Just Stop It - More Nice, France

Yup, this was a great decision. There is nothing like being by the ocean and warm, period. Dave always likes to joke that he has made me into a mountain-girl, but being here makes me realize that I am still very SoCal/beachy at heart - and that I can NEVER live in a cold, non-mountain climate ever again.


Nice, France is an ideal place for a lone traveler. The area has great transit, lots to do, a million restaurants, and enough tourists that it is entertaining but not over the top (a-la Brugge). Plus, there is nothing like a coffee or cocktail by the beach, you can sit and just stare and contemplate the world and not feel like you have to check your phone or read a book to look busy or whatever.

So what have I been doing....... Yesterday the forecast was for rain so I hit up the amazing, bite-sized museums in Nice: Matisse, Chagall, the archaeology museum, and the freaking-Roman bath ruins and amphitheater (so awesome and I didn't even know it was here). Nice just keeps revealing more and more of it's awesomeness the longer I am here. OH AND THE SUN! I love being warm. Look how happy I am at the ruins over there.

Roman Ruins with the Matisse museum in the background.

I also accidentally ended up at the Monastery of Our Lady of Cimiez complex after the museums. There is a gorgeous Baroque church from the early 17th century there. It doesn't look like much from the outside but HOLY COW it is cool inside, sorry no photos allowed though. Perhaps it is the years of Catholic school, but I cannot break the no-photo rule when it is posted......sorry peeps.

Sweet old church.

I did get a few photos in the cloister. That is an old well there, I just thought it looked pretty.

 

It might be the severe lack of sun I experience in London, but for some reason I couldn't get enough of the monastery garden.

Stupidly beautiful, and I am not really a botanical-garden type of person at all.

I am going to become a nun and live here.

Nice was French then Italian, then again officially became part of France again in 1860. The names here in the graveyard (where I got stuck during a sudden rainstorm) are almost all Italian. OMG plus don't get me started on the pizza, with crust so cracker thin it brings tears to my eyes. I have consumed so much pizza here that I think my nails and hair will grow an inch this week.

Sorry, this is a dumb picture.

This is my little lunch at the Chagall museum - a goat cheese salad. And you WILL have dessert after lunch and dinner or else your waitress will look at you like you are weird. Everyone has dessert here and they are still all so thin. Amazing, I think they are all just happy.

YUM, again my hair and nails will be an inch longer when I get home.

  

Today I rented this sweet little bike and rode the 20k (plus or minus, I got lost a few times) west along the coast past Cagnes-Sur-Mer and Villeneuve-Loubet to Antibes. The ride itself was windy and mostly along a busy road, though still next to the beach with a spectacular view of the mountains. OK - I know they say it is "the engine and not the machine".......but it was a tough ride. In my defense, I think the bike, basket, and lock weighed more than I do. It was worth it though! Check out the pics, they say more than my words could for sure.

Best cappuccino ever in Cagnes-Sur-Mer.

 

Antibes, there is a reason you have heard about this place.

Not the ideal shoes for a day of cycling - but whatever.

 

Picasso museum.

Me and my 125lb bike.......

Look closely, can you see the snow on the mountains!!!!

 

Mountains, or beach - how about both. That's it, I am moving here!

 

Cagnes medieval center viewed from the beach, are you kidding me!!!

Tonight for dinner I am cooking up some fresh veggies to make pasta sauce for the homemade ravioli I bought at the little store below my flat. Then I am laying low the rest of the night with The Marriage Plot (very good but then I love pretty much everything by Jeffrey Eugenides). I know how to party! Actually, tomorrow I am headed into the mountains on the Train Du Pignes for some hiking and sight-seeing and the train leaves at 8:50am so I will be up early to get to the station.

I have a feeling it will be amazing. I'll post some more photos tomorrow. Love to all - xoxoxox.

My Lunch Was Better Than Yours - Nice, France

Don't hate me because my pizza was so good, and my carafe of wine was 4 Euros - OK you can hate me.

 
Hello peeps, yes I am in Nice and it was the perfect cure for the London no-sun-for-the-next-10-days blues. It was partly cloudy and about 65 degrees (I am obviously still not used to Celsius temperatures). I effing love France. They know how to live, and men in scarves are lovely - I don't care what anyone says.

I was here probably 7 years ago with Dave. We came for a day while staying in Avignon. Everything is pretty much how I remember it. Nice is like a much bigger Santa Barbara - with better food and about the same number of Americans aimlessly wandering.

I was one of those wandering Americans today. Except with my barely-there French, I can get away with not looking *quite* as ridiculous - at least in my opinion. I am probably deluding myself.

Anyway, here are a few pics from the day.

Farmers market, for everyday and not just the weekends!

And flowers too.

View from the old castle hill this afternoon.

  

Life really sucks.

 

Where am I possibly going to park the yacht?

I love this picture, look at the snow just off in the distance on the Alps.

While I am here, I hope to make it to Antibes by bike, Monaco, and possibly into the alpine foothills for a day on the Train De Pignes. Please send me suggestions if you have any.
 
As an aside, I realized why this flat was so cheap. It is freaking LOUD! The flat is located in the Vielle Ville, which is an amazing location: almost no traffic, meandering narrow roadways, close to the beach,  and cool buildings. However, noise in these narrow streets has the propensity to echo. Every sound made at the bars and cafes (that look so freaking cute during the day) is amplified and echos between the building walls. Last night at about 1:00am some dudes with a guitar started playing and singing in the street and people that walked by joined in. That would be very cute and French at 8:00pm, not so cute at 1:00am.

I am old and need my sleep. Effer. This cheap trip might suddenly get expensive if I cannot take it tomorrow night and have to move to a hotel...... 

Sammy Update

Well Sam (a.k.a. Witty, Witty Ding Dong, The Ding Dong, Sammy J Ding Dong, Boo Boo Face - don't think he liked that one) seems to be doing well in his new home with N.A. This weekend, they are down near Yosemite for some hiking and general goofing off. N.A. has another dog (Bit) and Sam is getting along fine with him.....and by getting along fine, I mean Sam is generally ignoring Bit. That is Sam's "I am an old grumpy dog" style.

 

This is the dog that used to run 7 miles a day with me.

 

Sam is not photogenic, Bit looks possessed.

Doggie heaven, he is smiling in his sleep I promise you.

In other news, I am missing Dave while he is in SF but trying to enjoy my time alone. I think it is good for me. The Dalai Lama (look at me quoting the Dalai Lama) says that if you are struggling with a person or situation, then you haven't yet learned what it is trying to teach you. Here is some other good stuff he says that I like. I think that my struggle with 3 weeks alone in London is teaching me something. I need to be OK doing things by myself, and enjoying it - that sounded dirty. 

Dave and I have been together so freaking long, I had never been to the movies or out to dinner by myself really. I have never traveled alone anywhere - ever (except for work trips and those don't count because I was usually in weird desert towns looking for places to put cellular antennas, and there was no where to go out anyway). That is just plain weird. After these 3 weeks, I will be a pro. I am making friends with waiters and bartenders left and right, which never hurts, "Would you like some free dessert wine madam?" Why yes - I'd love some.

I think these weeks alone will also help me to be more independent here. I rely on Dave and his work friends for entertainment far too much. I need to develop my own life and make my own friends. I am making progress already. Tonight I am going to dinner with my swim friend D.M. and his wife. They are from Northern Ireland and are here for a year or two for work also. YAY! Monday, I am going out to lunch and shopping with M.W. YAY!

On Tuesday, I leave for a week in Nice, France. I found an awesome little apartment steps from the beach for 400EUR/week on VRBO. I am quite excited for sun, warmth, and more French food. I have some recommendations for day trips from H.R. (who used to live in that area) and cannot wait to trail run in the hills around the city! I am thinking of running to Monaco and taking the bus back as a sweaty mess. Won't they LOVE that in snobby Monaco.

Then I am off to Prague. I was supposed to go with Dave but his eye surgery is scheduled that week. Mom - don't panic, it is a fairly minor procedure. Though, I still feel like a horrible wife that I will be in Prague and he will be under the knife in Utah. But it is a quick procedure and he will only be there for 3 days - then back to London.

I'll post updates on Nice and Dave's eyeball. Stay tuned.

I Am an Asshole

Well it's true.

Dave is in SF for 3 weeks and I am here in London. So far I have been shopping, volunteering at Battersea, seeing movies (Headhunters - good but a bit disturbing and violent), and going out to dinner  (OMG The 10 Cases for a cute French bartender, wine, grilled octopus, and a salad with British bacon, pork cheeks, and soft egg - delish). I am going to a play tomorrow night. I have a few events scheduled with a friend or two, but with Dave gone - it is a lot of alone time. Hardly a sad life though, let's be realistic here.

When he called today and said he wasn't going to make it to Prague with me in 2 weeks because he has to have eye surgery, I lost it. A crying mess, not a crying mess of the sort particularly out of the ordinary for me, but a real crying mess.

So let's get this straight, I am in Europe traveling like a lucky fiend. My husband calls to say that I have to wait a few more days to see him because he will be under the knife (or laser I suppose) and I have to stay at a nice hotel in Prague all alone, and I feel sorry for myself and cry.

WTF is wrong with me. I am a horrible horrible horrible person.OK I think I also felt bad that I can't be there with him, sad that I have to wait longer for smooches, homesick for my friends, still missing my dog, and feeling guilty that he is there working full time and I am here slacking away working only part time.

In any case, I feel really bad Dave. I am so sorry that I reacted with tears instead of support for you.

The Mussels in Brussels - Belgium (Country #10)

I’d say that after Ireland last weekend, Dave and I were a bit travel weary approaching this trip. We had no agenda, I did no research - aside from buying the Time Out Brussels edition. We just went. So I'll just give you a few highlights:

•  We stayed at the Bxlroom Hotel, the place was super sweet and super cheap.
•  The architecture in Brussels is phenomenal. I was not expecting such a visually striking city.

The main square.

I don't know what any of these building are, sorry.

St. Michael's Cathedral.

•  Mojito truck (that's for you Jesse). I think Dave and I found our new business! AND they were playing old-school Reggae.

 

We'll make thousands (of pennies).

 

• Our standing seafood lunch in the square was well worth the walk, as well as the language/ordering challenge. Plus we shared our table with an amazing couple, he was from India and she was French.Oh and when we wanted some bread, there was a bakery with fresh, hot baguettes right across the street from the restaurant.

Go here for lunch!!!!!

Soup, calamari, oysters, warm baguette, and white wine = heaven.

 

•  Trappist Ales, Lambic, Saison, Pale Ale, Witbier, Kriek.....you get the picture. Watch out though, they are strong - like 8.5%. It sneaks up on you!

Take that liver!

Dashing, isn't he.

• I wish this picture was better. We wandered into a random bar after dinner and there was an all female band playing dance songs on "band" instruments. These ladies were amazing! I had the best time dancing, they were so into the songs they were playing.

I worship these amazing band geeks!

  

On Saturday, I hopped on a train to Brugge after Dave left to fly to San Francisco. The architecture in Brugge is even more amazing than Brussels - unbelievable, that is all I can say. It was a photo-op at every turn. Brugge reminded me a bit of Siena, but with beer instead of wine and much less attractive men. Apparently, the town was deserted in the 1700s when the river access to the coast silted up. Brugge has since been rediscovered by tourists – a lot of them. There are just too many tour groups running around for my liking, and a few too many lace, nick-nack, and chocolate shops also.

However, I did manage to find a few off the beaten track restaurants for some excellent seafood and a local specialty of pigs cheeks with endive (yum). I think I can cross Brugge off my list now, one visit was enough. 

Side note - I miss Picnik for collages, Picasa sucks.

And a final note - Extra love for Eurostar staff (once again). If you’ll remember, Eurostar also saved my ass last October when we went to Paris and I took us to the wrong train station, and we missed our train. This time, I got to Brussels several hours early from Brugges (it was raining and everything was closed for the Monday Easter holiday). After several Americans in line in front of me were told-off by the surly Eurostar ticket agent, I approached him politely with my best French and said I needed to return to London earlier than expected. I sighed sadly, showed him my non-refundable/non-exchangeable ticket, and asked what the cost of a new ticket on the next train would be. He said he would be able to do me a favor. First, he very sweetly put me on the train for FREE, then let me wait in the executive lounge, and then I got use the first class security screening line to board the train. A new ticket would have probably cost me over 200GBP, which is a ton of cash - plus I got all the special executive treatment! Those French lessons have paid for themselves several times over now.

Ireland - Should I Put on Sunscreen?

More Ireland

I spend a few days with Dave in Dublin as his “consort”, which is what he called me all week. How sweet. I explored the city by morning, worked in the hotel (The Schoolhouse - very nice) during the afternoon, then met up with Dave/friends/coworkers at night.

After the week in Dublin, we headed Southwest for a weekend of exploring. Before we left, I tried to read up on my Irish history, since most of what I know is hearsay, family lore, or was learned in an Irish bar in the U.S. All of which are no way to really appreciate the history of such an amazing, historically rich place such as Ireland.

Therefore, I took seriously the task of reading the ever-so-in-depth history section of my Ireland guidebook (I am nothing if not a rigorous researcher). I learned a few facts about Ireland that surprised me:

• St. Patrick was freakin Welsh!
• Red hair and freckles were introduced to Ireland by Viking (Scandinavian) invaders in the 10^th century.
• It is not a good thing to tell people you are Scotch-Irish. They were brought in by the Brits during the 18^th century to take lands from the Catholic owners who wouldn’t convert to Protestantism and behave. 
• Catholics owned less than 5% of the land in Ireland by the 19^th century.
• Three million people died or emigrated out of Ireland during the potato famine (which was totally bogus since Ireland had plenty of food at the time actually). To put that into perspective, there are only 4 million people in Ireland today.

The Weather
I have a completely jaded view of Ireland, especially Dublin. The weather was so beautiful, it was sunny and in the upper 60s. Really. It doesn't even get that warm in the summer most of the time. Everyone was so happy, outside walking around, having picnic lunches - it was a great time to be wandering the city.

Lovely parks in Dublin.

The canal near the hotel.

Who wants a Guinness, I do - I do.

 Kilkenny

Anyway, on Friday we rented the world’s smallest car and were off to the Sunny Southwest. We stayed in Kilkenny; why Kilkenny - I don't know. Well, I didn't want to be in the middle of nowhere and didn't want to stay at a country B&B where we might have to drive after drinking. Kilkenny had a decent downtown with restaurants, bars, and lots of medieval structures. Kilkenney is also the home of Smithwick's brewery - yeah! Except they brew Budweiser there now - boo! We stayed at the San Antonio B&B (nice name, I know), which was fine but nothing special.

BUDWEISER (not Smithwick's), that is just sad.

Could there be a better name for a kebab restaurant!

Also in Kilkenny, I saw quite a few ringers for my Grandpa Riordan. And here is my aunt Peggy with the Queen - though aunt Peggy is much thinner and hotter. This really makes me want to explore my family roots in Ireland a bit more, especially before my mom comes to visit this summer.

This was in Cashel, and no - that isn't really my aunt.

 

Dave Might Be Gay
We also did a drive around (i.e. got lost and yelled at each other in the car) and went to Waterford, Dungarvan, and through "The Vee" in the countryside. It was your usual gorgeous countryside in between our various stops. In Waterford, Dave wanted to do the Waterford Crystal tour - not kidding. OK it was actually pretty cool to see them hand-make all that gaudy crystal.

We also went to Dungarvan for lunch because it is supposed to be a "foodie" paradise. We must have really been there in the off season because most places were closed and we ended up having burgers and ribs for lunch at a pub - tasty but not stellar in any way.

I am a lucky, lucky woman.

Castles, Monasteries, and Old Stuff

 WOW WOW and WOW. I am a sucker for ruins of old monasteries, towers, and churches. I got my fill on this trip. We could barely drive a few miles without me having to suddenly pull over so we could check out some gorgeous, crumbling structure. I'll leave you with a few of my favs, especially Cashel. All the photos are here if you want to stalk us and see them.

 

Jerpoint Abbey.

 

Cool (but not really  all that old) castle in Lismore.

 

It's OK y'all, he's Mormon and will go to hell anyway.

 

Cashel - so amazing!

 

In Cashel - the ugly new building next to the pretty old building.

 

Amie below, and Cashel above on the hill.

Hore Abbey, and Dave being a douche.

I'll leave you with this to ponder. It was outside some old church ruins in some random town we drove through whilst fighting and getting lost. I like the word "whilst". I plan to use it more often, along with "wanker" and "twat", so I sound more British.......