June 16, 2023
Hello once again my readers, and welcome back to /miel/.
I hope this post finds you well, and you are reading this on your favorite day of the week, drinking your favorite cup of coffee.
As the title hints, this will be a longer blog, that will include a brief overview of my last weeks in Europe, so, let’s get into it.
*First, my American number is back in service (ending in 1301), but you are welcome to continue to email me, or use my WhatsApp (which is still my French number). Whatever you prefer!*
My school contract ended on April 14, and I just got back to the States on May 30, so there are quite a few gaps to fill with what I did with my time!
April 14-21
I stayed around Noyon this week, worked on packing all my things into my three seemingly small suitcases, wondering how on earth everything was going to fit. Nicole had left on her vacation on April 14, so it was just Linda and myself in the apartment for this week. I got together with some of my colleagues from Paul Eluard, and we went to the Chateau de Pierrefonds, which is about a 45 minute drive from Noyon. It was beautiful! I believe it inspired some of the design for the Disney castle (the one right before a Disney move starts in blue and white). It was a medieval castle, so it had a very different feel than my dear Chateau de Compiegne. Beautiful, but not my favorite (which is still Compiegne).
I met my dear friend Maru the next day in a small town, Laon, where we hung out for the day and explored the magnificent cathedral on the hilltop, wandered through the old stone streets, and even were able to explore the tunnels under the citadel and climb to the second story in the Cathedral. This was our sad goodbye to each other. Maru is such a light and positive force, and she makes you feel like you are the only and the most important human when she talks to you. She moved back to Argentina for the summer, and I miss her dearly already.
On April 21, I left Noyon for a long stint of traveling. My roommate, Linda, and I both flew to Zaragoza, Spain together (because Linda is from Zaragoza). Thank goodness she flew with me, because I had no idea how to get to the city center from the airport (about a 30 minute bus ride). I definitely would have been stranded and standing around if it wasn't for her! It was a fun last time hanging out together. Linda is currently in Senegal, living with her new husband (married December 2022), and working on their marriage papers for Spain. They hope to live in Spain or France within the next few years.
April 21-28
After Linda and I parted ways in Zaragoza, I got picked up by my host for 10 days, Joaquin. I participated in a WWOOF program (Willing Workers on Organic Farms), which is an organization that allows you to search for and choose a farm anywhere in the world, where you work for about 5 hours/day and in return you receive room and board. You can work anywhere from 1 day to 3-6 months on these farms. It’s a really cool program, and it even exists within the United States. It’s a great way to go live somewhere and explore the area, while working a small amount and saving on room and board!
Anyway, I worked with Joaquin for 10 days, in an itty bitty village called Campo. A village surrounded by gorgeous green mountains, filled with an entire 182 people. It was a cool experience! I worked in the vegetable garden, mainly working to weed the plot, work the soil and water the trees and garden. My days consisted of waking up and eating breakfast around 10, usually some yogurt, tea, bread, meat and cheese. Then working in the garden for a few hours, before eating lunch around 2 pm. After lunch, a long siesta from about 3-6. Dinner around 9 or 10 pm (very typical Spanish dinner time), and then hit the hay after dinner.
The town was so cute and nice. I could walk around the town in a few minutes, and there was a beautiful river about a 10-minute walk away, that I went to every day. The weather was hot and sunny every single day, and I even procured a light sunburn and started my Chaco tan! It was a great experience, and I look forward to working as a WWOOFer in the future, wherever that may be.
I also got to do some fun stuff in Campo as well. Joaquin and I went to play paddle with his coach one night, which was super fun! One night, we went to a nearby village to attend a Buddhist service, which was absolutely incredible. I had always wanted to attend a service, and it lived up to my expectations. The building was beautiful, as well as the grounds it was on. What a magical place and experience!
April 28 – May 5
I left Campo on April 30, on a 3-hour bus that goes into Zaragoza. I stayed two nights in Zaragoza, where I explored the city! It continued to be incredibly sunny and hot, and I walked a LOT. My favorite things were seeing the main city square, next to the Basilica del Pilar, which was absolutely beautiful. The city center had loads of restaurants, churches, stairs, stands and all. I loved to grab a beer, a crepe, and just sit on the steps to people watch. Everything was so joyous, the kids were playing, and the tourists were hopping. I also went to see the Goya Museum, which was neat! He’s not my favorite artist, and there weren’t any of his famous pieces there that I wanted to see, but the set up was well done. There were three floors, moving through Goya’s inspiration, his work during his lifetime, and then how art was influenced after he had died. Very cool!
May 2, I took a quick two-hour train over to Barcelona. One of my favorite places I had been at this point. It was, yes, still sunny and hot the entire time. I walked the beach, let the crystal-clear water come over my feet, and sit in the sand with a sangria while I got a pretty intense sunburn.
I did a really great walking tour through Old Town and the Gothic Quarter, where we could see different parts of the town. The tour guide was phenomenal and it was a beautiful day to do a tour. I went to Sagrada Familia, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to go inside. I had no idea the entry tickets would sell out so quickly and so far ahead! The outside was really magnificent, I can only imagine what the inside looks like. I already know that I’ll be back to Barcelona, so the Sagrada Familia is on the docket for next time.
I thought everyone was so nice here, the food was AMAZING, and the vibes were just off the charts incredible. I would love to live there some day or spend a lot more time there long-term. It’s a must-see!
May 4, I took an early morning flight to Tirana, ALBANIA! I originally was going to meet a friend I met in Switzerland this year, but he got a really great teaching opportunity and had a mandatory training over our planned trip dates… so I decided to go solo! I flew into Tirana (the capital) and stayed there for two nights.
It was an okay city, I was not overly impressed, but everyone was super nice, the weather was beautiful, and the food was incredible. The first night I ate a traditional Albanian platter, which had tzatziki (the best I’ve ever had), stuffed bell peppers with cheese then baked, qofte (meatball patties), freshly made pita bread and Albanian wine. It was SO delicious.
I did another long walking tour, led by an Albanian local,Eri, who studied his PhD in Albanian History. It was great! He knew all the ins and outs, all the nuances, and could explain just about anything. He did an amazing job and it was the highlight of my time in Tirana.
May 5 – 12
May 6, I took a five-hour bus ride down to Saranda, a smaller town on the coast.
The bus system is quite an experience in Albania! I showed up at the bus station (a big parking lot full of various buses, vans, and cars), and apparently everything about me screamed “TOURIST”, because I was instantly approached by a bunch of drivers that kept saying city names. Finally, one said Saranda, to which I said yes! Apparently, as long as you know the bus route, you can get on and get off absolutely anywhere you want. There were people that got off in the seemingly middle of nowhere, and people that simply waved at the bus in the middle of nowhere and got on. It’s quite the … system.
I arrived to Saranda, checked into the hostel, and had one of the best hostel and travel experiences I have ever had this last year!
I was instantly welcomed by the hosts (two Albanian men, an uncle, Tomi, and the nephew, Rino), who showed me everything and ushered me in to the hostel (even though I was five hours earlier than the check in time). It was in an apartment, so there were three rooms full of four bunk beds, with one bathroom, a common kitchen, and then down the hall, there were a few more rooms and the common space with a couch and breakfast area. Every room had a balcony to step out on, where you could sit and see the water and ocean from the balcony. It was absolutely gorgeous.
I explored the small seaside town a bit, walked the beach (the “promenade”), had a kebab pita, and circled back to the hostel. Apparently I was the only new meat in the hostel, and everyone else had been there for a couple nights already. But no matter! They all welcomed me with big smiles, and that night Tomi and Rino hosted a BBQ for all of us on the beach. It was brilliant! I got to meet everyone, and really integrated into a couple groups. It was so cool to feel like part of a community, even though we were all solo travelers going on our own paths.
The next day, I took a 30 minute ferry over to the Greek island of Corfu, and spent the day there. It was INCREDIBLE. It instantly made me want to learn Greek and live on that island forever. The water was bright blue, everyone was incredibly nice, and the food was some of the BEST I have ever had. Unfortunately no one broke out into song in a Mamma Mia-like fashion, but in conjunction with the rest of my experience, my expectations were well-exceeded.
After taking the ferry back to Saranda, I met up with some hostel friends and we did a hike up to an old monastery to watch the sunset and drink a beer. It was the most beautiful sunset I saw on my expeditions through April and May. The way the sun set behind the hills, over the water, and the town lights in the cove got brighter and brighter… wow. It was beautiful.
*Reminder that you can view all my pictures on my Google photos albums here. I am working on going through and adding titles to everything so you can know what you’re actually looking at!*
We walked down, had a beer on the beach and went to bed. The next morning, a large cohort of people were checking out of the beloved hostel. So, this welcomed in new people and left behind myself, Sean (American, TX), Ellie (American, WI), and Pedro (Portugal, Lisbon). We hung out our last day, did a hike up to the old castle and ate four kebabs in one day. I also taught them all how to play the card game, King’s Corner, to which we played many, many rounds.
The next day, we all ventured over to Ksamil, a smaller beach town about 30 minutes south of Saranda. I had an AirBnb for two nights there and looked forward to seeing the “Thailand of Europe”. However… it is sunny in Ksamil about 320 days out of the year… and we were blessed with two days of downpouring rain. So, no swimming or beach-walking unfortunately. But we all admired the beaches from covered patios.
Finally, I took the five hour bus ride by myself back up to Tirana on May 11 to spend the night here and head out the next morning.
I was nervous for Albania! I was especially nervous because my guy friend that was originally coming with me when I booked the trip no longer came. That made me nervous. I was painfully aware that I was a young, white, solo woman throughout the entire trip. This is a place that I never felt unsafe, but it was unnerving for it to be so painfully obvious that I was by myself, and a tourist. I would love to go back to Albania, and explore so much more, but I would still opt for going with a partner next time.
Then May 12 came around!
May 12-19
I woke up in Tirana on May 12, headed to the airport, and in the afternoon, I flew out to Dublin, Ireland! Why Dublin? Because my FAMILY was meeting me there! I hadn't seen them since September! I arrived to the hotel around 10 pm, exhausted out of my mind and met my dad at the hotel bar for a beer. He was super excited to see me, as was I, and we caught up for a bit before finally heading to bed.
The next day, after all the reuniting with Nathan and Mom, we headed to get our rental car and traverse over to Galway. We spent two nights in Galway, saw a couple museums, drank some beer, and continued our heated family game of “spades”. We did take a day trip ferry over the Aran Islands (I can never remember which one. Mom?) where we did a short, guided bus tour, bought some amazing wool products, and saw some sketchy beautiful cliffs.
May 15, we headed down to Killarney. On the way, we hit the Cliffs of Moher, that we heard were a must-see. They were pretty! I liked the cliffs on the Aran Islands more, and there were a lot less people there, whereas the Cliffs of Moher were jam packed of people. We walked maybe a mile or so, and then proceeded with our daily drive.
We made it to Killarney about 6 in the evening, after a much longer-than-anticipated drive. We went to the hotel restaurant, where I had a DELICIOUS steak, and then we continued our Spades game in the lounge afterwards.
The next day we had a chill day! Mom and I slept in, while the boys woke up early to catch their tee-time. Mom and I slowly rolled out of bed and may or may not have headed to the bar for some 11 am red beers. If you’re not familiar, a red beer is a light beer (like a lager/pilsner, Coors Light, Miller Lite, etc), with tomato juice in it. We AMAZED the bartender with this order, and even had another Irish local that was at the bar come over, watch us as we poured in the tomato juice, and then he proceeded to take a picture of our completed red beer. And when we asked for a heap of green olives, you would have thought the world was ending! But they tasted delicious and that was all that mattered.
More spades, beers, and food followed that evening.
May 17th, we worked our way back over to Dublin for our last two nights. On the 17th, we attended a Irish Night at the hotel, where locals played traditional Irish music, and there was also traditional Irish dancers too! It was really neat, and the Irish dancing was my favorite. I was even taken, against my will, on stage to be a volunteer dancer alongside another woman. I did not want to do this, but the average age of the crowd was about 78 years old, with me as the outlier, so unless I wanted to watch a couple hips get broken, I had to sacrifice myself.
The lead dancer who was showing us the steps says, “okay, we’re going to start with the most basic step in Irish jig, watch here.” And he does the most complicated step I could have imagined, so I thought he was JOKING… until he says, “okay now you do what I just did.” OOPS, I wasn’t even paying attention because I thought he would say he was just kidding and then show us the actual easy step. I mostly ended up skipping and galloping around the stage. If you truly desire to see what an atrocity it was, my father has the only copy of this event… contact him if you’re so set on seeing this event.
May 19, we all woke up and headed to the Dublin airport. My family headed back to the US, where I headed to Belgium for a week, then I’d be back in the US at the end of May. It was a sad goodbye, but I knew that I would see them in a few short days.
May 19-May 30
I flew to Brussels, Belgium to meet up with Nicole, my dear roommate! We definitely took advantage of our time (3 nights) in Brussels together. We did a day in Brussels, where we happened upon Belgium Pride Day! It was so fun to experience such a cool day, and events, in a huge city!
We did a day trip to Ghent, and then Bruges as well. The weather was perfect, sunny, a little windy, but all in all it couldn’t have been better. It was Nicole’s first time in Belgium, and she loved it, and it was my third time in Belgium and I fell even more in love with it. It is a really interesting mix of languages and cultures, just within one tiny country. Very cool! After our exploring around the Brussels area for a few days, Nicole left back to Noyon and to go back to the US on May 23.
I stayed in Belgium for the next four nights because I had my return ticket back to the US on May 30 and I wanted to take advantage of the last few days I had around Europe.
I went a little east to Antwerp for a couple nights and stayed at a cool hostel there as well. It was a really neat city, full of fun, traditional architecture and a lot of rich history that I won’t recount to you right now. I did a walking tour on my second day, which was, again, a good way to see a city in relativity to its history. The tour guide was good, but it maintained that my Barcelona walking tour was my favorite.
I met some people at the hostel here, with whom I spent the evening with, learning about their stories and of course, sharing some beers on the patio.
The next morning, I ventured to my final destination on my last trip in Europe. Liege, Belgium. Liege is about an hour or two south of Brussels, and finally I was back in French speaking territory in Belgium! It felt really good to use my French again and be surrounded by the language. It was an interesting feeling on the train to Liege when I was suddenly hearing French opposed to Dutch/Flemish, and it felt surprisingly comforting.
My time in Liege was alright. It was a beautiful town, and I loved the culture here as opposed to more north in the country. I wish I would have had more energy during this last leg to fully appreciate the town. I started to get really homesick during Antwerp, but I had already reserved my train tickets and hostel for Liege, and I knew in the end that I would regret not taking advantage of the last few moment I had here. I am happy I went to Liege, and I want to go back, but I was really low energy and motivation at this point.
On May 27, I finally went back to Noyon and it felt SO GOOD. And what a different Noyon than the one that I left. I got off the train in Noyon to green trees, full of leaves, and flowers in bloom, sunshine on my face, and the smell of lilacs. It was beautiful, and also made me simultaneously sad because I was leaving this place in two short days.
I walked up the hill I had walked up hundreds of times, and entered into the apartment I had entered hundreds of times, and it was empty. Linda was gone, Nicole was gone, and it was just me. Eerie, sad, and peaceful, all at the same time.
I spent the next couple days working on finalizing my packing situation, relaxing, sleeping, watching Netflix, and eating some interesting foods to clean out the cupboards.
May 29, some of my colleagues from Paul Eluard came to pick me up and drop me off in Paris because my flight was early the next morning, and I had three 50-pound suitcases to lug around. We all caught up over dinner, and had our final goodbye outside my hotel. I will miss them dearly, they were definitely the best staff and colleagues I had this last year.
May 30 – TODAY’S THE DAY, THE SUN IS SHINING, AND THE TANK IS CLEAN (Finding Nemo reference). I woke up bright and early to catch the shuttle to the airport for my 10 am flight. It was easy as pie, no problems with luggage, flights, seat partners, or anything at all. I arrived in Bozeman at 6:11 pm on May 30, where my family greeted me at the lovely, small and comforting Bozeman airport.
Per my request I made many weeks prior, we headed directly to Bridger Brewing so I could drink a delicious Mad Mile Cream Ale, and eat a yummy slice of pizza. It was just as delicious as when I had left, maybe even more so.
We went home, I saw the cats, the puppy dog, and slept in my very own bed.
And that is that. I’m back in the US, in Montana, at least for the summer.
I was going to do a reflections panel on this post, but it’s already long enough, and I am still working on my reflections as a whole. So, stay tuned for the next post, in a week or two, which will be full of my reflections, my culture shocks, my highs and lows, the final reviews and the updates on what is next for me.
Thank you all again for reading, and please go look at my Photos albums to see the pictures from this year, and I look forward to catching up with all of you at some point. I am always ready and glad to grab a cup of coffee, and would love to hear all of the new things with you.
All the best, and all the love,
Abigail
