Eurotrip, city 3: Paris

Hands down, the train ride to Paris from Amsterdam was the nicest leg of our little trip, as I accidentally booked first-class tickets for us. Upon arrival in Paris, we headed right over to our apartment, settled in a bit, and got to know the neighborhood where we'd stay for the next few days (the 7th arrondissement).

On Sunday, we headed over to Notre Dame where we thought we could go to mass, but it was way too crowded, so we just checked out the outside. While in the neighborhood, we went to La Sainte-Chapelle and Shakespeare and Co. bookstore before heading over to Montmartre. In Montmartre, we stopped at the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur and wandered the neighborhood where some of our favorite artists lived once upon a time, before finding a little cafe in our own neighborhood for dinner.

We hit the Louvre on Monday morning, but not before strolling through the Tuileries and stopping at Angelina's for some of the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted. (We also picked up some macarons to snack on later - yum!) After lunch, we went to L'Orangerie and saw Monet's famous water lilies - it was maybe the best museum we saw in Paris, or possibly tied for first with the Musée d'Orsay, where Andrew and I went on Tuesday while Wally and Marie went out to Versailles. Andrew and I also went to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs on Tuesday, where we saw two exhibits: one on Louis Vuitton & Marc Jacobs, and a second on my favorite French elephant, Babar. That night, we took a boat tour of the Seine and prepared to get up early and head to Reims on Wednesday. (More photos of Paris are on flickr.)

Feliz Navidad!

Yes, we're living in Denmark this year, but we spent the holidays in the Canary Islands! We arrived on Christmas morning and spent the whole week relaxing in the sun. On Monday, we luxuriated at the spa for several hours, and then lounged at the pool for a few more hours before going into the nearby town/fishing village, Puerto de las Nieves, for a wonderful dinner. We ate there several more times during the week, each meal seemingly better than the one before.

On Tuesday we went horseback riding through several nearby banana farms, and Wednesday was spent hiking. Andrew found a trail online that was supposed to be easy, but it turned out that the last third of it was basically scaling down a cliff (which we didn't do). Thursday we spent the afternoon at the pool and on Friday we went back to the spa. Saturday came way too early and we were a bit sad to leave all the warmth and sunlight.

More pictures of our wonderful vacation are on my flickr page here.

Juletid in Aalborg

Christmas has taken over Aalborg since October - as neither Halloween nor Thanksgiving really exist here, the Danes start decorating very early. The streets are all decked out with Christmas trees and lights, and one of the biggest Christmas traditions is the town's outdoor Christmas market. Almost every town (it seems) has their own market that is set up through the holiday season (Advent through Christmas). There are plenty of stalls full of people selling food and Christmas presents, and there are even rides for the kids. 

 

In addition to the town market, there is also an indoor Christmas market in Nordkraft, the cultural building about two minutes from our apartment (it houses an indie movie theater, restaurants, a climbing wall, and the tourist center, among other things - be warned, though, the Indian restaurant there is terrible!). The indoor market is infinitely better than the outdoor one - we got some delicious apple cider and bacon there a few weeks ago, but have yet to buy anything from the outdoor one. One of the best parts of the indoor market has got to be the man riding around on an absurd bicycle, though:

Lastly, one of Aalborg's best Christmas festivities is the train (actually a bus that is decorated to look like a train) that runs around the city during the season. I've never seen anyone but children riding, but it looks like a good way to get around the city...

Sexological Zoo

Andrew and I were awakened at 9:00 this morning by blaring techno music that was literally shaking our building. For about an hour, we thought it was our neighbors, but we soon realized that it was, in fact, a truck parked on the street outside laden down with enormous speakers and costumed Danes. Today is the Carnival Grand Parade!

According to the official Carnival website:

• "This year's theme 'Sexological Zoo' offers a framework for your costumes ... there is no censorship regarding the costume" (true enough - we saw several nearly naked people)
• "Toilet facilities are placed along the route. Please use these!" (we caught many people peeing into the Limfjorden, the major waterway in town that is right behind our apartment)
• "No shopping carts are allowed in the Parade" (many people had these and [for some reason] baby carriages filled to the brim with alcohol)
• "Embrace the animal within, release your inner party-self, and join the endless and crazy possibilities of the greatest Party of them all" (we did)
• "Speed Wedding: In the Speed Wedding tent you can get married to that special someone - or the next in line. Wake up with more than the experience of Carnival! The motto of Speed Wedding is 'Marry the one you love - or love the one you marry!'"

Here is a video of part of the tail end of the parade for your enjoyment:

                                   

More pictures of the parade are posted on flickr (here). We are thrilled that the parade route goes right by our apartment and we can't wait to start planning next year's costumes...