Posts Tagged ‘europe’
Ponderings
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Apologies for the sparse blog posts, this one I wrote last Thursday, and planned to write another creative 365 summary yesterday- Sunday, but alas, the internet has not been working at home, and then I couldn’t take photos… and well, it just all went to poo. So here I am starting the week fresh! Might give you a Creative 365 update this arvo if I have time after work, whilst still AT work!
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While we were in Europe we spent heaps of time on the bus, and therefore we had plenty of time to think and chat. One of the things I asked myself was “Who do I want to be?“. The answer was suprising, I want to be a runner.
Cue the scratching of the record as it gets ripped off the turntable and everyone stops and stares at me. *crickets*. Um… yeah, so, I want to be a runner!
Even though deep within myself I have found I want to be a runner, I don’t actually want to RUN. This is a problem.
So this last two weeks I’ve been on a positive self talk mission. Every chance I get I tell myself how much I love running, and how much I can’t wait to get home and have a run. I’ve also been telling Luke and Pepper how much I love running, and even our family and friends. I’m sure everyone is sick of it, except for me. My mind loves this stuff. It is lapping it all up and getting drunk on the love it feels for running. So much so that I’ve been out for a ‘run’ (read: walk with intermittent jogging) nearly every day this week, with the exception of crazily busy days where I simply think about how much I WISH I was running.
So here I am, a running convert, and a preacher of positive self talk! Who would have thought it?!
Of course, these little babies help with the motivation a bit too!
Europe: Paris Day 2
Our first point of call today was ‘climbing’ the Eiffel tower. We had pre-bought tickets online so were the first ones in!
We took the lift up all three levels and it was a bit scary! It was foggy all morning, which was disappointing, but still a great experience.
The arc de triomphe was as crazy as it’s made out to be, and incredibly stunning. The lourve was equally as amazing. The art from so much of history is awe-some, but the building itself is incredible. Intricate designs in the architecture and paintings on the ceilings.
The Mona Lisa isn’t as small as people day it is. But it is constantly surrounded by people, so you end up seeing it from a little way away.
Food wise we knocked a few more French dishes off the list.
Last night we had escargot (snails), French pate and a raw beef tart. All French favourites. The raw beef was a but too much to handle, but the snails and pate were quite delicious. The pate was not what I expected. At home pate is like a spread and here it is just like hard pressed cold meat.
I had a chocolate crepe also and while it wasn’t as crispy or salty as I remember in Tunisia, it was delicious! Have it with chocolate, not nutella for a better crepe!
Today (Tuesday) we had French Onion Soup which was amazing. I haven’t had it before (as far as I can remember), and I was very impressed!
Of course, we had lots of bread as well !
-T
A blurry image:
Many wonders together.
Tired, aching feet
-L
Tips for travelers:
Most things in Paris aren’t well signed so keep this in mind.
The train is a really easy way to get around the city once you’re sick of walking!
Pre-book your tickets up the Eiffel Tower. It will save you a 50-100m line, even when you’re an hour early!
BTW the Eiffel tower is worth every penny (or euro cents as the case may be), even on a foggy day.
Europe: Paris Day 1
Europe: Paris, the city of love
Today we discovered why people love Paris. It’s beautiful. Amazing architecture, yummy breads and cheeses, nice people and lots to do!
As someone who watches a LOT of cooking shoes I am always envious of the way the hosts go to speciality shops. The cheese shop, the butcher, the deli, the bakery, the fish monger. At home I just have a supermarket.
HERE they have all those things, and they have them all on our street! It was like I was living an episode of Jamie Oliver!
Breakfast was our first stop and the start of my love for Paris’s food. I’m not a huge croissant fan, but we had one for breakfast and OH MY GOODNESS! It was so light and crunchy and amazing! We had a typical French bread with butter as well. Glorious!!
For lunch we picked up some sandwiches from the bakery and some local brie from the fromagerie and lovely fresh fruit. To be honest, to me, Europe is all about the food. It’s about living my own culinary dream and replicating these experiences as best as I can when i get home. Therefore we are trying to experience the amazing food available and sticking to the foods that are specific to e country we’re in. There are a heap of Asian food places here which we won’t be eating…
On a more ‘diary-like’ note, we visited lots of places today. We wanted to go to the Lourve but it is closed on Tuesdays… :-S so instead we decided to explore the city of Paris and investigate some back streets. We drank a LOT of coffee and walked so far that my feet are currently throbbing. We ate lunch under the Eiffel tower and then rested there for two hours just because we could!
We realized why it is so good to be on a tour. We feel like we missed a lot of important sites because we didn’t know they were important. We did visit a few museums and even saw where Napoleon’s remains are kept.
-T
Through rue de Pari,
Perpetual renaissance.
Napoleonic.
Local produce lunch.
Relaxing on the grass.
Eiffel tower view.
Parlé vous anglais?
Café o lait, e café
No prepaid data.
-L
Tips for tourists:
Have your lunch in the park looking at the eiffel tower. It’s a good way to really appreciate this magnificent structure.
Eat a croissant. Just do it.
Don’t be afraid to go ‘off the track’ a bit. There are lots of hidden treasures to find!
