Tour de Netherlands

We set out this morning on a trek that ended up being 31 beautiful miles.

A couple of handsome fellows we met. And fed.

Dutch parking lot

Coffee Break

These tasted even better than they look.

This horse's back itches.

This Nomadic Life

Last weekend we said goodbye to the Black Sea and Varna beaches, goodbye to our friends, goodbye to eight dollar nights on the town, goodbye to Bulgaria. We took a seven hour train ride across beautiful Bulgaria to spend a couple of days in Sofia before our flight to Paris. While slow and bumpy, the train ride was relaxing and the landscape was stunning. Majerle slept most of the trip draped over our laps.

At one point I got up to use the bathroom and was a little surprised to see that when looking down the toilet, I could see the train tracks. Apparently they did not have a very sophisticated commode. I went back to my seat and Brock got up to use the bathroom. I figured I'd let him see for himself and he came back with the same perplexed and disgusted look I must have had.

Sofia was a fun city to explore. There are impressive Orthodox churches, museums, parks everywhere, an extensive tram system, and a lot of cobbled streets. We visited the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky, one of the largest in the world. It was dark inside and while beautiful, it was hard to see all of the orthodox paintings which are usually so vibrant.

As soon as we boarded our France Air flight, I was thrilled to hear French again. Bulgarian is a beautiful language, but I really missed hearing and speaking French.

We didn't stay long in Paris. Our train to the Netherlands was departing from Gare du Nord. It was a hot and balmy day when we hauled our luggage through this high traffic station to catch our train. I was standing in a pedestrian area arranging our luggage when I felt myself being pushed forward and realized the back of a bus had bumped me while turning. Thankfully I had on a backpack, but sheesh!

The train to Liege, Belgium was the nicest train I've ever ridden. I let Majerle have his own seat this time so he could spread out. He had just chipped his tooth and I was feeling sorry for him for dragging him around Europe.

This is Majerle excited about his first ever train ride to Sofia:

This is him after a few days of travel with a freshly chipped tooth, poor guy.

Riding through Northeastern France into Belgium was beyond pleasant and picturesque. We arrived in Liege with a half hour before our final short train to Maastricht. While waiting on the platform which was partially enclosed by an impressive structure, we heard horns honking and vuvuzelas from the streets below. I figured the World Cup semi-finals between Germany and Spain had just ended and by the sound of things, Germany must have won. I mean we were in Belgium so they must have been rooting for Germany, but our cab driver told us Spain actually won. I was really hoping for a German/Dutch rivalry in the finals.

After a few days of traveling, I was relieved to finally be in the Netherlands. We are staying in a village called Voerendaal near the city of Heerlen. This area is rural but with large cities nearby and is close to the Belgian and German borders. It is splendid here!! Everyone rides bikes and the bike lanes are better than most streets. It takes us about ten minutes to ride bike into Heerlen which we have been doing a couple of times each day. There are horses across the street and just down the street is a farmer who has a store front where we can get our eggs and produce. The air is fresh, the villages are quaint and charming, the people are some of the friendliest I have ever met. Six months living in European cities has made me very ready for this slower pace, but I'm thankful a city is also nearby so we have the best of both worlds. I am looking forward to travels around this area and to Belgium and Germany, but I am also looking forward to lots of days spent simply reading, riding bike, cooking, and walking my dog. The simple things! And I'd say this was a pretty good place to see the Netherlands play in the World Cup finals last night.

My Favorite Paris Eateries & Drinkeries

In honor of my return to Paris in a few days, I want to finally devote a blog to commending what I consider to be some of the very best places to convert Euros into food in France's capital.

In the land of a billion restaurants, patisseries, boulangeries, and brasseries, it can be difficult to locate the really good ones among the average or below average ones that will gladly take your money and provide mediocre food. I had plenty of meals during which I immediately regretted my choice to go there. I hate wasting a single meal on bad food in Paris when I know that some of the best foods in the world are out there.

Fortunately I also stumbled upon many places that were incredible. I found some thanks to internet reviews, and so I intend to perpetuate this cycle by providing my own recommendations.

So here they are, my favorite Paris restaurants and bars:

L'Avant Comptoir - Spanish & French hors d'oeuvres bar with excellent mini plates of food & ridiculously cheap but delicious wine. Found this place on my last night in Paris & desperately wish I had found it sooner. It's a tiny restaurant, so there's squishy standing room only, but of course this prompts one to say bonjour to the other patrons and engage in great conversation (neighborhood: Saint Germain; metro: Odeon)

Le Temps Perdu - Amazing traditional French food in an elegant but rustic atmosphere, generous portions and much value for the reasonable prices. The staff was among the most friendly and helpful I ever encountered in Paris. I had the duck confit which was juicy and fantastic and was served over crispy, olive-oil fried hash browns. In an area where small, overloaded restaurants prevail, this one was spacious and classically decorated (neighborhood: Saint Germain; metro: Mabillon)

Comme A La Maison - Dainty & sweet little restaurant with pretty decor and a view of an open square. The menu is small (2 choices or so from each category) but with irresistable food. The old fashioned REAL hot chocolate is served similarly to Angelina (in a small pot with a glass of water to wash it down) and may not be quite as thick but is as rich and the atosphere, though drastically different, is better. Especially if a group of local kids start a pickup soccer game in the square despite the pouring rain, which occurred when I was there. (Neighborhood: Village Saint Paul; Metro: St. Paul)

Le Hangar - Small but impeccable portions of upscale French dishes, lovely & accommodating staff, and whether or not you order dessert, you get a nice little treat at the end of the meal. I ordered duck and potatoes at this restaurant too, and it was seriously perfection. Slices of duck on top of mashed potatoes that made me forget anything I ever liked about a Thanksgiving turkey. Everyone dining together tried each other's meals and none of us could decide whose was better. This is the kind of restaurants that will always be successful from word of mouth alone. One can't help but tell others to go there. (Neighborhood: Les Halles/Centre Pompidou; Metro: Rambuteau)

Dix - Sangria Bar where Toulouse-Lautrec style art cozily surrounds you. Feels the way Paris might have felt in the 60s, maybe, but what do I know? I do know that the sangria is as good as it gets and is priced for the local college crowd at 4 euros per glass. (neighborhood: Saint Germain; metro: Odeon)

Chez Prune - Perfect spot to rest from a long walk on Canal Saint-Martin to have a pitcher of sangria. This is the closest establishment I've found in Paris to what one might stumble upon on any given street in Barcelona. The bartenders were all hippies and the decor was eclectic but still rustically French. The view of the canal from the patio evokes scenes from Amelie throwing stones. Witnessing the canal's lock system carrying little ferries up and down the canal is certainly entertaining. I think when Americans picture themselves spending an afternoon whisked off to a Parisian cafe, this is what they really want. (Neighborhood: Canal St. Martin; Metro: Republique)

To me, one of the best parts of traveling is the process of searching for wherever I will fulfill my ideal visions of that city, often through food, always through atmosphere. I'm sure I barely scratched the surface of Paris, but these are the places I will visit the next time I'm there and they are the places I'll see, hear, taste, and smell in my dreams of my short life in Paris.

Soccer Fanaticism, Euro Style

Being in Europe for the World Cup has been intriguing and enlightening. I do not fancy myself a soccer fan, but I've enjoyed the entertainment by taking in several games so far. Thanks to our Bulgarian friends, I have learned more than I ever wanted to know about this crazy sport.

I road tripped to Greece this past week and arrived just in time on Tuesday night to grab a gyro and catch the Greece versus Argentina game. A few Greeks reminded us of their Euro 2004 win and watched with pride, but quieted down when it was clear they weren't going to win. We were walking through the streets of a seaside village deciding where to eat and watch while the buzzing of the vuvuzelas was coming at us from every direction, from restaurants, apartments, car radios. I'm used to this, however, because in Varna, the streetside cafes and bars all have televisions outside broadcasting the games, so the whole town sounds like faint out-of-tune trumpets are playing in the distance. If the wind is just right, I can even hear the sound while laying on the beach from the beach bar tvs. And I've gotten pretty good at estimating the score of any given game since I can hear fans cheering or jeering from the nearby bars no matter what room of my apartment I'm in.

While I don't really grasp the sport, and I have plenty of criticisms with the logistics that I think I understand (but probably don't), it has been enjoyable to see the enthusiasm these Europeans have for the game. We of course patriotically cheered on the Americans and were usually in the minority. A couple nights ago we watched the game against Ghana and I heard the guys next to us speaking French, the people behind us speaking Dutch, and the rest of the fans were Bulgarians or Russians. Only the French guys were cheering on America with us. Regardless of sides, it was exciting to be part of something bringing people together from all parts of the world and hearing so many languages being spoken.

I probably won't watch many more games since America is out, but I'm looking forward to watching the finals from another part of Europe. I've heard the Dutch are pretty good fans. I'll be cheering for the home team if they're still in it. When it's all over, I doubt I'll watch soccer again for a few years, but I might actually miss the football scene over here, including the vuvuzelas.

How It's Done

When we meet people in Varna, they want to know why we're here of all places, why we chose Bulgaria. They start by asking if it's for work or for school. People are surprised by our response: "No, we're just living!" Friends and family have asked how we are doing this financially. I mean we own two homes in Phoenix and we haven't won the lottery.

When we made the decision a couple of years ago that we wanted to live overseas, we drastically changed our spending. I have always been a saver, so it wasn't difficult for me, but with a goal such as this it was even easier to make changes in our lives. Not once did I ever feel even slightly deprived. In fact, I think Brock and I both simply realized that we should have been living that way all along and that we will live that way from now on.

We still took vacations (usually camping in Rocky Point), we still ate at our favorite Phoenix restaurants, we still enjoyed life. We simply cut out the things we didn't need because we knew that the lifestyle we would enjoy would be worth it.

When we started planning this I basically stopped shopping. If I needed anything, I first looked at Goodwill, then Ebay, then I usually realized I could live just fine without that "thing". For the past two years, my only clothes shopping took place at Buffalo Exchange, Goodwill, or ConsignMint. If I really needed something for the house, I went to Qcumber or My Sister's Attic. I quit buying books and became a regular at the Arcadia library. If I bought a book, it was always used and I usually sold it right back for only slightly less. I purchased gifts for my niece and nephews at Urban Baby, where there are tons of brand new children's clothes with the tags on for a fraction of the original price.

I constantly equated the purchase of anything with the loss of a future experience and so the choice to not buy became simple. Before moving we spent months posting ads on Craigslist and Ebay to get rid of the many things in our lives we didn't need. Brock was much better at letting go than I was. I remember when a girl came to buy my cute little green bistro set and Brock talked her into buying our black contemporary (second-hand) set of bar stools and I was so sad to see these things go for some reason. But the more clutter in our lives that we shed, the better I felt and the less attached to all of this stuff I became.

As we watched our stuff go and considered how much we had spent and how little it was now worth, we immediately decided that we will always buy second-hand when possible, and it's almost always possible. The items we had purchased used were the only items we sold for almost as much as we had paid.

There are so many other things we did to save money, and they're all easy! I rode my bike, took the Light Rail, or carpooled to work. We bought minimal items at the farmer's market that we actually used instead of mindlessly filling our huge refrigerator with too many groceries that would go unused. We planted herbs, peppers, and tomatoes in our tiny patio garden and made meals from scratch based on these ingredients. While people at work would talk about how their frozen lean cuisine only cost $3 at Walmart, my fresh spiced couscous and beans (both purchased in bulk from Sprouts) meal cost about 25 cents. All of these little savings really do add up.

I wish I could say we truly sold all of our things, but my parents with a garage in ND filled with boxes would disagree. We did, however, make enough money in selling stuff to pay for our plane tickets here and about a month's rent in Paris. The sale of our two cars didn't hurt either. And we are in no hurry to buy cars again, even when we return to the States.

Living without all of those things I left in my parents' garage (and sometimes I have difficulty remembering what's all there), has made me want to live without. When I return home, I will probably resume my Craigslisting and Ebaying to shed even more weight. We have now been in Europe 5 months and living out of a suitcase has been great! Sure I will be happy to use my own pots & pans & dishes, and sleep on my own comfy mattress, ride my bike, and have an American sized closet, but I'm happy to know that I'm no longer attached to those things like I once was, because they're just things. And when I was back in Phoenix in my beautiful home, sitting on my cozy couch, watching movies on an HD plasma tv, I was dreaming about being where I am now. None of those luxuries could replace all of this.

Beach Behaviors

In my opinion...

Children should not wear thongs.

Men should not wear thongs.

A bra is not a substitute for a swimsuit.

Men should not have binoculars at the beach. (exception being lifeguards)

Topless women in thongs should not lay on top of their Speedo-clad boyfriends for make out sessions.

Children should wear swimsuits. Especially if said children are in elementary school.

Bikinis aren't for everyone....

Several weeks of observing beach behaviors here have led me to develop strong opinions on this subject. Some of these opinions are based on much more extreme examples than I care to describe. For instance, the making out part is putting my observations mildly to say the least. And I've seen children as old as 12 bathing suit-less or wearing mere thongs.

Call me old fashioned, but I still believe in leaving something to the imagination. Around here, I'm clearly in the minority on this mindset.

Bulgarian Education and Culture Day and Slavonic Literature Day

Bulgarians love to celebrate. In just the 6 weeks we've been here, there have been 3 major holidays: Labor Day, St. George's Day, and the Bulgarian Education and Culture Day/Slavonic Literature Day this past Monday which coincided with the final day of the Historical Seas Tall Ships Regatta. In this family-centered culture, holidays are taken seriously and are spent elaborately.

I had the fortune of spending St. George's Day with a Bulgarian family in their village home and I will try to explain that cultural experience in another post. Monday's holiday was spent very differently. My apartment is right off the main square and so while drinking my coffee on the patio Monday morning I heard some commotion coming from the square. It sounded like a marching band. I walked outside to find that an insanely large mob was making its way down the square towards the Sea Gardens and the beach. Inside the mob was a marching band that the people seemed to be following. Young girls were dressed in traditional Bulgarian dresses and women were holding bouquets of flowers. Apart from the band, there was nothing else indicating an official parade so I thought perhaps there would be something at the end of their march and I joined in to find out. They all dispersed at the Sea Gardens, some going to the beach, others lining up for ice cream and popcorn, many grouping up to take photos. I walked back towards my apartment and the mob was still coming; it seemed neverending. I sat on a bench to watch for awhile and finally went home, realizing there was really no central event going on.

A bit later, Brock and I walked back outside and as we got towards the sea and noticed that the mobs were either on the beaches or along the Sea Garden looking out. We realized that for the Regatta's final day, the 70 or so sail boats were all out on the sea cruising around for the people to see and to warm up before their race to Istanbul. It was an amazing sight, so many sail boats of all sizes sailing together.

The event supposedly drew a crowed of 200,000. We had visited the Regatta and checked out some of the sail boats from around the world while they were on display at the port. They were very impressive, reminding me of Pirates of the Caribbean. The highlight for me was the Indonesian vessel. On board were musicians and dancers performing some traditional numbers.

Saturday there was a parade that included representatives of each sail boat in the contest, so there were bands, dancers, and sailors from all over the world, making it one incredible parade. I suppose this is why I was a bit let down when Monday's parade-like event was nothing more than a marching band leading the entire town to the sea front.

If Monday's holiday was anything like St. George's Day, I expect that after the town saw the sailors off to Istanbul, they went home for a long day of eating and drinking... but more on that later.