Viva La France! Part 7
Category: Travel and Places

Our docking in Paris represented the end of our fabulous journey on the MS Bizet. Our last day on the ship following the Crew Show the night before, we took buses to the world-famous Louvre Museum. The Lourvre used to be the home of all the French kings before Louis XIV, who moved his residence to Versailles. Each French king added and added upon The Louvre, creating such a large palace that the side facing the Seine River is about half a mile in length alone. It now sits as the largest museum in the world, with over 22,000 individual pieces of art on display. Our tour of The Louvre only featured some of the highlights, since in order to see everything, it would take us about a full week. Of course, with The Louvre being as old as it is, many parts of the museum have no air conditioning, which left us with a pretty hot and stuffy mess of people given how crowded it was. It was definitely good to visit, but I'm not sure if I'd go check it out again. Some of the highlights of the highlights:




















All the photos from The Louvre: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843526_7MFyL


With one last night actually on the ship, we were treated to being able to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle, along with some farewell champagne:




Video of the sparkling Eiffel Tower

The next day, we disembarked from the ship and arrived at our hotel, Le Meridian Montparnasse. Photos of my room:








After a short rest, we embarked on a Paris City Tour via tour bus:


Les Invalides:





Arc de Triomphe:





We then drove to the Embarcadero, which was the best spot for taking photos of the Eiffel Tower:








Next stop was Concorde Square, straight across from the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysees:





All the photos from the Paris City Tour: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843531_Giyfh


The last stop on the city tour was the Luxembourg Gardens, which can be seen at the very end of the current movie, "The Happening" starring Mark Wahlberg (terrible movie though):








All the photos from the Luxembourg Gardens: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843532_DanY6


Without meals provided for us anymore, we were left to fend for ourselves for the last few days in Paris. We got some cheap and not-so great Chinese food the first night, then the next day my mom felt really under the weather, so my dad and I just hit the town. We took the bus up to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral, with my mom staying at the hotel to rest up. While more famous than the cathedral in Rouen, I actually felt a bit underwhelmed by Notre Dame in Paris. It was no doubt awesome architecturally, but perhaps the crowds and lack of brightness inside the actual cathedral took away some of its greatness. Nevertheless, I was very happy to visit and take photos:

















All photos of Notre Dame de Paris: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843534_MAhfJ


Our final activity as a group with the rest of our tour companions would be having dinner at the Eiffel Tower as the tower was illuminated, with a night city tour to follow. Dinner was not as stellar as I would expect it to be, but the experience was definitely worth the trip:

















All photos from the Eiffel Tower Dinner and Night Tour: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843535_G5BUL


Our last two days in Paris would be spent buying souvenirs and tasting the local cuisine. Overall, Paris itself definitely felt like a "world city," however without having the chance to go out with friends at night or anything, I found myself just chilling out in the hotel and relaxing, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Paris is a beautiful city, but I still very much enjoyed the smaller towns in Normandy much more. Some day, I'd like to own a home somewhere in Normandy...it was definitely a wonderful experience.


Our flight home required a stop in Atlanta first, so traveling the whole day sucked. Otherwise, I was happy to be home, but I'll never forget all of the experiences I had in France. Next time I go...I'm definitely bringing friends with me :) My last photo from the Charles de Gaulle airport terminal:





And that concludes my Paris series of blogs. Thanks for reading, everyone!


Armin

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Viva La France! Part 6
Category: Travel and Places

The beginning of our 2nd day in Vernon began with a nice cheese tasting in the boat's lounge. I can't even remember all the names of the cheeses we tasted, but I think I'm rather spoiled off of them now. Anyway, in the afternoon, everyone on the tour was assigned a family to visit with in order to explore the true French life outside of being just a tourist. I had mixed feelings going into this, since I knew I'd probably end up struggling to translate for my parents and our family friends, but oh well. Mr. Baclet picked us up in his VW wagon and we set off to he and his wife's house on the other side of the river. Before reaching their house, Mr. Baclet decided to show us around La Roche Guyon, which was taken over by General Rommel in World War II and was used as his headquarters for his Panzer divisions. It was definitely a crazy place to walk around. Photos:











All the photos from La Roche Guyon: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843516_phyUb


After the short stay we drove over to the Baclet residence. Although they lived in a very small town, the house was absolutely gorgeous and they were happy to share wine a couple of their favorite dishes with us. Mr. Baclet is retired, but Mrs. Baclet still paints in their studio above the garage. Photos:

















All the photos from the Baclet residence: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843518_jQpPa


After spending the night in Vernon, we set off in the morning to our next stop, Conflans. We were no longer in Normandy as we approached Paris, so the small towns were gradually becoming big towns and cities. As we docked, we spotted a black swan of all things, along with some river barges that were converted to barge homes by their respective retired captains. Photos:











All the photos from Conflans: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843520_2XYeq
That afternoon, we took buses to a small town known as Auvers Sur Oise. which was the final home of painter Vincent Van Gogh. I didn't know jack squat about Van Gogh until this tour, but now I have a huge amount of respect for such a troubled soul. It was in this town where Van Gogh attempted to take his life, along with painting 900 paintings the month before his death. His work was incredible and seeing some of the sights that he painted was pretty damn amazing. Photos:

















All the photos from Auvers Sur Oise: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843521_MBhjX


This would be our final stop before Paris, which meant our time on the ship was coming to an end. The crew had one last Crew Show for us to wish us well, along with a last Captain's Farewell Dinner. We would definitely miss the time on the ship and the 3 meals per day. Coming up next...the final leg of our journey...Paris.

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Viva La France! Part 5
Category: Travel and Places

The next stop on the river was a small town known as Les Andelys.  The town actually had a "Petit Andely" and a "Grande Andely" since it separated by a road.  An old castle from the middle ages looked over the town and river, representing a stronghold for anyone trying to invade the country by the river.  Photos:











All the photos from Les Andelys: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843512_Baxjv

After a day in Les Andelys, we set off for Vernon in the evening.  We would stay in Vernon for 2 days, the first of which was spent in the neighboring city of Giverny.  Giverny was home to Claude Monet, and we were lucky enough to visit his home and his intricate gardens.  My mom absolutely loved this place since she's really into gardening.  I also learned quite a bit about Monet and the Impressionist movement...stuff I never got to learn in school.  Anyway, onto photos:











All the photos from Giverny and Le Jardin de Monet:  http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843515_oFFmp

It was a pretty full day so we came back to rest up for the next day, which was to be spent with a local French family that volunteered to show us a typical day in their lives.

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Viva La France! Part 4
Category: Travel and Places

Rouen...ahhhh, Rouen.  This next stop off the Seine was definitely my most favorite city out of all that we visited in France.  Why?  So much to see, so much history, and beautiful people.  Known for its Notre Dame Cathedral, this cathedral soars to a height of 425 feet and was the tallest man-made structure in the world until the Eiffel Tower was built in the 1880s.  It is home to a relic of Richard the Lionheart and was prison to Joan of Arc before she was burned at the stake.  Joan of Arc was indeed burned at the stake here in Rouen, and a newer-style church has been erected at the site of her demise.  I took more photos in Rouen than in any other place in France since I was so in love with the cathedral.  Photos:

The spire is so tall that it goes into the morning clouds...



The amount of detail is extraordinary.



A view from the outside.



Classic Gothic architecture...the higher ceilings were meant to make the churchgoers feel like they were closer to God.  I was not one to argue.





The front facade in the afternoon.



Some of the crazy detail on the outside.



A view from the cross.



Our tour guides surprised us with a singer/organ concert in the cathedral...Ave Maria never sounded so good.



As I mentioned earlier,  Joan of Arc was burned at the stake here in Rouen.  This is the inside of the church erected in her name.



And the actual spot where she perished.



Those were the main highlights of Rouen.  My mom went into a small shop to check out some scarves and the woman working the counter was by far the most beautiful girl I saw in France.  I wanted to take a photo but I felt really weird with my mom being there, so epic fail for me.

All photos from Rouen:  http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843509_4KCCh

The next stops on our tour would be much smaller towns than Rouen, but they were still packed with a lot of things to see.  The first of these was a town known as Les Andelys, which had an old castle overlooking to two halves of the town.

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Viva La France! Part 3
Category: Travel and Places

After our stay in Trouville, we got on the big buses and headed toward Honfleur, which lies at the mouth of the Seine River. On the way there, we spotted a few thatch-roofed houses with Irises planted on the roofs. Supposedly, the Irises help take away humidity, and has been a tradition in Normandy for hundreds of years.





Honfleur is a beautiful port town. Famous for its absinthe, the oldest wooden church in France, and its location at the mouth of the Seine, Honfleur used to be one of the most fortified cities in France during the middle ages. Some photos of Honfleur:














Honfleur was also harbor for our home for the next week, the MS Bizet. At about 300 feet long, we would be taking this cruise ship back up the Seine River to Paris. Photos of my cabin:








We spent our first night on the ship, still docked at Honfleur, then departed the next day. After entering the mouth of the river, we went under the Normandy Bridge (Pont du Normandie), which was a pretty spectacular suspension bridge:








Life on the ship was pretty grand. Throughout our stay, we had 3 gourmet meals per day and when we weren't out in a village on a tour, the lounge in the bow was open for any and all alcoholic beverages. The staff was very nice and closer to my age, so I definitely felt more comfortable.


All photos from Honfleur and Pont du Normandie:

http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843506_FCN4c


Our first stop up the river would be at a village called Caudebec, which was very close to the St. Wandrille Abbey. This Abbey and its Benedictine Monks have been around since the middle ages, and currently the Abbey's Monks specialize in microchips, of all things. It sure didn't seem like from the location, but I guess even Monks have to modernize. Some photos from the Abbey:














After the Abbey, we traveled to a small town called Pont Audemer, which was home to Victor Hugo for much of his life. Since there really wasn't too much to see in the town, we only spent about half an hour. Photos:








After the tour, we headed back to the ship for dinner and cast off for our next town, Rouen.


All photos from Caudebec and St. Wandrille Abbey: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843508_SA8HU

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Viva la France! Part 2
Category: Travel and Places

Our "longest day" consisted of a day full of touring the beaches of the Normandy Invasion, as well as the American Cemetery. I still wasn't feeling 100%, but by this day I could actually swallow and eat properly, which was definitely a big plus. I could tell that my illness had been affecting my photography even so I made it a point to take my time with my shots today, given the subject matter. We started pretty early, making our first stop at Ste. Mere Eglise. This city was showcased in the movie, "The Longest Day," as well as in video games such as Call of Duty. It was made famous for the US paratrooper whose parachute had caught onto the church steeple, leaving him easy prey for the Nazi defenses. He ended up getting shot in the leg and played dead until the US airborne forces liberated the city hours later. As a tribute to his situation, a dummy paratrooper remains on the church steeple. This was a very small town but had probably the best quiche I had during my entire stay in France. Photos...















All photos from Ste. Mere Eglise: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843495_D5nSA



The next stop would be Utah Beach, where we arrived midday and had lunch already prepared for us at "Le Roosevelt," which used to be the old radio base of operations immediately after the Normandy landings. Lunch consisted of a very interesting mixed green salad with slices of chicken, Camembert cheese, apples, potatoes, and vinegrette dressing, along with a potent alcoholic apple cider:








At Utah Beach was a large memorial museum, along with monuments, old weapons, and of course the beach itself. Standing on the beach for the first time was seriously a religious experience. To be seeing with my own eyes where so many had fallen for the sake of freedom is literally indescribable. I can only hope that my photos are able to bring through some of the emotions I felt as I stood there and touched the sand.














All photos from Utah Beach: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843496_fe6DT


After Utah Beach, we headed east and stopped at Pont du Hoc. This area was supposed to contain 6 large artillery guns that would be able to rain fire down upon both Utah and Omaha Beach. Aerial bombardment during the nights before D-Day were supposed to take out the guns, but the bunkers full of 6 feet of steel reinforced concrete provided ample protection, thus there was no confirmation of the destruction of the guns. In order to make sure those guns did not thwart the invasion, the US Army Rangers were sent to scale the 100-foot cliffs and take out each of the guns. About 220 Army Rangers were sent to this location, and after the area was taken, only 90 Rangers remained standing. The most ironic thing is that those that survived found that the guns were not even there, and had been moved inland during one of the previous nights. As luck would have it, Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division, led by Lt. Dick Winters, found the guns near their landing site and took each of them out. This raid was depicted in one of the first episodes of HBO's "Band of Brothers" miniseries and still taught as the perfect, textbook way to assault an enemy fortification in the US Military Academies. In the photos from Pont du Hoc, each of the big pits in the ground are the original bomb craters left from the aerial bombardment in June 1944:














All the photos from Pont du Hoc: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843498_MD8ZB


Next stop on the tour was Omaha Beach, where over 3000 Americans lost their lives during the beach invasion. The feeling at Omaha Beach was quite similar to Utah Beach, however just looking at the beach...it seems so beautiful and peaceful. The beach is ridiculously huge, with perfect golden sand. I can't even imagine being on the other side trying to come ashore, with the Nazis having the higher ground and such and open expanse of beach with no place for the American troops to hide. Plus, with the tide being low just as it was during D-Day, there's an incredible amount of ground to cover just to get ashore. It's truly amazing how the American forces were able to push through. The memorial sculpture that sits on the beach is called "Les Braves," which pays tribute to the American, British, and Canadian forces that participated in the D-Day invasions:














All the photos from Omaha Beach: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843502_wg9Dz


Our final stop on our longest day would be the American Cemetery, just up the hill from Omaha Beach. The United States has an indefinite lease on this land from France, and it took over 3 years to build. Around 9000 souls are buried at the cemetery, with many being unidentified and a "Comrade in Arms Known But to God." The mood is very somber and touching, and we even participated in the daily playing of "The Star Spangled Banner," which left a tear to many of our tour's participants. We were also given flowers to leave with any grave we chose, and since we happened to stumble upon a fallen soldier from Washington State, we left our bouquet with him. Each named soldier buried in the cemetery is laid to rest there at the request of their family:

















All photos from the American Cemetery: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843505_pj9BA


If anything, this day alone was worth my trip to France. It was truly amazing to visit each of these locations, and I think that even people who don't pay so much attention to history would be able to feel the emotions left there. This night would end up being our last night spent in Trouville, as the next day would find ourselves on our floating hotel for the next 7 days. The tour on the MS Bizet starts in Honfleur in the next part.

Armin

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Viva la France! Part 1
Category: Travel and Places

It's been awhile since I've posted a blog, but this was a perfect one to come back with! From April 16th to May 1st, I took my first vacation in quite awhile. As both a retirement gift and a birthday gift for my father, we took a trip to France through the Grand Circle tour company. It's a guided tour that my parents' friends were very familiar with, and since they were going on the trip, I figured it'd be perfect for my parents and I to go too.

I've always wanted to go to France, since I took French all through middle and high school and I'm a huge fan of French gothic architecture. However, despite my excitement for the trip, the night before we left I came down with a severe sore throat. This made traveling the next day absolutely miserable, and I was very irritable throughout the 9-hour direct flight from Seattle to Paris. I was able to watch parts of "There Will Be Blood" and "The Golden Compass" on the plane, but I was too sick to really pay attention to both movies and ended up sleeping most of the way there.

We landed in Paris in the late morning Paris time and a Grand Circle rep was there to greet us at Charles de Gaulle airport. He took us to our airport hotel where we met our Program Director, Balwinder. She gave us our keys and instead of going on the optional bus tour through Paris, I decided to just pass out for the rest of the day. The next morning, I woke up still feeling like crap and my throat hurting more than ever, not to mention my ear starting to hurt as well. This was something that Tylenol Cold couldn't cure, since it really started to feel like I was coming down with strep. Fortunately, my mother brought some antibotics with her just in case, so I began my treatment on those just in time for breakfast.

At breakfast, we met the rest of our tour guests. Since Grand Circle is a guided tour that caters mostly to retired-age folks, I was clearly the youngest person there. Nevertheless, everyone was very nice to me despite my less-than-social, sick mood. After breakfast, we got on a bus and headed for our first stop, the city of Caen. The antibiotics were starting to do their magic, but my throat still hurt enough that I could barely eat anything. Nevertheless, I was able to sample some genuine French Quiche Lorainne to at least give me some energy for the day ahead.



Caen was a city that was completely destroyed in World War II. Liberated by the British and the Canadians, the city as it stands now is very modern compared with most French cities, with only two churches being the among the buildings still left standing since World War II. In Caen was a large World War II museum, which was our first stop on the tour. A few photos:









All the photos from Caen: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843489_WUQL5



After the museum, we headed toward Trouville, where we'd be spending a few nights. Trouville is sister cities with the city Deauxville, which is right next to Trouville, but across the canal. Both cities are holiday hotspots for Parisens due to them being right on the beach, facing the English Channel. Some pics of Trouville:












All photos from Trouville: http://verdugo.smugmug.com/gallery/4843493_HDXrD

This would be our home for a couple nights, as we next day we would have our "longest day" and visit the highlights of the Normandy Invasion, which I'll talk about in the next part.



Armin

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Patience

Patience...it's something that I've always been told I have a lot of, and that it's one of my greatest traits. People say that I'm a good teacher because I have so much patience and that how my patience really helps in stressful situations. I have no doubt that this has been true for me historically, for the most part anyway. After all, they say good things come to those who wait, and I've even repeated that to countless friends of mine. However, lately and over the past couple years even, I've found myself either losing or lacking the patience I once had in certain situations.

In many ways, I've found this to be a bad thing. My lack of patience has resulted in people getting upset with me, my continuing frustration with feelings of being stuck in place, and me seemingly settling for something less than what I really wanted simply because it was more easily or quickly attainable. On the other hand, I can see advantages to my lack of patience, such as actually getting people to stop fucking around and do things, continuing with certain projects or tasks in a timely manner that gets them done ahead of schedule, and always staying a frontrunner and/or trendsetter. Thus, I guess there's a bit of a balance here.

Nevertheless, in many of these situations I constantly try to take a step back and ask myself if it's even worth being patient, or if I'm really just wasting my time. Lately, more often than not, I find myself thinking that I am wasting my time, and that there's bigger and better things to focus my attention on. It actually saddens me quite a bit to think this way, since it almost feels like I'm giving up on something or someone...and everyone knows that I hate giving up on anything. Yet, there are times when I look back and kick myself harder in the ass for being TOO patient, because lord knows that some of my darkest hours were because me trying to wait things out for the good to happen at the end.

So now I have to ask myself...am I wasting my time? Is there a better thing out there for me to pay attention to or concentrate on? Or will my patience ultimately pay off in the end? Who knows. All I know is that right now, I'm congested, I'm coughing, and it really sucks ass. I guess I just ran out of patience writing this blog. Good night.

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Superman

Yeah, it's been awhile since I've updated this...as usual, I've been busy. But, I've really been meaning to write this, and seeing as that I actually have free time now, here we go...

Ever since I was a little kid, I've always loved the character of Superman. When I was a mere 3 years old, my parents got me some "Superman Pajamas" and I used to run around the house pretending I was flying. I liked Superman so much when I was a kid, that when my dad took me to the barber shop I told the barber that I was Superboy, and he used to tell me when I grew older how I completely believed that to be true. Unlike most fans of Superman, it wasn't the comic books that got me into the story...in fact I only own a couple Superman comics...it was the movies starring Christopher Reeve that made me a fan. The continuing series of Smallville has always had my attention since it first debuted, and while it may not be 100% accurate to the comics, I still very much like the path the series has taken thus far. And, when "Superman Returns" was released to theaters...I couldn't help but get goosebumps just sitting through the opening credits and hearing the John Williams theme song.

The idea of having Superman's powers always intrigued me, along with his inherent need to help those in trouble. Sure, he may not beat Goku in a fight and he may not make the right decisions all the time, but those faults are what makes the Superman character so deep and "down to earth" so to speak. He's not completely infallible and is just as human in his emotions as all the other humans he protects. Thus, I feel like I can really relate to the Superman character and I honestly feel like I can really relate to him, albeit without the superhuman strength and everything.

So what exactly am I getting at here? To be honest, I've been feeling a lot like Superman lately...obviously not in the "save the world from utter doom by throwing a continent out of earth orbit" way, but more of in the helping people and putting people before myself way. Over the last couple months, I feel like I've been giving out a lot to help the ones I hold most dear, which comprises of my family and my close friends. Some of this is by being there for emotional support, other times it's by taking a step back and putting the greater good ahead of my own feelings, and other times it's just about sucking things up and moving on. No doubt, these are similar situations that Superman would endure, and no doubt he'd probably feel the same amount of stress and burden that this has been putting on my own emotional health as well.

The people closest to me mean the world to me, and by putting them first before myself over the past couple months, I think it's starting to catch up with me a bit. It's really been stressing me out, especially the situations where I want to be able to help, but there really isn't anything more I can do but be there for that person. Thus, despite whatever resources I have at my disposal, there are certain things I can't help with, and that really sucks. It's a lot like Superman having all these super powers, but none of those can fix his relationship with Lana Lang in Smallville or finally tell Lois Lane the truth in the Superman Returns movie. I wish there was a way I could just snap my fingers and fix everything, but hell, not even Superman can do that.

This blog isn't meant to be me whining about things not going my way...it's more just wishing things were fixed or at least going down the right path for everyone else around me. I almost feel bad for having things be relatively chill lately, not to mention feeling like I have a whole lot of love to give but not anyone out there who is willing to accept it all. I guess the best I can do for now is to continue what I'm doing for my close family and friends, and continue to find ways to better myself in terms of my job, my finances, my health, etc. Perhaps eventually really good things will come the way of my family and friends in distress and if that happens, then I have no doubt it'll eventually all come my way too.

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New addition to the family

Ahhh, the new STI.  Most people tend to be on the fence about how it looks, but I was sold on the hatchback with wide fenders from the instant I saw it.  As of Sunday, January 27th, I became the proud owner of a new 2008 Subaru WRX STI in Lightning Red.

This car is a rather stark contrast to my 02 WRX and 02 M3.  It's almost as if Subaru took the refinement of the BMW and put it into the more hardcore shell of the old bugeye.  Without any hint of turbo lag, the power comes on very smooth, the clutch feels great and easy to get used to, and the handling, while a bit softer than my M3, still handles the corners very well without being too harsh over bumps, highway expansion joints, or potholes.  On top of that, I'm very happy that I decided to go with the Lightning Red.  Dark Gray Metallic was may first choice, but after waiting a bit too long for it and seeing the red in person, I knew the red was for me. 

As of right now, I've nicknamed her "Blaze," with an alternate name of "The Crimson Knight."  I already have pretty extensive plans for the car, so she won't be staying stock for too long.  New wheels are definitely in order, as are new seats.  I'm not the skinniest guy in the world, but these stock seats have pretty much no bolsters and are pretty uncomfortable on my 25-mile each-way commute to World One.  As the mods start happening, I'll definitely keep everyone abreast of the situation :)

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