Morocco

I'm off to Morocco tomorrow for a week. I've been looking forward to this for ages. It'll be my first time in Africa, I can't believe it's taken so long to get there.

I got a cheap flight with EasyJet to Marrakech and will spend 3 days there before heading to Fes for a few days and then back to Marrakech to get the plane back to Paris.

I hope to see lots of new things like the souks, the mountains, the old cities with maze like streets, maybe some belly dancing and of course I'll be drinking mint tea and eating tagines :)

Hoodoo Gurus - Like Wow Wipe out

Well, seeing I'm posting hit Aussie songs from the 80s, I can't forget the Hoodoo Gurus - Like Wow Wipe Out.

Models - Barbados

Models - Barbados

Another of my favourite Models songs.

Models - Out of Mind Out of Sight

Models - Out of Mind Out of Sight

This was one of my favourite songs when I was growing up. I loved the Models and used to listen to their record over and over again. I was crazy about the lead singer too, hehe. Thanks to Leesa for bringing back this great memory.

Pain au Chocolat

When I first came to France, I think I tried every type of cake (I didn't like any of them) and did the rounds of all the local boulangeries to find the best pain au chocolat. It was a tough job but some pain au chocolat are definitely better than others.

Of course, after a while I got pretty sick of them and I hadn't had any for more than a year. A long time, I know. So over the weekend I sent F out to get some and boy, what have I been missing! He managed to get some which were still warm so the chocolate was melted. Yum! What could be better?

Since then I've been trying different pastries but when they are cold, they're just not that good. I wonder if I should just ask the boulanger what time they make them so I can get them fresh out of the oven. Would that sound desperate?

Why Do Men Die Younger?

My husband seems to think that men die younger because women never stop nagging them and the stress eventually gets to them. While that may or may not be true, I think this could be the answer:

Why do men die younger?

More Easter Jokes

Old Joke

Yes I know this has been around for years but it still makes me LOL.

Computer nerds

I don't spend a lot of time on forums but enough to understand all the references in this clip. Does that make me a computer nerd???

Madrid

I was reluctant to go back to Spain after my previous trip 18 months ago when I visited Pamplona, Zaragoza, and Barcelona. The only thing I enjoyed was the food in Barcelona, nothing else. The endless apartment blocks, dirty streets, and general lack of interesting places to visit made me think I would never return to Spain.

However, lured by a cheap flight, I made my way to Madrid last weekend, giving the country one last chance to impress me. Thankfully, Madrid was nothing like Barcelona, it is architecturally beautiful, there are many great parks worth visiting, the food was generally good, cheap drinks were in abundance, and I had a great time.

The first night was a bit of a disaster as we arrived at the hotel after 1am. We went out to experience Madrid's famous night life but the smokey bars and drunk people everywhere meant we didn't stay out long.

Saturday started with a bus tour to see the major sights and get an idea of what the city has to offer. The Prado Museum, Gran Via, Royal Palace, and the many beautiful plazas were amazing.

Lunch consisted of bar hopping where we enjoyed various tapas and cheap Rioja wine. Patatas bravas, croquetas, and tortillas are popular and my favourites. I'm not much of a drinker but who can turn down a glass of wine for 1.50 euros or at the most 3 euros. I think I was drunk the entire 48 hours I was in the country!

I then had the most delicious cake of my life at an unbelievably popular cake shop at metro Sol. It was so light and creamy. Who knew the Spanish could make cakes 100 times better than the French?

An afternoon siesta was followed by more, you guessed it, tapas and Rioja, with the odd glass of Sangria thrown in for good measure. I don't really like Sangria (does anyone) but hey, when in Rome...

Sunday saw me head back to the famous cake shop for an incredibly delicious chocolate croissant type thing. I briefly considered moving to Madrid based solely on the presence of this shop but I know that would seriously hinder any attempt I might have at losing a few kilos, so moving to Madrid is out of the question.

More sightseeing and a little shopping was followed by more eating and drinking. Lunch included a little paella and an incredible egg and potato dish, which is a local speciality. It's surprising I can even remember what I ate as it was washed down with an entire bottle of wine, shared with my husband, of course, and then a shot of some kind of liquor. How I managed to catch my plane after all that, I'll never know.

Bull

Ferbent wants to get an English Bulldog. I'm not sure it's a good idea...

Last Day in Berlin

The main reason for this trip to Berlin was to celebrate my birthday. Today I'm 34 years old. Bloody old! I don't know where all the years went.

My final day in Berlin was spent walking around Berlin, enjoying the sites, cafes, and speaking with the friendly German people. I really would like to live in Berlin one day. When I leave Paris at the end of this year I'm going to either move to Germany or back to Australia. There is not another option for me.

My birthday lunch was at a Turkish place where I had steaming hot freshly baked bread, every kind of meat they had, rice, potato, salad, drinks. The food was piled high and it was only 15 euros for the two of us. Delicious and a bargain!

Dessert was another kase sahne torte. I normally hate cakes, especially French ones, but I love German cakes! They really know what they're doing and again waaaayyy cheaper than what you get here at a patisserie.

Our Easyjet flight was slightly delayed but we managed to get the last metro and make it safely home. I loved Berlin and plan to go back in the summer when it should be even better. So far I've been to Cologne, Stuttgart, and Berlin, which just leaves Munich on my list of must see German cities. Hopefully I'll make it there this summer also.

Berlin Zoo

Berlin Zoo is supposed to be one of the biggest and best zoos around. I can accept that it might be one of the biggest but I'm not sure it's one of the best. Not that I've been to that many zoos in my time but I think even little old Perth Zoo is better than this. Well, not as far as the variety of animals go but in the way in which they are housed/caged.

Berlin Zoo definitely has some amazing animals, some of which I've never seen before. The number one attraction is Bao Bao, the giant Panda. Bao Bao is worth the admission price alone. Talk about cute!

Also amazing were the gorillas. I'm not sure if I've seen a gorilla before. There are at least 10 of them there and I loved them all. Their faces are so expressive. There are plenty of chimpanzees and orang utans too if you like that kind of thing, which I do.

There are lots of cats on show too - lion, lioness, leopard, puma, jaguar, tiger. Some of the cats seemed to have very small enclosures and they do that thing where they walk in repetitive circles which I hate to see.

The other star attraction is Knut the polar bear who is now all grown up. Very cute and very playful, he didn't disappoint the crowds.

One great thing about this zoo is that there are loads of babies around. Baby giraffes, elephants, lions, gorillas, chimps, bears, and more, so they must be doing something right if the animals are breeding.

Sightseeing in Berlin

Today I just wanted to go sightseeing and eat some lecker German cakes and that's what we did.

We took the same path as our first night here taking in the major sights and snapping lots of photos and video along the way. Places of interest:

• Checkpoint Charlie - where east once met west.
• The Berlin Wall - or what little is left of it.
• Potsdamer Platz - modern new Berlin.
• Holocaust Memorial.
• Brandenburg Gate - need I say more.
• The Reichstag - German parliament building, completely reconstructed after the war. The modern glass dome is a nice touch but not really worth the 1 hour wait to go up.
• Hauptbahnhof - the new super modern central station.
• Unter den Linden.
• Gendarmenmarkt - beautiful square with twin churches.
• Berliner Dom - beautiful cathedral, although it could do with a good clean.
• Alexanderplatz - visit the Fernsehturm TV tower if you have the patience to wait in the queue - I didn't.
• Martin Gropius Bau
• Topographie des Terrors - an open air exhibition on the former site of the Gestapo.

All that walking and sightseeing was followed by another great meal and my favourite German dessert, kase sahne torte. Happy.

Shopping in Berlin

Argh, I hate shopping. I must be one of the few girls born without the shopping gene. Ferbent on the other hand loves shopping and just wants to buy, buy, buy. I feel like a mother out with a small child when I'm with him. No son, you can't have that 5000 euro watch, it's too expensive. No son, do you really need another 5 pairs of jeans. No son, I don't think you're ever going to have the occasion to wear braces.

Let's see how our little shopping spree went.

Ferbent:

• 11 t-shirts
• 1 pair of jeans
• 1 pair of shorts
• 1 casual jacket
• 1 pair of casual shoes
• 1 pair of running shoes
• 2 pairs of socks

Andrea:

• 1 bag
• 1 pair of casual shoes
• 1 pair of running shoes

If I hadn't been around he would have bought 5 times as much. Who knows how we'll carry it all back home.

Places to shop in Berlin:

• Alexa
• Alexander Platz
• Potsdamer Platz
• Kurfurstendamm
• countless other places

Lecker

Today started well with a lecker meal in a German bakery. A huge sandwich, a berliner (although they don't call doughnuts berliners in Berlin), and a drink for 4 euros. I was so full I wasn't hungry again until 7pm!

We then took a very touristy hop on hop off bus tour which gave us a good overview of all the sights of Berlin. When the guide was speaking, I couldn't tell when he was speaking German and when he was speaking English - it sounded all Greek to me. We switched buses and then had a great guide so it turned out to be a lot of fun.

We then did a bit of shopping in Kurfurstendamm where I picked up some comfy Diesel shoes to replace the very uncomfortable boots I had on. Note to self: never go on holiday without my favourite super comfy Diesel shoes. All the regular shops are in the Kurfustendamm area as well as a couple of German department stores including Ka Da We, the largest department store in Europe, after Harrods.

We had dinner at what could have been a dodgy kebab place but turned out to be really lecker. Ferbent did manage to spill his beer over my coat, new Brontibay bag, and brand new Diesel shoes so now I smell like a drunk, but anyway, I had a good time.

Berlin

This is my first time in Berlin and have 5 days to explore the huge city. We arrived in the late afternoon, checked into our hotel near Checkpoint Charlie and Potsdamer Platz, and then headed straight out.

First stop was Potsdamer Platz, a huge square where you can see modern buildings, Europe's first traffic light, and remnants of the Berlin Wall. A short walk from Potsdamer Platz is the Brandenburg Gate. The first thing I notice is that it's much smaller than I imagined it would be but amazing to see nonetheless. It's then onto Unter Den Linden, the most famous boulevard in Berlin, where you pass the massive Russian Embassy, the heavily guarded US Embassy, and the modern British Embassy. Further along there are many historic buildings (often reconstructed after the war), museums, libraries, and Berliner Dom.

Over the river is Alexander Platz and the TV tower. A bit further along we stop for a tasty and very cheap Italian meal with a friendly Albanian waiter who is now Ferbent's best friend ;) We then made the long walk back to the hotel, taking in Friedrichstrasse and Checkpoint Charlie.

I always knew Berlin was much cheaper than Paris but was shocked that housing is sooooo much cheaper. The guy on reception at the hotel told me he pays 500 euros for a 60 sqm apartment and the Albanian waiter is paying 480 for a 70 sqm apartment. Both say they are in really nice areas in central Berlin. I'm paying over 1000 euros a month for 40 sqm. Something's not right!

Juno

One of the things I love about living in Europe is being able to watch the latest 'foreign' films which I'd never get a chance to see in Australia. Of course you can see European films in Australia, especially with the unbeatable SBS and World Movie channels, but it's just not the same. Here, especially in Paris, there are so many great and unusual films showing at the cinema.

Of course, there are plenty of crappy films showing too. However, most of them are American movies rather than European ones. So I tend to avoid Hollywood movies, even if they get a good review. 

I made an exception for Juno and I'm glad I did. It's really my kind of movie and was surprisingly funny. It was so well written, very clever, and then ending was just as it should have been. Worth seeing for sure.

Vans for €10

I happened to be walking past the Vans shop on Friday and couldn't control myself. I had to go inside. You know, just to have a look. I didn't spot anything I liked until I stepped into the little room at the back and what do you know, last seasons Vans for €10! Bargain!

These shoes are usually 40 or 50 so how could I turn that down? I got 2 of course. Other pairs were €12.50 but they didn't have my size. Otherwise I might have gone home with 5 pairs of shoes!

So if you love Vans or just want a pair of super comfy casual shoes then head off to the Vans store on Rue St Honore near Les Halles.

La Fabrique des Sentiments

Finally a semi decent movie after seeing a couple of crappy ones. La Fabrique des Sentiments is about a 36 year old single woman looking for love and struggling to find it:

Eloïse, la trentaine, a réussi sa vie professionnelle. Moins sa vie privée puisqu'elle est toujours célibataire et le regrette. Elle s'inscrit à un speed-dating, 7 hommes, 7 femmes, 7 minutes pour séduire... La solitude, l'indépendance, la séduction: les nouveaux modes de rencontres.

Sometimes I wish I was still single but at other times, like when seeing this movie, I realise what a nightmare it is for people in the thirties looking for 'the one'.

The woman in this movie obviously doesn't have a lot of luck with men but what I don't understand is why she did what she did in the end. I won't reveal the ending in case you are going to see it, but it didn't make sense to me. Some people will do anything to avoid being alone I guess.