Welcome to Manhattan!

It's the end of August. What? Where did summer go? Where did vacation go? Where did I go? I went to New York City!
Needless to say, I'm obviously not traveling anymore. I got back to San Diego, CA with two weeks to pack up my belongings and head out to "The Big Apple" to go to NYU. It took a while to get all my junk sorted and sucked into my vacuum bags. But I made it.

I am now in my dorm room, looking out onto 3rd Avenue. I've been here for three days, but it feels like months. So many things to do in the city; so much to see, so many people to meet. Orientation, Welcome Week, walks around The Village, getting lost....
Honestly, I don't have all much to say for this post. I'm trying to find my footing in this big city. But not to worry; new travels around this new, huge, amazing city soon to come.

Welcome Home

Well, well, well, here I am again at a computer after about a week of no internet connection other than whatever Wi-Fi I could steal from the neighbors’ on my cousin's phone.

I've spent the last nine days in Cabo de Palos, a seaside town just outside Cartagena, Spain. My aunt, uncle and cousins have had a beach house here since before I was born, and some of my best memories are from spending time here throughout my childhood.

So, what has my day-to-day life looked like this past week? Hard to recount exactly because my internal clock has been smashed to pieces.

You see, I arrived at the train station in Cartagena at about 12:30 am last Saturday the 28th, and went directly to meet my cousin, Leti and her friends at the Zoco, a common hang out spot for teens and adults, surrounded by bars, restaurants and night clubs.

Gone were the days when little pre-teen us had a curfew, meaning that we wandered home with our group of girl friends at around 6am. That commenced the usual backward, mixed up schedule I always develop when I come here in the summers.

The daily routine begins with the two of us (me and Leti) getting home extremely late- or early, depending on how you look at it. If we have not dragged ourselves out of bed in time, we are woken up by 12pm by my aunt and we have breakfast, followed by walking down the street to the beach, or one of the many cliff spots to swim and snorkel.

On some occasions we might go directly out on my family's boat, like that first Saturday when Leti, our friends Veronica, Marina, Paloma and I spent the day sailing with my uncle, celebrating Leti's birthday.

We docked near an isolated beach near Cala Dorada and went for a swim before having a lunch of bocadillos (sandwiches), salad and melon. After lunch came a nice nap, sprawled out on towels in the sun on the deck as my uncle sailed the boat back towards the Galera, a cliff area near my cousin's house, where we met my aunt and went for another swim.

That night after docking, showering and primping, my aunt, uncle, cousin, great aunt and I went out to dinner to Los Dos Mares, a boating club, to have dinner, again in celebration of Leti's birthday.

After a lovely meal of fish, octopus, salmorejo, salad and, of course, bread, we showed off our moves on the dance floor. 

 

Other days, when we don’t go out on the boat, after waking up and going for our first morning (really early afternoon) swim, we get home, shower and help my aunt set out lunch. So far I have almost had my fill of gazpacho, one of my most favorite dishes in the entire world, and of course, have loaded up on fresh baguettes bought from the backer truck that comes by every morning. One day, my aunt made Caldero, a typical, Carthaginian dish of rice cooked in an amazing, flavorful fish broth:

 Lunch is always followed by a 2-3 hour nap/relaxation time, watching the Olympics or reading. 

After that, we might go back to the beach, go into town, snorkel and swim some more....

By 8 or 9 we are usually back home, showering and getting ready to go out after dinner. Then, by 10 or 11 we have met up with our gang of girls and guys and are finding some way to spend the night. 

On Tuesday night we went to the outdoor movie theater just outside Cabo de Palos, where the first movie session starts at 10, and you can see two back-to-back movies for 6 euros. We saw Madagascar 3 and The Avengers. As fun as the laid back, small town movie theater setting is, I still can’t come to terms with watching dubed movies… Marty the Zebra and Iron Man just aren’t the same without their real Chris Rock and Robert Downey Jr. voices...

Wednesday, a group of nine of us camped out on the beach in celebration of the full moon of August (not that we really need a celebration of any sort to camp...)

The next day we all trudged back to Leti's house where I made pancakes for everyone. Once the rest of the gang was gone, Leti and I fell back asleep until around 8, when we got up to have dinner and get ready to go out and about again. 

The days basically continue like this for the rest of the week. We wake up late, swim, eat, sleep, swim again, eat again and then go out. There is no use in wearing a watch because there are no schedules, and no one wants to plan anything in advance. 

I know that my details for this part of the trip are lacking, as are the pictures, but it is what it is. I honestly have not spent the time preoccupying myself with documenting what I do and just enjoy being here.

On Saturday I was feeling fine about leaving Sunday, but then we went to Tehcnosys, a huge techno music concert, (where you basically camp out at the beach whenever you get tired of jumping around during the 26 hour length of the concert), and I had so much fun with everyone that I decided otherwise.

I love it here. I know the beach, sailing, sleeping in, might make this sound like paradise, and in many ways it is, don’t get me wrong. But for someone who has never been to Cabo Palos, and the surrounding towns, it’s hard to describe the experience of appreciating all the not so glamorous parts of the culture here. The dirtiness for one, the rudeness and bluntness of the people; it’s really enough to scare away any foreigner. But I love that part of it just as much. Geez, what does that say about my personality…? I am so grateful for this place. It really is the perfect break from my busy American lifestyle.

I’m going back to Madrid by train to spend the last few days of my trip with my grandma and aunt Cuca at her amazing house in a town called Molino just outside of the city.

After so much reminiscing, I guess I almost feel ready to go home. But then again, not quite. 

When You're Blue, Indulging Is All You Can Do...Welcome to the Côte d'Azur

I have officially caught the Côte d'Azur bug. Tuesday Elliot and I took the ferry to St. Marguerite, a little island just off the coast of Cannes. It was such a lovely day; the beaches were full, boats were out...like this little guy:

Though small at a distance, don't let this yacht fool you. It comes fully equipped with a swimming pool, motor-ski dock at the back and it wouldn't surprise me if it had a helicopter landing.... 

Walking around the island was lovely and warm. So much so, that we decided to take a little dip in the blue waters that give the coast its name. 

That was just a foot tester. We brought our bathing suits and swam out to some of the boats that were docked near by. God I love Mediterranean water! So warm! 

Anyways, after we were cooled off, we went up to the little castle on the island and took in the nice view of Cannes' coast. 

The way back down to the port was very cute, with cobble-stone roads and old little stone houses...

Upon our return to Cannes, we decided to go for a little snack. Now, this whole trip so far has been undoubtedly inspiring, fun, delicious....but nothing had prepared me for the new obsession I was about to develop...That is, the obsession for the French Macaroon

Specifically, the macaroons from Jean Luc Pele, a bakery with locations in Cannes and Paris.

To our astonishment, the man working there gave us a free macaroon to sample their new caramel creme brule. My soul died and went to heaven. Fortunately, I was reborn, only to die again when I tried the "Framboise" (raspberry) and then, my so far favourite, "Chocolat 80%". 

Once I found my balance again, we headed back home where Elliot and I made dinner for the household of nine: Elliot's father, grandparents, aunt, uncle and two cousins plus us. I became very close friends with his four year old cousin Amelie, who accepted the role as my personal French tutor

Indiana, Amelie and me

Wednesday, in search of a bit more of rich glamour, we took the train to Montecarlo, Monaco. We walked around the Casino, which is so fancy that you cannot take pictures, but imagine high ceilings, plaster carvings, mosaics, stained glass windows.... A much more classy, rich, European version of a Las Vegas gambling spot. 

On the other side of the city (but only about a 15 minute hike), the Montecarlo Palace had some amazing views of just about the entire country of Monaco

One of the yachts we saw from there actually did have a helicopter landing....

On our way down we found a little amphitheatre whose perfectly circular shape makes your voice bounce right back at you when you stand in the middle. It was super cool. 

For my last day today, we visited Grasse, a town located right on a hillside just about 10 minutes away. Grasse is mainly known for its perfume factories. We visited Fragonard, one of the factories that is open to the public. 

The tour through the little building was quite insightful. I never knew how much went into making perfume. 

The difference between perfume and eau de toilette is the concentration of ingredients. Perfume has up to 40% concentration of aromatic essence, while eau de toilette only has about 10%. Hence, perfume is the more expensive. The real difference isn't the potency of the smell though, it's how long it will last on your skin. 

Those are different essences or smells that are mixed to make one perfume. The perfume makers have to go through ten years of training which ends in a test where they have to identify 250 unique smells. Then, if you want to become what is called a Nez or Nose, which are the masters of perfume making, one would have to take another test, where 3,000 smells must be correctly identified. There are only 50 in the world, and they are the ultimate perfume assemblers. 

After being enlightened and pleasantly scented with good perfume, we made our way, once again through old, narrow streets....

...on our way to a little Patisserie that Elliot had stumbled upon in the past, to have some tea and pastries. 

Once again, good Lord! Just the menu was mouth watering...

Of each of those little desserts, only one is made each day from scratch, and they are all served with its' perfect pair of home-made ice-cream. 

After much torment, I was able to settle on one...The Cara Blanco: Fondant chocolate blanc au caramel salé, coeur coulant caramel salé aver glace chocolate noir. 

What  does that mean? It means White chocolate fondant (meaning that the little cake would be gooey and delicious) with a heart or centre of salted caramel, served with dark chocolate ice cream. 

......very little time after.....

It took all the effort and strength that I had not to lick that plate clean. 

For my last dinner here in France, Elliot and I went to, what I now have heard from several people, is the best pizza place in all of Cannes (and according to the very rich seeming lady sitting next to us), possibly the best in the world. 

I ordered Le Neptune, with tomato, garlic, parsley and tuna. 

The pizzas are made in a huge stone oven that you can see if you peak in, and I must admit, it was amazing. 

Of course, I had to go by and indulge one more time in my new favourite food item.....Yes, you guessed it.... I bought more macaroons

But they were the small size, and I promise they will be my last ones for a very very long time, so shush. 

It's hard to believe that I'm already leaving tomorrow. This has been such a different, fun part of my trip.

So much good company, good food, good weather...and I must say, I have learned a new word or two in French, which is an added bonus. 

Alors au revoir la France. Jusqu'à la prochaine fois!

P.S. I am  now heading off to Spain, where I will be staying in Cabo de Palos, a small beach town near Cartagena, Murcia. Now, one of my favourite things about this place is how disconnected I feel when I go there....Translation: I am probably not going to have access to internet, therefore the blog may be stagnant for a few days. I'm doing pretty well so far though, so stay tuned! I'm planning on being back! 

Nicean Day With a Hint of Paris

Lovely, lovely day. So long to London weather, Tuesday I was awaken by a beautiful sunny morning. Once we were ready, Elliot and I went down to Cannes by bus to meet up with his friend Vanessa, and her brother JF, and the four of us set off by train to Nice.

We first walked through Old Nice, which is filled with windy roads, allies and little shops. I loved the old artesian bakery, filled with amazing looking marzipan and typical French cookies and candy.

Elliot took us to a little corner restaurant, where we would have a lunch of traditional Nicene food. 

I had really wanted to try Socca, a thin pancake, similar to a crepe, but made of chickpea flower, and slightly crispier around the edges. We ordered some of that, plus a pan bagnat: a huge sandwich filled with hard boiled egg, lettuce, tomato, onion and tuna, which you then season with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt, and finally Pissaladiere, a thin bread crust (similar to pizza) topped with caramelized onions and anchovies. 

 Yum! 

We then picked up another friend, Lee, and walked up to the old castle of Nice. 

From there, you could practically see the whole city. It was really beautiful, as you can see. 

 After our long walk around the city, we took the train back to Cannes and Elliot and I went back home for dinner and a bit of freshening up. Not too long after, we were back in Vanessa and JF's hotel room, ready for a night out to, what I've heard, is one of the most popular clubs in the South of France; Le Palais.

We clearly were in a cool spot since Paris Hilton decided to come by and party a bit with us... I'll just say that she acts just like she does on TV.

The whole night was very exhausting, and very fun. What else can I say? 

Why has this weather followed me?

Well! I am in Cannes. Well, technically Mougins, a town just a few minutes away. Unfortunately, I was followed by the lovely rainy weather I was experiencing in Britain (please appreciate the sarcasm).

But, unlike the UK, it was still really warm, so running through the rain as Elliot and I tried to get to the restaurant where we would be having dinner, it wasn't so bad. The soaked clothing was worth it though when we ran through a skinning ally-way lined with small bars and restaurants and squeezed into the tiny La Farigoule, a  whole in the wall restaurant run by three crazy French ladies. And when I say crazy, I mean crazy. 

All of the customers (including me) were very often startled by the sudden yells coming from the back, as the three of them ran around yelling at each other and arguing with customers about what they should eat etc etc. Their food was incredible though. For the entree I had their fish soup, which came with a dish of croutons topped with ali-oli and sharp cheese. 

Then, for le plate principale I strangely decided to be adventurous and try the steak tartare, which to my great surprise, I loved! 

It was so much food, and the craziest lady of the three made sure we finished everything. 

And of course, there was dessert, which came with the menu. Elliot and I shared a chocolate cake and poached caramel apples with ice-cream. But that was not before the crazy lady #1 had taken out all of their tarts and cakes (lemon, apricot...) and showed them to us and the table next door. 

I was funnily surprised when the check came, not because of the amount, but rather the very formal presentation...

Just a straight to the point piece of paper with the amount we owed. 

By the time we were finished, it had stopped raining, so we took a walk through the little streets and water front of Cannes. 

A great first day in the South of France. Hopefully the weather will be a bit better in the next few days...