Long Walks on the Beach

Well, not really long walks. Nancy and I walked down to the beach in Nice on Sunday morning, right before the taxi picked us up for the airport. We figured we couldn't go to Nice and not go to the beach, especially when it was only a 15 minute walk away.

It was pretty, but also cold - not so much "lay on the beach" weather. Besides, I remember from my last trip to Nice (Europe with Pairry 1999) that the pebbles don't feel so nice between the toes in the warm weather. I guess I'm a warm and sandy beach kind of girl.

Monte Carlo Casino

This is where I made a profit of 11.05 Euros playing Texas Tea nickel slots. Nancy and I decided that rather than pay the 10 Euros each to get inside the gaming rooms, we'd stick that money into the slot machines. There is also a very strict dress code to get in the gaming area- there were some pretty fancy outfits paying their 10 Euros to get inside. The guards at the front made sure that Nancy left her plastic shopping bag before at the coat check entering the building. So not classy enough for the Monte Carlo!

Beaujolais has its day

November 20th was a pretty important day in Nice - it was the day of Beaujolais Nouveau. What this basically means is that all of the restaurants in Nice promoted the first day of this season. We had a bottle with some cheese and fruit on the patio of a local restaurant and then shared another at dinner time. Wine shops across the city had wine tastings and partying lasted late into the night.


Here's Cynthia and I celebrating with another bottle of wine at a delightful Tapas restaurant near the conference halls.

Check out this article about the Beaujolais Nouveau 2008. The Marketing scheme certainly hooked us unsuspecting tourists.

Beaujolais has its day - 23 Nov 2008 - Wine news and reviews - NZ Herald

My Future Husband

As part of my future life in Monaco, I'll need an amazing husband. I pick this guy! He's French and comes with lots of treasure.

My Future Life

When I grow up, I'm going to be a princess. I'm going to live in Monaco, where I will cruise around town in this baby, or maybe the convertible version (note the Honda sign in the background - I will not be going that route. Ferrari is the way to go!)

I will probably take up residence in this lovely palace. The important looking people in front will be my friends.

This guy will be in charge of guarding my life and carrying my designer purse & suitcase. I love his outfit! It's almost as cool as the one I'll be wearing...(see below)

My yacht will be parked in this port, alongside other beautiful boats.

I will wear this fantastic dress to do my grocery shopping.

Here's a closeup of my everyday dress because it is totally fabulous!

On second thought, I pretty much love my life the way it is. It was pretty exciting to visit Monaco, but I was happy to be hanging out there in my blue jeans with a good friend and then catching the train back to my budget hotel in Nice. :)

Carpets & Mint Tea

While wandering through the medina in Rabat, Julie and I happened upon a shopping center with carpets, pottery and other items. Julie has taken a couple Moroccan Arabic lessons after school and took the opportunity to practice her skills with the carpet guy.

After agreeing a on a price for Julie's first Moroccan rug, the carpet guy invited us to have tea with him and his son. Over traditional mint tea, they helped us learn how to say "I am happy" (Ana farhana) in Moroccan Arabic, among other useful phrases. I love Moroccan hospitality! The tea was delightful and we were happy to make new friends. I may have to take a trip back to Rabat when I buy my next rug.

Blue & White Kasbah

During our Rabat trip, Julie and I went through the gates to the Kasbah des Oudayas. It has cobbled streets and blue & white buildings and houses art galleries, homes, and cafes. I bought a poster to hang on my wall in one of the cute art galleries in the maze of streets.

We walked through the Kasbah and into a courtyard overlooking the sea, the site where captive Christians were auctioned off as slaves in teh 16th century. More spectacular views!

Check out the flag of Morocco flying on the extremely windy shore.

Monaco National Holiday

Today was a national holiday in Monaco; we didnt know until we arrived and everything was closed except the fair by the port. The Monte Carlo casino opened at 7pm, so I was able to play some "Texas Tea" and triple my 5 Euros. I have some amazing pics to post when I get home. I think Id like to live in Monaco, especially if that means I could have a yacht and a Ferrarri.... :) Good times! I actually have to go to the conference tomorrow and learn stuff about reading: not as much fun as travelling in Nice and Monaco!

Plaster

Explore Morocco week was full of all sorts of exciting art. These guys came to do some plasterwork outside of the main office around this fountain. (Fountains are traditionally outside of buildings and supply water to neighborhoods- people come to the fountain to get their water and carry it home. Our school's fountain is merely for decoration.)

To start the plaster work, these guys built up the wall with coats of plaster.

They used measuring tape to pencil in the design for the plaster as they worked.

Then, using a chisel, they engraved their designs into the plaster.

It took them a week, but when all was done, it became a beautiful addition to our school.

Leiden Cyclists

In the Netherlands, there are cyclists everywhere! Leiden, where we stayed for the tournament, was a cyclist's dream! There were special crosswalks for bikes, bike paths throughout the city and parking spaces for bikes like the one below. Because of the flat streets, people could ride their bikes to work without breaking out into a sweat. I observed plenty of people eating breakfast as they rode their bikes to work!

These bikes were parked under this taxi stand. Very few taxis, but tons of bikes. I got a chance to speak to some teachers from the American School of the Hague, who told me that they have bikes in Leiden and Amsterdam. They live in Amsterdam and ride their bikes to the train station in the mornings. Once they get to Leiden, they find their other bike kept there and ride to school. The problem comes if it's been raining for awhile and they ride the bus to school a few days. Then, it's really hard to remember their parking spots! And clearly, looking for a bike in Leiden is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Day Trip to Rabat

Julie and I decided to spend a Saturday taking a day trip to Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. We heard that Rabat has a calmer pace and cleaner air than Casablanca. Rabat is just an hour away by train and is known for more hassle-free shopping than other areas. So, with money in our pockets and our trusty guidebooks, we headed out of Casa. It was wonderful. Upon our arrival to the city, we noticed a huge mob of people chanting and singing. We quickly figured out that there was an important soccer game happening in Rabat that evening. Once we went into the city, we were pleased to see that Rabat is less intense than Casa. Cars actually slowed down for us when we were crossing the street - no running for your life needed!



We had lunch and headed through the medina to the water, where we took plenty of pictures of the beautiful scenery.

ISST in the Hague

I was very fortunate to attend the ISST (International School Sports Tournament) for Division 1 Soccer in the Hague. My dear sister Katie plays for the American School of London, who came in 4th in the tournament. This is their traditional walk across the field after a game. Katie's on the far left - I was so happy to get to see her play. She's an amazing player and showed phenomenal sportsmanship. Love you, KateKate!

Wood Painting

The week of Explore Morocco exposed me and the students to all sorts of traditional crafts from around Morocco. These traditional wood paintings are common in the area of Fez. Artisans paint on cedar wood in intricate detail.

I got a carved piece of wood from the artisans (as did all the kids) and painted it. I was very focused on staying within the lines!

Business Trip

Life's been pretty crazy lately and I know I've been terrible about posting - so sorry! I'm headed to Nice, France early Tuesday morning and won't be back until Sunday. However, I do have some posts scheduled, so you'll have stuff to read this week! I'm sure after 6 days in France, I'll have plenty of fun stories and pics to share. :) I live such a difficult life...

Traditional Metalwork Demo

Another interesting workshop during Explore Morocco was the metalwork demonstration. This guy wore magnifying glasses and pounded intricate designs into metal. I bought a ring and a bracelet to support his traditional craft. The work is quite beautiful!

Good Luck

In Morocco, henna is applied to bring good luck. It comes from a plant that is crushed and mixed with a mildly acidic liquid such as lemon juice or strong tea. It is then put into a tube and put on the skin. Once it dries, the stain left on the skin is an orangish color that darkens and stays for days. During Explore Morocco, I was able to have henna put on both of my hands.

This is Krista, getting henna on her hands during Explore Morocco. Henna is traditionally worn for good luck at a wedding, during the 7th month of pregnancy, and for other special occasions. All of the kids and teachers were able to have henna done for good luck during our Moroccan celebration week.

Many of the women married to Moroccan men told me that the men hate the smell of it - one woman's husband won't eat food that she cooks while the henna stain remains on her hands. I didn't notice it being a terrible smell, but I'm not the most observant person in the world! :)

Carry On Luggage

One of the joys of travel is the rush onto the airplane to find spots for carry on luggage. Many airlines will nail you when you try to bring bags that are too large or more carry on bags than your allowance. EasyJet is one of the many airlines that will make you pay a large amount to check your bag if it's too big. Some even weigh your carryon baggage and make you pay for overweight carryons.

The overhead bins are meant to have some luggage efficiently placed in rows. (doesn't the pic above show a lovely, organized overhead bin?) Once random shopping bags, jackets, and other such nonsense start crowding up the overhead bins, it makes the hunt for space much more difficult. People on my Royal Air Maroc flight had all sorts of random shopping bags and I almost didn't have space for my backpack (filled with important items such as cheese, duty free liquor, and books).

Among other things, I saw the following carried on to my flight to Casa:

A boom box: the people who brought on this delightful carryon had a small rolling suitcase checked in and this as the carryon. I didn't hear them playing any music, but it took up plenty of room in the overhead bin!

Hungry, Hungry Hippos: the lady who brought this on took it out of her shopping bag and laid it by itself in a section of the overhead bin with her almost empty shopping bag NEXT to it! On a full flight, should Hungry, Hungry Hippos really be allowed to take up as much space as a suitcase???

Sorry for the rant - I was just surprised to see such things on the plane taking up space :)

Travel Issues

I know I haven't posted in a long time - I've been pretty busy! I went to London and Amsterdam Wednesday - Sunday and had to be incredibly flexible. Within just a few days, I dealt with te following:

1. Missed Flight Connection:
My flight to London on Wednesday went through Barcelona on Royal Air Maroc and then continued on to London on British Airways. My bag was checked all the way through, but I had to leave through immigration and customs in Barcelona, get my boarding pass, go back through security and make it to my gate - all in my 45 minute layover. It was almost impossible to do in that time period and then my flight was late arriving to Barcelona. By the time I arrived, the flight I was supposed to check into was closed.

2. Rerouted ticket: My next ticket was to Amsterdam the following morning, on a separate ticket. So, I wasn't going to make that flight. Luckily, I was able to convince the airline to just reroute my ticket to Amsterdam (even though they had no obligation to me). To do this, I had to fly to Madrid, stay in a hotel (at the airline's expense) and then fly to Amsterdam Thursday morning. I arrived in Madrid around 11pm. My flight to Madrid had only 11 people on it!

3. Lost Luggage: As I was dealing with rerouting my ticket in Barcelona, I found out that my baggage wasn't anywhere to be found. Someone finally found it and I had to go to a dark back room where security looked through my bad. I then checked it to Madrid so I would have clothes for my night there. When I arrived in Madrid, I was the only person on my flight to wait at baggage claim. I checked with Baggage Services and they told me to wait a bit. By midnight, still no bag. I filled out a lost luggage report and went off to figure out how to get to my hotel.

4. Free Food and Lodging: I arrived at my hotel around 1am. I was given free dinner (which included wine and I took advantage of that) at 1:15am and then free breakfast before I returned to the airport at 6:30am for my return flight. The hotel was beautiful! They had a wonderful spread for meals and toiletries included a toothbrushh (for which I was very grateful!)

5. Bag Still Lost: I checked in with the airline and they hadn't gotten my bag (it had only been a few hours), so I flew on to Amsterdam with only my backpack. I made it safely to Katie's soccer tournament by taking the train and bus to the American School of the Hague. My mum had toiletries and clothes for me to borrow, but her feet are so small that I was stuck wearing my heeled boots. My feet were killing me!

6. London: On Saturday, we flew to London. When I checked about my baggage, the lady informed me that the flight number in the tracking system was a flight to Miami! My bags were halfway across the world! Our flight was on time and we made it to my parent's house with no further issues!

7. Flight Delay on the Plane: I flew back through Barcelona with a 2 hour layover. However, my British Air flight was delayed. Once we were on board, we sat at the gate for 35 minutes, which worried me a bit since I was supposed to go through immigration again and get my boarding pass.

8. Another Closed Flight?: When I finally got to the check in desk, I noted that the screen for my flight showed it as closed. However, there was a long line of others getting checked in and I was able to get my boarding pass.

9. Flight Delay at Gate: My flight to Casa was also delayed! I sat and had a drink at the gate while I waited. We finally boarded and I was grateful to be on my way home.

10. Lost and Found: My story doesn't end there. I went to baggage claim in Casa to get my checked bag (which I had packed in London full of stuff my parents brought over to the States). It didn't come out. While I was waiting to talk to the Royal Air Maroc staff to fill in another baggage lost form, I went to check in on my bag that I'd never received. It was there! I grabbed my bag with clothes and the tennis shoes I'd been craving for days and headed over to fill out info on my other bag. They don't know where my bag is now. I will get a call and have to get back to the airport to pick it up when they do find it. I'm glad that the cheese I had been bringing back was in my carryon!

All in all, everyone I talked to was really helpful, despite all the issues the system had. I made it home safely and am looking forward to finishing this trip when I get my other bag back! Flexibility is so important when travelling. Good times!