It's been about a month and a half since I've last written and I must apologize again for leaving you readers in the dark about my whereabouts. I'll try and do a nice sum up of everything without getting too nitty gritty. I'm also going to do chapters, more to help me organize my thoughts than anything else.
1. Mamma Mia!
So I last left off while I was still in Mallorca working. As I became more knowledgeable about the farm, I was able to help more and spend more time working each day, which was really great because I kept myself busy pretty much the whole of every day. My homesickness soon dissipated and I really got into the grove of everything. Also helpful was the arrival of the new workaway helper from Washington state. Malli owns two horses of her own back home, so we made a great team with her general knowledge of horses and my experience at the Finca. She was absolutely wonderful to work with and I really enjoyed her company for the last week I was there. Shortly after her arrival came another wonderful visitor, insert dramatic pause here...my MOM! I picked up my mom at the airport Saturday afternoon, October 23rd, and boy was it absolutely great to see her! She spent her first day in Mallorca just observing me in my daily tasks on the farm: feeding, riding, cleaning, etc. The next two days my mom, Malli, and I explored the whole island of Mallorca in a rental car. We saw the beautiful ports, sandy beaches, and the mountains of Mallorca. It was the perfect ending to a month on the island.
2. After all miss, this is France!
My mom and I flew out Tuesday morning heading to Marseilles, France. Because of its metropolitan vibe I wouldn't say Marseilles was exactly charming, but my mom and I definitely enjoyed the short day we had to spend there. We had probably the best meal in all of France our first night in Marseilles and it really started our stay in France off to a good start. However, there was the whole matter of the trash strike AND the train strike. The streets were lined with piles of trash and I stood in line for an hour to get our tickets to Toulon. The funny thing about all our transportation in France was that it was quite an ordeal getting all of our tickets and NONE of them were EVER checked. So we basically could have saved a ton of time and money by not getting tickets at all. But my mom and I decided we were contributing to the upkeep of all the beauty we enjoyed in France. And there were lots of beautiful things to see. After Marseilles, we took a train to Toulon and then a bus to Le Lavendou, a small coastal town just west of St. Tropez. Darkness had set in by the time we exited the bus and I didn't exactly know where our hotel was, which made for an interesting adventure. My mom and I wondered down the cobble stoned streets of this charming little village with our suitcases clanking behind us. But after a few wrong turns and a stop for directions, we reached our hotel and all was well. We spent two nights in Le Lavendou just exploring the town and all it had to offer, including a boardwalk, local market, and Le Mini Golf Exotique (a jurrasic park themed mini golf). Our next stop on the French Riviera was the infamous Nice. Although Nice was a lot bigger than I expected, it still retained a certain quaintness about it by incorporating a lot of open spaces occupied by either beautiful gardens or expansive plazas equipped with fountains and statues. I really enjoyed the city and our hotel was by far the most unique my mom and I stayed in. "The Star" employed a flamboyant staff, the most memorable being a scarf wearing receptionist who did anything and everything to get attention from anyone who was near. He was like a 3 year old in a 30 year old body. He definitely kept our stay interesting. While staying in Nice, we made a day trip to Monte-Carlo on what I'm positive was the windiest day in Monaco history. Of course I was wearing a flowy skirt that refused to blow in any respectable direction. We found refuge in the maritime museum which included a fabulous aquarium. My mom and I also took a little trolley tour to visit the famous casinos and hotels in the city. After returning from Monaco, mom and I booked our train to Paris and the next day, we tried to squeeze in a bus tour before our train left at 3:30. The thing about hop on hop off bus tours is that it's really easy to hop off, but not so much to hop on. My mom and I made our single stop at the Matisse museum/ St. Francis museum. Neither of us were huge fans of Matisse and the Franciscan museum was closed. It then started to pour rain and we waited approximately an hour for the next bus to pick us up. We did meet two very nice Australian blokes who sold beer for a living while waiting for the bus, so all was not lost. We finally made it back to the hotel and after a few harsh words from Mr. Scarf Star about getting his hotel lobby wet, we were back out in the downpour on our way to the train station. The train ride in and of itself could be a whole blog post, so I'll try to make it short and to the point. I'm so good at that. We boarded the train without knowing which car was ours so picked a random one. We endured a very creepy young man walking by twice, first offering me liquor in a plastic cup along with a guitar serenade and then a jacket that he claimed was an explosive. I finally got up to ask a conductor where our correct assigned seat and she informed me I was on the wrong train. They had attached two trains together for the journey and my mom and I were on the other one. SO, my mom and I packed up our stuff, exited the train at the next stop and walked down the platform and boarded the correct train and settled into our correct seats. About five minutes later, at the same station, all passengers were unloaded due to a bomb threat. The whole station was cleared and we waited out in the rain for about an hour before they assured us there was no bomb on our train. That one hour search was very comforting. But regardless of our rough start, we did actually make it to Paris at about 11:30 that night. After a magnificent taxi ride next to the Seine, we finally made it to our superbly located hotel! Geeze, I'm really running out of synonyms for "good" or "excellent". Anyway, our first day in Paris we of course hit up the Louve and my mom and I spent hours pondering the symbolism and hidden meanings in every piece of art. syke! We did a quick run through and saw everything famous, which for me was The Venus de Milo, The Mona Lisa, and the Hammurabi Code. I know art lovers are cringing, but the Louve is just overwhelming, I do feel more cultured just having been there. We then "hopped on" another hop on/ hop off bus tour and saw Notre Dame, The Eifle Tower and some other beautiful buildings, which are very abundant in Paris. Everywhere you look and around every corner is some unbelievably beautiful, elaborate building with a fabulous history. And that is NO exaggeration. The second day, we walked up a million steps to Sacre Coeur and then ate at a great restaurant where mom us some free wine from this old, lonely man. Like mother, like daughter I guess. We then raced to Notre Dame, and by raced I mean raced to the bus stop where we waited over an hour for the tour bus to pick us up. We did make it to Notre Dame in time to go inside and it was glorious like all the other thousands of other churches I've seen in Europe. I hate to sound so jaded, but I just can't describe any more churches. Our last day in Paris was spent at the Palace of Versaille, which did not disappoint. The grandeur of that Palace is ridiculous and the gardens just as unbelievably huge and intricately planned and decorated. I think the word "grandeur" is French and I completely understand why. France was a country of beauty and although sometimes over done, my mother and I immensely enjoyed the country.
3. You've Got a Friend.
After the splendor of France, my mom and I hopped the channel to the one and only London, England. Oh how it was refreshing to stay in a room bigger than 4' by 4' with a shower I can move in. All the luxuries of home were due to mom's best friend from college, Mary. She was the most gracious host and really showed us a great time! We arrived at around 11 AM and we first went to settle into Mary's house before setting off to, drum roll please, a hop on/ hop off tour bus!! My mom's favorite! This bus had live commentary and was actually really great. We just learned the trick of never actually getting off the bus so we don't have to wait forever to get back on. We saw St. Paul's, The Tower of London, The London Eye, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Big Ben (which is the bell, not the tower btw), Buckingham Palace and every other famous site in London you could possibly imagine. We were the last two on the bus so the tour bus driver kindly drove us to the nearest tube station, where we finally hopped off and made our way over to drinks and dinner with Mary and her coworkers. Needless to say when Mary's involved, we had a blast! The next morning my mom and I attended the changing of the guard and just barely made it thanks to my miscalculation of the lengthy public transportation route it took to get there. But lo and behold, we did make it and it was better than I thought. There were mounted police men/women, big furry hats, and a marching band playing the James Bond theme song. What could be more British?! We then decided to get a closer look at the sites from the bus tour, so we walked around the city to see the big sites on foot. After, we returned home to get all gussied up for "Les Miserables" at the Queens Theater. The show was one of the best I've ever seen! The voices were all amazing and the venue was so small and intimate. I had no idea London theater rivaled New York, but it definitely did. We got a late start Saturday, but eventually made it to the Tower of London, where we took a "beefeaters" tour where we learned about all the people that were imprisoned there and how they were killed (beheaded, hung, drawn, and quartered, guillotine, etc.) I'll spare you the details. My mom and I took the cheap way into Westminster and attended the evesong service instead of paying 18 pounds. Being in England really made me appreciate the free entrance fee to ALL the Catholic churches on the mainland. The singing was beautiful, as were the acoustics and the service was very similar to a Catholic mass. Mary met up with us after and we strolled along the Thames and popping into the Tate modern museum for a laugh at what people consider art. Dinner that night was at a great little pub in Mary's neighborhood and it was a great ending to a wonderful visit from my mom. But as they say, all good things must come to an end, so Mary, her husband Robert, and I all drove my mom to the airport early the next morning. It was sad to see her go, but she has that whole work thing she needed to get back to. My next destination, Wales. But I'll write that bit tomorrow because this post is already exceedingly long.
Cheers,
Katie
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