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Amy AbroadIf I had to write a book on my life, would people read it?
January 20 Bruges Dec 2007Bruges is a beautiful little town about an hour’s train ride from Brussels in Belgium. Joel and I went for a long weekend with three of our American friends, taking the Eurostar from the newly renovated and new home to the Eurostar St. Pancreas Station, which happens to be a 10 minute walk from our flat. In 1.5 hours, we were in Brussels then hopped the next train to Bruges. Pretty easy.
We went to get us in the Christmas mood as Bruges is renowned for their Christmas markets and winter wonderland beauty. It’s a charming place, with the old town surrounded by what was probably a mote back in the day. It’s one of the oldest medieval cities in Europe, so very picturesque as you can see from our photos.
I found an apartment right in the old town for all of us to stay in that was such a great find – and dirt cheap (20 euros per person per night). The older woman who has owned it for years said it was built in the 800’s but restored in the 1600’s then again and again. Most of Bruges was built during that era and you can imagine what it was like back then, as most of the original architecture still stands along with some cobblestone roads. She was so sweet, picking us up from the train station, and delivering fresh baked bread and croissants to our door every morning.
The main thing to do in Bruges is to shop, eat and drink and that’s exactly what we did. They pride themselves on their beer, so we had to go to the beer museum and see how the Trapist beers are made (and of course sample some). Mussels and Flemish Stew are also their specialty so we at a lot of that too. Simple foods but really tasty. Not the place if you’re a vegetarian. And of course, no Belgium city is without chocolate shops on every corner (think chocolate shops instead of Starbucks). Since chocolate candies/truffles originated in Belgium, you can’t help but eat a lot of it.
As it was mid December, it was freezing cold and even rained a lot but it’s such a beautiful city with happy people, we didn’t mind. We were all in good company with each other.
July 04 Madrid, Spain 5/2007Well, I’m a little behind in my travel updates, the most recent being Madrid the end of May. Joel and I spent about 4 days there. It’s a gorgeous city just as you would imagine it to be. We had some fun times such as seeing a bull fight; going to a contemporary Flamenco show; stumbling into a bar where there was ad hoc Flamenco (a guy was playing his guitar and one of the patrons, a woman in her mid 20’s, sat next to him and started clapping and singing – truly amazing); Joel sat next to “Addison” from Gray’s Anatomy at a coffee shop (darn! I was taking my daily siesta); and the best part was just roaming the streets at night, popping in and out of tapas bars.
We were originally planning to just stay 2 nights in Madrid, then rent a car and head up to the wine region. But we both got there and neither of us remembered our driver’s licenses so we had to bag it. All worked out in the end b/c I really enjoyed the bull fight in the oldest and most famous bull fighting ring in the world. A once in a lifetime ordeal. The bulls never win I’m afraid; the odds are against them. March 24 Val D'Isere, FranceJoel and I spent my birthday week and Joel's Microsoft resignation in the French Alps with eight others friends. We rented a chalet for the week which turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip, which I'll explain in a moment. The chalet (aka condo in French) came all-inclusive so we had a chef and a "Chalet Girl" who looked after us. Our chef was amazing; a girl about my age from Tasmania who worked for several years in London but wanted to learn to ski so decided to spend a few winters in Val D'Isere. Every night we'd have a fabulous dinner and one we'd pay a lot for if it were served in a London restaurant.
Val D'Isere is the highest ski town in the French Alps. It's about twice the size of Whistler, with three mountains to ski down. The town itself is what you'd expect of a typical French ski resort; lots of hotels, chalets, restaurants serving Raclette (a block of cheese that is put under a heater on your table and melts over meat and vegies - talk about stomach issues), ski shops, and bars. It's a beautiful place.
The Alps have had a strange season with regards to snow fall. Very little snow in fact. We almost thought we were going to have to cancel our trip but the scattered snow storms throughout the month of February enabled us to go. Day 1: snowing like crazy; little to no visibility; high winds. Day 2: Blue Bird, yeah! Day 3: snowing even harder but clears up in the afternoon. Day 4: repeat of Day 2. Day 5: Repeat of Day 2, but getting warmer and 100km/hour winds. Amy gets hit not once, but twice from a snowboarder. Day 6: repeat of Day 5 except even warmer, slushy at bottom. Day 7: We head home. Bluebird day (of course). So, we got 4 out of 6 days and one that was a really good day. Now you see why the chalet was the highlight because we spent a lot of time in it reading, going back and forth from the snow to the hot tub to the sauna, playing backgammon and scrabble, and eating loads.
Another highlight of the trip was the Xbox Snowboard Competition. DJ's from around the world played, great boarding competitions and a good vibe in the quaint ski town. They flew in a guest band from New York to perform one of the nights and luckily I have connections with the XBox guys, so got some wrist bands for the show. Scissor Sisters, who are huge in the UK, but haven't really gotten the exposure in the US, played in a hotel bar for about 100 people with a free bar. We were in the front row. I felt like a real groupy even though it's not normally the type of music you'll find on my IPOD. It was really fun. It's rare you see shows like that anymore.
Joel tried to get a back country guide one of the last days and they went out for one hour and the guide said the condistions were too horrible to continue. Sad times for Joel.
I had a great birthday, probably because I'm not a die-hard skiier so enjoyed all the other things Val D'Isere had to offer especially the apres ski. :-) We will definitely go back again but probably do a last minute trip once we know the conditions won't knock you sideways as you ski, run you into someone else or make it impossible to go off-piste due to avalanche warnings (oh yeah, lots of runs closed for that reason).
Here's to happy skiing in 2008.
Amy
October 24 Turkey Oct 06
Joel and I just returned from 2 weeks in Turkey. We started our trip in Istanbul for 4 days then spent a week in Southern Turkey sailing in the Aegean Sea. Istanbul is very vibrant; full of “Bazaars” where people haggle with you over every item from Turkish Delights to jewelry to rugs, to name a few. They are massive, overwhelming and you are bound to get lost. Joel and I circled the same isle several time trying to find a way out of the madness. It’s a shopper’s haven. We were in Turkey during Ramadan, which is the Muslims yearly fast that lasts a month. Like Morocco, we were drudgingly awakened every morning around 5am by the calling of the prayer, which then goes on 4 other times during sunlight hours. There are mosques everywhere so you cannot escape the loud speakers. J They then have a massive feast at sundown each day. It was pretty amazing being there during Ramadan. Luckily for us Westerners, there wasn’t an impact on food selling/consumption during the day. We visited the famous Blue Mosque, which is the oldest in the city. It was constructed in the early 1600s which the Sultan Ahmet I constructed to rival the nearby Ayasofya (St Sofia). It’s still in use today and very impressive (esp lit up at night which you can see in my photos). Across the road is the Ayasofya, which for thousands of years was the largest Christian church in the world. The cathedral is so large that the Statue of Liberty torch would barely graze the top. In 1453 it was declared a mosque and all remnants of Christianity were covered up until just recently when it became on show and they uncovered the walls to show the various Christian mosaics including Jesus and Mary. We also toured Topkaki Palace which sits high up on in the Old City and was the residence of the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years. Obviously lots of history in Istanbul. And of course, I experienced a Turkish Bath (hamam). Quite the experience: You enter a steam room with other women wrapped in a towel and a big, naked Turkish woman tells you to unwrap and lay down on your stomach. She then takes a loofah and olive soap and starts scrubbing the hell out of your skin, then slaps your butt to roll over so she can do your front. She then pours buckets of lukewarm water over you to rinse you off, then you start over again but this time she lathers you up and washes your body and hair. Then you’re toweled off and go into another room for a 30-min oil massage. The bath itself wasn’t relaxing at all but the massage was. It’s a typical Turkish experience and one I had to do so it was worth it. Joel and I spent most nights on the town, eating various Turkish cuisine (yum!), and then ended most nights at our local bar sitting outside and smoking the apple-flavored water pipe. We had a great time. We then flew to Bodrum, stayed one night then got on the sailboat for the next 7 days. It was a very relaxing trip as we didn’t really lift a finger; the crew was at our beckon call when it came to sailing, eating and drinking. It was fabulous! We read a lot, swam, kayaked and slept. It was exactly what we needed after a couple months of stress in our lives/jobs. Our boat was a 100 ft Turkish Gullet. There were 10 guests and 4 crew members so we each had our own en-suite cabin. Since the company we used is Dutch, most of the guests were Dutch although there were a couple English too. We were the youngest so it wasn’t the party boat. If we go next year, I think we may choose our friends and hire out the entire boat. Each day we determined where we wanted to go. Joel and I just went w/ the flow as we just wanted sun and sailing and weren’t passionate either way like some of the other guests who were on week #2. It’s hit or miss in October with weather, and we did have some rainy days. Next year, we’ll go earlier too. Lots to learn. Nonetheless, we managed to get a tan, came back relaxed, learned to say Thank You in Turkish and had a couple good sailing days. We also ate our hearts out. We can’t complain. It was just what the doctor ordered. May 07 Marrakech, MoroccoGreetings,
Joel and I recently went to Morocco and stayed a week in Marrakech. We arrived to sunny, warm weather, a sharp contrast to the rain we left behind in London.
We stayed at Riad72 (www.riad72.com). A riad is a small privately run hotel usually with just a few rooms. Our place was fabulous; a sanctuary behind an unassumed wall. It opened to a courtyard with a fountain and banana trees beneath the sky. We were welcomed with tea and cakes, while they washed our hands with jasmine water. All the rooms were beautifully decorated as was the entire riad, all Italian. It had a rooftop terrace with splash pool where we had our breakfast every morning.
Marrakech is like no other place we’ve ever been. It’s pure chaos. On the same road there would be a donkey & carriage, pedestrians, scooters, cars and bikes and no traffic signals. Yet it all seems to work.
As Morocco is a Muslim country, there was a lot of call to prayer. In fact, five times a day starting at sunrise (yes, 4am!) and ending at sunset, someone in each mosque around the city would sing a prayer in Arabic over the microphone; it echoed all over the city. We had two mosques on each side of our hotel, so would hear both of them at once. Quite an experience for a girl from Vancouver, WA. J
The shopping was pure madness yet it’s one of the top things to do in Marrakech. The bazaars in the Medina (or old town) where they sell everything are called Souks. You can buy clothes, spices, herbs, food, furniture, pottery, art, leather, you name it. And you have to haggle over everything; they start so high on price that when you talk them down to less than half their original price, you still wonder if they are getting the good deal. If you even stop to look, they are all over you like vultures.
The main square of the Medina is called Jemaa El Fna (meaning “Assembly of the Dead”) and that is where everything in centered and it is bedlam, thronged day and night by a carnival. There are musicians, snake charmers, herbalists, henna booths, and men who pull out their teeth for money. And then you have the orange juice carts and fruit & nuts stands surrounding the chaos. At dusk, 100 or so food booths arrive for the evening. Anyone in the mood for snails or goats brains? We actually did eat there against our riads advice but stuck to fully cooked, more traditional food.
We did a day trip to the Atlas Mountains, about 2 hours outside the city. This is where the Moroccans go to ski, but as you can tell from the pictures, it ain’t no Whistler. It is over 7000 feet high though, comparable to Mt Rainer. The mountain people are called Berbers and they speak Berber and not Arabic. The women bear and raise the children, and do all the work while the men sit around all day. The men’s job is to go to the market once a week and sell what the women have produced.
The highlight for me, however, was my cooking class. Moroccans eat 3 things: Tagines, couscous and pastillas. Most of you have experienced or heard of the first two but the pastillas are actually the best of all. They are made with 3 layers of Filo dough: one layer boiled chicken in Moroccan spices, the other with scrambled eggs from the chicken stock and the last layer with skin-less almonds ground with cinnamon, sugar, and orange blossom water. Once you’ve layered it all, you then deep fry it in oil. The sweet and savoury tastes combined are amazing.
Our trip was a perfect balance of site seeing, culture and relaxation (we’re no longer ghost white from our long English winter and I read 600 pages in my book). October 24 Champagne RegionWell, another trip to write home about; this time to the Champagne Region of France. We started out on a Friday night renting a car with some friends in London, and drove down to Dover to catch the train through the English Channel. You literally drive onto a train and 25 minutes later you’re in France. You can feel the pressure in your ears as you get deeper and deeper.
We arrived in Reims, the starting point of our champagne trip, and did a tour at Mumms. Mumms is one of the larger champagne producers so we experienced the extreme end of champagne tourism. It was still fun sampling at the end of the tour.
Saturday was the highlight of the trip for me. We were invited to go to a dinner and tasting event at one of the chateaus in Avize, a small village full of lesser known champagne houses. The evening consisted of a 5 course amazingly delicious French meal whereby each course was accompanied by a glass of champagne from 4 different champagne houses in the area. Before each course, we learned from the producer why the champagne went with that particular food. Who would have thought rose champagne goes with red meat? There were probably 60 people at this annual event, so we met a lot of fun people. Mostly people in the business.
Sunday we went to a couple smaller champagne houses, including the hostesses from the night before, and then stayed at a small charming B&B right on the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay. A perfect location to explore the area and the older couple who own it were so cute and caring. (Joel had broken his foot a couple weeks before and they were so concerned with him, helping him along and giving him pillows.) Their B&B was also the nicest place we stayed. Epernay is where most of the big champagne houses are like Moet Chandon, Pol Roger and Perrier Jouey. We didn’t tour them but we did splurge for a few bottles that we’ll save for special occasions.
Monday, the man from the B&B made some calls for us and set us up with his friend in a nearby town who produces champagne in his garage. We got a private tour of his small facility and then sampled more before buying our final case. There’s a reason we drove down there. J
The food was amazing as was the weather and we have some great experiences that we’ll remember forever. We also learned a lot about champagne (did you know it can’t be called champagne unless it comes from that region in France?) and tasted some amazing vintages. September 02 DevonJoel and I just had a long weekend break in SW England in Devon County. We stayed in a tiny little village called Morthoe which is above the main beach town of Woolacombe. It’s truly another world down there; so quaint and relaxed with beautiful long beaches and rolling hills with sheep everywhere. We instantly became relaxed the moment we checked into our B&B.
Woolacombe is about a 3 hour train-ride from London. We left early Saturday morning and then picked up a car once we arrived. Although we used the car because we had it, we didn’t really need it. You can hike between the towns and beaches and we were actually quite happy just staying put. However, since we did have the car, we spent a day going to other towns and beaches along the Atlantic. We came upon a Mini car parade through the various towns. In one of the towns, we took a cable car down to the lower town on the ocean. The cable car was used to transport supplies and operates solely on water resistance against weight load. No electricity.
Another great thing about Devon is their creamed teas. These are scones with Devon clotted cream and strawberry jam served with tea. (Devon clotted cream is like extra, extra thick cream, almost like butter but still a cream and gooey like marshmallow. It was SO good. We ate a lot of them over the weekend. J) The fish was great there too since it’s fresh from the sea.
Woolacombe is also a big surfing beach so we enjoyed sitting on the terrace of our B&B and watching them go at it, morning and night. So much work for 3 seconds of waves.
One thing not so great was the roads. They were so narrow that every time a car approached, one had to pull over or stop against the bushes. We had a tiny car and it still took up the entire road. It was very stressful considering we were driving on the opposite side of the road and car. A good test of our relationship.
All is all it was a lovely weekend and very fun to get out of London and explore England, which we haven’t done much of. We will definitely go back to Devon, hopefully next summer. The creamed teas are calling us back…. June 03 VeniceAnother fabulous trip to share with you! Joel and I, along with every other college student and tourist, spent Memorial Day weekend in Venice. We have been to a lot of cities the past couple of years, but there’s something special about Venice. The canals, the food, the architecture, the people, the romance…all are beautiful and unique. Did I mention it was in the 90s? We arrived late Thursday night so went straight out to a wine bar in one of the many Piazza’s. Surprisingly, Venice is an early city with most places closing around midnight or earlier in some cases. Friday we headed straight to Piazza San Marco where St. Mark’s Church is hoping it wouldn’t be as crowded as Saturday, Sunday or Monday. It was crowded, but the lines moved quickly and we were in the church in about 10 minutes. This is one of the most spectacular churches I’ve been in, comparable to the church in Sienna and right up there with the Vatican. Everything is made of gold; tiny little gold mosaics on the ceilings. It took hundreds of years to complete. The alter houses a wall of precious jewels which was fun to see. We then wandered the city, getting lost in the canals and popping into various stores or alleyways. Each turn was a “wrong” turn but a fun way to explore. Friday night we went to an amazing dinner that I got off of DailyCandy. You arrive and there are about 8 small tables, so you’re seated close to the other tables. There’s no menu, just daily specials on what’s fresh, mostly seafood since that’s the Venetian cuisine. The waiter reads off the various choices for a starter, pasta dish and main seafood dish and there you have it. We both had soft shell crab which is served deep-fried. It’s only in season right now and it was oh so good. The calamari gnocchi was equally good as was the seared tuna and local wine. All top notch. A 3 hour dinner with great food and great wine – it doesn’t get much better than that. J
We visited the Peggy Guggenheim museum, which was the highlight of the trip. When she died, they turned her house on the Grand Canal into an exhibit showcasing all her personal collection. It was impressive. We managed to find two restaurants where we were the only tourists. Thank you Bon Appetite! One was off the beaten path and I had the most amazing seafood risotto. The other was a “tapas” like bar where you order house wine and food and stand around the bar. Both were yummy and cheap! And when the air reeks of tourists, it was a nice break. I was in Venice about 8 years ago with my dear friend, Jenny. This trip reminded me of so many of the fun experiences we had there and how nice it is to go back to some of the magical places for a different perspective. May 26 BerlinWell, we have the travel bug again. Joel's friends from San Francisco flew in and we all went to Berlin for a few days. Berlin, of course, was destroyed in WW2 so most of the buildings are new and a lot of them very modern. We stayed not far from remnants of the Wall that divided East and West Germany until 1989. I can't imagine not being able to cross over to see loved ones of friends, but that's what people did for over 30 years. Checkpoint Charlie is where the US Army guarded entry between East and West Berlin against the Soviet Rule. You can see this place in our pictures. There is also a memorial with a cross for every person that was shot trying to go over the wall. Berlin is also full of culture and art. It's a breeding ground for starving artists who live in art-lofts in East Berlin. We visited several independent galleries and also took in the Bauhaus, National Gallery and the Guggenheim, all worth the while. Sadly, there are also a lot of areas of Berlin that have become "Americanized" with Sony Plex theatres displacing the old ones; Starbucks on every corner; and even malls! We tried to avoid those areas and stick to the beauty of the older areas. Sunday night we happened upon a Carnival festival in one of the neighbourhoods, with Brazilian drinks and food but of course, the standard German fare such as sausages and potatoes. Joel was in heaven with the sausages. It was fun to see the locals out and in action. We continued onto various bars with a one drink per bar rule, a great way to see it all. Check out our Berlin photos too! May 04 Auschwitz-BirkenauJoel talking here As most of you know Auschwitz – Birkenau was the site of the largest mass murder the world has even known. Between 1940 and 1945 between 1.1 and 1.5 million people were killed there, mostly Jews, but also prisoners of war, intellectuals, homosexuals and the like. Auschwitz was also unique among camps in that it served as both a concentration camp and an extermination camp. It’s difficult to describe how it makes you feel as you walk the grounds and look at the exhibits; it is a powerful, moving experience. I remember standing on the unloading platform at Birkenau thinking about the selections that took place here. How was it possible that hundreds of thousands of people, mostly women and children, were unloaded from the trains right here, selected as unfit to work, marched to the end of the platform, stripped of all their belongings, gassed to death and then burned? How could this happen? Why didn’t anyone do anything? I honestly don’t know if I was sad, shocked, angry or confused. I guess thinking back probably all of those things, but for sure it was pretty overwhelming. There is obviously quite a lot I could say, but I suggest everyone go there and try to sort it out for themselves. There is also a good interview with Laurence Rees on NPR that provides details about the inner workings of the camp http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4606548
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