For my Birthday, I relaxed. I know, crazy right? So different from my normal day-to-day life on this adventure.
Which is sarcasm, and actually made figuring out what to do for my birthday a bit challenging. I mean, I’ve been doing literally whatever I want, whenever I want, for two and a half months now. I haven’t been worried about deadlines, or project completion dates, or bills or planning flights or trains (with a few notable exceptions, of course). I’ve been having the time of my life, so how do I celebrate above and beyond that?
Well… I don’t worry about it, I guess.
I mean, okay. I could have scheduled a rock climbing guide. Or a SCUBA session, or countless other birthday adventures… but I didn’t quite feel like it. I was enjoying visiting with my Mom and Steve, going slow and enjoying the quiet pace of life in Cassis. I was feeling good, and I didn’t really feel the drive to go above and beyond.
So I didn’t.
We relaxed, had a lovely slow breakfast, and wandered around town a bit. We booked an early-evening massage for myself, and tracked down a nice spot that would have a fun dinner. I wandered out to the beach for lunch, solo-style, to just sit back and enjoy listening to the waves and the swimmers and the boats slicing by through the waves.
I had a good, quiet, French day. And I’m endlessly thankful for it.
Thursday, 04-July-2024 through Saturday, 06-July-2024
My plan for France was to stay in a small town called Cassis, that I’d visited before in 2014 as a climbing trip with a whole group of friends. It was a lovely town; small, touristy, and that grand combination of authentic feeling, but also welcoming. My Mom and Stepdad would be joining me for a bit over a week, and we’d adventure, vacation, and test the waters of group international travel.
I’d found a good place to stay, then went looking for plane tickets… but found that they wouldn’t quite work out with the dates in mind – In the end, it all shook out that I’d arrive two days early, and find a spot to stay in Marseille.
It complicated things, to be sure, but I wasn’t against the complication – it gave me the opportunity to relax a bit, in a spot that I didn’t feel pressured to spend a lot of energy exploring, and just rest and catch up on photos, this blog, and do a bit of reading.
Allauch was the ideal spot for this, and I’d found an ideal bed and breakfast in that ideal spot.
I stayed, I relaxed in the garden, and had breakfast at the B&B itself. I grabbed elevensies at a bakery nearby, generally skipped lunch in favor of a nap (and the food from elevensies), and then had dinner at a nearby pizza place, ironically run by a guy who’d just finished his MBA in Dublin – though not at the same school I’m going to.
It was, simply put, absolutely lovely.
Nearly infinite flowers, lovely warm weather that just bordered on hot, and streets that seemed designed specifically for wandering. And, of course, amazing food!
Le fournil de la Pounche – Amazing bakery, and they put up with my absolutely mediocre French with far more patience than I ever expected.
Venchi Pizza – Amazing pizzeria, sort of a town pizza place like “<Blank> house of pizza” back in New England. But… you know, better pizza. I ate in both times I visited, and was the only one staying in to eat – but it was really fun getting to chat with the folks working the oven!
Prior to planning this trip, I maybe could have pointed out Estonia on a map. Maybe. I knew it was a former Soviet-bloc state, along with Latvia and Lithuania and lots of “-istan” countries, but I couldn’t have told you which part of Europe (or Asia?) it was in.
I feel bad about that… but at the same time I freely accept that I am, in fact, an American. With all the horrors and glories that accompany that fact.
Once I started planning, and realized exactly where Estonia is, I got super excited to visit, though! (See the map below):
Why was I so excited?
I mean, how could I not be?!? The Baltic states were new to me, for one, which is always an exciting prospect for adventure and exploration. More concretely, though, my quick research showed just what sort of area my education had overlooked – Some of the highest quality of life in the world, astounding internet and technology distribution through society, and exceptionally high happiness scores throughout. Couple that with extremely low cost of living, low travel expense in general…
Now, I’m not saying they’re Utopias, of course, but… well, when I started looking at them so long ago, they seemed damn close to the best we’ve got in today’s society.
I was beside myself to see them for myself!
My first views of Estonia came from the ferry – and, frankly, I don’t have much to say about them. They were views of a harbor, woo. Nothing special here.
As soon as I disembarked and started walking to my (very close by) hotel, though, I started seeing art and beauty. Neat installations, informational placards (my loves!), and interesting little things. Constructions, and lots of it, were speckled in between… From what I could tell, Tallinn is growing. Though, to be fair, none of these things really stood apart from the Nordic countries that I’ve been visiting so far… which in and of itself says something. When people think of the Nordics, they think of wealth and beauty – I’m learning that the Baltics are no different.
Over the next few days I wandered around Tallinn extensively – lots of walking, some scootering, but enjoyment throughout. It was cooler than the Nordics had been, thanks to a shift in weather, which made walking and wandering a bit easier… but at the same time, Tallinn felt smaller than the other cities, except Nuuk and maybe Reykjavik. It was very walkable, no doubt, with tons of neat things to look at along the way.
100% would recommend, and will likely come back someday!
Before I leave this post to dive into some of the specific adventures, we’ll follow tradition: and talk about Food!
Gallery Cafe – The first spot that I found in Estonia, and honestly simply one of the best. Great coffee, great food, can’t complain.
Kalevi Jahtklubi – Yacht Club. Yep – my first evening in Estonia I accidentally went to a Yacht Club for dinner… I walked in through a side door by accident, confused a patron for the host, and I’m pretty sure the only reason they seated me (a non-member) was because everyone was just really confused. Great food, though. Like… really good.
Restoran Trofe – Excellent food, in a cool wine cellar. Can’t complain in any way, shape, or form. I had Champagne!
Texas Cantina – I’m not proud of this, but I enjoyed it. I was wandering, wanted some lunch, and my original plan was closed. So you know what? I found out how well Estonia does Texas BBQ. They do a passable job, with exceptionally tender ribs, but the sauce had some unexpected flavors in there… not bad, but also not the standard BBQ I’m used to.
R14 – Now this. This was the fancy. R14 is probably the fanciest restaurant I’ve been to on this trip, to date, and they threw down. In short, R14 was previously Michelin starred, and they lived up to the hype. Both of the flavors and tastes (I had meatballs, sea bass, and gelato… with a gin & tonic and a glass of ice wine) but also in presentation and cost. Seriously, the whole meal was like $75.
5 Senses – Ehh, it was okay. Cool place, and I was looking forward to trying Estonia’s take on fried chicken and waffles. Estonia’s take on chicken and waffles was okay, I guess, but I wouldn’t recommend it over any other restaurant.
Taqueria – Supposedly the best tacos in Tallinn… I’d say they’re solidly okay tacos in comparison to Portland or Wilsonville. But then again, Portland and Wilsonville have the best tacos I’ve ever had…
