Summer Almost

I'm currently up in Toronto, Canada and the weather has been pretty good although a touch on the chilly side. Anyway I just had a quick look at the weather forecast for New York this weekend and was shocked to see it's going to hit 30 degrees this Saturday. Awesome.

I think Tracy's marathon effort has rubbed off on me. I stopped by a sports store after work and bought a pair of sneakers. Now I just need to use them but we'll deal with that next week. I was struggling to find anything to watch on the crap Canadian TV and ended up on some random shopping channel trying to flog off a fitness program called P90X. I ended up googling it and there were all these hits on people who had done the 90 day program and their results. I ended up on You Tube where lots of people had filmed their progress. I have no idea what possesses someone to film themselves flexing their muscles like body builders then editing it into a film clip with music by AC/DC. Then again some people might wonder why someone would write a blog entry about it. I must be bored.

Barcelona, Spain

Where did the last three weeks go? It feels like an eternity since I was in New York. Iím now sitting back chilling on the couch thinking about the awesome couple of weeks I had cruising around. The final stage of the trip was Barcelona. We made it to the hotel at about 1am after a fairly epic trip. It should not have been so epic but the rail strike and volcano ash was proving to put a real strain on public transport in France. Had a lazy 3.5 days to kill and rather than go day by day I thought I would run through some of my favorite things about Barcelona.

Gothic Quarter

An amazing part of the city which is really a rabbit warren of alley ways and streets. It is a great spot to go and get lost in. There are plenty of touristy areas but it is great to wander down empty streets and see what small shops or cafes you can find.

The Food Markets

Barcelona has several excellent markets throughout the CBD. They have an amazing selection of cured meats, cheeses, fruit, veggies and seafood. Around the outside they have food stalls which prepare their food from the fresh produce of the market. A real foodies heaven and a great place for lunch.

Food and Wine

Ok you probably get the picture that I don't mind a bite to eat or a nice drop of vino. Well Barcelona is well suited for that. It is really starting to get a reputation with the fancy smancy contemporary gastro tapas restaurants but my vote is on the smaller more traditional places. Itís also quite fun ordering from the menu when you have no idea what it is that you are ordering. There is also copious amounts of one of my fav wine drops which is Rioja. This is a red which comes from a certain region of Spain and I think is really delicious.

Oh ok and Gaudi

Went to the usual sites like the gardens and the church (which is still under construction). It will really be magnificent when it is finished although looking at the plans I doubt it will be in my lifetime. There are also plenty of other cool galleries around the place. I checked out a couple including one which had a special section on books as art. I found this quite interesting as it is something that I had never really considered.

Saint Jordi Day

The other thing that we managed to randomly run into was Saint Jordi day on April 23. This is an annual day where the people celebrate by the men giving women roses and women giving men books. Everyone was out on the street getting into it and it was quite cool.

Provence, France

Having spent an amazing week in Paris it was time to get on the train and head down to Avignon for a week in Provence. We had hired a car and the plan was to head to Gordes and take it from there. Getting away from Paris was almost a bit of a disaster. The SNCF were on strike and not selling tickets. The train was flooded with people and left an hour late. The conductor never came through so a free trip for us. After collecting the car we headed east for about 45 minutes and arrived at Gordes late in the day. It was quite smoggy but I was to learn this was the ash from the volcano in Iceland which hung around the region for the week. Anyway this is how I spent my week in Provence:




Friday


Ended up finding an excellent little hotel down in the Valley under Gordes. It was great to wake up to a nice sunny day and a view of the village. The meal there was without a doubt the best one I had had since being in France. We revved the car up and headed up to Gordes to have a Captain Cook. Gordes is a very old town perched high up on a mountain with an excellent view out over the valley. From here we cut a big lap around the valley visiting other towns including Joucas, Roussillion and Bonnieux. Had some delicious jambon and fromage crepes in Roussillion. Have to admit I was a bit village on mountainsided out by the end of it but still had a great time.

Gordes

Roussillion

Saturday


Continued to head east towards the Gorges Du Verdon. We were planning to follow a drive suggested in the 1991 guide book I picked up in an Op Shop in the UK. Made a random stop in a little town called Niozelles. There was basically nothing but a café but it was great fun to sit out in the sun and hang with locals. From there we headed to a town called Sainte Croix Du Verdon. This is on the lake and was pretty quiet but would be pumping in summer when everyone comes to go to the beach. Apparently the lake is Marseilles drinking water so maybe drink bottled water during summer. Got an excellent room with a great view over the lake that night.

Niozelles

Sainte Croix Du Verdon

Sunday


D-Day. That’s drive day. Nav set a course for the northern route through the Gorges Du Verdan. These are some amazing canyons up in the mountains of Provence. Here I was thinking Provence was rolling fields of vineyards and the next thing I know where 1500 meters up with snow visible on the mountains. I ended up driving like a grandpa down the mountain. Tracy was giving me crap that my knuckles had gone white as I was holding the steering wheel so tightly. Have to admit I was nervous driving on the other side of the road on hairpin turns 1000 meter’s up with no barricade. Stopped in at Castellan for lunch where there was this church built way up on the mountain and then onto Le Lavandou on the Cote D’Azur.

Monday


After the stress of yesterday I needed a day to chill out. What a perfect place we found to do this. We were staying just out of a town called Le Lavandou at the beach before it. Not sure of the name but the street was called Boulevard des Baleines. Had a room a couple of meters from the water. Combined with great weather it was a very chilled day at the beach. Shame the water was so cold as it looked so inviting.

Tuesday


Were going to head to some villages in the Pyrenees for the night but slept in so decided to hit Perpignan where we had to drop the car off. After some uming and ahhing we decided to head straight to Barcelona a day early. This should have been an easy trip but the train strike was causing chaos. Floated round the train station for 5 hours (joy) listening to pompous Brits and finally made it to Barcelona at 1am.


My initial thought of Provence was blown away after traveling round a tiny part of it for a week. I had these visions of rolling hills and had no idea of the diversity of landscape. The beach, mountains, dry valleys and fields of lavender all provide a fantastic contrast to a really beautiful part of the world.

Paris' Top 5 Underrated Things

Seen the Eiffel Tower? Been to the Lourve? Here are my top five underrated experiences in Paris.



#1 Living like a Parisian
Bypass the hotels and experience why Paris is one of the best cities in the world to live in. Hire a decent apartment with a kitchen and you can take advantage of the many wonderful food stores around the place. A typical day of living like a Parisian would involve the following. Get up and head down the road to the bakery. Grab a couple of croissants and then head to the deli and get some fresh sliced jambon and fromage. Stop by the market and grab some bright red cherry tomatoes. After breakfast wander back downstairs to one of the local cafes and pull up chair out the front and suck down a café or three while trying to read s French newspaper or at least looking at everyone walking by. Meander through the local streets and check out a few of the shops or galleries. If hungry then grab a fresh cooked crepe from one of the guys on the corner. Late afternoon pull up at a wine bar and grab a sweet glass of Kir and kick back and soak up the scenery and start planning what is on the menu for dinner. Undecided then head to the market and pick up some super fresh veggies and a nice bottle of vino then head to the butcher who will cut you a fresh ribeye. Once home open the windows up to your apartment and let the sounds of Paris entertain you with a bit of Edith Piaf in the background while you cook up a storm.

#2 North Le Marais
Forget St Germain. The new happening spot in Paris is Le Marais. If you want to escape the crowds then go and get lost in the small laneways of the Le Marais. My favorite section is the northside in the 3rd Arr. The block either side of Rue de Bretagne is loaded with awesome little shops and excellent places to get good food and coffee.

#3 Belleville Graffiti (Street Art in General)
Paris has become a real hub for street art. The most prolific are packman style mosaics which are found all over the city. Stencil’s and paste ups are also very popular. Without a doubt the best place I saw was Rue Denoyez in Belleville. This was an entire street which had had countless layers of graffiti, stencils, posters and various other bits of street art lined along the entire street. Very reminiscent of some of the alleys in Melbourne but on a much grander scale.

#4 Marche Des Enfants Rouges Market
The Marche Des Enfants Rouges is the oldest covered market in Paris. It is not super big but it contains the perfect mix of food stalls. The quality of the produce there is amazing. I cooked up several meals from veggies so fresh it was like they were just picked from the garden. There are also some excellent little cafes surrounding the market which produce excellent food and some sensational coffee. A real winner to go and have lunch.

#5 Canal St Martin
Canal St Martin is a great spot to go for a wander and soak up some diverse Parisian culture. It is a beautiful walk and there are plenty of nice cafes along the way to quench your thirst. There are a series of loch’s along the way and it is quite fun to watch the boats traversing these.

Paris, France

Bonjour from Paris. Waking up a little bit worse for wear after one to many cocktails in London, we headed to Kings Cross station to catch the Eurostar to Paris. The English countryside turned to a tunnel of darkness in a flash and before we knew it we were traveling through France. It really is one of those great train trips and infinitely better than flying from London.


Once in Paris it was a ½ hour walk to the apartment which we had booked many months before. I was quite nervous as I really was looking forward to living like Parisian for a week and having a cool apartment was a big part of that. Upon arrival we were not disappointed. I’m going to do a separate blog entry on the top five under rated things to do in Paris so will go into more detail about it there but it was a beautifully renovated one bedder with exposed ceiling beams and a great view. It was also next to an awesome market called Marche Des Enfants Rouges which is where I got some super fresh ingredients to make chicken pasta. Anyway here is a quick summary of the week that we had in Paris.

Friday
Headed out to the convention centre where Tracy picked up her number and running bag. It was a beautiful day so we decided to walk back along the Seine. Shame we did not consider how far it was. 12km’s later and very sore legs we made it home. Headed down to St Germaine for dinner with the marathon support crew.

Saturday
I headed up to the antique markets, Saint Ouen in the north of Paris. These are massive in and outdoor markets selling all types of antiques. They are so much fun to walk through and get lost in a maze of stalls. In the afternoon I checked out the l’Orangerie which has some massive Monet paintings in it. That night I cooked a pre marathon feast.

Sunday
The big day. Was up at the crack of dawn and went to the start line with Tracy. She was pretty pumped up and ready to go. After leaving here, Brenda (Tracy’s sister) and I went and met the rest of the support crew. We then began our amazing race around Paris meeting Tracy at various points around the course. It was a sensational day and everyone was really pumped up to support Tracy and any other Aussies that went past. We had flags and were constantly chanting Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi. Tracy got round the course in just under five hours which was a fantastic effort. That night everyone came back to our pad and it was another cookup for the support crew.

Monday
After a bit of a sleep in we decided to explore the area around the apartment. We soon found out that most of the shops were closed. Gotta love the French. We headed west and made it to some more touristy areas where the shops were open. We spent some time in an awesome record shop and I had a good dose of retail therapy on BF day. That afternoon we headed to the Pompidou Centre and got cultural with its awesome collection of modern art. That evening we had our first taste of French cooking going to a little restaurant behind our apartment.


Tuesday
Having got cultural fatigue at the Pompidou we decided to hit today’s museum in the morning while we still had some energy. Headed down to Invalides to see the Musee de L’Armee and Napoleons Grave. The war museum was one of the better ones that I have been to. It was really well organised and seemed to give quite a neutral commentary of the two World Wars. That afternoon we ventured round the art shops of St Germaine and then walked back up through the narrow streets of Le Marais to our apartment. Neither of us could resist the roast chickens cooking on the footpath so we demolished one of those with a bunch of roast spuds that night.

Wednesday
Our last day in Paris. Had a really chilled time walking up the Canal Saint Martin. From here we headed out into the burbs to an area called Belleville. This is a bit of a melting pot of Chinatown and various Africa cultures. A very colorful spot with an awesome street full of graffiti called Rue Denoyez. Headed home for a bit of a rest then it was off to dinner the Eiffel Tower lights show.

Thursday
Bless the French and their train strike. We had tried to buy tickets several days before to get the train to Avignon however they were not selling tickets. We rocked up and got on the train along with a million other people. There were that many people on it they ended up getting another train twice as long. Got moving an hour later and were very happy with the free train trip down (Tix normally 80 euros a pop). From Avignon we picked up a car and headed to Gordes. Will pick this up in a later blog on Provence.

London, UK

April finally kicked in and Tracy and I set off on our little European holiday. The focus was to get to Paris for Tracy to run the marthon however the first stop was in th UK to catch up with her sister and family. We stayed in a town called Horsell which is about 30 mins out of London. Had a realy relaxing time there and it was great to chill out.There was a great second hand bookshop and I managed to smash a book per day while there.

From there I headed down to London. Made a bit of a mistake with the hotel. I was planning on staying in Shoreditch but the hotel I booked was more towards Bethenal Green. Not a big deal but this is probably not one of the nicer parts of London to be hanging around in at night. There was evidence of this on Monday afternoon when there was almost a full scale riot out the front of our hotel.

Had a great time wandering round all my old haunts. Went to the Truman Brewary for lunch then cruised around Spitalfields Markets. Wandered past the Lex Lounge and many emories of my year in London came back. The change in the area was amazing. Certainly a lot of the graffiti and street art which had covered the area back in 05/06 seemed to have gone. Shame as this really gave the area some character. Ended up in Hoxton Square having a sneaky beverage in the park while savouring the lovely weather. Caught up with Pinky (an old ABN mate) at Seven Bells and then went and had some food at B&M (Bangers and Mash).

The next day was full of more tourist action. We caught up with some of Tracy's friends, Tine and Neil in the city and then spent the afternoon cruising round. Went to all the usual places like Big Ben and the London Eye as well as Covent Garden. That evening it was back to Hoxton Square where I caught up with Lisa and her boyfriend. There were a few beverages to be had there and then it was over to what turned out to be the worst tapa's bar ever.We quickly polished that off then went down to this cool basement bar called QT for a nightcap or three.

Thursday morning it was off to Kings Cross-St Pancreas to catch the Eurostar to France. More on Paris in my next blog.