Ruby's first Halloween was a success, and athough she was initially hesitant with the idea of trick-or-treating, she quickly realized people were handing out treats for no clear reason. She even sneaked a Hershey's bar.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
I Want Candy
Ruby's first Halloween was a success, and athough she was initially hesitant with the idea of trick-or-treating, she quickly realized people were handing out treats for no clear reason. She even sneaked a Hershey's bar.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Hiro and Heroes
Thanks to iTunes I am able to keep up on a few new shows this fall. I have fallen in love with Heroes. Hopefully a few of you are watching it to. Not only does it have Jess from Gilmore Girls (a great selling point for me, but I am sure few of you), but it also has the best character to be in a tv show in recent memory: Hiro Nakamura. Is it just me, or does he remind any of you of Matt Anderson? Here is a brief clip, though there are so many more. Decide for yourselves and tune in weekly. (If you don't watch the show you should know they are realy super heroes, just discovering their powers, in this clip Hiro teleports for the first time)
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Attention: TB
Can you send us your email address? Or can someone who knows this guy and has a current email address please send us his email address, ASAP? Gracias
Friday, October 20, 2006
Material Girl
My French teacher took me on a field trip today to find fabric for curtains, etc...I write this down as much as a reference so I do not forget it at a later date and also to inform you all of the TRUE budget shopping opportunities available in this otherwise expensive city. You take Metro Line #2 to Anvers, the same stop you would use to go to Sacre Couer, as you walk toward the cathedrale their are rows, and rows of fabric stores. On rue de Pierre Picard, just to the right of the main thoroughfare, you will find Mercier. Here the fabrics are just as fabulous as the stores in my neighborhood, priced SIGNIFICANTLY lower. I actually found material in the exact same fabric that I had spyed just yesterday already converted to a curtain in a shop window. The fabric was 15 euro/metre or 60 Euro for the total amount you would need. The curtains were selling for 154 Euro.
Sadly, among all these reduced prices, I also found pompoms identical to a pair I had purchased in the Marais while on vacation here two years ago. These were over 50 Euro less than I spent.
Sadly, among all these reduced prices, I also found pompoms identical to a pair I had purchased in the Marais while on vacation here two years ago. These were over 50 Euro less than I spent.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Ghetto Fabulous
One last post on Marseille, and then I will return to Paris, I promise.
As soon as I discovered I would have a week along the Mediterranean, I jumped on the internet to find out all the information I could about our vacation destination. A few google links later, I had discovered a goldmine of information, which I would like to share with you today.
France, most of you will not know, has the second largest rap market in the world. If you were observant during the series finale of Sex and the City you heard the rythmic beat of MC Solaar rapping "La Belle et Le Bad Boy" (scene: Carrie crosses the street after leaving the Russian at his art show, Big passes her in a taxi). As soon as we heard the song, Nate and I purchased the cd on Amazon. The CD is phenomenal, I listened to it non-stop for months, blarring the lyrics as I drove into the US Capitol each morning. I hadn't loved rap so much since Big Pimpin' and Country Gramma' blasted from my Prelude stereo through the BYU parking lots. MC Solaar renewed my love affair with rap. He was lyrical, poetic, political, profund, and he did it with the most fantastic beats and his shirt off.
In my travel research on Marseille I discovered that the city, in large part because of the high poverty level and large number of immigrants, has a large rap scene. There is Paris rap (MC Solaar) and there is Marseille rap. Those of you who paid any attention to popular culture in the 90s will remember the East Coast, West Coast rivalries immortalized in the deaths of Biggie Smalls, and TuPak. I digress...
Once I found out that Marseille was a hot bed of hip hop and rap, I knew I had to find true Marseille rap, I could care less about finding good bouillebasse (the famous cuisine of the region), I just wanted to find THE rap, the MUST HAVE Marseille rap. One afternoon, I wandered into the Virgian record store and checked out the cd collection. Before I found French rap, I had a great time flipping through flamenco, Sierra Leonean Refugee Camp tunes, Yiddish, Iranian Dance, etc...I could have spent a fortune. Finally I found the French rap section. It was huge. I didn't know how to find a decent artist. Finally, two guys in their mid-20's dressed in addidas running suits and gold chains stopped in the section. I knew it was my chance. "Pardon, Je cherche une vrais Marseillaise rap cd." (Hey, I am looking for a true Marseille rap cd). The guys started talking, arguing, flipping through a few options, until finally, they chose PSY4 (Psy-catre, like psychiatry). Check out their album at their website, it won't disappoint. French rap gives me hope in the genre.
http://www.psy4delarime.fr/psy4delarime.htm
As soon as I discovered I would have a week along the Mediterranean, I jumped on the internet to find out all the information I could about our vacation destination. A few google links later, I had discovered a goldmine of information, which I would like to share with you today.
France, most of you will not know, has the second largest rap market in the world. If you were observant during the series finale of Sex and the City you heard the rythmic beat of MC Solaar rapping "La Belle et Le Bad Boy" (scene: Carrie crosses the street after leaving the Russian at his art show, Big passes her in a taxi). As soon as we heard the song, Nate and I purchased the cd on Amazon. The CD is phenomenal, I listened to it non-stop for months, blarring the lyrics as I drove into the US Capitol each morning. I hadn't loved rap so much since Big Pimpin' and Country Gramma' blasted from my Prelude stereo through the BYU parking lots. MC Solaar renewed my love affair with rap. He was lyrical, poetic, political, profund, and he did it with the most fantastic beats and his shirt off.
In my travel research on Marseille I discovered that the city, in large part because of the high poverty level and large number of immigrants, has a large rap scene. There is Paris rap (MC Solaar) and there is Marseille rap. Those of you who paid any attention to popular culture in the 90s will remember the East Coast, West Coast rivalries immortalized in the deaths of Biggie Smalls, and TuPak. I digress...
Once I found out that Marseille was a hot bed of hip hop and rap, I knew I had to find true Marseille rap, I could care less about finding good bouillebasse (the famous cuisine of the region), I just wanted to find THE rap, the MUST HAVE Marseille rap. One afternoon, I wandered into the Virgian record store and checked out the cd collection. Before I found French rap, I had a great time flipping through flamenco, Sierra Leonean Refugee Camp tunes, Yiddish, Iranian Dance, etc...I could have spent a fortune. Finally I found the French rap section. It was huge. I didn't know how to find a decent artist. Finally, two guys in their mid-20's dressed in addidas running suits and gold chains stopped in the section. I knew it was my chance. "Pardon, Je cherche une vrais Marseillaise rap cd." (Hey, I am looking for a true Marseille rap cd). The guys started talking, arguing, flipping through a few options, until finally, they chose PSY4 (Psy-catre, like psychiatry). Check out their album at their website, it won't disappoint. French rap gives me hope in the genre.
http://www.psy4delarime.fr/psy4delarime.htm
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Newsflash!
If you recently read the NYTimes travel section there is an article on Paris at night. The author talks about looking into people's windows and discovering what Parisians are up to. We used that as our permission slip to start really looking in others homes. A woman across the street from us just pranced in front of her well-lit room fully naked, and by just I mean I can still see her out of the corner of my eye. We never saw that in the suburbs of Northern Virginia!
La Marseillaise
We spent the last week along in the Mediterranean in the old port town of Marseille. Marseille is the oldest city in France, second largest in terms of population, and a city which I felt is all too often overlooked by tourists. The city's location has allowed it to be a melting pot of cultures: north african, islamic, and Italian primarily. It didn't actually allow centralized French rule until the late 17th century, but still holds the honor of having the French national anthem named in honor of the volunteer soldiers that assisted in the revolution of 1789.
Our View:
We stayed in a residence located on the Corniche President J.F. Kennedy (imagine that! The French naming a street after a U.S. President). The Corniche covers 5km of coastal property and was built in the 1880s as a means of providing work for the large numbers of unemployed. Unlike boardwalks so popular in most beach towns, the Corniche is built above sea level and overhangs the actual coast line. As you walk along it, there is nothing between you and the water. The homes in this area sit high on the hillside (about four filghts of stairs up). We woke in the morning to the suns rays illuminating the limestone island archipelago that sits just off the coast.
Vieux Port:
In the center of town, this port has 3500 berths, a daily fish market (where we saw a shark being divided up for multiple purchases), and leads you into Le Panier, the oldest quarter in Europe (or so they say).
Le Panier:
Any guide book will refer to this as a "charming and picturesque" neighborhood, and while I loved every moment I spent there, I don't think those are the correct words. Unlike most European historic areas, this one is still alive. The streets are not a museum to the medieval times. The only building of nearly 2,000 to have outlived the bombs of WWII houses an average hair salon on the ground floor. Historic landmarks are indicated with enamel placards on the facades of homes, the windows above displaying the days laundry stretched between wondow panes. The narrow cobblestone streets, lead you like along a maze like path, in and out of the homes stacked one on top of the other. A recnt urban renewal project is leading artisans back into the area (if you are from DC think U Street). You can find ceramics, soaps (a Marseilles specialty), and tiles, all in studios where you can watch the artists actually making the product. Naturally, as per the description above and any knowledge you have of my navigational skills you may have already determined that Ruby and I were lost at some point. that would be a correct assumption. Ultimately, an old beggar peed himself while yelling at me and chasing us up the street.
Family Photos:
We loved Marseille, the Mediterranean, the sun, and getting out of Paris for a few days (here you felt you could step outside in jeans and a pony and not feel like you need to head back inside until you get yourself properly attired). Ruby played on the beach for the first time, we visited the Chateau d'If (the prison that inspired stories such as Man in the Iron Mask and the Count of Monte Cristo), and enjoyed evening walks along the coast discovering hidden inlets and fishing ports.
Our View:
We stayed in a residence located on the Corniche President J.F. Kennedy (imagine that! The French naming a street after a U.S. President). The Corniche covers 5km of coastal property and was built in the 1880s as a means of providing work for the large numbers of unemployed. Unlike boardwalks so popular in most beach towns, the Corniche is built above sea level and overhangs the actual coast line. As you walk along it, there is nothing between you and the water. The homes in this area sit high on the hillside (about four filghts of stairs up). We woke in the morning to the suns rays illuminating the limestone island archipelago that sits just off the coast.
Vieux Port:
In the center of town, this port has 3500 berths, a daily fish market (where we saw a shark being divided up for multiple purchases), and leads you into Le Panier, the oldest quarter in Europe (or so they say).
Le Panier:
Any guide book will refer to this as a "charming and picturesque" neighborhood, and while I loved every moment I spent there, I don't think those are the correct words. Unlike most European historic areas, this one is still alive. The streets are not a museum to the medieval times. The only building of nearly 2,000 to have outlived the bombs of WWII houses an average hair salon on the ground floor. Historic landmarks are indicated with enamel placards on the facades of homes, the windows above displaying the days laundry stretched between wondow panes. The narrow cobblestone streets, lead you like along a maze like path, in and out of the homes stacked one on top of the other. A recnt urban renewal project is leading artisans back into the area (if you are from DC think U Street). You can find ceramics, soaps (a Marseilles specialty), and tiles, all in studios where you can watch the artists actually making the product. Naturally, as per the description above and any knowledge you have of my navigational skills you may have already determined that Ruby and I were lost at some point. that would be a correct assumption. Ultimately, an old beggar peed himself while yelling at me and chasing us up the street.
Family Photos:
We loved Marseille, the Mediterranean, the sun, and getting out of Paris for a few days (here you felt you could step outside in jeans and a pony and not feel like you need to head back inside until you get yourself properly attired). Ruby played on the beach for the first time, we visited the Chateau d'If (the prison that inspired stories such as Man in the Iron Mask and the Count of Monte Cristo), and enjoyed evening walks along the coast discovering hidden inlets and fishing ports.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Painting...still
In an attempt to make our house feel more like our home, we have been in the process of painting. The process of chosing a color-scheme has been months in the making (I can never quite keep my mind made up about what colors I prefer in which rooms) As soon as I was certain I wanted to dining room in a shade of yellow, Ruby decided to eat some (see photo below) and I began reading the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper." The combination of the two swore me off the color altogether.
Nate began painting our living room a gorgeous olive green (this paint color is the best I have used yet!) the day before he and Ruby became sick for a week. It's almost finished, except for one wall which is only completed up to the 6 foot mark.
Hopefully soon we will have pictures of the completed masterpeice.
Nate began painting our living room a gorgeous olive green (this paint color is the best I have used yet!) the day before he and Ruby became sick for a week. It's almost finished, except for one wall which is only completed up to the 6 foot mark.
Hopefully soon we will have pictures of the completed masterpeice.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
MIA
Despite our lack of entries, we have been quite busy discovering new places, revisiting old favorites, and just settling in. Here are a few pictures of our visit last weekend to the Palace Versailles. The fountains are only turned on for the weekends from April-October. The grounds are tremendous and when added with the visual ambience of the fountains, as well as 17th and 18th century French music you can grasp the grandeur of the reign of the Sun King.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)