Bonjour from Paris!

I arrived in Paris early Friday morning, eventually found my hotel and then had a much needed nap. I managed to get ou and explore my neighbourhood a bit and go out for dinner before crashing for the night.

On Saturday I got up early and spent the entire day at the Louvre. This is the third time I've been to Paris but the first time at the Louvre for me. It was absolutely incredible. Some of the highlights for me included the "Victory of Samathrace," the "Venus de Milo," and all the large format paintings. The building itself is incredible, with most of the rooms maintaining their palatial style. By the end of the day I was incredibly tired and sore, and very glad I brough back-up shoes!

Sunday was a lazy day as the Louvre and jet lag had taken a lot out of me. I stayed in bed until about noon and then headed to Bercy Village. This is an old village which used to be wine warehouses from long ago. It now houses stores, cafes and restaurants. Next to the village is Parc Bercy, which is an absolutely beautiful park just teeming with people. I alternated between reading and sleeping (mostly the latter) between rows of hollyhocks beneath an overhead grape vine. I then went to see "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", which was in English with French subtitles... convenient for me! I had a lovely dinner and then crashed in my bed by 9:30.

All the museums and sights are closed on Mondays so today is another low-stress, hang-out day for me. I'm going to grab some lunch and then perhaps head up to Montmartre. I met a Canadian girl who is also staying in my hotel so we're going to have dinner together tonight. Tomorrow I'm going to head to Giverny and then on Wednesday I'll visit the Musee d'Orsay. My friends arrive on Thursday for the beginning of the Great French Wine Tour, yay!

I'll post photos when I get a chance.

Shopping Galore!

Yesterday I went to San Francisco to do some sight-seeing and shopping with Wynne and James. We went to Haight-Ashbury, which was a first for me, and hit some vintage clothing stores. We also went to Amoeba records, which is the coolest place ever. You can find absolutely anything there. I bought 5 shirts, 1 wallet and 4 cds... which is some pretty decent retail therapy if you ask me!

What I've Been Up To Lately

You can tell I am supposed to be studying by the fact that I'm doing the things I normally put off, like cleaning and updating my blog. Here are a few of the highlights from the last couple of months.

My Birthday:

Keegan and James bought and decorated a cake for me, I almost cried it was so nice.

It coincided with a beer-tasting party, which was tasty! I brought Maudite and Fin du Monde.

School:

Marc and I looking like a vine's worst nightmare.

The lab for my "Viticultural Practices" class is usually out in the campus vineyard pruning and training vines. It's my favorite class, I love being out there.

Keg Parties:

It wouldn't be college without the occasional keg-stand

Sightseeing:

I had a great day exploring San Fran. This is the Palace of Fine Arts

Coit Tower, just one of many sights I can show people when the come visit (that's a not-so-subliminal message)

Devo:

I've been busy with our student organization, helping make fundraising t-shirts and stuff. I volunteered to help plan our student trip to France this summer, which is very exciting. I'm having memories of the Hale trip to Spain!

Multi-tasking at the Craft Center on campus.

Immersion Trips:

Twice a year DEVO plans long-weekend trips to wine regions. We visit 2-3 wineries/vineyards each day and usually get to meet the winemakers. This picture is from Navarro, which is pretty much my favorite place ever.

Bonterra Vineyards

Remainder of Cruise America Part Deux

My intention was to post every day of the trip like Part Une, but slow or non-existent internet connections prevented that from happening. So, here it is in one shot, which I will keep brief as I know people don't like reading long posts.

On day 2 we crossed the border and I officially got my F-1 Student Visa. From there we drove through Washington during a rainy day with not much to see. The highlight of the day was the inadvertent detour into downtown Seattle, and subsequent tour of Pike Place Market. I took a wrong turn and ended up right there, so I figured we could have lunch there as Mom had never been. After the delay we made it as far as Cannon Beach, Oregon and decided to hotel it since the weather was yucky.

Goodbye Canada
Hello America

The famous Pike Place Fish Co.

Since our hotel was right on the beach, Mom and I took a stroll down to Haystack rock in the morning. It was cloudy and yucky but luckily the skies soon cleared up and we had a great day for sight-seeing on the Oregon Coast. We stopped at Tillamook, Cape Meares, Cape Lookout, the Oregon Dunes, and Yaquina Head. We called it a day and camped at Bullard's Beach State Park near Bandon, Oregon.

Mom at Haystack Rock, Oregon

Mom at Cape Meares Lighthouse

Oregon Coast

Seastacks at Cape Meares

Dunes

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

While Mom was showering the next morning I discovered that we had a flat tire. So, as I am an expert now, I changed the tire before mom even got back to the campsite. Since I only had a donut on I had to go inland to a tire shop to get it fixed. Rather than double back to the coast, we decided to check out the Umpqua National Forest and Crater Lake instead. Good choice! Crater Lake was stunning! I highly recommend it for anyone traveling this way. From there we crossed into California. As we were driving, we came over a rise and suddenly saw Mt. Shasta looming before us. Another incredible sight. It was mostly shrouded in clouds but what we could see was gorgeous. We camped at the base of the mountain for our last night on the road.Umpqua River

The Pumice Desert near Crater Lake

Crater Lake

Mom and I at Crater Lake

Wizard Island, in Crater Lake

My new home away from home

Mount Shasta

We arrived in Davis the next afternoon and have been getting stuff done since then. Yesterday we took a trip to the Napa Valley to do some wine tasting. We only stopped at a couple of places and then took the scenic route back.

Our picnic lunch in Yountville, Napa County

Tasting at Sequoia Grove Winery

Grapes in Rutherford (Soon I'll be able to tell you what kind of grapes)

Mom at Luna Winery

Mom left early this morning and now I am alone in a new city. I have a lot of school stuff next week, and classes start next Thursday, so if I can stay busy over the next couple of days it's bound to get better.

Calgary, AB to Hope, BC

Going to California with an aching, in my heart (Zepplin)

Mom and I hit the road at about 8:15 this morning after a tearful goodbye and a last look at my first condo. With the morning light shining the city looked beautiful as I drove down Memorial Dr for the last time as a Calgarian.

Our first stop was at the Spiral Tunnels on the Kicking Horse Pass, something I had never actually seen before. As we came up to the pass I saw a train was on its way so we pulled in to the viewpoint/interpretive center and watched it descend through the tunnels. It was really something to see, a great Canadian engineering feat.

Next we took a drive up to Takkakaw Falls. I always get a kick out of the road that goes up there, with the switchbacks basically going up a cliff. I was hoping to see a bus pull it off but no such luck today. Once at Takkakaw Falls we did the short walk to the best viewpoint and took some pictures.

From there it was pretty much straight driving until we got to Hope, BC where we grabbed some groceries before finding a campsite for the night. We are now at Wild Rose Campground, wasting time before an early turn-in. I’ll keep you updated as to how Mom handled camping for the first time in over 20 years. My next post may be from a hotel.

(I'll add photos later, my connection is slow)

Easter in Raliegh

I went to see my sister and her beautiful family in Raleigh, NC for the Easter long weekend. It's always nice to spend time with them, unfortunately it doesn't happen often enough. Here are some of the pictures.

Fan Fugo-Tastic!

The Year of Kate has started with a vengeance!

I picked up my offer from Pengrowth yesterday! I am going to be a geologist again! I will be making more money than I was at Bonavista and the signing bonus will cover any loss of funds that I incurred during the no-work stint. The group I'll be working with at Pengrowth seems awesome and I think it's going to be a really good place to work. They've already got in mind some courses they want to send me on, and I'm going to have time to work up my area before I have to bring forth any locations! How nice it will be to get a chance to do things the right way from the beginning!

I've made the right decision and I've changed my California plane ticket. I re-booked it to take care of two of my flights for this summer's weddings. It wasn't a huge difference in price, and I was going to have to purchase the tickets anyway so I'm actually ahead of the game.

I've decided to finish up at O'Connor's early and I'm either going to go on a skiing road trip through BC or get my mom to come out and help me renovate my house a little. Either option would be great.

I'm back in business baby!

'Twas a Holly Jolly Christmas

I had a great time meeting Pete's family and friends in Boston, and it was lovely to see mine in Saint John. I got to have 3 Christmas', 1 New Year's Eve, 1 Baptism and 2 birthday parties. Not bad at all!

I went with Pete's family to see "A Christmas Story" at a community theater near their house. It was almost as good as the movie.

Pete on the beach at Plum Island. This is just outside the town of Newburyport, which is the most charming little seaside town I have ever seen. There were cute little shops and restaurants, beautiful old homes and big churches, all decorated for Christmas.

Pete enjoying a roast beef sandwich. It's just a funny picture.

We went to see Pete's friend Ross, who was alone for Christmas. We had just finished a huge traditional Italian dinner at Pete's aunt's house but Ross wanted Chinese food. Not only can you order french fries at this place, they come in a Chinese take-out box!

Ross's sister's cat. Diagnosed with "Failure to Thrive," this tiny thing is 5 months old! I hope it lives. It was such a cute little kitty.

Christmas day with my family, which happened on Dec. 27th. These are my niece, Alice's new cowboy boots, she's in a Toy Story phase right now and wants to be just like Woody and Jessie.

My other niece, Claire in Alice's new cowboy boots and hat.

My sister, Jennifer, with Claire, looking adorable in her new hat.

Claire eating a Toblerone bar that's bigger than she is.

Pete and I at the nature park in Saint John

At first the sweaters I knit wouldn't fit over the girls' heads, but I took out the bound-off row around the neck and re-did it a lot looser. They fit wonderfully!

Alicia (my friend since grade 7), Mark (an old high-school buddy), Pete and I at O'Leary's.

Dad and Claire.

Pete at the caves in St. Martin's. It was freezing!

Seen on the side of the road just east of Saint John, NB.

Claire and I having fun during the Baptism.

The cakes my sister made for Claire's first birthday. Each kid got their own little butterfly cake. She dyed coconut yellow and put it around the cake as a background. She's the perfect mom. I'll have a lot to live up to when I have kids.

Alice, with cheesie residue on her face, and Nana-Pat (my mom) at Claire's birthday party.

Claire blowing out her first candle.

Pete fit into my family just fine! Here he is being goofy/intimate with my brother-in-law Mark, with the headbands Alice wanted them to wear.