O Christmas Tree
Nicole and I found a Christmas Tree branch. We decided to take it home and decorate it into a real Christmas Tree! It’s planted in a jar of bulgar and lentils.
Guinea Pig
This is a fried guinea pig I had in Peru. In Spanish, it is called cuy. There is a painting in Peru of Jesus’ last supper where he is eating cuy instead of lamb. I mean, if it’s good enough for Jesus, then it’s got to be good enough for me! It tastes like fried chicken and smells like a pet store.
Posted 3 years, 1 month ago at 12:43 pm. 3 comments
Fête de Lumières 2008
This is the 2008 Lyon Festival of Lights. Though I think that the 2005 version was a little bit more impressive, this year’s festival was still great. I got to see a lot more of it this year. I went out on all four nights instead of just one. Unfortunately, I only had my point-and-shoot the first night when my mini-tripod broke. I really enjoyed the integration of music and other sounds the better integrate guests into the scene.
Please leave a comment and say which photo you like the best. Thanks!
1. On the 8th of December, the people of Lyon leave little candles on their windowsill
2. Latex Gloves Coming Out of a Box
3. Butterflies in a Phone Booth
4. Flying Fish
5. Lights for Sale
6. Silhouettes of Primates
7. A Haunted House Show
8. Outside Hôtel de Ville
9. Lotus Projections
10. A Light Armada
11. Gravestone Light Sabers
12. Beings of Light in a Field
13. Mermaid Through a Port Hole
14. Deep Sea Creatures
15. Hard Rock Skeletons
16. Making Music from Sixty Feet
17. Hôtel Dieu
18. Bellecour Square
19. Fourviere Basilica and St. John Cathedral
20. Riding the Metro for Free!
21. Inside Hôtel de Ville
22. A Carousel of Light
Posted 3 years, 1 month ago at 5:05 pm. Add a comment
Carcassonne
A Gargoyle
Nicole Looking Out Our Hostel Window
The View at Dusk
The Castle At Dawn
Posted 3 years, 3 months ago at 12:28 am. Add a comment
St Martin en Haut
A few weeks ago, one of my coworkers invited me to go on a hike near Lyon. I was very pleased since I generally love hiking. I had no idea how well-organized it would be. It turns out that many small French villages host scenic hikes every year. This one in particularly was orgaznied by the local bicycling club. Basically, they have set up four different routes: 7km, 14km, 21km, and 28km. If you want, you can also pay for a meal ticket. For the 14km hike, the price was 5€ and included 3 meals.
Although there were some elevation gains throughout the hike, most of it was a pleasant stroll through the woods or countryside.
About about an hour, we reached our first pit stop where we were served bread, sausages, sweets, and juice.
Then it was off to some more hiking through the woods.
We eventually stumbled upon some chestnut trees. Nicole and I gathered a little baggy full of them and later had roasted chestnuts for dinner.
Before long, we reached our second pit stop, based out of someone’s garage.
We spent the last our meandering through the countryside.
Though a pleasant stroll, at times it felt like we were in a great marathon, trying to avoid the huge pack behind us.
After about five hours of hiking and resting, we eventually made it back for some satisfying French Onion Soup.
Posted 3 years, 3 months ago at 10:47 am. Add a comment
Chamonix
Chamonix is amazing.
Even in the middle of the “dead season” there are still plenty of great things to see and do.
We started with a ride up the Télépherique de l’Aiguille du Midi (Needle of Noon Cable Car). It rose through the fog and gave us a fantastic view of the valley down below.
We finally reached the l’Aiguilled du Midi where the view was just breath-taking. You could see Mt. Blanc up close and personal. There were these little black birds flying up there too.
We then decided to hike down to the Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice), which is a giant glacier. During the summer, they carve and cave into the glacier and you can go inside. However, it was closed by the time we reached it. After three hours of hiking, we eventually reached the Mer de Glace. A layer of dirt made it look smaller than it actually is, but it was cool nonetheless. However, it still doesn’t compare to El Calafate.
Cable Car to the Top
View from l’Aiguille du Midi
Another View from l’Aiguille du Midi
Mountain Climbers
The Valley of Chamonix
The Sea of Ice Covered in Earth
Hiking Above the Clouds
Snow and Sun
Posted 3 years, 3 months ago at 9:43 am. Add a comment
Geneva
I have never been impressed by Geneva. I had first seen it in December of 2005 while connecting to a flight in Madrid via Easyjet. I had lunch in the train station and walked around town a bit before flying off to Madrid, a city that I am very impressed with.
I am still not impressed with Geneva. Last Monday my brother, Nicole, and I visited Geneva. We only had about four hours because the latest bus to Chamonix was unexpectedly early. We ate at a Spanish restaurant, saw the Jet d’Eau, walked along the lake, and visited the island with a statue of Rousseau. I still want to visit the Red Cross and Red Crescent museum, but Geneva is still on the bottom of my priorities list.
