tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-302874892011-04-21T14:29:18.411-06:00Adventures of an American woman exploring the world around her, sharing the sometimes bizarre events of her life. The hopes, the fears, the laughs and the animals... don't forget the animals!Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.comBlogger501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-90821101073936984792008-06-23T18:15:00.016-06:002008-06-23T18:52:04.037-06:00

Wed 26 July 2006Another early morning, we were up at 7am for a tour of Lake Titicaca. At the docks near the lake was an open air market with little stalls selling various homemade and unique items that might appeal to tourists. It was still pretty early however, so only a few of the stalls were open and we figured we'd stop on our way back through at the end of the day.The tour guide loaded us,

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-20412843006792421562008-06-23T16:18:00.009-06:002008-06-23T18:14:06.024-06:00

Tue 25 July 2006We were up at 7:00 am that morning to catch our 7:30 am bus from Arequipa to Puno. We arrived in the late afternoon and were happy to find rooms at the very nice Qelqatani hotel. Definitely on our top five list for accomodations in Peru.Jason and Robyn were feeling the altitude however, and even after a few cups of coca tea they felt ill enough to keep us bound to the hotel for

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-72826775780227016682008-06-23T14:50:00.001-06:002008-06-23T14:53:07.871-06:00

I had taken a strong painkiller and a double dose of muscle relaxant to help me sleep despite the pain, and I used earplugs to help ward against being awakened by any of the city noises, yet despite these precautions all of us were abruptly startled out of our beds in the wee hours of the night by the police yelling at our door!Okay, it turned out that they were yelling at our neighbhors and not

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-11510049701686896252008-06-23T13:14:00.012-06:002008-06-23T16:44:48.579-06:00

Mon 24 July 2006 First things first! Monday morning we quickly checked out of the Vallecito Inn and into our new rooms at the Qosoda Inn, the hostel we'd discovered in the La Beveda building the day before. We left our bags there and headed out to see some of the more popular sites in Arequipa. The first stop for us was the Santa Catalina Monastery which was quite literally like stepping back in

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-14524250127834053912008-06-23T12:21:00.010-06:002008-06-23T16:44:19.956-06:00

Sun 23 July 2006 Early Sunday morning we had managed to catch a bus from Nasca to Arequipa, but we didn't get much sleep before people were opening their windows to the sunshine. We tried to cover our eyes and keep sleeping, but the busdriver turned on the music and there was no sleeping through that. Tourists do not rank high on the bus line care list, so Jason and I found ourselves tossed into

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-76491034102206573042008-06-11T18:58:00.008-06:002008-06-23T16:43:53.108-06:00

Sat 22 July 2006The Hotel Alegria courtyard is even more beautiful in the daytime! It’s like a geode stone, hard and repellent from the outside, but gorgeous inside! There is a downside however. If you walk to the upper most balcony and look out over those very tall, razor wire covered wall, you are jolted by the level of poverty kept just out of sight from the visitors. The majority of the city

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-56244385468596485252008-06-11T17:57:00.010-06:002008-06-23T16:43:23.003-06:00

Fri 21 July 2006We felt like we were starting to get the hang of things now. We remembered to put tissue in our pockets every morning before we left the hostel, because even fancy restaurants didn’t offer toilet paper (in fact they often didn’t have toilet seats). We felt confident in our abilities to get from point A to point B safely, as well as a feel for the people themselves. It was time to

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-23085206777345108862008-06-11T17:13:00.008-06:002008-06-23T16:41:48.347-06:00

Thu 20 July 2006Thursday we decided to be a bit more adventurous and go see some sites. We took a taxi out to Lima’s central park, which happens to be by the presidential palace with guards everywhere.This is one of the best focal points to see a lot of neat buildings and tourist sites within just a couple of blocks radius. We eagerly walked up and down streets touring museums, monasteries,

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-30881099065598074972008-06-11T16:39:00.008-06:002008-06-23T16:41:24.939-06:00

Wed 19 July 2006I was awakened by pounding construction just outside my window. I tried to put a pillow over my head and keep sleeping, but it wasn’t going to happen, so I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. As we looked out the windows to plan our day we thought maybe we’d be dealing with a lot of rain, since the sky was a dark stormy gray with heavy cloud coverage. We later learned

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-24634482674561088422008-06-11T15:04:00.004-06:002008-06-23T16:41:02.753-06:00

Sorry it's taken so long for me to post about the Peru trip, I have been a bad blogger lately! So be prepared for a whole bunch of Peru posts as I take you day by day through our trip!Mon 17 July 2006Riding on buddy passes meant we had to leave home a little early just in case we didn't catch a plane the first day. Sure enough, we didn't get a plane Monday and had to crash at a Best Western

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-24984712574740732832008-06-06T10:20:00.005-06:002008-06-06T10:26:50.729-06:00

Just as I've failed to mention my darling sugar gliders, I've also failed to detail my growing cold blooded addiction! In 2007 I started collecting and breeding various species of geckos, and a few other reptiles. I went through my "snake phase" back in my teens, so this time I've focused entirely on the four legged reptiles. I tried out a few different species including some of the dragons (

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-68941286072076037462008-06-06T10:12:00.005-06:002008-06-06T10:25:24.621-06:00

I have lot of catching up to do! Firstly, new pets and not-really-new-but-not-yet-mentioned pets: The Sugar GlidersThe sugar gliders that I was just getting into back when I started this blog have had several sets of babies, that I failed to mention here. Those little babies have all been sold now accept one little girl which I'm keeping. I've also bought a few more gliders, including two

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-32643762168780374202008-04-28T10:04:00.002-06:002008-04-28T10:08:41.639-06:00

I have been horribly neglectful of my blogs this past year, as I've had too much going on in my life to keep up with them. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't even included our fantastic trip to Peru here, although it was by far the best vacation I've ever had, and I would recommend it to anyone! In fact, Jason is talking about getting a tour group together and taking them back over the route we

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1164677244838201322006-11-27T15:39:00.000-07:002007-10-10T22:53:06.192-06:00

Dec 17, 2005Jason and I got up early and got dressed up for the flight out of Japan, but we didn't plan on going straight to the airport. Heath was taking us in to the city early so that we could visit another beautiful Temple.The Narita-san Shinsho-ji Temple was founded in 940. The legend has it that a Goma rite dedicated to the image of Fudomyoo, which had originally been enshrined at Takaosan

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1164571875513628312006-11-26T13:08:00.001-07:002008-06-23T15:30:24.331-06:00

Dec 16, 2005Shige spent the entire day with us, driving us all the way up to see the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy overlooking Tokyo Bay. Just like the statue of Liberty the Goddess has interior stairs for visitors to climb, but unlike Liberty the Goddess has beautiful shrines and prayer boxes along the way so that you can offer incense to the gods or goddesses that represent your needs. Within the

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1164509234542215722006-11-25T19:33:00.001-07:002008-06-23T15:31:14.048-06:00

Dec 15, 2005Jason had been telling me about a huge arcade center in Chiba where Desi and Rumi had gone earlier to win some Disney stuffed animals and other prizes, so today they took me down there to check it out.Heath had to stay back at the house to teach his English class, but everyone else piled into the car and headed out to Chiba. I was surprised by the actual size of the place, it was like

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1164495871679936682006-11-25T15:16:00.001-07:002008-06-23T15:32:02.345-06:00

Dec 14, 2005Desi had to fly home today, so Rumi took her to the airport while Heath dropped off Jason and I at the train station. We took the train in to Greater Tokyo and the Akihabara Temple area. It was amazing!There were literally hundreds of people filling the area around the tourist booths all up and down the walkways between the street and the temple buildings. I adored all the pagoda

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1164492850117327172006-11-25T14:35:00.001-07:002008-06-23T15:33:07.595-06:00

Dec 13, 2005Heath needed to go to the Yokota Air Base, so everyone decided to tag along and turn it into a tourist site. It was pretty much another shopping trip, but at least I can now claim to have seen the airbase my grandfather built.I bought some postcards to send back home, and had a good time checking out the great shopping center they had on base. I also got to meet some of the people

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1164487253287843652006-11-25T12:31:00.001-07:002008-06-23T15:33:56.697-06:00

Dec 11, 2005Jason and I were up early the next morning. Apparently jet lag was still affecting our schedules. We took showers and got dressed while we waited for our hosts to emerge from their beds. We found that Heath and Rumi wanted to spend the day together at home, which was no surprise considering how long Heath and Jason had been on their security tour. Desi decided to stay with them, so we

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1164482537340226092006-11-25T12:05:00.001-07:002008-06-23T15:34:52.900-06:00

Saturday Dec 10, 2005Desi, Rumi and Aika decided that I just had to see the shopping center at Tokyo Disneyland. Rumi particularly loved the Disney stuffed animals.As we were walking through the shopping center we came across one of the most amazing Santas I've ever seen. He was dressed all in gold and white, rather than the traditional red and white. Rather like the Father Christmas image, but

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1164480933063957772006-11-25T11:20:00.001-07:002008-06-23T15:35:41.089-06:00

Dec 9, 2005I was surprised by how big and commercialized Japan actually was. I understand that there are a lot of people living on an island that can only grow vertically, but it was amazing trying to navigate through the crowds. Jason had warned me that the minute the passengers of the plane landed there would be a massive rush, almost run, for customs. He told me to get off the plane as quickly

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1159466979365143402006-09-28T12:06:00.000-06:002006-09-28T12:09:39.386-06:00

Buildings built on buildingsMeager farmlands in shadows of industryEyes cast to the groundHierachy is king hereStrangers here a curiosityTo be studied from a distanceSoldier ants from here to thereBuild this, tear this downGrow this, destroy thisDo not question, just obeyParty hearty when you canTomorrow your an ant againAncient temples of the GodsGive us strength to carry onDrink hard when drink

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1159466360240592922006-09-28T11:43:00.001-06:002008-06-23T15:36:42.735-06:00

Dec 8-9, 2005I got on the plane for Japan early the next morning. There were only eleven on standby, so I was able to fly first class. ALWAYS appreciated! Because of the direction of the flight, it was about fourteen hours, yet they served two lunches instead of lunch and dinner.About halfway through the flight I was awakened by a very tall, very broad, blonde Norse God-type that started asking

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1158864766871216042006-09-21T12:40:00.001-06:002008-06-23T15:37:58.053-06:00

Dec 7th, 2005I was all packed and ready to fly by 9:30am and on the computer re-checking flights. If there's one thing I know, it's how to Travel Cheap , and this particular flight was going to be on buddy pass. The downside to Buddy passes, is you need to watch the seats and make sure there's room on the flights you want! At 11:45pm I was on the flight to Atlanta, and there ran into the first

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1158524503199039032006-09-17T14:05:00.001-06:002008-06-23T15:38:50.365-06:00

I was worried about this trip. I'd been bedridden for the last three months after my accident, and was feeling weak as a kitten. I talked to all of my doctors about it, asking whether they thought it was something I should cancel and try again in a year or so. I didn't feel confident at all in my ability to stand alone, much less walk without assistance. But they thought that with proper care I

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1156200217720069532006-08-21T16:36:00.000-06:002006-08-21T16:43:37.730-06:00

I've been hearing a lot of news on the way passports are being handled lately. One of the biggest things that might affect you is actually traveling too frequently! Apparently people are having trouble getting into some countries if they have less than two blank pages in their passports. That wouldn't be a fun experience if you ask me, sitting at an airport and waiting for the embassy to pick you

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1155841649762344002006-08-17T13:02:00.000-06:002006-08-17T13:52:55.690-06:00

TSA Announces Plans to Test Backscatter Machines in AirportsJust when you thought air travel couldnt possibly get any more fun - lines, wands and pat downs, oh my! - the Transportation Security Administration announces plans to test backscatter machines in airports throughout the country later this year. The backscatter is an X-ray machine the size of a refrigerator that can see through your

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1155424010354407442006-08-12T16:58:00.000-06:002006-08-12T17:36:17.856-06:00

Oct 30, 2004As much as I hated to leave, we had to get back to the states for work and family. It was rather amusing when Jason's zipper broke as we traveled by double decker bus to the airport. Not much we could really do about it. Yet as much as it frustrated him, it was amusing enough to put me into a good mood despite him.We had first class flights from Ireland to Atlanta, with an excellent

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1155415014384788012006-08-12T14:07:00.001-06:002008-06-23T15:50:13.008-06:00

Oct 29, 2004We woke up early, got showers and ate a quick breakfast before we dragged all our luggage to the bus station. I can't believe we didn't stay in Belfast, Ireland for more than just one night. If you ever get out to Ireland here's what I'd recommend: Trinity College, the National Museum, Christ Church cathedral (amazing if you like medieval style), St. Patrick's Cathedral (Johnathan

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1155412784918167022006-08-12T13:43:00.001-06:002008-06-23T15:50:52.533-06:00

Oct 28, 2004We all woke up insanely stiff and sore, having only achieved brief naps, in a drafty car, on a rainy night, in the middle of nowhere. But the world didn't stop turning to give us a chance at recovery, the ferry was leaving 11 am and it was currently 8:45.Having gone back and looked at some of the amazing things we missed, I can honestly tell you that if I had the whole trip to do over

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1155011894713456252006-08-07T22:07:00.001-06:002008-06-23T15:51:43.860-06:00

Oct 27, 2004We had to be up and out of the room early that morning, but we were able to grab some coffee, and thankfully my stomach was feeling much better.We headed North to the Blair Castle, stopping along the way for pictures, and to drop off letters at a small post office. As it turned out we should have stayed to another course. Blair Castle is not the sort of place you can simply take

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1155009786499304382006-08-07T21:48:00.001-06:002008-06-23T15:54:24.422-06:00

Oct 26, 2004Unfortunately for me, I woke up in the middle of the night with such extreme pain in my stomach I thought I might have burst an appendix. I crawled miserably out of bed after a few seconds of rolling around in pain and spent the next half hour trying to piss hot sand. Apparently, with all the excitement, I had failed to drink enough water and my body was working on some kidney stones.

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1155008823475192952006-08-07T21:26:00.002-06:002008-06-23T15:56:09.427-06:00

Oct 25, 2004We didn't have a place to park our rental car the night before, but a nice chap on the stree told us we could park it at the curb so long as it was moved before the parking meter police came out at about 8 am. We took the fellow at his word and left the car on the curb.The next morning we were awed to look out the window at 8 am and actually watch what looked like a sea of police

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1153091742802272332006-07-16T16:59:00.001-06:002008-06-23T15:57:11.192-06:00

Oct 24, 2004We were up at 8am, showered, fed and out the door by 10:30 the next morning. Our plan was to head straight to London and find a little hotel there from which we could tour the larger part of the city on foot. Ambitious plans.We had to stop twice for directions, which we secretly pretended were intended to get food or take rest stops, but at last we found ourselves in the heart of the

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1153079289907046362006-07-16T13:16:00.001-06:002008-06-23T15:57:59.556-06:00

Oct 23, 2004It was still raining when we woke up the next morning. From what we'd been told by various people along the way, it rained a lot in October in England. All of us were feeling a little sad we hadn't stayed at Franz's chateau in France, we'd been spoiled rotten there and were sorry to give it up so soon.We checked out of our room and headed downstairs for a warm breakfast and to use

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1153075684791837412006-07-16T12:44:00.000-06:002006-08-12T17:21:37.933-06:00

Portsmouth "City of Youth"Here is a curious child eager to see strangersCurious eyes and eager gazesA pleasant smile or impish grinThe weather is a thing to laugh atThe world around them a bauble to studyStrangers a welcome surpriseHere and there a wicked Irish jokeHere and there a flash of Scottish charmThe boats in the harbor look like playthingsTheir buildings with a flare for the seaThe city

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1153075381353519762006-07-16T12:20:00.001-06:002008-06-23T15:59:20.627-06:00

Oct 22, 2004Ah, the wind in my hair and the salty sea breeze in my nostrils...The ferry ride was lots of fun. The boat was so large that even the big waves near the stormy coast of England didn't scare me that much. It was fun to ride them out and see how high they actually rose in comparison to when we started out in France.We met an absolutely amazing woman named Gabrielle McCartan on the

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1152138193546220172006-07-05T16:03:00.001-06:002008-06-23T16:00:08.537-06:00

Oct 22, 2004We had to be up very early to finish packing and get ourselves out to the ferry harbor. We ended up being early arriving, yet almost didn't make it on board in time. As we were attempting to board customs was checking everyone's passports, and bingo, here were four Americans with no proof of entry into France. (Remember the customs official at the airport that failed to stamp our

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1152136320635553972006-07-05T15:44:00.001-06:002008-06-23T16:00:54.996-06:00

Oct 20, 2004 Wednesday morning we woke up to a drizzly day. Rather than spend the day driving around in the rain we decided to take a break from site seeing and just spend the day exploring the yards and just puttering around Berric, France.We visited a few local markets, and stopped to mail some items back to the states (changing our minds after we realized how bloody much we'd have to spend for

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1152036101923191402006-07-04T11:48:00.001-06:002008-06-23T16:02:19.304-06:00

Oct 19, 2004Jason and I were up early, but we stayed in bed and pretended to sleep until 8am. I was feeling a bit of gut rot from the food, so we had a late start to see Mont Saint Michel Abbey. It was a long drive there and a long drive back, but it was totally worth it!Le Mont-St-Michel was used in the 6th and 7th centuries as an Armorican stronghold of Romano-British culture and power, until

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1151609243585971742006-06-29T13:17:00.001-06:002008-06-23T16:04:16.826-06:00

Oct 18, 2004We woke up to the sound of Franz calling to us from the kitchen. Jason called back that we’d be up in a minute, so Franz left again. We showered and woke up Nate and Robyn, before heading out to do some touring.Our first destination was the Suscine Chateau, where we just had to take the full tour. I adore old historic buildings, and this was right up there with Notre Dame on my list

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1151605694259597942006-06-29T12:26:00.001-06:002008-06-23T16:05:41.115-06:00

Oct 17, 2004We were up 8:45 on our first morning in Berric, France. I’d gone to sleep a bit earlier than my three companions, and had quite a bit less to drink the previous night, but everyone was in a foul mood. Jason was particularly cranky, which made breakfast rather unpleasant.French people love their breads, and for good reason. Baguettes and soft cheese, or fresh croissants, are treats

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1151373345640594752006-06-26T19:23:00.001-06:002008-06-23T16:06:32.171-06:00

Oct 16, 2004We were up at 8:30am, apparently the jet lag was starting to wear off. Franz had already been up and down to the local bakery for fresh baguettes and croissants! We soon learned that we better go to bed when Franz did, because he’d be knocking on our bedrooms doors bright and early every morning from that day on.After breakfast we headed to Vannes for the open market. Vannes, France

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1151357288129730942006-06-26T14:16:00.001-06:002008-06-23T16:07:25.024-06:00

Oct 15, 2004Franz is an accomplished musician that came to America a few years ago to study. Here he met Jason’s uncle, a masterful musician himself and they began a steady friendship which lasted even after Franz was called home to Germany when his father became ill. After the death of his father, Franz stayed in Germany to keep up the estate there and inherited the beautiful chateau in Berric,

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1151350958829861602006-06-26T13:17:00.001-06:002008-06-23T16:08:15.969-06:00

Oct 15, 2004With the jet lag still messing up our natural timing, we all woke up about 4:30 in the morning and couldn’t seem to get back to sleep. We all laid in bed until 6am before deciding that breakfast was probably ready downstairs and it wouldn’t hurt anything to start the day early.Being the big music fans that we are, there was one site that wasn’t on any standard tour which we just had

Taliahadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10009238198250029138noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30287489.post-1151345833076566972006-06-26T11:47:00.001-06:002008-06-23T16:09:31.390-06:00

Oct 14, 2004We woke up at 6am to shower dress and enjoy a French style continental breakfast, with fresh croissants! I adore fresh croissants!Then after some quick shopping at a local grocery store for baguettes and cold cut meat, we packed ourselves bag lunches and headed out to see all the historic Paris sites we’d been dreaming of.Notre Dame was incredible, but even though it was the off

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Paris "City of Darkness"Old buildings, the work of mastersNature against manWind and rain, moss and earthBattering buildings, eating the stoneSeagulls of the skySparrow and pigeon afootBeautiful on the wing, but battered and tornThe city cries of age and growns beneath it's own weightThe people carry an air of depressionReclusionThey dress in dark colors and scowl at outsidersThey walk beside the

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Oct 13, 2004The flight from Atlanta to Paris, France was horrible! None of us had really slept well, if at all the night before the trip, so we were eager to catch a few z’s on the plane. Wasn’t going to happen. We were stuck in coach, and in chairs that wouldn’t recline to save a life. As the stress and excitement of the trip wore off, headaches from lack of sleep crept in. And to top off the

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Oct 12, 2004Tuesday morning we woke up feeling anything but rested, and scrambled to load our travel gear into the car and get to the airport on time. Despite our early arrival at the airport, we got held up in airline security.Nate was wearing a pair of hiking boots that looked as if they had shanks in the sole or something. We were expecting to see him dancing naked before they let him go.

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Oct 11, 2004We spent the night before our flight out to France filling up four full sized backpacks. Jason has a funny way of wanting to take everything we might possibly need on a trip rather than just taking the vacation essentials and just making due with what we have. So despite the fact we were flying out to Europe, which is far from being a third world vacation destination, my luggage was

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