Veules les Roses, Normandy, France

Monday, 12 August

Caveat- totally waxing poetic on this one.. something about the French countryside, clean sea air, rolling meadows and flowery fields have sent my senses into a bit of overdrive.  you have been warned.  

Slept in a bit, coffee, french bread and a croissant for breakfast, and then Astrid, Matthew and I left for a little town situated on the coast called Veules les Roses.

Gorgeous blue skies, large puffy while clouds with a few gradients of grey - not the dark and stormy type but the grey that give clouds depth yet still reinforce a the dream of a carefree summer day.  Basically, a perfect day for driving through picturesque French villages  on the way to the coast.  

The drive was beautiful.  Absolutely, fantastically beautiful... with a cheezy French station on the radio*, cows and sheep in fields, flowers in a million colors and in full bloom along the roadway, and great company.  Yeah, that smug grin was firmly planted on my face again. (*we were listening to this nostalgia station that played a mix of US and French songs spanning decades.  At some point I realized that I was listening to this crazy, like 15 minute long song that was a total montage of 50's, 60's and early 70's American and British pop songs, sung in English, but with an adorable French accent.  Awesome).  

I mentioned that this was the MOST picturesque place I have ever experienced- so instead of wasting words I'm just going to share a few of the photos I took while we walked around (honestly, cannot even post all of them as the page wouldn't load if I did... these are just a few of my favorites)  

Like I said- beautiful, gorgeous day with beautiful views... 

I give you the French side of the English Channel.

We had lunch at a yummy restaurant with great views... the building in the corner of this shot..  

To be honest, I don't know much about this town other than it's beautiful; every direction I turned provided a stunning view, and there were so many gorgeous designs and details built into virtually every house, gate, fence, etc that I could not help but smile and constantly mutter to Astrid and Matthew (and more often than not to myself) about how surreally lovely the town was.  

Someone lives here.  I mean, SERIOUSLY!?!? 

Someday I will have a garden that looks like this and I will throw fantastical garden parties with amazing food and ridiculous amounts of champaign.  

You can't really tell, but there was a stream just to the left of the flower bets, and the wheel in the background was actually functioning.

This spot made me think of my mom :) 

After a few hours of meandering about (and Astrid and Matthew stopping every two seconds for me to take a picture, or mutter about how stunning the day was, or how cool a garden gate was, or how beautiful a flower bed was arranged, or... well, you get the idea) we decided to wrap up and start making our way back towards Rouen.  We popped into a local butcher for freshly made sausages and pâté, then hit up a bakery and picked up a bit of fresh bread for a small dinner party they were throwing that night... 

All in all a lovely, wonderful day.  

Astrid and Matthew are just too cute :)  So grateful to them for having me over, and for being such amazing, welcoming and lovely hosts!!!

Rouen, Normandy, France

Sunday 11 August 

Central Rouen is one of the most beautiful and picturesque places in the world.  The center of Rouen has architecture that spans centuries- from remnants of viking conquests to 11th century structures to the crazy number of churches built betweennthe 1600 - 1800's.  The River Seine runs through the city, dividing it between the north and south.  Traditionally, the northern part of the city is where the old city center was, along with a lot of the wealth and was considered the "posh" neighborhood in the city, but it sounds like that is changing..  And thankfully, I have a few friends that live here and were gracious enough to play host and walk me around :)

One of the things the city is well known for is this is where they burned Joan of Arc in 1431.

We walked by the site- it was a bit surreal to see to be honest.  

There was an old church from the 15th century built next to the actual spot, but apparently it was all but destroyed in WWII.  Someone rebuilt it in the 1970's and I have to admit, it is one of the oddest looking churches, especially given the circumstances, that I've ever seen.  It is built on top of the original ruins, but it's got those funky 70's lines and it's just weird.  I didn't take a photo as it was just too ugly, but I sorta wish I had now :)  Otherwise here are a couple shots from the actual site: 

Meandering about the central, historical part and hearing the history, looking at the build dates carved into the structures I was amazed at how cohesive (and peaceful) it looked- you would think that a building from the 16th century built up against one from the 14th century and then another from 1860 something would look odd, but somehow, it all totally just works here. 

"Half-timbered" buildings from the 15th-16th century were everywhere in the city..  

I love how buildings this old are so common place here.  Locals are like yeah, it's six centuries old, whatever... 

Because a lot of these buildings were build right up against each other it appears that they have come to rely on them for support.  When there is a shift or change in the neighboring structure, one may start leaning.. severely.  

Buildings spanning centuries, with a bit of present day shrubbery to tie it all together :) 

Something tells me it wasn't always quite such a peaceful, placid village... 

  

But it seems quite tame now.. 

In its heyday*, Rouen was extremely wealthy (*whenever that was.. to be honest I was too busy walking around and taking it all in and listening to the antidotal stories from Matthew, Erik and Astrid to ask about more detailed historical dates :)  If you really are about to pee your pants in anticipation of a detailed history of Rouen, go to your friend and mine, wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen

There are churches everywhere.  I don't mean one or two sprinkled about.. I mean every corner, street or block has like three.  Gothic churches abound and have been painted by the likes of Monet several times.. 

And as the capital of Normandy, Rouen has a fair number of very old, intimidating and official looking structures about, in addition to the churches and everything else.. 

And because it's France, ergo the signs are in French, everything is just so damn cute, adorable, makes you want to just throw up it's so precious (and I love it!!)

This is the oldest restaurant in France.  It was quite cute actually!

Adorable!!! 

There is so much to see here, and so much history I would definitely love to come back and be able to spend more than an afternoon walking about. It looks like there are museums to explore, parks to walk about, and too many churches to oogle at from the inside as well as the outside, all while taking many breaks to enjoy lovely French red and fantastic cheese :) 

Viva La France!!

Tuesday, 13 August

Lovely. Picturesque. Stunning. Beautiful. Breathtaking.  The very overused Awesome is appropriate for the awe inspiring landscapes and scenery of the last two days. 

I flew from London to Paris on Sunday morning (yes, I would have MUCH rather taken the train but it was literally double the price of a last minute flight.  I'm unemployed people, need to be somewhat sensible, so a flight it was :)  I am very proud of myself as I was able to call up enough of my high school French to muddle through and order une baguette avec jambon et fromage and get from Charles De Gaulle Airport to Gare St. Lazare train station on my own.  Once there I met up with one of my best friend's sister and her boyfriend- Astrid and Matthew (who are also my friends :). Astrid and Matthew were kind enough to offer to play tour guide and host me at their place for a couple nights to explore Rouen and Normandy, so after meeting at the train station on we went to Rouen.  

God I love the trains in France.  Well, I love taking the train pretty much anywhere in Europe, but for some reason I have always had wonderful experiences in France.  It was only a 90 minute ride, but it was truly lovely- graffiti along the train tracks in Paris gave way to older neighborhoods and Parisian suburbs... the transition from city and suburbs to the country was quick- buildings starting disappearing and green grassy fields dotted with white sheep and cows* appeared (* cows as I am used to seeing them- in a field and grazing, not in the middle of the street as in India :).  The river Seine ran parallel to the train for most of the route as it flows through the middle of Rouen as well as Paris.  <Insert your favorite word for beautiful here!>  We arrived in Rouen at around 5:30 to blue skies and perfect weather.  Astrid and Matthew warned me that their countrymen have nicknamed Rouen "the chamberpot of France" because of the weather..  All that saying does is reinforce that the French are a bit off as I thought it was just stunning- the weather, the scenery, the people- all of it!  Not a chamberpot in sight.  We left the station and just meandered about the city for a couple hours, then met up with Katrin and Astrid's brother Eric at their little local and enjoyed a couple beers before moving on to a little Italian restaurant for dinner.  Rouen is one of the most picturesque cities I have ever walked.  I'm going to do a separate post for it next, as I basically took a ton of photos and it deserves its own entry :)  

I am going to go ahead and apologize now for the overuse of the word "lovely" because I am going to continue to use the hell out of it.  Lovely is the most accurate word for the last two days- I had a really, really lovely time with Astrid and Matthew just walking about Rouen on Sunday evening, as well as driving up to the Normandy coast and exploring the seaside village of Veules Les Roses (which is THE most picturesque city I have ever been in... photo post to follow and confirm my statement!).  Nap Monday afternoon was fabulous.  Dinner Monday evening with a bunch of lovely, friendly, welcoming French people at A&M's house (sausages!  salad!  barbecued camembert cheese..OH HELL YES!) - LOVELY!!  

So, here I am, sitting on the train back to Paris, looking out the window, thinking about the last couple days and trying to capture a few of the sights and memories in text.  

A huge thank you to Astrid and Matthew for being absolutely wonderful hosts- I can't wait to have you at mine in San Francisco sometime so I can repay your hospitality and to attempt to BBQ some fabulous French cheese!!  

As we get closer to Paris I realize that I am so happy and content, as well as excited.  I am happy to have a little bit of time to hang out in Paris- not doing anything crazy touristy as I have been here a few times before and really, all I want to do is just relax, have several cups of coffee in as many cafes as possible, people watch and soak up a bit of the city before returning to London tomorrow night.  Oh, and of course I'm going to do some window shopping (here's hoping that sensible side of me continues to win out and it's only window shopping :)

The city is starting to to overtake the fields and Paris is about 10 minutes away..  I'm going to pack up and get ready to arrive at the beautiful Gare St. Lazare and meet up with an old co-worker and her family for the afternoon.  So I guess this is so long for now.. au revois from the train.. 

* it's Paris.... I packed my red lipstick specifically for this city!! ;)

Checking in!

Sunday 11 August 

Just checking in to say I'm still alive and, well, not really healthy, but well. 

I left India for London last Wednesday.  Between the flu I picked up my last couple days in Mumbai and a nine + hour flight I really did not do much of anything my first couple days in London except lounge about on the couch, lounge about in Leila's garden, oh, and do laundry. I did make it out for dinner with Leila and a handful of her lovely friends the first two nights but to be honest, my performances both evenings were phoned in. 

Thankful that the flu I picked up seems to have passed. Not super happy that I now have a head cold, my sinuses feel like they are about to lift off from my face, and I sound like a voice actor on Skinemax (its a toss up between a male or female announcer to be honest).  Having said that I am not complaining because I'm going to pick up something at Boots and thank chemistry for (hopefully!!) helping me feel better. 

I have a number of posts about India drafted (and even one for the UK :) to tidy up and publish but to be honest all I want to do right now is lounge about, relax, drink tea and enjoy being here.  I'm also still processing the last five insane weeks of my life... Funny how the older I get, the more time I need to reflect on things.  I'm en route to Heathrow to pop over to Paris and Rouen for a few days... Maybe a coffee and a chocolate croissant in the 19 arrondissement will provide the motivation I am currently lacking!? :) 

In the mean time, here's a fabulous little friend I made at Paddington station while waiting for the train to the airport. 

xo

r

Elephanta Island (Mumbai)

Saturday 3 August

Holy crap today was awesome.  

The weather this morning start out crap, but then it almost immediately transitioned into this nearly perfect, beautiful day- the sun was shining, there was actually blue to be seen in the skies and although it was pretty warm, it was manageable- I even got a bit of a tan on my arms!!  Sending out a huge thank you to the existential life force for the sun because it made today's outing to Elephanta Island absolutely perfect. 

Quick tangent: nothing in this country happens when you think it should, or as you expect, but somehow everything seems to work itself out anyway :)  Two examples from this morning: 

1- our driver showed up a half hour late so we didn't hit the road until around 8:30 am.  We were hoping to leave at 8:00 to get downtown by 9:00 to catch a 9:30 am ferry.  When that didn't happen we were a bit frustrated, thinking we'd have to wait another hour to catch the next ferry.. BUT, as fate would have it, we ended up having enough time to purchase tickets, have a really yummy breakfast (helloooo European breakfast) and then catch the 10:15 ferry.  Lovely 

2- as soon as we left on said 10:15 ferry the skies opened up and rain starting pouring and the wind started howling.  We had water coming into the boat from every direction and holy crap the sea was choppy.  About 10 minutes after we left the dock more than a few people were starting to get a bit nervous when all of a sudden we turned around and started to head back.  We all assumed that the trip had been cancelled (as we were warned that during Monsoon season the ferries sometimes stop due to rough seas).  Turns out that a big group of Chinese tourists hopped on board thinking it was a 30 minute tour and not a 4 hour trip so we turned around, dropped them off, then left again to make our way to the island.  The happy happy bit of the story is that when we set back out to sea, the storm had passed and the ride became (thankfully!!) much, much smoother.  

Plus we were able to get a different (and stunning!) view of the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel from the water.  Someday, when I come back to India and decide to go super swanky/ posh.. I will stay here: 

* I realize these are not very straight and to be honest, I could care less :)  I was on a boat (in my flippy and my floppies). 

SO, after an hour long ferry ride, which passed really quickly due to the h i larious conversations being had with David and David, a couple from London who had just spent three weeks in Kerala and experienced a lot of the same crazy as our little group, we arrived on the amazing, lush, beautiful island of Elephanta. 

Elepanta is about 7 miles north east of the Gateway to India, sitting in a chain of super lush islands off Mumbai.  The name was given by the Portuguese after the ginormous elephant statue on the side of the island.  There are a handful of colossal caves across the island with some absolutely stunning carvings that date back to the 3rd century BC.  Thankfully the carvings in the main cave remain, however those pillaging Portuguese bastards* removed a huge number of them during colonial times so that now most of the caves are empty, having had their statues transferred to museums across the world.  

On arriving on the Island we were greeted by a number of stands- people peddling souvenirs, old Indian women selling grilled corn, and candy, and of course the obligatory pack of stray dogs, only this time the dogs had goat and monkey friends with them...

 

I have to admit I was tempted to pay about $3 or $4 to be carried up the hill like a princess, but thought better of it... after sitting in a car most of yesterday I needed to get my a** in motion and hiking up a long set of stairs seemed like the right thing to do.. but still, these chairs were tempting... 

It's CRAZY how many monkeys are on the Island.. and how not afraid of humans they are.  This guy had just walked up to a tourist stupid enough to disregard the massive signs that said BEWARE OF MONKEYS- PUT YOUR FOOD AWAY and snatched himself a nice refreshing afternoon drink... 

Once we got to the top, this guys was sorta hanging out, making eyes at all the ladies...

The welcoming committee just outside the main cave: 

I didn't get as close to them as a lot of other crazy tourists.. but still... this was close enough for me...

Once I was over the "holy crap there are a ton of monkeys here and they are soooo close!" thing, I was ready to head into the caves and see some kick ass 3rd Century BC carvings.

For context, this is the entrance to one of the caves.. absolutely stunningly huge, especially when you think about how old these are, that this is a pretty secluded island, and how beautiful it is on the inside... 

One of the largest, and most beautiful (and intact) carvings is that of Mahesh-Murti-Shiva. 

The three faces correspond to the three functions of the God Shiva: the creation, the protection, and the destruction of the universe. 

There were also different versions of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva throughout the cavern.. here are a handful of my favorite shots from the caves: 

I have to admit, as interesting as the carvings and temples were, the crazy animal interactions going on outside were almost as fun to watch.  For example, the puppy vs baby monkey staring contest..

and the not so civilized lunch buffet...

Once we had explored as much of the island as we could (parts of the island were closed due to....  you guessed it.. monsoons).. we made our way back down the epic set of stairs, picked up a couple more touristy gifts, and caught the ferry back to the city.

Unfortunately the return trip was against the wind, the water was choppy and it was a bit of a rough 90 minute ride back.  Trying to wrap my head around how big this city is probably didn't do me any favors either.. The city seemed to just go on, forever, along the coastline...

Eventually we made it back to the Gateway in one piece, without loosing my breakfast (which is more than I can say for a couple of my fellow ferry passengers).  

All in all, another full and adventurous day in India!

*OK, so maybe they weren't so bad as these amazing statues can be seen in other parts of the world, but still.. it would have been amazing to see more of them in their natural habitat!!