Photo Edition - Poses, Out Takes & Favorites

You can imagine that in 38 days in Europe there are a lot of photos taken.  And when you're by yourself you get pretty darn good at finding ways to take photos of yourself - balancing the camera on random walls or flat surfaces, using objects of all sorts to prop your camera up, even using the camera's wrist string to teather it to fences and gates and letting it dangle while snapping shots...it's truly an art form in itself.  With the photo-taking adventures I had, I figured it'd be appropriate to do a photo-recap post showing the various solo-photo poses, some out takes and my favorite shots of the trip.

PHOTO POSES - These are the standard poses one does when taking photos by themselvs, something I've perfected over the the past five weeks.

The Cross.

 

The Backside Ponder.

 

The Frontside Ponder.

 

The I-Don't-Know-Where-to-Put-My-Hands.

 

The Fake-Walk. If you actually walked by the camera the photo would come out blurry, so you have to just stand and pose like you're walking.

 

The Pretend-to-Laugh.

 

The Studier.

 

The Shadow.

 

And the always popular Self-Portrait.

 

 

 

OUT TAKES - As you can imagine there are a ton of out take photos over the course of a 38-day trip.  Here are just a few of my favorite ones.

 

Apparently I caught myself by surprise on this one.

When taking a photo with someone famous - in this case world famous chef Jose Andres - be sure the camera is setup properly. They don't like taking a redos. No joke, I had to do this photo six times.

I got into a helmet phase at some point...

...always use protection.

Imagine the process of asking someone to take this photo...awkward.

Don't mind me ladies...just trying to take a photo here.

I guess I was going for good posture on this one.

Missed it by that much.

It's never a good idea to take photos of yourself eating, they just never look good.

 

It's also not a good idea to take photos when you're dancing (and drinking), these also never look good.

I didn't quite make it to my spot on time.

 

A bit too close.

Just a bit off.

 

Is this thing on?

 

 

FAVORITES - There are so many photos to pick from and I could have selected several dozen as my favorites, but these I'd have to say are the best of the bunch. 

Stumbling upon the Notting Hill Festival in London was definitely a highlight, as were these two brothers who were whipping up some delicious jerk chicken.

It's not every day you get a private lesson from one of the best in their craft. I was lucky enough to get a one-on-one lesson from Chris Armstrong, one of the best bagpipe players in the world.

 

When walking the fields of Bannockburn, Scotland you got a sense of the history and bloodshed that took place there. 

 

The Celtic match was probably the best soccer game of the trip.

 

Maria, Rocio and I pre-gaming before the Real Madrid match.

Walking into the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, home to Real Madrid.

 

Running into Jose Andres in an elevator in Madrid, no doubt a top moment.

 

Taking in the beach views of San Sebastian.

 

This really sums up San Sebastian and Spain as a whole...endless plates of delicious tapas and small glasses of cold beer.

 

Vintage Vespa in Barcelona.

Barcelona courtyard and plaza.

 

The Funeral.

Breakfast at Villa Dianella.

 

One of my favorite photos of the whole trip - the view of the vineyards from my room at the Villa Dianella.

Lunch with Giuseppe, head farmer of the Dianella vineyards, and his family at their humble abode just behind Villa Dianella.

 

I ordered a dozen bottles of Dianella wine and had it shipped out to LA.

The Villa Dianella cooking class and making fresh pasta.

 

The entire SC Bastia match was amazing, but to be able to share it with a local (Sylvie) just made it that much more of a memorable experience.

Seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time was definitely a highlight of the trip.

Sunset at the Louvre.

 

I was lucky enough to witness a rainbow over the Eiffel Tower.

 

 

 

 

Day 38 - Homeward Bound & Thank Yous

Thirty-eight days, five countries, 15 cities, six soccer matches, five plane flights, nine train rides, one boat ride, five Michelin stars, one wedding, one funeral, a dozen new Facebook friends, and a whole lot of memories = one trip of a lifetime.  It’s bizarre to think it’s over.  Part of me feels like it went so fast and part of me feels like I’ve been gone forever.  I think it lasted just the right amount of time; both exhaustion and financials were reaching their limits. 

The trip home was long, but smooth.  I flew Paris to New York, had a short layover at JFK and then flew New York to LA.   In total it was about a 15hr trip home.   Fortunately, I slept most of the way.

I think it was capped off appropriately when I got into the taxi at LAX.  I jumped in and told the driver my destination.  He asked, "First time in Los Angeles," and I glanced up and said with a proud smirk, "Actually, I'm born and raised here," to which he replied, "Born and raised in LA?  Very cool."  Yes, very cool indeed.  It's nice to be home. 

The massive departure board at Paris' Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport. It was nice to finally look for Los Angeles as my destination.

CDG was a really nice airport with an impressive architectural design.

The Harlem Globetrotters were on my flight from Paris to New York. It was pretty comical to see these massive basketball players trying to fit into the compact confines of the airport and plane. This guy was 7'8" and had to duck just to fit into the jetway.

The 7'8" guy barely fit in the walkways of the plane. He actually had to sit in coach! Seriously! If you think you have issues with leg room, imagine this guy.

I felt like I was chasing the sun across the globe. It was beginning to go down when I left Paris, it was setting when I flew into New York, and it was gone and in bed by the time I landed in LA.

My first meal back in the US...fast food of course. I even got to enjoy it while watching the Bears v. Cowboys on Monday Night Football...it's nice to be back in America.

Home sweet home.

 

 

I now understand Tom Hanks' connection to Wilson the volleyball in the movie Cast Away.  When you're solo for a certain amount of time you start to make inanimate objects your friends - some may call it crazy, I just think it’s making do with what you have.  With this in mind, I'd to thank a few of my new "friends" for the support on this European Soccer Excursion.

 

Lenny the Laptop (it's short for Lenovo) - I considered Lenny my right-hand man on this trip. Always there to provide reccommendations and consultation, and of course to help with maintaining the blog.

 

The Deus brought me entertainment when it was so badly needed and kept me connected to the world in crunch times.

 

Quik and Easton - They carried me as much as I carried them.

 

Bloggie - For providing color and visuals for a trip that was filled with it.

 

The Big Canon - Being there on the nights out to provide memories when I wasn't coherent to remember them myself.

 

El Som (short for el sombrero) - Protecting mi cabasa es muy importante. It's the only item I lost along the way...RIP El Som.

 

G2 - Answering the call when needed.

 

The Guide Books - Providing the itinerary that allowed me to have the trip of a lifetime.

 

The U - When you sleep on trains, planes and in some questionable hotels having the U as a comfy mobile head rest made a huge impact on my sleeping conditions.

 

 

And last but not least, thanks to all of you for following along on this legendary journey.  When you travel by yourself and experience so many fun adventures the first thing you want to do is tell those closest to you.  This blog allowed me to do that.  It provided me the channel to share my experiences with those that are most important in my life.  I truly appreciated all the emails, comments and feedback along the way.  It was a blessing to have you all along for the ride.

 

 

I'll put up my last post tomorrow (Wednesday) with a few final thoughts.

Day 37 - Quintessential Paris: Markets, Cafes, & Riverwalks

It was a beautiful Sunday in Paris, which means open-air markets, cafes, parks and hanging by the Seine River…a great final day!  In my seven days in Paris I haven't once been to a street market yet, so that was my first order of business.  Fortunately, one of the city's best food and gift markets takes place on Sunday mornings, the Marche Richard Lenoir in the Bastille area. 

The brisk fall weather in Paris is beginning to cause the leaves to turn.

Not a cloud in the sky. Lots of locals and visitors were out and about in the parks and walking around the various gardens.

Marche Richard Lenoir in the Bastille part of Paris is considered to be one of the city's better, more diverse markets because you can find just about anything. It has a wide variety of produce, meat, fish, cheese, and specialty cuisine along with gifts, clothes and other knickknacks.

Chowing on some salami.

The meat stalls were packed because people were buying their choice cut of meat for the big Sunday family meals.

Some stalls had pre-made food that you could eat right away, such as this place, which had the largest vat of paella I've ever seen.

I went with the lamb kabab.

 

After the market we walked around the popular area of Marias in the east part of Paris. It's known for its hip cafes, restaurants, shops and galleries.

  One of the galleries had a multi-colored series of this fat samurai cat statue that I really liked.

Quintessential open-air Paris cafe on a Sunday. Sunshining and not an empty seat.

Sunshine on a lazy Sunday really brings out the crowds. We were able to find so many fun little side streets in the Marias part of town, each with packed cafes and shops. 

We finally made it to our lunch destination, L'as Du Fallafel (The Ace of Falafel), one of Paris' most coveted food items and it had the line to prove it.

The line to get a falafel to-go was down the street, fortunately the guys at the counter work quickly so it only took about 15 minutes. 

Worth it! I went with the meat pita...apparently I had a meat craving - first salami, then a kabab and now a lamb pita.

This guy was staring down my meat pita...get your own!

 

We took the short walk down to the Seine River and enjoyed our divine falafels riverside, just as the Parisians do.

After I finished stuffing my belly, it was time to sitback and relax and enjoy the calmness of the river.

 

We weren't the only ones enjoying the river side on this sunny Sunday.

On our walk back to the metro we came across a Bastille celebration which included about a dozen trucks with bands on them. It was basically a musical parade. 

 

After an afternoon nap it was time to get ready and head out for my last night in Paris...and in Europe.  I did a bit of research and found Les Ombres, a higher end spot located on the top of the Musee du  Quai Branly and overlooking the Eiffel Tower. 

A bit of vino in the hotel room to start off the final night in Paris.

 

It was a cold night so I had to suit up in a full jacket and scarf. Fortunately, the restaurant was a short walk from the hotel.

 

The view of the Eiffel Tower from inside the restaurant.

 

If you went out onto the balcony you had a perfect unobstructed view of Paris' most iconic site...a great way to end the trip.

 

I started with crystal blue prawns on a delicious avocado paste (it was more like guacamole than a paste...either way, it was good).

My main course was the red snapper cooked in a banana leaf.

It was topped with a baked coconut, shrimp, breadcrumb layer. The tender white fish with the breaded layer was fantastic.

Veggies - sauteed peas, green beans, and string beans.

Dessert of course! Raspberries on top of chocolate mouse and fudge. Ahhh, YES!

After dinner I made my way over to Lizard Lounge for some live tunes in an underground cave. The lively crowd, entertaining music, and good drinks made it a nice way to close out the trip.

 

Speaking of good drinks, after 37 days in Europe I was finally able to find a place that served a vodka with olive juice, aka a dirty martini. It sounds so simple, but the idea of putting olive juice in a drink is completely foreign to most places in Europe.

 

 

 

It was a great final day in Paris and a fitting food-filled end to this legendary European adventure.   On Monday afternoon I pack up and head home to LA.  I'll tie a nice bow on this trip with a few final posts such as fun photos and some final thoughts once I get back State-side.