillion of people playing chess, some with spectators. People having tasty picnics of bread, wine, and cheese. Ducks, pidgeons, and sparrows begging for food. Pick up games of basketball. People sitting in the sun reading. People sipping coffees at outdoor cafes. If there was one drawback its that the park was crowded, but hey, the more people there to enjoy it, the better.
To finalize our last day in Paris, me and Anna decided to walk to the eiffel tower to see it lit up at night. It started raining about halfway, but what the heck, we were almost there. Except the eiffel tower is very big, which makes it look decievingly close. We got there eventually, and it was big and beautiful and lit up and worth it, despite the fact that we were wet and shivering. As we walked away they lit up flashing lights over the whole tower, so the whole thing from top to bottom was sparkling. It looked like a firework, and it was a wet night so it reflected of all the puddles and wet cars and windows as we walked away.
On another note, don't ever order Andoullette unless you are prepared. I'm pretty confident that I can eat anything, so, even though I was feeling queezy from too much wine the night before, I just picked something randomly off the french menu, "something something andoullette something". I ended up with one large sausage of smoked pig intenstines. Tripe tastes like horses smell. And horses smell like horse poop. I TRIED to eat it, believe me, but in the end the tripe won.
Alright, well that is enough for now. I'll have some new stores about Arles soon. And I'll probably post a big slew of pictures at the end of this trip when I'm in the airport waiting for my plane to Oman.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Where Should I Go?
Sorry, this is pretty much shameless bragging, but here goes...
After I finish my month long course in Paris, I'm going to take another week in France for vacation, but I need help deciding where to go. I think I will head to the south of France. I like water, old stuff, mountains, and smaller towns. I've narrowed my destination to three places. 1) Frejus 2) Hyeres 3) Corsica.
Frejus and Hyeres are both towns of about 50,000 people on the Mediterranean coast in France. Frejus has some nice looking Roman ruins. Hyeres has a history from 300BC and is a bit less touristy than Frejus. Corsica is a french island just west of Italy. It would be a bit harder to get too, but sometimes remoteness makes a place interesting. And I enjoy ferry rides.
Well, if you have any input on this difficult decision, leave me a comment. Thanks :)
After I finish my month long course in Paris, I'm going to take another week in France for vacation, but I need help deciding where to go. I think I will head to the south of France. I like water, old stuff, mountains, and smaller towns. I've narrowed my destination to three places. 1) Frejus 2) Hyeres 3) Corsica.
Frejus and Hyeres are both towns of about 50,000 people on the Mediterranean coast in France. Frejus has some nice looking Roman ruins. Hyeres has a history from 300BC and is a bit less touristy than Frejus. Corsica is a french island just west of Italy. It would be a bit harder to get too, but sometimes remoteness makes a place interesting. And I enjoy ferry rides.
Well, if you have any input on this difficult decision, leave me a comment. Thanks :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
