Novelty Gifts

This brief post on novelty gifts is an experiement on how a page ranks depending on links on a page and the test surrounding those links. I’m curious to see if I will get any results with this. So if you are looking for novelty gifts then:

Novelty gifts - Bombshell
Novelty gifts - via Wikipedia
Novelty gifts - McPhee
Novelty gifts - Lastminute
Novelty gifts - Spilsbury
Novelty gifts - via Technorati
Novelty gifts - Reference
Novelty gifts - via Digg
Novelty gifts - via Reddit
Novelty gifts - Techcrunch
Novelty gifts - Buy Organic
Novelty gifts - PrezzyBox

This is a follow up from my previous post about novelty gifts and is based on this original post about novelty gifts. Without links to this post I don't think much will happen but we'll see.

Evian Badoit and Vichy

I know I haven't posted for ages. Nothing has been going particularly well here in France; more bureaucratic problems as usual plus I've been super busy with work. I've been adding a lot of content to my sites in preparation for Christmas so will hopefully have a few more sales than usual this month.

I think in January I'll be able to relax a bit more and start exploring Paris again.

So, what are Evian, Badoit, and Vichy famous for?

The reason I ask is because someone found my site by entering that into Google and it made me laugh out loud. In fact, I'm still sniggering. Maybe it's not funny at all and I'm just in a strange mood. In that person's defence I suppose if you've never been to France you wouldn't know the answer. Then again, who has never heard of Evian, at least?

Of course the answer is.... mineral water.

No doubt the next person visiting Aussie in France will be happy to find a quick answer to that question.

Novelty Gifts for Him and Her

I've been pretty busy lately working on getting sales in the lead up to biggest shopping period of the year. I still have lots to do and have especially been working on a new site about novelty gifts. It is aimed at a UK audience although I think most items can be delivered anywhere around the world.

I'm surprised that novelty gifts and gadgets are so popular. Everyone wants something to play with I guess. I've had a good look around the web to see what's on offer not only for work but because I want to get a novelty gift for him. F is quite difficult to buy for, being the fussy many that he is. However, whenever we go out to the shops he always manages to find things he loves and wants to buy. I often have to drag him away from the shops. It's quite embarrassing really.

I don't know if it's a good idea to surprise him with a gift because he seems to love the act of shopping so much. I wonder if I'm denying him by buying something without him, even if it's for him.

Not only is my man fussy but he also only ever wants unique or unusual gifts. He doesn't want anything popular or common. That's generally a bit difficult but I have found a few things he might be interested in:

• Multi function key.
• Spacepen which writes upside down, on wet paper, or in freezing temperatures.
• Telescope but I don't know what for.
• Heart rate monitor (he loves the gym).
• Binary watch. He'd go crazy for that as he does with any unusual watch.
  
• Super Pen which scans text which you can translate, store or transfer to a computer.

Ok, that last one is probably of more interest to me. I've wanted to get it since I saw it. I'll keep looking for novelty gifts for him and her to see what else is out there.

3rd Time Lucky at the Bank

After my initial attempt to get a bank cheque, to pay for my home contents insurance, I finally got things sorted out on my third trip to the bank.

On my first trip to the bank they told me I needed an appointment to get a bank cheque. They made that for me 10 days later. I almost missed that appointment purely because I completely forgot about it. That would have been a disaster as I then would have needed another appointment.

When I went to the appointment I was 10 minutes late and she said she couldn't see me. That was complete rubbish because I know she made an hour appointment for me. I apologised for being late and then she said c'est pas grave, it's my pleasure to help you. So at first she was annoyed with me then she was smiling and happy. Hmm.

Rather than issue me with a bank cheque which would cost 15 euros she decided to order a cheque book (chequier) for me which is gratuit. I suppose, being in France, I really should have a cheque book. When in Rome...

So one week later and I got my very own, first ever cheque book.

I sent off the cheque to Montpellier to pay for my home insurance. I don't really know if it was overdue or not because there was not due date on the bill I received. That seemed a bit strange to me but there you go.

Ferbent is Hopeless

Ferbent has a 'pay as you' go phone which I usually discourage him from using. He tends to call me to tell me the most banal things. He's already called me three times today.

Firstly, he called me to let me know he forgot his keys for work. He didn't want me to take them to him or anything, just to let me know.

Then he called to see what I was having for lunch and if we could go to the Vans shop later today. He loves shopping, especially for shoes.

I just got off the phone with him because he wanted to let me know that his shoe laces keep coming undone! According to him this means we will be going on a trip soon. It's more likely that he'll trip up soon. It looks like I'll have to book a weekend away so he can say he was right.

Hopefully he'll run out of money soon so he won't be able to call me and I'll have some peace and quiet.

My Cat is Sick

I have two cats, Jade and Topaz, who live in Australia with my parents. They are both 17 years old so it's not surprising they're getting a little frail.

Topaz is not well. She doesn't eat much and only weighs around 2 kilos. To be fair, she's always been a very small cat but things got worse when she had a little adventure a couple of years ago.

She likes to sleep on my dad's car in the garage and one night when he went out she didn't jump off as she usually does and went for a bit of a ride instead. She held on for a while until the car went round the corner when she went flying off. I know that's what happened because someone witnessed it and made my dad pull over to tell him.

She went missing for 2 weeks and when she finally made it home she was skeletal. I can't believe she survived it at all. She never really regained the weight she lost. Part of the problem is that she's a very fluffy Persian and she's constantly coughing up fur balls, along with her dinner.

Yesterday she was pulling out a knot in her hair and took out a chunk of skin at the same time. That can't be good. I think she'll be off to the vet tonight.

I hope she's going to be ok.

Jade is quite different to Topaz. She's a very fussy eater but eats a lot and weighs more than 4 kilos. She's much healthier but I don't know if she'll last long without her sister.

I miss them.

Salon du Chocolat

I went to the Salon du Chocolat yesterday without a ticket which was a big mistake. You can buy the tickets online at FNAC but I didn't get around to it so I just turned up at Porte de Versailles. There was no queue for those who had pre-purchased tickets but the queue to buy tickets was ridiculous.

We couldn't be bothered to wait as it would have surely taken an hour or more to get in. It's on until Wednesday so I could go during the day when there would be fewer people, although I'd definitely buy a ticket before going.

It closes at 7pm so I won't be able to go with Ferbent. I don't know that I really want to go alone and seeing I'm having Thursday off to go to the tennis then I can't really afford to take another day off.

Missing the Salon du Chocolat was the first bad thing which happened yesterday but it got worse when I left the exposition centre. I wasn't paying attention when I left and as I walked out of the driveway I got hit on the head by the boom gate. I don't know how it happened or how I didn't notice it or why it came down right as I was walking under it but it happened.

I could say I was more embarrassed than anything else (there were a lot of people around) but in fact it hurt a lot. I now have a very big bump on my head and yesterday I had a terrible head ache.

I think that has turned me off of going to Porte de Versailles. Maybe I will spend the 12 euros which I was going to spend on the ticket on Jeff de Bruges chocolates.

Getting a Carte Vitale in France

I've been without any kind of health insurance for more than six months. Before that I had travel insurance which would have covered me for any emergency health care. I have a Carte de Sejour (French resident permit) and my husband is working full time and paying tax, so I am (or should be) entitled to health care in this country.

The thing is, I can't get a Carte Vitale (French health care card) until my husband gets his, presumably because he's a British citizen and I'm not. So I've been waiting for him to get his social security number and then the carte vitale.

Of course, being France, nothing is easy. Ferbent has been working for 8 or 9 months, all the while paying tax and social security contributions, without a social security number. They said he couldn't get it until he proves that he is a British citizen. He showed his passport and naturalisation certificate but that wasn't enough. They needed to see his birth certificate, even though he wasn't born in the UK. He doesn't have one so they refused to issue him with a carte vitale.

After numerous letters and phone calls, many of which were made by his French employer, they still refused. Arnold at Foreign Perspectives recommended citing European law which allows the freedom of movement of EU citizens. This seemed to be our last chance but I hadn't bothered.

Surprisingly, Ferbent received his social security number in the mail today with a note saying the carte vitale is on it's way and he should receive it in the next few days (which could really mean the next few weeks or months). In the mean time he can quote this number if he has to go to the doctor or for any other medical treatment.

I don't know why they changed their mind and gave it to him but I'm so glad they did. I didn't want to have to keep pushing them.

So now I should be able to quote his social security number, show my marriage certificate and birth certificate (or course), and I'll have my carte vitale. I'm sure they won't make it that easy for me but fingers crossed.

Salon du Chocolat | Paris | Porte de Versailles

The Salon du Chocolat started today in Paris. It only goes until Wednesday so I'd better hurry up and get my ticket. I'm sure this is one event not to be missed. I've heard it gets very crowded so I guess I'm not the only one who loves chocolate.

I've never been before so I don't really know what to expect. I know they have cooking and chocolate making demonstrations and also have fashion shows with clothes and accessories made of chocolate.

I'm just hoping they give out lots of samples!

It closes early each evening, at 7pm, so they doesn't leave much time to go after work. Maybe I'll have to go in the afternoon so I'll have plenty of time to check out everything. I won't be able to go with F if that's the case but maybe he won't mind - provided I take some chocolate home for him, that is.

Sleepy Weekend

I've been sick since Friday, with a cold, so didn't do anthing this weekend. I didn't even leave the house. That's pretty bad but all I wanted to do was sleep and I did exactly that. Sleep, play cards on the net and watch rubbish TV.

I have been out this morning though. I was supposed to go to the post office last Thursday so I had no choice but to go this morning. I had to post some tax stuff back to Oz. I had about 40 pages of documents for my accountant. It took me a whole day to get it all sorted out so now it's up to JF to do his magic. I hate accounting stuff. I studied it a bit at high school and at university and have even had a few jobs in accounts but never again. I can't think of anything more boring.

I am feeling a little better today so I really must get back to blogging. I need to write at least 3000 words per day to hopefully get more hits on my sites. They're not doing as well as I'd hoped so I've only got another 2 and a half months to start making minimum wage. That was my goal - to be making minimum wage by the end of the year otherwise I'll have to go out and get a 'real' job.

Tennis | Paris Open | BNP Paribas Masters

The Paris Open is on shortly and I can't wait to go. I've already bought my tickets for the Thursday, round 3, and Saturday for the semi finals. I went in 2000 and loved it. That was the first time I ever went to a tennis tournament and since then have been to Wimbledon and the Italian Open. I would love to go more often but the opportunity rarely arises.

The BNP Paribas Masters tennis tournament is held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy which is in the 12th in Paris. It's not a particularly nice area of Paris. It's not bad it's just that there's not much to see or do there. The tournament starts on the 30th October and finishes on the 5th November. Tickets are available from 14.50 euros to 64 euros. I paid 40 something. I don't remember it being so expensive last time I was there but I guess that's inflation for you.

The disappointing thing is that Roger Federer won't be playing. I saw him play live once before but that was years ago when he was just starting out. I would love to see him play now while he's at this peak. When I went to the Open before I saw Andre Agassi, Mark Phillipoussis, and the rest I can't remember. I have such a great memory.

Crazy French Banks

I can't understand why so many people still pay by cheque in France. I have often seen the French pay by cheque at the supermarket for amounts as low as 5 euros. They're crazy. I have never had a cheque book in my life and never will. On the rare occasion when I need a cheque I would get a bank cheque which takes about 5 minutes to get from the bank.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy in France. I must be one of the few people not to have a chequing account here. That doesn't bother me but I need a cheque to pay for my home contents insurance. The insurance broker I got it from is in Montpellier so I can't pay by cash and they don't accept credit cards.

I went to the bank on Friday thinking they would write out a cheque for me right there and then. I must have briefly forgotten where I was. Of course they couldn't write me a bank cheque on the spot. I need an appointment with one of their advisors. The earliest I can get an appointment is in 10 days time. Brilliant. My insurance is due in 1 week. Not only do I have to wait that long for a cheque but I need a one hour appointment to get it done. One hour! So in theory the bank 'advisors' (they don't have tellers at the bank) could spend their whole day writing 7 cheques! Very efficient. This is just another reason as to why this country is so crap.

Paris Motor Show | Porte de Versailles

I went to the motor show in Perth once and it was pretty boring. It was small and of no interest whatsoever. For that reason I was hesitant about going to the Paris Motor Show, along with the fact that I'm not that interested in cars. However, I would like to buy a small car soon so I went along with Ferbent, who was particularly interested in seeing all the luxury cars.

Tickets were 12 euros each and it was held at the exposition centre at Porte de Versailles in the 15th. It's not that far from my house but it took forever to get there as I had to go into Paris and then back out again on a different line. It was a pain but I made it. It was Friday night and surprisingly there weren't that many people there. Maybe the pouring rain deterred people from going.

We started off seeing all the latest small cars which I'm interested in buying. I love the Citroen C2 but it just doesn't have the features of the Peugeot 207. The 207 has 6 airbags as standard and optional leather seats and gps. The gps is an extra 2000E but I think it's worth it because it includes an inbuilt SOS button which you press if you breakdown, plus a telephone, and 5 CD player, as well as a street directory for all of Europe. That sounds good to me. I'd also get airconditioning and maybe a sunroof. With all the options I want it would cost around 19,000E. The basic car starts at 12,000E but I think I'd want the extras to be comfortable.

It was then off to see the luxury cars such as Porche, Ferrari, Lamborghini etc. For some reason I've always thought they were all ugly cars. I just don't get the attraction. I did like the latest BMWs though. I wouldn't mind the M6.

So what I thought would be a couple of hours of looking at cars actually took 4 hours but I didn't notice the time go by. Surprisingly I enjoyed going and I might even go again, in 5 years or so.

Going to the Gym in Paris

A week ago I joined a gym in Paris and not just any gym but for sure the best gym in this city. I had been thinking about it for a while but wasn't sure I could justify the expense. Why pay to exercise when I can walk for hours around beautiful Paris for free. Of course there are plenty more things to do at the gym than walk on the treadmill so I decided to sign up.

There is a public swimming pool with a small gym near my house in Boulogne Billancourt. I was going to join that because it's so close and they have a couple of large pools. I like to swim but hate having to share a lane with some slow swimmer and they're always so slow. In the end I decided against this gym because they only have a couple of treadmills and other cardio machines and having to wait to use them would annoy the hell out of me. Plus local schools use the swimming pool and a lot of parents take their children there too. There's no way I want to be swimming with lots of kiddies.

In the end I joined Club Med Gym. They have 22 clubs around Paris and I can use any of them. Only 5 or 6 have swimming pools and they are all very small but there are no kids or teenagers around. There's no way they could afford the membership at a whopping 999E per year. I can barely afford that.

I go to the club in the 16th and it's huge. There are about 50 cardio machines and plenty of weight machines. They have aerobics at all hours including aqua aerobics which I haven't tried yet but hope to. The 16th is a very bourgeois area of Paris so it's mainly professional people who go to that gym. That suits me because they are there to work out and not much else. Although, there does seem to be a bit of gossiping going on which seems strange to me.

So far I've gone swimming once, yesterday, following by a hammam (steam) and the other days I've used the gym. I haven't done aerobics yet as I don't like that it's open and everyone in the gym can and does watch those doing aerobics. The last thing I need is loads of people watching me struggling through a class. Maybe I'll do that when my fitness improves a bit.

What is most surprising about this gym is that everyone is so fit and so slim. I'm the only overweight person there. The girls are especially skinny. They must have been going every day for years. I feel a bit out of place but I'm getting over it.

I'm trying to go four or five times a week. It's a 30 minute walk there from my house so that's an extra hour or so (it takes me longer on the way home) of exercise for me which I hope will help me get fit sooner rather than later.

Travel Vaccinations

I've just created a blog for the East Perth Medical Centre. They specialise in travel vaccinations, hence the name of their site Travel Vaccination (without the s). They will be posting articles about why to get vaccinated and which countries you need vaccinations for if you plan on visiting them. They will also provide information such as what to do in case of an car accident, how to get treated for worker's compensation, who should get flu vaccinations as well as general health advice such as diet and nutrition information.

Even though they do a lot of flu and travel vaccinations they also provide other medical services. The have a number of general practitioners (both men and women), a physiotherapist, dietitian, speech therapist, and massage therapist.

They are based in East Perth at 168 Adelaide Terrace, East Perth, WA, 6004 and can be contacted on (08) 9221 4242 for an appointment.

Speeding Fines in France

I hired a car for my recent holiday and spent time driving around France and Spain. I generally avoided the autoroutes (and the expensive tolls) but did often take the national roads. These can be slower due to fewer lanes and also seeing you have to slow down when you go through a town. The speed limits can still be fairly high as was the case when I was travelling on the RN10 from Paris to Bordeaux.

I wasn't particularly in a hurry but was following the traffic in front of me without thinking too much about my speed. I was suddenly reminded of that however when I was blinded by the flash of a speed camera. Ok, I'm exaggerating a little there but I noticed the flash and I was caught speeding.

I had forgotten about it until today when I received the speeding fine in the mail - the Avis de Contravention au Code de la Route. I thought maybe I was in a 90km/h zone at the time but luckily it was a 110 zone. I was doing 122km/h so the fine was only 45 euros. The way it works is that if you pay within 15 days you pay 45 euros, if pay after 15 days but before 45 days then it goes up to 68 euros, and if you pay after that it goes up to a whopping 180 euros. I paid it already to ensure I only pay 45.

I'm also supposed to lose some points from my drivers licence (it doesn't say how many) but I don't see how they can do that seeing I don't have a French drivers licence. You can of course contest the fine but unfortunately I have to admit I'm guilty.

France Telecom is Useless

I was off line for most of last week due to a problem with my ADSL connection. I'm with Orange (previously Wanadoo) who is owned by France Telecom. I hate having to call people and speak French with them but I had no choice.

The reason I hate calling people was reinforced even more with my first call to Orange. I get pay TV via my ADSL as well as the internet and both went down. When I called Orange I had to speak to either an internet or TV support person. I chose the internet customer support and the woman was a complete nightmare. She refused to speak slower when I asked her which made it difficult to follow all her technical instructions. She insisted the problem was with my computer which I knew wasn't the case seeing my TPS (pay TV) was out too. She said TPS wasn't her area and she couldn't help me with that. She completely missed the point that the problem was related so it was most likely a problem with the line or the LiveBox (modem). She kept repeating that she couldn't help me with the TV and we should get on with connecting the internet. I tried to explain the problem but she just ignored me and went on with her instructions. So I was talking about one thing and she was just continued on with what she wanted to do. Maybe she thought the TV not working at the same time was just a coincidence.

After about 15 minutes of wasting my time fiddling around on my computer, which surprise, surprise, didn't fix the problem, I then got disconnected from her and she didn't call back. I figured she should have called me because otherwise I was going to wait in the queue again even though we had already started on my problem. So at 34 cents a minute that was money really well spent.

So I called back and spoke to someone in the TV customer service section. As soon as I told him both the TV and internet weren't worked he immediately tested the line and found there was a problem with it. He made an appointment for a technician to come out 2 days later (well, what I thought was 2 days later) and it was that simple. I don't what that stupid woman's problem was but at least I finally had a solution.

Two days later I was waiting for the guy who was supposed to arrive at 10:30am. He didn't turn up so I called them at 12pm and 5pm. They told me to be patient and keep waiting. The following day I called again and the guy told me he was arriving that day. So I waited around the previous day for nothing. Ok, I must have misheard the day but why didn't the two people I spoke to let me know I had the day wrong? Was that too much trouble for them?

The wonderful end to this long story is that they guy arrived (an hour late), fixed the problem and then offered to set up my wifi access seeing I had been using a usb commection. I was very happy until he handed me the bill of 149 euros. What! That's not bad for 45 minutes work. I don't see why I should have to pay seeing the problem was with their modem. I don't own the modem I just hire it from them.

At least now I won't be tripping over the wires everyday like I used to. Plus I can watch rubbish French TV again. Great.

Who’s electricity am I paying?

I had a strange phone call today from EDF, Electricite de France, saying that I have been paying my neighbour's electricity bill for the last 4 months. I've never heard of that happening before!

It seems that when I made the connection they set it up for the wrong apartment. A neighbour 2 floors above me hadn't been receiving their bills because their account had been cancelled, by me, and called EDF to find out why. I'm surprised to hear they called to find out about the missing bills seeing their electricity was still connected. They could easily have ignored it. I'm lucky they called because no one has been paying the electricity on my apartment and it could have been disconnected at any moment - which is exactly what happened to me when I was in Montpellier. I had 3 days without electricity in the middle of winter. That was fun.

I don't understand how this happened because I spoke to someone in English when I connected the electricity so it's not like my terrible French was the problem. I was surprised through when the guy told me it was going to cost 50 euros per month seeing I was only paying 40 in a larger apartment in Montpellier. I thought it must have been because I was in Paris where prices are higher!

So they are going to reimburse what I paid for the apartment upstairs and I'll have to pay the last 4 months electricity for this place. I'm glad someone else found this problem before it was too late. Luckily it hasn't caused any inconvenience for me.

Roger Federer vs Vincent Spadea

I saw Roger Federer thrash Tim Henman yesterday. Federer is playing so well, as usual. Henman didn't stand a chance. Henman doesn't stand a chance against most of the top player so it wasn't surprising that he barely won a point yesterday. Federer looks to be in top form so I expect him to easily beat Vincent Spadea in the next round.

I was quite surprised to see that Spadea is still playing tennis. I thought he had retired long ago. I was going to say that he is pretty old but he's my age so I'll keep quiet. I was also surprised to learn that he is American. I always thought he was European, Spanish maybe. I don't know why I thought that. Maybe it's been so long since I've heard his name that I had just forgotten.

Federer is still my number one choice to win the final, especially now that Baghdatis lost to Agassi. He's playing so well that I can't see him losing, not even to Nadal.

Baghdatis vs Agassi

Marcos Baghdatis is through to the next round of the US Open. He is one of my favourite players after seeing him do so well at the Aussie Open earlier this year. I also like to support the Greek boy seeing I am of Greek origin. I watched most of his game and it wasn't as exciting as his previous matches but I'm sure he'll only get better. He's just warming up I'd say.

I didn't watch old man Agassi but I did see that he won his match. I used to really dislike Agassi but have warmed to him slightly over the last couple of years. I'd like to see him do well in his last US Open but seeing he's playing Baghdatis I'll have to go for the Greek boy.

It should be a good match between the two but I do think the younger opponent will make it through to the next round.

Henin-Hardenne Beats Unknown

Henin-Hardenne won her first match of the US Open. Of course it's not surprising that she would beat someone ranked 45 in the world. In the men's competition, the number 2 seed against the number 45 could still be a good match but that is never the case in the women's competition.

I've never liked Henin-Hardenne as she is just plain boring. She doesn't appear particularly talented. She looks like one of those players who are successful purely because they work really hard. I hate watching people like that; I would rather watch a natural talent any day. Obviously a naturally talented played like Federer or Hingis has to work hard to be number one but it's not the same. This tennis isn't as exciting to watch.

I disliked HH even more when she pulled out of the Australian Open with a 'stomach ache'. I think it doesn't matter how much pain you are in, you can't pull out of the final of a Grand Slam. It's not like she pulled a muscle which could have gotten worse if she had continued. How was sticking out that match going to make her 'injury' worse. She just couldn't stand to lose to Mauresmo. I hate her for that.

I didn't watch much of her game today, why would I when I already knew what the result would be. This is why women's tennis is so boring. Only the semis and the final are of interest and then only sometimes.

Organic T-Shirts From CafePress

I like to buy organic products wherever possible but haven't bought much in the way of clothes. I bought my husband a few organic t-shirts and they were very nice. The material is very soft and they look just as great after washing. I would buy some more but would like to see a few more designs first.

My next idea is to buy some bamboo t-shirts. I have heard that they are even softer than organic cotton t-shirts but I am yet to try for myself. The problem with what I have seen of the bamboo products is that they lack a little on the design front. They are very plain and look old fashioned. The colours are awful and when I did try to buy something the black t-shirts were sold out, the only colour I thought I could live with.

The final option is at CafePress. I have my own shop there and I do sell some organic t-shirts. They only come in white which is a bit of a pain, seeing I never wear white and I think they only have a mens t-shirt. It looks nice though and I have sold a few. Head over to Albanian Designs if you want to look at my organic t-shirts or the plenty of other shops at CafePress.

US Open Starts Tomorrow

I was very disappointed not to have seen any Wimbledon matches this year. The Tennis is normally shown on Eurosport or France 2 or 3 here in France but for some reason that wasn't the case with Wimbledon. I didn't get to see even one match. I think it was shown on Canal+ but I have TPS so missed it. I was surprised that they didn't even show the final because Amelie Mauresmo was in it and ultimately won it. I would say very few people got to see that match.

Tomorrow the US Open starts and it is showing on Eurosport so I will definitely be watching. I will be following Federer, Nadal, Bagdahtis, and all the others. I think I will be supporting Federer and Bagdahtis in the mens and Hingis in the womens. There is not much chance of me supporting any Australians as I can't stand Hewitt and the Scud is playing Nadal in the first round. Not much chance for him I'd say.

So the next two weeks will be taken up with the tennis and a little reporting on the tennis. I won't be watching every match, of course, but will report on those I see.

Bordeaux and It's Sandy Beaches

I went to Bordeaux a couple of years ago with my husband. It was just for the weekend and even though it was in the middle of winter and freezing, I loved it. The food was great and they have the best hot chocolate in the world.

On our return we found a very green city, quite different to what we saw the first time around. We checked into a Mercure hotel which is slightly above Ibis in quality. We didn't have much to do but to go out to dinner. We found a great Italian restaurant called Peppone. There was a huge queue which to me indicates a great restaurant so we got in line and waited 30 minutes to get in. The food was delicious, 3 courses and a local wine and all of it was great. At 50 euros I was happy and after a quick walk around the city headed back to the hotel to sleep after a long day of driving.

We had a second day in Bordeaux but rather than check out the city, which we had seen before, we headed to the beach. Ferbent loves the beach so I agreed that some of our holiday will be visiting cities, for me, and the rest of the time we will be going to the beach. A number of people told me that the beach isn't far from Bordeaux but in fact it is more than an hours drive. There was a lot of traffic but we eventually made to Andernos-Les-Bains. This is a place where people with not a lot of money go to spend their holidays with their young families. There were lots of boats in the water and it wasn't right for swimming. Within the hour we were there the tide went out about 100 metres which was strange. We quickly moved on to the Atlantic Ocean at a small beach near Lege.

It was windy at the beach and not particularly hot. The sand was yellow but fine, not like the pebble beaches around Nice. The water was cool but not cold and we went for a quick dip. There were not a lot of people but I could see it would be popular on a hot day. The beach stretched for miles and some parts looked quite remote. The inland is mainly national parks so it's not very built up. It appeared to be very clean, both the sand and the water. I quite liked it there and would have stayed a bit longer if the weather had been nice.

Next beach was the more well known Cap Ferret. I don't know why it's popular, it's just a busier version of the where we were. It was very windy at this point but we went for a swim. Most people had wet suits on and we were 2 of the crazy few who went in the water. It was nice to freshen up though. There's not much else to see in the region as far as beaches go. If you had a bit of time you could explore them all and I'm sure you could find something very nice. There were a lot of people around so something but have been attracting them. My guess is the price has a lot to do with it as it is a fairly cheap area to stay for a few weeks.

That wasn't for us though, we never stay too long in the one place. We then headed for Biarritz...

Bingo Website Reviews

I have finally started reviewing bingo websites. I created a blog where I talk about different bingo sites, how to play bingo, which are the best sites, and where to find the best deals. It's pretty fun reviewing the sites so it's not really like work. I hope to add one review per day although each one does take a bit of time.

There are so many bingo sites around that it is hard to know where to start. I guess that is how my blog will be useful in the future. It can be a starting point for those looking to start playing bingo as well as a reference tool of all the bingo sites. I've got a long way to go to get there though.

I will also be reviewing skills games. These are games like cards, word games, car racing games etc. All the usual games you see around, the only difference being that you can play for money. I gave this a go about a year ago but I never won anything. I only spent $20 on it though. I will give it another go, reviewing sites as I find them.

I'm also going to review free games which is my favourite kind of games. I like to play online just as a break from work so I'm generally not interesting in doing it for money.

These bingo site reviews, as well as my other blogs are definitely going to keep me busy in the coming months. Check out Bingo Bombshell if you'd like to have a look and sign up for some free bingo credits while you are there.

Holidays in August - Paris to Tours

Our holiday finally arrived and we were off to Tours. I was very tired on Friday night but I thought it would be best to leave for our holiday then rather than to go Saturday morning. I always find it difficult to get up early on a Saturday and so we probably wouldn't have left until lunch time. That would have been a waste of the very little time we had so we headed to Tours at 7pm Friday night.

I took to national roads to avoid paying any tolls. This is much better if you want to see the countryside and small villages as well. It got dark quite early so we didn't get to see that much though. We arrived in Tours at 11pm, checked into some crappy Ibis hotel and went to bed. It was early and normally I would have gone for a walk to check out the city but it was pouring with rain. There was no way I was going to go out in that weather so that was it.

We normally stay at Accor hotels because Ferbent gets a 50% discount there but some of them are really rubbish. The older ones are terrible and some of the newer Ibis hotels have the smallest rooms you'll ever see. Nevertheless, it was cheap.

The next day we got up early and walked around the old city. Tours is typically used as a base for holiday makers to see the surrounding chateaux, of which there are many. There isn't much to see in the city itself. For us though, it was just a stopping off point on our way to south west France and Spain.

Tours is a very small city but it was very pretty, as most French towns and villages are. The Hotel de Ville was beautiful and was surrounded by flowers and water features. The old city has tiny pedestrianised streets, perfect for exploring the little shops. Most were closed due to the August holidays, when most of the country is on holiday. It seems strange that they do this seeing there are a lot of foreign tourists in August. They must be losing a lot of money by closing up shop for a month. It's typical of the French though, they don't like to work too hard.

Tours has it's share of gothic churches and other elaborate buildings. There were some gorgeous parks with typical formal displays of flowers, lawn, and hedges. It was very peaceful. I really wanted to spend time exploring the neighbouring chateaux but that will be another trip.

It was then off to Bordeaux...

Buy Organic Blog

I am back from my too short holiday and will be getting back to work today. I enjoyed travelling around France and Spain. I love travelling by car and hope to have a much longer holiday next year. I'll blog about my adventures later but for now will mention my new blog.

I have wanted to start a blog about organic products for quite a while but wasn't too sure how to incorporate it into my existing organic website. I have done it now and even though the design is not the same as the main site, it is similar. I think it looks good, I just have to work on the content now.

The Buy Organic Blog is my main priority now and I will be updating it regularly. I will talk about the latest organic products which are available in Australia, organic news from around the world, where to buy organic products, organic gardening, and related environmental issues. I have lots of ideas and can't wait to see how it goes. I hope people will be interested and will comment with their thoughts and ideas.

It's Holiday Time!

Today is my last day of work before a 10 day break. I've been so looking forward to it. I've hired a car and we're going to head to the beaches down towards Bordeaux and the Spanish border. I'm sure we'll cross over to Spain as neither of us have been there before.

Along the way I hope to visit a few chateaux in the Loire Valley. I have wanted to go there for such a long time but I don't think we'll have much time to stop and look inside. Maybe we'll go inside one but otherwise we'll just admire them from afar. I'll no doubt get plenty of use out of my new camera.

I'm sure we'll spend at least one night in Bordeaux. We went there a couple of years ago, the flight was a wedding present from my brother and sister in law (from London), and had a relaxing weekend with great food and great wine. Bordeaux is probably the only wine I like. I had the best kebab of my life there, not like the rubbish you find around here, as well as the best hot chocolate. Visiting those two places is a high priority.

Ideally I'd like to cross the border near Biarritz so we can visit San Sebastien before following the Pyranees towards Barcelona. Barcelona has been high up on my wish list of places to visit for a while but I'm just not sure we'll have time to do that. We'll play it by ear.

The only real plan for this holiday is to eat, sleep, relax, read, swim at the beach, and that's about it.

Unlimited Antiques in Paris

I went to Le Marche aux Puces de Saint-Ouen today which is at Porte de Clignacourt to the north of Paris. The first thing to note on arriving is that it is a working class immigrant area. A typical trait of this kind of area is that it is very lively which lots of cheap shops. You can buy converse shoes there for 40 euros rather than 55 which you'll pay in the centre of Paris. The first market you'll come across is full of what can only be described as junk. There are lots of low quality souvenir stalls (which is really an oxymoron as there are no high quality souvenir shops), cheap lingerie stalls, and some places selling African 'art' which looked like it shouldn't have been allowed through customs. The other popular type of shop was that selling fake designer gear such as Louis Vuitton bags and Dolce and Gabbana belts.

None of these were of interest to me as I was there for the antiques. I've been wanting to go there for ages as it is the biggest antique market in France, if not the world. My parents love antique furniture and books, as do I, and I am thinking about buying them here and shipping them to Australia. My parents can keep what they like and we can sell the rest.

There are so many different antique markets at Le Marche aux Puces. It is not just one market. It is so difficult to know where to start looking and how to go about buying something. I lot of the pieces were over 10,000 euros. That is way out of my budget. I don't know if that is the tourist price or if that is the real price. The prices generally weren't marked so they could have told me anything. As much as I like antiques I don't have any idea of value. I don't have a good knowledge of the different periods and I couldn't spot the difference between a Louis XV or a Louis XVI. It looks like I have a lot of research to do.

Are the French Cold Blooded?

The French are funny people and by that I mean funny strange. Both today and yesterday it was around 25 to 26 degrees. Quite a warm and pleasant temperature. For some reason the French don't see it that way with a significant proportion wearing jumpers, jackets, and scarves. I can't understand that at all. I was wearing jeans and a sleeveless top and I was hot when walking around. I wasn't even a little bit cool, not even in the shade. What is wrong with these people?

It's not the first time of noticed this either. In winter it rarely gets below zero here but you'd think we were in Antarctica by the way they dress. Most people wear a t-shirt, a couple of jumpers, a full length coat, scarf, hat, and gloves. People would be wearing that and I'd be in jeans, t-shirt, and a light coat. Ferbent is the same so it's not just me. The French must be cold-blooded people.

France is Smoking

Even though the number of smokers in France has decreased in recent years, there are still plenty of smokers around. There especially seems to be a lot of women smokers in France. I read recently how a lot of women here take up smoking for the sole reason of keeping their weight down. I take it cigarettes reduce the appetite and that is how they stay slim. This is also the reason many don't want to quit. They are worried that if they quit they might gain 2 or 3 kilos. Two or 3 kilos which they would hardly notice. So they would rather kill themselves than have to wear a larger size jeans, if that. Not to mention how bad smoking is for the skin. They spend thousands on anti-wrinkle creams and expensive makeup only to ruin it all with cigarettes. You can spot a smoker a mile away with the disgusting wrinkles around their lips. That's pretty ugly. In fact it is pretty sad that they think this is the solution to their weight problems, which I'm sure is more in their minds than anything else.

I can't think of anything worse than smoking. I understand it is difficult to give up but it is the only way to go. Here are some tips on how to quit smoking if anyone needs them.

Paris is Closed for Business

It's well known that most of France goes on holiday in August and even though Paris is France's biggest city, it is no exception. A lot of businesses and shops close for the month or at least have reduced hours, especially smaller businesses. This doesn't bother me as much as when I first lived in Europe. It is to be expected and I can easily work around it. If my local boulangerie is closed then I'll just walk the 50 metres to the next one. There are a LOT of boulangeries in France so that won't be a problem. My local supermarket is keeping regular hours so that's not a problem either. In fact, the only reason I have noticed that there are less people around is that the metro is pretty much empty, except for the tourists of course.

It seems that 90% of French people go to the beach for their holidays. They spend a month lying in the sun and not much else. I can't think of anything worse. I like to visit cities, walking around their old centres, exploring the little streets and different shops. That is what I would like to do when I go on holiday next week. Ferbent has a few days off work so including the weekends we have 10 days to play with. Ferbent wants to head west and drive down the coast to Spain. I'd rather head to Bordeaux, visiting all the little towns and villages along the way. We'll have to compromise and maybe visit towns by the beach. At least we'll be moving around and not staying put for a month. That would bore me to death.

There doesn't seem to be a wp-config.php file

I had trouble installing WordPress last week even though I had done it without trouble the week before. I kept getting the following error:

There doesn't seem to be a wp-config.php file. I need this before we can get started. Need more help? We got it. You can create a wp-config.php file through a web interface, but this doesn't work for all server setups. The safest way is to manually create the file.

I did a search on this error and there seemed to be quite a few people with the same problem. This even came up on the WordPress support site but no one had a definite response. It took me pretty much all day but I figured out what the problem was.

For me the problem was that I renamed wp-config-sample.php file in Dreamweaver just by clicking on the filename and renaming it. This is a mistake as you should open the file, edit it, and then select File / Save As. The other problem with using Dreamweaver is that when you rename the file, it asks if you want to update links. I think I said yes when I should have said no. Also I moved the files from the 'wordpress' folder into my root directory using Dreamweaver. Again it asked if I wanted to update links and I said yes, which I think was wrong.

I'm not sure which of these things I did was the problem but the solution was simple. I deleted everything from the server and started the installation process from the beginning. I unzipped the file and opened the wp-config-sample.php file using Notepad. I edited it and then selected File / Save As and saved it as wp-config-php, not forgetting to save it as a .php file. I then moved all the files and folders into the root directory of my site using Windows Explorer, NOT Dreamweaver. I uploaded everything to the server and, voila!, it worked.

WordPress Installation

Last week I downloaded and installed WordPress as I'm going to add a blog to Buy Organic, if I can ever work out how to integrate it into my current website design, that is. I had been putting off doing it for quite a while because I don't know anything about PHP and I thought it was going to be, not difficult, but tedious. If fact it wasn't at all and it worked straight away without any problems.

I read up on how to integrate it into my own design but that really is beyond me. I'll give it another go this week but I don't think I'll be able to do it myself. I think I'm going to need outside help. I wonder where I can find someone to do that for me without breaking the bank.

Seeing the installation was so easy I think got excited and set up three other domain names, which I happened to have lying around, and now I have 3 more blogs, just like that. I especially love how the themes work. Being able to change the look of the site with a flick of a switch is great. Plus the ease of setting them up and adding posts and pages is fantastic. I'm going to do all my sites from now on as WordPress blogs.

This time though the installation wasn't so easy. I kept getting the error 'There doesn't seem to be a wp-config.php file' and even though other people had the same error I couldn't find a solution. Well, after spending all day trying to figure it out I discovered the problem and the solution. I will post about it in case anyone has the same problem, which I'm sure they will.

So now I've got to get to work on these other blogs. Firstly there is Bingo Bombshell which is about bingo website reviews as well as other game reviews including free online games. Secondly there is Tips and Advice which is just that. I will be posting articles on a daily basis. The third site is for my husband. It is a dating review site for Albanians. Seeing he is Albanian he is going to write the reviews in his language. The site is called Albanian Hearts and I think it will be a success as Albanians seem to like using the internet to meet people. I have so much work to do now!

Is Albania Really That Bad?

There was a nasty article in the UK's Sunday Times last Sunday about Albania. Now I know Albania has some problems but this article was pretty vicious. What the author described was somewhat true, if you are looking for a negative side to everything. Maybe I'm the opposite and try to look at the positives whenever I write about Albania. The article has caused quite a stir in the Albanian community and I wonder if the article wasn't designed to do just that.

Some things he wrote include describing Albania as a 'crumbling commie squalor' and its people as 'short and ferret-faced, with the unisex stumpy, slightly bowed legs of shetland ponies'. I can't criticise the article too much because it is true-ish. It's just a harsh way to go about describing one of the unluckiest countries in the world. The people don't deserve that. Maybe the article was supposed to be humourous and some comments he made are but there is really no need to be nasty just to get a laugh.

Albanian Eagle

The Albanian Eagle is a two headed eagle which is found on the Albanian flag. It is a popular symbol of Albania so I have included it on a number of t-shirts at my CafePress store. Most CafePress t-shirts are white but they recently introduced a black t-shirt. This is proving to be very popular, especially with the 'Albanian Eagle' design.

On that page I talk about the many foreign occupiers of Albania and how this hasn't changed their way of life, culture, or food. I mention the different dishes which are quite similar to Greek or Turkish but with an Albanian take on it.

If you ever find yourself in the home of an Albanian you can expect them to offer you everything they have. They will immediately offer you a drink, which you must accept, and if you stay for dinner then be sure to eat everything you are given. They seem to be easily offended if you say no, even if you really aren't hungry. I wouldn't worry too much though as most of the food is delicious.

Albanian T-Shirts

Admittedly I have been neglecting my Albanian Designs website lately. It's not that I have lost interest, its just that I've been working on so many other things. I have been making a few sales so I figure it's about time I get serious and add some real content to the pages. Without lots of content I won't be able to get much search engine traffic and thus not many sales so it's back to my job as a writer.

I've decided to make the content about different aspect of Albanian culture and am including things such as Albanian food, the landscapes, and the people. I have already started by creating little 'teaser' descriptions as well as content for the 'Albania' section.

I wrote a little bit about the Albanian landscape and its people. One thing I always find amusing is how they nod to say no and shake their heads to say yes. I do remember one instance in Albania when a guy was asking if I wanted to get on his bus. It wasn't for my destination so I shook my head. He signalled for me to get on so I shook my head again. He kept saying 'come on', 'come on' and I just shook my head even more. He was starting to get angry when my husband intervened and said I didn't actually want that bus. I had completely forgotten that I should have been nodding!

Organic Produce in Montpellier

I had a request about where to find organic produce in Montpellier so I thought I'd put it in its own post.

There are 3 organic supermarkets in Montpellier (I don't remember their names):

1. Passage de L'horloge - at the Polygone near the tramway.
2. Avenue Georges Clemenceau - near Intermarche (across the road).
3. Another is just north of the Corum but I can't remember exactly where.

Inno at the Polygone has an excellent range of organic produce (I especially love their organic fetta) and you can find a few things at Carrefour at Lattes (half way between Montpellier and Carnon).

The best place for fresh organic fruit and veges is at the organic market which is held every Saturday morning under Les Arceaux. There is a huge range of fruit, vegetables, tea, coffee, plants, meat, fish, and bread. The best bread by far is that sold by a guy in the last stall up the hill a little bit. There is always a huge queue because it's so delicious!

I once tried Natoora but the produce wasn't as fresh as I'd hoped and my small order came in two huge boxes with lots of plastic packaging, I wasn't impressed.

For a small city, there are plenty of organic options in Montpellier.

Tour de France in Paris

The Tour de France went right by my apartment today so I couldn't help but see it. I had an excellent view from my balcony and so got a couple of good photos. I watched the race on TV about an hour before they were due in Boulogne Billancourt and thought it might be interesting, especially as the crowd started to grow.

It actually started very early in the day with the police setting up barriers, blocking off the side streets. I could see at least 5 policemen guarding the road from lunchtime onwards. A parade of all the sponsors went by at 2:30pm and some of them were quite funny but all in all not very interesting.

The crowd started gathering at 3pm but the cyclists didn't arrive until closer to 5pm. I saw on TV that they were about to arrive so I jumped out onto the balcony with my camera ready. The crowd started cheering and they went by in one big group. They had all gone by within about 10 seconds, if that! So people waited around for a couple of hours and if you'd blinked you'd have missed it. Wow, exciting!

Fujifilm F30 Review

I finally got my new digital camera after wanting it since the beginning of the year. I was interested in the Fujifilm F30 when it was first announced but wanted to wait to buy it until I read the reviews. Thankfully all the reviews have been glowing and it even won an award for the best compact digital camera in Europe. I bought it online at Pixmania and it arrived a few days later along with a leather case and 1GB of memory. That's a lot of memory, I wonder how many photos that will hold. So far it is going great. It's easy to use and the quality looks excellent. The only negative is the colour. I'm sure the one I saw in the shop was a silver colour but this one is kind of greenish. I don't like it but it's not so terrible that I'll be returning it. I didn't even realise they came in different colours. Or maybe it was that colour all along and I didn't notice. Or more likely no one wanted that colour and that is why it was cheaper at Pixmania than anywhere else.

So naturally I've been playing a lot since I got it. I want to go all around Paris taking photos of all the sites and my favourite parks. No doubt I'll be adding images to many of my posts from now on. I'll also have to work out how flickr works. This is my first digital camera (I'm a bit behind the times, I know) so all the latest features are new to me. It even has a video mode included which looks to be fairly good quality. I haven't loaded the software on to my computer yet as my laptop is super slow and I don't think it can take any more software. The next thing I'll be buying is a new computer and then I'll be able to go crazy with photos.

I haven't had the opportunity to take many photos, except for in Boulogne, but this Saturday the Tour de France is going to go right by my balcony so I'll be able to take plenty of photos of that.

Juanes Concert in Paris

I went to the Juanes concert at the Zenith last night and it was great. The music was fantastic, he was fantastic, I'm so glad I went. I didn't know all of the songs because I have only recently become a fan but I think I knew 90% of them. The only problem was that I don't speak Spanish so couldn't understand anything he was saying! I don't think he speaks French or English and the only thing he said in French was 'merci beaucoup'. Still, you don't need to speak Spanish to love his music.

The big negative of the night was the location. The Zenith was a nightmare as there was no air conditioning. It was 36 degrees in Paris yesterday and I've no doubt it was well over 40 inside the Zenith and very humid. I can't understand how they can not put air conditioning in a public building, especially when you are going to have 6,000 people inside at one time. It was really unbearable. It is things like this which make me hate France. They don't have air conditioning anywhere which I can't understand because it's not like it doesn't get hot here, of course it does in summer. I think the French just don't want to spend any money. They are pretty tight from what I've seen. It seems like they would rather suffer to the point of almost passing out rather than spend a few euros.

I loved Juanes but would never go to the Zenith again.

Juanes, Digital Camera, and Washing

The Juanes concert is on tonight and I can't wait. I haven't been to a concert in years, which is further proof that I'm getting old. The only problem I foresee is that the place is going to be full of screaming girls. I'll have to control myself so I don't become one of them!

I get to pick up my new digital camera today, yay! The postman came with it yesterday during the 5 minutes when I left the house - typical. Now I'll have to queue at the post office to get it.

The less exciting thing I have to do today is wash my clothes. It's driving me crazy not having a washing machine. I'm going to have to lug 3 loads of washing to the local laundromat in 37 degree heat. Really looking forward to that. That probably explains why I'm writing useless posts on my blog - anything to get out of doing the washing!

Fuel Efficient Cars

I hired a car last weekend for my trip to the French Grand Prix and was surprised at just how fuel efficient it was. The car was a Renault Clio Diesel and I did almost 700 kilometres on a little over half a tank. I think I used something like 33 litres which cost me exactly 40 euros. I guess I don't really know that that is fuel efficient but when I moved house the petrol for the van cost me twice that. Yeah I know you can't compare a van full of furniture and a little diesel Renault but I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to break the bank to do a little touring around the country. Now I know when I go on holiday in August I won't have to worry too much about how much I'm going to spend on petrol.

I do keep in mind my fuel consumption when driving and try to following these fuel efficient driving tips.

French Formula 1 Schedule

I had trouble finding out what events were on a what time before I went to the F1 so I thought I would post it for future reference. Not that I would be going to that filthy, smelly, poorly organised event again but I assume the timetable is similar for other grand prix races around the world.

This schedule is for the Sunday of the French Grand Prix:

8am - 8:45 Public Pit Walk
8:55 - 9:25 Mini Challenge Race
10:00 - 10:45 GP2 Race
11:00 - 11:10 Centenary Parade
11:25 - Midday Porche Supercup
12:15 - 1pm Clubs Pit Walk
12:30 - 12:45 Driver Parade
2pm Formula 1 Race
4pm Podium Presentation

Good luck getting out of the car park!

Magny Cours - World Class Facility?

I read somewhere that the French Grand Prix circuit at Magny Cours is a world class facility, the best in the world. I don't think so! Well, if that is the case then I'd hate to see what the others are like.

Here are a 10 reasons why you should never go to the French Formula 1 Grand Prix.

1. There is no public transport. They might have some shuttle buses organised but it is no where near enough to lighten the traffic.

2. If you choose to sleep in your car or in a tent, seeing there are not enough hotels to go around, then be warned, the toilets are FILTHY. Filthy to a point of being unusable. I almost vomited just walking by them let alone going inside. Not to mention no toilet paper and soap.

3. No showers in the car park/camping area. I think some areas did have showers but not at the Parking Sud. I can imagine the showers that are there are pretty disgusting anyway so who'd want to use them.

4. Poor quality food. The only food available are crappy baguettes, chips, and sausages. Pretty disgusting.

5. Ridiculously expensive food and drinks. 6 euros for a baguette, 4.50 for chips, and worst of all 4 euros for 500mL of water. There are taps around the circuit but some of them smelt of urine!

6. Disgusting toilet facilities. I know there are a lot of people at the event but still. Why weren't there cleaners working not stop? I went to the toilet first thing in the morning and there was no toilet paper or soap. Some of the doors didn't have locks on them. There were some other toilets near Tribune K which had toilet paper but still no soap. Not to mention the disgusting urinals which were out in the open. Who wants to see, and smell, men standing around against this thing peeing? Weren't they embarrassed to go in front of thousands of people? Plus there was clearing no chance of washing their hands afterwards.

7. No soap anywhere. I can understand that they might run out of soap at the end of the day but there wasn't any to start with. This was just another reason not to eat anything as how did the people wash their hands if there was no soap in the toilets? I won't be eating that food, that's for sure.

8. Not enough shade and seating. The race is held in the middle of summer and so was pretty hot. There were lots of grassed areas but not many trees for shade. People were burnt to a crisp. I couldn't believe how red some were. Have they heard of skin cancer? They should have had the Red Cross or someone giving out free sunscreen. It was really dangerous and some people would have been quite unwell afterwards. There weren't many places to sit either as the grass wasn't in very good condition.

9. Cars getting blocked in. The organisers in the car park told people to park behind my car meaning I couldn't get out until they left. What if I had to leave early? That was unacceptable.

10. A 3 hour wait to get out of the car park. There was one exit from the car park for at least 20,000 cars. How can that be? Plus they only let one row leave at a time so if you were at the end you were looking at a 4 hour wait, at least. I got out in 2 and a half hours by going around the back of the paddock and crossing a ditch. I pity the poor people who continued to wait in the queue.

Overall the facilities were very poor and the organisation was very poor. The tickets were very expensive but you don't get much for your money. I'll never go again.

French Grand Prix - F1

I left Paris on Saturday to see the French Grand Prix in Magny Cours. I hired a car from Hertz, which as usual was no problem, and drove towards Orleans. We stopped for a bit of sight seeing there and enjoyed a walk around a very beautiful city. I'm sure I say that about all the French cities I have been to but it's true. There is a pretty centre square with plenty of cafes and shops and a huge gothic cathedral. I even ventured inside which provided a nice relief from the heat. I would have liked to stay a while but we had to move on.

From Orleans we went straight to Nevers. You could immediately tell the F1 is the biggest event of the year for Nevers and the surrounding towns. There were people everywhere who were entertained by Renault's F1 stand and at least 6 or 7 bands playing around the town. We queued up to eat at a little Italian place and had a tasty pizza and insalata caprese, my favourite salad.

As usual, I do things without thinking too much and booked the Formula One tickets at the last minute. This meant there was no chance for me to find accommodation in the area. We decided to spend the night in the car and considered staying in Nevers but decided, at the last minute, to move on to Magny Cours. I thought it might be a bit of a drive but it only took around 10 minutes. I didn't have a ticket for the parking, which is compulsory, but was lucky in that they were selling them at the gate. That set me back 30 euros which seems like a lot of money to pay to park in a paddock with the stinkiest toilets I have ever seen and no showers. We preferred to find our own 'toilet' by a quiet road as using the ones provided would have meant putting your life at risk.

The good thing about spending the night in the car park was that we got up a 8am and only had a 10 minute walk to the circuit. Once inside I bought a 500mL bottle of water for 4 euros because I was dying of thirst and then bought some F1 gear. Ferbent got a black Ferrari cap and red t-shirt and I got a BMW cap which was great. The caps were 25 euros which was fine. The hats were by far the best thing we bought because it was stinking hot. They said it was 34C but it seemed a lot hotter. I guess because the stands were uncovered the constant sun made if feel worse.

We didn't make it in time to do the pit lane walk as that started at 8am. That was a bit of a shame but not that big of a deal. There were a few races during the day including the GP2 and the Porche Supercup. I thought those cars were going fast until I saw the real deal later in the day! These were followed by the driver's parade where they do a lap in vintage cars. The actual formula 1 race started just before 2pm.

We had seats in stand (tribune) J and the tickets cost 220 euros. They weren't the most expensive but not the cheapest either. From that stand you can see the hairpin corner in the distance and the straight (well they weren't going flat out but I think you could call it the straight) in front of us. I think there are better stands. There was a big screen tv in the distance but you could barely see it. I think stand L would have been better as it is right next to the hairpin or maybe stand C near the start/finish line. Of course those 2 stands were much more expensive at 330 euros per ticket.

The race got off to huge cheers which were soon drowned out by the noise of the F1 cars. I had no idea they were so loud. It was literally deafening. Schumacher was first and stayed in position 1 throughout the race. I saw a couple of cars spin off the track in front of me in the earlier races and the same happened in the main race. I think it was Webber but I'm not completely sure. He retired shortly after so it must have been him. The race was interesting at first, seeing how quickly 'Schumi' got ahead of the others but as soon as he started lapping people if became difficult to follow. It was hard to work out which cars were racing for position and which were at the end of the race. Plus I couldn't work out which drivers were which in the same teams. I know they have different helmets but it was impossible to tell at the speed they went by. I got pretty bored at the end and was just waiting for it to finish so I could get out of the heat. Everyone stood for Shumi's victory lap and then we left.

The real disappointment of the day were the poor facilities and organisation. We were stuck in the car park for more than 2 and a half hours. We weren't budging at all. I only got out when I did because I left the queue I was in and went through a ditch to get to a moving line of cars. If I hadn't done that I might still be there! It was really difficult because it was so hot, there was no water, and no toilets. It was really bad. I don't know how they could let some people leave and not others. It's not like we were moving slowly, we weren't going anywhere. It was really ridiculous. One exit for 10s of 1000s of cars is not a well organised event. I think this problem was caused by the lack of public transport. The circuit is in the middle of nowhere and so there are no trains, or regular buses. Everyone had to go by car, except for the previledged few who went by helicopter. I understand it is a difficult task to get so many cars out of one place quickly but that situation was completely unacceptable.

Once on the autoroute it was pretty smooth sailing. There was a lot of traffic as it was the end of a long weekend but I was still able to travel at the speed limit. I didn't want to pay any tolls so took the scenic route back to Paris. It took a lot longer but was well worth it. We went through some really beautiful villages and if we hadn't been held up leaving Magny Cours then we would have had time to stop. All French towns and villages are beautiful. They always have cute little streets and squares and the obligatory church. It seems the most beautiful villages had views of the not so beautiful nuclear power stations. I wonder if they get extra government funding as some kind of compensation.

The weekend was hot, dirty, tiring, and expensive. Parts of the F1 were enjoyable but was it worth it, no. They filthy toilets with no toilet paper and no soap and the unacceptable wait in the car park ruined it for me. Never again!

Bastille Day Fireworks in Paris

At the last minute I decided to go to the fireworks for Bastille Day. I didn't want to go because I knew it was going to be packed but seeing I hadn't been before I thought I should at least once. I got the metro to Ecole Militaire which was a good station to get off. The Champs de Mars is only a short walk from there and even though it was full of people, who had seemingly been there most of the day, I still found a spot fairly close to the Eiffel Tower.

I got there at 9pm but the fireworks didn't start until 10:30pm. I had to stand during that time which wouldn't have been so bad if there wasn't a million other people around. People kept pushing to get a better view but once things started it was fine. I was surprisingly close to the action as the fireworks went off between the Champs de Mars and the Tour Eiffel. I'm sure the view I had was better than that from any other vantage point. If you want to see the fireworks and don't mind being people breathing down your neck then that is the place to be.

As for the fireworks themselves - they were great. I haven't seen any fireworks displays for quite a few years so I don't know how they compare but I was really impressed. They went off in time to classical music which was fantastic. I'm used to seeing fireworks in Australia for Australia Day and that is always to Australian music so this was quite different. I like classical music and this was perfect, especially with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Naturally there was a huge number of people trying to get into the one metro station when I was leaving but after a little pushing and shoving I was inside. Once inside there were hardly any people and it was a quiet ride home.

It's hard to say if I would go again because I can't stand crowds but I think ultimately it was worth it. I won't go every year but now and again would be fine. They really were beautiful, better then any fireworks I have every seen. As the guy next to me said, 'belissimo'.

French Formula 1 Grand Prix - Nevers Magny Cours

I'm not much of a fan of the Formula 1 but have taken a mild interest in it since meeting my husband. Ferbent loves the F1 and watches every race. He is a Schumacher fan which I can't understand. The guy is arrogant and boring. I support Webber but only because he's an Aussie. He doesn't seem to have much going for him other than that.

I thought it would be exciting to see a race in person so I've booked tickets to see the French Grand Prix on the 16th July. It is in Nevers which is about half way between Paris and Lyon. It seems Magny Cours is in the middle of nowhere so I've had to hire a car for the weekend. I booked everything at short notice so all the hotels in the area are already fully booked. We are either going to have to stay a couple of hours away from the track or spend the night in the car. I'm not too keen on option number two so it looks like I'll be doing a lot of driving on the day. The other thing I haven't booked is parking. They are not selling parking tickets on the internet anymore so I'm not sure how to get them. I hope I'll be able to get them on the day or else we might be in for a long walk.

It should be a great day as I have never been to this kind of event before and never imagined I would. I find the races quite boring unless there is a lot of overtaking or a spectacular accident. I think the enjoyment will be more in the atmosphere than the actual race itself. We'll see.

First Impressions Count

When I first saw Zidane I thought for sure he would be the type to lose his temper quickly. When I heard him interviewed I was surprised that he is quite softly spoken. I thought perhaps I had misjudged him and he was a quiet guy after all. Wrong!! I couldn't believe he head butted that Italian player in the World Cup Final tonight. Especially seeing it was such an important match. For one thing being the final but also being his last match ever before retirement. So he threw away the match because he got angry at some guy. What a waste. He got a red card and was out of the match and France subsequently lost. I guess they won't be building a statue of Zidane on the Champs-Elysees after all!

Another cross against Zidane from me is that he smokes. I never would have thought a top athlete would do that. Plus he is a hero for so many young boys in France and probably in Algeria. I was pretty disappointed to see that.

There's complete silence coming from my bedroom window which means France is in mourning. Italy won the World Cup. Viva Italia!

Bastille Day In Paris - 14th July

Bastille Day, the 14th July, is a national holiday in France. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille and the beginning of the French Revolution. It's great to be in France for this day, especially in Paris, as there are many celebrations taking place throughout the country.

The day starts at around 10am with a military parade on the Champs-Elysees. Jets fly overhead while the parade takes place. The parade starts at the Arc de Triomphe and then heads to the Place de la Concorde. The President leads the parade which also include members of the Foreign Legion and the Fire Brigade. You have to be VERY early to get a good spot and, depending how interested you are in the military, it is probably worth it.

Many attractions throughout the city are free on this day, including the Louvre and many other museums. If you're not interested in the parade then go straight to your favourite museum and get in ahead of the crowds.

Later in the evening, don't miss the fireworks at the Champ-de-Mars. They start at around 11pm but people start gathering at lunchtime. If you are going to go early then don't forget plenty of water, sunscreen, and a hat. You can see the fireworks from a number of places and the most popular is the Palais du Chaillot. If you are like me and can't stand crowds then try either the Pont de l'Alma (although this will still be quite crowded) or the Pont Alexandre III, near the Invalides.

If you want to take photos of the fireworks then I suggest you visit the Digital Photography School for tips on how to get the best shots.

I Got My Carte de Sejour

In the end it was easy. I had an appointment with the Prefecture this morning, gave them all my documents (there weren't really that many), and that was it. She printed out the Carte de Sejour and I was finished. It's valid for 10 years so now I can work, study, and come and go as I please. I'm so glad it's over but now I'm onto the more difficult stage - finding a job in Paris...

At the Prefecture Again

I had my appointment at the Prefecture today and seeing as I didn't have my birth certificate they couldn't do anything for me. It should arrive from Australia next week and they made another appointment for me in two weeks. The good news is that she agreed to accept both my birth and marriage certificates in english so I won't need to get them translated. This will save me a lot of time as well as 100 euros.

I've heard a lot of stories about how difficult people are at the Prefecture and how it's difficult to get any help from them but I've found nothing but the opposite. They have been very helpful and friendly, the woman I saw today even tried to speak to me in english, although not very successfully. I was also surprised they were flexible on the translation problem. They were very nice and I hope to get my carte de sejour in two weeks time. Well, I'm sure they won't do it on the spot but I think it will arrive in the mail. Either way it won't be long now.

Latest Organic Products

I added quite a few organic products today to Buy Organic. It's quite difficult to find products which are 100% organic and some products only contain one or two organic ingredients. I'm still promoting those as well as products which don't contain natural ingredients but are natural products made without the use of preservatives and other chemicals.

Products added today include:

Organic Baby Skin Care
Natural Men's Skin Care
Eco Friendly Cleaning Products
Organic Vitamins and Supplements

Tomorrow I'm going to work on adding some organic cotton clothes. These suppliers are difficult to find, especially in Australia. The only companies I have found are in the US and no one tends to buy from these companies, preferring to buy locally. I'll give it a go anyway and see how it goes.

Is Paris Tap Water Safe to Drink?

I never drank the tap water in Paris simply because I was told it is not fit for drinking. I'm now starting to question if that is really the case as I know a number of people who do drink it. I have tried it and even though it doesn't taste that great there is nothing wrong with it. It won't make you sick.

Some French mineral water companies have suggested that bottled mineral water is better for your health but there is no scientific evidence to support this and the French government themselves say that tap water has the same benefits as bottled water.

The French are drinking less bottled water, especially the more expensive brands such as Perrier, Badoit, Evian, and Volvic. More people are drinking cheaper supermarket brands of water as well as tap water. Personally I buy the cheapest brand at my supermarket which is only 18 cents per 1.5 litre bottle and it's fine. I don't see the need to pay more than 50 cents a bottle for the other brands. You're really just paying for the brand name, they are not any better for you.

I think if you don't mind the taste of tap water then go ahead and drink it, otherwise go for the cheapest bottled water you can find.

Organic Personal Hygiene & The Mooncup

I didn't know if it would be worth promoting organic personal hygiene products or not but I've had a few requests for them so I thought I'd see how they go. The range includes organic deodorants from Avalon Organics and Miessence and a deodorant stick from the Aromatherapy Co which is especially for men. My husband uses this and he says it's as effective as any other deodorant.

I've also started promoting the Mooncup. The mooncup is a feminine hygiene product which is used in place of tampons. I haven't tried it but it sounds interesting. They have been around for decades and are more environmentally friendly than tampons as they are reusable and can last up to 10 years. Check out the Mooncup website for more information. They deliver internationally but payment is made in UK pounds.

Organic Lipstick and Lip Balms

I've added a new page to Buy Organic which is all about organic lipstick and organic lip balms.

One of the most popular products I have are Badger Balms. They are lip and body balms and there is also a sleep balm and a balm which helps you breath if you have a cold. You just rub it on your chest and it can help you to feel better. This is proving especially popular now during winter.

Wild Elixir also have a great range of products which I use myself. The exfoliating scrub and the lip balm are fantastic.

I also added some links to Avalon Organics which is a new range I'm promoting. They have organic body lotions and organic shampoos and conditioners. They sound great and are on my list of things to try.

Shopping at Le Bon Marche

Les Galleries Lafayettes and Le Printemps are two of the most famous department stores in Paris but I've always preferred Le Bon Marche. It's in a great shopping area surrounded by beautiful parks plus it's a little quieter than the other stores. It's really nice to spend the day in that part of Paris.

Ferbent's birthday was on Saturday so we went to the Bon Marche to buy him a present. Ferbent loves shopping and when we went there a month ago he saw lots of clothes he liked so I promised him we would go back for his birthday. Of course, this time he didn't see anything he liked. He tried on a few things but he was quite disappointed. We ended up checking out their homewares section and bought some fantastic Peugeot salt and pepper grinders. Ferbent wanted to buy them for my birthday earlier this year but he wasn't working at that time and seeing they are quite expensive (82 euros each) we didn't buy them. So this time he insisted on getting them and now I have two very beautiful electric grinders with an inbuilt light so you can see how much you are grinding. They're fantastic! I also bought a small bag which I can put over my shoulder so I won't have to carry my heavy handbag anymore. So much for shopping for Ferbent's birthday!

After walking around the Latin Quarter and getting very tired we finally found a nice little menswear shop where Ferbent bought a shirt and jumper which he loves. We also stopped off at Muji where I bought a dressing gown for him which he has wanted for ages and we bought some cute thongs each as well.

We hardly ever go shopping so it was really nice to go out today and buy whatever we wanted without thinking too much about price. I think it'll be back to watching the centimes for the next couple of months though, at least until we go on our summer holiday.

Organic Sales are Picking Up

Sales at my Buy Organic site are starting to pick up. I'm getting a lot more hits and from each of the major search engines. Some products are turning out to be quite popular. The organic cotton baby clothes are by far the most popular items. The site also got a mention on mothering.com in one of the forums. They were discussing bamboo socks and someone placed a link to my article on bamboo clothing. I was quite happy with the free advertising and it generated quite a few hits. I couldn't have placed the comment better myself. No, it wasn't me who posted it. They say that commercial posts aren't allowed but there seem to be a lot of links like that. Maybe I should develop more of a presence in forums like that. So things are picking but there is still a long way to go before I'll be happy with the visitor count and the income generated.

Alex is Ignoring Me

Alex is my brother and I'd like to put it in writing that he is annoying because he keeps ignoring me when I Skype him. Almost every other day I send a skype message and I never get any response. I know he's online and I know it works because I got him to test it once when I was on the phone with him. I don't know, is it really that hard to respond to a message? He doesn't have to bother with headphones, it doesn't cost him anything, it's not going to take up much of his precious time. I don't understand. He's a pain.

A Day at the Prefecture

After queuing for 2 hours at the Sous Prefecture in Boulogne I discovered that I don't need any visa or stamp in my passport to live in France. I can stay as long as I like and come and go as I please. I'm surprised that is the case but the lady there insisted it's true. She was saying how that has been the case for Europeans for the last couple of years, which I was already aware of, and it is the same for Australians. I asked her about 3 times to make sure I hadn't misunderstood and she said without a doubt that was the case. I'm still not sure I believe her.

Of course this doesn't mean Australians can work in France without a Carte de Sejour so I have to apply for one. I have an appointment on the 23rd June and I'm hoping they'll give it to me right there and then. I need all the usual documents plus official translations of both my marriage certificate and birth certificate. The translations cost 50 euros per document which is not too bad. I don't know why they need the birth certificate seeing they'll have my passport. I don't even know where it is, I'll have to get my father to get a copy for me. Hopefully I'll get it in time so I'll won't have to go back and then I'll be able to start looking for work in a few weeks.

Free Things to do in Paris

Paris is an expensive city but there are free things to do and these are often some of my favourite things to do.

Visit a Park
There are so many beautiful parks and gardens in Paris that it's difficult to pick a favourite. My top picks are the Jardin du Luxembourg, Place des Vosges, Parc Monceau, and Palais Royal. These are all very well known parks but some of the nicest are the small parks hidden away in the different quarters. Walk outside of the main tourist areas and you'll find a great park to sit in and watch the world go by.

Go to the Louvre
The Louvre museum is free on the first Sunday of every month so there is no excuse for not going. Except for the long queues I suppose.

Stroll Down the Champs-Elysees
It may be a bit of a cliche but the Champs-Elysees really is the most beautiful boulevard in the world. It may be touristy and full of overpriced cafes but you can't go to Paris without walking down it. Plus it's free.

Window Shopping
Everyone wants to go shopping in Paris but not all of us can afford the expensive designer stores. Of course there's no reason you can't go in and have a look around. Besides, half the fun is in looking.

Sale of Dreamweaver

I was very happy to see that I sold a copy of Dreamweaver through my Cheap Web Templates website today. I use Dreamweaver for all my web development work and I recommend the product on my site because I really think it is the best for web development work.

I am a little surprised someone would buy it though because unless you are going to be developing a few sites it is quite a large expense. Not that I'm complaining but I was always under the impression that people buying web templates from my site are just working on one project and so they need one template and that's it. Then again I've bought a number of templates myself and I am a web developer so who knows.

Anyway I was really excited to see the sale as I'll get a very nice commission from it. Hopefully I'll start making money from that site now. I think I've got my AdWords campaigns working profitably so it's looking good for the future.

Musee du Quai Branly Opening in Paris

A new museum will be opening in Paris this month, the Musee de Quai Branly. It is dedicated to art from Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Oceania region. It's not just dedicated to art in those regions but also to objects and artifacts and of the people and civilisations. I wouldn't normally be interested in this kind of museum but I will definitely go just to see the Oceania section which includes an area dedicated to Aboriginal art and civilisation.

The museum is in a great location right in the centre of Paris, on the Seine. It is in a new building next to the Eiffel Tower and not far from the Musee d'Orsey. The building itself is partially covered in Aboriginal art. The building is protected by a huge garden covering around 18,000 sqm and is planted with almost 200 trees and 30 plant varieties including rows of magnolias and cherry trees. The building and garden will probably turn out to be the most interesting part of the museum.

I look forward to the opening later this month.

Paris Weather A Problem for French Open

The weather has been pretty bad in Paris of late and the rain over the last few days has lead to delays in the French Open tennis tournament. A number of matches were delayed yesterday and will be played today. The only good thing about that is that there will be plenty of matches being played today by the top players.

Roger Federer, Martina Hingis, Kim Clijsters, and Alicia Molik (have to support the Aussies of course, except Hewitt who I can't stand) will all be playing today. I don't know if they'll all be televised as Amelie Mauresmo and a couple of other French players are also playing today and they usually get priority on TV.

I haven't watched any tennis since the tournament began but I think I'll make time for a couple of matches today. I'd especially like to see Federer and Hingis, two of my favourite players. Thankfully the weather should be fine today so there shouldn't be any more delays.

Living in the Country

I had to laugh today when a lady was telling me that my neighbours don't live in Paris. They just use the apartment occasionally when they are in the city. I asked her if they live in the country and she said "oh, no, no they live in Vichy". Now, if Vichy isn't in the country then I don't know what is. Vichy is a small town in the middle of France with a population of less than 80,000. I suppose technically that might be considered a city but it's pretty small and not a real city in my books.

The French always seem to have the attitude that only 'peasants' live in the country and no one wants to be considered a peasant. Of course plenty of French have second homes in the country but this is obviously different. They're not peasants. I don't understand what the problem is but for me a city in France is like Paris, Lyon or Marseille. Anywhere like Vichy is just a town.

Plumber Here Again

I had the plumber at the apartment again as the neighbours below me are still having water go through their light when I have a shower. The plumber who was here the other day insisted there was no problem and the leak was probably from the apartment next door to me. As it turns out no one lives next door so there hasn't been any water on there for more than 2 months. So much for that theory.

There doesn't seem to be much doubt now that the leak is coming from my shower. I think it's because it is made of plastic/fibreglass rather than ceramic. It looks like the landlord is going to have to replace it. As usual, buy cheap buy twice.

Need an Afternoon Nap

My computer seems to need an afternoon nap. I start work at about 9am so the computer is on from then on. Usually around lunchtime it crashes. There doesn't seem to be any reason for this, the screen just goes blank and then it's off. If I try turning it on it crashes again. If I leave it for half an hour or so it will then turn on and it will work without any problems for the rest of the day.

I've recently started turning the computer off while I have lunch and find if I do this there won't be any crashes during the day. My only conclusion from this is that it needs a nap! It seems to get hot just before it crashes so maybe it feels it is overworked and has to have a break. It may not make sense but I'm going to continue to turn it off each lunchtime to let it rest, just to make sure I don't have any further problems.