Thursday, November 15 – The First Ride

My travels yesterday could not have gone smoother, aside from the hour-long wait for my bag at customs in Denver. Annie saw me to the bus, which went without a hitch. The drive from Heathrow to terminal 4 was actually really cool. Planes were taking off and landing all around us, and we drove right by a parked British Airways Concorde. Terminal 4 was hustling and bustling. I was lucky enough to receive one of the new “body scans.” Hopefully the dude enjoyed seeing my junk. Our plane was a bit late taking off, but still landed on time. Overall, I didn’t feel too bad after the flight. I was able to sleep for about 4 hours and had an empty seat next to me again. Unfortunately, Hashi wasn’t there. He had been replaced by a scowling British man. Arriving home was almost surreal, though I imagine it would have been even more so had it been light out. The trees are completely bare now.

A few final notes about the trip:
- I did not wear my rain coat once. It never rained hard enough or long enough to justify anything other than a soft shell. I lucked out big time.
- I had not a single major travel screw up. I lucked out big time.
- All of the girls were great. They made the trip amazing.
- I have to go back to Ireland to backpack the hiking trails there.

Last night was not ideal. Even though I stayed up until 9:30 and took a sleeping pill, I still woke up at 3:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep. It is amazing how much you can get done when you start your day at 3:30. I unpacked. I cleaned up my shop. I wrote emails. It was actually quite nice. Once it was a more reasonable hour I drove down to C-Springs to pick up my new wheels for my cross bike to replace the one that got run over at my last race. The wheels are pure sex, and I’ve never seen so much carbon as at Colorado Cyclist. The employees were very nice, and the dude even hooked me up with some bulk dura ace cables and housing instead of the stupid kits. Schaweet.

I met Gary and Mom for lunch and headed home for the dreaded first ride. Overall, my legs didn’t feel too bad on this trip. I didn’t notice a huge loss of muscle mass and didn’t feel gross all the time, in spite of the huge amounts of food I was consuming. Taking the road bike for a quick spin felt as natural as ever. My lungs didn’t burn, and my legs didn’t kill me. My heartrate was only a bit higher than normal. I still felt like I could put out a good amount of power, but not that extra little crank-bending juice I had before leaving. I felt like I lost way more fitness during my one sick week in Portland earlier this fall than I did during this entire three weeks. I’m sure that running a bit helped, though my ankle is bothering me and popping a bit. I should also mention that it was, of course, blue skies and warm enough for just shorts and a jersey. Gotta love Colorado!!!

Hopefully I can sleep tonight to get on a more regular schedule. I’m hoping to ride Buff Creek with Kate on Saturday followed by a possible all-female AC/DC cover band. What could be better?

I'm Home!!!

I made it home everyone. No major problems, though sleep will take a while.

I'll update tomorrow.

~B

Tuesday, November 13 – The Last Day

Despite a slow ferry offloading and a very close, sweaty connection with my train, yesterday’s travels went very smoothly. Annie was waiting for me in the Oxford station. It sure was great to see her and to know that I would be spending my last days with someone so wonderfully easy to get along with. We returned to Annie’s graduate housing, which looks exactly like that at Cambridge. For dinner we went to the Big Bang, a bangers and mash joint, for Annie’s friend Zoe’s birthday. There I met many of Annie and Zoe’s friends, including James, Andrea, and Agostino. They were all very nice, and though the dinner was a bit long, a good time was had by all.

Annie and I returned home for an early bedtime because we had to get up for a 7am run with Annie’s crew team. Despite a very cold night, the morning wasn’t too bad, and it was great to get an early start and see Oxford at sunrise. Though very similar to Cambridge, Oxford doesn’t seem to be quite the twilight zone that Cambridge is. Restaurants remain open after 8pm, and one doesn’t feel unsafe walking around at night. The colleges here are very similar to those at Cambridge, though there seems to be more open space and gardens etc.

After showering, etc, Annie and I went out for breakfast and a walking tour. We saw many colleges and walked the fellows’ garden at Magdalene (pronounced “Mawdglen”…I think). We attempted to go into the Bodlien library, but were unsuccessful. Still, we did see shrunken heads at the Pitt Rivers museum. We ate lunch at the covered market, which was unbelievable as well as brimming with avian flu. Afterwards, we attended one of Annie’s lectures on the interactions of aid organizations on public health. Most interesting was the information on the Bill and Melinda Gates’ foundation. After lecture we returned home for me to have a brief power nap and find out that I was invited to interview at UVM. HOORAY!!!!

I met up with Annie at a nearby coffee shop to use the internet, but was unable to post my blog before they closed due to a slow connection. After coffee we returned home before beginning the relatively long walk to one of the best Indian places in the country. It was, of course, amazing, though a bit sad because we both knew that it was my last dinner of the trip. Annie was such an amazing hostess. We always had something to talk about and got along extremely well. And so I slept my last night in Europe. Honestly, I was much more excited about leaving a few days ago. Now I feel rather sad about the whole thing. Still, I’m looking forward to getting back on a bike and doing all of my interviews. Hopefully traveling during the holiday rush won’t be too insane or often.

Monday, November 12 – The Crossing

Though I’m going in the wrong direction, I can think of no more appropriate way to leave Normandy than by ship. Fortunately my journey is significantly different than the veterans that made the crossing in the opposite direction. This ferry is, without a doubt, the nicest boat I have ever been on. I have never been on a cruise, but I can say that this ferry is basically a cruise ship. Lounges, restaurants, game rooms, amazing yogurt, and movie theaters abound, though the movie theaters must be spew stations. At least you can look out the window in the lounge or restaurant. The only thing this ferry doesn’t have is speed. This crossing is scheduled to take over 5 hours, but I hardly think that I will have time to enjoy all of the spaces on the ship in that time.

This morning went without a hitch thanks mostly to my buddy at the Concierge. If you are ever staying in Caen, I highly recommend the Kyriad in city center. This guy at the front desk seemed to never sleep, spoke the clearest French I’ve heard in France, and was generally very on top of his shit. Those of you who know me know that I often have little faith in other people. I would trust this guy with my life. I came down to check out at 6:45 am, checked-out, and my taxi pulled right up. It couldn’t have been more like clockwork…well…maybe if the taxi wasn’t 39 euros.

I got to the ferry terminal while it was still dark and had the occasion to watch a stunning sunrise over the water as the trucks and cars were loading. It was really quite magical and felt as every departure should. I don’t know when I’ll be returning to France again, but I’m happy that I left as I did. Though my French has severely deteriorated since graduation from high school, I still felt as though I shared a certain connection with this place. Ireland certainly embraced me with its beauty and wind-driven texturality, but in France a certain aura of coincidence and happiness seemed to follow me. At dinner last night, for example, the radio played Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing,” “What a feeling,” and “Everybody Hurts,” a very appropriate song for my goodbye to both Laura and France. Part of this aura is certainly associated with the French language. I took such joy in the concierge’s muppet-like use of “C’est inclus.” Everywhere I went I heard funny, warm sounds.

Despite the strong connections to the places that I’ve been on this trip, I am ready to return home. Being with Annie will be great, but I just hope that Oxford isn’t the twilight zone that Cambridge is. I’m thinking of all of you back home…and Justin in NC.

Sunday, November 11 – The beginning of the end.

From the moment that I woke up, there was a hint of the day’s eventual end. Laura was leaving to go home. And though my time alone will be brief, it still stings to say goodbye. Also, I just don’t like the logistics of traveling.

With that said, Laura and I headed out to check out Caen today. First, we had to talk with the concierge about me getting to my ferry tomorrow. Things could be interesting even with my 37 euro taxi. I’m so pissed that it will be that expensive and that the claimed ferry shuttle doesn’t actually exist. Whatever. After dealing with that, Laura and I walked toward the city center in search of breakfast. We found the best European market I’ve ever experienced. Hustling, bustling, huge, and no crap. We had crepes. We had croissants. We ogled the other food.

From there we decided we would go check out Williams the Conqueror’s abbey. Apparently, he fell in love with his cousin. In order to marry with the Pope’s blessing, the two each had to construct a gigantic abbey. William’s abbey is now the Hotel de Ville for Caen. On the way to the abbey we took a wrong turn and ended up at the preparations for some kind of ceremony. Turns out there was a huge memorial service for Armistice day. We waited around for it to begin and watched some of it before leaving for the abbey.

After that we just walked around Caen. We returned to the hotel room to recharge and grab Laura’s stuff before lunch. Unfortunately, we couldn’t have a sit-down affair because of Laura’s train, so we grabbed some heavily buttered baguette sandwiches and walked around. Finally it was time for Laura to leave. It was definitely a hard one. Neither of us knows when we’ll see the other again. Its just so crazy.

I walked back to the hotel to get the rental car to return it. I filled it with gas and left the piece. I took some time to relax and recharge in the hotel room before heading out for dinner. I went to the same place that Laura and I did the first night. Since I want to get to bed early for my early start tomorrow, I was the first one to come through the door at 7:15 pm. Crazy French, with their 11pm dinners! I had a wonderful quiche, a huge (geante) salad, and the awesome rice pudding again. And that was that.

I’m very tired and not looking forward to the logistics of traveling tomorrow. At least I’ll have over 5 uninterrupted hours on the ferry to chill out. Hopefully the seas are relatively calm. As long as my taxi comes on time in the morning, I should make it to Oxford…eventually. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to update the blog again. It might not even be until I’m back home. Rest assured that I’m thinking about all of you.

Saturday, November 10 – D-Day

Well, I apologize for the lack of entry yesterday. So, I’ll fill you in on the quick summary. Slow morning again. Met up with Laura on the train on the way to Nancy. Walked around Nancy, which is much larger and hipper than Metz. Had kebab again. TGV to Paris. Fast walk in Paris rush hour to Gare St. Lazare. Packed train to Caen. Excellent hotel. Redonculous dinner of salad with duck, cured ham, and foie gras with insane rice pudding for dessert. Sleep.

I’ll expand on today a bit more. We woke up at 7:15 and had a quick breakfast in the hotel before walking to pick up the rental car. Picking up the car went smoothly except that we got a crappy Kia with super-touchy brakes and a flaccid clutch pedal. Definitely no Panda. We rushed over to the tourist office to pick up the special D-Day tour book to find them closed until 9:30. Crap. So, we checked out the eglise across the street and the HUGE William the Conqueror fortress in town. After the tourist office opened and a bit of confusion, we were off on the scenic route to our first destination: Arromanches.

At Arromanches the allies erected two gigantic artificial harbors capable of sheltering the entire 4000 ship fleet. The harbor was dragged in pieces across the English Channel at 5 mph. Within hours of taking the beaches, trucks were driving back and forth across the harbor, which eventually carried millions of tons of gear per day to the forces inland. Insane. Pieces of the harbor still remain visible and are a testament to the great durability of this very rapid undertaking.

Next, we visited Longues sur Mer where the German guns are still in their gigantic 6-foot-thick pillboxes. Totally surreal. We also hit the port where all of the fuel for the allies came in. We wanted to do the American cemetery, but were also feeling hungry and worried we would miss out on my Mom’s restaurant recommendation. So, we skipped over the cemetery to come back later. Restaurant L’Omaha was, indeed, all it was cracked up to be. We both had prix-fixe menus, and I had an Ile-Flottante for the first time in 5 years.

Feeling rejuvenated we walked out of the restaurant right onto Omaha Beach where the gravity of the events there hit us with full force. The monuments there are absolutely beautiful. They feel old and timeless and deeply spiritual. Walking on the beach at low tide, I couldn’t help but feel like I was walking on history itself. Just as I witnessed the beach reabsorbing that sheep in Ireland, so too did that very beach certainly absorb blood, humans, guns, shells, and equipment to turn them into sand. Those events will always, literally, be a part of that beach.

We returned to the American cemetery in the right mindset to appreciate the importance of it. Situated on the cliffs overlooking the ocean, it is truly a magnificent monument to the men who died. I found the chapel to be particularly moving, its massive weight seeming to rest directly upon the soul. Even the construction of the cemetery itself was surely a huge undertaking. One can only imagine D-Day itself. I read a quote in the guidebook from a British soldier who said it looked like every ship, every tank, and every gun ever made had been assembled for that day.

After the cemetery we went to Point du Hoc, an extremely important defensive point for the Germans. Once thought to be an invincible location, special Army rangers scaled cliffs under heavy fire to take out the especially dangerous guns there. From there, the Germans could fire on many of the beaches. I can’t even imagine fighting while scaling a cliff. Of the 230 or so rangers who began the assault only 90 remained at the end. Only 2 were responsible for finding and destroying the hidden German guns.

With light fading we drove on for a quick visit to Utah beach and St. Mere Eglise, the drop point for the paratroopers. The drive home was surprisingly long on the autoroute, and we were both very tired. After a brief break at the hotel we went out for another fantastic dinner that included rabbit terrine, warm chevre salad, and crème brulee. I was also able to have a menthe a l’eau, a drink which I have missed dearly in the US.

Tomorrow we’re gonna stick around Caen, and Laura has a 3pm train. I’m so tired right now that I can’t believe I actually wrote this.

More great news!

I apologize again for the lack of updates. The internet cut out on me in the train station yesterday, and I was simply too smoked to even write an entry last night. Needless to say, I had just enough time on the internet to get this:

Dear Mr. Grass:

I am writing to invite you to come for interviews with the Admissions Committee of the University Of Colorado School Of Medicine on Monday, 12/10/2007.


So, I'm now 4 for 6 and waiting on 9. I couldn't be more stoked.

Thursday, November 8 – Pont a Mousson the Destination

After a night of near-comatose sleep, I had a slow morning. I ate breakfast in the hotel, which was fine, but then spent a long time showering etc. I went over to the train station nearby to use the internet before walking around Metz for a while. At 12:24, I took the train from Metz to Pont a Mousson where Laura was waiting in the train station. We walked around Pont a Mousson, which is a very cute little town, well steeped in history. I saw the town square (actually a triangle) and the bridge for which the town is named. Both the bridge and the abbey in town were totally destroyed in WWII. Laura and I had some fantastic, though a bit strange and involved, baguette sandwiches for lunch.

Laura took me over to her school where I checked it out from the outside. And as I looked at the dreary buildings with orange roofs, I realized that I had come half way around the world to see them. This entire trip happened because I promised Laura I would come see her this fall, and it all snowballed from there. Of course I really came to see Laura, but the buildings felt like such an embodiment of my true destination for this trip. The school itself is a professional school with students ranging from fourteen to twenty-four.

We walked back to Laura’s apartment, which is above the house of an old couple. The apartment is nice and spacious, though a bit musty while still being clean. We sat and talked and watched crazy French TV while we drank tea and ate croissants. Due to our late afternoon snack, we weren’t too hungry for dinner, so we just ate at a kebab place that was playing Annie Lennox. The kebabs were quite good, though we were initially given one of those nougat-like blocks when I requested baklava. Of course I still ate a good portion of the nougat block and felt sick afterwards.

Laura arranged for us to meet three of the other language assistants in Pont a Mousson at a local bar. The place was dead when we arrived, though the bartender turned on Phil Collins in our honor. Chris, Lindsay, and Katerina were all very nice and very warm. I’m so happy to feel like Laura is very well taken care of here. After drinks, Laura walked me to the train station where I saw posters for a Dreamtheater and Porcupine Tree concert that is coming here (Kate and Anna…are you reading this?). The train back was insanely new and nice.

That’s about it. Tomorrow we’re headed to Nancy and then for Normandy. And so the journey continues towards it eventual end. Love to everyone reading this.