Name That Tune
Well, I got one foot on the platform
The other foot on thetrainplane
An American Turkey in Paris
Many thought this day would never come. The day when I would un-ironically have a blog. (A website is not the same thing. I don’t really have the time to justify this statement, lots of subtleties and so on, you know.) Well, whatever. A travel blog doesn’t really count anyway.
My hope is that I’ll write daily (or every couple of days if nothing exciting is happening) about my travels. After a trip to Ireland a few years ago, and after ignoring some good advice from my grandmother to keep a travel journal, I’m disappointed about how much I remember from the trip. Typing is infinitely much easier and quicker than hand-writing, and I’d like to compile what I write on the blog into a small journal to save for posterity. I also thought that going to France and Spain for extended periods of time is a pretty cool thing, and that people that know me might like to read about it. Maybe you think that the assumption that I would be doing anything worth reading about is far-fetched, but I am rubber, you are glue, whatever you say about me being a boring loser bounces off of me on my super-awesome trip to France, travels Par Avion to whatever boring place you’re in, and sticks to you.
I’ve decided to record my summer travels in France and Spain (and hopefully other places!) here, as opposed to on my website, because this will be more easily accessible from any computer and I can do cool things like allow comments, add pictures, etc. without having to do HTML. Because when you’re in France, the last thing that you want to do is spend all your time in internet cafés making thumbnails.
I guess that a little bit of information about my trip is in order. I’ve studied French for a long time, and originally I had planned to go to France for the entirety of the next academic year. For various boring reasons having to do with My Future, I’m now travelling during the summer. I received a grant to study French for 8 weeks, and the majority of my trip will be spent in Toulouse, France doing just that. (You really should click on the hyperlinks I put in here, because they will probably be cool things. For example, that link is a webcam that gives you an amazing view of Toulouse.) I’m flying into Paris, and spending a few days before I go down to Toulouse to begin classes. I’ll be in that area for six weeks, then I’m going to Spain and Portugal for two weeks. After that, I’ll come back to Toulouse, then Paris for one day, and then back to Chicago.
Right now I’m frantically trying to make last minute arrangements, like buying suitable luggage and getting my visa. (You might be thinking: “Those shouldn’t be last minute arrangements.” You might be right, but unfortunately I cannot carry all of my belongings to Europe in your criticism, so buy a suitcase, I will!) I will, however, relate any interesting or funny things that happen before my departure. Such as:
Travel Lesson #1: Before making travel arrangements, familiarize yourself with the nation’s major national holidays so that your arrival does not conflict with the marching of the army through the city. I’m arriving in Paris in July 14, which happens to coincide with a little thing called Bastille Day. A great time to be in Paris, but perhaps not the best time to arrive. In any case, the welcome wagons (pictured below) will be there to greet me.
