Week 5: Europe Part 3

This week has been a travel adventure - I am happy to tell you all about it!  On Tuesday we were still in Toulouse, having just returned from the Czech Republic.  We had a quiet evening recuperating from our travels, and watching the Big Bang Theory.

On Wednesday I went to the morning farmers market, solo again, and purchased pumpkin, apples, and eggs.  I made a hearty pumpkin-coconut soup from scratch and it was delicious.  Benjamin came home after work with a surprise for me.  We were going to the circus!  Toulouse is home to Lido, a professional circus school where students learn acrobatics, aerials, juggling, contortion, and other circus related skills.  Periodically, students will practice their acts for an audience.  I adore Cirque du Soliel, so I was excited.  We arrived a bit early, and were able to secure some decent seats in the middle of the 'theater'.  There were 13 acts in all - some were cool, others fascinating, a couple scary (one aerial artist fell, but she was seemed alright after), and many were a bit weird.  I wasn't sure what was going on much of the time, but I still enjoyed it!  My favorites included a woman with hand-written cardboard signs to communicate as she climbed onto then curled in and around a suspended hoop, a young man doing amazing things with a yo-yo, and a couple who demonstrated extraordinary yet terrifying feats of strength and balance as they supported each other.  To see their Promo video for this year, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XanqolpJqEo

Thursday was another quiet day of practicing my French, making potato soup, and then enjoying some games with Benjamin after work.  I have introduced him to Splendor, "a fast, tactical, and addictive game" published by Space Cowboys, and he quite enjoys it.  I have the digital version as an app on my iPad, and this is what we usually play on.  The game consists of gathering jewel tokens to purchase jewel cards and earn victory points as well as the favor of nobles.  The first player to 15 victory points triggers the end of the game and the player with the most victory points wins.  Quick and deceptively easy... lots of strategy and a little bit of luck involved - I highly recommend it!  To find out more (in case you'd like to purchase or play) check it out at http://www.spacecowboys.fr/splendor/language:eng

The morning went quickly on Friday as I put on my Seahawks gear and prepared to accompany Benjamin to the Netherlands.  He had a conference near Lieden, and I'd never visited that town before.  We packed and made it to the airport in time, boarded our plane, and sat in our seats at the gate for the next 4 hours while the crew tried to fix a part of the aircraft that was broken.  Many of you have heard the story of my adventure with my friend Jeremy returning from Las Vegas earlier this year, and compared to that - this was a mere inconvenience.  We played Splendor until my iPad ran out of battery, then Tsuro on my phone, and assembled a sort of dinner from the snacks I'd brought along.  We eventually took off, were served a complimentary beverage and snack, then landed in Amsterdam.  A quick train later and we were in Lieden.  We dropped off our bags then wandered around the city - it was beautiful at night and I was excited to see it in the daylight!

In the morning we headed to the Saturday Market.  There were amazing shops there - everything from fabric to notions, clothes to flowers, produce, cheese, meat and seafood.  I inadvertently tried horse meat while sampling at a sausage vendor.  One of Benjamin's favorite treats is fresh herring, so when we reached that section of the market, he bought one for us to try.  Traditionally it's served with fresh onions and sweet pickles.  He offered me the first bite, and I tried it.  It was... interesting.  I kind of liked it!  He finished it, and then sampled herring from two other venders.  He smelled a bit fishy afterwards, but he was content.  We paused in a beautiful little bakery and bought a gluten free treat for me, then  back at the market acquired some fresh fruits and vegetables and listened to a cute couple playing performing nearby.  He was playing harp, she was playing guitar and singing - they sounded lovely! We headed back to the hotel and played a bit more splendor, then ventured out for dinner at one of his favorite restaurants for Dutch ribs.  Leiden is a college town, and home to the Netherlands oldest university.  As such it has an active nightlife, and we were able to attend a live local concert of an American singer from Texas.  He was good - I quite enjoyed it.  Benjamin even got me dancing!

 

 

After a morning of work - Benjamin reviewing his presentation for the next days conference and I practicing my French to the point of frustration, he decided we needed a break and sent me a mystery location on my phone to navigate to.  On the way he had me attempt to guess our destination.  I was delighted to discover a board game pub, and we spent a wonderful rainy afternoon playing a variety of games.  He taught me Stratego, I taught him Machi Koru, we played the original version of Splendor, a round of Carcassonne, and super quick game called ___ as an intermission between each longer game, where we had to think and act fast.  The establishment was fantastic, with delicious beverages (I had a hot cocoa with the works while Benjamin had a pint of beer), and the owners were fabulous.  Then we went to the lovely Chinese restaurant next door and had a set meal complete with soup, appetizer, and 3 dishes for the main course with Chinese tea and dimsum, plus a bonus bag of coffee flavored candy as a gift. 

Monday morning I was on my own, as Benjamin was at his conference.  I studied French, then went for a tea at starbucks, studied some more, visited a yarn shop I'd seen earlier, wandered into some other interesting stores (one sold upcycled bags made from fire hose - I want one!!!), bought some meat, cheese, and other goodies for us to enjoy on our train to Paris,  enjoyed a gluten free bagel at a place called Bagels & Beans (which serves a Bug Bagel - complete with crickets, mealworms, and a grasshopper.  I didn't try that one....) then settled back down at Starbucks to wait for Benjamin and his boss.  Their meeting ran a bit late, but they arrived in time to make the train to Rotterdam, where we would connect with out train to Paris.  We had a lovely conversation, and then after we changed trains Benjamin and I enjoyed our picnic dinner before I took a nap.  We arrived at our hotel a few hours later, in the Montematre district of Paris.

Benjamin had a meeting bright and early Tuesday morning, so I was left to explore on my own again.  I left my bag at the hotel and climbed the stairs to the highest point in Paris, the Sacre Coeur Basilic, which is about to celebrate it's Jubilee in 2019.  I arrived in time to hear the nuns singing and one was playing a harpsichord.  It was beautiful, as was the basilica.  The day was gray and rainy, so I wasn't really able to see much of the city from the viewpoint in front of the church.  I walked around the corner to Lace du Tertre, where the artists usually set up, but due to the early hour and the rain, there was no one yet.  Instead I paused at the Starbucks for a coffee and to regroup before venturing out again.  On my way back, I found a lovely garden and covered stair leading me down to the street the hotel was on.   Benjamin's meeting was over so I met up with him at the metro and we headed out for Crepes, then drinks in a quite Parisian café, walked through the Luxembourg gardens, pausing to watch children push sailboats around the fountains.  Back at the airport we discovered why Benjamin was only half successful in checking us in online - the flight was overbooked and he was given the last available seat.  I had to wait standby, but at the last minute was allowed on the plane because boarding had closed and not all ticketed passengers had claimed their seats.  Our flight left on time and once back in Toulouse we took the metro to his neighborhood and walked the rest of the way to his flat.  We were exhausted, but gathered enough energy to watch the latest episode of Big Bang Theory.

Next week will be spent mostly in southern France, before I return to the USA.  I have loved my adventure and expect to be back very soon.  More to come... until then, a bientot!