Never Judge a Book By Its Cover - unless it's a picture book that is... (Adventures with MooReece and Hippoppotame)

My shuttle picks me up in 6 hours, I'm packed, the apartment is clean and I've said goodbye to my loved ones (or rather "see you later, alligator"). Despite doing all of that, and enjoying a wonderful farewell meal of Falafel and Pantheon Ice Cream and knocking back the last of my Kronenbourg, I'm still not believing that this fairytale is coming to an end.

Paris has been a hard sell but she's quite the saleswoman! I came here in the mother of all heat waves, starting a cold and my wisdom teeth piercing through and I all but threw in the towel before even giving the city a chance to prove herself. Luckily I had my beautiful friends (old and new) to keep me afloat until I sucked it up princess and started having fun. The old adage "you never know what you have until it's gone" is so very TRUE! I just spent the last 4.5 weeks LIVING IN PARIS! I mean I walk by Notre Dame everyday, the Louvre like it's no big deal. The Eiffel is a bore... heck I don't even bother going to see the Arc de Triomphe until my last day! And so now that I'm leaving I just want to chain myself to one of those palm trees at Paris Plage and stay here forever! I just needed to cut Paris some slack, it can't be easy being the most tourist infested city on EARTH! I blamed the city, but it's not Paris' fault. Paris is perfect and charming and beautiful (minus the ickiness...) and just wants to be loved like everyone else.

Et bien Paris, je t'aime de tout mon coeur et on se reverra bientot!

Tu me manqueras!

xoxo Amy et MooReece (et maintenant Hippoppotame :))

OUI c'est NORMAL! Happiness like only a laugh on the Seine can bring (Adventures with MooReece con't)

I've officially decided to name my next cyber project "FMAVIEdotcom" (please note that "dot" has to be pronounced with a french accent because HERE they don't say "pointcom" like we do in "quebecois", they say "dot" with their charming accent - but wait, we've been through this - the French don't have the accent - I do!!! Oy this is complicated!)

You see I will be leaving France in well under 48 hours now and I just spent the most lovely evening with my bestie just doing the "Paris" thang. We enjoyed a lovely dinner (note that we were seated next to Canadian tourists and HOLY COW we DOOOOO sound soooo funny!! I knew they were Canadian right away!!! I've heard enough different French to know my people when I hear them - AWESOME!!! I never would have noticed the difference 2 months ago). We had "Pantheon" Ice Cream (photos to come) and sat on the Pompidou pavillion where we were entertained by an asian man with an accoustic guitar singing pop/folk classics. LaBamba, Twist and Shout, Mrs Robinson, You're the one that I want, Unchained Melody (but I didn't hear that one...Jill caught it though LOL) and after asking me where we were from he sang some Bryan Adams "Everything I Do" and some Joni Mitchell! He was a riot and it was such a awesome way to spend an hour chillaxing with all sorts of people and catching some live entertainment. Jill and I are lucky that way - strolling into free and AWESOME entertainment! GO US! We said our goodbyes after our posteriors were beginning to be permanently imprinted with cobblestone outlines and headed towards the Seine.

Other than the Seine River (which is GROSS, to put it lightly) there are no bodies of water for public enjoyment anywhere near Paris. So every summer the city of Paris opens up "Paris Plage" where they literally turn the banks of the Seine into a beach area (they even truckload in the sand!) There are beach stands, beach chairs, water fountains and sprinklers to keep yourself cool - the only thing you can't do is swim! We decided to check it out and I must say I was quite impressed with the entire outfit. Very well patroled, no vehicles (but bikes unfortunately), mostly locals, street acts and entertainment all over the place and even "petit foot" tables (that's FOOZE for you non-frenchies). I think it's great that the city pulls this together because this city is so stressful and hot and icky - it's amazing to just go out to the river and relax as you would at the beach anywhere. It's no French Riviera or Deauville - but when you're in a pinch - and you're always in a pinch in Paris - it's a great substitute. We parked ourselves back down on the side of the Seine (I carefully removed my sandals as to not have them fall in the river) and laughed laughed laughed for the next 2 hours. It's been a long time since I laughed that hard for that long - people had to think we were drunk! Unfortunately for all of you it's all inside-joke stuff that just wouldn't translate well and the effect would be lost so I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say that we had quite possibly the BEST evening of our entire stay in Paris and there isn't another soul I would rather have shared "CE SOIR" with. Jill looked over at me at one point and asked "What are you thinking about?" and I thought about it and looked back and said "nothing" and for the first time ever I actually meant that. I had really been thinking about NOTHING - I was fully present and loving the moment that I was in - perfect in every aspect. I was 100% happy and there wasn't a single thought going through my mind. AMAZING!

Paris has been loud, pushy, annoying, smelly, frustrating, angry and just a royal pain in the you-know-where but after fighting against all of that I've finally realized that at the end of the day - that's PARIS! I'm living IN PARIS! I can walk by the Louvre and Notre-Dame and think it's no big deal...whatever. I can enjoy picnics and impromptu displays of hillarity on the Seine - just because... I can choose to be pushed, annoyed, frustrated, angry and bothered by the madness of this city or I can embrace it and love it like it was my home all along. This city IS beautiful, you just have to look a little deeper to see it. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity and I can finally say with confidence that it hasn't been wasted because after 4 weeks I can definitely say that Paris has been my HOME!

Ouistiti!!

I met a man on the London Eye I Wanted to Kiss! Thank You Losch for Giving Me Faith in Humanity

This blog is going to be a little different from all the others. This blog is about a man and his friend Jill and I met on the London Eye (that giant ferris wheel). The man's name was Losch (forgive the misspelling - it's pronounced Law-shh) and his friend's name was Ulf. Losch was Swedish. I'm not sure about Ulf because Ulf was severely handicapped and deaf and we could not communicate directly with him. We did not get into details about Ulf's condition but I am guessing he suffers from something akin to Muscular Dystrophy or some other form of incredibly debilitating disease that has him more or less paralyzed. He can move his arms VERY little and because sign language is his only method of communication it is VERY difficult for Losch to understand him because Ulf cannot move to make the sign gestures. Losch knows sign language and does his best to communicate with Ulf.


Losch was telling us he's known Ulf for maybe a year and a half now and by the way he treats and takes care of Ulf you would think they were brothers. NEVER have I ever seen anyone be so kind and gentle. You see Ulf was visiting London with some friends and Ulf decided to join them for a day so he flew from Stockholm with a 10 hour layover (I don't remember where) just to come and hang out with them. Speed-tourisming as well. Turns out Ulf's caretaker is afraid of heights to Losch happily volunteered to take Ulf up and give him a view of the entire city of London. Jill and I were just fortunate enough to have been in the same capsule as them. Losch was telling us that he has to use his imagination to figure out what and why Ulf is feeling a certain way because of the difficulties with communication. Ulf understands Losch much more than Losch understands Ulf and one can easily see how much that pains Losch. He wishes he could do more for his friend but feels helpless because he simply doesn't know what's wrong sometimes. For example, that day Ulf was sad. Losch guesses it's because a friend of his had just left, but he can't be sure.

These men are truly inspiring and meeting them filled my heart with so much joy and love and happiness that I just wanted cry. That is what HUMANITY is all about. Just over 1 year they have known each other. Beautiful. We said our goodbyes and when we got off I looked at Jill and said "I want to kiss that man just for being him". She said "People like that confirm that there is a God". It is my most profound hope that Losch and Ulf have nothing but love and happiness in their lives because they touched my life and my heart like noone ever has. I am oh so grateful to have met each them and will NEVER forget the 30 minute London Eye ride that reconfirmed my faith in humanity. Love really does conquer ALL! BLESS THEIR HEARTS!

Mind the Gap Between the Platform and the Train (Adventures with MooReece and Jill con't)

London England is the BEST! Ok, so I'm just overly JACKED about the weekend that I just had. No I would not want to live in London permanently, as I would not want to live in Paris permanently - BUT London (as Jill and I are keeping score) is MAJORLY kicking Paris butt (what is it like 32-5 or something?) AND we were only in London for 48 hours or so. I can just imagine how I had the chance to hang around longer. We were speed-tourisming but our main reason for eurostarring it across the Channel was to go see Wicked the Musical. Everything else was just gravy (ok so I don't like gravy but I did have the BEST Cottage Pie EVER and it had gravy and it was FANTABULOUS!)

It surely wasn't all smooth sailing from the get-go. Before even leaving Paris I open my big mouth at lunch and tell Jill that I bring my "gift" with me whenever I travel for 2 reasons (and these 2 reasons ONLY I SWEAR!):

1) It's the 1 thing other than my passport that I'm terrified to lose so when I travel I wear it so I know where it is (you all know how paranoid I can be... this saves me the stress)

2) It's brought me good luck when travelling. I have not run into any real "travel" problems since being in Europe.

HA! That'll teach me! Don't we get to the train station only to be trying to fetch our tickets from the wrong kiosk - TWICE! And after finally asking the info desk and told to go up to Eurostar (holy DUH AMY!) we find a specific Eurostar kiosk and our tickets spit out with 3 minutes to spare before the train is set to leave (I thought they would all give me our tickets... NEVER ASSUME FOLKS - I should listen to my own rules). Little did we know there is "check-in" with Eurostar and it closes 20 minutes PRIOR to departure - we missed our train. Luckily the lady working at the counter was nice enough to exchange our tickets free of charge...who knew you had to go through airport-like security to get on this baby? Happily the next train leaves only 30 minutes later and by the time we get through security and passport control (2 more stamps!! WOOHOO) we just make it to the 3:13pm train. Arrival in London 4:36pm (it's a 2.5 hour journey but London is 1 hour behind so we gained an hour which was nice). The Eurostar is a nice train, comfortable, roomy and fast. It doesn't seem to go that fast from inside the train but we cross the Channel in 20 minutes MAX! You aren't in the dark for very long that's for sure. Super cool to go from Paris to London in less time than it takes to drive to Barrie (and just as cheap too if you get your tickets early enough). SWEETNESS!

Our first mission in London: figure out the transit system. Our 2nd mission: ABBEY ROAD! We found it without much trouble at all - a little walking never hurt no one (except our blisters) and it is a BEAUTIFUL and PEACEFUL end of town. Leaves all over the place, kind of felt like the Fall. Not too hot either for once - BONUS! It's plain to see that the locals are used to people crossing the street back and forth all day long and they are really quite patient (at least they were when we were there). There was no crowd though so that's always nice too. Jill and I each crossed and then grafitied the Abbey Studios gate wall with some love for the boys!

We had dinner in Leicester Square at Chiquitos. Yes we had Mexican in London ok? It was TERRIFIC! We then made our way back to the Hotel. What they don't tell you is that in London they use the weekends to work on the underground lines and so there are often, if not always, lines that are completely non-functioning. Luckily for us we didn't run into too many problems but we were staying near Heathrow and well it was a long haul. What a treat to stay in a lovely hotel though. Hey - when you've been sleeping on a 6 inch piece of foam for 2 months and a pillow that's flatter than a crepe - you look forward to staying in a hotel. PLUS we get continental breakfast... SCORE! AND ENGLISH TELEVISION!!!

Saturday consisted of a delicious breakfast complete with real English Bangers! :D We then headed to Madam Tussaud's wax museum but were floored to find a minimum 2 hour lineup outside. Hugely dissapointed we go search for the planetarium but can't find it so we head over to the London Eye where we spend the rest of the afternoon by the Thames. After our ride on the giant ferris wheel we go out to eat before the main attraction. We stumble upon The Albert this cute English Pub where you order your food from the bar and they bring it to you. In our case we ordered from the specials which are served from a buffet and we both got the Cottage Pie with peas and carrots. Gluttony at its FINEST! The plate was ENORMOUS and I ate every last bite. OY! :D We stuck around longer because we loved the atmosphere of the pub so much and ordered tea and sat there together and enjoyed tea time. I LOVE THE BRITISH!! What a lovely LOVELY day! Now to the theatre!

WICKED was WICKED! Nothing else can possibly describe this musical and do it justice. It is AMAZING and MAGICAL and FANTASTIC! We had goosebumps and tears and left there GLOWING we were so moved by this performance. By far the BEST stage performance I have ever been to and probably in the top 3 shows (concerts included) I've ever seen in my life. The show alone was worth the trip. Everything else was like I said - gravy. We were buzzing back at the hotel and not even tired and didn't get to bed until after 2 am I believe and had to be up early because we wanted to try and get to Tussaud's early enough. No luck - we got there but still had no time to see it so we decided to explore London some more before heading back. Another lovely day, we walked through St-James' park, seen Buckingham, Trafalgar Square, the Canadian Embassy, the Quebec Embassy?, and a building we are curious to know what it is... I also bought myself a whole pile of stuff! I know, I know... I have NO IDEA how I am going to bring everything home.

Home... now that's a sad thought. I am in denial everyone! Europe has won me over and GB has won my heart! I may be ready to go home but that doesn't mean I want to anymore. 4 more days... 4 more days..............

SeNsOrY oVeRlOaD!!! mY hEaD iS aBoUt To ImPlOdE!!! (Adventures with MooReece and Jill)

For those of you who are interested to know what the heck my newest album is about let me first tell you that I have no idea myself. I'm of course referring to my photo album called "Twilight zone meets MJ sick dream" which is a collection of photos my Paris bestie Jill and I took on an evening expedition of Parc de la Vilette.

Why Parc de la Vilette you ask? I mean there are so many things to see and do in Paris, why go to some random park no one has really ever heard of? Well my friends, that's exactly WHY I suggested to go there. You see, Jill and I are SICK of SIGHT-SEEING! She's been to Paris several times already and seen everything SEVERAL times already and well I've been here almost 2 months (but it feels like 2 years) and I'm done with the museums and the expositions and lineups and the TOURISTS! In all honesty I wasn't much into that in the first place. Luckily for me I get to see most of the cool monuments and sites through my class and so that frees up my time to do things that I WANT to do. Like?? Explore the parks around the city. I had read in one of my travel books (books I've rarely ever used other than to check off things that I've seen) about this Parc de la Vilette and the unique scultures that can be found there. Not much else was explained. Furthermore, in class that day the professor mentionned the park and the science centre that is adjacent and said if we had time it's worth the trip up line 7 to go check it out. Again, not much detail given so I just assumed (NEVER ASSUME FOLKS!) that it was a park, just like every other park, with statues etc in it, only that these would be modern as opposed to classical etc etc...

So after scoring 10 points for my excellent flirting with my favourite "perfect parisian specimen" I throw out the suggestion to Jill that we go chillax in this parc de la Vilette as we were both on the border of falling asleep standing up. The photo album of randomness is the result of our impromptu "chillaxing" in the park.

Needless to say from the second I seen the giant reflective sphere behind this George Pompidou-like centre I was in LOVE! I mean it's the SPHERE!!! It has the capability of manifesting all your dreams and desires (and also your worst nightmares - so tread carefully). With great power comes great responsibility! (Couldn't help myself, sorry). For those of you who haven't seen SPHERE - Movie night CHEZ MOI when I get home! Warning now - I know almost every line! Anyways... if that wasn't cool enough we see directional signs pointing to various things (that we have no idea what they are) and we see one pointing to *Zenith*. You all know you would head in that direction ASAP! So we did... only to be mesmerized, magnitized, confuzzled and befuddled around every corner. NOTHING in this park is normal. NOTHING is this park makes sense. NOTHING in this park is logical. It is a pure mish-mash or randomness thrown onto something like 55 hectars of land. There is a giant water mill. A giant bicycle that is 2/3 burried in the ground. Oodles of red climbing structure thingies (one with cows on it). Spinney chairs! WEEEEEEEE!!!! A field to watch outdoor movies. What else... oh gosh our brains were on sensory overload! But we continued on in search of this "Zenith" following the signs as instructed until we ended up back where we started with a sign pointing back to where we had just come from. WHAT THE?!?!?!?!?! How do you miss something called the "Zenith"? It's got to be pretty impressive to be called that "n'est-ce-pas?" Well apparently not... or maybe we just weren't endowed with the magical powers necessary to experience it?

We walked into an exhibit called "Le reve americain" which was a series of lifelike statues of people in different ages and professions all "living the american dream" but not as "dreamy" as the rest of the world makes it out to be. It was quite a depressing exhibit. Fascinating and fantastic but sombre. We left Vilette scratching our heads and we still laugh about it. We will never forget our impromptu promenade through one of the strangest and most RANDOM places ever! T'was a GREAT adventure for sure!

p.s. Why would you need to strap a lawn chair to the back of your bicycle?

Can I Buy a Vowel? Or Maybe a New Pair of Feet? (Adventures with MooReece)

My professor told me today that I write really well. YAY! I guess I can thank all my "unnecessarily long emails" for all the practice that I get. And NO I never get sick of being complimented on my writing (especially because I don't consider it to be all that good myself). Nevertheless I obviously have a passion for words - and LOTS of them :)

My feet are in every kind of pain. Those little pins and needles you get from standing too long, heel spurs from walking too much in shoes that I'm literally wearing down, blisters on top of blisters on top of blisters, in-grown toenails and dry cracked heels. Sad thing is, I'm FINALLY starting to like this place - it's growing on me afterall. I still don't want to live here in Paris, but hand it to me to fall in love just before I leave - HA! (with the city people - with the CITY - don't get your hopes up.... although my perfect parisian specimen flashes me smiles all the time and comes to chat me up randomly so I try to control the urge to become a total fool around him *insert silly girlish giggle here* - oh yes he is THAT beautiful and FRENCH! - I tried to get a picture... but I'm not so stealthy - next week for sure during our farewell dinner!) Anyways...FOCUS AMY! Yeah, Paris isn't SO bad... and if it wasn't 500 degrees everyday it would probably be quite enjoyable. Not to mention watching the sunset at the top of the Eiffel Tower (after climbing it with my schoolbag, purse, sandals and a white dress in 30 degree weather) is definitely worth the 8.50E. Climbing it with friends is that much better. That's right FRIENDS! Can you believe it? I mean don't get me wrong, Moo is GREAT company but he's not much of a talker...

Everyday I seem to change my mind. I was so disheartened when I got to Paris because I missed Antibes so much that I wasn't open to enjoying everything Paris has to offer, then I was tired all the time and just wanted to come home and now I'm FINALLY loving it here and dare I say it - not want to go home? I mean this lifestyle is ridiculous and unsustainable and I love routine way too much to ever become a professional globetrotter but if I could be sedentary for an extended period of time, I would have no problems making the transatlantic move.

That being said - as AWESOME as Europe is - it's NO CANADA! I miss my big beautiful and EMPTY country - and days that aren't 4 weeks long. NO JOKE - it feels like I went to Normandy last month, not 2 days ago - time STANDS STILL!

And No We Haven't Been Drinking... (Adventures with MooReece con't)

Ok so I just had this wonderful blog all typed up and my sticky fingers must have hit something (that wasn’t SAVE) and well I lost it all. GAH!!!

Do I really need to redescribe my trip to Chateau de Versailles for ya’ll? Nah..if you care you can just ask me when I get home and I will tell you all about it. I will just say however that it really IS as incredible to see as they say it is, it is the most visited Chateau in France for a reason. It is UNBELIEVABLE! But, like Venice, it’s something you only need to see once. You WANT to see it, I can promise you that – but once you’ve seen it – you’ve seen it. I loved it and I’m glad I made time to go – Louis XIV was definitely an ambitious King.

I spent the weekend in Normandy. A pre-planned trip organized through my study abroad agency. We left bright and EARLY on Saturday and got back around 19h30 this afternoon (Sunday for those of you keeping track). A busy and jam packed weekend with not nearly enough time in any of the places to really truly appreciate them. What a TREAT to get the heck out of Paris! What a beautiful country side with farmland and trees and fresh air and sunshine and HAPPINESS! Quiet, calm, relaxed and wonderful. I LOVE NORMANDY – land of Camembert and Calvados! We visited Bayeux to see this giant tapestry (which sounds lame but is actually REALLY REALLY COOL – again won’t bore you with details unless you want to know) then headed off to the Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach to see the D-Day landing sites. We finished by visiting the US military cemetery is St-Laurent and I have to say, you haven’t been to a cemetery until you’ve been to a military cemetery like that. It is breathtaking and heartwrenching at the same time. It is so beautifully kept and respectful and extraordinary – white marble crosses (and stars of David) spread out in perfectly symmetrical rows. Each one was a person once upon a time who died in a horrific scene so that we can live the way we do today. I majored in the Holocauste and the events of the 2nd World War and so this was a real experience for me – one that I will keep with me forever. Never take anything for granted... and never forget to tell the people you love how much they mean to you – so many DIED so that we can do just that.

We stayed in the cutest little hotel (see pictures) and were treated to a really FRENCH 3 course dinner. It was very good as long as you don’t ask what you are being served. Pooched from late nights and long drives and treated to my own TV I plopped myself on my bed and watched some French tele and fell asleep with it on.

Today we had some free time (but not nearly enough) to explore Deauville – my new FAVOURITE town! This place is quite possibly the cutest, most beautiful, awesomest place on EARTH! It has the biggest, most amazing beach I’ve ever seen, high end boutiques for those of us with a retail habit and the cutest architecture I’ve ever seen – right out of a fairly tale. I picked up a real estate magazine – scoping out my new digs. I can instruct at the Health Club by the beach – no worries. BodyPUMP sur la PLAGE  After rushing out of Deauville we headed to the Calvados (Apple Liqueur) distillery for a quick tour, sampling and apple pie. WOOT WOOT! Let’s just say the Calvados will definitely wake you up! Another BEAUTIFUL spot as well – actually it was quite depressing to think we had to go back to Paris – most of us were definitely ready to pitch a tent in the Calvados yard and just hang out there forever. We’ll pitch in and work at the distillery – no problemo! Tell us what to do. We finished our tour of Normandy with a visit to the Caen War Memorial Museum. Again, not nearly enough time – had to rush through it – but at least we had audioguides making it easier to go through the exhibit. Lots had to be skipped – but I bought books. 1 got damaged by my water bottle though  NOT IMPRESSED!

All that to say that Normandy was AMAZING and just another highlight to the neverending AWESOME times I’ve had in Europe thus far. Paris has not won my heart – but if Normandy proposed I would say OUI OUI without thinking twice.

Great Oscar's Ghost! Is that a 2-floor Starbucks? (Adventures with MooReece con't)

Ok so maybe I've been too harsh on this little city I'm currently inhabiting. It is the resting place of Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison afterall, so it can't be all bad. I'm just critical because I come from the most beautiful city on EARTH! HA! Maybe not, but it is cleaner and even when something goes wrong at INCO (which is finally no longer on strike - praise heaven!) I'm convinced the air is still cleaner than the best of days in the metro. GROSS!

One thing that kicks Sudbury Ontario's butt? STARBUCKS at almost EVERY metro exit! So no matter how tired (and I'm TIRED!) I get and how sick of the heat and annoyed with the people that I get, a smile is waiting for me at the next stop. Can you say WOOHOO? Currently I'm plunked on the 2nd floor (that's right the 2ND FLOOR) of the nicest (albeit not the cleanest) Starbucks I've ever been to. I know, I KNOW, I shouldn't be indulging in North American capitalism at its finest, and I should be sipping café or noisettes or viennois at any of the thousands of café or brasseries at my disposal but believe you me, when you are a 6 cup at day girl, those Barbie doll sized serving containers (I refuse to call those things cups) just don't cut the mustard. "It's about quality, not quantity" they say and for the most part that is true, but when you are a junkie, you cannot train your brain to believe that 5ml of caffeine is enough when you're used to consuming 500ml (and for the same price, if not MORE!) So I sit here with my Grande Soy Chai The Latte and I people watch and I'm much happier than I was 10 minutes ago. In my defence, there were NO Starbucks whatsoever in the Riviera and I was forced to drink 1 itty bitty espresso per day until I found instant coffee. Mmmmmm NOT! My Matante Annette would NEVER survive here. SORRY MATANTE!

This is for Jaime: THANK YOU for turning me into a junkie! But the seat across from me is awefully lonely regardless... (and as I look around - like I do in every Starbucks - no sign of the stalker yet...HAHAHAHAHAHA)

Cheers!

In the middle of a torrential downpour and you're watering your roses? - Only in Paris (Adventures with MooReece con't)

I've been in Paris for exactly 2 weeks now and let me tell you, it's been an INTERESTING 2 weeks. It feels like Antibes and the Riviera are years behind me now as I fight against the organized (ok well maybe not organized) chaos that is the Parisian way of life. Frankly I don't know how people live like this, it's not just a big city thing - it's a PARIS thing. Although I haven't travelled extensively, I am convinced there is nowhere else on Earth quite like this insanely condensed and manic capital. Only in Paris can you be in a constant rush and yet never be in a hurry to get there. Patience is a virtue in this place - it is teaching me great restraint.

I don't consider myself a tourist (except for when I whip out my camera and start clicking frantically) and everyday is an experiment in parisian life and trying to understand how and WHY they do it. Only in Paris can you cross at a green walking light and still get run over. Only in Paris can you walk further inside a metro station than it would take to walk there directly. Only in Paris will a bird poop on your computer as you sit in the park to type your blog (yep.. just happened - TERRIFIC!) Only in Paris can you walk home in a torrential downpour to witness a man "watering" the flowers outside his appartment block. And by "watering" I don't mean with a hose. Only in Paris can you meet more non-parisians than parisians. In fact, I have met more anglophones than francophones (and yes I realize these are Canadian terms, but you are mostly all Canadian and won't judge me or look at me like I'm from Mars for using such vocab.)

I finally understand why the French have no concept of personal boundaries or the space bubble. If you've ever ridden the Paris metro, you won't anymore either. Try being sandwiched daily between strangers of every shape, size and smell in 45 degree heat while couples take the opportunity to express the most intense forms of PDA I've ever had the non-pleasure of practically being involved in due to my uncomfortably close proximity. Have I ever mentionned my general anti-PDA rule? UGH! But this is the city of Love right? Well I have yet to feel the romance or anything resembling anything other than annoyance in my bried stay thus far. In fact, I was quietly enjoying my sit here in this lovely park all alone by a pretty tree and am now surrounded by an entire class of 4 year olds prancing around and SCREAMING! And we all know how much I LOVE CHILDREN! The parks ARE beautiful and they are where I spend most of my time. It's as close to nature as it gets here and for the most part they are quiet and peaceful.

In conclusion, I still have NO IDEA why anyone would ever want to LIVE here permanently. I suppose if you've always lived here, you don't know anything else...but why would anyone want to MOVE here PERMANENTLY! It's a 24/7 madhouse of cranky and creepy people who will either stalk you or not give you the time of day if you aren't a perfect parisian yourself. Don't get me wrong, Paris has it's MANY charms but would ultimately be more enjoyable without being pushed and shoved and stepped on while trying to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa.

BUSTille Day (Adventures with MooReece con't)

I was moving into Paris on Canada Day. First Canada Day that I actually miss. 14th of July is France's Bastille Day (aka their National Holiday) and so just like everywhere else the capital turns into a gong show. Just imagine a city of 2.5 million people, 2.5 million tourists and a control freak Canadian duking it out on the first not-so-sunny day in Paris. I was actually super excited for this holiday as I missed the one back home and I figured it would be a great opportunity to take part in French culture and party with them. HA, Paris never ceases to shock me!

I dragged my butt out of bed "early" to get to the Champs Elysee to watch the military parade. We don't get many parades in our neck of the woods and I kind of like them so I was jacked to see it (tanks, marching and men in uniform OLAY!) Also an airshow was on the menu. So I get off at Concorde (if you watched Da Vince Code, you know where that is) and I start to walk, and walk, AND WALK! I finally stop in this crowd that is slowly making its way through a gate and I'm confused, why is there a gate? Turns out everyone around me has a blue piece of paper in their hand and so I rubber neck to find out what it says. They are invites from Nicolas himself! GASP! I think of jumping the old couple next to me and stealing their ticket but then again, I don't look good in stripes. So I move on. And on....AND ON! Finally I get to Roosevelt and notice more gates with people in front and behind them. Turns out those invites are "priority standing" for the parade. HOW RUDE! I'm not sure if everyone in Paris got one and us meager foreigners get thrown to the back, but lets just say finding a good view point was not easy feat. Luckily I did find an okay spot where I could see the road through some trees (check my pictures you'll understand) and so I waited....and waited....AND WAITED!!! I thought the Parade was starting around 9am. Nope, more like 10:30am. I met an American couple from Seattle who picked me out as Canadian with my "Aboat" (I do not say ABOAT do I??) and we chit chatted and complained to make the time go by. After what seemed like an eternity 2x over the parade begins, as does the fly over. We enjoy this for approximately 10 minutes until Mother Nature decides to dump the Mediterranean on our heads. 3 months of rain fell in 3 hours on Bastille Day 2010! It must be ME - it's NEVER nice on Canada Day either...hmm....
Of course I went totally unequipped and so we ran for shelter under a tree (and we all know the safest place to be in a storm is under a tree, right children?) But eventually the tree gave into the weight of the ever accumulating water and in a search to find another tree, the man notices an underground parking lot RIGHT BEHIND US! Go Team! So we take refuge with about 100 other people until the rain finally lets up. We gave up on the parade, we couldn't really see anything anyways and went our separate ways. My next stop? The patisserie... then? You guessed it - STARBUCKS! Hey! It was RAINING again, I needed shelter and something warm thank you very much - don't judge me, I was quite content sitting there reading my book and watching people run around frantically in the downpour. 6 and a half weeks in France and the only day it rains is a National Holiday. Go Amy Go!

Fireworks are another staple of any national holiday right? Apparently here in Paris they are held over the Eiffel Tower and so as long as you have a view of the tower you should be able to enjoy the fireworks. That's great because I live in Montmartre (aka the highest point in Paris) with a magnificent view over the entire city (including Eiffel herself). So my roommate and I make our way up just before 10 to try and snag a spot. Did I mention that there are ALOT of people in Paris? Lets just say we spent over an hour being pushed, shoved, groaned at and almost burned with cigarettes and never got to see the fireworks because they weren't over the Eiffle Tower, they were to her right and a house was in the way. AWESOME! That is when my roommate looks up at me and says, Bastille Day was a total BUST. And I reply (you guessed it)... BUSTILLE DAY!

Guten Tag, como estas mon ami? I'm well, gracie. Tchuss! (Adventures with MooReece con't)

So many countries, so little time. My head is spinning! I spent the weekend visiting my friend Genevieve (from Sudbury) in Germany. Finally made it to the vaterland. I'm so happy I made it there even if just for a few days. My séjour would have felt incomplete without at least a pitstop in the land of my ancestors. But before I get into that, I should explain the title of this blog. For some bizarro reason, I could not for the life of me speak and stick to 1 language in Germany. Everytime I went to a restaurant, store etc and spoke to someone I kept having to pause and contemplate what I wanted to say, not because I couldn't remember the German words but because I kept wanting to speak a freaky-deaky hybrid language of Italian, French and some German. Not to mention the French and Italian tendency to say "please" when they bring you something so I kept saying "Danke Bitte" when someone would bring me something instead of "Danke Scheun". Good GRIEF my poor brain cannot keep all these languages straight. And THEN Genevieve wants to take me to the Netherlands to hear some Dutch!

European culture is so much fun. In the time it takes me to drive from Sudbury to North Bay I can drive across 2 borders and go from a region that speaks only French to a region that speaks only German and with not much of a buffer zone in between. In fact you can often clearly see the dividing line just by looking at the architecture. No I won't get into an architectural seminar right now (although I do have this new wealth of knowledge about it) but know that if you ever need to know anything about any of the buildings in Paris - you know who to call! (No, not Ghostbusters!)

After a very pleasant train ride with some entertaining and stimulating conversation with my cabin mates and a bottle of Jack, I arrived in Germany around 7pm on Friday and after looking mighty confused staring at the train schedule and REALLY CONFUSING transit map of Aachen Germany (and surroundings), a rail worker came over to ask me where I was looking to go and politely informed me I missed my train by 30 seconds or so and the next would be in 20 minutes. Note to Aachen: I would not have missed my train had your schedule been more CLEAR! And NO that's not due to my lack of proficiency in German thank you very much! I finally make it to where Im supposed to be and Genevieve comes to meet me *insert happy reunion and giant hugs here*. She cooks me dinner and then takes me to a party that could not feel more like home. Beer Pong and 25 drunken German men singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" at the top of their lungs. Not a dull moment. They were all very nice and welcoming to the foreigner and most speak English quite fluently and were more than happy to chit chat with me - this is by far my favourite passtime in Europe - talking and meeting people from every corner of the globe! I have lived such a sheltered life by comparison - UGH. A late night of catching up had us sleeping in much later than we'd planned but we still made it out the door and to the Netherlands by 1pm.

Maastrict is such a CUTE city! It is sooooo DUTCH! Everything there is like you see in the movies. It's clean, quaint and adorable. It makes you want to skip. The weather was unbearably HOT which made for an uncomfortable promenade and the town square was closed because André Rieu was performing. We didn't pick the best day to visit apparently, but I had a great time anyways AND I got to visit the world's largest bookstore inside a cathedral. HEAVEN ON EARTH! The only thing it didn't have was a Starbucks (which is where I am currently sitting as I type this up). We shopped, I bought some stropfwaffels (Mmmmmmm) and we had Thai food for dinner. We attempted the unattemptable in Canada (or anywhere else for that matter) but SOMEONE (not me) didn't have her ID! SHHHHAMMME!!!! HAHAHA Turned out to be a good thing though in the end as Gen was starting to feel ick!

Sunday was spent touring Aachen with my own personal and very knowledgeable tourguide. Again, WAY TOO HOT, I couldn't even eat my ice cream fast enough before it turned to gespacho. We decided to catch a play "Der Eingebildete Kranke" (by French playwrite Moliere) to a) escape the heat and b) because why not see a German language play while in Germany....when in Rome right? Didn't understand a word (except for the few that excerpts they kept in French - go figure). Nevertheless it was still very entertaining. We finished off the night with another homecooked meal and the world's most BORING World Cup Championship game. YAAAAWWWWWNNNN! You've never seen 5 people more restless for a game to end. Even the people in the stands looked bored out of their minds. We prayed for a shootout - at least that would have made it interesting... nope they wouldn't even give us that. Eh bin! No more foot...

Germany and the Netherlands were fantastisch! And getting to visit them (even if only for a few days) with an old friend from back home made it that much sweeter. DEFINITELY a highlight of my trip thus far. And before you ask - of COURSE I had beer in both Germany and Holland and YES I kicked BUTT at Beer Pong!

Practicing ATTACK with Lady Liberty and the Sounds of Summer in Paris (Adventures with MooReece con't)

It's currently 4:36 pm and I'm sitting in the park outside the Cathedral Notre-Dame. There is a little stage with an all-girls choir singing Can You Feel the Love Tonight behind me and an shirtless electric band playing movie scores on the bridge across from me. It's quite a unique blend of sound. Sure it all gets drowned out when the jets and copters fly overhead in preparation for next week's big celebration. Seeing those big birds in the sky has got me all jacked for the Bastille Day parade, air show and fireworks. Let's see how the French celebrate their national holiday.

My class this month is quite a bit more INTENSIVE than my class in Antibes which required no effort on my part other than showing up. This month I have a midterm next Tuesday, daily homework and SKETCHES (yes SKETCHES), a term paper due on the 22nd I think and a final exam on my last day! OY OY OY! So much for a nice leisurely stay in Paris. I'll be spending more time at Centre Pompidou than anywhere else. That's ok though - it will prepare me for my return to academic studies. On the upside, we only spend about 1 hour of our 3 hour class inside the classroom, we then head out "ON SITE" where we receive a much more in-depth explanation of the architecture and history behind some of the most famous buildings in Paris. Our professor is an ENDLESS wealth of knowledge on the subject - it's kind of rediculous what she knows about just Notre Dame (which we visited today - hence my sitting here now) the fact that she knows this much and MORE about Lord knows how many buildings, monuments etc is beyond impressive. The class is like a super intense guided tour with homework (YUCK!)

Now the choir is singing MJs "You are not alone" - no offence to them they are performing quite boring renditions. They should think about collaborating with those guys on the bridge - THAT would be a show!

Perfect day weatherwise in Paris today - I'm wearing jeans for the first time in 6 weeks! My head is much better now, the swelling has gone down but now my stomach is hating me and while going for my run in the Jardin Luxembourg this morning I somehow managed to pull something in a region that noone likes to get pulled. Needless to say I'm walking funny.

I have to go over to Sainte-Chapelle (down the street somewhere) for my homework assignment. I want to get my pictures so I don't have to come back. Of course I forgot my pencil case somehow and so I can't take notes until I get home tonight - hopefully my memory will serve me well. On tomorrow's agenda either a French movie or maybe mass at Sacre Coeur (also the topic of my 15 page term paper due in 2.5 weeks). LUCKY ME! I best get my ever growing posterior into high gear! (I might not have time to blog anymore...GASP!)

"Don't worry, one day it will go from AWEFUL to AWESOME!" HAHAHA (Adventures with MooReece con't)

So for those of you lucky enough to not have your inboxes flooded with my daily rantings and ravings you may or may not know that my first few days in Paris have been slightly overwhelming. I've been here 3 days now and I can definitely say I'm glad I went to Antibes first! I thought I went a little cuckoo (ok I did go a little cuckoo) in my first week here in France in the itty bitty town of Antibes - time went by slower than a snail at the Indy 500. I feel like I going through that overload all over again only this time because I'm much more familiar with the inner workings of the French I am much more comfortable communicating and getting around. I have 4 weeks of French Language and Culture in the Riviera to thank for that and so instead of going through a week or so of madness, it's day 3 and I feel SO MUCH BETTER! My head is still a little swollen but ibuprofen is my friend and my blisters are finally calissed and after figuring out transit systems for a number of different european cities, the Paris metro is a piece of cake! I am still anxious to get home because everyday seems to take me further away from my reality and I remember less and less what life back home is like. That being said, I'm comfortable here now - I will have a routine again in a few days and time will fly by no doubt!

We spent the first few days in orientation and today took a bus tour of the city visiting all the major sites. Paris itself is not very big, like everything else in France, it all leads to the centre (i.e. Champs Elysee). Class starts on Monday and runs Monday-Thursday 1-4 and I will be studying French History through Architecture (for those of you who didn't know or couldn't remember). We were informed that most of our class time will be spent OUT of the classroom visiting the architecture we will be studying. I know - ROUGH isn't it? Well it is if it's as hot as it was yesterday. At least the classroom is air conditionned.

I have alot of things booked and planned but kept some nights open too because we will have homework (and maybe even papers to write) GASP! Once we get our syllabus I will be in better shape to know what I can do and when, what to go see that I won't get to see in class etc... I will also be going to runs most mornings in Jardin Luxembourg and Tulleries (around the Louvre). I found this run through the city that will take me from my apartment to the Champs Elysee (7 km or so) but I'm not sure how running in the city will be. I will walk it on Monday and see what it's like and go from there. And of course SHOPPING! There is so much to see and do that my brain is on overload right now wanting to get it all in. I'm already missing my PUMP/RPM/ATTACK dates and I will try to find a gym to let me on stage here - but I'm not going to hold my breath. Although I should find out when they release here and go check it out... hm....or go find Wolverine!

5 Days in Italy with Only 5 Words in Italian... (Adventures with MooReece con't)

Going to a country when you don't know the language is obviously guaranteed to cause you a little stress. I mean how do you find out where your hotel is? How do you find anything really? Sure coming to Europe for 2 months on my own took a little courage on my part (and a whole lot of RA-RA from my friends) but I didn't cross the ocean totally undefended - I chose France for a reason - I can UNDERSTAND the language, I can READ the language and for the most part I can SPEAK the language (at least à la Québecois - although my parisian is getting pretty good if I do say so myself). So coming here, although scary and stressful at first I had an advantage to all my counterparts as I am fluent and can easily communicate to get what I want. In Italy - not so much. Of course being 3 people and a stuffed cow makes travelling in a foreign language country much easier, it was definitely a learning experience.

I learned that if you at least try to get your point across in their language they will be much more willing to help you even if you only know the basic words. These are the 5 words that got me through my 5 days in Italy: Bonjourno!, Graci!, Prego!, Pizza, Ciao! Knowing only these 5 essential words allowed me to communicate with the Italian folk who then sympathized with the struggling tourist trying to make an effort to not look like such a tourist. AND (and I know you should never start a sentence with AND) by day 5 I was getting asked for directions - too bad I had NO IDEA what he was asking, I might have been able to help! HAHA.

Italy was a great and fun idea although we never anticipated having such difficulty getting a train to Paris from there. There is only a night train directly from Verona (at a small fortune of course). We decided to take the June 30th train and only arrive in Paris on the morning of the 1st meaning we got to spend an entire extra day in Verona. Not that we did much as it was the HOTTEST day I have EVER lived through. The Gattopardo Hotel people were nice enough to let us take refuge in their lounge all day so we could keep our luggage there and hide from the heat (although they didn't have AC down there and we still DIED!) I kept going out for walks - at least there is air outside and I got to explore the Dossobueno area. Of course I found a train station not 2 minutes from our Hotel (when we had been taking cabs and busses all week), I found a peach orchard (where I snuck in like a garden raider and stole one right off the tree :D), I found a huge sports complex, my future house and a grocery store. I enjoyed some of the best ice cream yet and relaxed on some benches to people watch. However the heat was definitely not helping my ever worstening head cold and I was slowly starting to feel the effects of minor hyperthermia so I spent the remainder of my time indoors. Italy is so very different from France, and the food is MUCH cheaper, although the variety isn't there. My biggest shock was that beer is MUCH MUCH cheaper in Italy than anywhere else AND MUCH MUCH cheaper than Wine. Wine is expensive in Italy (by comparison to France anyways...).

The midnight train from HELL! We reserved 3 beds and we should have reserved 6 just for our luggage. What a mess! We had no idea what to expect and were really hoping that we would have a cabin all to ourselves. NOPE! We board the train only to find 3 kids already in our cabin and very LITTLE room for our luggage. Did I mention my head was pounding and I was slightly nauseous? After about an hour of debating and moving stuff around we finally came up with something, not bearable but at least workable. Note to EVERYONE - if you are claustrophobic - DO NOT EVER take a night train! We managed to open up the beds but when all 6 are open, no one can sit meaning you are stuck in a coffin like position for 10+ hours with no where to go. No air circulation and you can't just open the windows or doors or move around because you have 5 other people in there with you and no room ANYWHERE because luggage is stacked in every inch of spare space. Needless to say not much sleep happened and I finally dragged myself out of the cabin around 630am and stayed out until we pulled in at around 10am. Never been so happy to get off any moving vehicly in my life! I was ready to kiss the ground - 11+ hours on a train is TOO FRIGGIN LONG!

Did I mention someone stole my money? Don't know how, don't know when... my purse never left my side and I still have my wallet (and my credit card THANK GOD!) But I took out 120Euro at the train station and when I got to my new apartment to pay the cab I had NOTHING left. Even my Canadian money was GONE! I had 10Euro, my receipts, some spare Franks from Switzerland and a bit of Euro change. I was losing it! How did that happen? Could be worst - but still a major piss off! Someone went into my wallet in 2 different places, took the money and put it back. WHAT THE???

Anyways... that's why I've flooded all your inboxes with my screaming and complaining and crying to come home! My toothache (if that's what it is is still around) but at least I'm rested and I did groceries and eating right again. Although I now have to go buy jeans because the zipper on my favourite (and ONLY) pair here is broken. FML! Going to see Les Misérables hopefully tonight if I can get tickets. It's raining so why not?

Hot compresses and talking to you all makes me feel much more normal so THANK YOU!

p.s. I really AM sorry for flooding all your inboxes with my unnecessarily long emails - but you all know me by now - and that's why you LOVE ME :) and *cough cough* MISS ME!!! Well at least I miss ALL of YOU!!!

Life is Beautiful! And so is Italia! (Adventures with MooReece - and Haley and Ladan... con't)

Leaving Antibes was hard. Sure I was still in denial about it until yesterday, but if anything is a good distraction, a trip to some of the most famous cities in Italy is sure to fill the prescription.

Two girls (Ladan and Haley) are also studying in Paris with me and seen as we had several days in between programs we decided (ok well they decided, I just invited myself along haha) to trip it to Verona where we would stay and venture out from there. We had the opportunity to make day trips and visits to Verona (obviously), Venizia and Milano (that's Venice and Milan for you non-italians). I'm sure most of you have heard me complain about it by now, but holy catfish it gets HOT in Italy!!! I mean REALLY REALLY HOT! And I'm climatized! I've been living in the French Riviera for over a month and Italy is too hot to handle. Whodatunkit? So I guess here's a quick snapshot of my mini vacation to Italia : (facebook is giving me grief...hopefully I will be able to upload pictures... if not, sorry it will have to wait until I get home)

Verona

Romeo, where for art thou Romeo? Right? The town made famous for it's connection to one of the most famous romances in history (albeit a fictional one...but then again aren't they all?) There is the massive "Arena" which we hoped to have caught an opera in (Madame Butterfly) but it ended the night we got there and so we missed our chance. Nevertheless there are quite a few things to see in this beautiful and quaint city. Casa di Guillietta is obviously one of the most famous landmarks in the entire area. And YES there is an archway plastered with notes to her. Everything from asking advice to pledging one's undying love. Before you ask, YES I jumped on the hopeless romantic's anonymous bandwagon and stuck a note on the wall myself. I'm never one to pass up good luck, especially in the HEART department (we all know I need LOTS of it!) That's also why I groped poor Guillietta's statue along with 5000 other people that day. So funny because the paint is wearing where people's hands have been. All in the name of LOVE! There are also a few cathedrals in the area worth exploring (or at least standing outside and taking pictures of them) and the shopping is really good here too. I won't lie, my card was bouncing out of my wallet the second we stepped onto the shopping strip! Hot day, but bearable.

Venezia

Up bright and early to catch the train to Venice. Everyone wants to go to Venice! It's one of those places famous for being famous in my opinion. I'm no different from anyone else, I WANTED to go see it for sure! TOURISTS TOURISTS and more TOURISTS! Not my cup of tea. Venice is different. It's interesting and cool to see but not beautiful or charming like Verona or many of the other places I've been to. It's VERY touristy - kind of like Mackinac Island only with thousands more people. NO SHADE! It was sooooo hot that day and no real relief from the heat except in San Marco the massive cathedral. It along with its museum were definitely the highlight of my trip to Venice, even if I had to wear a papertowel shawl to cover my shoulders - at least I didn't have to wear one to cover my legs too - my dress was long enough - SCORE! There were pigeons EVERYWHERE and souvenir carts as far as the eye could see. We did take the water bus and thanks to a nice american lady who gave us her left-over transit cards, we saved quite a bit of money by only having to buy 1 pass instead of 3. Venice is one of those places you want to see to say you've been there and seen what it has to offer, but I definitely didn't feel the romance that is often attached to it. I'm very glad I went and San Marco alone was worth the trip but lets just say I won't be planning my honeymoon there.

Milano

OH SHOPPING! Another day of bright and earliness to catch the longer train ride to Milan. Not much of a game plan this time but by now we can get around Italy fairly well on very little knowledge of Italian. The train/bus/metro station is ENORMOUS in Milan. It's a mini city! I had no idea Milan was that big - but then Ladan reminded me of the mula that circulates in one of the world's financial capitals. DUHHHH!!!! To say the least, if the metro station has us swooning, we were only a little excited to see what the rest of the city had to offer. We hopped on the metro and came out in the centre walking out on the largest Cathedral in all of Europe. We didn't even have time to GASP in AWE however as we were tackled by creepy men trying to turn Haley into a pigeon lady (think Home Alone 2) and take Ladan as a wife. Surreal, as if people actually force themselves at you like that. I was worried I might have to get violent with the man covering Haley with pigeons but luckily he didn't follow us when I grabbed her away. The guy after Ladan was selling (but it's FREE he says) string bracelets. You've GOT to be JOKING right? Good LORD! Speaking of which - time to go into the Cathedral. I bought a scarf this time to cover my shoulders - did I mention it's still TOO HOT for sleeves? It's too hot for clothes! It's just too hot!!! Anyways... Haley and I visit this masterpiece and as amazing as San Marco was, this one appealed to me more - probably because it was more traditional in style. The CEILINGS are phenomenal and trully a work of mastery. It's amazing and unbelievable when you learn how OLD these buildings are and you try and figure out HOW they built that - we couldn't do that now with all our modern technologies - how did they do it with NOTHING? This is why I love history! AND SHOPPING! Yep, of course, you can't go to Milan without taking a tour through the "shopping district" conveniently located next to the Cathedral. Happiness - and AIR CONDITION! We made it out of Milan fairly early, but not before catching what we thought might be a protest of sorts but it was a dressed down mixed choir singing in front of a marked off section on the road. No idea what it was all about but they were GOOD!

Obviously there is so much more to tell but it's getting late and my coherency factor is non-existant right now. Not to mention you are all probably yawning by now. I know I am. Next up - the trip Verona - Paris and then Paris days 1 and 2...DUN DUN DUN!!!!