Bonjour from Southern France!!!
Well, it's been awhile, I know... I've got so much
catching-up to do (Prague, Venice, Reggio-Emilia and
Sestriere in Italy) that I think I'll do this update
in two parts (creatively named Part I and Part II). I
am writing this from the most remote location we have
visited yet, the hamlet of Prades (population: 9, 11
now that we're here, no kidding!), which is a winding
mountainous 45-minute drive west of Ales in Southern
France. Karen and I have grown a little weary of
cities, and this is sort of "catching our breath"
before plunging back into civilization for the last
couple weeks of our trip. More about this beautifully
peaceful place in Part II, for now I'll rewind my mind
to Prague...
Our train rolled into the Czech Republic with gray
weather that hung over us for most of our week in
Prague. Thankfully, the sun came out for a couple of
days, allowing us some breathtaking views of Prague's
100+ church spires stretching skyward and majestic
views of the palace overlooking the city from the west
side of the famous Charles Bridge. And the people we
met there made the trip unforgettable regardless of
the weather!
The first evening we were there, we met up with the
Turnau family (Ted and Carolyn, with kids Roger,
Claire, and Ruthie) for a delicious crepe dinner. We
witnessed Prague's famously low prices immediately--a
tasty, filling dinner for four adults and three kids,
including appetizers and wine, ran us around $40. We
also found out a little bit what it's like to live in
Prague from an American perspective--the Turnaus have
lived there for over two years as Christian
missionaries. One of their daugthers, Claire, goes to
a Czech school and so at age 7, she's more fluent in
Czech than her parents--it was pretty amusing to see
her father turn to her for translations from time to
time!!
Our second night there, we sought out an English
bookstore to find a Prague history book (one that we
could actually understand!), and instead found a Czech
bookstore with an internet connection and a waitress
named Katerina who served food with a saucy attitude
and Czech-accented British English. Turns out she is
a funny and knowledgeable walking tour guide (look up
Bigfoot Tours if you're ever in Prague!), and Karen
and I enjoyed a leisurely afternoon strolling around
Prague with her the next day (my birthday!). She
majored in Prague history in college--she knew
everything about the city that we could think to ask!
We got a "mixed tour", showing both the Medieval gems
of the city and the remnants of the pre-1989 Communist
government.
The same day, we moved to a nice hotel in the center
of the old town as the first of several birthday
presents from Karen! She also tried to get a bottle
of Bailey's Irish Cream (one of the most direct routes
to my heart), but couldn't find it and got a couple
other cream liquors instead. So we lounged in our
hotel, enjoyed some tasty drinks, made some expensive
phone calls to the US (it was the first time I talked
to my Dad since leaving home!), and headed out a bit
on the late side to find some live music.
We were soon quite lost on the streets of Prague...
"City Planning" was not a common idea back when the
streets were laid out, so it's like being in a maze
sometimes!! Luckily, a gal we met the previous
evening just happened to drive by and saw us looking
lost and headed us in the right direction. We showed
up just in time to see how skillfully the band could
pack up their gear, and I promptly drowned my
disappointment in some absinthe. Powerful stuff, but
nowadays it's not the same elixir that Van Gogh downed
before performing self-surgery on his ear. Thanks to
Karen's able guidance, we made it back to the hotel
without getting too lost!
We initially intended to stay at the nice hotel only
two days, but inertia got the better of us and we
decided to stay there for the rest of our time in
Prague--an easy decision to make, given that we were
staying in a luxurious room in a prime location for
only $50 a night!
We also saw a couple of amazing performances while we
were in Prague--in one of them, we were part of an
audience of 25 people or so who laid on a massive,
circular air cushion beneath, that's right, BENEATH
the stage, while the dancers performed on plexiglass
about four feet above us. Another show was a mime
comedy, interspersed with a blacklight theater--a
theater where a blacklight on a darkened stage enables
the dancers in reflective costumes to do some unreal
stuff with the aid of "invisible hands" provided by
dancers dressed in non-reflective material. The mime
acts were hilarious and the blacklight theater quite
amazing!
We ended the week with a good ol' American-style
Thanksgiving, thanks to the Turnaus--they hooked us
into a group of 25 or so people who celebrated
Thanksgiving that Saturday. Despite the lack of
football, it felt quite like home!!
Then we hopped on an overnight train to Italy the next
day. On the train, we met a real interesting couple
who were travelling around like us, except he was also
making a living while doing so--he was involved in
electronic music and was basically travelling from gig
to gig, while also gathering some exotic sound samples
from all over Europe with special microphones built
into his jacket!!
But Italy will have to wait for the next update... I
hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
Love & Laughter--
--Scott.
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