A strange weekend in Seattle

A trip to Seattle to see Harry Potter The Exhibition and Picasso: Masterpieces from the Museé National Picasso, Paris seems like the oddest of juxtapositions. On one hand we have a child’s story, full of witchcraft and fantastical creatures, stories that have become a world sensation. A sensational pop culture phenomenon. And then there is Picasso, an artist born more than a century before even the idea of Harry Potter. Picasso once said “It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.” He was also a pop culture phenomenon – one that could paint with great grace as well as great harshness. Harry Potter is a boy becoming a man, while Picasso was a man who seemed to be becoming a boy. As odd as the combination is they made for a great weekend.

A walk across the Lions Gate Bridge

I got to walk across the Lions Gate Bridge yesterday – it was quite an adventure. Honestly, I don’t think it was something that I had ever considered doing before but my parents had asked me to drop of their vehicle for servicing in North Vancouver and when I looked at a map to determine how best to get home I figured I’d give it a go. I’ve taken SeaBus many times so that that route wasn’t a very exciting idea. The Lions Gate Bridge is beautiful and though I have driven across the bridge many times I’ve never had an opportunity to stop and take photos or enjoy the view, it seemed like the most exciting option by far!

Grand Tour days 53 – 57 – Exploring Paris with Emma

I came to Europe on my own, to travel and explore all by myself. That was the theory anyway however I’ve spent most of my trip so far in the company of friends or family and really couldn’t be happier about it. It is more than a little amazing though – I figure I’ve only spent 18 or 19 days out of 57 by myself without seeing a family member or friend (that I knew before I started my trip). It helps that my brother lives in Munich and travels a lot and that I have friends in France and England, and friends that thought it would be fun to visit me in Paris. I had thought that travelling by myself would be liberating, and it can be, but sharing things is really quite wonderful (though I do find I have even less time to write).

Grand Tour Days 40 – 42 – Champagne! (Need I say more?)

I learned something very profound about geology these last few days – chalk is a type of limestone. Now, I knew that chalk is made of calcium carbonate, but somehow I hadn’t connected the dots between the two (limestone is also made of calcium carbonate). The reason chalk gets its own name is because it is quite a bit softer than many limestones. It is softer, but don’t be deceived (as I was) it still isn’t really ‘soft’ most of the time. Hence my confusion. I’ve been seeing all sorts of cliffs (the north edge of Normandy) that others described as chalk, and I couldn’t really get it. To me a soft stone doesn’t make cliffs. Then I arrive in Champagne where many of the cellars that the champagne is stored in were Gallo-Roman chalk quarries (crayères in French). I couldn’t think of what they would need so much ‘chalk’ for. Turns out it was for building – homes, city walls, the Cathedral and other public buildings. Luckily for us, this chalk limestone is also perfect for growing grapes to make champagne!

The Champagne making process

It begins in the vineyards – only three grapes can be used: chardonnay (a white grape with white juice), pinot noir and pinot meunier (black grapes with white juice).

Grand Tour Days 32 – 35 – Switzerland’s Olympic Cities

Olympics and cheese – what more could I want?

I think I may be conducting a human experiment on myself – how much cheese can my body really tolerate? I have been in Switzerland for four days and have had fondue twice, raclette once, a cheese plate once and some amount of cheese with every other meal that didn’t consist nearly entirely of cheese. So far so good though! Which is just encouraging me further. Hmm….

Grand Tour Days 23 – 27 – From Munich to Budapest

It has been a very busy five days since last I had the opportunity to write. I’ve traveled by train, bus, boat, underground, taxi, funicular and a whole lot of using my own two feet. I haven’t had internet access to write during this time so this is going to be a bit of a big post, as such I’m going to try to keep each day a bit shorter (and ensure that I get to write more often from now on – I’ve already spent more than 6 hours just sorting through photos!!). So here we go – the journey from Munich to Budapest…

Grand Tour Days 20-22 – Munich

It has been a busy few days, though in a mellow and very enjoyable way. I have left France for now and have spent the last few days in Germany. The most amusing part of this is that I have been working very hard on my French for the last week but now I’m in a German speaking country. It is taking a few days for my brain to catch up. Some one will ask me a question in German, and I’ll reply in French. Lunch the first day was the worst, as it was compounded by my server being Italian. He spoke a blend of German and Italian, I answered in some messed up French-English-Italian-German jumble that really made no sense at all. Luckily smiling and pointing works alright a lot of the time!

Grand Tour Days 18 & 19 – Dieppe, Rouen & St Martin Du Vivier

French breakfasts. I think they may be my idea of perfection. Good strong coffee with crispy yet chewy bread, delicious butter, and maybe a croissant or a small croissant du chocolat. I’m sure not all French households have breakfast like this, but Thomas’s family does and it is really, really enjoyable. As far as I can tell whoever is up first pops out to get fresh bread from the nearby boulangerie. Yes, I think I may be in heaven. And I haven’t even gotten to French lunches yet…

Grand Tour Days 15-17 – Rouen and Normandy

I love France. I love France so much that I am finding it very hard to find time to sit and write. I have been managing to keep up with downloading and organising my photos but even that is a near thing (read: I haven’t done today’s yet). I think I had better start taking notes so that I don’t forget to write about something fantastic because it truly is wonderful here. Alright, let’s see how good my short-term memory is…