moving in and orientation week

well, it was not too bad.

basically, moving in was supposed to be systematic and efficient. so, i moved quickly and had things folded and put away! i was done in one hour and a half (inclusive of mopping and sweeping). come on! how long does it take to mop a 18m square room anyway!

trouble came much later.. grocery shopping..

the bag was so heavy.. i felt my arms would break! i had to get my pillows and washing stuff and some basic food! so you can imagine the kind of weight that was dragging me down.. good news is.. i dont have to go grocery shopping anymore! all i need has been bought! now its all about the cooking, laundry and living! FINALLY!

orientation week is not up yet, but i must say it has been nice- getting to know more people and really getting familiar with the school grounds.. hah.. talking about familiarising myself with the school grounds.. i was looking for the housing office (alegessec) and my friends and i (about 5 of us) walked through the school campus looking for the best and shortest way to get to the alegessec. so, we ended up asking for directions and the kind lady showed us how to get there on the school map. it seemed straight forward. just walk through one corridor and turn left. HOW HARD CAN THAT BE!?

VERY! the doors were locked and bolted and the more we walked, the smaller our options became.. essec has the habit of locking doors during non-peak hours so that the outsiders wont wander into our school grounds, hence effectively locking us in too.. gosh.. now what kind of school locks their students in school.. nazi concentration camp style.. yikesss

but anyway.. we finally found our way there and its all good and paid up!

now, on to banking.. it takes ONE WEEK to open a bank account in france.. bahhh.. tuesday is my appointment with the man from BNP Paribas and YAY! i can open my account!

tmr, will be going down to montmarte (ahh.. love the place!) and after that, past 6pm, the museums are FREE!! hello louvre!

Barcelona, Amsterdam and more

The two main trips i had before i came to paris were to barcelona and amsterdam.. i must say that both trips had their own special moments and were thoroughly enjoyable!

In barcelona, i loved spending the time with my sister and walking about barcelona, walking down the las ramblas, sitting by the water (its not really the sea.. its more like a port where lots of boats and yachts dock), wandering into shops, eating tapas and being frustrated at not being understood by the spanish salesgirls..

more about tapas- its absolutely divine! its small dishes of meat, potatoes, fish, and other foods.. and you just gobble up the yummilicious food! i loved it so much, i bought a 100 recipes of tapas book so i can cook them! what i didnt realise is that the book had a printing error.. YES, a big printing error! it duplicated about 20 recipes, so i missed out on 20 MEAT tapas.. how sad!!

well.. on gaudi and the art work.. loved loved LOVED the artwork and amazing AMAZING architecture of gaudi! its really amazing.. the amount of crazy details and abstract forms is truly dr. suess in reality! Gaudi’s style is being inspired by nature and its forms.. so what we have is pillars inspired by tree branches and windows with lots of floral-like details.. he is so particular about the way his work is to be completed that he actually wrote a manual of sorts detailing how his design can be made real.. if you watched P.S I love you, gaudi tops the singing man from dublin.. he truly prepared well for life after death

park guell has this great vast of space (and hence, the great throng of tourists) and lots of unique pieces.. if you watched America’s Next Top Model, there was this episode in this certain season (sorry for being so vague!!) where the models had to catwalk down in wedding gowns in a “frightened, horror-style” manner.. yes.. well, i went to that “catwalk” and took some pics!

and a story about mango.. we went into the shop and started looking around. each time we wanted to try something in a size that was not displayed on the shelf/rack, we had to tell the salesgirl and she would walkie-talkie the request over to whoever the mysterious person/department is, in order to bring over the shoe/right size.. it was close to closing time and we were waiting for this top to be brought over to us in the right size.. thing is.. we waited and waited.. and the darn top had not come yet.. finally, we asked again, and after a flurry of questioning amongst the salesgirls (in spanish, of course), they said, sorry, last piece.. seriously.. do you REALLY believe that?? they could have told that to us 20 minutes ago! i really think its cuz they dont want to go hunt for the top.. but oh well.. maybe its just me being all picky.. heh

on to amsterdam! it was a first for me.. travelling with someone NOT a relative.. it proved to be just fine! of course, there were moments when i wished i had my sister with me.. but friends are good too! Esmond and i checked into this great, safe, clean hostel! very very happy with the area and we walked around the place all the time..

the canals were beautiful, so nice and calming to just stare as the water slowly ripples across.. all they need is benches to sit.. that’s the one thing.. hardly any benches in amsterdam..

Van gogh museum was beautiful! really enjoyed the works on exhibition! only qualm i have is that you cant take photos inside. in most museums, this is a norm.. but not here! what a disappointment! i really understand why people appreciate van gogh. i never thought he was anything really amazing but because dad and mom said its a definite must, i went and now i see why he is so brilliant.. the way he combines colours and uses the paint with its different consistencies shows how daring he is, in a way..

also, we met this malaysian guy, ryyon who is quite a refreshing character. and he takes such beautiful, good, quality photos! i likee!! he’s very young and very accomplished! so i think that really says something about him and his attitude towards life and career goals.. inspiring and refreshing!

ooo.. funny thing.. we went for this city walk (which is free) and the guide of the walk told us that there was a free boat ride.. and i found out which one it was.. and when me and esmond went on the ride.. it was kind of pointless and not picturesque too! so it was funny.. we went on the ride, got off and looked at each other and said “what was that!?!”

anyway.. its been a great pre-school travelling.. and now.. a new category gets written- school life…

train setting in belgium

nice nice belgium! having fun at my sis’s place where she cooks and cleans and takes very good care of me! but i do need to do more.. and i want to! she just has her ways around the house.. ahem.. apartment..

went to brussels to have a look-see and was surprised that the manneqin pis was so small!! i took pics! just need the time to load it up and post it- facebook and here!

brussels is nice, town-y, city-big place.. with its charm still intact

brugge.. ahh.. now that i enjoyed lots! the view and the area is so breath-taking! walking on the cobblestone and looking at horse-drawn carriages.. couldnt be better! managed to see some windmills too!

so far i am enjoying belgium lots! pity that i cant be at aunt steph’s! her sons have chicken pox! speedy recovery to them! i havent had it yet, you see..

thing about belgium is that its cold!! really colder than france and this can be hard for me at times cuz i really freeze up! wearing gloves almost all the time!!

we watched P.S. I love you in the movies.. so sadd!! cry and cry!! but its a good show! must watch! and yes.. i wanna visit ireland now.. darn!!!

getting around belgium is mainly by train- hence train setting as opposed to jet setting! hur hur

hello barcelona! coming to you in 24 hours!

paris 101

in paris now!! have spent the days going to musuems and getting lost in paris! it has been very good! i’ve stayed safe and managed to find my way around

 yesterday, i went to musee rodin, notre dame, hotel de ville, place de vosges, the marais area as well as the bastille area. i had a great walk alog the seine river and i took many many photos.. but i’m not sure whether they will turn up well, cuz it was really bright and i feel that a lot of things were over-exposed.. hmm

 good thing is that i am getting used to the weather and the food has been good! my appetite has gone down and i am also getting over the jet-lag.. yay!

 today, its time for packing and later on, to the musee d’orsay and perhaps the palais luxembourg!

 its been good so far, not much time to miss or feel homesick (a tad too early for that perhaps, hehe) and 2 people asked me for directions yeterday.. haha.. i had to tell them in french that i didnt speak french.. heh heh

going into zara and mango feels so heart tuggingly familiar and ts the one thing i recognize from home!! heh..

oo.. i saw berms at 9.95 at zara.. haha.. should i get it *i ask*