~Cin Cin in the City~

Boston Fashion Week Fall 2011

2011-10-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

Boston is certainly putting itself on the map for being a fashionable city and I've never been more proud to be a Bostonian than this past week! The Partners of The Tent at Boston Fashion Week (Boston Fashion Week, Boston magazine, Mandarin Oriental Boston, PBD Events and The Shops at Prudential Center) did an AMAZING job organizing the 1st year of fashion shows under one central and fashionable location!

I was lucky enough to go to NYC Fashion Week back in September of 2009, where I saw the DvF fashion show. It was held at Bryant Park in the tents and it was definitely a dream come true especially after working hard all summer as a fashion design intern at DvF. It was a memorable experience, but extremely different from the one I experienced this time around. Yeah it was fun, glamourous and exciting, but also exclusive, untouchable, and impersonable. Had I not interned at DvF, I don't know if I would have had the opportunity to go to one of the fashion shows. I'd definitely need to be invited or have a lot of money to afford to go to a prestigious designer's show.

This past week, I felt like I was a part of history! I have been missing living in Paris ever since I came back to Boston a few weeks ago, but for the first time I felt happy to be HOME! I was happy to see how beautiful and charming Boston has become and to be a part of something so magnificent! The Tent, the lights, the people, the models, the designers, the parties all came out in full force to make a statement. Like NYC, it was fun, glamourous and exciting, but it was inclusive, touchable and personable! Anyone could go to the show! Most shows were $30 or less! And EVERYONE had a great seat! It didn't matter if you were VIP or not, you could still get a great view from wherever you sat in The Tent. Maybe, it felt so personable to me because I knew some of the designers that participated in Boston Fashion Week and maybe it's because I'm a Bostonian, but regardless I feel everyone who came out to support and see Boston Fashion Week can't help but feel happy for the success of everyone involved.

The first show I went to was on Saturday, September 24th at the Bill Bordy Theater to see the "Everything ENAMOUR" fashion show and to support my friend June Monteiro. We graduated from the Fashion Design Certificate Program at MassArt and also helped find the group Rising Design. She is one of the hardest workers I know with so much ambition and drive! Not only that, but she stays humble and grounded with her growing success! It's hard not to admire anyone who goes for their dreams and I am truly happy to see June make her dreams come true!

I was thoroughly impressed with all her featured collections. I couldn't believe how many designs she showed! Her first collection was Shock Therapy, which is a children's clothing line, that gives you an inside look at a child's world as seen through their eyes. It's the things they say that shock you when you first hear them, but make you laugh later. It was so adorable seeing the kids come out with their mothers walking down the runway in ENAMOUR Sport. Then came her Isabella Blow Series, which was one of my favorite collections of the night. The collection was inspired by the English magazine editor and muse of hat designer Philip Treacy. The night ended with June's MONARCH Collection, which was inspired by the clothes worn by Britain's Queen Victoria during the long mourning period after the death of Prince Albert. I was so impressed with each piece that came out! You can learn more about June by becoming a fan of Enamour on Facebook or at Everything Enamour.

I went to my first fashion show in The Tent with my friend Ellen on Sunday, September 25th for The Launch, which was presented by the Fashion Group International of Boston and Boston Fashion Week. The 5 designers were hand picked by them as some of the top talented fashion design students of Boston. Before going into The Tent, Ellen and I got some wine and cupcakes at the reception area in the Mandarin Oriental. It was so chic and fashionable inside! Then we were ushered into The Tent and scored great seats in the 3rd row. We sat next to a proud mother of one of the models in the show. The first designer was GeorgAnnette Chatterley. She is a graduate of MassArt and her collection utilized fabric manipulation to make her own unique textiles. I had the pleasure of meeting her recently and as a MassArt alumni, I was really happy to see a fellow MassArt alumni be chosen for such an amazing opportunity. She spent a lot of time and money with getting the fabrics and making the designs, but it was well worth it!

Next was Christine Lam who studied in Paris, and interned at London's Georgia Hardinge. I could definitely see the influence of her experiences abroad had on her designs down the runway. They had a bit of edginess from London and also some chic black pieces you'd see girls where in the streets of Paris.

Then came Karina Bresnahan who is a School of Fashion Design graduate with a focus on sportswear. I loved her resort wear designs that reminded me very much of DvF. They were beautiful and I would wear all of them! I wish I could buy some to take with me to Vegas next week! Karina is definitely a talented designer and I could see her designs in stores one day! She was definitely one of my favorites of the night.

Mishal Kizilbash was the next designer to show and she blew me away! She found her inspiration in Pakistan through brightly colored and embroidered fabrics. I was really impressed how she was able to bring her culture into her designs and make it so modern! All the pieces were beautifully made, designed and styled and her models rocked the runway! Mishal was also another one of my favorites that was just so original and creative.

Candice Wu was the last to show and was influenced by different cultures, blending traditional elements with modern ideas. Her collection was colorful, playful and full of texture and sculptural shapes. All of these designers brought exciting designs that night and left you wanting to see more! Afterwards, Ellen and I went to have a small dinner sitting outside at Paparazzi on Newbury street. It was a beautiful night and we wanted to enjoy the nice weather, while it lasted. My friend KimVy met up with us and we went to one of the Boston Fashion Week After Parties that was held at Forum on Boylston Street. We had a drink and enjoyed some free passed h'ordeuvres before calling it a night.

The next night, I went to see Daniel Faucher's show with Anna and Margaret. Daniel has built his fine reputation with the design and creation of exquisite one-of-a-kind evening and bridal wear ensembles with time-honored haute couture techniques. Designing under his own label since 1987, Daniel has been recognized as one of the finest designers in Boston through the many fashion shows and magazine layouts that have featured his work. He is also an instructor at the School of Fashion Design on Newbury St. Before going into his show, the girls and I enjoyed some wine at the reception area and was once again ushered into The Tent. Daniel's designs are impeccably and beautifully made. After coming back from interning at Metal Flaque in Paris and learning some couture techniques myself, I can certainly appreciate the time he put into making these couture pieces. It's a lot of work, but the outcome is sooooo much better! He certainly had a lot of fans of his work at the show including Marilyn Riseman (Boston fashion socialite) in the front row.

The last show I went to for Boston Fashion Week was from a group I'm a proud member of, "Rising Design." It was organized by Ellen Shea and Anna Bitskaya, two great friends of mine that also went to MassArt. The Collections shown at the Liberty Hotel were by šarka's collection by Jennifer Griffith, Margaret Lawrence, Felicia Verry Mota of Spanish Fly, Ray Rodriguez, Pretty Thoughts, and Shalyn Webber.

Jennifer Griffith's collection was Playdates - A Spring/Summer collection inspired by women's newfound involvement in sports at the turn of the 20th century. As women began to play tennis, bike about town and splash in the sea, the restrictive clothing of the Victorian period was forced to evolve. Hems rose, corsets loosened and women were freer both physically and later, politically. Jennifer has created her collection with primarily vintage and repurposed fabrics, incorporating Edwardian details such as grosgrain ribbon and decorative buttons to adorn her collection. Jennifer's Playdates is a modern take on this pivotal time in women's fashion. Jennifer is another former classmate of mine and good friend! I always enjoy seeing her designs and it totally reflects her fun, playful personality. There were so many pieces I wanted to have for myself to wear and to play in!

Margaret Lawrence's evening gown with hair piece and Felicia Verry Mota's preview of her Fall/Winter Collection were both wonderfully done. These two ladies are amazing! They are also former classmates of mine at MassArt and we've all become such great friends! I am so impressed with Margaret's head pieces. You really have to check out her site! I can't wait to buy one myself! We both took costume design and learned how to make hats, but Margaret is truly talented in millinery! Her hats remind me a lot of the talented Marie Galvin of the South End. Felicia first blew me away at last year's Rising Design Fashion Show in the South End. I loved her designs and the way she styled the outfits together especially with the headpieces! This year was no different!

Ray Rodriguez's Hanes Collection was a capsule collection that reflects on the Yves Saint Laurent's 1960s homage to Mondrian, but is fast forwarded to 2011. As a modern designer, he created a grouping of looks that are fast, easy, and requires no effort. The collection is constructed of upcycled Hanes Beefy T's - heavyweight, pre-shrunk, 100% cotton jersey and soft stretch vinyl - easy to care for, easy to wear, yet exquisitely constructed. He did a beautiful job capturing the 1960s mod look that was very reminiscent of YSL's Mondrian haute couture Fall/Winter collection.

Pretty Thoughts'"Equinox" Collection channeled vintage 20's style and utilized New England autumn. The color palette showed off latex design in a whole new light. Pretty Thoughts did an amazing job with the fit of her designs on the models. They were flawless! You really could wear the designs out for a night out in town. One of my favorites was the fishtail skirt! I can't believe she was able to create that look with latex!

The night ended with Shalyn Webber's "Lichen" Collection that was inspired by Victorian cemeteries. The Collection is hand dyed silk and hand dyed lace appliqué meant to imitate moss growing on stones. There are also grey cage-like structures used as hair pieces and accessories to simulate fences. Her collection was definitely the most creative and artistic of the night. I loved the colors she chose and they all worked so beautifully together. There's no doubt how talented she is and I'm sure she could easily work for one of the top designers in the industry. I could see her designs on fashion editorial spreads and down the runways!

Ellen and Anna did an amazing job selecting such diverse and talented designers for the show. We got to see a little bit of everything as they walked around the Liberty Hotel with spot lights shining on them.

Boston really does have a lot of talent and it's so great to see them even more now that we've put ourselves on the map! I'm excited to see what's in store next for these designers and to see more emerging designers pop up to show their stuff!

Bonne nuit!!!! Bisous Bisous!!! :)

Last weekend in Paris - Not Goodbye, just See You Again Real Soon! ;)

2011-09-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

I had been dreading the day I would have to return home to Boston. Don't get me wrong, I do love my home in Boston and am excited to see my family and friends. But I am not ready to wake up from THE most amazing dream that's lasted all summer long in Paris!

On Friday, I went back to Metal Flaque to see my co-workers before leaving for Boston. I was greeted with Veronique and Elisa! It was so great to see them! Marion was out on an errand so I went to Pierre Herme for some macarons. Fanny had recommended I check it out the night before and I'm so glad I did! I ended up getting 6 macarons and ate them all! The lady that sold me them told me to refrigerate whatever I didn't finish, but I assured her not to worry and that I would be eating them all right away! I walked over to the Jardin du Tuileries to enjoy them. I am really going to miss going there! It was one of my favorite places to go during lunch. Life just seems so simple and peaceful in these Parisian gardens. After, I went back to Metal Flaque to see Marion. It was so nice to catch up with her! She is such a sweetheart! Next, I met up with Simona and Sorin in Abbesses. They came with me to see Damien at Paris Tissus, the fabric store I had went to the other day with Melissa. Damien offered to help me with my CV and to look for a job in Paris. He was really helpful and with his and Simona's help, I think I will be well on my way with my French CV! Afterwards, Simona, Sorin and I went back to the restaurant with the huge yummy salads! The portions are just wayyyyy too big, but it's so good and well worth it! I got the salade fraicheur again. Then we went to the market to get some champagne and grapes to relax on the lawn by the Eiffel Tower. We got there around 8:30pm and stayed til a little after midnight and were able to catch all the lightings of the Eiffel Tower. It was soooo beautiful especially with the sun setting on the Eiffel Tower on such a gorgeous night! I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather spend my Friday night! Miina joined us too and I was truly happy to be in the company of the bestest friends! Miina and Simona kept telling me not to get sad that I'm leaving soon, but to just enjoy the moment for the next few days! That we can cry together Monday night, but not until then! Oh and when Sorin and I came back from the bathroom, we saw a HUGE rat run by us! Soooo gross! On our way home, we saw another rat and Miina was so funny! As Simona and I were cringing trying to run away from it, Miina goes running after it! It was the funniest thing I saw!

Saturday, slept in a little and had a late McDonald's lunch with Michel. Then we went to Parc Montsouri, which is only 15 minutes from his apartment. We just sat and relaxed on the lawn, enjoying the beautiful weather. Later, we just went back to the apartment to relax some more until we went out later to meet up with everyone for drinks at Patrick's. It's a pub in the 12th arrondissement. I had some fish 'n chips and the guys got some burgers and wings. We also drank cider and lots of shots of rum and BB Guinness, which is my new favorite shot! Soooo good! I was really touched by everyone coming out to see me off, but we all agreed that I'm just going home to "visit" and then coming back to Paris asap!!! Let's hope!!!

On Sunday, slept and vegged most of the day again in the apartment since the weather wasn't that great. Just stepped out for one last bowl of pho here in Paris's China/Viet town for lunch and then out again for dinner at Lao Lane Xang, another one of my fave restaurants in the neighborhood. Simona and her friend Elisabeta joined me and Michel there too. Elisabeta is also from Romania and is there in Paris for some fashion fairs. Simona told her that I was in the fashion industry as well and as luck would have it, Elisabeta invited me to join her in the fairs as well so I could network and make some more contacts! After dinner, I went home and with the help of Michel, I was able to finally finish translating my CV into French! CV's in France are very different than the US. You include a lot more personal information like your nationality, age, marital status, if you have children, and even what kind of driver's license you have! You also need to include a picture of yourself.

Monday, was a very busy and sad day. I started off the day meeting up with Simona and Elisabeta to go to this fashion business meeting Elisabeta had set up. Simona talked to the owner about me and passed in my CV and then we were off to the Who's Next Fashion Trade Fair at Port de Versailles. I was able to get in through the help of Elisabeta who works for a company in Romania who sent her to Paris to look for products to buy for their store. So she listed me as one of the employees there so I got to go in too! There were sooo many vendors there and it was amazing! Simona was like my agent! She is so sweet! She helped talk me up to a bunch of vendors that were based in Paris and passed my CV to them. Hopefully, I hear back from one of them! After the fair, I went to Metal Flaque to see Marion and David. Miina also came to meet up with me there. When David got off work, me, Miina and David headed to Le Nemours for some aperitifs and then we went to Rue Montorgueui for more drinks before going home. I am going to really miss seeing them all the time! They really made my Summer in Paris so special! Miina and I took the metro home together and then when it was time for me to get off for my transfer, Miina walked me to the door and we both started crying as the doors closed and we waved goodbye to each other. It was like one of those sad movies! I was trying so hard to hold my tears in especially since I didn't want to keep balling on the metro ride home. It was so sad going home one last time on my line. All the memories of my summer in Paris flashed before me and it made it even harder to hold in my tears. I was getting embarrassed as I'm sure the people on the metro probably thought I was weird for crying! But as soon as I got off on my stop, I let it out and cried all the way back to the apartment where Michel was waiting for me. When I got in, he was surprised to see me crying and didn't know what happened haha...as soon as I could catch my breath, I just kept telling him how much I didn't want to leave!!! He must think I'm crazy and such a girl haha especially since I couldn't stop crying and at one point went to the freezer to grab an ice cream cone to make me feel better (which it didn't.) After I got a hold of myself, I finished packing and slept for a few hours.

I woke up early on Tuesday to say goodbye to Michel as he headed off to work. I was originally going to leave with him so he could help me bring down my suitcases, but we decided that I could just take my time instead of spending hours at the airport alone and crying. It was so sweet, I got some final texts from my friends in Paris wishing me a safe flight, including Alex which was really touching. So when it was time for me to leave, I struggled a bit with one of my suitcases since it was so heavy, but managed to get them all down by myself and headed to the airport. Everything worked out in my favor that day. My cab fare was a lot cheaper than I expected and the lady who checked me in was sooooo nice and didn't charge me for my overweight luggages! I was so worried that they would! And I also got a whole row to myself so I could sleep the whole way home! It was a long flight, but I slept through most of it and tried not to think anymore sad thoughts. Once I landed, my dad was there to pick me up. It was so good to see him! My mom and sister left for China earlier that day so I won't be seeing them until they come back from their trip! I relaxed and vegged for a bit before meeting up with a few friends at my favorite local sushi spot in Quincy. It was really nice to see them too..they were all so sweet! And I was sooo happy to see my baby Cookie (my dog)! She's still as cute as ever!

I have absolutely no regrets going there for this wonderful experience. My bank account and wallet may be lighter, but I feel richer than ever! I gained invaluable experience in Fashion, French culture, French cuisine and most importantly made lasting friendships with the most sweetest and genuine people I know. I may not be blessed with money or jobs, but I am truly blessed with THE most amazing people that come into my life and enrich it. Without them, my summer there would not have been as wonderful as it was and for that I am TRULY grateful to each and every one of them!

I made the most of this experience and have seen and did everything I wanted on my to do list. Jacqueline had advised me when I first got there, to become fully Parisian. I think I was pretty successful in doing that. I went to a gazillion museums, churches, gardens, explored all of Paris and the different arrondissements by foot, bus, metro, taxi and car, had tons of picnics at the gardens, canals or Seine river of Paris, went to bars, clubs, parties, even after work parties, dinner parties, wine and cheese parties, bbqs, opened my heart to romance, ate like it was my last meal everyday, shopped the sales and outdoor open markets, drank lots of coffee, went on long holidays like the French going to the South and all over Europe, worked in an amazing fashion boutique and altered beautiful designer gowns, learned some French and much much more! I took advantage of every opportunity that came my way and left no rock unturned in Paris!

In the words of Ernest Hemingway (Moveable Feast), "That was the end of the first part of Paris. Paris was never to be the same again although it was always Paris and you changed as it changed...There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other. We always returned to it no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it. But this is how Paris was in the early days when we were very poor and very happy."

Like Hemingway said, this is just one chapter of my life. A chapter I will NEVER forget and will look back on from time to time. I have definitely grown and changed with my time in Paris. And this will certainly not be my last time in Paris, I will return again and again! I have a lot to figure out and reflect on now that I'm home. I have new dreams and goals to make come true and one of them is to go back to Paris to live and work more permanently. My friend Linda left me a very sweet message, "I know when you put your mind to something it gets done so I'll be seeing you back in Paris soon!" Paris was definitely worth it and I've gained soooo much from this beautiful city! Not sure if Hemingway would think it would still be like this in the millenium, but I am now very poor, but very happy for sure! :)

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." Ernest Hemingway

I know many of you think I am so lucky and wonder how I am able to do this especially financially. And I agree, I am a very lucky person. But as much luck as I have, I also have very bad luck too! Like every one else in this world, I've experienced ups and downs in my life. My downs were really down, but that's life...full of trials and learning experiences that make you stronger and into the person you are today. I definitely had my fair share and have also been rewarded with the most amazing things life has to offer. Luck is really what you make of it and having a positive outlook and surrounding yourself with great people definitely helps, not to mention lots of Faith! The timing for me was perfect to do an experience like this and I realize not everyone has this luxury, but I believe if you really want something, you can make it happen. I just graduated from my fashion design program, was laid off, and had money saved in my savings account so I said why not make this dream come true?! I've always wanted to do this again and I'm not getting any younger! I really didn't have a reason not to...I wasn't married with kids and had no real big responsibility. I can always find a job later and work for the rest of my life, a few months off is not going to make that big of a difference. I knew I was going to end up spending a fortune, but money is meant to be spent and it was definitely well spent! And yes I did this with my OWN money, not my parents or anyone else's. Of course, my family helped me save a lot of money through the years and if I ever needed help I know I have the luxury to fall back on them, but luckily I didn't. What I don't understand with some people is that they work so hard to make all this money, yet never spend it on worthwhile things like LIFE! You can die tomorrow and you can't take your money with you, but you can always make more money after you spend it! Who knows?! You could even end up winning the lottery one day! Money comes and goes, but you really just have one life to live and I don't know about you..but I rather see and really LIVE in this world to the fullest, than be behind a desk watching life pass by me with picturesque screensavers!

Since I've been back, I have been slowly getting settled back into things and catching up with friends. It seems like a lot has changed since I've been away! They even have bikes to rent in Boston like they do in Paris! I actually went to see a psychic yesterday and I have a lot to look forward to! One being a return trip to Paris was in the cards! ;) I can't wait to see what happens next in my life!

Bonne journee! Bisous Bisous!!! oxox

Strolling down memory lane

2011-09-02T03:26:00.000-07:00

Another busy week gone by with one last visitor in Paris! My friend Melissa came to visit me last Friday and left yesterday. Not only was it fun showing her around the city I got to know so well, but it was also nice to stroll down memory lane one last time before I head back to Boston next week. It was great to visit all the memorable sites, but it was also soooo depressing! I can't believe summer has come and gone soooo quick! It seems like it was just yesterday I had moved here with fresh new eyes exploring Paris and meeting new people! I can't say it enough, but I am soooo glad I made this dream come true! I will never forget this experience and all the memories that come with it!

I came back to Paris from Belgium on Sunday night, August 20th and just rested for the next few days before Michel came back on Tuesday the 2nd. We were both kind of tired and lazy from our holidays so we just vegged all day in the apartment. I eventually got myself out of the apartment to get my nails done. I was feeling a little down, so it was nice to get pampered and to get my mind off some things. After, I treated Michel to some pho for dinner too.

On Wednesday, Miina and I finally caught up after not seeing each other for weeks! We went vintage shopping in Marais where I ended up getting a cool belt for only 5 euros thanks to Miina! Also, got to finally try the famous falafel place I've been meaning to try. Then we went to sit on the lawn by the Louvre, while we waited for Sebastian. There were these young guys that called us over to hang out and drink with them. Miina and I thought why not! We didn't drink, but just chit chatted with them and it was kind of funny communicating with them..it was like playing charades! Although, it was definitely good practice for me in learning French! Again, I see another guy just pee publicly in plain view right on the bushes at the louvre! The guys pointed him out to us and afterwards we all clapped and cheered, as the guy peeing pumped his fists in the air! haha (Oh and yesterday we saw a man pee right in front of everyone in the metro as we all waited for the train to come!) gross!!!

Thursday, was a bit of a lazy day for me again. I just did errands and caught up on my to do list. I ran into Michel and Triet having pho and they came back to Michel's place, where we had some digestifs and talked about some very interesting ideas of how I can stay here to live and work. :)

Friday, August 25th Melissa finally came late in the afternoon. Once she got settled, I took her out to eat. Of course the first meal she wanted was pho! haha And so embarrassing, I am such a clutz...as I was squeezing the lemon into my pho, I accidently squirted the 2 men next to me with it too! I was hoping they wouldn't notice, but they did and turned around to look at me with this really embarrassed look on my face! But I apologized and they were cool and just laughed about it. Afterwards, we went to the Science Museum just to see the big giant mirror ball. At first, I couldn't find the mirror ball and saw this really tiny version of it. I was thinking that better not be it! And as I rounded the corner, I finally saw it! Phew! Then we went to Censier Daubenton and Place Monge to where most of the students hang out. We found our way to Rue Mouffetard where that crepe place I like is located (Au P'tit Grec). There are a bunch of bars and restaurant on that street, so we ended up at Cap Rouge for some Happy Hour drinks. We stayed there the whole night and met this girl Erica from Brazil. She heard us speak English and got talking to us. We soon became fast friends and Erica hung out with us the rest of the night. We were really impressed by her because she was only 19 years old and came to Paris all by herself! She's a lucky girl, as her mom was the one that sent her here to have fun! We drank and danced the whole night and even with this older woman who was with her daughter (who just sat in the corner for some reason.) I also ran into one of the guys Miina and I sat with at the Louvre the other night! Small world! Even in Paris, you run into people randomly! Erica had a little too much fun! Melissa and I didn't want to just leave her there, so we walked her back to her hotel and made sure she got to her room ok before we took a cab home ourselves.

Saturday, we slept in pretty late before going out to eat brunch at Les Halles. Then we finally got to go to Shakespeare & Co. Something I have been looking forward to for months! It was soooo awesome and cute! I loved it! I felt like I was in heaven! Next I took Melissa to Notre Dame, which was just next door. We then walked by St. Chapelle before going to Centre Georges Pompidou. I took her to the free photobooth, where I took Miina and Anna when she was visiting too. We were tired from the day and debating whether or not to meet Miina to go to this house party at Villa Victor Hugo again, but we decided to just go to the Monoprix to make dinner and have drinks in Michel's apartment instead. So glad we did that...it was so nice and relaxing!

Sunday, I took Melissa to see the Arc de Triumph and walked Champs Elysees. I again got harassed buy Chinese tourists asking me to help them by Louis Vuitton bags. Apparently there is a limit of how many you can buy. Every time I walk by the store, there are loads of Asians surrounding LV and without fail someone coming up to me for help! Maybe if they offered to buy me a bag, I might be inclined to help them out haha j/k ;) Melissa said she wasn't a big macaron fan, but I told her she had to check out La Duree. We stood in line for a little bit and we each got some macarons and now she is a believer!!!! lol She thought they were reallllly yummy! After our little dessert break, I took her to the Louvre and then to Jardin du Tuileries where we sat by the fountains for a little nap. For dinner, I took her through Palais Royal and the area where I worked. We went to Lintillac..where I take everyone who comes to visit!!! And of course she loved the food there! Michel should seriously get some VIP treatment here since he's helped bring so much business there with me showing my friends and then them showing theirs! Before heading home, I had one last stop for Melissa..to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night! That never gets old to me and is always so nice to see!

On Monday, we went to Pere Lachaise where a lot of famous French people are buried. We saw Jim Morrison's, Allan Kardec's, Sarah Bernhardt's, Chopin's, Gertrude Stein's, Victor Noir's, Edith Piaf's, and Oscar Wilde's tomb. Then we went to Canal St. Martin and sat there for a little bit before we went to have dinner in the Marais district. We were again tired from walking all day, so we got another bottle of sparking wine and went back to the apartment to have drinks with Michel.

Tuesday, was a reallllly jam packed day of walking all over Paris. We woke up early and took the bus to the Statue of Liberty, then walked to the Eiffel Tower, and then to Invalides (where Napolean is buried), and then to Pont Alexander (one of the the bridges on the Seine River), and then walked through 2 of the popular high end shopping streets of Paris (Avenue Montaigne and Rue du Faubourg St. Honore). Couldn't afford anything there, but it was nice to window shop and day dream! :) After all the walking we did, we took the metro to St. Sulpice where I showed Melissa the church and then I finally got to show Melissa one of my favorite gardens in Paris...Jardin du Luxembourg! It was a beautiful day, so we just sat in one of the lawn chairs and took a nap and soaked it some sun. I am realllllly going to miss doing this, so I tried to take in as much as I could. I wish I could just bottle it up and whenever I would feel nostalgic, just pop open the bottle and let the memories just sprinkle all over me....if only that could really happen! After relaxing and walking through the park, we walked over to St. Germain des Pres for dinner. It's another area I love filled with yummy food and cool street performances, like the B-boys dancing that night! Before heading home, I took Melissa to the Seine River to sit and enjoy the ambience...it's one of my fave things to do here too.

Wednesday, was less hectic...we just went to Moulin Rouge and then headed over to Abbesses to the Love Wall, where I had Miina meet me too. Once she arrived, we went to have lunch at this restaurant where I've been meaning to find again...it has this delicious salad with fried potatoes, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, bacon and ham! It's called Salade Fraicheur. We walked off our huge lunch by going up all the stairs to Sacre Coeur and then to Montmartre. I love this artsy area! It's so cute and charming! I stopped into this fabric store and the owner and his friend got talking to me about job opportunities in Paris. I haven't given up on the idea of finding a job here so I can move here more permanently and I know networking is sooo important! I'll take any help I can get! Although, one of his suggestions is that I marry them for a green card! lol Maybe if he was Vincent Cassel, but he's already married. :/ I had one last stop to take Melissa...to another garden! haha Can never get enough of those! We went to Parc Monceau to relax before meeting up with Michel for dinner in our neighborhood. I really wanted to take her to Lao Xang Lane (the Laos/Thai restaurant - with that infamous duck!) for her last meal here, but it was closed! :( So we went to Thai Royal for some thai food. It was still yummy though! We then went back to the apartment to start packing. Luckily, Melissa was able to help me take some stuff home or else I would have to deal with overweight luggage fees galore!!!

Thursday, I woke up early to see Melissa off and then went back to bed haha. It was a lazy, but productive day. I got up late and then started applying for more jobs and crossing off more things on my to do list before heading to my last dinner party in Paris on this trip! Fanny and Triet invited me and Michel over. It dawned on me that on my first night I arrived, I had dinner with Michel, Triet and Fanny at this Italian restaurant nearby and now for my last few days here, I guess it's only fitting that I have a last meal with them again too and it was Italian themed! :) For aperitifs, Fanny made us some Italian cocktails, pig tongue that is a specialty from the town she's from in France, artichoke hearts and olives. Then for our entree, we had some yummy lasagna that she made. I had 2 helpings it was so good! :) We also had more wine and champagne throughout the night and for dessert, some homemade tiramisu that was also scrumptious! I am reallllly going to miss these dinner parties in Paris!

Well it's my last weekend, so going to live it up one last time!!!!!

Bonne journee! Bisous Bisous!!! :)

Belgium - chocolate, waffles, beer, fries and more! :)

2011-08-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

Reallllly early Friday morning on Aug. 18th, we all headed to the airport at 5am. Yukiko and I flew on Vueling airlines to Brussels, Belgium, while Aya and Rosanna headed back to NYC. Once we arrived in Brussels, we took the train to the center of town and started exploring. You can really see most of Brussels in just half a day even by just walking! There were a few cool parts of Brussels, but other than that...it was kind of dirty. I did like the artwork on the sides of the buildings though. We had to get some coffee first to wake up a bit and then walked around the Marollen flea market, then to the Grand Place and Place Royal, Cathedral, Parc d'Egmont, Grote Markt for some Belgium waffles, and then to Mannequin Pis statue before taking the train to Bruges (which is about an hour away).

Once we checked in at our hotel in Bruges, we were sooo tired that we took a nap for a few hours. It was sooo hard getting up, but we forced ourselves to get up to explore a little bit of Bruges at night and to get some dinner. We were so glad we got out of bed and did something, it was so easy to just stay in bed and pass out for the night.

The next day we saw all of Bruges by foot, canal boat ride and by bike! We started off going to the Love Bridge, then to the Begijnhof monastery courtyard, to the Memling Museum (one of the oldest preserved hospital buildings in Europe, then to the Notre Dame Church of Our Lady (has one of Michaelangelo's Madonna artwork). We also went to another flea market. I absolutely love fleamarkets even though I don't really buy much, because to be honest for the most part it's a lot of junk. But one person's trash is another person's treasure! Sometimes I do find some cute things though! I really wanted this vintage suitcase, but talked myself out of it since I don't even know how I'm going to get all my stuff home that I accumulated these past few months. Later we went to De Rozenhoedkaai (Quai of the Rosary), which is one of the most photographed spots in Bruges. Next we went to Markt, the Belfry Tower, and then to the the Dali exhibition. We also went to the Brewery for a tour and drank some Belgium Brugse Zot Blond beer before biking to the windmills and entry gates of Bruges and around town. Bruges is definitely a cute and romantic city! I loved walking around exploring through the little alleyways and also the canal ride was realllly nice. I did enjoy bike riding until I fell when an on coming car was coming towards me, but I am ok. Throughout the day we had some more yummy Beglian waffles, chocolates, hot chocolate, and mussels and fries. Can't leave Beglium without trying all of that!

And that was the end of our European adventure. :( Yukiko left early Sunday morning on the 20th to head back to NYC and I explored town for a little bit before heading back to Paris by myself. But it was really nice to be back in Paris again to finally relax and enjoy my last few weeks here. I was really glad I was able to extend my trip for a bit longer, cuz I'm not ready to say goodbye to Paris just yet!!!

Bonne journee! Bisous Bisous!!! :)

Adventures in Spain!

2011-08-26T06:12:00.000-07:00

Monday night, Aug. 14th after Biarritz we drove to San Sebastian in the Basque Country, which was only about 30 or so min. away. As soon as we got there, we parked the car in a garage and walked around real quick getting some ice cream and milkshakes before making a beeline to the beach. I am such an ice cream fanatic! I got a hazelnut and cream milkshake, followed by a coffee and stracciatella ice cream cone! Right in front, you could see the Statue of Christ looking down on the bay of La Concha. We laid down for about an hour or so before being awaken by fireworks and teenage rafting contests. The beach was flooded with bystanders and people joining in on the big celebration that night for the Assumption holiday. We also saw some non-textile displays on some windows, which were really cool! I love non-textile projects since it was one of my favorite projects to work on at MassArt.

I was curious as to what was going on, so I went to ask some guy what was going on tonight with all the people here. I started speaking Spanish, but then he answered back in French and thought I wanted to go to a discotecha (club)! Us girls thought it was pretty funny, because this wasn't the first time someone in Europe assumed we were looking for a club as soon as they found out we were American. Apparently, they associate us with clubbing! It was one of the Pee Wee Herman magic words of the trip for us girls from then on. :) Oh and another thing we kept seeing was guys peeing all over the street in public! Everywhere you look, they are there peeing! In America, if you got caught you could be put in as a sex offender! I mean I know people still do it there anyways, but definitely a little bit more discreetly.

We knew there would be fireworks at night, but we didn't want to sit around until 11pm for them to start. So we did some more exploring of San Sebastian and saw more churches. We also got some tapas. Can't go to Spain and not have tapas! The guy serving us was kind of rude. There were 4 of us girls and he wouldn't give us extra plates. He expected us to share 1 plate among the 4 of us. I guess his point was that we were all supposed to share, but we thought it would be annoying because we'd have to keep going back to the bar to get more tapas when we could just pile up the ones we each wanted for ourselves on our own plates. I mean seriously! I could easily fill up 2 plates just for myself, maybe even 3! haha Anyways, after dinner we did some more walking around and went to get some drinks to wait until the fireworks came on. I wanted to head back to the beach to watch it, but they started to block off everything and we were trapped on the sidewalk where we had our drinks. Luckily, we were still in great viewing of the fireworks because we were right in front of where they launched them! I LOVE watching fireworks! My mom says it's because I was born after the 4th of July. When she was pregnant with me, she had went to see the fireworks by the Charles River in Boston and after it was over, she went into labor! I'm a lucky girl this summer..I got to see 2 great firework displays! One for Bastille Day in Paris and one for Assumption Holiday in San Sebastian. Both were some of the best firework displays I've seen! Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet up with Celine like I hoped. Because of the holiday, it would be impossible with traffic to meet up. She had just come back from Bordeaux to Biarritz and I had already left there to go to San Sebastian. :( I was dreading the drive back to San Jean de Luz after the fireworks thinking that traffic would be crazy, but it wasn't! We got home pretty quickly and went straight to bed.

The next day we were off to our next destination, Torla. Along the way, we stopped by Pamplona for tapas and quickly walked around the Bull Arena and town. It was another long, scenic drive of Aragon and Huesca. The drive up to Torla was kind of scary because we were going up the mountains on these narrow windy roads, but the view was AMAZING! Our hotel was also amazing! Once we dropped off our stuff, we hurried to catch the bus up to the hiking path of Pyrenees mountains in the Ordesa Canyon National Park in Huesca. We hiked for a few hours and was able to catch the sunset coming back hitting the mountains. This experience, is definitely one of my favorite parts of my eurotrip. I just LOVE the great outdoors! Something about it is just so peaceful and it's what I love most about traveling and seeing the world, is getting to do something amazing like this. Since I didn't know I was going to go hiking this summer, I didn't exactly bring hiking attire. I'm sure I looked a bit prissy to the hikers that saw me, but oh well! I even wore my 4 euro runners I got at Penney's in Dublin! Surprisingly they lasted me the whole way! :) It wasn't the worse thing I ever wore hiking. When I was in Italy, we did a spontaneous hike up Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii and I wore flip flops! haha After our hiking trip, we headed back to our hotel for dinner and just relaxed for the rest of the night.

On Wednesday, the 16th we drove to Barcelona after breakfast, which was another 4-5 hour road trip! We had to drop off our car and then walk to our hotel, which was off La Rambla. We got a little lost and were sweating to death with our luggage because it was probably 90 degrees outside and the streets were flooded with people. Once we got ourselves settled at the hotel, we went back out to explore. First stop was the Barrio Gotico area, where we saw the Gothic Cathedral. Then we went to Palau Guell to see one of Gaudi's works. Afterwards, we headed over to the end of La Rambla to see the Christopher Columbus statue of him pointing to America. We also walked along the port by the statue before going back to La Rambla to find a restaurant for dinner. We had more paella and tapas and for dessert more ice cream! I couldn't decide which flavors I wanted so I got all the ones I wanted and they made it into a flower! I got hazelnut, cream, coconut, amaretto, and stracciatella! A friend of mine told me to check out Tibidabo at night, so we headed over there, but we didn't realize it was actually an amusement park where you can get a view of Barcelona. We didn't get to the area until about 11pm so it was already closed. And on our way there, we were almost pickpocketed! Everyone has told me to be super careful in Barcelona because of the huge pickpocketing crimes so I was definitely on alert all the time especially on La Ramla, which is an extremely populated street and prime spot for pickpocketing action! Us girls were lucky to escape them, but we saw them try to get this old man and we kept shouting at him to let him know. Good thing, they weren't able to get anything from the zipper they unzipped. The old man thanked us as we all headed onto the metro.

That Thursday, we started the day with going to La Boqueria market. It had all kinds of food! I love outdoor markets! The only thing I didn't like seeing were the gross things they had out to sell like goat heads and pig heads and all those yucky intestinal parts. But we each got some things to eat for our brunch. I got some bread, nuts, fruit, sausage, cheese, and fresh fruit juice. :) We ate at Plaza Catalunya before doing more site seeing. When we were done, we headed over to Casa Mila, which is another one of Gaudi's works. After we went to see La Sagrada Familia, a cathedral that is still being worked on that Gaudi had designed many years ago. We saw the nativity scene side that he worked on. It truly is one of the best cathedrals I've seen! Then we went to what I was looking forward to the most, Parc Guell. There Gaudi did some AMAZING work!!!!! I loved everything there! It was a treck up to get there, but thankfully there were some escalators along the way to get up there too. Once you got up to the park, there were people selling all kind of trinkets and jewelry and fans. Since it's so hot and humid in Barcelona, there are a lot of people fanning themselves with these fans. I wanted to get one too as a souvenir and also to use...I absolutely adore the one I got! We were going to check out some other sites, but got tired from the heat and decided to head straight to the beach instead! We went back to the hotel and took the metro to Ciudad Olimpico to the beach there. As soon as I got there, I went straight for the water. The water felt perfect! Rosanna thought it was kind cool, but I thought it was sooo nice especially once you got used to it, it didn't feel so cold. I started jumping waves and feeling like a kid! I felt so carefree, it felt wonderful! After laying down for a little bit, we headed over to Barcelonetta for dinner. It was our last meal all together before Aya and Rosanna headed back to New York and Yukiko and I head to Belgium. We couldn't believe how time had flown and how much we had done! We drank sangria with wine and cava (champagne) all night long! Stay tuned for my Belgium post! :)

Bonne journee! Bisous Bisous!!! :)

South of France road trip

2011-08-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

On Friday the 12th of August, the girls and I woke up really early to start our Eurotrip adventure! We took the metro to Gare de Lyon to pick up our car rental. I remembered when I went to Avignon with my family, my sister and her friend were able to get a good deal after speaking with the car rental people, so I thought I'd give it a try too. I asked if we could get an upgrade with a gps and voila! Ask and you shall receive!!! :) Not only did he hook us up with a bigger car with a gps inside, but it was even cheaper than when we first booked it by a little over $100. :D I was really happy we didn't have to also rent a gps separately to save ourselves another $50-100.

None of us girls wanted to be the first driver, but I ended up volunteering since no one else wanted to. It was my first time driving outside of the US and it was a minivan too! Oh and luckily I remembered when I was in London that I needed to renew my license!!! I almost forgot since it had expired on my birthday and I was here in Paris, so I didn't even think to renew it yet. Thankfully I was able to renew online and got a print out confirmation saying I could drive. In France, you can still drive with a US license, but in Spain I would need an international driver's license. Since I didn't have time to get one, the girls got one at home through AAA so they could drive there. When I got in the driver seat, I was so confused. Everything was different than I was used to. It was kind of funny..there were like literally 5 guys that were in the parking lot trying to show us how to operate the vehicle. After my quick tutorial, I strapped on my seatbelt and prayed to God that I wouldn't get in an accident and make it through this trip ok! It was a bit scary at first, but after awhile I got pretty used to driving the car and became the usual speed demon that I am haha and then off we were to Sarlat in the South of France!

We finally reach our destination in Sarlat (Dordogne Valley) after about 5 hours of driving through the Loire Valley and Orleans. As soon as we got there, we checked into our hotel and then went to a less touristy restaurant the man at the front desk recommended. Since, Sarlat is known for their foie gras and walnuts, I tried one of their specialties on the menu that included a wide variety of everything Sarlat was known for! Had some duck confit, pate, foie gras, magret de canard, duck liver, fromage, fig jam, walnut creme brulee, and brownie with walnuts. Everything was delicious! After dinner, we walked around town at night and saw some street entertainment and did some window shopping before calling it a night.

The next day was Saturday, which is a big market day for Sarlat. The market was ALL over town. We spent the whole morning exploring and got some paella and potatoes at one of the stands and ate at a random person's doorstep stoop. When we were done, we went to go canoeing down the river. We canoed in 90 degree weather for 3 1/2 hours! It was tiring, but soooo incredibly wonderful! It was great passing by different villages of Sarlat and seeing the castles of La Roque Gageac, Castelnaud, Beynac, etc. We felt kind of gross and wanted to wash up before dinner, so we went back to the hotel and cleaned up. Since we already tried a restaurant in the town of Sarlat, we decided to go to a village and check out a restaurant there. But we needed an ice cream break before dinner and got ourselves some gelato first! Then we got back in the car and drove quickly up to see Castelnaud to take some photos and then off to Beynac. We climbed up to the top, which was a bit tiring after canoeing to get a view of the city. It was beautiful! Too bad we couldn't explore Beynac during the day too. :( Luckily we were able to get a late dinner right before the restaurant was going to stop taking orders. I again ordered a Sarlat special and ordered this salad that had all kinds of duck and walnuts. I am never this adventurous at home, but am trying my best to be more open to trying exotic foods! And for the most part, everything that I've tried I've really liked! :)

On Sunday, we woke up really early again to drive to Chateau La Roque Gageac. It was kinda rainy so we didn't even bother stepping out to explore and instead drove on past it to our next destination, San Jean de Luz. It was another 4-5 hour drive. We made a quick pit stop to eat lunch. I got some mussels and wine and ice cream of course. When we got to our hotel, we rested for a bit before heading into town. We then took a nice walk on the beach during sunset before going to dinner, where I got a seafood special of fresh tuna belly. We got some more ice cream and saw a few practice fireworks for the following day's celebration of Assumption Holiday before heading back to our hotel.

Monday morning, we got up early to head to Biarritz. Everything looked pretty much the same as I remembered from when I was last there about 7 years ago! I had such an awesome and memorable trip there with my best girlfriends! My trip to Biarritz was really brief this time since we only stopped by to have breakfast and to walk along the beach and caves. There were tons of surfers in the water and I reallllly wish we could have done surfing too, but it was kind of chilly and the location was probably more for professionals than newbies like me. Oh well next time! I wish we could have stayed there a bit longer so that I could have met up with my friend Celine who lived there, but we were off to our next stop San Sebastian.....To be continued in my next post. :)

Bonne nuit! Bisous Bisous!!!

More visitors in Paris! :)

2011-08-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

I've been non-stop traveling and hosting lately! As soon as I got back from London, I had to get ready for my next visitors coming in the next day on Aug. 10th! Yukiko and her sister Aya, and Aya's friend Rosanna were coming to Paris before we all headed on our European adventure!

The girls came to my neck of the woods where I showed them one of my favorite banh mi spots. Then we went to SNCF to pick up our Belgium train tickets we bought and since we were all pretty tired, we got a little pick me up with a cup of coffee and sat outside for a bit. Next we went to the Louvre for a little bit and saw most of the popular featured artworks listed like the Mona Lisa of course! After, we went to the Eiffel Tower and had a nice dinner around the area before calling it a night.

The next day, we waited for Rosanna to get in. We were getting worried because she didn't come in when she was supposed to since her flight got delayed. When she eventually got here, we headed to Bois de Vincennes to Parc Floral after we had bought some goodies at the outdoor market outside my apartment. We went through Chateau de Vincennes, which was an old fortress before going to the park. Twice that day, I ended up embarrassing myself and flashing the world by accident. I stepped over these grates on the sidewalk that apparently blew air and blew my dress up sky high! You'd think I'd learn the first time! But after that I def learned my lesson! It was kind of funny though, the 1st time it happened some old man happened to be behind me and saw the whole thing and was like "ooh la la!" haha Once we got to Parc Floral, we ate like queens and then took a little cat nap on the benches there with the sun shining down on us. It was sooo relaxing! After, we went to Notre Dame real quick and then for some crepes and coffee nearby. As we were getting there, I took them through Hotel de Ville (where there was some beach volleyball going on) and Paris Plage by the Seine River. Then we did the Seine River Boat Cruise at night, which was soooo nice! I did this back in 2004, but I was so tired for some reason that I fell asleep. This time I was wide awake and took it all in! Made me fall in love with Paris all over again! :) Since we were near the Eiffel Tower, I suggested we stay there since it was close to when the tower was going to be all lit up and sparkling so that Aya and Rosanna could see, as it was their first time in Paris before going home.

The next day, the 12th of August was the start of our European adventure for the next few weeks! Stay tuned!

Bonne nuit!!! Bisous Bisous!!! :)

I see London, I see France! (and Ireland too!) :D

2011-08-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

I'm back!!!!! Been busy traveling during the month of August like every other Parisian here. It's really been a ghost town! I left for London on August 3rd. During that day, I headed to Champs Elysees to go to La Duree to get some macarons for my hosts in London and Ireland and of course I couldn't resist getting some for myself too! :)

I did a little shopping before I headed back to the apartment to get ready to head to Gare du Nord train station to take the Eurostar to London St. Pancras. As I was running my errands, I ran into Alex again who was also going on holiday that same week. The train ride was only a few hours and I got there around 11pmish and quickly realized how expensive London is! A one way train ticket cost me 4£! Calvin picked me up at the tube stop near his really nice apartment!

Since it was late and I had to get up really early to go to Ireland the next day, Calvin and I just caught up. We went to Boston College together and have stayed really good friends ever since. The next day, Calvin and I both headed out together on the same tube..him to work and me to the London Gatwick airport. I flew on Ryan Air to Dublin where Jenny picked me up. Jenny and I became fast friends from back in Boston when she used to work at Peking Tom and I used to frequent there like all the other Asians in Boston. We LOVED that place! So sad it's not there anymore. Her dad drove us back to their house where we had tea, then took the dart (train) to Drogheda. Barry and Robbie picked us up at the train station and it was sooo good to see them! It reminded me of the time when they all came to pick me up at the airport 7 years ago! Crazy! They also used to work in Peking Tom or Blarney Stone in Boston. Barry drove us to his family's pub (Jimmy Foley's) owned by his pops. I got to see Jimmy and Geraldine and was soooo happy to see them too and catch up! Geraldine made us lunch and I had my yummy veggie soup that I missed so much and of course Bulmer's cider. :) We just chilled at the pub waiting for Mossy aka John to come by, but he got caught up with work so we went to the Foley's house to chill on their patio before heading back to Bayside (where Jenny is from). On the way home, we stopped by at Howth to get some fish 'n chips at Beshoffs, which is supposed to be the best in Ireland. We ate by the seawall where fisherman's fish and where we can see light houses around us. I feel like this whole summer I keep doing these lil' picnics outside, but I love it! Jenny also showed me the area where all the celebrities like Bono from U2 live up top on the hill by the shore.

That Friday, we woke up at 5am to go to Galway, the Ailwee Caves, the castles and the Cliffs of Moher! Even though it was soooo early, Jenny whipped me up a quick breakfast!

Honestly, the Irish have THE BEST hospitality I've ever experienced between the Foley's and the Walsh's...I am sooo spoiled! We took the coach bus that gave us a tour for the day and it was realllly nice. It was a 3 hr ride from Dublin and then 3 hrs back. My favorite part was the Cliffs of Moher which were breath taking!

Even though we were tired from our day of Galway, we got a drink at Temple Bar in Dublin and then Jenny took me to the bar where she and all the other Peking Tom folks used to work at, called Buskers in the Temple Bar area of Dublin. After that, we just went home and tried to figure out what to do the next day. She showed me a replica copy her mom had of the Book of Kells. The original is in Trinity College and it's under this case where you can't touch it and the pages gets turned once a year I think with a feather.

Saturday the 6th, we went to Dublin to meet up with Tadhg at his apartment first. Tadhg was another Peking Tom/Blarney Stone person. Then we went into town walking around to do some quick exploring with the little time we had. We checked out The Loft where up and coming designers consign their work and then ate at this cute little place where Tadhg treated us gals. He showed us his office where I left my luggage while we explored and then checked out the Chester Beaty Library in the Dublin Castle area before heading off to the airport to go back to London. Jenny came with me and Mossy met us at the airport to see me off. It was so cute because I was sitting at the cafeteria and I hear someone whistling and it was Mossy! It was so good to see him! We used to hang out a lot back in Boston too when he was working at Peking Tom/Blarney Stone. I was so happy to catch up with everyone and I realllllly missed them all so much! Had a wonderful time there, but wish we had more time to hang out!

When I got back to London that night, Calvin picked me up at the tube stop again and then I quickly changed and we went to the Savoy Hotel for a few drinks before calling it a night.

On Sunday, we went for lunch at Harrods and then to the Portobello Market (in Notting Hill) where I got a few random souvenirs, but I love them! They were a vintage like compass and mini-telescope. I probably won't use them at all, but I wanted to get them anyways haha Then we went to Oxford St/Regent Park to go to the original Top Shop. But before we headed in there, Calvin wanted to make a quick stop at Niketown, which was next door. A quick stop turned into an hour because we got sucked in like everyone else there watching the MU vs MC soccer match where MU won! :) It was a really good game and was so funny to see everyone watching it on the tv's at Niketown. Afterwards, I finally got to shop at Top Shop and poor Calvin had to wait for me while I explored all the floors! I got a few things that I can't wait to wear! :) When I was done, we went to get Indian food back near his place and it was sooo yummy! We ate sooo much that we went to Hyde Park after dinner to walk it off. It was really nice strolling around the park after sunset.

Monday, Calvin had to work so I explored the city myself. I've already been to London, but it's been awhile since I've been back so I wanted to make some quick stops at the tourist attractions. I went to the St. Paul's Cathedral, where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married then I met up with Yolly (another Boston College friend) for lunch. It was great seeing and catching up with her! The last time I saw her was when she surprise visited me in Florence, Italy when I was doing a study/work abroad there back in 2004! She gave me a few recommendations of places to see and told me to take the bus instead of the tube so I could see more of the city that way, which is so true. I went to see the Bank area she recommended and then took the bus to London Bridge. I got a little lost heading back to the center of London, but I eventually found my way and went to Covent Garden and stopped for a quick cup of coffee in the square and did a little flea market shopping, which I love to do! Then I walked over to Trafalgar square and then onward to Buckingham Palace. On my way there, I saw a crowd of people staring at the ground. It was so sad, there were these baby squirrels that fell off the tree. One died and the other 3 were just crying for their mommy. It was so heart breaking. This one guy suggested we move them under the tree away from the bike path so they don't get more injured. So him and this other lady helped to move them and we all tried to call the police or the park rangers for help. I took a picture along with some other folks to show the park rangers. I'm sure I seemed crazy to the people I asked for help, but I just felt really bad. One park ranger asked if I was a fan of squirrels or something, and to be honest I'm not really, but I still wanted to help the poor things! I hope they are ok now. :( Anyhoo...so after Buckingham Palace, I walked through St. James Park to go to Big Ben, the House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye. Then I went back to Calvin's apartment and when he called me I couldn't wait to tell him about my day! When I had told him the night before what I had planned to do, he didn't think I would have the time to see everything I wanted to see, but I did! He said he was really impressed and shocked haha When he came back from work, we went to get tapas at this other good favorite spot of his.

Tuesday, I spent the day mostly at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Place is huge with all kinds of artwork from all over the world! I pretty much saw everything and then went to get a few things for Calvin to thank him for being such a great host. He was able to get out of work a bit earlier than usual to see me off. It was also the day of more London riots...sooo glad that it didn't hit near us! I took the Eurostar back to Paris and was resting up before my next travel adventures with some friends coming to visit me the next day! :)

Ahh so much to update from these past few weeks! Hopefully can finish before my next visitor! :)

Bonne nuit! Bisous Bisous! oxox

Fashion, Mother Nature, and Culture

2011-08-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

I woke up today planning on doing one thing, but ended up having a pretty spontaneous day. Don't you just love those?! I was supposed to go to the documentation center yesterday at Les Arts Decoratifs, but it completely slipped my mind with my meeting with Caroline! So I had emailed her to apologize and see if I could reschedule and luckily she was free today and told me to stop by. So I went to meet her at 2:30pm and got a private tour of the place. It was filled with tons of books and documentations of ALL the famous fashion designers in the world! I spent a few hours looking through all the designers' lookbooks and documentations from A-Z. I looked through them pretty quickly though because I didn't have a long time there since I had to meet up with Miina. I could have easily spent a whole day there! It was sooo cool! It reminds me of going to the bank and getting a private room to look at your safety box the bank stores for you. Each designer had their own little box. I'd take a box one by one and bring it to this room to look through everything in there. Caroline was so sweet! She let me go through this other box that was filled with duplicates that she would give out to people. I went through it and pulled out the ones that interested me. There were a few Chanel ones and a Dries Van Noten one that I took. I can't wait to bring them home with me and someday put it on my coffee table or bookshelf. :) Caroline also gave me some really great contacts that work at some of the top couture houses for me to contact for jobs. That would be awesome if they'd hire me! It's a reach, but I'll try anyways.

After I left, I headed over to Miina's new apartment in Gambetta. She had a really cozy place and a great view of the Eiffel Tower and Invalides. We had tea and some strawberry fruit tarts! It was so cute and girly because we were both dressed up in our sundresses having tea! I felt like a little girl again when I used to play tea time with my sister or my dolls. But now I'm all grown up and having tea time with my girlfriends. :) I love these simple pleasures that make any dull day seem exciting.

Then we walked over to Parc Buttes Chaumont to check out the 3 year anniversary party at Rosa Bonheur. As we were heading there, we passed by Parc Bellville and as soon as we arrived to Parc Buttes Chaumont it started to rain! We quickly ducked under the trees and waited for the rain to pass. We finally found Rosa Bonheur, but it wasn't what we expected! There was a while itinerary planned, but maybe because of the rain it changed? It just seemed like any ordinary day with people drinking at the bar, so we decided to not wait in line and scream over each other with the crowds there...we thought it would be better to go somewhere more quiet. We continued to walk around the park for a little bit and then decided to get something to eat. We walked over to Canal St. Martin to have yet another picnic, but this time it was at the Canal and not at the Seine River. It was a really cool non-touristy spot where local Parisians usually hang out. It's also where a scene from "Amelie" was shot and also an old French movie, "Hotel du Nord."

Oh and I got these cool new coke bottles at the market when we were looking for stuff for our picnic! I don't even drink coke, but I wanna save the bottles! I didn't get the gold one, just the white and pink ones. :)

I know I can have these picnics back at home, but I'm reallllly going to miss having these kinds of picnics here in Paris! It's just so much more special for some reason. Maybe it's like what some of the French people tell me here when I tell them I love Paris so much...they always ask me why? And tell me they wish they could see Paris in my eyes, because maybe they are just so used to life here that they take it for granted. But that's like anyone who is a native of the place they are from...sometimes we do take for granted what we see around us or don't see. It's funny, a lot of the French people I meet would rather live in the US and I would rather live in Paris! They LOVE NYC and wish they could live and work there!

Anyhoo...guess I should head to bed. Too lazy to pack now so going to wake up early and pack for my trip to London and Ireland for the week! I can't wait!!!!! Let my adventures begin!!! :D Bonne nuit! Bisous Bisous! oxox :)

Enjoying Paris like a Parisian :)

2011-08-02T02:39:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here!!! The weather is what it's supposed to be for summer time! We have been getting such rainy, cold weather up until now...not sure how long the nice weather will stay, but hopefully for awhile! With such nice weather, I totally took advantage of it!

Saturday was my last day of work. It was actually pretty quiet. Practically every Parisian is off on holiday so Paris is pretty empty, except with the tourists traveling over here. During lunch, I decided to walk around and explore the area one last time. I was tempted to get my udon noodles again, but opted for something new and different! I ended up discovering this little area that I haven't seen yet the few months I've been working at Metal Flaque. It was pretty cute! Since it was Saturday, a lot of people were out for brunch. I ended up checking out Le Pain Quotidien, which is this organic restaurant that looked pretty popular. The food wasn't bad and I definitely felt very healthy eating it!

Went back to work and David let me help him with his client that he thought was adorable. He told me about her story and I couldn't help, but get all emotional when I saw her try on her dress! She got the Kate Hudson Vera Wang dress with the pink ribbon.

She had first come to check out wedding dresses earlier in the year and she was discouraged because she didn't think she would look good in this Kate Hudson dress because she was short and round and plus it was expensive. But David told her to try it on anyways and she looked fine in it and her mom told her to not worry about the price. According to her mom it was her special day and if that's the dress she wanted, she should have it! She promised David to lose some weight so she could fit into the dress size they ordered. So on Saturday, we helped her into the dress and it fit her beautifully! Her mom then came down and came running towards her telling her how beautiful she was! It was such a touching moment, I was like Miss Waterworks and my eyes filled up with tears! I don't even know this girl, but I was soooo happy for her! Towards the end of the day, Jean came by to say goodbye to me. I am really going to miss working here and all the people!

After work, I met up with Michel to head to Yan's bbq in the suburbs of Paris. There was so much food and his place was really nice! We had some charcuterie, veggies, salads, burgers, sausages, ribs, chicken wings, kabobs, fried egg rolls, fries, pasta salad, and more!

But one of my favorite parts was looking up at the sky. I haven't seen stars in awhile since it's been rainy and cloudy and it's kind of polluted here, so it was refreshing to see a clear sky with sparkling stars! As I was staring into the sky, I saw 2 shooting stars!!! I made some wishes and I reallllly hope they come true! I was trying to look for a 3rd shooting star, but no luck. :(

One of Michel's friend's friend, Nicolas drove us back to Paris so that was cool. On the ride home, we were talking about the prostitutes that hang out at night at the Bois de Bologne. During the day it's soooo nice and beautiful, but at night it turns into this whole other scene!

Sunday, I was EVERYWHERE! I had to move out of Trocadero and back to Tolbiac. I loved the Trocadero area because it was so nice and close to the Eiffel Tower, but I find living at Tolbiac more convenient and comfy. At least at Tolbiac, I can find some good cheap food unlike at Trocadero! Michel helped me move back...he's such a savior! I wish I didn't bring that many clothes especially since I couldn't wear half of them with the weather being so cold! I'm really lucky though, Michel and these other random guys helped me with my luggage as we were lugging them back to Tolbiac on the metro. I kept feeling bad for whoever helped me because it was sooooo HEAVY! The guys were probably thinking why did I help this girl?!!! haha One even joked and asked what was in my luggage, he's like "Do you have your mother and father in here?!" As soon as I got back to the apartment, I had like a half hour to get ready to meet up with David. We were going to go to Parc Buttes Chaumont and Rosa Bonheur, but he said it was super crowded, so we ended up going to some parties by the boats on the Seine River. The first one we went to was really posh with the cabanas and the music was awesome!!! We stayed there for a little bit relaxing and sipping strawberry mojitos. David was cracking me up when he told me "The Organization" arrived. I asked who are they? And he's like can't you tell with all those muscles over there! It was the Gay Organization and I thought it was so funny that they look like such macho men and then you see them fanning themselves with the fans they got at the bar. Apparently, Paula was there too who is this infamous transvestite of Paris. David's friends wanted to check out the other party next door so we went to that club, which is more of a Straight scene..but everyone was sooo high and drunk! One of David's friends invited us to Cafe Barge, which is a bar on a boat for a little VIP gathering. We had some free bottles of champagne and watched the sunset! Then we went back to David's place real quick for him to change before heading to the after party. The after party was in the 15th district and David's friend's place was really cool too and had a nice view of the Eiffel Tower! His friends were so nice and welcoming. We drank more champagne and then went off to Queen. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go at first, but his friends told me I had to go! So I went and had a blast!!! It was Gay night of course since it's Sunday, and boy do they know how to party! I loved dancing with them. It was funny...me and 3 other girls in our group were all straight and we were surrounded by hot gay men! Not only are they fun to hang with, but they are soooo sweet and caring! They kept taking care of me and making sure I was ok and that I wasn't scared! haha I was tired from my busy day running around so I didn't stay as late as the others. I got home around 3am, but they partied til like 10am!!!

I wanted to sleep in a little on Monday, but I woke up around 11am and did loads of laundry before starting my day. I satisfied my banh mi craving and then checked out the mall near Place de Italie. Then I went to Parc Monceau and it was perfect!!! I walked around the whole park, which isn't very big, but there were a lot of people there just sunbathing and picnicing on the lawn. I sat on a bench and read my Ernest Hemingway book. I got a bit tired so I went to lay on the lawn under the sun for a bit, but then it got too hot so I went to lay under the tree with some sun poking through. It was soooo relaxing, I actually fell asleep. I wish I could have more days like this. I love taking naps like this!

When I woke up, I headed to Musee Pompidou to check it out. It was one of the last museums on my list to see before I leave Paris. It's filled with modern and contemporary art and it didn't disappoint! Everything was amazing!!! I toured the whole museum and then messaged to see if Michel wanted to meet up for dinner, but he said he already made us dinner at home. So I headed back to the apartment eating some gelato I got at Amorino, to meet up with Michel and brought back a fresh, warm baguette. :) I told him about my night on Sunday and about my day and then we had his yummy Vietnamese mango shrimp salad creation.

Today, I made an appointment with one of Jennifer's (my teacher at MassArt) friend at the Bibliotech des Arts Decoratifs to check out some fashion lookbooks. Caroline is the woman I am meeting up with that is going to show me around. :) Then I might try to check out Avenue Montaigne, which is this really high end shopping street where I'm probably going to get dirty looks at since they will probably know I can't afford anything there, but I really want to check it out anyways...especially the Dior store. I heard it's supposed to be really cool visually! And then hopefully I can check out Parc Buttes Chaumont and Rosa Bonheur because today is the anniversary of the opening of Rosa Bonheur and there is supposed to be this party with people dressing up in costumes of the times and there will be some shows and dancing, so could be a lot of fun!

Bon journee! Bisous bisous! oxox :)

Paris & Versailles

2011-07-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

Another busy week! Last Friday, my friend Anna came to visit me. It was a busy day at work. A newly engaged bride from DC came in with her family to try on some dresses. Her mom was originally from Paris, but they are now living in the States. I was telling her how much I loved living here in Paris and she was surprised and said she loved living in the States more! She also told me her son graduated from Boston College not that long ago and I told her I went there too! It was cool to have a Boston connection here! I noticed the Bride to Be's ring and complimented her on it and she got soooo excited! She said I was the first person to say something and it made her day because apparently in France, it's not common to talk about rings with one another. It's very hush hush. After work, Anna and I went to get some dinner around Opera. I wanted to check out this other restaurant Michel recommended, but it was just happy hour so we had some Assorted charcuterie and fromage and some drinks of course! Anna was a bit jetlagged and tired from traveling so we didn't do too much, but we took a quick walk to the Eiffel Tower at night.

Saturday, was a realllly busy day for me! I went to work and then rushed home to meet up with Anna to get ready to go to Michel's for some homemade pho! It was sooooo delicious! Then Anna and I went to check out Buddha Bar. It was sooo crowded and filled with tourists that we decided to meet up with Miina at a French party near where I live. The party was at Villa Victor Hugo and the place was soooo nice!!! By the time we got there, everyone was pretty wasted so it was funny to watch! We danced and drank a little and went home pretty late.

Sunday, we got up relatively early and went straight to Versailles where we spent the day. It was soooo crowded! We originally wanted to go on Tuesday, but with the weather here being so unpredictable..we wanted to be safe and go on a day that wasn't going to rain for sure. The gardens and the palace were soooo beautiful! I wish we had more time to go to Marie Antoinette's estate..maybe next time! I wanted to sit and enjoy my nutella waffle by the grand canal (where people can rent boats and sit on the lawn to relax), but there were sooooo many bees and they are sooo aggressive! I'm really glad I finally got to see Versailles! I've been meaning to go there forever! I got really cute girly souvenirs for myself too! Unfortunately, we missed the Tour de France that would have gone by my area of where I live because we went to Versailles, but oh well...next time! On our way back home, we stopped by St. Germain des Pres for dinner first and to St. Sulpice church.

Monday, Elisa brought in some pastries her son made at his patisserie school to work. They were delicious! We had a chocolate eclair, a macaron and some chocolate cherry dessert too. Miina and I are ALWAYS eating! We're such piggies!

After work, Miina, Anna and I headed over to the Pompidou museum. I showed them the really cool fountains there and then we took some pics in the photobooth at the museum. We had just missed the last admission to the museum so that sucked, but I will try to go back this week to check it out. Since we couldn't get in, we headed over to the Paris Plage and had a little picnic with some of our favorite foods (charcuterie, fromage, wine and for dessert one of my fave cookies here!) Every summer, Paris sets up a makeshift beach along the Seine River since there aren't any beaches here in the city. People actually wear their bathing suits and lay out on the sand they put there! There are even lounge chairs and umbrellas and little cafes and play grounds set up. It was really cute! They closed the "beach" around 9pm so we walked down a bit further and sat by the Seine River just enjoying the moment. This is definitely one of my favorite things to do here! Anna also gave me a gift from when she went shopping earlier in Marais! A cute new scarf! :)

Tuesday was my day off. Anna and I started the day off with going to the Eiffel Tower again to take some photos. Then we went to where I work to meet up with Miina for lunch at Lintillac. I HAD to take Anna there to try out some good South Western French cuisine! I'd be an awful host if I didn't take her to some place good to eat! Anna and I spent the whole day pretty much at Les Arts Decoratifs since it was 9 floors! We got to see the Hussein Chalayan exhibit, which was awesome! You have to check out his site and his fashion shows especially SS07. I wish I could post the video, but you HAVE to see how his clothes transform while on the models on the runway...it was AMAZING!!!!! I've never seen anything soooo creative! I wish I could go to one of his fashion shows in person!!! When we were done with the museum, we tried to check out some Vintage shops by Palais Royal. We went to Didier Ludot and Gabrielle Geppert. Both carried some realllly awesome vintage items from Dior, Chanel, Gucci, etc. I wish I could afford something there, but wayyy out of my price range! We just did some more window shopping by Palais Royal, which definitely had some really cool boutiques. Later, we went to sit by Jardin du Tuileries for a little break. We took a nap on the lawn chairs by the fountain and waited for Miina to get off work. Anna wanted to go drink by the Eiffel Tower so we started to head back towards Trocadero, but first we stopped by Le Cure Gourmand on Rue de Rivoli. It's one of my favorite cookie places to go! I couldn't resist and got a lil' nougat for a snack. It was so yummy! Anna and I sat by the Eiffel Tower to see it all lit up and to see the fountains, then we headed towards Champs Elysees to see the Arc de Triumph since she's never been.

Wednesday, went to work and had one last lunch with Anna before she headed back to Boston. :( I always hate when people visit and then leave! But I took her to one of my fave lunch spots for some Japanese Udon noodles and then to Collette on Rue St. Honore. It's such an awesome store!!! The visual displays are just AMAZING!!! It's like walking into a fashion gallery. I wish I could show you pics, but we're not allowed to take photos in the store. You definitely have to come check out this concept store if you're in Paris! Elisa bought me and Miina some really yummy sugar pastries and candy. She's always feeding us! After work, I met up with Michael and some of his friends in the 2nd Arrondissement by Etienne Marcel at L'Experimental Bar. Had some really yummy cocktails and then headed over to get some dinner. It was a bit of an expensive night, but all that matters is good food, drinks and company! Plus my days and nights in Paris are limited so I want to enjoy it to the fullest even if it means I go broke! Oh and I started to read my new book by Ernest Hemingway, "A Moveable Feast" or in French it's "Paris est un fete." I am loving it! It's really interesting to read about his experiences in Paris, especially since I have gone to some of the places he's mentioned in the book. He talks about frequenting Jardin du Luxembourg, which is one of my favorite parks in Paris! It makes me want to see all the places he talks about, like how I went to see every site in Paris and in Italy for the Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown.

Thursday, went to work early because Miina and I wanted to surprise David and Elisa with a nice little lunch. We went shopping to get some food and pastries at the market before heading in. Then when lunch time came around, we set up the kitchen with our little surprise and they were really excited! I'm going to miss them soooo much! They are such wonderful friends to work with! After work, David invited me out to a little after work get together in the 2nd again at Etienne Marcel. It's a pretty big hotspot for gays and have really yummy cocktails and french fries! The place looked really cool and funky and David's friends were really nice! I felt like Carrie from Sex and the City with her Stanford hehe We didn't stay out late since we had work the next day, but we walked to the metro together through Les Halles and he showed me where they were going to build this really nice mall in that area. It's going to be awhile before they finish, but it's going to look really cool and modern once they are done! He also showed me where one of the Queen's back in the day used to watch stars at night by climbing up this tower. We also walked by this Detective sign that was in the scene for "Midnight in Paris." When I got home, I did some errands that I put off and finally was able to skype with some friends and family.

Today, I went to work and it was pretty slow. Paris is really emptying out with the Parisian locals. Only the people around are tourists! It was Miina's last day and mine will be tomorrow. So Jean and Lillian came by to say goodbye to us. They gave us each parting gifts of this Halston Heritage bag! So sweet of them! I also did a little shopping at the store and can't wait to wear everything! I can't believe my time here is almost over!!! But I will definitely be back and hopefully for a lot longer!!! I hope my dream comes true of moving here to live and work permanently or at least for awhile until I'm ready for the next thing. :)

I have one more day of work and then it's going to be a busy weekend of hanging with friends, moving back to Tolbiac and getting ready to start my holidays!!! I'm kind of sad that I feel like I don't have that much time in Paris anymore, but also excited for all the fun and new places I will be seeing in August! I really hope I won't have a problem extending my plane ticket to stay a few weeks longer, but I guess will find out once I come back from London!

Until next time, Bonne nuit!!!! Bisous Bisous! oxox :)

A Day of HUGE Sales Shopping at Metal Flaque!!!

2011-07-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

Weather has been cold and rainy these past couple of days so I didn't do anything interesting until today! We had our weekly meeting this morning and Jean was telling us how popular Metal Flaque has become in the past year for internet wedding dress searches in Paris. It is pretty amazing for a young company to grow so quickly. In the past year, the web search on google for Metal Flaque went from page 8 to page 2! And they have high hopes of it getting on the 1st page pretty soon!

The Big Soldes (Sales) going on in Paris are almost done. They end on the 26th of July, but we're going to keep our sales going on because we need to get rid of all our cocktail and evening dresses by September. Metal Flaque will strictly become an Exclusive Designer Wedding Dress Boutique in Paris! Everyday, I see people from all over the world fly to Paris and go to our boutique just to see and try on the dresses we carry! People from South Africa, Belgium, London, The US, Australia, Korea, India, Russia, Ukraine, EVERYWHERE come into Metal Flaque! And every time they are soooo excited when they go down to our salon to see the wedding dresses.

Sometimes as David says, it's really magical! You see the bride-to-be try on a dress that was just meant for her. There are so many wonderful stories they tell me that you can't help, but hope for that magical day yourself! And honestly, I'm not just saying this because I work with them, but really the customer service David, Veronique, Elisa and Marion give to each client is exceptional! They do whatever it takes to make the client happy!

So after our meeting, we re-organized the boutique and slashed the sales prices even more!!! We all got so excited that we started pulling stuff for ourselves! What girl can resist a good sale?! Miina and I got some dresses, shoes and handbags! Not only did we work, but we got to shop today too! I just wish I could fit into more of the things I wanted there! Everything was too big on me! :( I needed to get a dress for my friend's wedding, but didn't know when I could find the time or where to find a nice, affordable one, but my prayers were answered! I didn't even have to leave work and got a whole ensemble in seconds! I was even styled by the owner herself, Lillian! It was fun dressing up and seeing how you can just change the look of a dress with the accessories we carry at the boutique too! I can't wait to share the picture of the dress I'm going to wear for my friend's wedding, but I'll leave that for a surprise for down the road! But in the meantime look at all these wonderful photos of us shopping and of the amazing sales!!! I posted some of my favorites too!

I couldn't help, but think of my friends getting married and how they would LOVE to be here. I wish they could all fly in and try on all the dresses and shoes that were on sale! It's incredible because these designer gowns like one of my favorite, Jenny Packham are on sale for only 500 euros!!! That's a total steal! And then there are wedding shoes for only 50 euros!!! I think when the word gets out, Metal Flaque is going to be flooded with people! If you can fly to Paris and go to our boutique you definitely should!!!

We're starting to get new dresses in too! We received this one the other day from Oscar de La Renta! I can't wait to see someone try it on!

And we received this other really cool one from Monique Lhuillier.

I wish I could see the new dresses that were ordered for September when they come in! We had a meeting a few weeks ago to choose, which ones we liked from Vera Wang, Oscar de la Renta, Jenny Packham, Leila Hafzi, Monique Lhuillier, David Fielden, Carolina Herrerra, Ugo Zaldi and more! I'm sure everyone will go crazy once they come in!

You can check out more of their photos on their facebook page and on their website.

After work, I just went home and was going to meet up with Carol, but I was finally able to get in touch with my friend to plan our Eurotrip in August! I didn't think it was going to happen since it was taking so long to plan, but we finally booked most of the things we needed to do! Going to: Paris -> London -> Dublin -> Galway -> London -> Paris -> Loire Valley -> Sarlat -> Biarritz -> San Sebastian -> Zaragoza -> Aragon -> Barcelona -> Brussels -> Bruges -> Paris -> Boston and hopefully back to Paris for good! ;) I can't wait!!!!! I hope we have a great trip!!!

Got another day of work tomorrow and my friend Anna arrives tomorrow for a few days! I hope the weather gets better, but either way we're going to have a great time. I'll try to show her as much of Paris when I'm not working and we're going to make a trip to Versailles too!!! I've been wanting to go there since I first got here! Oh and we're going to check out the Hussein Chulayan exhibit at Les Arts Decoratifs and also the Pompidou museum! So much stuff to look forward to!

Bonne nuit! Bisous Bisous! oxox :)

Visiting 3 Museums in Paris in under 4 hours! :)

2011-07-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

I started my day pretty late again today, but I still did soooo much! First on my to do list today was to see Musee Rodin.

It was reallllly nice and it was cool to see the museum after watching "Midnight in Paris," since part of the movie was filmed in there too.

My favorite sculpture like everyone elses, is "The Thinker." I also loved "The Gates of Hell" and "The Kiss."

I loved how part of the museum was in the beautiful garden where you could just take your time wandering around enjoying the sculptures and nature. There were soooo many amazing sculptures in the garden, as well as inside the museum.

After, I walked over to Invalides, where Napolean's tomb is housed in the Dome Chapel and also the Army Museum. I didn't originally plan on going there, but since I was in the area I thought why not?! Plus I was able to get in for free with my Student ID so I took the opportunity to check it out and take some photos. :) It was really beautiful inside. I went down to the crypt to see Napolean's tomb. His sons and brothers are also housed there, along with some generals and marshals from the 1st half of the 20th century.

Then I went to the Army museum and the Main courtyard that has all the French Cannons behind Invalides. In the main courtyard of L'Hotel des Invalides, there are 60 french classical cannons that are over 200 years old.

The army museum is divided into different periods: Ancient Armour and Arms, XIIIth-XVIIth century, From Louis XIV to Napolean III (1643-1870), The Two World Wars (1871-1990), and Charles de Gaulle Historial. It was interesting to see the artillery and the uniforms from the different time periods. I was definitely getting a French History refresher course!

Next, I went to Paris City Hall in hopes of seeing the Grass Ball illusion created by the artist Francois Abelanet. But when I arrived, they already took it down! I was a bit disappointed, but here is a picture that my friends Will and Christine took of it when they came to visit Paris a few weeks ago.

Since I was already in the area, I decided to walk over to the Centre Georges Pompidou to check out the museum and area there. This place is devoted to today's creative activity, in all its forms: plastic arts, architecture, design, live performance, cinema, etc. It was opened in 1977 and accommodates the leading collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe, a large public reference library, performance spaces and cinemas as well as an institute for musical research and creation. I didn't check out the whole museum since I was getting tired and hungry, so I took a quick little tour of the free exhibit. I think I will go back some time this week to check out the rest of the museum. I love modern and contemporary art!

I went to go eat somewhere near by since I was starving! I ate at La Solita Taverna and ordered this reallllly yummy Salami, red pepper, cheese, egg, mushroom and oregano pizza! The waiter started talking to me and asked if I was here for vacation and I told him I was actually here for the summer doing an apprenticeship and that I would LOVE to stay if I could just find a job! Then he's like you can work here! I was so happy to hear that! So now I have 2 restaurant possibilities to work at in 2 very good areas. Veronique's ex-husband's place is near the Louvre and this restaurant is in the artsy area of Centre Georges Pompidou! On top of that, he offered to translate my CV into French too! He's a journalist in Paris, but is helping his friend out at this restaurant, while his friend is on vacation. His name is Marco and he's originally from Napoli, Italy. And I was telling him how I went to Napoli to eat at the first pizza restaurant ever and how it was soooooo delicious! I also told him Sorrento was one of my favorite places in Italy and he's like I have a house there! Apparently he travels a lot back and forth from Italy and Paris because of his job. Lucky him! But he was really cool in wanting to help me out with my CV and asking his friends in the industry to see if there are any opportunities for me! I really hope it works out! Sometimes exploring the city by foot and dining by yourself has it's advantages! You just never know who you're going to meet!

Michel tells me I'm very lucky to be meeting people who want to help me and I know not to take them for granted! I definitely try my best to pay it forward and help anyone in any way I can too. The night of the bbq, I met Colleen who is this artistic director from the Caribbean Islands. She was so sweet and invited me to her show in October. I hope I will be back in time to go!

On my way home, I passed by the fountains by Centre Georges Pompidou and it was sooo cool! I really love this area and all the art around it! Even the graffiti on the buildings are cool!

Well I got a full week of work ahead and my friend Anna comes to visit at the end of the week! Can't wait! We're gonna go to one last museum on my list that I really want to check out and then to Versailles! I hope the weather gets better especially for Versailles! I think after that, I would have crossed off pretty much everything on my list to do/see in Paris! Woo hoo!

Bonne nuit! Bisous Bisous! oxox :)

Bastille Day & French BBQ Garden Party :)

2011-07-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

Woke up late on Bastille Day since I didn't get home til pretty late the night before from the Bal des Pompiers party, but it wasn't a waste of a day! Miina and Michel both came by to my apartment since we were originally going to watch the fireworks by the Eiffel Tower, but then Michel's friends in Montmarte invited us over to watch them at their place where they have a beautiful view of all of Paris. So we decided to go have dinner in that area and watch the fireworks there in the comfort of a cozy home with some yummy drinks!

I was perplexed at first because I really wanted to see the fireworks up close, but then when I saw their apartment the view was really amazing! You really could see ALL of Paris! We had some wine, smoothies, and limoncello too and most importantly a toilet! haha It was actually pretty chilly out and when I thought about it...why would I want to stand or sit out in the cold in a crowd of a gazillion people, when I could be in a nice cozy place with great company! Even David was saying the best place to watch the fireworks is at Montmarte because you do get a great view still and aren't surrounded by soooo many crazy drunk people.

The Eiffel Tower wasn't lit up when the fireworks were going off...only until the end during the finale. For some reason, I remember in 2004 the Eiffel Tower being lit up in all these different colors, but maybe it was just the fireworks reflecting off the Eiffel Tower? Oh well..but it was still beautiful and we could see all the firework displays in all the arrondisments of Paris....it was a gorgeous panoramic view!!!

Friday, I just went to work and it was a pretty quiet day. During lunch, I just ate my sandwiches at the Jardin des Tuileries again and then walked around the Carnival and got myself a granita! I was craving for some italian ice, but this will do I suppose.

Michel had messaged to invite me to his friend's bbq party that night and since I didn't have any big plans of course I said yes especially since I've never been to a French bbq before AND I really do miss BBQ's in the States! It was my first bbq this summer! :) Flore's and Jean-Baptiste's place was soooo nice! They live in the suburbs of Paris and have a beautiful home. The tables and everything was set up in their garden underneath all these trees. I felt like I was in the Secret Garden or something and felt so French! It was so nice and relaxing for a Friday night. There was a lot of food, cheese, wine and drinks and great conversations and company!

It was kind of funny, at one point Michel caught me concentrating really hard on a conversation. I can now understand French a lot better now! It was definitely good practice for me! I noticed that I've been picking up some mannerisms and saying some American phrases the way the French do too! Sometimes I get so mixed up and can't find the words to speak in any language! We had a really late night and Michel's friend Kim drove us home. Michel and all his friends are super nice and really helpful! Kim is going to also help me with my CV and help me look for a job!

I'm trying REALLLLLLLY hard to do my best to find a job here. I know it's difficult, but I know it's not impossible either. I'm trying to be positive and hopeful! I never thought I'd be living in Paris and that it would just be a dream, but here I am! So who knows, maybe this can come true too! I've been trying to make all kinds of contacts and network with people and I am really fortunate to meet people that are so willing to help me!

Every time I tell people from Paris that I want to stay, work and live here, they ask me why do I love Paris so much. They agree that Paris is a beautiful city, but wonder why me and all these other people want to live here so badly. I've always loved Europe and living here. I think it really suits my personality with their way of life. I really do enjoy the culture and the food of course! But I do realize, that maybe it's just the novelty of it all. I like change sometimes and trying different things, but I guess like my mom says I'm such a nomad! I feel like a bit of a gypsy with life, but I think it makes life interesting! Lately, I've been feeling really settled here in Paris, but even still I'm not ready to leave just yet! I feel like it's just the beginning and I still have soooo much more to experience!

Today, I slept in a little again and as I was getting ready Jacqueline stopped by to drop off a space heater for me. It was really sweet of her to think of me! The weather is a bit strange and cold lately especially for July so she thought I might need it. I was iffy on what I wanted to do on my day off and since the weather was crappy, I thought it would be a good museum day! I originally wanted to go away this weekend to Normandy, but the weather has been crappy with rain so it wouldn't be a good time. Before I went to the museum, I stopped by this cafe around the corner from my apartment for brunch. I haven't sat down by myself to enjoy a nice meal in awhile, so I decided why not today! It was really relaxing with my hazelnut coffee and ham and cheese omelette with salad. I felt so fancy since they served it in a nice table setting.

I am sooooo glad I decided to go to the Pierre Cardin Museum. I HIGHLY recommend going here! I was SOOOOOOOOO impressed! The admission was a bit expensive, but it was well worth it! The museum is only open for like 3 hours and I was the only one there so I got a private tour! Melanie my tour guide showed me everything and explained everything! She was telling me the techniques, the materials, the ideas Pierre Cardin used and he honestly is a creative genius! There's nothing he can't do! He was really into geometric shapes and the work was just impeccable! He loved the Astronaut outfit of Lance Armstrong, so even some of his designs were inspired by that. He was inspired by EVERYTHING even kitchenware and trains! I also LOVED his furniture designs! I wish I could afford a piece! He was really into Man and Woman and human anatomy. I so wish I could have taken pictures for you guys to see, but I can't stress enough for you to go there and see for yourself in person! I fell in love with this one piece that was all black and the top drawer was a red flower and down the crack was this green stem. The colors and the design was just beautiful! He was soooo creative in how he thought out these designs and a lot of them were even made in the 1970s, but it still seems soooo modern! He even had one furniture piece that symbolized woman's virginity and another was a woman's body. There were also furniture pieces of a man's body and another one of lips, which reminded me of the surrealist movement I learned in my Fashion Art History class. Lips were a big thing that artists and designers used in their work for art, hats, accessories, and even furniture!

There were lots of people and designers inspired by Pierre Cardin, who used to work for Christian Dior. Even Jean Paul Gaultier was inspired by him when creating the infamous Madonna brassiere piece. Another design in the museum reminded me of the costumes in the movie Tron too! Oh and there was also this one clothing design that reminded me of an outfit on my barbie back in the day! I was telling Melanie and she told me to send her a picture of it! I'll have to look for it when I go back to Boston!

The two women there, Renee and Melanie were so nice and helpful! They even gave me a free copy of the museum exhibit to bring home. I asked them if there was anything else to see or do in the area and they told me to check out the Marche aux Puces. I eventually found my way there and walked around the huge flea market. I haven't gone to one yet here in Paris so I'm glad I did today! It was really interesting with a mix of really expensive antiques to some pretty cheap things. One minute you're in a quiet, fancy antique setting and next you're in the hood! I really love the feeling I get when walking around markets like this. It reminded me when I lived in Florence and when I went to the San Lorenzo market all the time. I used to buy all this junk, but I've gotten better about not buying any useless stuff anymore!

I started to head back to my apartment, but I got a little confused about where I was and I guess I looked a bit lost at the metro. So these 2 guys came up to me to see if I needed help. They were being so helpful in telling me which line to take home! I really am lucky with the people I meet here! For the most part, everyone is so friendly! Even though I have my ups and downs here, I know I have a lot to be thankful for!

As I was walking home, it started to sprinkle and it reminded me of the movie "Midnight in Paris." The main character loved walking in the rain in Paris and so do I! It was just a light mist and it felt sooo refreshing that I didn't want to use my umbrella! I rested for a little bit before I went back out to meet Michel by Montaparnasse for dinner and a movie. We went to this creperie place that is a specialty of Bretagne (Brittany in English, which is a town in the West of France.) We had cider and a crepe for dinner and then a crepe for dessert! Then we went to go see Transformers 3 in 3D! Every time I come out of the movie theatre after watching an American movie, I sometimes forget I'm in Paris until I hear all these people talking French!

It's been a nice relaxing weekend so far! Tomorrow will probably meet up with Miina and enjoy Paris some more! Bonne nuit! Bisous! oxox :)

Bal des Pompiers

2011-07-14T09:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was such a FUN day! Miina and I already planned to do something after work..we weren't sure what, but we knew we had to do something since the next day was Bastille Day! We were going to go celebrate David's birthday, but he messaged us that he wasn't going to have the party anymore at Parc Buttes Chaumont at Rosa Bonheur because the weather was kinda bad. My friend Linda messaged me that her and Michael were going to go to the Bal des Pompiers at Colombier in the 6th. David had told me about this night the other day. Apparently, every year the fire stations all over Paris throw huge parties!

I told Miina and of course we wanted to go so we headed towards that area after work. I wanted to show Miina the yummy crepe place that Alex showed me and the guy that worked there (Sasan) had remembered me! It was Au P'Tit Grec near the Place Monge metro. Sasan was so sweet! He said hi to me and even though the line was getting really long, he treated me and Miina to some free crepes and drinks! I wanted to try something savory instead of sweet so I got the tomato, feta, salad crepe and Miina got the nutella banana crepe. It was soooooooooo good! I can't wait to go back again for more!!!

Then we went to a marche nearby and got some rose wine and spanish nuts for a lil' aperitif at the Jardin du Luxembourg. It's one of my favorite parks in Paris because it really is the most beautiful and romantic!!!

The park started to close so we headed to meet Linda and Michael at Colombier for the Bal des Pompiers. The line was SUPER long and wrapped around for blocks! But Miina and I wanted to see what it looked like inside before waiting in the line for forever and as we were heading back towards the end of the line I saw an opening and grabbed Miina and cut the line! haha I called Linda to rush over quick since we were now towards the front of the line and got in pretty quick! The firefighters greeted us and told me to say something in French and I said "Bonsoir!" ("Good evening!") and he goes "J'taime!" ("I love you!) haha This is the biggest night for the firefighters and they love it because they get soooo much attention from the girls. Of course they had all the hot cuties working the doors and the bar areas! We all had soooo much fun dancing and drinking champagne or beer! They really love American music and go crazy!!!!! People were dancing at the window sills, on platforms and bar tables...it was one huge fiesta!!! The firemen got up and danced too! At one point, I went to go dance on this little platform with everyone, but this firefighter jumped up and almost pulled us all down with him and broke the railing! I tried to balance myself with heels on nonetheless and luckily didn't fall or hurt myself! But I got scared so I got back down and danced safely on the ground haha

Throughout the night Michael was telling me and Miina his observations on the French way of life, table manners/etiquette and in particular dating amongst French people. I was actually pretty surprised by some of the things he said. Like normally, if a guy kisses you or goes even further then that means you're a couple! And also that they only date one girl at a time. I was pretty shocked by all this because I admit, I thought very differently about this. He was also telling me how most French girls act when it comes to dating...like they play pretty hard to get and are pretentious, which I remember Alex had said the same thing to me too. But whether you're French or not or any nationality it's all the same..you'll meet good people and bad people in different stages in their lives. It is a new generation all over the world and people are into having fun, living their life, working towards their career, traveling or doing whatever their heart desires. Being in a relationship, especially getting married and having kids aren't at the forefront of everyone's mind nowadays. We have sooo many opportunities now and the freedom to do what we want, when we want! I was having the same conversation with Marion earlier in the day too. French guys and girls just aren't serious with anything in life meaning they are just living it and going with the flow.

It was getting really late so I ended up taking a taxi home. These late nights are killing my wallet because the taxi rides are adding up since the metros are closed late at night! But I didn't want the night to end so soon since I was having so much fun dancing. There were some barricades up so I couldn't cross through to the way I would walk home so I had to walk in this huge circle to go back home where I got dropped off by the taxi. Luckily, I live in a pretty safe area so I didn't feel scared walking home so late at night plus there were police everywhere anyways.

For the first time in awhile, I got to sleep in til pretty late this morning which felt great! Waiting for Miina and Michel to stop by my apartment before we head out to celebrate Bastille day and to see the fireworks later in the night by the Eiffel Tower! I can't wait!!! I saw them back in 2004 and remember them being the most beautiful fireworks display I've ever seen with the Eiffel Tower all lit up in different colors!

Bonne journee! Bisous! oxox :)

Wishing and Hoping!

2011-07-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

Woke up realllly tired today. I had THE most horrible nightmare! I dreamt I was being dragged to hell by all these ghosts and had all these cats jumping all over me and this old scary lady chasing after me! I don't know what that all means, but hopefully it's nothing and that I NEVER have that nightmare again! I was screaming in my nightmare and was sure I woke up screaming too, but maybe not haha

I wanted to wake up early to call the US Embassy to see if I can extend my stay in Paris a bit longer, but of course it was hard to get a person on the phone so I went to the US Embassy instead. I explained my situation and that I will be going to London next month so didn't know if my stay would be re-newed. He seemed to think it would be ok, but I'm still worried that he didn't fully understand me and gave me the wrong information. So Michel recommended I wait until after I come back from London and after checking with customs before I change my ticket. I reallllly hope I can!

Then I went to work even though it was my day off to quickly celebrate a lil' lunch celebration for David's birthday coming up. I just popped in real quick for some charcuterie and cheese with some bread and nutella too! After I went to Opera and did some shopping! Got a few nice dresses that I can't wait to wear!

I headed back to Michel's afterwards because I needed to use his phone again so I could call my friend Yukiko to plan our August Europe trip. Sooo much work in planning something like this, but I hope we get it done! On my way there, I ended up going to the Banh mi place Michel recommended and it was good too! I so wanted to take a nap, but then I ended up eating an ice cream too and made my phone calls.

I also ran into Alex and his friend Olivier real quick outside the building. Alex was getting ready to go for a run in the park and Olivier was there to see his girlfriend that also lives in the building. We all caught up for a bit and then later in the night I was talking to Miina about our plans for tomorrow night. We were going to try to celebrate David's birthday, but also usually the night before Bastille day there are firehouse parties with all the firemen! David told me about this the other day too...so we might go and check that out if we can! It's going to be a fun week of celebrations, especially with Bastille Day on Thursday!

Bonne nuit!!! Bisous Bisous! oxox :)

~*Cin Cin in the City*~