How to put into words...

Yet another amazing experience in yet another amazing place. How do I even begin to sum up all I have done and seen in the last 5 days? My arrival in Switzerland was a beautiful and curious thing from the start. It was as though from the moment my train crossed the border things were markedly different. The scenery changed, the animals changed, the people changed. First I noticed the presence of a beautiful old steam train, puffing away on the tracks, it's progression slow but steady. Next the appearance of a much larger population of cows, happily munching away on the lush countryside, their beautiful ornate bells announcing their slow progression across the hills, I can't quite put into words the quality of green these fields have. Soon sheep, goats and few rouge horses joined their ranks. Some of the sheep have had their tails left in tact and let me tell you, for a girl who has never seen a sheep with a foot long tail that was a shock. When I arrived in Bern, two train swaps later, after getting my bearings in the city center I took the metro to my friend Fabians work. It was shocking how much more of a language barrier I felt. I thought I felt out of place in France but at least I understood 50% of what I was hearing even if I couldn't respond. In Switzerland it was a whole new game, now not only could I not respond but could barely understand. Thanks to Fabi's helpful instructions though I made it through unscathed and only mildly humbled. He happened to have a good break in the middle of the day so we went to his apartment and got my settled. Off he went to work and I to relax for the rest of the day, a much needed break in all the chaos of Paris and travel in general. 

Next morning we hopped in a train to Lausanne and had lunch with Alexandre, a friend of Fabians and speaker of the most beautiful French I have ever heard in my life. This well spoken character was funny, charming, and insightful. A pleasure to have made his acquaintance. Next we trundled onward to The apartment of Ty, another friend as well as massage therapist, resident of one of the most beautiful and modern apartments I've ever been in, kind hearted, open minded and inquisitive in nature. Also Utah born and raised, it was funny for both of us how strange it was to hear an American accent in Switzerland. We three had some wine and decided to indulge in a little herbal supplement to expand our minds ;) we ventured up into the forest and feildlands of Lausanne and had one of the most beuatiful afternoons I've ever had, enjoying the trees and nature, wild birds and animals and each others company, watched the sunset and laughed and entertained into the night.

In the morning the three of us drove to Saint-Maurice for the 1500th birthday of the Saint-Maurice Abbey. The church was stunning just like the scenery around it and there was a market going on where we had lunch. Thus begins my love affair with Raclette. Raclette is a cows milk cheese, at the market they had half wheels of it on a contraption where you could slide the half wheel (soft cheese part exposed) under an element and heat it until it was bubbling, you then scrape the hot melted cheese off onto a plate and serve with boiled fingerling potatoes, gherkins and pickled onion. Holy. Shit. I would later learn how to serve this amazing spectacle at home but more on that later. After Saint-Maurice Fabian and I went to Montreux for a few hours, wandered, talked, sat by the water. It was beuatiful! Then we headed back to Lausanne to make dinner for Ty and Alexandre, well I should say Fabi made dinner, I played the part of DJ which is very important. After dinner we partook (partoke?) again in our herbal supplement and proceeded to spend the night dancing and singing in the apartments for a few specials songs we danced out on the balcony in the late summer rain. 

Once more in the morning Fabi and I boarded a train, this time to Flums where Fabi's family live on a farm in the hills. We arrived, had some lunch, took a nap (a loooong nap) said hello to the animals then had dinner! Fabi and I walked up to his brothers house (maybe 100 yards as the crow flys) and had a nightcap there with his brother, sister in law and their two adorable youngins. I cannot stress enough how welcome these people made me feel. Even though they spoke only a little English they made me feel welcome and special and like I had arrived home. Fabi's brother showed me the amazing old smokehouse on the property and then gave us a lift back home. Next day we slept late, had a small breakfast and I went down to the barn to meet the animals. Namely my bonds were made with Luna the donkey and Klint (or Clint, as in Eastwood) the horse. I made my way up to the house where Fabi's mom and prepared... Wait for it... Raclette!!! At home you have an appliance that sits in the middle of the table, it has an element that sits about 2 inches above a metal plate and then a cast iron griddle that sits atop the element. Each person has a kind of tiny frying pan and a wooden scraper, you put cheese in the pan and top with pepper and/or tomatoes and then set on the metal below the element. While you wait you fry bacon and sausages on the griddle. Then when the cheese is bubbling you scrape onto your plate, on or near the potatoes, and enjoy with pickled onions, gherkins, and an amazing pickled zuchinni mixture mom made. I died I was so happy. To work off all the cheese Fabi, another brother and I decided to go for a walk. A walk in which I got to ride Klint!!! To my delight. I could not have been happier, to be riding in a setting so beautiful with the sun shining and the horse and donkey snorting. We returned for dinner and showers and then Fabian and I headed back to Bern.  Yesterday I did some exploring but mostly just took it easy. And here I am, getting ready to get on another airplane at another airport. I am SO excited to see my mom and to go to Greece but it is with a  great sadness that I go. This time in Switzerland has been so special and it it hard for me to leave the country, but mostly to leave all the wonderful people I have met. But I have felt this before, I know that I will carve out a place for Switzerland in my heart just as I did for Dublin and I will move forward to have new experiences and carve out more corners for the people and places I love. Man is it getting crowded in this little ole' heart of mine. I wouldn't have it any other way. 

And now away to Athens!

Ciao ciao!

A

Those boots were not made for walkin'

Over the last two days I have walked a combined 45,000 steps (according to my phone, which has a built in pedometer), I have climbed at least 50 flights of stairs and I actually feel pretty good all things considered. Back in Dublin I was having some foot/shoe problems and tried to just be tough and work through it but now I am so grateful that I didn't. So I guess boots are not a good choice for hoofing it all over the place. Apparently even when they are really well broken in they are too heavy and cause strain on your poor little ankles. Particularly in my right ankle I started feeling this weird creaking and at first thought it would go away but it didn't. So the boots are flying home and I got myself a good old reliable pair of vans that feel oh so much better. I am sad that the boots didn't work out, but they will not go to waste! I will wear those babies the rest of my life, just not for walking across cities apparently. 

And with that, to the recap!

Yesterday I connected with some lovely friends from Portland and together we explored The Catacombs (where I let little bits of my brain all over the floor I'm sure) and The Louvre. Needless to say there was a hell of a lot of stair climbing and step taking in those two events. The Catacombs was really so surreal, no matter how many times you thought you got your head wrapped around how many remains are down there you would turn a corner and see a whole other structure made entirely out of all these remains. In some places it seems like they had so many extra bones they just kind of piled them on top of the beautiful structures they created. Staggering. 

As for The Louvre, well people always say The Louvre is very overwhelming and I don't have a whole lot more to add to that part of it. We definitely hurried through large parts of it to see other things, there is so much that just flashed by I wanted to stop and take in everything. Someone here at the hostel told me that they say of you spent half a minute on every piece in The Louvre you would spend ten years there. Well we only spent 4 hours there but it was truly amazing, I took a lot of picture of paintings which I said I wouldn't do because you can find better quality online but I knew I would never remember all the artists names. I didn't get a chance to go to a few other museums that I really wanted to but I will just have to come back and see those! There is just something about being able to get that close to these actual pieces that really took my breath away. And something I didn't expect, the smells in all the different rooms! Depending on the room you would often get these strange whiffs of something old and musty. It was really fascinating to me, like you could smell their age and the artists who left their mark on them. 

Today I basically just walked all over the city. I ventured south and east of my hostel to go to a few markets which I did! I didn't buy anything, just looked and smelled a lot. Once I had seen the markets I had no other plans but noticed I was rather close to a Falafel place my mom and Mark reccomeded and so decided to just wander down there! It was a beautiful walk down to the spot, past loads of museums and posh shops, little alleyways with all sorts of secrets. And then I finally got down there, AND THEY WERE CLOSED. So sad, there were a few other falafel places nearby but I decided I wanted nothing but the best so turned around and headed back up north. I saw many different faces of Paris, from the ritzy area that the falafel restaurant was in, lots of designer boutiques and museums, to the poorer more run down areas, lots of closed gates on businesses and kinda shady looking characters around. At one point I walked past a music venue (this is middle of the day mind you) and it looked like a huge crowed of young Parisians dressed mostly in black were rallying around, it was clear if they were there for a show or were creating some mischief or social justice movement?? Either way it was very interesting to see so many different parts of the city. I walked all morning up into many places I hadn't seen, finally I started getting hungry and decided to start looking for somewhere to eat, I hadn't had a Pain au Chocolat yet so when I saw a great big line of locals coming out of a bakery I knew that's where I would stop. I got a baguette (still warm!) a chocolate croissant and 2 mini canelé. I ate a little of the baguette walking down the street (who wouldn't) and stopped into a market for a couple peaches and some cheese. That has basically been most of my meals here, baguette, cheese, tomato and peach. No complaints here! After that I walked the neighborhood behind Sacré-Cœur but it was a little too crazy for me with people since it is a Saturday and every soul is on the move. Eventually I found a calm-ish cafe and had a glass of wine and read for a while, made eyes at the cute French server for fun and eventually went back to the hostel for dinner and a chat with my best bud and my best dogs ;)

And now sleep, for I have fondu to conquer on the morrow. 

Bons baisers! (Lots of love!)

A

Oh yes! Pictures! I didn't take many today...

I thought these ladies were pretty. 

Missing this one...

I Hereby Promise Not To Judge A City Based On My Emotionally And Physically Exhausted First Impressions

Ok ok so maybe I just needed to take a shower and get some sleep to appreciate Paris. While I think this would be a fun city to have a buddy in I am throroughly enjoying myself now that I have had some food and sleep. Here is a (not so) brief account of my day today:

Woke up and had a lovely breakfast of croissant coffee and orange juice provided by my hostel and in the company of my roommates (a Torontonian and.... Another guy). Took myself up to my dorm and readied for my day! Got on the metro with ease (NOT like yesterday, I was in and out in a breeze) and made my way to Père Lachaise Cemetery, the largest cemetery in Paris. It was beautiful, I went early enough that it was still very quiet and I got to wander in peace and stillness. I am still very wary of pickpockets and the like in the city so this was one of the first times I really relaxed and just walked because no one else was there! I took myself around and then finally tracked down a map and saw some grave sites I was interested in, paticularly Oscar Wilde. 

When I finished up there I wandered a little til found a cafe and sat and had a cafe au lait. I am a little more confidant with my terrible terrible French today and I think people are a little more open to me because of that. As I was sitting drinking my coffee the older man next to me turned to me and started to say something. Finalły I realized he was pointing at my tobacco (Sorry Mom! I'm in France after all!), we had the same type of rolling tobacco and he was all out. I shared mine and we had a kind of sort of conversation, he was kind and asked me where I was from and taught me how to say "your welcome" like someone who actually speaks French :P

I made my way back to my hostel but not before stopping at a produce shop, a bakery (ok 2 bakeries), and a pharmacie. Had a delightful lunch of baguette, tomato and peach. Took a shower and then set off again! This time I went up to Sacré-Cœur, I did get swindeled by a young African man on the steps, there were a bunch of them making little friendship bracelets and I almost got away but engaged too much, I was super diligent and no one robbed me or anything but I did end up give him €3 for a bit of string when it was all said and done. Oh well, now I know and I have a little souvenir! His name was Hankie :)

I made my way up to the church and walked around inside and marveled at the architecture and art, sat and said a little thank you to the powers that be for everything I had been blessed with. While I'm not religious the place made my skin tingle so I figured it couldn't hurt to say thanks. After that I wandered around behind the church, I did notice some heavily armed soldiers patrolling around, anybody know why they have these instead of regular old cops? Either way, I walked past a bunch of amazing fabric, costume and colour shops, sat and had a glass of wine at a cafe and enjoyed the accordion music that was drifting over the buildings from somewhere. 

Quick stop at the grocery store for a bottle of wine, some cured meat and salad ingredients and here I am, back at "home" thinking about preparing dinner. 

And now a billion pictures for your viewing pleasure, as always. 

And that should do it for now!

Bonsoir,

A

City of Love

Well Paris is known as the city of love but we got off to a bit of a rough start. After leaving Dublin (which already feels like my second home) I was more than a little despondent. I can't even describe my love for that city and the people in it, so much life and love and history. I know that it's true of other places too and I know I will find those places on my travels but I think Dublin will always carry a very special place in my heart. That being said one can only imagine how it felt to get off a bus in the middle of Paris to pouring rain, wet, tired, uncaffintated, under nourish and dehydrated. Not to mention sad at leaving my new and old friends. I managed to buddy up with a very nice couple from Austin and we at least got each other through the worst of the initial shock. Then after getting our bearing and some food we said our farewells. I finally made my way to the hostel (one trek and a very confusing metro ride later) only to find that my emotions had decided to run wild with me. 

I took some very good advice though (that has already served me well on this trip, thanks Alfonso!) and took a nap, then hot shower and hit the streets. It wasn't easy and I felt very alone but after reaching out to all my people they helped me embrace how lucky I am to be here. I got to enjoy some lovely cafe culture and with the encouragement of my dream team went down to the common area and made a new friend who reassured me that her first impression of the city was much the same as mine but that she had come to love Paris. We then bonded over wine and compared travel stories. As you do. 

I would by lying if I said I didn't have a good cry today, my homesickness really set in for the first time but it's also very true that I think I had some preconceived notions coming here. While I know what kind of reuputation Paris has ( we all know the snobby French impression) I had heard a lot of pickpocket horror stories. People being shot with a BB gun and consequently robbed while in shock. I am certainly glad to be aware of these things but at the same time I think that it really set me on edge and give me an ill view of the city. So I will continue to be aware of my surroundings but I will not let it soil what is going to be the next magical part of my journey. 

Bon nuit

Alex

My time in Éire comes to a close

As evening approaches on my last day here in Ireland I've have so many mixed feelings. There is a part of me that wants to cancel all my tickets, find a cheap apartment and just stay here for the duration of my trip. I can't believe how quickly I have fallen in love with this city. It is so different from anything I have experience and yet feels so much like home. The Irish people I have met here have been nothing but inviting, friendly, helpful and loving. The culture is infused with pride over its long and for many times distraught history. I have learned more about this beautiful green place in the last week than I have my whole life. Everyone is eager to share tidbits here and there and there is so much to share that I have become fascinated with gleaning as much knowledge as possible. Match that with the fun loving, easygoing but kinetic vibe of the city of Dublin and its not surprising that I don't want to leave. But leave I shall, in the wee hours of tomorrow morning in fact. 

I am very excited to go to Paris, there is a part of me that is very anxious though, a part I have been completely ignoring because I haven't been willing to engage it. This will be the first leg of the journey that I am truly alone in a foreign place. There is a huge amount of discomfort there but I have made a few solo journeys here and am confidant I can look like a local even when I have no idea what the f*** I'm doing :) Even still, I am... Intrigued by Paris. This is the part of the journey that I need most, to force myself out of my shell and embrace the discomfort, wear it like a shawl and wrap it tight around me. This is the part where I teach myself how to be free of my reservations. Wish me luck!

Some things I have learned so far:

Shoes are both wonderful and they suck, tendinitis is also a bummer. But solutions are never far and sometimes the world surprises you when you think your staying in a house full of young musicians (which you are) but they all turn out to also be doctors. 

When traveling always make sure your pack is carry on size. My backpack is just 2 inches too long and while I'm sure I could sneak it on I'm not willing to take the chance when gate checked baggage is so much more expensive. C'est la vie, you live and you learn. 

Lastly, people are delightful, get them talking and you will be dazzled by the things that spill out of their mouths. I guess I already knew this one but it has certainly been reconfirmed for me. 

Here are a few more snapshots just for fun, 

Some rolling hills. 

Found Greek Street

My beautiful and amazing host Alfonso.

Much love friends, 

See you all soon!

A

Quick Update

Hello all!

Just a quick catch me up here. It's been a crazy beautiful couple days here in Ireland. Dublin trotted out her best weather and it's been all sunshine and cool breezes for tramping about the city. My two beautiful hosts have been simply grand, taking me around to all the best places and swapping stories, sharing local (and not so local) history with me. I've been lucky enough to hit Glasnevin Cemetary, The Botanical Gardens, Kilmainham Gaol, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art already. Also, for all of you who have never been here, you can't imagine the colossal size of the Guinness Brewery. It's unreal. 

More to follow!

Much love. 

Seven Days and Counting

Apologies on the lateness of the last post, I didn't realize it never went through! Well I am at yet another airport, they seem to be the best place to sit and write as I have wifi and not much else to do. I have had such an amazing time in Canada, got to connect with loads of family I haven't seen in years and met a couple people that I barely have memories of. I have had the opportunity to hear so many stories of my family's past and I feel connected to them in a way now that I can't quite describe. I can't wait to go to Greece and deepen that connection even more. 

One thing this leg of the journey has taught me though is that I am not built for humidity. The heat of the last few days would have been pleasant if not for this humidity! I remember it only vaguely from the last trip my family took back east (maybe 15 years ago?) but I sure won't forget it soon. 

Toronto has been somewhat of a whirlwind. I wish I had been able to spend more time here as I don't remember it when I was a kid and it seems like somewhere I would really like to get to know, next time I suppose! 

And now away to Dublin, out with the old, in with the older!

Much love, 

Alex

Take Off

I'm here at the Portland airport, waiting for the first of many flights over the next few months. I'm having a bevy of mixed feelings this morning as I said my goodbyes to my home, animals and friends. A friend who knows me very well told me that there would be discomfort on this journey (I am a homebody and deciding to wear my home on my back for an extended period of time is not something that will be easy for me) but that if I lean into that discomfort and embrace it, I will be able to grow from it. So that's what I am doing. I didn't expect to feel it so early, but I think this is actually the hardest part for me. It has been years since I have gone anywhere but back home to visit family and friends. Well I am certainly going to visit friends and family but this is a whole different beast I am tackling here. I have imagined this moment and the ones to come more times than I can count and they are finally here! I am missing all my friends (furry and otherwise) already but I can't wait to see what comes. So on that note, here is your quintessential Portland airport photo, complete with new carpet for a new adventure!

Love you all and see you soon!