8 posts tagged “paris”
You may have noticed that I didn't exactly stick to my whole NaBloPoMo thing...and I couldn't care less.
I took on way too much stuff last month, and I just happy that November is done and dusted. I didn't exactly do NaBloPoMo so I could WIN or anything...I just wanted to get back into a groove. And I think that I, for the most part, did. It felt nice to have a busy blog again.
Part of me wishes I had stuck to it...but I just know how I felt after being awake from 3:30am until 11:30pm with only a few hours to nap on the Eurostar last Wednesday night, and I just couldn't get myself out of bed.
What this has made me figure out, however, is that I need to find better, easier ways for me to blog. Whether it be from my phone, or smoke signal.
Much to catch up on, but I just want to start this month off on a positive note. Last Wednesday, Iain made it possible for me to catch the Eurostar with Liz down to Paris for a day.
The sun was out.
My lame attempts at French and slightly-more European appearance led to a much more pleasant experience with the Parisians - and one lady even came up to me and start speaking French! (I was sort of flattered.)
I hated The Louvre less, and am even excited at the possibility to go back and to look at even more things that I missed before. Did you know that you could see parts of Napoleon's apartment in The Louvre? It will blow your mind, seriously, GO.
I was also extremely blessed to happen to be at Notre Dame when 5:30 mass started. I got to stand in one of the greatest cathedrals on earth, and hear a choir sing hymns in French. (Maybe it was even Latin. I don't know.)
It was beautiful.
I could have stayed in there all night...Touching the ancient walls and listening to foreign songs being sang in foreign. tongues.
I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the LeWeb conference in Paris next week - so, lucky me, I get to go back to Paris for a whole three days and two nights to attend one of the most fabulous technology conferences in the world, as press, for my new website.
I'm excited, to say the least.
For some reason (probably because VOX isn't compatible with Firefox 3, you can't see all my photos that I uploaded from my flickr acount.
You can see them here instead:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/catesevilla
So, instead of just giving you a link to my Flickr account, I thought I would just upload all of my good photos from Paris here. It turns out there are quite a few, so, please feel free to just ignore them if you so wish.
Paris was a beautiful place, and we (for the most part) were blessed beautiful weather. However, around day 3 of being in Paris, we started to realize how very close to home we were, and to how very, very tired we were. Iain caught a fever, and for some reason being locked up in a hotel room in Paris for hours and hours at a time wasn't so bad.
Iain slept, I watched an entire first season of Weeds on my laptop and ate tons and tons of Babybel cheese and the most fantastic little coconut cookies I've ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth. Also? I discovered the most delicious sangria that was sold IN A BOX and cost less than 3 euro and was 7% alcohol. HELLO.
My favorite part of Paris: has to be Montmartre
My favorite thing in Paris? Breakfast - they believe in eating half a baguette first thing in the morning...HELLO.
My favorite memory: at Montparnasse Bienvenue station when Iain decided he wanted a Twix, but the machine fucking wasn't working, so he pressed in the code to get a Snickers instead, and when he reached in to grab the Snickers, he found a handful of Twix, too. We laughed all the way to the next train stop.
Best thing to eat: A Croque Monsiuer with an Orangina, and then a citron and sucre crepe...mmMMmmMmMm.
Least favorite memory: dealing with the asshole staff and the asshole tourists in The Louvre. Here's a hint, if you're a tourist and you want to see the Mona Lisa up close - YOU WON'T. Why? Because there are millions of other people who want to see it. If you would like to take a picture of it, YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO. Why? Because there are
Favorite purchase? I bought waaaaay too many postcards with nifty things like this and this on them, but I bought a business card holder at one of those little sidewalk tourist shops near St Germain with what looks like a topless French prostitute smoking a cigarette. It's pretty much the best thing I've ever bought.
If you missed all of our fantastic photos from Tokyo, they are here.
I'd also just like to take this opportunity to thank the fantastic people at Six Apart for giving us the opportunity to see the world in a way we never dreamed we'd be able to see it. Thank you to all of the people who took time out of their busy work schedules to not only meet up with us, but to get drunk and do karaoke with us. Also, an extra special thank you to Ayako who did such a kick ass job of showing us around Tokyo. I miss Japan already, and Tokyo was my favorite part of our trip.
And, for the record, I totally squealed and jumped up and down when I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time. (And I nearly squealed when we saw the Moulin Rouge. I'm such a Moulin Rouge fangirl, so, this was very cool for me.)
Hi all!
We flew into San Francisco last night! I apologize if this post doesn't make much sense, as I think I lost my brain somewhere between London and San Francisco. Maybe it was when we were on a 4 hour domestic flight without any on-flight entertainment, and the only amusement I found was peeking in between the seats in front of us and reading over some bald dude's Word document on Geology, and some pretentious dude in a suit's Forbes and Golf Digest. (Seriously. Who reads Golf Digest?)
(Sorry if you do.)
We'll be in town for a couple days, visiting some friends and meeting up with some girl crushes. We're not on The Tour yet, though, as we're going home for Easter (because I'm so religious) and will be hanging out in Sacramento all week (aka Watch TV on my mom's couch), and then heading up to Lake Tahoe for the weekend. (aka Drinking in the snow.)
Then! We'll be back in San Francisco from March 31st to the 3rd of April before heading off to TOKYO and PARIS! Woot!
I need suggestions of where to go in Paris and Tokyo! Help a pastry out! Where should we go? What should we do?
Also, I'm in the The Guardian today giving terribly authoritative quotes on Dollymix and why women's blogs are better than fashion magazines.
So the whole learning Japanese and French thing is going a whole lot slower than I had hoped for, as I forgot about that whole job thing I have and all the work I have to do. However! I have made time to read the Rough Guide books on Tokyo, San Francisco, and Paris that we bought.
While these aren't necessarily books you can read from cover to cover, I have read through the whole Customs, Etiquette, and the General Pointers section of each book..and I'm not gonna lie. I was a tad bit alarmed by what I read in The Rough Guide To Tokyo:
"In this very male, strictly hierarchal society, men always take precedence over women. so ladies shouldn't expect doors to be held open or for seats to be vacated. Sexual discrimination is wide spread, and foreign working women in Japan can find the predominately male business culture hard going."
Right. Okay. It's fine. I'm going to a different city, a different country, and their culture just happens to be a bit more misogynist than my own. It's fine. I don't need doors opened for me. It's cool....
...And then I read further on:
"The generally low status of women in Japan is reflected in the amount of groping that goes on in the crowded commuter trains - there are even pornographic films and comics aimed at gropers. If you do have the misfortune of being groped, the best solution is to grab the offending hand, yank it high in the air, and embarrass the guy as much as possible. Fortunately, more violent sexual abuse is rare; though most stalking, harassment and rape are seriously underreported...Women should exercise the same caution about being alone with a man as they would anywhere."
So...I know that there's a big problem with men groping women on trains in Tokyo. That's why they have the women only carriages. There's just something about seeing the phrases "low status of women" and "groping" in a guide book about a city you're really excited to go to that is really depressing. I also enjoy the sentiment that, "Hey! It sucks you've had the misfortune of being groped by some sleaze bag on the subway. Fortunately, you weren't raped."
I'm not really sure what to think about that. It, of course, doesn't make me any less excited or happy to be going to Tokyo, it just makes me wonder if any of you who either have lived or have visited Japan have experienced anything like this?
Out of all the 300-something pages in this book, which highlights all of the wonderful things about this city, only about 2 paragraphs touch on the supposed misogynistic, perverted part of Tokyo and the Japanese culture.
On the same token, in the The Rough Guide to Paris book, there's only a short blurb about how, oh by the way, Parisians are sort of RACIST.
"France has a bad reputation for racist attitudes and behavior...there are occasional reports of unpleasant incidents such as restauraunts and hotels claiming to be fully booked, and travelers of north African or Arab maybe unlucky to encounter outright hostility or excessive police interest."
They go on to say that if you are "unlucky" enough to have an "unpleasant" experience like they described, they give you the number of a support line to call as the "police are unlikely to be sympathetic". But! There is good news if you're a woman:
"Full-on sexual harassment is extremely unusual, though female travelers from Anglophone countries may find ordinary male behavior chauvinistic."
Ordinary behavior, huh?
I was pleased to find that the Rough Guide To San Francisco had a whole section on Women Travelers, and they didn't really have one negative thing to say, aside from the fact that if you'd like to carry gas, whistles and pepper spray if you're traveling alone, that that would be a good idea.
"In the West Coast's most politically progressive city, women are treated with respect and courtesy almost everywhere, and commonly hold positions of power and authority."
That sentence just makes me want to lick the city of San Francisco.
While most people who are proud and love the cities they are from and live in don't want to admit that that "they're a tad misogynist" or that "yeah, some of us grope women on trains" or especially that "um, we're definitely a little bit racist", I still appreciate the fact that this information is included in these books....I think.
No city is perfect, no culture is perfect.
If you were coming to London, and I had to write a completely honest, unbiased paragraph on how women are treated here, I would have to mention that, "Yeah, the door won't always be opened for you, and some of my friends have had men grab their ass on the tube." But, on the same token, you also get the lovely British men that will give you their seat if you're struggling with grocery bags in a pair of stilettos on the train, and even a busy Londoner who will happily open the door for you, despite their gender.
Do you think that travel books like Rough Guides accurately depict the culture and the personality of the city their describing?
Advice...I needs it.
We're totally going on the Vox World Tour next month. Does anyone know a good way to learn Japanese and brush up on my French in just over a month?
*squeals*
Where do I even begin...
I don't feel like I usually write about what's actually going on in my
life. Besides my wedding, and my dad...I don't ever really, just...talk.
Today, I just want to talk with y'all...ya know?
I love Vox like a mother fucker.
It's not about the website.
Sure I love uploading videos, and being able to make my own banner (okay, get my husband to design one for me), it's all of the super neat stuff like that that makes it so easy to use, and love.
However, none of that would matter if the people that power this website were not who they were.
The people who write on this website MAKE IT what it is.
The fact that the kick ass people who make this all possible ACTUALLY CARE and write and share about their own lives is amazing, and even surprising sometimes.
I hate to get mushy, and I think PantsParty said it best: "you tell anyone I wrote such sappy shit and I will cut you."
This place is REAL.
And it's because of that, I have been able to whip out my blogging balls and BE MYSELF.
WRITE like MYSELF....
I was invited here by my friend Liz, that I worked with many moons ago at the Starbucks at the Arden Fair Mall, in Sacramento, California.
Way back then invited my lovely friend Kristen to Vox, who I worked with, not so many moons ago, at a Starbucks in Carmichal, California.
This trip is so positive. It's encouraging, and uplifting, and means more to the two of us than I think anyone could ever comprehend.
It's hard for me to accept successes. To feel good about winning things, or accept the fact that I'm loved or liked, even by friends.
But, Vox...
You are giving me Paris.
PARIS.
A trip around the world...A honeymoon with my husband that we would have never dreamed possible.
Travel has been such a precious topic between Iain and I. From the very
begining the thought of seeing the world together was so important to
both of us....
"You take the pictures and I'll write the stories!" I'd say.
And we'd laugh and imagine all the places we would go. The adventures we'd have.
All of this before we had even met.
You are giving us this amazing trip, and it will keep us positive, and be a constant reminder about what life is truly about.
Thinkin' outside the bun, ya know?
Not worrying about vacation hours, and needing time off in order to live.
When I think of us seeing places we've never seen before, together.
The Eiffel Tower...Tokyo...
Struggling with languages together and fumbling with our "Conversational French for Annoying American Tourists" and our "Japanese for Europeans Without A Clue" books....
I still can't believe that this has happened to us.
To Kristen...
Iain....
Myself....
Vox. Thank you. Thank you for this.
The power of words is highly underestimated, is it not?
I was in shock for the past 48 hours. I didn't feel like I deserved this. Not just so I could fish for compliments and hear why I really did deserve this...But just, it's so hard for me to wrap my mind around the way my life has changed just in the past year....
And now this?
This amazing community of people, from all over the world, who have so kindly embraced my writing, myself, my husband, and my life.
My thoughts, and my pain, and my life, and opinions...They are all met with such discussion, and with the sharing of stories, or appreciation. Celebration...
And you all have no idea how much you have helped me just WRITE, and be myself...
My wonderful neighbors and friends who take time out of their lives and days to write me emails, and read my posts, and comment...I am OVER WHELMED by your support and love.
For a person who has spent years and years emotionally and mentally beating herself up over and over again...
For someone who is still just grasping the idea that not everything has to be a struggle. That not everything needs to be a negative, uphill climb...
But that sometimes, there are things that are just lovely, and simple, and deserved....
The fact that I can just let go,bask, and experience this opportunity to it's fullest...And allow myself to be lucky, and not feel guilty for my successes and good fortune.
It's indescribable.
And everyone else at Six Apart that has helped plan this....
My gratitude cannot not be measured, or described in words. There are not enough [this is good]s in all of Vox land to describe how honored I am to be given this opportunity...
I think video blogging me chugging a Vox Vodka straight out of the bottle, whilst eating pink cupcakes as I dance around in my Vox T-shirt and screaming "THIS IS GOOOOOODDD!!" may help you grasp how gosh darn excited I am..
But even I have boundaries..
(Which reminds me...My apologies to Mena and Gladys for screaming "HOLY SHIT!!!!" at you, on tape, after I was told the good news! My boundaries apparently don't include swearing during taped phone conversations...)
You are ALL such lovely people.
Anil Dash who wrote such a lovely post on Six Apart's website...Thank you!!!!
After reading that I burst into tears of joy for about 20 minutes. I think reading that really made it sink in for me.
This is amazing.
This ISN'T about Web 2.0 crap or traffic or about popularity.
This is about people. Our lives. Our sorrows. Our joy.
Comfort. Friendship.
And above all else it shows us that we are not alone, really. (Cue Michael Jackson....)
We are all a bunch of nerdy people, sitting in our offices, on our couches, or standing up half naked in our kitchens every morning, just checking in on different people all over the world...
Simply because we care. They make us laugh. They give us support. They make us think.
They INSPIRE.
I seriously hate to be so freakin' cheesy, but Vox has changed my life.
Blogging IS fun again.
And to think it's only been few months...
Here's to you, Voxers, and Voxees.
I love this place.
I believe the universe has a fabulous way of working, and I'm so thankful that I have finally opened up my eyes, and am just enjoying the ride.
Vox...Thank you.
And now, as I write this, millions of girls are rushing to parks around the world
with bags of stale bread to feed, and embrace ferrel pigeons.
Pigeons are the new Chihuahuas.
They are so hot right now.
