Dave the Nomad

I’ve already talked about Amiens, but having friends abroad is like having a home away from home. It has been a refreshing break from the constant move, worrying about checking out by 10 am, figuring out what I want to do each day, or when the next train leaves. I realize the weather had me running the last few days, and its nice to slow things down a bit and remember I’m here to see and enjoy, not check places off a list.

Josee has been taking cooking lessons here from a retired chef, who was high up in a French hotel chain and has worked abroad sharing the finer points of French food with the world. He is now retired in Amiens, and does small cooking lessons several times a month. After calling up and checking to see if there was room, he was more than happy to let me join for the lesson and insisted on me not paying for it as I was backpacking around Europe. Today, we learned how to make two dishes, an entree (which is the American equivalent to an appetizer, not the main meal,) and a main dish.

Pannequet de saumon au crabe et gingembre
Gravlax salmon roll with a ginger crab filling

Cuisse de canard farcie en pot au feu
Veal and Pork stuffed duck thigh in stew

The two dishes were surprisingly easy to make, and the group was eccentric and welcoming. I originally had envisioned Josee having to translate everything I couldnt understand, but there were two other people from Britain there who now live in Amiens. Between the three of them, the flow of conversation and cooking was seamless and fun. Lionnel, the chef, was a boisterous man who obviously loved cooking. His home is on the outskirts of town with an amazing kitchen and full garden in the back. I was told he also taught cooking lessons to blind people once a month! Lionnel made a lot of witty jokes (which had to be translated for me), but he always had a smile on his face.

Everyone helped out, and Lionnel was a metronome for the group as side conversations ruled the morning as much as the cooking lessons. The social atmosphere, and delicious food made for a great start to the day.

I say start today because I promised Josee I would join her on a three hour run. She is training for the Dublin marathon, and was looking for some company on her run. I figured it was nearly the least I could do for her in return for graciously hosting me. Never fear, I joined her on a bike. There was no way I was going to survive a three hour run no matter how much hiking I’ve been doing. The run was entertaining, and we ran around in the hills and farmland surrounding Amiens. I did my best to entertain Josee with stories of my travels thus far, and we had plenty of good laughs. This is my last stop in Amiens (and my French home away fro home), and I’m headed off to Paris next. I’ve also posted pictures from the last month, so make sure to check them out when you get a spare minute.

Thanks must first go out to Jens’ cousin Kirsten and her roommates for putting up with he, Lia and me as we gallivanted around the city all weekend, and to Lia for the use of her car on my last American roadtrip for the ensuing months. I found it coincidental and fitting that I was leaving America through the city that so many generations of Americans used to enter the land of opportunity. The gateway city was a great send-off with a refreshing amount of culture, liveliness, and not too many pissed off New Yorkers.

My Dad also left through New York City. Since he made a stop at the UN Building before leaving, I thought I would check it out. I have to say the most exciting part of the visit was speculating as to why ~60 NYC Police Cars were parked outside with lights flashing while sitting in there cars for an hour…. Safe to say….I mostly felt safe. Unfortunately, the inside was looking a bit dilapidated with cracking paint and dust bunny farms. Nonetheless we checked it out, and enjoyed the view from the patio looking over the East River. The rest of the day was spent wandering around, paying a quick respect to the WTC site, and strolling down 5th avenue before hitting up some bars.

My final day started with brunch at Pasti’s, which was phenomenal. Pasti’s is reportedly the best brunch in town (New Yorkers, please feel free to contest this). The food was well prepared, and crammed onto our table. Not to suggest that the food is anything but the main ingredient for the best brunch, but the part I found most interesting was the diversity and state of array in which the arrivals came.  They went from quiet couples pouring coffee down their throats to gaggling groups of women addicted to mimicking the Sex in the City lifestyle. Shortly thereafter came the airport departure and final goodbyes to familiar faces.

Now in case you missed the title of this post…. My laptop sprouted legs of its own. As I went to check for passport and last belongings, my mini laptop (ASUS EEE), slipped into the abyss of the trunk. I didn’t notice my beloved little laptop’s disappearance until I was going through Security at the airport terminal. With no way to call my friends to see where it was exactly, I laughed a bit, worried a little more and kept walking to my gate. Thankfully, the laptop is back on the radar and will be joining me in Aberdeen, Scotland thanks to the help of many friends!

Sam is a good friend of mine who has decided to ditch the real world and join me for a few months on the road. I have done some mini-trips with Sam in the past, and he is someone I trust my life with at any point in any situation…yes any situation. Having a sturdy travel partner who is willing to be flexible in his itinerary and willing to do conquer any adventure is going to be a huge plus. We haven’t set a specific meet up point yet, but it will be either Istanbul, Turkey or Delhi, India. We will take our different paths of travel whenever that happens, and until then I know I will have at least one person I can trust. It will be nice to also have someone to help with filming and documenting the trip as well.

Here is a link to Sam’s blog. Look for the start of a blogroll this weekend on the sidebar.

In other news, I’ll be working on adding some more specifics to mini sections of the trip this weekend, but if you are interested in joining me for any portion of the trip let me know. I will keep the calendar up to date, and hope more of you will take a break to come travel!

Cheers,
Dave