November 27th 28th 29th Toulouse, France

The last three days were more relaxed and everyday life for me. We were always going somewhere new and meeting new people and experiencing beautiful sights, sounds, smells and tastes. So for the last few days it was refreshing to just relax at the farm and go to work at the tattoo shop and decompress from all of the excitement and sensory stimulation... I needed to take a small break and let the things that I have done so far sink in to my mind, I didn’t really have time to relax and remember the things that I’ve done over the last few days because as soon as I was done with one thing I was off to do the next, it made for some very fun times and the days flew by so fast but I do not want to have my senses burned out from being spoiled everyday with new things, my journey this far has been on of the most enjoyable times of my life, and after being in France one week, I have realized that my adventure is not really an adventure at all, there are some parts that are adventurous yes, but instead it is a journey for me, and a very beautiful journey that I have needed in my life. I have met many beautiful people, each different in their own way, but each just as beautiful in their own way as the other. My journey has taught me that beauty is not just what you see.... it’s a not a man or woman a building or landscape....yes it can be anyone of these things and many more but more than that it is a feeling of a pleasure to your senses, maybe it’s a sound, smell, taste, a sight or feeling you get just being where you are. And something that is not always beautiful to look at may be beautiful in another way.. it is up to you to find the beauty in things ....and when you can do that, you can truly start to live.

On Sunday the 27th, Nico and David came to the farm for dinner, Alexia had gotten fresh oysters from the market and mussels. I have never eaten fresh live mussels before and it was quite the experience, they had a very weird texture and I have seen people in the states eat them but they used the term “sliders” meaning I think you just let them slide down your throat, well here you put the live oyster in your mouth and chew it..... and we had “petites crevettes grises” which are baby shrimp, and you eat them whole... heads, tails, shells and yes even the antenna ...who wants to try some now? After the appetizer of oysters and crevettes we all sat down to a delicious plate of steamed mussels over pasta... and they were delicious!! We all talked and it was a bit of relief Nico speaks excellent english and David who is Alexia’s brother speaks good english as well.. and Alexia is quickly improving her english everyday so it was a fun evening with friends, I do like them all very much and I am more than happy to be able to call them my friends...they truly are good people.

 
 

On Monday the 28th we relaxed at the farm, took care of the horse”Alvero” the sheep “Leilie” and “Ozzy” the cat. cleaned the house up and I made some American dishes, started with breakfast which was omelet with american fries and then for dinner I made some salmon patties. Later on we stopped at the tattoo shop to turn the heat up from her being on “holiday” and she returned her messages and we went back home.

 Tuesday Nov 29th:  

    I made french toast for breakfast, turns out I don’t think that it is really form France sine she had never seen it before and she was born and raised here...... oh well, regardless it was a hit, she loved it and wants me to make it for when her friends come over this weekend.. I tried to explain it is a breakfast dish, but I think we are having it for dinner :) lol 

  Went to the tattoo shop for her appointments and I got to see in action, she has extremely clean shop and is very tidy, and busy all day with calls and customers, she does not have any flash, only drawings she has created and every tattoo she does is created by her anything you see on her walls has been made by her..it was interesting to watch the day to day working of how she operated the shop... I can not express enough how she lives and breathes for her artistry,... to sum it up, she is always first class. 

 

Watch for “Alexia Vegas Legend Tattoo” to be at a studio near you!!!!  And if you get the chance to let but her art on your skin you will not be disappointed and your skin will love you for it!
 ☆☆ Chadillac ☆☆

November 26th 2011 Toulouse, France

Today started out a little rough, I have learned that a hangover is the same in France as it is everywhere else I have been... and today mine has contributed to a pretty slow start.... but once I got going and the feeling of elephants dancing inside my head was gone I took a shower and we checked out of the hotel and went to meet Nicolai. He took us to his best friend Davids house, where he and his girlfriend Cendryne had prepared a North African dish, Couscous. While they were preparing the meal to eat I went with Nico to his brothers house to retrieve 2 more chairs as they had more people coming over and we did not have enough chairs for everyone, Nico is very helpful in explaining the things that I see and the questions that I have about where I am. The walk was short to his brothers flat (apartment) which was a old traditional French flat overlooking the Le Tarn River and right outside of his living room window is the oldest brick bridge in Europe... I was taking a picture through the window and Nico said, “go ahead and open the window”.  (The windows here all swing open and have wooden shutters on the outside) I opened the window, I could hear the water flowing and the sound of peacefulness with the ambient sound of of the city in the distant background... the feeling I had as I looked at the marvel of this old bridge and listened to the sounds around me was one that made me feel truly at piece...a gentle city hundreds of years old with a bridge that has withstood years and years  of weather, people, and wars...and there it stood....still strong.

  We carried the chairs back to Davids flat and some more of his friends arrived, David spoke very good english and was very entertaining, Nico had told me that David was a wrestler, and showed me some of his videos on Youtube, he is a Luchador and does wrestling for entertainment at events, David showed me his uniform and let me try on his cape, it was a great experience for me.  

Soon our meal was ready and everyone was there, we sat down for our meal and even though some of the guests did not speak english everyone made me feel like a friend and we all laughed... David was the life of the party to say the least.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksXR4EURK4M) . I wish all my friends had the chance to meet him and have such a meal in his house and with his friends, it is a meal I will never forget not only because it was delicious but also because the new friends I was enjoying it with and so much smiling and laughter that filled the room. They were a group of great people that I am honored to call each and every one of them my new“friend"

 We said our goodbyes in the evening and headed back to Toulouse where we met with Marco, Manue and "Gipsy" man David for another evening of fun in St. Sulpice and just as we did last time, we had another fun filled night this time, We ate some dinner, I had Lamb Kabob with red wine and it was another  delicious meal, after dinner we had some drinks, more “basketball, listened to music French, Gipsy and American... In France they enjoy American music.....and I taught them how to make “Applejacks” lol.

Goodnight from France  

November 25th, 2011 Albi, France

 Today Alexia asked me if I wanted to go to Albi, She explained it to me as “very old city”  so I gave it a quick google and it took be a millisecond to make my decision once I had se the page of images that came up on the search. She said she would like to stay the night there and that she had many friends there as well as her brother whom she dearly loved and wanted to introduce me too so about 1 hour later we had our overnight bags packed and were in the jeep and off to Albi.
   We arrived there 30 minutes later in Albi, the scenery on the way was beautiful as always the small winding 1 1/2 lane roads that wound through the French countryside and small towns always kept my eyes and spirit on a natural “high”.... I have yet to be disappointed once with anything in France.
   Upon arriving to the city limits of Albi she got her iPhone out and was looking for the hotel, we drove around for 20 minutes asked for directions  twice and still could not find the hotel. The shops, cafe’s and flats are all connected to make one long winding brick snake along the city streets and it is sometimes hard to find the place you are looking for, she was trying to drive and look at her phone for the GPS so I could watch out the window but after not finding it she had gotten frustrated enough to let me take the phone and try to guide her, she showed me on the phone what dot the hotel was and what dot we were and asked me what what way to go....so we finally got to the green dot on the google map and no hotel in sight and to top it all off, we were 100 feet or so from where we started...., so she put her phone away and we drove around looking and looking but nothing. so again after asking directions and going on a wild goose chase again for a hotel that we were both starting to wonder even existed she got her phone out again and looked at the map she was trying to point and explain to me and then it hit me, she told me to go the the green dot but meant to say the red dot and we were the blue dot, the green dot was where she first started the map app and the red dot was destination...which now explains why we ended up right where we started.... we definitely got a good laugh out of that one as we had realized what we had done!!
  Got to the hotel and checked into our room, beautiful little hotel less than 5 minutes walking time from the Cathedral and shopping district. We left our things at the hotel and took the camera and headed to see some sights of Albi. We walked this time and went through the shopping district, turn out our 5 minutes from the hotel resulted in a 45 minute walk since the building are so close together and very high we could not see the Cathedral and took a wrong turn, but it was a fun walk for me anyway:) She stopped at a bakery and got a few macarons they are a small French specialty cookie with a small drop of flavoring inside, very delicious. We got to the Cathedral and I was stunned at how big this building actually was, I can not even think of the words to put it perspective...its one of those “you have to see it to believe it” kinds of things, I took pictures inside and out. Check out the pics on my Facebook page, the craftsman ship in this building must have taken many workers hundreds of thousands of hours, the Cathedral is over 1000 years old and in great condition.
  We went to the center square of town for a drink while we waited for her friend Nicolai and her brother David, we each had a bier, it was getting a bit chilly out, our biers were gone and she wanted me to taste the “hot wine” it was actually very good, a red wine with 2 lemon slices in it , it reminded me of a cross of tea and cider. Just as we finished the hot wine, Nicolai showed up and us 3 went back to his “flat” which was a 5 minute walk from where we had our drink. We visited with Nikolai who spoke great English and was a photographer with a creative mind like none I have seen before, he showed me his work and we all chatted and laughed, he was a good translator for the questions and comments that Alexia and I had for each other that we had not figured out, a short time later her brother David arrived at Niko’s flat and we went to get a bit too eat at a small italian cafe, where we met some more of Niko’s friends. we all headed to a small pub where Niko said the was a band from Australia and they were very similar to a Johnny Cash style of sound. we stayed there where I met Niko’s brother and we all had many “Pico” biers, at 3 a.m. Niko walked us back to the hotel where we all said goodnight....and a good night it was,

November 24, 2011 Château de Carcassonne, France

Woke up today and it was foggy, Alexia asked if I wanted to go to Albi or to  Chateau de Carcassonne, I wanted to see a castle so bad that it was kind of a no-brainer for me, and she was more than happy to take me there, so we started getting ready and jumped in the jeep and headed to “Carcassonne” the “Medieval City”. We drove for about an hour and I was watching her, she was looking to our left and then tapped me and said, “There” and wow, what a “magnifique" sight off in the distance as you could see the giant castle walls and turrets all around it, it was a breath taking sight and I had a smile on my face that has still not gone away.
 We pulled up to the castle and I was like a kid in Toys R Us parking lots, I couldn’t get out of the jeep fast enough, It was almost like I thought the castle was going to disappear in 10 minutes, I was filled with excitement and felt like a dream had truly come true for me....a real castle.
 Each step I took inside brought new awe to me, I was amazed by how large the castle was. This Chateau de Carcassonne was a fortress within a fortress, the city was built inside the walls and were protected on all sides form attackers, and if they happened to get past the walls in the city there were even higher walls, another moat and drawbridge to get into the castle itself.
  We went on a perfect day, it was sunny when we got there after waking up to a foggy morning, there were not many people there, I know everyone said that I should wait on my trip and go in summer when the weather was beautiful but I am glad I made the choice I did, I wouldn’t change a thing about my decisions so far, at times in the castle it would be 10 -15 minutes or longer before we saw another person. In summer it is a very busy place and you have a hard time getting a good picture without other people in them. My suggestion is to go in the off season, it is well worth it!! and as for beautiful weather I had a t-shirt on and was more than comfortable.
 We got some food in the castle and then went to the castles “Torture Museum” I dont have any pictures cause we were forbidden to take pictures inside, and looking at some of the torture devices I am glad we decided to not take pictures, they may still use some of those techniques on people that get caught. I can not describe to you how horrible some of those practices were, I am a pretty strong person, but some of the descriptions even made me cringe, I would go into detail, but I have some younger followers and I do not think it is appropriate, but trust me, if you ever get to the castle it is worth the 7€ to go see it.!! They had the “Iron Maiden” and it made my body hurt just looking at it..
 I could have spent all day in that castle, maybe the rest of my life and not gotten tired of seeing the things and architecture and learning about the history, one day was enough to see it, but not enough to understand it. I want to go back someday.. I highly recommend if you are in France that you take the time to go see this magnificent castle.
  Alexia asked if I would drive home, she was very tired, and relaxed while I drove, it was my first time driving in Europe, they do drive quite a bit differently here but it was easy to get used to. She wanted to cook for dinner so we stopped at the “Poissonerie”  (Seafood Market) and she got some (giant shrimp, these things are the size of mini lobsters), some oysters in the shell, and a bottle of white wine, she is going to make a specialty dish from south of France when we get home.
 When we got back to the farm, I sat on the couch and started to download the pictures and layed my head down and fell asleep, she woke me and asked if I was hungry and I was so tired I said I was going to take a short nap before we ate, she said she was going to take a hot bath and I took my nap..  I woke up at 8 a.m. this morning..lol, that castle took a lot out of me I guess, or maybe the jet lag finally caught up to me! Either way we are having a great seafood feast tonight!!!!  Bonjour for now everyone!!!

November 23 2011, Toulouse France

Day 2 I began by waking up late and Alexia told me she would be an honored to tattoo me, and I am no one to argue so we headed to Alexia Vegas Tattoos in Toulouse France for my first tattoo out of the states, but first we stopped by her very good friend Bertrand who owns a custom motorcycle shop, I had chatted with him a little on facebook and was looking forward to meeting him. When we arrived at his shop I was impressed with his creations, he is definitely a master bike builder. Bertrand spoke very good English and we talked for awhile about France and motorcycles.
 Next stop Alexia Vegas Tattoo Studio!!! When we got there I was amazed at the passion for art that she has, she takes pride in her work to say the least, and has a very clean and beautiful little shop. She got right to work preparing to do the tattoo from a drawing that I brought along with me, I am hoping to get one of her original pieces tattooed on next week. I am very happy with the tattoo she did for me.
 After the tattoo, we went to a small village so she could get us some croissant from the bakery..and they were delicious!!! Here where I am living, if you want meat you go to the butcher, bread from the baker...and they take pride in their work here. We went back home and got changed, She told me she was taking me to a restaurant that her friends owned, Marco and Manue. It was in a small little village very pretty, we walked in and they greeted me with a big smile and Manue came from behind the bar to give me my “hello kisses” and Marco followed with a big hello and handshake, I am not really used to who you kiss at what time but Alexia is explaining it to me...lol.
  It was a very nice little place everyone was friendly, I was unusually quiet, new people and I didnt speak the language..but they made me feel at home and went out of their way to make comfortable, they all spoke a little English and when we got stuck Marco had google translate on the ready. We had a glass of red wine and some h’orduerves and Alexia ordered for me since I could not read the menu, I just told her to get me something that was a local specialty, I had the Margret de Canard...aka duck.. and it was so  delicious!!! after dinner her she told me that her “Gypsy” friend David was coming to meet me, not I thought it was a kinf of joke, but boy was I wrong, he was a gypsy..lol, probably one of the funniest free spirit men I have seen, always laughing and joking. the night wore on and we drank Cognac, wine, and the occasional “shooter” ... turns out Jack Daniels is pretty popular over here!!! lol.  Check out my “Things I’ve Learned about France and the French” page !!! you may find some things pretty funny..lol.
  Had many good laughs and singing american songs, turns out they know a lot of words to a lot of songs they just dont know what they mean..:)   Time for bed.

November 22, 2011, Barcelona, Spain

Flew out of Chicago at 6:00 a.m. and flew into Laugardia in New York, took shuttle from Laguardia to JFK and waited till 5:30 to board, had trouble on the tarmac and left 2 hours late for Barcelona I arrived in Barcelona at 9:20 and got off the plane, My checked bag was lost when they went to put it onto the plane for London but that flight was cancelled so they put it on the next flight to london, I told them I could not go to London later and that I had to take the bag off of that plane. and "policia" came and were trying to see what was going on, I told him my flight was cancelled and needed to see my ticket because I was trying to get back in past customs, I showed him the ticket and after a discussion in 2 different languages he said I was trying to fool him and was going to detain me, I said I was not trying to fool him and he showed me the ticket he gave him and it was from a different trip, note to self: don't keep old flight tickets in your duffel bag anymore. after I showed him real ticket he laughed and escorted me back in to get my bag which they were going to "request"  2 hours later my bag finally arrived. 

  I walked out side the airport not knowing where I wanted to go or what to do, so I thought I would go to France to my friends house so I could drop off my luggage and travel lighter so I found a taxi and of course he didn't speak English either, sI told him I needed a bus or train station what ever one was closer soloing story short I  ended up driving way out of the way, I swear they do that shit on purpose to get your money ,and then I didn't have Euros so I had to have him drive to 7 different "bank" till I found one that would make the exchange for me, I looked at the meter when we got to the train station which said 32.50 Euros but when I went to pay him he pushed another button and it added 8 more Euros making it 40.50  HOLY SHIT a $70.00 Taxi ride that took 15 minutes…they saw me coming.

 Got my ticket to Toulouse on the Eurobus and that cost 39 Euros, it was a very nice bus though, and the bus driver did not speak English either, but was very polite and worked to explain things to me, even when I was sleeping half way through the 7 hour trip and he stopped had to come back and wake me up and scared the shit out of me, it was dark and I didn't know what the hell was going on, I thought we were there, he was talking and only confusing me more, anyway I understood that we were stopping for a break for 30 minutes and we were at a small French Cafe, I guess I forgot that there was a step down from my seat to the isle of the bus so as he is trying to explain to me what we were doing I was taking a small crash course in French bus departures…oh well, it probably made his day watching me stumble like a drunken idiot….anyway I went in the cafe and the food looked pretty good , it reminded me of home when you go to a hospital cafeteria, they served you but it was all pre cooked exactly like at a hospital, so I got a small dish with a pork chop and some potatoes, some sort of pie (that I am still trying to figure out) and a ice tea..,,,,,,grand total  19.50 Euros!!!! WTF??? $ 25.00 meal??? I think they saw me coming too, or there is something here I am not understanding, well I better learn fast or I will be heading back to the States in 3 days…LOL….
 Got to the bus station and Alexia picked me up... we were both very nervous as to how we were going to communicate since we didn’t have “google translate” to save us, but we did just fine and her English is not as bad as she said it was, we manage to understand each other at least 50% of the time :) I will tell you!the conversations are very entertaining.
  It was a 30 minute ride from the bus stop to her house, it is a beautiful little farmhouse in the French countryside... a beautiful view out of the living room window and very quiet and serene.... we sat up and had Champaign to celebrate my arrival followed by a great bottle of red wine, we talked until 4 a.m. until we both decided it was time to try and get some sleep.