Hello loyal readers, (Who am I lying to, my only loyal readers are Mom, Ebby, and Carla) I realize it's been awhile and for that I apologize. In our last journey through the rabbit hole together I was venturing out for my first taste of nightlife with my Aigles teammates. I'm not going to go into much detail about the entire night but it was a very fun time. My first time in a Freanch nightclub is definitely an experience I'll remember for a very long time. We went to CO2 in Chambery and I figured since I've been listening to the radio I knew what was in store music wise, but I definitely was not prepared. The night started off pretty typical, house music, some R&B, top 40 kind of mix going on. Eventually the DJ moved on and started playing some Spanish music and then moved into some African music. To the African songs nearly everyone in room broke out into this step that to me resembled the electric slide with a spin move thrown in. That was cool but at around 3 AM the music completely threw me for a loop. The fast up-tempo beats stopped and for about 30- 40 minutes he played some slow music. I don't mean slow R&B or anything comparable to that, he literally played music you slow dance to and EVERYONE was slow dancing in the club. I mean a proper slow dance, grab your partner around the waist and she grabs your shoulders. I thought that was the weirdest thing ever, never in all my years have I ever seen true slow dancing in a club. Then what made it so weird to me was I thought the club was about to close because why else would the DJ be playing slow music? Nope, completely wrong after the slow songs he kicked the tempo right back up and we didn't end up leaving the club for a couple of hours.
After that adventure I haven't been up to much. The real reason I haven't written much is because I didn't want to write about how much time I spent playing video games, eating and sleeping. However, the adventures have started again. Last night Kevin, Killian, and I went to the Lyon- Real Madrid Champions League game. Going to a football/soccer while I was here in Europe was right at the top of my lists of things to do and my God it did not disappoint at all. I've been to pretty much every type of sporting event back in the US and seriously nothing compares to the atmosphere of a football/soccer match. The entire game we were standing, singing songs in french(yes even me), waving our flags, yelling at the players, etc. It was honestly the best atmosphere I've been in. I'm going to upload the pics and vids to my tumblr (mmalachi.tumblr.com) because honestly my description won't do any justice. That's all I have in store for this episode kiddies. This weekend I'm going to Venice for Carnaval and I'm staying in a Hostel (GASP). So if this is my last update then Eli Roth was right and Hostel's in Europe are really just set ups for Americans to be tortured, but if not then all of my friends are idiots. Yeah, all of my friends a couple years back said they don't want to backpack across Europe staying in Hostels because we could end up in the same situation as the people in the movies. The things my family and friends think about Europe are amazing right?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
New Discoveries
I've been hearing a lot of feedback about this blog, which is cool. Most of it good but some of you bums are complaining that it's too long. Sorry for boring you with my genius. I know for most of you its hard to keep up without a picture every other page. I'm kidding but honestly those will probably be the longest two entries I have. I had to give you the back story. It's like the first hour of inception, I'm throwing a lot at you early but don't worry it'll all make sense in the end, or not, whatever.
Anyway let me fill you in on the happenings since our last adventure. Last sunday (Super Bowl Sunday) was easily one of the longest days of my life. The day began at the beautiful time of 4 A.M. local time so we could get on the team bus to Cannes. The trip is about 5 or 6 hours, I'm not really sure as I did what I usually do on long trips and fell asleep for most of it. The game was not what we wanted as a team. We lost and were actually shut out, it was a tough day to say the least. We'll get that straightened out and return to the winner's circle. If you didn't notice the name of this entry is new discoveries and this the part where I actually address that. After the game on the bus trip back home my teammates told me about the usual post game ritual of drinking on the bus. For you slow ones I don't mean gatorade, something with a little more kick. Post game on the bus is pretty much a little party, everyone has some wine or beer and we just sit back and drink. Not necessarily the healthiest option but it makes the bus trip back a hell of a lot more bearable. Unfortunately, since we lost the party lost a bit of it's luster and once again I spent most of my time sleeping but I enjoyed a couple sips of wine when I awoke from my slumber. Next bus trip, I fully expect things to get a little weird because we'll be riding back to Chambery victorious.
Sticking with this theme of new discoveries and alcohol is pretty fitting for my adventure this past week. On Tuesday Kevin and I ventured to the nearby town of Annecy. Simply put it's awesome and might be one of my favorite places I've ever been. (Pictures here ---> mmalachi.tumblr.com) While walking around Annecy Kevin and I decided to stop in at a little street cafe and have a beer. First off, there's no open container law so we sit outside at one of the curbside tables. I'm sitting there deliberating about what to get when Kevin asks me what I want. I'm pretty well versed with my beers so I'm trying to decide if I want a lager, an ale, stout, etc. I figured I'm just going to make it easy and ask Kevin what he's going to get. This is when I find out about the heavenly concoction known as a Monaco. It's a lager , lemon flavored soda (or lemonade as it's called here, that took some getting used to), and grenadine mixed together. I instantly fell in love the second it hit my tongue. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the taste of beer but it's a nice little switch up that I know even my uncouth non-beer drinking friends will enjoy. However, the best moment was when the check came I told Kevin I'd pay it. The surprise on my face when I saw the bill was 5 € euros (about $7 dollars) was obviously evident as both the waiter and Kevin laughed. I swear I thought they only charged us for one by accident but I wasn't about to tell them. I paid the bill and Kevin began to explain to me that in France beer and wine are dirt cheap. I'm not talking about that crap they give us back in the states for the same price either. Good quality beer and wine is not expensive here at all. Kevin said the two canadian players that were on the team had the same reaction I did when they saw the prices too. I began to explain how different that is from what I'm used to he almost fell out when I told him about how much more the same thing would cost back in the US. At the dinner table, Kevin and I filled Catherine, Killian, and Pierre on our adventure in Annecy. Of course, our conversation about the difference in prices of beer in France and the US came up and this is when I heard the news that almost made me hit the floor. Pierre confirmed everything Kevin told me earlier and even added that 50 bottles of heineken at the grocery store wouldn't be more than twenty something euros. Tears of joy instantly streamed down my face. Not really, but it sounded good and I promised this one would be shorter so I'm going to start wrapping up.
On top of the no open container law I also found out from my buddy the other American on the team, Caleb, that you can pee at your discretion in France. In the street, on buildings, anywhere in public as long as you have your back turned. I don't know about the rest of you but that's pretty awesome and I am definitely going to engage in this act very soon. Last two things I'm going to mention are that my position coach Phillip is definitely the man. He tells all the DL that for each sack we get during the game he'll give us a bottle of champagne. Want to talk about a serious motivating factor, thats it. I would slide in a joke about Coach Fitz and Coach Long using this same technique at NU, but I know that'll never fly. Last thing is that My Aigles teammates have started to read my blog too. That ruins my plans to rip on them all behind their backs. I'm j/k they're all great guys and a fun group to be around even with the huge language barrier.
Now I must bid you all adieu, I'm off to enjoy to my first night on the town. WHOOOOO!!!!!!
Anyway let me fill you in on the happenings since our last adventure. Last sunday (Super Bowl Sunday) was easily one of the longest days of my life. The day began at the beautiful time of 4 A.M. local time so we could get on the team bus to Cannes. The trip is about 5 or 6 hours, I'm not really sure as I did what I usually do on long trips and fell asleep for most of it. The game was not what we wanted as a team. We lost and were actually shut out, it was a tough day to say the least. We'll get that straightened out and return to the winner's circle. If you didn't notice the name of this entry is new discoveries and this the part where I actually address that. After the game on the bus trip back home my teammates told me about the usual post game ritual of drinking on the bus. For you slow ones I don't mean gatorade, something with a little more kick. Post game on the bus is pretty much a little party, everyone has some wine or beer and we just sit back and drink. Not necessarily the healthiest option but it makes the bus trip back a hell of a lot more bearable. Unfortunately, since we lost the party lost a bit of it's luster and once again I spent most of my time sleeping but I enjoyed a couple sips of wine when I awoke from my slumber. Next bus trip, I fully expect things to get a little weird because we'll be riding back to Chambery victorious.
Sticking with this theme of new discoveries and alcohol is pretty fitting for my adventure this past week. On Tuesday Kevin and I ventured to the nearby town of Annecy. Simply put it's awesome and might be one of my favorite places I've ever been. (Pictures here ---> mmalachi.tumblr.com) While walking around Annecy Kevin and I decided to stop in at a little street cafe and have a beer. First off, there's no open container law so we sit outside at one of the curbside tables. I'm sitting there deliberating about what to get when Kevin asks me what I want. I'm pretty well versed with my beers so I'm trying to decide if I want a lager, an ale, stout, etc. I figured I'm just going to make it easy and ask Kevin what he's going to get. This is when I find out about the heavenly concoction known as a Monaco. It's a lager , lemon flavored soda (or lemonade as it's called here, that took some getting used to), and grenadine mixed together. I instantly fell in love the second it hit my tongue. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the taste of beer but it's a nice little switch up that I know even my uncouth non-beer drinking friends will enjoy. However, the best moment was when the check came I told Kevin I'd pay it. The surprise on my face when I saw the bill was 5 € euros (about $7 dollars) was obviously evident as both the waiter and Kevin laughed. I swear I thought they only charged us for one by accident but I wasn't about to tell them. I paid the bill and Kevin began to explain to me that in France beer and wine are dirt cheap. I'm not talking about that crap they give us back in the states for the same price either. Good quality beer and wine is not expensive here at all. Kevin said the two canadian players that were on the team had the same reaction I did when they saw the prices too. I began to explain how different that is from what I'm used to he almost fell out when I told him about how much more the same thing would cost back in the US. At the dinner table, Kevin and I filled Catherine, Killian, and Pierre on our adventure in Annecy. Of course, our conversation about the difference in prices of beer in France and the US came up and this is when I heard the news that almost made me hit the floor. Pierre confirmed everything Kevin told me earlier and even added that 50 bottles of heineken at the grocery store wouldn't be more than twenty something euros. Tears of joy instantly streamed down my face. Not really, but it sounded good and I promised this one would be shorter so I'm going to start wrapping up.
On top of the no open container law I also found out from my buddy the other American on the team, Caleb, that you can pee at your discretion in France. In the street, on buildings, anywhere in public as long as you have your back turned. I don't know about the rest of you but that's pretty awesome and I am definitely going to engage in this act very soon. Last two things I'm going to mention are that my position coach Phillip is definitely the man. He tells all the DL that for each sack we get during the game he'll give us a bottle of champagne. Want to talk about a serious motivating factor, thats it. I would slide in a joke about Coach Fitz and Coach Long using this same technique at NU, but I know that'll never fly. Last thing is that My Aigles teammates have started to read my blog too. That ruins my plans to rip on them all behind their backs. I'm j/k they're all great guys and a fun group to be around even with the huge language barrier.
Now I must bid you all adieu, I'm off to enjoy to my first night on the town. WHOOOOO!!!!!!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Short but sweet
Bonjour!
I've finally decided to stop playing video games long enough to post another update. Exciting news I know. Since our last adventure not too much has happened, but I realized I neglected to give a full update as I was in a hurry to get back to playing Nazi zombies with Killian. Oh yeah by the way (btw for short, thats for my mom and others who don't understand) we achieved a new personal record last night, with only us two we got to level 21 on Kino der Toten. Most of you won't understand that nerd speak but for those of you who do, respect.
Now on to my two favorite F words, food and football, which btw will be mostly what this blog is about. For those of you with short term memory loss the team I'm playing for is Les Aigles of Chambery. I can say nothing but good things about the team. The guys have welcomed me and I truly feel apart of the football family. Which is pretty awesome considering the huge language barrier. I don't even understand what goes on most of practice because all the explanations are given in French. I'm learning a bit here and there but I'm no Pierre Escargot. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFnVI0LThZc&feature=related) The great thing though is that all the guys try and help me out, even the ones who don't know English either try and show me using hand signals or by grabbing someone that speaks english to have them explain it to me. The best thing is that Phillip the O and D-line coach knows English so overall there are no communication issues at all. In case you didn't know either we played our first game last weekend. Unfortunately we lost the game but I like our team a lot. The defense is really the strong part of our team. Its a bunch of cut throats and I love it. We play physical and hard, so much so that we ended up knocking out the other teams American QB. The last play he was he in he ran for the 1st down that iced the game but he payed for it. One of the corners Francois layed one of the hardest (and it was clean, the refs blew it though and called a personal foul) hits I've seen. The QB's arms went limp and he layed on the ground for a while. ( It reminded me alot of Regis Benn after Brian Peters hit him in the 2008 season finale.) Of course I was called over to help translate to see if he was ok. He eventually stumbled off the field and as he was doing so he yelling in English, "Oh my God, I've never taken such a beating in my life." I think he had a pretty bad concussion, hopefully he's ok now though. Our next games tomorrow and its in the south of France. Maybe you've heard of the city, Cannes. Yeah tough life I'm living over here.
On to my favorite subject of all time though, food. Once again the food has been so good its ridiculous. The other night Catherine made some crepes and when I say that I was close to tears of joy, I'm not kidding. Seriously, it was the best thing ever. I spread pure chocolate, honey, and nutella on mine. I don't want to go into too much detail about that because it'll start making me want more. Another item I've become big on is the kebab. Not shish kebabs because that's what I had in mind when Kevin and Killian first told me about this place. It's more like a gyro but the pita bread used is more of a sandwich bun and instead of Tzatziki sauce theres a variety of sauces. I've so far had two different sauces samurai, and harissa. So far harissa is my favorite its a spicy chili spread and the spicy flavor mixed with the taste of the lamb and freshness of the vegetables is soooooooooooooooo good. I'm gonna need to find a kebab place back home because I've been here for twelve days and already been to the kebab place twice and eaten a kebab pizza. I'm addicted, I'll admit it. There is also a distinct difference in the pizzas here and France and back in the states. The whole concept of pizza is different here. There are no real commercial giants here, even though I heard there is a pizza hut somewhere in the region. Most of the pizza places are pretty nice sit down restaurants that people go to and enjoy the meal. There's an absurd amount of different meat's, cheese's, and vegetables available. As I've already mentioned I've had a kebab pizza and the other one that I've tried had two different types of ham, and 2 other types of meat which I've forgotten. So in case you couldn't tell I've been eating good.
I know the title says short but sweet, but I lied forgive me, I got into writing this entry. I'm sitting outside basking in the suns glorious rays. It hasn't all been a cake walk though. For all my buddies back at NU and the other areas affected by this past weeks blizzard, I sympathize with you. We had our stretch of bad weather too. It was overcast and 30 degrees Farenheit (important distinction in this part of the world). Monday- weds the sun didn't even come out until the late afternoon, so I too was stuck inside because of the terrible weather. I feel your pain. Actually, I was stuck inside more because Killian and I went on a 3 day call of duty binge which was only aided by the fact that the sun wasn't out. I'm loving life, so glad I took this trip. The Marmions have done nothing but welcome me and help me feel at home. At dinner earlier this week we all shared a laugh because they all said that it feels like I've been here for months because it feels like I'm apart of the family already and I don't really wanna leave anytime soon. Hooray for spending at least two more months here. I've already made a vow to myself that I can't head back without going to Paris, the beaches of Normandy, London, and Amsterdam. If anybody has anymore travel suggestions, please do tell.
Oh yeah I forgot to mention last entry that Catherine doesn't speak much english, and as you should know I don't speak much french. In fact I think I've learned the most french from playing call of duty. Yet we still have our communication too. Mostly through the use of hand signals and the french to english, english to french dictionary. On wednesday while I was busy shoveling crepes down my face for breakfast Catherine sat down at the table with me and we had a conversation and the only way we understood each other was passing the dictionary back and forth and showing each other the word we wanted to say. It was a great talk though, she understands me. It's not a hard thing to do though, all I need is some food and I'll be happy. Catherine actually reminds me a lot of my mom, which I think another reason we get along so well. (miss u mommy :D) I know I promised pictures and don't worry I haven't failed you all. Yesterday Kevin, Killian, QB (thats his nickname, bet you can't guess which position he plays), and I went to the top of one of the surrounding mountains to get an aerial view of the town. I'm not going to even try and describe it. Check out my Tumblr ---> http://mmalachi.tumblr.com/ I'm gonna do all my pictures through there.
Ok I'm gonna stop rambling now.
Salut!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)