Spring Travels Part Four (Finale): Spain

Six days in Spain: Cyrillio, Arthuro, and Julia. Backpacking here and there, late nights, sunny days, beaches and cities between.

Sevilla. Two nights. We arrive late, with no place to stay, no plan to our names. We find a hostel that's cheap and good and close to town. We find a bar around midnight to get some food, and party late like they do in Spain... Blurry eyed and hazy, exhaustedly we meet new friends and enjoy the bustle that lasts until we make our way home. We wake up mid-morning and make our way to the river to find breakfast. We get a picnic from the local market and eat it on the other side of town, overlooking the greenish blue river. Orange trees above our heads, and lavender-looking trees permeate the city in their soft glow. We see the big sights - church, palace, and garden. The garden was so unlike anything I had ever seen. It felt surreally beautiful. Julia and I were both convinced that the unique bird sounds we were hearing were speakers. The boys thought this was funny. We had another late night in Sevilla, complete with new friends, Flamenco, tequila, and a dance party. The next day was time to move on to... Cadiz. One night. Cadiz felt like a medieval town on the water. We arrived at the beach, excited to finally be at some water. The sun was setting, and we were walking alongside it and lots of blue blue water to find a place to stay. This was the night that we found one of the grossest hostels I've ever stayed in. Being perhaps the only current residents, our footsteps echoed throughout dreary dark hallways in the oversized mansion that had been converted into a hotel. Broken panes of glass separated hallways into the open courtyard, at the bottom of which, sat a motorcycle that seemed to have been under repair for half a century. Our room had a fifties style decoration, and bed bugs (which were noted the morning after). Locks were everywhere, requiring trips down to the main desk for the various keys, and yet they didn't always seem to work or entirely necessary... There was definitely some creepy stuff going on there... We made the best of it of course, had a calm night of Tapas and a walk by the harbor. No late night in Cadiz, just a long sleep at rundown motel from "I don't want to go there" guidebook. The next day it was time to move to our final destination point, the southern most part of Spain: Tarifa. One night, one adventurous night. First thing's first, we found ourselves a good old spot for some cheap, good, friendly Tapas. Second, wander to the beach, where we would stay pretty much the whole time we were there, WHICH had a view of Morocco, which was only a thirty minute boat ride away (which we did not have time for... bummer). We bathed in the last moments of the setting sun, sipping beers at the beach bar. Then we decided to seek a place to stay, or rather to camp, or a combination of both. We walked a looonnggg way along the beach to what we thought looked like a campsite. We got there, realized none of us wanted to stay there, and so dashed across the highway to find food at 11 o'clock at night, which in this part of Spain, was a bit more difficult to find. After filling our stomachs at a nicer restaurant than we had bargained for, we headed to the beach for a quiet sleep alongside the crashing waves... Or a beautifully sleepless night, because of the gusting winds coming across the channel between Spain and Africa, as we later found out that beach to be the windiest in Europe! After what seemed like maybe two minutes of sleep, we found ourselves greeted by some friendly cops in the morning. We weren't in trouble or anything, they were just checking in on our situation, and told us to try to find a better campsite the next time. So it was time to move to Madrid. After stopping back at our favorite Tapas spot in Tarifa, we made our way to the long bus ride up North. I took a couple of sleeping aids, which surprisingly worked like a dream... I slept maybe six hours on that 9 hour bus. We arrived in Madrid just in time to wake with the city. It was a magical time to arrive in the city - before its bustle had begun, and we were sauntering through its streets like they were our own. Julia and I decided to plunge on through the day, since it was my last, so we made our way to a cafe to get some café and food. It was across the street from el prado, so we tried to cut the lines, which did not work, since apparently lines start there an hour before opening time, and so we finally made it inside the museum. It was beautiful. Velasquez, el Greco, and more... I was in heaven. After the museum, we made our way back to the city center to find the boys. There wasn't much time before leaving, so we grabbed some tapas (surprise surprise) and made our way to the subway where I could hop on to the airport. Madrid. One day. Fast, busy like Paris, and beautiful upon beautiful like all of the rest.

Spring Travels Part Three: Austria

Seeing Catherine in Salzburg.

I arrived in Salzburg Wednesday evening around 9 p.m. I hadn't seen Catherine in two years. She was waiting for me on the train tracks with open arms, and her beautiful sunshine-filled smile. After jumping up and down for a while, she and I headed to a bus back to her place. Catherine's place in Salzburg was as cozy as I would have dreamed up her place to be. She lived with three Austrian roommates in a spacious apartment with beautiful light wood everywhere you turned. Her room was big and open, with windows that overlooked her nice neighborhood, and calm street. We spent the first night catching up and hearing years of stories, changes, and adventures.

While I was in Austria, Catherine and I saw all of the big sights - the Mirabella gardens, Mozart statue, famous streets downtown, the mansion where the Sound of Music was filmed, and climbed the mountains up and around the city. My favorite parts of my trip were the parts that were not so traditional and acutely part of the unique life Catherine had developed there, which included: a trip to the organic food market, visiting her friend's magical store next to her house, taking a break dancing class at the local university outside the city (basically in the country, which was INCREDIBLY beautiful), going to her fancy gym and taking a yoga class, eating at her favorite indian and vegan restaurants, and hanging out in her room - getting extra sleep, doing a bit of yoga, and late night talks... And of course the silly parts of the trip were some of my favorite times as well, the all time best being a posing session with various statues in the Mirabella gardens.

To see pictures of this lovely séjour in Austria, go to the following website. Catherine posted up my pictures online:

http://www.pbase.com/bergwiese/caitlinsvisit&page=all

And to get a taste of our breakdancing experience, check out this video Catherine made of her teaching her Catholic high school students one day after school!

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=upGxvLLycPc

Spring Travels Part Two: Italy

Italy.

Bologna and Venice. Two nights in Bologna, three in Venice. Daily diet: cappuccino with pastry, slice o’ pizza and water, pasta and wine. High living. Bologna ‘la rosa’ was indeed covered in a rosy glow when Dan and I came into town. The weather was beautiful. We arrived on a Friday afternoon. We took a taxi to our hotel, Albergo Atlantic, which was only about fifteen minutes.

The streets of Bologna shrouded us in a cloud of warm red – porticos extending for as far as we could see. Shops with cigarettes, chocolate, pastries, cappuccino met us at every corner. We walked these streets fairly soon after settling into our room, which was warm and clean. I was exhausted, and excited by the large beds, with clean sheets, white linens, and large pillows. We had arrived in Italy!

Our stay in Bologna was short and beautiful. Dan spent a fair amount of time with his ex-girlfriend (Italian, a bologna resident), which left me to wander the streets and churches on my own. I enjoyed this time a great deal. My favorite spot in the city was a large church called Eglisa San Dominco. The Ciampo where I found it, was tucked away in a southern part of the city, and seemed to be one of the more open Ciampo’s, with lighting that made the church and cobblestones around it glow under the feet of the few passerby. There were a few shops near the Ciampo, but mostly residential streets that led to other quiet parks, filled with the sunlit weekend days.

We ate some really good food the first night there at a family Trattoria place that was Maria Teresa’s favorite restaurant (Dan’s ex). It was an interesting meal for me, picking up the Italian I could from my base in French and spotty spanish. I understood more than I had expected to, so I was pleased.

Venice was the dream that I had always heard it to be, I felt as if I had landed myself in some sort of European, urban, marine-cultured oasis with good food, beautiful people, and culture at every corner. Our one start hotel proved to be an amazing find – nice people, cozy and surprisingly elegant rooms, and a view over Venesian rooftops and the nightly setting sun... Food in Venice was amazing, every walk a trip into an imagination’s heaven, shopping a danger and an indulgence we explored as rarely as possible, and the canals simply decadent at any time of day.

The first morning, I woke up earlier than Dan, determined to make it to our reduced price breakfast at the sister hotel. To get there, the people at the hotel had given me a little map, that seemed short and simple-enough to follow. Little did I know that my breakfast adventure would take me nearly half-way across Venice... it was a beautiful little escape. I took the close by tragietto to cross the canal, wandered through streets to find the dinky hotel with my reduced-price packaged continental breakfast. I sat outside, even though they had clearly not opened up for season, and it was starting to rain. On my walk home, it started to downpour. My local tragietto was closed because of the weather, so I found myself waiting with a large group of gondola drivers. In hindsight, it would have been an amazing photo – jade green canal to our left, clusters of black and white striped uniform Italian gondola rowers, and a black trench coated, soaked American lady trying to make her way back home... classic setup of course too for a cheezy romance to occur. So one of the striped uniform men sweeps the American lady away under his umbrella, steering her to another way to cross the canal.

Once back at the hotel, Dan and I took another walk and I made my way over to the Duke’s Palace to pay that grand monument a visit. Dinners were amazing in Venice. Other visits included: the Basilica, the Mariner Museum, and walks upon walks...

Spring Travels Part One: Poland

Between April 10 and May 2, I made it to four countries in Europe: Poland, Italy, Austria, and Spain. I haven’t written about these experiences yet, unsure of how I might best describe their magic. Still unsure, without any revelations on how best to translate and transmit my experience into the open air, I’m going to give it a shot...

Poland. Poland welcomed me by my American friend James Cabot, at the Warsaw airport on a fine Thursday evening. Having made friends with a Polish student, I was able to forewarn James of our late arrival, and surprise him by my savvy travel connections, aka calling from a polish number... We took the bus back to James’s apartment, which passed through the countryside outside Warsaw, the suburbs, and then through the city itself. Hopping off a block from his house, we seemed to be on a bustling street, although it felt tame in comparison to the heavy Paris bustle to which I was accustomed at the time.

His building was yellow, modern and well-kept looking. To the right, were a few shops and what looked like a kebob stop for late night wanderers. He had been telling me bits and pieces of Poland’s, and in particular Warsaw’s histories, and took the opportunity to explain the lock system and the real estate dilemmas in Warsaw since WWII. While his building remained extremely well kept and attractive looking, buildings across the street were in no way in similar condition. Run-down, and abandoned, he explained that these buildings suffered from land ownership disputes dating back to WWII.

I suppose I could easily walk through my entire weekend in Poland, describing every moment that brought me pleasure, fascination and a desire to learn more about the culture, language, and city, but that may be boring for any person who actually decides to read this blog. So I will recount in an (unedited) free style writing some of my favorites:

James’s apartment breathes space for so many and with such a view it makes you feel at ease. His rooms – clean, spacious, and warm, full of experience and comfort. The view out the window – you see construction right ahead, but behind is a city with history dating below the roots of the deepest foundation in front of you you see empty space where conflict was, and has not yet been resolved but some day coming perhaps they’ll find a way to answer themselves, bring peace.
The Uprising museum – dark history through dark walls in a prison-like state the visitors wander and gag at the images of our past. I wandered too, hours and hours, until light came once again and the city rumbled by my feet as I made my way home, to a place warm and clean.
Take me out dancing we said one night with wine and champagne that made our heads spin until it couldn’t last any more. I left, went outside only to find that my coat was left behind, friends, language, everything else too, but the jerk outside wouldn’t let my pretty ass in, looks like Poland’s trying something new for the dancers at the discotheque don’t see business when they want a sale.
Poland was Chopin’s homeland, so I saw a few times over the places where people venerate that man that musician who makes hearts weep over simple melody that no one but he could summon up from below or above wherever he found the skill the talent the dream to make something a piano an instrument a soul move.

Philly/NYC Weekend, Chris and Amanda's wedding!

Last weekend I travelled back to the East coast for a short stint in celebration of the marriage of my cousin, Chris, and his
(now) wife, Amanda. I flew to New York on Thursday, meeting up with my mom and dad around 4. I took a walk with mom in Central Park, through the zoo, past street musicians, and swarms of people outside to play. We passed the plaza, made a stop at a few stores, and made it back to their hotel with a few moments to spare before heading over to Will's place. I got to see my brother and his girlfriend's apartment. It is super cozy and comfortable.

Friday was spent going to class with my brother, seeing my dad's elementary school, my mom's house where she grew up and her elementary school, and then heading into Philly for the grand wedding weekend. Nearly as soon as we arrived at the hotel in Philly, we held a band practice for the rehearsal dinner toast. What a fun time! Oh my goodness we were funny :) The rehearsal dinner was very elegant, full of love and sincere words from friends and family of amanda and chris.

Saturday was just as busy as Thursday and Friday. We woke up around 9:30, wandered down to breakfast, to enjoy a great meal with Will and Maura, and Aunt Ann. The buffet was delicious, but was finished just in time to quickly throw on fancy dresses, get hair ready, shoes, etc. Then the wedding happened. Chris and Amanda were married, and we were all there to witness it. It was a beautiful moment, the church pristine, tears all around, a big white dress, a nice black suit, and people dressed to the T in all directions.

Celebrations began...! My family and I walked the music walk of fame along broad st., a must on my dad's to-do-list. That was about it before we had (once again) just-enough-time to get dressed again for the party. And what a party! We danced, ate, and chatted the night away!

Sunday was a bit of a let down after the high energy of the weekend. Brunch was nice in the morning, heading back to New York with mom and dad, and then spending some time with Maura and Will again in their apartment before making the nightmarish trip back home... that took a bit longer than expected. And now I am in home in my home far from home. love to all and happy 4th! caitlin

Home in Portland, backlogged on the blog, but happy and flying east for a wedding

Portland's crisp, warm summer weather has been welcoming me back nice and slow since last Friday when I flew in from Boston. I'm living with three guys from Reed in a beautiful residential neighborhood close to school. It is also close to a middle school that hosts little league base ball games every night... this has not yet failed to please me... and to push maternal urges I am not yet ready to have... Life feels relaxed. I'm in transition and in something of a culture shock, having moved from Paris to Boston to west coast... but old friends have been here to welcome me with open arms, and the city of portland has not lost its comfortable ease and charm. I am working on my travel log from the spring, along with photos, and will try to post them soon. God bless the magic we feel in our lives every day. Caitlin

Weekend de Pacques!

Easter weekend in Paris!! My friend Annie from Reed came to visit for the weekend to celebrate. Anu (another Reedie) and I went to meet her at the train station Friday afternoon. Poor Annie had hurt her foot the night before, and was suffering from a rather treacherous bruise on her inside arch. We took her home to ice and relax; and we all caught up for a bit of time.

Friday night was the CUPA soirée. I left Annie and Anu to relax chez moi, and left with friends to go to the American/French soirée. It was a good night, although the atmosphere of the party came perilously close to that of a middle school basement get-together.

We had a lazy Saturday morning, and made our way to Chartres for the afternoon, with Annie’s friend Anindya as well. The Cathedral was beautiful. Windows upon windows full of ancient stories and depictions marked in brilliant colour normally fill the church with blasts of color. As it was a fairly overcast (and freezing) day, the church was very dark. We could still see the intricately mastered windows, but the flowing night was left mostly to the imagination. My favorite part of the Church was a piece of silk fabric that supposedly dates back to the FIRST century, (yes first) and was acclaimed to be part of Mary’s scarf.

We didn’t do too much walking around in the town, since Annie’s foot wasn’t in top-shape, but we did have enough time to enjoy some of the events going on in celebration of Easter weekend, which were part of the Chartres Easter Festival. A favorite free show - homegrown tech-tonic dancing, the star being a small agile kid who I imagine was probably somewhere around 9 years old. He was rad. Anu and I tried to re-create the magic throughout the rest of the day. We were told it was not quite the same.

Annie and I started off Easter Sunday by going to an 11 o’clock Episcopalian service at the American Cathedral. This Cathedral is beautiful. It was a nice service. After Church, we had a quiet meal at home. The rest of the day was spent in preparation for the soirée to come. Around 8, friends gathered chez moi for a joyous feast of chocolate, pasta, salad, bread and cheese, and devilled eggs (not in that order). Between courses, we rummaged up energy to have a few easter egg hunts, and after dinner we indulged in more chocolate and played a few silly games. Around midnight most people left, except Annie, Anu, and Tibo. We four stayed up for a bit more to watch a film about a group of people (from France) who are summoned by their mother’s will to make the trek to St. Jacques Compostalle. I was supremely and contentedly exhausted, and promptly fell asleep when the movie began...

Monday was spent saying goodbye to friends, cleaning, sleeping, and relaxing. I thank God for a very blessed and peaceful Easter weekend.

Londres!

Last weekend I went to London with my Mom. She came over to see me for the weekend, and stayed on a few extra days to see some friends. We stayed in Sloane Square. We both arrived Thursday night and celebrated with a first late dinner out, which was soon followed by several other late night “out-on-the town” dinners.

We spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday getting the most out of that beautiful and grand city. Friday began with a long walk through London’s central parks – Hyde Park (with a stop at Serpentine Lake), Green Park (with a stop at Buckingham Palace), and St. James’ Park (with a stop by some beautiful swans), which brought us to the Westminster Abbey area. We spent a bit of time in the Parliament buildings – perusing through the ancient building, hearing a debate in the House of Commons, and checking out the House of the Lords. After walking and touring all morning, we stopped at a traditional English pub for a quick bite to eat before checking out Westminster Abbey and St. Margarite’s Church, that lies just “à côté.” Westminster Abbey was jam-packed with ancient gems – tombs of Richard III, Queen Elizabeth and her half-sister Mary, Mary Queen of Scott’s, Henry IV... memorials for Poet’s like Dickens, Shakespeare, and more... I was blown away. After touring the cathedral itself we took a peek at the cloister, the Abbey’s museum (full of ancient clothes of the royalty listed above), and England’s oldest door – a wooden, worn away door supposedly dating back to 1030... Our day was topped off with a viewing of the musical, Hairspray, a musical that will never grow old. It’s hilarious moments, upbeat music, and treatment of issues of race and beauty image in the 60s make it a highly enjoyable experience... that is, if you’re one for cheezy musicals :)

Saturday. Saturday started off with a bang with a successful voyage on the Tube, and a tour of the Globe Theatre in Bankside, London. After a few moments in the Globe museum, we bustled to the artificial tree in the middle of the museum to meet our tour guide. The theatre was incredible. I loved its thatch roof and open ceiling. Images of Shakespeare’s plays sprawl before your eyes in the creative space ... even images from Shakespeare in Love! After our tour, Mom and I headed to the St. Paul Cathedral. This – like Westminster Abbey – is another sacred space full of ancient treasures. With a much more modern feel than the Abbey, this light, enormous Cathedral houses the tombs of other famous figures such as Florence Nightengale, William Blake, and the Duke of Wellington. In this Cathedral lies the famous “Whisper Gallery,” which you can access by climbing up a decent amount of stairs, to the first of several higher galleries. Mom made the trek up. I rested on the first floor, staring up at the massive dome, before heading down to the crypt. After the Cathedral, mom and I headed over to the Bond St. Tube station to see the Wallace Collection. We had a brief lunch there, and then spent a couple of hours looking through the free museum. What a collection! The mansion is stocked with Rembrant, Titian, Boucher, and Fragonard paintings, ancient furniture and portraits of various royalty... It was impressive. Saturday was topped off with a visit to another show – Billy Elliot! Although a bit more somber than Hairspray, it too was enjoyable – 13 year old dancer tore the floor apart with his accomplished tap, jazz, modern, and ballet dancing, as well as bits of gymnastics and singing here and there! “Dancing... it’s like electricity!”

Sunday. Palm Sunday. Mom and I went to Church at the Trinity Church of England in Sloane Square. It was a nice service. The Church was big, but small enough to maintain an element of coziness. After Church, we headed to the Charles Dickens museum. Oh, this was such a cool thing to do! I loved it! The museum was founded in 1925 in the second house that Charles Dickens lived in after moving to London. He lived there with his wife Catherine around the age of 25 for a couple of years. He wrote all of Oliver Twist while living in this house, some of his earlier, minor works, as well as the Nicholas Nichleby series... Original manuscripts of his works are housed there, including a rare, experiment copy of his Christmas stories, with a title page that was printed in red and green. After the museum, we headed back to Sloane Square to have some “down time,” and for me to get ready to go. We had an early dinner on King St. (which runs off Sloane Square) at a yummy italian restaurant, and then packed me on to the tube in time to make my night train back to Paris.

Skiing at Chamonix with Christy and Sweta