MissDTravels

I start my course. Ive just completed by 3rd full day of living in France and my first day of classes at the institute. Things are going very well thus far but I'm very very very tired. I'm sure I'm really just overwhelmed by everything and it's making me fatigued, but nonetheless, it's only 930 and I'm practically comatose.  Some great things have already happened since my arrival. First, I'm navigating my surroundings well enough and my rather basic French is getting me what I need when I need it. On Saturday I visited one of the larger markets at Les Halles, and fought my way amongst a crowd of genteel elderly French people to buy shaved Parmesan, 6 eggs, 250g of strawberries, a baguette, fresh butter, 3 avocados, spinach stuffed ravioli, and olive oil. Everything came from a different vendor so that's at least 8 attempts at communication. I also navigated the trams to visit a cheap home goods store  called Tati. I swear it's just like the...

I have arrived in France. Today was, I imagine (albeit hope) the hardest day of travel I will face this summer for several reasons.  First, I have an additional bag. Whereas I've committed to traveling through 5 European capitals with only a 35 liter pack for the last leg of my summer travels, I'm staying in France to study for a full month and simply wanted more stuff while I'm here. I agonized over what to bring, and finally decided that having an extra medium-sized suitcase would do just fine so I had more clothing and toiletries for my extended stay. Luckily, I also have a plan to get all this extra stuff home before departing directly from here for the last "35L only" part, but more on that later. Anyway, this, along with said 35L pack and a purse came with me today. And that's just more gear than I'm used to lugging around. And, that bag was meticulously packed to maximize my flight allowance - aka HEAVY.  How much is the airlines hol...

I've returned from my first leg of summer adventures and am spending the last of a few quiet days in Switzerland before departing for France in the morning. I was very fortunate to be invited to play trumpet in Spain with the Three Rivers Concert Band of Wisconsin and Minnesota for the first few weeks of summer break. First and foremost, I owe my former professor Dr. B, the two amazing conductors, and the rest of the band a huge "Muchas Gracias!" for allowing me to make music and travel with them. I've said in a previous post that the musician's community is a vast and most interesting network; having had the opportunity to spend 10 days with these fine people was a firm reminder of this fact. What wonderful, talented, and gracious people! Where did we go? The group stayed in Madrid, Valencia, and Barcelona, with an additional tour of Toledo and sightseeing and concerts in Pinto, Cullera, Buñol, and Amposta. Tour Highlight - The Spanish Municipal Ban...