There's No Place Like Home. Things I've Learned Along the Way.

If there's one thing a thirty five day vacation will teach you...it's how to miss the people you love.  I miss my Momma and my Daddy.  I miss my brother and Liz.  I miss my Wilson.  I miss my Jessica.  I miss my Loft Boys.  I miss my Sweet Teas.  I miss my Thathy Thurthday companion.  I miss my church.  I miss my Godmother and my Gigi and my Grandma and my sweet aunts and  uncles and cousins.  I miss my bed...my bathtub...and Tex-Mex...and a good vodka and soda with lots of lime...

I've learned so many things about myself on this trip.  Things that the people reading this blog post probably already knew, but were too sweet or too scared to tell me.  I've learned tolerance and compassion go a long way in this world.  I've learned that I'm much stronger (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) than I thought I was.   I've learned that sometimes you don't get what you ask for, but the things that you end up with might just turn out to be better for you, and a hell-of-a-lot-more fun.  I've learned that there is a healing quality to swimming in the open sea...and taking gondola rides.  I've learned that I'm really, really proud to be an American.  I've learned that traveling makes you smarter, and that meeting new people with varied experiences makes you more human.  I've learned that love really is a universal language and should be spoken everyday, loudly, and with vigor all the time to everybody.  I've learned that it takes approximately fifteen straight days of living in the same room with someone to be comfortable enough to poop with the door open and sleep naked...(God bless you Ally Haseltine).  The most important thing I've learned, however, is that I can be happy, truly happy, just about anywhere in the world.  My beautiful, strong, and intuitive roommate calls this quality "growing where you're planted."  Adapting and molding to the circumstances and disturbances life gives you.  Finding happiness wherever you can, however you can and at whatever cost.  Creating happiness out of yourself and of your own accord.  If I can feel at home in a foreign country (several foreign countries to be exact) I can grow and thrive anywhere, with any circumstance and through any disturbance.

My last days in this realm have been some of the best of my life.  I'm dreading leaving this magical place, but I'm also so very excited to get home to the people and places that I know and love so well.  There really is no place like home.

It's been a trip.  Truly.  I'm so glad to have had you along for the ride.  I'm almost a little sad to say that this will be the last of Reba's entries for some time...don't worry though...I'll never be able to stop my heart from exploring now.  Next summer I'm hoping you can come with me to Africa!  ::Gasp::  I know!

                                                                   Peace, Love, and Travel Forever!!
                                                                   Reba

Cotton T-shirt from Target: 8 dollars.  Wearing that shirt 500 times on your 35 day trip to Europe: Your Sanity.  Throwing away that shirt on the second to last day of your trip: Priceless... 

We took a tour of the Cannes Film Festival theatre complex...in French...we got some pretty pictures though!

Imagine this filled with A-list stars!

This is why Technicians are in higher demand than actors are.   Dead theatre...techies still at it!

Our au revoir from the south of France.  Wine tasting at one of Lisa and Marks friends vineyards!  These two got a little   excited about the two young Americans...

Showcasing the goods!

::sigh::...the duck face at it's finest...I was about four glasses in when this was taken...

Yes, you count eight bottles here...yes, we "sampled" all of them...yes, we got drunk.

Our final hotel room...HAS. A. BATHTUB!! FINALLY!!  I'm off for a good soak.  Love ya'll!!  See you soon!!!!!!

The Country Mouse and the City Mouse.

We have had a whirlwind couple of days in and out of our home base, Antibes.  Allyson and I are trying desperately to keep very busy.  The homesickness is getting palpable.  She's stronger than I am about that kind of stuff and even she is beginning to feel the pinch.  We're trying hard not to let it ruin our precious last few days here.  It helps when we have a really full and exciting day, topped off by a long and late night.  We sleep easier that way.

On the fourteenth, France celebrated Bastille Day.  We hiked up to the Antibes light tower to watch the sun go down and then made our way over to Juan Les Pins for dinner and drinks.  Juan Les Pins is the other side of the cape of Antibes and if Antibes is a rustic and pleasant old sea side town, Jaun Les Pins is it's louder, flashier, trouble making little brother.  It's a town to enjoy by night, and enjoy it we did!  I had mushroom risotto (Yea! My favorite!) and half a bottle of wine...then we walked over to a Brazilian bar, Pam Pam.  The drinks are OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive, but it's the most fun you can pack into one night.  They have a live, Brazilian (= hot) band and live, Brazilian (= really hot) dancers!! There was a line outside that Ally and I kind of pushed our way to the front of and a bouncer letting people in that pointed at us (seriously, it's the first time I've ever been singled out in a crown of thirsty bar goers) and moved us to the front of the line and on to someone who sat us down and took our orders.  Whoa!!  We had one of the best seats in the house!!  Best. Feeling. Ever.

We sat and drank out of ridiculously touristy glasses and watched the best show.  It was like being in a Vegas in the jungle...very cool.

Yesterday, we went for a Sunday drive in the country.  Lisa, Ally and I drove to meet Mark in the village that he works in.  He works as a police officer in a tiny little hillside mountain town about forty minutes from their home and subsequently, the beach.  It's so cool that you can be on the beach one part of the day and in the mountains the next.  Lisa said in the winter you can actually ski in the morning and then swim in the sea in the afternoon...I want to live here...

We had a lovely drive through the French countryside and then parked and feasted on a deliciously prepared picnic.  We walked around Marks village, Tourrettes Sur Loup (translation: the Village of Violets) and had violet gelato for dessert.  Their specialty!  Then we loaded back into the car and headed on to...Monaco!!  We went to Monte Carlo to do some snooping around and to watch a movie in a giant, open air movie theater.  Now, I've been to open air theaters in the states but nothing compares to this.  The ancient prison was behind the screen, to your left and across the harbor was the city, to your back was the sea!!  We watched The Best Most Exotic Marigold Hotel, a fabulous movie about...travel!  How appropriate.

We've got two more nights here in Antibes and then off to Amsterdam for our last night before we fly back home.  I'll keep you updated.

                                                                         Peace, Love and Travel,
                                                                         Reba

Pretty dark, but this is Antibes from the light house.

Jeez, Juan Les Pins get a hold of yourself!

The place was packed!

One of the gorgeous dancers in all her show girl glory!!

Booties.  You could bounce a quarter off of every single one of them.

Sipping our tourist laden drinks...

He was making eyes at me all night.

Seriously, though.

  Peacock costume!!  So Flashy!!! I want one for Halloween.

Sleeping it off.  Lisa snapped this when she woke up.   As you can see Ally and I have obviously reached the  "I'm so lonely I'm going to cuddle with you in my sleep" phase of the voyage...for reals...

The view from our picnic site!

Breathtaking.

Why, yes!  I am a badass Texan.  I have a piece of wild grass wheat in my mouth...

Tiny crickets on my shoes.

Wild lavender.  Everywhere!

A view of Marks village from our drive in the country.

Violet Ice Cream!

Monte Carlo Casino!

The harbor of Monte Carlo...there were some big boy yachts in this one...

Movie screen on the right, prison behind and on the left.

The Bucket List.

I have to tell ya. I've been checking things off my bucket list since I got here.  I've actually realized the dream of being a world traveler.  I've gone up the Eiffel Tower at midnight.  I've ridden a louge down the side of the Swiss Alps.  I've wine toured in France.  I've danced in a public square to music I'd never heard.  I witnessed The David, The Venus De Milo, Mona Lisa and St. Peter's Basilica up close and personal.  And now, finally, I've sunbathed topless on a European beach.  It. Was. So. Liberating!! Now, I believe, there are two things a girl can do that solve every problem in life.  One is the time tested, Grandma Joyce approved "Take a hot bubble bath with candles and wine, put on your makeup, do your hair, and get dressed up."  This remedy has solved a host of problems over my young lifetime.  The second is...sunbathing topless on a European beach.  I don't know if it's the extra boost of vitamin D to my system or if it was the liberating feeling of breaking my modest, American girl mold, but I feel great today after a double whammy, girlified, combo of both.

Ally and I took a leisurely stroll down the harbor side yesterday and found a pebble beach.  If there's one thing Monterosso taught us it's that a non-sandy beach is awesome for not getting sand in your nooks and crannies!!  We love pebble beaches.  If anyone knows of any good ones in the states please leave a comment on the blog of where it is and how quickly we can plan a trip there on my return. We decided, for our first time, it would be good to find a less commercial beach to lay on.  The beach we chose was perfect with just a sprinkling of families and young people apparently all looking to tan their ta-tas!  Of course, Ally and I, being the good Americans that we are, blinded most of them with our deafeningly white girly parts.  I don't think these kittens have ever seen the light of day...and so...we may or may not be a slight shade of pink this morning...and not from embarrassment.

When we got home from our beach excursion we completed phase two of the proven "cure any ailment" remedy.  We got all dolled up for a night on the town!  Mark and Lisa took us to their favorite Indian food restaurant in Antibes and then Ally and I left them to find some good, old fashioned, fun.  Today is Bastille Day so the French will be celebrating their national holiday all weekend.  Ally and I found a dance to go to and I sat, sipping my first well made vodka and soda with lime since I've been here!! Well...vodka and perrier...these people do not know how to do a good mixer...

I have just five days left to my trip and I will, undoubtedly, be checking more things off the bucket list in that short amount of time.  It's a race to the finish and I'm in the lead!!

                                                                 Peace, Love and Travel,
                                                                 Reba





View of Fort Carre from our beach.

The water is heavenly.

All dolled up!  Lisa, our host momma is on the left.

View of part of the dance floor.

hoppin!

The streets are crowded with music, food and people for the Bastille day celebrations!

The Devil's in Prague!

Last night the Devil himself came straight up from his seat on the fiery throne of hell and into my hotel room in Prague, looked me square in the eyes, and sucker punched me right in the gut ya'll!!  So I got out of there as fast as I could.  I don't think he's followed me back to the south of France, mostly because I think I terrified him with my amazing and awe inspiring impressions of Nicholas Cage losing his shit...

Before I boarded the plane this morning at six in the a.m., however, I took some time to reflect on how lucky I am to be here, on this side of the world, and still feel so loved and supported by my family and friends.

Even with the Devil at my back, Prague was splendid!!  You'll remember in my last post that Ally and I were going to spend the day in Nice before flying out.  We found Nice to be a really...nice place! Lisa showed us the hospital where the Brangelina Twins were born, we climbed up to the Parc Du Chateau which gave us a beautiful view of the whole city, we had mussels for lunch and shopped in the open air market where I bought three fabulous prints for my room that will remind me of my travels, and I had lavender flavored gelato for a snack!

We boarded our flight and got into Prague around midnight.  Our hotel was very sweet and a bit on the rustic side...a moth flew in our window and threatened to keep us up all night...it attacked Ally in a very personal way (almost flew up her skirt) so...he had to go.  We woke up bright and early to enjoy finding our way around Old Town Prague.  We saw the astronomical clock tower, and the Prague Castle, we found our way around the Jewish Quarter and we saw a classical concert in the Spanish Synagogue.  Oh. My.  I had goosebumps the whole time!!  We brought our first night to a close by sitting outside on a patio and sipping Long Island Iced Teas, running into Bruce Springsteen (yes, we're that cool...and lucky), and making friends with an older British couple on holiday.

Our next day we used to see New Town Prague.  We took a stroll down Saint Wenceslaus square and went to the Alphonse Mucha Museum.  He's my favorite art nouveau poster artist of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century.  Jess, I know we've been thinking of adding some girly to our common area and I think I've found the perfect way to do it!!  We sat out last night on the square and listened to the Prague Jazz Festival that was going on ten yard in front of us!

So there!  Devil be damned.  I'm enjoying my last week in Europe come hell or high exes.  Reba is living.  Reba lives.

                                                                                Peace, Love and Travel,
                                                                                Reba

Mussels in Nice.

Open air market!  This is where I found my prints.

It was like an organic mister!  This was at the top of the Parc Du Chateau.

Another Colette Boutique!

Old Town Square.  Beautiful Statue of Jan Hus, Prague revolutionist.

Astronomical Clock Tower.  Check out "Death" on the right!  He pulls a little chord at the hour that starts the movement of the clock.

Saint Charles Bridge.

Me and the Castle Guard!!

Changing of the guard.

This stained glass window in the castle was designed by Alphonse Mucha.  It's breathtaking.

Castle.

Knight...it's just the armor.

Ally teaches me a little Hebrew during dinner!

Pragues Tyn Church at night...reminds us of the Disney Castle!!

Do we have this at home?  If so, why have I not known it until now...?

Closeup of the clock.  So cool.

Saint Wenceslaus.