Tag Archives: Dan

Jun 05 2009
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Juan-Les-Pins, Shoutout, UGA Students, Visitors

June 3. Danny’s Birthday!

For Dan’s birthday we went out to eat at a restaurant on the beach (literally ON the beach…our table/feet were in the sand) called Le Jetee. I had salmon and Dan had steak. Some highlights: listening to the calm waves of the Mediterranean hit the beach as we ate, watching the sunset from the dinner table, the amazing waitstaff and how nice they were to us — our waiter even surprised us with two complimentary birthday shots at the end of dessert.


After dinner the plan was to head back to the residence and have a glass of wine in my room before heading out on the town for a rare night out. All week Dan had encouraged me to talk up his birthday with the students to see if anyone wanted to go out and celebrate….but I just kept telling him how they all had papers due the following day and I doubted many people would be able to make it out.

Arriving back to my room I turned the key to the door and Dan walked in to flick on the lights. Right on cue he was met with a huge “SURPRISE!” from a roomful of students dressed in all white. Yes, folks. I am the first person in Dan’s 32-year history to have ever successfully thrown him a surprise party — and a surprise WHITE party, at that (I’m patting myself on the back as I type).
The white party under black lights. We took the party out to Juan-Les-Pins super-Euro, Club M. There was dancing aplenty as we celebrated Danny’s birthday in style.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAN!!!
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Jun 04 2009
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Cannes, France, Travel, Visitors

Finally some pictures

Here are some pictures from our first week together in France…

SATURDAY — Eze, Monaco

Pulling in to the hillside town of Eze on the grafitti’d train.
Attempting to find the nearest bus stop.  We had been told by students who visited Eze the day before that we HAD to pay 5euros and take the bus 20min up the mountain where we would be met with a beautiful garden which would pale in comparison to the view overlooking the Mediterranean down below.  Apparently our bus ride up to the top of the hill was not meant to be because our timing was off.  It was 45 min until the next bus went up, 20 min to get up to the top, and the next train we needed to catch to Monaco was shortly thereafter.  Too shortly thereafter, in fact, that our bus trip plans were squelched as we headed back to the train station and decided, “we’ll see it next year.”
The train – in very French fashion – didn’t show up until 25min after it was due to arrive.  Thus, Dan and my trip to Eze turned into an hour-long detour on our way to Monaco.  We took plenty of pictures at the train station in an attempt to appease our boredom and distract ourselves from the fact that we were a mere two train stops from Monaco and still had to wait so long to get there.  So close, yet so far away…
We made it!  (P.S. – NICEST train station I’ve seen in Europe.)
This church we stumbled upon has been there since the year 304 (!!).  America is so young. 
Dan being a good Catholic…dipping his fingers in the holy water and doing the 1-2-3-4 thing.
  
Dan paid 1 euro and we lit a candle together.  We walked through the church passed all of the wooden pews, finally taking a seat in the second row at the front and prayed together.  I thanked god for sending Dan to me…both in France and in life…and wished for god to continue granting us his “traveling mercies” (b/c I ALWAYS remember my youth group leader in middle school mentioning that in the group prayer anytime we got on a bus. Gotta love the Methodists!).  I don’t know what Dan prayed about.

After our brush with religion, Dan and I headed straight to the Monte Carlo casino.  Our arrogance was palpable as we strutted along the shoreline flaunting our cash in euros.  Breezing by the single security guard at the door we perused the casino’s interior and its clientele.  We were the only Americans in there.  However, Lady Luck spat in our faces quicker than you could shout, “Le Blackjack!”  Within seconds we were down a combined 25euros on the daggum slots (i.e. the world’s fanciest trash cans for money).  Our spirits were still high despite our misfortune as it was a cool feeling to simply be gambling in the ACTUAL area of Monte Carlo in Monaco versus its American counterpart, the infamously charred hotel/casino version of Monte Carlo in Vegas.
This is the shopping mall in the Monte Carlo section of Monaco.  Yeah, this area has some money…
Dogs are allowed in restaurants, stores, hotels, and offices….but heaven forbid they be allowed in the park!
Here are a few more pictures from our afternoon/evening in Monaco:
 

 
SUNDAY — Antibes

A street performer came to the outdoor restaurant where we were dining for lunch.  He set up shop for a 15-20min performances perfectly situated behind Dan’s chair.  Dan didn’t mind too much as he was engulfed in the spicy/pepper olive oil that they serve here (Warning:  To all Customs agents who may read this do not be alarmed when Dan’s suitcase is weighed down by bottles of these on the return trip).  Also, the performer ended his set with the crowd-pleasing song choice of, “La Bamba.”  Viva France!

After lunch we walked along the harbor and into the city’s walls.  At first glance I thought these flags said “Arby’s”.  Ha
As soon as we entered the Antibes’ walls we found ourselves being welcomed by a jovial, seemingly impromptu parade.

Typical street in Antibes.  Love it!
Here’s another cute little alley.
We bought three paintings (3!) from this artist at the open-air market.  One of a nearby street in Antibes, one of Cannes’ harbor, and one of the Monte Carlo Hotel where we visited the day before.  They are all gorgeous and distinct in their own way.  Thank you to our artist friend, Vincent!
Beautiful city walls along the Med.
Gorgeous, yet treacherous, water and rocks below.
Napoleon wuz here.
The afternoon quickly digressed as soon as we reached the landmark Absinthe Bar… (see below) …

MONDAY — Cannes
We ventured over to Cannes Monday afternoon after Dr. Kohn’s journalism class let out.  It was rainy the whole time we were there, so we didn’t really get any pictures.  We did however shop like CRAZY and eat a good meal at Cafe Roma.
TUESDAY — Nice

Tuesday morning we let our rebellious sides run wild and grabbed a train to Nice without paying.  (Read: heavy sarcasm here.  No one ever pays for trains around here.  Riding for free is well worth the risk of being fined – which is rare.  I’m waiting for the day when my making statements like this comes to bite me in the ass…)
Anyway, we spent a couple of hours walking and shopping in the lovely city of Nice.  P.S.  – This was probably the fourth time I’ve been to Nice in my life and it was the 1st time EVER since I’ve been that the town and general infrastructure was not under construction.  Nice is now actually nice.  Hats off, local government and construction teams.


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Jun 01 2009
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Travel, UGA Students, Visitors

"Travel Weekend"

Having been given the Friday off from class creating a 3-day weekend students ventured whimsically to places like London, Amsterdam, Venice, and Avignon.  Meanwhile Dan and I used this time to take quick train trips to Golfe Juan, Monaco, and Antibes – each enjoyable in their own right.  I’ve already written about our first day of lounging (topless!) on the beaches of Golfe Juan and I planned to write about our Monaco experience this morning, but considering my camera’s juice is completely dissipated at the moment I guess I’ll just give you a little taste and divulge the full details with accompanying pictures later.

Monaco was fantastic.  I don’t know if I’ve even visited a place where everything down to the sidewalks is so ornate.  The remnants of the Grand Prix race from a week ago are still intact in the streets.  We walked around for about five hours exploring the winding streets of the world’s second smallest principality (Vatican City holds the title of smallest).  We documented every square inch with 300 pictures or so.  I promise to only post a miniscule portion of those.
Yesterday from noon to eight we journeyed through the tiny, old streets of neighboring Antibes.  I’d spent a day there before when I was here three years ago – lunching with ladies from my program and snapping goofy model-esque picture poses atop a scenic overlook by the sea.  This trip with Dan, though, was somehow different.  We took more time to notice the small things – exploring many more nooks and crannies than I had previously.  The local artists in the open air market, the myriad of hats for the taking at the hidden absinthe bar, and the rocky shoreline with white crested waves crashing beneath the walled city were just some of the things we admired.  
I’ll post more in-depth stories of our adventures along with pictures later on when I get a chance.  For now we’re going to grab lunch, charge my camera battery, and head over to Cannes for an afternoon of sightseeing, shopping, and maybe a movie in one of its many theatres.  I can see out the window of our rooftop classroom now that there appears to be a threat of afternoon thunderstorms as the sky goes from a light white down to a deep purple off in the distance behind the harbored tip of Golfe Juan……hopefully we can do a quick raindance to hold off the looming showers.  
Anyway – time to run.  Will report back later.  A tout a l’heure!
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May 30 2009
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France, Juan-Les-Pins, Travel, Visitors

Danny has landed!

 After an 8-hour flight, a 6-hour layover in Paris, and another flight down to Nice complete with a 40-min delay…..Dan has made it to me in the south of France!

He arrived jetlagged, yet excited — so we hit the ground running in my home base of Juan-Les-Pins right away in an attempt to prolong Dan’s head hitting the pillow and get his body clock adjusted to France time.
Living just half a block up from the blue Mediterranean Sea makes for a lovely view from my balcony as well as easy access for strolling along the boardwalk.  Dan and I did just that as soon as we unpacked his very well organized suitcase.  🙂
 
On the way to the restaurant-lined beach we made a quick pitstop for some mid-afternoon gelato (which I seem to have adopted as a daily ritual).  Dan LOVED his cone full of Snickers and chocolate goodness.  We then walked out on a rocky point to admire the distant yachts and crystal clear water just at our feet.  Dan can’t get over the scenery of Juan-Les-Pins…restaurants with couches and tables that allow its patrons to dine with their feet in the sand, colorful awnings from the shops and apartments looming just behind, and not to mention topless French sunbathers as far as the eye can see.
We got him some good handmade French pizza that is as thin as our Arby’s FSI’s.  He LOVED that too.  We had a great (cheap!) bottle of French red wine with our pizzas which you could’ve mistaken for warm milk as it began to lull Dan to sleep while he was still seated at the table.  At one point during our conversation I had to inform him that only one of his eyes was still open — I’m pretty sure he doesn’t remember most of that first day/night as I’ve had to repeat a lot of what I said – but I can understand.  I’ve already dealt with the exact same thing with our 25 students when they arrived.  I’m a pro now.
The next morning we got up and went to my favorite spot for breakfast crepes – “Pan & Cake.”  We enjoyed ingredients like ham, cheese, mushrooms, and egg warmly wrapped into our soft crepes.  Yum!  Grabbed two ‘pain-au-chocolats’ to go and headed toward the train station for a day on the beach in the neighboring town of Golfe Juan.  Below are some pictures from our afternoon – it was great and so relaxing.
                       
 
Today is Dan’s third day on the ground here and the students have been given a day off class to allow time for a “travel weekend” of their choice.  We are going to use this time to take a day trip over to Monaco and hopefully stop in Eze on one of the legs of the train ride.  It’s another beautiful day with a bit of a breeze so it should be perfect for walking around and exploring new areas.  I’ve never been to either of these places, so I’m excited to see them for the first time today with Dan.  I’m sure we’ll have SO many pictures to post after today.
Okay, better go check the train schedule before the entire day gets away from us on the internet.  Talk to you soon.
-ab & dd
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May 25 2009
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France, Reflections, Travel

I booked my hotel in Paris the other day

The only reason I am devoting an entire post to this is because:

 (a) I am spending more money on this 3-night, post-Cannes program hotel stay than I ever have on a hotel visit in my life.  Granted, in my past hotel-booking experience it has often been with the mindset of: “Can I cram fourteen of my other friends into this standard ‘double’ room conspicuously enough after a night of one too many games of beer pong or bar shots in (fill-in-the-blank) college town?”  In those such cases the rate usually ends up being no more than $10/person, so my Parisian booking this time around is certainly a shock to my poor credit card’s system.
(b) The hotel was chosen from a long list of potential venues after some meticulous Google-searching on my part.  I reviewed the list thoroughly and repeatedly, considering factors such as location and decor with price being very low on the list of considerations because, ‘Hey, when in Rome (er, Paris), right?’  Besides, by the time this Parisian getaway takes place I will have been housed in the south of France on UGA’s dime for more than a month…so to justify my frivolity once more, I guess I just feel like I can finally ‘splurge’ a little. 
The hotel is called HOTEL A LA VILLA DES ARTISTES.  The aspect I liked most about this hotel is the uniqueness of each “Arty” room as shown in the website’s pictures and descriptions:
”  The “Arty” Rooms have been entirely renovated and dedicated to 
the modern arts. Each room has its own special atmosphere of different 
artistic periods such as Fauvism, Cubism or Surrealism.  ” 
The location of this place is also ideal because it is situated just south of the gorgeous Luxembourg Gardens directly adjacent to the iconic Latin Quarter, the arrondissement in which I spent most of my time during my 4-month period of studying at the Sorbonne back in college.  Four years have passed since my semester-long stint in Paris and I cannot WAIT to get back to my old stomping grounds.  Paris is, after all, my absolute favorite city in the world.  
It was also my first love.  No really.  I fell in love with that city when I lived there.  Returning to school in Athens, GA after my time abroad in Paris if ever I saw photos of the city on tv or in books my heart and stomach would drop as if I was seeing an ex-boyfriend with a new girl.  Call me creepy or weird, but Paris has this lasting affect on people – it certainly has with me.  Ha – sidenote – a actually read not too long ago about a woman “legally” (in the loosest sense of the word, I’m sure) married the Eiffel Tower, changing her last name to ‘Eiffel’ and all.  I wouldn’t take my obsession with the city that far, but apparently this woman did.  Anyway, that’s neither here nor there…
Now that I have this glorious place booked I am left with the task of trying to figure out who I can show Dan, a European newbie, all that Paris has to offer in a mere three days.  I’m up for the challenge…
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