Wanderlust
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Final Blog Update
Friday, August 27, 2010
Feugerolle III
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Feugerolle II
When I returned to Feugerolle after posting last time's update, Marie-Caroline and I went on a hike with her three nieces and her sister-in-law. It was stunning! Only part-way up the path, you could turn around and get a perfect view of the surrounding mountains. And guess which idiot forgot her camera? :) Fortunately, MC's sister-in-law promised to mail me her pictures.
After the hike, MC and I were shown Jean-Baptiste's bunny rabbits. Who is Jean-Baptiste? I'm glad you asked. He is the handy-man who takes care of Feugerolle with his wife and daughter during the months the de Boyssons are not at the castle. He is legit French, and I really want to take a picture of him. Every day, he wears a royal blue flat cap with royal blue trousers and a matching flannel shirt. And he raises bunnies! He is the real deal. And his rabbits - cute little things - are, in fact, quite valuable. A woman once traveld 5,000 kilometers to buy one! I can understand why - they were very soft and cuddly.
August 20th (Friday):
MC, her brother Adrien, his friend Benjamin, and I went rock-climbing, and it just might have been my favorite day here in France. I know, I know, I'm supposed to like the Louvre or the Eiffel Tower, or just Paris, but that's not what happened. We drove to Saint Etienne, received our harnesses and instructions, and hiked out to the location for twenty minutes. I had really hope to - I don't know - have something crazy like an actual instructor actually instructing me on what to do. Instead, we just hiked out and started rock-climbing. Fortunately, the others explained everything and made sure I didn't unnecessarily risk my life. It was a very fun and very exhausting! When we had reached the end of the climb, we all trekked down this quarter of a mile, very rocky path. Adrien stopped a man to ask him for directions, and the man promptly told us we had to go back up the path.
It might have been at this point that I learned my first French curse word.
So we walked back up the path and hiked back in to town. As Benjamin put it, "We are exhausted - but a successful type of exhaustion."
August 21st (Saturday):
On this day, Marie-Caroline, her parents, her brother Regis, and I traveled to Lyon. We first stopped to look at some "Roman vestiges," next to Saint John's church, next to a basilica that looked like an upside-down elephant, and then went shopping. After we went shopping (and yes, Lauren, I did buy you a French shirt), MC's week-long plea won out, and she got her ears pierced! She was very nervous, but handled it well.
And the next time I have internet access, I'll start where I left off.
Au revoir!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Feugerolle
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
La France!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Numbers
Friday, August 6, 2010
Journey to Jo'burg
So yesterday on Thursday, we left the bush. We had one final safari in the morning, and even though Mom, a random guest, and I were the only ones attending, we were rewarded with our remaining Big 5 creature: the buffalo! (In case you were wondering, the Big 5 are lion, cheetah, buffalo, elephant, and rhino.) We told our awesome guide goodbye and headed out. After a four hour bus ride, we arrived in Johannesburg, the (other) mile-high city. The place where we’re lodging is in an area of the city called “Little Tuscany,” and it’s pretty high-end. We even have a pool, though I doubt Lauren and I will be entering its murky green waters.
Today I, out of a terrible habit, woke up around seven and had breakfast. Then when everyone else woke up, ate, and readied themselves, we grabbed a taxi and headed for the mall.
Everywhere you look here in Jo’burg, you can see some version of poverty staring back at you. It may be the shacks that occupy miles upon miles; it may be the beggar on the street corner, scuffing his dusty feet; or it may be a wide-eyed child who waves frantically to you from his seat in the dirt. Nearly every day, I have seen something that has broken my heart. And the most surprising thing about the poor is their proximity to the rich. In America, both rich and poor can inhabit the same cities, perhaps the same general area of town. But here, the two classes are nearly next door to each other. Such absolute destitution faces such ridiculous luxury. It is a great paradox. Some of those in our group elected to tour the shanty-towns, but we opted to get in some shopping. After we explored and got some pictures of the thirty-foot statue of Nelson Mandela, we headed back to our hotel in time for – you guessed it – another “wining and dining” experience. And now, with our bellies full, we are heading to bed.