paris in the falltime

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ireland

pictures from our trip!

a ride in the loire valley

How did i get to this place?

i am currently sipping on a scotch whiskey, sitting in an old converted train station that is now a four bedroom, three story very old house that the Young family from scotland lives in. i am here with mel and two other american girls. we are in rural france, the kind that i always thought about being in my dreams but never really imagined it would happen. today i took a bikeride with mel and we rode along the old train path which is now a bike path stretching in either direction from the house. we rode 10 kilometeres to the nearest decent sized town...small intersections seperated by wooden fences showed up occasionally, but it didn't really matter if we slowed down, there are hardly any cars around this area. the trees loomed up on either side, old decidious trees that are just beginning to turn with the cold weather. it is rural here, and the fields stretch far and wide, with the sun turning them stark white in the late afternoon light. it seems poetic because it is! we rode along with our pain au chocolates stuck in our pockets from the bakery in town and local yogurt stuffed in our packs that is bottled in smal ceramic containers. it's just so special. this is the 45th parralel, the same as just south of portland, and some things are very similar that we come across, and then there is the oldness that just sticks out in the form of castles and old stone walls and greetings of bonjour! i could never have imagined that my travels would lead me to this place but being here now it's hard to imagine them not leading to right where i am. after weeks of being on the road and travelling to big city after big city, we are now living in a town of 300 people, on the outskirts, where a bread truck comes daily, the cheese truck comes on thursdays and the veggie and meat truck also come once a week to the gate of the house to deliver all of the fresh locally made products. we trade work for about four/five hours a day in exchange for food and board, and today found me working in the yard plucking out ivy from an overgrown field and getting my hands dirty and in the earth. i realized today that ivy is the bane of my existence in its relentless pursuit to strange trees and tangle of the root systems, and i had visions of saving the world from ivy, specifically priest point park in olympia!(i might get a plaque)... tomorrow will proabably be something of the same kind of work. it is an adventure unlike any i've done, and it's just so perfect and mellow and speical.i tell myself every day how lucky i am, which is true, and then i correct myself because it isn't just luck, i've gotten myself here. and i appreciate that even more because it puts myself in gratitude of myself. i also am privelaged to spend this time with mel, and on our ride today i said to her how lucky we are to travel at this age and get this experience, where all we have to do is have a great time and love each other. i am getting more and more how important that is to me as a way to be in the world.

 

much love to you all!

i miss you family!

carson

barren trees and frigid nights

hello everyone!

 

melissa is writing the main blog about what we are up to, and so i'm just going to wish you all a happy fall/winter. i hope everyone is enjoying it full out-- taking advantage of every moment, they are all so so special!

 

cheers and love, carson!

ah, paris!

the internet place is closing soon....five days in paris!  what can i say!  well to top it off, we just ran into the man who's house we sat for in march in the middle of paris....by one of our new favorite bakeries...how random and perfect!  we had tea with him al fresca....it has been just what i thought paris could be and more...we've probably walked at least 20 miles in all, or more, meandering through the streets, our favorite rue moufftard with it's fresh produce, fromageries, fresh sausages and pates and breads, baguettes everywhere, yummy baguette sandwiches, sweet and savory crepes (i finally get why nutella is so good!)....we saw the eiffel tower, the arch de triompe, went into the notre dame twice, once at night on our first night, and once today for mass to experience that tradition...we went to the top of the montmarse hill, to the sacre coeur cathedral, winding up the stairs like in amelie, with a view of the beautiful city...we've eaten loads of pa in au chocolate, finding our favorite one, and other delicious croissants and tartes....journeyed to the stade du france last night to stand outside while the world cup played, looking at the litter of empty beer cups all over the grounds, hearing the cheers inside as we watched through a bar window at the game...kissed in romantic places in romantic moments all over paris, ridden the metro (and walked all over when we could not), finding new neighborhoods and exhausting our feet...oh there's so much i could say and our time is running out on the compputer, we are going to say hi one more time to phil and paula who we housesitted for (what a small world!) and then head back to the sweetest place we've stayed here yet, the hotel camilla in the place de nation area, so charming....much better than the hotel richard, though i'm happy to report, it wasn't "grotesque" just run down. 

     much love to everyone!