So we have made our way out of Spain and have spent the last two days in Antibes, near Nice on the southern coast of France. It is official - I have fallen completely head over heels for France. Never thought I would say this as I have been bred with the traditional Southern Alberta distates for all things French. France is paradise.
We spent the day on the beach, followed by a trip to Monacco. I lost 5 euro in the Grand Casino. not nearly as others won (or lost). the F1 had just finished, so we got to walk around the track as well.
I donàt know if i have the words to adequately describe the French Riveria. basically take the hardest place to build houses, and build mansions. the houses know no vertical boundaries, and most are stunningly holding onto the cliff with who knows what strength.
For those of you who think i am a rock, i am getting homesick. Working through the feelings slowly, but i would give anything right now to have TJ by my side, seeing the world with me. I do not prescribe to the theory, if you canàt be with the one you love, love the one you are with.
i hope all is well in Canada. if you are bored, feel free to comment here. i havent been getting much by way of feedback (donàt worry, the real journal will be done when i return and can actually post pictures). but I hope that any posts will help me with this feeling that I am not in Kansas anymore.
That having been said, tomorrow Iàm going to be on a boat, and it will really be a big blue watery road. Life is grand.
Jodi
Friday, May 29, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Beaujolais
so i am in wine country in the mid part of france. near lyon - though I haven't and won't see this city. we are staying in a gorgeous chateau (so far downloading pictures has not been kind to me - hopefully I will be able to eventually.)
Today I spent an entire day at the pool and didn't get burnt. i love paris. have some amazing colour - though I can attribute this to the wine as well. these past two days have been spent rather quietly at the contiki chateau de cruix. for that I am glad because paris was non-stop. the view from the chateau is great!
another tour has arrived and we start our cross-dressing party soon. i have quite the costume to wear! the bar here is in the cave - aka the basement of the chateau. it smells a little musty, but the drinks are cheap - particularly the wine;-) for those curious, yesterday i drank wine that was poured straight from the oak cask - it was great!
off to barcelona tomorrow!
Today I spent an entire day at the pool and didn't get burnt. i love paris. have some amazing colour - though I can attribute this to the wine as well. these past two days have been spent rather quietly at the contiki chateau de cruix. for that I am glad because paris was non-stop. the view from the chateau is great!
another tour has arrived and we start our cross-dressing party soon. i have quite the costume to wear! the bar here is in the cave - aka the basement of the chateau. it smells a little musty, but the drinks are cheap - particularly the wine;-) for those curious, yesterday i drank wine that was poured straight from the oak cask - it was great!
off to barcelona tomorrow!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Paris
I have died and gone to heaven! last night, I climbed the Eiffel tower - took 80 photos (now I am determined to see paris through my own eyes and not the camera lens!)
I hae been to the eiffel tower, the palace at versailles, the arc u triumphe, and the champs elysee and yet I feel like I have seen very little yet!
Internet sucks here so I will not be writing much today. just know that I am well, and Paris is fantastic! I can't say enough good things!!!
The tour is good so far. People are very friendly and I am enjoying getting to know them.
Allie - Jason and I are having a great time! he is thinking of you and today I believe we will send our first post cards!
I hae been to the eiffel tower, the palace at versailles, the arc u triumphe, and the champs elysee and yet I feel like I have seen very little yet!
Internet sucks here so I will not be writing much today. just know that I am well, and Paris is fantastic! I can't say enough good things!!!
The tour is good so far. People are very friendly and I am enjoying getting to know them.
Allie - Jason and I are having a great time! he is thinking of you and today I believe we will send our first post cards!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
London
So Jason and I made it to London quite well. the flight was excellent! on a 767 we were two of 60 people. each of us got our own bench, and I slept quite well (though not much quantity).
Didn't have much time today to walk around london, but walk we did. this city is huge! after a long trip on the underground from heathrow to our hotel, we made a point of walking around as best we could.
All I can say about the traffic here is that it is really considerate of them to put notes on the sidewalk to look left or right for traffic. otherwise I would have been hit many times today. I totally lost my bearings and it was like following a trail of breadcrumbs (or fancy buildings) to get back to our hotel.
The contiki meeting went well. I did pick a bad day to be shy and jet lagged. for the first while it was just me and Jason, sitting there kind of bored. but as teh evening progressed, we got to meet a bunch of people who are on our trip and people who aren't.
Our accommodations are much like Lister Hall. two beds, like a dormatory. The rooms are very small, the hotel itself is huge - easily over 1000 rooms. I think I will be packing it in early tonight (beer makes me sleepy) as we have to be up and at em at 5:30 tomorrow morning. the agenda for tomorrow - travel to paris. Apparently it is going to take us a few hours on the bus to even get to the ferry to cross teh channel. so I can imagine that we will be bonding on the bus for many hours.
Hopefully next time there will be pictures. I am too tired/lazy right now to figure out how to put them on this computer. doesn't really look to have a SD reader - may have to rely on a USB cable.
I'll be keeping you posted as promised!!!!!
Didn't have much time today to walk around london, but walk we did. this city is huge! after a long trip on the underground from heathrow to our hotel, we made a point of walking around as best we could.
All I can say about the traffic here is that it is really considerate of them to put notes on the sidewalk to look left or right for traffic. otherwise I would have been hit many times today. I totally lost my bearings and it was like following a trail of breadcrumbs (or fancy buildings) to get back to our hotel.
The contiki meeting went well. I did pick a bad day to be shy and jet lagged. for the first while it was just me and Jason, sitting there kind of bored. but as teh evening progressed, we got to meet a bunch of people who are on our trip and people who aren't.
Our accommodations are much like Lister Hall. two beds, like a dormatory. The rooms are very small, the hotel itself is huge - easily over 1000 rooms. I think I will be packing it in early tonight (beer makes me sleepy) as we have to be up and at em at 5:30 tomorrow morning. the agenda for tomorrow - travel to paris. Apparently it is going to take us a few hours on the bus to even get to the ferry to cross teh channel. so I can imagine that we will be bonding on the bus for many hours.
Hopefully next time there will be pictures. I am too tired/lazy right now to figure out how to put them on this computer. doesn't really look to have a SD reader - may have to rely on a USB cable.
I'll be keeping you posted as promised!!!!!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
An ode to... Taber
Ooooh, give me a home,
where the rednecks roam,
and the wind... it blows all day.
And seldom is heard,
an intelligent word,
and the Martens hang out all day....
It seems fitting that my trip around the world starts where it all began. See, I was born in Taber. And, thanks to my cousin Jen's wedding, I am back.
It is windy. I hate the wind.
So far my trip has been incredibly family oriented! It was Tessa's first birthday - so I got to go to a birthday party. It was Grandpa's 45th AA birthday, so I got to see a very jewel-laden medallion. It seems as though on any given day I will come across 1/2 my family.
Jaymie is back in town. Still crazy (no surprise there!) but it was really good to see her in Lethbridge. Her and I may have went to a store to get the most interesting wedding present that I think Jen will get. I will not say what store, but hint that it was right up Jaymie's alley.
Today I head to Lethbridge to go shopping with Grandma and pick up my Euros and Pounds from the bank. Perhaps then will this trip feel real. I think it sunk in for Jason yesterday when Pam and I compiled a list of stuff he has to do before he goes. He got quiet and looked dumbfounded.
The packing difference between men and women just isn't fair. All Jason needs is listed on a single, small piece of paper. All I needed was on three pages (and 55 pounds of luggage)! I think travelling with Jason is going to pay for itself because I can use his suitcase as well! Maybe 4 pairs of shoes isn't enough....
Well, they are steamcleaning Grandpa Bill's carpets so he can come home from the hospital to a clean house, and the fumes are terrible - time to get out of here - nothing like a strong cleaning solution to make you want breakfast!
If anyone is interested - for the duration of my trip I will blog on here (as it is RSS feeded to facebook), yet put the bulk of my photos on facebook (as the uploader is much easier).
where the rednecks roam,
and the wind... it blows all day.
And seldom is heard,
an intelligent word,
and the Martens hang out all day....
It seems fitting that my trip around the world starts where it all began. See, I was born in Taber. And, thanks to my cousin Jen's wedding, I am back.
It is windy. I hate the wind.
So far my trip has been incredibly family oriented! It was Tessa's first birthday - so I got to go to a birthday party. It was Grandpa's 45th AA birthday, so I got to see a very jewel-laden medallion. It seems as though on any given day I will come across 1/2 my family.
Jaymie is back in town. Still crazy (no surprise there!) but it was really good to see her in Lethbridge. Her and I may have went to a store to get the most interesting wedding present that I think Jen will get. I will not say what store, but hint that it was right up Jaymie's alley.
Today I head to Lethbridge to go shopping with Grandma and pick up my Euros and Pounds from the bank. Perhaps then will this trip feel real. I think it sunk in for Jason yesterday when Pam and I compiled a list of stuff he has to do before he goes. He got quiet and looked dumbfounded.
The packing difference between men and women just isn't fair. All Jason needs is listed on a single, small piece of paper. All I needed was on three pages (and 55 pounds of luggage)! I think travelling with Jason is going to pay for itself because I can use his suitcase as well! Maybe 4 pairs of shoes isn't enough....
Well, they are steamcleaning Grandpa Bill's carpets so he can come home from the hospital to a clean house, and the fumes are terrible - time to get out of here - nothing like a strong cleaning solution to make you want breakfast!
If anyone is interested - for the duration of my trip I will blog on here (as it is RSS feeded to facebook), yet put the bulk of my photos on facebook (as the uploader is much easier).
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