Houston, We Have a Problem

Hello!

On our road trip around the United States, my French Partner in Crime (FPIC) and I made a stop in Houston, TX to visit some friends.

Upon first glance, Houston does not really seem to have a lot to offer to a passing visitor. The city is very industrial with few places to walk around. Out of Google's "Top Ten Places to Visit in Houston", seven were shopping malls/plazas. Not too exciting for people who have a week to kill. Lucky for us, our friends and friends of friends had better advice than Google.

The best tip came from a night of trivia at the Front Porch, where your hamburger is barbecued for you on a grill out front. In between trying to guess order of Texas cities according to size and remembering the actors from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, our teammate brought up Brazos...and we are glad she did.

Brazos Bend State Park is know for being home to alligators. We went expecting to read some signs and pamphlets, chat with a park ranger, and walk around. What we found out is that the park is know for alligators because it is FULL of alligators. It is hard not to spot them. And there is the thing...they are not barrier-ed off, or behind a fence or anything. They are just there living, and crazy people like us go and visit them. There are signs everywhere that say things like...
-Don't let your dog wander off or swim
-Stay away from tall grass
-Don't throw anything in the water
-Remember, alligators are fast
-Stay at least 30 feet away from the alligators

This last recommendation proved hard to follow. We were walking back on a trail when we came across an alligator right on the path, just waiting with it's mouth wide open. We were like, uh oh Houston...we have a problem. We couldn't get by without going past and we couldn't do past without coming within 4 feet of the open mouthed alligator. All we could do was wait and look at him looking at us.

Look at him! He is ready...

I am writing this blog now...so I have not been eaten, but I won't lie by saying I wasn't worried for a moment there. It certainly made for an interesting afternoon and a +1 for Houston. 

Until next time, Laura 

Westward Bound

Because of my seemingly endless unemployment...my FPIC and I have decided to take advantage of this time off and take the trip we have always dreamed of. We plan to pack hiking boots, tents, lots of pasta, a few maps to go and find the next place to work and live.

Stay tuned...we take push off next week.  

When the Green Mountain State is Not Green

Hello all!

Living with a person who was born on a different continent than you means that there is never a lack of things to talk about. A common topic of interest between my French Partner in Crime (FPIC) and I is always the use of space in different countries. 

We have come to the conclusion that in Europe, specifically France, it is impossible to go for any length of time without coming across a town. All are quaint, complete with a town square, church, and local bar. People live very close together. In the United States, especially the north of Vermont, it is possible to drive for hours or days without seeing much and interaction with other humans is optional. 

While the majority of the time, my FPIC and I would like a bit more population up here in the north of Vermont (we once drove 2 1/2 hours one way just to eat Chinese food and go to a T.J. Maxx) we wouldn't have the Autumn in Vermont any other way. In France, the mountains are full of skiing resorts, touristy villages, chalets, and mountain farms, but the mountains in Vermont are completely uninterrupted. The view of miles and miles of hills covered in colorful trees is breathtaking - even to someone who grew up in New England.

 I would 100% recommend to everyone: pack a lunch, make sure you have a full gas tank and a well-functioning car, bring some warm clothes, and get lost in the north of Vermont in Autumn. 

Here are some Vermont-y photos for your viewing pleasure. 

No ski resort here.

A New England Home

The rest area as you enter the Northeast Kingdom boasts that there are 13 covered bridges to visit in the area. I laughed at this, but you can't deny that these bridges have a certain charm. 

The lovely town of Newport

That's all today folks! Until next time.

An Ode to My Favorite Shoes

In Boston's old city, they began their bright story,

by walking for charity,

they marched miles, forty.

Past the Charles and Fenway, and by jamaica pond,

to Canton and Roslindale and then journeyed on.

For stop two, headed west, pit stop San Fransisco

traveled north to the redwoods,

in yosemite did a disco.

They hiked past the half dome before continuing north,

then paused in Seattle to see the fisherman's wharf.

Then they changed their direction by voyaging south,

caught the sands of north Chile,

to seek public health.

They heard babies hearts and gave children candies,

then took a long break to trek up the Andes.

Checked Peru and then Canada soon of the list,

dodged riots enroute to Cuzco,

and awed Machu Picchu's mist.

Montreal's nice in March though there is quite a chill,

these shoes biked all the bridges and sleded the hill.

Off to France these shoes wandered for a new kind of pace,

run around through the Alps,

and gazed on Mt. Blanc's face.

They raced the french cows to prove all their power,

After, strolled by the seine and viewed eiffel's tower.

On the way down down to Spain, a glum event did transpire,

These shoes found a hole,

And were forced to retire.

Although it's quite sad because my shoe's life was neat,

I'm lucky this time, as I still have my feet.

A Little Bit of Haute Savoie

I have to be honest, until recently France was not a country that I ever really paid any attention to or planned to visit. In my efforts to learn Spanish, I didn't even really have Europe on my radar...but I am learning quickly what beautiful and amazing country France really is. My first two weeks here have been a surprise and unpremeditated vacation as my French-partner-in-crime has been playing tourguide for me in his home region. I have now really and truely fallen in love with the French Alps...and here are some of the reasons why...

Not uncommon in the Alps to see ski poles used as fence posts! They are everywhere. The poles are always laying around so people pick them up and use them.

Une bonne photo of Grenoble...the city where I am currently living...from above. :D From this site you can see my french-partner-in-crime's house and the city's most expensive rotary. haha

I had a day on my own to explore Albertville...a nearby city that felt every bit as European as an old time movie. I even gained the confidence to finally order an iced tea in french...(although mostly all I did was point).

Took a day to explore Mont Joux near Megeve. It was beautiful with the Mont Blanc in the background, small mountain villages, and really loud goats roaming around. This is one of those places where you would want to spend your life as maybe a sheep herder who gets around by motorbike and passes their time playing cards with elderly french farmers.

Most recently spent a day hiking to Lac Blanc near Chamonix. All the tour books highly recommend this as a must-see. It was amazingly beautiful with a different side view of the Mont Blanc. We took Les oeufs (the ski lift thing) up halfway and hiked the rest. The top was crowded but by scaling some rocks to the other side of the lake, we were able to have a nice, tourist-free, picnic of bread, cheese, sausages, and of course, wine. We walked all the way down, which we dont recommend because the lower half of the mountain is a loose dirt road that is just a pain. Our decision to RUN down resulted in me loosing my camera (from where i stupidly left it in my pocket). It wasn't until later that night that I realized it was missing and too late to go look. Instead, the next day we got up at 6am, like crazy people, to reclimb the bottom half of the mountain to search for it. Miraculously after an hour of climb, we found it!!! It must have had an exciting night in the mountains. Unfortunately, it took no pictures on it's own. :D Glad to have the camera back, but now I can double-ly recommend that if you go to Lac Blanc, take the lift up and down for the first half of the mountain.

I end today with an amazing foto from Lac Blanc that would have been lost forever with the camera, but thanks to our borderline insane efforts, I can share with you. Bonne Nuit!

Taken from - no lie - about 3ft away, no zoom...National Geographic anyone?