Barbados Shenanigans

When we weren't trying all sorts of yummy food and meeting up with family, the gang and I found ways to entertain ourselves. One day we went tubing, which was nothing like the experience I had in Massachusetts, one evening was spent on a pirate party boat, and another day we went snorkeling and swimming with turtles.

I know what you're thinking. That's so cool! Why didn't you post about this earlier?  Well, the main reason is because Mike took some great video and pictures with his GoPro and I didn't bring the cable to hook it up to my tablet. Womp womp. And as cool as writing about it is, pictures really enhance the story. So I waited until we got home stuck in the Barbados airport for an eight hour delay, where we eventually ended up in the VIP lounge with a computer where I could hook up the camera and write about our adventures.  Thanks, American Airlines.  But not really.

Tubing
In June, Mike and I went up to his parents' to go tubing along the Quaboag River, where we slowly floated on down while shooting the breeze.  When Kim suggested we go tubing one afternoon, I thought it would be somewhat like that.  Oh boy, I was wrong.

These guys had huge inter tubes with the middle section covered up so that you could lie on them and had them tied to the end of their boat.  They then put the pedal to the metal and took sharp turns, trying to see how many people they could get to fall off.  It was so. much. fun.  Sadly, I don't have pictures, but Mike took some great videos that I'm going to edit and post on YouTube at a later date.  Keep a look out for it!

Jolly Rodger
If you ask my friends and family what sort of activities I'm not really into, I promise you that a party cruise would be a fairly popular answer.  When Kim suggested that we go on the Jolly Rodger, I was leaning towards skipping it.  But then Reggie and Linda decided to go as well, and it was hard to say no.  In the end, I am so happy that Mike and I did go.

Reggie, Mike, me, Linda, and James before getting on the boat.

Kim and Jerry.

The Jolly Rodger is a pirate ship that does lunch and dinner shows.  All of us went for the dinner show on Thursday and had a blast.  You arrive at the port in Bridgetown for pre-dinner drinks and a show.  They had a drag queen host and fire breathers, dancers, and more.

Kim with our drag queen Emcee. 

Crop Over dancers. 

After the show, you hop on the boat for dinner and, you guessed it, more drinks!  There is also dancing and another little show that they put on towards the end of the cruise.

The entire thing was admittedly a little corney, but we all had such a great time.  It was raining a little before and during our time on the ship, but towards the end it let up.  Nobody seemed to notice that the rain had stopped, which was fantastic because Mike and I went dancing on the top deck and no one else was there!  We were able to make total fools out of ourselves without onlookers.  Evenutally, we got Reggie and Linda to come up as well and they agreed that it was much nicer than dancing on the bottom deck like a bunch of packed-in sardines.

Even though this blurry, I feel like it perfectly captured our evening. 

Snorkeling and Turtles
You long time readers are already familiar with my past snorkeling adventures.  I have come to enjoy it so much that I am seriously entertaining the idea of becoming SCUBA certified.  Getting up close to these fish and other animals is absolutely amazing and I'd love to get closer.

I think it's a good look for us.

One morning, we got on a boat that took us out to a ship wreck where an artificial reef has been made.  We got to see all sorts of fish up close and personal.  I have never been so close to so many fish at once.  You could reach out and touch them (if you were fast enough).  It was nuts.

The reef on the ship wreck.

After we explored the ship wreck, we got back on the boat and headed over to see some turtles!  It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.  They even got close enough that you could reach out and touch their shells. 

So cool.

Now we can put turtles on our list of animals that we have swum with.  Hopefully we can add dolphins next!

These excursions were a lot of fun.  And being able to enjoy them with family that you don't get to see regularly made it even better.

Bajan Food

I feel like I am learning something new about Reggie all the time on this trip. One new fact I have picked up on is that he is a really good cook. 

Since food can get expensive here, Reggie cooked up a bunch of meals and snacks in Massachusetts, froze them, and brought them down with him. We have had the pleasure of eating all sorts of yummy things, such as fish cakes, curried chicken, and oxtail soup.  And it wouldn't be a Bajan meal without hot sauce. Mike and I are absolutely hooked on this stuff. I have bought two bottles of it at the grocery store to bring back with us. 

Look at all that spicy goodness.

The few times we have gone out to eat, we have tried to stick to ordering items off the local menu. Yesterday, I had roti for lunch. When I first heard of it, I thought of the Mediterranean restaurants in DC and Chicago, but I was kind of off base. Roti is spiced meat and potatoes wrapped in shell very similar to a tortilla. It's probably one of my new favorite foods. 

Roti!

Other delicious food that we have had includes macaroni pie and turnovers. On Sunday, we are going to meet up with Reggie's family for the afternoon and I'm sure there will be many more yummy things to try. 

We have also been drinking a lot of rum and the local beer, Banks. It tastes like water and it is easy to down a few without realizing that you have.  So we have been drinking mostly rum, with any sort of mixer we can find.  We also have bottles we are bringing home. :)

Now that I've written about food, I need to go find some. 

You May Be Right, I May Be Crazy

The days leading up to our trip down to Barbados were a little busy, to say the least. It started with us seeing Billy Joel perform at Wrigley Field on Friday night (which was absolutely amazing), followed by going out to one of Chicago's suburbs on Saturday to photograph a wedding.  Then we got out of bed early on Sunday to fly to Miami, where we would spend a little under 24 hours before setting off again on Monday, finally to Barbados.  As someone recently said to me, we don't like feeling the grass grow beneath our feet. 

Billy Joel live at Wrigley.

Our layover in Miami was alright. I found a deal for us on Jetsetter at the Freehand hostel, which worked out nicely. We had a suite, which consisted of two rooms - one with a TV and couch and another with a bed. It was cool and quiet, which was nice. But I doubt the rest of guests were staying in those rooms as they appeared to be a lot of young Europeans on a gap year.  I felt a little old staying there because it seemed that everyone was in their early twenties and preferred to spend their Sunday evening getting sloppy at the hostel's cocktail bar while all I wanted to do was sleep.  But I will admit, that cocktail bar did make damn good drinks. 

We got to walk around Miami Beach and check it out. The portion we explored was somewhat underwhelming as the water felt lukewarm and there was seaweed everywhere. It was also a million percent humidity, which didn't help matters. But we eventually found a Cuban restaurant to eat at, so that was nice. 

When we arrived in Barbados, Mike's uncle, Reggie, and one of his family members met us at the airport.  We made our way to our hotel, where Mike's aunt, Linda, was waiting for us. There were hugs for all and you could immediately tell how excited they were (and still are!) to have us here. 

Our first view of the island.

Another fun part about this trip is that Reggie's grandson and his girlfriend are here as well. And they are hilarious and a ton of fun. Neither Mike nor I have met much of Reggie's family, so it's nice that we are able to now. 

On our first night here, we went out to watch some people sing karaoke with Reggie and Linda at a place called La Bouche in Speightstown. We had to take a bus, which was an experience. There are some government owned buses and there are some private ones. We hoped on a private one that was going a million miles an hour and blaring music. It was awesome.  The government ones didn't have music blaring, but they still drove like bats out of hell. Typically, that sort of thing terrifys me but I loved it here. 

I keep joking with Linda that we need to allow extra time when going places with Reggie because he knows so many people here and stops to say hi to them all. I feel like I am getting to know a lot of people here already.  And who knows what he still has in store for us. He has been a wonderful host so far and I am sure that he will continue to be. 

Family Fun in the Caribbean Sun

Before we went to Europe this past spring, I wrote that Mike and I are incredibly lucky to have friends all over the world.  I still stand by that statement and think that having friends who live and have ties to different places across the globe is fantastic.  But now, I want to change what I originally said to also include family.

For those of you who don't know, Mike's uncle, Reggie, is from Barbados.  Although he and Mike's aunt, Linda, live in Massachusetts, they still have strong ties to the island.  I love listening to Reggie talk about life there, and he is very well aware of that.  So a few months ago, he invited me and Mike to come with him and Linda to Barbados this summer.  It took us about two seconds to agree to that. 

Linda and Reggie at our wedding.

Part of the reason I am so excited for this trip is that we will get to see the island with someone who is actually from there and knows his way around, which, in my opinion, makes for a better time.  

An added bonus to this trip is that we will be going during Crop Over, which may sound familiar to some of you because Rihanna, who is originally from Barbados, sometimes takes part in it.  One of our friends whose family is from Barbados spent an evening telling me all about the celebrations, and now I can't wait to experience it, albeit with more clothing than RiRi.

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So where exactly is Barbados?  Glad you asked!  Here's a map that will help you out:

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As you can see, Barbados isn't super close to Chicago.  We have to connect both ways in Miami, which makes me a little nervous as I have heard less than stellar things about immigration at that airport.  Anyone care to refute that?  (Please?)  
Our flights down to Barbados didn't line up exactly the way we were hoping they would because American Airlines was only offering us layovers that had us stuck at the Miami Airport for a minimum of 9 hours (boo).  So we have decided to spend a day in Miami on our way down (yay!).  Even though Miami is not a destination abroad, I've decided to write about it anyway.  If anyone has any suggestions for things we should not miss during our 20-ish hour stay there, please let me know!

The week before this trip is going to be quite busy, so spending time at the beach is going to be very welcomed.  Keep your eyes open for posts our about upcoming various island adventures!  

Also, I created a Facebook page for my blog.  Like it if you have a second :)

Reflecting On: Holland and France

It's time for my second installment of my "Reflecting On" series.  I've decided to answer some of the questions in two parts - one for each country.  Here we go!

What did I love the most about Holland?  France?

Holland:  Mike and I were constantly mistaken for locals, which was super flattering!  Being tall and fair was probably part of it, but it was nice to know that we didn't stick out like sore thumbs.

France: Probably seeing all my friends, but also being able to speak French without people immediately switching into English.  Last time I was there, I had a heavy accent (thank you, Russia) and anytime I began to speak in French, store clerks would switch into English.  I felt like my language skills had greatly improved and it made me more confident.

What did I not love?

There were three things that I did not love so much.  First was the Euro exchange rate ($1 = 1€30).  It made my wallet (and me) want to cry.  The worst part about the Euro, in my opinion, is that you walk into a cafe and see that a cafe noisette (my new favorite thing) is 5€.  That's not bad in my head because I drop to Euro sign and put a dollar sign in its place.  Oh - $5 for coffee?  Not horrible in Paris.  So I order it and enjoy my little slice of caffeinated heaven. Then I do the conversion in my head and realize that I just spent roughly $7 on a cup of joe!  Gets me every. single. time.  The joys of the two currencies being just off enough to kind of screw you when you think something doesn't cost all that much. 

Speaking of the Euro, holy moly are cabs expensive.  We had to take a cab to the airport in Lyon because we needed to be there before the tram opened, and our 25 minute ride was about 75€!  Not cool.    

The third, and final, thing that I wasn't crazy about were the bikes in Amsterdam.  I know, I know - they're such an iconic part of the city but I didn't like them.  Mainly because they are terrifying due to the fact that they are silent and fast.  Between that and me being extremely jet lagged and therefore not totally aware of my surroundings, Mike had to pull me out of the street a few times because I almost became bike road kill.  Of course, I finally got used to them on our last full day there.  And I'm sure I'd adapt to them being around if I was in Amsterdam for an extended period of time, but good grief.

If I had to change one thing about the trip, what would I have changed?

Holland: Getting more out of our days.  I mentioned a few times that we slept in because of the jet lag, which meant that we didn't have as much time to go exploring.  While I'm happy with what I saw, I wish we could have gotten to see some other sites, like the Heineken brewery.

France: I would have really liked to have spent an extra day in Paris, but given the timing of everything, I don't think it would have worked.  Leaving on Easter was great because everything in France (and the majority of Europe for that matter) is closed that Sunday, and in France, they have Monday off as well.

Would I ever go back?

Holland: Yes.  I would very much like to go back and see some of the bigger attractions that we missed.

France: Duh.

Final Thoughts

We had a really great time, but it felt as though it was go, go, go.  I would liked to have had a day of rest, but like I said above, I don't think it would have worked out because of the timing of everything.

During this trip, we used Airbnb for our stays in Amsterdam and Paris.  I'm glad we decided to give it a try in another country.  Mike was nervous about doing that, especially in Holland since neither one of us speaks Dutch, but we didn't have any issues.  And even though we didn't have phones, it worked out really well and I'm sure we will be doing it again.  

My final (and most random) thought from this trip was that no one knocks on the bathroom doors in Europe!  I found it kind of rude, but that's just a cultural difference I guess.

Adding a pin to the map

For those of you who have been over to our apartment, you have probably seen the large map we have hanging over our bench (or in DC, hanging over Mike's computer) that has pins in that signify where we have been.  Purple pins are for me, green is for Mike, and yellow is for places that we both have been, either together or separately.  We put this together ourselves, and if you are interested in creating one of your own, contact me and I'll be happy to show you the resources that we used.  

After every trip, we update our map with new pins.  So without further ado, adding new pins to the map:

Until next time!

Lyon: Part III

As you probably gathered from some of my posts, I was beyond excited to see my friend, Lisa, in Lyon.  Mike and I made sure to clear our Saturday so that we could hang out and catch up.

We met up around noon and decided to take a walk around town.  It was like we hadn't gone more than a day without seeing each other.  Friendships like those are the best.  We talked about everything over lunch and drinks, and the best part is that Lisa's English is really good, so Mike wasn't left out of any of the conversation.  Woohoo!  Everyone wins.

What a perfect way to end our time in Europe.  I couldn't have asked for a better trip with better people.

Lyon: Part II

Up until this point of our trip, our days were crammed packed with activity.  By our second full day in Lyon, we were pretty tired and did not feel like running (or rather, walking) around at full speed.  Enter public transportation.

Not only did our Lyon City Card give us free access into the museums, but it also gave us free rides on the public transportation.  Did you know that part of the public transportation in Lyon includes a funicular?  And, side note, did you know that I only knew that word in Russian for the longest time?  Not like it is super different in English, but that was a fun moment when I showed up in Pittsburgh, pointed at the one they have, and only knew how to say it in Russian.  I got lots of quizzical looks from everyone in the car for that one.  The joys of spring breaking in Kiev :)

We took one branch of the funicular up to the hill so that we could see La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière.  The basilica sits above the city, and it is absolutely beautiful.  Since it is such a distinct part of the Lyon skyline, we figured we should go see it.

When we arrived, they were holding a small Good Friday mass in front of the church.  We stopped to watch it for a couple of minutes, and then proceeded to go inside.  And, as per usual with the great churches in Europe, the interior did not disappoint.

After we finished gawking, we stepped out behind the church and were greeted with an amazing view.  After looking down at the city awhile, we were happy that we decided to take the lazy easy way up to the top of the hill.

There were a few sites and a museum or two that were up near the basilica, but quite frankly, I had my fill of museums and wanted to explore something else in Lyon.  The Traboules.

The Traboules were built in the 4th century so that people had a more direct route to access water from the Saône river since the winding streets made it a time consuming task.  They were then used by the silk merchants to transport their products so that they did not get ruined when it rained.  And in World War II, they were used by La Resistance.  Because only the true Lyonnais knew of their whereabouts at the time, they were used to hide from the Gestapo. Today, people's apartments can be accessed through them, as well as courtyards and winding staircases.  There is so much history in the tunnels, and I like hidden things, so it was the perfect site to explore.

After that mini-adventure, we decided to wander aimlessly around town.  We stopped and got a beer, bought some books at FNAC, and thought about food (because it's us and we're always hungry).

According to my Lonely Planet guide, Lyon is the culinary capital of France. After this trip, I totally get that.  On our first night in Lyon, we found a street lined with amazing restaurants that we kept returning to for dinner.  Our first night, we had pretty decent French food, then we went back for Ramen the second night (super French, I know), and on our third night, we went back to a Bouchon Lyonnais.

An official bouchon sign.

A Bouchon is a restaurant that you only find in Lyon as it serves Lyonnais food, which basically means a lot of meat.  We went to Aux Trois Couchons and it was one of the best meals that we had in France.  But not all Bouchons are authentic...you have to look for the sign like the one above to know that it is a real one (which means registered with the Bouchon authorities...whoever they are).

My gratin d'andouillette with chitterlings.  Google that.  I dare you.

Inside, the restaurant was jammed packed with people and knick knacks.  And the food was delicious.  You can't beat a good meal in a great atmosphere.  It was a great way to end our day.  

Lyon: Part I

Over a period of 13 years, I have been lucky enough to go to France six times.  I feel incredibly fortunate for the opportunities I have been given to travel to this beautiful country.  With the exception of my time in Corsica, I have only ever been in the north of France.  When planning this trip, I knew that I not only wanted to see my friend, Lisa, but also to see a different part of France.  And it so happened to be that I could do both of those things at once.

Lisa is actually finishing up school in St. Étienne, so she was very busy with course work and not able to meet us until Saturday, giving us two and a half days to explore Lyon on our own. 

We took the TGV from Paris to Lyon, after meeting up with Marianne and Danièle for coffee.  I was super excited to take the TGV because I have been reading about it since the 7th grade.  For those of you wondering what the TGV is, it is the high speed train in France.  It can get up to speeds up around 195 MPH.  I was probably a little too excited about taking it, but I feel like I can blame that on my grandfather, who worked for and loved the railroads, shared his passion with me, and who would have been equally pumped about our trip if he had been there.

Waiting in Gare de Lyon for our train.

The French countryside.

When I took this picture, the train was going 244 km/h, which converts to about 152 mph.

I was so excited about the train that I failed to check if Lyon had more than one train station, and if it did, which one would be best to use.  So guess who booked tickets to the wrong train station in Lyon?  This girl.  We had to take a taxi to our hotel, but we got to see some of the city that way.  You have to look at these things optimistically, especially when your husband is throwing sidelong glances at you for a 10 minute, 20 Euro cab ride.

One of the first things we did was grab a drink on one of the many barges on the Rhône.  It was a little chilly, but we had fun people watching.  The city pumped a lot of money into this area to make it a desirable hangout, and it was easy to see why.  Many groups of friends were catching up over food and beer, while sitting on the river bank, letting the last few rays of sun hit them before the sun set.  

The next day, we bought a Lyon City Card and hit up as many museums as possible.  We started with the Textile Museum, where they had an incredible exhibit on the costumes from Lyon's opera.  I wished that my sister had been there since she does theater costume design.  She would have loved it.

We also went to the Musée des Automates, which was a small, but fun museum filled with moving puppets depicting different scenes.  Each puppets is hand crafted, and we were both really impressed with the scenes that were set up.

Mike checking out the window display.

A scene from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

That was followed up by the Musée Miniature et Cinéma, which was probably our favorite of the day.  The museum was full of all sorts of movie props, scenes, and costumes.  Some examples of things they had were the Alien Queen from Alien, costumes from Lincoln, the mirror in The Matrix, and so much more.  And the final rooms of the museum were full of miniature scenes that people had crafted.  Mike really enjoyed those. 

A miniature kitchen.

A miniature school room.

A miniature grocery store.

The last museum we went to was Le Petit Musée Fantastique de Guginol.  Guginol is a famous French puppet that was created in Lyon.  He looks like this:

(via)

Since he is such a huge cultural icon, we wanted to go see the little museum about him.  Fun fact, the museum is located in the back of a store, and the entrance is covered up with curtains, which makes getting in highly confusing.  And the lady who runs the store was not very nice, but luckily her coworker was.  After some confusion, the nice guy who was working there told us that yes, in fact the museum is located in the back of the store, and then proceeded let us in.

We had a great first day and a half in Lyon.  I can understand why there are people who prefer it to Paris.  It's sort of like going from New York to DC.  New York is huge, expensive, and crammed full of people, while DC is not so big, still expensive (but not as bad) and has less people in it.  Mike and I also felt like there was a more relaxed feel about Lyon, but I think that typically happens whenever you go south in a country.  But don't get me wrong, Paris will always be my favorite place in France. :)

Montmartre and Beer

A few years ago when Mike was in Paris, he did not make it to Montmartre.  As soon as I learned this, I knew that we would have to go see it together.  After all, one of my favorite movies takes place in this part of Paris. 

We got a bit of a late start, but ended up in front of the Sacré Cœur around noon.  By some stroke of luck, we managed to find a less crowded staircase for the climb up the hill.  When we got to the top though, there was no shortage of people.  And it is easy to understand why as this spot has one of the best views of Paris. 

We walked around for a little bit and then decided to go to the Musée de Montmartre.  I had read about it here and thought that it looked really cool.  I have also been to Montmartre a few times and wanted to see something new, so this looked perfect. 

The museum opened up in 1960 in order to preserve the history of this area of Paris.  It was really fascinating to learn about the artists who spent time here.  Renior actually painted two paintings in the garden at the museum.  The painting below, The Swing, was one of them.  A similar swing where you can sit and have a photo snapped of you has been installed there. 

 

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Not only are there beautiful gardens at the museum, but there is also a vineyard!  I love that in the middle of the hustle and bussel of Paris, there is a fully functional vineyard that produces 1,000 bottles of wine annually.  To me, it provided a sense of calm you rarely get in a large city.

We continued through the rest museum, learning about the history of Montmarte and its famous artists while looking at their work.  We both really enjoyed it and strongly suggest that you check it out if you are in the area and looking for something to do that isn't overrun with tourists. 

Since we hadn't eaten at all that day, we decided that a late lunch was in order.  This part of Montmartre can be crawling with pricy tourist traps that we wanted to avoid, so Mike and I consulated our TripAdvisor app for other options.  Just on the other side of the Sacré Cœur there was a pizza place that looked cheap and sounded good.  I know, it's just like when we were in Peru, but we were starving and the price was right.  If you are ever at Sacré Cœur and looking for a place to eat, check out La Babalou.  

If you look closely, you can see the Sacré Cœur in the window. 

Since we were full of pizza, we decided that we needed beer.  We did some research before we left and found a beer bar called La Fine Mousse near Père Lachaise.  They only serve French beers here, which is pretty cool.  Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of what I had, but Mike seemed to really like it.  But I do have to say, the space where the bar is located was pretty cool. 

I love that every time I come to Paris, I discover something new.  And this time was no different.