Honeymoon and Wedding Pictures

It's nice to be back with friends and family, but dang, we sure wish we were still cavorting around Europe. Chamonix would be nice right now, I think.

Anyways, some folks have been asking about pictures of the wedding and honeymoon - here are a couple videos we put together. Thanks for checking them out!

Wedding and Honeymoon

Barcelona

10-25-2007. Today we wandered Barcelona somewhat aimlessly. But in the process, saw some really cool stuff. We started with a walk to the harbor, to see the Mediterranean for one last time this trip. From there, we wandered the old fishing village of Barcelonetta, before jumping the metro to the Exiample district. We stopped briefly in the Placa de Cataluyna, the hub of Barcelona.

From there, we hit the Mercat de la Boqueria (open-air market). Seafood, veggies, fruits everywhere! Not to mention the candy...


After a quick bite and stocking up on some food for the plane ride home, we walked into the Old Town, past lots of cool old stuff.

Topped it off with a visit to the Picasso museum, where we saw not only the style he's most famous for, but also read up on and saw his early, formative works. A drink on the Placa de Reial, and now we're back at the hotel resting up before we head out again for dinner and to soak up the gritty Barcelona nightlife.

Sadly, this will be our last blog post from Europe. We leave tomorrow morning and arrive home around 9pm Portland time. Thanks everyone for checking in, it's been a fun way to chronicle our travels (for those reading, and ourselves as well)!

Gavarnie to Barcelona

10-24-2007. In an effort to get towards Barcelona, but stick to the mountains for another day, we decided to head east over a few of the big Pyranean passes. After a short walk in the morning to try to loosen the legs up after the previous days hike, we rolled down the valley to the start of the Col de Tourmalet. Jeff took out the bike for a spin up and over. Allez!

View up to the top. Fifteen kilometers so far, five to go:


Next it was up and over the Col d'Aspin. Pretty views everywhere!

We spent the night in the little spa town of Luchon, partly so we had easy access to Barcelona, where we arrived this afternoon. Funky little city. We ate tapas. Tommorow we spend the day touring the town, then get packed up to head home :( But we're excited to see everyone soon!

Cirque de Gavarnie: 4 Valleys and a Sheep

10-22-2007.

Took all of yesterday to drive from Provence deep into the Pyrenees, and ended up in the little town of Gavarnie. Hotel population, one. Beatiful place, and the weather forcast was due to hold so we started scheming a long long day hike for the following day. And that's what we got....

Awoke early and were on the trail by nine (it doesn't get light here until after eight). Headed up up up towards the main cirque - improbably steep cliffs surroundng a narrow valley, water and ice falls everywhere. Halfway up we took a side trip into the valley to the right until it turned into the most beautiful pastoral valley.

After a croissant break, we headed back down into the cirque, passing the colorful trees turning for the winter.

Went all the way to the "cirque" and had some lunch we had packed outside the (closed) Hotel Turon. Then it was up, up, up a fairly sketchy trail cut into the cliffs, with lots of exposure. But soon we were in yet another beautiful valley opposite the one we started the morning in.

After a long, gruelling hike up, we ended at a Col (pass) called Hourquette d'Alans with amazing views back down the the main valley and into a new as-yet-unseen valley on the other side.

From there, a long swichback down into town. A lost sheep thought we were its flock, and followed us all the way baaaaaa-ck. All told, probably a ten mile hike with 4500+ feet of elevation gain. We definitely earned our dinner :)

Last Days in Provence

10-21-2007.

Friday: Headed to a little town nearby called Isle sur la Sorgue, the 'Venice' of Provence. Well, not quite, but the canals were nice and the town was really cute. The afternoon was lazy, then we headed to Rousillon for an evening stroll and dinner. Rousillon is known for the red ocre rock that they quary nearby and color their houses with. After a simple meal of pasta, we headed to the only bar in town to watch France play for the rugby Bronze; fun scene with lots of boisterous locals!

Saturday: Since the skies were perfectly clear, we decided to head back up to Mont Ventoux again. We had a semi-elaborate plan: Jeff would ride up the side he didn't last Monday, and Mel would drive over the other side to begin a hike all the way to the top. Once up, Jeff descended to the car and took it back to the top where we met for a coffee. Got the views we were looking for! Then Jeff bombed down to the bottom on bike, of course.

Afterwards, we toured a few small villages in the area, stopping for food for a light dinner. One the way back we came through the most amazing gorge that was right around the corner the whole time we were here.

We're a little sad to be moving on, since Provence seemed to suit us so well - awesome food and perfect October weather. But we still have a week left, so on to the Pyrenees and Barcelona!

Provence

10-19-2007. We're having a great time in Provence. Our little gite is a great jumping off point for seeing the area.

Tuesday - Started the morning with croissants and cafe, of course, then meandered over to the crumbling town of Oppede le Vieux. Unlike many of the other hill towns in Provence which are being restored slowly as folks buy up property, Oppede is still mostly in ruins. There's an effort underway to restore the church, but the rest of the city inside the ramparts is as it was when the population died down in the mid 19th century. It was a bit surreal exploring old homes and the decaying castle on top of the hill. Hardly any tourists, sweet.

Wednesday - Rented a bike for Melissa in Bonneiux, and we pedaled over to the south side of the Luberon range. Stopped in Lourmarin for coffee, then continued riding through vineyard after vineyard. Almost Napa-like, without the fancy homes. Melissa was a trooper on her clunky rental bike; all told we covered about 40 kilometers over not-too-flat roads and saw many cool little hill towns.

Luckily, we had plans to gain back all the calories burned that day - 8pm reservation at Domaine des Andeols, one of renowned chef Alain Ducasse's restaurants (thanks for the tip Jon!!!). Most delicious, artfully prestented seven course meal we've ever had. Wow. And how nice, the fixed course menu was Melissa-friendly (fish and poulty). Words can't describe how amazing this dinner was - consisting of only what was local and freshest....but here's the summary: scallops in a cauliflower foam, fois served with a fig reduction, lobster tail with a lime and hoisin sauce, sole with many textures/preparations of butternut squash, tender chicken served with stuffed cabbage, chevre with micro greens, and a caramel-pineapple medley with contrasting textures that was to die for. Champagne to start, and a Cote du Luberon wine. Mmmmm.

Thursday - Exausted from the bike ride and hearty eating, finally we slept in a bit. The famous Provence Mistral Winds were in full force, blowing hard all day. Skies were clear and the temps not too bad though. Had a mellow but surprisingly good lunch at the internet cafe we've been frequenting. Quiches and salad with a tray of delicious little accompianments (radish gaspacho anyone?). Then we hit the road to the Pont du Gard near Avignon to marvel at the ancient roman aquaduct. Hardly anyone there, it made for a nice walk.

Having not been in a city for a while, we wandered Avignon for a few hours. Those Popes sure lived it up, in their fancy Pope Palace. We caught some views of the city and the ancient bridge across the Rhone, before the sun started to go down and we made our way back home.

Jeff "proposed for us" a light dinner of Provence inspired omlettes (with fresh truffles and cheese, of course).

We've got two more nights here (staying one extra) before heading towards the Pyrennes. We'll be in Barcelona for sure on Wednesday and Thursday night before we fly home on Friday. Where'd the time go?

Les Bouilladoires

10-15-2007. After a long time on the go, we're psyched to check into a little "Gite" (guesthouse) in the heart of Provence, just south of the town of Gordes. Quiet and cozy, we'll be here through next Saturday (at least :^))

After visiting the local farmers market in Coustellet (puts all of our farmers markets to shame, btw), we added duck and prawns to our bounty of cheese, veggies, bread, and fresh truffles. We're kind of excited to cook for ourselves again. Pasta sauce:

Gordes is a cool little hill town, literally built into the rock. Explored for a few hours before tiring of the tourists and retreated to our little guesthouse haven.

Next day, we headed to Mount Ventoux. Jeff got on his bike and suffered for a couple hours while Melissa went for a pretty forested hike. This being the tallest peak in the area, it created its own weather, so views were sparse at the top. Beautiful nevertheless, and the ride down was a dream for Jeff.