It's Better in Beauvais

Okay, I know I haven't updated in a while, so here's a glimpse at what I've been up to.

Tuesday (29th) I was up bright and early to catch the train from Sahagun to Madrid. I arrived there at about noon, and spent the better part of the afternoon wandering around the immense Prado Museum - quite good. After that I found my way to Madrid's airport and hung around like a vagrant until my super-red-eye flight at 5:45am. That brought me to Beauvais, France, where I am now.

So here I am, back in France and utterly at a loss for words as to how happy I am. I loved Spain, but France is still where my heart resides. I have an immense fondness for this country, and I'm sure over the course of the next month my blog will literally ooze with praise for all things French.

I'm staying here in Beauvais - which is about an hour north of Paris - with a friend I've made through CouchSurfing, Marianne. She's 7 months pregnant and lives with her new husband Thomas. They're both wonderful people, and have been completely welcoming, and played wonderful hosts.

Beauvais is the kind of place I'd like to live if I ever moved to France. It's not a huge town, but there's a ton of culture here! They have an amazing cathedral, and some really nice areas. Marianne and Thomas live right on the town's main plaza, and you can see the cathedral from their living room. I went and checked it out this afternoon, and it was just brilliant. It has the highest nave in all of France, only rivaled by a neighboring nave in actual size.

Through countless wars Beauvais has been shat upon by attacking forces, being ever re-built. It seems they have adopted the salamander as their symbol of fortitude, since I guess if you bake some earth to make a pot and it contained a live salamander it's said the creature will survive and find it's way out. I need to do some fact checking on that, but for now please assume that it is 100% true.

The amusing thing about the cathedral here is that it's only half built. I guess they just lost the desire to erect flying buttresses at some point, and so it only has one wing of the intended two. It does look a little off when you stare at it head on, but otherwise it is really a bit of architectural wonderment. Filled with incredible works of stained glass - which fill the area with a lulling blue light -, it also boasts a huge 190,000 piece mechanical clock which dates the age of the earth of all things. Really super.

So I'm here in Beauvais until Sunday, and then I will take the train into Paris. It's the first Sunday of the month, so many of the big museums are free. They'll be packed, but they'll be free, so I can't gripe. I'm staying with Rebekah's best friend, Jeanne, for a day or so (I guess however long I can get by on cooking for them! haha) and then I'll be CouchSurfing with others in Paris.

Last night Marianne made us a great pasta dinner, and a few of their friends joined us. We had a good time. She also introduced me to Whitney, a good friend of hers whom is also American. She reminds me a lot of my friend Hannah back home. Whitney came over again tonight and two other American CouchSurfers, Becky and Hannah, joined us. We had a lot of fun making crepes for dinner, both sweet and savory to round out the whole meal. It was a great time, and it's good to be around some fellow Americans.

Tomorrow my mission is to find some place to cheaply get my hair cut, and have my beard trimmed back enough that I can shave it, or have it completely shaved for me.

I bought some trendy French pants for a discount price at a local sporting goods store yesterday for less than 30 Euros. They're great, and much smaller than my pants I brought with me! That and the price makes them even better.

Oh, and I have legitimate proof that the French EAT horse. See the picture to the right of the "Chevalines" where they sell nothing but horse meat. Check out the look on that bust above the awning. Priceless. I'm going to try some before I leave. Yum - Flicka.

All in all, I'm so glad to be back in France. Last time I really felt so at home here, and I'm glad that feeling still exists. I don't care what anyone says about this place or their people - I'll take Beauvais (and to a greater but not as well rhymed extent, France) any day!

So, let me ask you... what do you think about Roman Villas???

Tuesday: The storm didn't last long and the power came back on. Yay. We had yummy Mexican food for lunch. Yayx2. It was nice all day, and then started to rain again. -(Yay).

Wednesday: Today though was a really awesome day. I got up and had some herba matte and my usual bread, then in an effort to not sit around all day Rebekah decided to organize a small daytrip to go check out some Roman Villas and Romanesque churches. (pretends he's his countryman Roman Polanski all rolled into one)

We headed out in the furganeta (misspelled Spanish for the kind of truck they have) and while we drove through rain and muddy roads I sat in the back reading my Europa Guide to see where I wanted to go in Greece and Italy. I also got carsick for the first time in my life. General queasiness, but I opened the window for some fresh air and felt almost immediately better. (Yay)^2

So we arrived at the museum for the first Roman Villa and it was closed! And it's been closed it seems since last summer. How odd. Things here in Spain move so slowly, regardless of how efficient the Romans themselves were!

So we carried on to San Pedro de Moarves where we found a church that wasn't bad, but slightly disappointing given we thought it was supposed to be much more wonderful. Realizing that it much be the next town, Moarves de Ojeda, we drove on and low and behold - wonderful Romanesque-ness! This church had a great arch and facade around the door - which was pretty groovy in and of itself - and inside was a great basin as well as several holy statuettes, including the widely adored St. Isidro. He's the man for farmers, let me tell you.

After the visit here we went on to a monestary that was tucked away off on a side road behind a bunch of poplars. Things were shut down while we were there so we were unable to check out the cloister - a map on the information board showed it to be a huge part, but sadly it was closed off - but we did wander around freely and alone for about a half an hour checking out the things we could see.

Next on our adventure we came to Herrera de Pisuerga where we thought we'd try and find some lunch. Parking the car and wandering around town in the drizzle, we found a pub, The Convent Garden - great decor, awful green lighting - and had a drink. Leaving town we accidentally came upon a restaurant called El Roble, which means "The Oak." We waited several moments for a server to clear a table, and had one of the best Menu del Dias I think I've had yet. Pallella with rabbit and a variety of seafood, followed by stewed rabbit, and a baked apple for dessert. The wine was excellent as well, and all for only 10.50 Euros!

We left Herrera and drove past where I left Carrion de los Condes while walking the Camino. It's odd seeing these places - also drove past some familiar locations on the way up to Oviedo and IKEA - now that I'm not a pilgrim anymore. It's almost surreal. Past Carrion, and just before Ledigos is this location where an ancient Roman Villa was discovered and protected. It's now open for tours, and for 2 Euros (if you're a senior or a student, 3 if you're not) you can walk along scaffolding above the ruins and marvel at the mosaics, underground heating system, baths, and former wall structures of a once grand mansion. Seeing it was truly remarkable. The mosaics were often huge wall to wall themed and extremely intricate designs. Each tile used, while only being about the size of a human finger nail, was brightly colored - red, blue, yellow, black, and white - and we were told that the color was completely natural; no pigment or paints were used on the works. I guess the materials were brought from multiple locations where they were able to excavate stones in these amazingly vibrant colors.

So that was damned spiffy. There was a certain energy, or vibe if you will, that you could feel walking around the place. I definitely got a very strong impression of the former inhabitants walking around on these beautiful floors. It was a little eerie.

After this stop we headed back to Moratinos, which it turns out, also according to the villa tour guide, is built around an original Roman road that runs across Palencia. "Cool-o Dool-o," as Rebekah would say.

It rained some more after we got back, and it'll probably continue to rain. But after a day like today, who cares. Here's to Roman Villas!

PS: I've finally planned the rest of my itinerary. Check it out in one of the boxes to the right.

When it rains it pours, but thankfully not on my bed

So the past weekend has been interesting enough.

The night before last we were sent off to bed with the rolling booms and bright flashes of a thunder storm. Not much rain to speak of, but loud enough to scare the dog between the two beds where she could cower next to sleeping people.

Since the storms began though the Internet has mysteriously vanished, though last night it came back and hasn't left since. Very odd.

Anyhow, so yesterday was fair enough, and then it started to rain. Just lightly at first, nothing really to worry about. Checking the house there didn't seem to be any problems, and the rain doesn't seem to be bearing down any harder. Well, as weather goes, precisely what you don't want to happen is often what comes to be. It did start raining harder, and then we started to notice water spots on the ceiling in the salon, the room across the hall from mine. The the dripping began when it started raining harder. Water dripping, and eventually beginning to pour as the puddles upstairs accumulated. Various buckets and pans and containers are now arranged around the salon to catch the falling water, though much of it hit the floor by time we'd realized the dripping had gotten out of hand.

Later I would realize that water spots were starting to form on my ceiling as well. Thankfully there was no dripping.

We had dinner last night, and were sitting around talking, and decide to go in and check the progress of the rain, add more buckets to catch water in the salon, and found that water had been seeping through the light fixture and along the ceiling of my room, resulting in a shorted out chandelier. Turning it on now blows the electricity in the whole house, so I resorted to only using my flashlight. Still, no water dripping near my bed, though I moved it around just for the sake of being safe rather than sorry, in addition to gathering up my belongings and putting them in a safe place.

The leaking ceilings and weather have dampened, no pun intended, everyone's mood to a certain extent I think, though we're resolved to remain cheery. Rebekah, who at one point was flooded by bad childhood memories of living near a levy and experiencing similar, though I'm sure far worse, living conditions, became temporarily overwhelmed by it all.

We opened one, two, three, bottles of wine and enjoyed a nice lentil salad for dinner. For most of the evening we sat around snacking on chips and talking about varied subjects from food to furniture destroyed by drunken friends, wildly entertaining accounts from Paddy's days in London, and how we all make a difference to someone at some point in our lives, be it good or bad. It was a splendid evening, and I don't think I could have enjoyed it more.

Today the sun seems to be coming back out, despite the paper's forecast for thunderstorms over the next three days. Rebekah and I went into Sahagun to get some groceries and run a couple errands, then back home Paddy had made a delicious lunch of bangers and mash with peas. Tonight we're making liver for dinner, and I've started a corn/black bean salsa that we'll save for tomorrow. I've really been Jonesing for Mexican food. Which leads me to comment on the coincidence that one of Rebekah's friends State-side sent a care package filled with Mexican spices and the like. The coincidence was more so that this friend is named Eric and the package arrived on St. Eric's day.

I'm leaving for Paris next week, and am going to be traveling by train through France, Italy, and Greece. If anyone has any suggested "must-sees" be sure to let me know.

It'll take a couple of vodka and tonics

I'm feeling an overwhelming urge to write, so I will. Lots going through my head these past few days, but I'm having difficulty sorting it all out and making sense. Sometimes I can feel a bit foggy, but then I'll just dismiss it all and go about doing something else. I think it's less me being dodgy-minded , but more that I'm still not adjusted to not having to worry about work or school constantly for once. It makes me a little antsy at times, which is most likely why I'm itching delightedly at the idea of going to Africa in September.

Yesterday Reb and I took a nice excursion to the North coast town of Oviedo to do a little shopping at IKEA. She wanted to get everything for the new kitchen, but instead we ended up doing some much more constructive planning and design with the Spanish based web site and Design Program. We got a number of other useful things as well then went for lunch at Pizza Movil, located in a monstrosity of a mall across the way from IKEA. Pizza'd up, we visited FNAC – a store I've not seen since my former French days – where we got a wireless router – which at present doesn't seem compatible with the Internet here, but somehow mysteriously worked for a while on it's own with no connection to speak of. Eroski, a large national Everything-you-could-ever-need and more store, was where we ended the day in Oviedo, leaving with some groceries, paint, new yard chairs, and a much needed Red Bull. On the way back home we stopped a couple times to check our “adventurous” back road way against the map, soak in the indescribably amazing mountain views – cows included – and to explore a knock-out abandoned church. We got home and had a brief dinner while using the mysterious connection.

So, now on to today. Woke up this morning feeling as though I could have used a couple more hours. I think because I went to bed later than usual last night and took a Benadryl before crashing, its effects were still dulling me quite a lot. I trudged into the bathroom, brushed my teeth – my mouth was stale, and tasted really foul, infested almost, no doubt by the dust that the workers knocked down into my room through a hole in the ceiling – and then go some coffee and bread for breakfast. I don't really recall what I did to much degree before lunch, though I did read a profile on Barack Obama in the latest edition of The New Yorker. It was a good source of information, and I feel stronger about him now as a presidential candidate. I even jotted down a paragraph that really jived with my personal views and thoughts. You know when you read something and think, “My god! What a perfect articulation to how I feel.” Yea, that's the way it seemed with this.

For lunch Reb made a lovely pulse from some veg and part of the chicken stock I made last night – a result of prepping tonight's curried chicken – and to go along with it Paddy made a tortilla espanola with the chicken eggs from the resident hens. It was a wonderful lunch which we took out in the courtyard in the warm afternoon sun. After eating Paddy and I began moving the furniture from the remaining spare bedroom – the one I'm in – to the garage. Everything but the bed I'm using. Tomorrow we're going to work on clearing out the salon. This is all in anticipation of the current remodeling finding its way to the point when the upstairs floors will need to come out, and work downstairs will commence.

I hope when I'm in Africa I can subscribe to The New Yorker. That would be delightful.

So far I have three or four places in/near Paris to stay temporarily. Indeed to do some more searching on CouchSurfing and hopefully I'll get a few more replies.

I finally got all my Camino pictures uploaded to our Walgreens account. And set up a special account for the other people I met along the way to use collectively. Hopefully we'll be able to easily share photos.

I'm going to put a picture of myself in this post if I can. Currently 119 kilo, which is roughly 261 lbs. My clothes are all far too baggy. The outfit I have on in these pictures was pretty snug when I got to Spain. Perhaps I'll get some new jeans for the rest of my trip – donations gladly welcomed and accepted. You can just make out part of my awesome tan lines below my t-shirt sleeves.

We just finished out curry chicken, and both Reb and Paddy raved about it. I really enjoy cooking for people. Perhaps – this'll make my mom crazy – if I can find the time while taking a break from saving the world, I'll enroll in culinary school. My attempts have at the very least secured an invitation to come by Moratinos any time and see if there's a spare bed.

Libby sent me an email inviting me to join a website called GoodReads. It's pretty spiffarific, a site where you can create an account and rate your favorite (or least favorite for that matter) books and share them with your friends and family. I've definitely got something to keep me occupied for at least an hour this evening.

Cheers.

How many couches in Paris can I find?

So today I didn't do very much. Rebekah and I took a nice walk this morning before going into Sahagun to do some grocery shopping. I sent my letters off, and then after we got home I did some Interneting to start looking for places in Paris to stay. So far I have one or two, and an absolutely from my good pal Marianne up in Beauvais, an hour North of Paris.

Since RyanAir flies from Madrid to Beauvais, I'm going to take the train down and catch a super cheap flight up to France either next week, or perhaps early the week after that. I need to talk with mom this weekend and get everything arranged and such. I'm afraid that buying a Eurrail pass might be a little more complex than I'd hoped, and they may have to ship it to the States and I'll have to have her send it to me. Blech.

We had a lovely trout this afternoon for lunch, brought home from the local fishmonger. It was really tasty. We've been taking most of our meals out in the courtyard, because the weather has been so lovely. It's very nice.

Listened to some good music, did the dishes, took a brief nap (I think...), did some reading, more Interneting and uploading pictures to our Walgreen's account. I'm NEARLY finished. Then I have to arrange picture sharing for all my Camino buds so we can exchange photos with each other. Need to do that before I leave!

In Sahagun today, Rebekah and I went to this Dollar Store type place which is basically filled with cheap asian-made products. Everything you could imagine. I got into the habit of playing cards along the end of the Camino with my friends Tizzy and Enrico, so when i saw a deck for 75 cents there I snatched it up. The funny thing is, they're cards made in the States, distributed by a company in, of all places, Cincinnati, OHIO! Crazy. I flew 14 hours across an ocean to get cards from a place I can get to in a car in less than 5 hours.

Tomorrow Reb and I are taking a little day trip up to Oviedo in Asturias to visit the IKEA there and hopefully select and purchase a kitchen for their soon to be renovated new house. I'm excited, because going to IKEA is always a treat, and I get to see yet another place in Spain that I've not yet been to. There are some good churches there to see it seems.

Anyhow, I've uploaded enough pictures for tonight. I've got a few more days to get posted, but that can wait another day. I'm off to bed for now. Still listening to 1984, and Reb gave me this really intense book to read called The Yellow Rain. It's originally printed in Spanish, but this version is an English translation. It's good stuff man.

Cheers.

Chip, Chip, Chip, Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers

My good friend Libby says I look like a happy chipmunk in my new picture, and that my "public" demands "full body" shots to show the weight I've lost since I arrived in Spain. I may have to consider that.

Anyhow, yesterday was a rather "lackadaisical" day as Paddy put it, and all of us mostly shifted around the house between states of reading, Interneting, sleeping, and drinking tea.

I'm experiencing some kind of allergy attack, which is typical for me around this time of year, but I hope that it's not some silly cold coming on too. Congestion, headaches, the lot. I've bounced between Benadryl and Sudafed for the time being, and the Sudafed seems to be the best bet. Decongestion without the groggy drunken feeling.

Paddy also got a blog started for himself: http://www.elcaminounreal.blogspot.com

I'm starting a viral infection.

Last night we went into San Nicolas and has a lovely dinner at Casa Barrunta. White bean soup and a veal filet and a nice white wine. Delicious. I crashed shortly after coming home, trying to trudge my way through listening to 1984. It's not that it's a poorly written book, it just seems so preposterous at times that it's a little aggravating. It seems mostly like the rubbish the conspiracy theorists warble on about. I don't know. For it's time though I understand what a remarkable work it was/is.

We shifted some boxes from the garage so that the gypsies, who arrived early this morning to haul away scrap and junk, didn't tote away any of Paddy and Rebekah's belongings in the process. The arrived at 9am, just after I woke up, and had everything cleared out within an hour and a half. Una didn't much care for the man's wife, or woman helper as it were, that came along. She didn't do much about it though.

After that was over the three of us put on some "civilized" attire and went to a special mass that was being held today in honor of St. Isiodor (Ed. Note: I got this wrong... it's St. Isidro, who is completely different and has no relics in Leon). I didn't realize until yesterday that this saint, the one whose relics are supposedly guarded in Leon, was a man. Oops (Ed. Note: Also, I suppose this point could be contested still... perhaps St. Isiodor is a woman!). There were some French speaking pilgs at the mass who I communicated with about what was going on. It's always nice to speak some French. At some point I was having something in Spanish translated to me in English and then conveying it to them in French. Whoa. We went out to a field with the priest and the shrine to St. I. (Ed. Note: the correct "I." that is) and he blessed the fields. After the mass the townspeople converged in the Plaza Mayor with a table and fixings for a small gathering; crisps, pickles, olives, peppers, wine, sodas, juice, and cookies. A good time was had by all, and some pilgs that had stopped in the vicinity to have lunch joined us. I really like the people that live here.

Back home and out of our "fancy" clothes, we rustled an array of leftovers and deli goods out of the fridge to make a nice lunch which we just finished enjoying out in the sun. It's a remarkably beautiful day today, and it was nice to eat outdoors.

Alright, that's all for yesterday and today. I'm still trying to figure out where I'm going to go and how much it'll cost. Suggestions are welcome.

And here's to you Mrs. Robinson

Well, here I am. Back in Moratinos, and lo and behold... there is Internet! (And it is good)

So back to updating my blog on a regular basis as I've finished my Camino across Spain to Santiago de Compostela. I got my certificate, I hugged the Apostle, and I had a few beers. Good times.

I'm glad to be back in this place; it feels like home to me. I'm also sad that I'm done walking, but know that I've made some amazing friends and lived through some incredible things along my journey that I will never forget. While I'd really like to share my Camino with all who read this, I've decided against publishing my Camino Memoirs, as I might call them, for varied reasons. I'd be more than pleased to share the adventure with others through the photos I took, and stories I can tell.

As for now, I need to plan the rest of my trip, and at the moment I'm not entirely sure where that will take me. I'm really itching again to do a "Grand Tour" of Europe and hit a dozen or so major cities (Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Budapest, Sofia, Prague, the Transylvania area...), though arranging that seems to be increasingly costly and aggravating.

So right now I'm going to focus on getting a train to someplace in France, hopefully Paris, try and visit one or two other places I'd like to see there, and then head to Italy to walk the Cinque Terre and see Rome, Venice, and Florence. Beyond that I can't fathom right now. My brain doesn't seem to be able to process something that complex currently.

I need to do some major CouchSurfing searches and find some people to stay with along this first leg of the adventure, then once that's through I'm supposed to try and get to Sofia in Bulgaria to meet a relative of one of my mom's employees. We shall see.

Today was my first full day back at Rebekah & Paddy's. There is no roof on the main house any longer as a team of builders have finally arrived and gotten a head start on the construction. I need to take some pictures, because it's really surreal.

I got back into Sahagun yesterday afternoon by a train from Santiago, and Reb picked me up from the station. We came back, the dog was ecstatic, we talked for a while, Paddy showed me his chickens. He is utterly delighted by them. I love it. We had a nice dinner of Spaghetti Bolognese, and I did some Interneting before going to bed.

Slept in past 10 this morning, had coffee, and James happened over with Africa, who has literally tripled in size. She is massive, and not yet done it seems. He brought her over to see if Reb could remove ticks that he'd found. Glad to see him, though things over at the house haven't seemed to progress much, but this is just speculation from the outside. Paddy says he'd done a lot inside. Sebastien seems to have buggered off after supposedly going to meet his family but never actually arriving. I can't say I'm disappointed.

Some Camino friends of Reb's were coming by this afternoon so we did a little surface cleaning in the kitchen, obviously not bothering with the layer of dust outside, as the builders are going to just come and make more tomorrow. It's chaotic but wonderful. I'm glad to see things getting done. We went to mass where I got to see most of the town people, and much to my amazement can understand much more of their talking than before I left. I'm pleased with how my rudimentary Spanish conversation skills are coming along. If only these people would let me come by and order cafe con leche, I'd be set. Tuesday is a fiesta here in town so there will be a special mass and then a community luncheon. That should be fun.

We had a brilliant seafood pallela that Paddy made for lunch, and then we all took naps on a somewhat rotating schedule. I'm stuffy and my throat is sore so I've been taking Benadryl which makes me drowsy.

Tino and his American wife arrived just past 6, they got the tour, and we sat around talking over a beer. Once they'd gone Paddy and Rebekah made a wonderful dinner of steaks, potatoes, and green beans. Then we sat around listening to music from my iPod. I'm working on getting all my photos from the Camino uploaded to my family's Walgreens account.

I think that's all for today. I'm up way too late, and really need to get to sleep. Ah, and Reb has taken up a Blog of her own here on Blogger to report life in Moratinos to the masses. Please check it out at http://moratinoslife.blogspot.com/

Cheers!

We're in Santiago

Arrived in Santiago de Compostela today. Hooray! Glad to be finished walking, though I'm going to miss travelling with my friends and having fun times with all of them. I'm off to Finisterre for a day and then back to Sahagún on Saturday.

After I get back I'm going to plan the rest of my trip around Europe. Not positive where that'll take me and when, but we shall see. I should be back to making regular updates to this blog as well.

Stay tuned kids!

<3 Ryan