Tuesday

I almost forgot.

I saw Oliver Zahm when I was in Paris a couple of weeks ago.

I swear to god it was him.

Thing I love vs. Thing I hate

Thing I love: Communication.

When you give your number to someone they actually call. The biggest complaint I get about Seattleites is that we're all introverted flakes. "It's like, if you say you want to hang out, then let's hang out!" Jesus, if I had a dime for every time someone from the fucking mid west said that to me. Well, it's not the same here. They get in touch. It took me a long time to get used to this. One time I gave my email address to a nice young man at a discotheque with no intention to ever talking to him again. Within a day had two emails. You see, he didn't know the rule about Seattleites. I'm an introverted flake. After I got the third email that read "Why you no respond?" I never heard from him again.

Thing I hate: Desperados beer.

This shit is disgusting. Tequila flavored beer. I know they have it in the states, but there is NO way it is nearly as popular. And with our close proxemity to Belgum, I don't understand why the hell people continue to subject themselves to this. It is horrible. Oh my god.

Chevaux.

I love horses. I started riding when I was three.

Every time I go to Emmaus, I pass horse pastures. My mom had the idea to bring the horses treats. So we did.

In a perfect world, I would be able to keep a horse in the city. In Seattle if you have one acre of land in the city, you can legally have livestock. Our neighbors up the street had a mini horse about six years ago. It was great. They didn't really know anything about horses, so I would go over there and lend my expertise from time to time. There is nothing like having a horse around.

After we got to Emmaus she resumed with the goddamn picture taking. Why why why did we need a picture of that?



Hellfest.



Clisson is a small town 45 minutes east of Nantes. Apparently it was destroyed some time ago, but with the help of some artists, got re-built. Now it is the home of a really fantastic sculpture park/permanent modern art installation. It is a series of glossy blocks hidden in fields among sculptures that date back to before the town was destroyed. I don't know. It seems hard to describe. I haven't been to Clisson yet, but am thinking about visiting this weekend.

Here is the best part...Clisson is also the host of "Hellfest" every year. If I weren't leaving in May I would buy a ticket. I am NOT making a joke here. I would seriously love to see Manowar.

Pugh.

I love Beyonce. I fucking love those music videos. But, I must say, I am a little disappointed she decided to go with knock-offs for the tour. There are no designs by Gareth in the preview sketches I saw online. Doesn't mean 'the dress' didn't make it's way in there. Either you know what I'm talking about, or you don't.

And, may I just say anyone worth their salt knew who Gareth was before those house of holland t shirts got printed three years ago. The man has been around the block.

Not sayin' I was one of those people...I'm just sayin'....
[To be fair, I've done my homework]

p.s.
Still haven't been to Colette to smell it. Sorry Keara. I'll find it before I leave.

Monday

Darts.

I had a quick glass of wiskey at a bar last week where the men were playing darts.
I'm of the opinion more men need to play darts.

Thing I love vs. Thing I hate

Thing I love: Alan Resnais.

Thing I hate: Alcohol is very accessible. Too accessible.


I think those two are pretty self explanatory. Not much needs to be said.

Friday

la difficulté vient ici.

A lot has happened recently. But the most importantly, I discovered this:



"B.J. and the Bear" (1979-81). Comedy/adventure about an itinerant trucker who traveled the nation's highways with his pet chimpanzee.

I hope you noticed the "here comes trouble" t-shirt.

That just gave me a great idea. I'm going to write "la difficulté vient ici" on a t shirt. I'll be just like the monkey. But sans big-rig.

Monday

Paris II.

When I was in Paris last week it became evident that I have one of the coolest mothers ever.



One evening we decided to make bloody marys and dance to Prince for an hour.

After that, we invited ourselves to a party that was raging on in the apartment/street below us. We both made friends. My mom was quite popular, and I nearly joined a band.

I ended the night by leaving the drunkest message for my best friend in United States via skype. I tried calling other people too, but I ran out of time. I had a lot to say.



Here is one more picture I don't hate from when we went on a boat.

Paris.

Last week I met my mom in Paris. We tore the city up.

I didn't bring a camera with me to France for a variety of reasons...
1. I don't consider myself a good photographer.
2. I think taking pictures can be really tacky.
3. If I had my way, I would only ever have my photo taken in front of a blank wall.
4. Every time someone takes your photo a piece of your soul is stolen.

(although, I must admit, there have been times when I wished I could photograph some of the crazy shit I've seen)

The reason I bring this up is because my mother is the exact opposite when it comes to cameras. She must have taken a million pictures of me in Paris. And she kept making me pose! As if I were a little child!

There is only one photo that I really like. My mom took it while we were drinking wine in front of the Sacre Coeur. It's This is my favorite picture from the Paris series because it was the exact moment I decided I was totally over having my picture taken. I also like it because it isn't totally obvious I'm in Paris. Unless you can see the Eiffel Tower hiding in the background.

Wednesday

Reading.

I read one of the best lines ever recently.


"I was double bred for death by fire..."

Tuesday

Rien.

There is nothing better than finding out new secrets.

Monday

Emails.

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Saturday.

On Saturday I was taken on a tour of sorts. I got to see a few privately owned Chateaux (from a distance of course).

This one is a little north of Nantes. It isn't open to the public, and as far as anyone knows it's used as a private residence.

Musee des beaux arts.

On Thursday they left the museum in Nantes open until midnight. It was fantastic, even though we never found the Caravaggio.

Wednesday

Something happened.

There is this German girl in my classes. She seems nice enough, and speaks french very well. But she is always late, and her hair is always wet. I don't know why this is important to mention, but it is.

Two days ago she came to class and did something I hate. She sat right next to me, when there were clearly other seats open. You know, like when you're on the bus and the whole bench part is free, but someone sits next to you in a seat? It just made me feel invaded.

But the best part is, she looked at me and said "so, what's going on? what are we doing?" My point being here, that she isn't German. She is American. The whole time we've had class together I just assumed that she was German because she has rosy round cheeks.

My other point is that, maybe she sat next to me because there is some unspoken rule that all Americans should be buddies? Or maybe it was because I was sitting close to the door. Who knows.

Pomme Nature.

I like the idea of having an entire day before I go to school. I've started getting up at 7 and going for two hour walks. It feels good.

I have also eaten more applesauce in the last 7 days than I have in the last 7 years. I learned last week that I prefer my food pulverized.

Tuesday

Thing I love vs. Thing I hate

Thing I love: Public Transportation.

Not for the obvious reasons though. Yes, it is far more efficient. It is also much cleaner, and runs more often than the Seattle Metro Transit. But the reason I love most about it is that you can get on without paying. It isn't technically allowed, but no one checks.

Thing I hate: French Teens.

I thought I hated American teens. Turns out I am just annoyed with American teens. French teens are like wild animals ALL THE TIME. They travel in large packs, attack foreign species, and howl at everything. They are so annoying. Someone please introduce me to a 15 year old in this country that won't snarl some slang phrase on our first encounter.

Morning.

Since I have been getting up at around 6:45 every morning for no reason I have had more time to think about spring.

I just want to say a few things about Alice Dellal. While I don't think I could take her look as far as she has, and sometimes I feel like she looks lost in her outfits; I love her. She really commits. I read an interview with her about a year and a half ago, and she dropped off my radar for a while. I changed my mind about 'bank robber' I'm doing '90s British grunge socialite' for spring.

Friday

Emmaus 2.

I went back to Emmaus with two lady friends and had shit loads of success today. I took pictures.

1. My desk. The new things are the 8 tiny busts of important figures in French history (Marie Curie, Charles De Gaulle, Gustave Eiffel etc...). And the vintage alcohol bottle. I also bought books, but they will be gifts for friends. I bought "Explaining Natural History" "Animals" and "Technology".















2. The shoes. I flipped out when I saw these shoes. They are weaved tan leather. Never before worn. Perfect wooden heel. I died. And the thrift store was having a special: Anything you can fit in to one bag, 4 euros. So I threw an oversized button up shirt in there for good measure.

















It was a good day.

Wednesday

Wouldn't it be nice.

I will admit it.
I used to have a serious aversion towards the Beach Boys.
Until now. Something just happened and I can't seem get enough.
In my defense, it was because I never gave their music a close listen for two reasons. 1) My mom listens exclusively to funk and soul music. It was what I was raised on. I never heard The Beatles, Leonard Cohen or Simon and Garfunkel before I was 18 or 19 because they were all "whiners." 2) They might be, collectively, the ugliest band in history.


It kind of happened that way with Bob Dylan too. Except he didn't look like a pussy. I've always though he looked pretty much like perfect.

(I would like to note that I am not complaining about being raised on soul music. I'm glad it happened. I challenge anyone to sing 'Boogie Shoes' better than me)

Tuesday

Sick.

I'm sick. Really sick. I got out of bed once yesterday, and it was horrible.

Milan is the only thing keeping me alive. Yeah those Prada heels everyone is talking about. Damn. No one has really mentioned the thigh high boots that for one reason or another remind me of wellies, but are clearly leather. I'll take those please.

Sunday

Itinerary

My mom will be visiting France for two weeks. I have been making an Itinerary over the last few days. I have divided the itenerary up in to parts.

Part 1: Restaurants.

Laduree. Paris.


La Cigalle. Nantes


Le Lieu Unique. Nantes.


There are more, but sadly, no photos.

Highlights.

I had a damn good weekend. It started on Friday when I meant to take a nap, and I ended up sleeping through my afternoon class. Whoops I guess.

I am going to break it down. I am 99% sure no one reads this. So I am breaking it down for myself. I am a visual person and I like my thoughts organized.

Friday.

I learned why the vast majority of college students (mostly girls) like malibu rum so much. It gets a bad rap, but anything that tastes like coconut candy and gives me enough gusto to climb on a roof gets an A+.

I ate my first falafel with ginger sauce sandwich since the new years.

Anna and I almost slept in the grass. I also ate french fries for the first time in ages.

Went to a discotheque and walked home.

The best part of the evening was when Anna and I made a pit stop on the front steps of a primary school at 4 in the morning. Felt like it was 2 in the afternoon.

Saturday.
I didn't wake up with a hangover.

I had a fantastic three hour picnic with german gossip magazines and apples.

It was warm, and I made myself a delicious dinner.

Sunday.
I woke up sick. I mean siiiiick. Sore throat and the whole bit.

I started planning my mom's (two week!!) vacation to France.

Now I'm getting ready to watch 'Sleepless in Seattle'

Normally I wouldn't watch this movie, but, I don't know. I kind of feel like I need to see the space needle right now. And I love when you recognize parts of your city in a movie.

I have also been completely obsessed with photos of the beautiful people in Milan this weekend. I am really excited about the situation concerning all of the very bold shoulders. Please. Kill me now.