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hogwarts-riddle · 5 years ago

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Eternalism: Chapter VII

Night had fallen by the time they reached Hogsmeade Station. Hermione was the first to awaken, rising with the sound of the groundskeepers' call for the first years. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she went to get up, only to stop short as she realized that she couldn't exactly move. Not only was the book they had been reading still laying open on her lap, but there was a sleepy dark-haired boy sleeping with his head on her shoulder.

Craning her neck to glance over at him, she couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips. The fact that he had let himself fall asleep on her could only be seen as a sign of trust. She doubted that the typically paranoid boy would do such a thing with anyone else. It was endearing. He looked so innocent and peaceful. Sometimes she forgot about the man that she knew he would become one day.

Not on my watch, she thought.

And then there was Abraxas. Stretched out on the opposite seat, she was torn between loathing him with a passion and blushing like a lovesick schoolgirl every time he winked at her. She preferred the former.

Why, oh why did she have to get stuck with a Malfoy? And a flirty one at that! What was wrong with him? He was only eleven-years-old for crying out loud! Draco certainly wasn't like that at that age, or at least not that she had ever noticed. Though, she supposed it could have been different because unlike Abraxas, Draco actually knew the truth of her parentage.

As tempted as she was to just tell him the truth, that she was a muggleborn, sending him running for the hills, she knew that wasn't the wisest course of action in this particular situation. Tom was going to be surrounded by Slytherins just like Malfoy who would probably gladly hex her for being a muggleborn. For the sake of her own safety, as well as her mission, she had decided to keep her true parentage a secret, passing herself off as a half-blood instead.

"Calling all first years!" the groundskeeper's voice called out.

The light of the groundskeepers' lantern shone through their window, shining right in their eyes and awakening the sleeping boys.

"Have we arrived?" Abraxas asked with a yawn.

Hermione nodded her head as she got to her feet and began stretching out all her stiff muscles.

Thankfully they had all changed into their robes before they fell asleep otherwise they would have been left scrambling.

"Please leave your luggage on board!"

Climbing out of the compartment one by one, they had to fight their way against the stream through the crowd and over to where a group of first years had gathered around a grimey looking man in a pair of bright orange suspenders, or maybe they were yellow. It was hard to tell in that light. He hardly compared to the jolliness of Hagrid, but he looked friendly enough.

"If that's all of you, then we'll be on our way," said the groundskeeper whose name was Ogg.

It was a long trek up the path to the clearing and most of the students were moaning and yawning through most of it, still half-asleep, but unlike the others, Hermione had never felt more awake, for she knew that Hogwarts was waiting for them at the end.

And there it was…

A chorus and ooh's and ah's filled the night air as the students took in the sight for the first time in their lives.

Set atop of a majestic mountain was Hogwarts Castle itself with its many turrets and towers. The only thing separating them from the castle was the glistening waters of the Black Lake, the boats already waiting for them by the shore to take them across.

Hermione recalled her own first time seeing it. Seeing the castle that she was going to be living in for the next seven years of her life, she couldn't help but feel as though she was living in one of the fairy tale books her parents used to read to her, like a princess who was rescued from her tormentors and brought to the safety of a castle where no one would hurt her.

That was how she had felt at Hogwarts, with Dumbledore still alive and offering them an unspoken sense of protection against all dark forces. The castle had always seemed impregnable. Oh how her eyes were opened when Dumbledore died…

She shook that train of thought from her mind, willing herself to enjoy the evening and not ruin it with thoughts of the future.

Ogg led them to the boats by the shore, holding them firmly in place as the children clambered in, four to each boat.

"Allow me," Abraxas said as he offered her his hand to help her in.

As off putting as it was to have a Malfoy treating her with respect and courtesy, it was also kind of nice. No one had even offered to help her, or any of the other girls for that matter, get into the boats back in 1991. In fact, if she had fallen out of the boat and into the lake, she was pretty sure that most of the boys, Harry and Ron included, would have burst out laughing. Here, there wasn't a girl that went unaided. It was strange, but most certainly in a good way.

No sooner was she settled, then she was joined by another girl, followed by Tom and Abraxas.

With everyone securely in their boats, Ogg climbed into his own at the head of the group. "Forward!" he called out the magic word.

Just like that, the boats started moving on their own, ferrying them across the glassy lake and through a dark tunnel on the side of the cliff under the castle. It wasn't a long journey, spanning a whole fifteen minutes from the lake shore to the underground harbour.

Once again the boys proved to be gentlemen as they got out first to help the girls. This time, it was Tom who extended a hand to help her, beating Abraxas to it. The white-haired boy seemed a bit put out by that, but soon recovered as he went to help the other girl.

Who would have thought that she would have boys fighting over who got to help her out of a boat? It was almost too ridiculous to be funny.

Ogg led them out of the underground cavern and up into the school. The children began to chat happily among themselves as they made their way across the Entrance Hall and up a couple flights of stairs, discussing topics varying from Quidditch to the ride to Hogwarts.

Glancing over at the boys, she found that Abraxas was telling Tom all about how he planned to try out for the Quidditch team next year, hopefully earning the position of seeker. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, she chose to tune them out. One thing that never seemed to change, no matter what time she was in, was boys and their love of Quidditch.

Instead, she turned to the girl standing beside her, the same girl they had shared a boat with. "Hi, I'm Hermione."

"My name is Druella," The girl smiled back at her.

There was a hint of an accent in her voice, but it wasn't overly noticeable, as she spoke excellent english.

"Are you by any chance partially french?"

Druella nodded her head, her golden ringlets bouncing around her face as she did. "Yes, my family originally came from France, but we've lived in England for most of my life," she explained. "My mother and father were debating over whether they should send me to Beauxbatons or even home-school me themselves, but in the end they decided to send me here, and I'm ever so happy that they did.

"What about you?"

Hermione bit her lip nervously. This was the first time she was speaking about the backstory she had made for herself. She hoped that people would believe it. She wasn't known to be the best at lying, though she liked to think that she had improved with everything that had happened. After all, no one had questioned her story so far.

"I've always lived in London. My parents died rather recently in a tragic accident. They never told me about Magic or anything, though I suppose one of them must have been magical. My mother always got angry at me when I made strange things happen. I only found out the truth when Professor Dumbledore came to the orphanage. Everything made sense after that."

Druella gave her a look of genuine sympathy, "So, you're a half-blood then? I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"Muggles are a danger to the wizarding world," Abraxas cut into the conversation. "My father has always said that our two worlds ought to be completely severed from one another."

While she did understand that view and where it came from, she didn't entirely agree with it. Not all muggles were bad, just like how not all wizards were good. She opened her mouth and was just about to tell them as much, when they came to a halt, gathering at the top of the landing.

"This is where I leave you," Ogg said as he turned and started back down the way he had come.

Standing in front of the tall double doors leading to the Great Hall was none other than Albus Dumbledore, dressed in a flashy red robe. The usual twinkle was once more in his eyes as he gazed upon all the eager children before him.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Dumbledore greeted them. "The start-of-term banquet will commence soon, but first you must all be sorted into one of our four different houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin."

He launched into the usual speech about how your house was like your family and how your actions would both win and lose points for your house. Hermione wasn't exactly paying attention, as she had heard it all before, and instead took the opportunity to search the group of children around her to see if there was anyone she recognized.

There was a girl with bright red hair who reminded her of Ginny, and then there was a boy who looked somewhat similar to Neville. Aside from that, she didn't recognize too many students. A part of her hoped she wouldn't recognize too many people, as the reminder of her old friends made her sad, but at the same time she knew it couldn't be helped. She was bound to encounter the ancestors of all sorts of people she had known. It was just something she was going to have to get used to.

"Now, if you will all form a line, I shall lead you into the banquet."

With a calming deep breath, Hermione took her place in line with Druella in front of her and Tom and Abraxas behind her.

The Great Hall was just as impressive as it always was during the opening feasts with thousands of candles floating above their heads with the night sky in place of the ceiling.

"I thought for sure there was a ceiling there," Druella remarked.

"It's not real. It's just bewitched to look like the sky outside," she explained. "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

She suppressed the urge to giggle as she recalled how she had said the exact same thing the first time around. Perhaps it wouldn't be as hard to act as though she was eleven-years-old as she had initially thought. All she had to do was imitate her real eleven-year-old self. Though, maybe she would try to tone herself down a bit. She didn't want to scare everyone off this time.

Coming to the end of the Great Hall, they gathered in front of the long table in front of them that was reserved for the professors. She had to admit that it was weird to see Dumbledore conducting the sorting ceremony and not seated at the very center of the table. Of course, Dumbledore wasn't the headmaster yet. If she recalled correctly, the current headmaster was a much older wizard by the name of Armando Dippet, a former Ravenclaw.

Many of the teachers were different. The only one she knew, aside from Dumbledore, was Slughorn, who sat at the very end of the table with a goblet of wine, chatting away with a professor who currently had his back turned to her.

A stool was placed in front of them and on top of it was the heavily-patched sorting hat. All the other first years starred in shock and confusion as the hat began to sing to them.

'Oh, you might not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.'

Tom glanced over at her with a look reminiscent of when they had been told to run straight into a wall.

She merely shrugged back at him.

The Hall roared with applause, mixed in with a bit of laughter from a couple of boys who thought it hilarious. The hat smiled widely as it bowed to each of the four tables before turning stiff again.

Plucking the hat from the stool, Dumbledore pulled out a long roll of parchment and began to read out the names.

"Avery, Malcolm!"

A pimply-faced boy with short sandy hair stepped forward and put on the hat.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted after a couple of minutes.

One by one students went up to try on the hat. Hermione was surprised by how many names she actually knew or had at least heard of. Shortly after Avery came a Cygnus Black. At first she thought he might be Sirius' father, but then she remembered that Walburga was currently in seventh year. No, that couldn't be it. Still, there weren't that many members of the Black Family. This boy had to be related somehow.

"SLYTHERIN!"

A couple of Hufflepuffs came after, followed by an Augusta Fairweather who went into Gryffindor.

It was at that point when panic started to set in. What if the sorting hat decided to put her back in Gryffindor again? Her whole mission would be ruined. Sure, Tom might try to go out of his way to talk to her at first, but it wouldn't take long for the house rivalries to set in, making them enemies in no time at all. Everything she had gone through would be for nothing!

"Granger, Hermione!" Dumbledore called her name.

With a gulp, she stepped up to the stool and sat down. Dumbledore must have noticed that she was nervous because he gave her a small yet reassuring smile as he set the hat down on her head. The Great Hall faded from view as her eyes were covered by the scratchy dark material of the sorting hat.

"Hmm, how interesting," a voice said in her ears. "A time traveller? I haven't encountered one of those in a very long time. And a former Gryffindor as well? I should have known. It takes a great deal of courage to take on such a task as yours… But it seems you don't want to be a Gryffindor anymore. Very difficult… Where to put you?"

She had been struggling to figure that out herself. Hufflepuff was out of the question. Not that it was a bad house, she just didn't think it would suit her. Originally, the sorting had had debated over putting her in Ravenclaw. That was certainly one of her better options. Slytherins and Ravenclaws didn't hate each other or anything, at least not as far as she knew.

"Yes, you certainly have the brains for Ravenclaw, but you have a cunning streak in you as well. I can see it in your head… Already you are attached to the boy, and will do anything to keep him from falling into darkness… Lying… Manipulating… Tsk, tsk, Miss Granger. What would your old friends think if they could see you now?"

A lump formed in her throat. As much as she'd like to think that they would understand, she knew that, had Harry and Ron been able to see her… Well, they probably wouldn't like what they saw. There was no use lying to the sorting hat. The life she had created for herself was based on lies that she used to her own advantage to secure her place in this world and at Tom's side.

As for Tom… The sorting hat was right about him as well. He had become something of a friend to her, and there wasn't much that she wouldn't do for her friends.

"I think it's safe to say that you belong in…"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Cheers erupted across the Hall as the sorting hat was plucked from her head. Her eyes were immediately met with the sight of her new friends smiling back at her, clearly happy with where the hat had put her.

Hopping down from the stool, she made her way over to the Slytherin Table who were, much to her surprise, waiting eagerly to welcome her. Perhaps it was just because she had never been in Slytherin before, but she hadn't expected them to be so… friendly towards her.

She sat and watched as the rest of the sorting ceremony unfolded. A couple of students after her were sorted into Ravenclaw and another into Gryffindor. The red-haired girl she had seen earlier turned out to be Berenice Prewett, who went into Gryffindor along with Cecil Longbottom and Louisa Briggs.

As expected, Abraxas was sorted into Slytherin after a Romulus Lestrange. The very name gave her goosebumps. She had to remind herself that he was only related to Bellatrix through marriage. The terrifying witch wasn't even born yet, and with any luck she would never have the displeasure of seeing her again.

Then came the moment she was waiting for.

"Riddle, Tom!"

Tom strode forward, eyeing the tattered hat with distrust before sitting down. The sorting hat had barely touched his head when it yelled out "SLYTHERIN!"

Hearing that, he practically sprinted over and sat down next to her, a smirk tugging at his lips as he leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I'm glad we're in the same house."

"Me too," she smiled back at him.

Of course, she had known all along that he would be sorted into Slytherin, but she was still happy nonetheless.

The sorting ceremony was finished not long after and Druella joined them in Slytherin, much to her delight. Druella seemed like a nice girl, and she figured it might be good to have a friend who was a girl for a change. Someone to talk to about girly things and complain to whenever Malfoy was being a prat.

With the sorting ceremony out of the way, the feast could finally begin. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until the food appeared before her eyes. There were piles of boiled potatoes and platters full of all sorts of meat and cheese. After having been forced to get by on orphanage food for the last several months, she was overjoyed to have Hogwarts food.

Tom must have felt the same way, as his mouth was practically watering as he piled his plate with some of everything.

It seemed that all manners were tossed aside when it came to boys and food, as evidenced throughout the entire Hall. She even caught Malfoy stuffing his face. It was amusing to see the typically graceful and aristocratic boy acting in a less than dignified manner.

Her and Druella shared a glance, rolling their eyes at their behaviour.

Once everyone had had their fill and were too full to eat any more, the food vanished from sight just as quickly as it had appeared and the students were dismissed to head to bed.

The first years were instructed to follow the fifth year Slytherin Prefect, Magnus Tolle, down to the dungeons. Hermione made sure to pay close attention to where they were going so that she could find her way to and from her new common room without trouble. This was completely new territory to her, as she had never been to the Slytherin Dungeons before. The last thing she wanted to do was get lost.

Eventually they came to stop in front of a bare stone wall. There was nothing to indicate that there was a secret entrance around, which she supposed would make sense for Slytherin's, but still made it difficult to try and remember which wall was the right one.

"Potentiae Magnitudine."

With those words, the wall opened up to reveal a dark passageway. In a single file, they followed after the Prefect through the passage and into a large green tinted room.

For all intents and purposes, it looked no different from your average common room with couches and chairs scattered, save for the fact that the windows looked directly out into the Black Lake. She wasn't sure if it was just a trick of the light, but she thought she saw a tentacle swim past. The idea of having the Giant Squid spying in on them wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world, nor was the thought that their entire dormitory could be flooded if ever one of the windows broke.

She quickly shook those thoughts from her head. The windows were probably reinforced with magic to make sure that would never happen.

Magnus then went on to explain that the boys dormitories were through the passage to the right while the girls were through the passage to the left. While everyone else headed straight towards their respective quarters, Tom stayed behind, motioning to Hermione for her to stay as well.

He waited until everyone was gone before speaking. "Why did you lie to Abraxas and Druella? You said so yourself that your parents were both muggles."

So, he had noticed that after all. She had wondered if he might.

"Do you remember what it said in that book we read about the founders of Hogwarts?" she answered in a hushed tone.

He seemed to ponder on it for a second before he caught on to what she was referring to. "Salazar Slytherin thought that those of muggle parentage ought not to be taught magic," he quoted.

"Can you imagine what the other Slytherin's might do to me if they knew I was a muggleborn? I hate the thought of lying to them, but what else can I do? I just want them to treat me decently, not as though I'm dirt beneath their feet."

If anyone could understand that feeling, it was Tom. He had spent his entire life treated the exact same way by Mrs. Cole.

"Don't worry, it'll be our secret," Tom promised. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

There was something ominous about the way he said that, but she tried not to think too much and just appreciate the fact that he was willing to keep it a secret. It was a sign that all was not lost. He knew that she was a muggleborn and didn't hate her because of it. There was hope for him, and that made her smile.

"Thank you, Tom. I really appreciate that."

Then she did something that she never thought she would do. Reaching out, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. Yes, that's right… She hugged Tom Riddle...

His body stiffened in her arms as though he had suddenly been petrified. That thought made her laugh. As if he would be petrified by his own basilisk. However, the more she thought about it, the realization dawned on her that he had probably never been hugged before. His mother had died within an hour of giving birth to him and it was highly unlikely that Mrs. Cole would have ever hugged him.

With that in mind, she hugged him tighter, as if to make up for all the hugs he had deprived of.

After a few moments, Tom seemed to regain control of his body and his arms slowly wound themselves around her to return the hug. It was a rather awkward hug to be honest, but it was still a hug and she was determined to make sure that he got used to them.

Unfortunately, the hug was short-lived as a sudden cough coming from behind them, alerted them of the fact that Magnus had come back to collect them.

"You do realize that you'll see each other in the morning, right?" he asked. "It's not like you're being sent away to two different parts of the world."

Stepping away from each other, they each had a tint of redness to their cheeks. She made a mental note to hug him somewhere more private next time.

Wanting to escape from the intense glare of the Slytherin Prefect, she muttered a quick goodnight to Tom and scampered off towards the girls dormitory.

#tomione #tomione fanfiction #tomione fandom #tom riddle #hermione granger #tom x hermione #harry potter #harrypotter #harry potter au #harry potter fandom #hp fanfic #harry potter fanfiction #fanfiction #HP #AU #Eternalism

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grgop · 7 years ago

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Geneva, the French and the Međimurci

After months of residing in the darkness of inactivity here comes a fresh review of the recent trip to Switzerland. Those 3 days were without expectations and with plenty of spontaneous decisions that turned out...awesome. I even managed get my Master thesis done and sent to print hours before the trip thus not having to bring my laptop there and work at the airport. I would also use this chance to thank again our hosts for the wonderful time we spent there as well as for helping us with the stay in Geneve. Merci beaucoup...or whatever you write it. Now what was all this about, when, why and how...please start scrolling. The whole trip was planned a few months ago as one our best and closest Uni colleagues was going to get married. Since we were sitting next to each other since the day 1 of the University life (and were breaking the Erasmus Intership Exchange ice together writing the letters and creating our portfolios in the bars between the Uni lectures...) there was no way for me not to come there. Wait a bit more to see the wedding pics. The interesting story is that she had met her future husband during Erasmus internship in Paris while I was in Vienna (maybe I should apply again for the exchange?). One of the last things in life I imagined was ending up on a wedding in Switzerland and be surrounded with the French and the Međimurci. On the trip there and back again I was with a few colleagues whom we will refer to as “the Noone”. Let’s start with...

DAY 1: Travelling from Zagreb to Venice Marco Polo Airport. Getting lost in Venice. Evening arrival to Geneve

Just before our trip there were several problems that were kept in secret in order not to spread panic. Our return flight with EasyJet was cancelled due to French Airline’s strike and luckily I was online to check us in on the next one an hour later. Had we not had the second flight the same evening things would gotten nasty with the bus schedule and arriving home on Monday morning to hand in our binded Master’s thesises.

The second crisis emerged early in the morning around 3am when I realized:

a) I left the sunglasses at my barber’s desk the day earlier

b) I forgot the headphones on my desk!!

We travelled with Flixbus, direct line from Zagreb to Marco Polo Airport, at 7.30am and arrived a bit later than scheduled due to traffic problems on the Italian highway and a traffic mess at the bus station in Trieste (sorry Italians, it was another prejudice come true...).

We came to our destination around 2.30pm and had almost 5 hours free before the flight. And what should we do?

Go to Venice of course! For the price of 15 Euros you get the bus return ticket from the airport to Venice. My colleague was there for the first time and for me it was the 3rd. I honestly didn’t expect going there but ... was worth it. The plan was to drink coffee somewhere but we didn’t have time as...umm... I wanted to make a tour around and we got lost on our way back...just a bit. : -) In the end we managed to get in time back.

The overall impression of Venice?

Crowded, hot, stinky...few buildings and streets that impress you in the beginning and then you get bored and start counting nationalities and bricks in the walls. As well as the shades to hide in.

Just before the security check in I realized that I totally messed up with clothes and items in the travel bag...bringing unecessary stuff that took plenty of space. Never again listen to the others and just keep it simple. So I was forced to put my pants, part of ceremonial clothes etc. into the bags of my colleagues. :-D Just like Voldemort with the horcruxes.

Speaking of food and water supplies on your trips and specifically at the airports...there are two kinds of people in this world. Those who buy the bottled water in duty free shops... and those who drink and fill them in the restrooms (toilets). During my 3 days I only drank water from the restroom. Save money, save the nature.

Our flight was around 8pm and I spent most of it (one hour) sleeping dead tired. For those of you who’ve been following me from before you might remember I’ve already been to Switzerland but never in Geneve. (scroll down the blog for those posts).

Geneva airport? While going towards the exit you pass by numerous billboards of the Swiss watches...Rolex, Rolex, Rolex...and Rolex..and so on for the next 5 minutes. The good thing is that all the arriving guests have 80 minutes free public transport ticket so we went to the next stop (Geneve Cornavin). Our hostel (Geneve Hostel) was about 5-7 minutes by foot and close to the Geneva lake. Boys in one room, girls in another to avoid the potential problems. And unplanned weddings.

At the hostel we were also given free public transport ticket that was valid for the whole Saturday and Sunday which helped a lot. It included the train, the boats, the buses and the tram within Geneve. Since France was super close (cca 4 km) there was even a tram line leading there (about 30 minutes)...we heard you can have a cheaper lunch there and planned “to visit France” on Sunday but plans changed.

Before the sleep we searched around the hostel area for some cheap place to grab some food. Now, the word “cheap” in Switzerland is not as same as “cheap” here and the best for your psychological health is not to convert the currency. We found the Ali Kebab place right next to the hostel and ate Chicken Kebab with some salad and French fries for 17,5 Franks, a meal we split for two. This was relatively similar to some prices here so it was not that bad at all. I could have eaten though the whole plate again but my wallet couldn’t. No complaints anyway!

DAY 2: Morning tour around Geneve. Going to the ceremony. The wedding and the afterparty.

I’m a morning person and Saturday morning was no exception. Woke up early, took a shower, breakfast when there aren’t many people and already ready to go at 7.30am. I got the public transport and city landmarks map at the hostel staff and went to the lake with another early bird. Here are some impressions of the streets, people and cityscape.

Plenty of runners with bluetooth headphones, people walking with dogs, the cylists, expensive cars you see in James Bond movies, the specific architecture, plenty of hotels and banks, mostly clean sterile streets, the promenade and the boats. Pretty much international population and French language everywhere. And I don’t speak French except for few words but was interesting to be in an “alien” surroundings. The lake that is as huge as the sea yet fresh water. Ducks everywhere. What I loved was seeing the bike roads across the promenade and the streets of Geneve. More about it on Day 3. Speaking of traffic behaviour they all more or less stop when you approach the pedestrian zebra crossing and stop even 0,5 m before it if the red light turns on. On contrary, here you’d get run over even if you were sitting on your balcony.

We went back to pick up the third early bird and started our little tour around. There were several bridges in the center and you had a boat connection with other side of the lake. There is the huge wheel with cafes around the big bridge. One of the Geneve’s landmarks is the huge fountain which we reached later and had a free shower. One of the things that pleasantly surprised me was (as I had found out later) the artistic project “Happy City” where there were ca. 20 painted pianos placed around the city’s squares, parks, streets and bridges...where you do as it says “Play, I’m here for you”. So I did what they required you to do. Playing piano on Lake Geneva was another thing I never thought about ... but now I can say “new achievement unlocked”.

We walked a bit more to the inside of the other side up and down the streets, seen some churches and lots of interenational bars and restaurants. Expensive exotic cars again..and then decided it’s time to go back to hostel.

On our way back we checked out Lidl and took some emergency food to have just in case of unexpected hunger. This saved us on the next day. I also almost forgot that right now I can buy and drink Rivella.

Travelling to Gland and the Wedding.

We jumped into our suits and wedding clothes and went to the train station around 2pm. We had to arrive to Gland which is ca 20 minutes away from Geneve and there our fiancée’s family was going to pick us up and transport to the ceremony’s place. While there we got to know our French roommates and colleagues offiancé.

What I liked (and probably others) there weren’t many people as it usually is the case here. I won’t go into details here and throw emotions but here are some things. Close friends and family from both sides, that’s it. The ceremony took place at the fairy location called Le Moulin du Creux. Beautiful house with garden, creek and forest around located 100 meters from the road. Check the nice photos of it and you’ll get the idea.

We had two-three pastors, the French ones and the Croatian one. Since most of us didn’t speak nor understood French we had a translator. And it was funny because she was a Slovene translating into Serbian mostly. :)) Nevertheless, an interesting ceremony and a special moment for our now married couple!

What was also new was that after taking pictures and rushing to the tables with food and drinks we also had a game organized - seek and answer game. They hid around 30 photos around the area and we got the papers with questions in French and Croatian. For my team it was kind of a fail in the end. We were trying to learn a few useful French phrases such as J'ai soif which means “I’m thirsty” when sneaking around the table with served drinks.

The other games included a catapult and a cubic football. There was also a gigantic version of the Jenga Tower which was fun to play. We took and received as a memory the polaroid photo with our couple and later moved inside for the dinner and the rest of the show. We watched short movie clips that fiance’s family created about him and our friend. The only problem we had was that we didn’t understand anything as there were no subtitles. :-)

After few more games and meals it was time to go out on the field and light the lanterns. This was a cool thing and my first time to show up and do the thing actually, I think we all enjoyed it. I have no photos of it though but you can imagined what it looked liked having many of them flying up. Let’s hope non of them fell on the forest below. :-D

Soon followed afterparty with some dance music. Some people already had to part and leave. Finally, around 2am we also decided to leave as we didn’t want to miss our train back to Geneve. And of course we missed the first one by being 5 minutes late.

We came to the hostel around 4am and straight to bed.

DAY 3: Tour around Geneve one more time. Coffee & city bikes. Departure.

The final day is here. So far everything great! We made a deal to meet with friends from Nyon around 10.30h at the giant wheel in the center. Shower, breakfast and baggage packed and locked in the hostel. Ready to go.

We took the boat to the other side and soon met with our friends. We then wasted around an hour going to the “old center” only to find nothing interesting there. However, we saw more of the public pianos and parks. For the next half an hour we were on a quest to find a solid cafe to sit and talk about life.

We ended up below the giant wheel and had a tiny cup of coffee for 4 Franks. Naturally, we stayed for 2 hours sitting & chatting there to compensate the loss. I ran out of cash and asked the waiter where to go. After all, Geneva is the city of banks and I hadn’t seen a single ATM machine there. Before running for some cash we decided to visit the giant fountain. On our way there I stopped by the public piano which was now free of ambitious moms and their kids who just pressed random keys but had a cool photo. Actually, I was doing the same. It was funny to have the unusual audience around you.

Soon by the fountain. Time for a group photo!

Time flew by quickly and our friends had to find the bus station as they were leaving sooner than us. We went to the center in search of places to eat and after parting with them three of the original squad left. We had a few hours left before rushing to the train station and the airport. Having lunch in France? Visiting France by trams? Visiting France on bikes? Using city bikes to go around? We rushed to the nearst bike station and...all the bikes were gone. Second chance at the one across the bridge. We somehow were lazy to walk and wasted time on the boat. What happened there? Only two bikes left. I agreed to run to the other station as the rest follows me. But the guy working there couldn’t find the keys of the bike so we waster 10 minutes there filling the papers and waiting for him to come to common sense. The third and the last luck before giving up was using the tram to the Station No. 5 ... and...three bikes left, keys in the hands and off we go!

There is no better feeling than going around the new place by bike. Pure freedom and flexbility. We gave 20 Franks deposit and decided towards the north along the lake. Bike routes almost everywhere. Going between the streets was fun. No fear of the vehicles around us.

youtube

We did cca 10 km in total in about more than hour stopping to take the pictues (the evidences). The idea was to go to France but by democracy 2:1 we gave up from that idea fearing something could go wrong and we get stuck in the middle of nowhere and miss the plane. So we returned the bikes close to our hostel, took the baggage and went to the train station. There we found a nice souvenir and chocolate shop....you can’t leave without one kitschy fridge magnet and a few Toblerones. We met the other Croats who were going back by plane to Venice and I again reorganized my bagge stuff into 2-3 bags of other people. The food from Lidl helped a bit. As well as the good old fresh water from the restroom. I slept again in the plane this time successfully hiding my cabin baggage under my seat as the plane was crowded and full of passangers because of the cancelled flight. New achievement unlocked. We had almost 3 hours to wait for the 2.15am Flixbus for Zagreb. Being dead hungry we checked the available offers at the backery there and found some snacks to survive till home. This time Flixbus didn’t have the second floor (on Friday we found the first row spots on the 2nd floor, the best view and the best way to get killed in an accident). But who cares, soon home! The route was shorter as we stopped only in Ljubljana...I woke up two times in total and the second on just at the Croatian border. The bus arrived precisely at 7.30am to Zagreb, to the most beautiful of the ugliest bus stations in the area. Finally, seeing “Mamiću cigane” grafitti around the station I can say “Welcome back home!”.

#geneva #switzerland #suisa #genf #geneve #venice #veneto #venezia #wedding #međimurje #međimurci

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terryquinnblog · 7 years ago

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AS JANE REWIRES

Well, we’ve planed, trained and driven our way so far across the comely face of France, Jane and I, that two steps to the left and we’re in Switzerland or, two more straight ahead, in Italy. I’m writing from Talloires in the French Alps, a storybook town on the coast of Lake Annecy. You can see this is The Promised Land, but more on that later …

It’s true we booked our flight a bit before Jane was accepted into the (intensely selective) PhD program of her dreams at the City University of New York. But we both regard this trip as a celebration of that coup and of her moving on from 52 years of full-time employment in social work – marking the official start of what she’s dubbed her ‘rewirement’. The plan is to travel all summer long, before her CUNY courses start in September and I rejoin my choruses and drawing sessions. Now back to our itinerary.

Guess I forgot to shoot our departure meal at a godforsaken canteen in Newark Airport, but here’s the breakfast we put together an hour after arriving at our digs in Paris …

And what splendid digs they were. We stayed for seven sun-blessed days at a 17th-century hotel particulier, or mansion, in the heart of the Marais, one block from the Picasso Museum. We walked, read, people-watched and sketched in the Place des Vosges, the Parc Monceau, the Bois de Boulogne and the summer garden of Musee Quai Branly during the day, then enjoyed dinners with different sets of Parisian friends at Pharamond and L’Alsace … or caught a gospel concert at L’Eglise St. Germain des Pres … or were taken by two of our budds, one evening, to guzzle champagne and watch the delightfully raunchy show at Crazy Horse. Otherwise, we lolled at our apartment, where Jane, making an effortless adjustment to the leisure life, slept ten or eleven hours each night …

Citizen Jane at our street door, on rue Vieille du Temple

The security gate leading to the building’s outer courtyard

The unassuming door to our apartment

A view of our 18-foot-high doorway and front wall, from the bedroom

A staircase across the way (I lusted to take this home)

Our living room

The view from our bedroom window

Three glimpses of the building’s inner courtyard ...

Note the patch of sky beyond, and the Medusa alcove at lower right

Medusa gets her closeup

Once the week was up, a four-hour trip on the TGV took us to the eastern border of France. At the Annecy train station we picked up our Peugeot and drove on to Talloires -- and living quarters that couldn’t possibly have been any farther removed from the apartment we’d left behind in Paris ...

Here’s what we see when we step out on our patio

The living room (No 18-foot-high walls, but still ... )

Our dining room

The utterly faboo kitchen ... see the lake, reflected in the mirror?

Here Jane has upped her average to twelve hours a night

Ideal for naps

At the start of sunset, on the patio

In this splendid burg,everybody’s hiking, cycling, hang-gliding, water-skiing, parasailing, mountain climbing, clubbing and what not. Us, we’ve been deeply chilling. Today, for example, it’ll be lunch at the beach in nearby Menthon, a lazy boat ride the length and width of the lake, a foray to our pool out back ...

Lap 27 of 40

They also serve who only scan and wait

OK, so that’s the deal. But before signing off here, I feel compelled to ask -- has this, or has this not, tempted you to take Jane’s lead? … Her message: Dare to rewire!

#JaneQuinn Paris Annecy Talloires

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petersspidey · 7 years ago

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Road Trip

Request: YESS MY DUDE PLS WRITE A ROAD TRIP FANFIC I'LL LOVE YOU FOREVER AND EVER!!!!

A/N: Ahhhhh, this is a marvellous idea and lmaoooo I'm actually writing this on the plane ride home. I was only delayed for two hours sitting on the tarmac and then a nine hour flight home!!! Let’s just say, it’s been a long day. And tbh I literally would never write this on a plane (usually) but I got lucky and there’s nobody sitting on either side of me or behind me WOW so here I am, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean (actually I'm probably over France rn) writing about you guys and fucking Peter Parker.

I also decided to try and do this a different way, its one of those Headcanon posts instead

Word Count: 2K

Warnings: nada

Masterlist

The lovely Peter Parker and yourself had been best friends for quite sometime and boy were you both pining over each other. Extremely pining.

It was a lot of almost but not completely’s. Which annoyed the hell out of you. But I mean, Peter also annoyed the hell out of you.

You loved the boy, but he was needy. (Lol you love it).

You had just finished your third year of high school when you and Peter decided that you needed to go on a road trip.

Meaning that Peter begged you to take a road trip with him. By then, he had passed his driver’s test and was ready to go on the road.

In the middle of July, you and Peter climbed into May’s car and began making your way to Niagara Falls.

It was seven in the morning and Peter had pulled up in front of your building in May’s car.

Peter jumped out and grabbed your bag and threw it into the trunk, rushing back around to open the car door for you. “Good morning, Y/N,”

“Well it looks like someone is in a good mood,”

“Of course I'm in a good mood, i’m excited! Aren’t you excited? We’re finally going on the road trip!”

“Yes, Peter, I’m very excited,” you laughed.

“Ive never been Niagara Falls, what do you think it’s like? And how long until we get there? You know I'm not good on long drives,”

“Oh my god, Peter. Okay, Niagara Falls is very nice, you’ll love it. It’s about six and a half hours but because we’ll get caught in rush hour it’ll probably be closer to eight,” you answered.

“Then let’s go,” Peter smiled, putting the car into drive, heading towards the highway.

You were not at all surprised how simultaneously prepared and unprepared Peter was for this trip.

The boy had multiple road trip playlists and a few sugary treats but that was it. You of course were the one who thought to bring water, healthier snacks, tissues, etc.

Ten minutes into the trip he started diving into his snacks

“PeTeR ItS sEvEn In ThE mOrNiNg you don’t need a fruit roll up!”

“But Y/N, Spiderman needs his nutrients,”

“A fRuIt RoLl Up Is NoT nUtRiCiOuS,”

Peter just looked you right in the eye and took another bite of the fruit roll up causing you to lose your fucking marbles

THis boy was going to drive you insane for the next eight hours you just knew it

“Peter why don’t you just put on one of the CD’s you made instead of just singing?”

“Are you trying to tell me you don’t like my singing?”

“Peter Parker but put your CD on and sing along to that,”

“Will you sing with me?”

“I don’t know? Is ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ on this playlist of yours?”

“OH NO!”

“Peter did you actually forget the ultimate road trip song?”

“Yes. But I can sing it for you,”

You acted annoyed with Peter but less than a minute later you were both singing at the top of your lungs

You pretended to be annoyed with Peter but you really loved him and you were actually having the time of your life

Eventually Peter turned on that playlist of his

Turns out Don’t Stop Believing was on it

“Oh my god PEter you idiot,”

“I FoRgOt,”

You and Peter were both idiots who were helplessly in love with each other but didn’t know

You would spend so much time just staring at the boy while he tried to focus on driving

Plot twist he knew you were looking at him

His CHEEKS TURNED BRIGHT RED EVERY TIME

You thought it was the cutest

You were still singing along loudly to the music.

You would record it and send snaps to Ned saying you missed him

Ned would always respond with “Bullshit you two need this time to figure everything out,”

You tried to ask PEter what Ned meant but before Peter could answer he got distracted by a sign that said ‘Niagara Falls 350 miles’

“Peter, that’s still like five hours”

“BuT wErE gETTING CLOSE”

“Whatever you say, hon”

You wanting to pull over on the side of the highway to take pictures of all the scenery

“Y/N, we’re never going to make it in time if we don’t keep driving,”

“In time for what?”

“Just WE WON’T MAKE IT IN TIME,”

“But Peter I want to take a picture of you next to that tree,”

“Y/N,”

“Peter Parker If you don’t go stand next to that tree so I can take your picture, no more fruit roll ups,”

“But how will I survive and not starve?”

“I have apples,”

Peter still didn’t move

“Peter Benjamin Parker,”

“Fine!”

“Thank you! I love you!”

“Yeah yeah, love you too,” he would mumble,

The picture of Peter turned out with him standing next to the tree with his arms crossed and huge pout on his face

“Peter can you please smile for me?”

“Why would I smile after you threatened to take away my fruit roll ups?”

“Because I want to remember this trip! Please, can you just smile for me?”

You know how Peter’s puppy dog eyes are irresistible? Anything you do is irresistible to him.

THIS BOY IS SO WHIPPED FOR YOU, YOU SIMPLY FROWN AND HES DOING EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER

And boy you knew it too

So you frown and Peter loosens his shoulders and lets his arms fall

“No Y/N IM SORRY DON’T BE SAD YES I’LL SMILE,”

You got another picture of Peter with a big smile on his face, pointing at the tree.

“Can we get going now WE HAVE A SCHEDULE”

“Why is this the first I'm hearing about this schedule?”

“BEcuase it’s a surprise now get in the car,”

You both climb back In the car and set off again

“Y/N LOOK ONLY 250 MILES NOW”

“Peter that still three and a half hours,”

“BUT WE’RE EVEN CLOSER”

At one point you pull off the highway into a small town to get gas

The windows were rolled down and you began sneezing like crazy

“Thank you,”

“What?” You asked Peter in between sneezes

“I MEAN BLESS YOU”

You were hunched over in the passenger seat, laughing your ass off in between your wild sneezes

“Can you please roll up the window Peter clearly I'm allergic to something”

“fUCK YES SORRY”

When you stopped for gas you wanted to get out and take pictures but you knew you would just sneeze and not get any good pictures so you stayed in the car and took pictures of Peter pumping the gas without him noticing

This boy is so fucking gorgeous and the pictures turned out rather amazing despite how dirty the windows were

AND OF ALL THINGS TO TURN YOU ON PETER PUMPING GAS INTO THE CAR WAS APPARENTLY ONE OF THEM

When Peter got back in the car you were just staring at him

“What?” Peter eventually asked, confused by your staring

“Nothing. You’re just pretty is all,”

YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN PETER’S CHEEKS THAT RED

But of course this loser gained some confidence after he received your compliment

“Well if we’re talking about who’s pretty, then there’s no contest, hands down you’re the most beautiful,”

“Peterr!”

“I only speak the truth,”

“Well you’re sweet spider-boy but it could just be from all the fruit roll up’s you’ve been eating,”

“Also,”

“Also?”

“You should pump gas more often,”

“Why….”

“Cause you kinda looked really hot,”

“I mean it is July the temperature are rather warm,”

“Peter Parker you know that’s not what I meant,”

“I know, I just like teasing you,”

Not nice,”

“I mean, I guess my so called hotness while pumping gas would explain why that hot blond was staring at me the entire time,”

“wHOOO?”

Peter just laughed and didn’t answer you

This fuking boy

When you finally made it to Niagara Falls Peter was flipping excited.

You checked into your motel and then decided to go exploring

“So when do I get to find out what this surprise is?”

“SOON”

“Should I be worried?”

“Shhhh Y/N, it’s a surprise I'm not going to throw you over the falls or anything,”

YOU were extremely suspicious as to what the surprise was

YOu and Peter went to the falls and you spent so long just taking pictures of Peter’s face when he first saw them

He was in absolute awe

You were so fucking in love with this boy

You kindly asked another Person to take a few pictures of you and Peter in front of the falls

They smiled and said you two made a cute couple and they snapped a few photos and gave you back your camera

“About that…”

“About what?”

“I also think we make a cute couple,”

“Y/N NO SHHHH YOU’RE GOING TORUIN MY SURPRISE”

You were so confused

Did Peter just tell you to stop revealing your feeling cause IT WOUDL ‘RUIN HIS SURPRISE’

What was this boy up to

After you spent some more time at the falls Peter dragged you down to the bottom of the falls

“Peter what are we doing here?”

“I BOOKED US A TOUR ON MAID OF THE MIST”

“You did not,”

“I did,” you smiled and gave Peter a hug.

You had been to Niagara Falls before but you had never gotten the chance to do a boat tour and Peter knew it was always something you wanted to do since you saw the episode of The Office where Jim and Pam got married on one of the boats

You were both given ponchos and you climbed on to the boat

You were kinda sad you couldn’t take your camera out cause you didn’t want to get it wet.

“So this was only half of the surprise,” Peter said

“What? There’s more?”

Peter turned to you and just

HES SO FUCKING CUTE HIS HAIR WAS GETTING WET SO HIS CURLS WERE FLOPPY BUT THEY WERE ALL OVER THE PLACE AND UGH HES ADORABLE

“I’m in love with you,”

YOU WERE BLOWN AWAY YOU DIND’T FUCKING KNOW THIS BOY HAD ANYTHING BUT PLATONIC FEELINGS FOR YOU

“Are you serious Peter cause If you’re just fucking with me thats not very nice and you know I love you so I really hope you’re not messing with me cau-

Peter cut you off with a kiss

Usually you’d be mad if someone did that but Peter Parker was kissing you on fucking Maid of the Mist of all places and it didn’t seem to matter in that moment

“I love you too, you nerd,”

Peter had this big goofy grin on his face and you just smiled and went to kiss him again.

It was a long ass eight hour drive to Niagara Falls but it was totally worth it.

#the spacing didn't work well when I copied and pasted it #rip #peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker imagine #petersspidey #Peter Parker headcanon #Peter Parker fanfiction #spiderman homecoming #spiderman #Spiderman imagine #spiderman fanfiction #spiderman x reader #tom holland imagine #tom holland #tom holland imagines #tom Holland fan fiction #tom holland x reader #tom

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passportrequired · 9 years ago

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Maybe I'll Go. Maybe I'll Stay: A French Road Trip

Our first night, we found ourselves so deep in conversation in a stranger’s living room in St. Tropez that we forgot to listen to J. Cole rap, “Roll up and smoke my sins away / I’d like to go to St. Tropez / Maybe I’ll go, maybe I’ll stay / Maybe I’ll stay.” We spoke about how just yesterday there was a need for clocks, a need to be places on time, but how today, since landing in Milan and taking on the roads that led us to that living room, time made no sense. Then we reflected on the day and smiled at the adventure to come. This road trip would not have been possible if we did not get our car loan. Anybody in need of a car can easily get a quote with this calculator, make sure to check it out and choose your car from a wide variety of choices.

The ten-hour journey that would have been five hours had France not been so beautiful, and had our eyes not lit up when we emerged from the tunnel and saw Menton, a small town on the French Riviera that winked at the four of us, calling us closer. I remembered the conversation between Robert and Francesca in The Bridges of Madison County:

ROBERT Well, from Italy to Iowa — that’s a story! (Francesca smiles) Whereabouts in Italy?FRANCESCA Small town on the Eastern side no one’s ever heard of called Bari.

ROBERT Oh yeah, Bari. I’ve been there.

FRANCESCA (surprised) No, really?

ROBERT Oh, yeah. Actually, I had an assignment in Greece and I had to go through Bari to get the boat at Brindisi. But it looked so pretty I got off and stayed for a few days. Breathtaking country.

FRANCESCA You just… got off the train because it looked pretty?

We got off the highway because it looked pretty. Because I would have hated myself had I not at least smiled at a stranger or eaten a crepe in this beautiful town. We skipped the crepe, stuck our toes in the Mediterranean, and stumbled into a Thai restaurant with six seats and prices we loved. It was decent enough food to keep us there talking about spontaneity and the man with whom we’d just shared a bottle of Get 31 Mint Liqueur on the beach while his girlfriend snapped photos. Yesterday, Julia was a lawyer, and today she’s a wanderer, drinking behind strangers along the Mediterranean coastline, watching the sunset under the earth, all because the city looked pretty. I loved these Luxury North Devon holiday cottage rentals

We bonded over James Vincent McMorrow, Janis Joplin and why Michelle refuses to use white lighters until after her 27th birthday. When I told the lady at the car rental in the Flex Fleet agency there would be four grown people in the car, she dropped her head in shame as she handed me the keys to the Fiat 500, apologizing for not having anything larger. This car brought us closer. We made it work with Victor in the passenger seat, Julia behind him, Michelle behind me, her knees in my back, massaging me through the beautiful parts of the continent.

Monte-Carlo, Monaco sat still under what could have been a haze or what could have been my eyes glossing over. In my mind were all the titles I’d use for whatever piece of writing would come from that stillness. “From my father’s Monte Carlo to my own,” I kept repeating, thinking of how ashamed I was when he’d drop my brother and me off at school. Undoubtedly, this was the most beautiful city I think I will ever see. I didn’t want many photos and decided against poetry. I’d just tell people about this place, and finish with, “you just have to see it yourself.”

I drove along the road while the others slept, admiring all the beauty following Monaco: Nice, Antibes, and Cannes. I wanted to holler when we came across Villefranche-Sur-Mer, thinking about An Affair to Remember when Nickie Ferrante took Terry McKay to meet his grandmother Janou. My passengers wouldn’t have understood.

We reached St. Tropez in darkness, so the artistry, charm, and grace it showed us waited until morning. We used the night to walk through dimly lit alleys suitable for lovers, fighters, and boys and girls who meet in bars and just need a few moments of privacy. We danced at Chez Maggy on Rue Sibille and ate burgers, crepes, waffles, and fries at a kiosk not much farther. The walk back to the car was breezy, and we tried making out the shapes across whatever body of water was in front of us; mountains or high houses or low clouds. We needed sleep.

We woke, dressed and moved out of the stranger’s home. We played on the beach in the sand with the cool breeze and cold water. The things from the night before, across the water, were mountains and cliffs, and we loved them all. I pretended to know Yoga poses and Victor meditated. Michelle and Julia wandered the beach, taking photos of their toes buried in the sand and their hair blowing in the wind. We reunited and sat silently long enough to finally listen to J. Cole’s St. Tropez, and like him, we had a decision to make: do we go, or do we stay? Having to answer to no one for days, the decision was ours. We chose to go, to explore more of the country. Forward to Lyon.

Families sat out along the road eating cheeses and breads and drinking wines. We bought wine and toasted to this exciting life. We toasted to new friendships in new countries and a car strong enough for a full trunk and us.

Dinner in Lyon was at McDonald’s, across from a table of the first English speakers with American accents we’d seen in a while. Three men, Matt, Bryan, and John, from California cycling their way through Europe, and us, talking about the strange things about America, being out in the world, and the beautiful things we’ve seen by car and by bike in this country, having almost the same road plan, so When traveling to our country you may want to rent a dirt bike Sosua and have the most fun in your life! We laughed, shared tips and travel hacks, extended invitations to meet up in the Netherlands, and parted ways. It was a serendipitous time.

We made our way back to our new apartment, drank wine, and shared thoughts parallel to the words of Oriah Mountain Dreamer, “It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.” Jobs, like time, did not exist. We were doing the heart work, and it felt good.

We woke the next morning, walked through the Grand Parc de Miribel-Jonage, getting lost and relaxing in the bushes. We lunched next to the Saone River before crossing it on the Gateway College bridge to see the street art and compete with children on the playground who wanted to see if we’d get stuck on slide or actually make it all the way through, and caught up with strangers who were protesting police brutality in France and subsequently the world. Then we left for Paris.

Paris was Paris as it will always be; ravishing, brilliant, remarkable, and fine. Paris drained us.

Any additional karma we needed to gain before continuing our trip through Europe was obtained at a gas station just outside of Geneva, Switzerland. A family in a van, out of gas, sitting at the pump, where they’d been for six hours, waiting on someone to come along, willing to help, asked if I could. The father explained how countless others had come, but refused to help him. He had cash, but his card was not working. Believing most people in the world are good, I helped. “Are you going to Milan or near there,” he asked. “Yes,” I replied. “Do you need to follow me?” He was happy.

The four hours we were able to spend in Milan before our flight to Amsterdam were spent eating pasta, pizza, gelato, and watching the rain fall on the fashionable Italians with soft accents and hearty laughs.

We dropped off our Fiat 500, laughed at the clerk asking, “How did you all fit,” and made our way to our terminal to start our next adventure. France owes us nothing.

And should you find yourself driving through, pull over every time you see something pretty.

Maybe I’ll Go. Maybe I’ll Stay: A French Road Trip was originally published on Passport Required

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one-away-travel · 8 years ago

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Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.

– Anatole France

Longtail Boat Ride from Ao Nang to Railay Beach

Three years after my first amazing trip to Krabi, Thailand I found myself back on a longtail boat cruising the Andaman Sea with my girlfriend Betina. It had been only 6 months since we met and I knew how badly she wanted to visit Thailand since our first meeting.

We were on a natural high since we left Fort Lauderdale airport a few days before and we had already spent several days exploring Bangkok, so we were ready for some island fun time!

We took a short flight from Bangkok to Ao Nang on Air Asia. The flight was comfortable, on time, and very clean and pleasant. It seemed to be a newer plane as well. I had heard so many negative things about Air Asia, but never experienced anything bad and this time was even better than the last time I flew with them.

I did have a terrible experience with Tiger Air a few years back flying from Phuket to Bali, but it was related to over charges for luggage. It literally cost me more to check my luggage than it was for the airline ticket!! Wth?! I will never will fly with them again if I can help it.

Bangkok Airways would be my most recommended for a little extra money when traveling long distances in Thailand. I had a great experience with them from Sukhothai to Phuket.

As for the longtail boat ride… there is something so exhilarating about racing across the sea in a small wooden boat that is most likely taking on water. You’re in a beautiful place half way around the world from your home. The enormous limestone rock formations sticking out of the sea in random spots all around you as far as you can see, makes it feel like you are on another planet.

I’ll never forget the first time I experienced this journey, and it was just as exciting for me to share it with someone new. I hope to share it with my friends and family too one day. If you are a friend or family and you’re interested, leave me a comment, and we will figure out how to make it happen. Seriously.

Most of the rock formations are uninhabited but some are small islands that have become part of the tourism economy and sightseeing tours are available from a number of small agencies around East and West Railay for a very reasonable price.

Railay beach is one of my favorite little getaways that I’ve ever visited and it’s consistently changing, which is inevitable, because tourism is growing more and more every day. Places that were once hidden gems and difficult to access are becoming more and popular.

I feel that there are an increasing number of new travelers coming from the United States. Some of these new U.S. travelers are escaping the 9 to 5 to find themselves and their purpose or some are just wanting to take their 2 week vacation a little further than the family trip to Orlando or Bahamas cruise.

(Eh, lets be honest, unfortunately, most U.S. citizens if they are lucky enough to get a 2 week vacation from their corporate job, may only use 1 week at a time, twice a year.)

In any case, those who are willing to move out of there comfort zone are incidentally finding that there is a vast and beautiful world out there that isn’t as scary as the news media makes it out to be.

Rock Climbing East Railay Beach with Dropship Lifestyle

Betina picks out a pair of rock-climbing shoes while she is being coached.

Alright, so this post is long overdue. I am way behind on writing about some of these experiences, but I’ve decided, I will write them as I find the time. I plan to pick up the pace and consistency though, so stay with me.

These pics were taken from the Dropship Lifestyle Retreat I attended in October of 2015. Yeah, old news. It was held in Ao Nang, Krabi, Thailand at the Krabi Resort.

During this retreat we spent several hours in the morning listening to guest speakers give talks on various topics related to E-Commerce, Entrepreneurship, and being a “Digital Nomad”.

If you are able to generate a sustainable income and run a viable business using mainly your laptop, phone and internet connection, without being tethered to an office cubicle; then you might consider yourself a “Digital Nomad”. That seems to be the buzzword among many long-term travelers or ex-patriates. Many don’t like it, but it doesn’t bother me.

I like to use the term location independent, and that is what I am striving to be. I am still in the process of building that foundation through multiple streams of income. If you are interested in hearing more about that, let me know in the comments below.

The Dropship Lifestyle Retreat is a yearly event put on by Anton Kraly only for student members of the online course called the Dropship Lifestyle. I have been a member since August of 2014 and have learned so much in regards to E-commerce through this course. I know there are many online courses out there but I really believe this is a genuine course with so much valuable content and since I am a lifetime member, I always have access to new content as they add more and more features.

A yearly retreat is a great perk for being a part of this community and it is a great opportunity to meet other online entrepreneurs who have a similar mindset about work, life, balance. I really enjoyed hearing all of the backstories and how we all ended up there together in Thailand and talking about how we can improve our online businesses. We even spent one morning split up into small mastermind groups so we could offer advice to each other on issues we were facing with our online businesses.

Alejandro focused on reaching his goal.

Every afternoon, the daily schedule for the retreat included a day trip that you had the option to participate in. This was the first day of the retreat and our first day trip was a 20-30 min. boat ride to Railay. A place that I’ve always held dear to my heart, since my first trip to Thailand in 2012.

Johnny FD from Travel Like A Boss Podcast.

Random climber

Dropship Lifestyle Team/Staff

Our day trip options were to go rock-climbing on East Railay Beach, play volleyball on West Railay Beach or go straight to Phra Nang Beach to relax and swim. Betina and I decided to go rock climbing, so a huge group of us headed across West Railay to the east side where the rock-climbing trainers were waiting for us.

Another random climber

Michael Coghlan of FBA Empire

Bez rising to the top!

I didn’t end up rock climbing myself, because I had strained my wrist a few days before, and kind of forgot about it until I had to lift some heavy luggage. I took some photos of others in our group, and watched Betina complete her first climb like a champ!

I was very impressed by how well she did and how high she went even though it was the beginner climb, she was a natural :-)

No turning back now.

Almost there.

Rapelling down. Wow!

Path to Phra Nang Cave Beach

After the rock climbing I grabbed Betina and convinced her we had enough time to see Phra Nang beach and possibly the hidden cave. We had a limited time before we had to catch our longtail boat back to Ao Nang. Three years prior I had spent several days in Railay so, there were a few spots I wanted to show her because I wasn’t sure we would have time to return and really enjoy more of this beautiful island like peninsula.

We took the path I like to call Monkey Walk because of all the wild monkeys walking around the base of the tall rock formations. The path leads to Phra Nang beach another beautiful and well photographed spot for many Thailand travel brochures.

I forgot to mention that Railay Beach is only accessible by boat because access is blocked by those enormous limestone cliff rock formations.

Here is an aerial view from Google.

Phra Nang (Princess) Cave

Princess Cave is known for it’s sacred cave filled with hundreds of phallic structures carved out of wood and other natural materials. At first, it may seem to be quite comical, and maybe a little embarrassing especially for many westerners.

However, the location apparently holds some spiritual significance based on the legends surrounding the cave. From what I could find online the first legend is about an Indian Princess who was killed in a shipwreck offshore and her ghost came to inhabit the cave. Another story explains how Phra Nang was the wife of a local fisherman, who waited inside the cave for him to return for many years until her death.

What I had heard the first time I visited was simply that the cave resembled a woman’s reproductive organ and thus made it a sacred location representing fertility. Now, these wooden phalluses known as “lingams” are representative of the Hindu deity Shiva. Locals who place these lingams inside this cave may actually do so as part of a ritual in order to increase fertility and or virility for themselves. In any case, as funny or strange as it may seem to an outsider, it is still considered a sacred place by locals, so please be respectful.

Secret Cave on Phra Nang Beach

After we took some pics and videos around the Jurassic like stone structures south of the cave, I took Betina on a walk further down the beach, to a somewhat secret or lesser known cave, which does actually lead all the way to West Railay Beach. We didn’t have the time or appropriate gear for that trek, but we were able to climb up to a giant cave opening that Tyson and I found a few years earlier.

Also, we didn’t have much time because we still had to catch a reserved longtail boat back to Ao Nang with the rest of the Dropship Lifestyle group. Luckily we didn’t have to go all the way back to West Railay to catch a boat because they set one up right there on the coast of Phra Nang. I estimated an hour would be enough to get up there to the viewpoint and back down to the beach in time to catch the longtail boat.

In the picture below, if you were to follow the sand straight down until the end of the beach and then look to the right you will find an opening in the trees that will lead you to the cave and the viewpoint overlooking Phra Nang Beach. I would recommend bringing sneakers or something a little more than flip-flops, although you can climb it barefoot, it won’t be as comfortable.

Follow the sand straight down until the end of the beach and then look to the right, until you find the path.

Betina, was once again, in the midst of a picture taking frenzy and I had to prod her along the beach to show her the viewpoint from the cave entrance. After some more prodding, and meandering through the jungle we finally made our way up to the viewpoint. I could tell by the look on her face that it was worth the extra hiking and exploring to find the caves, take a few pics and back to the boat with just a few minutes to spare.

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Things to Do in Krabi Thailand: Railay Beach Rock Climbing and Phra Nang Cave Beach Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.

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naomimalikblr · 8 years ago

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Trip to South Korea

Day 1 (Incheon, Gyeonggi and Gangwon):

I’ve been planning this holiday since high school (but i know its really impossible for me). I love Korea (the culture, language, dramas, movie, variety show, actor and actress, not kpop) since i was a student in high school. In the first place, one of my friend introduce Running Man to me. Running Man is one of the famous variety show in Korea which began in 2010, and i started to watch and like Running Man in 2011. So, i began to know Korea from my friend through Running Man. Okay i think its enough to introduce all of you about how can i be a big fans of Korea, rite? Then, we can move on to the story about my trip to South Korea. Yeeeey!

It began when someday (i think on July, 2016) my mother came to my room, and said “why dont you go to some place in this holiday, my dear?”and i just answered “i dont have friends that i can go with”. But my mother still in my room like for few minutes. So, i asked “why you ask?”and shockingly, my mother answered “you can go to Singapore or Malaysia with your homie friends”. At that time, i thought my mother is just playing with me, but at the same time, i really worried about her. When my mother, finally went out from my room, honestly, i asked some friends about my mother gave me a chance to go to Singapore or Malaysia (oh, for your information, i never went abroad before even to Singapore or Malaysia). Because of that, what my mother offered is a worrisome thing for me. After that, i dare myself to asked my mother about can i go to South Korea, instead to Singapore or Malaysia? And guess what my mother said, she said OK. So, i thought that my dreams since high school turns to became a very big possibility for me.

On August 16, 2016, finally, i went to South Korea with a friend, her name is Shavira. Our flight at midnight with Korean Air. Oh, and i used a travel agent located in West Jakarta. My mother and my friend’s mother accompanied us to the airport. It took six hours from Jakarta, Indonesia to Incheon, South Korea. My activity when on the plane was watching She was Pretty on the plane’s television (which, i had been watching She was Pretty like a thousand time and i dont like the other recommendation on that television), and turbo’s song, Again (in korea “dasi”) accompany my trip too. One of the good thing happened when me and my friend on the plane was we met a handsome steward from Korea, or should i say, really handsome (and im fully of regret because couldn’t take a photo with him). Along on the plane, me and my friend always stared at him and i always thought like “why he didn’t become an actor, instead a steward?” my friend always bothered me if that steward walked toward us. She became insane. But im not making this up, that steward is really charming and attractive, like Song Jong Ki or Rain (i use name of popular korean actor that easyly heard as example) they are nothing compared to the handsome steward. And im gonna miss him so much, until now (kekekek).

After 6 hours in the air, i arrived at Incheon Airport. What i was remember when the plane still looking for the best spot to park, i used that time to saw everthing around the plane tracks. I also had steal time only to be silent and thought about all of the wonder that i felt at that moment. I felt peaceful and glad to be here.

When at Incheon Airport, my tour guide gave some briefing session to me and the other participant. But, i was too busy looking for an wifi connection (i didn’t sign up with some internet quota, because its really expensive and i thought that in Korea, especially, in South Korea, internet connections is too good). And i was RIGHT. When i had just arrived at the airport, my cellphone was already connected with airport’s wifi without any password needed. After briefing session, we straight to the immigration gate. When it was my turn to face-to-face with the immigration officer, honestly i felt scared. The officer looked at me sharply and yes it was make me scared. She looked clearly to compares between my passport photo and my face. And she didn’t smile at all. After, immigration stuff done, i was taking time to change my clothes and straight to parking lot and rode on one of the bus which had been waited for us.

At the bus, the tour guide from Indonesia introduce the other tour guide from South Korea, his name is Ahong. He can speak Indonesia very well. First impression of both of my tour guide is they are really funny and friendly person. They always made all of participant became one. Oh, and i really like all of the participant, and now, i miss them so much. Why? Because it was really weird, when you had just met new people or can i say stranger? You instantly feel so close to them. (i’ll tell about them slowly, step by step later).

During the process of introducing, i was hungry. Fortunately, before i went to the parking lot, both of my tour guide gave me some time to buy some snacks. I was looking for supermarket at the airport and bought 2 onigiri with chicken and fish flavor (because i don’t eat pork and there were many onigiri with pork flavor). So, i pulled out my onigiri from my bag when both of my tour guide was busy with their introducing session. At that time, i was really confused about how to open this food?! It was so complex package. I started to remember one of the korean drama which i’ve been watched, Cheese in the Trap. In that drama, female lead role teach male lead role about how to open onigiri, but i was completely forgot and that time i really need to remember about that scene, argh stupid. Because of that starving made me like going to die, i just ripped carelessly the damn package of onigiri and the result was the rice from onigiri spread all over my pants.

My first destination was Petite France. Located at Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. During the trip, i was just amazed by street view along Incheon. Incheon is quiet town and very, very, very clean town. At the same time, Ahong as my korean tour guide was teaching me and the other participant about some or simple korean language and money. Like, how speak thank you in korea (kamsahamnida), how ask about more food in korea (kimchi, juseyo), how we say love in korea (saranghaeyo) and others. After that, Ahong was told us the story about people in korea money. He let us know about why 50.000 won (which is the most big denomination in korea money and equals Rp. 500.000) has pictures a heroine, instead male hero. He said that because the president of South Korea at that time was female, Park Geun Hye. So, i became to know that the 50.000 won was recently released.

When arrived at Petite France, the weather was so hot (fyi, i went to South Korea when summer). Even when i was stepping out of the bus, the sun was really freakin me out. My eyes was sick even when i was just look at the streets, my skin felt burned inside and my sweat spilled everywhere. Its the best thing if i could just stayed at the bus, i wished. Fortunately, torture from the heat of Gyeonggi was worthy accepted. I should be grateful that i could came to Petite France, which is the shooting place one of the most korean drama, The Man who came from the Star. Petite France is full of house with french style. I walked up tired looking for the best spot for taking a photo. At the same time, i got new friends from the same travel agent, Irma and Yulia. We took turns to taking photos and i felt comfortable talking and chatting with them (and i was always with them when in Korea). I managed to take a photo with the statue of Kim So Hyun (male lead role from The Man who came from the Star) and Song Jong Ki (just popular korean actor and one of the best friend of Lee Kwang Soo = my love ^^). I was grateful eventhough it was just statue, because i took that photos in Korea, LOL.

I should wear my sunglasses, always, when i was at Petite France. I dont know why, but Petite France is the hottest place of all the other place i visited in South, Korea. When i felt i already have a lot of photos and sighseeing, my tour guide told that we should proceed the journey to the next destination, Nami Island.

When i arrived at the parking lot of Nami Island, me and the other participants decided to get some meal at a restaurant that near from the parking lot. I should say that when i went in to that restaurant i smelt something awful, like smell of dog, maybe? Because of that, i became less interested to eat, of course. But i was really love the place, it was like the restaurant that i often see in Korean Dramas. Like we, as customer should roast own flesh and the smoke will disappear through smoke filter right above the roaster. Menus of that day was meat, kimchi (as always), and seaweed soup. Mostly, the seaweed soup in Korea just serve when someone’s birthday (saengil), in Indonesia like ‘opor’ is the most important food to serve when day of Eid.

Because of so much happiness, i couldn’t stop smile at that time. I was still thinking about how can i be in this place, i mean, South Korea. And now, i could eat like korean people, put some meat on lettuce leaves, then add some chili sauce and devour all. So the taste would be amazing. I also was staring towards the other participants to see how they would react, is it the same with me, or its just me? I was kinda full because all of meat i’ve been swallowed. I thought i was being greedy because i never felt soft meat like that. I was not worried if i became fat. I was happy.

After meals, i went earlier than the other participants to the parking lot because my stomache was sick, and it was not because foods i’ve eaten, it was because my menstruation. I took my herbal medicine on the bus while looked for wifi connection, because wifi connection isn’t available at the restaurant. After a long wait (in a awkward situation with bus driver), the other participants finally came and we straight to the boat that would take us cross over to Nami Island. Me and my friend decided to take place the outside of the boat, so we could see the view of Nami Island from afar. When many people prefer to stayed inside the boat and cool their bodies, because honestly i felt burned, really burned inside my bodies when i was at the outside of the boat. Probably only about 5 minutes, we already arrived at Nami Island.

Nami island is an island that represents the four seasons in Korea. But, more famous because it was shooting place of the number one Korean Drama that made South Korea became famous in the eyes of the world (or i should say, big influence of korean style wave), the drama is Winter Sonata. The statue of lead role (Bae Yong Joon and Choi Ji Woo) is the most interesting spot at Nami Island. We were given a time of one hour to round the Nami Island by our tour guide. I saw many korean wearing short pants, and i was really envy with them. It was like i really want to take off my veil and throw it away, i felt burned inside. I felt dilemma at that time because the sun was forcing me to keep wearing sunglasses, while on the other side, i really want to see the view without sunglasses, but my eyes would get burned instead.

That place was filled with young couples and they were so cute. Certainly, Nami Island is a right place for couples, because the place is so romantic. Until now, im still hope that i can come to that place again someday with people i love.

We should walked a bit far from the gate of Nami until the statue of Bae Yong Joon and Choi Ji Woo. All of the spot in Nami Island was too good to taking photos. First, i decided to take photos in a famous spot where many trees lined so straight. I love walking in Nami Island, because the place covered in sand, instead of asphalt. I spoil my eyes with a calm feeling by saw all of the beautiful things in that island. Inside mind, I smiled and thankful.

After a long walk and tired enough, finally me and my friend arrived at the famous statue. But we should queuing with other visitors if we want to take photos. Honestly, i never could finish watching Winter Sonata. Because in my opinion, the drama was too melow and just full of sadness and i personally prefer quiet and cheerful drama than melow and sad one.

After success took a lot of photos with Bae Yong Joon (the male lead role of Winter Sonata), me and my friend get some rest on one of the benches near the creepy statue (like monster who give her son milk from the big breast). My leg got really hurt at that time, i thought it was because of my shoes which i used a heavy leather shoes. I used this break to chill my head also my bodies by stared into the sky and heard the melodious sound of the birds.

I felt reborn after take a break at that time. Then, me and my friend decided to buy ice cream because my throat could feels the heat from Nami Island. After found the place that sells ice cream near a playground at the center of Island, i ran, like, because too scared that ice cream will be gone. But i was upset, because the price wasn’t in accordance with the size of the ice cream. It was 2.000 won (equals Rp.22.000) but the size like cone ice cream at McDonald that just cost almost Rp.6.000. Beside that, the taste was horrible. And yeah, i wasted my money for the useless thing, Urgh. Fortunately, the ice cream melt by itself because of the heat, so i don’t need to think hard about how and where i need to throw away this thing around the place as clean as this place?

A few moments later, me and my friend already back at the gate of Nami Island with some participants and our tour guide. We waited another participants for a boat ride together before the night comes.

After walking for a long time in Island, i let my legs to get some rest at the bus, and my eyes slowly closed. I woke up right when we all arrived at the restaurant for dinner. The scene in front of the restaurant was very quiet and the sky was purple at that moment eventhough it was already 7 p.m (because summer, bright sky in Korea is longer than nights). Only a few cars passed on the road in front of the restaurant that i can say the road was quite large. And the cars passed by quickly.

That night menu was bulgogi. The restaurant is lovely. We sat on the floor facing the short table and eat togethet as a family. Personally, i don’t really like bulgogi, but it doesn’t mean i would resist if i was given that food. The kimchi in this place was not good, i don’t like the taste, it was like food that has been long in the refrigerator. I could express a disgusted face when tried that kimchi. But i gave five starts to the bulgogi with soft japchae (angel hair in Korea).

After dinner session, some of participants bought some souvenirs from the restaurant. At that time, me, Shavira, Irma and Yulia went out from the restaurant and enjoyed the view of quiet streets in front of that place before we end the journey to the hotel. I should say the atmosphere at that moment was really made me calm and don’t want to go home.

When headed to the hotel, the bus was full with joke and chitchat among other participants and our lovely and humorous tour guide. We arrived at the hotel at almost 10 p.m. After distribution the room keys, me and my companion (Shavira, Irma and Yulia as always) decided to went to the supermarket before sleep. We just hang around by looked for our daily needs, like toothpaste, ramyoen, onigiri, milk, bread, towel, soap etc. After spent enough money, we headed to the hotel and filled the streets with laughing and casual chat.

#seoul #south korea #trip to korea #holiday #namiisland #petite france

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