This is my new email address, so everyone copy it in their address book.
jtmckeon@nc.rr.com
Quick heads up. We've made it to the Finnish Super Bowl or the Vaahteramalja Maple Bowl Final XXIX. Helsinki Roosters v. defending champion Porvoo Butchers. The game is national televised here and kind of a big deal.
Article about me on league website. http://www.sajl.fi/-/artikkeliarkisto/?num=14431
I am not sure what the Vegas line on the game is but I am sure Tang can find it.
My flight home is the Monday following the game, Sept. 15th.
See everyone soon.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Revenge of the Romanians and Tallinn in Autumn??
Yes you read that correctly. Autumn. I waited and waited for summer and warmth here in Helsinki, ... and it never came. They are telling me now that is just going to start raining more and more and getting cooler and cooler. Damn, ... at least the sun is beginning to set at times I am used to.
I will start off clearing something up to appease myself and my mother's side of the family. I am not half gypsy. Gypsies, or the Roma originate from the Asian sub-continent region and immigrated to Hungary, Turkey, and Romania hundreds of years ago, hence there name Roma. They are not in any way related to the indigenous Romanian ethnic group to with I am 50% a member. The Romanian ethnic group descends from the Romans of Italy, who settled and colonized Romania over a millenia ago. The Romanians DNA and Romanian langauge is closest to that of the ancient Latin Romans then any other ancestry in the world, .. this includes modern day Italians. Thank you Wikipedia.
Check out these to videos too. One of makes you smile and want to travel. The second makes you think and realize you should travel.
1st. (first video at the top) http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/videos.shtml
2nd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4
Okay now on to what has happened over the past week.
After Tallinn earlier in the week I had a football game in Tampere which is the second biggest Finnish city outside of the Helsinki area, and is about 3 hours north by bus of Helsinki. It was raining when I woke up, it raining the whole bus ride and it poured the entire game. The Tampere Saints are 0-9 but it was important we ddin't take them lightly and won well. Our passing attack wasn't faded by the rain and after the defense let up scores n the first two drives they pulled it together and shut out the Saints the rest of the game. It was nice to not have to win the game in the last minutes for the first time in months. I even got to sit out a bit towards the end of the game to rest my tender shoulders, and I didn't have to play defense at all. The final was 55-21 at Tampere.The weather is noticeably cooling, and the sun setting early every night. The seasons don't waste any time here in Finland. I am not going out after the game, because I am not trying to have a repeat of last weekend's Finnish everclear blackout and the feeling like crap for the next 2 days. Next two games to finnish out the regular season are at home. Oh and by the way I am now wearing number #56, because in the Butchers game number 75 got destroy by the D-line ripping it off. They play pretty dirty over here.
I went to Tallinn, Estonia or in Estonian, Tallinna, Estee ,for the day today. My cruiseliner laft the harbor in downtown Helsinki at 10.30 this morning and as we left I took some photos. After a two and half hour ride we pulled into the port city and I walked the kilometer or so in the soft rain into Tallinn's Old Town.
The Old Town in Tallinn is supposed to be one of the best perserved medieval cities in Europe and I could see why. It is entirely self-contained and away for the modern hotels and office buildings Tallinn also has. Steeples and towers rise all over the place and the narrow, cobblestoned streets combined with the rainy weather took me right back to ancient times.
It being a Wednesday afternoon and rainy, there weren't many tourists out and about, and I had my pick of what I wanted to see and I didn't mind getting a little wet to do it. I got to check out Europe's oldest pharmacy, as well as the the ancient town hall, and climb the 70meter town hall tower which gets narrower and narrower as you climb.
The town hall is in a wide open expanse of cobblestone named Raekoja plats, and it serves as Old Town market square. It was full of touristy trinkets and goods, and a lot of ugly patterned sweaters. The rain had picked up and I stop for a bite in a little cafe. Because I had only 3.5 hours before the ferry went back to Helsinki, I braved the rain and checked out the extreme impressive Russian Orthodox St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral atop Toompea Hill in the Upper Old Town.
I found a little ledge that overlooked Old Town and snapped a few photos before I humped it back to buy a Estonia sweatshirt and hop on the ferry. The Estonia currency is the EEK. 15EEK=1 Euro. I thought that was funny
Anyways miss you all.
John
I will start off clearing something up to appease myself and my mother's side of the family. I am not half gypsy. Gypsies, or the Roma originate from the Asian sub-continent region and immigrated to Hungary, Turkey, and Romania hundreds of years ago, hence there name Roma. They are not in any way related to the indigenous Romanian ethnic group to with I am 50% a member. The Romanian ethnic group descends from the Romans of Italy, who settled and colonized Romania over a millenia ago. The Romanians DNA and Romanian langauge is closest to that of the ancient Latin Romans then any other ancestry in the world, .. this includes modern day Italians. Thank you Wikipedia.
Check out these to videos too. One of makes you smile and want to travel. The second makes you think and realize you should travel.
1st. (first video at the top) http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/videos.shtml
2nd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4
Okay now on to what has happened over the past week.
After Tallinn earlier in the week I had a football game in Tampere which is the second biggest Finnish city outside of the Helsinki area, and is about 3 hours north by bus of Helsinki. It was raining when I woke up, it raining the whole bus ride and it poured the entire game. The Tampere Saints are 0-9 but it was important we ddin't take them lightly and won well. Our passing attack wasn't faded by the rain and after the defense let up scores n the first two drives they pulled it together and shut out the Saints the rest of the game. It was nice to not have to win the game in the last minutes for the first time in months. I even got to sit out a bit towards the end of the game to rest my tender shoulders, and I didn't have to play defense at all. The final was 55-21 at Tampere.The weather is noticeably cooling, and the sun setting early every night. The seasons don't waste any time here in Finland. I am not going out after the game, because I am not trying to have a repeat of last weekend's Finnish everclear blackout and the feeling like crap for the next 2 days. Next two games to finnish out the regular season are at home. Oh and by the way I am now wearing number #56, because in the Butchers game number 75 got destroy by the D-line ripping it off. They play pretty dirty over here.
I went to Tallinn, Estonia or in Estonian, Tallinna, Estee ,for the day today. My cruiseliner laft the harbor in downtown Helsinki at 10.30 this morning and as we left I took some photos. After a two and half hour ride we pulled into the port city and I walked the kilometer or so in the soft rain into Tallinn's Old Town.
The Old Town in Tallinn is supposed to be one of the best perserved medieval cities in Europe and I could see why. It is entirely self-contained and away for the modern hotels and office buildings Tallinn also has. Steeples and towers rise all over the place and the narrow, cobblestoned streets combined with the rainy weather took me right back to ancient times.
It being a Wednesday afternoon and rainy, there weren't many tourists out and about, and I had my pick of what I wanted to see and I didn't mind getting a little wet to do it. I got to check out Europe's oldest pharmacy, as well as the the ancient town hall, and climb the 70meter town hall tower which gets narrower and narrower as you climb.
The town hall is in a wide open expanse of cobblestone named Raekoja plats, and it serves as Old Town market square. It was full of touristy trinkets and goods, and a lot of ugly patterned sweaters. The rain had picked up and I stop for a bite in a little cafe. Because I had only 3.5 hours before the ferry went back to Helsinki, I braved the rain and checked out the extreme impressive Russian Orthodox St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral atop Toompea Hill in the Upper Old Town.
I found a little ledge that overlooked Old Town and snapped a few photos before I humped it back to buy a Estonia sweatshirt and hop on the ferry. The Estonia currency is the EEK. 15EEK=1 Euro. I thought that was funny
Anyways miss you all.
John
Yes you read that correctly. Autumn. I waited and waited for summer and warmth here in Helsinki, ... and it never came. They are telling me now that is just going to start raining more and more and getting cooler and cooler. Damn, ... at least the sun is beginning to set at times I am used to.
I will start off clearing something up to appease myself and my mother's side of the family. I am not half gypsy. Gypsies, or the Roma originate from the Asian sub-continent region and immigrated to Hungary, Turkey, and Romania hundreds of years ago, hence there name Roma. They are not in any way related to the indigenous Romanian ethnic group to with I am 50% a member. The Romanian ethnic group descends from the Romans of Italy, who settled and colonized Romania over a millenia ago. The Romanians DNA and Romanian langauge is closest to that of the ancient Latin Romans then any other ancestry in the world, .. this includes modern day Italians. Thank you Wikipedia.
Check out these to videos too. One of makes you smile and want to travel. The second makes you think and realize you should travel.
1st. (first video at the top) http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/videos.shtml
2nd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4
Okay now on to what has happened over the past week.
After Tallinn earlier in the week I had a football game in Tampere which is the second biggest Finnish city outside of the Helsinki area, and is about 3 hours north by bus of Helsinki. It was raining when I woke up, it raining the whole bus ride and it poured the entire game. The Tampere Saints are 0-9 but it was important we didn't take them lightly and won well. Our passing attack wasn't faded by the rain and after the defense let up scores on the first two drives, they pulled it together and shut out the Saints the rest of the game. It was nice to not have to win the game in the last minutes for the first time in months. I even got to sit out a bit towards the end of the game to rest my tender shoulders, and I didn't have to play defense at all. The final was 55-21 at Tampere.The weather is noticeably cooling, and the sun setting early every night. The seasons don't waste any time here in Finland. I am not going out after the game, because I am not trying to have a repeat of last weekend's Finnish everclear blackout and the feeling like crap for the next 2 days. Next two games to finish out the regular season are at home. Oh and by the way I am now wearing number #56, because in the Butchers game, number 75 got destroy by the D-line ripping it off. They play pretty dirty over here.
I went to Tallinn, Estonia or in Estonian, Tallinna, Estee ,for the day today. My cruiseliner laft the harbor in downtown Helsinki at 10.30 this morning and as we left I took some photos. After a two and half hour ride we pulled into the port city and I walked the kilometer or so in the soft rain into Tallinn's Old Town.
The Old Town in Tallinn is supposed to be one of the best perserved medieval cities in Europe and I could see why. It is entirely self-contained and away for the modern hotels and office buildings Tallinn also has. Steeples and towers rise all over the place and the narrow, cobblestoned streets combined with the rainy weather took me right back to ancient times.
It being a Wednesday afternoon and rainy, there weren't many tourists out and about, and I had my pick of what I wanted to see and I didn't mind getting a little wet to do it. I got to check out Europe's oldest pharmacy, as well as the the ancient town hall, and climb the 70meter town hall tower which gets narrower and narrower as you climb.
The town hall is in a wide open expanse of cobblestone named Raekoja plats, and it serves as Old Town market square. It was full of touristy trinkets and goods, and a lot of ugly patterned sweaters. The rain had picked up and I stop for a bite in a little cafe. Because I had only 3.5 hours before the ferry went back to Helsinki, I braved the rain and checked out the extreme impressive Russian Orthodox St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral atop Toompea Hill in the Upper Old Town.
I found a little ledge that overlooked Old Town and snapped a few photos before I humped it back to buy a Estonia sweatshirt and hop on the ferry. The Estonia currency is the EEK. 15EEK=1 Euro. I thought that was funny
Anyways miss you all.
John
I will start off clearing something up to appease myself and my mother's side of the family. I am not half gypsy. Gypsies, or the Roma originate from the Asian sub-continent region and immigrated to Hungary, Turkey, and Romania hundreds of years ago, hence there name Roma. They are not in any way related to the indigenous Romanian ethnic group to with I am 50% a member. The Romanian ethnic group descends from the Romans of Italy, who settled and colonized Romania over a millenia ago. The Romanians DNA and Romanian langauge is closest to that of the ancient Latin Romans then any other ancestry in the world, .. this includes modern day Italians. Thank you Wikipedia.
Check out these to videos too. One of makes you smile and want to travel. The second makes you think and realize you should travel.
1st. (first video at the top) http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/videos.shtml
2nd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4
Okay now on to what has happened over the past week.
After Tallinn earlier in the week I had a football game in Tampere which is the second biggest Finnish city outside of the Helsinki area, and is about 3 hours north by bus of Helsinki. It was raining when I woke up, it raining the whole bus ride and it poured the entire game. The Tampere Saints are 0-9 but it was important we didn't take them lightly and won well. Our passing attack wasn't faded by the rain and after the defense let up scores on the first two drives, they pulled it together and shut out the Saints the rest of the game. It was nice to not have to win the game in the last minutes for the first time in months. I even got to sit out a bit towards the end of the game to rest my tender shoulders, and I didn't have to play defense at all. The final was 55-21 at Tampere.The weather is noticeably cooling, and the sun setting early every night. The seasons don't waste any time here in Finland. I am not going out after the game, because I am not trying to have a repeat of last weekend's Finnish everclear blackout and the feeling like crap for the next 2 days. Next two games to finish out the regular season are at home. Oh and by the way I am now wearing number #56, because in the Butchers game, number 75 got destroy by the D-line ripping it off. They play pretty dirty over here.
I went to Tallinn, Estonia or in Estonian, Tallinna, Estee ,for the day today. My cruiseliner laft the harbor in downtown Helsinki at 10.30 this morning and as we left I took some photos. After a two and half hour ride we pulled into the port city and I walked the kilometer or so in the soft rain into Tallinn's Old Town.
The Old Town in Tallinn is supposed to be one of the best perserved medieval cities in Europe and I could see why. It is entirely self-contained and away for the modern hotels and office buildings Tallinn also has. Steeples and towers rise all over the place and the narrow, cobblestoned streets combined with the rainy weather took me right back to ancient times.
It being a Wednesday afternoon and rainy, there weren't many tourists out and about, and I had my pick of what I wanted to see and I didn't mind getting a little wet to do it. I got to check out Europe's oldest pharmacy, as well as the the ancient town hall, and climb the 70meter town hall tower which gets narrower and narrower as you climb.
The town hall is in a wide open expanse of cobblestone named Raekoja plats, and it serves as Old Town market square. It was full of touristy trinkets and goods, and a lot of ugly patterned sweaters. The rain had picked up and I stop for a bite in a little cafe. Because I had only 3.5 hours before the ferry went back to Helsinki, I braved the rain and checked out the extreme impressive Russian Orthodox St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral atop Toompea Hill in the Upper Old Town.
I found a little ledge that overlooked Old Town and snapped a few photos before I humped it back to buy a Estonia sweatshirt and hop on the ferry. The Estonia currency is the EEK. 15EEK=1 Euro. I thought that was funny
Anyways miss you all.
John
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Butchers and Hyvaa syntymapaivaa, Hilarity does not Ensue.
I am not feeling to clever right now so I apologize for the straightforward manner of this email.
Well it is Sunday night in Helsinki and have been sore and hungover all day. We had a big win yesterday against the Porvoo Butchers in Porvoo, a town 30 mins. west of Helsinki. They are the 2-time defending Finnish champions and in first-place in the league this year as well. The final was 37-35, but finishing the game on a 23-0 run, for the win. We are now 6-3 and tied in second in the league. We are pretty much locked for the playoffs, which are the first 2 weeks of September.
Again I had to play the entire game both ways and it is really starting to wear on my body, especially my arms and shoulders. I am only about 255 lbs. right now, so I have to struggle to not get pushed back against some of the bigger guys in the league. I also had to long-snap this game, and luckily I didn't botch the game-winning field goal snap.
The funniest thing I think about the amount I've been playing is that I am 2nd in the league in sacks, and leading the league in blocked kicks. Here I am an undersized offensive tackle, just playing football... I guess this is what I remembered most about what I loved about football from high school.
After the game the team had a gameroom rented out at the Finnair Stadium that includes a locker room, sauna, pool tables and entertainment area. Finnish moonshine was involved, and of course they all make the American drink a lot of it. I was so tired from the game, it wasn't long before I was done for the night.
Anyways, I will briefly catch you up on what's happened up until now.
THINGS I'VE DONE SINCE LAST EMAIL
We had a couple weeks off in the middle of July and I went to Stockholm for a couple days with a few guys from the team. The Roosters biggest sponsor is Viking Cruiselines so we get free crusies to Stockholm, Sweden and Tallinn, Estonia. Cruise leaves in the evening and you arrive in the morning spend the day in Stockholm, and take the boat back the following night. The cruiseliner is pretty large, and houses a casino, a few restaurants, nightclub, and huge Duty-free shop.
I've been sailing out and around all of the islands and penisulas that make out the coastline around Helsinki. I attempted to wakeboard and I realized that it is something that looks much easier to do then it actually is. I could stay vertical on the board for more then are few seconds, I guess I need to work on my balance.
The weather has not been great. I got above 80 one weekend, but it mostly hovers in the mid to high 60s. Everyone says it usually isn't this cold in the summer, so I guess just lucky me.
I turned 25 this past Thursday. A quarter-century. Enough said.
A bunch of the guys from the team took me out to dinner after practice and it was a good time. Here is a link to a youtube video I didn't realize was being taken while I get sung Happy Birthday is Finnish. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLQa9KFSURk. The lighting is bad, but I think you can get the idea.
Beyond that I've been taking it easy. Trying to stay healthy and in shape. The gym they have for me here is great, and I've gotten used to the kilograms. The novelty of living in a foreign city has wore off, but I am definetly still having a great time.
You can visually follow my shenannigans and hiijinks by looking at photos on myspace and facebook pages. Hilarity will most definetly ensue.
myspace.com/jtmckeon and http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=11808224
I am sure I am leaving things out but I am tired. How go things in Raleigh and New York??
Is keg room in dissarray??
Did someone forget to roll in the awnings??
Lindsay and Tanya have gave me a bit of low down, but I thirst for more.
Before you know I am gonna be back, miss you all.
John
Well it is Sunday night in Helsinki and have been sore and hungover all day. We had a big win yesterday against the Porvoo Butchers in Porvoo, a town 30 mins. west of Helsinki. They are the 2-time defending Finnish champions and in first-place in the league this year as well. The final was 37-35, but finishing the game on a 23-0 run, for the win. We are now 6-3 and tied in second in the league. We are pretty much locked for the playoffs, which are the first 2 weeks of September.
Again I had to play the entire game both ways and it is really starting to wear on my body, especially my arms and shoulders. I am only about 255 lbs. right now, so I have to struggle to not get pushed back against some of the bigger guys in the league. I also had to long-snap this game, and luckily I didn't botch the game-winning field goal snap.
The funniest thing I think about the amount I've been playing is that I am 2nd in the league in sacks, and leading the league in blocked kicks. Here I am an undersized offensive tackle, just playing football... I guess this is what I remembered most about what I loved about football from high school.
After the game the team had a gameroom rented out at the Finnair Stadium that includes a locker room, sauna, pool tables and entertainment area. Finnish moonshine was involved, and of course they all make the American drink a lot of it. I was so tired from the game, it wasn't long before I was done for the night.
Anyways, I will briefly catch you up on what's happened up until now.
THINGS I'VE DONE SINCE LAST EMAIL
We had a couple weeks off in the middle of July and I went to Stockholm for a couple days with a few guys from the team. The Roosters biggest sponsor is Viking Cruiselines so we get free crusies to Stockholm, Sweden and Tallinn, Estonia. Cruise leaves in the evening and you arrive in the morning spend the day in Stockholm, and take the boat back the following night. The cruiseliner is pretty large, and houses a casino, a few restaurants, nightclub, and huge Duty-free shop.
I've been sailing out and around all of the islands and penisulas that make out the coastline around Helsinki. I attempted to wakeboard and I realized that it is something that looks much easier to do then it actually is. I could stay vertical on the board for more then are few seconds, I guess I need to work on my balance.
The weather has not been great. I got above 80 one weekend, but it mostly hovers in the mid to high 60s. Everyone says it usually isn't this cold in the summer, so I guess just lucky me.
I turned 25 this past Thursday. A quarter-century. Enough said.
A bunch of the guys from the team took me out to dinner after practice and it was a good time. Here is a link to a youtube video I didn't realize was being taken while I get sung Happy Birthday is Finnish. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLQa9KFSURk. The lighting is bad, but I think you can get the idea.
Beyond that I've been taking it easy. Trying to stay healthy and in shape. The gym they have for me here is great, and I've gotten used to the kilograms. The novelty of living in a foreign city has wore off, but I am definetly still having a great time.
You can visually follow my shenannigans and hiijinks by looking at photos on myspace and facebook pages. Hilarity will most definetly ensue.
myspace.com/jtmckeon and http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=11808224
I am sure I am leaving things out but I am tired. How go things in Raleigh and New York??
Is keg room in dissarray??
Did someone forget to roll in the awnings??
Lindsay and Tanya have gave me a bit of low down, but I thirst for more.
Before you know I am gonna be back, miss you all.
John
Monday, July 21, 2008
Did You Just Touch My Juhannus?
I've fallen behind on the emails. Here is something to whet the appetite. The phonetics for this following email is YOU-honn-ASS
The Monday I got back from Nice we had a game against the defending league champions the Porvoo Butchers. I got to bed at a decent time the night before so I wasn't in bad shape for the game, but regardless of my best efforts we still lost the game 48-42 in double overtime. The Butchers seem to have a well-put-together organization with athletes and a time of good size, speed and depth. At least the best I've seen in Finland. I played offensive tackle and defensive end the entire game and through the overtimes and was well-worn out after the game. The feelings remind me of that feeling after a hard-fought high school game, (like the one where we beat Southeast and Coach Hennessy my senior year, or the Ohio State game in Columbia my sophmore year at NCSU) when you've spent every last bit of strength and left it all out on the field.
The week following the game was a short week all across Finland. Juhannus is Finland's biggest holiday. It is a pagan based midsummer festival renamed for St. John the Baptist and takes place during the longest weekend of the year and the summer solstice nearest June 21st. All Finns flee Helsinki for their midsummer cottages a couple hours outside of the city. I spent the Wednesday-Sunday in Joutsa, small town outside of Jyvaskla, three hours north of Helsinki.
Note on population of Finland: The entire country of Finland is home to only 5.3 million people in about 130,000 square miles of land. To put this in perspective, North Carolina is home to over 8 million people in about 54,000 square miles. So for those of you at home who think North Carolina is spread out and empty, its population density is over 4 times that of Finland. (165 to 40 people per square mile, respectively.) So when you leave Helsinki and head north into the Lake district you really are leaving much of known civilization. The country is extremely empty and undeveloped outside of the southern coast.
I rode up north with the offensive line coach Hiski to the cottage, whose owners were friends with a few guys on the team that were all headed up to the same cottage. After nearly three hours, a stop at the grocer's, and the all-important government ran Alko store (guess what they sell) we pull off the highway (two-lane road) onto a dirt track that revealed itself suddenly from the wilderness.
Note on terrain: The terrain of the region is gently rolling rocky hills, populated with boulders, mosses, sparse underbrush and forests of tightly-packed, thin, identical, evergreen trees. Maybe I expected ancient untouched hardwood forests, but I was later told that one of Finland top exports was these harvested forests, which are systematically chopped down and replanted every so often. Another thing I that was cool was you would be see huge round boulders spread out irradically and sitting in the middle of these forests, I later found out these boulders were dropped by the massive glaciers that once covered Finland and were left as the glaciers melted and retreated north.
The cottage was about two miles back down the dirt track and as we pulled up I saw 3-4 small log-cabin style cottages perched right upon the lake. The main cottage that housed the kitchen, a large living/dining/bedroom area, the deck, and most importantly the sauna was close to the water and seemed to built upon a giant stone shelf that extended into the water, and created a moss covered stone beach. Another cottage was dedicated to two large bedrooms, another was the outhouse, (which was nicer then most of the real bathrooms I'd been inside of here), and the last was and a covered picnicing/grilling rise. 14 people shared these accommadations so it was a bit of squeeze but a few couples brought tents and another group slept in an RV so it wasn't too packed at bedtime.
The remainder of the week/weekend was pretty much dedicated to drinking alcohol all day long, grilling assorted meats, and running back and forth from the sauna to the lake naked as a jaybird. (These people have no shame, but I'll spare you the details.)
Note on alcohol: My entire family probably thinks I am an alcohol with how much I reference drinking in these emails, but I really am not overstating it. I was an Division-I college athlete that did plenty of drinking during those five years, and I've worked at a popular bar in Raleigh for the past two, so I've been around the stuff a lot. But I am serious when I say the Finnish culture seems to revolve around getting oppourtunities to drink, and that it even overwhelms me.
The longest day/shortest night of the year was the Friday night/ Saturday, and the sunset just below the tree line at about 12:30 in the morning and stayed there for about 40 minutes and the began to rise again. These couple of weeks before and since the 21st of June you never truly get the experience of night, just extended twilight, ...like someone cut the night out and pasted together dusk and dawn. It really was a beautiful scene though. The was only a few other houses around the lake, and combination of natural beauty and aesthetic purity was breath-taking. The serene lake scenery and unusual sun patterns made remarkable partners. Although by this point I wasn't trying to keep up with the Finns in the drinking area and not sleeping areas, I definetly had a great time, and decided to take it easy the rest of weekend no matter how much ridicule I received.
We headed back to Helsinki on Sunday and I can now say I've swam naked in lake in the middle of Finnish wilderness (it was June and still painfully cold, especially after a steaming sauna), and but part of the Finnish mid-summer celebration of life, ... and by life up course I mean absinthe, Minttu, Fisu, cider, warm beers, and marinated pork sausage.
The week after Juhannus we played our cross-town rival the Helsinki Wolverines. They also have three Americans, a left tackle, QB, and running back.
The game was again closer then it should have been. I feel like I am just repeating myself but the offensive was closer to unstoppable, and the defensive was again having trouble against the run. I think the Wolverines had over 300 yds rushing, but we still pulled it out 57-54. Yes, I did play a lot of defense but I play weak-side DE and they ran the RB to the strength in their formation so it was hard to make much of an impact in that area.
To be honest I am a little home sick, pathetic I know, but I hope you are well and miss you.
John
The Monday I got back from Nice we had a game against the defending league champions the Porvoo Butchers. I got to bed at a decent time the night before so I wasn't in bad shape for the game, but regardless of my best efforts we still lost the game 48-42 in double overtime. The Butchers seem to have a well-put-together organization with athletes and a time of good size, speed and depth. At least the best I've seen in Finland. I played offensive tackle and defensive end the entire game and through the overtimes and was well-worn out after the game. The feelings remind me of that feeling after a hard-fought high school game, (like the one where we beat Southeast and Coach Hennessy my senior year, or the Ohio State game in Columbia my sophmore year at NCSU) when you've spent every last bit of strength and left it all out on the field.
The week following the game was a short week all across Finland. Juhannus is Finland's biggest holiday. It is a pagan based midsummer festival renamed for St. John the Baptist and takes place during the longest weekend of the year and the summer solstice nearest June 21st. All Finns flee Helsinki for their midsummer cottages a couple hours outside of the city. I spent the Wednesday-Sunday in Joutsa, small town outside of Jyvaskla, three hours north of Helsinki.
Note on population of Finland: The entire country of Finland is home to only 5.3 million people in about 130,000 square miles of land. To put this in perspective, North Carolina is home to over 8 million people in about 54,000 square miles. So for those of you at home who think North Carolina is spread out and empty, its population density is over 4 times that of Finland. (165 to 40 people per square mile, respectively.) So when you leave Helsinki and head north into the Lake district you really are leaving much of known civilization. The country is extremely empty and undeveloped outside of the southern coast.
I rode up north with the offensive line coach Hiski to the cottage, whose owners were friends with a few guys on the team that were all headed up to the same cottage. After nearly three hours, a stop at the grocer's, and the all-important government ran Alko store (guess what they sell) we pull off the highway (two-lane road) onto a dirt track that revealed itself suddenly from the wilderness.
Note on terrain: The terrain of the region is gently rolling rocky hills, populated with boulders, mosses, sparse underbrush and forests of tightly-packed, thin, identical, evergreen trees. Maybe I expected ancient untouched hardwood forests, but I was later told that one of Finland top exports was these harvested forests, which are systematically chopped down and replanted every so often. Another thing I that was cool was you would be see huge round boulders spread out irradically and sitting in the middle of these forests, I later found out these boulders were dropped by the massive glaciers that once covered Finland and were left as the glaciers melted and retreated north.
The cottage was about two miles back down the dirt track and as we pulled up I saw 3-4 small log-cabin style cottages perched right upon the lake. The main cottage that housed the kitchen, a large living/dining/bedroom area, the deck, and most importantly the sauna was close to the water and seemed to built upon a giant stone shelf that extended into the water, and created a moss covered stone beach. Another cottage was dedicated to two large bedrooms, another was the outhouse, (which was nicer then most of the real bathrooms I'd been inside of here), and the last was and a covered picnicing/grilling rise. 14 people shared these accommadations so it was a bit of squeeze but a few couples brought tents and another group slept in an RV so it wasn't too packed at bedtime.
The remainder of the week/weekend was pretty much dedicated to drinking alcohol all day long, grilling assorted meats, and running back and forth from the sauna to the lake naked as a jaybird. (These people have no shame, but I'll spare you the details.)
Note on alcohol: My entire family probably thinks I am an alcohol with how much I reference drinking in these emails, but I really am not overstating it. I was an Division-I college athlete that did plenty of drinking during those five years, and I've worked at a popular bar in Raleigh for the past two, so I've been around the stuff a lot. But I am serious when I say the Finnish culture seems to revolve around getting oppourtunities to drink, and that it even overwhelms me.
The longest day/shortest night of the year was the Friday night/ Saturday, and the sunset just below the tree line at about 12:30 in the morning and stayed there for about 40 minutes and the began to rise again. These couple of weeks before and since the 21st of June you never truly get the experience of night, just extended twilight, ...like someone cut the night out and pasted together dusk and dawn. It really was a beautiful scene though. The was only a few other houses around the lake, and combination of natural beauty and aesthetic purity was breath-taking. The serene lake scenery and unusual sun patterns made remarkable partners. Although by this point I wasn't trying to keep up with the Finns in the drinking area and not sleeping areas, I definetly had a great time, and decided to take it easy the rest of weekend no matter how much ridicule I received.
We headed back to Helsinki on Sunday and I can now say I've swam naked in lake in the middle of Finnish wilderness (it was June and still painfully cold, especially after a steaming sauna), and but part of the Finnish mid-summer celebration of life, ... and by life up course I mean absinthe, Minttu, Fisu, cider, warm beers, and marinated pork sausage.
The week after Juhannus we played our cross-town rival the Helsinki Wolverines. They also have three Americans, a left tackle, QB, and running back.
The game was again closer then it should have been. I feel like I am just repeating myself but the offensive was closer to unstoppable, and the defensive was again having trouble against the run. I think the Wolverines had over 300 yds rushing, but we still pulled it out 57-54. Yes, I did play a lot of defense but I play weak-side DE and they ran the RB to the strength in their formation so it was hard to make much of an impact in that area.
To be honest I am a little home sick, pathetic I know, but I hope you are well and miss you.
John
Friday, July 4, 2008
Life is Nice and the French Riveria, Part II
On the way back from Monaco, we sit next to the girl for New Zealand who is spending the summer working on private yachts on the Riveria. Her ship does not have a permanent berth and she is on her way back to Antibes from Monaco. She told me the 22m yacht was a wedding gift to a couple she has not met yet, those people must have a rough life. But seriously, how sweet of a job is that, living and working on a yacht on the Riveria.
Anyways as soon as we got back to Nice we made our way back into Old Town to the Cours Saleya, a long open stretch of courtyards parallel to the Promenade D'Anglais that during the day is home to an open fresh farmer's market and local goods stalls, and by night turning into a sea of table and chairs for the 30 or so restaurants and cafes that share the courtyards for outdoor seating. By the time we got down to the Cours Saleya the early Romania/Italy game of the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup had ended in a tie. France was on deck to play Holland and the Cours was alive with excitment for the match. Hundreds of French fans, jersey wearing and faces painting crowded in front of the tvs that each restaurant placed in their outdoors seating areas. A surprising amount of Holland fans we out, and the trash-talking in foreign langauges had already started. I gave up trying to eat, with my head darting around at each ohhhh and ahhhh of the massive crowds. The folks were tired from the day hiking around Saint Jean Cap Ferrat so they headed back to the hotel at halftime of the France game. I, of course, can't miss the experience of watching a France match in France of the Euro Cup, ... head over to the most crowded restaurant, buy a liter of Kronenbourg and watch the game in the standing room only Cours.
France doesn't fare to well as the match goes on and a French guy infront of me keeps turning around and making remarks to me about the match. "C'est fini," he tells me after Holland goes up 2 to nil. He turns to the group of people next to me and starts to try and talk to them, and they stop him immediately and in a think Irish accent tells him they don't have a clue what he is saying. I introduce myself to the four people next to me and after a little conversation they invite me for a beer as the match finishing up with Holland winning 4-1. The group I meet are two couple on holiday together in Nice, from Ballymena, Northern Ireland, which they say is 40 minutes southwest of Belfast. All in their mid-twenties or so they are hilarious and we get along great for the rest of the night, exploring more of the bars of the Cours Saleya and Old Town. We trade contact info and I agree to meet up with them the next night.
The next day we head to the Les Chemin Des Provence a smaller train station north of the central one, that runs small trains from Dignes to Nice daily through the French Alps. We take a 2-hour train ride along the Var River deep in the French Alps. We get off at the train station in the tiny medieval village of Entrevaux. I am in such a hurry to get off the train, I assume my camera in my parents handbag. It is not. I don't realize it til I search the handbag 20 minutes later. The next hour and a half me calling every train stop after Entrevaux, only to realize that NO ONE in the French Alps speaks English. So goodbye camera and all photos of the trip up to that point. Damn. I feel retarded and even more like a tourist.
Enough self-loathing, how can I be down when I am in a place like Entrevaux. Although it is the middle of nowwhere, we were there on a beautiful day and the sights from the mountain top citadel we amazing. Check them out at www.myspace.com/jtmckeon. Entrevaux medieval is a commune full of cafes and artisans. We met a Brit ex-pat named Clara who owned her own cafe in the village. My father found a classic motorcylce museum tucked away in thin corridors of the village as well. After ascend the citadel and making our way back down we enjoyed a beverage or two and a Euro match while waiting for our return train to Nice.
Back in Nice late, mom and dad went to bed, and I headed back to the Cours Saleya to meet up with the Irish couples and have a late dinner. The night consisted of more liter mugs of Kronenbourg a couple of bars I can not remember the name of, and an interesting late night couple we were pointed towards after 2 a.m.. Following some locals thru the darkening Old Town to this next club, Tony (one the Irishmen) points out that this is how a couple of horror movies start isn't it. Finally we come upon Subway, not Jared's Subway, but a club built a couple stories underground in the what feels like the sewers of Nice's Old Town. Horrible music but definetly an interesting place to go. Tony, James, Audrina, Coaimhe, and myself had a couple there and then took off. They invited me to Ballymena, an oppourtunity I might take-up on my way home in September.
Sunday was devoted entirely to Nice, strolling down the Promenade d'Anglais, checking out the markets at Cours Saleya, climbing the castle-less Castle Rock, and exploring the park and waterfall atop the rock. My plane back to Helsinki was at 8, so after a quick dinner across from the train station, I hopped on a bus back to the airport and I was off back to Finland. The flight home I sat next to a French open-wheel racecar driver who raced professionally in the States. He was visiting his Finnish girlfriends' family for the first time. (Don't know why I mentioned it, I guess I just find that interesting.)
That is all for France.
John
Anyways as soon as we got back to Nice we made our way back into Old Town to the Cours Saleya, a long open stretch of courtyards parallel to the Promenade D'Anglais that during the day is home to an open fresh farmer's market and local goods stalls, and by night turning into a sea of table and chairs for the 30 or so restaurants and cafes that share the courtyards for outdoor seating. By the time we got down to the Cours Saleya the early Romania/Italy game of the UEFA Euro 2008 Cup had ended in a tie. France was on deck to play Holland and the Cours was alive with excitment for the match. Hundreds of French fans, jersey wearing and faces painting crowded in front of the tvs that each restaurant placed in their outdoors seating areas. A surprising amount of Holland fans we out, and the trash-talking in foreign langauges had already started. I gave up trying to eat, with my head darting around at each ohhhh and ahhhh of the massive crowds. The folks were tired from the day hiking around Saint Jean Cap Ferrat so they headed back to the hotel at halftime of the France game. I, of course, can't miss the experience of watching a France match in France of the Euro Cup, ... head over to the most crowded restaurant, buy a liter of Kronenbourg and watch the game in the standing room only Cours.
France doesn't fare to well as the match goes on and a French guy infront of me keeps turning around and making remarks to me about the match. "C'est fini," he tells me after Holland goes up 2 to nil. He turns to the group of people next to me and starts to try and talk to them, and they stop him immediately and in a think Irish accent tells him they don't have a clue what he is saying. I introduce myself to the four people next to me and after a little conversation they invite me for a beer as the match finishing up with Holland winning 4-1. The group I meet are two couple on holiday together in Nice, from Ballymena, Northern Ireland, which they say is 40 minutes southwest of Belfast. All in their mid-twenties or so they are hilarious and we get along great for the rest of the night, exploring more of the bars of the Cours Saleya and Old Town. We trade contact info and I agree to meet up with them the next night.
The next day we head to the Les Chemin Des Provence a smaller train station north of the central one, that runs small trains from Dignes to Nice daily through the French Alps. We take a 2-hour train ride along the Var River deep in the French Alps. We get off at the train station in the tiny medieval village of Entrevaux. I am in such a hurry to get off the train, I assume my camera in my parents handbag. It is not. I don't realize it til I search the handbag 20 minutes later. The next hour and a half me calling every train stop after Entrevaux, only to realize that NO ONE in the French Alps speaks English. So goodbye camera and all photos of the trip up to that point. Damn. I feel retarded and even more like a tourist.
Enough self-loathing, how can I be down when I am in a place like Entrevaux. Although it is the middle of nowwhere, we were there on a beautiful day and the sights from the mountain top citadel we amazing. Check them out at www.myspace.com/jtmckeon. Entrevaux medieval is a commune full of cafes and artisans. We met a Brit ex-pat named Clara who owned her own cafe in the village. My father found a classic motorcylce museum tucked away in thin corridors of the village as well. After ascend the citadel and making our way back down we enjoyed a beverage or two and a Euro match while waiting for our return train to Nice.
Back in Nice late, mom and dad went to bed, and I headed back to the Cours Saleya to meet up with the Irish couples and have a late dinner. The night consisted of more liter mugs of Kronenbourg a couple of bars I can not remember the name of, and an interesting late night couple we were pointed towards after 2 a.m.. Following some locals thru the darkening Old Town to this next club, Tony (one the Irishmen) points out that this is how a couple of horror movies start isn't it. Finally we come upon Subway, not Jared's Subway, but a club built a couple stories underground in the what feels like the sewers of Nice's Old Town. Horrible music but definetly an interesting place to go. Tony, James, Audrina, Coaimhe, and myself had a couple there and then took off. They invited me to Ballymena, an oppourtunity I might take-up on my way home in September.
Sunday was devoted entirely to Nice, strolling down the Promenade d'Anglais, checking out the markets at Cours Saleya, climbing the castle-less Castle Rock, and exploring the park and waterfall atop the rock. My plane back to Helsinki was at 8, so after a quick dinner across from the train station, I hopped on a bus back to the airport and I was off back to Finland. The flight home I sat next to a French open-wheel racecar driver who raced professionally in the States. He was visiting his Finnish girlfriends' family for the first time. (Don't know why I mentioned it, I guess I just find that interesting.)
That is all for France.
John
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Life is Nice and the Cote D'Azur, Part I
It is a cold, rainy Monday here in Helsinki ...far from the weather I've heard it's been like back home, but a good day to recoup and recover from the last 2 weeks on the road. Alright lots I've seen and done the past week. At the end of the last email I was on my way to Nice, France to meet my parents. My father had a business trip to La Gode, a city in the south of France near Nice, and decided to extend his trip, bring my mom along and make a holiday out of it. I flew down to meet them early Thursday morning to see some of the so-called world famous French Riviera. The 6 a.m. flight was about 3.5 hours, but I had the whole row to myself on the Finnair plane, and got to enjoy to sensation of chasing the sunrise as the flight went to the southwest over Poland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and finally France. The ground was covered by clouds the majority of the flight, but that didn't stop the tops of the snow-capped Swiss Alps from peaking about the line. Every though it was from a plane the sight was amazing.
The flights landing pattern was a quick descent from the Alps right down to the Mediterranean. I guess I didn't realize how close the moutains were to the coast, or how thin the Cote d'Azur actually is. An extremely thin strip of coastline filled with white and pastel colored apartment blocks and homes built upon the cascading slopes that gently dive into the sea. Majestic, ancient, and beautiful the coast doesn't seem to push it on you, but in its own laid back sort of way it is impressed upon you.
The plane took us out a couple miles over the Mediterranean and doubled back over Marseille, and I got a peak of the Chateau d'If. The Nice Airport is built right on the sea, and you get the sensation you are going to make a water landing, until the landfill the landing strip is built upon sneaks up on the plane.
I took 3 years of French in college, and it wasn't until the moment I got off the plane did I ever feel I was going to use it. Most of my education has had a funny way of feeling useless to me, and until I this trip that is how I felt about those years of French and I am glad I learned it. Even though I am nowhere near fluent, the simple phrases and grammar I did absorb, took me far during this visit, and it was exciting and enabling to use them to commuicate with a French cultural that is not English friendly in the least. I've been spoiled by being in Helsinki where everyone knows English and doesn't mind using it.
After taking the airport bus to the La Gare Central, the central train station in the center of modern Nice, I took the 4-5 block walk to my parents hotel, which was located on the city main commercial drag, L'Avenue de Jean Medicin. Diretly located opposite a smaller version of Paris' Norte Dame cathedral it was a good central location and the walk gave me chance of a first impression of Naughty Nice.
It was near 11 a.m. on a June Thursday morning, and as I stepped off the bus, knew I was in the right place. Although located in the southeast corner of France, Nice didn't feel especially "French" to me. Beyond the language, it seemed the city was a conglomeration of French, Italian, Spanish, and Northern African cultures. Kebab stands and Chinese buffets ajoined pizza stalls, boulangeries and brasseries, ... the city was alive with people, culture, and LIFE. The signs, the colors, the foot traffic, the fragrances, (some more pleasent then others), and general ambience, made me feel small and realize that this city had been like this hundreds or maybe thousands of years, ... all the while I'd been living my quite American life on the other side of the world, and missing this.
After dropping my things off, we took a stroll down Jean Medicin to Place Massena, the city main square, which is full of statue of naked man posed differently on tall pillars. A huge fountains centers the square decorated with horses and nymphs. After standing at bus stop waiting on a bus that was never going to come, I ask a busdriver, "Ou est le bus quatre-vingt deux," or "Where is bus 82?" he points and rattles off some sentence or two in rapid French and the bus takes off. Like I said, I am nowhere near fluent, but I took it he told me the bus doesn't come here, and as we walk I realize he was pointing to a bus terminal just across from where we had been waiting for 20 mintues or so. The bus to L'Eze, a village 20 mintues to the east of Nice, came shortly and we were off.
Eze is a commune and medieval village built high upon a rock just east of Nice. The small village is famous for its beauty, and has many shops, art galleries, hotels and restaurants that attract a large number of tourists, but I didn't mind. It was not crowded and had some amazing views. The climb to the top of Eze took us through narrow corridors and steep passageways. Artisans and shops lined much of the paths the wound through rock and stone walls. Mid-way through the climb were stopped at a petite cafe, Le Ni D'Aigle or the Eage's Nest. I tried my first French beer, a Kronenbourg, or 1664, and the folks had a bite. The top of Eze is exotic, desert-style garden, top with ancient ruins of a monastery from the 14th century. Photos from the top can be found on my myspace or facebook pages, but they truly don't to this place justice.
Fun fact time. According to a popular credence, the view of the sea from the top of Èze inspired Dante Alighieri in the description of some scenarios of his Inferno. On a more modern note. Bono and the Edge both of the Irish rock band U2 own villas in Èze and U2's vidoes for "Beautiful Day," and "Electrical Storm," were both filmed atop the peak.
After catching a bus back to Nice and then another to Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat, a cape between Nice and Monaco. Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat has probably some of the most expensive real estate in the world and attracts the rich and famous. These mansions are nestled amongst lush vegetation and discretely built and protected from prying eyes, they often include a private beach and locked gate-ways.We arrived too late to see the garden of the Rothschild Mansion, a popular attractive on the cape. Instead my father took a peak into his Rick Steves' Guidebook and found a walking trail that circumnavigated the cape. He didn't read the entire description of the trail, as we would soon find out for ourselves. The path from the guidebook was truly a hidden treasure, a rocky, beaten tack that encircled the cape gave us an amazing natural site of the Riveria, although because we didn't read the full description a 30 minute stroll along the coast turned into a one hour and 40 minute ramble, with no exit access mind you, that had our calves screaming. Still I don't regret it, more amazing views of the sea, and of the houses that are discretely hidden in the hills, but what thought was the coolest was the private rock outcroppings that joined with some cement work had been shaped into some of the most creative and fantastic hide-away beaches. We finally reach the peak of the cape, where the lighthouses access lead us back to the main roads. Unfortunetly, the buses didn't run this far deep into the cape, so we had to hike to front of the cape, whilst avoiding being clipped by the numerous Mercedes, Bentleys, Ferraris, and Lambourginis on the locals speeding by. After catching a bus back to Nice, we walked into Old Town starving, find a small restaurant in the Place Rossetti. Place Rossetti is entirely enclosed and pedestrianised, and located in the heart of the old town. With typical buildings in red and yellow ochres surrounding the square, the cathédrale Sainte-Réparate and the fountain in the centre. Dinner was pizza, salade Nicoise, a liter of Kronenbourg, and a football match. (You can't say soccer in Europe) After stuffing our faces, we grabbed some ice cream from Nice's own Fennochio's stall which had 20 different chocolates and even a beer flavored ice cream, and stumbled home satiatied and exhausted. I had some of the best sleep of my life after the day that began at 4:30 in Helsinki, and ended at midnight in Nice.
Day 2 began later then planned, but we all deserved to sleep in. The folks had planned out a Friday in Monaco, and I was up for it. Finding the line for the train ticket and speaking with the vendor were the next times my French came in handy. A half and hour train ride later we arrive in Monaco around noon, just missing the changing of the guard at the Prince's Palace atop to rock which contains all of Monaco Vielle Ville, or Old Town.
It seems almost every important thing in all of Cote d'Azur was atop some sort of cliff or rock. I am not going to be a lazy tourist and complain, it is just funny how you realize that is how things had to be back in those times, for security and protection. Someone was always invading someone else, pillaging and taking over. I know it is a little petty, but it makes me think of those poor guys that had to carry everything up these rocks. Some of these hikes are rough with a camera bag, I couldn't imagine carrying a big bag of flour or a day's worth of water. (I just read that statement back to myself, and I thought, "Ha, what a spoiled American!")
Monaco is an extremely tourist-oriented district, but it wasn't really crowded or something I would call a tourist trap. The view again was oustanding, it being atop of rock on the coastline. Since missing the elaborate changing of the guard, we took an audio tour of the Palais of Prince Albert of Monaco. Note to self: Get International Student Discount Card. Available to most everyone under 25, it gives you great discounts on attractions such as the Palace of Monaco. Cameras are not allowed within the Palais, but just close your eyes and imagine room after small room, brimming full of towering paintings of the deaceased royalty of numerous defunct nations, which are hung above jewel-encrusted and gold-enlaid cabinets, mosaic tiled-topped desks, and other empty furniture of assorted colors and sizes. Overall it was impressively gaudy, but palatial none the less. The most interesting part of the palace was the grand stairway in the maincourtyard, which my pocket-sized British audio tour guide informed me was carved from a single piece of marble. Ajoining the palace was a musuem dedicated to artifacts of Napoleon, and home to a number of his trademark trifoil hats.
After the museums we headed to the Musee d'Oceanographique which and is perched on the cliff's edge of the Vielle Ville, and was founded and formally curated by Jacques Cousteau. The musee was full of family and French children, and although the Aquarium wasn't as large and modern as many American ones are, it had a few creatively constructed tanks full of monstrous fish of the Mediterranean. A bite to eat and a walk of to the cathedral later, we headed back down the rock searching for a way to find the Prince's private car collection located atop a district west of the Veille Ville, in a area reclaimed from the sea known as Fonteville.
Following signs, we follow the crowd into an elevator that is directly in a rock face, ... with no building in sight. On blind faith, no knowing if we are even going up or down, the elevator open on to a dark corridor light only my cool, multi-colored lights that bounce some gentle light off the tunnel's stone interior. At the end of the stone tunnel we realize the is the entrance to a large mall, that is built directly into the rock's base. I guess Monaco is a rich enough nation to afford to build elevator is sheer stone so its public can reach the mall.
Fonteville Commerical Centre is home to the Prince's car collection and we get inside just before they close for the day, and we pretty much have the entire place to ourselves. My father is a classic car fanatic and he pretty much found his private paradise among the hundred or so cars in the Prince's collection, which contained everything from a Model T to the pacecar in this past year Monaco Grand Prix. Our feet getting tired of walking, we catch a bus from Fonteville to Monte Carlo, the old commerical district and home to the world reknown, Monte Carlo Casino, made famous by my father other hero James Bond.
Monte Carlo Casino is surrounding by majesticly manicured gardens and fountains. The carpark in front was tended to by many valets and full of Bentleys and the like. The main gaming room is off limits to those without pants and jackets, and there is a 20E cover just to enter that part of the casino. Luckily for me, there is a small room set aside near the front of the casino for those tourists like me, that just want to be able to say the gamble in Monte Carlo. 15 minutes and 10E later, I walked out with that ability. A quick walk down near the port of Monte Carlo and back into the train station later, and we were off back to Nice.
The email is getting long and I am getting hungry, ... think I'll head down to Ukkomunkki for a bite, beer, and Euro match. Part 2 will come soon.
Miss you all,
John
The flights landing pattern was a quick descent from the Alps right down to the Mediterranean. I guess I didn't realize how close the moutains were to the coast, or how thin the Cote d'Azur actually is. An extremely thin strip of coastline filled with white and pastel colored apartment blocks and homes built upon the cascading slopes that gently dive into the sea. Majestic, ancient, and beautiful the coast doesn't seem to push it on you, but in its own laid back sort of way it is impressed upon you.
The plane took us out a couple miles over the Mediterranean and doubled back over Marseille, and I got a peak of the Chateau d'If. The Nice Airport is built right on the sea, and you get the sensation you are going to make a water landing, until the landfill the landing strip is built upon sneaks up on the plane.
I took 3 years of French in college, and it wasn't until the moment I got off the plane did I ever feel I was going to use it. Most of my education has had a funny way of feeling useless to me, and until I this trip that is how I felt about those years of French and I am glad I learned it. Even though I am nowhere near fluent, the simple phrases and grammar I did absorb, took me far during this visit, and it was exciting and enabling to use them to commuicate with a French cultural that is not English friendly in the least. I've been spoiled by being in Helsinki where everyone knows English and doesn't mind using it.
After taking the airport bus to the La Gare Central, the central train station in the center of modern Nice, I took the 4-5 block walk to my parents hotel, which was located on the city main commercial drag, L'Avenue de Jean Medicin. Diretly located opposite a smaller version of Paris' Norte Dame cathedral it was a good central location and the walk gave me chance of a first impression of Naughty Nice.
It was near 11 a.m. on a June Thursday morning, and as I stepped off the bus, knew I was in the right place. Although located in the southeast corner of France, Nice didn't feel especially "French" to me. Beyond the language, it seemed the city was a conglomeration of French, Italian, Spanish, and Northern African cultures. Kebab stands and Chinese buffets ajoined pizza stalls, boulangeries and brasseries, ... the city was alive with people, culture, and LIFE. The signs, the colors, the foot traffic, the fragrances, (some more pleasent then others), and general ambience, made me feel small and realize that this city had been like this hundreds or maybe thousands of years, ... all the while I'd been living my quite American life on the other side of the world, and missing this.
After dropping my things off, we took a stroll down Jean Medicin to Place Massena, the city main square, which is full of statue of naked man posed differently on tall pillars. A huge fountains centers the square decorated with horses and nymphs. After standing at bus stop waiting on a bus that was never going to come, I ask a busdriver, "Ou est le bus quatre-vingt deux," or "Where is bus 82?" he points and rattles off some sentence or two in rapid French and the bus takes off. Like I said, I am nowhere near fluent, but I took it he told me the bus doesn't come here, and as we walk I realize he was pointing to a bus terminal just across from where we had been waiting for 20 mintues or so. The bus to L'Eze, a village 20 mintues to the east of Nice, came shortly and we were off.
Eze is a commune and medieval village built high upon a rock just east of Nice. The small village is famous for its beauty, and has many shops, art galleries, hotels and restaurants that attract a large number of tourists, but I didn't mind. It was not crowded and had some amazing views. The climb to the top of Eze took us through narrow corridors and steep passageways. Artisans and shops lined much of the paths the wound through rock and stone walls. Mid-way through the climb were stopped at a petite cafe, Le Ni D'Aigle or the Eage's Nest. I tried my first French beer, a Kronenbourg, or 1664, and the folks had a bite. The top of Eze is exotic, desert-style garden, top with ancient ruins of a monastery from the 14th century. Photos from the top can be found on my myspace or facebook pages, but they truly don't to this place justice.
Fun fact time. According to a popular credence, the view of the sea from the top of Èze inspired Dante Alighieri in the description of some scenarios of his Inferno. On a more modern note. Bono and the Edge both of the Irish rock band U2 own villas in Èze and U2's vidoes for "Beautiful Day," and "Electrical Storm," were both filmed atop the peak.
After catching a bus back to Nice and then another to Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat, a cape between Nice and Monaco. Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat has probably some of the most expensive real estate in the world and attracts the rich and famous. These mansions are nestled amongst lush vegetation and discretely built and protected from prying eyes, they often include a private beach and locked gate-ways.We arrived too late to see the garden of the Rothschild Mansion, a popular attractive on the cape. Instead my father took a peak into his Rick Steves' Guidebook and found a walking trail that circumnavigated the cape. He didn't read the entire description of the trail, as we would soon find out for ourselves. The path from the guidebook was truly a hidden treasure, a rocky, beaten tack that encircled the cape gave us an amazing natural site of the Riveria, although because we didn't read the full description a 30 minute stroll along the coast turned into a one hour and 40 minute ramble, with no exit access mind you, that had our calves screaming. Still I don't regret it, more amazing views of the sea, and of the houses that are discretely hidden in the hills, but what thought was the coolest was the private rock outcroppings that joined with some cement work had been shaped into some of the most creative and fantastic hide-away beaches. We finally reach the peak of the cape, where the lighthouses access lead us back to the main roads. Unfortunetly, the buses didn't run this far deep into the cape, so we had to hike to front of the cape, whilst avoiding being clipped by the numerous Mercedes, Bentleys, Ferraris, and Lambourginis on the locals speeding by. After catching a bus back to Nice, we walked into Old Town starving, find a small restaurant in the Place Rossetti. Place Rossetti is entirely enclosed and pedestrianised, and located in the heart of the old town. With typical buildings in red and yellow ochres surrounding the square, the cathédrale Sainte-Réparate and the fountain in the centre. Dinner was pizza, salade Nicoise, a liter of Kronenbourg, and a football match. (You can't say soccer in Europe) After stuffing our faces, we grabbed some ice cream from Nice's own Fennochio's stall which had 20 different chocolates and even a beer flavored ice cream, and stumbled home satiatied and exhausted. I had some of the best sleep of my life after the day that began at 4:30 in Helsinki, and ended at midnight in Nice.
Day 2 began later then planned, but we all deserved to sleep in. The folks had planned out a Friday in Monaco, and I was up for it. Finding the line for the train ticket and speaking with the vendor were the next times my French came in handy. A half and hour train ride later we arrive in Monaco around noon, just missing the changing of the guard at the Prince's Palace atop to rock which contains all of Monaco Vielle Ville, or Old Town.
It seems almost every important thing in all of Cote d'Azur was atop some sort of cliff or rock. I am not going to be a lazy tourist and complain, it is just funny how you realize that is how things had to be back in those times, for security and protection. Someone was always invading someone else, pillaging and taking over. I know it is a little petty, but it makes me think of those poor guys that had to carry everything up these rocks. Some of these hikes are rough with a camera bag, I couldn't imagine carrying a big bag of flour or a day's worth of water. (I just read that statement back to myself, and I thought, "Ha, what a spoiled American!")
Monaco is an extremely tourist-oriented district, but it wasn't really crowded or something I would call a tourist trap. The view again was oustanding, it being atop of rock on the coastline. Since missing the elaborate changing of the guard, we took an audio tour of the Palais of Prince Albert of Monaco. Note to self: Get International Student Discount Card. Available to most everyone under 25, it gives you great discounts on attractions such as the Palace of Monaco. Cameras are not allowed within the Palais, but just close your eyes and imagine room after small room, brimming full of towering paintings of the deaceased royalty of numerous defunct nations, which are hung above jewel-encrusted and gold-enlaid cabinets, mosaic tiled-topped desks, and other empty furniture of assorted colors and sizes. Overall it was impressively gaudy, but palatial none the less. The most interesting part of the palace was the grand stairway in the maincourtyard, which my pocket-sized British audio tour guide informed me was carved from a single piece of marble. Ajoining the palace was a musuem dedicated to artifacts of Napoleon, and home to a number of his trademark trifoil hats.
After the museums we headed to the Musee d'Oceanographique which and is perched on the cliff's edge of the Vielle Ville, and was founded and formally curated by Jacques Cousteau. The musee was full of family and French children, and although the Aquarium wasn't as large and modern as many American ones are, it had a few creatively constructed tanks full of monstrous fish of the Mediterranean. A bite to eat and a walk of to the cathedral later, we headed back down the rock searching for a way to find the Prince's private car collection located atop a district west of the Veille Ville, in a area reclaimed from the sea known as Fonteville.
Following signs, we follow the crowd into an elevator that is directly in a rock face, ... with no building in sight. On blind faith, no knowing if we are even going up or down, the elevator open on to a dark corridor light only my cool, multi-colored lights that bounce some gentle light off the tunnel's stone interior. At the end of the stone tunnel we realize the is the entrance to a large mall, that is built directly into the rock's base. I guess Monaco is a rich enough nation to afford to build elevator is sheer stone so its public can reach the mall.
Fonteville Commerical Centre is home to the Prince's car collection and we get inside just before they close for the day, and we pretty much have the entire place to ourselves. My father is a classic car fanatic and he pretty much found his private paradise among the hundred or so cars in the Prince's collection, which contained everything from a Model T to the pacecar in this past year Monaco Grand Prix. Our feet getting tired of walking, we catch a bus from Fonteville to Monte Carlo, the old commerical district and home to the world reknown, Monte Carlo Casino, made famous by my father other hero James Bond.
Monte Carlo Casino is surrounding by majesticly manicured gardens and fountains. The carpark in front was tended to by many valets and full of Bentleys and the like. The main gaming room is off limits to those without pants and jackets, and there is a 20E cover just to enter that part of the casino. Luckily for me, there is a small room set aside near the front of the casino for those tourists like me, that just want to be able to say the gamble in Monte Carlo. 15 minutes and 10E later, I walked out with that ability. A quick walk down near the port of Monte Carlo and back into the train station later, and we were off back to Nice.
The email is getting long and I am getting hungry, ... think I'll head down to Ukkomunkki for a bite, beer, and Euro match. Part 2 will come soon.
Miss you all,
John
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