Home Sweet Home

After something like 30 hours of travel (sleeping at the Dublin airport), I arrived safe and sound at home! Mom, Dad and Carrie were waiting for me at the RDU airport with flowers. I can't believe I've made it home! See you soon!

Dutch Holiday

I am staying with my (distant) cousin, Margriet here in Hallum, in the Netherlands. Hallum is a beautiful little town with manicured gardens and streets paved with bricks. Everyone trims their bushes to 90 degree angles and the streets are quiet and friendly. Everyone says "Hai" to each other as they pass. Today was a classic Dutch holiday. We rode our bikes along canals and past cow pastures under the big sky (since the land is so flat, you can see the sky arching from one side to the other), passing little towns and farmhouses. Our destination was Burdaard, where we toured a windmill. The feeling of being inside a windmill as the wind picks up speed and the sails start to spin faster was awe inspiring. I could see the sails wooshing past the little windows and hear the machine grinding grain into flour. This windmill was multi purpose - they could hook in the grinder or a saw mill to the same gears.

From Burdaard we biked down to another little town where we has a late lunch at a canal-side cafe. We had a sampler of appetizers (little fried things, cheese, sausage, and salmon on crackers) and "sorbet" -- which in Holland means a wonderful parfait of rich creamy ice cream and fresh fruit. We biked back home over a famous bridge in Bartleheim, where people come to watch the Elfstedentocht, the speed skating race that happens only once every 15 years or so. And now we're back at Margriet's house!

I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon for a VERY long period of traveling. I have to take a train from here down to Amsterdam, catch a flight from Amsterdam to Dublin, wait in Dublin all night for my flight to Newark, switch planes in Newark, then arrive in Raleigh at about 5:00 pm. I'm going to be exhausted.

I'll probably be home before I email you again. See you soon!

-Val

Oxford and Ireland

Today I got the phone number of my cousin here in Ireland! I went to the post office here in Dublin and asked if they had phone books. No luck, but they pointed me to the library down the street, where a super sweet lady not only helped me find the right phone book, but she helped me look up bus schedules to their town. She went way beyond what I'd asked for, which is an example of classic Irish hospitality. I called my cousin, but her husband told me to call back again tonight. So I'll have to let you know later how this part of my adventure works out!

By the way, I had a GREAT time in Oxford. It's a beautiful town with lots of gothic buildings and cobblestone streets. I had some veggie soup in the Eagle and Child, where the Inklings used to hang out, and I strolled down Addison's walk, where CS Lewis used to walk and talk with his colleagues. I also went punting, which is where you stand up in a long low boat and push yourself along with a pole. With the sun getting low in the sky and shining through the leaves, and ducks falling asleep and roosting on the shore, it felt like a moment from the Wind in the Willows (incidentally the author of that book, Kenneth Grahame, is buried in Oxford)

This poem is posted on Addison's walk. I already knew & loved it, so it was awesome to see it on a plaque:

What the Bird Said Early in the Year
by CS Lewis
I heard in Addison's Walk a bird sing clear:
This year the summer will come true. This year. This year.
Winds will not strip the blossom from the apple trees
This year, nor want of rain destroy the peas.
This year time's nature will no more defeat you,
Nor all the promised moments in their passing cheat you.
This time they will not lead you round and back
To autumn, one year older, by the well-worn track.
This year, this year, as all these flowers foretell,
We shall escape the circle and undo the spell.
Often deceived, yet open once again your heart,
Quick, quick, quick, quick! -- the gates are drawn apart.

Addison's Walk

Loving London!

Today I explored Charles Dicken's house, the British Museum (loved the Assyrian art), and the British Library (the Magna Carta, Beowulf, the original handwritten Alice In Wonderland, the Gutenberg Bible...). I can't believe how many excellent sites they have here (and mostly for free!) In a couple of days I'm taking a bus out to Oxford to see the town where Tolkien and CS Lewis hung out!
Very limited time here. Internet Cafes close early here for some reason :(

Cheers!

-Valerie

Pamplona!

I'm in Pamplona, Spain for Sanfermines (the festival where they have the Running of the Bulls). It's really quite crazy here, with people partying in the streets all hours. I've got it good though because I'm staying with some wonderful people named Satur and Beatriz, who have given me a bed to sleep in and washed my laundry (oh how I love the smell of clean clothes!) and let me call home from their phone (my first time talking to my parents in 7 weeks). They've also brought me all around Pamplona to see historic areas, and they've taught me a lot about the whole Sanfermines event. Yesterday morning I got to watch the Encierro (the running with the bulls) from a balcony, which normally people have to pay a lot to do. In the afternoon, my hosts brought me to their Sociedad Gastronomica (a cooking club) where they made excellent steaks and salads and roasted red peppers. While we ate and talked, the men would spontaneously burst into song, singing traditional tunes of Navarra (the region where Pamplona is located) or old classic tunes like Old Man River. They asked me to sing a traditional tune from North Carolina, but sadly I couldn´t think of anything except James Taylor´s Carolina In My Mind. The Navarran culture is rather like the Scottish and Irish in a way, with very strong feelings for their history and independence, and a love of music and traditional dancing.

Last night Spain won the World Cup over the Netherlands. It was an interesting feeling to be in an area where a lot of people really consider themselves Navarran rather than Spanish. There are a lot of Basque people here, and many of them actually wanted Spain to lose. So though there was some cheering and honking horns here, it was not at all like the previous game when I was in Granada. After the game we met up with some of my hosts' friends. When she asked me 'Que tal?' I responded 'España ganó!' (Spain won!) and she kind of made a face and shrugged her shoulders like, 'Yeah, too bad.' Things are rather complicated here in Pamplona.

Tonight I'm taking a train to Paris so I can be there for Bastille Day! Tomorrow I get to reunite with my French exchange student from 10 years ago. Last time I saw her I was 15 years old.

Greetings to everyone! I'm sure your prayers have been with me, because I've been unbelievably blessed on this trip!

-Valerie

In Arcos de La Frontera

Undoubtably the most beautiful place I´ve stayed yet. I have a wonderful large hotel room with a giant window overlooking the Andalusian landscape (for only 55 Euros). As I only have one day here, I´m off to explore. This is just so amazing though, I had to share it with you. Seriously, I almost cried when I saw how gorgeous this place is.

http://www.lacasagrande.net/

I decided the moment I arrived that I will return someday.

Estoy En Madrid

I went to Pamplona from Barcelona and really enjoyed it. I stayed with a 24 year old girl named Irene who showed me around the town and let me sleep on her couch! Pamplona is without a doubt one of the prettiest places I've been to yet. The whole city is a garden, with trees and parks everywhere, very well maintained flowers and trimmed bushes, and fountains. They still have old walls from the 15 and 16th centuries, which they have used as boundaries for these parks. They also have a free zoo of sorts with goats and deer, peacocks and swans in different areas.

I'm in Madrid now, and I'm off to explore it. It was kind of difficult getting to the hostal because Madrid's metro is on strike (seriously, what is it with the European transportation systems and strikes?)

Hope everything's going well at home!

Cinque Terre, Torino, Barcelona

I arrived in Barcelona by night train this morning. The night train was quite an experience. After sleeping in less-than-stellar hostels, a clean bed with sheets and a blanket (and a little bar of soap, toothpaste, and a collopseable toothbrush) feels SO posh. I really felt like this second-class sleeper car (which I shared with 3 other ladies) was the fanciest thing ever!

I had a very long travel day from Cinque Terre yesterday. Tuscany had a train strike scheduled from 10am-6pm and my train out of Cinque Terre was supposed to be at 4. To avoid getting stuck, I left on a 7am train so I could get my connection to Barcelona. This train brought me to Torino, which I guess I'm showing my ignorance by saying I didn't know anything about this city until I showed up in their station. Anyway, I arrived in Torino at 11 am, and my connecting train wasn't leaving until 8 pm. I decided to explore a bit, and found out that Torino is quite a beautiful city. It made me think of the nice parts of New York, with fancy shops and interesting people (lots of neon colored hair). I ate in a really nice cafe with miniature cactuses on the tables and worked on my journal (I've made my journal a priority over blogging, sorry). Then I walked around the city a bit, partly just to see what was there, and partly to look for a cheap belt (I forgot to pack one). All of the stores were way too fancy, and belts cost 15€ at least.

Finally I returned to this nice park across the street from the train station. I asked this middle aged lady sitting on a bench across from me 'Dove posso comprare...?' and pantomimed a belt. She tried to explain to me about this place where I could get a cheap belt, but I was afraid it might be too far away (I cut the bottom of my feet by jumping off a rock in Cinque Terre). Finally she led me to the place she was talking about. She's a Romanian lady who works as a caretaker for an old lady (who she brought along of course). She led me to a booth where a guy was selling belts for 5€. Then, because I'd tried to explain why I didn't want to walk far, she led me to a pharmacy and helped me get some bandaids.

After that, I returned to the park with Maria and her charge (I don't remember her name...) and we hung around on the benches for quite some time. Other friends of theirs showed up and gave happy greetings, and joined the group. Soon there were 9 or 10 people hanging out on the benches, chatting. None of them knew English, but we still managed to communicate using some combination of Italian and Spanish. I told them about my travels, and one guy told me about his family back in the Ukraine, showing me pictures of his recently-married son and his teenage daughter. I had a great time with these people, who were mostly from Eastern Europe and worked in blue collar jobs in Torino. One lady was named Valerie too! They were all so kind to me, and advised me to be careful in Barcelona to avoid theft. They also told me it'd be best to wait in the train station as things started to get dark in Torino. I said farewell to them with an Italian kiss (I was hoping to get this before I left Italy!) and headed into the station to get some dinner and catch my train.

I better get to bed early tonight...my only full day in Barcelona is tomorrow. Stay in touch!

Music in Venice

Hello friends! Internet access is getting harder to find without paying an arm and a leg, so I have to be brief again. I had a wonderful time in Florence and met all sorts of nice people (including a pair of British girls named Michelle and Emily, like my sisters!) My hostel here in Venice is not really my favorite so far (the staff is irresponsible and unavailable, and the guests are mostly a partying crowd). However, my visit here has been totally worth it because I found a free concert in a church right next to my hostel tonight. It was so completely beautiful, I felt like my soul was being renewed. The concert was sacred works by Faure for chorus and organ. Also while I was at the concert, I met these ladies from Massachussetts who are on their way to the same place I'm about to visit (Cinque Terre). We're going to try to look each other up when we're there!

I miss you guys! Send me some love!

-Val

In Rome

Just to let you guys know, I arrived in Rome last night and stayed in a catholic hostel (Ostello Marello). I'm heading out now to see the sites, but I just wanted to give a quick update about where I am. I hope you are all doing well!

-Val

In Istanbul (Constantinople)

I'm in Istanbul now! I traveled by bus from Izmir. My grandparents told me that Turkish busses are wonderful. The one I rode here was definitely luxurious, with an attendant serving tea and coffee every couple hours, as well as cakes and cookies. The Turks sure love their tea! The attendant spoke English, so he asked me about my trip and where I'm from. I'm so glad I put pictures of my family and a map of my trip plans in my journal, because it really helps with conversation.

Tea service on the bus to Istanbul

I have had a wonderful time in Izmir. Yılmaz and Seval really feel like my Turkish parents. We've had a great time making food together (I taught Seval how to make apple pie and Dutch cookies and she and her friends taught me about mantı, a kind of Turkish raviolli) chatting about various topics, listening to classical music, and eating lots of ice cream (Yılmaz was always treating me to ice cream and chocolate).

I love so many things about Turkey. The countryside is beautiful, the people are warm and friendly (Yılmaz and Seval always chat with the shop owners when they go to buy something), the food is delicious, and the weather has been wonderful (except the past three days when it rained). I have had so many experiences, which I have written about in detail in my journal. Here are some highlights:

• Teaching children at Bizimir (Seval's community center) the Hokey Pokey, and learning a song about a little bird (Mini Mini Bir Kuş) from them
• Visiting various different vacation homes at seaside towns.
• Shopping at bazaars and hearing vendors yelling out their wares
• Eating whole fish with the head on -- it was so good and so fresh, I've never liked fish as well as this one.
• Trying a bite of sheep intestine soup...it actually didn't taste that bad
• Hearing a classical guitarist play at Bizimev. He was excellent
• Meeting friends of my grandparents all over the place
• Seeing the ruins of Ephesus and Pergamon (the city where we get the word 'parchment' from)

Anyway, I should get going...I have an early day planned tomorrow! I hope everything's going well at home. Hoşçakal! (Goodbye!)

Sıtuatıon ın Turkey

In case you dıdn't know, there have been some stırrıngs between Israel and Turkey ın the past couple of days. People have been protestıng about sıx Turkısh actıvısts who were kılled off the coast of Israel (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/world/middleeast/04flotilla.html). Don't worry about me. Thıngs are just fıne here ın Izmır. I wıll be goıng to Istanbul on Monday, where I wıll be wıth a very smart and capable lady named Yaprak who speaks excellent Englısh, and whose husband ıs Amerıcan. Any of the protests are happenıng ın a dıfferent part of the cıty, and they'll probably be over by then anyway. There's no reason why I would be ın any danger.

From Seval:

Hello Laurıe everythıng ıs alrıght here. Don't worry about anythıng or about Valerıe. We wıll wrıte you soon. Thıs ıs mostly drama that our prıme mınıster ıs creatıng to make a show sınce electıons are comıng up soon.

Love to all! I wıll be flyıng to Rome on Thursday nıght!

-Valerie

Merhaba!

Merhaba means hello on Turkish. I've been very busy in the last day and a half since I arrived in Izmir. Today Seval (my hostess) arranged for me to be a guest speaker at a local university - Celal Bayar. I talked for an hour or so in a freshman English literature class about my education, my work, and my art. The professors asked me to talk about books I've read since it's a literature class, so I summarized the plot of Cyrano de Bergerac, much to the amusement of the students.

The classroom. I am in the middle with Sibel, an English literature professor

The view from the campus - olive groves and other farms.

I definitely didn't expect to be a guest speaker at a university on my first full day in Turkey! I've done a lot more, but it's very late and I need to rest up for tomorrow!

Packed!

I'm done packing! Here are my possessions for the next 73 days:

• Clothing: 6 shirts, 3 skirts, 1 pair of capri pants
• Electronics: iPod charger, converters, camera battery charger
• Phrase books: Turkish and French/German/Italian combo
• Other books: tiny Bible, tiny Tale of Two Cities, travel guides
• Cool stuff: GorillaPod, microfiber towel
• and other stuff

The GorillaPod and towel are my favorite gadgets for this trip. The GorillaPod will let me take photos in all sorts of crazy places by grabbing onto surfaces. The towel is like a ShamWow - it folds up tiny, but holds up to 4X its weight in water. How cool is that?

Flying Tree

One of my friends made this observation:

The only question left about your blog is whether you consider yourself a plant or a baby bird.

I'd say I'm a flying tree, pictured here:

Not quite practical, I guess, but rather fun :-)

On another note, I received an email today from my French exchange student, Emilie! Ten years ago I visited her family in the small town of Saint-Maur, north of Paris. My fifteen-year-old self wasn't so excited about visiting France (since I didn't speak any French and I was extremely shy), but I ended up having a great time with Emilie's sweet family in their beautiful farmhouse. I'm hoping to meet up with Emilie while I'm on her side of the world this summer.

Me in France in 2000

What's worse than wearing a fanny pack?

Wearing one under your clothes...

Leaving in Two Weeks!

I can't believe I'll be flying to Turkey in only two weeks! Things have come together really well as I've planned for this trip. I'm feeling ready to go now!


I've called this blog Roots and Wings because this trip is my opportunity to go back to my roots as well as spread out into new experiences. I've always wanted to visit the countries my great-grandparents are from. My mom's grandparents immigrated from Friesland, a province of the Netherlands. My Dad's grandparents are from the town of Carrickmacross, Ireland. I'm hoping to visit my great-grandfather's farm while I'm in Ireland.

My friend Nicole suggested I could create a list of goals while I travel. Here are a few to get me started:

• See my family's origins
• Expand my ability to speak Spanish.
• Get a haircut in a foreign country
• Visit the shop where my guitar was made (in Rome) and where it was sold (in Paris)
• Learn some Spanish flamenco guitar
• See a Friesian horse in Friesland

I'm not sure how much I'll be posting on here while I'm gone, but I thought it'd be nice to have a place to collect my thoughts when I have the chance. I hope you enjoy traveling with me!