Naruhodo-Ne

Two Years Later: Reflection on EuroTrip 2007

2009-10-20T19:46:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe it’s almost been two years since my adventure in Paris, Italy, and West Germany. I didn’t say anything for a while since I really had no idea what to say. Not because I don’t know what to write, but more like I don’t know where to begin to reflect on things I experienced while I was there. But now, I'll try to do it....as briefly as I possibly can.

You see, recently I read all of the travel journals I posted here. And how I am so amused on my own writings. It’s been so unreal, so magical, and so unexpected, the whole experience caught me off-guard most of the time. From the time I arrived in CDG airport until I left (and the whole airline strike ordeal I’m still too exhausted to share in detail), it’s been such a revelation to another side of the world that was unknown to me. Even now, my knowledge about it is still very humble. But I’m forever grateful to have experienced all that in this lifetime. Oh, how I have became bigger during that time.

Looking back on things, the whole EuroTrip 2007 was one of the defining moments in my life. I became stronger, my mind became richer, my heart became bigger. It’s not about the studies (there’s hardly any, to be honest with you) and probably it’s not about all the awesome places I got to visit with my new friends. It’s more about people I got to meet, the harsher experiences I got to live, the personal growth I got to have, and the spiritual revelation that God is always with me no matter what.

Even now, I still sometimes dream of that segment of life. Thinking I had to make my 8-minute trip to Carrefour or Auchan to buy some groceries. That 8:20 am Line-A train I got to catch to Cergy (where ESSEC, my school is). The amazing Le Louvre and beautiful La Tour Eiffel, both I just barely grazed at the surface. I remember all the 14 Metro lines I got to ride (at least once each), my favorite vintage clothing stores, the gorgeous countryside trips with our teachers and fellow exchange students, my trip to Germany to visit my marching band senior, and so much more.

Of course, I also remember the train thievery during my train ride from Rome to Firenze (Florence), my struggles of getting an apartment, or my frustration with the bus/train/taxi/airline strikes. But it’s OK. It’s moments like those when you realize your weaknesses. But they also remind you of your strength. I was careless; I took things too lightly and perhaps took them for granted at times. However, I was also surprised at how much faith I actually have in God, how mostly calm I was in facing all those situations, and how vulnerable life actually is.

I know I took time too leisurely at times. Time is too precious to be taken lightly. You only live once, and you have to make the fullest of this life you are living. It may sound cliché, but it’s cliché things like this that we keep forgetting even though it’s actually true. It’s easy to lay back and follow the river flow when we want to escape from reality. But please…..you, yes you, whoever’s reading this right now, I hope you continue to live your life to the fullest. Chase your dreams and make them happen. Live your life so you may not have any regrets. And may you be bigger than you are now.

The Prince Charming

2007-11-14T05:07:00.000-08:00

- category: poem/observation -

One last tribute to my memory of Italy trip. On one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I met a friend in Florence, right after I got robbed on the train. Well, he was very sweet and downright flirtatious with me the whole evening, and I sincerely enjoyed his company that night. He confessed that he fell for me that night (even though I still doubt if he really meant it) but I told him it was not meant to be. Still, here is a poem as a tribute for our encounter at Firenzi (Florence) that night. Once again, my Italy trip album can be found here.

I'm not a Cinderella
but a magical night
I did have,
when a met a Prince Charming

I'm not a Cinderella
but the night was magical
As we stared into the romantic glitters
that fell upon the night of Firenzi

I'm not a Cinderella
She did not eat pizza for dinner
and her prince did not flirst endlessly with her

I'm not a Cinderella
He's not my Prince Charming
He's too late but...
perhaps that night I wished I was...

I'm not your Cinderella
I lost my mind to someone else
and you're not my Prince Charming
Because my King is waiting for me
at the other side of the ocean

-fin-

Of Things Lost

2007-11-11T02:35:00.000-08:00

- category: observation -

My process of mourning following the theft that occurred in Italy (I know, it takes a while to let go - I've been whining about this) and trying to let go. But just now (December 3), I received the news that my grandma passed away...Such a wonderful woman; I am proud to be one of her grandchildren. I hope she can be proud of me too. Rest in peace, grandma, say hi to grandpa for me.

For a moment,
let me soak in my despair
lament of things lost
over the three sunsets

The horror and trembles
forgiven not forgotten,
relieved but bitter.

So pray....calm down...
..then let go.

But wait...
For a moment, remind me
of the times we were together
over thousands of sunrise

The smiles and gentle caresses
cherished not forgotten,
remembered but bitter.

So pray....pray some more...
...then let go.

-fin-

Notes:
The picture was taken at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France (the famous cemetery where famous people like Chopin, Haussman, Isadora Duncan, Jim Morrison rest). My visit to this cemetery was brief, but this cemetery was really peaceful and calm. OK, perhaps a bit eerie if you walk down the huge complex by yourself, but that was not the case. The complete album is accessible here.

Until next time...

Things that are hard to get over with in Europe..

2007-11-07T08:55:00.000-08:00

1) Easy Europe travel & train strike in Paris

OK, compared to US, it is very easy to travel across Europe via train. For non-Europe residents, Eurail is a great deal to travel (and InterRail for Europe residents. Check those two websites for more information and feel free to drop me a comment if you need more convincing about Eurail. I'll give you one right now: monthly train RER/bus/Metro pass in Paris is 104.45 Euros for Zone 1 - 5, whereas 2-month Eurail pass that's valid for all public transportation in 18 European countries costs 798 Euros.

HOWEVER! Living in Paris gives its diadvantage when there is train strikes. People said it doesn't happen often but apparently I did experience it. During the strike, basically you don't know when or whether a bus, a metro, or a train operates. Of course you can consult RATP, but sometimes it only gives you "suggestions" instead of facts on the public transportation condition. For me, since ESSEC is located at Cergy (Zone 5), traveling from Paris (Zone 1) to Cergy took me at least 2 hours during the strike. And it's not straightforward route either. When I normally only do 1-2 train transfers, I have to do 3-5 train transfers during the strike, depending whether the train is going to their initial destination or stopping somewhere along the route. One word about train strike in Paris: TROUBLESOME. Waiting 30 minutes for a train that's unsure to come? Oui, c'est normal!

A picture of how waiting 25 minutes for a train that doesn't even its doors when it comes like:

2) People's craziness with Nutella

Nutella wasn't a new brand for me at all; I've known it since I was little. I never necessarily favored or hated the brand, it's just...there. But nutella is such a crazy thing here. I ate crepes a lot, and nutella is a must ingredient for making a chocolate crepe. And now I'm falling victim to the nutella-worshipping cult. Look at these pictures if you don't believe me how awesome nutella is.

The 5 kg nutella jar in Naples, Italy:

nutella in Chocolate Museum, Cologne, Germany:

3) Church issues:

The churches here are very gorgeous, it's almost a crime how gorgeous they are. However, unfortunately for many of them, they failed to make me feel more religious. Many of them become tourist sites, where people pouring in, being loud sometimes, pointing and "ooh-aah"ing, buying souvenirs, and other touristy things.

Many of them also do not know church rules and how people should behave whenever there's a mass (or other sacraments) going on, so perhaps that's why churches have hefty, mafia-looking security guards. They would stop you if they think you break the rules (if the sign says "No pictures", then it means ABSOLUTELY NO PICTURES). They would prevent you from going to places preserved for prayers (such as cripts and sometimes, the altar), and sometime they even replace the altar boys. In Rome, Italy, I was surprised to see the priests accompanied by a security guard to enter and leave the St. Maria Maggiore Church. A very interesting sight, I must say.

The last thing about church issues is that there is seldom a kneeling pad. There are kneeling wooden plank, but don't expect them to be cushy like I am used to in US. I learned it the hard way. Ouch! And some churches don't even have the wooden plank, so you have to kneel on the floor. God have mercy.

4) Thiefry in Italy

As much as I wanted to refute this and said something otherwise, the fact is my luggage got stolen in a train from Rome to Florence in Italy. Those thiefs have skills and I encountered at least 3 people in Rome who had their stuff stolen from them while they walked around. Some people said those thiefs would watch you for some time first to see whether you're vulnerable or not, then decide to rob you if you fall to the first category. Well, whatever, just be EXTREMELY careful in Italy (no matter where you are) and keep your belongings close to you, especially if you travel alone like I was. This is quite a pity since I actually love Italy a lot...I wish I can enjoy it with my guard set at "medium-high security" and not at "maximum security".

6) Different versions of keyboards

I love English keyboard. I did not realize it until I go to Europe. France has its own keyboard version where they jumble the letters around, Italy probably has it too (I am not sure; I was distracted by the thiefry), Germany has one. Gods, I am close to having a carpal tunnel from using a French keyboard for a day!
Here's a picture of German keyboard:

7) Toilet problems

No, it's not that you have to use plunger all the time, but I was sure was confused when I saw a "bidet" for the first time. I wasn't sure what it's for. And trust me, it's not a toilet. It's for...uh...cleaning your private parts. OK, moving on.

Also in Germany, many public toilets require you to pay, typically 50 cents. While it's generally well-maintained, it is still quite a pain (for me) to dig down my pockets for some change whenever nature calls.

Don't expect to always see paper napkins, too. France uses rolling cloth towel or blow-dry after you wash your hands, Germany and Italy generaly uses blow-dry. I might be wrong, but I had some difficulties finding paper napkins.

- that's it for now -

A week in Italy

2007-10-19T06:50:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal (Summary) : Sept 29 - Oct 6, 2007 -

I've been dreading the moment to write this summary, largely due to the 1,000 pictures that I lost along with my laptop and backup drive. Of course, they are all materials but losing them has created a burden that is yet to be relieved at this moment (*update November 12* - finally got a new laptop). Nevertheless, the Italy trip had been fascinating and wonderful.

Rome "the Eternal City" really has a proud history to live in and so far the best city in Italy I have visited. Of course, I would not be able to share it with you since my pictures are now history. Still, I would ABSOLUTELY visit Rome again if God gives me the chance to. The list of places I visited (and took pictures of) were as follows:

Saturday, 09/29 : Colosseum, Palatino Hill, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Piazza Venezia)
Sunday, 09/30 : Vatican City, Vatican Museum (Sistine Chapel), Castle D'Angelo, Isola Tiberina, Museum of Art at Barberini, Spanish Steps, and Trevi Fountain
Monday, 10/01 : Via Antica of the Ancient Rome, Catacombs of St. Calisto and St. Sebastian, Aqueducts, Circa Maximus, Sacra Argentina, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and once again Trevi Fountain.

After some bewildered moments (my luggage was stolen in a train from Rome to Florence) upon my arrival in Florence on Tuesday, October 2, I got a chance to gather myself and enjoyed a little bit of Florence with a friend (we accidentally met in front of the Duomo). I only stayed for a day in Florence, but I got to enjoy Ponte Vecchio, Michael Angelo Hill that overlooks the city (very romantic spot) and the fake green David, a dinner at a restaurant, Galleria Uffizi (seeing "The Birth of Venus", "Primavera", and "Venus of Urbino" were certainly astounding), and certainly Duomo before my departure to Naples. I personally do not favor Florence that much since the buildings are so tall and the streets are so narrow and suffocated with tourists. It's amazing how everywhere I turned, people spoke English and nothing else.

Naples....well that's a completely different story. It was definitely a lifesafer to meet my friend, Sandra there (and leeched off of her a bit), but I was very surprised to see downtown Naples upon my arrival on Wednesday evening. The city was crowded, disorganized, quite dirty and gave off the atmosphere of insecurity. Of course, given that I was just robbed a day before fueled my negative bias about Naples. However, some of my friends shared my impression and could not even wait to go out of Naples! Still, like another friend said, Naples looked like a certain city area in Jakarta (my hometown) so dealing with Naples, albeit seemed dangerous, was still doable for me.

I did not venture to the city; I opted to go to the beautiful coasts outside of Naples named Positano and Amalfi beaches. I did not go to Capri since I did not want to trouble my friend so much with the high traveling costs (and she said Capri was kind of overhyped anyway). It's somewhat regrettable that we saw a lot of garbage bags on the street sides on the way to the beaches. Also, the beaches could have had a better view from afar if the air was not so polluted. Nevertheless, the beaches were beautiful and I could have spent more time there had I not been "crushed" by the robbery and discouraged by Naples itself.

After spending two nights there, Sandra and I hastily bade goodbye to Naples and went back to Rome to spend our last night there. It's truly bittersweet seeing all the wonderful sites once more and internally wept 'I took pictures of those sites before!' and encourage myself to create new memories with my camera (yes, it was not stolen, thank God). We managed to have some fun on our last visit to Rome before we went back to Paris on Saturday.

As I mentioned before, my camera was not stolen so I actually have the pictures starting from right before I left Rome (for Florence) until I got back to Rome. The album of my Italy Trip is accessible here.

So that's it, my very very much overdue travel update. I will now ditch travel journal updates and write more about my impressions with my EuroTrip so far and also my Germany trip. Until next time.

- to be continued -

Very Quick...

2007-10-08T06:40:00.001-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 27 & 28, 2007 -

These are one-liners...
September 27: The day before French final exam and last day of student presentations
September 28: The last one to arrive at the exam room; how embarassing was that! Had a little trouble withdrawing cash from ATM machine, but after an attempt at a different machine and a call to the bank shortly after, the problem was beautifully solved. As for the exam? I don't know; I think I did okay...at least it's done (for now).

- to be continued... -

Enough Wine and Cheese for Today

2007-10-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 26, 2007 -

Note: This is the last album uploaded on my GoogleWeb. All the 1000 pictures taken in Italy trip had no chance to be uploaded before the laptop was stolen. There will be no photo mentions for a while, at least until I find myself a new laptop to work with.

I have no class today and instead, the school organized a "wine and cheese" tasting free of charge. There were many interesting selections of cheese, most of which I tasted, but only a handful I really liked. The French brie is good, but I dislike stronger cheese such as blue cheese and goat cheese. Too strong for me. Even the orange cheese (one has a paprika mixed in it) has some kind of cow aftertaste (yes, cow!) The creamy ones are best, I think. But again, it depends on your taste buds.
The full album of wine and cheese tasting is accessible here.

After filling ourselves with wine and cheese (sorry for not commenting much on the wine - but Riesling wine is my favorite of the 2 white wines and 2 red wines presented), we wathed a French movie called "Americain Cuisiniere". It was funny and cheesy even though I could only understand about 10 - 15% of it, but yeah... It’s kinda awkward seeing breasts displayed so repeatedly and so gorgeously.

When I came home via train, I thought I saw police officers covering a dead body at La Muette station; I was instantly shocked and horrified. I also have to book train tickets and hostels for my upcoming Italy trip on Saturday...

- to be continued... -

The Week of French Exam begins

2007-10-08T06:09:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 24, 2007 -

Note: I don't have a laptop right now, so I am using a computer in school with a French keyboard to type...oh, the joy...oh, and there is no journal on September 25.

I woke up too late and didn’t shower before school today. I managed to catch a (not so late) train to Cergy, and I could only smiled sheepishly while the teacher glared at me when I opened the classroom door on 9:25 am. After school, I had an interesting experience trying to look for a plunger with Sandra. We raced around Auchan with one of the managers and still could not find it. Seriously, it's like one of the old TV series where you have to find specific things on the supermarket aisles in a time limit! ... But we finally gave up. In turn, I bought some stuff for early food stocking and promise to buy more tomorrow. After that, I went back home and started updating blogs again when I met my boyfriend online and started chatting with him. Imagine my shock when I realized that I forgot his birthday more than a week ago! OMG! He was very sweet about it though, and I promised to buy him a nice souvenir when I go back to US in December.

- to be continued...(No update on Tuesday) -

Blog on hold...again

2007-10-03T12:39:00.000-07:00

Quick update: Blog owner got her bag stolen at the train from Rome to Florence on October 2, 2007. Fortunately, she did not lose her passport or IDs, but she lost her laptop containing 1,000 pictures she took in Rome. Thus, there will be no pictures about all the wonderful places in Rome she visited, limited collections of Florence, Napoli, and perhaps a little bit of Rome later on.

The story will continue once she is back in Paris on October 7, 2007.

- to be continued... -

The Day of the Breizh Parade

2007-09-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 23, 2007 -

Yesterday, I spent too much time surfing around the internet and watched Iron Chef episodes on YouTube; I haven’t prepared the presentation for tomorrow's class!
But first thing first, I had to go to Breizh Touch Parade. There were supposed to be a celebration of Celtic music with over 3,000 musicians and dancers taking part in this exciting event in Paris. But again, I got side-tracked and went to Madeline Church near Opera. Even though it was under construction (and so was the Opera), it has such a strong statement; the Joan de Arc statue, the humble tribute to John Paul II and Mother Teresa, and the gorgeous altar made the quick visit very much worth it.

By the time I reached Champ d’Elysee to see the Breizh Parade, the dancing stopped. Darn it! That explained why my pictures only got people in costumes standing around...But! I did get some good shots of the musicians.

I was also supposed to meet with friends but they arrived late and eventually I was wandering around alone. After a quick visit to the Arc de Triomphe (this time up, close, and personal), I bought a professor-recommended French dictionary and an Italian reference book (and I’m going to Italy next Saturday!) at W.H. Stone near Le Louvre.

After that, I simply went home and spent 5 hours to prepare the presentation. The long hours was largely because I got too excited about the putting pictures in the presentation. Some pictures even got rejected and did not make it to the presentation, you know... Anyway, I went to sleep right after I finished.

And hey, the whole album "Wandering in Paris - part 3" can be found here.

- to be continued... -

A Day of Relaxation

2007-09-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 22, 2007 -

Today, I was resting at home to rejuvenate self. Yesterday’s excitement took a heavier toll on my body than I thought. Moreover, my sickness was not actually went away; it was just conveniently delayed. Worked for me though; I spent time catching up with blogs’ updating, picture editings, upcoming travel arrangements, homeworks, and job search – related stuff. I had to be careful though, I needed to stay healthy since people around me were getting sick (it’s the transition from summer to fall, after all).

I also had the first long conversation with the French lady; she’s also happy with the Moët & Chandon I bought for her. She also told me about a market in Pte. St. Cloud that’s open only on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but I have to always beware of pickpockets. She got her money stolen once before in that market. In addition, I just found out that this house experienced a burglary once and that Dewi lost many valuables without getting any money back, so again I have to be very careful and not take security for granted in this very nice area. Later that night, some friends were texting me and invited me to go to a chic club in Paris named Le Queen, but l opted to stay at home and watch Iron Chef. Entertaining Iron Chef episodes over an exciting night out at Le Queen? Certainly, especially with my stamina not in its top shape. Next time though, I would be glad to rock out “what my mama gave me”. Just you wait...

- to be continued... -

The Cathedral and The Champagne

2007-09-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 21, 2007 -

Today was the day of the last field trip that ESSEC organized. This time, we went to Reims to see the gothic Notredame Cathedral and La Champagne to the House of Moët et Chandon for wine tasting. It would be a great time, but the morning started kind of shaky. I woke up later than I expected and reached Cergy Prefecture Station around 8:40 am. I was worried because I thought I missed the bus (we were told to meet in front of ESSEC on 8:30 am), but apparently the bus itself ended up being late. All of us waited until close to 9 am.

That little setback was remedied as soon as we reached Reims. When I saw The Cathedral, where most of French kings were crowned, I was awestruck. IT WAS HUGE and GORGEOUS! Some of the snapshots below did not do enough justice to this grand cathedral.

During our free time, I had a chance to explore the city. It was a charming city with lots of life. I had a great nice walks with friends and we had some hilarious moments trying to get the timer going with Sandra’s camera. It was worth it; all of us were laughing whole-heartedly, and the picture came out great. I had to pester Sandra to share me the picture; I ablsolutely love it! We also had a unique pie at a nearby pastry shop. It was stuffed with pork, rabbit, and veal dipped in champagne and baked in a wooden stove. It was delicious! I was greedy with eating that I did not think about shooting a picture of the pie, but here are some pictures of the precious free time.

But things started to go downhill due to my sudden sickness. I worried about my physical stamina and worried that I would not be able to enjoy the wine tasting at the House of Moët et Chandon. When I was waiting for the house tour, I seriously felt ill and struggled to stand up, let alone walk. When the tour began and the guide started to explain the different parts of the house and showed us a video, I felt my concentration slipping away.

I did not know what “woke” me up; the coolness and darkness of the wine cellar, the exciting labyrinth of the huge wine cellar and the possibility of getting lost due to my excessive camera-clicking to whatever objects I could find, the guide’s explanation about the long process of making wine, my friends, the realization that it might be easy to steal a bottle or two of still-under-process wine, or any mixture of any of the above. But one thing was for sure. I began to like Brut wine, at least the Brut Imperial of Moët & Chandon. All this time, I always drank sweet wine, but after tasting Brut Imperial, I began to wonder what on earth I had been drinking. Sure, I am not a great drinker, but I think I can appreciate a good wine when I came across wine. Moreover, the champagne actually helped revitalizing my energy and soon enough, I felt better already. I also found out from my teacher that French people like brut champagne the most (and hated the sweeter ones), so I bought one bottle of Brut Imperial as a gift for the French lady.

My only remaining drawback was going back to Paris via RER from Cergy. When the bus reached Cergy, it was close to 8:15 pm. It was a rather tiring journey back home (mostly because we spent a lot of time sitting down and did nothing at the bus already), but thank God for Sarah, Aimee, Laurie, and Nayuta who also took the RER to go to our respective apartments (except Nayuta, who went to take a bus to Germany). When I got home, I was so tired but obviously very happy. That was another great field trip. Bravo!

Oh, I almost forgot, the full album of The Cathedral and The Champagne is here.

- to be continued... -

Not the Best Day You and I had in Life..

2007-09-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 20, 2007 -

It was a bad morning. I met the French lady in the morning, and she made some unfavorable comments implied towards Sandra. The worse thing was that Sandra was actually at the corridor and heard everything. Of course she’s pissed, and I felt really responsible. I knew from yesterday that asking her to let Sandra stay at the apartment was a bad decision; I felt really bad for both of them. I could understand why both of them felt the way they did, but I am definitely responsible for not being able to encourage better relationship between both of them.

After school, I went to Auchan at the nearby mall (the same one that has H&M, but this time I did not buy anything there). After comparing the prices of Auchan and Monoprix, I definitely need to do grocery shopping here, it’s much cheaper (later on, I found out that Monoprix is the most expensive grocery store chain in Paris). On our way home, each of us bought a cute black ballet flats for walking shoes at Auberg, the transfer station, before going on our separate ways.

When I got home, I took one look at my desk and knew immediately that Sandra mistakenly packed my laptop adapter. This was quite a disaster since my laptop could only last an hour or less without the adapter (the battery’s dying). That evening, it was such a hassle for her to go back and forth to give the adapter to me and reach the internet café (she still did not have internet; later that night, she decided to stay at a friend’s place in one of ESSEC’s Cergy residence halls). Meanwhile, that night I had a serious contemplation about the upcoming potential Italy trip.

By the way, I am very embarrassed about not being able to answer the phone here in the apartment. They rang pretty frequently and since I assumed they were all for either for the French lady or Dewi, I never bothered to answer it. It’s not that I could say anything decent... Anyway, I had to sleep early for tomorrow’s field trip to Reims and La Champagne. Wine tasting, anyone?

- to be continued... -

The Internet Dilemma

2007-09-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 19, 2007 -

Before I started, I just want to share this funny print ad that I saw at the train station. I thought this was really, really cute. I apologize for the somewhat poor quality.

Even today, Sandra still did not have internet in her apartment, so we went to my apartment after school so she could do some work done online. I actually half-forced the French lady to allow her to spend the night at my room; deep down, I knew this would not go well. But I stood by my decision and felt that it was very much needed for Sandra to get online. I had experienced first hand that not having an internet connection was just a slow suicide.

Anyway, I created a soup with ratatouille and potatoes and sausages for dinner; in my opinion, it actually was kind of good. We also studied for exam and due to Sandra’s suggestion, I was really contemplating an Italy trip for the one week break we will have after the French language training course. I just hoped the wire transfer is good to go soon.

- to be continued... -

Back to School

2007-09-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 18, 2007 -

I was feeling much better today and went to school with Sandra. Class was great and such a learning experience as always, and we went to H&M at the nearby mall after class. As always, H&M always lured me to buy something; I bought a purple belt with retro vibe. Also, when Sandra took care of some of her beauty needs, I went to Yves Rocher to buy some shower essentials and a facial moisturizer. When I found out that Sandra tried her best to speak French to her beautician, I honestly started wishing to be more courageous to speak French.

I went back to my place to pack more properly and once again spend the night at Sandra’s place. That night, we realized we had so much school-related stuff to do. However, Sandra’s apartment still did not have an internet connection made it difficult to do anything internet-related.

- to be continued... -

Monday is for Skipping Class

2007-09-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 17, 2007 -

I felt awful when I woke up this morning. My back and feet hurt so bad that I decided not to go to school today. I was internally whining when I got up from bed and internally screaming when I started walking away from the bed.

In short, I spent the day resting at home. I only got out in the afternoon to do some quick grocery shopping. It’s very convenient to have a grocery store located close to the apartment, so I am very grateful for that. When I got home, I did a very much needed laundry.

In the evening, I went to Sandra’s place to catch up with lessons and homework. I have to tell you that Sandra has the best crepes ever! I ended up staying at her place that night.

- to be continued... -

The End of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine...and my feet.

2007-09-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 16, 2007 -

I woke up very exhausted today and my legs were numb. I was also late to the 11 am mass at the church for the second time in a row. I was very ashamed and dissapointed in myself, there was no excuse about it. The mornind did not start on the right foot, in my opinion.

In addition, it was a completely wrong decision not to bring my camera to church today. Especially since right in front of the church, a flea market of antiques, furnitures, books, and questionable but cool objects just suddenly appeared. I regretted not bringing my camera, but this flea market was just too inviting. I quickly drown myself in a selection of old vases, tea pots, key chains, books, mirrors, accessories, and many others. After going around the flea market for roughly one hour (yeah, time flew by so damn fast!), I found myself buying a mirror for Sandra, a cool metal claw finger accessory (I always wanted to buy one for a long time!), and two folded spoon/fork/knife sets. I was proud of my buys since even though there were many claw finger accessory designs, the one that I chose (a hellhound) was totally cool and the only one that did not have a duplicate. I swore there was this one guy kept eyeing on my claw, waiting for me to drop it back to the pack so he could pick it up. Try your luck some other time, buddy.

My buys from the flea market

I absolutely love this hellhound!

Actually, the reason I decided to linger no longer in the flea market was I felt a sharp pain in my lower back. Apparently, I developed quite nasty blisters on my toes due to excessive walkings for the past two weeks. As a compensation, my pelvis unconciously shifted back to adjust my weight balance. However, that meant my back muscles were constracting too much and could not stand it anymore. I need to be careful next time, because my walking adventure is far from over. On the bright side, I am now weighing 58 kg (128 lbs - I weighed close to 140 lbs when I was only sitting and driving in California), a weight long forgotten since I left Indonesia in 2005. I am much slimer and fit, but I do need some endurance training. Remember how bad I am at running? Yeah...

Anyway, I rested at home a little bit and watched some Iron Chef episodes at YouTube. After a while, I forced myself to venture out a little bit more even though I did not feel my back was getting better. As a result, I half-heartedly revisited the Luxembourg Palace and Garden, seeing a street scene along the way. There were also a small art exhibition at the Petit Luxembourg by Agnès Pezeu.

But I lose my spirit along the way very quickly and decided to let it go and get some rest. After buying "An Idiot's Guide to Europe" from W.H. Stone, an English bookstore at Rue Cambon near Le Louvre, I took a train home, but when I missed a stop and got off at the wrong transfer point, I realized I shouldn't go out that afternoon after all. At the bright side though, I got a glimpse of Avenue des Champs Elysees and Arc de Triomphe, as shown in the picture below.

Place de La Concorde

A Glimpse of Arc de Triomphe

I finally went back home and watched some Iron Chef episodes again. Oh, I forgot to tell you that these were the JAPANESE Iron Chef, not Iron Chef America. I think the Japanese Iron Chef was much more entertaining and exciting, and Iron Chef America is not even worth comparing at the same level. Anyway, after doing laundry and updating blogs / editing pictures, I went to sleep.

P.S. : Once again, the full album for Journées Européennes du Patrimoine is here.

- to be continued... -

The 1st day of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine

2007-09-25T11:07:00.001-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 15, 2007 -

Today is the first day of the two-day annual event of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine. It was an exciting day to explore Paris, but since I am not a natural morning person, I woke up late (around 9 am). After taking my time getting ready, I decided to visit the furthest interest point as my first destination, the Techno Parade in Le Marais. I purposefully took a quick stroll alongside the Seine River and got several great shots. Two of them are below; you can see the rest of them in here.

Square du Vert Galant

Pont Neuf

And quickly enough, I walked on Rue de Rivoli going towards Bastille to catch the crowd of the that is The Techno Parade at Le Marais. It was exciting and crazy (when I got there on 1:30 pm, it could easily be more than 5,000 people gathering on the street). Also, I finally got to see how French people street-dancing (which involves a lot of snake-like arm movements and stationary up-and-down bobbing leg actions). Perhaps it's just one of their styles, but it certainly is a new experience for me. And did I mention that Le Marais is the gay quarter of Paris? Anyway, you can see a small video footage of the beginning of the parade on my Vox blog. Below are some of the pictures I took about the Techno Parade.

Anyway, after hanging around for about an hour, I decided to walk a little bit north of Bastille. I passed Place des Vosges and entered Musee Carnavalet, which unfortunately did not allow photography inside the museum. The museum itself was built as a townhouse in the 16th century, and it contained paintings, decorated rooms, and many works of art rich of Paris history. Since today was part of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, people were free to visit. I also did my first vintage shopping at Rue des Rosiers. I got two vintage tops that I absolutely love. The best of all, they costed me 25 Euros.

A garden in Musee Carnavalet complex

After passing the Techno Parade crowd once more and Hotel de Ville, I rested at the frontyard of Notredame Church. Not for long, though. There was this random French guy tried to strike a conversation with me and tried (unsuccessfully) to ask where I came from. When I ignored him purposefully (I just wanted to eat, man!), he even asked a passing-by key chain vendor to ask me where I came from. He also claimed to have bought me a La Tour Eiffel key chain; "Please listen, I bought this just for you," he said. Oh God, the stuff a girl has to go through just to rest her legs and eat some lunch! Anyway, I bolted out of the otherwise great scenery immediately.

Hotel de Ville

The Notredame Church in Paris

I continued my path down to the Quartier Latin area, passing the La Sorbonne. The school was closed unfortunately, I was too late. Normally, this school is closed to public but today is one of the two days of the year when non-students could come visit inside the school. Well, I blew my chance off of this one...

But, the Luxembourg Palace and Garden was simply a redemption. Not only the scenery was gorgeous, (this time) I conversed with a nice old Spanish guy who have lived in Paris for the last 20 years. He spoke very little English and I spoke very little French, so voila! But he was a really pleasant guy and I enjoyed our "Lost in Translation" moments with him.

Palais du Luxembourg

After deciding that my feet were getting less fatiqued, I strolled closer to the palace and immediately decided not to go in simply because I realized my feet were just too tired to go up and down the stairs in the palace anyway. Surprisingly though, I met some ESSEC exchange students in front of the palace! One of them recognized me and called me over, and shortly enough, others started to appear! Sarah, my Pepperdine colleague also showed up and kindly invited me to have a girls' night out moment in her place with three other girls. It was also at this time that my camera's battery died. So, no picture from my camera about the girls' night out at Sarah's place. But, the full album is accessible from here.

We had an awesome time; we shopped the ingredients at a market near Sarah's place, we cooked them together, ate them, drank some red and white wine, and had long girl talks. I absolutely loved, loved it! Another pleasant occurence that evening was that the tortellini with mushroom that Migena cooked did not make me throw up (I am known for my inability to eat pasta). It's probably because I ate them with lots of salad, but still, I did not throw up. More importantly, I think the meal was delicious, a very lovely meal! After some more girl talks, I decided to go home since it was getting late after all (about 11 pm).

Tomorrow would be another day of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, and I hoped to venture some of the closer destinations, but man, my feet were hurting me....

- to be continued... -

The first encounter with Le Louvre and Two Steps Bar

2007-09-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 14, 2007 -

OK, so the test actually was not so bad, even though it was definitely not perfect. I knew I forgot some vocabularies and grammar, so I knew I could've done better. But the more important thing is that I am definitely sleep deprived (and I know Sandra is, too). So, I went back to the apartment right after lunch and slept for approximately 4 hours. When I woke up, it's time for dinner. Perfect.

After a quick buy of quiche, I decided to go to Le Louvre before go to the "Two Step" Bar at the 11e arrt (where the International Students Organization would hold the welcoming event for the new ESSEC MBA exchange students). Le Louvre is free for people under 26 every Friday from 6 - 9:45 pm, so that alone is a fantastic reason to check it out. I got there a little past 8 pm, and you can see the gorgeous sky in front of Le Louvre from the pictures below.

Le Louvre was great and HUGE (of course!), so I only walked around some parts of Denon area, where Mona Lisa is kept. I saw her of course, but my picture hardly did her justice so I would not put it here (it's in my album, though). One funny encounter here was that a random European guy (I think he's in his 20s) approached me and asked if he could take a picture with me. I was prepared to hear him say, "Would you mind taking a picture of my friend and I?" when he approached me, so his question came as quite a shock. After a pregnant pause, I decided it would be harmless, so I said OK. But I am sure the picture would not look nice (he might as well delete it) since my expression was rather...confused. Why did he ask me that? I guess I will never know. Or will I?

I also visited the underground Medieval Louvre (the original site before the museum became so big!) due to my professor's recommendation. Truly, the museum is a wonder to behold and I began to understand why one needs 14 weeks to start to befriend this museum. I will return to this museum some other Fridays; for that I am very sure. You can see the whole album here.

After that, I continued my way to the 11e arrt. to go to "Two Steps" Bar. Of course, I took some snapshots of the streets during the night in this area, as you can see below. The bar was somewhat small but quite cozy, and it's great meeting some friends. After some socializing, I decided to call it a night and go home. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day, I am sure. It's the Journées Européennes du Patrimoine, after all...

- to be continued... -

I suck at running....really!

2007-09-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

- Travel journal: September 13, 2007 -

Today is very exciting since I am spending the night at Sandra's house at the 7e arrt. Her apartment is located at the top floor, and we have to climb the stairs all the way up to the top floor. This process is called "the 100 steps". But anyway, we had fun once we caught our breath upstairs and had some sparkling wine. This picture below is the view of La Tour Eiffel at the street in front of her apartment complex.

After a brief nap, Sandra invited me to a 30-minute run, in which I instantly reminded on how bad I am at running. My lungs could not keep up, and my legs felt like led after the first 7 minutes. Add that to my habit of taking pictures at almost every corner of Paris, and you get a very sucky running partner. Sandra is a very sweet girl, fortunately, and we finally resorted to a speed walk instead. From her place near La Tour Eiffel, we ran/walked alongside the Seine River and encountered both beautiful Paris scenery and interesting street merchants. We reached L'Eglise de Notredame and walked around St. Germain Boulevard and collected a bunch of business cards from various fashion stores and promised to visit them later when we have more time.

After a quick shower and makeup, we met the Pepperdine alumni that I promised to meet in front of "Tribeca" restaurant at 9 pm. Unfortunately, the restaurant was quite packed (it's a famous restaurant after all), and we decided to have a light meal at a nearby restaurant called Le Bosquet. Their cooking was not so bad, I thoroughly enjoyed the French Onion Soup. The alumni was really sweet and showed us around the block a little bit. We also went to the The Lady at 11 pm and watched the lights glittering around its long, slender neck. This picture below is Sandra and I with The Lady at the background.

All was dandy and fun, but by the time we got home, we did not have time to study for tomorrow's test. Great. I glanced over my notes for several minutes and decided to go to sleep. Heaven knows how I would do in the test tomorrow morning. For now, I just wanted to sleep.

Oh, you can access the full album of "Wandering Around Paris - part 2" from here.

- to be continued -

Les Impressionnistes: Auvers sur Oise et Giverny

2007-09-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 12, 2007 -

Another amazing field trip. I love the countryside, and seeing the Impressionists museum and home of Claude Monet were just an experience out of this world. Moreover, my friend and I found a vast prairie that Vincent van Gogh used as an inspiration, located near his final resting place in Auvers sur Oise.

The trip home was interesting, as some Scottish guys (complete with kilt) boarded the train and started singing. Later, I gathered there was a Scotland vs. France football later that night. The thing that bothered me was not their singing, but it’s their cursing. They did say the “f” word quite casually, and I could not help but internally cringe at that.

Back home, I finished my homework and prepared a little for tomorrow’s sleep over at my friend’s apartment while watching Japanese Iron Chef episodes at YouTube. It was definitely a mistake, since their great food kept me hungry all night long. Sigh…X factor pork, giant lobster, giant eel, oh my, it’s just not fair. On the side note, I have to start cooking soon if I want to keep myself within my food budget.
I wonder if they sell white rice here; I thought I saw it somewhere...hmm.
In relation to food, tomorrow I will have dinner with one of Pepperdine alumni who tried to help me look for an apartment. We will be dining at one of the popular restaurants in Paris, near the Tour Eiffel. The restaurant’s name is Tribeca. So, I’ll be judging its reputation tomorrow night!

For the mean time, here are some of my personal favorites, some of them taken by my friend, Sandra. She is an awesome photographer! Anyway, feel free to visit the full "Les Impressionnistes" album here.

- To be continued... -

Where was the RER train?

2007-09-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

- Travel journal: September 11, 2007 -

Wow, what a weird dream I had last night. I was back in Indonesia, my wedding with my boyfriend was in four days, and everything’s been settled without my knowledge. My brother sent out all the invitations whereas my mother and mother-in-law settled everything else. I was just told that I would have my wedding in four days. Of course I rebelled since what’s supposed to be my happy day was arranged without my knowing. What a crazy dream. I am so glad it’s just a dream. Wow.

Ok, anyway, this day started off on a strange note. I woke up a little later than I expected. I went to the metro station, and something was off. Announcements were blaring inside of the station, unfortunately I had no idea what it was about. I guessed it was either a strike (I heard it happened often in Paris), a renovation, or a construction. Anyway, the main point is that it took 35 minutes to reach the transit point (Auberg) whereas it usually took 15 – 20 minutes. As a consequence, of course I missed the RER train that would take me to Cergy.

I looked at the monitor, wanted to know when the next RER train to Cergy would arrive. To my horror, there was none. I waited for a couple of minutes and a couple of trains passed by, still none of them going to Cergy. Remembering one of my classmates advice to go to another station nearby (St. Lazarre) and catch the suburbs train if there is no RER train going to Cergy. I walked out of the station and did just that (no, I did not get lost). However, there is no suburb train going to Cergy at 9 am! Oh my.

After texting my classmate about my inability to get on RER train to Cergy, I went back to Auberg and to my relief, I saw “Cergy” written as the destination of an upcoming RER train on 9:31 am. I would be very late, but I don’t care. Long story short, I got to ESSEC at 10:15 am. But voila, I was there at ESSEC. Right after I opened the door, the teacher greeted me, “Bonjour, Mira!” and I immediately replied, “I’ll explain everything to you later.” The funny thing was that there was another person coming in later than I was (11:30 am!!). Everyday, the class starts at 9 am and ends at 12:15 pm, by the way.

After class, I got another chance to see the Lady, Tour Eiffel. I went to my friend’s apartment located only a few blocks away from Tour Eiffel, and of course I opted to walk under the gorgeous tower one more time. This time, no camera. Feast to my eyes, I tell you, feast to my eyes. Her apartment is a total eye candy, too. It’s classic but modern at the same time. Oh, and I have to mention the 100 steps we took up the spiral stair case. Her apartment is located at the top floor after all!

We drank some white wine, tried (unsuccessfully) to hook her wifi, and saw the Live feed of 9/11 Memorial at New York. I was in New York in 2005, and I saw how big Ground Zero was. Only then, I understood the magnitude of the attack. My prayers go not only to all the victims and their family members, but also all people in the world who deal with terrorist attacks almost in daily basis.

After hanging out for a few hours in her apartment and asked her permission to spend a night at her place on Thursday night, I went back home. Now, I have to prepare for my field trip tomorrow (yes, another field trip!). This time, I will go to the beautiful small villages in Normandy where the French impressionists used to live!

- to be continued... -

Starting to Make a Little Sense of It

2007-09-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 10, 2007 -

As expected, I had a difficulty waking up this morning. Not only because I am normally not a morning person, but also last night’s effort of uploading the videos for “Exhausted Traveler” footage took its tool on me. Nevertheless, I got to school 10 minutes late (let me remind you once more that 15 minutes late is common in France).

Today I did not do any particular explorations, but I found out that Le Louvre (the famous museum housing Léonard de Vinci’s “Monna Lisa”) is free for students every Friday from 6 – 9 pm. Isn’t that heavenly? Right away, I planned to go there this Friday.

Moreover, I ate at the school’s restaurant for the first time. The process is quite efficient, I must say. For a meal ticket of 2.80 Euros a piece, you get one main entrée and three side dishes. In addition, you get some bread for free, if you want. That is, in my opinion, cheap and very worth it. I blamed myself not to eat there sooner. Lastly, since I now have a residential address (Yay!) in Paris (no less), I finally can complete my ESSEC registration and put down my address. Woooh, you cannot imagine how satisfying it was to put down Paris as the city of my residential address. Jealous? Oh yeah, get in line ^_^. Sorry, it was not nice of me to say that, but I just could not help feeling tremendously happy that I live in Paris right now.

Anyway, I spent some time surfing other people’s blogs last night and today. Siduahuruf’s EuroTrip really inspired me, and I am very excited to explore more of Europe as time goes by. Already, my classmate invites me to go to Czech Republic and Frankfurt, Germany. I would be a fool to pass this opportunity. Moreover, my boyfriend recommended me to check out the spots Rion.nu took pictures in Paris. Seeing Rion’s pictures really made me embarrassed. His pictures tell stories at a great volume, and it is something that I lacked from my pictures. I realize I often stop at arranging compositions and forget about story telling. However, I have to be realistic in my (borrowed) camera’s ability. This Fuji FinePix F30 is not without its limitation. However, considering practical reasons, I had to opt not bringing a SLR camera and settle with this “little girl”.

- to be continued... -

A Peaceful Sunday

2007-09-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 9, 2007 -

Ah, I messed up in remembering the mass times for today. I thought the Notre Dame D’Auteuil Church (yeah, I decided not to go to the American Church; it's too far) would have morning masses at 9:00 am and 11:30 am, but apparently they were 9:30 am and 11:00 am. Therefore, when I got there on 11:30, it was already on the consecration part. Oh well, better not make the same mistake next time. The church is beautiful, although my pictures hardly do it justice:

There were some homeless people in front of the church today. Now that I have an experience on how hard it was to find an apartment, I have a newfound respect for the homeless. I now realized how hard it is to be without a roof. I know my experience was nothing from what they were going through right now, but I would never see a homeless person the same way as I did before. I don’t have to say what I did to the homeless people in front of the church, but the least I could do is look at them in the eye and whisper “Bonjour”. God, you did not abandon me…I am certain you won’t abandon them, either.

After that, I went to the nearby Bois de Boulogne Park to get some walking done today. On the way there, I noticed that the pastry shop just 3 doors away from where I live still had a long queue outside of the shop. I said “still”, because the queue was there when I got out from the apartment.

Anyway, the walk in the park went nowhere, and after sick of getting sand and small pebbles in my shoes, I decided to return home. The park is so huge though, so I will be coming back to explore more of it next time.

It is rather a short entry today, since I have to update the blogs and do my homework for tomorrow. A bientot!

- to be continued... -

A Walking Adventure to Paris

2007-09-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

- Travel Journal: September 8, 2007 -

I had a very nice, deep sleep last night that I woke up around 10:45 am today. At first, I thought I was going to be up and ready by noon, but apparently editing pictures and such took longer than I thought. Still, by 3 pm I was out of my apartment door, ready to explore Paris. My original destination was the American Church in Paris. In order to get there, I purposefully designed my walking route to pass the Eiffel Tower.

Seeing Eiffel Tower for the first time was just unreal. All of the sudden, the Lady appeared in my vision and I skipped a breath. “This is so cool!” was what I thought. I wonder if it’s going to be cooler than meeting Johnny Depp in person….hmm, I wonder. If you go to my album, you would see the pictures as I walked closer to the Eiffel Tower, walked underneath it, and continued to walk away from the Lady.

Now, at first I decided that's all I was going to see today besides the American Church. However, I impulsively decided to pass the Musee de L’armee, Grand Palais and Petit Palais, and even went as far as seeing the famous Le Louvre. I did not go in, but it was surreal standing in front of the pyramid and taking in my surroundings. Unbelievable, three days ago, I was not sure where to live, and today, I was standing in front of where Mona Lisa resided in. By the way, of course I found the American Church, but I barely spent my time there (since there was a wedding ceremony about to take place when I arrived).

After that, I decided to go back home. My feet started to feel numb after all that walking (from 16th arr. to 15th arr., then to 7th and 1st arr.). After a quick look on mass schedule at a church near where I live and a quick grocery shopping at a nearby small supermarket (it will be closed tomorrow), I happily returned home.

- to be continued... -