Budapest

Budapest was my first trip to a central European country and won't be my last. We decided to go after some guests on bike tour told me that they had been to Prague and Budapest and preferred Budapest. We flew over just before Christmas and stayed near the Synagogue. We were convenient to the central part of Pest and to public transport, though we never used it. It was somewhat shocking coming from clean orderly Zurich to chaotic, recovering Budapest. The city is still in the process of rebuilding from Communism; as we came in from the airport we passed by the deconstruction of a huge tenement complex. Throughout the city we would pass gaping holes in the ground and giant skyscrapers littering the skyline. Graffiti decorated many buildings and others just had larges chunks of the facade broken away. However, we also saw beautifully refinished buildings, open spaces, ate wonderful food and met some marvelous people. Our small bed and breakfast was called Danube Guest House and run by Zoli and Bob. They just opened their doors in July and do a great job. Breakfast, chocolate and coffee were always available, they helped us get acquainted with the city and make arrangements. We took their lunch recommendation the day we arrived and had the best food of the entire trip. It was a mom and pop restaurant, no English menu and true Hungarian food. CF had stuffed cabbage with sauerkraut, MW had paprika chicken and I had stuffed peppers. All were terrific and a great way to get excited about the trip. As usual we wandered about with a general goal; see the river, get coffee, find the Christmas Market, stay warm. We did happen upon the main Christmas and were pleasantly surprised to find the best one we had seen yet. This one had the best food, the widest variety of handmade goods and great gluhwein. Our favorite market food was the Hungarian "doughboys" with cinnamon, they were being made at two stands over a large fire pit. Another favorite, of course, was the gluhwein, and here you paid a deposit for a real cup instead of a flimsy plastic one, paid for refills and then returned the cup at the end of the day. Well, that is what you were supposed to do, our cups never quite got returned. CF's favorite stand was the one with pork shoulders and sausages being grilled over a fire. We spent quite a bit of time eating and shopping there. We wandered around Castle Hill on the Buda side one morning, from up there we got amazing views of the very Gothic parliment building and the rest of Pest across the Danube. Following the building of the Chain Bridge these cities, Buda and Pest, became one city, starting a century of prosperity for the region. We also stopped by the giant food market that supplies the restaurants and citizens of Budapest. The huge glass and metal building contained near a hundred stands of fresh food, ranging from fruit to venison and live fish, covering 3 floors. Later that day, our search for lunch on a Sunday seeming to go horribly wrong, it turned around very quickly. We saw a place called Le Marquis de Salade and thinking that a salad would be great we went over to check out the menu. The menu was pages long with all types of Middle Eastern and eastern Mediterranean food but the restaurant was empty, however, we decided to go in. We were led through an empty upstairs down to a ancient cave basement, that was also empty. The food was very good, well spiced, something missing from a lot of Swiss food, and different from everything else we had eaten lately. Budapest has a lot to offer and I would love to visit it again. Now, with a successful trip to Budapest behind us, we look forward to our adventure in Prague in a few weeks.

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A Very Swiss Christmas

Our first order of business upon arriving in Zurich was to fill the apartment with Christmas spirit. CF's brother and sister-in-law were due to arrive in a week for Christmas so we wasted no time going to get our Christmas tree. This is very different experience in a city without a car compared to Davis or Ukiah. CF asked around work to find the best place for our purchase, so we headed off to Albisgutli at the end of tram line 13. Yes, we were going to bring our tree back on the tram. We had a great time wandering around the lot, watching kids through snowballs and checking out the trees. In the end CF found a tree about as tall as him and with the sharpest needles I have ever felt. We had it wrapped in netting, paid and headed back to the tram. We giggled a bit as we road through Zurich with our Christmas tree but it certainly wasn't an unusual sight. At home we put what few decorations the W's had, made a chain of paper and put the lights on. We later bought some additional ornaments at Ikea, bought a poinsettia and put lights up throughout the house. Very festive. Now that the house was ready for Christmas and I had some time to enjoy Zurich. The city was definitely ready for Christmas. There was a giant Christmas market in the train station with a giant tree decorated with Swarovski crystal ornaments and selling all the typical goods. However, it was the first time I saw a stand selling raclette, this is a variation of fondue. They place a giant block of cheese under a heating coil or in front of fire and as the cheese melts it is scraped onto a plate. Typical delivery methods include small potatoes, gherkins, pickled onions and dried meats. The one drawback to this dish is that cheese is incredibly strong smelling and not in a good way. Elsewhere in the city, the stores where heavily decorated, lit trees are found tucked into any little square and the Santa trolley can be seen driving through town. One night M and I went down to the Limmat River to witness Lichterschwimmen, when children release lit candles onto the river to celebrate the holidays. It was very beautiful. Of course there was the hustle and bustle of any city, with people shopping on the main street and people coming and going from the central train station. Back here in the apartment we celebrated Christmas with two days of delicious food, cooked mostly by CF and his brother, lots of music, relaxing and a stroll downtown on Christmas day. It has been an amazing experience being in a European city for the holidays, more then I expected. It made more enjoyable by the fact that we could just sit back and enjoy the sights without becoming part of the shopping frenzy. Though the post Christmas sales are looking pretty good.

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Joyeux Noel!, Frohe Weihnachten!, Merry Christmas!

Christmas in Europe has a been a cacophony of color, smells, languages and tastes. I was excited to come to Europe at this time of year so that I could experience the famous European markets and I have not been disappointed. MW & I are now experts on Christmas markets, we have visited them in six cities in three countries. Strasbourg was reputed to be the best in France, followed closely by Colmar so we decided to see both. I found us a nice little room just of the main square, we ended up nicknaming our room the Slanted Strawberry due to a slight slope in the room angled toward the bathroom and it's decoration in red. We still liked it, it was full of personality. We also found great food on our first night. We happened into a small place on a very well decorated square and tried two of the local dishes; flambee and a potato pancake type dish. The flambee is like an extremely thin crust pizza with creme fraiche, lardons and onions on it. MW liked it so much she recreated it back home in Zurich and I do believe it was even better then the original. As usual we had few goals in town but to see the lights and check out the local wares. The stands were positioned in any available square throughout the heart of town. The most common booths contain jewelry, toys, scarves. Some of the other options were preserved meats, cheese, candles and Christmas decorations. However, hands down our two favorite types of stalls were vin chaud and bredle. Vin chaud, or gluhwein in German, is mulled wine and at the Christmas markets they sell it everywhere. Bredle are small Christmas cookies most popular in the Alsace region, and in the markets they are piled up and you pick out how many grams and which ones. You may ask how we knew which one to buy, that is the best part, as you walk by all the sellers are giving away bredle and if you want to try another you just ask. In Colmar, there is a small canal that ran through and instead of being centered on the plazas, the market wound down the streets and along the canal. At one stall we found soap from Marsailles, it was the same as some I had bought in Arles years ago, they smelled so good we had to get a few, or 7. Most of the markets deserve the fuss and definitely made visiting them in the off season well worth it.

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading.

Eat, Walk, Drink, Walk, Drink Walk, Eat.

Anybody who has every traveled with the W's or myself knows that few things are as important to us as seeing, tasting and experiencing. I believe we travel well together because we agree that an army or travelers, travel on their stomachs. I would be hard pressed to find a better way to experience the culture of place then through what they eat and drink. We love to explore farmers markets and pedestrian shopping streets, tempting us into buying way more then we can possibly use while were are there. On this trip we had the added bonus of the Metro not being on strike so we could get to far flung places and from there wander about. On our second day, we ended up at the Place d'Italie and low and behold we found an amazing farmers market going on. The quantity and quality of all the foods put a summer farmers market back in California to shame. The market stretched along the sidewalk for blocks with meats, cheese, seafood, bread, pastries and incredible fruits and vegetables. After exploring, drooling and gawking there, we proceeded through a small neighborhood, stopping in for coffee in one place and bread at another. We later found lunch at a Belgian cafe that M had found on line, so it was beer and mussels to commemorate our trip last year. We had dinner back at the apartment, after shopping on our shopping street nearby. For the 4 days we would start out with a goal such as wander around Montmarte, visit the 7th arrondisement, walk along Rue Faubourg St. Honore. and then when we were done in that area we would head in a new direction, stopping in for vin chaud when we got cold or a coffee when we needed a pick me up. We wandered with purpose one day towards Pierre Herme to pick up some amazing macaroons. One day, we ate lunch in our neighborhood at a fantastic Crepe place that M had found. After I spend time in a city aimless walking I always feel like I know it better then if I have visited it's most famous museum.

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Photo credit - Artsy food shots by CF, who now wants to go by his new rap name, Baby Chezus.
Belgian meal shot by MW.

The Lights of Paris

Paris isn't called the City of Light for nothing. We had a great time exploring the city in the evenings, looking at the decorations and just taking in all the lit monuments. The blue Eiffel Tour is in recognition of France holding the 6 month presidency of the EU. Their term will end on December 31 and I just read that the Czech Republic will take over, we are headed to Prague in January, hopefully they will have done something slightly outrageous to celebrate. However, I doubt it can top the Paris style. I was excited to see it thinking it might be pretty cool, but seeing it live topped my expectations. The lights on the trees along the Champs Elysees were amazing, almost 2 miles of blue led lights. I fell in love with these cool lights and when we went searching for lights for our tree in Zurich we searched for them, to no avail. I have to give all credit for the photos to MW, not only does she have a much better camera than mine but she has a great eye for what to take. Enjoy.

Our Home for 4 Days.

One of my favorite parts of a trip is the planning and since I have discovered the great deal that an apartment is, the search is even more fun. I started looking for a place for us back in July and as always I started with vrbo.com, I had great success using them last year when I got our apartments for Paris and Barcelona. Once again I wanted to be based in an area of Paris that I hadn't stayed in before and wanted to good access to the Metro. Of course we kept our fingers crossed that it would not go on strike again. At one point someone asked me what I was looking for in an apartment and I could have given an list of thoughts however, my answer was more accurate, "I will know it when I see it." And I did. The place was suitable for 4 people, as long as two didn't mind bunk beds, a little alcove living room, a dining room/kitchen and the typical bathroom set up. This weekend, which kicked off my six weeks, was supposed to be a girls weekend for MW, my friend CR in Montana and me. Unfortunately, CR had to back out but CF came down for Zurich for the weekend so we were still 3 for part of the time. It was on the first floor of a building in the 2nd arrondisement near the famous Rue Montorgueil pedestrian street and darn close to 3 Metro stops. The price was perfect too. This part of the 2nd is just out of the tourist area but close enough to walk and near enough to the conveniences of the Chatelet/Les Halles transportation but out of range of the slightly seedy feeling of that area. We spent quite a bit of time shopping on the Rue Montorgueil, picking out cheeses, fruits, veggies and meat for our breakfasts and dinner. I was also able to resume one of my favorite experiences, getting croissants for breakfast every morning. For the most part we just loved walking up and down the street looking at the great shops that are foriegn to our life in the U.S. but the Parisiens stop into everyday without batting an eyelash.

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Photo credit - top right of the courtyard was taken by MW.

The Reason I Went to Paris

Many would say that traveling to Paris for a tenth time is excessive. I would say that there are always things to see there. The goal this time was to see the Christmas lights throughout Paris, especially the Champs Elysees. Last year, when we were in Paris, they had strung the lights on the plane trees that line the Champs Elysees but had not lit them yet. So, as this adventure developed, I figured that not only was it just as easy to fly into Paris and then train to Zurich but I would get my chance to visit in December. The decorations and lights were well worth lugging my big suitcase around the Metro, train and around the city. Everywhere we went the stores were decorated, the streets at the heart of each arrondisement were strung with lights and the crisp weather added to the spirit of the season. Everyone was dressed in scarves and hats and moving very quickly from store to metro. For some reason I have always thought of the true Paris as being a winter place, with these seasons flashing through my mind. Of course, the city of picnics in the parks and lovers sitting along the Seine is very real but somehow winter held my imagination. Maybe it is just that big cities are truly themselves in the winter, fewer tourists and people struggling to get through the day knowing that may only see the sun shine through they're windows. We would randomly run across trees positioned in groups with or without decorations in a small square just to let the passerby enjoy the season. Paris is lovingly lit anytime of year but the added Christmas lights give it an even warmer, friendlier feel. Trees like the ones above invite you in to enjoy a warm glass of vin chaud (mulled wine) and sit for a while to get warm. Even Paris most fabulous restaurant got in the season and decorated the facade with white trees and the blue led lights that are the trend of the season. We also visited the grand magasins or department stores to see what they had done. They created some over the top window designs but I was amazed by the beautiful tree that was in the Galaries Lafayette and stretched up to the glass dome. Of course, the big name boutiques couldn't be left out. Along Rue Faubourg St. Honore, where the high end shops are located we saw a few good decorations. One shop was putting a horse in its front window and though it was a mannequin, it was pretty impressive. Then there was the great Cartier window. The decorations are so Parisian in that they are over the top but completely stylish. They often use one color, rarely did we see the typical multi color string of lights and like the Cartier front the packages are all wraped in red. I am so thrilled that I finally got to see Paris at Christmas and got to share it with W's. Stay tuned for more photos and thoughts.

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Paris!!!!!

I can't even describe how happy I am right now. We just finished a breakfast of croissants, fruit, cheese, Nutella and coffee in our little apartment and are contemplating our day.

I arrived yesterday, after a long day of travel, though I luckily had an empty seat next to me on the plane. From Charles de Gaulle airport, I took the RER into Gare du Nord and started the search for the W's. I found them quite by chance as I just happened to look in their direction and there they were drinking coffee. It is was great to be reunited. We stored luggage and started wandering. We found a typical little cafe for a simple but good lunch, Croque Monsieurs for M & I, then continued in the direction of our little apartment. We found it and though we couldn't get in, it was nice to know where it was. From there we checked out the Marche Monterguiel (sic?), M. Debbonair was in heaven, cheese and meat shops, we would be back later to stock our apartment. The weather was so nice we continued on toward the Seine so I could get the vista that I needed. On the Ile de Cite we stopped for chocolate chaud and a quick warm up. It was now time for us to get into the apartment so we took the Metro back to get our luggage and ventured to our little home. Unfortunately it was still being cleaned, so we headed back out for the apartment staples, bread, cheese, wine, coffee and some fruit. Once settled in we tried out the internet, after some work by CF it is up and running, though not on my computer and then went in search of food and movement so that I would stay awake. CF wanted to see the 6th arr. so we went to Blvd. Ste. Germain. They have a Christmas market set up along the street, so we browsed and put our minds toward food. We found a cute little place called Le Pied de Fouquet on the same tiny street where we had lunch last year. Great, affordable dinner. M & I had the confit de canard and CF had the trout, which he switched with me about half way through. Coffee and a chocolate fondant topped of our meal. It was about 8:30 now and I was still feeling pretty good, so we headed toward the Eiffel Tower, I had to see it blue. We caught some glimpses of the top then as we came around the corner of Les Invalides we could see about 2/3 of it and wow, it is so much better in person then in the little live web cam I have on my home page. About then I looked at my watched and said to the W's, "it should start sparkling any second." As I finished that and looked back there it went, sparkling white lights against the blue lighting. I just smiled and thought that I couldn't be much happier then right then, being in Paris with my amazing friends. We still wanted to have a night cap so we headed to Rue St. Dominique, I street I know well from all my time staying in the 7th, because there tons of Christmas lights hung over the street. Deciding to continue a tradition we went into O'Brien's, a nice little Irish pub and had Guinness, cider and Irish Coffee. It was then time to head home, I was turning into a pumpkin. Back at the apartment we talked about what a great day we had and how happy we were to be traveling together again, then I slept and awoke feeling awfully good and ready to tackle another day in Paris.

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The Adventure Begins

In just about 12 hours I will be on my way to the airport, from there I fly to Salt Lake City and connect to Paris, where I will meet MW and CF to begin our six week adventure. We intend to lazily make our way through Paris, Prague and Budapest and see as much of Switzerland as possible. Getting the chance to have an extended stay in Europe has been a desire of mine for a long time and I am grateful to the W's for providing me the chance to make it happen. Of course, nothing ever seems to go as easily as you hope. About a month ago my mom was told that her metastatic bone cancer had returned and on Monday she went into the hospital. This will hopefully be a short stay in order to get her pain under control and shrink the tumor in her neck. Needless to say I have more motivation then usual to have a great experience this time and I will put extra effort into writing about this trip so that mom can enjoy it too. Good luck mom. Next stop, Paris.

Thanks for reading.

More Action Photos

What is the best way to annoy your sister? It won't be much longer before CEA doesn't let CMA get along with accidentally or intentionally making her fall down. I can't wait to see it happen.

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10 Miles in Flip Flops

Last week I went to Washington D.C for training with a new company to lead a student tour during the Inauguration. I arrived a day early since I couldn't find a flight from the west coast that arrived early enough to make it to our training and the weather was amazing. I flew into Baltimore and took the train into Union Station, where they conveniently have a baggage check, which I used quite a bit over my 5 days. I grabbed some lunch and headed out to reacquaint myself with D.C. I just started wandering, walking the National Mall, checking out the new WWII Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, I saw the President's helicopter land on the south lawn of the White House, walked through the Federal Triangle area. Towards 6pm I headed back to Capitol Hill to meet up my friend LM from Alaska, she is doing an internship for an Oregon Senator. We went for a walk to see the monuments lit up and then, since my feet were killing me, we went to have a drink. This is when I noticed one of those things that sets D.C. apart from other cities, bars were having debate watching specials and there were crowds of late 20 and 30 year olds to watch the final Presidential debate. I had to get to my hotel in Alexandria so I said good bye to LM and headed out on the Metro. In the end I had walked more then 10 miles, the first 8.5 were fine it was the last 1.5 the gave me giant blisters that hopefully taught me a valuable lesson.

The next day we were in training all day, learning the ins and outs of how the company works, from paperwork to communication. There were 40 people in our class, I knew a couple from my work here in Sacramento. Many were fresh out of ITMI, there were few teachers that had traveled with this company before and some of us had been at it for a while. The training was well done and the people we will be working for are supportive and knowledgeable. In the evening we took the Metro in to get the experience of moving a huge group on the Metro and to have dinner at one of our suppliers. Afterward we wandered about a bit then my roommate, a super cool gal from SF, and I decided to go back.

The second day of training was all on the road. We went into D.C. to get an idea of what we would be facing on Inauguration Day. Of course, it wasn't 20 degrees surrounded by half a million people and that would be the best scenario. I definitely began to wonder why I want to do this job. Everybody had to speak in front of the group as if they were talking to the middle school students that we will be leading. It was interesting to see how many people didn't understand that simple instruction. They showed the p/u and drop off points for the tours and explained a lot of the ins and out of working in D.C. From there we headed to Pentagon City have lunch at one of the food courts we use with the students and then on to Mt. Vernon. Many of our tours will head out there and along with seeing the mansion, they now have a great interactive center about the history of George Washington that the kids love. After that we had dinner and then went into Alexandria for a night walking tour. The tour guide told some great ghost and historical stories that the students will love, even though we had an abbreviated trip. Following the tour, KB, two other great guides and I headed out to have some beers, fortunately we found a nice Irish pub so we had to have some Guinness.

Our last day of training went until 3 PM. We talked more about the idiosyncrasies of working Inauguration, learned some people dealing tips and finished up the speaking in public. I said goodbye to my new friends and headed back into D.C. to visit the museums and hangout until it was time to meet my CouchSurfing hostess. The next day I visited the National Archives before meeting up with an old friend from UCD for lunch. It was nice seeing DB after all these years, Facebook reunited him with all of his old band-uh! friends. We ate at Clyde's near the Verizon Center and then I went back to my exploring. I checkout the new memorial to nurses which is new, the Korean Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial from afar. I had hoped to explore more but it is amazing how big an area it is to see. About 4PM, I headed out to Reagan National to catch my plane. It was a smooth trip home, arriving about 11PM.

The trip was a great success. I feel very comfortable getting around D.C. either on a bus or on the Metro. I met many of my coworkers and met some great new friends. I tested out CouchSurfing.com and give it a thumbs up. I know that I would really enjoy working for this new company as much as possible. Finally, I also know that I still love getting know places with the intention of showing it to other people.

Thanks for reading.