Adventures in Gastronomy

It’s official. I’m heading to Provincetown this weekend. There were enough places available (as of late last night) on the last-minute availability lodging website for Ptown and it looks like it will be a sunny weekend (albeit extremely hot). Who could ask for anything more?

I’m going to make room and car reservations today and come Saturday morning, I’ll be enjoying the gayness that is Cape Cod with my friend, Fernando. I’m all excited to know that another friend, Fred, will be there. And another on-line buddy (who I’ve not met yet but tried fixing up with yet another friend) will also be there and we may possibly meet for the first time.

And speaking of gayness, this is a pretty exciting/anxiety-inducing week for those wacky Massachusetts gays. First with yesterday’s State Supreme Court ruling and then with tomorrow’s Constiutional Convention. I must say I loved the following comment by two of the justices (about putting gay marriage to a vote):

“The only effect of a positive vote will be to make same-sex couples, and their families, unequal to everyone else,” he wrote. “This is discrimination in its rawest form.”

I guess we’ll see. As Rodney once asked in the 1990’s: Can’t we all just get along?

Hmm – this was a rather boring post. I’ll try to work up some scandal before tomorrow’s posting.

July 11th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 3 Comments

I feel like I did nothing all weekend when, in fact, I actually did quite a few things – some fairly substantial.

On Friday night, Mike and I got together after work and saw the Strangers with Candy movie (I love Amy Sedaris…though Mike loves Onyx Blackman). It was funny but it re-hashed more lines from the TV series than I’d have hoped for. But it was a good laugh and stayed (mostly) true to the TV series. I do miss Orlando, though…and the original brother.

After the movie we grabbed some food (BoLoco) and returned to the theater to see The Devil Wears Prada – but it was sold out. Instead, we opted to walk back to Boston from Harvard Square (via the Mass Ave Bridge) and talk. Without going into too much detail (despite having a blog, believe it or not, I do keep some things private) Mike and I continued what has been a series of “where are we?” talks.

We’ve been together nearly 8 months (can you believe it?) and started having some much-needed conversations beginning at a restaurant in Amsterdam. Those conversations continued back to Paris…into London…and now back in Boston. It’s been really good, we’re opening up to each other, we’re being 100% honest, but despite all of that – we’re still not sure what’s going on. Time will tell, I guess.

On Saturday, I did laundry all day then met up with Mike and his friend, Justin, at Francesca’s Cafe in the South End. We then headed over to Fritz for a drink before Mike and I went to Jack’s for a BBQ on his roofdeck. You may recall I wrote about Jack a month or two ago…he lives in the apartment owned by the founder of Manhunt. It’s a 1970’s porn dreamhouse with urinals and  multi-head showers. But the best feature is the roofdeck with 360-degree views of the city.

We spent over 6 hours up there chatting, eating and drinking wine. We really had a blast and were surprised when we discovered it was after 12:30AM.

On Sunday, I cleaned my apartment. It was horrible. Apparently, these evil dustbunnies took up residence while I was in Europe and their eviction yesterday was quite difficult. But I believe they are gone.

Then sometime around 4PM (I believe) I began hearing horns. And screams. And fireworks. Living in the North End I knew this could only mean one thing: Italy had won the World Cup. After basically being followed by World Cup hoopla throughout Europe (and being in London when England lost…watching drag stars interrupt their shows to keep the audiences updated) the fever followed us back to Boston.

Mike, Marin and Roger came over around 8:30PM and we headed over to Hanover Street to see the festivities. It was mad. We were there until about 10PM (nearly 6 hours after the game ended?) and it was still crazy. Streets were closed to traffic, people were waving (or wearing) Italian flags, the chanting and hollering were nonstop. Quite impressive.

I’m normally a bit uncomfortable surrounded by such levels of testosterone, but I have to admit it was fun. I’ll never understand the appeal of team sports nor the mentality of victory-related rioting, but it was an interesting scene to observe.

And now it’s Monday and life is back to normal. I’m hoping to head to Provincetown this weekend with my friend, Fernando. I guess it will depend on inn availability and weather. But right now it appears it will be in the 90’s and humid – no better time to be on the ocean if you ask me!

July 10th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 3 Comments

Most of you already know that I detest summer. I hate heat. I hate humidity. I hate flip-flops (mostly out of jealousy because I can’t wear them since I find them uncomfortable).

But there are a handful of good things I associate with summer:

1 – Provincetown. I like to make a few pilgrimages every summer and I’m hoping my first of the season will be next weekend. As long as my guesthouse has an air-conditioner in the window, I’m fine. I love the people watching on the beach, I love the vitalitity of the street scene, I love the nightly cabaret shows, I love the architecture and seascapes.

2 – Big Brother! Last night was the season premiere. This year, the 7th, is an “all-star” season. I must admit I was a bit disappointed at who the public (and producers) voted in. I mean, come on. Allison? Mike “Boogie”? Jase? ugh. At least Kaysar, Will, and Janelle will make things interestings. But, dammit, I wanted Bunky back in there.

3 – Fruit. I love going to my neighborhood produce stand and getting cheap strawberries, blueberries and blackberries. Last summer they had quarts for $1.50…and one time when I went they were two-for-one! It beats off-season prices of $4.99 for only a pint.

4 – North End Feasts! It’s an Italian tradition to have feasts nearly every weekend during summer. The first big one (that I can tell…unless I missed some while in Europe) takes place this Sunday a block from my apartment. Nothing says summer like thousands of Italians filling the streets, selling unhealthy sausages and pastries, stringing lights from building to building, and pinning dollar bills to tacky religious statues.

And that, folks, is how I spent my summer vacation.

July 7th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 8 Comments

Can I go back to Paris now?

Actually, things have gone well since I returned. I arrived home Monday afternoon and settled in nicely. I stayed up as late as I could (that would be 9:30PM) and then slept for nearly 12 hours. Unlike the last time I went to Europe, I’m not suffering from jetlag this time. I must have done something right (or, the fact that there’s more daylight in July than there is in October may play a factor).

On July 4th, I visited a friend and laid out on his roof deck (before the clouds and showers). That night, I got together with my friends Marin and Roger to watch the fireworks. We went out for pizza then came back to my place to hang out. After Roger got distracted by all of my knick-knacks (particularly my 1950’s Victrola 45 player) we only had 5 minutes to get to the fireworks. We watched them from the Charlestown Bridge but they were partially obstructed by haze and the smoke from the fireworks. Roger had never been to this area so we brought him over the Charles River locks before calling it a night around 11:45PM.

My first day back to work was yesterday and it went rather well. Despite forgetting to change my voicemail greeting to indicate that I was on vacation for 2.5 weeks, I didn’t have an overwhelming amount of messages. I can’t say the same for the 1,600+ emails (mostly deletable spam, fortunately).

Now I’m back at work for the second day and I’ve had a chance to reflect upon my trip to Europe. Here are some biased observations:

1 – France’s public bathrooms are barbaric. Not a single public restroom I used (and I used a lot) had hot running water. They all only offered cold water (and no knobs to even get hot water). In addition, I finally got to use my first turkish toilet. Calling this a toilet is a stretch: it’s a porcelain hole in the floor with grooved spots to put your feet. You can face the hole and pee (as most people appear to do…missing the hole completely and splattering the floor) or you can turn around, face the opposite direction, squat and take a dump (also potentially missing the hole). Lovely. In addition, half of the bathrooms that actually did have toilets didn’t have toilet seats. I just don’t understand.

2 – France’s public bathrooms are not barabaric. I know, this is a contradiction – but hear me out. Despite their primitive bathroom plumbing fixtures, public rest rooms in France all have nearly full height doors for the stall partitions. This surprises me since everything else associated with their restrooms is so primitive. Plus, with their tolerance of nudity (compared to the U.S of A.) I’m surprised they’d have more privacy compared to our flimsy partial height partitions and doors.

3 – French people don’t eat vegetables. It’s nearly impossible to get a side of green veggies in that country. You can get a salad, but I had trouble with decent side dishes. This became really noticeable when we got to London and nearly every meal came with a side. Yet, despite this, they’re much more fit than us.

4 – The United Kingdom needs to get over itself. First they don’t consider themselves part of Europe (they refer to the rest of Europe as “the continent”). They drive on the wrong side of the street despite the fact that people nearly die on a daily basis (myself included). I mean, if you have to write on the street in paint at every single intersection to warn people which direction they need to look, then something’s seriously wrong. Plus, despite the rest of the European Union using the Euro, the U.K. maintains the pound? Why? Couldn’t they convert to the Euro and just make things cost more to offset the fact that their currency is more valuable? Also, we traveled freely throughout France, Belgium and the Netherlands without the need to go through customs. But not the United Kingdom. To visit them, you need to wait in long lines to present your passport.

5 – London has the best cabs in the world. They all look like they’re from the 1920’s, but they’re modern and comfy and have huge spacious seating areas (comfortable for 4 people).

6 – Europeans have SERIOUS issues with climate control. Despite the fact that they seem to get heatwaves every summer and despite the fact that they have humidity, they refuse to air-condition their public transit systems. Now, especially with this whole global warming thing (and after that horrific heatwave they had a few summers ago where thousands died), don’t you think they might at least consider including air-conditioning as they replace their old subway cars? NOPE! The subways are unbearable. Even the locals agreed (and sweat profusely). In fact, one of the cab drivers in London told us that they shut down the subway sometimes because it’s too hot and people pass out. Gee, do you think that might be a sign to invest in cars with cooling systems? The same goes for retail shops and restaurants who think a single oscilating fan provides the cooling you need to dine or shop comfortably.

7 – The French highway system sucks (as I blogged about earlier). Beglium and the Netherlands were a breeze. And, from what I could tell as a passenger (and not a driver) in the U.K, signage there is good as well. But France is horrible.

8 – Despite all of my gripes, I’d go back in a heartbeat.

July 6th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 8 Comments

On the morning we left Paris for London, Mike and I used a taxi to get to the train station from Mark’s home. Mike managed to accumulate more than he could handle (in books and clothes) so I had to carry some of it. Somehow, since my luggage was on wheels, I managed to get stuck with the bag-o-books. It rolled on the handle of my roll-away luggage, but made it quite heavy and uncomfortable.

Long story short -we arrived at the train station cranky, hot, and over-flowing with luggage. Once in line after getting our tickets, but before going through customs, Mike wanted to go outside for a smoke. Not wanting to have to get back into line again, I said I’d stay and he should go without me. He wanted to leave his luggage with me while he went (meaning I’d have to move his 4 bags plus my 3 all on my own). I refused (rather crankily, I’m reluctant to admit) and I think we had our first fight.

Things got better once we got on the train and sat very comfortably for the 2.75 hour ride through the Paris countryside, under the English channel, and into Waterloo Station in London. I’m so impressed at European rail service compared to in the states. Their urban areas are just as dense (if not moreso) yet they have rapid train transit going from city to city/country to country. All we’ve got is the Acela from Boston to NYC/DC…and it barely goes high-speed but for a few miles in Rhode Island.

OK – back to Europe. We arrived in London and hailed a taxi to get us to our hotel in Soho. Leave it to us to do the bulk of our traveling from city-to-city during a heatwave…but that’s what happened. Since the London subway isn’t air-conditioned (and costs around 3 pounds….that’s nearly $6 to Americans) we opted for the taxi.

Their taxis rock. They look kind of like model-T Fords, but they’re huge in back (room for four people facing each other and lots of luggage). Our route to the hotel was complicated by the EuroPride Parade (more on that later) so it took us a bit longer than expected. But we finally checked into the hotel around 1PM (we left Paris at 10:20AM), unloaded our bags and went out to explore.

Now, EuroPride is a roving celebration for Gay Pride and this year it took place in London. We ventured down to the parade and found a shady spot to stand. The parade was much more fun than Boston’s or Paris’s (or San Francisco and Minneapolis, for that matter). People had loads of fun and it wasn’t all church groups and politicans, like Boston.

Later, as we meandered about, we stumbled upon a concert stage at Leicester Square where performers were singing. And it just so happened to be Boy George! Such fun! We stuck around for the next few acts then headed off for dinner (which we had at a yummy little pub – I had my first Yorkshire Pudding).

That night, we walked the streets of Soho (particularly the Old Compton Street). I couldn’t believe the number of people. This event must have attracted at least 500,000 people. Entire neighborhoods were blocked off from traffic and it was an even larger affair than the Fete de Musique in Paris.

As the night progressed, we were both commenting on how much work it would take to clean the streets after this. There were no trash cans about (probably because of terrorism….what with the old IRA bombings and with last year’s subway bombings) so litter filled the streets. I’m talking 2 feet or more of the curb being filled with bottles, plastic cups, flyers, cigarette packages and papers. Nasty.

But most of it was gone by morning. We headed out for breakfast on Old Compton Stree then did some touring: Parliament, Big Ben, Thames. We eventually made it over to the London Eye and managed to go for a spin on that. Then we headed over to Tate Modern museum (apparently, you’re not supposed to use “the” in front). We walked back over Millennium Bridge, then into St. Paul’s Cathedral and back to the hotel.

We had dinner at this place in Soho called Kentner’s (I think that’s the spelling). It was an old place with a few rooms. It looked reserved and somewhat formal, but we were seating in a room with a table of lesbians, a table of older gay men, and a pianist playing Cole Porter songs.

The minute she stepped away for a break, one of the gay men walked over to the piano and started playing. He was really good (and really drunk). Soon, he started doing sing-alongs. Mike and I knew almost none of the songs, but had a blast just the same. One song that went over particularly well was a Monty Python song about sitting on one’s facing and saying you love him/her.

I must say it was perhaps the most enjoyable dinner environment I’ve ever had. Everybody was laughing and eating and drinking and having a great time. We almost didn’t want to leave.

But we did. We had to call it an early night since we were flying back to Boston the next morning.

With a subway system lacking air-conditioning, a heat wave, and Mike’s ever-expanding mountain of luggage (he bought more in London), we used a taxi to get to the airport, which, in the end, only cost slightly more than it would have to take the express train.

It was sad to say good bye to a great vacation. Looking back on all three cities (Paris, Amsterdam, and London), I’d have to say that Paris is still my favorite. It’s just so beautiful. Amsterdam would be a second. Not as beautiful, but compact and charming and so very interesting.

Although I enjoyed London, it just wasn’t as pretty. Although the buildings for government and the monarchy are quite lovely, the rest of the city is such a hodge-podge that it felt chaotic. It’s also such an unbelievably large city and so dense and active (like Manhattan without the hi-rises). I’d go back, but I think I’ll focus my travel on Paris as the homebase – then take trips from there.

So, the two and a half weeks are over….I slept on my own bed last night (ahhhhh)…and I’m ready to go back to Paris.

In the meantime, here are some photos of London. FYI – I’ve edited the photos in my London 2006 Gallery and Paris 2006 Gallery. Although the Amsterdam 2006 photos are posted, they’re still unedited.

I took this photo while on the London Eye. This “capsule”, as they call it, was at the top.

 And here’s St. Paul’s Cathedral

 Here’s a view across the Thames of the London Eye

I think this was just off Trafalgar Square on EuroPride Day.

Anybody who watched AbFab will know why this photo was taken (Patsy lived above Odd Bins)! This was around the corner from our hotel near Soho.

 A traditional English pub near our hotel (we didn’t eat here).

 Ahhh – EuroPride. Need I say more?

Once again – I have trouble preventing distortion when posting pictures here. The originals are in my photo gallery (link on right).

July 4th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 4 Comments

The Amsterdam portion of this posting will lack many words since I’m mostly just posting photos (finally). I’ve also created an Amsterdam 2006 photo album in my gallery (link to the right). Like the recent Paris photos, these are all still un-edited so they may be sideways (and I still haven’t mastered the process of enlarging them so they don’t get distorted….sometimes I miss the old blog server).

Here’s a typical Amsterdam scene.

Here is Mike before his pancake with Nutella and vanilla ice cream (you should have seen him after!)

This is Central Station – where the subway dropped us off after having parked the car in the burbs.

This is the Rotunda in some church near Central Station (I forget the name)

A typical canal in Amsterdam….so pretty.

This was one of the first pictures I took in Amsterdam. Notice how the buildings in the tiny side street are leaning in. This is how buildings are all over Amsterdam. I wonder if they’re going to have some major structural issues to address over the next 100 years?

This was our room at the guest house (it had a loft – which is from where I took the photo)

Another canal scene.

I took this on Tuesday morning when I went for a walk. The building on the right is the oldest church in Amsterdam…the shop windows on the left are where the prostitutes sell themselves (it’s illegal to photogaph them directly). But even at 10AM, they were still working. I can’t believe it’s allowed so close to a church. America this is not.

This is a shot of the same church – without the sex shop windows in view.

Now, back to life in Paris.

Yesterday started off really well. I blogged, we went out for baguettes (and pastries), then we did some shopping for the big (I believe) semi-annual sales (soldes). Mike took home much more than I did, but I was able to find a really cool shirt and some underwear from BHV and two really nice button-down shirts from Zara for just under 8 Euros.

We then stopped off at a cafe next to the Bear’s Den and had salads. Mike wanted to go to a bookstore and I want to rest/read along the Siene so we split up.

And this is where the day fell apart. Back at Mark’s place (where I was going to pick up my book), I stupidly popped online to check emails. I wanted to confirm that our train tickets to London arrived OK and that they’d be FedEx’d for Friday delivery.

Well, they couldn’t. Despite the package having my co-worker, Mark’s (Veselka Slut’s) name AND office address on it, the mailroom saw my name in a window and automatically put it in my office (despite the enormous sign on my door anouncing that I wouldn’t be back until July 5th). So, that glitch, on top of the order not arriving as early as expected (even though we requested overnight delivery) has resulted in two useless tickets sitting a continent away.

Instead of a restful afternoon on the Siene, I spent my time emailing, IM’ing, and speaking with Mark (in Boston) and Mark (our host in Paris) trying to come up with a solution. FedEx, UPS, DHL…nobody…could provide a Friday delivery (our train is Saturday).

The solution? Return the tickets for a maximum refund of 25% ($45 back on a $150 ticket) and buy new tickets in Paris for nearly $300…EACH!!! So, my $150 ticket is now costing me around $400.

Needless to say, this put a damper on my afternoon/evening. As many of you know, I’m quite anal. I stress out easily when plans are changed. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Amsterdam (you saw the pictures!). But the stresses of all of the last minute changes simply exhausts me (realizing the day before our flight to Paris that we weren’t going to Oxford, realizing 3 days beforehand that we weren’t going to Amsterdam, realizing two days beforehand that our tickets to London won’t arrive on time). I’ve always been so organized and thorough (hello? I had Excel spreadsheets prepared for this trip) that I tend to freak out when I’m not sure what’s going on. Plus, there’s the unanticipated expense of it all that’s got me a bit worried.

Anyway, once Mike got back to the apartment and a train solution (though crappy) was reached, I went to the Siene from 7:30PM until 8:30PM. I brought a book, but couldn’t focus. I just sat there and stared at whatever caught my fancy: a floating bottle, an ant, a boat, or my favorite – a crowd of gay guys setting up for a picnic.

It started with one dapper fellow in summery white (see-through) pants and one of those $100 tank tops you find at boutigues. He set out a blanket and started pulling out wine glasses from a basket. Next came a small group of friends with an ENORMOUS floral display to place in the center. These gays know how to dine!

Anyway, I returned to the apartment and Mike, Mark, and I went out to dinner at the Gai Moulin restaurant (the owner knows us now – this being our 3rd trip in the last two weeks).

Today is our last day in Paris. I’m not sure what’s going on yet. I plan on continuing my search for good sales and finally reading along the Siene (since my attempt failed yesterday). Wish me luck.

June 30th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 2 Comments

My first impressions of Amsterdam were quite wrong. You see, we arrived on Monday in the early evening after over 6 hours in a car. The city was drizzly and damp and we were both somewhat cranky. Our first excursion to explore the city was the Red Light District, since that’s where we were staying. But the next morning we woke up and the sun was shining and we knew things would get better.

The day started with breakfast at the guesthouse. We walked into the kitchen and prepared ourselves some cereal, bananas, and yogurt. Then the owner walked over to us and asked how we wanted our eggs and bacon. By the end, we’d had an enormous breakfast and were well nourished to walk all day.

We took a canal cruise of the city which was quite fun. Then we walked over to the “nicest” canal–Prinsengracht–which led us to the Anne Frank house. But before reaching her house, we walked by a little restaurant called The Pancake Bakery.

YOU MUST GO THERE!

We weren’t hungry after our big breakfast, but I mentioned to Mike that I’d read about this place in the guidebook and it was supposed to be good. We popped in and decided to each get a pancake with vanilla ice cream and Nutella. What came out of the kitchen was the most orgasmic dessert I’ve had in my entire life. We were positively giddy after that (and on the highest of sugar highs).

We continued our walking and picture taking a few more blocks along the canal until we arrived at the Anne Frank House. There was a line around the corner…so we kept walking. We decided to head to the gay shopping area and return to the house around 7PM when the guidebook said the lines die down.

We next stopped at a coffee shop (also on the same canal), then continued on toward Kerkstraat (an overhyped gay area). When all was said and done we headed back to the Anne Frank House and there was no line! WOO HOO.

Aside from the delicious dessert earlier in the day, this was the most amazing part of the trip. You could go everywhere in the house (except the attic). I was able to touch the sink she used and the door to her room.

The most fascinating part of the exhibit was toward the end (in a new-ish wing attached to the house) where you enter a room with a huge group of people and sit by these game-show style red and green buttons (for yes and no). A video is projected on the wall discussing modern day human rights issues and then the video was ask if you agree or disagree with what was shown on the screen (should people be allowed to protest in front of churches, should gays have equal rights, etc…).

Then a slide would appear on screen showing how the room answered (in percentages) but also how the answers have appeared historically since the exhibit began. It was so interesting to see how a random selection of people you don’t know feels about certain issues. I must admit to being particularly nervous when the gay rights question came up…but the majority agreed upon equal rights (this was Amsterdam, after all).

Unfortunately, things became a little tense when Dear Prez. Georgie showed up on screen. They started discussing the Patriot Act and the government’s ability to monitor our library book-borrowing records. Bush was quoted as saying something like, “You’re either with us, or with the terrorists” (a clip we Americans have seen a million times before), but in this context, it made me cringe. The crowd at the museum all began to hiss the moment Bush appeared on screen, then they all laughed when his idiotic quote was spoken.

As expected, about 95% of the crowd disagreed with the book monitoring, and after seeing all we saw in the Anne Frank exhibit, it made me realize how scary things have become in our own country.

OK – on to happy stuff.

We left the house and went to dinner at this place called The Getto. It was a little gay resturant in the Red Light District and I had ostrich for dinner! It was so good! The waiter was friendly and even gave us free tickets to get into a nearby bar (no cover charge).

We did some more exploring of the Red Light District, went to a few bars, then called it a night. I was feeling a bit worn out and was suffering from sensory overload. The sugar high, the somber museum/house experience, the pot smoke wafting out of every door, and the store-front window after store-front window of live prostitutes seeking your attention can really wear you down.

Yesterday we drove home. After our horrible driving experience arriving in Amsterdam (because of the horrible French highway system), we got off to a good start. We arrived at the car (no problem), drove out of the city (no problem), drove through the Netherlands (no problem), drove through Belgium (no problem). Then things fell apart in France…again.

Traffic picked up in France (as the highway signange got worse). Then, we could to the Peripherique (the highway that goes around Paris…kind of like Boston’s Route 128, except along the city border instead of out in the burbs). It took us 3 hours to get from this road to the city center….THREE HOURS! Bascially, it took nearly the same amount of time it took to drive through 3 countries just to go a few miles. And Boston and New York have nothing (NOTHING!) on Paris drivers when it comes to aggression.

I’ve driven in many cities but have seen nothing like this. Did I mention that I was driving a standard? UGH – by the time we dropped the car off we were both miserable. Then, we lugged out baggage down into the un-airconditioned subway station to find a problem with the trains. One finally arrived as the platform was practically so full it was throwing people onto the tracks. But the arriving trains were equally packed. We got on (with no air-conditioning) and sweated to death until arriving at our stop. Similar to what I’ve read about the Tokyo subway system, people actually grabbed me and physically pushed me out of the train. Otherwise, I’d never have made it.

UGH. But then we had a relaxing dinner in the Marais, returned to the apartment, and watched some Will and Grace on DVD.

I have loads of pictures from Amsterdam to show you, but they’re on Mike’s computer and I’m on Mark’s. I’ll post them later today.

June 29th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 4 Comments

(Een is one…in Ductch).

But before I get into the Amsterdam stuff, I should talk about Sunday in Paris. I did almost nothing. Mike went to some museum and I stayed at Mark’s (it was raining all day). That night, Mike and I had dinner at Mark’s (left-overs from Friday’s amazing meal) and then went to a few bars (The Bear’s Den, Mixer, Central Marais and…..um….I forget the name of the other one. We wanted to go to Le feeling, which we’ve walked by countless times, but it just seemed too sad. We weren’t feeling it.

Ah, Amsterdam. I’m not sure what to say about it. Our departure from Paris was delayed yesterday as we slept a bit later than we had expected. Then, after picking up the car (their version of a station wagon, but the size of a Honda Civic to us Americans), we had to head back to Mark’s apartment (instead of the highway) because Mike didn’t have his passport. Consequently, he also couldn’t have his name on the rental car contract – leaving me as the sole driver.

And the car was a standard. I’ve driven standards before, but this one was a bit tricky in that certain gears were in different places and functioned differently (particularly the “reverse” and “first gear” options). Not to mention all of the dashboard functions having odd symbols we weren’t familiar with.

First things first – the French highway system sucks ass. It’s horrible. Even the maps are useless. Instead of a highway having a number (Route 90, for example) they have letters and numbers that often overlap (A7 & E12). These numbers are apparently not the key identifier for each road so they appear in tiny letters on maps…only once.

The French also don’t warn you that an exit is approaching in 1/2 kilomer so you’re often surprised. Or, the signs will say “Lille” and then suddently stop saying it – not letting you know if you’ve managed to go the wrong way…which we did….twice.

The Belgium highway signage systems is far superior.

Long story short, we arrived in Amsterdam around 6:00PM…instead of the 2-4PM we had originally planned. No big deal. The guesthouse owner was here to check us into a gorgeous room on the first floor overlooking the Geldersekade Canal. It’s on the periphery of the Red Light District, which we soon discovered that evening as we headed out for dinner and smelled the pot wafting out of windows and doors of the “coffee shops”. A few more doors down and we saw Amsterdam’s famous storefront windows with prostitutes in skimpy lingerie behind them beckoning customers to take advantage of their, um, product. So far, all of the prostitutes have been chunky African Americans or Asian women. One woman could have been a grandmother with her glasses and helmet hair.

So, we arrived at night and haven’t yet explored the city by day. My first impression after arriving was walking down our street and seeing strung out people in coffee shops and stoned/drunk/homelesss(?) men (and a few woman) screaming at each other at every block. To be honest, I was rather intimidated.

But we had a decent dinner at a restaurant called Ocho on Reguliersdwarswstraat Street. The woman sitting next to us had 3 (THREE) empty cigarette packages on their table and smoked non-stop the entire time we were there (they arrived quite a bit before us and lingered after us, too). In addition to their cigarettes, they were popping pills and drinking mixed drinks. Amazing. My body would have collapsed after 1/2 a glass of wine.

After dinner, we came back to our room and shared a nice bath (the hotel has bathtubs built for two). It was quite lovely, romantic, and relaxing after a day spent in a car. After the bath, we headed out to Warmoesstraat Street where there are a bunch of gay bars, shops and people. Most people were focused on the World Cup – screaming loudly in the streets and having a ball.

Mike and went to two bars (Argos and…well, I can’t write the name of the other place here because it’s somewhat naughty).

Today we plan on exploring areas outside the Red Light District. The hotel proprietor gave us directions to most attractions (touristy and non-touristy) so we’ll take advantage of those today.

I shall avoid going to any coffee shops and getting any spacecakes because I’m a good boy.

Or will I?

June 27th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 4 Comments

It is now Sunday and we’ve been in Paris for a full week already (actually, slightly longer). Today is also the first rainy day we’ve had. Though, to be honest, I’m enjoying the laziness it provides. Mike has gone off to a museum in the 17th arrond. and Mark is prepping to head out to dinner and a show with family.

That leaves me resting and recuperating from yeserday’s Gay Pride festivities. The parade began at 1:30PM at Montparnasse and wove a path through the city to the Ile St Louis and ultimately the Bastille. Silly me thought we could head out around 2:30PM to catch the parade as it crossed the bridge to the island.

No.

Mike and I sat and waited…and waited…and waited…until nearly 4:30PM for the first portions of the parade to come by. The sun was beating down upon us, resulting in a couple of cranky, sweaty Americans (fortunately I packed sunblock). We saw about 1.5 hours worth of the parade before giving up. I took some fun photos that I will post once I download them (these Parisians love their skimpy clothing and exposed breasts).

After the parade, Mike and I headed out for dinner and settled for a horrible little cafe called, well, the Little Cafe. The waiter was cute in a bearish sort of way, but the service was horrible (my first stereotypical French experience). The food wasn’t much better (dried-out poulet roti with gross pommes de terre). Mike’s lieue (a white fish) was tasty.

The streets of the Marais were even more crowded (and equally loud) than they were a few nights before for the Fête de Musique. I can’t believe how much more this old city parties than Boston. To be honest, it goes a little beyond what I’d like in Boston, but it would be nice if Boston lightened up a bit. The carnival atmosphere on a few nights per year and the celebratory feelings throughout the area are worth the noise and debris (and, from a capitalist standpoint, the restaurants, shops, cafes and bars were making a killing).

Later in the evening, Mike, Mark (and Mark’s friend, John) and I ventured to the bars. Most of the partying was taking place in the streets as entire neighborhoods were taken over as block parties – making driving (or sleeping) impossible.

One bar had a shower booth where a staff member/dancer posed, stripped and oiled up  (I have photos…that I won’t post here).

Now it is Sunday and I’ve done nothing but watch DVDs of Will and Grace, shower, and read the Amsterdam travel book I bought. Oh, I forgot – I also spent hours on the internet trying to find affordable parking in Amsterdam (not an easy task). Tomorrow we’re off to Amsterdam (a 5.25 hour drive). FUN! – we’ll probably stop off someplace in Belgium for lunch (scratching off two more countries from my list of unchartered territories). WOO HOO!

June 25th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 5 Comments

OK – here are some un-edited photos of Paris….so far. I’ve also created an un-edited Photo album in my Y ahoo Photo Gallery (see link), called “Paris 2006.” I can’t stress enough how these photos are untouched.  Be patient.

This is the view from Mark’s home.

 This is the table setting for last night’s fabulous dinner at Mark’s place.

This is a part of just one wing at the Louvre.

This is the Eiffel Tower from the Tour Montparnasse.

This is the pont Marie, one of the bridges to the island we’re staying on.

This is us in a pink padded elevator at Fauchon (although it appears more red here).

This is Notre Dame.

As you can tell, I’ve not figured out how to post photos on here without distorting them. The ones in my Yahoo gallery are much better.

June 24th, 2006
Categories: Uncategorized . Author: snarl . Comments: 3 Comments