Dinner in Colonial Beach

I’ll admit I’ve had some low moments where I desperately miss friends and family and basic social interaction, but they usually pass pretty quickly. Life is simple and pleasant here most of the time, and I decided to make a list of things I like about our Dahlgren existence so I can refer to it whenever I’m feeling like Debbie Downer.

1. Quality Time

Brian and I get two whole months together in the same place before our next forced separation, which is a huge deal. A week or two after we arrive in Hawaii, he’ll have to fly out to meet his ship for the last three months of its deployment. I’m determined to appreciate this time, because in another month, I will be longing for more evenings watching “NCIS” reruns together.

Oh no! That’s not Brian. I swear he’s just a friend. 

Check out our fancy digs: the office/living room/dining room

The first time we’ve gotten to unpack our suitcases in months

2.  Reunions

We have gotten to see so many of our friends and family members over the last few weeks. We spent Easter with Brian’s family and a few friends in Fairfax, went out with the crazy Woodson High gang in Arlington, camped and brewery toured with our favorite New Jerseyites in Rehoboth Beach, dined with Brian’s war buddy in Richmond, caught up with my grandparents in Laurel and tore up D.C. with old friends from both coasts. It’s rare that I get to spend this much time on the East Coast, and it’s a pretty incredible opportunity to see everyone before we take off again.

Getting into trouble with the Fairfax kids

Uncle Brian with two of his cutie-pie nephews

Aw, Lil Lisa sleeping off her Easter food coma

Yay, puzzles are fun!

We’re in Delaware

A-mazing camp breakfast of bacon, eggs and more bacon

California girls are a force to be reckoned with

Cynthia and Stu putting “Dancing With the Stars” to shame

Mini Camp RAD reunion!

3. Dinners

Sometimes I miss having dozens of options of where to eat, drink and be merry, but sometimes it’s nice to narrow those options. And when I say “narrow down,” I mean “eliminate.” There is no fabulous sushi restaurant down the road and no Reginelli’s to deliver take-out here, so we are forced to cook our own well-balanced meals like responsible adults. We have only two burners and a microwave, but we have managed to cook some pretty fabulous dinners: gnocchi with healthy-ish alfredo sauce and veggies, Spanish tortilla, shrimp stir-fry, even some Zatarain’s gumbo. Often our friends Heather and Amy join us, we open a bottle of wine and we make a party out of it.

Our luxurious kitchen 

Mmmm… tortilla

4. Books

Wait, what are these “books” you speak of? You mean the ones with the pages? That aren’t on a screen? I read and write things for a living, and I am ashamed to admit how infrequently I pick up an actual book these days. Since I have so little to do in the evenings here, I have had a lot more time and motivation to read. I picked up a stack of novels and short stories from the itty-bitty library on base, and I’ve been reading a few chapters every night. I’m almost done with “Tender is the Night” (partially inspired by the time Fitzgerald spent in Antibes Juan-les-Pins, where I went last October) and the second half of “Eat, Pray, Love” is next on my list. Reading feels like such a luxury after depriving myself for so long, and I am loving the indulgence.

Moral of the story: I’m pretty happy here; with the right people, some good food and a little bit of red wine, you can make anywhere fun.

This last trip to France, however, was much more smooth… probably because I wasn’t there long enough to incite riots or train strikes. Kathleen and I both caught a vicious Gallic cold as we were leaving this fine country (totally unrelated to us staying out too late drinking wine and dancing), which is one of my excuses for not posting in so long.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few highlights from our trip, as told through ridiculous snapshots (also check out Kathleen’s hilarious and more detailed account of our voyage):

Absinthe bar, complete with funny hats and drunken Belgians

Kathleen always has a song in her heart and a dance in her step

On the Isle of Ste. Marguerite, Esther indulges in two essential French food groups: chocolate and beer

We make a very entertaining Scottish friend at a five-hour happy hour in Cannes

Kathleen and I discover a fabulous club in Antibes and find our dance cards are always full

At Le Refuge des Fondues in Montmartre, Paris (yes, that is red wine served in baby bottles– to avoid the tax on stemmed glasses, apparently)

Before… but why is the wine gone?

After… yayyyyy!

Fin

(OK, now I am back to the real world and will be posting again on the wedding planning I swear I’m doing. Two and a half months until the wedding… holy crapshit.)

The obligatory Mediterranean resort photo

Fine, I’ll stop being completely obnoxious, but I seriously got a chance to go to the French Riviera. For free! I think that merits a little insufferable gloating. I’m on a two-week trip in Antibes Juan-les-Pins (between Cannes and Nice) with a program through the French Consulate optimistically called “Jeunes Talents.” There are eight of us young talents going to four different French cities– Antibes, Lyon, Montpellier and Biarritz– to take photographs for an exhibition and some brochures. For some reason, Loyola is one of the schools sending recent grads and, thank the baby Jesus, I take pictures and speak French. It’s been awhile since I’ve been shooting on a regular basis, though, so I’m hoping it’s like riding a bike…

Esther, another Loyola grad who majored in visual arts, is in Antibes as well so I have a partner in crime to help me eat and drink my way through the city. And in an awesome turn of events, my love Kathleen decided to take a spontaneous vacation to France! She found a cheap fare to Paris and is taking the train to Antibes to meet me on Wednesday. We’ll hang out here for a few days, soak up the sun and stuff ourselves with mussels and escargot, then spend our last two days in Paris. Our conversations about the trip mostly consist of us going, “Eeeeee!” over and over and sometimes jumping up and down.

I had wanted to keep up a Flickr account with all my pictures while I’m traveling, but sadly, I don’t think it’s possible this time around. The gallery in L.A. where we’re having the exhibition in March doesn’t want us to publish our images on the Web until after the opening. Understandable, but a bummer nonetheless. I think I’ll be able to send around a Picasa album or two, so let me know if you’re interested in getting in on that action. I’ll also post a few photos to the blog that I don’t plan to submit. In other words, you can see my photographic rejects here! Who’s excited? I already paid for a pro Flickr account, though, so you can be damn sure I’ll use it for something– take a gander every now and then.

I’ll write more later, but here are a few pictures from my first days here… Gros bisous!

Restaurant in Old Antibes

My neverending quest for the perfect pétanque picture (a.k.a. me stalking old men)

Street in Old Antibes

Soccer game with an unexpected player