On Parle Francais ici

One of my gym friends has been pushing me to do the cycling (spinning) class with her and last night I finally caved in. I was reluctant because I did it once before in Australia and was sore for about a week after! I swore I'd never do it again. Never say never I guess.

So I got to the class early and the prof explained how to set up the bike. I hadn't done any classes with this guy before and as soon as he realised that I'm not French, he started speaking to me in English.

Just before the class started he said to the whole class how he was going to speak in both French and English during the class - just for me! I was pretty embarrassed and it was completely unnecessary as I do understand perfectly but it was nice of him to try to help me out.

What I didn't expect was the looks of outrage on half the people in the class. They we're like, 'no, pourquoi' and one stupid cow said, 'on est en France, on parle francais ici!'. It didn't really bother me at the time so I just said to him to speak in French and he did for the most part.

Thinking about it after, I got really pissed off. He was just trying to be nice, to include me, and she was being a bitch about it. It's not like she said it as a joke, she was seriously annoyed.

Yeah, we are in France and I should speak French and I do speak French, albeit not very well. But what seemed to escape her is that he was being nice. Some people seem to have forgotten what that means.

As for the class, it was great. It wasn't as difficult as I remembered. I'm obviously much fitter now than I was then. I'll be doing it again for sure.

Celebrity Spotting in Paris

You'd think living in a city like Paris you'd see celebrities all over the place. I've lived here for 3 years and can't say I've seen anyone of interest, not of interest to me at least. Of course, I don't exactly live in the coolest quartier in Paris or go to any trendy bars or cafes so that could explain a few things.

I did see Thierry Ardisson last year walking down, funnily enough, rue du Faubourg St Honore. Does he count as a celebrity? Not really.

During Roland Garros earlier this year I saw Marcos Baghdatis walking down the Champs Elysees after a bit of a shopping spree. Well, not really a shopping spree but he was carrying a shopping bag. Fnac, maybe? Sephora?

There were also a couple of well known tennis players training at my gym during the tournament (I live just down the road from the stadium). I assume they were well known (Brazilian I think) because people asked for their autograph. Is it not weird for a grown man to ask another grown man for his autograph?

I keep thinking one of the regulars at my gym is Said Taghmaoui. It's not but he sure does look like him. Shame because I love him!

Earlier this week I saw Benjamin Castaldi in my hood and all I can say is that he's surprisingly short. Again, not much of a celebrity.

But yesterday, I think, although not at all sure, I saw Lenny Kravitz in the Marais. I did a quick search and it seems he does spend a bit of time in Paris and is possibly here at the moment - so it must have been him. I'm not a fan though so, bleh.

All in all, that's some B rate celebrity spotting.

Rain Rain Go Away

WHY WON'T IT STOP RAINING!

Havzi Nela

Twenty years ago today, Ferbent's cousin, Havzi Nela (a well known poet and dissident), was hung in the northern Albanian city of Kukes, for speaking out against the communist regime.

Even though communist leader Enver Hoxha was already dead and the communist regime was on it's last legs, they hung Havzi Nela as a last ditched attempt to show their power. They failed.

---

Tirani ynë

Ka ca ditë e mjaft do kohë
Tirani ynë s'po ndihet mirë,
me miq e shokë sikur rri ftohtë
Dhe kur i shikon i vjen pështirë.

Thonë, asht tretë e asht ligështue
Thonë, asht sëmundë, me kriza nervore
Në shtrat kur bie më shumë rri zgjue
Nji libër të kuq se lëshon prej dore.

Ajo është vepra e xha Stalinit
Jo, kushdo nuk mund ta dijë
Fshehtas doli prej Kremlinit
E nën këmishë erdhi n'Shqipni!

Ajo asht vepra e tiranit trumyk
Gjithë komplote, intriga e dredhi!
Çka përdori ai xhelat pacipë
Për të shtypë e gjakosë popujt sovjetikë.

Tirani ynë gjithë karrierën e tij
Këtë libër nuk e lëshoi prej dore,
E tash vetë ka ba volume të rinj
Plot me krime e vepra çnjerëzore.

Shpesh të dy veprat i merr në dorë
Herë i peshon e herë i krahason
Kërkon të gjejë, cili asht ma mizor,
cili xhelat, xhelatit ia kalon.

Po merr inat sa do të pëlcasë
S'ia ha mendja se e arrin mikun e tij
E mendon të vrasë, sa më shumë të vrasë.
Sa më shumë gjak të shohë me sytë e tij!

Sikurse duket po e ndjen i shkreti
E sheh të afërt dhe fundin e tij
Dhe dëshiron të marrë sa më shumë me vete
Që të krahasohet në skëterrë me kolegun e tij.

---

- Havzi Nela u lind më 20 shkurt 1934.
- Kur qe vetëm nëntë vjeç i vdes baba; po në këtë moshë së
bashku me vëllanë (A. Nela), merr udhën e shtegtarit për arsye
ekonomike dhe deri në vitin 1946 punoi si hyzmeqar nëpër disa
shtëpi të Tiranës.
- Ndjek shkollën në Kukës (nxënës konviktor me bursë shteti),
deri me 6 tetor 1948.
- Arratiset në Kosovë tek të afërm të vet, vazhdon shkollën dhe
qëndron aty deri më 9 qershor të vitit 1949. Kthehet dhe punoi
në bujqësi deri në vitin 1950.
- Shkon në shkollën pedagogjike Shkodër, por e ndërpret
shkollën për arsye ekonomike.
- Punon arsimtar në Plan - Klos (Mat) deri në mars të vitit 1953;
kërkon transferim, por e pushojnë nga puna. Kthehet në
vendlindje, merret me bujqësi deri në nëntor 1953.
- 20 nëntor 1953 deri më 13 nëntor 1955: kryen shërbimin
ushtarak.
- Janar 1956: mësues në Lojme.
- 1957: në Shishtavec, përgjegjës i sallës së leximit.
- Fundi i vitit 1958: shkon në gjimnazin e rezervave të arsimit
(Tiranë), ku diplomohet në arsimin e mesëm; kthehet dhe punon
mësues në shkollën 7-vjeçare Shishtavec dhe njëkohësisht
vazhdon shkollën e lartë me korrespondencë.
- 1963: transferohet nga Shishtaveci në Surroj; refuzon, e
dërgojnë mësues në Krumë ku punon vetëm pesë muaj.
- 1963: mbas kthimit nga Kruma, mësues në Topojan deri në
paraditen e 26 prillit 1967
- 22 prill 1967: në Shishtavec reagon ndaj kërkesave të regjimit
për prishjen e kishave dhe xhamive, futjen në kooperativë
bujqësore dhe ndërrimin e veshjes.
- 27 prill 1967: arratiset së bashku me bashkëshorten, Lavdie
Nela.
- 6 maj 1967: pala jugosllave e dorëzon në postën kufitare
(Morinë)
- 22 maj 1967: dënohet me l5 vjet heqje lirie dhe konfiskim të
pasurisë, ndërsa bashkëshortja e vet me 10 vjet heqje lirie.
- 8 gusht 1975: ridënohet me 8 vjet heqje lirie.
- 19 dhjetor 1986: lirohet nga burgu.
- 12 tetor 1987: internohet në katundin Arrën.
- 13 qershor 1988: largohet nga internimi.
- 15 qershor, ora 5.30 e mëngjesit - në Brekijë, konfliktohet me
shpurën ndjekëse; e arrestojnë.
- 15 qershor, ora 10 e paradites: e dorëzojnë
në degën e punëve të brendshme të Kukësit.
- 15 qershor, ora 12 e mesditës: nis procesi
hetimor.
- 21 qershor: mbyllet procesi hetimor.
- 22 qershor, ora 10 e paradites: formulohet
vendimi për dënimin kapital në gjykatën e
Kukësit (dënim i paracaktuar).
- 24 qershor: zhvillohet gjyqi dhe shpallet
vendimi.
- 25 qershor: bën ankim pranë Kolegjit penal
të Gjykatës së lartë.
- 16 korrik: Këshilli gjyqësor i kolegjit penal të
gjykatës së lartë lë në fuqi vendimin e gjykatës
së rrethit të Kukësit
- 2 gusht: Presidiumi i Kuvendit Popullor
miraton vendimin për ekzekutimin e H. Nelës.
- 10 gusht, ora 2 mbas mesnate: realizohet
ekzekutimi
- 10 gusht, ora 11 e paradites: trupi hiqet nga
vendi i ekzekutimit dhe mbyllet në magazinën e
policisë.
- 11 gusht, ora l mbas mesnate: trupi futet nën
tokë.

Cancer Fighting Food

I stopped by WH Smith yesterday to stock up on a few English language books and magazines. I know it's expensive but I can't resist.

I also did do a bit of reading while I was there and came across a book on cancer fighting foods. While these kind of books normally annoy me and most of the foods mentioned are already well known for their health benefits, I did think it was worth noting the top cancer fighting foods, at least as a reminder.

• broccoli - and the entire brassica family
• orange vegetables which contain carotenoids such as carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, beetroot etc
• tomatoes for lycopene - especially important to reduce the risk of prostrate cancer
• berries such as strawberries and raspberries - important to get organic berries not only to avoid toxins but they taste so much better
• pomegranates - something I only recently tried for the first time
• citrus
• mushrooms
• herbs and spices
• chocolate - the 70% cocoa variety not the high sugar variety

Then of course there are two very important drinks:

• green tea
• red wine

Plus

• vitamin D - extremely important in fighting cancer
• selenium - which is found naturally in organic vegetables but not in conventionally grown foods
• omega 3 - I get my daily dose by taking supplements
• probiotics - can apparently reduce the risk of colon cancer

Foods which didn't get a mention:

• potatoes
• baguettes
• Nutella
• Red Bull

What's up with that?

You Am I in Paris

I spent last weekend reminiscing about the good ole days (the 90s) when I used to go out and see my favourite Aussie bands play live. Bands like Spiderbait, Custard, The Cruel Sea, and my all time favourite, You Am I.

I've probably seen You Am I play live more than 10 times, including once in New York. I loved all their music and believed (and still believe) Tim Rogers to be the best Australian song writer ever.

I was watching all my favourites on YouTube and downloaded a heap of them onto my iPod. All week at the gym I've been listening to You Am I et al.

Then this morning, the weirdest thing happens. I got an email from the Australian Consulate (I think I signed up for their newsletter when I voted last year) saying that Tim Rogers is going to be playing live in Paris, tonight, for one concert only! What kind of freaky coincidence is that?

There's no way I'm going to miss this.

Tim Rogers (You Am I) - Live and Exclusive
Cafe Oz
8 Boulevard Montmartre
75009 Paris
Thursday 7 August
Doors 8pm
On Stage 9pm

 

Vitamins

I don't recall why I stopped buying my vitamins online but after seeing the high prices and lack of choice here in Paris, not to mention certain communication problems, I've gone back to buying in bulk online.

As an example of the price difference, I paid around 3 euros in my local pharmacy for 30 folic acid tablets. At Healthy Direct, you get 360 tablets for 6 euros! Same kind of thing for multi vitamins where online you can get 360 tablets for 18 euros or so. Bargain!

I got some other stuff too which I know you can't get here so I can't wait for everything to arrive.

Brain Dead

There are 2 different Monoprix in my quartier, one for food and the other for clothes, toiletries, makeup etc. I go to the food one pretty much every day (because I like to eat) but almost never head over to the other.

For weeks I've been thinking I need to go to Monop, so I figure I'll take a break from writing about Christmas (don't ask) and head out. So I'm in the store and realise I don't have a clue what it is I'm supposed to be buying. I know it was important. I'm sure it was important.

After about 10 minutes of staring at cellulite cream and feet exfoliators, I decide I'd better leave because the security guys are looking at me funny.

I'll no doubt remember what it was I needed at 3am in the morning.

C'est Vrai

For some reason it's difficult to buy vitamins here in France. You can get them from parapharmacies or pharmacies (no I don't know what the difference is) but you don't get a whole lot of choice and they're super expensive. I used to buy my vitamins in bulk from the UK but the last couple of times I have bought them here.

I was looking for folic acid and the regular place I go to had sold out so the guy sent me next door to the pharmacy. This is how the conversation went (translated into English because I do speak French, ya know):

Me: Hello, I'm looking for some folic acid.
Stupid Pharmacist: Yes.
Me: Um, do you have any?
Stupid Pharmacist: Yes.
Me: Well... I'd like to buy some.
Stupid Pharmacist: Oh, ok. What do you want it for?
Me: Um, to take once a day???
Stupid Pharmacist: Have you taken it before?
Me: Yes, for years.
Stupid Pharmacist: We have 400mcg and 500mcg but I can't advise you on which is best because you haven't told me why you want it.
Me: Grrr....
Me: It significantly reduces the risk of having a child with birth defects.
Stupid Pharmacist: C'est vrai?
Me: Grrr...
Me: Also, some studies have shown that it can reduce the risk of certain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Stupid Pharmacist: ???

As I leave with my tiny box of tablets I hear her asking the other pharmacist:

Stupid Pharmacist: Why would someone take folic acid?
Pharmacist with a Brain: It reduces the risk of having a child with birth defects.
Stupid Pharmacist: C'est vrai?

Devastated

A tragic, tragic event has taken place in my neighbourhood. I headed out to get my daily baguette to find a crowd of people gathered around the front of the boulangerie. People were crying and had their heads in their hands in despair.

I didn't have to ask what was going on, I could see for myself. My local boulangerie, with the best baguette in all of Paris, has closed down for the month. Nooooooooooo!!!

Alone Again

F headed to Albania yesterday, leaving me alone for the rest of the summer. He has to take care of some family business, plus he wants to spend some time with his mother, so he'll be there for at least a month.

I could have gone with him but there's just no way I can take that much time off work. F was trying to convince me that I could work from there but without ADSL there's just no way. Can you imagine having to go back to dial-up?

So lets see what kind of mischief I can get up to while he's away...

Big Balls

F was trying to convince me this morning that the reason he weighs so much (80kgs) is because he has big balls!

'Really, big balls huh?'

'No, not big balls', he replied, 'big bones!'

Man his accent is weird...

Developing Albania

I haven't been to Albania since 2001 and while I don't have any immediate plans to return, I am glad to see they are slowly making progress in improving and developing the country (if you ignore the massive corruption problem).

They have recently been promoting tourism in Albania with a serious of ads on CNN and now I've seen this video. It was clearly made to promote tourism and investment but is interesting nonetheless.

I think F will be heading to Albania in a couple of months (his mother lives there alone) but I can't bring myself to go. Sitting in his mother's tiny apartment in a dead city where I don't speak the language is not my idea of a fun holiday.

Navigo en Ligne

Now that the Carte Orange is officially dead, I thought I'd apply for a Navigo pass. I don't actually need one because hardly ever leave my quartier, but you never know, I might get the urge one day to buy a weekly travel card and see the few remaining areas of Paris I've yet to visit.

So I go to www.ratp.fr and do a bit of searching until I find the right link. I sign up and then wait for my confirmation email with my password. This kind of thing normally takes a few seconds, right? Well, typically French slow 'service' extends to their crappy websites it seems.

A few hours later I get an email with my password. Great. So now I go to login but there is no link to the login page or their website in the email. Wtf??? So I have to go back to the ratp site which is a PITA to navigate and roughly a billion clicks later I'm at the login page.

French websites are fun!

Then I realise I don't have a decent photo of myself which I can use as an identity photo so I give up. Looks like I'll stick to getting a carnet...

A Week Away

I been wanting to travel around the north of France for a while now as I've never been anywhere north of Paris, unless you count catching the Eurostar to London.

So my plan was to visit Chantilly, Giverny, Mont St Michel etc. The plan was to go away for F's birthday so he had final say on where we were going. He wanted to head west and south. So much for my idea...

So... First stop Chartres. This is an easy day trip from Paris and it's been on my to do list for some time. Chartres has a huge cathedral, worth visiting if you like religious monuments. Cute city, stayed for lunch, next...

Heading west Le Mans is next. Nothing to see there. Up next, Angers. We only stopped here because I was bloody tired and it was late. Of course, all hotels in the city were fully booked except the most expensive one. No choice but to stay there. Angers actually has a few sites worth visiting including an amazing 13th century fortress. 

Tuesday was F's 40th birthday and we continued west to Nantes. Nantes is on of you typical middle sized French cities. Nice for a quick stroll, a few sites, and not much else.

La Rochelle is a small port city on the coast. I'd read that it was really pretty but I wouldn't know as it poured with rain the entire time I was there and I couldn't see anything.

Tried to get a hotel but everything was fully booked except the biggest dive in the city which was no doubt bug infested. I still have nightmares from the bug infested hell hole I stayed in at Republique 2 years ago, so that was out. We had a nice seafood dinner and then continued to the next town where we slept in a nice clean Ibis hotel.

I've been to Bordeaux a couple of times and while I've always liked it, I wanted to see something new so we headed to Toulouse. Toulouse looked exactly like Bordeaux except everything is in red brick. I would have loved to have spent some time there but all hotels were fully booked, except, of course, the 5 star super expensive Sofitel.

No one told me you have to book ahead when travelling in summer!

Has anyone ever been to Andorra? No, I didn't think so. I have! It's a PITA to get to, takes hours through the Pyrenees and then once you get there you see a pretty little village/city with happy looking, quiet, Spanish speaking people.

Thankfully Spain is only 15mins or so from Andorra. We headed to Barcelona and managed to stumble upon the same hotel we stayed at last time. Was it fully booked? No! We got the last room. Lucky at last.

So, 3 nights in Barcelona eating loads and loads of tapas, drinking unbelievable quantities of cheap Spanish wine, and shopping, shopping, shopping, and I was happy.

What I learnt from this quick trip:

1. Andorrans speak Spanish.
2. I'm a city girl and visiting small country towns is bloody boring.
3. Patate Bravas is the BEST TAPAS EVER.

May

I just noticed I didn't post at all in May. Wow, I've lost track of time to the point where I missed an entire month. What did I do last month?

Aside from working my arse off creating 5 new websites and spending $400 on a PPC marketing campaign which earnt me $10, I've been out and about in Paris.

I went to the RTL Disco Show with Leesa and Alex which was a lot of fun. I loved seeing the one hit wonders from the 70s as well as Boney M and The Village People (2 hit wonders???). I never imagined ever seeing any of those people play live, it was great.

Of course I went to see Sex and The City (also with Leesa). Who hasn't? I did enjoy it but it was too long and the story line was kinda stupid. I mean, they can't have had much of a relationship if he couldn't mention his concerns about getting married. It was him who brought up the marriage thing anyway. I know, it's only a movie...

I saw Francaise. Now this movie is worth seeing. I first saw Hafsia Herzi in La Graine et le Mullet late last year. I really enjoyed that movie and she was the highlight. As soon as I saw she was in Francaise, I couldn't wait to see it. She is a fantastic actress and was great in Francaise where she plays a French born Moroccan girl who struggles with her life in Morocco after having grown up in France. Check it out if you get the chance.

I must have done some other exciting stuff last month too. No doubt about it because I live a pretty exciting life. I just can't quite recall what else I got up to.

The Big 4-0

In 2 days time I'm going to be married to a 40 year old. 40!!! That's old!!!

Yeah, I know I'll be an old fart one day too but I've still got 6 years to go to get to that point. I'd better enjoy them because 40 is most definitely over the hill!!!

So to celebrate this milestone, I've hired a car and we're going to drive around Europe for a week. Being the great planner I am, I have no idea where we're going to go - somewhere in Europe.

Maybe I'll just get on the peripherique and keep going round until I can't stand it any more and then head off in any direction I find myself.

Should be fun for me and my old man...

Giant Pandas

One of the highlights of my recent trip to Berlin was the Berlin Zoo. I wanted to go to see Bao Bao the giant panda.

Poor Bao Bao is single again after the death of his beloved Yan Yan followed by a failed relationship in London with Ming Ming.

He was so adorable but unfortunately I missed the feeding session so when I saw him he was doing little more than lying on his back flashing himself.

Red February posted this great video of a number of giant pandas they saw during their stay in China.

Chengdu Pandas from Red February on Vimeo.

Red Bull No Longer Banned

Red Bull was banned in France due to concerns over adverse side effects possibly caused by the drink as well as reported links to a number of deaths in Europe and the US:

The fizzy drink has been linked to several deaths and some experts have criticised its high levels of caffeine and other stimulants.

It contains caffeine, vitamins, and sugar which, the company claims, kick-starts the body's metabolism and keeps people alert. But France has refused to authorise its sale, along with other vitamin-fortified foods such as Danone yoghurt and Kellogg's cereals.

Whenever I was in a neighbouring country such as Spain or Germany, I'd always pick up a few dozen few cans and smuggle them back over the border.

So I was quite surprised to see Red Bull in Monoprix yesterday. I guess the ban as been lifted and I didn't know. When did that happen?

Update: Turns out it was legalised earlier this month. Yay - now I can get drugged up to my hearts content. They just need to start selling the diet version and life will be complete!

Where in the World

F insists that he is better than me at Geography. Little does he know I got 92% for me TEE Geography score. That was by far my best subject at school.

So we did a little test to see who can complete this puzzle with the fewest errors.

Where in the World

I admit I struggled a little with the Stans but I still won!