j'aime ma vie, i never want to leave dijon.
that is all i have to say
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
st. patty's day madness
so the galettes at benjamin's on monday turned out to be absolutely delicious! they're essentially crêpes made with blé noir (black wheat) and filled with whatever goodies you want. ours had eggs, ham, red peppers, and mushrooms in a tomato sauce. very yummy!
tuesday we had our first examen of the semester at school, which i feel like i did better on than i expected to, but i guess i should wait to get my mark back before i jump to any conclusions. there's definatly no question about it that since skipping niveau 3 i'm considerably behind everyone else in my class and my work isn't necessarily fully up to par, but i think i'm getting by okay and as long as i'm passing i'm happy.
yesterday as we all know what st. patrick's day, and oh what a day that was. it was goooorgeous out all day so pheebs, charlotte, courtney, ann and i decided to start out the afternoon with some good old fashioned park drinking. a bottle of wine later and it was time for everyone to head to their cooking class. by this time the wine was kickin in so i went on the hunt and found camilla at le grand cafe. eventually i headed home to eat some dinner (toute seule thankfully!) and shared a drink (or 7) with danielle via skype. i'm sure i was excellent entertainment for her by this time. everyone finished the cooking course and benjamin made his way into centre ville and we all met up to head to mccarthy's, which was beyooooond packed. ended up at se bar for a few beers and then on we went to flannery's, the irish bar in town. by this point i had two bottles of wine down and a few beers (and one in my shoe) so the night starts to become a little foggy... st. patty hats were given all around and we had an absolute ball.
we found our own little leprechan
we ended up finishing of the night by heading to valentine's house to smoke a buncha hash and listen to some snoop doggy dogg while chillin with jimmi hendrix and eventually triapsin home around 4am hahahaha definatly a st. patty's to remember! needless to say i didn't quite manage to make it to class today, which isn't really that bad since now i have a four day weekend out of it!
man, sometimes i love my life!
tuesday we had our first examen of the semester at school, which i feel like i did better on than i expected to, but i guess i should wait to get my mark back before i jump to any conclusions. there's definatly no question about it that since skipping niveau 3 i'm considerably behind everyone else in my class and my work isn't necessarily fully up to par, but i think i'm getting by okay and as long as i'm passing i'm happy.
yesterday as we all know what st. patrick's day, and oh what a day that was. it was goooorgeous out all day so pheebs, charlotte, courtney, ann and i decided to start out the afternoon with some good old fashioned park drinking. a bottle of wine later and it was time for everyone to head to their cooking class. by this time the wine was kickin in so i went on the hunt and found camilla at le grand cafe. eventually i headed home to eat some dinner (toute seule thankfully!) and shared a drink (or 7) with danielle via skype. i'm sure i was excellent entertainment for her by this time. everyone finished the cooking course and benjamin made his way into centre ville and we all met up to head to mccarthy's, which was beyooooond packed. ended up at se bar for a few beers and then on we went to flannery's, the irish bar in town. by this point i had two bottles of wine down and a few beers (and one in my shoe) so the night starts to become a little foggy... st. patty hats were given all around and we had an absolute ball.
we found our own little leprechan
we ended up finishing of the night by heading to valentine's house to smoke a buncha hash and listen to some snoop doggy dogg while chillin with jimmi hendrix and eventually triapsin home around 4am hahahaha definatly a st. patty's to remember! needless to say i didn't quite manage to make it to class today, which isn't really that bad since now i have a four day weekend out of it!
man, sometimes i love my life!
just a little reminder of how sweet my view is
Monday, March 15, 2010
r.i.p turtle
this post in honour of the petite green machine, qui s'appelle the turtle. r.i.p litte one, you served us well.
i felt it was only right to smoke un petit petard to help get over the breaking news and now it is official. after making 3gs last almost three months, i am officially out of weed. sad day for all. but for now, it's making things better so i figured i'd fill you in on my amazing weekend!
friday night benjamin and kasia came and picked jeremy and i up with camilla and we went to watch the soccermatch, since it was free for ladies in celebration of le jour de la femme (france does have a few good ideas) the game itself was pretty dull and actionless, but in the end dijon ended up winning, which is something i had yet to see. i think benjamin was a little disappointed as he was rooting for the bretagne team and couldn't even wave his flag since we made him sit in the crazy dijon fan section. this is probably why they lost. after the game we headed home to pack our bags for our weekend checking out les chateaux de la loire!
saturday morning we were all up early and traipsing off to the bus at place darcy for 7am. then there was a 5hour bus ride to follow until we arrived in orléans to check out the sweet cathedral, see some joan d'arc statues and find ourselves some grub.
cathédrale sainte-croix
infront of la loire river
us with joan d'arc
then it was back on the bus for almost 2 hours until we arrived at our firt chateau, chateau chamboard. this was the house of King Francois I and was designed by Leonardo Di Vinci just before he died. it's crazy medival and so symmetrical it hurts. there are 365 chimneys (one for each day of the year), 440 rooms, an insane double staircase where you never cross with the people coming down when you are climbing up, and an enormous amount of property where King Francois loved to spend his time hunting. this chateau isn't located as close to the loire as the other chateaux but you can see where Francois I attempted to convince people to re-route the loire river so that it would run past his property and enjoy its beauty (amazing how much power kings think they have), needless to say, this goal was never successfully acheived.
back on the bus for 45 minutes and we arrived in the town of Blois. yes, its pronounced just how you think it is, like "blahhh with a hint of an s at the end". (this became very amusing to say as the night went on). we arrived at chateau royal de blois just as it was closing, and told that since we were behind schedule we wouldn't be able to make it inside for a tour. we decided that if we left early in the morning we would be able to make it back then as it was only about 10 minutes from our hotel.
this gave us more time to explore blois and obviously, get our party on.
we located food and liquor and headed to the hotel. charlotte, ann, alicia and i enjoyed a few drinks and smokes and then took our wine on tour with us while we found out what the city had to offer. we visited the fake spanish steps and made a new friend denni. then checked out the chateau at night, hungout on the riverbank beach, and headed across the bridge to blois sud. then returned to the hotel to try to make a mad dash to the pool before it closed. saidly we made it just past the threshold from changing room to pool when we were informed it was closed and couldn't get in... bummer. hotel party continues chez charlotte et ann, until jess and alex decide to come an knock on the door to join in the festivites. we continued to their room where we finished our drinks and smoked some j's in a blue light ambiance then decided it was time to hit the sheets so we could destroy the free breakfast the next morning.
and that is exactly what jeremy and i did. finally my intense 5 month long craving for BACON was satisfied. wow. just like i remembered it. literally ate for about an hour and then packed up our stuff and grudgingly got back on the bus.
i think we pulled off a world record timing for touring chateau royal de blois, so it's still pretty hard to take in. there was so much information and history involved with this place that the tour could have easily filled two hours, and the fact that nearly every king and his dog have lived there it was hard to remember much, malheureusement.
next stop, chateau de chenonceau, also known for le chateau des dames/femmes. basically the woman's palace. and rightfully so. the chateau itself is actually built up hovering over the river, and it has the most incredible gardens i have ever seen. and this is in winter when nothing is in bloom, i can only imagine what it's like in the summertime. inside the chateau is equally incredible and every room you walk into is unbelievable, we got to tour around seeing everything for the hallway where soliders from the war would come to rest and heal, the elaborate kitchens, the bedroom of Francois I, and the mourning room that Louise of Lorraine remained in after the death of her husband King Henry III (this room is almost entirely painted in black, with mourning symbols all around, the only color present is a religious painting that hang on the chimney.. needless to say, this room was quite depressing)
apres the tour we had a little time to wander through the gardens and the forests that surrounded, and even check out the labrinyth maze that can be found in the middle of it all. very cool, i think this was my favorite castle of them all.
after our tour we wander through the garden and then back down into the city. we trekked down the road to see the last house that Leonardo Di Vinci lived in, but sadly we couldn't get inside to look any further. the rest of the afternoon was spent strolling around amboise and looking for some little souvenirs.
there was tons of houses built INTO the caves and mountains, pretty cool
leonardo divinci's last house
then unfortunatly we had to get back to dijon, and we commenced the 6 hour ride. somehow we survived and the night didn't last long until it was bed time.
today was back to class and back to the mediatheque to try for the FIFTH time to try and do the comprehension orale i had due this afternoon, but naturally, since this is france. when i arrived it was sporadically closed AGAIN and so i waited for two hours and returned when it said it would re-open. the woman finally shows up an hour later to tell me i can't do it today because she's rented out the tape played so i can't listen to the cassette. god i love france.
but tonight jeremy and i are going to chez benjamin and he and kasia are going to make us a specialty from bretagne, galettes! i'm still not 100% sure what a galette is, but i have been given the idea that its like a pancake filled with potatoes and such? interesting to say the least. i will be able to give you more information after tonight. but speaking of this, i have to leave in 15 minutes, so i should probably go and get ready. i will attempt to upload my 600+ pictures from this weekend and add some to this post, but i am very scared that my computer might blow up when i try.... if you do not hear from me again you will know why.
a la prochaine fois, bisous! x
i felt it was only right to smoke un petit petard to help get over the breaking news and now it is official. after making 3gs last almost three months, i am officially out of weed. sad day for all. but for now, it's making things better so i figured i'd fill you in on my amazing weekend!
friday night benjamin and kasia came and picked jeremy and i up with camilla and we went to watch the soccermatch, since it was free for ladies in celebration of le jour de la femme (france does have a few good ideas) the game itself was pretty dull and actionless, but in the end dijon ended up winning, which is something i had yet to see. i think benjamin was a little disappointed as he was rooting for the bretagne team and couldn't even wave his flag since we made him sit in the crazy dijon fan section. this is probably why they lost. after the game we headed home to pack our bags for our weekend checking out les chateaux de la loire!
saturday morning we were all up early and traipsing off to the bus at place darcy for 7am. then there was a 5hour bus ride to follow until we arrived in orléans to check out the sweet cathedral, see some joan d'arc statues and find ourselves some grub.
cathédrale sainte-croix
infront of la loire river
us with joan d'arc
then it was back on the bus for almost 2 hours until we arrived at our firt chateau, chateau chamboard. this was the house of King Francois I and was designed by Leonardo Di Vinci just before he died. it's crazy medival and so symmetrical it hurts. there are 365 chimneys (one for each day of the year), 440 rooms, an insane double staircase where you never cross with the people coming down when you are climbing up, and an enormous amount of property where King Francois loved to spend his time hunting. this chateau isn't located as close to the loire as the other chateaux but you can see where Francois I attempted to convince people to re-route the loire river so that it would run past his property and enjoy its beauty (amazing how much power kings think they have), needless to say, this goal was never successfully acheived.
back on the bus for 45 minutes and we arrived in the town of Blois. yes, its pronounced just how you think it is, like "blahhh with a hint of an s at the end". (this became very amusing to say as the night went on). we arrived at chateau royal de blois just as it was closing, and told that since we were behind schedule we wouldn't be able to make it inside for a tour. we decided that if we left early in the morning we would be able to make it back then as it was only about 10 minutes from our hotel.
this gave us more time to explore blois and obviously, get our party on.
we located food and liquor and headed to the hotel. charlotte, ann, alicia and i enjoyed a few drinks and smokes and then took our wine on tour with us while we found out what the city had to offer. we visited the fake spanish steps and made a new friend denni. then checked out the chateau at night, hungout on the riverbank beach, and headed across the bridge to blois sud. then returned to the hotel to try to make a mad dash to the pool before it closed. saidly we made it just past the threshold from changing room to pool when we were informed it was closed and couldn't get in... bummer. hotel party continues chez charlotte et ann, until jess and alex decide to come an knock on the door to join in the festivites. we continued to their room where we finished our drinks and smoked some j's in a blue light ambiance then decided it was time to hit the sheets so we could destroy the free breakfast the next morning.
and that is exactly what jeremy and i did. finally my intense 5 month long craving for BACON was satisfied. wow. just like i remembered it. literally ate for about an hour and then packed up our stuff and grudgingly got back on the bus.
i think we pulled off a world record timing for touring chateau royal de blois, so it's still pretty hard to take in. there was so much information and history involved with this place that the tour could have easily filled two hours, and the fact that nearly every king and his dog have lived there it was hard to remember much, malheureusement.
next stop, chateau de chenonceau, also known for le chateau des dames/femmes. basically the woman's palace. and rightfully so. the chateau itself is actually built up hovering over the river, and it has the most incredible gardens i have ever seen. and this is in winter when nothing is in bloom, i can only imagine what it's like in the summertime. inside the chateau is equally incredible and every room you walk into is unbelievable, we got to tour around seeing everything for the hallway where soliders from the war would come to rest and heal, the elaborate kitchens, the bedroom of Francois I, and the mourning room that Louise of Lorraine remained in after the death of her husband King Henry III (this room is almost entirely painted in black, with mourning symbols all around, the only color present is a religious painting that hang on the chimney.. needless to say, this room was quite depressing)
apres the tour we had a little time to wander through the gardens and the forests that surrounded, and even check out the labrinyth maze that can be found in the middle of it all. very cool, i think this was my favorite castle of them all.
although the next one did give it a good run for its money. lastly, we visited chateau d'amboise. this chateau is located smack dab in the heart of the town of amboise built up in the caves of the mountain that give the castle its superb view. it is also the resting place of Leonardo Di Vinci, and we got to see his grave located in the chapel of the chateau. at this moment very little remains of chateau d'amboise compared to what it was originally. a lot of the castle has been destroyed or just run down and no longer exist, but what remains is definately incredible. there are a maze of stairs and hallways all throughout and ever room seems to somehow lead to the blacony that wraps all around. and the view is something else. you can see up and down the loire river and get a panaramic view of the city of amboise. since we were behind schedule again our group got split up and i was without our trusty tour guide stephan for this one, so i didn't get to learn much about it, but even without the history it was not hard to appreciate such a beautiful place that someone once called home.
the chapel where leonardo divinci's grave is
said grave
tout le monde
amboise!
the chapel where leonardo divinci's grave is
said grave
tout le monde
amboise!
after our tour we wander through the garden and then back down into the city. we trekked down the road to see the last house that Leonardo Di Vinci lived in, but sadly we couldn't get inside to look any further. the rest of the afternoon was spent strolling around amboise and looking for some little souvenirs.
there was tons of houses built INTO the caves and mountains, pretty cool
leonardo divinci's last house
then unfortunatly we had to get back to dijon, and we commenced the 6 hour ride. somehow we survived and the night didn't last long until it was bed time.
today was back to class and back to the mediatheque to try for the FIFTH time to try and do the comprehension orale i had due this afternoon, but naturally, since this is france. when i arrived it was sporadically closed AGAIN and so i waited for two hours and returned when it said it would re-open. the woman finally shows up an hour later to tell me i can't do it today because she's rented out the tape played so i can't listen to the cassette. god i love france.
but tonight jeremy and i are going to chez benjamin and he and kasia are going to make us a specialty from bretagne, galettes! i'm still not 100% sure what a galette is, but i have been given the idea that its like a pancake filled with potatoes and such? interesting to say the least. i will be able to give you more information after tonight. but speaking of this, i have to leave in 15 minutes, so i should probably go and get ready. i will attempt to upload my 600+ pictures from this weekend and add some to this post, but i am very scared that my computer might blow up when i try.... if you do not hear from me again you will know why.
a la prochaine fois, bisous! x
Thursday, March 11, 2010
re-living amsterdam
so, i just stumbled upon this excellent re-cap of amsterdam that i wrote upon my return, and had to blog it so i can remember it always. i don't think it could be summed up any other way really.
Amazing
Monumental
SO HIGH
The boys are so pretty
Everything I expected and then some
Rainy, but wonderful
Dream of living there with me
Astonishing
Miracles can come true
so poetic! hahaha
oh, the memories....
Amazing
Monumental
SO HIGH
The boys are so pretty
Everything I expected and then some
Rainy, but wonderful
Dream of living there with me
Astonishing
Miracles can come true
so poetic! hahaha
oh, the memories....
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
literal party chez anges - uh oh
well, when i said last saturday that i was pretty sure elias and ann were going to come over for a beverage or two i think it was possible the understatement of the year.
elias and ann came over around 8 or so, and we started off pretty casually with some wine. then when benjamin and kasia showed up, things we're still fairly tame. at this point phoebe called and said they wanted us to wait for them to get home from paris so they could come out with us. so what better way to pass time while waiting then to bust out some vodka??? by the time phoebe charlotte margaret and alicia showed up around 11, we were by far ready to go. however, they wanted to stick around to have a few pre-drinks and get some food into them, out came the champagne and beer and more wine and god knows what else. next thing we know we're all having far too much fun chez anges to even remember that we were supposed to be going out to a bar - whoops. somehow the party migrated from the kitchen to jeremys room (sorry jer, but let's just say it was because we missed you so much??) and then before i knew it there were about 15 people and a full blown party in action. not bad for an apartment where we're not even allowed to have 1 friend over in the middle of the day....
after pudding fests and using baguette as a shovel to eat butter, some french dude had the nerve to tell elias that he was drunk (he must have been the real sherlock holmes) .. but apparently this was sufficient enough for me to feel that i needed to kick him and all of his friends out. so that i did. took me back to those good old days on cunard street.
eventually everyone passed out around 3, thats right, we had a slumber party with 7 people hahah. but since i had been on the vodka and redbulls i was still raring to go.. so i spent my time wisely cleaning the entire apartment and making myself an egg sandwich at 5am
thankfully, after my drunken cleaning spree the apartment wasn't too appauling in the morning and it didn't take too much work to clean it up and ship everyone out the door before the return of anges. who still to this moment does not suspect a thing....
elias and ann came over around 8 or so, and we started off pretty casually with some wine. then when benjamin and kasia showed up, things we're still fairly tame. at this point phoebe called and said they wanted us to wait for them to get home from paris so they could come out with us. so what better way to pass time while waiting then to bust out some vodka??? by the time phoebe charlotte margaret and alicia showed up around 11, we were by far ready to go. however, they wanted to stick around to have a few pre-drinks and get some food into them, out came the champagne and beer and more wine and god knows what else. next thing we know we're all having far too much fun chez anges to even remember that we were supposed to be going out to a bar - whoops. somehow the party migrated from the kitchen to jeremys room (sorry jer, but let's just say it was because we missed you so much??) and then before i knew it there were about 15 people and a full blown party in action. not bad for an apartment where we're not even allowed to have 1 friend over in the middle of the day....
after pudding fests and using baguette as a shovel to eat butter, some french dude had the nerve to tell elias that he was drunk (he must have been the real sherlock holmes) .. but apparently this was sufficient enough for me to feel that i needed to kick him and all of his friends out. so that i did. took me back to those good old days on cunard street.
eventually everyone passed out around 3, thats right, we had a slumber party with 7 people hahah. but since i had been on the vodka and redbulls i was still raring to go.. so i spent my time wisely cleaning the entire apartment and making myself an egg sandwich at 5am
thankfully, after my drunken cleaning spree the apartment wasn't too appauling in the morning and it didn't take too much work to clean it up and ship everyone out the door before the return of anges. who still to this moment does not suspect a thing....
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