Okay, so I know this post is extremely extremely late. To be honest I was too lazy after the trip to update, plus it took forever to get pictures on and format them, plus I’m not even sure if people even still visit this site… but for those who do… here you go. I’ll finally get off my lazy ass and update (prob for the last time haha, i think this url is going to expire soon :p) First stop for us was Amsterdam. The city that’s literally built on sex, drugs and partying.  But on a more PG note, it’s also got some of the friendliest people in Europe and everyone rides a bicycle there! This was one of my favorite cities we visited. Def top 3.

All our bags are packed and we’re ready to go…

At Gare du Nord waiting to board our train

Top quality seeds! hahaha

First night partying in Liedsplein

We were lucky that the hostel we booked was in a good location, incredibly clean and safe, well facilitated, plus we had our own private bathroom (that we shared with 2 others lol). Amsterdam was a blast. Let’s just say we experienced everything the city had to offer haha.

When we booked the trip I made the mistake of accidentally  booking an extra night in Amsterdam (for a total of 4 nights) and one less night in London. This worked out for the best as London wasn’t really all that exciting…

My browser crashed a couple times as I typed this part up, so ya’ll gotta wait a bit more for the next update haha

To be continued… LONDON!

read comments (0)

This months gona fly by.

Friends are here. Exams are done. Trip starts today.

Amsterdam
London
Berlin
Athens – Mykonos – Santorini
Barcelona
Rome
Paris

Then back to VANCOUVER.

Cya.

read comments (1)

So i’ve only got about 2.5 weeks left in Paris… that’s so depressing

I feel like I haven’t taken advantage of my time here even though I’ve probably done (almost) everything I can. I love it when it’s sunny. Everyone’s happier and I’ve gotten over my fear of wearing shorts in public (due to the many creepers). It’s so hot here now (28 degrees today!), everyone’s in shorts and tanks and whatnot. I don’t even want to take the metro anymore, it’s so nice out I can just walk everywhere. I’m proud to say I know my way around Paris
(Cherry, VT, Steph: we’re gona be doing lots of walking!!)

I woke up nice and early this morning and went for a run in Luxembourg Garden (The biggest park in Paris)… I didn’t realize I was so out of shape! hahaha… I ran/walked for half and hour then relaxed on the grass soaking up the sun for another half hour. I went out at 10am and it was already too hot to run.

I was too lazy to upload my pics so here are some I googled haha

So after my run I REALLY REALLY wanted Gelato and I KNOW there’s an Amorino Gelato (the flower gelato place) near Luxembourg. I went there and it wasn’t opened yet boo… So I thought I’d walk to the next nearest one I know of  and by the time I get there it’d probably be open… I got there at 12 and it opens at 12:30 … I should have probably checked the hours at the first one before heading to the second one lols.  I had to settle for Ben and Jerrys…chh..  it wasn’t the same…

So… an update on the last couple weeks…

Let’s see… after Alice left, classes ended… so me and two other girls headed to the South of France. I was expecting little “French hick” towns/villages and the whole cottage scene. I was wrong. We got to the beautiful city of Nice first… and omg it’s beautiful. Sunny beaches as far as the eye can see… palm trees… and the bluest bluest Mediterranean ocean. It was nothing like Paris…i love.

So we dropped our stuff at the hostel (which btw was the most Amazing hostel ever), changed into our summer beach gear and headed down to the Ocean. The sand kinda sucked… it was more like small pebbles, but whatever, I was finally at a beach.

Hostel Restaurant

We spent the day wandering Nice. Then the next day we took a bus over to Monaco … it’s also amazingly gorgeous there and filled with rich people who either have a summer house there or are there to gamble. The number of Lamborghinis, Aston Martins and Rolls Royces i saw there was ridiculous. The most common car was probably Mercedes and Porches… it’s like the Toyotas and Hondas of Monaco. haha.  We stayed on the beach there for a while … it actually had sand sand.

Monte Carlo Casino

Aston Martin

Next day we went to Cannes! So we could say we say we were there during the Cannes Film Festival. It was raining hard when we got there so we hung out inside McDonalds for a while. The town itself was pretty small.. but so glamorous haha. Again, beautiful beaches, beautiful people and beautiful places to shop.

Then we went to Aix-en-Provence. Provence is famous for its Lavender Fields, but it wasn’t the “season” so we couldn’t go see them. Actually I’m glad cause my allergies would have killed me. No beaches here.. but there were the most FRIENDLIEST people. We were approached by 4 random people during the half hour we sat on the bench to rest. People peak English! and they’ll go out of their way to help others.  Again, so not Paris haha. Such a positive atmosphere in this city.

Train ride to Provence

I Lovee this hat haha

I had ice cream everyday of my vacation

If you guys have a chance to go to South France, Do it. Returned home to Paris at the perfect time. The weather is hot and sunny again.

I’m going to try spend the next couple days soaking up Paris. If only I didn’t have 2 exams coming up I have absolutely no mood to study. I just wana spend my days wandering Paris aimlessly…

Less than a week until my favourite people in the world come!!! SO EXCITED.

– EDIT –

May 27, 2010 – 12:49pm

So after my sisters “tweet” on me, I’ve received a massive amounts of hits (well more than normal, and normal is like 7 a day haha). So “Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!” to all of Katy’s stalkers followers.

I’ve been in a really good mood lately. I think it’s a combination of the endorphins I’m pumping into myself, the sunny weather that we had (it’s raining a lot now), the fact that my best friends are coming in 5 days, and finally, realizing both  I’ll be going home to beautiful Vancouver soon and being sad about leaving Paris, therefore making every last moments count.

I’ve got an exam today at 4pm. I’ve pretty much spent maybe an hour studying for it. It’s for my Media in Transition course. I’m just aiming for a decent pass My second and last exam next Friday. I probably won’t study much for it since I’d rather spend times with my friends when they’re here. Though this one I have a higher risk of failing… :S uh oh.

I think I’ve adopted the slow lifestyle of the French. I take my time  doing most things  now. Why rush? The slow checkout lines at the markets don’t even bother me anymore. haha Anyhoo, my next entry will be on how France and this exchange experience has changed me.

BTW I’m obsessed with this guy. His music is catchy and soothing… Check out: Faraway, Echoes in my Head; Life, Love, and Faith; Heartbeat, Love Aviation and Loving you.

I was also obsessed with this guy for a while. I’m kinda getting over it now… until he does another really amazing song haha.

But yah, my favourites are his cover of Bad Romance, Dreaming with a Broken Heart and Replay. Amazing stuff.

I love “undiscovered” Youtube stars.

read comments (2)

Walked 6 hours around sunny Paris today I realized I should start taking advantage of and appreciating everything Paris has to offer. Don’t have a lot of time left here…

I should really update. Maybe this weekend.

read comments (0)

Okay, time for an update.

It’s been busy lately. The past week and a half has been a blur and I’ve totally lost track of time. My mind has also completely  let go of any thoughts of school … even though I’ve still got a week and bit left…2 presentations and a huge paper (uh-oh).

The weather’s been teasing me lately. A week ago it was blistering sauna hot then the last couple days the reports said it was suppose to rain… but it’s only been cloudy and chillier…with a tiny bit of rain. I want it to just rain damit and get it over with haha.

Soooooo…. qu’est-ce que j’ai fait?

A little over a week ago I went to Mont Saint Michel in the Normandy region. I had no idea what this place is or what’s so special about it. My room mate booked the ticket and I just went along. I’m kinda glad I went though cause it was so pretty there!…It has a huge Monastery (i think that’s what it’s called) sitting on a mountain on an island thing. We messed up our hostel booking so we ended up staying one night at a hotel there. My first and probably only hotel in Europe during this trip haha.

Got back to Paris Friday then Sunday we flew to Prague. I love Prague!! It’s such a …humble (?) city. I judge a city by how comfortable I feel being there and how many interesting things there are to do and how expensive it is haha. The biggest thing I noticed was that no one in Prague stared at us! hahaha… can’t say the same for Budapest. Things were also A LOT cheaper than Paris and there were tons of things to do.

Got back from Prague on Tuesday then Alice arrived in Paris on Wednesday!! She brought me soo much food!! I set up a loveeelyy little space for her in my “living room”. She’s got a comfier bed than me haha. The second day she was here we started at the Arc-du-Triumph, walked down Champs-Elysee, all the way to the Louvre area then eventually to Chatelet. We literally covered about 1/3 of Paris haha… I’ve never walked that much in Paris before. It was also an incredibly hot day. Poor Alice she was pretty much dead by the end of the day hahaha (Just a note to Cherry, VT and Steph: you guys better practice walking! hahaha I don’t want any whiners). The next day we took it easy and only went to the Musee d’Orsay and grocery shopping. We bought a bunch of small bottles of wine to try out. All of them were between 2-4 euros! I’m so glad I have a nightly wine drinking buddy! hahaha It’s good to know I won’t leave Paris without taking advantage of the wine here.

So far we’ve done a bottle a night haha (they’re only 375ml bottles btw)

Alice is going to the Louvre today while I stay home to work on my presentation (UGhhhhh).

Almooossst done schooool! 3 weeks till the South of France. One Month till my favvvvvvvoouurriteeee people come!

read comments (2)

The sun is shining and summer is here! It’s been consistently warm lately, thank god for global warming (haha jk). Though I’m so paranoid that it’s going to get cold suddenly and rain so I always end up overdressing when I go out. I guess it’s easier in Vancouver cause if it ever gets cold you can just get in your car and go home. oh how I miss non-public transportation.

On the other hand the Paris metro is pretty nifty. You can never get lost in Paris cause you’ll always run into a metro station haha

The stupid Eyjafjallajokull Volcano has been such a nuisance lately. AGhhhhh. Costing the industry over $1 billion… All those poor stranded travelers… Aghhh! Spring break starts on Friday this week and a lot of people have plans to travel. I’m suppose to go to Prague on Sunday, then Alice is coming from Vancouver next Wednesday. Ahhh! Well things are getting better. They’ve opened up a lot of flights and the ashes seem to be less of a problem. I keep on thinking what if this happened in June during my Euro-trip travel plans. Omg. A whole summer ruined.. I’d miss every connecting flight… no refunds… no Greece… It’s so scary to think about. Please please please don’t happen.

So what have I been up the last couple weeks. I went to the Musée d’Orsay which I guess is mostly known for its impressionist paintings by artists like Monet, Van Gogh, Courbet, etc. Stupid me went on a Sunday, the FIRST Sunday of the month, aka the BUSIEST day of the month to go to a museum. (Museums are free for all the first Sunday of every month).

I also went to this little town outside of Paris called Auvers-sur-Oise. It takes about an hour or so to get there by train… but it ended up taking us 4 hours to get there, due to the train schedule being different on a Sunday. (I should learn to stop going places on Sundays). But anyways, this is the town that Van Gogh lived and worked in for the last couple years of his life. Also the place where he committed suicide and is buried.

Van Gogh lived on the second floor

His Studio

The grave of Van Gogh and his brother Théodore

I also went to see the Arc-du-Triumph again cause I forgot my camera the first time, then a stroll down Champs Élysée. Such a booootiful day.

Went for dinner in Chinatown with my Paris Asian crew. Paris has REALLY good Vietnamese food (waaayyy better than Vancouver). It’s also moderately priced with big servings I love that this restaurant is literally like a 1 minute walk from my place. (take note cherry, steph, vt, we’ll prob be having dinner here more than once haha)

I had so much fun vintage shopping and falafel eating in Le Marais yesterday. I think this is the best district to wander and get lost cause you always find the most interesting stores. There’s a really really famous falafel place here called L’as du Fallafel. We waited like 30 mins in line for a falafel but sooo worth it.  Mmmmmmmm…

I ate part of it then realized I should take a picture

One of many vintage stores (so cute!)

I bought a fringy scarf and bag from a vintage store then a fringe bag (I’ve been realllly wanting one lately) from H&M, it was on sale for 10 euros! Niiiceeee. But if anyone sees a brown suede rounder fringe bag please let me knoww! I want that the most!

My purchases..tehehe

Another shot of my bag. It’s soo cute haha. The more I look at it the more I like it. I’m glad I found an enabler friend who persuades me to buy things haha

I also went to this big outlet outside of Paris called LaValle Village (I think). It was a big disappointment but they sold gelato there which they served in a waffle cone, and the gelato is shaped into a rose. Sooo pretty. AND you can choose as many flavors as you like when you order “one scoop”, unheard of! I was looking through my camera for my gelato pic but I couldn’t find it…then I realized it’s on Chloe’s camera. So sorrrrry VT! I know you were expecting rose gelato pictures. I’ll get it from her soon!

Going to watch How to Train your Dragon in 3d tonight! woooooot. My first movie in Paris. So excited haha.

Anyways my next update prob won’t be for a while again haha. Things are getting busy with vacation (haha), Alice coming, finishing off papers and presentations, etc. Sciences Po is a funny school. We have a week off for spring break then come back for one more week of school before exams begin. Haha oh France.

-edit-

Just came back from the movie. Soooooo goooooood! I want a dragon!!

Also, I just found out today there was a time change 3 weeks ago. How did I NOT know about this? haha when my friend told me I wondered if I’ve been living ahead one hour for the past 3 weeks…. hahaha This might explain my messed up sleeping schedule.

Out of the 5 days of school I have this week, 4 of the days are cancelled. I’ve only got school on Wednesday lol… okay I lie, my Friday class is still on but I’m gona start vacation early.

read comments (3)

There’s some days when I miss home and I want to go back to my big comfy bed, to my mom’s cooking, to having a laundry machine IN the house… to having the convenience of a car, and to the company of my best friends. Then there are some days when I want to stay in Paris forever… or for at least a full year. Today is one of those days.

read comments (0)

There’s this bag that’s extremely popular in Paris. EVERYONE has one… old, young, rich, poor…It comes in every color imaginable.

The Longchamp bag:

Why is it so popular? I think it’s hideous. Awkwardly shaped- plastic-nylon with a brown handle. I don’t get it…is it cause it’s “practical”?…It’s not like it’s “cheap” either at 48 euros for the regular size one. I guess this could be a beach or picnic bag… that’s it haha. The Longchamp store at Galaries LaFayette is always packed (with Asian tourists). The only person I can see pulling this bag off is my mom… and that’s not something to be proud of.

Sorry if I offended any Longchamp users. Their other bags are nice, just not this one.

read comments (1)

I wish I was 2 inches shorter so that I can wear heels without looking like a giant.

So I bought new heels on Friday, they’re so pretty…I can add it to the other 5 pairs of shoes I’ve bought since I’ve been here. I think that since I hardly ever eat out (I’ve been here 2.5 months and I’ve never had a French meal) and I don’t spend any money on drinks or partying… Most of my money goes towards clothes (YAYY) and groceries. Which is perfect… because I love clothes haha.

My first Starbucks in months… soo worth it :’)

I think I’ve perfected making pasta and salmon… Mmm sooo good. I will NEVER get sick of salmon. Sashimi, baked, pan fried, smoked…. Yummy.

Penne I threw together with random ingrediants

I went to the Louvre today. I originally planned to wake up at 9am so that I can get to the museums before the crowds,  but I ended up turning off my alarm and sleeping in till 12. oops. There were sooo many people there, I even spotted this huge group of Canadians. How did I know they were Canadians? They were all wearing red with huge maple leaf flags sewn on their backpacks. The Louvre is HUGEEE… I’m going to have to go back a couple more times to finish viewing all the exhibits.

I remembered to charge my Camera battery last night … but I forgot to put the battery back into the camera this morning So all I’ve got are these crappy pics from my Blackberry. Oh well… I’ll be back

The long line outside

Canadians!

My favourite part of the museum – Napoleon III Apartment

There were a lot of people standing in front of the Mona Lisa. This was the best pic I could get.

read comments (2)