The Return of Monsieur Squarepants!

It's my final week in France and--even worse--my return to work is quite imminent. Reality is very much staring me in the face. Here in France they would undoubtedly have a countdown since these things seem to be quite popular (days until the election, days until the world cup commences, etc.). By my count today is Jour J-8 which means that in 8 days I will have to start being cheery at 7 AM again. OK, enough whining, this post isn't about whining, but rather a very pleasant weekend.

First off, I finally took the GMAT (entrance exam for business school) after studying for part of the summer and was very pleased with the outcome. So I can happily say that I accomplished at least one thing this year (that is, other than working on my house-husband skills). Later that evening, France beat Ireland in the Rugby World Cup--we watched the matched with several thousand screaming French fans on an outdoor big screen. While I'm quite a novice when it comes to understanding the game, I must admit that le rugby can be an entertaining sport to watch. The next day, we threw ourselves a little going away party. Which leads me to the subject of this post. To my massive surprise, our friend Hannah had baked/made/engineered a cake of Spongebob Squarepants!!! Or Bob l'éponge as they call him here (Bob the sponge). I'm not sure what happened to his squarepants during the translation, but Bob l'éponge can occasionally be seen in the shops around Toulouse and on French TV. Apparently the exploits of a sea sponge in the form of a yellow household sponge dressed in knee-high socks, short sleeve dress shirt and tie, and who works as a short-order fry cook and lives in a pineapple under the sea are quite universal. Duh.

So while I'd like to be able to take credit for this creation (and thus double my accomplishments for the year), all of the accolades go to Hannah. I'm not sure how long it took to make the cake but it clearly took some detailed work. I'm quite touched by the effort (and the results!). I may have to try such a feat back in the US and claim it as an original idea of my own. :) The cake will be one of the highlights of a fantastic year spent in France. Bravo!

[The Creative Team of Hannah and Frank]

Gossip

It's 7:15 in the evening and I'm listening to "le mouv FM" which as far as I can tell is a pretty mainstream radio station (part of Radio France). Anyway, I'm blogging because they're playing "Standing In The Way Of Control" by Seattle's** very own the Gossip!! Granted, this song came out before I left the States but unless the band totally blew up while I've been gone, I think it's pretty damn cool they're being played in France. And if you haven't heard the Gossip, I highly recommend checking them out... lots of catchy hard rock songs. They are on the Olympia-based label Kill Rock Stars of Sleater-Kinney (amongst others) fame. **Not actually sure if they're from Seattle, but they play there a lot!! Hmm, I must be thinking a lot of my imminent departure from France if I'm blogging about this kind of shit. Oh well.

My Tour de France Withdrawal

Well, I see that this blog is quickly becoming a cycling blog--perhaps now that the Tour is over, I'll begin to write about something else. Soon, but not yet. I think I'm still going through withdrawal. As a recreational biker and cycling fan, I was quite excited for this year's Tour. However, I had no idea just how much I would enjoy the spectacle of the Tour de France. Being in France during the Tour is simply amazing. The Tour receives so much coverage!! I read about it everyday in the famous sports daily l'Équipe, subscribed to the French radio podcast, and then Tivo'd just about every TV program there was: pre-race, race coverage, post-race, highlights show. It's unbelievable.
[happier times: pre-withdrawal, post-publicity caravan]
During the race coverage alone, France television has reporters at the stage start, 2 commentators (one of whom is cycling great Laurent Fignon) following the stage from the finish, 2 reporters (one of whom is the omnipresent Laurent "Jaja" Jalabert--I think he's been mentioned in at least 1/2 of my blogs) following developments on the course directly from the back of motorcycles, and, this being France, a guy who tells us about the history of the various châteaux, churches, and historical sites that the race goes by (normally accompanied by a brief pause from the race to show some of the sights along the way). It's also entertaining to hear non-natives speak French. While George Hincapie, Cadel Evans, Levi Leipheimer, and Greg Lemond don't speak great French (actually, Lemond speaks pretty well), the French press truly appreciated the effort (since most of the other riders don't know French and speak through interpreters).

What I didn't appreciate in the States is how big of a cultural/social spectacle the Tour de France is. For many of the small towns that the Tour passes through (the course goes primarily through rural France), the Tour is in many ways a showcase of their region. Each day there is a TV talk show that takes place in the village where that day's stage departs. They highlight local celebrities, history, famous sights, and speciality foods (this is France afterall and just about every town has its own special cheese, alcohol, confection, etc). So in addition to seeing a bike race, you also get to learn about the area the race goes through. It's quite nice. The locals also go out of their way in preparing big signs and displays welcoming the tour which the TV coverage loves to show! And you see lots of people who take the day to have a picnic out in the countryside and then cheer when the race rolls by. The French will take any excuse to have a pleasant meal outdoors--wouldn't you?

Given the daily soap opera involving le dopage, the social/cultural aspect of the Tour is, in my opinion, what has kept the Tour afloat (at least for the moment). Thank god, because this year's Tour was quite a scandal. Every day there was something unexpected happening off the bike, which was sad because there was a lot of good action on it. To give you an idea, here were the headlines of l'Équipe on 4 consecutive days (and my feable attempt at a translation/explanation) showing how crazy it was:


7/23: "IL EST TROP FORT" / He Is Too Strong (talking of Rasmussen winning at Plateau de Beille)

7/24: "LE COURAGE DE VINO" / Vino's courage (Vinokourov's stage victory after failing miserably the day before)

7/25: "LE CHAOS" / The Chaos (the very next day, the same courageous Vino (whom the French loved) tests positive and is kicked out of the Tour)

7/26: "EXCLU!" / Excluded (Rasmussen kicked out due to very suspicious behavior)

While quite intriguing (I would anxiously look forward each day to buying l'Équipe), the scandals surrounding this year's Tour and the history of doping in general definitely made me more cynical. I still love the majesty of the Tour and the many great mountain passes it traverses, but I'm also disappointed by all that has happened. Interestingly, the French press always talks of Lance Armstrong as having been doped. While there's never been any hard evidence, I'm having a difficult time believing even his story these days. Maybe I've been in France for too long!

Watching le Tour de France

[an absolute highlight: meeting the famous Tour de France devil]
As Katie and I had learned shortly after our arrival in France, several stages of the Tour de France would be passing very close to Toulouse!! After many months of waiting, the Tour was finally here. I ended up spending the entire weekend watching the Tour and I wasn't disappointed. On Saturday we saw the Stage 13 individual time trial in Albi, and then the next day I saw the mountaintop finish of Stage 14 at the Plateau de Beille in the Pyrénées (Katie was extremely nice and stayed in Toulouse on Sunday to meet our friend who was arriving from the States). All of our pictures from both days can be found on our Picasaweb page. Both stages had their attractions.

Albi was nice (in spite of the afternoon rain) because there were riders passing by for most of the day so you could walk around the course and see them from various spots. We also got lots of goodies from the promotional caravan: I was dreaming of one of those polka-dot hats and big green hands! I now have more of those things than I know what to do with! From a race point of view, the time trial was important as it established who the main favorites for the race would be. The big surprise was that Michael Rasmussen managed to preserve the yellow jersey heading into the Pyrénées.

The Plateau de Beille was what I would describe as a classic mountain stage: lots of crazy people crammed onto the sides of narrow mountain roads. There were definitely more hard-core fans on this stage and lots of pre-race festivities (you have to arrive at least 6-8 hours before since they close the roads). The race, however, goes by in a relative short period of time (though didn't seem too short to me). As for the goodies, they were few and far between. When the publicity caravan made it to the slopes of the Plateau de Beille, I barely got anything! Too many people and the people giving away stuff were quite stingy. Oh well. The excitement of the race more than made up for it. The first mountain stage in the Pyrénées did not disappoint. The first riders to pass were Alberto Contador and Michael "Chicken" Rasmussen, the yellow jersey. The crowd around us went crazy when they went by (they were going super fast, I might add). There was even a guy in a chicken suit (a Rasmussen fan, I assume) running right in front of us (this made all the TV highlights so we could see where we were on TV).


[Contador, Rasmussen, and his fans in pursuit]

It's difficult to describe just how close the riders, motorcycles, and support cars get to the crowd. You can literally stick your hand out and touch the riders if you wanted to. Everyone covers the road prior to the riders arriving and then moves out of the way just enough to let the police motorcycles (who are trying to clear the way) pass. The riders are directly behind but it would be quite hard for a rider to try and pass someone for fear of running into the crowd. I actually saw a motorcycle cop shove a fan a few feet on a later telecast. As a rider, I guess you just focus on riding and assume the crowd will clear a path for you.


[in the words of my friend Adam: Kaku-fanboy]

And what cycling-related post would be complete without a reference to Laurent "Jaja" Jalabert? Actually, Stage 14 started in the town of Mazamet which is, in fact, where Laurent grew up.

Alpe-d'Huez (Sheryl Crow, Eat My Dust!!!)

Prior to my arrival in France, my only definitive goal was to ride the famous climb up to the ski town of Alpe-d'Huez in the French Alps. I had seen it many times while watching the Tour de France on TV and wanted to experience the "fun" myself. While not the longest or steepest climb, the 21 switchbacks leading up to Alpe-d'Huez are probably the most famous in all of cycling. Katie convinced her cousin and two friends (all from the States) to join us (we also did some rides in the surrounding areas) in early July. Although we didn't have a lot of time to ride (the weather was also unseasonably cold and wet), we did get a taste of Alpine riding. We ended up riding l'Alpe-d'Huez (the mythic climb), les 2 Alpes (nice views, not too hard, and a short ride--especially if you take the cable car down!), and the Col de la Croix de Fer (our longest and coldest ride--windy, rainy, even snowy at times--yet the most beautiful by far). We also drove up to the Col du Galibier (part of stage 9 of this year's tour). The following is a brief account of my Alpe-d'Huez climb (you can check out all of my photos here).



Each hairpin on the way up to l'Alpe-d'Huez is numbered and named after a rider(s) who has won a Tour stage there. The first turn is #21 (Fausto Coppi/Lance Armstrong) and is located in one the steepest portions of the entire climb... not an enjoyable way to start! Fortunately, I'm happy to say that in general I felt quite good on the climb. After the enormous amount of hurt I felt on Mont Ventoux (see my earlier blog), I learned my lesson and was much better prepared for l'Alpe-d'Huez. I was also highly motivated to beat the hour and a half time that Sheryl Crow (Lance Armstrong's ex-girlfriend) recorded a few years ago. The way I see it, Sheryl Crow is to the Alpe-d'Huez climb what Oprah is to marathoning. As someone who considers himself a decent biker, I was not going to be embarrassed by some pop singer. And apparently I'm not the only one who feels this way. It's all about pride.


[a nice view of some of the hairpins--you can see the town of Bourg d'Oisans, where the climb starts, in the upper left]




From what I had read about the climb, I was pretty nervous during the ascent. My legs felt really good but I was worried that I would run out of gas before the top. Thankfully, that moment never hit. When I finally made it to turn #1 (Giuseppe Guerini), I was in a good rhythm and making decent time up the mountain. I also kept my concentration up since turn #1 is NOT the final turn. While it's called the famous 21 hairpins of Alpe-d'Huez, there are in fact a few more turns to get to the actual finish. Actual is italicized because apparently the finish line keeps moving. The climb used to finish just after turn #1 (at the entrance to town), but as the town grows the Tour de France finish moves further and further back. Apparently the current TdF finish isn't even accessible now (it's in the middle of a construction site), so where we finished is as close as you can get (they have a nice little sign there). All in all, the ride is about 8.7 miles with an average grade of 7.7% (12% max)--at least according to one website I read.

And for those of you keeping score at home, I made it to the old finish line in just over 1 hour (1:01) and to the "official" finish line in about 1:05. Either way, I beat Sheryl Crow!! Mission accomplished, and I didn't feel like I had suffered all that much. Just to give you some context, the best Tour de France rider (Pantani) did it in around 36 minutes--and this is after they've ridden 100+ miles and have gone over 3 or 4 "above category" (HC) climbs before this. The most Katie and I have done so far is 2 passes (Category 1 & 2) on one ride and about 70 miles. Doped or not, it's quite impressive to see some of the mountains the tour riders go over. All in all, I was quite happy. Riding up the Alpe-d'Huez was something I wanted to do for a long time. Katie and I definitely intend to ride some of the famous climbs in the Pyrénées before we head back!


[The happy group: Joe, Amanda, Katie, Me, and Paul]


[At the top of Alpe-d'Huez... for me, a dream come true]

Music Festival (La Fete de la Musique)

La Fête de la Musique takes place on the summer solstice each year and is a chance for musicians of all sorts to perform throughout France and for people everywhere to enjoy their performances. The basic concept is that anyone can play as long as they perform for free. As a result, you'll see young kids playing music on the street corner, DJs spinning in front of storefronts, and more famous acts performing on stages sponsored by the city. What I found so pleasant is that nearly every street in the downtown area of Toulouse was filled with people having a good time and enjoying the different kinds of music being played. It was great to walk around too without having any cars to deal with! And unlike Bumbershoot and Folklife, in Seattle, the festival isn't confined to just one location--it really permeates throughout the town (and the adjacent towns). So you can hang out in your neighborhood and enjoy the local music (perhaps your neighbors, even) or step out into the center of town. My cousin in Paris said that the city hall of each arrondissement has a stage set up and it becomes a big neighborhood celebration. Towns of all size celebrate the music festival in their own ways. It's really a nice tradition that I hope makes it State-side. Apparently la Fête de la Musique is a relatively recent event (less than 30 years old) so it's not something that's been going on in France for very long either. I heard that London and NYC were having such festivals this year so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Unfortunatly, neither Katie nor I remembered to bring our cameras! I really regret doing that as I would have loved to share some photos with you.

The Giant of Provence

I'm happy to report that Katie and I both successfully biked up the famous Mount Ventoux, the Giant of Provence. Our friend Berko went with us, though he went out ahead early in the climb and was well-rested by the time we got to the top (he was definitely the superstar of the day). For a Tour de France-geek like me, le Mont Ventoux was an experience I'll never forget. I had seen it so many times on TV that it was somewhat surreal to actually be there. It's one of the best known mountain climbs in cycling and absolutely one of the hardest I've ever done.

Mount Ventoux is well known in Provence because it towers over the surrounding landscape at a height of 1912 m (6273 ft). From the summit, you can see the Alps and the Mediterranean on a clear day. To fans of the tour, the Ventoux is easily recognizable as the upper portion is devoid of nearly all vegetation and has a giant antenna at the top--when you see pictures of the ride there is no mistaking where you are. It really is a magnificent view from the top and we were fortunate to have good weather on the day we went (the mountain is known for terrible winds). I guess I don't have too many remarks about the climb itself other than to share a few photos. I would have taken more, but I was frankly too tired to do anything else but pedal and curse the damn hill...


This was taken about 3 miles from the summit, which is on the left side of the photo. You can see how barren the landscape is.


Just before the last turn in the final few hundred meters to the summit.


Looking back down the road. According to some info I came across, the climb itself is 22 km (13.6 mi) with an altitude gain of 1610 m (5280 ft). The average grade is 7.1% with an 11% maximum.


Berko and Katie in front of a bike sculpture at the start of the climb. That's the mountain in the upper right (in the clouds, above Katie's left shoulder).

And here's us at the top...




Several days later, we learned that one of the stages of the Dauphiné Liberé bike race would be finishing at the top of the Ventoux. After some discussion (and some rest for our legs), we decided to climb the Ventoux a 2nd time--only this time along an easier route (though not the "proper" Tour de France way). Unfortunately the weather was not as nice and it was freezing cold at the top and you could barely see the roadway below. But at least we got to see some of the potential contenders for this year's Tour de France (the one's who haven't been caught by the anti-doping tests). I even got to see Laurent Jalabert (now a commentator for French television)! Yes, the very Jaja from an earlier blog entry!!

Pilgrimage to Lourdes

We finally took a daytrip to Lourdes, a town nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenées. As a non-Catholic, I knew nothing about Lourdes until several people suggested I go and check it out (jokingly, I think). After our French teacher in Seattle (an American) highly recommended the trip--as a strange blend of touristy cheesiness and religious beauty--it was on my list of places to see. Personally, I wanted to see the Grotto and to check out the many religious souvenir shops. I was not disappointed on either account.

For those who, like me, know nothing about Lourdes, here's a very brief history according to two well-known theological references: The Michelin Guide and Wikipedia (so take it for what it's worth)...

On 11 Feb. 1858, a young girl, Bernadette Soubirous claimed a beautiful lady appeared to her in the remote Grotto of Massabielle (in Lourdes). The lady later identified herself as "the Immaculate Conception" and the faithful believe her to be the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady appeared 18 times, and by 1859 thousands of pilgrims were visiting Lourdes. During the 9th apparition Bernadette began to scribble with her fingers in the earth floor of the cave and suddenly a spring, never before suspected, gushed forth and continued to flow in front of the startled spectators. Pilgrims have been making the trip to the famous Grotto ever since. Lourdes (pop. 15,203) now hosts over 5.5 million visitors a year, and is considered to be the most important place of pilgrimage in the western hemisphere.



Also according to the Michelin Guide there are 600 shops in Lourdes, 80% of them selling religious objects. I personally like all things kitsch so I found the shopping to be quite interesting. You can get just about anything with the image of the Virgin Mary on it. My favorites included postcards that when viewed from one direction show Bernadette by herself and then from a different angle show her with the Virgin Mary. I also saw one with Pope John Paul II in one image with the new Pope (Benedict XVI) in the other. Nice! You can also buy containers (for holding water from the grotto) ranging in size from a mini-flask to several liters (all with the picture of the Virgin Mary, of course). I ended up buying a small flask (that I intended to fill up) and many postcards. Some of these stores like the Palace of Rosaries put Archie McPhee to shame.



Here's a picture of me filling up my flask with water from the grotto (due to the huge numbers of pilgrims, it's now piped to a collection of water fountains--not so romantic but it's still the same water). I forgot to mention that the water is supposed to have healing powers so the fountains are a big attraction. I put my hands under the water as well--however my psoriasis still seems to be there.

While the numerous souvenir shops you encounter on the way to the grotto is quite cheesy and amusing, the mood within the religious grounds is quite serious and fairly somber. Unlike most cathedrals you visit in France, most of the visitors here are clearly quite religious and devout. You see lots of people praying, especially in the actual grotto itself. Perhaps the most moving (and sad) part for me was the large number of handicapped/sick children and elderly being led around (often on wheelchair or on rolling beds). One positive aspect is that there is a great deal of respect given to these people which I'm sure is not always the case in the world outside.



My little souvenir... Water from Lourdes. Origin guaranteed!

Running "With" The Bull

Katie and I recently spent the weekend with her family at the Falles festival in Valencia, Spain. Katie's Dad had witnessed the spectacle when Katie studied there in college, and was so impressed that he was determined to show it to the rest of us. Thus Valencia was part of their itinerary while visiting us. I must admit that I was skeptical of Falles prior to going--it's difficult to get an idea of the magnitude without seeing it in person. I guess you'll have to take my word for it. If you have a chance, I highly recommend checking it out. Here's the Wikipedia description as I wouldn't know how to explain the whole thing. You can also check out our photos here.

In Valencia, we tried to buy bullfight tickets. I thought we were successful, but in fact we had bought tickets for an event where they bring out a bull, attach flames to its horns, and let it parade around the bullring. The crowd is invited to come out and do their best to play matador. This is done a total of 6 times (i.e. 6 bulls). The entertainment is watching your average Spaniard get as close to the bull as possible. Whereas a real bullfight is like a night at the theater (pagentry, tradition, etc), this is more like NASCAR... no one really wants to see someone get hurt, but we're all secretly hoping the bull gets its horns on somebody. We saw 2 close calls but (thankfully?) nothing serious.

Things got really interesting when Katie's brother and sister both went into the ring**. They got to see at least 2 bulls up close! After mulling it over, I finally gave in and went down--I'm sure I wouldn't have gone had they not done it first. I'm such a sucker some times. In the photo, I'm on the far left (in the white shirt) running in full stride away from the bull. It looks like I'm far away from the toro, but when you're down there it seems so close! I was only in the arena for a few minutes, but it felt much longer! What a rush (that I don't need to repeat). So that was my bit of excitement for the weekend!

**I have a photo of Mike and Mo in the bullring that I could share here, but hey, this is my blog not theirs.

The European Union of Beer

At the supermarché near our house, they sell a truly generic beer. I only know of it because I often see our neighborhood street punks (the ones with 3 dogs each asking for money in front of the market) buying it. I'm not positive, but when the guy in front of you in the checkout line is only buying Top Budget beer and nothing else, I don't think that's a good sign.

Anyway, I had to buy a can just so I could write about it. This 500 mL can (17 oz) costs a whopping 0.33 € !!! By comparison, baguettes--which are cheap--cost 0.60 € each. I have my doubts about whether Europe can truly be unified, but the common currency (the Euro, €) and this can of generic beer are proof that progress is being made. This can has beer written in no less than5--yes, FIVE!!--different languages!! It's not just a buzz but a foreign language lesson.

I haven't actually tasted the beer yet, but I'm sure it's fabulous. I think it's only because of the great wines that French beer isn't better known. I assure you that they wouldn't just put the two lions and crown 4.7% vol. crest at the bottom of any can of beer. In all seriousness, they sell plenty of good beer here in France, much of it Belgian.

And before I go, here's today's language lesson (you might want to buy a 6-pack to study at home).
beer = bière (french) = bier (german) = cerveja (portugese) = cerveza (spanish)

Airbus Strike!

The major industry in Toulouse is aeronautics, primarily all things related to Airbus. Airbus has been experiencing a number of problems with the delivery of its latest jet, the A380. This combined with the lack of a competitor (until recently) to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been a big hit to the bottom line of Airbus and it's parent company EADS. So after much delay and a big meeting between Jacques Chirac and Angela Merkel, EADS finally announced their restructuring plan , Power 8, that will trim costs (and jobs) while boosting efficiency (i.e. profit). The bottom line for France is that several factories may be sold/closed and roughly 4,000 people laid-off/fired (of a total of 10,000 layoffs distributed amongst the Airbus partner countries).



This week there was a one day work stoppage and demonstration in the streets of Toulouse. As I'm currently in the midst of my own 1-year work stoppage, I went to witness the events and take some pictures. According to the French newspaper le Monde, no less than 10,000 people were thought to have participated. All in all, I thought the demonstration was pretty tame (even my Airbus friend who himself marched called it "calm"). This huge mass of people weaved their way through the heart of the city to the main square in front of city hall. To my surprise, city hall had a large banner (see top photo) proclaiming, "Toulousans with Airbus and it's Partners".



There was some speeches about the demands of the workers (keeping work in Toulouse, not closing factories, no layoffs, & protecting the French aerospace industry being the principle ones). It'll be interesting to see how this issue plays out in the coming French presidential elections. The left-leaning candidate has pledged to stop the layoffs is she's elected. Whatever happens, the demonstration definitely got a lot of attention. And after reading about various strikes and demonstrations, I finally got to witness my very first one!

French Idol

[Note (14 April): I used to have actual video here, but it got really annoying because it would play the minute you loaded the blog. So click HERE to see the actual video footage]

I managed to catch the 1st episode Nouvelle Star 2007 which is the French version of American Idol (they even have the same graphics). I actually watched the show because I had seen ads showing clips of this unbelievable b-box guy. I never really got into American Idol (I think I'm the only one) so I'm not sure how common such a talent is, but I was completely blown away by his performance. No knowledge of French needed here. As for the rest of the show, I found it a bit slow--many of the songs being performed were ones in English but with terrible French accents. They do not sound good.

Copenhagen cont'd

A few other, more random, items to report from Copenhagen...



We saw this guy cruising around the outdoor skating rink in the middle of the city. While the crowd was mainly families slowly weaving their way around the ice, this guy was a machine--he just kept doing lap upon lap with a very determined look (as though he was in the middle of his daily 50 lap workout). Of course when you do this with a big smoking pipe in your mouth, it's hard to be taken seriously. He cracks me up.



Here is an example of a Danish hotdog. Hot dog stands were quite common in Copenhagen and also in Helsingor, where I took a day trip. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of a stand, but I did snap a photo of the one hot dog I had. Looks delicious, no? I had several guidebooks from the Toulouse library with me and all warned of this culinary disaster. They all said it's typically Danish and none would go so far as to actually recommend eating one. However, no French person was going to keep me down! I can't say that it was especially good. Stupid touriste americaine.



Perhaps hot dogs are popular because they're great after visiting the bars. Danes, I've been told, love their beer (our room key even had a bottle opener attached). Carlsberg calls Copenhagen home and you can find it on tap everywhere. And as the sign says, it's "probably the best beer in town". Who am I to argue? We had our share of both Carlsberg and Tuborg (also brewed by Carlsberg).

Copenhagen / Copenhague / København

Last week Katie and I spent 4 fun days in Copenhagen. What a pleasant trip! Katie had been invited to speak at a small conference organized by the University of Copenhagen. I tagged along and played tourist (a recurring theme this year). While February isn't the optimal time to visit CPH, we lucked out in that it wasn't too cold (thanks to one of the warmest European winters in recent history) and it didn't rain at all. From what I understand, the climate is somewhat like Seattle in that summer is mild while winter is to be avoided (at least for tourists). So though we didn't experience the sidewalk cafés that were pictured in our guidebooks, we did get to stroll around the city in comfort. Here are some of my impressions...

Maybe I was just homesick, but CPH reminded me a lot of Seattle. First of all it was cold (near freezing--okay, cold by Toulouse standards) and gray!!; there is also lots of water (CPH is located on the sea and has several large canals and man-made lakes). For me, it was refreshing to see the ocean and feel the breeze. And like Seattle, there is very little jaywalking. It was bizarre walking back to the hotel and seeing people stopped, waiting to cross a nearly deserted intersection! I even saw a woman on a bike grind to a halt and wait. Crazy yet comforting (perhaps only a Seattleite can appreciate this?).



One of the first things you notice in CPH is just how many bikes there are. The city is very progressive about bikes... nearly every street has dedicated bike lanes, and on larger streets, the parking is actually inside of the bike lane to avoid cars pulling out. What's also neat is that you see all types of people on bikes (students, kids, business people, etc). Granted, it's quite flat in CPH, but it's definitely part of the culture as far as I can tell.



Ah yes, notice how CLEAN the sidewalks are!!! Back here in Toulouse, the Danish sidewalks are but a distant dream for me. Yes, I'm obsessed.

It was somewhat surprising to see how commonplace English is in CPH. While most signs are in Danish, there were still a number of billboards in English and nearly everyone we ran into spoke excellent English. Bilingual menus were also quite common. I suppose when you're a country of 5 million or so, it's a necessity to speak another language to interact with other countries (and these days English is the standard).

Another surprise was our reaction to the more American style of meal service and hello/goodbyes. Dining out in France is very leasurely activity that is not rushed. You're "given" plenty of time to review the menu and then wait for your food to arrive. When you're finished, there's no race on behalf of the server to give you your bill and get you out the door. In Denmark, I felt as though we barely had time to decide and that our food was delivered with lightning speed! It's nice when you actually need to go somewhere, but dinner certainly felt very abrupt. I've heard that the French complain about eating out in America--now I can see why. And in France, whenever you meet someone or say goodbye, you shake hands with the men and kiss every woman at least twice on the cheeks (the women have to kiss both the men and women). In CPH, our hosts (who we had hung out with several times) did the American thing of simply saying "goodbye" or waving a hand from one side of the group to the other. I also have to say that this felt so abrupt! I guess our time in France is having an affect on us.

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Katie!

Her actual birthday was February 14th. For my own sake, I'll refrain from revealing her age. Can you guess where she went to college?

Tomislav Fan Club Unveils Logo

I'm a little late in posting this, but it was recently our roommate Tomislav's (aka Tomi or Tom)birthday! We celebrated the big event by speaking English and having drinks with some friends at an English pub in Toulouse. To my surprise, our friends Rémi and Natasha gave Tomi (as they call him) a homemade t-shirt with their own Rub My Tomi for Good Luck logo (pictured above) on the front. They did a really great job! I don't know how well Tom likes it, but I absolutely adore it and I'm pretty sure that those who know Tom will as well. The Tomislav Fan Club now has a logo! I must admit that I'm a bit jealous... I want my own Rub My Tomi t-shirt for my birthday!