Before I sleep

It soothes me to watch the Eiffel Tower shoot off its laser light all over the city during the night.

And I get a thrill out of the glittering lights of the tower every full hour for ten minutes.

But I still miss Montmartre. The grass is always greener on the other side. I’m sure I will miss this view when I move back there.

Paris when I wake up

I am finally settled. Well, not completely, but in a way, it’s nice to see the Eiffel Tower from my room at night. However, I miss the long walks in Montmartre and the never ending stairs. Maybe, just maybe, I will move back there just to torture myself again. As long as I have the view of all Paris, it’s worth carrying all the heavy stuff in the subway. During rush hour.

This is the view I had before when I lived with Jela – just beside the steps going up the Sacre Coeur. At night, it’s like all the jewels of Paris are scattered in random clumps across the roofs of the apartment buildings, leaving me breathless.

And now, I have the view of new buildings and the Eiffel Tower (from top to 2nd floor). I cannot see it in the morning because it’s too foggy, but at night, it is awesome. I will add more photos taken during the night another time.

It’s pretty cool to have a balcony and my own sanctuary. But I miss having someone to talk with at night before sleeping.

I find myself cleaning and sweeping the floors a number of times during the day. My mother and Jela would be so proud of me.

From Paris to Venice

Partying the night before traveling was a big mistake, especially if that party lasted until around 5 in the morning. Sure, our flight was at 7 in the evening, but when you took advantage of the many promotions of Ryan Air, you better know how to get to the Beauvais Airport. On time.

We were 4 – Harriet and her boyfriend, Olivier, Jela, and me. We met at Porte Maillot around 4.35 in the afternoon. If we had arrived 15 minutes before, we wouldn’t have missed the 4.30 bus – the bus that took the passengers going to Venice to Beauvais.

When you are with your friends, everything moves in slow motion. You speak and laugh and forget about everything else. Or maybe that’s just us – we are happy-go-lucky and we love to laugh all the time.

We took the next bus to Beauvais, which is at 5.35. Big mistake. The ticket vendor warned us that we would be late, but did I listen? Of course not. I bought tickets for 4 and waited for 5.35, confident that at 9.30, we would be walking around Venice.

At 5.30, the bus left. That gained us extra five minutes. What I didn’t foresee was the horrible and wicked Parisian traffic.  But did I stress? I slept. No use stressing and using up my energy. I would need all my energy to run later to the check in counter.

I woke up 10 minutes before 7. My friends were all quiet. They were stressed. But Olivier showed us something in his iPhone. The flight to Venice was delayed and had been moved to 9PM. Wow, how lucky are we? But still, I began to stress a little. I just have a feeling that this was not right.

Finally, we reached Beauvais at 7.15PM. We ran all the way to the counter and were met by a very unhappy woman who told us that we missed the flight and that in 15 minutes, the plane would be taking off. We forced her to take us in, begged her, and showed her the new schedule that we found over the Internet. They said that that was a mistake and we should have been in the airport at 6.45.

We had the option to rebook and wait again till the next day to fly to Venice or go somewhere else like Rome or Portugal, but we didn’t want to give up 100 euros per person when we only paid 20 euros back and forth for the flight.

We went outside to ponder, eat, and smoke. Then we reached an impulsive decision to rent a car and go to Amsterdam. I didn’t expect that my first trip out of France this year was Amsterdam. Again. After only two months of visiting the place. But I told myself that Amsterdam is way better than being stuck in Beauvais.

So we got the cheapest rental car from Sixt. Olivier drove and Harriet co-piloted. Jela and I sat in the back with our seatbelts on. I forgot how much sitting in the back made me sick and dizzy. So I slept the whole time and every time Olivier opened the window to smoke, I die a little and shiver all over. This went on for 5 hours. Sleep. Shocking reveille. Shiver. Sleep again.

At around 4 in the morning, we reached the Centrum. We all woke up and argued over where to park the car. What an expensive city for drivers. Parking per hour is 5 euros. We drove around the city to look for a 1 euro parking but we didn’t have any luck.

This day turned out to be quite unlucky.

We parked the car in a free spot until 9AM and walked around. We passed by the “Quartier Rouge” and saw only a couple of women waiting for customers. It was around 6 in the morning. We continued to search for bars but found that almost everything was closed, until we stumbled upon a coffeeshop.

As we pushed open the door, the sweet smell of bo-bo greeted us warmly. We settled in a place by the window to people watch. Olivier and I went to the counter to buy some sweets – he chose the strong one and I chose an already wrapped bo-bo that is very mild, and shared it with my friends.

Suddenly, we were laughing about nothing and about everything. How the hell did we end up in Amsterdam? At least, we were in the Venice of the North, eh? We laughed at our stupidity over missing the flight, at Olivier’s broken English, and at seriously being in a coffeeshop at 6AM. I was having a blast.

At 7AM, we had to move. We drove around the city again, got lost, got pissed off among each other because we got lost, slept because we got pissed off among each other because we got lost, leaving everything to Olivier’s hands because he was the driver.

We finally found a parking space for 36 euros for 24 hours. I led everyone to the canals behind Central station to settle in a boatel. But it was a bad idea to come without reservations. Most of the boatels were not in service during the weekdays and the one where I stayed at 2 months ago was under renovation.

We dragged our tired asses back to the road again. We walked with our backpacks without speaking. We didn’t dare cross the streets carelessly. The cars were very fast and the bicycles were even faster. After finding something decent across Central, we slept for 3 hours.

I already knew what was gonna happen – sleep until 2, take a shower and get ready, go around the city (the significant parts, at least), eat, go to the Red Light district, go to a bar, and then go to a coffeeshop.

And that’s exactly what happened.

I made the mistake of eating Peking duck in Amsterdam. Don’t get me wrong, it was great but we should have eaten something local, like Dutch pancakes, or pea soup.

The sun sets early in Amsterdam during winter. We were able to pass by the Anne Frank house and take photos outside. I have already been inside in November and I found it quite interesting to see the hiding place of a once very promising young girl who wrote in her diary during the war. I thought her writings were incredibly graceful and touching and the story was heartrending. A few more weeks and they would have been free to see the sun once again and play outside, but tragedy striked in the form of betrayal.

Honestly though, I found the museums here quite expensive. I paid around 8 euros to go inside the Anne Frank house and 15 euros in the Van Gogh museum. They don’t even have student discounts, from what I remember.

After the museum, Jela and I went to Werdenmarket and walked around. Olivier and Harriet went to a bar. Every shop was closed and there was nothing else to do. We didn’t make enough research and I forgot to bring my book about Amsterdam. What a shame. If only I had known.

Everyone wanted to do his/her own thing. Jela wanted to go to the Diamond museum, Harriet to a field of tulips, Olivier to a bar or the Heineken museum, and me – well, I just wanted to be in Venice. But then we stayed in the bar where Harriet and Olivier were drinking for quite quite some time. In a way, it was fun to be back here with a bunch of other people. It’s always good to be with friends.

We ended up seeing the girls in the Red Light district. We found some very pretty ones and one of them even had that air of innocence in her. We all wondered if they keep the money they earn for themselves and who their employers are. Again, research was badly needed.

Before we went back to the hotel, we went to another coffeeshop.

It was a fine day, but we were tired and so we tucked ourselves in bed after midnight to prepare for the long journey the next day.

Let it snow

All that snow created such a fantastic scene – everything is white and beautiful and I checked the weather for Christmas Eve and day and it looks like it’s gonna be a White Christmas.

Just watch out for the ground – it’s slushy and slippery and icky.

Birthday Blues

I cannot believe I have birthday blues. I always thought that I’m one of those people who would never, ever feel old because I always feel young and I know that I can still do anything I want like a 25-year-old.

But now I’m in a cold country, and I’m gonna celebrate my birthday in an even colder country. The snow outside looks wonderful, but only for a day. I might have built a snowman this morning and laid down on the snow for a minute, looking up the sky, but I see only gray on the horizon.

Should I act my age?

Someone told me before that turning 30 is nothing compared to turning 40. I guess that makes me feel better. A little.

I just wanna hibernate until spring arrives.

I Amsterdam

I think I can live here. I see myself waking up every morning on a boat – my own, of course, because I would have to be rich to live here. I will eat Dutch pancakes every morning and drink my coffee. And then I will ride my foldable bicycle to feel the energy of the city and to blend in with these easygoing and friendly people.

At lunch, I will make some pea soup with brown bread, butter, and bacon. And when I get bored, I will watch the swans swim in one of the hundreds of canals in the city. I also wouldn’t miss my afternoon coffee while people watching.

Amsterdam is great. But I wonder if it wouldn’t get too small for someone like me.

Loving Strasbourg ♥

Finally, after some months in Asia – I am back in Alsace.

I have missed this place so much. I walked in the little cobblestoned streets of Petite France like it was yesterday. Last Saturday, I had coffee with Leah. I met her in front of FNAC at Place Kleber and my jaw dropped when I saw her. She was blond, hair cut shorter, face made up, etc. She looked great. Three months in Korea did her good.

At night, I had some Picon Biere with a couple of friends from my old school. I made the mistake of taking the 50 cl and almost drowned but I had to keep my dignity in front of these Russians. Nothing changed much except that everything seemed funnier to me.

I think I’m nicer now than I had been last year. I didn’t even complain when we finally had our orders taken after 45 minutes.

Guess I was just happy to be back.

Or maybe Asia really made me nicer, more patient, and more easygoing.

Almost Christmas

In the Philippines, as soon as the -Ber months arrive, you can hear radios playing Christmas songs and see the department stores selling decorations. But I can’t be here for Christmas.

At the end of October, I’m flying again.

I can’t wait to go back to France. After spending almost 10 months here in Asia, I began to miss Europe. I just regret not having come back during the summer when people were still friendly and colors were visible everywhere.

But I have grown to love the Philippines again – my family and friends, the weather, the beaches, my messy apartment, and the lifestyle. Am I crazy to start all over again? If I live with someone, will she kick me out because of my mess? Am I prepared to walk in -20 weather again?

The only plans I have for the rest of the year is to travel. Dubai, Paris, Strasbourg, Paris, Amsterdam, Paris, Strasbourg, London, Strasbourg — and then what? settle in Paris? Or maybe Copenhagen? Or back to Asia again? Who knows?

Next year, I don’t have a clue. I’ll just go with the flow like I always did. Maybe I’ll settle down and have a kid. Or maybe I’ll be a kid forever…

I Finally Had my Beach Day

I spent a week in Boracay last January doing nothing. I tried to go around the Philippines this year, but I guess the good weather didn’t agree much with me. Well, Boracay had been great, but for the past few months after this trip, I didn’t even get to wear my bikini and catch some rays.

Finally, this 10/10/10, I spontaneously booked a flight to Cebu. I was hoping to go diving in Moalboal, but we got lazy and ended up spending the day in the city and the next day in a beach in Mactan.

We didn’t sleep the night before our 4AM flight. At 5.30AM, we were in Cebu, exhausted from no sleep at all and wondering what the hell we were gonna do in Cebu  at 5 in the morning. I didn’t want this to end up like most of our trips – plane takes off at 5 or 7 AM, sleep in the hotel without the alarm, and finally wake up without a clue to where or who I am.

So for the first time in the 3 years that we were going back and forth the place, we went around the city – ate some lechon, saw the Magellan’s cross (which is actually the oldest monument in the Philippines), people watched, and visited the Fort San Pedro.

I wish for never-ending vacations.

We try to go back to Hilton Cebu every year for a day of luxury. We deserve it. We missed last year, but that doesn’t matter now. I love this place – the infinity pool, the people, the beach, the bar at the beach, and the hot pink and vivid blue colors.

How do you say fluffy pillows in Filipino? – Hilton…

 

Angkor Wat Ruins

Sunrise at Angkor Wat at around 5.30AM…But of course, we missed it. The plan was to leave at 5AM and Sol made the mistake of making me in charge. When the alarm from my mobile sounded off at 4AM, I stood up and hit snooze. And slept again. At 5AM, someone was knocking at our door. It was the hotel receptionist telling us that the tuk tuk driver was here. How did that happen?

We showered, dressed up, and then went down. It was 6AM.

Sol asked the driver if we would still see the sunrise? Is she crazy? She could clearly see that the sun was already up. It was humid and sticky and uncomfortable. She blamed me the whole time because she had never been late in her whole life except for this incident.

The Angkor Wat ruins made me feel like a small creature who could easily get lost inside. I went north, I went south, I went east, and then I went west. I couldn’t find my way out anymore, until I went to a dim tunnel like entrance. A few seconds after, I felt the hot sun against my skin and saw the green green grass.