Rouen

In June of 2007 I had 4 days of my schedule unexpectedly open up while I was traveling in Europe. I was in Paris at that time and I decided to take the train somewhere new to go off and explore for a few days. After looking around online at my different options I decided to go to Rouen for a few days. Being a fan of Impressionists paintings I was sold at seeing the Notre Dame Cathedral of Rouen in which Monet painted a series of during different times of the day. Rouen is the capital of the Upper Normandy region of France. It is a quaint city located on the Seine river with beautiful gothic churches, cobblestone streets, and half-timbered buildings. I arrived by train in the afternoon, checked into my room, and found the nearest outdoor café to take some dinner, drink wine, read, and relax. I took a walk along the Seine and then made it an early evening and headed back to my room. I woke up the next morning and headed over to the Rouen Cathedral and to my luck and surprise the town was celebrating Normandy day in the church square. They had Bavarian beer, hard cider, huge pans of paella, fresh baked breads, baked apples, lemon tarts, etc… There were rows of wooden picnic benches set up with the locals dressed up for the festival in traditional clothing and a band playing music and dancing around making everyone cheer and laugh. I grabbed a beer, a plate of paella, and a lemon tart and sat down with the locals and joined in on the festivities. I thoroughly enjoyed myself that day. After everything died down, I continued walking through the city and found the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. I found a local restaurant down a side alley and enjoyed a relaxing dinner before I made my way to bed. The next morning I went to the Musée des beaux-arts de Rouen in which amongst other artists I saw one of Monet’s paintings of the Rouen Cathedral. I continued on to the Musée de la céramique. My mom paints porcelain and I thought I would stop to take some photos of the pieces for her to enjoy. I wandered around the city some more, did some shopping, and stopped at another café to enjoy some wine, read my book, and watch the people walk by. I made my way to bed and took an early train back to Paris the next day. My little side trip to Rouen was just what I needed, some time to relax and breathe. 

Sunset over the Seine river in Rouen

Side view of the Rouen Cathedral from my room

Rouen Cathedral by Claude Monet

Notre Dame Cathedral Rouen

Half-timbered building

Site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake

You can find more photos from this trip at www.ariagiovanni.com

 

Africa

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to go to Africa. Watching all the National Geographic shows as a kid really stuck with me. I was always fascinated by the episodes that had to do with the savannas and jungles of Africa in particular. It seemed like such a different world to me out there and I could only imagine experiencing it firsthand. There was a time that I had wanted to become a field biologist and study animal behavior in Africa. It is funny how life takes you down a different path but I have never lost my desire for the experience. When the opportunity came for me to join a group of my friends on a safari through Kenya and Tanzania in July of 2007, I jumped on it. Nothing was going to stop me from seeing my dream place. I know, some people would not consider Africa to be their dream place but it definitely was for me. One of my favorite places to go when I was a child was the zoo and Africa felt like a 24 hour zoo that had no boundaries. Africa was like none other: from the baboons I followed on my way to breakfast in the morning, the Maasai village I visited and gave out candies and pens to the children, to watching the hunt, sitting in the front seat of a jeep 12 feet from a lion eating, watching the wildebeests migration, sunsets over the Serengeti, sunrise hot air balloon ride over the Masai Mara, and the long drives on the badly paved roads that ended with numerous mysterious empty bottles of wine in the back. I had so much fun and I enjoyed all the excitement feeling like I was right there when everything happened. I can’t wait for the opportunity to go back again. 

Bangkok Day 1

My sister and I arrived in Bangkok right before midnight. After we cleared immigration, collected our bags, and cleared customs we had a car waiting to take us to the Shangri-La hotel Bangkok. A shower and a bed was just what we needed to get ready to go go go once morning arrived. Our hotel was situated on the Chao Phraya River and in the morning we hopped on a boat going upriver to the Grand Palace. It was surprising to me how many wats you pass along the way not only while traveling on the river but also in general while out and about in the city. Religion is an important part of the Thai people’s lives with Buddhism being the predominate religion in Bangkok. We arrived a few blocks from the palace and took about 3 hours to tour the grounds. Every building is ornately decorated in jewels, gold, and bright colors. Afterwards, we grabbed a tuk tuk and went to visit a few Buddhist temples across town. The fare is low in exchange for stopping at a few “shops” along the way. The drivers of the tuk tuk’s get gas tickets in exchange for bringing tourists to shop whether they buy anything or not. Since we were not pressed for time this was not a problem. After a long hike up to the temple and back it was nice to purchase at the adjacent temple a frozen towel which is a washcloth soaked in water and then frozen. It is your saving grace when you are hot and overheated to cool down with a frozen towel…there is nothing like it. My sister and I then parted from our driver and tried to find a few Mosques that were on the map. Well, after getting lost in the windy roads of town we decided to just visit the one close to our hotel instead. The only good thing about us getting lost was that we happened to come upon a man selling chicken satay from a little cart. I must say it was the best satay I had during my whole trip and my sister would agree. We then headed back up towards our hotel and went for a walk in the local street markets. It was interesting to check out and try some of the local foods, fruits, and sweets. We ended our first day back at our hotel taking a dip in the pool and having a simple dinner on the water. Too tired to do anything else we made it an early evening and got some well needed sleep. 

Waiting in the airport with my sister on the way to Bangkok

House on the Chao Phraya River

Restoration of murals at the Grand Palace

Hanging out at the Grand Palace

The Emerald Buddha

Buddhist monks

In the back of a tuk tuk with my sister

Purple water lily

Buddha figure at Buddhist temple

Outdoor markets

Trying the local fare

Notice the fried chicken head at the bottom left…and no, I did not try it!

View of the Chao Phraya river from my room in Bangkok

My sis and I at dinner

You can find more photos from this trip at www.ariagiovanni.com

US Roadtrip

In September of 2006, my brother and I packed up all my stuff in a uhaul and drove everything I owned cross-country from Los Angeles to New York. Needless to say, after seven days of 10-13 hours of driving and 7 hours of sleep a night I arrived pretty exhausted. I had done long trips before across numerous states, but it was my brothers first time. Our route took us through California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and finally New York. We did not take the most direct route because there were places we wanted to see along the way. The Grand Canyon was our first major stop and it was breathtaking. I have seen photos before but the first time you stand on the edge and see it in person you realize that photos don’t capture how “grand” it really is. We continued on through Utah, which consisted of reddish brown rock formations and deserts and Colorado, which had snowcapped mountains and pine trees. We went up through the bottom tip of Wyoming to hit our next major stop to see Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. I am glad that we stopped there because it was a site to see with your own eyes. It is impressive that they could complete such a monument almost 70 years ago. We continued on through Minnesota and Wisconsin in which the trees were all starting to change to fall colors. I love this time of year on the east coast because the colors are so vibrant. We went through Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania next and I saw corn, corn, and more fields of corn. This was the toughest part of the drive because I swear at times the redundancy was enough to drive you crazy. I know these states have more than just corn but not anywhere near the freeway I was driving on. The terrain changed for the last part of Pennsylvania back to the beautiful fall colors. New Jersey was nice and quick and before you know it I was coming upon my new home: New York. Every time I see the skyline of Manhattan it makes me smile. Never was I so happy to stop driving, give up my car, and go on foot around the city. 

The Grand Canyon

Hanging out in the Grand Canyon

My brother Gabriel

Hanging out with the horses

Open Road

Rock formation in Utah

Colorado…I think this place is beautiful

Mount Rushmore

Wisconsin

Pennsylvania

Home sweet Home

To see more photos from this trip, visit www.ariagiovanni.com