Versailles

I have to confess that after being on the road for over five months and after traveling to various points on the globe, I have become a bit numb and my memories have begun to blend in with each other. Unlike a traditional vacation where I would visit somewhere for a week or so and then go home, we are going from country to country without a break or at the very least, a chance to reflect on our travels. I’m not saying that I am taking things for granted, but I am a bit sad over the fact that I haven’t really been able to savor each destination … until Paris.
Paris is amazing. Simply stunning. It was like I was in a movie or as if a postcard had come to life. With its art, culture, architecture and famous landmarks, Paris definitely makes an impression.

Since Gavin has visited Paris before, he took it upon himself to plan our itinerary. Day 2 included a trip to Versailles and the Eiffel Tower.

Built by France’s royalty, Versailles is now considered a rich suburb of Paris. After a quick train ride out of the city, we were at the doorstep of one of the most impressive man-made structures I have ever been to. With its beautiful gardens, over-the-top decadence and rich history, Versailles was quite a treat and its no wonder why the French are so proud of it. Any trip to Paris is not complete unless you visit Versailles. Words cannot begin to describe what we saw and I doubt our pictures will do it justice. It is impossible to properly put into perspective how massive and impressive the whole experience of visiting Versailles really is.

From the cathedral to the theatre and the famed Hall of Mirrors, Versailles is a monument to the decadence and power of the once great French Empire. Filled with art and gold, one could only imagine what it would have been like to be a visitor to this grand estate during the reign of Louis XVI.

Paris 2

Sep 27, 2006 - 17 Photos

 

My new favorite band

Check out the band, Junior Boys. I downloaded their single, "In The Morning" from iTunes (it's currently their Free Download of the Week) and was so impressed that I purchased their album. I'd call them techno emo-pop with soft vocals and a soothing beat.

Good Stuff.

Bonjour Paris!

When using a computer, never ever forget the Number One Golden Rule: Save Often! It's quite frustrating losing a blog post after spending 45 minutes writing and researching French words and various web-links. Mere!

After a week and a half in Belgium, it was time for us to pack up our bags and take the show on the road yet again. (After 5 months of living out of a suitcase and being technically "homeless", you really appreciate a friend who will let you stay at their house and use their high-speed internet, hot water, car and just about everything else that I used to take for granted.)

We jumped in the car with Mai and her friend Morgan and drove 2 hours to Paris. We said Au voir to Belgium and crossed over the border to France. Mai and Morgan had been planning this day-trip to Paris and they were nice enough to ask if we wanted the lift (heck, it saved us 100Euros that we would have spent on 2 train tickets!).

Our first two stops were the Musée Maillol and the Musée National d'Art Moderne. The Musée Maillol had a stunning exhibit by Bert Stern. In 1962 he photographed Marilyn Munroe for a Vogue Magazine spread. The collection of photographs were stunning and they captured her natural beauty (she didn't have any makeup on in any of the pictures). The Musée National d'Art Moderne, The French national modern art museum, had an exhibit by American minimalist sculptor, Dan Flavin (who we saw at the Tate Modern in London a few weeks before). He's famous for creating sculptural objects and installations from commercially available fluorescent light fixtures. Simply brilliant.

After the two museums, we checked into our budget hotel that we would call home for the next four nights. In an attempt to create value, Gav booked us in something that fit into our buget and let me tell you: Paris is not cheap. (Check out the photo in my Picasa webalbum. The link is at the bottom of this blog entry.) The hotel sure wasn't the Hilton (New Hilton Sydney?), but it was exactly what we needed since we had a crazy agenda of trying to see as much of Paris as we possibly could.

This was my first time to Paris and I was blown away by it. No matter how many times you see images of the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe, nothing can prepare you for the feeling you get when you see it in real life. We took a ton of pictures, so please check out the web-album link below.

Enjoy!



Welcome to France!



Paris seen from the 2nd floor of the Louvre.


Real life Parisian Dog Shit.

Paris Day 1

Sep 27, 2006 - 17 Photos

 

It's Not The Out Ones That You Need To Worry About

I really try not to let narrow-minded bigots get to me. You know, those Holier-Than-Thou types who don't let Gays adopt or become Boy Scout leaders because they are afraid of pedophilia, child abuse or the ever-so-dangerous Gay Agenda. But sometimes, really F*cked up things happen that make me laugh out of sheer frustration and yell at the top of my lungs, "It's not the OUT ones that you need to worry about!!" Seriously, us out gay men and women have spent our entire lives coming to terms with our sexuality and we are not about to spend our free time chasing after young boys and girls when we have bigger fish to fry, nor are we going to spend thousands of dollars to adopt a Mandarin baby just to sexually abuse her! Or perhaps the biggest load of crap that I just don't understand is: Why on earth would any out gay man sacrifice his weekends to be a Boy Scout Leader?

People, listen closely. It's not the out ones that you need to worry about. The rainbow flag waving homos that march down Main Street every June are not the ones you need to target. The ones who are most likely to sexually abuse kids are probably married and live in the suburbs and most of all, they are probably the biggest anti-gay hate-mongers you will find.

Take Spokane, Washington mayor Jim West. He spent his entire political career (over 25 years) trying to pass the most vicious anti-gay legislation you can think of and guess what? Last year it was revealed that over the same amount of time he has lead a secret life of a closeted homosexual who used his position to get sex from young boys! What a perverted and twisted piece of shitte!

It gets better ...

Just today Repulican Congressman from Florida, Mark Foley, abruptly resigns the day after ABC broke a story about an email exchange between him and a then 16 year old Congressional Page. Apparently this scumbag sent the 16 year old from Louisiana an email asking him if he was okay after Hurrican Katrina and then asked him what he wanted for his birthday and requested that the young boy send him a picture! Eeeeew!

The list goes on and on and I won't even touch the whole molestation scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church.

The next time you hear someone spitting venom against Gays and Lesbians, you should think that maybe that person is trying to hide some deep dark secret and this is their defense mechanism in action. Seriously, it's not the out and proud ones that you have to worry about. We have bigger things to worry about.

Now what brand of designer jeans should I buy next?

A Belgian Beach and a Belgian Delicacy

When Gavin and I meet people and tell them we're from Hawaii, he loves to mention that he grew up on a beach and that there are no beaches where I'm from (yes, there's just lava rock and ocean). So when we found out that Belgians have their very own stretch of beach on the North Sea, Gavin jumped at the opportunity to check it out.

Oostende is a quaint seaside town in Flemish Belgium. Located about an hour and a half from Mai's house, Oostende does deliver a great beach experience on a warm sunny day. Ok, I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about a beach on the North Sea, but I was pleasantly suprised at what we found. The water was cold as heck, but the sand and sun couldn't be beat!


Hundreds of sun-seekers filled the beach on a sunny Thursday in September.

On Saturday night, and our last night in Belgium, Mai took us to have a dish that Belgium is famous for: Moules Frites or Mussels and Fries! Belgium had been an eating dream for me and this night did not dissappoint! Mai's friend Fa (short for Fabulous!) was visiting from Luxembourg and together they translated the menu for us (since they took us to a local favorite and not a tourist trap that you might find in Brussels.) The menu was quite extensive with dozens, literally dozens, of ways to have your mussels seasoned and steamed. Here's a few examples of the 50 ways that you could have your mussels done:

Garlic
Garlic, tomatoes and paprika
White wine & garlic
Curry
Cream
Mustard
Cream, white wine, mushrooms
Port
Pastis
and more!

Fa chose Moules au Gorgonzola, Mai had Moules au Pili-Pili (spicy sauce), I had Moules Valy (tomatoes, curry and champignon mushrooms), and Gavin had chicken (you are what you eat!).


The restaurant's van. I love the fries' mayo hat!


Fa and Mai.


Yum! My Moules Valy with Frites

Oostende and Mussels

Sep 27, 2006 - 9 Photos

Lille, France

Traveling around Europe is a bit like traveling around New England and the Northeast in the sense that an hour drive could have you crossing some sort of border (in the US it would be a state border and in Europe, you're in a different country!). Size and distance is often relative. For example, growing up in Hawaii meant you had to fly at least 5 hours to get to another state (California) or at least 8 hours to get to any country that really mattered (Japan would be the closest, although countries like Fiji or Tahiti are technically closer, but I don't know anyone who really visits those places.)

On a sunny Thursday, Gav and I packed up the car and drove a short 40 minutes to the beautiful French city of Lille. Crossing the border from Belgium to France was a bit like crossing from Washington State to Oregon State: there was no stopping (traffic permitting).

The metropolitan population of Lille (which extends into Belgium) had a population of just over 1 million, but the city itself is home to around 250,000. Lille is at the northern tip of France and also has a Flemish (Dutch) name Rijsel.

While in Lille, I got my first taste of driving in France complete with a three lane roundabout! Am I ready for driving in Paris? Probably not, but I still felt a sense of accomplishment. :)

After some sightseeing, a rest in the park and a beer at a cafe, we were ready to head back to Belgium.

Au revoir!



Crossing into France was never easier! Thank you EU!


One of the many beautiful old buildings in Lille.


A high speed French train.


Gavin relaxing in the park (The "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" Cam)

Huskies beat UCLA!

After being in the basement of the Pac-10 Conference for the past few years, it was great to see the Huskies beat the Bruins on Saturday for many reasons.

The last few seasons have been down right miserable for us Husky Fans, so a 29-19 victory over UCLA is something that I am going to cherish for sometime. To make things even better, the game was televised nationally on TBS. The Bruins had previously won 8 out of the last 9 games, so this victory was a welcome treat!

Up next is Arizona down in the desert. Visions of a big W will be dancing in the minds of us Husky Fans!


 

Je ne comprends pas Français

Oi LiendaBella che fa?
Bonita, bonita que tal?
But belle, Je ne comprends pas Français.
So you'll have to speak to meSome other way.

"Belle", Jack Johnson

 

Belgian Fries, Brugge & The $70 Tank of Gas

Belgium has been nice to us. It's been great being able to relax and enjoy some nice late summer weather and Mai has been an incredible host.

Since we don't speak the language, it's been very frustrating trying to interact with Mai's friends and people around town, so we've taken it upon ourselves to try and experience as much as possible - hands on - in an attempt to overcome the language barrier.

On Thursday night, Mai took us to get a Belgian sandwich and fries called mitraillet, which in French means machine gun, but in Belgium it refers to a special kind of sandwich that served with frites or fries.

Going to the shop was a treat and I'm glad Mai was with us because she helped translate the many choices that we had not only for sandwich fillings but also for sauces for our fries. There must have been about 20 different sauces ranging from Brazilian (spicy) to Ketchup-Curry and Sweet and Sour. Sandwich fillings ranged from lamb to chicken to breaded cutlet to meatballs! Our meal was so delicious and I have absolutely no idea why there aren't any of these shops in the US (I believe there's one in Seattle and one in NYC).

On Friday, we borrowed Mai's car and drove about an hour and a half to the beautiful city of Brugge (Bruges in French). With a population of just over 100,000, Brugge is a filled with old buildings and a canal system that reminded me of Amsterdam (just smaller and prettier). It was interesting seeing the change from French speaking Belgium to Flemish (Dutch) speaking Belgium and how the people in Brugge spoke French, Flemish and English (compared to the French-only speakers in the Walloon region of Belgium. For more information, check out wikipedia's entry on Belgium.

I drove from Mons to Brugge and Gavin drove back and we were both a bit scared in the beginning since Belgian traffic signs are very different from what we are used to. After a quick lesson in Belgian driving (really, what would we do without the internet?) and a stop at the gas station, we were ready to hit the road!

For more pictures, click on my Picasa Web Album link at the bottom of the page.


We totally pigged out on frites and Belgian sandwiches called mitraillet.


Brugge.


53 Euros later, we have a filled gas-tank! (The car is tiny, too!)

Brugge

Sep 14, 2006 - 17 Photos

 

Bonjour from Belgium

For the first time in a long time, I am writing in my blog about events that just happened. In other words, I am caught up (well, with the exception of the entire time when we were between SF and Montreal!).

We got to Belgium on Tuesday and flew into Charleroi which is outside of Brussels and close to the area in which we're staying in: Mons.

Mons is a cute town near the French border that has 4 Universities and about 91,000 people. It has a great small European city that is pretty much untouched by tourists, but close enough to major cities (Brussels is about 40 min and Paris is about 3 hours away). It reminds me of Hilo, where I grew up because of its small town feel and friendly people. It has a great pedestrian square with cafes and restaurants. It's a great place to enjoy a Belgian beer and people watch!

We're staying with Mai, who we met while she was in Hawaii visiting her friend (and my former co-worker), Valy (who we stayed with in DC. Whew!)

Last night, Mai took us to a "bbq" in Mons which was out in the woods, but it ended up being more of a bon fire event with a bunch of boys in their mid-20s who spoke French and no English. (I know what some of you are thinking, and cut it out!) It was great to get out of the city and enjoy some fresh air and see the stars, esp after the crazy times we had in London and Ireland ... It was exactly what we needed and we would never have been able to find this sort of thing if we were playing tourists and staying in a hotel.


Gav & Mai and a great spread of fine cheeses and wine!


Chateau de Havre


The Belgian boys and their fire.