St. Puy

St.Puy Photoset

Nice B&B tonight, a room to myself and I'm watching a postmodern German stage rendition of Hamlet - with French subtitles. This shit is off the hook - the entire front of the stage is covered in mounds of black dirt and all the male characters save Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are massively bearded and wearing reservoir doggish black and white suits. The guy who plays Hamlet is pulling off the batshit crazy thing to a T. They even added subtle filthy makeup around his eyes and mouth giving him that sort of I'm in the terminal phase of syphilis' look that all the chicks in Denmark must go nuts for. The soundtrack is some crazy ass prog noise metal - I've got to find out what the name of this performance is, German never sounded so good.

Today was the reception for my cousins wedding, and honestly, just too many people to meet. The drive from Tourbes to St.Puy might be the most beautiful car ride I've ever taken and it was extremely frustrating to constantly witness perfect photo ops and not be able to stop for anything because of our schedule. I took a nice Super8 of the party that i think I'm gonna cut together and give as a wedding present. So I figured out a few things too:

1 - The sun in the south of France is about a gazillion times stronger than the sun back home and I've got myself a terrific burn all over my face, neck and arms - just from sitting down in the yard for a bit too long... maybe it'll just tan out but I've got a week left here and i would hate to spend it in agonizing pain, I'll find out tomorrow.

2 - My mother spoke mostly french to me until i was about 3, and I've always felt like the entire lexicon is scattered around up there like so many post-it notes - but now I'm sure. In the three days that I've been here I've gone from uncomfortably stumbling through conversations with a lot of hand gestures and common English to electing to speak in French whenever possible and I'm getting pretty damn good, I've no doubt that i could be fluent if i stayed here for say, one month. J'espere que je revener d'ici l'ete prochaine pas-ce que je voudrais parler francais jusqu'a bien de mon anglais... vraiment.

3 - France gets an F- when it comes to internet. I've been able to use other computers to access my gmail but that's about it, I've yet to find a single place to get my macbook online... and i thought Europe was full of wifi everywhere - not so. I've amassed all these entries in notepad and I've taken a lot of pics, but there's no way for me to access this goddam blog, which means that the first third of my holiday is going to be posted all at once - and that's assuming I'll even find a cafe with more to offer than just amazing coffee and pastries tomorrow - when we go to the ancient castle / tourist trap of Carcassonne.

Oh, and i stood up and looked westward across the sunflower fields of Gascony today, gazing westward all the way across the Atlantic, and I thought of you...

Tourbes

Tourbes Photoset

The trend so far is that every day I'm treated to something new that trumps the previous day - we spend a tedious 5 or so hours in the car (now loaded with 2 extras - mes grandparents) heading south. The view alternates between amazing mountain faces and rolling hills of violets, sunflowers or grape vines, the further south we go, the more color is injected into the landscape and before long i can smell the salty air off the Mediterranean.

We arrive at the house of my aunt Bea and uncle Christian in the village of Tourbes. This village is ancient, with barely any new constructions and very few businesses - the old country. Not that i needed any explanation about why the south of France was so desirable or anything, but it blows my expectations out of the water. Its exactly as you would imagine it, even if your vision is a completely idealistic Elysium of colors, scents and light. The house in Tourbes seals the deal - a fairly large provincial style home with shuttered windows, a large patio and modest sized pool, with a vineyard in the backyard that surrounds Bea's garden. I meet my cousin Fanette for the first time since she was about 5 (shes 18 now, which makes me feel like a fossil) and the soon to be married Amanda and her fiance Edgar. They've been living in Berlin by way of Mexico, by way of France while Edgar is engaged in a prized research gig in semiconductor technology - he speaks way better English than i speak French and we carry on about sports and our respective jobs, they're very cool people (had i known them while they lived in Mexico, i would have certainly visited them!) Before long, we decide to head down to our bed and breakfast only to find that its closed - Bea explains that its the south of France; what do we expect? They're probably sleeping off last nights bottle and would open in time for the dinner shift - so, naturally, we're left with killing time back at the house.

Chambery

Chambery Photoset

Later on we drive about 10 minutes away to Chambery because there is a cathedral there that has incredible Trompe D'ouiel work on the interior. The town itself is also pretty ancient (but most of them here are!), so it sounds like a good time. The drive there is nice and i can't help but notice that I've seen nothing but smallish farms the entire time we've been on the road - local, decentralized agriculture either never left France, or its making a comeback - i have to remember to ask someone about that before i leave.

The town and the cathedral live up to the hype. I'll let the photos do the talking. Unfortunately, since it was overcast i opted to not waste any film from the Holga or the Super8, whose vintage color effects only really reproduce well in good direct sunlight.

One funny thing happened to me almost immediately after i got there. I round the corner and there, approaching me is a pack of about 4 or 5 french girls, with the one in the middle, dressed head to toe in a vinyl Catwoman outfit (actually it was sorta like Tank Girl meets Catwoman cause she had these crazy ass goggles up on her head). Naturally, I'm totally shocked when the entire group saunters up to me and asks me in French if i would dance with Catwoman while the rest of them sang for us. I'm doing my best nervous laugh and trying to back out of the situation when i finally decide i can't say no to such a charming group - i only warn them in bad french that I'm a terrible dancer and ask them to keep it short - Catwoman looks very embarrassed and picks up that I'm not French and tells me in English that she can't dance well either. So the group starts to sing some solemn sort of tune that would have sounded incredible on an accordion or something - undeniably french, and even though she begins to dance in front of me, i take her by the waist instead and give her a few turns right in the middle of the street, in front of a dozen or so onlookers before bowing out - at which point the girls thank me and tell me that Catwoman is getting married and this is part of her bachelorette party/hazing. Flattered, I tell her good luck and its a good natured laugh, a funny experience to kick off my first day out and about... I love this place.

Chez Grandmere

What a day. Even though i snuck in a needed 1hr nap halfway through the day, I'm wiped out. We got off the plane and let me tell you something - the Swiss do not fuck around when it comes to wrist watches. There are billboards every 5 feet on both sides of the corridors coming in and i swear to you, every single one was a luxury watch advert. How big of a market is watchmaking that they could fill every single box in the airport with watch ads? I wonder if anyone is ever late here... or poor. Also cool/creepy was a huge friendly sign for the CERN laboratory (CERN is a research facility outside Geneva that is home to the worlds largest particle accelerator / super collider, rumors have always lingered that the nature of the experiments done at CERN could potentially end the world. Cool sign though.

Picked up our rental car - a sweet 2008 Passat Estate TDI (picked that sucker out myself), made the straight shot from Geneva to my grandparents place in La Motte Servolex in about an hour. It was wonderful to see them as it has been about 10 years for me since they visited the states. The weather was a bit overcast and the geography of the Alps keeps a lot of the moisture trapped in the valleys here so clouds tend to cling tight to the ground and along the mountainsides - making it feel more like the Andes than the Alps - but the architecture is undeniably European and its awesome to just be here. There's a jagged rock sticking out of the tallest of the surrounding mountains they call "La dent de la chat" - The Cats Tooth; and I'm instantly reminded of the Catskills and Shawangunks back home (only these fuckers are HUGE).

We ate a big lunch / dinner of roast beef, locally made bread and locally grown mini russet potatoes (they apparently go for about 7 euros a lb) and cracked a bottle of champagne along with two bottles of red - one of which, a 2003 Cote du Rhone named St. Joseph was very very good. We talk about the flight and my grandparents constantly bicker about whatever they can manage to bicker about, which is pretty hilarious to watch. My grandmother compliments me on my terrible french and my grandfather talks to me about which car I'm driving these days (Passat B5 V6) and he tells me about his Golf, which he loves, even though it has strange electrical problems (big vdub shocker right there).

Flightlog

7/16 8:35PM - 30,000 ft over Newfoundland - Flightlog

Finally i have my prescription of vodka tonic and i can relax! Takeoff was smooth - just prior to taking off, my Ipod decided to cue up a track from Explosions in the Sky - a track that i decided i should skip and avoid till I'm no longer in said sky. The bad choice was immediately offset by a good one - "Red Eye" off of "Into the Blue Again" by the Album Leaf. Perfect.

I had my aisle seat ganked by some middle aged french woman who claimed she would be using the bathroom frequently and it would be easier for us if she took the aisle - i agreed, but i feel as if I've been duped. Flight has been smooth so far and we took off on time - the trip is supposed to take 8hrs - but the Nav Computer (aka tiny little screen in front of me) says 6hrs 47min, so bonus there, one less hour in the plane works for me. The hottie blonde 20-something Swiss stewardess is coming back around for more drink orders, I'm gonna put the pen down lest i get distracted by the tightly wound little neck scarf and bookworm specs...


7/16 10:30PM - Middle of Nowhere

You'd think that chicken dinner, Yo-Yo Ma and a third Vodka tonic would have made me sleepy... nah. I still don't get how we can put a man on the moon but somehow, figuring out power outlets on planes may as well be figuring out a cure for cancer. Coach class sucks and the bathroom lady who stole my seat has yet to use the bathroom yet - and the bitch snores. The only thing falling asleep in this seat is my ass. Toss up... movie or a read? 4hrs left in the flight as Provisional by Fugazi kicks in my headphones, making sleep even further away. I miss my sleepbot.


7/17 1:09AM EST / 6:09AM Local - Scotland

Turns out "Selected Ambient Works II" from Aphex Twin is audible Ambien. I managed to sneak in an hour or so of sleep. We've caught up with the rising sun and my bespectacled stewardess is handing out hot hand towels to wake everyone up. Swiss Air and Japanese Restaurants... wassup with that? I manage to swap seats and get a window - giving me an opportunity to snap off a few requisite wing/cloud/sky shots before eating breakfast.


7/17 8:13AM - France

Down through the clouds, anticipating the view to erupt below us, the Alps looming. Perfect landing as i decide that i only ever want to fly with pilots who have British accents as it was the smoothest flight ever.

Kick the Tires and Light the Fires

I'm staring at our Airbus A330 as it rolls up to the boarding bridge, snapping photos through the plate glass window walls. I flew last year and went west, to San Diego - that was the first time I'd flown since the last time i was in France - which no one can really remember, but everyone approximates that i must have been between 10 and 12 years old. I had my nerves in a knot before the early morning flight to San Diego but thankfully it was delayed and my friend Magpi and I managed to sneak in several double-deuces of Stella Artois before we took off. I compounded the effects of the beers with steady vodka tonics the whole way and needless to say... it was an easy flight - you just can't beat being lit up like a christmas tree at 9:30am, hurdling through the sky at hundreds of miles per hour.

This time, I'm off to France, and I've been bitching to the lot of you my displeasure with flying over large bodies of water (that Atlantic Ocean thing), and here i am, staring down the aircraft that promises to cart my ass over it, knowing that this apprehension makes no sense for me - the last time i made this trip, i apparently had no issues with the concept - allow me to explain.

However old i was, when my folks, my younger brother Pat and i got to the gate to wait, i never wanted to sit - i wanted to watch the planes land. So, as long as i was in line of sight, i was allowed a wide berth, running around to get the best view of the runways. Unfortunately for everyone at the gate, that was never my game to sit and watch, my imagination always took over and before long, i would be getting interactive... So, there i was, 10 years old, glued to the window, when i began to follow the paths of the landing with my hands, mimicking the planes floating down to the runway, making engine noises and all. Of course, that wasn't exciting enough for me - so just as the planes would touchdown, my 'flying' hand would violently smack into the window sill and I'd make a LOUD explosion noise - plane after plane, landing after landing:

woooooooooosssssssshhhhhhhh...... BOOOM!!!! nnnnyyyyyyyeeeeeeerrrrhhhhhhh........ BOOOOOM!!!!!

Before long, there wasn't a single passenger within 25 feet of me - tourists who were happily snapping photos (like I'm doing here now) nervously shuffled away, taking their bags and herding their loved ones away from the freckled demon with the bowl haircut who seemed to be willing absolute carnage and tragedy for the lot of them. I had no idea i was so cool.

Whatever... fuck the Atlantic, I've got big things to look forward to, and besides - if the plane goes down, I'll just tell myself I'll wake up on The Island.

Itineraire

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The Kit

The Kit, originally uploaded by Rustwerx.

I've seen a few of these types of inventory photos about and i just have to get all nerdy out about it. Heres the carry on - notice i have to carry the Ektachrome film with me in order to keep the luggage x-rays from ruining it all. I'm bringing several cameras with me, but i'm most excited about shooting my Canon 814AZ Electronic - a vintage '72 prosumer Super8 film camera.

Preflight Insomnia

I shouldn't be surprised that it took the potential craziness of a 10 day stretch in France for me to finally start a blog.  So here i am, night before i leave - with barely any wit, trying to manufacture a good 'first post'.  Really, i suppose its fitting - cause i'm about to leave on a trip so i have something to talk about.

About the only thing i mind right now (aside the traveling tomorrow) was the 4hr50m All-Star game at Yankee Stadium - which just now ended on a Michael Young sac fly in the 15th inning, making it 4-3 American League.  The win makes it 11 straight over the Notsogood League - regardless of their recent resurgence.

Needless to say, it was a game balanced by pitching and tempered with clutch defense (As long as your name isn't Dan Uggla.)  The funny thing was that there was opportunities abound - the collective number of men left on base was 28! The RISP mark for both teams was brutal - and now i'm starting to wonder that maybe the Yankees woeful offense this year is due to some twisted psychic attack by The Stadium itself.  Its almost as if it can sense the wrecking balls looming and in some futile reaction, like a cornered animal, its sucking all the luck out of 2 out hits and generally jinxing the ball off the sweet spot of the bat in big situations...  Then again, it made for a pretty epic game, i can't remember anything particularly exciting about recent ASG's but between Josh Hamilton hitting an insane 28(!) homeruns in one round of the 'Derby and it being the longest game in All Star history, it was a fitting end for the last year in The Stadium.  

My only disappointment was that Mariano didn't get the opportunity to close it out - although it was pretty entertaining to see that bitch Papelbon blow it for the AL team in the 8th after he ran his mouth about who was more deserving to get the ball in a save situation (guess who?) Mo showed him up during the 9th - K'ing 2 in 1.2 innings.

Tomorrow, i'll be departing for the Big Trip, 10 days in the south of France, visiting family i haven't seen in forever and enjoying being the fuck out of this country! I'll be touching down in Geneva Thursday morning around 8:30 in the am, and i'm going to try and keep a good photoblog going while i'm away... more to come.