Cheers from the UK!

London called...

and I answered, and boy, was it the best decision I made for my first vacation in Europe!!! I have enjoyed every moment of it...the good moments, the lost moments, and the less cheerful (hahaha tired and grumpy) moments. My feet have stopped speaking to me, but it is good to have disagreements once and a while...

Highlights include the British Museum, the British Library, meeting Vai's family, Nutella again, seeing a protest in Oxford, sneeking onto the Oxford campus and more...

That is all for now, I will give more details, just wanted to let you know I am still alive and thoroughly enjoying my time here...

Food, glorious, Food...RANT!!

Ok, so I am in the land of haute cuisine and the cordon-bleu chefs...and yet, I have to say, there is some very delicious tastes to savour, but there is also some tastes that don't even make it to my mouth because they are so repulsive.

Salad...normally a very normal dish, served with lots of lettuce and then some vegetables. Not here. We got a salad with a sparse amount of lettuce, apple chucks, cheese chunks and KIWI...because here KIWI is a fruit that you set next to a statue of Mary, a glass of wine and a piece of bread - it is so full of vitamins, no one should miss out. To top it off, nasty salad dressing put on it. MY SOLUTION: add the Catalina salad dressing that my fabulous mom sent me to drown out their nasty vinigrette. Nevertheless, this prompted a discussion on how Catalina is the ketchuup of salad...and when explained that it is nothing like ketchup, the French laugh confusedly thinking we are the ones messed up in the head; b/c if it is red sauce it is ketchup. LOL, and then to our confusion, last night when eating wedged potatoes, my host sister brings out the Catalina. I ask her why, and she said, "For your potatoes, you know to dip in, Ketchup". I laugh and say: "BUT IT'S NOT KETCHUP!" and grab the true ketchup.

Next, we will discuss seafood. Now, my family is well aware that Katelyn and I do not eat seafood, and that I only eat fish (Katelyn doesn't even it that). Nevertheless, this is an abomination since we live in Canada and there is lots of fishing and seafood from both of the coasts. When we try to explain that we don't live on the coasts, that many Canadians do like seafood, just happens to not be one of our personal preferences they shake their heads at us silly girls who don't take advantage of their country's natural ressources. It goes back to the whole enchilada whereby, the discovery that we don't know plants and wild flora is astounding since when Marthe was in Canada she saw lots of berries, mushrooms and whatnot around. Urban centres like Toronto are apparently not well translated in my French...perhaps I should find visuals to explain that there isn't natural mountain ranges where I live, like there is here. Ok, out of my digression now, and back to the seafood. On Saturday night, their friends brought over seafood for dinner...seafood that is still ALIVE and RAW, which they proceeded to eat. Needless to say, I did not partake in this little event...instead I opted to make a meal out of the potato dish and a baguette. Furthermore, they found it astounding that since I have a Japanese heritage, I do not eat raw seafood...the fact that it is a very long-distanced heritage with Japan doesn't seem to phase them, they still think it sinful that I do not appreciate such fine delicacies.

Soup - normally a dish that I am totally up for, you can't usually go wrong with soup now and then. Here though soup is as much a staple as bread. They have vegetable soup, potato soup, pumpkin soup, and then yesterday they ate PIG INTESTINE soup. Thank goodness that this was over at a friend's house and we did not go...that Marthe made us something and then went out with everyone. Katelyn and I were never so happy to not be included in something; after there departure, we left the appartment in search of real, greasy food, which we found at Quick's, which is becoming our temple of that delicacy called American fast-food - it has become way more appreciated abroad than ever when at home.

Nevertheless, it is not all bad...I did stumble across a chocolatier in the downtown streets of Perpignan while out searching for a book. Katelyn and I decided to indulge ourselves by buying the expensive delicacies it housed within and let me just say to you, chocolate over here is downright a delicious ritual. It was sooooooooooo amazing, a little taste of heaven!!!

Now, if only we had chocolate for a meal...(A)!!!

A quickie...

So I watched the men's long program last night...wow, was it an ever intense moment, I could barely sit still. Unfortunately, my poor Brian Joubert didn't skate very well, but my wonderful CANADIAN Jeff Buttle won bronze. YIPEE! (I wore my Canadian shirt to bring him luck yesterday). Sandhu sucked, and I actually felt bad for him, so I guess I have a heart; Plushenko won...and watching Lambiel cry over his silver medal was touching. It was definitely a night to remember!

As for my break next week, Katelyn and I have decided to forego Italy for the moment and head north to London, England and then off to Glasgow and Edinburg in Scotland. In London we plan to see as much as possible and also to take a little trip to Oxford and check out that little nook. We have booked our flights and have learned that the earlier you book the cheaper the flight, so not the best deal but let's just say we are booking way in advance for the rest of our trips. Nonetheless, we went the cheapest way and it is sooo worth it because I am PUMPED! More info to come when I finally get a chance to sit down and right more...

Figure Skating at the J.O.'s

So, Figure Skating…à la français

As all of you are well aware, the Olympics started last week and being the crazy fan I am, I have been following as much of it as possible, skating particularly. I love the sport, but I find myself even more amused by the commentators than the skaters themselves. There is this old man with curly grey hair commentating alongside former French skater Philippe Candeloro and they crack me up. For instance, last night when the French Champion Brian Joubert went out to skate, they talked to him as he went along with encouragement (of course, only we the television spectators could hear what they said). So, at the beginning they say to him…Go Brian, this is your chance, take it! And, here comes the quad…oh la la, that was fantastique! :P Or, during the pair competition when the Chinese lady Zhang fell down, stopping their program in the middle to recover and then go back out after walking the injury off, they skated flawlessly…at the end, they were yelling…What strength, what humanity, what wonder we have seen on this ice tonight.. They are so passionate and get right into it. But the best part is, I now no longer can be called weird because they talk the exact same way I do when watching skating…lol, too bad I don’t get paid for it or get to wear the cool earphones or get to interview the skaters (more just so I can meet them all (a) than to really interview them). HAHAHA, maybe I should become a figure skating newscaster….:S

But alas, the results…my poor Canadian men had a rough start but hopefully they will come back strong even if they don’t get a medal I would like to see them have a good long program – well I don’t really care about Sandhu, its more Buttle…but still to be patriotic, I will cheer for them both. And I can’t wait to see Brian Joubert’s performance because it is Riverdance and he worked on it with Shae-Lynn Bourne!! YIPEE! And the Swiss, Stephen Lambiel is in 3rd (he’s cool), the American Johnny Weir in 2nd (he’s ok), and the Russian Evgeny Plushenko is in 1st (he is an annoying baby, but will probably win, short of some major disaster on his part…oh well, hopefully he will retire after so I don’t have to watch him anymore once these Olympics are over)

Half-catalan girls, half-baked boys

Again, this weekend found me braving the mountains – this time both Saturday and Sunday. We stayed overnight at Alain’s (a friend of my host family) apartment. Saturday is my point of interest for this post; Sunday is my point of interest for pictures (will be posted later this week).

So Saturday…we arrived in the mountains and Katelyn, Manon and myself decided that we would go skating together at the arena because it was possible to rent skates. This of course was a high for me, because as most people know skating is a passion of mine – and it all started off particularly well. The downhill spiral of bizarre events began with three French boys who were also skating and happened to decide that they should inform Katelyn and I that they found us to be “très belle”. Out of curiousity because of the whole Pascal and François thing for me and Katelyn respectively, we asked their names. Coincidently, the guy that liked Katelyn’s name was Floriant, while my suitor was named Peter or Pierre…therefore, close but not close enough, first initial only. We politely declined explaining that we were Canadian, and sure enough, their response was that it didn’t matter because Floriant was Italian (I don’t think that was true). So, to try from a different angle, we asked them how old they were – 17 years old only – and then explained we were too old for them. They didn’t believe that we were 20 and 21. And finally, it got downright pathetic, desperate, and just plain weird when they decided to make snowballs with snow they made from the ice and then to smoosh those snowballs in our hair, our face, our necks and random ones thrown at us. And no, I am not making this up…they seriously came up to us and smooshed snowballs in our face – Can you say score? ;) These boys were half-baked.

Later though, it was wonderful when Alain, Marthe, Manon, Katelyn and I went out for dinner in Spain because the mountains are right on the boarder of the two countries. I love Spain in the evening because it is so alive, everyone is out walking around. We went to a little restaurant which was cute except for the fact that it was so smoky and we all left smelling like bleeding ashtrays. But, because I am here to try different things, Katelyn and I decided to be half-catalan girls; we ordered this catalan potato thing and pasta thing as our first course, but settled on sticking with plain old chicken instead of this catalan specialty involving blood for the second course. The catalan potato thing was amazing…it was like mashed/pureed potatoes with cabbage, spices and meat all mixed together. Perhaps appearance wise it wasn’t top notch, but it’s all the same once its in the stomach. The pasta entrée was not as good, but not disgusting. It was noodles, tuna, mayonnaise and onions all together. The chicken was delicious and the meal was followed up with a wonderful ice cream dessert with chocolate. Needless to say, the dessert was an absolute success…the half-catalan thing definitely worked for me especially at 9 euros. Bon profite! (that’s bon appetit in Catalan)…

My new friend Nutella...

I have discovered Nutella! Now, I realize that I didn't have to come all the way to France to discover this. It just so happens that France was the setting for this discovery, and I must say it has been a culinary success. I am totally in love with this spread, it beats peanut butter, jam, cream cheese - yes chocolate has something to do with it, but even more the hazelnut flavour just makes it even more. A bit decadent but the perfect remedy for all things bad.

PROOF:
Case #1: Yucky french pastry...added nutella and it masked the weird cheese stuff in the pastry and voila, you have some delicious and edible again.

Case #2: Everyone was telling me it is bad not to eat breakfast because it is the most important meal of the day. Because of Nutella, I now eat breakfast. :)

Case #3: Manon adds Nutella to plain yogurt (which I have yet to even attept to eat because the thought of plain yogurt makes me want to hurl) and she says that it taste way better - I am taking her word for it, call it my character witness as proof to this testimony.

CONCLUSION:
Eat more Nutella, and when I come back to Canada invest in a jar for my cupboard at home. LOL, so maybe it is possible to find love in France...well at least with food!

P.S. Sarah, if you read this and you have not had Nutella, I seriously recommend it because you are my fellow chocoholic...Demetres should invest too ;) I actually had it on a crepe...

From Annie Oakley to Old Arthritic Lady :P

Yesterday morning, we got up early to go to the mountains for the day. I was super excited because the mountains here a beautiful when you see them and the prospect of being around snow (even if it was small amounts) provided me with the much needed energy to climb a mountain - on foot that is.

So, we decided we would go and see a monastry hidden in the secret terrain of Canigou (the name of the mountain), the monastry being St. Martin de Canigou, who was a person who killed a dragon according to the legend. Don't worry, I won't recount all the history I learned on this trip. But, I will just post some pictures because I hardly have the words to describe the serenity and unbelieveable beauty I witnessed yesterday. There is some calming and wonderfully comforting about that type of environment and I would seriously love to see it again. In fact, we are going to a house in the mountains this weekend to a zoo and hanging out there.

But, back to the journey up and down the mountain. Going up was relatively easy, in fact everyone kept commenting on how fast I walked. But seriously, I was not in shape, I just walk briskly...but it was such good exercise. And the thing that hit me most is that if I were in Canada I would not have the time to do something so rewarding and refreshing on a weekend. Once to the top we took many pictures and admired the landscape and then we walked in an area that visitors aren't suppose to enter. We ate lunch there - a picnic in February LOL - and it was delicious. Mind you, I didn't sit on the edge like the rest of the group because my fear of heights prevented it, nevertheless my view was still as incredible...I just didn't have to worry about possibility leaning back to far into an abyss. :)

Going down was another story, it was very difficult on the knees and worked so many muscles that I didn't know existed in my body. By last night I was starting to feel it, and this morning when I woke up I couldn't walk normally. Climbing a mountain like Annie Oakley was definitely cool - they called me superwoman b/c of my fast pace - but waking up like a grandma for an 8 a.m. class seriously lacked in the cool department!!!

I will stop blabbing now, and without further ado, however, here are the pics...ENJOY! ;)


Natalia, Katelyn, Manon, Marthe basking in the sunlight where we ate lunch (it was an incredibly gorgeous view)
Here is the monastry St. Martin de Canigou...it was built in the 11th century and recently restored. Amazing to think that something so old withstood the test of time and continues to be preserved and is inhabitated by monks and nuns!
And the 3 Canadians pose for a shot on the steps of the monastry in front of an entrance not for visitors.
A view of the landscapes...such diverse vegetation, but simply breathtaking...
A cross obviously, but it was so cool because we were bad and went into an area not permitted for visitors to enter and there was this path towards this outdoor sanctuary with this cross, an altar and benches. Very serene and simplistic but I think those 2 qualities made it all the more beautiful!

Making up for lost time...

And the fireworks can be let loose because I know have internet access free at my school so pics are about to be posted so you can see the home I've created in my new little corner of the world, in a city called Perpignan :)


So here, to the left, I have a picture from my trip to the beach house in a little hub called Canet on the outskirts of Perpignan. A landscape and then the pretty wave crashing!!! It was a gorgeous day by the Mediterranian :P











LOL, and here is our cool, creative pose...I think from left to right it goes: Marthe (my host mom), Manon (my host sister), me, Katelyn and then Natalia. I could be wrong, nevertheless I like the pic and therefore chose to put it up.










Here is one of the appearing and disappearing donkeys in the magical field by my old house in Canohes. It was so preplexing that I wouldn't be surprised if Shrek and Princess Sophia were hiding in the bush somewhere...















And here is another picture of me with Manon. We braved the rocks and the waves crashing for the pic opportunity, but ended up with soakers despite all the possible precautions...I'd do it again! ;)

Babes apparent :S

So yesterday, us Canadian girls did not have class until 4 pm so Katelyn and I spent a very relaxing morning at home with a leisurely breakfast and then some G.G. episodes. It wasn't the nicest weather when we first woke up, but after the G.G. episodes, we walked to the windows and discovered that it was gorgeous weather and that the sun had at last returned to Perpignan.

In the spirit of European culture and in celebration of good weather in January we decided to walk to school for something to do. Map in hand, we were able to scope out the quickest route to school (thanks to the help of our host mom) and get to school in a record time of 25 minutes. In the past, it has taken Katelyn 50 minutes to walk to school. LOL!!! Anyways, on our way we place a square known as Place de Rigaud and there we were hooted at by these guys at the fruit store. Being our savy selves we just ignore them and continue walking...only to get a little farther down the route and have some guys approach us. However, thank goodness they were just needing directions and we were actually able to tell them the possible ways. But, then they started asking us where we were from and we were like Canada but we pass the FNAC going this way or this way etc to give them encouragement that yes we know what we are saying. There is the possiblity that they didn't need directions at all and just wanted to talk to us, but Katelyn and I decided it would be much more flattering to think they supposed us to be natives of Perpignan and seeked us out for a wise advice ;)

Now, on the way home we are again asked directions by a guy and again the thrill of being thought of as natives left us flabbergasted because we have a map in hand and clearly if one takes a glance at our shoes they would know that we are not European...we wear running shoes, which I think is a faux pas over here as no girls seem to wear them. I, however, refuse to give up the comfort of a good pair of runners when walking. But to continue, we are again hooted and hollered at by the same fruit guys going home and again we ignore them. Today, we didn't see them and that was good.

BUT, what I think is worse, as we were getting a ride home today from our host mom in the car, we past by these guys working construction and they tried to charm us by yelling through the windows as we slowly passed.

MY CONCLUSION...we are apparently babes OR these French guys at the fruit stand and the construction zone need to get some hobbies to focus their energies elsewhere...

MY COMMENTARY (A)...I am not quite sure how this is complimentary or charming and therefore, put to question the allure that French guys hold for so many girls...I will see what research and observation will behold ~ :)