Day Tripping

After January 1st (left the house when it was already getting dark, just to go to a cafe in Le Marais to get a lot of food), we felt like being proactive and doing stuff... so Versailles it was.

It was a great day to go because the line up moved really fast, and once we got to the cashier we noticed, it was free! 2011, score.. Also, we tried hiding a bottle of champagne in our purses but yeah, we failed and had to drop it off at the entrance.

It was cold like everything these days, but good times (like everything these days as well).

Cast: Cara Spencer, Bridgette Watson, Maria Fernanda Cordoba et Milena Salazar.



Love!



The gardens

Bonne Année!

Feliz Año Nuevo a todos!

This one I'll never forget. I am so happy I got to start this New Year next to amazing people I met here in Paris that are so so special to me, and on top of that, Marifer! Ah, demasiado...

Our professionals chefs chez Signe and Hjalte prepared a dinner that included (though not limited to) lobster soup, foie gras starter, lamb, dessert, a variety of wines... Wow wow wow.

We all welcomed the year on the street, dance a little bit and continued the party at the apartment. I was having way to much fun inside my mind to take pictures, but luckily Marifer did and here are some very representative shots.

I just finally want to say I wish we could have at least two New Years each year, just cause it's so much fun, and even if it makes no sense, I know.

This thought reminds of a little story from school in Liberia, it goes on like this: We were in Spanish class and for some reason nobody wanted to be in the front row, so an angry friend gets up and screams (very seriously):

"Guys get over it! Let's just not have a first row so no one fights about it... We'll just have 2nd and 3rd, duh, and then no one is in the front!"

Yeah, that happened. If that is possible then I order two New Years PER YEAR.

Here's the photo evidence:

First we all looked like well-balanced, cute, happy, nice people excited about an upcoming delicious meal.




Then moustaches appeared, in all forms, sizes and styles.



Then we ate, and went outside to welcome the New Year at Bastille.


Then we came back and the party went on...


And on..


And on...

And then it was 8am and Marifer and I walked home.


Hope everyone had a great time, and my best wishes for the New Year... Let's hope 2011 hits hard and rocks our world!

(Can't resist: That's what She said)

Neto

Had the pleasure to host 23-26 and 28 Mr. Neto... Bad weather, really good times!




Shakespeare and Co.



Nan Goldin at the Louvre



Crepes in Saint Michel



Lots and lots of metro


Went up the Tower but it was so cloudy

Christmas Day

Dec. 24th, 2010.

It snowed ALL DAY, cold cold Christmas in Paris. We decided to have a lazy homey day and just watched Christmas episodes of Friends (YEAH, The Holiday Armadillo!), and did grocery shopping for our dinner. The Fromager, La Boucherie, the Monoprix... we went to all of those to get the ingredients for the amazing Raclette we would have later. Raclette is a type of fondue and we got three different types of cheese to melt... Delicious!




Dec. 25th, 2010.

Christmas morning! After three days of non-stop snow, we woke up to a beautiful sunny Paris. Bridge made pancakes, Sam came over, and we had orange juice/champagne for breakfast... YUM. Now we all look like the FatBooth picture Neto has been taking of us (I'll see if I can get a hold of them cause they're worth sharing). Christmas presents came later, and now wer're al getting ready to go ice skating at Hotel de Ville.

We're having turkey for dinner tonight!

This is our Christmas tree, we even decorated it! Not the most robust one, but it brings love into the Watson-Salazar household.

Presents :)

Sam's stocking

Merry Christmas to everyone! Bonne fete!

Joyeux Noel!

Just finished having an amazing dinner, our Bridgette/Sam/Mile family dinner with a special guest from Costa Rica, Neto (a.k.a. Cachete Inflado). Will post pictures tomorrow but I just had to share this amazing fun we just recorded.

School's Over, Now What?

Around these time of the year I would usually be trying to get finals out of the way, and thinking of nothing else than going back home, having big family dinners for Christmas and going to the beach in New Years... Best break to then start school again in January, coming back to snowy (if lucky) YVR Airport, starting new classes and the start of term celebrations that come with it.

Those were the days.. But these are the days too. I'm just a little awkward while everyone's statuses say "Home"/"At *whatever* airport"/"FML flight cancelled"/etc. For example:





I had to use Sofie as an example because she's leaving today and I'm about the meet her in 20 min (love always right thurr sofie). Anyways, I'm not going home, not even close to an airport, the closest I'm to travelling is taking a TGV train to Lille tomorrow.

That's ok, though cause I'm happy I'm gonna have this time here as well. I'll have the big family dinners in France too. First in Lille (Marie-pPierre asked me in her last email if had already had escargots, foie gras or buche de Noel... this sounds beyond promising). The I'll have family dinner two in our place in Paris with Sam and Bridge, Sam wants turkey and I support the motion, except it will be difficult without an oven, but nothing the Monoprix can not fix.

And then comes New Years, and for that I get the best gift ever, Marifer is coming and staying! I've been looking forward to her staying in Paris for some days, and then visiting whenever throughout the semester in La Rochelle. So I guess this is more of a self-assurance kind of post, nothing to exciting, just needed to write it down for myself. IT'S OK MILE, IT'S OK!



bonne fetes a tousss
gave up on the caps lock and french accents

wait a second, taking them up again



Next goal in life: Select some of the 300 billion pictures of Bridgette's birthday party and post. That's usually what happens when Sam gets a hold of the camera. That's also what happens when people decide it's a good idea to eat chest hair, you just have to document. That's also what happens when you're drinking, eating and smoking for hours. Another thing that happens is your apartment in not a nice place to wake up in, and it smells almost as bad as Saint Germain de Prés metro station in the morning, for the 36 hours.

For now, I will just post this hoping to score points on the 'best roommate' award. Breakfast for the birthday girl, courtesy of me. Nothing can go wrong when there's peanut butter on the table, just sayin'.

Sun on Snow

I'll leave the rest of Reims for later because I'm too axious to comment about the crazy weather these days. First day of snow was beautiful last week. Then it got all slushy, and now the sun's out like "aefgdoh ae i fges00gh affhgerr feev efkafhol"...

Hjalte taught me an expression in Danish which means something like "we're going to do this like there's no tomorrow!", or something like that. So I wanted to see if it applied in this context. I think I used it right, except, yeah I can't write in Danish. Bridge then told me I could say "the sun's out like it's going out of style" or "the sun's out like white on rice".

Haha WHAT?! I love how I'm expanding so much my English vocabulary and expressions here in France. Who knew I had to come to Paris to become a legit Vancouverite.

Anyways, this post was about the crazy weather, and the sun shining today like "vdeecf iig oeraxagto oeethnfakh"!


Little retrospective:

Sam took these the first day it snowed... It was snowing like "flies on shit!"




So much snow falling on 27 rue Saint Guillaume






And these a little series on windows. First in late autumn...



The winter hit...



And this is a show from today's hybrid bizarreness.