Countdown to Europe
So it becomes final: I will be travelling to Europe 3 weeks from now. I will leave in time for the extended Thanksgiving Day weekend and will be touring for about 10 days.
With my complicated itinerary I have decided not to bring my notebook so most of my uploads will be depedent on the temperament of my friend's computer. I will be bringing my camera of course (it is with me everyday anyway - so what else is new?). Hopefully I will be able to upload pictures often enough that I wouldn't get paranoid about accidentally deleting the images en route from one destination to another or on the way home.
I will mostly be roaming France, staying in Lyon a few days and then taking the TGV to Paris and then a very brief visit to a family friend in the Loire Valley. An old acquaintance has invited me to cross the border to Switzerland to see him and other friends in Zurich but with 6 hours each way via the Eurail, I have no choice but to turn down the invite with a promise to try to visit another time (Spring 2006?).
I have had friends email me today about the riots in Paris and were concerned about my safety. I consoled them that if the riots find its way to any of the cities in my itinerary and it would really be insane to proceed then I can always cross the border to Italy and change my plans. Everything is just a few hours away with the convenience of the Eurail anyway.
But I would have to see Paris. I have already bought for Joy her 'Hi-Ro' cookies and I have enough to make any customs officer to be suspicious of my unusual 'baon'. I have planned to see the Sacre Coeure, walk the promenade near the Champs Elysees and hope to be proposed to at the Tour Eiffel by some handsome French man who will sweep me off my feet (ngek..di na original) - hehehehe.
Geneva is also just two hours via the train north of Lyon. It would be grand to be able to get off the train station and just walk the Jardin Anglais and view the Jet d'eau from the stretch of the Promenade du Lac facing the Rade de Geneve.
Like Lyon, Geneva also has a very rustic Old Town with cobblestone streets and rich in history and culture. There is so much to do and see that I have accepted the fact that I will literally just be breezing through many beautiful places and will miss a lot more than I will see. Still it is a wonderful adventure and I am overwhelmingly excited.
The trip would be the same time when my daughter celebrates her birthday. Of course, I know the adventure would be much more enjoyable if she could be with me but she has school and whilst in the midst of her thesis preparation and overwhelmed by the responsibilities as acting Literary Editor for their school paper, there is just no justification to pull her out of school for two weeks.
She will also have her chance to see the world. She is young and has a bright future ahead of her. Already much travelled at her age, she has the wanderlust in her, too. There is just so much to experience when travelling that cannot be learned in school or by reading. The smells, the views, being immersed in the culture, colors and flavors of a new location has no equal.
I will try continue to blog while I am away but mostly by long-hand to a notebook with lines instead of a screen and a keyboard. When I return home to New York then I will share them with you.
With my complicated itinerary I have decided not to bring my notebook so most of my uploads will be depedent on the temperament of my friend's computer. I will be bringing my camera of course (it is with me everyday anyway - so what else is new?). Hopefully I will be able to upload pictures often enough that I wouldn't get paranoid about accidentally deleting the images en route from one destination to another or on the way home.
I will mostly be roaming France, staying in Lyon a few days and then taking the TGV to Paris and then a very brief visit to a family friend in the Loire Valley. An old acquaintance has invited me to cross the border to Switzerland to see him and other friends in Zurich but with 6 hours each way via the Eurail, I have no choice but to turn down the invite with a promise to try to visit another time (Spring 2006?).
I have had friends email me today about the riots in Paris and were concerned about my safety. I consoled them that if the riots find its way to any of the cities in my itinerary and it would really be insane to proceed then I can always cross the border to Italy and change my plans. Everything is just a few hours away with the convenience of the Eurail anyway.
But I would have to see Paris. I have already bought for Joy her 'Hi-Ro' cookies and I have enough to make any customs officer to be suspicious of my unusual 'baon'. I have planned to see the Sacre Coeure, walk the promenade near the Champs Elysees and hope to be proposed to at the Tour Eiffel by some handsome French man who will sweep me off my feet (ngek..di na original) - hehehehe.
Geneva is also just two hours via the train north of Lyon. It would be grand to be able to get off the train station and just walk the Jardin Anglais and view the Jet d'eau from the stretch of the Promenade du Lac facing the Rade de Geneve.
Like Lyon, Geneva also has a very rustic Old Town with cobblestone streets and rich in history and culture. There is so much to do and see that I have accepted the fact that I will literally just be breezing through many beautiful places and will miss a lot more than I will see. Still it is a wonderful adventure and I am overwhelmingly excited.
The trip would be the same time when my daughter celebrates her birthday. Of course, I know the adventure would be much more enjoyable if she could be with me but she has school and whilst in the midst of her thesis preparation and overwhelmed by the responsibilities as acting Literary Editor for their school paper, there is just no justification to pull her out of school for two weeks.
She will also have her chance to see the world. She is young and has a bright future ahead of her. Already much travelled at her age, she has the wanderlust in her, too. There is just so much to experience when travelling that cannot be learned in school or by reading. The smells, the views, being immersed in the culture, colors and flavors of a new location has no equal.
I will try continue to blog while I am away but mostly by long-hand to a notebook with lines instead of a screen and a keyboard. When I return home to New York then I will share them with you.