Heya MATES!
Look at me.. 2 blogs in just about one week.. how good am i... :)
So for the past few days I have been debating with myself the topic of rain vs. Snow- Which one do I prefer. Let me tell you that its not at all that easy of a decision as both sides have fairly good arguments.
It has been raining quite a bit since I got back from my 3 week vacation with mimi and it is also somewhat cold. I hear the people from Valdor yelling right now saying Yeah well at least you don't have to shovel your driveway this morning.... and nope I don't.... but the weather is just so different here. The rain is just SO COLD. SOOOO COLD!!!! and if I remember what It was like in december 2 years ago, its about to get colder. There normally isint a lot of snow but this is where I began to wonder if I would like better snow or rain.
I LOVE walking in the rain. I think it is totally relaxing and very amusing.... but wet... no matter what happens you're wet. If its warm and windy.. you're wet.... if its cold.. well you're wet and most likely pissed off because well.. really no one likes to be wet and cold its just not fun.
When it snows........ well thats a totally different story. When it snows most likely its gonna be cold..... when its windy and snowy ah man thats a drag!! such a drag!! I hate it.. I HATE IT... !!! when you step outside and the first breath of fresh air that you inhale just hurts because its so cold..... or sitting down in a car that is not yet heated up... AHHHHHH AWFULLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just want to get inside as soon as possible... BUT at least you are not wet... damp maybe... but not wet. Walking outside(especially at night) when its not too cold and its snowing big, huge beautiful snowflakes... is just AMAZING. You bundle up with a scarf, a hat, mittens and a good jacket and there is nothing better. And once again you don't get wet. Wow how amazing it is. However... well when it snows then you have to shovel.. which means having to wake up early to dig out your car.. or in sisters case.. waking up at 3 :45 am to go find a parking that is not inside the mall parking lot... SNOWSTORMS... well... not that I would know as i do not have a car.. but I can just imagine that it SUX!
So really the decision is kind of hard...... because I hate the cold... and I hate being wet.. especially with cold freezing rain.....
Well after debating with myself for a while... I came to the conclusion that I enjoy better snow. I rather walk in the snow then get wet in the rain. Im sure if i had a car I would probably think otherwise, but for now this is my decision. I hate all the rain in Paris and i dont think i would mind a nice little snowfall.
But with this said, I was thinking of coming home early as I am very broke, but when I saw the pictures that my aunt sent me of all the snow, I decided I would tough it out and skip the cold quebec winter this year. I deserve it... haha! So i will put on my raincoat and enjoy the cold cold rain and light snowfall of Paris!! :)
Hope everyone is ok!!
Phil i wanna se pictures of your house when its all done!!!!!
Bisous to all!!!
Gen
Monday, October 26, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Alright Alright! Part DEUX!
Ok.... all my german kids are all served and getting ready to go back to Germany...
So yeah Athens.... I enjoyed it even though it was freaky at night and not what I expected. I dont think i was as disappointed as Mylene because she had been wanting to go there for so long... I guess her expectations were higher than mine. Our hostel was an absolute dump though. It was located right in the center which is the only positive thing. It was a 10 minute walk from the main square... which had a HUGE flea market and a lot of restaurants. You could also get a nice view of the Parthenon!
The window from our hostel would not close and our room was infested with mosquitos. The first night I could barley sleep because I was getting picked all night long. I had huge bites. My sister had quite a bit herself. The last night we did not sleep AT ALL... we tried... but I was so itchy that I turned on the light to find out that my sister was also wide awake.. so we decided to just stay up as we had to wake up at 5:30 anyways to catch our ferry to Santorini. The only good thing was the friendly staff!!!! The walls were falling apart abd the shower was moldy! MMmmMm Lovely!!
Santorini was living in a dream. It was BEAUTIFUL! It was everything I expected from greek islands and even MORE! The white typical greek houses with the flowers and the blue doors.
Our hostel consisted of 2 bedrooms with beds in each room a kitchen, a tv, an amazing bathroom. The hostel in itself had a pool a bar, the possibility to watch DVD's in your room, and a 2 minute walk from the beach.. and all that for 12 euro per person per night. It was a joke!!!!! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!
We rented 4 wheelers and rode around the island, we spent time at the beach, we hiked up an active volcano, we swam in a hot spring, we rode on a boat, saw the most beautiful sunset ever, we relaxed, we tanned, we ate amazing food... I drank a pina colda on the beach... really?? how truly truly amazing!!!! Exactly what we needed to end our vacation. The staff at the hostel was phenomenal... helped make the experience even better!!!!!!!!! The only bad thing about Greece in general is there's a lot of stray dogs.. and that just breaks MY HEART!! it was so sad. Each time we saw one mimi and I were telling each other... no wait... he belongs to this person... oh he is just waiting here because his owner is over there.. you know... the kind of thing to make us feel better... because wow did we feel bad.
I would recommend this to EVERYONE! EVVEEERRYOOONNNEEE!! it is so relaxing and so good!! I would definitely.. and WILL definitely go back!!
Im sure that the majority of you who are reading this blog have access to facebook.. so if you are curious I posted a whole bunch of pictures for every place I visited. GO TAKE THE LOOOOOK!
So all in all it was an amazing adventure.. another one that i will remember for as long as i live.
It was great to see my sister and I was really sad to see her go!!!! Luckily my friend gilles was there to keep me company!!!!
SO GO GO!! GO LOOK AT MY PICTURES!!
Hope all is well.....
and i will TRY to keep this more up to date.. just like i keep promising but never do....
Much love to all
Hope everyone is well!!
Hope the snow hold up back in canada!! haha!!
Here it is cold.. but still no snow...!!! Hopefully there wont be ANY!! I WANT A WARM WINTER!!!
So yeah Athens.... I enjoyed it even though it was freaky at night and not what I expected. I dont think i was as disappointed as Mylene because she had been wanting to go there for so long... I guess her expectations were higher than mine. Our hostel was an absolute dump though. It was located right in the center which is the only positive thing. It was a 10 minute walk from the main square... which had a HUGE flea market and a lot of restaurants. You could also get a nice view of the Parthenon!
The window from our hostel would not close and our room was infested with mosquitos. The first night I could barley sleep because I was getting picked all night long. I had huge bites. My sister had quite a bit herself. The last night we did not sleep AT ALL... we tried... but I was so itchy that I turned on the light to find out that my sister was also wide awake.. so we decided to just stay up as we had to wake up at 5:30 anyways to catch our ferry to Santorini. The only good thing was the friendly staff!!!! The walls were falling apart abd the shower was moldy! MMmmMm Lovely!!
Santorini was living in a dream. It was BEAUTIFUL! It was everything I expected from greek islands and even MORE! The white typical greek houses with the flowers and the blue doors.
Our hostel consisted of 2 bedrooms with beds in each room a kitchen, a tv, an amazing bathroom. The hostel in itself had a pool a bar, the possibility to watch DVD's in your room, and a 2 minute walk from the beach.. and all that for 12 euro per person per night. It was a joke!!!!! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!
We rented 4 wheelers and rode around the island, we spent time at the beach, we hiked up an active volcano, we swam in a hot spring, we rode on a boat, saw the most beautiful sunset ever, we relaxed, we tanned, we ate amazing food... I drank a pina colda on the beach... really?? how truly truly amazing!!!! Exactly what we needed to end our vacation. The staff at the hostel was phenomenal... helped make the experience even better!!!!!!!!! The only bad thing about Greece in general is there's a lot of stray dogs.. and that just breaks MY HEART!! it was so sad. Each time we saw one mimi and I were telling each other... no wait... he belongs to this person... oh he is just waiting here because his owner is over there.. you know... the kind of thing to make us feel better... because wow did we feel bad.
I would recommend this to EVERYONE! EVVEEERRYOOONNNEEE!! it is so relaxing and so good!! I would definitely.. and WILL definitely go back!!
Im sure that the majority of you who are reading this blog have access to facebook.. so if you are curious I posted a whole bunch of pictures for every place I visited. GO TAKE THE LOOOOOK!
So all in all it was an amazing adventure.. another one that i will remember for as long as i live.
It was great to see my sister and I was really sad to see her go!!!! Luckily my friend gilles was there to keep me company!!!!
SO GO GO!! GO LOOK AT MY PICTURES!!
Hope all is well.....
and i will TRY to keep this more up to date.. just like i keep promising but never do....
Much love to all
Hope everyone is well!!
Hope the snow hold up back in canada!! haha!!
Here it is cold.. but still no snow...!!! Hopefully there wont be ANY!! I WANT A WARM WINTER!!!
Alright Alright!
So.... just when I was about to GIVE UP this blog because I am so far behind and just the thought of catching up gives me a head ache ..... my aunty Madeleine told me not to as she enjoys reading it. She told me it didn't matter if I didn't write a lot or if I just post some pictures... so I figured.. alright ALRIGHT!!!!
It is currently 7:15 am and I am at work. For those of you who don't know I am still working at the Peace and Love and could NOT be happier. I work 3 night shifts a week from 2 am to 9 am... I work 2 bar shifts from 6pm to 2 am and 1 day shift from 9 am to 6 pm. It is so much fun. Not only is it a cool place to hang out but to work. I enjoy Meeting people fom all around the world. Lately there seem to be a lot of Australians, Canadians and Americans which is fun. I have developped an interests for Australia and Australians because I cant believe just how laid back an fun they ALL are and they have a pretty cool (sexy) accent. Maybe a future trip? I think so. I mean I already have my Travel book to Australia. Maybe in a year or so once I get back to Montreal and start working again.
Anyways, I think that if it weren't for this hostel I would probably be out of Paris by now. Paris is really beautiful... amazingly beautiful but its too big and too busy for me. I can't get use to this lifestyle, actually I don't want to be part of this lifestyle. Definitely don't want to become a Parisian! haha! If I ever told anyone that my dream was to go to Paris, marry a french guy and live in Paris for the rest of my life... well... that is no longer true... But either way it is still the best experience of my life and I am happy!
I have a new roomate! His name is Phil and he is from Philadelphia... whats up with me and Philly huh? He was staying at the hostel and was looking for a roomate and since Joey was leaving soon I told him WHY NOT! He is very cool. Super friendly and helpful! I was lucky to have such wonderful roomates. He just got his french citizenship so i guess he is now French also. He lived in Singapore for a while which I think is pretty amazing. He is also a very good cook! Yay!!! :)
I just came back from a 3 week Euro-trip with my sister. GOD WAS IT SO NICE TO SEE HER!
We started off in Brugge, Belgium (2 nights), Brussels, Belgium (1 night), Cologne, Germany (2 nights), Munich Germany (2 night), Krakow Poland (3 nights), Athens, Greece (3 nights) and then Santorini Greece (4 nights) IT WAS AMAZING!!
First of all Brugge... THUMBS UP! I would recommend it to ANYONE! Its gorgeous!! A little Medieval town with cobblestone steets and brick houses, amazing architecture topped off with lovely canals!! So so soooo cute!!!! One problem though IT HAS TOO MANY CHOCOLATE STORES! They are EVERWHERE!!! Loved it loved it LOVED IT!
Brussels... was... not at all interesting. Alot of people visiting the hostel had told me theres wasnt much to see... which I now understand. I am glad that I went because its the capital of Europe... but I wouldnt go again... So MOM.. you didn't miss much by only seeing the train station. Other than the peeing family (Boy, Girl and now dog (which we didnt see)) there really wasnt anything else. The waffles were out of this world amazing but not good enough to make me wanna go back.
Cologne. I Loved it. Mylene didn't enjoy it as much as I did but I thought it was nice. Friendly little german village. Not much too see but interesting nonetheless. A big cathedral is pretty much the only thing to see and it was a 3 min walk from our hostel so that was perfect. I enjoyed it and would go again. i dont know if I would recommend it to anyone but I liked it.
Munich STRIKES AGAIN! AMAZING!!! Granted it WAS oktoberfest.... but still!!! So we were staying at this really fancy hotel which was a 10 min walk to the site. It was BEYOND my expectations. It was SO HUGE! I was expecting little white tents holding about 100 people. Not MASSIVE cabins holding up to 10 000 people. The atmosphere in those tents was beyond words. People standing up on the tables, singing, Prosting their beers holding each other. Perfect. Thinking about it still gives me goosebumps. We met up with some peopl that were staying at my hostel the night before we left for our trip. One of the guys, Ben was able to get 2 people in a tent with him (because he knew someone who worked there) and instead of choosing his friends because he was with other people, he chose me and my sister. I am still thankful for that. It was so generous of him. So we got in the tent and there we also met up with a friend, Bernhard, who we met last time we were in Munich. It was all so much fun!!! I actually had pains on my hand from hold that 1L of beer...... or the 6L of beer I had that night.... ouch... The thing with Oktoberfest is if you dont go early, you dont get in a tent. You can try and sneak in somehow but still its difficult and really I dont want to start drinking at 7 am.. but if you are not there by that time you probably wont get the chance to get in.... and if you are in a tent and you are not drinking, they kick you out and if you are too drunk then they kick you out... haha so really we were lucky to get in in the afternoon. It was AMAZING! I want to go back every year!!! Also to see Bernhard. He was so nice!! It was great tos ee him again!! We had kept in touch for about 2 years since our last trip. So it was nice, he even let us stay at his house for our last night. Wonderful, wonderful guy! Thanks again Bernhard!
Krakow Poland was also a lot of fun.... I had been looking forward to that for a very long time. Auchwitz is really what I wanted to see. And it was so... interesting. I had been reading about it for so long that it was great to be able to see it with my own eyes. It is hard to describe how I felt once I was in there but it was a great experience. Walking into the different buildings, gas chambers, the museum containing all the hair that was shaved off from the people, all the suitcases, the hair brushes, the shoes..... ahhh... it was something.
The hostel we were staying was was what made krakow so amazing. It was a small apt that was turned into a hostel. There was a tiny living room where mingling was so easy. The people staying there at the same time were so much fun!!!!! I had the best time. If peace and love is my fav hostel, Mosquito is definitely my second favorite hostel!!! I would definitely go there again. The food is also VERY amazing!.. mmmm pierogies... oh wow. And it was also so cheap!! Wow it was cheap! We ate at fancy restaurants for nothing almost!!!! Krakow is also very nice. Very old. Very friendly place.. it felt home-y.... really it did! Iw ould go back to Poland in a heartbeat!
Athens was good yet still disappointing. The ancient greek-y stuff were beautiful but the rest of the city was quite ghettoish actually. Mimi and I went for a walk and we did not feel comfortable at all! We were afraid!!!! The parthenon is impressive though despite being under construction. Very very impressive. All of the columns is really what I think off when I think of ancient greece.
Oups will finish this later.. i have tomake hot chocolate for my group of german kids....
It is currently 7:15 am and I am at work. For those of you who don't know I am still working at the Peace and Love and could NOT be happier. I work 3 night shifts a week from 2 am to 9 am... I work 2 bar shifts from 6pm to 2 am and 1 day shift from 9 am to 6 pm. It is so much fun. Not only is it a cool place to hang out but to work. I enjoy Meeting people fom all around the world. Lately there seem to be a lot of Australians, Canadians and Americans which is fun. I have developped an interests for Australia and Australians because I cant believe just how laid back an fun they ALL are and they have a pretty cool (sexy) accent. Maybe a future trip? I think so. I mean I already have my Travel book to Australia. Maybe in a year or so once I get back to Montreal and start working again.
Anyways, I think that if it weren't for this hostel I would probably be out of Paris by now. Paris is really beautiful... amazingly beautiful but its too big and too busy for me. I can't get use to this lifestyle, actually I don't want to be part of this lifestyle. Definitely don't want to become a Parisian! haha! If I ever told anyone that my dream was to go to Paris, marry a french guy and live in Paris for the rest of my life... well... that is no longer true... But either way it is still the best experience of my life and I am happy!
I have a new roomate! His name is Phil and he is from Philadelphia... whats up with me and Philly huh? He was staying at the hostel and was looking for a roomate and since Joey was leaving soon I told him WHY NOT! He is very cool. Super friendly and helpful! I was lucky to have such wonderful roomates. He just got his french citizenship so i guess he is now French also. He lived in Singapore for a while which I think is pretty amazing. He is also a very good cook! Yay!!! :)
I just came back from a 3 week Euro-trip with my sister. GOD WAS IT SO NICE TO SEE HER!
We started off in Brugge, Belgium (2 nights), Brussels, Belgium (1 night), Cologne, Germany (2 nights), Munich Germany (2 night), Krakow Poland (3 nights), Athens, Greece (3 nights) and then Santorini Greece (4 nights) IT WAS AMAZING!!
First of all Brugge... THUMBS UP! I would recommend it to ANYONE! Its gorgeous!! A little Medieval town with cobblestone steets and brick houses, amazing architecture topped off with lovely canals!! So so soooo cute!!!! One problem though IT HAS TOO MANY CHOCOLATE STORES! They are EVERWHERE!!! Loved it loved it LOVED IT!
Brussels... was... not at all interesting. Alot of people visiting the hostel had told me theres wasnt much to see... which I now understand. I am glad that I went because its the capital of Europe... but I wouldnt go again... So MOM.. you didn't miss much by only seeing the train station. Other than the peeing family (Boy, Girl and now dog (which we didnt see)) there really wasnt anything else. The waffles were out of this world amazing but not good enough to make me wanna go back.
Cologne. I Loved it. Mylene didn't enjoy it as much as I did but I thought it was nice. Friendly little german village. Not much too see but interesting nonetheless. A big cathedral is pretty much the only thing to see and it was a 3 min walk from our hostel so that was perfect. I enjoyed it and would go again. i dont know if I would recommend it to anyone but I liked it.
Munich STRIKES AGAIN! AMAZING!!! Granted it WAS oktoberfest.... but still!!! So we were staying at this really fancy hotel which was a 10 min walk to the site. It was BEYOND my expectations. It was SO HUGE! I was expecting little white tents holding about 100 people. Not MASSIVE cabins holding up to 10 000 people. The atmosphere in those tents was beyond words. People standing up on the tables, singing, Prosting their beers holding each other. Perfect. Thinking about it still gives me goosebumps. We met up with some peopl that were staying at my hostel the night before we left for our trip. One of the guys, Ben was able to get 2 people in a tent with him (because he knew someone who worked there) and instead of choosing his friends because he was with other people, he chose me and my sister. I am still thankful for that. It was so generous of him. So we got in the tent and there we also met up with a friend, Bernhard, who we met last time we were in Munich. It was all so much fun!!! I actually had pains on my hand from hold that 1L of beer...... or the 6L of beer I had that night.... ouch... The thing with Oktoberfest is if you dont go early, you dont get in a tent. You can try and sneak in somehow but still its difficult and really I dont want to start drinking at 7 am.. but if you are not there by that time you probably wont get the chance to get in.... and if you are in a tent and you are not drinking, they kick you out and if you are too drunk then they kick you out... haha so really we were lucky to get in in the afternoon. It was AMAZING! I want to go back every year!!! Also to see Bernhard. He was so nice!! It was great tos ee him again!! We had kept in touch for about 2 years since our last trip. So it was nice, he even let us stay at his house for our last night. Wonderful, wonderful guy! Thanks again Bernhard!
Krakow Poland was also a lot of fun.... I had been looking forward to that for a very long time. Auchwitz is really what I wanted to see. And it was so... interesting. I had been reading about it for so long that it was great to be able to see it with my own eyes. It is hard to describe how I felt once I was in there but it was a great experience. Walking into the different buildings, gas chambers, the museum containing all the hair that was shaved off from the people, all the suitcases, the hair brushes, the shoes..... ahhh... it was something.
The hostel we were staying was was what made krakow so amazing. It was a small apt that was turned into a hostel. There was a tiny living room where mingling was so easy. The people staying there at the same time were so much fun!!!!! I had the best time. If peace and love is my fav hostel, Mosquito is definitely my second favorite hostel!!! I would definitely go there again. The food is also VERY amazing!.. mmmm pierogies... oh wow. And it was also so cheap!! Wow it was cheap! We ate at fancy restaurants for nothing almost!!!! Krakow is also very nice. Very old. Very friendly place.. it felt home-y.... really it did! Iw ould go back to Poland in a heartbeat!
Athens was good yet still disappointing. The ancient greek-y stuff were beautiful but the rest of the city was quite ghettoish actually. Mimi and I went for a walk and we did not feel comfortable at all! We were afraid!!!! The parthenon is impressive though despite being under construction. Very very impressive. All of the columns is really what I think off when I think of ancient greece.
Oups will finish this later.. i have tomake hot chocolate for my group of german kids....
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Mom and Dad in Europe!
Hey gang!!!
Well after being away from home for 5 months it was such a treat to have my parents over for 10 days. It was a lot of fun and it sure was nice to see them. They got here on the 24 or 25.... hmm i'm not so sure and were here for 10 days. I got up bright and early to go pick them up at the airport... of course I left my apt late and their plane arrived early... luckily I got there with about 6 minutes to spare.... fiouuu. It was so weird for me to be greeting my parents at an airport in France. I dont know why.. its kind of hard to explain... but it was funny!!
Anyways walking from the airport to the metro station we talked about the usual "how was your trip" kinda deal and I guess my dad was not paying attention to where he was walking because he walked right into a metal sign.....ah man.... AH MAN! FUN-NY!!! well for me and my mom... maybe not so much for dad.... thinking about it right now... its still very funny!! haha!! After being in a plane for 6 hours and be super jet lagged... that'll wake you right up!! HAHA! ahhhh... good times....That night my parents entered MY world..... where this adventure all began; The Peace and Love Hostel. Right away they were greeted by my friend and work buddy Naima and by my other friends who were just hanging out. They got to see me work for a bit and see what I do when I work at the hostel. I think they enjoyed it, though there was no drinking Jenga for mom and dad. Afterwards we met up with my friend Gilles and we went out to supper at my favorite restaurant "Chez Papa". As always it was very good. Delicious i'd say.... Miiaaammm!! Dad had the duck which I never had before... but after trying it, it is now what I eat. SO GOOD!The next morning we got up bright and early and took the train to London. I will not write about it becaus I will write another log just about London. We spent one night, 2 days in London and it was great! I had been before but it was great to go back....!!When we got back from London we decided that we would try and go somewhere else. After debating and searching and wondering.... we decided we would go to Amsterdam. Yes Uncle Phil.... AMSTERDAM... the Heinenken experience AGAIN for moi!!! So we bought our tickets but had a few days to spare in between so we did the touristy stuff. I took my parents around the city showing them some of the things that again made me fall in love with Paris. We can say what we want about it but damn Paris is beautiful!!
Some days while I was working, my parents went off by themselves to explore. You know, theres just SO many I can go up the eiffel tower.... as much as it is beautiful.. 5 times is enough... i don't want to get bored of it!!!!
So after a few days of sight seeing we headed off to amsterdam, which i wont write about now but rather in a different blog (hopefully wont take a month).
All in all it was great! I think my parents had fun also. They got the chance to see Paris from a different view than last time. The weather was fantastic as opposed to last time they came, which was rainy and very cold. It was nice to share my Paris life with my parents and soon enough with my sister (2 days, wouhooo). I enjoyed showing my apt to my parents, showing them where I work and I loved introducing them to my friends.
It was definitely hard to say good -bye and I miss them soooo much!!!!!!!
It will be good to see my sister soon! We are going on vacation. Definitely going to Germany, Croatia, POland and Greece... possibly England of Belgium ( still not decided). It will be fun fun!!!
Eveything is going GREAT! Since I quit Friends hostel and began working more hours at the Peace and Love, its been fan-tas-tic! I love this place! I wake up in the morning and i am happy! I am EXCITED to go to work. Its deifnitely more positive. I work 3-4 shifts a week... sometimes even more. I started working the bar shifts also which is cool. I was nervous at first because ive never worked with alcohol before but so far so good. Its just a better atmosphere than friends hostel. Not only is it in a better location, but the people hang out at the bar.. so i get the chance to hang out with them. ITS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im not making as much money, but im 50x happier than I was!!!!
As for my apt, well my friend Joey is leaving at the end of the month. I got a new roomate for a few weeks. His name is Max he is from Germany, 24 years old and he is a med student... great guy. Unfortunately he is not staying for a long time because he will be moving in with his cousin and also the apt is 1h away from his school.. which well.. is not practical. I did however find another roomate for when Max leaves. His name is Phil and he is from Philadelphia. He was staying at the hostel and was looking for a roomate. He is staying with a friend until Max moves out, then he will move in with me. He is very cool also. It will be fun!
I downloaded a new program to look at pictures and it seems to have had a weird affect on being able to upload pictures so i cant upload any right now..... but hopefully i will fix the situation soon and post some pictures of london and amsterdam.
Much love to everyone!
I hope you are all doing good!
Phil- Your house is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big hug and kiss to everyone!
Gen
Well after being away from home for 5 months it was such a treat to have my parents over for 10 days. It was a lot of fun and it sure was nice to see them. They got here on the 24 or 25.... hmm i'm not so sure and were here for 10 days. I got up bright and early to go pick them up at the airport... of course I left my apt late and their plane arrived early... luckily I got there with about 6 minutes to spare.... fiouuu. It was so weird for me to be greeting my parents at an airport in France. I dont know why.. its kind of hard to explain... but it was funny!!
Anyways walking from the airport to the metro station we talked about the usual "how was your trip" kinda deal and I guess my dad was not paying attention to where he was walking because he walked right into a metal sign.....ah man.... AH MAN! FUN-NY!!! well for me and my mom... maybe not so much for dad.... thinking about it right now... its still very funny!! haha!! After being in a plane for 6 hours and be super jet lagged... that'll wake you right up!! HAHA! ahhhh... good times....That night my parents entered MY world..... where this adventure all began; The Peace and Love Hostel. Right away they were greeted by my friend and work buddy Naima and by my other friends who were just hanging out. They got to see me work for a bit and see what I do when I work at the hostel. I think they enjoyed it, though there was no drinking Jenga for mom and dad. Afterwards we met up with my friend Gilles and we went out to supper at my favorite restaurant "Chez Papa". As always it was very good. Delicious i'd say.... Miiaaammm!! Dad had the duck which I never had before... but after trying it, it is now what I eat. SO GOOD!The next morning we got up bright and early and took the train to London. I will not write about it becaus I will write another log just about London. We spent one night, 2 days in London and it was great! I had been before but it was great to go back....!!When we got back from London we decided that we would try and go somewhere else. After debating and searching and wondering.... we decided we would go to Amsterdam. Yes Uncle Phil.... AMSTERDAM... the Heinenken experience AGAIN for moi!!! So we bought our tickets but had a few days to spare in between so we did the touristy stuff. I took my parents around the city showing them some of the things that again made me fall in love with Paris. We can say what we want about it but damn Paris is beautiful!!
Some days while I was working, my parents went off by themselves to explore. You know, theres just SO many I can go up the eiffel tower.... as much as it is beautiful.. 5 times is enough... i don't want to get bored of it!!!!
So after a few days of sight seeing we headed off to amsterdam, which i wont write about now but rather in a different blog (hopefully wont take a month).
All in all it was great! I think my parents had fun also. They got the chance to see Paris from a different view than last time. The weather was fantastic as opposed to last time they came, which was rainy and very cold. It was nice to share my Paris life with my parents and soon enough with my sister (2 days, wouhooo). I enjoyed showing my apt to my parents, showing them where I work and I loved introducing them to my friends.
It was definitely hard to say good -bye and I miss them soooo much!!!!!!!
It will be good to see my sister soon! We are going on vacation. Definitely going to Germany, Croatia, POland and Greece... possibly England of Belgium ( still not decided). It will be fun fun!!!
Eveything is going GREAT! Since I quit Friends hostel and began working more hours at the Peace and Love, its been fan-tas-tic! I love this place! I wake up in the morning and i am happy! I am EXCITED to go to work. Its deifnitely more positive. I work 3-4 shifts a week... sometimes even more. I started working the bar shifts also which is cool. I was nervous at first because ive never worked with alcohol before but so far so good. Its just a better atmosphere than friends hostel. Not only is it in a better location, but the people hang out at the bar.. so i get the chance to hang out with them. ITS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im not making as much money, but im 50x happier than I was!!!!
As for my apt, well my friend Joey is leaving at the end of the month. I got a new roomate for a few weeks. His name is Max he is from Germany, 24 years old and he is a med student... great guy. Unfortunately he is not staying for a long time because he will be moving in with his cousin and also the apt is 1h away from his school.. which well.. is not practical. I did however find another roomate for when Max leaves. His name is Phil and he is from Philadelphia. He was staying at the hostel and was looking for a roomate. He is staying with a friend until Max moves out, then he will move in with me. He is very cool also. It will be fun!
I downloaded a new program to look at pictures and it seems to have had a weird affect on being able to upload pictures so i cant upload any right now..... but hopefully i will fix the situation soon and post some pictures of london and amsterdam.
Much love to everyone!
I hope you are all doing good!
Phil- Your house is GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Big hug and kiss to everyone!
Gen
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Bastille Day, July 14 2009
The scary evil eiffel tower!!
Ok.... So I am a little behind on my blog... so what? NOW i am really updating all of you.
So Bastille day was definitely a very interesting day!! I was working during the day so I arranged with a bunch of people to meet up after work and we would all go to the Eiffel tower together. I thought we would be maybe 4 or 5 but we ended up being around 20. It was so awesome. One of the kids at the hostel decided to make a whole bunch of pasta and charge 2 euros a plate for anyone who wanted to eat before the fireworks. It was a fantastic idea because it got all the group interacting and getting to know each other... by the time it was time to go all the people were friends.
Once we got to the trocadero, we all sat down in a circle. We got there pretty early so there was not a lot of people. We had about 3 hours to wait. People brought beers and some of them were even singing songs. It was very interesting because when you looked at our circle of kids.... there were SOOO many different nationalities Americans, mexicans, canadians, english, chinese, danish, finnish, spanish, french... and so on. We were cool. Actually, I think we were that annoying group that everyone thinks is way too loud and obnoxious but secretly wishes they could be part of :P People were even coming in to join our group. I was wearing my Montreal Canadians t-shirt that night, and some guy comes up to me and asks me if im canadian, turns out he was also canadian and was there alone and when he saw my shirt he wanted to join our group so he came to see me. All in all we had such an amazing time. It was so nice to be surrounded by all these awesome and interesting people. It was fantastic.
The fireworks were brilliant. They were just unbelievably beautiful. La Ronde's got nothing on this. Oh godddddd it was amazing. I will do what I can to post the video. I hope that it will work.
The firworks lasted for 30 mins. The only bad thing was that near the end, useless losers decided it would be funny to start pushing the crowd... so a bunch of people including me and the gang got pushed and we all nearly fell down. It just wasnt cool cuz then everyone was pushed onto others and a little girl who was on her dads shoulder was crying bloody murder and it was just not a nice atmosphere. People just dont have anything to do. It was sooooo crowed that it took over one hour to get back in the metro... really it was awful. We though we would be smart and walk to another metro stop... but apparently a lot of other people thought they were smart too. What a big traffic jam. What a mess!!!
It definitely was a great experience. Bastille day is awesome!!! Not a lot of drunk people like on quebec day or canada day. Not that quebec day and canada day is bad, it was just different.
The Gang 
Fireworks!
More Fireworks!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
I QUIT!
So... after being miserable and unhappy at work.... I finally decided to QUIT the job!
I tried to handle it as long as I could... but after talking about it with a lot of people... i decided that it was just not worth it.....
whats the point of being miserable in Paris?? The goal of this trip was to have fun, to live a life changing experience and to travel.... so Far I havent done any of it. I have to say that I will truly miss working at a hostel because it is a lot of fun meeting people from all around the world.. but my health is a lot more important than that. And thus far, my health is not doing too good.... i am EXHAUSTED!
So on Saturday I was working at the Peace and Love and mme calls me on my cellphone and asked me where i am.. i tell her im at the peace and love (the day before she asked me if i was working at the peace and love and i told her yes) she begins to yell at me.. and yell and yell and yell... and I just didnt understand why because i told her..... i couldnt even get one word out because all she was doing was screaming... she says we will revise my contract on monday and if im not happy i can leave....
so on monday i was NOT in the mood to work. I had my arms crossed and i was not at all into it.... at one point she looks at me and says You know if you are not happy here and you dont want to work just give me your notice. So i told her it really upset me that she called me a liar especially since I told her the day before that I was working at the other hostel. Then she began to yell at me so much that I just exploded and started to yell back. I told her thats it.. im giving you three weeks then im out. August 21st is my last day. She looks at me and says no. You can not leave. Not in the middle of the high season you are NOT leaving. I told her Yes.. Yes I AM!! August 21st is my last... then she began mumbling saying she is gonna call the peace and love because they sent me to work with her and its not possible and i will never work at the peace and love again and blbalbala... then I told her... You know what madame.. i am giving you 3 weeks notice.. thats quite reasonable if you consider that your last 2 employees left you without even a days notice.... that shut her up good. Then she came back and told me she didnt understad my descision about why the 21st.. so i told her that my parents were coming and I wanted to go to London with them. haha she said.. OH.. so the real reason why you are leaving is because you want to go travelling not becaus eyou are not happy here... OH NOW I GET IT.. make sure when people ask you why you quit that you mention it is because of that and not because you are unhappy here.... I actually told her.. but I AM unhappy here... ah man!!
Then later on in the afternoon when i was counting my cash she began to yell at me again for im not too sure what and i argued back and she got so offended that she said, you know what how about you make tonight your last day of work.. so I said tonight?? pff sure fine with me tonight is my last night i am not coming back tomorrow.... 3 minutes later she was back asking me to stay until the 21st of august... ahha which in a way sux but at the same time I need the money.. so its good!!!
OH GOD IT FEELS GREAT!! To think that I have 12 more work days left.... TWELVE!!! THATS ALMOST JUST TWO HANDS COUNT!!!!!! and then 2 days later my parents are arriving.. this is just soooo fantastic!!!!!!!!!! YAY FOR MEE!!!
I called the boss of the peace and love after ( the son of the crazy woman).... and told him what happened and that she said I would never be able to work there ever again... but he told me.. pfff..... dont worry I am keeping you at the peace and love hostel!! So once I stop working at friends hostel I will be able to do 1 or 2 shifts at the peace and love.. just to say that I have a bit of money coming in.
I am not too sure what I want to do.. if i want to stay in Paris or go somewhere else... but I definitely think that NOT working at friends hostel will definitely be a positive change. I love the Peace and Love so much that maybe if I just work there one or two days... maybe everything will be awesome again!!! I am not sure.. I still havent planned it all out!! All i know is i am going to london with mom and dad then in september i am going travelling with my sister...... then... a suivre!!
Things have been better since my friend Joe got here. It is just nice to see a familiar face. It is also nice because we do a lot of fun things. We go to the champs elysees we go to the eiffel tower... we hang out at the sacre coeur... all these nice things that make it even more positive. And since we both work at the hostel... we know the same people who live there so we always end up with a big group going to all these places... its so much fun!!! Oh god its fun!!!!
Well I guess that is about it for now i am going to watch a movie
I just wanted to update you guys a little bit!
I hope everyone is well!!
Miss all of you!!
Gen
I tried to handle it as long as I could... but after talking about it with a lot of people... i decided that it was just not worth it.....
whats the point of being miserable in Paris?? The goal of this trip was to have fun, to live a life changing experience and to travel.... so Far I havent done any of it. I have to say that I will truly miss working at a hostel because it is a lot of fun meeting people from all around the world.. but my health is a lot more important than that. And thus far, my health is not doing too good.... i am EXHAUSTED!
So on Saturday I was working at the Peace and Love and mme calls me on my cellphone and asked me where i am.. i tell her im at the peace and love (the day before she asked me if i was working at the peace and love and i told her yes) she begins to yell at me.. and yell and yell and yell... and I just didnt understand why because i told her..... i couldnt even get one word out because all she was doing was screaming... she says we will revise my contract on monday and if im not happy i can leave....
so on monday i was NOT in the mood to work. I had my arms crossed and i was not at all into it.... at one point she looks at me and says You know if you are not happy here and you dont want to work just give me your notice. So i told her it really upset me that she called me a liar especially since I told her the day before that I was working at the other hostel. Then she began to yell at me so much that I just exploded and started to yell back. I told her thats it.. im giving you three weeks then im out. August 21st is my last day. She looks at me and says no. You can not leave. Not in the middle of the high season you are NOT leaving. I told her Yes.. Yes I AM!! August 21st is my last... then she began mumbling saying she is gonna call the peace and love because they sent me to work with her and its not possible and i will never work at the peace and love again and blbalbala... then I told her... You know what madame.. i am giving you 3 weeks notice.. thats quite reasonable if you consider that your last 2 employees left you without even a days notice.... that shut her up good. Then she came back and told me she didnt understad my descision about why the 21st.. so i told her that my parents were coming and I wanted to go to London with them. haha she said.. OH.. so the real reason why you are leaving is because you want to go travelling not becaus eyou are not happy here... OH NOW I GET IT.. make sure when people ask you why you quit that you mention it is because of that and not because you are unhappy here.... I actually told her.. but I AM unhappy here... ah man!!
Then later on in the afternoon when i was counting my cash she began to yell at me again for im not too sure what and i argued back and she got so offended that she said, you know what how about you make tonight your last day of work.. so I said tonight?? pff sure fine with me tonight is my last night i am not coming back tomorrow.... 3 minutes later she was back asking me to stay until the 21st of august... ahha which in a way sux but at the same time I need the money.. so its good!!!
OH GOD IT FEELS GREAT!! To think that I have 12 more work days left.... TWELVE!!! THATS ALMOST JUST TWO HANDS COUNT!!!!!! and then 2 days later my parents are arriving.. this is just soooo fantastic!!!!!!!!!! YAY FOR MEE!!!
I called the boss of the peace and love after ( the son of the crazy woman).... and told him what happened and that she said I would never be able to work there ever again... but he told me.. pfff..... dont worry I am keeping you at the peace and love hostel!! So once I stop working at friends hostel I will be able to do 1 or 2 shifts at the peace and love.. just to say that I have a bit of money coming in.
I am not too sure what I want to do.. if i want to stay in Paris or go somewhere else... but I definitely think that NOT working at friends hostel will definitely be a positive change. I love the Peace and Love so much that maybe if I just work there one or two days... maybe everything will be awesome again!!! I am not sure.. I still havent planned it all out!! All i know is i am going to london with mom and dad then in september i am going travelling with my sister...... then... a suivre!!
Things have been better since my friend Joe got here. It is just nice to see a familiar face. It is also nice because we do a lot of fun things. We go to the champs elysees we go to the eiffel tower... we hang out at the sacre coeur... all these nice things that make it even more positive. And since we both work at the hostel... we know the same people who live there so we always end up with a big group going to all these places... its so much fun!!! Oh god its fun!!!!
Well I guess that is about it for now i am going to watch a movie
I just wanted to update you guys a little bit!
I hope everyone is well!!
Miss all of you!!
Gen
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Oh Canada!
Ok..
so even though I have a lot to say about a lot of different things and pictures that I have STILL not uploaded, I really wanted to share something with you guys.
After working at the hostel for 4 months now I have come up with a very interesting conclusion that never EVER crossed my mind before. Canada is AWESOME!!!! French canadians....Canadians in general are really awesome people. Ive NEVER had a problem with Canadians. They are so laid back they are easy to talk to, super friendly and most of all never compain (as opposed to French people). Nothing is ever a problem. I have to switch rooms? No problem!!!!!!!!! Oh you want to give my bed away because you want to put 2 friends in the same room?? Yeah thats cool NOOO problem!!!!! ITS NEVER A PROBLEM!!! Canadians dont cause problems.. and are so helpful and friendly......
You know after having been in Paris for 4 months.. so much has changed. My view of Paris in general has changed. YES it DOES smell... YES it IS so bloody dirty.. YES french people ARE annoying, grumpy, angry, too much in a hurry all the time, stressed out and totally unhelpful, NO it IS not the most beautiful city in the world. (Ok yes.. central Paris is so incredibly gorgeous... but the rest NOPE)... I use to think the opposite. Ok maybe the fact that I have been working for 50 days straight might have an impact because all i do is work and sleep and get to do nothing... which in return is making me homesick but I definitely dont feel the same anymore. When people ask me how Canada is.... I have nothing but positive things to say. That Montreal is gorgeous that people are friendly and helpful. Then, when I start to compare my life in Paris and my life back home, I realise just how great my life is back home and how incredibly happy I am surrounded by everyone that I love. Right now, I feel like I am becoming someone I dont want to be. Granted I am exhausted, but I still feel like I have to be rude all the time to get around. If you want some service you almost have to be rude and I am not a rude person and I never want to be. I have to be rude to people in the street because they keep trying to talking to me and I just cant stand it. Some weird french guys come into the hostel all the time just to get coffee and just start to small talk and I just CANT STAND it and answer in just the rudest way possible... why?? I dont know!!!!! but I definitely dont like it and dont like who I am becoming. I think.. hopefully when I get to rest.. everything will be better. The only thing that helps me right now when I feel this way is walking to the eiffel tower. When I stare at that tower it just reminds me of WHY I am here and it sort of revives my love for the city.
I have to admit.. and IT IS HARD TO ADMIT.. but it breaks my heart to say that I am a little disappointed by Paris. It breaks my heart because for over a year I was soo excited to get here and was just waiting for the day to arrive and now that I am here it is not like I expected. I am working WAY too much to be able to enjoy myself. I have about 2 more months on my work contract and before she will make me sign another one I will tell her that I cant continue like this. I would want to work 3-4 days Maximum. The good news is I have saved up a lot of money!! Which I will be able to use when I get some time off to travel! I think having my mom and dad over in 1 month and going to travel with my sister in September will also help a little bit. i think the hardest part of it all is admitting it to myself. Do I think I made a mistake by coming here? No... not at all. In fact I think it is the best thing that could happen to me because I have never in my whole life ever been so proud to be canadian... i know it sounds lame and geeky and too patriotic but im so damn proud! Living away from home just made me realised how awesome canada is and how there isint another country that I would want to spend the rest of my life in (mixed in with a lot of travelling of course). The mentalities between the 2 are completely opposite and I relate more and enjoy more the canadian way than the French... well maybe not ALL the french but definitely the Parisians.
Is it going to make me come home earlier? I dont think so.. I think that if REALLY i cant handle it anymore I will just leave and travel. Do somzthing I truly enjoy and am happy in doing and most of all I can be myself.
Well... I just thought I would share this... which im sure my mom will be happy to hear that her baby is not moving away from home...
I hope that all is well with everyone!!!!!!!
Big hugs and kisses to alll!!!!!!!!
Gen
so even though I have a lot to say about a lot of different things and pictures that I have STILL not uploaded, I really wanted to share something with you guys.
After working at the hostel for 4 months now I have come up with a very interesting conclusion that never EVER crossed my mind before. Canada is AWESOME!!!! French canadians....Canadians in general are really awesome people. Ive NEVER had a problem with Canadians. They are so laid back they are easy to talk to, super friendly and most of all never compain (as opposed to French people). Nothing is ever a problem. I have to switch rooms? No problem!!!!!!!!! Oh you want to give my bed away because you want to put 2 friends in the same room?? Yeah thats cool NOOO problem!!!!! ITS NEVER A PROBLEM!!! Canadians dont cause problems.. and are so helpful and friendly......
You know after having been in Paris for 4 months.. so much has changed. My view of Paris in general has changed. YES it DOES smell... YES it IS so bloody dirty.. YES french people ARE annoying, grumpy, angry, too much in a hurry all the time, stressed out and totally unhelpful, NO it IS not the most beautiful city in the world. (Ok yes.. central Paris is so incredibly gorgeous... but the rest NOPE)... I use to think the opposite. Ok maybe the fact that I have been working for 50 days straight might have an impact because all i do is work and sleep and get to do nothing... which in return is making me homesick but I definitely dont feel the same anymore. When people ask me how Canada is.... I have nothing but positive things to say. That Montreal is gorgeous that people are friendly and helpful. Then, when I start to compare my life in Paris and my life back home, I realise just how great my life is back home and how incredibly happy I am surrounded by everyone that I love. Right now, I feel like I am becoming someone I dont want to be. Granted I am exhausted, but I still feel like I have to be rude all the time to get around. If you want some service you almost have to be rude and I am not a rude person and I never want to be. I have to be rude to people in the street because they keep trying to talking to me and I just cant stand it. Some weird french guys come into the hostel all the time just to get coffee and just start to small talk and I just CANT STAND it and answer in just the rudest way possible... why?? I dont know!!!!! but I definitely dont like it and dont like who I am becoming. I think.. hopefully when I get to rest.. everything will be better. The only thing that helps me right now when I feel this way is walking to the eiffel tower. When I stare at that tower it just reminds me of WHY I am here and it sort of revives my love for the city.
I have to admit.. and IT IS HARD TO ADMIT.. but it breaks my heart to say that I am a little disappointed by Paris. It breaks my heart because for over a year I was soo excited to get here and was just waiting for the day to arrive and now that I am here it is not like I expected. I am working WAY too much to be able to enjoy myself. I have about 2 more months on my work contract and before she will make me sign another one I will tell her that I cant continue like this. I would want to work 3-4 days Maximum. The good news is I have saved up a lot of money!! Which I will be able to use when I get some time off to travel! I think having my mom and dad over in 1 month and going to travel with my sister in September will also help a little bit. i think the hardest part of it all is admitting it to myself. Do I think I made a mistake by coming here? No... not at all. In fact I think it is the best thing that could happen to me because I have never in my whole life ever been so proud to be canadian... i know it sounds lame and geeky and too patriotic but im so damn proud! Living away from home just made me realised how awesome canada is and how there isint another country that I would want to spend the rest of my life in (mixed in with a lot of travelling of course). The mentalities between the 2 are completely opposite and I relate more and enjoy more the canadian way than the French... well maybe not ALL the french but definitely the Parisians.
Is it going to make me come home earlier? I dont think so.. I think that if REALLY i cant handle it anymore I will just leave and travel. Do somzthing I truly enjoy and am happy in doing and most of all I can be myself.
Well... I just thought I would share this... which im sure my mom will be happy to hear that her baby is not moving away from home...
I hope that all is well with everyone!!!!!!!
Big hugs and kisses to alll!!!!!!!!
Gen
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