Language Barrier

First of all, French key boards are incredibly frustrating to type on, so I'm just going to type how I normally do, just to make things interesting! So, J qnd I hqve been in Pqris for al,ost q week noz qnd qre hqving q greqt time: Zent to the Eifel Tozer qnd the Louve yesterdqy: I think the huge crowd zqs just as interesting qs the Mona Lisa itself: Definqtely enjoying the french food qnd zine: Ze qre beco,ing mqsters of the French trqin stystem: It's amazing hoz intimate you can get zith co,plete strqngers qround rush hour!

Angelq qnd her girls hqve been greqt hosts qnd hqve helped us so much: The girls qre very curious qbout Qmericqn culture qnd just as ze qre equally interested qbout the french: They hqve been greqt teqchers: They're 3 cats hozever, hqve not been so kind: J and I hqve probqbly gone through q box of tissue qlreqdy!

You dont reqliwe hoz dependent you qre on communicqtion until you cqnt do it: just simple things like qsking zhere the toilettes qre or ze cqn ze get a bottle of zine qnd some breqd qround here?! The phrqse 'Parle vous Engle' hqs come in hqndy on severql occqsions: Have tqken lots of greqt photos: Ze'll try to post them soon!

Au Vios
~ Michelle

Bienvenue à Paris

So we have made it to Paris (we're in a neighborhood called Antony staying with family friends and daughters). So far we've only seen Paris by plane, train, and bus (not a fair sample). I must say that we impressed ourselves by navigating the airport and tram system, buying train tickets, catching the train, and getting off at the correct place with a language barrier (obviously minimal questions were asked). Today we hope Angela's lovely daughters will be able to show us around a bit. A couple of notes so far: 1) the French computer keyboard is completely different (so it's taking me a very long time to type and forget about spell check) 2)Although we had less than a 10 min rain shower, once we started to get cleaned up for the day, the sun came back out. It's further proof that we are bringing the sun! We're not sure what today's plans include...love that. Tonight we are probably going to an English trivia-game dinner. I'm not convinced M and I will rock that as much as we should.

Hope everyone is doing very well. I'll/we'll be posting once we know more and have seen more. Another note: because of the speed difference with typing (and the fact that the girls have to go to school early), I may not be able to respond to individual emails for awhile. Have no fear, our adventure continues and we will try to keep you all updated.

-Justin

Land Squatting

So by definition, how long can we stay in one place before we technically own it? In case anyone is counting, today we paid for our 6th day in Killarney! Yup, we started here after Dublin (which as Michelle said, was a complete cluster) with 2 days reserved. On the 2nd day, we woke up and said we wanted another 2 days. Yesterday (Thursday) we decided another 2 days would only be appropriate. I can't say that we've spent a lot of time in the actually town of Killarney (other than St. Patrick's day. We watched the pro-town and economically boosting parade). Instead, we've spent most of our time walking through the Killarney National Forest, sitting and thinking on wonderfully comfortable rocks (which are perfectly shaped to lay on) on beautiful lake beaches, seeing old castle ruins, walking 5k one way to old houses with beautiful gardens, or literally discovering old wall ruins in the middle of forest pee breaks. Might I add a couple of journal entries and drawing sessions. This leg of the trip has been very beneficial to us. I think we definitely needed some re-connection, recharging time. Now that our crystals are cleansed (and yes, I did get a chance to cleanse mine in Lough Leane), our souls are a little inspired, and our minds are energized, I think we're ready to continue on our travels...that is unless we totally adopt this place. We are now calling everything "our." For example, our rock, our beach, our mountain, our lake, our lake-viewing spot, our secret garden, etc. Another couple of things we've "picked up" since we've been here: a horrible, unsatiable appetite for Cadbury chocolate (yes, it's gotten that bad!), Bailey's (we finished our 2nd bottle today...we bought and finished our 1st one on St. Patty's), and a salami, cheese, bread combo (which packs wonderfully well for our day-long trips). In addition, our living arrangement has rocked. Our hostel, Neptune's Hostel...highly recommend it, gave us a 6-person room with just the 2 of us! We moved today since they were losing serious revenue, but we're now in a private 2-bedroom. The vibe here only adds to our experience. It's so great that our nightly routine consists of showering, eating, playing King's Corner card game, and drinking tea and Bailey's. We only live about a block from the supermarket so we've been making our own food, which is wonderful and cheap (and for anyone that knows me, that means Michelle has been making wonderful food and I've been washing dishes and prepping the salads...and pouring hot water).

Our next plans consist of enjoying our last day here. We leave for Cork, Ireland and stay there for 2 days, then we're off to Paris!

Another thing I would like to add: I think today is the spring or vernal equinox. How amazing is that? To be in Ireland, the land of the Druids, on the ceremonial first day of spring...yes, I believe there is significance in that.

-Justin

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Justin and I arrived in Killarney yesterday evening and are so excited for a change of pace. The big city life can be a little overwhelming, especially in Dublin where a million people come to party Irish style. But let me tell you a little bit about "Irish style" in Dublin. Picture the biggest frat party you've ever seen and multiply it by a hundred. Add some "I love rock n' roll" and "Man, I feel like a woman" No wonder there weren't even any Irish people there! We made the best of Dublin, but it wasn't really our seen. Now picture this: rolling hills covered in some many different shades of green it looks like a patchwork quilt. Add some cows and sheep. And some "Top O' the mornin' to ya" and that's Killarney. We are also surrounded by mountains and forest which makes the air smell like pine and old stone. We are staying at Neptune's hostel which has a rustic charm to it. Beautiful weather has been following us everywhere. We've had nothing but sunshine everywhere we've gone. Still cool, but not wet. We are going to take a walk to Ross Castle this morning which is in a national park and overlooks a lake. There is a spot on the peninsula were you can't see a single house. Then there is a parade through the town center at 2:00 we are going to watch. At 7:00 our hostel is holding a free bbq to celebrate. We have one more night here, but we're thinking of booking one more. Then we will probably head down to Cork and then fly from there to Scotland. After that... Paris!! So, as you can tell, things are going great, and we are having a lovely time (lovely is a word we've adopted from the British vocabulary, along with brilliant). We are planning on posting pictures when we get to Paris and have free Internet, so just hang in there a little while longer. We have some great ones!! Miss and love you all!

¬ Michelle

Delayed Jetlag

We had a pretty wild night at the hostel last night. Justin is no longer allowed to drink cheap wine with South African chics with relationship problems or Australian musicians who have lived in the hostel for 3 months. (Sorry chicas, you're amazing! Hopefully we'll get to see you again in Amsterdam! Good luck with your jobs and your hearts!) Needless to say, we weren't feeling in tiptop shape this morning. We got up for breakfast then crawled right back into bed for a midmorning nap. Our recovery nap lasted about 3 hours and then it was time to eat again. We didn't want the whole day to go to waste, so we walked down the street to the Natural History Museum. We learned yesterday that in England you pay to go in churches but museums are free. Fantastic! We looked at dinosaurs, mammals, and a whole room full of cases of rocks and gems. That of course was our favorite!

Did a little souvenir shopping in the one shop we could find. As always it was accompanied by a 3 mile walk trying to figure out how the hell to get back to our hostel. Wiped out once again, we took yet another nap until dinner time. We think we found where the 7 hour time difference went. Hopefully we're all caught up now so we don't miss anymore precious exploring time.

-Michelle and Justin

Angry Feet

Justin and I had an amazing night sleep last night. Got up early for the free breakfast downstairs in the kitchen: cornflakes, banana, and toast with peanut butter. We discovered a brochure for a free walking tour of the city and decided to go for it. We had about 2 hours until it started, so we went to the grocery market down a block away and bought turkey, cheese, french bread, yogurt and cottage cheese for our lunch later. At 9:45 we left the hostel and walked through Kensington Gardens and Hyde park to the meeting spot of the tour. Our guide was great; she was actually Irish but knew a lot about the city. The tour was about 2 hours long and led us through the city to all the highlights, including my future residence, Buckingham Palace. I just have to meet my Prince Charming first ;-) We also saw Big Ben, Westminster Abby and the House of Parliament. By then, however, we found ourselves on the opposite side of the city from our hostel with incredibly full bladders, empty stomachs and angry feet. Using a very basic city map, we managed to navigate our way back to home sweet hostel. Over all we estimated that we walked over 15 miles in 5 hours. We could have kissed the hostel steps when we arrived!! We immediately exchanged our hiking shoes for flip flops and limped to the kitchen for sandwiches. As Justin described it, it was "nirvana". A 2 hour nap was definitely in order, so we passed out for awhile.

Next item on the agenda was laundry in the bathroom sink. We are now professional washwomen!! We even rigged a clothes line and everything. Then it was dinner time. Walked to the market again for olive tomato hummus, french bread, olives and feta cheese, and a bottle of wine. I think we will learn very quickly that one bottle of wine will never be enough. The food was amazing and we met a group of girls from South Africa who also enjoyed our passion for Vino Tinto. Needless to say we had to take another wine walk to the market. We have enjoyed a bottle of Bordeaux and a Rioja, and lots of great conversation. And hey.....our feet, along with everything else are feeling pretty darn good at this point!

-Michelle

Cheerio!

So we made it! Yeah! 1/2 day down in London. So far, this trip is rockin'. Everything is going very smoothly! Back up: we left Reno on Monday and rode the bus to San Francisco. After wandering around for a little bit, learning about Belgium beer, crashing at a friend's place, and wandering around a bit more, we made it to SFO. We figured navigating the Muni and BART gave us some practice. The plane ride over here was extremely fast and actually very enjoyable. It could have something to do with the free wine that was provided (and taken advantage of). Admittedly, 3 glasses of "French" wine was definitely enough. Thank you British Airways.

After a few hours of post-drinking, high-altitude sleep (more enjoyable than it sounds), we landed in London. We went through a rather quick (but much longer than average) passport screening session. The guy had a tough time understanding that we're going to be here for 3.5 months, but we only have 1 week worth of plans. Go figure.

Hostel update: Our hostel, Astor Kensington, is only a few blocks from the tube station. It's actually pretty nice (luckily). There are 2 bunk beds, a total of 4 beds. We got here earlier than expected so we dropped our bags and ran out for some fish and chips and beer (of course). Ok, have to admit had my first cultural shock. I've never walked into a pub and had no idea what to do. So here's a few things we learned: 1) you order at the pub (or bar) and pay. 2) you find your own seat and they will drop off your food. 3) you get your own water (there's a pitcher at the pub and a few glasses). I should warn you that when you ask for water you get a look like you asked for something they've never heard of (that or it's the most disgusting thing ever). 4) you don't tip the server at a pub. 5) fish and chips served at The Queen's Arms (a pub that our receptionist recommended) comes with mashed peas, big fries, and almost the entire fish fried. Yes, it was good, but I may be cured on fried items for awhile. The dark ale was good. So then back to our hostel for some good nap time. A desired "cat nap" turned into a 3-hour snore session. Apparently we have roommates, but we haven't met them. Nothing like waking up and seeing someone's stuff just chillin' there. Thank you British Airways for the eye masks! Our ear plugs also need to be credited.

Anyway, we're trying to get some internet catch up time (at about £1 for 40 mins., which I guess is a steal). Oh yeah, one other thing: I learned the not so tough way that my cards are being declined. Luckily, when I did call the c.c. companies (and yes, I did do that), they told me that withdrawal fees are waived at Barclay's. So far, we've found a Barclay's, the post office, the bus stop, the tube station, and The Queen's Arms. We're off to a good start.

Talk to you all soon!
-Justin

Last Minute

Leave it up to me to post an entry the very last day I'm in Reno. It's about 6:45 a.m. on Monday the 9th. Within 6 hours, Michelle and I will be on a bus bouncing off our seats with excitement. Although this trip has been a long time coming, my pre-trip nerves, the frantic packing, and my goodbyes have made this past week fly.

Before I leave, I do want to say a couple things to some majorly important people. First of all, there are no such things as accidents (or more commonly known: everything happens for a reason). I have met some incredible people these last couple of weeks. Your involvement in my life has enhanced it tremendously! For my energy sisters (there may have been a brother), thanks for your assistance in bringing me back down. Remember to ground yourselves! For midnight-chat buddies, thanks for starting the process of tearing down walls. It was initially uncomfortable, but I'm beginning to find out a little bit of discomfort helps with growth. As Dr. Frankl says, "the truth- that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire...the salvation of man is through love and in love." For my girls, thanks for your friendship (not to mention the last few nights of partying). Good luck with your new job opportunities: Germany isn't that far away! If nothing else, it's a good excuse to eat nothing but bread, cheese, and drink lots of wine. For the long-distance girl, you're amazing! What a roller coaster the first five years were, but the last five (even with a state between us) have been very rewarding! I treasure you! Good luck with the boy, job, and golf. For my incredibly supportive family, thank you for everything!!!! You've been there through the thick and thin (and very hormonal, volatile mood swings). I love you so much! I promise to be safe and smart. Try not to worry. Yes, your little girl is growing up (I realize for some that's very appreciated). Lastly, thank you Michelle! This trip is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. There is nobody else that I'd rather explore an entire continent with!

So, here goes. Off to a new adventure and a new chapter in my life...

Love,
Justin

Mary Poppins

Justin and I did our major Walmart shopping trip tonight. As I'm sitting here looking at all of the stuff I've been accumulating and setting aside to pack, I'm wondering where Mary Poppins got her magic bag and if she could hook me up with one by next Monday. Luckily I'm a pretty good Tetris player, so I'm confident in my abilities to make this all fit, but, unfortunately, I don't have any tricks to make it weigh less. IB profin was definitely on our shopping list because I foresee some incredibly sore muscles in our future...at least until we adjust to our new pack mule/nomad lifestyle. Maybe Poppins and I could work out a deal for one of those flying umbrellas too!

-Michelle