And it Rained...

Mmm...Sacher in Vienna!

Neuschanstein (Sleeping Beauty's) Castle

Buongiorno e mi dispiace, my adoring fans, but I have been a bad blogger and not updated! Let me recount some trials and tribulations in Germany and Austria (and excuse any blatant errors, I had to help Joy finish a delicious bottle of house white wine in Manarola...):

Fritzlar - Jul 18-21: "Delicious awkwardness" as Joy has calledour stay in the cute little medieval town of Fritzlar, in west central Germany. We saw many hilltop castle ruins, were fed too much food by her relatives, and pretended we understood some German...hmm...The family was very hospitable and attentive and took excellent care of us. In fact, Joy's 93-year-old great aunt didn't even want me to go running one morning for fear I would get lost or kidnapped or something. I finally made it out the door, but our hostess (the great aunt's daughter) was very concerned - "is something wrong? Did she feel that she ate too much? - it was incumbent upon Joy to explain that I often go running in the morning! This is only one of the many awkward culture and language clash moments, hehe.

Munich - Jul 22-25: The city that we did not actually visit...well, our three days there were spent everywhere but. We went to Salzburg (home of Mozart, The Sound of Music, and the giant chocolate covered pretzel that got away); Neuschwanstein (Sleeping Beauty and Mad King Ludwig's castle); and Dachau (a contemplative morning at the first concentration camp). Plus, we managed to get trapped in the evening thunderstorm and downpour on a daily basis!

Vienna - Jul 25-27: The city of decadence...particularly for our budget. It is a large city with grand and impressive architecture. We saw the gaudy and ornate apartments of the former emperor and learned about his crazy, manic-depressive, workout-a-holic empress Sissi. We also went to a classical music concert that was particularly touristy, but whetted my appetite for more classical music. Instead of dinner, we followed this concert with a slice of sacher torte and cuppa hot chocolate at the original Sacher cafe (mediocre). We also ended our lasted day with coffee, crazy cream cakes, and people watching at Cafe Aida on the main pedestrian route, before taking off on our overnight train to Venice!

Other Tidbits: German and Austrian food (real stuff, not pastry) does not mesh well with my diet - schnitzel and wurst anyone? Is it wrong for Cathedrals to charge to see the main area? still lamenting that pretzel I didn't buy...

Au Revoir La France - Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome to Switzerland

Switzerland for the win! While having spent onlz four days in Switzerland, compared to 13 in France, they were exciting and thoroughly enjoyable. Switzerland is the funny little country surrounded by France, Italy, Germany, and Austria, but not a member of the EU. It has its own currency, but seems to share everything else with its neighbors!

On July 13th we made our way from Lyon to Geneve to stay with a friend from Stanford. We were able to meet and hang out with his flatmates, which increased our sociability barometer considerably. July 14th - Bastille Day had we still been in France - found Joy and me touring the city on bikes that can be borrowed for the day for FREE (1 CHF per hour after the first four)! We saw the UN, gardens, and our first Protestant Basilica. Lovely city...complete with pastry shops and French speakers.

The next morning we skipped out of town early to get to Montreux to see Chateau Chillon. By far the most accessible of the Chateaux so far, this 12th centurz fortress hosted the ruling class of the Savoyards and Bernese while they toured their lands. Sitting on Lake Geneva, with picturesque mountains in the background, this castle is Rachel-approved. We strolled back to Montreux proper to pick up some bread, veggies, and good Suisse chocolate for lunch and dinner.

Then our 3-hour voyage to Gimmelwald began - on the shwankiest of trains we´ve traveled on yet. My jaw was floored and head out the window the entire time we loped along through the mountains and countryside. Language shifted as German speakers boarded the train and I could no longer read the signs we passed. Around 8pm, we took the five minute cable car up into the fog-shrouded village of Gimmelwald.

And so began another crazy cool birthday adventure! No, I didn`t get sick in a rainforest or bum around a city alone, but I did traipse over Alpine hillsides, listen to symphonies of cowbells, and stand at waterfalls of snowmelt... all the while awed by the massive, majestic peaks in the background. Then, in true Rachel style, I came back to the hostel and made moelleux au chocolat from my French chocolate cookbook, with fresh Gimmelwald butter and eggs (did I mention my vacation from veganism?) and dark Swiss chocolate. I was actually more content to finish the unmarred bar from the Montreux chocolatier.

July 17th weather contrasted greatly with the warmth and sunshine of my birthday. Still, we set off for a morning jaunt, heading up into the mist. By the time we reached the target waterfall, it had started a steady drizzle...then hail...then downpour with flashes of lightning and claps of thunder. At the point when our clothes were soaked through and there were puddles in our shows, we decided to return rather than brave the peak that was our original destination. An hour and a half later we stumbled onto the hostel doorstep - chilled to the bone and soaked through. The glasses of hot water and fresh bread with avocado healed the body a bit, but my shoes have taken days to dry thoroughy.

Somehwat refreshed, we said goodbye to our mountain paradise and started along the route to Zurich. Our slightly longer than 12 hour stay and couch surfing experience was very pleasant. Just chatting with our hosts, cooking dinner, and watching the Daily Show was all we could have wished for at that point.

Now we are on a train to Kassel, Germany, where Joy`s relatives will pick us up to go to Fritzlar. It is rainy and cold, but I am really going to miss this country of French, German, and English melange and impressive landscapes!

Le Tour de France

The "POOF" (AKA pouffe or two giant coconut dusted meringues stuck together)
Upside down, Joy and I frown at the forbidden "Love Gardens" - scandalous!
Carcassonne at night! Yes, we stayed in a walled fortress...Our gustatory pleasures...and our first French wine!
Le Bolero (citrone et fraise) avec La Symphonie (chocolate et noissettes)

Bonjour mes amies! Don't get too excited, I missed the Tour in Monpellier by a day! Oh what a week! We leave France tomorrow; luckily Joy assures me that Vienna has delectable and enticing patisserie, as well (plus Swiss chocolate is next)! So what craziness have we been up to?

Tours was our nstop - cute town along the Loire River. The first day wasn't too exciting, wandering around gardens, a museum, and cathedral. The evening involved bag pipes, accordions, and lively dancing. Joy, no surprise there, was thrilled to join the riverside gathering of merry locals.

Our big bike adventure too place the next day. About 21 km and a handful of Mirabelles (mini plums we found on the side of the trail) into the morning, we reached Villandry - one of the hundreds of Chateaux dotting the Loire Valley. We skipped the house itself in favor of meandering through the expansive gardens, which included the biggest veggie garden I have ever seen! We finished off our jaunt with a picnic lunch of classic baguette, avocado, tomato, and our POOF (see picture for more details), before heading back to Tours on our bikes...amidst an afternoon downpour.

The 24 ensuing hours we had in Carcassonne were well spent. After a long day of train travel, we stayed in Ye Olde Youth Hostel in a medieval cite - yes, you heard me correctly. We squeezed in some modern entertainment with an outdoor concert by a French pop star "Gregoire" before hitting up the older sites. The next morn we wandered this fantastic specimen of 12th century architecture - scaling stone walls, keeping watch on the ramparts, and marvelling at an 800 year old church.

Carcassonne was pretty awesome, but it left us in the awkward position of arriving after hours in Nice...the staff was not pleased. I felt bad, but there was nothing we could do about the delayed 6 hour train! Our leisurely days at the beach included less beach time than I had hoped for, but much wandering around the San Diego-esque waterfront and smaller, quainter town of Antibes. Our cullinary creation the first evening: tomato basil crepes and fig crepes with market produce, took the cake in this city. Last night we ate dinner and drank wine on the roof of our hostel looking out over what Joy terms the "million dollar view!"

Yesterday on the train to Lyon, we broke our four day pastry drought (though we did buy chocolate in Nice...) with the most beautiful delicacies. In a Lyon internet cafe :)

Patisserie: Rachel's Choice of Porn

Palm Drive at Versaille

Oh, La Duree!

Bienvenu à mon blog, encore! If you have been a longtime follower, you may recall an entry ater Maagascar about Paris. Well, I have returned to this wonderful city (with Joy), to begin our European Grand Tour. Now, on a train to Tours, I will recount some highlights of our 5-day stay.

Day 1: Dazed, jet-lagged, and confused we make our 2.5 hour journey from the airport to our hostel in the 10th arrondissement. By the time we start out, it is alreay late afternoon, so we content ourselves with a stroll in the Marais (Jewish and Gay [and my favorite] quartier), a stop at Musee Carnavalet, and crepes for dinner...tasty!

Day 2: Museum craziness! We are master museum hoppers. After purchasing a 2-day pass, we proceed on a leisurely whirlwind tour of l'Orangerie (Monet's lillies), d'Orsay (impressionists), and le Louvre (self-explanatory). We also managed to squeeze in Notre Dame before we made it back with Monoprix pastries - pas tres chic.

Day 3: Tired and stiff from the previous day, we decide to take it easy by seeing the largest garden I have ever been to: Versaille. Oh la la, and the palais was appropriately extravagant to match! We spent 2 hours in both the garden and palace, tho Joy would have waltzed through la chambre de miroirs if there had not been so many people. We finished the day with a look at the Pantheon, where the physicist in Joy came out (Foucault's pendulum...ask her). I liked seeing famous dead people - Marie Curie and Victor Hugo - in the crypt. With a mediocre pastry from the Marais, we called it an early evening.

Day 4: Probably my favorite day, entailing meandering to Sacre Coeur (built 1919 - so young!), le Moulin Rouge, l'arch de Triomph, and le Tour Eiffel. We also hit up La Duree for their famous Macaron...so tasty. We wandered Rue Cler for picnic produce, cheese, and du pain, and proceeded to the Esplanade des Invalides to relax and watch French boys play futbol. Shakespeare and Co. Bookstore capped our day's adventures.

Day 5: Window shopping near the Louvre and on Ile st Louis. Expensive clothing and jewelry. Extravagant patisseries (Angelina's!) - nuf said.

Other Tid Bits: Finding a cheap way from Italy to Greece is impossible! Everyone smokes in Paris...*cough cough*