My Options

So I had written another post but it was deleted in my internet disruption and cancellation. I guess internet is on my to do list, but Border's and Barnes and Nobel will have to do.

I feel like everyone has that one person who they can go to in order to discuss the topic at hand. In the case of this France mid-hap shenanigans, my person is Vicki. I am not quite sure how she is able to sit and listen to me talk for hours on end and try to come up with different methods of staying in France and my options, but she does it about once a week and for the I am grateful beyond belief.

She brought up to me that if I was afraid to stay in France (or the EU) for more than three months I had two options: 1) leave the EU and travel to those places that I had spoken of before 2) go home. In three months time, isn't that enough to get everything out of it that I want...is it?

I am not sure that I can say in three months (two traveling out of France) that I will get my fill of France. I mean I do not want to be a nomad just wandering, I want to be within a culture. I want to understand that "a meal without cheese is like a beautiful woman without an eye." I want to say that I have lived in France and not just taken a trip there.

I could go there, come home for three months and then return. That works. I could even spend a couple of weeks out of the EU while my first visit, so that I can still meet my friend and cousin in London for Thanksgiving. If I do not stay for the 9 months, I could spend more money on food and better places to live. The living will take away from meeting people but I am sure I will be able to meet these people on the streets and at the cafes.

If I decide to do this, I must make sure that I get my time in Provence! Without this, my whole time will be lost!! If I get a place there for one of the last months, it will be cold and the Mistral will be knocking at my door. I am not sure that I can handle that. Perhaps I will push my time in Provence to the very very end of my trip, before those dreadful tourists come...

What Do You Want?

I started the day by checking out other blogs on the website. I just scrolled from one to the next seeing what they were all about. So many are about Jesus and God and all of the religious side; I guess I am more about spirituality than the religion, but it still was a bit weird to see so many of the blogs focusing on that aspect of life.

Since I am in the kind of reflective mood that I have been accustom to getting in after a hard day or long year, I figured I would share what I am hoping to get out of my travels. As I have noted before (and all of you who know me) I am a worrier. I cannot help it, perhaps it is the teacher in me, but I must plan, plan, plan, execute, and adapt. I am hoping that through my travels I learn to do a little less planning and a bit more living. I know I am not doing any of this now, I mean I am still in America, and have the time, so I shall plan away...

I know I work too much and too hard, I think I get it from my grandmother and father. If something can be done, it will be done now, well and right. I don't mind spending long hours planning things because I know that it will pay off. What it takes away from is time for yourself and your life!

My first year in Georgia was the first time that I was living with Justin. It was a great experience but I worked so hard and barely saw him. It was my first year teaching and I was putting in 12 hour days but we still had time to do things and spend time with each other. The next year, Justin got a job in New Mexico and I was left alone. I sometimes wish that it had been reversed as my second year was so much easier. Perhaps it was the second year of teaching, knowing the school and what was expected, having a lot of the tools/materials, or just the fact that now I was teaching 7th grade (which was easier material than 8th). I had energy (and time) to go out much more often. I am hoping that my next job will be 7th so that I will still have energy to spend time living with Justin. Pulling it back to my trip, I know that Europeans in general have a more relaxed way of life and I hope to bring that back with me. Part of the reason I want to stay in France for the majority of the time is to really soak in their culture. I mean three months will not be enough to brainwash me into this new laissez-faire lifestyle. You know that kind of feeling where you know that you could be doing so much stuff, sight-seeing, exploring, etc. and you decide to find a nice little restaurant, grab a cup of sweet tea and just sit...that is what I hope to really get reinforced in France. I got a little bit of that my second year in Georgia. Perhaps it was my friend who always went out with me, but I think I am not spoiled with good food and time to sit and soak up the sun.

I love meeting new people. To hear their stories, to get their perspectives and opinions, to see things from another point of view...it just amazes me that you can live so close (or so far away) and have so much in common (or not). When I have a problem or situation that occurs I often ask for everyone's opinion (except my mom, she gets offended if I don't take her advice). I just like to hear what others would do and why. Sometimes I know there is no way that I will follow their advice, or that they don't get my situation fully, but when they explain their reasoning, I am sometimes still able to take something away from what they think.

Food. Food is delicious, I am in love with it. It breaks my heart during the school year when I get home and am too tired to cook. In college I would cook everything I needed for the week and freeze it. Each day I would have a fresh, delicious delight. Living with a guy, it is not so easy to do that. Not to mention that I do not want to spend my whole Sunday in the kitchen when I can be out for a stroll with the best company in the world. The books that I have read about Provence always mention food and I cannot wait! Perhaps it will be a bit full bodied and hard to take, but I will work my way up to it. I just feel that the French truly get that deliciousness is worth time, money, effort. This paragraph does not do food justice, but when I am in France, I am sure better words will come to me.

If you could travel any one place in the world for three months or one year, where would it be? Why would you want to go there and what would you want to get out of it?

Visa

My last post was started to talk about this, however I felt the need to give you the background information so now I shall get to the meat and gravy of it all. After reading my book and deciding to get my day started, I thought back to my cancellation letter to the consulate. I still have not sent that out with my signature, making it official. Before doing that I might as well make sure that I have everything straight and see if there is anything that I am missing that I can use to get my visa!!

I called the consulate in Atlanta and was transferred and after telling my story the man told me that I needed a residence. He asked me to hold and I held on and I waited for about 15 minutes, writing a letter to pass the time as I figured he was somehow getting back at me for having paper issues from day 1 (he asked who I was so he knew...oh he knew it was me). Finally the man came back and said that he was busy and would call me back. He had my phone number almost completely memorized (had the middle three digits in the wrong order), which does not prove that he was out to get me, especially because he was taking me off of hold but I assure you he was out to get me.

No worries, he called me back. Apparently, in order to get the long stay visa you cannot be a wandering soul, you need an official place. I had never read this anywhere and nobody had ever mentioned this to me. I really wish that it had been stated somewhere so that I knew it going in. Also, it made me think of my cousin's contact in France, if only she knew she just needed to write a letter saying that I would be spending my time there. Too bad-too sad, her house is keeping her occupied and she can be of no help to me.

Onward and upward my planning(with no visa) continues...

Hostels

Today I decided to take indirect advice and I read my book today. A Year In Provence by Peter Mayle. I have to say that this is the second travel book that I have read about Provence and I adore them. I read about 50 pages and then decided to get moving on my day.

I researched Craig's List for a kitchen table and bookshelf and started to think about renting a place in France vis Craig's List. With nothing better to do, I began to search. Paris and Toulouse were the two that I focused on and I found some nice places for good prices, they would be great if I had a person to split it with.

Keeping all of my Craig's List ads up I reviewed my links to hostels in Paris and Toulouse. It is a shame I am not traveling with someone, because the places I could stay would be so much better than some of the hostels...Let's talk about hostels.

My understanding is that it is like a hotel, you pay money, stay in a room, the more people the less the cost. I do not mind dorm style living and I do not mind having to walk down the hall to shower or being in by a certain time, it sounded pretty good...until I saw one that said All Female Room. Oh yea, I guess it would be co-ed. I feel like guys are dirty and snore so I am not sure that my ear plugs could handle that. Girls like to talk and I think I could handle that but I only saw one place that had a girls only room (then again, I wasn't really looking). Playing devil's advocate, meeting some guys would be a really good idea. Having them to possibly meet up with later or walk around with could be a great relief if in an area that I am not too comfortable in.

I just don't know about the sleeping the in the same quarters as the guys. Oh yes, I forgot the most important thing that got me thinking about this!! One of the rooms was for four and said two or more beds...I am not an old timer or anything but having to sleep in a bed with a total stranger of a girl is a bit much for me...but a guy? I don't know that I could do this. I asked my trusty traveler friend for some advice on the situation and although he tried, nothing really triggered an "ah ha" moment (as we call it in eduction).

Investigations will perhaps help and just going there and seeing where I wind up would be great, but not in August...that is busy season and I feel finding a free hostel would be difficult and I cannot see walking from hostel to hostel dragging my luggage down the dirt road working (at least not yet).

So I feel like a chicken with my head cut off...so many thoughts are running through my head and I feel like I have so much to do and I have no idea where to start. All of this French planning is happening in between my move, which is taking place TOMORROW! I am so excited to be in MY home in New Mexico - at least for now.

Now this post will probably be all over the place, due to the fact that my head is spinning in circles like that crazy girl from the exorcist. I just hope that I do not start spitting pea soup at anyone, it would be too difficult to clean up before my move!

So when I turned in my cancellation for my visa, I did not sign the paper, I just printed it out and sent it. I realized this after I sealed the envelope and did not bother to open it back up. I guess I had hopes that I would find a place to stay before they contacted me about it not being official. Well, today I got that call that it was not official without my signature. I feel that I cannot ask the couple that I will be with to write a letter saying they will be responsible for me, especially since they are not a farm and have no letter head. So off again to the mailbox for the official, signed, letter of cancellation.

Since I will not have a long stay visa, I can legally be in France (and the whole EU) for 90 days out of every 190. My fiance and I read up all over the internet on this and what the consequences of staying would be. I got a lot of, most of the time nothing will happen. I only read about one person who was fined and red listed not to return for a few years. The time is based on how long you overstay your visa and staying 8 months from 3 months seems a bit much to me. I read of one guy who was in the Czech Republic way past his limit and only got in trouble when he left through another country. They sent him back to the Czech with an armed escort for the Czech to deal with him. When he got there, they told him to get a hotel and he stayed for another year or so.

Now, if I were planning to stay in France the whole time I am sure that it would not be that big of a deal and I could pull it off. I could even see escaping from France when it was time to leave without any problems (although I would probably look extremely nervous and pee my pants when anyone spoke to me). I promised my cousin, who is currently in London, that I would spend this Thanksgiving with her. Now if me going there was a big deal, I am sure she would not mind coming to visit me. More complications: my friend from Atlanta wants to move to London and I invited him to spend Thanksgiving there with me and my cousin next year. He is so into going and has already started saving money to make the trip. This means I have to be in London at the end of November.

So the break down? I can wander all around the EU for three months and then be banished for three months and then return. I was thinking France then all around and then France again but it will just not do with this London thing. So here is my new idea which I hate but feel it is the only feasible option at this point in time:

Go to Paris for the first couple of days, travel to Toulouse and my first farm until the 19th of August.

Catch up with my sister and do an EU tour to Brussels and perhaps somewhere else until mid September.


Mid September to mid October head to another farm in France. (I will have been in the EU for about 2.5 months)

Mid October to beginning of November head to Switzerland (not part of the EU).

Beginning of November to mid November head to Norway. (out of the EU for about 1 month)

Head to London for a week and then Ireland (since I will be there) for another week or so. (this will conclude my 90 days in the EU)

December will be in Israel (I should be here for two months to reset my visa)

January - March/April - return to EU and then stay in France for remainder of trip

Now I know that is a lot, but that is why my head is spinning! I mean 1/3 of my trip to France will not be in France. Not to mention the visiting of other EU places during that time, which again will not be in France. For a trip that is all about France it is not very France filled. I am not sure how I feel about not being there for so long. I mean I feel like it might make more sense (and help me save money) if I just return to the US, but that is just hogwash as why would I have been saving since middle school just to interrupt my huge going to France trip with America?

I guess Switzerland, Norway and Israel are better than America for this but will I be able to handle it? I know people (look how tough I am) in Norway and Israel (okay I don't KNOW them, I just know of them and think I could make some type of connection and meet up or something) while I am there. I also know people in Greece, which I would LOVE to go to but unfortunately Greece is part of the EU...what is that about, really?

Side story: I went to Israel about 7 years ago and was going to go to Greece afterwards but got extremely sick and wound up coming back to the US. I am not sure if that is leaving a positive taste in my mouth about returning to Israel, I mean it was beautiful and I loved it - but it was hot, and I got sick, and I don't know if I can handle that.

No wonder the pea soup is spewing out of my mouth...

Lockers

So after spreading the good news to my parents, my father brought up that there are lockers in major train stations and perhaps even airports. I had read about this and heard some friends mention it a bit but did not really look into it or think much about it until now.

I am thinking this might be helpful to my "book bag" solution of clothing. At least then, I can have more clothing and items and just pick them up after my first farm. Gare du Nord has lockers that you can rent for $2 to $10 a day. I am sure I will be able to pass by the station on my way to and fro the first farm but I just need to see if it will be worth the money (perhaps $100...) I mean I could get some new clothes for that.

If you are interested in the site I found, it also gives other things you can do at the train station to save time check it out: http://www.reidsguides.com/t_tr/t_tr_stations.html

While I was looking into all of the lockers I also came across some websites that give you the days that museums and other places are open fo' FREE! I would love to check out the Louve and not having to pay is a huge plus, I just need to make sure I am around sometime at the beginning of the month(even if it is the last Sunday I am in France). http://www.reidsguides.com/destinations/europe/france/paris/sights/free_paris_sf.html#cluny

For those asking why I am not just getting a Euro-Pass: These seem like a great deal and will help you if you are not sure exactly where you want to go, etc. However, they are pretty expensive and I think best if used in one month just going all around. Since I will be staying here for two weeks, wandering, staying there for two weeks, it makes things difficult as the one month unlimited seems the best. There are some deals that might better suit me but those are just out of my price range for now. If I get there and see that I really am using the train and it would be better, I may convert. Right now though, 1.4 euro a train ride is not too bad.

Enjoy the stow-aways and free-bees!

Planning En Route

Okay so this is for all of the soon to be explorers and perhaps WWOOFers out there. I found two great websites to check out if you need to get from point A to point B.

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/cartebus.php?lang=uk
That is an interactive map of the train system. It works pretty well to look at and explore what trains go where and intersect with what other trains. I could not get the route to work where I plug in the start and end point.

http://www34.ratp.info/Pivi/piviweb.php?exec=piviweb&cmd=Lexico&Profil=RATP_UK
This allows you to input the starting and stopping destinations and it gives you the quickest ways to get there. It cut my 4 trains and a really really long train ride down to one 40 minute train and a 10 minute bus.

Paris to Toulouse

The day that I arrive in Paris I am going to get the unreliable and very late shuttle offered from the hotel to drive me to the hotel. I will put my stuff down and force myself to wander around seeing the sights before I crash. I am in the process of booking the chocolate tour for the following day and then I will have the rest of that day to explore again. I believe that I will be back in Paris to see what all of this excitement is about and get a show of the Moulin Rouge and perhaps Seine River and Eiffel Tower before I leave.

In order to get from Paris to Toulouse (which is in the south of France) I will need to take a 5 hour train ride or an hour+ flight. I looked up what other people thought and most people said, "you are in France, see it, take the train." They even gave the suggestion of bringing a picnic and wine to drink on the train (not really something I can see people suggesting for a train ride from New Jersey to New York). The prices for flight are about $70 and the train is about $74-$90 depending where in Paris I would leave from. I think the flight is going to win this time, I will have plenty of time to catch up on the sights for my next location travel.

This means that I will be arriving in Toulouse on Friday around 4:30 (16:30, oh so French I know) and I will be able to explore until Monday, which is when I need to arrive at the farm. There are a couple of things to do in Toulouse but the one thing I think I am going to focus on is a walking tour. I figure it will force me to see the town and get to know it since apparently there is lots of history around it. The other couple of things don't seem too impressive but I figure I may have to resort back to them since I will have a couple of days to kill.

Why not get there later? The cost of the plane will go up. There were a couple of cheaper flights but I would get to Toulouse with no time to spare or I would be a sitting duck for a week, which I would rather be a sitting duck in Paris.

Recap: Remember how I had a dilemma about what to bring and how my friend said a book bag with two pairs of underwear? And I said he was crazy, where would I put my boots? Then I kept thinking about me walking down a long dirt road rolling my suitcase behind me?

Reality: The first farm is a bit out of town from Toulouse and the couple has no cars, but they do have 4 bikes. Due to the fact that I cannot see myself biking down a dirt road, trailing my luggage behind me, or balancing the suitcase on the handle bars, or sitting on top of the luggage as I rode, I think I may have to down size my suitcase...not really to the two pairs of underwear size but somewhere in between.

The Real First Farm

I decided that I could no longer hold off on canceling my visa and so yesterday 2 minutes before the mailman came, I dropped of my letter of cancellation. Does it feel good? A bit. Not having to worry about getting insurance translated from Italian to English to French and finding a farm that will take me is a bit of a release. I spent the rest of the day researching different French immersion classes and deciding which I would prefer based on location and cost. Of course I did not sign up for anything, as I need a couple of days to deliberate this decision.

Today, at approximately 7:23am Mountain Time, I received an email stating that an opening is available for me! One might say...why did I drop that letter of cancellation into the mailbox before the mailman came, WHY?! Not me though! It turns out this again is not a farm, but a large garden for a husband and wife in their 20s. Which means that even if I did wait to drop it into the mailbox until after the mailman came and there was a possibility of me sitting outside of the mailbox all day today just to beg the mailman to let me take that letter back, it would not be worth it since I still would not be able to get a letter on "Farm Letterhead."

The husband, Christian, is a professor and has summers off and they are focused on lessening their footprint on Earth and need some helping hands. Luckily my hands are willing and available for the time that they have open. I am scheduled to be there from August 9 - August 18th. They will need help with maintaining the garden, making paths, raising some land for new plants and cooking. I am excited to get into the kitchen and see what I can learn while there. They said I can stay on a blow up mattress and will only need to work about 3 hours a day and they have bicycles for use. This sounds perfect!

I am so happy to have something...finally! Now that I have a place to go, a whole host of planning needs to get done: what will I do in Paris, when will I leave, how will I get from Paris to Toulouse, do I want to get there a day or two early, etc.

What What, Another Farm!

You see, I told you that if I just waited to send out my cancellation letter I would hear back from farms and voila! (see I am already incorporating my French) This farm seems a lot better and actually had been one of my top picks. They are all about work and having people jump right in and help with not just their farm but community activities. I was hoping to work here later on in my journey as I felt known French would be most helpful, however I have nothing in my view.

They gave me (and a bunch of other WWOOFers) a couple of dates that they are open and said first come first serve. As you know, my sister is planning to spend the end of August with me for my birthday, which throws off my compatibility with the farm. I decided to let them know how interested I was and that I would be available mid September on (I did not mention for the next 7 months on). I sent this out to them just 11 minutes after they sent their reply.

I waited so long, because I was trying to get a hold of my sister to get exact dates of when she will be visiting. I know, I am crazy for thinking that she has any clue, but I tried.

I have begun looking into other things to do in France, since it appears I will be free for a while. I have a hotel booked in Paris for three days and I found some amazing things! In no specific order:
1) a pastry and chocolate tour
2) a cooking class that includes a tour of the city and markets to purchase the food we will cook with
3) (and as you know) French immersion classes

I figure the first two are a great way to be broken into Paris. They also have cheese and wine tasting tours, but I feel as though it would be a waste of money for me as I am not a huge fan of either....yet.

The immersion classes can be taken in Paris or other cities (Aix en Provence, Nice, etc). I would probably take it outside of Paris and stay with a host family. I get the feeling that people outside of the city who would be hosting might be a bit more kind to newbees.

Along with my research, I have found similar things to do in other countries ie: Tapas tour in Spain. I know that most of my blogs are about issues with getting my visa or future food/eating...but honestly - the anticipation of the food is making the stress of the visa slowly disappear from my mind...which reminds me - I should really send out my cancellation letter!

First Farm

I knew that the moment that I sent in my letter to the embassy stating I wanted to cancel my visa, I would hear back from a farm. Well...I have not sent out the letter yet, because I am waiting for farms! Anyway, I did hear back from someone...with a spot...open for me!! Don't get your hopes up, it is more comical than serious.

After I was rejected through no response or being let down kindly, I sent out a bunch of letters. They let the farms know that I was interested and gave some background about myself: I teach middle school and like children, blah blah blah. Anyway, this guy (perhaps a girl?) said that my letter seemed as though it reached them by mistake, as they do not have any children, but they know it would have been impossible for me to know that ahead of time.

In fact, this is no farm...this is a person with a "big garden." They make pottery and just want someone to weed and maintain their garden. Now this is something I can totally do, thus the reason I emailed them. However, they said that they can only take one person at a time, are 45 years old, live alone, and are to poor to feed me, unless I can fix their crumbling house.

Despite this not being what I am really looking for, it still seems perhaps doable as I have nothing right now. The one thing that is a bit much for me is that they want me to have some background in plants as they took a course about plants and do not want me to weed the wrong things and they will be inside working on pottery and they will not be able to stand over me. Now my mother is a "Master Gardener" and I know quite a bit about plants in NJ, the north east, and even the south east, but I don't know about France...

I know a couple of people that have been doing a Spanish immersion class and they stay with a host family in Guatemala or Costa Rica. I think that I shall look into this for French and France and perhaps that will buy me some more time to find a more suitable farm.

Waiting

I have have some good news and some bad news...

Good News: I have stopped worrying about this whole French Visa thing! I mean it is so not worth it! Despite me knowing this previously, it was difficult to do, but now I am over it.

Bad News: The French Consulate called and said that the insurance paperwork that I sent to them needed to be in French (it was in English and Italian) and I would have to get it translated from the company and send it back to the consulate.

My Decision: I am sending in my cancellation letter for my visa. I have spent some time pondering this and even ranted about it in previous posts but after sending out about 12 more emails to farms and hearing nothing back (only one place got back to me and they said that they could not accommodate me) I feel like this is just not meant to be. I am trying so hard to do this WWOOFing thing and am getting no headway! The two friends of friends who live in France and who I thought could help me with getting my visa were too busy (well one just did not get back to me, so I take it that they are too busy instead of taking that they are rude).

I just wanted to take a year off and really relax. Get some new perspective, learn from new people, get some culture, and reflect on the last two years of teaching. I should have known that nothing is an easy ride for me...and I am okay with that, but I was hoping for something different.

Once they stop "processing" my visa, I suppose I will be right where so many of my friends began, ready to take a trip. I hope to be able to stay for 8 months but I may have to do some country hopping or return early. Others have taken similar trips with no insurance, no visa, and no worries; although I have insurance (although I am not sure how good it will be since it is only applicable when I am WWOOFing) and can make no promises about the no worries, I will be just like them with the no visa part of it.

For now, I wait for some farm out there to get back to me so that I can begin getting an idea of where I will be after my three days in Paris...

Save the Drama for Your Momma

The French Embassy keeps calling me asking for my documents. I am sending them the information about my insurance, as that should be sufficient. I am still having problems getting any farms to allow me to come. I really believe that it is because it is August in France. I am still waiting to hear back from my co-worker and my cousin who know farmers in France. I mean I just need a letter...but no luck. I will continue to send out letters to French farmers and hope to hear something positive back soon (two more farms said no). I was told that if I do not get the paperwork in soon, I will have to come in again to reapply. If that happens, I will just ask for my passport back and I will be off to France for a short period of time and take some trips to other countries as well. I hope that it does not come to that, as I really want to be in France and get the whole french experience.

People have told me that you do not need a visa, just when the three month mark is approaching, take an overnight trip to Spain, Italy, etc. I thought about it, but read somewhere that if you get caught doing that (which it is not legal obviously) that you can get deported and you will not be able to reenter that country for I think it was 5 years, don't quote me on that though. Getting deported is not really that big of a deal, I mean free trip home! But if it is early and then I cannot go back and plus I am sure it will be marked somewhere on some record. It worries me that it could impact me getting a teaching job when I return as that is serious. Could it really, I do not know but I feel it is possible. If I have no other way, then I may try it but until I am out of luck, I will continue to look for farms!

Headed for Alburquerque

Now that we have left Austin, we need to leave Texas. Leaving around 2 we knew the 12+ hour drive was going to be rough. We know that the 70 speed limit really means 90 and we were cruising on out. I had driven through Texas another time but remembered lots of oil rigs and flat land. This time I took different roads and there did not seem to be as many oil rigs and I enjoyed the greenery we passed.

Other than hitting a bird and stopping for some jerky our trip was pretty uneventful. When we finally hit New Mexico, we decided to get something to eat. The first place we saw that said "restaurant" we pulled into. It was pretty full and reminded me of an old Denny's. We had an old waitress who seemed worn out due to the large parties tonight. I felt as though I was in some hick town, although I did feel safer than Georgia hick towns. Nothing on the menu looked appetizing but neither my sister nor me were going to walk out without getting something, we didn't want to get shot!

She got grilled cheese with swiss and I got beef stew. I have never ordered beef stew - unless my mom was cooking. I thought since "the best chili ever" can be found at these types of places, why wouldn't the stew be as good. Aside from the funny looks I got from my sister we continued to order. The grilled cheese had white cheese, but it was not swiss, perhaps they don't have fancy stuff like that there. My beef stew looked like it had hot dogs in it when it came out and I was thinking, how am I going to be able to eat that? Don't worry folks, no hot dogs in there, just carrots. It was good but have very very very very very little beef - which I was okay with. After a couple of spoonfuls it was time to continue on.

We arrived to our destination an hour early (I know, stops and all we did pretty well!) and passed out.

Austin Texas Here We Come...and Go

So day two of our road trip started late since we left New Orleans around 4. No worries we are professionals! The GPS that I had ordered for the road trip did not come in time so we were going off of directions from my fiance and we had no doubts!

The roads that I took were different than the past ones I had been on. I remember lots of oil rigs and flat land. This trip there were oil rigs but not nearly as much. I also felt as though there was a bit more green which was nice. Anyway, it was dark and seemed like we would never make it. Luckily my sister was on her way and we got there around 12am. We checked in and went to bed.

The next morning we checked out the pool. It was indoor and my sister wanted nothing to do with it. We asked the lady at the front desk where some cute unique shops were or real touristy spots to get post cards. She told us directions to a lake where we could "sit and watch the world go by." When my sister explained again she was looking for lame touristy places she gave us directions to the mall. We decided to just explore.

We wound up in downtown Austin and walked around a bit. My sister said it was great but it really reminded me of just a college town. Lots of bars and pubs and it smelled like pee. We found a couple of shops to purchase post cards at and even became big spenders with a $4 fee to see their "weird museum." It was like Ripley's in Atlantic City, but much smaller. We got some pictures and headed out on the road again.

Road Trip to New Orleans

So the day of the move I was up and ready to go! The movers should arrive between 8 and 10, I got a phone call around 9:30 that they were lost - I know the streets of Atlanta and was not surprised at all. I went to pick them up, as I thought it would be quickest. They arrived and the estimate was three hours...six and a half hours later they were packed up. They missed five cabinets. I threw two cabinets worth of stuff in a back and put it in the back seat. We waited for two of the cabinets of pots and pans to be packed up. Oh yes, I said five were forgotten and four were finally accounted for. I guess my $10 worth of make up will need to be restocked in New Mexico.

New Orleans is about a 6.5 hour drive, but it took us about 8. We got there and realized parking was $35. Instead we parked at Harrah's and my sister did 30 minutes of gambling in order to get free parking. In all reality, we spent $25 on parking but did get a free breakfast buffet out of it.

We walked around after parking the car. Many a people have told me not to walk around at night and this is what we were doing, no worries though! We stayed on the main streets and found a pizza place to eat at. Country music playing (fiddle, banjo and all) and we got a salad, wings, a beer and a hurricane. The wings were cooked in hot sauce and were a bit to handle but my sister enjoyed the burn and beer. I had been to New Orleans before and regretted not trying a hurricane so that was my goal this time and it was accomplished. Apparently when I drink (which is not often) I am the same Stacey with some layers pulled back and I find everything funny. It was a long night and we went to sleep after this.

We knew that the next day we would be driving for a minimum of 7.5 hours but decided to soak up New Orleans. We sat by the pool, walked around, took pictures and enjoyed crawfish and an alligator sausage po'boy. The whole time we were thinking about where to eat my sister was all about trying a po' boy but she kept talking about crawfish. I was not really hungry but figured I would get them and she would eat them. She was shocked when I told her that I had never had them whole before (just pre-shelled in food). It turns out that she had only had crawfish like this one other time...when she was six, at my uncles wedding - yea.

We sat and dined as a man walked up to another man and paid him $40 for the shirt off his back. Then the restaurant manager said he would have to leave if he did not have a shirt on. One of the females that the shirtless man was with had just bought a shirt and gave it to him to put on. It was long enough to cover his chest, but not his belly. His arms were too big and the sleeves only went to his elbows before they stopped and cut off his circulation. It was good times.

Our road trip continues.