97 Days, 12 Countries, 1 Kangoo

Greetings from Mougins!

Taice and I are currently in the south of France, just a few kilometers north of Cannes. The weather has been slightly cooler than Portugal, but quite manageable. It will make for a nice transition from Portugal to here to Paris and then Boston, where we have been kept abreast of the relentless snowfall. we hope everyone is having fun shoveling.

As some of you may know, we made a slight planning snafu when we booked a timeshare in the Cote d'azur immediately following the week in the Algarve. Turns out - it is an almost 17 hour drive from Lisbon to Mougin - but we did not want to pay for accomodations in two places at once. So, we dropped the Kohns off at the airport and hit the road. Since Taice has not driven standard in at least a decade and only twice ever - I was going solo. The breakdown:

• 4 tanks of diesel
  
• 77 euros in tolls
  
• over 1700 kilometers
  
• 1 ham sandwich each
  

Although I was a bit bleary eyed when we pulled into Mougins at 2:45am - we made great time. The best part for me was first watching Taice nod off for most of northeastern Spain and then hearing her exclaim on the phone to Steph the next day "I can't believe I did it!". It really was a noble effort on her part.

We have spent most of the week day-tripping to nearby towns and cities. We have preferred the small, quaint French hilltop villages (Mougins, Tourette, Gourdon) to the larger seaside cities (Nice, Cannes) but the most interesting place so far was Monaco. All I really associated with Monaco before the trip was F1 racing, ritzy casinos and Princess Grace. Turns out - I almost had it all figured out. But to see it in person was something else. The entire principality is smaller than Central Park, and it is chock full of expensive cars, enormous yachts, public elevators, marble and locals who seem so happy that Taice suspects they are all drugged. The 'fairy-tale land' feeling was cemented when we walked back past the prince's palace on our way to the car and found it to be surrounded by young children and their parents. Getting the sense that something was going on, we joined the crowd and waited. Each one of the children was holding a personal invitation from the Prince of Monaco to come to the palace on that day at an assigned time for Christmas. Only when some children began exiting the palace with gifts did we create a hypothesis on what was happening. Imagine being 8 years old and getting a invitation from the young Prince (who's portrait is in many store windows) to come to the palace. Then going inside, meeting him and receiving the gift you had previously requested. (we think). Just a bizarre place. So, now the joke is that when we see a car with Monaco plates in front of us in traffic, we picture the driver wiping his ass with 100 euro notes and siging songs about the Prince. The pics will provide more color on this enchanting place.

I have felt like a real 'frenchie' this week. Finally, we are driving a French car with French plates in France. Also, each day we pick up our baguette and wine on the way back to our villa and listen to French pop the whole way home. Our first trip to the grocery store here led me to pick out way too much cheese (see pics), not enough wine and just enough cookies.

Although the French tend to get a bad rap in the US, the experience thus far has been incredible. The people have been pleasant and extremely patient with our minimal and horrific French, which half the time is a mish mosh of the Italian, German and Spanish words we know with a slurred accent. The food is wonderful, the towns are picture perfect and everyone is in the Christmas spirit. (We've also been watching alot of the BBC, which may explain my love for positive adjectives)

Since this may be the last entry before Christmas, we wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays! We miss you alll and we hope to share a cocktail, meal or laugh with you all when we return.

A special congratulations to Mike for landing a dream job this week. I have enjoyed watching your talents blossom from Mrs. Reising's Photography class at Amity High School to now, the general managing photographer for the Boston Red Sox! Taice and I are so excited for you! Maybe one day you'll own a World Series ring that I can try on.

Happy Holidays to everyone again - talk to you soon!

Chris and Taice

Here are the pictures:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=184195168/a=7226152_7226152/t_=7226152

Chosing a travel guide is a big decision. You need to pick one that jives with your tastes, budget, and age. If the author is an 80 year old millionaire who hates cheese, it's just not going to guide us in the right direction. We didn't want to limit our experience by buy all of the same brand of travel books, so we took some advice from Rudy Maxa, Rick Steve, Let's Go, Lonely Planet, Eyewitness Travel, Sam Longley, and some lady on the Travel Channel whose name we can never remember, but she is great. Anyways, for our Portugal guides we only purchased two: Top 10 Algarve and Top 10 Lisbon, both published by Eyewitness Travel. Throughout our week the goal was to see at least one thing on most of the Top 10 lists. It turned into a funny game when we realized that they were just looking for reasons to make lists. Not only was there a Top 10 restaurants in the Algarve, but there was also: Top 10 restaurants in the Eastern Algarve, Top 10 restaurants in the Eastern Algarve's coastal villages, Top 10 things to eat on the menu at a restaurant in the Eastern's Algarve's coastal villages, and so forth. We were normally able to knock off a few things on each Top 10 list within an hour. Not only would a town by listed on a Top 10, but its churches would also be listed, and then things inside its church would be listed. Right there we've done 3 Top 10s! Anyways, we decided to create our own Top 10 - this may only be funny for Stephanie and Dave, but here goes:

Top 10 Portugese Memories:

10. Our resort reminding us of a British/Florida retirement community
9. Desserts: Banoffee Pie (which is a banana, chocolate, caramel delicious piece of heaven) and Don Rodrigos (the specialty dessert of the Algarve, which reminded us of hair made from egg yolk. GROSS)
8. Hitler-esqe facial hair on Portugese BBQ grill repairman
7. Four people in one week consuming a whole liter of olive oil
6. Chris' incredible 80 foot chip-in on the 7th hole of the Pinhieros Altos Golf Course
5. The church ticket guy in Faro exclaiming "IT"S A MAN" when he peeked into the baby carrier and saw Caleb
4. Fresh OJ, which Dave was going to have to squeeze some extra for Marcus, the couch surfer.
3. Fado. The traditional music of Lisbon, which they tell you to "ease into" - we aren't sure why.
2. Caleb pooping in his socks at a rest stop on the drive from the airport
1. Chris amazed at Dave's ability to lay eggs. This is a long story...

Here's a link to our pictures:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=184177470/a=7226152_7226152/t_=7226152

And here's a link to the pictures from Dave and Stephanie's camera:
http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=186125317/a=7226152_5653598/t_=7226152

Please give us feedback on your Top 10 favorite pics

When we were planning this trip we had many things on our list of "must dos" and two of the things I really wanted to do were: visit a Proscuitto factory and go see a bull fight. Back in Italy I mentioned the proscuitto factory idea to Chris and he said "so you want to basically go to a slaughter house?" Uhmmm, yeah, I guess I didn't really think through what it would look like (or smell like) to visit a place that hung up raw pigs to be cured with salt for months. Gross. And I obviously hadn't thought through my desire to see a live bull fight. Thank God we are here in the off season and there aren't any bull fights in December, because I don't think I would have enjoyed it. Sevilla has one of the best known bullrings, the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, situated right in the heart of the city. On our tour of the Plaza de Toros I found out the truth about bull fighting. Maybe I was the only one in the dark, but did you know that they ALWAYS kill the bull? And not just one. They kill two bulls during each "fight" and there are three fights in one seating. So if we had gone to a bullfight, I would have to have watched six bulls die within two hours. I guess the reason I was so shocked and upset by this was that it's not really a fight at all. The bull is first attacked by men on horseback (picadores) who jab steel-pointed lances into the bull's shoulders to weaken it. Then the banderilleros enter to ring and stick barbed darts into the bull's back. And then finally the matador enters the arena and, with the bull already weak and stunned, he kills the bull by sticking a sword in the bull's neck. Not to be crazy, but don't you think it should be more of a true fight? Only two matadors have died in Sevilla's bullring. I don't want to go back to gladiator times, but it should be more equal, right? Our tour guide then led us through a small museum that basically worshipped the matadors and when she pointed out a portrait of one of the matadors who died I quietly cheered But then only to find out that the bull who killed the matador was not only slaughtered moments later, but his momma was also killed.

Besides bull fighting, Spain is also known for its paella. Our first week in Spain we ate mostly at tapas places, only trying the small plates, not the big dishes of seafood paella. So as we wandered around Sevilla for our last night in Spain we wanted to try some paella. Actually, I should clarify - CHRIS wanted the paella, I don't like big huge plates of random seafood chowder-like dishes. We found a place that looked promising but at the last moment Chris made a rash decision and order the meat and noodle "paella" - good, but a plate of small hot dogs and egg noodles wasn't really authentic. Oh well, next time.....

Enjoy the pictures and the next blog will of Prince Caleb in Portugal!

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=184140251/a=7226152_7226152/t_=7226152

P.S. Chris responds to the readers:

[list]
[*]I don't know where the Michael Bolton references came from originally, although Pete has informed me that he is cohosting some reality choral contest. Pete really enjoys televised singing competitions. I can confirm that he is from New Haven - in fact, he used to live in the home of one of my friends growing up. This is not information that most New Havenites will volunteer. When asked for a famous celebrity, I usually go with Natalie Portman, who attended Ezra Academy in Woodbridge - ironically enough, with the same friend who lived in Michael Bolton's house.

[*]Speaking of things New Havenites are proud of - don't mess with our pizza Mr. Longley! Maybe one day I can bring some up and we can compare it to Arlington's finest!

[*]Regarding the beard - it is already almost back - although not quite to the same level. I am unable to 'trim' due to the lack of my electric clippers over here and I thought my face had almost dissapeared. Since the sight of my face is all some of you have - I did not want to deprive anyone of any joy while I am gone. My sincere apologies to all the 'pro-beard' folks out there.

[*]Sorry about that butt-kicking we gave you last week Mr. Ivins - but we need the money more than you right now. We hope to see Pete in the finals next week. Enjoy the snow and the Pats trouncing of the Jets today!

And the answer is..."Not to Beard". We had promised to send part-two of our Barcelona blog last week, and I'm sorry we left you hanging this long. The big dramatic news Chris was referring to was him offing his beard. Hope you enjoy the new look!

This installment of pictures will take you through the last two days of our time in Barcelona, two days in Madrid and then farther South to Granada. Not much Gaudi, but still plenty of great architecture to enjoy.

A few things we have noticed about Spain:

• If you look up "Night Owl" in the Encyclopedia, there is probably a picture of a Spainard there. Doing things extremely late is like a sport to them. It feels like they are trying to all out do each other - who can eat dinner the latest, who can dance till dawn, and who can have their store open till 10 PM at night. Madrid seemed to take this "better late than never" attitude to the extreme. There are clubs there that OPEN at 5 AM and people dance well into the morning.

  
  

• Spainards like to travel in packs. I personally like to avoid crowds. One reason we came to Europe in the off season was so we didn't have to fight hordes of people for a table at a bar. But if it isn't crowded, then that's a bad thing in Spain. We were in a dance club around 3 AM one night and one minute it was packed and the next the entire bar had clearly out. If one group of people leaves and it's no longer super crowded, it's time to move on. I think the Spanish spend most of their time walking around trying to see where everyone else is. So funny.

  
  

• I think the Spanish people have feet made of leather. They must have the toughest pads on the bottoms of their feet because they stand up ALL day and ALL night. I don't think we ate sitting down in Spain once. Breakfast and coffee - stand at a bar. Lunch - quick beer and snack standing at a bar. Dinner - Tapas standing up around a table without chairs at a bar. God, my feet hurt just talking about it!

Here's a quick video of a concert we went to in Barcelona. Chris and I really love Mos Def and when we saw he was performing we decided to stay in Barcelona one extra night to see his show. And it was well worth it!

Enjoy the pics and hugs from Europe!!!

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=184109074/a=7226152_7226152/t_=7226152

Greetings everyone!

Hope the Patriots continue their winning ways against the Ravens tonight - hopefully Pete's presence at the game does turn out to be a jinx.

Apologies for the sporadic entries, as soon as you get over a 100 pics to edit and caption, the task is quite daunting - so for the last week or so, we decided to split it into two separate blogs that will come to you in rapid-fire succession.

We last left you in Rome with Carlos. From there, we headed to Barcelona and made a few stops along the way. The first night we spent in Verazze, just north of Genoa. (yes, the Salami was good). This being the offseason, the town was rather dead and our hotel was pretty empty. However, we did have some lovely weather and fully enjoyed being on the water. Here is a glimpse into the inner sanctum of the Kangoo:

What did you think of my demo tape that we were listening to?

The second night was in Marseille, which is the 2nd largest city in France and possesses a reputation for heavy drug use. We did not see any evidence of this, unless you counted the folks dressed up in wacky costumes scaring children in the market. The holiday spirit was in full force in Marseille; there was hot wine and chestnuts on the street, a Christmas market and decorations galore. Add to this the waterfront and Marseille impressed us a bit more than we expected.

From here we entered Spain with the usually; "here is the border crossing, are people stopping?, maybe, get the passports out in case", slow down, begin to put the window down, exchange awkward eye contact with border guard and continue on. Spain's landscape is just what we pictured, lots of sandy hills with scraggly bushes popping out everywhere. We saw our first Spanish prostitute in a lawn chair on a country road. If we were to compare her to the myriad of prostitutes we have seen across this continent, she would get a 'D' for location and an 'A' for personal comfort. We spent our first night in Spain in Lloret del Mar, along the Costa Brava. Again, this being the offseason, all of the 'beautiful people' were NOT there. Nevertheless, we browsed the endless souvenir shops full of soccer jerseys and raunchy aprons and stumbled upon a bar that served liters of beer. So we stopped and felt like we were in Germany again. Or more like a couple of americans in an irish pub drinking german beer in Spain - whatever.

Just north of Lloret del Mar is Figueres, birthplace, and resting place, of Salvador Dali. During his life, he purchased the theater where he had his first exhibition and converted into a bizarre surrealist palace, with lots of drawings, paintings and installations. This was a very interesting place. After a quick Nutella crepe, we were off to Barcelona.

We spent 4 nights in Barcelona, and there was a dramatic event after the first day which serves as a natural place to split this blog into two parts. Let the suspense build...

The highlights from the first day in Barcelona:

• Architecture, especiually Antoni Gaudi's. Barcelona has some of the most unique buildings we have seen. Just strolling the streets and looking at ordinary office buildings and shops was a pleasure.
• The Market. Barcelona gets the prize for best food market so far. La Boqueria market is a treasure-trove of fruits, veggies, olives, cheese, meats and seafood. And the freshness is almost sickening - giant piles of squirming prawns, rabbits strung up and bleeding, chickens with the feathers still on. There are a number of bars among the stalls where people can go for a quick bite and a beer - just an awesome atmosphere.

  
  

Much more to come from Barcelona as well as Madrid.

The pics:http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=184050042/a=7226152_7226152/t_=7226152

Couple of Blogger notes:

Which market are you back on Pete?

Welcome back Mrs. O - way to make your presence felt!

Looking forward to seeing Steph, Dave and Caleb at the end of the week!

Missing everyone. Till next time!

Chris & Taice