JANcich & hanDLEY

Back from the Alps

I am back from the Alps and have the pictures to prove it.  Over 100 new photos posted in the Geneva and Courchevel Album.

Sarah and I had a great holiday to Geneva and Courchevel.  Sarah has already posted a bit on the trip below, but I'll run down some more highlights from my perspective and the extra four days I spent in Courchevel. 

We spent the first night in Geneva in a fantastic flat owned by a friend of Guillaume's.  I have some pictures of that the photo album.  Geneva is a pretty cool town and very international because it plays host to the United Nations, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, etc.  Over 40% of the residents are not Swiss.  We managed to spend some time in the Old Town on Sunday before making our way to Courchevel.  It was cool to see the real Lac de Geneve.  It's a bit more breathtaking than Wisconsin's version and they have a geyser that shoots water 140 meters into the air.

The drive to Courchevel from Geneva was great.  Several of the cities we passed through have been Tour de France stops over the years.  In fact, Courchevel itself was the finish for stage 10 of the 2005 tour.  It was previously part of the tour in 1997 and 2000.  Another frequent TDF stop, La Plagne, is nearby.

We stayed in Courchevel 1850, one of four town denoted by their altitude (1300, 1550, 1650 and 1850).  You can read more about Courchevel in Wikipedia or the official website.  It is part of the 3 Valleys area and is the largest linked ski area in the world.  It's absolutely huge and it take half a day to ski from Courchevel to Les Menuires at the other end.  Check out this lift map.  I was amazed by how many gondola lifts that the resort has.  I haven't been skiing in Colorado since 1997, but most resorts had one gondola, if any.  The three valleys must have at least 2 dozen of all shapes and sizes.  Plus multiple 3, 4, and 6 seat express chair lifts.  We were also lucky enough to have ski-in, ski-out accommodations.

Our only major casualty occurred on Thursday when Tomas had a massive crash.  For the rest of the day he lost all short-term memory, but the doctors said he was physically and neurologically fine.  If you have never been around someone with no short term memory, it is really freaky.  Tomas would ask the same series of questions over and over again.  He couldn't remember the day, the month, his age or where we were longer than 5 minutes.  Sure enough though, a night of sleep followed by a day of rest restored most of his memory.  Guillaume and I had to wake him every 3 hours in the night to make sure he was okay.

I would be remiss if I did not mention all the great food we had while in France.  We tried pork and goose pate, a variety of fine salami and cheeses, a dish called raclette (Sarah's favorite: cheese and potatoes) and some great cheese fondue.  We also made many visits to the creperie for Grand Marnier and Chestnut Creme crepes.  They have a big bottle of Grand Marnier on the counter to add an extra dash (or splash) of liquor to your crepe too.  Tomas also pitched in his trademark vegetable salad some great risotto dishes.  Sarah is jealous that she missed out on the fondue and vanilla risotto pudding.  Sorry babe!  But at least you got to relax while we were out on the slopes (see pic).

Guillaume's parents came into town on Friday and treated us to an awesome lunch on the slopes at the Bel Air Restaurant.  After that, we were off to Geneva for another overnight stay before returning to London Luton in the morning.  Our only mistake was to forget that daylight savings went into effect on Saturday night (they have a different daylight savings calendar in Europe).  Instead of leaving for the airport at 8:30, we woke up at 8:30.   This was following by a hurried dash to the train station in hopes of finding a taxi.  Luckily we made it to the airport with time to spare.

It was a great trip.  I have to give a big thanks to Guillaume for inviting us all out and introducing us to so much French food and culture.  The experience wouldn't have been the same without him.  Thanks again dude.

-K

Touchy, eh?

Remember how I told you that some Canadians are sensitive about being mistaken for Americans?

The other day I was waiting in line at the grocery store. In front of me was a pretty woman about my age who was trying her darnedest to ignore a couple of drunk boobs directly behind her. They kept trying to strike up a conversation with her, and the more she ignored them, the more they persisted.

At first, their tactic was to talk really loudly in hopes they could draw her into the coversation. When that didn't work, they tried grabbing her arm or putting their hands on her shoulders. She politely asked them to stop touching her. They wouldn't cut it out, so she moved to a different check-out line to try to get away. No luck, they followed her!

Finally, she'd had enough of being polite (I wouldn't have lasted nearly as long!). She calmly set her shopping basket on the ground, turned to face the boobs and firmly told them to take hike, threatening that if they didn't, she'd call the police. To show she was serious, she took her cell phone out of her purse.

The boobs got offended at this, and started badgering her about being "unfriendly," saying they were only trying to pass the time while waiting in line. She turned around to ignore them some more, but they wouldn't just let it be. After a few more minutes of trying to get her attention, one of the boobs said to the other loudly enough for her to hear, "Gosh, must be some sort of 'American' thing," taking a guess at her nationality based on her accent.

That's when she got really pissed. She whipped around to face them as her face flushed crimson. "I'm Canadian, you assholes," she screamed and stomped out.

Planes, trains and automobiles

On Wednesday I returned from a four-day visit to Courchevel, France, a lovely ski resort town in the Alps. The trip back to London required a two-hour bus ride to Geneva, a plane trip between Geneva and Luton, a train trip from Luton to London and then a subway ride and a walk back to our flat in Camden. All in all, I spent 10 hours travelling Wednesday and I think I'm still recovering from it!

The trip was fantastic. We spent a night in Geneva before heading to France, so I was able to see the REAL Lake Geneva, not Wisconsin's version of it. The Swiss are a multi-lingual bunch; we heard French, German and English frequently spoken as we were out and about. On the rare occassion we ran into someone who didn't speak English, our pal and travelling companion, Guillaume, translated French for us. (Guillaume has both French and Swiss citizenship and is a native French speaker).

On our way to France, we drove through Annency and Albertville (site of the 1992 Winter Games), both of which offer postcard-esque views of the Alps. However, these views paled in comparison to actually being IN the mountains like we were once in Courchevel. The sites were simply breathtaking; you can see for yourselves once I get some pictures posted from the trip. (Kyle has the digital camera and he's still there, lucky bloke! I had to come home early for class).

Guillaume, Kyle and Tomas (another pal from LSE) skiied each day, while I stayed in and knitted. In the evenings, we watched movies (subtitled in French for Guillaume, though he speaks English just fine. It allowed us to learn a bit of French, though) and ate wonderful food. Guillaume cooked traditional French dinners for us (cheese, cheese cheese!) and Tomas cooked a dinner, too. I was such a lucky girl, being spoiled by three handsome men! ;)

It was a fantastic trip, and I was sorry to have to leave early. That being said, I usually feel a bit of relief upon returning to London after a few days away. Why? Because I adore London. I get choked up just thinking that I only have five months left...For those of you who haven't made plans to come visit us yet, get to it! You're missing out on what I think is the greatest city in the world.

In other news, today is a landmark day: It's my last-ever lecture! I cannot believe how quickly time is flying! I've got a month to work on a couple of projects, then I'll do an internship for a month. Finally, I have an exam in May and my dissertation is due in September. Yikes. I'd also like to point out that I had *perfect* attendance in all of my lectures both this term and last. Nerd alert!

Since you put it so nicely...

I had to meet a professor about a project early this morning (and by "early," I mean 10:15 a.m.). While I did manage to take a shower beforehand, my make-up was sparse and I didn't spend a lot of time on my hair.  Even so, I think I looked presentable for a girl with not-tameable, naturally curly/frizzy hair.

On my way back, a man on the street said, "Excuse me," in such a way that I thought he needed directions. Having been lost many times in London and dependent on strangers to help me figure out where I am, I always try to help others when I can. It's my "pay it forward" theory on navigating one of the world's largest cities.

Anyway, I stopped to see what the man wanted and was disappointed to find out that he worked for a salon and thought I could use a make-over. He said my current cut wasn't doing anything for my face and asked if I had considered chemically straightening my hair. I wanted to point out that yes, I have considered straightening my hair;  I've got a flat iron and enough straightening gels, shampoos, mousses and creams, etc., to fill a salon of my own to prove it.  Ultimately, I decided it wasn't worth the time to argue with a guy who drums up business for himself by telling women they look terrible. Hopefully he'll figure out the flaw in that plan before he goes broke.

Where does Oscar the grouch live?

My friend and classmate Ed thinks the way I answer the question "Where does Oscar the Grouch live?" is absolutely hilarious. Every time I say the words "trash can," he is reduced to giggles. Perhaps it is my nasal, Wisconsin way of pronouncing the words (trAAAAASH cAAAAAN) that makes him laugh. He never seems to be able to tell me exactly what is so funny through his fits of laughter.

Thursday I came a little closer to figuring out why it's so funny. The term "can" has a connotation in the U.K. has being a small container, like a can of beans or peas (even though the terminology here for can of beans is really "tin" of beans because it references what the can used to be made of). I guess for Ed, the idea that we in the U.S. throw trash into a tiny container is just too much.

And, in case you are curious, Ed's answer the Oscar the Grouch question is "Rubbish bin."

What the....?! (Part 2)

This one has left me speechless, so I'll let the stupidity speak for itself:

Men's activists launch 'Roe v. Wade for Men'

Group says men shouldn't have to pay support for unwanted children

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11731580/

What the....?!

We normally try to keep our politics under wraps here at Jandley.com, though those of you who know us well are quite well-versed in our very left-leaning views on most things political.  We kept our opinions to ourselves when Scooter Libby was indicted in the Plame affair and we didn't post anything about the DeLay/Abramhoff affair. Heck, we didn't even say anything snarky when Dick Cheney shot that old guy! However, on this one I just have to ask, what the *heck* is going on in South Dakota?! I thought we'd settled this one in 1973!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/06/sd.abortion/index.html?section=cnn_topstories

New level of trust

Kyle and I have reached a new level of trust in our relationship. Last weekend, he asked me to cut his hair.

His preferred barber, Mr. Topper's, is just down the street and relatively inexpensive but Kyle's schedule is constantly changing and its hard for him to find a time to get there when he won't be waiting in a long queue of other shaggy-haired men. Mr. Topper, who ironically is a bald frog who wears a top hat, does good work for a barber that offers a similar type of service as Snip N' Clip and Super Cuts but it is a bare-minimum kind of place.

Perhaps Kyle was tired of me complaining that his hair was getting shaggy when he decided we should buy some electric clippers. He said that if I could trim up the back of his hair, maybe it wouldn't be so shaggy in between his visits to Mr. T's.

So, last Sunday, we put newspapers on the floor of our bathroom and I nervously grabbed the clippers. I knew one slip of the hand could leave Kyle with a reverse mohawk (a cut I affectionately refer to as the butt-head), so at first I was overly cautious and barely trimmed any of his hair at all. With some goading, I finally got the hang of it. While I'm not likely to go into the barber business anytime soon, I will say that Kyle's hair does not look stupid, which is really all I was hoping for in the first place.

In related news, I think my vision is going. I started wearing reading glasses a few years ago but I only really needed them when staring at a computer screen at hours on end. Now I'm finding myself squinting at street signs, unable to read the newspaper without my glasses, and having trouble focusing after long bouts of knitting. I'm sure I'm headed to full-time wear of correctional lenses. Oh well. I'll consider myself lucky that I made it to my late twenties with nearly 20/20.

Very tiny rabbit eggs

The rabbit that lays Cadbury eggs is a little smaller in the UK.  These are Cadbury Creme Egg Minis.  The Christmas candy was quickly replaced here by a variety of Easter goodies.  You can get all different types of Cadbury Eggs and Cadbury's chocolates in London.  McDonald's even makes a McFlurry with Cadbury's Milk Chocolate.

These little eggs are not just a gimmick either.  They have the same creamy filling as the larger variety.  If you are on a diet, I suggest eating one mini egg for every large egg that you would normally eat.

If you are not on a diet, it would be easy to eat a whole bag of these things. You would have to unwrap each one individually, a task that will slow you down a bit.

-K