Giacomo is a Rock Star!

Check out Giacomo on the bass!

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Florence

So my cycling trip ended yesterday in Florence. *tear* It was definitely sad to say goodbye to people and now I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that I won't be cycling anytime too soon. I'm pretty sure I've been bit by the cycling bug and I do see myself purchasing a bike in the future (I'm pretty sure I'll have plenty of time for stuff like cycling during med school, right?).



But anyway, back to Florence. It was pretty fun! In the evening, I walked around with Ben the law student (who also happened to take art history in college, which was helpful as we wandered around the city) and checked out the sites (Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, blah blah blah... I've actually been to Florence before and had seen these already). This pic is a view of the Duomo from down the street. Then I met up with Thai and Tara for dinner. We crossed the river and hung out where all the real Florentines go (according to our guide). The town really livened up past 11:30! Even moms/grannies were out with their babies! There were tons of people in the streets and a bunch of cool little concerts going on (and they were definitely concerts and not just street performers). We ended the night at the retarded bar under my hotel. The entertainment consisted of a drunk guy playing songs on his ipod and singing along to them on a microphone. Oh and he was kind of crouched on the bar as he was doing it. So special.



Today I walked around a little more and got some cheesy souvenirs before hopping on a train to Milan to see the Taravellas. Yay! I'm so excited to see my little Italian brother, Giacomo! Only about an hour or so to go!





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Storm Watch 2009

Remember when I wrote a post about how hardcore I am because I cycled through a huge storm? It happened again!! Only this time it was even more hardcore because it was raining HARDER and we had to go uphill and we thought we were going to die. Actually, I thought it was funny. But I'm pretty sure Ben the law student actually thought he was going to die. I'm pretty sure the words, "I can't see anything! We're going to die!" came out of his mouth. Later he also mentioned the possibility of being kidnapped by trolls in the forest we were riding through... So I'm not sure how reliable his grip on reality is :)

But seriously, it rained every effing day at some point/way during my time cycling through Tuscany. So unlucky! The perfect storm hit on our second to last day while we were cycling through Chianti. It really was so beautiful until we had to ride straight into the dark black clouds and rolling thunder that was just chilling over our destination. Before the storm, we even stopped in a small town and got a picnic of buffala mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, olives, and bread. Sooo yummy! At the end of the ride (more or less on the other side of the storm), we had the choice of cycling up to Radda, a cute hilltop town that had yummy gelato (according to the route sheet). Soaking wet, we decided to make the climb, which was ROUGH. The whole time we were chanting "chocolate!" and "gelato!" as our inspiration to make it up the hill. Luckily, Radda was totally worth it. It had spectacular views of vineyards and farmland all around it (oh! So that's why you make towns on top of hills...haha). It also used to be the seat of Chianti so we did a little wine tasting and walked around town.

That night we stayed at a beautiful inn (pictured) just outside of a small town called Lucarelli. This place was super cute AND comfy. It also had two things I look for in european hotels : a shower with a shower curtain AND its own stall and fluffy towels. These two things (shower and towel situation) are two areas where Europeans can make vast improvements. For one, haven't they figured out that simply leaving a slope in the floor where the shower is will result in the entire bathroom getting wet?! Also, sheets are not as absorbent as towels. Which is why so many people like to dry off with towels and not sheets. Wow, sorry guys... I got really worked up about that. But these are serious issues.

The inn also had a pool (too bad the sky opened up and dumped on us as soon as we arrived) and provided a delicious dinner. The only bad thing about this place was that I'm pretty sure it is haunted by a creepy old lady who watches you while you sleep. I had a nightmare about this the night we slept there and it was totally one of those "is this dream or reality?" moments and I couldn't decide and I freaked out. The next morning, I found out that everyone else in our group slept fitfully and Thai even felt a presence in his bathroom! That place was TOTALLY haunted!

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Siena

Last night, we rode into Siena, our home for three nights. Getting into the city (which is walled and thus has limited access) was exciting/possibly dangerous. Nothing like sharing the roads with crazy Italian drivers while you're on a bike. Actually, it was fine and we all survived :)

The day of cycling was a little long and marred with more bad weather. Luckily the morning was beautiful and it didn't start to sprinkle until later (when we were all tired and cranky). We had a long (18k) climb up a mountain to Castellina in Chianti, which was actually kinda fun (and the views of the countryside were amazing). We also stopped at a castle in Monteriggione (okay, I'm not going to lie... The castle was a little boring). Other exciting things along the way included our guide getting a flat tire and us not seeing her again until Siena and a locked chain on one of our group's bikes. This turned into a dirty challenge (think bike grease extravaganza) that required all four of us to work on it on the side of the road.

Today we had a free day and I wandered around Siena checking everything out. Twice a year, the city has a big horse race called the "Palio della Contrade" in the Piazza del Campo, which is their huge square. Siena is made up of different sub-districts called contrade and they compete in this crazy race. The race is coming up soon and they're just starting to get things ready. They cover the piazzo with sand and decorate the city. Also, everyone is getting excited about it and there are contrade flags everywhere. Each contrada (there are 17 total) is represented by an animal... My favorites are the caterpillar, the she-wolf, the wave (aka fish), and the unicorn.

I also went to the Duomo (the Cathedral) and it was ridiculous! It is so ornate and beautiful - I love all of the art, too. This picture is looking towards the sanctuary... You can also see some contrade flags, which lined the interior of the Cathedral.

On kind of a sad note, I spilled some water in my purse (smooth... I thought the waterbottle was closed but the cap leaked water EVERYWHERE). The water got on my camera and phone. Luckily, I've been able to revive the phone (obviously since I'm using it now.. Though it is working in "safe mode") but the camera is in critical condition with a fogged screen and it stopped turning on... Yikes! I think the memory card is still good so at least I still have the 300+ pics I've taken so far but I'm not sure if i'll be able to dry out the camera to get it working again. Fingers crossed!


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Stormy Weather

I'm so hardcore, you guys. Today we went to San Gimignano AKA the Manhattan of Italy because of its stone towers which are early versions of skyscrapers. But whatever, the town was cool and the ride there was beautiful blah blah blah.



After lunch, we got gelato (yes! I love gelato... This could be one of the best parts of Italy) and noticed that the sky had turned black with scary storm clouds. Since we had already spent some time checking out the city and Certaldo (where we are staying) was only 14k away, we decided to make a run for it and try to get home before the storm hit. Of course, we were totally too late and got hit by the storm like 30 seconds after leaving (for those of you who remember the perfect storm that hit Galveston, TX during sailing spring break '03, this was a total "maybe we should head in now" moment). So anyway, I'm like racing down this huge hill, the rain is pouring - I think there may have even been some hail, the wind is howling and gusting, cars are rushing by, and lightning is striking right in front of me. It was so hardcore. Once we got back, we had to cut the rest of our riding day short and now I'm just chilling in the hotel (boring). But the ride earlier was super exciting!

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Tuscany Day One

So I've started the second week of my cycling trip, which goes around Tuscany. We had a pretty easy day - only about 40k, but there were some intense hills! Sadly, I had to walk my bike twice (weak). The beginning of the trip kinda sucked because it was cold and really really windy. It was actually so windy that at one point I was worried that my bike and I would be blown over. Luckily, the weather improved after lunch and for the rest of the ride. Really, I'm just glad it wasn't raining; last night, we had a HUGE thunderstorm and I was afraid it would continue through the day.



With this new tour, I get a new group and guide. Again, we're a super small group - only 4 of us plus a guide. So far, everyone seems cool. There is a 23 year old guy who is about to start law school at UC Irvine (I told him we could be besties next year at school... Haha) and a young couple (early 30's?) who are also from Cali. Our guide is Catherine, who just moved to Italy from New York. I think it'll be a good group (at least there are girls in this one... No more sausage-fest like last week... Okay, who am I kidding? The s-fest was fun).



Okay, well it's about time for dinner. I wonder what kind of feast we have before us! Good thing I cycle all day or I would end up obese from all the food I've been eating :) My life is so hard.



Oh, as for the picture: I'm sitting right next to this archway looking out at this view as I blog (I am in the small town of Certaldo).



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Pirates in Pisa!

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Provence

Hey guys!
Sorry I've been out of touch... It's hard work being a cyclist! But seriously, we usually get in with just enough time to shower before having an amazing feast of a dinner, followed by drinks and/or walking around town and/or a crazy game of Uno. With all of that, I usually don't get to my room (and to bed) until after midnight. Then we get up around 9 or so to get breakfast and start all over again! So, like I said, being a cyclist is hard work.

Anyways, today we cycled into Aix-en-Provence, which is the final destination of the Provence portion of my cycling trip. Since I pretty much didn't update during most of the trip, I'll now give you a summary. I think when I left off (in terms of text) was the day before our trip through Les Apilles. So I'll start there:

I climbed the mini Alps, you guys! I was pretty nervous about the day because it had been rather hyped up. The hills were hard but I think we paced ourselves well. Some highlights include : Les Baux, an old fort on top of a mountain; a coffee at a lovely cafe by a fountain; and fresh apricot juice at a local organic vineyard. Overall, I think the trip was 63k. That night, we ended up in Cavaillon (known for their melons) where we stayed two nights.

The next day we rode around a bit in the morning through beautiful countryside to a touristy town along a river to see the Vaucluse Fountain. We also stopped at a local fruit stand along the side of the road (pictured) and bought a bunch of cherries. Like a lot of cherries. As the day went on people were pushing cherries like no other.

After the short ride, we were supposed to take a train to Avignon. The train was down so somehow we ended up on a bus. To Aix-en-Provence. Which is in the other direction. Luckily we noticed fairly early-on and the bus driver was kind enough to drop us off and the next train station. This would have been great except that the station had been closed for five years and we had no idea where we were (Provence? Maybe?). We found a cafe and an unhelpful tourist office where we got directions back to Cavaillon and started the ride back. This ride was kinda long, was on a busy road, and had a head wind. Sweet! At one point, we were cycling across a bridge on the sidewalk as winds were gusting at us. Scary! Luckily we survived :) Overall, I think we went about 50k. That night we had couscous for dinner in Cavaillon. Yum!

I think Wednesday was my favorite day of cycling. We went through the Luberon, which is where Peter Mayle lives/writes. We went from hillside town to hillside town (Oppède-le-Vieux, Ménerbes, Lacoste, and Bonnieux), stopping in each one for a picnic lunch, a café, and icecream. Overall, it was super hilly but the views of the Luberon valley below us were spectacular! The distance was about 40k. For the next two nights, we stayed at a country inn that was nestled in a gorge. The setting was amazing though the climb out the next day was a daunting task.

I like to think of Thursday as my "hardcore day." I went on a ride with Lyn (guide) and Darwin (father of father and son team) through the Luberon (I think). Basically, we climbed a bunch of mountains (or maybe hills... And I guess it was really just 3 major climbs). It was also about 90 degrees outside. I'm not even sure how far we went... But I think it was far :) Even though it was hard, I kind of liked/loved the sense of accomplishment at the end. Hmmm what else? Darwin was wearing socks with sperm on them (apparently they're called "survival of the fittest") and my life was saved by two melons bought and consumed at a roadside stand just before starting a huge climb.

Also something amazing happened to John (son of the father and son team) while we were out. He had decided to stay at the inn and hike around instead of going for a ride. While he was walking through the woods, he disrupted a nest of insects (he claims they are bees but were probably just flies or something) and they chased him for a while. Isn't the just hilarious? I mean, who knew that kind of stuff actually happened?!

Our final day of cycling brought us through the market at Loumarin into Aix. The market was pretty bustling and had everything from produce to arts and crafts to clothes. Aix-en-Provence is actually kind of big and a cute university town. At night, we wandered around trying to act like college kids. We ended up at this club called Scat and it was pretty cool! The whole place was underground and had different caves with different music. Well they mostly had a bar cave, a dance party cave, and a rock music cave with a french band playing covers of songs like "Sweet Home Alabama." Somehow the french accent doesn't quite cut it :) Overall, it was a good ending to the first half of my trip.

Now I'm on the train to Italy (we're actually about to stop in Nice) for the next portion. I'll try to keep you all more updated as I go along.

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View from the other side of the table...

Guide Lyn says, "Just living the dream" as he receives his icecream.
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This is REAL.

Just enjoying a café in the hill town of Ménerbes. Check out the view in the background.

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I'm a cyclist!

Okay. Maybe not... But today was the first cycling day of the trip. We cycled 42k from Nimes to Arles. I was a little worried about the who cycling thing at first but I think I'm getting the hang of it. That being said, we have a long hilly day tomorrow and I'm totally freaking out about it. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to be sore everywhere (especially, you know, down there...haha).



Today we spent the morning in Nimes, which is an Roman town. With a fellow group member, Peter (who is a professor at Catholic U. In DC!), I visited the old Roman Arena (complete with audio guide!) which was pretty cool (The pic is of me in front of the Arena). The only other two people on the trip are a father and son team, Darwin and John. When we got back, Peter went off with Darwin (father) to go on the long route (I passed). Then J and I sat at a cafe for a while waiting for Lyn, our guide, to come in.



The trip was beautiful! We rode through the countryside and there were tons of wildflowers and it smelled so good! At one point, we stopped along the side of the road and snuck a couple of apricots out of an orchard. They were delicious. We also stopped in the Medieval towns of Beaucaire and Tarascon, which are twin towns on either side of the Rhône. We briefly checked out each of the castles before finishing up with the rest of the ride... Which was a little rough for me: it was about an hour with a little bit of a head wind.



Finally we made it back to Arles where we had stayed the night before (we had taken the train to Nimes earlier in the morning). Arles is als an old Roman town and has its own amphitheater. We all ate a delicious meal together... I started with a salad with warm chevre, lamb as my entree and and dessert called nougat glacé which was basically icecream and nuts (yummy). After dinner we had a drink in this super cute square where Van Gogh painted Café de la Nuit.



Now I'm super tired and need to rest up for the big scary hill day tomorrow. Ah!

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I made it to Provence!

After a trip on the TGV (first time... We should definitely get one in Cali) I made it to Arles. Although my bike trip technically starts tomorrow morning in Nimes, I got a little biking in early. It was ridiculous! I had no idea I'd be doing this (I happened to be on the train with the bike coordinator on our trip). We got into the station, it is pretty warm (thinking would just walk to the hotel, I had a rolley suitcase, a big purse and I'm wearing jeans). Next thing I know, we're biking through the streets of Arles! Nicolas, the guide, had bungeed my rolley to the back of his bike and was cruising down the street with my suitcase in tow and another bike alongside him(the picture is of the bungee/rolley set up). Meanwhile I have my big purse over my head but it has fallen around my neck leaving me totally off-balance. So I'm swerving around and trying not to crash/die. It was hilarious. And we totally made it okay so yay!

I still need to update you all about my amazing time with Francois but for now I need to go to bed. I have a big day tomorrow!

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Aaaand I'm back on the 'feine!

Life is so wonderful.
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Aaaand I'm back on the 'feine!

Life is so wonderful.
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Yay! Sun!

Finally, the rain stopped and I was able to get out and see some of Paris. Today I went to the Catacombs, the Rodin Museum, and Notre Dame.

It took me forever to find the Catacombs. As in I literally walked around the same square for an hour getting super frustrated. At one point, I was standing with my back to the entrance wondering how to get it (there were several conflicting signs pointing in different directions). Anyway, once I finally got in I found the Catacombs totally creepy. Basically there are piles and piles of bones that are stacked to make designs along the pathways of an old quarry. The creepiest part is that the bones are real! And human! Oh and also, they check your purse after you leave to make sure you haven't stolen any bones. Really?!

The Rodin Museum was a lot better (and a lot less creepy) than the Catacombs. There is a beautiful garden filled with Rodin's sculptures (like The Thinker... Sadly I couldn't work up the nerve to ask someone take a picture of me sitting at the base of The Thinker doing the pose... Like literally everyone else did). There was also an inside museum part with more of his work. Overall it was pretty cool. Oh and I was the cool kid listening to the hand-held audio guide.

After the museum I walked along the Seine all the way to Notre Dame. Now that the sun is out, Paris is teeming with tourists! Tourists are funny sometimes because they do disgusting things like pay someone to put birdfood on them so that a bunch of pigeons will land on them (barf). Also tourists do things like go into a famous cathedral when a mass is starting and then instead of leaving, taking pictures of "Notre Dame in action." Okay, I may have done that, too... But I was with 100 of my closest tourist friends!

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Holy Da Vinci Code!

It's the "Rose Line" at the church of St-Sulpice. Next to it is a sassy note about how what was written about the "meridian line" in a certain "best selling novel" is not in any way true. heehee.
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I made it!

Okay, so I've only made it to Paris, but still, I consider this quite an accomplishment.  

My two flights were rather uneventful, but the fun really started once I got off the plane!  As soon as I landed, I checked my phone to call François (whom I'm staying with) to let him know that I have arrived.  For whatever reason, my phone isn't working (it's in perpetual SOS mode... grrr).  No phone means I have no way of contacting F to let him know 1) I've arrived, 2) I'm on my way, and 3) where we are going to meet.  No big deal for the first two, but the last one could be a little sketchy.  Luckily, I did have his address and general directions to his flat.

So to cope with my minor problem/freakout, I did what any American would do; I made friends with another American (can you say blind leading the blind?).  J was on my flight, about my age, looking for the same train, and just as confused/out of it as I was (woah, that Tylenol PM hit me hard!).  Perfect!  

Actually, we had no problems finding the train (well, we did stop at the info desk to ask for directions, to which we recieved the reply "follow the signs."  sweet).  Buying tickets for the train was slightly more difficult.  We easily found the ticket kiosk and could follow the directions for purchasing, but then our credit cards kept being rejected once we swiped them through the machine!  "Don't worry," I reply, "I have Euros."  Rejected!  The machine only takes coins and I only had paper.  OMG! WHAT ARE WE TO DO?!?!  This is about the point when a nice French guy stepped in and helped us/was probably impatient about waiting in line and wanted his ticket.  It turns out, you have to leave your card IN the swiper thing for it to work.  AH HA!  How sneaky those French are!  We got our tickets, got on the train, and made it to our stops without further problems.

From the train station, I began walking in the direction I thought F's place was and miraculously ran into him along the way.  "Your phone is dead. I was freaking out!" (yeah me, too).  Anyway, now I'm chillin at his place and trying to fix my phone (no luck so far).  I'm tempted to go outside to explore the area (he lives near Luxembourg gardens and it is really beautiful), but it is raining on and off.  hmmm we'll see.

LAMe! Goes Global!

I have a very exciting announcement: Tomorrow morning, I'm taking LAMe! Global.  And by "global" I mean to Europe and by "Europe" I mean France and Italy.

Anyway, tomorrow I embark on Eurotrip '09!  As my boss put it: "Europe?!  What, did you just graduate from high school?"  Yes.  In case you didn't know, I'm a late-bloomer and I just graduated from high school.  Or maybe I wanted to travel before going to med school, but didn't have anyone to go with and I felt safer going to Europe on my own.

Okay, but I need to focus because I have an early flight tomorrow and it's getting late.

I'm going to Europe for a month and I'm going to try to keep everyone updated through LAMe!  So check it out and hopefully I'll get a chance to let you know what I'm up to (most likely it will be making out with cute European boys... just kidding, mom!).

Here is my itinerary (roughly):

June 8-9: LA-Paris

June 9-13: Paris

June 14-20: Cycling trip around Provence

June 21: Provence-Tuscany

June 22-27: Cycling trip around Tuscany

June 28-July 5: Northern Italy

July 6: Milan-LA