Photo Albums Galore

Aged P has brought it to my attention that the regular Joe on the street can't see all my photo albums at once on Picasa. This is as it should be because I've made all my albums unlisted (which means that they are unsearchable, but anyone can see them if they click on the link from my web page). However, it might a bit annoying for you, dear reader, who is dying to look at my pictures. There's no work-around from the Picasa side, so I'll post links to every photo album here and put it up on the sidebar (with my itinerary post).

Note: As I post this, some albums might only have a few photos them, and some might be completely empty. This is because I haven't worked through the photos yet. Or haven't gone there yet. All of the Paris albums are incomplete, for instance. I've put (Inc) in the ones that aren't finished yet. I'll let you know when all the photos are ready to go.

Here we go (click on each image to go to the album):

NYC October 2009	Florida 2010
Amsterdam 2010	Paris 2010: Ça m'amuse beaucoup! (Inc)
Paris 2010: La Vie en Rose (Inc)	Paris 2010: Look Ma, Culture! (Inc)
Paris 2010: Cityscapes and Walking Tours (Inc)	Chartres 2010
Loire Valley 2010	Versailles 2010
Mont St-Michel 2010	Brussels/Mons 2010
Giverny 2010 (Inc)	Provence 2010 (Inc)
Venice 2010	Minoan Lines cruise 2010 (Inc)
Athens 2010 (Inc)	Delphi 2010 (Inc)
London 2010 (Inc)	Oxford 2010 (Inc)
Bath 2010 (Inc)	Salisbury 2010 (Inc)
QM2 2010 (Inc)	NYC June 2010 (Inc)

It was bound to happen at some point...

I'm spending my last evening in Oxford in bed, feeling miserable because I've come down with a nasty cold. My head feels like it's full of cotton and my nose is running away from home. There is a lot of tea, but not enough milk and sugar. I'm off to Bath tomorrow, providentially. Perhaps the waters there will fix me right up.

I'm working on my Venice pictures and they will be ready for prime time Real Soon Now. However, I learned to punt yesterday and I have some video to capture the event. Not that you can really tell I'm in a punt unless I tell you.

From Oxford 2010

And now, it's...

Once again, I'm taking a "break" from repacking the damn suitcase to post something. I've just had a whirlwind five days in London, where I've been drinking lots of tea, getting kind of frustrated with the Underground (but mostly with the Aboveground), and seeing not nearly enough of the sites. I've been to Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Tate Britain and National Galleries, the British and Sherlock Holmes Museums, St. Paul's, Notting Hill, Soho, the theatre district, the Tower of London, and the Westminster, London, Millenium, and Tower Bridges. I saw the Lion King at the Lyceum, Macbeth at the Globe, creepy Jack the Ripper photos and locations in Whitechapel, and fancy tea and scones at the Goring. I'm bushed and a little footsore, and already planning to come back -- and stay in a slightly

Planes, trains, ferries, and buses...

I'm sitting in my extremely charming hotel room in Delphi (when you come to Delphi, and you must come at least once because the scenery is terrific and the ruins and museum are impressive, you must stay at the Hotel Varonos because it's fantastic -- my room is quite basic but really lovely, with welcome wine, a fridge, and a terrace looking out over the Pleisto River Gorge with a view of the Gulf of Corinth at Itea, and Yannis has been absolutely wonderful. Say γεία σου from me when you come. Because you're coming to Delphi.) keeping an eagle-eye on the ash cloud. I called Aged P yesterday to wish her a happy birthday and she nearly gave me a heart-attack when she told me Heathrow was closed.

In which Physicsgirl puts her math degrees to practical use...

I'm in Athens, having too lovely a time to worry about putting up pictures, although I'm taking many. I heard Athena's owl hooting near the Acropolis today. And my math degrees, through which I learned most of the Greek alphabet, have been very useful in reading Greek street signs.

I spent most of the ferry ride working on my Venice pictures, so those should go up soonish. I've planned a little breathing room in Delphi as well.

I just noticed that I'm down to just over 28 days left of this adventure. The first month and a half has flown by. I'm still having a fabulous time; I miss my kitty cat, but I don't really want to go home yet.

That'll be $300 for the idiot tax...

Hi.  I'm Physicsgirl, and I'm an idiot. (Hi, Physicsgirl!)

Anyone who has talked to me about this trip will know that I've been relying on www.tripadvisor.com for many ideas.  Almost everyone on those forums said to avoid taking the train overnight from Paris to Venice.  The couchettes are very cramped (especially the 6-berth ones) with not enough space for luggage, and there are lots of thieves.  I read many stories of people who lost cameras and money.

I was determined, however.  I hate flying, I like trains, and it would be travel plus lodging all in one.  I'd managed to find a fairly inexpensive 2-person berth, which should alleviate the crowding problem somewhat, and I bought a special travel safe to keep my valuables safe, so I felt pretty good.

A mighty wind is blowing...

So, last night, we were concerned about the possibility of rain, and the guides had contingency plans all set out for us. I woke up this morning to a howling outside my windows. The rain is nothing; I could definitely bike in this rain.  The wind, on the other hand, is quite strong.  Blow us into the Rhône strong. As in, it's too dangerous to bike this morning.  Jenn (the other guide) said "Yes, the wind is disconcerting."  Understatement!  So we're being stuffed into a van and taken to Arles.

Hopefully the wind will have calmed down enough by this afternoon.

30 k + 40 k = a lot of biking

Yesterday, I was flying down a winding road next to a deep gorge in Provence and I thought: This is amazing. I saw wild poppies blooming by the side of the road. Wow, I thought. I saw olive trees and vineyards aplenty. Suddenly the fact that my cell phone will not be able to charge anymore and that my Palm Zire has suddenly given up the ghost didn't worry me as much anymore.

10 things I hate about Paris*

*From the movie 10 Things I Hate About You

1. I hate your hard water that makes my hair all crunchy and my tea kind of icky. 
2. I hate that there are all too many beautiful places that nonetheless smell like pee.
3. I hate that you are so expensive. I never got used to paying nearly $7 for a cup of coffee.  Although one does pay exactly what it says on the tag or menu because tax is included.
4. I hate  how much of my French I've lost, and how understanding everyone has been of my grammatical and vocabulary mistakes.
5. I hate your fabulous bread, tempting me at every turn.  Ditto chocolate.  And crepes.  And cheese.  And...
6. I hate that I am now addicted to macarons.  Oh, you delicate confectionary temptresses!
7. I hate the Paris "look" that I could never quite capture, and that no matter how often I practised, I could never quite tie my scarf with the same élan as the Parisian women.  They must give special lessons at the lycée.
8. I hate the café culture I have acquired such a taste for, making it near impossible to go back to work in July.
9. I hate how the waiters don't hover over you as you eat and actually wait for you to finish one course before bringing you the next.  And that they don't put smiley faces on the bill to get a bigger tip, because it's included.
10. I hate the efficiency of the labyrinthian metro.  And how it's quiet because of the rubber wheels.  And that some of the stations are downright beautiful.
11. I hate that I'm leaving so soon.

All is forgiven, Paris!  I'll be back!

There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. We always returned to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it, and you received return for whatever you brought to it." -- Ernest Hemmingway, "A Moveable Feast"

Off to Provence!

Spring is like a perhaps hand*

So after I wrote that last post, I took myself outside (then back in again to get my trench because it got a lot colder all of a sudden) and walked south, doing pretty much the same route I took my first day in Paris.

And I felt less blue.

So kiss me and smile for me...

Paris, I believe, is a man in his twenties in love with an older woman. -- John Berger

I'm feeling a bit blue, today. It's my last day in Paris. My train leaves for Avignon at 7:46 tomorrow morning, but I've been putting off packing. I'm trying to eat the rest of my food, although I might be gifting quite a bit of stuff to Darlene and the next tenants. I've made my last pot of tea.