Five French Days

12/9/2012:  From somewhere in the Mediterranean

Well, my dreams of running off and becoming a benevolent pirate have been shattered once and for all.  After spending a night rolling and swaying to the rythem of the sea, and most of this morning battling motion sickness, I've decided that the idea of sleeping on the ocean  is a whole lot more romantic than the reality of it.  But, I 've got to admit it's been small price to pay for the experiences that went with it...

Yesterday I made a guess about where Ryan, Nansi and Naomi would be arriving, and after a few hours and few cups of espresso, breathed a huge sigh of relief to see them strolling through the double glass doors at customs.  Among the treasures they carried was a specially wrapped Boston Cream Donut that Jen had sent me all the way from NY state!  hahaha

We spent the afternoon wandering the colorful streets of Nice together.

at the port of Nice

There were quaint little stores with local bottles of wine for €4, espresso, gelato, fresh soft cruchy baguettes, an entire shop dedicated to the art of olives- Oh my! 

 We walked up to the waterfall on top of the hill and stormed a castle.   

It's not where you go, but who you're with :) 

then we waited for evening to arrive on Nice's pebble beach where the constant push-pull of waves against the smooth grey stones makes the sea purr like a kitten.

After dark we made our way to the port and checked into our cabin on an overnight ferry to the island of Corsica.  The boat was full and the long wait gave us plenty of time to find a quiet corner to make  a late night picnic with all the culinary treasures we'd collected throughout the day :)

16/9/2012  (Termini Centrale, Livorno Italy) 

Alone once again; this time I'm writing this as I sit in a darkened train station,  hoping I'm on the right platform.  It's only 8:30pm, but there's an eerie quiet in this place and I'm looking forward to leaving.  But the last 5 days staying with friends in Corsica have been perfect...

After a night and a morning on the ferry, we docked at the old port of Calvi.  The house where we stayed was only about 5 min up the coast from here. 

Here there are unforgettable sparkling saphire seas, granite mountains of every color- yellow, red, purple, grey, black and tan... some of the rock formations sculpted by the wind and sea look as fragile as hollow eggshells.  I've never seen anything like it.

 

 

In Corsica, no one locks their doors, and there seems to be nothing unfriendly- not even the mosquitoes!  It's like a tiny little piece of paradise dropped into the Med.

beautiful water

Ryan says you can hear the sound of the ocean when you stick your head inside this rock! 

Here be pirates

 

Memories of Corsica: Our road trip down the coast with Nansi playing DJ, and Ryan driving our rented Peugot like Mario Andretti on the twisty mountain roads.  Food.  Oh- the FOOD!! Being welcomed like family in the beautiful home by the sea in Calvi where we stayed.  Becoming irrevocably addicted to fresh figs picked from the tree.  An experiment eating prickly pears gone horribly horribly wrong; spending hours pulling those itty bitty pickers out of our fingers; and then deciding the fruit was good enough to do it again! hahaha  Touring the old citadel in Calvi where Christopher Colombus is said to have been born.  Wine tasting.  Driving in the hills.  Hiking to that freezing cold green river, and taking millions of pictures of the jaw-dropping scenery.  Our fantastic picnic near cliffs by the sea, and drinking wine straight from the bottle.  Trying to keep-up with Nansi's many accents and laughing until we couldn't breathe.  Going in service and meeting the congregation.  5 days of french left my brain a little scrambled.

 

 

And then it was time to say goodbye.  After 5 days there, we dropped our rental car in Bastia and jumped on another ferry to Livorno, Italy. We'd spend only 3 hours here- just enough time for a coffee and a canoli in Piazza Grande, before catching a city bus to Termini.  Happily, we arrived JUST in time for them to catch their train to Florence. Not even time for goodbyes- just "see ya later" yelled over our shoulders as they scurried down the high marble hallway towards their platform, and I went looking for mine to Rome, where in the morning I'll catch another flight.

So here I am in Italy, with my bag still stuffed with treats from Russia.  I just ordered myself a sandwich in Spanish and I can't seem to stop saying "please" and "thank you" in French.  Gosh I'm confused.  So ends this chapter, but then tomorrow another one begins in Istanbul...

23 hours in Vietnam, 16 hours in Moscow

10/9/2012  (In the air somewhere over the Pakistani/Afghani border)

The Russian plane to Moscow is at least 30 yrs old.  The in-flight movie was Russian-dubbed  "Tom & Jerry" cartoons on thick TV monitors mounted to the cabin wall.  And they served fantastic food.  We  flew along the edge of the Himalayas, over Pakistan, eastern Afghanistan, and into Russia.  The land is so inhospitable looking, and at the same time mezmerisingly beautiful.  I really felt as if I could be in a spaceship flying over some far-off planet devoid of life.  Hoped to get a glimpse of the Karakoram or K2, but was on the wrong side of the plane.

This trip started yesterday, when I took a bus to Vietnam and went to see Thuy.  She appointed herself my chauffeur for the day and wouldn't let me spend a dollar.  We met a friend of hers for lunch who's a pioneer in another cong.  and I promised the girls they can come stay with me when construction starts for our first KH in Cambodia.

We tasted giant snails, went to the meeting; and then out for avocado shakes after.  The friends here are so incredibly fun and welcoming.  Drove the motorbike back to her house very late, in the pouring rain; as both of us huddled under an electric blue 2-man poncho.   

And then in the morning I was off to the airport, and tried corn juice for the first time! 

11/9/2012 (En route to Nice, FR)

Back on an airplane again...  Russia has been an incredible experience!  The brothers and sisters I got to met, even more than the sights!  I really have to thank Stephanie and Vladimir for making all this possible.

My flight arrived 20 min early and I had almost no wait at customs.  Everything went smoothly with my transit visa and by 7:25pm I was shaking hands with Tolic and Mark- only 5 min after the plane's scheduled arrival time.  The family were SO kind!  They'd come to the airport packed with a portable a feast in their car: Russian chocolates, the best dried fruits and nuts I ever had, hot tea,  home-made apple pie...   wow!

There was a welcoming party!- Ok, not for me- for some Olymic athletes returning home.  But it was interesting to see some traditional clothes & music

We drove straight through the heart of Moscow to Red Square, where we met Nastia and Masha,  2 sisters from the English cong who helped with translation.  I'd copied some Russian phrases off the internet and given myself a little crash-course, and so could speak a little, but I was really grateful for their help communicating!  Later we happened upon another couple from their cong, which made us a group of 7- perfect strangers laughing together like old friends and going sightseeing in the dark.

Moscow is all lights and gorgeous at night.  Pleasantly cold and just a few scattered clouds.  The Kremlin, the palaces, Lenin's Tomb, St. Basil's Cathedral, Kazan Cathedral........ I learned that Red Square is not called "red" because of the color, but because the word we pronounce "red" means "beautiful" in old Russian.  

We drove the ring road around the city and up to the top of a hill for a bird's eye view.

Back to the family's home after midnight- 3am Cambodian time.  The bed was SO soft!  The next morning the sent me away loaded with gifts & souvenirs:  honey, chocolate, ham, Matryoshka dolls... their kindness was completely overwhelming!

In early morning traffic it took nearly an hour to get back to the airport and I barely made my connecting flight with only about 10 minutes to spare!  This afternoon, I hope to find Ryan and Nansi somewhere in France.  I realize now that I never found out what exactly what flight they're coming in on or which airport terminal they'll be at....   humm, this could get interesting...