Southern France

After departing Paris we joined up with my former boss, Bill, down in Le Bar Sur Loup.  Bill and his wife Paule were kind enough to let us stay at their vacation rental for five nights in a small town about an hour north east of Nice, France.  I was eager to spend some time with an old friend and mentor but also equally excited to spend time in the French countryside with people who truly know the language and culture.  Paule is 100% French but has also lived in Montreal and the USA.  Paul and I kept talking about how we had our typical touristy vacation in Paris and now we’re having more of an authentic experience.

We didn’t know until we finally arrived in Le Bar Sur Loup that two of Paule and Bills good friends from Arizona were taking a week vacation in the same region.  John & Brenda Steinsky live part of the year in Nova Scotia and the other part in Phoenix.  We were lucky to have another generous family welcome us to a part of the world they love so much. 

If we were looking for an authentic French experience, we GOT it!  Paule cooked for us and filled us with Frois Gras, every type of French cheese imaginable, baguette, jambon, Rose wine by the case and every other French delicacy we could have imagined.  Looking back on that week I cannot believe how well we ate.  Of all of the cuisines I enjoyed this past year I’d put French at the top of the list.  The funny thing is I wouldn’t have experienced it in France unless I spent time with Paule and Bill!

We took the opportunity to take a few days to relax.  We didn’t even get to the beach!  Of all of the beaches in the world I want to revisit the French Mediterranean is also #1.  Can you see where I’m going with this? Southern France was the best food and beaches? Am I biased yet?  One of the best things we did in Bar Sur Loup was go go-karting!  Yup, we went to the largest go-kart track in all of Europe.  Paul and I thought we’d look it up and John chimed in that he’d love to go.  It didn’t take much convincing for Bill to join in and before we knew it we headed out for a guys day while Paule and Brenda did some shopping and purfumerie touring.

This track was no ordinary track.  We realized our lives were slightly in danger when we showed up.  The racers who were training on the track were SPONSORED!  Yup, sponsored go-kart racers!  Hilarous.  We waited our turns and John translated we didn’t want to race while the sponsored hell-bat French drivers were on the track.  This (like anything else we conveyed in broken French) seemed to piss off the track owner.  Finally we got on the track and the four of us were racing on top of a mountain with views of the Mediterranean! The location we found on top of the mountain was literally a guys paradise!  There were paintballing places, go-karts and race bikes all in one location!  I think I know where I’d like to have my bachelor party if I’m ever a millionaire.

I’ll definitely find my way back to southern France in the future. I’m clearly hooked. 

Bill and Paule rented out a room in this castle!

Zach Delaney

Italian Coast

Italian Gelato

Outside of Monaco

John and Brenda

The Delaney Family (this is outside the front door of the apartment)

Go-Kart Racing!

Candy Shop!

Bill and myself on top of a mountain!

Paris

Shari, Te & ME!

A big shout out to my friends Raman and Christie!  Raman was kind enough this morning to give me a friendly kick in the ____ to get my blog posts back up and running. I’ve wanted to write but have found myself updating on facebook more and more… the dichotomy between blogging and facebooking really is blurred!

Quick plug!  Raman and Christie have started a blog of their own about their adventures as a young couple who recently moved from San Francisco to New York City. I find this blog to be highly entertaining so if you think it is something you’d be into check it out here: http://bigcity-littledog.blogspot.com/

So it HAS been a month since I updated the blog in Greece.  A lot has happened!  After sending Portia back to the states Paul and I hopped a flight to Paris.  In Paris we had penciled in some time with our good friends Shari and Te Anna.  Shari and Te were on our Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand Intrepid Travel group tour.  Like most Australians we’ve met they are traveling for a year or so.  The plan was for them to tour for a while before they settle temporarily in London to make some extra travel money.  Its amazing how travel will open doors because one of our other friends from the Intrepid trip got them their first job in London at a restaurant.

So Shari and Te flew in for the weekend and the four of us set out to see Paris.  The first night we decided a “proper” welcoming to the city was in order.  We met up near the Eiffel tower.  Since it was already late evening we grabbed a few bottles of wine (yup they’re only three euro each) some cheese and baguettes and spent the entire night sitting on the lawn in front of the Eiffel tower catching each other up on our separate travels since south east asia. 

The following day we set out on bikes to see the sights.  Paris has an awesome city bike program where you can rent them by the hour and drop them off all over the place at these city bike kiosks.  This worked out perfectly for us.  We grabbed a few bikes after seeing Notre Dame and headed toward the Arch de Triumph (sp?).  We hit the louvre, lounged through numerous parks, walked along the river and just enjoyed the sunny day in the city. 

The following day we made our way to Palace of Versailles.   We lucked out that day because all of the garden fountains were going to be turned on.  This turned out to be pretty expensive for our budget but I’m glad I was able to see the palace where Marie Antoinette lived.  It was amazing how huge the palace was and how immaculately kept every inch of the land was.  The fountains were amazing and we all proceeded to walk every path we could to enjoy all of the greenery.

A note on Paris.  I loved it. It was one of my favorite “bigger cities” that I visited in Europe.  I’m not a lover of big cities.  I love San Francisco but that is because its location is perfect. To me if I’m going to live in a city it needs to be in a close proximity to the outdoors.  NYC is my biggest nightmare, as I always felt trapped by long island, Connecticut and New Jersey.  All of these places have their own attributes but for me San Francisco offers you the gateway to all of what California has to offer; skiing in Tahoe, wine tasting in Napa, hiking in every direction, beaches, cultures from around the world, big sports teams (some that actually win!)… the list goes on and on.  Anyway, what I’m getting at is that Paris was the first city that I really thought about living in.  I could see myself truly enjoying that city for a period of time in my life.  I was shocked I felt that way after I left and I’m still shocked right now as I write.

Shari and Te headed back to London and Paul and I hopped a flight down to Nice. 

Sisters enjoying themselves!

Eiffel tower sparkling at night

flowers at versilles

artsy fartsy

team photo with the fountains

quaint cafe lined streets

city bike tour!

goofing in front of the Louvre

paul and I at the louvre!

Sight seeing!

Greece Update

So I'm playing Catch up now... of course I've gotten into my "senioritis" mode mode here on the blog since I'm on my final European leg. 

Quickie Greek Schedule: 

Landed in Athens on the 21st of June. 

Athens from the 21st to the 27th. Stayed at the Marriott. 

Syros from the 27th - July 1st. (had to stay 2 extra days due to greece riots / strikes)

Naxos for two days July 1st - July 3rd

Santorini - July 3rd - July 7th. 

What can I say about Greece? Well I have now seen more of Athens than I care to.  In prepping for the trip I was telling Paul and Portia that we really only need one or two days.  This statement was based more upon my previous trip there.  That proved true this trip.  Paul and I continued our "backpacker" lifestyle at the Marriott.  We barely left the four walls of that hotel for four days until Portia arrived.  Firstly we wanted to save money and secondly we wanted to do the touristy stuff with Portia.  We DID save money.  My "gold status" at Marriott from my hard work at Covidien proved quite handy.  We had FREE breakfast in the morning, FREE afternoon snacks, FREE beer & wine and FREE light dinner with desert.  Yup, all that came from my hard work.  After the fourth day in the premier club we were pretty worn out on olives, mini-weiners and bland greek wine but our wallets were still heavy.  It's amazing how thrifty Paul and I have become. 

Marriott Pool Time! 

Portia came into town and we jetted off to check out the Akropolis.  We hit up the major sights which included a quick stop at the main square in Athens to check out where the riots and protests had been going on.  I wont' go deep into it but honestly CNN is out of control.  Although the riots did get violent after we left Athens for the islands it was amazing seeing the discrepancy between how dangerous it "felt" where the action was happening verses what CNN made you "feel." Its no wonder anyone leaves their house everyday if they watch the news. 

Riot Police in Athens City Center

Lots of Stray Dogs in Athens - this one looked cute in front of the ancient Theater

Paul and Portia at the top of the Acropolis

Changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier

Funny boots! 

After our Athens adventures we set sail on our "slow boat" to Syros.  We checked in at our beautiful Dolphin Bay resort and headed to the pool. Syros was really one of my favorite spots on the Greek trip.  It was in a quiet village away from the capital city on the island.  I felt like this would be the PERFECT place to bring a family.  The bay was calm (thank you Mike & Shelagh for explaining to me how calm bays are ideal beaches for kids). I never really had any idea who enjoyed "bay" beaches.  Now I know. The pool was a bit chilly but we had an amazing view with good sunsets for four nights.  We didn't do much on Syros but hit the pool and go for a few walks on the beach.  I got through an entire book while I was here so clearly we just relaxed. 

Once the Greek ferry strikes were over we were able to make our boat over to Mykonos on our way to Naxos.  After getting off our ferry on Mykonos I realized I'd need to come back. The water looked absolutely amazing.  In retrospect I was intimidated by Mykonos' reputation as a party island.  I'm up for a good party but I've realized I've moved beyond beach raves and settled comfortably into the comfy beach bar scene.  I'm not quite at the old folks home but the idea of going to raves at this point seems lame and exhausting. 

Flowers at Dolphin Bay Resort

Sunset from the Church overlooking the water at Galisas Bay, Syros, Greece

Portia taking in the sunset from our perch! 

Naxos was a blur. We were only there for two nights and ended up making the best of the experience by hitting up Plaka beach.  This was definitely the best "water" we saw while in Greece. Technically Mykonos would be the best we "saw" but Naxos was the best we "experienced." At the nudie beach Paul and Portia went for a walk and got more than they bargained for.  Thankfully I stayed put and read my book as the swedish mom in front of me made sand castles with her kids topless.  I guess I don't see the appeal for nude beaches as they tend to be things you DON'T want to see. And that was exactly what Paul and Portia got as they curved around the beach and opened up a new section of 65+ men basking in the nude! Way to go guys! Glad you got that experience! 

Finally we arrived to the infamous Santorini.  Betsy had been telling me about this magical place for so long that I couldn't hold back my excitement when our boat was pulling in.  True to form it was magnificent and breath taking.   We popped off the ferry and immediately rented a car.  I forget what it was called but it had the name "topless" in the model.  It was a four door chevy with a retractable roof.  We zipped up the hillside and headed to Oia where we'd stay for four nights. 

Santorini was definitely my favorite in Greece.  I have the nagging feeling there are so many other islands to explore that I shouldn't declare it my "favorite greek island" just yet.  We settled into our hotel and headed to the grocery store.  This was a major bonus of the place we found as we could buy breakfast, snacks and water cheaply for the entire time we were there.  We ended up staying a bit of a walk outside of Oia.  This ended up being exactly what Paul and I wanted.  It was quite. It had unbelievable views and it gave us time to really enjoy Santorini.  

While on the island we did quite a bit of exploring.  Betsy had queued us up with lots of suggestions and we set out to see the black sand beaches, the red cliff beach (not so amazing), we found one of Pauls' doctors surname vineyards, climbed to the highest point on the island for photos, took a pirate ship to the volcano and hiked around, did some wine tasting and took in the local cuisine.  I genuinely know I'll find my way back to Santorini in the future.  I just hope I can fly direct from a major airport into Santorini in the summer to avoid Athens.  It will end up being worth the price. 

Red Cliff Beach

Chevy Topless! 

Black Sand Beach - Plaka, Santorini, Greece (patagonia boardshorts thank you ALSO to Betsy!)

Highest point on the island!  

Flowers on our porch overlooking the sunset. Oia seriously has the most insane sunsets. 

The colors are insane. Seriously insane. I love the "solar bursts" here. Is that what you call them? 

Fun photography with lighting

Our pirate ship to the Volcano!

BHS Class of 2002! Yup we're old farts. 

This donkey was a wise ass! haha! 

Wine Tasting in Oia! Thanks for the tip Betsy!

Funning into our old friend Sally in Oia! We met her in Vietnam and after I separated my shoulder I never thought I'd see her again! It was so fun to catch up. 

Oia Santorini 

Windmills - no big deal

What is it with the flowers in Greece? They seem brighter?

Sunset with my SF Koozie! Doesn't get much better than this! 

Egypt Air & Cairo Airport

Forgot to post this!!

What an interesting day it has been. I've never really transitioned from one non-western culture to another. Leaving South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe behind all I could think about was getting out to the islands in Greece. I have taken a trip to Athens once before so mentally I had been gearing up for solid European standards of food, accommodation and beaches. What I didn't realize was that I would need to pass through Cairo international airport on my way there. Cairo is definitely not Athens and after landing there today I am amazed at how different it really was.

We had a hell of a day today! First we got off the plane and since we couldn't check our bags thru (non star alliance airline) we had to get our bags and recheck then w/o going thru customs!

Since we left the one thing Paul and I always say is, "if I lose everything but my passport I'll be okay." we never let our passports out of our sights but if we do leave them somewhere we're always locking them up! So at the transfer desk they wanted them. We handed them over and were told for the first time (of many) to, "go sit down."

That simple phrase could sum up my entire Cairo experience. Go. Sit. Down. We must have been told this so many times I lost count. It didnt feel like we were at an international airport at all. I felt like I was in another world. I began longing for the seemingly efficient in retrospect Asia airports.

Long story short we got our bags. Were told to wait for the shuttle bus to the other terminal. I'm thinking Washington Dulles type shuttle. Nope, it was a tiny minivan with a man blaring Arabic music and singing to us through his sips of tea. How much coffee and tea can one culture consume!? I was convinced vegemite was the Achilles heal of the Aussies but what would Egyptians do if caffeine was taken away from them?

We drive over to the other terminal via a runway. Yup, we have to wait in line with airplanes to get there. Efficiency.

Then we get searched. Paul tells the "security guard" that he has a knife. They scan our bags and I tell them no liquids and no knife. I had both. But it seemed like such a rinky dink operation that I knew I'd get away with it or play dumb. Pauls knife is a big deal and we go thru negotiations that we're "checking!" our bags. At one point Paul is on his hands and knees trying to explain "under the plane." I'd put money on these guys DID understand what we were saying but just wanted to confiscate the knife bc they knew they could. Of course while the matter is being sorted out we're told to go. Sit. Down. Sooo infuriating!

We had Starbucks and Cinnabun and thankfully after passing the gate marked Bagdad we were on our way to Athens! Whew!

Cape Town quickie

Hello readers. If there are any left!? Its been a while since I last updated a post.  

I'll just put up some fun pictures for everyone to see.  Needless to say Capetown was sincerely AMAZING!  I loved table mountain, great white cage diving and making new friends!  We were able to meet up with a friend of Pauls friend, Andrea.  Thanks Shira! 

Andrea took us under her new found South African wing and showed us around the city, the wine region and took us up to Table Mountain.  She was a gracious host and had an impeccable sense of humor. Thank you Andrea! 

Paulie and I under water in the cage! Nice beards! (sharks like beards so be careful!)

We saw 12 great whites that day! 

They definitely seemed hungry

here's a playful one!

view of from table mountain of Cape Town

Reminded me of San Francisco! Loved Lions Head with the sunset and fog!

Traveling fools!

jump shot at Fish River Canyon