J'aime le creme de chocolat!

So we had ourselves what I would call a sampling of Paris this last weekend.  And just a heads up, when I get home this post will get SO many more pictures.  For now I'll give a run down of what we did.

The four of us (Mr. Bronson and myself with Matt and Hailey) left Thursday afternoon, took a two hour bus ride and then a two hour plane ride.  We flew into this tiny airport about 40 km outside Paris, rented a car and drove about two hours up to Normandy.  I absolutely LOVED the drive.  The French country side was just gorgeous and all the little quaint farmhouses and towns were just perfectly fitting for my idea of Europe.

Once we found our hotel there was no one there, just a kiosk to check in.  However, it had no record of our reservation and then when we just tried to purchase a room it wouldn't take our cards.  So we ended up going across the street to the "Quick Palace".  Just the name of the place, forgive me for saying, made me think of the kind of hotel that rents by the hour.  The interior didn't help change my mind.  Our room consisted of two tiny single beds pushed together with barely enough horribly-stained carpet to get around it.  The sink was on the wall next to it and the bathroom was like one of those single-piece sets made of plastic you find on cruise ships, where the shower is just a shower head coming out of the wall next to the toilet.  Only it was much grosser.  But hey, that's what you get for 37 euros.    The pillows didn't even have pillow cases, they were just covered by the bottom sheet.  After realizing we couldn't give the boys pillows to sleep on, that there were no extra blankets, and after getting a good look at the floor.  We all decided to share the bed.  Ya...  The best part was when we left the next morning we realized we were about two towns away from the one we were supposed to be at and so no wonder our original hotel had no record of us.  That's what you get when you just trust your GPS lady and don't read city signs I guess.

You can't see the sign name but this is the Quick Palace

Yes the four of us slept in this bed.

After leaving the Quick Palace (In the pouring rain) we drove up to to the beaches of Normandy.  We walked around Omaha Beach.  There were a few bunkers left that we walked through and monuments.  I've never been to an actual battle ground like that before and I was just overwhelmed by a feeling of gratitude and humility as I thought about what took place there and the people who died fighting for others, as well as what they left behind.  It had stopped raining and we spent maybe an hour or more walking down the hills and on the actual beach.  I'm really glad that we went.  It was fun to watch Matt's reaction as well as he is in the army.  We also went to the American Cemetery there and it was interesting and sad to read stories of different soldiers and see their little boy faces and and realize a bit of what they experienced.

Normandy

The umbrella blocked the wind at Normandy

After we left we stopped at a cute little seaside town and got some pastries for breakfast.  Yum.  Seriously.  Yum.  That was the first of probably twenty pastry shops for Hailey.  She loves baking and she got at least one thing at every pastissserie we went to.  I'm bummed I didn't take any pictures of the town or the country side...

After breakfast we drove on toward Paris, stopping first at the Palace of Versailles, where Dan and Matt began their mocking for the day of Louis XIV.  I think they were just jealous and wish they could run through a palace like that naked whenever they wanted, as they were sure Louis had.  The French apparently loved Louis XIV as there were statues of him everywhere.  It was that 16th guy they hated.  I don't mind the 14th either.  He was the one in the story of the Three Musketeers so he's great in my opinion.  "Whoa Ugly!!"  Anyway, we toured the gardens there a bit and then on to Paris. 

Versailles

Adorable

 

We got into town around five and basically had to drive strait across it to get to our hotel.  It was slow going. So slow in fact that this bent over old man, wearing what appeared to be underwear on his head, kept up with us as he walked down the street, even making frequent stops.  At one point he even crossed the street and walked away from where we were headed and then, about five minutes later, there he was passing our car again.

Underwear hat man barely visible behind the guy in the vest

Once checked in at our hotel, which had more than enough room and beds for all, we went to the Louvre.  We had heard it was free if you were under 26 on Friday nights and so we decided that even in our limited time, that would be worth it.  There are plenty of people who would kill us for this, but we basically did a run through, hitting all but about two tiny sections in about two hours.  But hey, when you have 24 hours in Paris, all you're going to get is a sampling.

Dan being Napoleon

It's Super Blurry But This Is Dan's Mona Lisa Face

Next was the Eiffel Tower where basically we took a million pictures and then as the sun was setting we decided to walk up to the second floor (approximitely 700 steps) as our Rick Steve's guide book said that had the best views.  I have to say though, one of the best parts while there was when we were talking to a man selling mini towers.  He suddenly grabbed it from us saying he'd be right back and then he, along with all the many others selling things, ran for their lives from a couple of cops.  Apparently they're not allowed to sell things out by the tower and it was hilarious to watch everyone book it whenever the cops walked by.  Walking up the second floor managed to not kill us, though I'll admit I got a little freaked out the higher we got as those steps are just thin sheets of steel with holes in them so you can see strait down. Once we made it, a million more pictures were taken.  But Rick Steve's was right, we could see everything and they weren't tiny specks from being up too high either.  We were up there when the lights turned on and when they turned the twinkling lights on as well, which was fun.  

Dan Looks All Nervous About The Height

After that, we went and got some dinner where Dan enjoyed some roast duck (it was really good) and I had some unknown pasta.  Then we barely made it on to the subway before they stopped running for the night (12:30) to make it back to our hotel.  In the morning, Matt and Hailey left to go see some church I don't know the name of on a hill overlooking the city and then we met them at Notre Dame just after eight am.  Of course on the way there Dan saw a Dinosaur museum......  We almost had to miss Notre Dame......

Once there, we didn't climb up the tower or anything, especially since it was hard to move after all the running around and stair climbing we'd done the day before.  But we walked around the cathedral and it was gorgeous.

Let's go all the way to France to look at some 

dinosaur bones.  Can't do that in Utah...

 

  

 

Next we went to the Arc De Triomphe and walked down the Champes Elysees.  Matt and Hailey didn't stroll down with us, they left and went to a chocolate factory.  Something we'll do when there's more time.  But Dan and I just strolled all the way down the street, eating ice cream and enjoying ourselves.  How a real trip to Paris should be, in my opinion.  We actually walked all the way to down the street, through the high-end shopping streets, all the way to the Opera House.  We stopped at a crepery on the way.  Strawberry and chocolate.  Wow. 

We Were Sick of Not Looking American So 

We Gave Up On it

We met back up with Matt and Hailey at the Opera House and then surprisingly, Dan, as those of you who know him know, thinks he is the Phantom, didn't want to go in.  He was a bit disappointed that it didn't look the same.  I think at some point the Opera House burned down or something but I'm pretty sure it's still the same place or built in the same place.  And actually I think the fire was before the book is set anyway.  We did end up going in and then Dan liked it lots better.  It was of course gorgeous as everything in Paris is.  Even just regular doors to shops and apartments on the street are gorgeous.  Too bad Dan and I didn't find a trap door down to the lower levels.  But we did manage to find Box 5.

The Opera House

"You will curse the day you did not do all that 

the Phantom asked of you!"

Box Five!

 

After the Opera House we went to another Rick Steve's endorsed cafe across the river from Notre Dame and hit another pastry shop or two.  Then it was already 3:30 and we had to go.  We were only there 24 hours and even before the plane landed back in Spain, I missed it.  I was surprised by how much I loved it.  Not just the sites and the pastries (though they alone would make the place worth going to), or the street musicians (my favorites being the one just winding a music box with a cat on top while holding a pigeon, and the guy playing Hotel California on his saxophone in the metro), it was just the whole feeling and atmosphere, I guess, of the place.  Dan and I kept saying the whole time, "Well, when we come back we can do this, and take more time here" etc so we better get back there at least once.  He can just hurry up and graduate so he can make us lots of money as we all know my degree's not doing us any good.  Anyway, loved it.  And congratulations for reading this entire post.

Pastries!

Hobos

So this is where we slept on Saturday night.

Not in one of those lovely brown chairs.  Not even stretched across them.  Right there.  In front of them.  My face squished in sleep, on that floor.  Actually it was on one of my efy shirts which was on my Minnie Mouse pajama pants, on Dan's library book, on the floor.  Amazing what complete exhaustion allows for.  And that marble floor... perfect for one's hip comfort.

This is the Zaragoza bus/train station.  Where, after our Ryanair flight (from Paris) was its usual charming self and packed us like cattle through a corral onto their plane and hour late, we got stuck after missing the last train back to Logrono.  Oh but don't worry, as the next day was Sunday, the next available transport to Logrono left at 2:30.  PM.  We were there for 17 hours.  

We wandered out once to find food just before midnight and found a McDonald's still open.  Last time I ate more than just ice cream there, Camille Jasmine Record was there with us.  (putting me at about nine years old.)  It wasn't too bad.  Of course they're a whole lot fancier out here.

Despite the fact that either the recorded voice announcing departing buses, or the sheer discomfort of my bed, woke me up every 20 to 40 minutes, I slept from about one in the morning until seven.  Dan possibly faired worse as, while he claims he never heard the recorded voice, the place was quite drafty and when you're half asleep, drafty equals freezing cold.  (I had a sweatshirt)  

To entertain ourselves the next day we pretty much stared at each other while Matt slept (He and Hailey were with us)  When Matt woke up, we tried to teach them to play hearts.  Dan considers himself pretty good since he learned in Sun Valley.  However, Matt was completely out of it, which made for the best game I've ever experienced.  It was a definite had to be there situation but even writing this now, I'm laughing.  The guy could not grasp any of the concepts of the game and the three of us were hysterical laughing at him.  At least three times we caught on to the fact that he was just putting down whatever card was next in his hand despite it being in a completely different suit than what was being played (I think he did this for about 90% of the rounds we played) and each time we realized he was doing this we'd explain, no, you have to play the suit being played or no you don't want to just throw out the queen of spades first thing when no one has even played any spades yet.  And each time his response was, "What?  I don't have to get rid of my cards in order?  Wait, I can play this card?  This just blows my mind!  I have to figure out which card to play now!"  etc.  And he was completely serious.  Or he'd try to decide for five minute whether to put down a low card or a high card and then we'd find out that meant should I put down a four or a five.  He even organized his cards into their suits by putting them into piles, facing up for all to see.  One day we'll have to teach him to play when he's awake.

Waiting for 2:30 to roll around.

Anyway, we did eventually make it to 2:30 and took the train home.  It was totally worth it for the experience and for the ability to see Paris.

Viva San Fermin!

So week two. I really need to do this more so they aren't so long. This one may end up taking everyone a week to read.

Dan was really upset that last week I failed to mention that while we were walking down the street one random afternoon, a weirdy-looking drunk man told Dan he was pretty. Dan can be so vain.

I didn't go to class at all with Dan this week. It was a Spanish Poetry class and he hated it. And said he had a hard time staying awake. I just don't think I would've lasted. We did discover this week some new tasty foods to eat, thanks to my brother's lovely wife, Jennifer. She served her mission in Madrid and had some tips on easy things to make and how to find the ingredients. I had some different but very good spaghetti after that, and a Doner Kabob which may be the best thing (That isn't sugar related) I will eat out here. And tonight we are possibly looking at some Gazpacho soup. I think that's what it is called.

Our friends also discovered the joy of this little street downtown, Calle Laurel, where there's several different cafes and pubs that each have their own specialty food. Just little things, mostly kabobs or little sandwiches. But they all cost about a euro each so you just go from place to place and after three or four things, you're full. Tuesday we also watched the Netherlands win the semi finals whilst going around that street.

This is just me playing with my camera settings

Apart from this weekend, Wednesday was the big event day. Unfortunately I failed to bring my compact camera so there are not pictures until I get back to the states. That afternoon we had our first of three excursions with our school group. We went out to a vineyard that also had a museum on wine making. Outside of the cities up here in the north of Spain, everything is pretty much vineyards. So we went through the museum which, until about the last twenty minutes (we were in their for an hour and twenty) was the most boring experience ever! Everything was in Spanish and the first part was just this giant room of modern and ancient tools used in wine making, with no explanation of what they were really for. (Not that I could read it anyway.) Once we got downstairs though there were some videos on things like bottle, barrel, and cork making which I actually found fascinating. They showed how they would do it all by hand and the glass blowing was awesome.

After the museum, we toured the actual bodega, and even though it was also in Spanish, it was really cool too. So many barrels of wine. At the end of the tour they offered us a taste of the wine. They had all these glasses set out for us to try and of the thirty of us, there were about three non-mormons who gave it a shot. I'm sure the guy was wondering what was up. Thanks but I had enough alcohol down in Mexico. Did I fail to mention that? I drank like three times because the Mexicans would get confused and bring us alcohol after we would ask for no alcohol. My favorite was at a restaurant that as we sat down, instead of giving us water they just handed us all some drink which after Jon had finished his, Dan decided to inform us it had alcohol in it. We just didn't expect it from the way it was presented. I had to start smelling my drink every time they brought one. Anyway, back to Spain. After the tour of the bodega, we bought a glass of their non alcoholic stuff. It was honey flavored and very good.

After the excursion the bus just dropped us off at the square so we could watch the Spain/Germany semi final. That was a lot of fun. There were some Germans there who magically disappeared just before the end of the game. Spain took it of course and we're really excited for the finals tomorrow night. One of the professors teaching the lower level group sat with us and it was so weird. I don't think at USU, I'd ever see a professor barely older than me, and that scantily-clad, jump on one of her students after Spain scored their goal. I'm pretty sure the three guys we sat with all have goals to make out with her.

Thursday was so hot we were just sitting around sweating in our apartment. We finally managed to walk down to the mall for the air conditioning where Dan made his first H&M purchase. I was so proud.

Friday night we headed out with Matt and Hailey to Pamplona to see the Running of the Bulls Saturday morning. That is how awesome we are. As soon as we got off the bus we were surrounded by people in red and white. There were people everywhere and and any where there were grass there were people camped out on it. We walked to where they released the bulls and found a good spot to come watch and then we walked up the route the bulls would take. The streets were jammed with people and everyone was carrying around huge jugs of wine, like the size of water cooler jugs. It was great. Once we got to the arena we took some pictures, which I will have to post later, and then just stayed there for a while. There was a group of five or six slightly inebriated British guys standing in a group singing as many Beatles songs as they could think of and then they started taking random pictures of each other. They noticed us and so made Dan come get in a picture with them and then they started talking to us about why we weren't going to run in the morning.

"How long did it take you to get here and you're not even going to run?" "Three days? That's like a thousand miles, mate!" Dan blamed me as the reason he couldn't run and so one of them started pestering me. "What's wrong with him running? He's not going to die you know?" I told him I wouldn't be able to get home if he died. He found that hilarious and told everyone else. In the meantime, the ugliest of them all was telling Dan... "You can run my friend, I'll take care of you. You just run in front of me and then the bull will just get me and you'll be safe." Lots more was said that I don't recall at this time but I was laughing so hard. They were hilarious. A couple more of them started bugging me about letting Dan run with the reasoning; "Look, do you know how many people die doing this thing? Nobody! There's only been around eight or so in the last hundred years! More people are dying from their toasters. You Americans can be at home sticking a fork in your toaster 'I can't get my pop tart out' and you'll die that way. It's much more likely you know. You'd rather risk your lives for your pop tarts."

Side note: Because we'll be spending roughly five days of this overall trip in airports, Dan and I packed some snacks like granola bars and pop tarts. Dan had brought one with us to Pamplona in case he was hungry in the middle of the night.

I told them well of course we've got a pop tart right now. "No you haven't! There is no way you have actually got a pop tart with you! You can't have seriously. You're just trying to be the stereotypical American!" We pulled it out and I believe it may have been the funniest thing they've ever witnessed. I offered it to them, "Sorry miss, but I don't pollute my body. Cheers." (He was holding a pint of beer which I thought was ironic.) We parted ways soon after but about two minutes later we saw them all dancing and singing as they led the parade through the streets. I think they might be my favorite people.

We walked around a little more doing our best not to have alcohol spilled on us which was a challenge. About half the people you saw were covered in it. We caught some fireworks in the square, where we also saw two thirteen year old boys walking around with a cooler, selling wine. And I successfully avoided some man trying to lean in and kiss me.

Around one thirty we went back to the spot where we wanted to watch the bulls to camp out for the night. It was a really good spot just past where they released the bulls and with a good view up the street a ways after they passed us. Plus it was up above a ways so we'd be looking down at the scene and not have guys trying to climb over us to avoid the bulls. And there we sat. At first I tried to just lay my head in Dan's lap to rest but then people would come by thinking I was wasted (They actually were) and would stroke my hair and say "Be careful, be careful." with their various accents. We also took turns with Matt and Hailey to go have a look at the actual bulls. They were huge. The size of small houses. There was also a fair that could challenge Lagoon behind where the bulls were kept. After we got that out of our system and got too cold to move we just stayed in our spot. Best people watching ever.

We saw all kinds of drunks staggering around (We were on a bit of an incline which made it even better. Plus a few meters away there was a small, random step that was often tripped over.) I saw one boy who couldn't have been more than 15 nearly falling on his face. I was scared he really would or that he'd fall over the railing down to the other street below. It also seems that the wall across from us was the most popular bathroom in town. At one point there were five guys using it as a urinal at once. Then not two minutes later I watched a drunken woman trying to sit down and then just topple over and lay down right where the five guys had just...been... We watched a woman on the street below sit down on the curb and then refuse to get up no matter how much her boyfriend tried to pull her up. She eventually puked and then ended up sitting in it in her struggle to not stand up. I don't know what became of her as after about twenty minutes of struggling and slapping her boyfriend in the face a few times, he gave up and left her there. Two VERY classy people. But the best was this man wearing a sparkly pink backpack who stopped right in front of us. He put down the grocery sack he was holding and pulled out what appeared to be a two liter of soda, only filled with wine, and poured himself some into a plastic cup. Then he gave the jug a most loving look and gently kissed it before placing it back in the sack. He then raised his glass in a toast until some passerby noticed and toasted with him.

Also throughout the night several people would just come over and talk to us. They thought we were crazy for not partying and just waiting at the fence. One French boy just B-lined it over to our friend Krista and after talking to her for about two minutes tried to lay down in her lap. Another time while the two boys had left to find an actual bathroom some guys came and tried to talk to me and I was glad Krista was there as they were only speaking Spanish. She made them go away. Then there was the most annoying, rotten-toothed man who was trying to take our spot and chain smoking in our faces for several hours, making Dan so mad I was scared he would punch him. He kept touching Dan's head and shoulder and at one point he kissed Dan's hand. Finally I slapped his hand off of Dan and glared at him and then he left him alone. I sure wished I knew enough Spanish right then to tell him off.

Eventually more people from our group came and the sky began to lighten. We had all been huddling together to keep warm so this was a very welcome sight. We were also apparently right over the spot where they put the statue of San Fermin, the saint who watches over the bull run. They all sing a song to him three times just before the run begins each morning. We had been so confused most the night when people kept stopping and singing at this empty hole in the wall and taking pictures. Apparently they only put the statue there during the run and then take it away again so no one steals it. We had a great view of all the runners waiting for it to start and watching all the different emotions on their faces. It was great. And then the bulls came. Dan recorded on my little camera which I can't seem to get to upload and I attempted to take pictures but my DSLR has had some serious issues lately (like not working or not saving pictures) and it decided to stop working after one picture of the bulls approaching. Bugged. Most of the people just ran to the side as soon as they came out but we saw two or three get caught up in the midst of the bulls as they ran and one bull fall over as they got to the curve in the road. All in all it took about ten seconds from their release until they were out of sight. Completely worth it.

Just After Getting There

Walking the Route

Outside the Stadium

The British Chaps

Runners Getting Ready

The Only Good Shot I Got of the Bulls

Just after the run.

Hot Air Balloons Were Everywhere in the Morning

 
Afterward, we attempted to walk through the streets to go see a church and then get back to the buses. Most disgusting experience of my life. Sam would've passed out. You couldn't walk without stepping in garbage and booze and puke and urine. I was near impossible to breathe. We couldn't wait to get out of there. Oh and the church? It was closed.

The Only Clean Street In Pamplona

 What the Rest of the Streets Looked Like

I Stole This One From Week In Pictures But I

Thought It Showed the Nasty Streets Well.

The Wet Streets?  That's Not Water...

A San Fermin pedimos, por ser nuestro patron, nos guie en el encierro, dandonos su bendicion!

The Rain in Spain

So today while he was in class, Dan made me go get groceries. By myself. We found a grocery store that sells normal milk by the pint. Dan and I go through about two gallons a week... We like milk. Anyway, this grocery store is a teeny little place about 12 blocks away. Getting groceries on my own was a difficult task for numerous reasons. I don't speak the language obviously. It's hard to even get around in the crowded store without being able to communicate but it's impossible to find anything and it's not like I can just go ask someone where something is. Plus I have no idea if what I'm buying is any good as not only can I not read the labels but normal brands and names of things are completely different than at home. Like even if it's a brand that is common back home, here they have changed the brand name, the name of the product and the packaging. Even though it is the exact same thing. Only one person, besides the cashier said anything to me and mostly I just stared stupidly at her. I did however, survive the trip.

Not too much happened this past week. Just getting used to our surroundings and with Dan being sick, and jet lag, we weren't up for much. The first day we were here our group was given a tour of the city. We're staying in Logrono. It was founded by the Romans in the tenth century and it's cool cause there's still places where you can see the original city wall.

These are pictures from our tour.

This is a statues from one of the churches. This

is probably inapropriate to say but the saying in

the town when people do something bold is that

'They've got more huevos than the horse.'

Dan really wanted this river to be the one

from Indiana Jones.

This one is the biggest cathedral in town. It

was built in the 17th century.

Some street.

Most of last week I went to at least part of Dan's class. It was a class on the pilgrimage people go on starting I think, in France and ending in Santiago, Spain. They believe that's where the apostle James ended up. It would've been interesting if I could understand everything but I was still able to pick up on pieces.

Thursday night Dan had his cooking class. We went to a restaurant and watched/helped the chef make a three course meal that we then got to eat. This cooking class happens once a week and is part of Dan's culture class. The last week they will be teaching flamenco dancing as well. One of the selling points of me coming along was that I could go to the culture classes and participate etc and go to the lower level Spanish class and just listen. The first day our USU professor guy, Kevin, who had told us I could do that, told us no, I can't go to a class that Dan's not in. Then Thursday after I and the other two wives had gone to the cooking class with our husbands, we all got an email from Kevin saying wives are not allowed to go to the cooking class either. Still no word on whether we still get to go to the dance class. We are all bugged.

Dan finally got to go to the doctor on Friday (They gave him some medicine and he's doing much better.) and then after that the plan was to go visit a castle about a half hour away and then go to a festival that was just in the next town over. It was raining, as it has done just about everyday so far but right as we got to the tiny town where the castle was it started pouring so hard and the wind was blowing so much that we just had to get right back on the bus and didn't get to walk up the hill to the castle. Then when we got to Lardero where the festival was, we were told nothing really was happening that night because of the rain. Fail.

Saturday we went with our friends Matt and Hailey around town looking through the cathedrals and such. We were supposed to go to some huge cathedral a few towns away but because it was the weekend, the buses weren't running so much so we ended up not going. Fail again. We found a cafe that serves churros with chocolate and oh my, they were so good. I just got a cup of hot chocolate which was basically melted down chocolate and we dipped our churros in them. I couldn't even finish the chocolate, it was so rich. After walking around town we were going to try for the festival again, but then we discovered that in the square they had set up a huge tv for the quarter finals of the World Cup that night, Spain vs Paraguay. (I think.) So we decided we definitely had to stay and watch as we were in Spain and it was fun. Though we failed on our plans again.

Dan's churro and chocolate with the Germany

vs. Argentina game in the background.

Watching the Spain game.

Finally Sunday night we were able to go to the festival. We were told things usually started around nine pm but of course when we got there at nine pm, the bull fight and all the good stuff was over already because it was Sunday and they did everything earlier. Fail. But at least I got to go to some kind of carnival on the fourth of July.

Festival!

Dan pretending to be a bull in the ring.