So I am now back in Portland, OR, and already find myself missing specific bits of Europe. I'll focus on food, because I like it. A) It is now difficult to enjoy dinner before 9 p.m. B) I crave the ability to walk to a neighborhood fruit/veggie market or bakery to pick up delicious but low priced foodstuffs. A week ago I paid 30 eurocents for long English cucumbers, and today, a puny one from Safeway cost me a dollar! This whole semester I thought that Europe was incomparably more expensive to life in the U.S., but between the gas I must use to drive to these stores, and the inflated price of fresh produce here, I am beginning to re-assess expenses in certain areas. (I cannot help but mention, of course, the many secondary costs of the U.S. food system.)

I don't want to give the U.S. an undeserved hard time. A reasonably priced meal is easier to find here than most anywhere I traveled in April and May. After my program in Barcelona ended in late April, I worked my way through France, Belgium, and Germany with a friend of mine from my Spanish university and through the Greek islands with some U.C. kids. Because our budgets allotted us approximately 3 decent meals over 3 weeks, apples, cheese, bread, and late-night kebabs were the staples of the first part of the journey, and cucumbers, tomatoes, and canned tuna, the second. We wisely decided to spend the rest of our money on transportation to the most amazing places I have ever been!

Fragmented memories of each location follow, beginning in France

-Nice: Beautiful Mediterranean coastline. Huge market between the center of the city and the beach overflowing with colorful flowers, fruits, jellies, vegetables, and breads. Tiny streets with lots of white clothing. Authentic Nicoise salads and Italian-like pizzas and focaccias. A hostel with two toilets total and no sinks in the bathroom.


-Monaco: An afternoon trip from Nice. Second smallest country in the world after Vatican City and, in my book, the most boring. Should I have the misfortune of living there, I would probably drive my new Jaguar XF off my seventh floor, with-a-view balcony into the yacht-filled ocean to end my suffering. Saw a changing of the guard in front of the palace--also boring. Good views, though, and neat buildings. Probably more luxury car stores per square mile than any other city/country/principality/whatever it is, but don't quote me on that.

*Traversed Marseille for 2 hours with 35+ lb. backpacks while waiting for train to Lyon. Even in pouring rain, was a verypretty city, with a neat, lively port. It was the first stretch of water not totally geared toward tourists that we had seen.


-Lyon: Amazing bridges. Two rivers run through it (Maclean/Redford reference intended). Enjoyable newer city in between the rivers, gorgeous old city to the east. Rain. Cathedral at the top of the east side offers magnificent views of red slanted roofs. En route to the top, a lush, well-landscaped, impeccably maintained garden, full of wisteria and ivy. Dinner at a restaurant crammed with wooden tables covered in red-checkered tablecloths. Wine in small carafes--beef buillion cube-like soup--white toast covered in roasted peppers, capers, and anchovies. Only cheap bill in France.

-Grenoble: Day trip to a college town in the French Alps. Deep green everywhere. Gorgeous, fog-encased mountains overlooking the Rhone River. Hiked up through castle ruins for 2 hours before it got dark. Broken train to return to Lyon meant a 2 hour bus ride.



-Paris: Birthday in the capital city. Climbed Eiffle Tower before total darkness (thank you, daylight savings time). Met with our relocated Spanish friend, Emily! Went to Lonely Planet-recommended vegetarian restaurant only to find its dishes cost twice what the guidebook said. Thank you, Lonely Planet. Ended up dining in a Middle Eastern cous-couseria obsessed with FC Barcelona (fitting) and Christmas (weird) with great food and horrible wine. The Louvre: overwhelmingly enormous (surprise!).
Tiny stores in the Montmarte district. Best falafel ever. Gross, confusing Metro that ate my tickets. Met a friend of Santi's, who rented the most beautiful student housing I have ever seen. Luxembourg Garden. Legs too tired for the whole Champs Elysees. Incredible Notre Dame cathedral. Beautiful plant-clad buildings. Hostel reviewed in Architectural Digest and NYT, meaning we shared space with snarky, unsatisfied vacationers who do not realize it is still a place for cheap travelers with small rooms and creaky bunk beds.