http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Emilie-International/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Emilie International en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:53:48 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 10:53:48 +0000 Despite my lofty new job in the land of corporate OG and the fact that I have YET to revisit the mountains I fear this latest stint in Calgary is turning me into a treehugger. My two weeks since the last entry have consisted of daily bike commutes to and from work twiceweekly yoga practices Wednesday visits to the local Farmer's Market Saturday stops at the bohemian Kensington Roasterie C http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/Calgary/blog-419823.html Every time I come back to Calgary I am pleasantly surprised by the changes I find it to have undergone during my absence. New clubs new shops new restaurants new buildings are springing up at an impressive rate in spite the recession rhetoric being floated about. Opportunities for enjoyment and employment abound for anyone willing to seek them out and I have found a perfect mix of both sinc http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/Calgary/blog-416313.html You're not going to make it.This was the verdict when I announced to some colleagues that I planned to stay in Calgary for the next two years. I had found some temp work covering reception for my old company and even the people that started there after I left seemed unconvinced about my resolve to stay here long term. My voice must waiver when I answer the alreadyskeptical how long are you http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/Calgary/blog-408629.html When I made my decision to return to Canada I struggled with the thought of settling down. To my nomadic mind this implied immediate marriage pursuit of a serious career homeownership and a plethora of other dreadful sounding traps for the free spirit. Stressed by the thought of instant immobility I spent a long time ignoring my own declaration that I needed to come home searching spasti http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Alberta/Calgary/blog-406364.html With time running out Dad and I cut east across the country from Westport hoping to find some more cute towns in the midlands along the N4 highway. After discovering vibrant coastal culture in even the smallest towns we passed through we took for granted that we would find the same in central Ireland. No such luck though. We kept telling ourselves the next town might have more life finally http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-400341.html Craggy rockstrewn cliffs rain and a good dose of Catholicism greeted Dad and I as we entered the Burren from the Ring of Kerry. We've continued our trek around the coast heading slowly upwards from Killarney stopping frequently to take panoramic photos and stain our teeth with endless pots of tea. Each day we've made ambitious plans to travel x hundred kilometers to the next big town but we http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Mayo/Westport/blog-399746.html Woo The official party may be over but Dad and I have not stopped moving since we got here Itrsquos made it very hard to stay on top of my blogging and I am now going to try to summarize my previous 3pagelong entry to save everyone an information overload.We left Dublin last Friday via the left side of the road to embark on a road trip around the south coast of the country. Though ba http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Kerry/Killarney/blog-398471.html Finally the party has ended. Don't read this with a negative tone it's actually a good thing. Though I miss the Netherlands and the fast pace of my last two weeks of travel my body was not going to make it another day. I escaped at just the right time and for a great reason to meet my dad in Dublin for a twoweek Irish road trip.So far things have flowed as smoothly as a fine pint of Guine http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Dublin/Dublin/blog-397015.html With Queensday festivities officially over last Friday morning Koert and I took a day to rest before heading back onto the party scene again. We also engaged in a little healthful activity with a bike ride through Hoge Veluwe pronounced hohuh veluwa Park the largest nature reserve in the country and some braincellrebuilding with a cultural visit to the KrollerMuller Museum which lies 5 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/Gelderland/Nijmegen/blog-396421.html 1130pm. I am walking into a club followed by two imposing bodyguards. Dressed in baggy jeans flat shoes and a loose longsleeved vneck tshirt I garner no attention from the goodlooking men around me who stare instead at the tall men behind me. It's Queensday and my great friend Koert his brother Menno and I have outlasted our other party pals in the national celebrations of the Dutch http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-395519.html After missing my earlymorning flight to Amsterdam thanks in part to the 10minute checkout process at the hostel and not entirely to a slight sleepin and spending another day roaming around Prague I finally made it here Tuesday night. Since the French countryside hadn't offered many opportunities for legendary European partying I had timed my arrival to coincide with Queensday in the N http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-395560.html I had all but given up on seeing my Czech friend Jana while I was in Prague. After convincing myself she was probably okay and had just forgotten about my arrival I went about making the most of my stay at Chili Hostel. My second night which was supposed to be quiet and responsible despite its being a Saturday turned wild after I relieved my two Kiwi friends from a bottle of wine they cou http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-395078.html ldquoAllrsquos well that ends wellrdquo said my Grade 3 teacher Mrs. Karr after losing one of my workbooks vehemently blaming me for having lost it and then finding it again while cleaning her desk. As an eight yearold I wasnrsquot convinced that story had ended well but Irsquove taken to repeating this phrase often over the last few years every time everything seems to be goin http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/Prague/blog-393925.html Juju and the young Ls waved me off oldstyle minus the hankies at Maintenon train station Thursday as I ended six months of attempting to become French. Obviously it made me more Canadian than ever but I still felt a little twinge of regret as the train doors closed and we closed this cohabitative chapter of our lives. I made sure to pay close attention to the verdant fields and forests betw http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-393819.html Six months. It took me six months and the decision to go back to Canada before I finally visited another Calgary friend Quentin living just an overnight bus ride less by any other more expensive mode of transportation from Paris in the middle of the stunningly Rockieslike Swiss Alps. And if I had been more organized I might not be leaving France as I expect to next Friday.As we stood on t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Switzerland/South-West/Geneva/blog-391050.html In honour of half of LDaddy's family being born between March 30th and April 2nd the entire clan gathered at a countryside guesthouse in Normandy for a threeinone celebration. Under grey skies we gathered at the Grange St. Leger an old restored and immaculately decorated barn where owners Mary and Denis Roussel welcome guests as members of their own family. If the weather was disappointing http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Lower-Normandy/blog-388438.html Gaudi what a guy. A name I've heard many times I actually had no idea how important he was before my trip last weekend to Barcelona much less imagined he had shaped and represented the culture of an entire city with his mosaics If you're bad with name associations as I am you might say aha upon seeing his colourful sculptures of geckos and curvaceous candycolored buildings. Either way http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Spain/Catalonia/Barcelona/blog-386246.html After five months of saving one month of planning and seventeen hours in transit Turkey welcomed my Calgary friend Jordin and me with open arms but not without first testing our resolve to be there. After waltzing too easily through Immigration and baggage pickup at 11pm we prepared to slide into our rental car and drive off into the breezy oceanscented night. An hour later sitting in a http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/blog-383332.html Hi All One last entry from my TravelBlog account to let you know that I'm switching to a more sedentary blog address to write about my French adventures. Come and find me at . As you've probably noticed I won't be blogging as JapanEms anymore...I needed to find a more appropriate globetrotting name for myself.Unfortunately or maybe fortunately for you with Blogger I won't be able to send http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Centre/Chartres/blog-348503.html I have a confession to make I am a travel addict.I thought a trip to Japan would relieve my curiosity about life on the other side of the world but it has only worsened my condition. I am writing from a country house in the county of Chang not even in Chartres and too small to have been listed in the Travelblog locations list and I am 4 days into an 11month stint as a nanny.While my frien http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Centre/Chartres/blog-336707.html