World's best cities to travel to during summer

I just read the title of this Lonely Planet article and had hoped and guessed it was Sydney (hey I'm not biased or anything! ;) ). I was close. Sydney came second. Barcelona came first.

Crap crap crap. That reminds me I am sooooo behind in my blogs I still haven't written about my Italy, Barcelona or Germany trips :(

Anyway, I can see why Barcelona would come first. It is an all-round incredible city. I don't know what it'd be like in winter but when I went the weather was largely perfect. Sunny, but not boiling hot, and with a nice sea breeze.

1. Barcelona
2. Sydney
3. Montreal
4. London
5. Chicago
6. Stockholm
7. Edinburgh
8. Berlin
9. Amsterdam
10. New York
11. Lisbon

Notice how most of them are in Europe and Sydney is the only one in the southern hemisphere?

When friends of mine told me that they wanted to visit Europe in the summer I could never understand why. Don't they realise it can be stinking hot and a lot of things are not open since the residents themselves have gone on holidays?

Also something else about Europe in case you didn't know already: They don't use air-conditioning as much as in Anglo countries. Just yesterday I nearly died on the bus with no air-conditioning and the other day I was standing next to a guy with really bad body odour and swear I was going to faint and throw up at the same time!

In Barcelona also it was horrific on a bus without air con. It's not that they're not equipped with it, the bus driver just doesn't turn it on!

Oops, as usual I've gone off topic..

anyway to all my northern hemisphere readers, enjoy your summer holidays! :)

(picture from here)

My heart is in France

Lyon continued II

Something I didn't write about in my previous post about Lyon... When I first arrived it already felt strange and foreign and not at all familiar. I guess there has been a change inside me where deep down I realise that France is no longer my home. Before, when I travelled in France... after a while, everything felt really familiar and nothing felt strange anymore.

But yesterday, it DID feel strange. And I admit I felt sad. Maybe it was just the dreary weather. Maybe it was my stress. But part of me wished I'd chosen to go to Lyon instead of Geneva. It's not that I don't like Geneva (afterall what's not to like when it's the third 'best' city in the world to live in) but maybe that (already) I feel like it's just too small for me! There's a lot of things a city doesn't have when it's not big enough and I think that I'll always be a big city girl. Living in the 'burbs or in a small country town would bore me to tears.

Also in Lyon I had the strangely familiar occurence that everyone around me speaks French! If I ask a stranger to help me take a photo or for directions I don't have to guess whether they actually speak French or not.

What else? I could have CRIED at the low price of food compared to Switzerland. Plus the boulangeries are more plentiful and have a wider variety of products. I got a strawberry croissant!

Despite the horrible horrible weather I was actually still charmed by and still in love with Lyon. Perhaps also because it's rather arty and that part of it 'speaks' to me as I'm a creative sort of person. I don't know. It has so much character, and history, and culture, and art, and food and and and... it's not as beautiful as Paris of course (few cities are) but to me it's far more liveable.

I still feel that my heart is in France. Switzerland is a wonderful country but somewhat just too perfect and too pristine for me I think. When I lived in Shanghai I loved witnessing all the funny shenanigans that one normally never sees in a Western country and I can still see stuff like that in France but in Geneva it's extremely rare... Actually, to be honest, I think Geneva reminds me too much of Sydney and Australia. Namely the high price of food and housing, the modern buildings and roads, the longer working hours (compared to France), the way they do things (for example it's tax time now in France and in France it's not automatically deducted from your salary like in Australia and Switzerland).. it's all very similar to Australia. Not that they are bad things (or maybe they are :P ) , but I came to Europe (France) because I wanted a life that was DIFFERENT to the one I formerly had.

Nice, Cannes and Paris vacation

Saturday - Cannes

I've had the most incredible and amazing weekend and that is only because of the kindness and generosity of some "strangers". It never ceases to amaze me how someone who doesn't even know you and who has never seen/met you before can be so nice to you, and would treat you as nice as your own family or long term friends would treat you.

Well I've been stressed with "this issue" (that is still ongoing so the stress is still ongoing too!) and anyway I decided to make a last minute decision to take a trip down south (as I stated earlier in this blog). I wrote an email to a friend of mine as I vaguely remembered that he told me he grew up down there. I thought maybe he could suggest some things for me to see or do, although I did not explicitly ask him this. I just wrote him a vague and short message thinking maybe he would be happy and/or excited for me, that's all.

What I did not expect was... He suggested that I could stay with his mother who lives in the hills of Cannes, in a beautiful town 10 minutes away. At the time of me writing to him I had already contacted quite a few Couchsurfers in Nice and Cannes about staying with them but had not received a positive reply yet so I was overjoyed that he said that and said "Yes! I would LOVE to stay with his mother!"

A few hours later I got a reply from him saying he had called his mother and that I could stay with her and she would love to host me. I also received a lovely email from her herself.

Now about this friend... He's French and I met him in Shanghai when we were both living there. I put a message up on a forum asking if anyone knew where I could buy such a such a product and he said that he had it and that he could give it to me since he didn't need it anymore. I thought that was very nice and we agreed to meet up. We only spent a few minutes with each other and then we never saw each other again! But, we managed to stay in contact over the last 3.5 years (!!) purely by email. I wouldn't exactly say it was a strong friendship but the fact that we're still friends and in contact says a lot I think... Anyway, he was the first French person I became friends with.

Then, around the time mid-last year (2010) when I was getting ready to move to France he contacted me asking me if he knew of anyone who could offer him a job in Australia as he was looking for a way to immigrate there. Since he's an engineer I put him in contact with my father and he went back and forth over several months weighing up all his options. In the end he thanked me but he said he decided to go with another company who said they could sponsor him but first he had to spend some time in Hong Kong. So he's currently still living in Hong Kong but he recently got his permanent visa for Australia and can move there after he marries his current partner so he can bring her over too.

I can't help but wonder if he was nice to me because I was nice to him and (tried to) help him out? It's funny how when you're nice to people without expecting anything in return, you eventually get it back. I really believe in karma and this is just one example, I think.

So, to say that I was tired when I arrived in Cannes was a complete understatement. I'd stayed up to almost 1am the night before stressing over this "issue" and then I had to get up at 6am to leave by 6:30am to catch my train. It was quite cold and I left a bit too late and basically had to run to the train station. It was still a bit dark when I left and the air going into my ears was really cold, giving me a splitting earache (which feels like someone put hot pokers in them) so by the time I arrived I was out of breath, sweating with a throbbing head/ears. I almost blacked out. "No worries!" I thought (in my Australian accent). I'll just sleep on the train. Easier said than done!

Seriously, I THINK EVIL THOUGHTS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO TALK LOUDLY AND NON-STOP ON LONG PLANE OR TRAIN JOURNEYS. Honestly, I just want to scream WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT THE FUCK UP AND SIT THE FUCK DOWN?! God Damn it. Why do people have to keep getting up and walking up and down? What the heck is wrong with them? And a train is PUBLIC transport. It's not your own bloody private living room and the whole world does not want to hear your goddamn inane conversation at 100 decibels for hours and hours on end!

The first half of my 6 HOUR train ride was OK and I got some rest but the second half was just hell and I gave up.

Reminded me of Sydney...

Then, minutes before my train was due to arrive in Cannes (bad timing) I got:
1) an SMS from a guy in Nice who said he could meet up with me and show me the town.
2) a call from a woman regarding "the important issue".

Since I was then in a tunnel I couldn't respond to either of them and then I had to get off the train, and then my friend's mother (C) was there waiting for me, warmly welcoming me.

She was talking and asking me various things and telling me about Cannes and to be honest I was distracted as hell because I really wanted to respond to both of those people but I thought it'd be a bit rude since we'd just met for the first time and she was so welcoming and happy to see me, etc and talking at a million miles a minute... So I just forgot about it for while...

My first thought was when I arrived was.... I feel like I'm back home in Sydney! The weather, the sun, the sea, the plants/trees/flowers. It all seems so familiar. The only thing that's really different (as always) are the houses and the architecture. I couldn't have been luckier with an 18°C day, sunny and a light sea breeze.

As much as I wanted to explore and see the city I actually wanted and needed to sleep. My head felt like mush and I actually felt like I'd been on a plane and passed through different timezones or something! So she took me back to her house (about 10 minutes drive away) and we had lunch. Then I rested for a bit (actually I tried to but I was so hyped up and pumped up and soooooo excited to be there that I couldn't!). I told her I really needed to use the internet and a printer to sort out this "issue" and I felt soooooo bad that I had to bother her with that and I felt so annoyed that I couldn't enjoy my holiday in peace. The whole time I couldn't really relax because I needed to sort out this "issue" and that was the reason why I had to cut my holiday short and go to Paris.

We had some problems connecting my computer to the internet and couldn't figure out why and she said she'd call her son. We ended up talking to him (in Hong Kong) on Skype and it's funny because I have NEVER spoken to him on Skype before! I don't even know his account username. And the first time I ever talk to him on Skype is at his mother's place! I spoke to him in both French and English and he said that my French had really improved.

It's funny... I remember the very first email I ever wrote to him in French well. I said something about "votre photos" and he corrected me and said that I don't need to "vous" him and to call him "tu" and that because photos are plural I need to say "tes photos". I'll never forget that!  Ahh... How far I've come in my French! :D

We didn't get the problem solved but I managed to solve it myself sort of by accident by trying a few different things with the buttons on the LiveBox. Hurray! I could finally get online to email the person about "the issue".

C and I had some tea around 4-5pm and then I really had to go and get some rest before her soirée! I knew there was no way I could stay awake if I didn't.

I slept till just before the guests arrived, at 7pm. God that sleep was heavenly. You have no idea how much I love staying over at strangers'/friend's places when they give me my own nice big room, with a big bed, and nice fresh clean crisp sheets. OMG it's heavenly compared to when I'm living in a tiny tiny room with a single bed. Every time that has happened I seriously don't ever want to leave! Also I often sleep better at other people's houses because it's much quieter than where I am at the school.

So her friends came over and they were all lovely. A lot of the time when you're at a party with people you don't know they often don't bother to include you in their conversation but they really made an effort with me, even offering to speak to me in English (but I said I preferred to speak French).

We had a delicious seafood Paella for dinner followed by a frozen dessert from Picard. Since my friend's mother is divorced and lives alone and has a busy social life (like all single people I know!) she doesn't have much time to cook so the Paella was bought and pre-made by a shop but it didn't matter because it and the dessert were both still delicious.

Her friends had been out sailing all day so were understandably very tired and it finished relatively early at around 10-10:30pm.


Sunday - Nice

The next day we were off to Nice! It worked out perfectly because by going with them I didn't have to worry about transport (lots of time and money saved - yay!), I get to spend time with them AND do my own thing because 2 of her friends (a couple) who had also stayed overnight at her place and her were going to see the opera.

Unfortunately, because I forgot to reply to this guy's SMS he told me he had changed his plans and was now doing something with some friends. I was a bit disappointed but had no hard feelings. I had so much fun exploring and walking around everywhere until I was even more exhausted than I thought possible. It was warm and sunny. C, being so motherly towards me, told me to bring my coat in case it got coat and I was annoyed I was carrying my winter coat in a backpack all day long when all I wanted to do was to put in a t-shirt. I was sweating like crazy in my long-sleeve top! I kept thinking and feeling I was back home in Sydney. It was a weird yet happy feeling and made me more homesick than ever. However I was extremely content to be in the beautiful south of France and was in no hurry to go back home yet.

This picture reminds me of California or Hawaii

Pebbly beach

Another (bad) thing that reminded me of Sydney was... I found my allergies returning! Strange. Or maybe not so strange.  Because I noticed that the trees, plants and flowers were very similar to what we have in Sydney I also happened to notice my allergies starting to flare up (which I never got in the whole 6 months+ that I've been here!) Prior to that unfortunate event I actually thought that I would LOVE to live in Nice. In fact, I would die to live in Nice. It is gorgeous and and a good size. It has wonderful culture and restaurants. And of course the beach/sea. It's unfortunate that the beach is made of pebbles and not sand though.

One of the first things we did after we parked the car in the underground carpark was walk through a farmer's market. Now of course I'd been to markets before in various cities in France but for the first time... I don't know why... maybe because of the warmer weather... I could really smell everything. I could smell the olives, the tomatoes, the oranges, the strawberries... My nose was being assaulted by the most delicious of flavours and taste sensations I was probably almost salivating. It was just heavenly.

First time I noticed these funky tomatoes ("coeur de boeuf" / heart of beef)!

We walked through several gorgeous streets of Nice (you know the typically French ones with that are narrow and cobble-stoned) before settling down in a big restaurant (La Claire Fontaine) overlooking Place Rossetti, a fountain and an old church. It all looked so Italian. Even many street and building names were Italian!

This is what I ordered:

Farandale des Mais 
Assortiment de pissaladière, tourte de courgettes, beignets de courgettes et d'aubergine, farcis niçois, poivrons au four.

It was beautifully presented and totally yummo (and something I had never tried before!)

After hearing great things about this well-known glacerie (ice cream shop) I was dying to have some! I only very rarely eat ice cream and so when I do I wanna make sure it's GOOD. I was told they have 100 flavours including cactus! I wasn't game enough to try it though. I did however want to try about 20 different flavours... I opted for the pina colada flavour since it's a taste I really like.

Then they took me to the Place Masséna (photos below) and then went to the watch the opéra. Now, because I didn't manage to reply to that guy in time we couldn't meet up and I was a little bit disappointed but not overly. Afterall, I had MORE than enough things to do in the 4 hours that I had. In fact it would be a race against time to see everything since Nice is quite big and I was only going on foot.

I was actually still pretty tired but had to forget about that and just keep walking and walking and walking... I felt so stupid to be carrying around a big winter coat when I was sweating like crazy.

I passed through a gorgeous tropical looking park with a carousel.

I did a bit of research the night before and wanted to go to the Théâtre de la Photographie et de l'image because 1) I love photography and 2) it's free! Whenever I'm visiting a city I like to still keep costs down and do as many free things as possible and there is usually always some kind of museum or art gallery that is free. Plus it was such a beautiful day I did not want to spend it inside so it would've been a waste of time/money to go to a bigger museum/gallery.

I saw the photos of German August Sander and a cute collection of old cameras right in the lobby of the building. It was enough culture for me because I wanted to make the most of the great outdoors!

I kept walking and walking wanting to get back to the sea again not realising just how big Nice was and how the map I had on me was really crap. I'd taken the wrong map with me when I left the house that morning and this was a bus maps which didn't show clearly all the little roads. That's when I got a bit lost and a random elderly gentleman came up to me and offered to help me! That was the FIRST time anyone in France had offered to help me when I was lost. Sure lots of times if I asked someone to show me where something was on the map they were polite and helpful but this time it was different!

And let's not forget the two random people who offered to take my photo for me (with my camera). That has NEVER happened before either. (Then, later, when I left Cannes, a young man offered me his seat at the station and that has never happened before either).


It really is true that the people down south are more easygoing and friendly.

Park with lots of people playing Pétanque

New Year's Eve 2010/2011

I know I wrote my thoughts on Christmas not so long ago but strangely I didn't end up feeling sad or homesick during Christmas at all... However, last night I felt really homesick for Sydney because of our great fireworks show. Due to the timezone (GMT+10 or GMT+11 in daylight savings time) it's the first major city to experience the new year so it's always in the news.

I felt kinda sad being stuck in a small town with no festivities and I was hoping I'd get invited to something.. but nope, nothing. I was disappointed but not overly sad. I texted my French friends both in town and out of town and wished them a Happy New Year. I got quite a few in return too.

At around 9pm I was getting frustrated that I had nothing planned and nothing to do and noone to spend it with. However, I just told myself it's no big deal. Just a change in a calendar date anyway. I had a really nice NYE last year watching the fireworks from the front yard of my sister's apartment block (which has such a perfect view that there are police and security guards surrounding her street and don't allow anyone but residents and their guests to enter). And you have to get your car in by a certain time before all the streets are closed off to cars too.

There are usually around a million people who watch the fireworks (500,000 on each side of the harbour) and it's a big Sydney ritual. In the past 15 years I have only missed a few. Mostly because I was overseas. The 1999 ones were particularly memorable because of the upcoming 2000 Olympic Games and they had lit up sea creatures floating along the harbour which was delightful. Those that don't watch it for real watch the live telecast on tv or can hear it (+ commentary or soundtrack) on the radio.

I could go on and on (as I've seen so many now) but the main point is that for the first time in ages I felt really really homesick and missed my city and my family and friends, dammit!

I also remember fondly last year on New Year's day I walked around Luna Park with my sister and her boyfriend. It was so much fun and this timely blog post (with its beautiful photos) certainly brought back memories for me! I think I wrote about that "52 suburbs" blog before on here. It certainly makes me appreciate and miss Sydney more!

Since Sydney is 10 hours ahead of France I could see all the Facebook status updates and photos (and later even videos) of the fireworks and festivities.

One of my friends did invite me to spend NYE in Lyon but I was just too tired from all that travelling to do anymore.

I wanted to speak to someone I knew, anyone, through Skype but nobody was online. I got over the fact that I was going to do absolutely nothing for NYE and not even be upset by it but I did not want to spend it alone. I just had to speak to someone! Everyone I knew were either asleep or busy etc... So I decided to find a random stranger to speak to on Skype.

I went to one of the language exchange websites I've used before (italki) and sent out a handful of messages, hoping someone was online. Eventually somebody replied to my request and it turned out to be really good fun (well as much fun as one can have alone in a tiny room with nothing but a computer and an internet connection ;) )

We started 'speaking' at around 9:45pm and then lasted until almost 2am! We could've gone on longer but I really wanted to go to bed. We got along really really well and he was really funny as well. He was alone too on NYE (and didn't think it was a big deal either). We never did a video chat (as I was not in the mood to be 'seen' with my messy hair and in my daggy pjs, etc) but spent ages talking (typing) on Skype. I simultaneously had wordreference.com and google.com opened so I could quickly translate any word he typed that I did not understand. It's really a great way to learn more vocabulary. I offered to talk in English too (for his benefit) but he said he was too tired at that late hour to think in English so I got to practise French heaps!

I was saying to this guy that I wouldn't even know when midnight was (because all the times I have on my computer/watch/phone are different) and that there would be no firecrackers or fireworks here but to my surprise there were some! I could not see them but I could hear them. I already knew the word for fireworks (feu d'artifice) but I also learnt a new word, firecrackers (petards).

Then, I was lying in bed almost asleep when I got a text message at around 2:30am. It was from one of the people I had Couchsurfed with about 2 months ago who wished me a Bonne Année and he said that he'd like to invite me back to his town/place! which was really nice. I didn't actually think he was over-the-top friendly towards me at the time (I mean he was nice but nothing to write home about) so this really surprised me.

I hope you had a lovely NYE wherever you are!


Here are 2 videos from last night's Sydney NYE 2010/2011 fireworks:







(Photo by Sacharules/Flickr)

Kermit the Frog in Sydney

Because I'm too tired/stressed/sick/lazy/procrastinaty (is that a word?) to write posts right now I thought I'd start (erm, continue) posting links to interesting blogs I read (out of the thousands in my blog reader!)

I think I actually came across this blog through my city's newspaper some time ago. It's not updated that often but the pictures are just gold!! He (Kermit) looks so realistic. And right now, he's in 'my' city! hehe. Too cute and creative!

Trop chouette !

Kermit the Frog on Tour and in Sydney

Here's a pic of Kermit at one of my favourite places in Sydney: the Circular Quay railway station with million dollar view! (Opera House is just to the right of the shot)

And in other news, I leave for my trip in exactly 1 month! Egads! (countdown timer now added to sidebar).

Celebrate the every day

Two days ago I started reading my sister's old blogs which she hasn't updated for months. Over the past 9 years she has been back and forth between Europe and Australia many many times and she is a much better writer than I am, and made lots of interesting observations.

She also wrote about some every day things back in her 'normal' life in Australia but these posts are few and far between.

I have a friend who has a blog and she writes about every day things and events and thoughts but these types of blogs are generally rare. What I'm talking about is a blog that really reads like a journal, with that person's thoughts on random topics.

What I find is that most people use their blog (or Facebook) almost as a "show and tell" album and if they have nothing to show or tell, then nothing will get posted. That's why you see pictures of weddings, babies, birthdays, travel, new houses, housewarmings, nightclubbing and partying time and time again but not much of anything else.

What do I mean by this "else"? I mean anything that does not fit into the above categories. It is extremely rare to read posts or see photos about things people deem are not worthy. But why? Shouldn't life be celebrated for the good at the bad? And not just things which are deemed worthy enough to "show off"? Now I am not saying that people should be posting photos of funerals or car crashes or horrible, stupid things like that...

What I mean is... Why is it that travel brings out the kid in everyone? That innate inner curiosity about everything that makes everything seem new, and interesting, beautiful and wonderful. Now, why can't you take that side of you and transplant it into your real world? Just because you have to go to work or have to study, you still have enough spare time to "smell the roses" so to speak.

Why do people start up a blog for the soul purpose of documenting their travels so that when they are not travelling anymore there is nothing left to write about? Even that little weekend escape to the seaside town 2 hours away is not "worthy" because it's not overseas?

I found this blog 52 suburbs which is an amazing blog about 52 of the 600+ suburbs of Sydney. Despite all my years of living here I don't even know half the things this lady posts about. She really discovers the nitty gritty of this city and the people that live in it. She takes beautiful photos and writes about them in an interesting way that just makes it interesting.

Well, that's sort of what I do with my life. I document parts of it which may seem boring on the surface but I take pretty photos and I make interesting observations. Not really for anyone else, but just for me. I do often share my 'findings' too (and I don't care if others find it 'boring' as it's not for them, it's for me!)

And why do I do it?

Well, over the past 10 years of my life, some amazingly HORRIBLE things have happened to me and to people around me. I've had 4 people (3 I was very close to) I know die, aged between their 20s and 60s and all before their time, two of shocking circumstances that I can't even write about they are that shocking (put it this way, they were both stories in the city's main newspaper).

Over the last 3 years I've had more ups and downs in my life than in all the years of my life preceding that.

Also during that time I spent one year living abroad which was an amazingly wonderful experience but when I came back home, to Sydney, I became really depressed with what's known as "reverse culture shock." I was so sad all the time and hated my so-called home. When I first came back I couldn't see anything good about this place.

But over time I began to love it again and realised all the wonderful things about it that I doesn't exist in the other place. And as time goes on, in the past few months I've become more and more appreciative of my HOME. Sydney will always be my HOME so I'd better love it or else. As well as that, I've become so much more appreciative of the people around me, my family and my dear long-time friends.

When I have dinner with my family I cherish every single minute of my time with them. If it's the last time I ever see them I want to know that all I had was happy memories and none of fighting or disagreements. I take photos of every single event in my life because I want to remember and cherish all the wonderful and beautiful moments together with the people that I love and adore most in the world.

I don't see my friends as often as I'd like to given that we're all so busy (and everyone lives far from each other in this big city) but when I do I like to make the most of every minute with them too.

I think going into life with these thoughts makes me feel much more at peace, and much happier in general. I know that if some unforeseen circumstance would make myself or someone I know leave this earth, at least I will have had some happy memory of my last days, or my last days with that person.

I'm not even sure what the point of my post is, other than to get some thoughts out. My main point is that I feel that everything in life should be celebrated, not just the parties and whatnot. Take the time to appreciate the people around you but also the place around you. Also, you really can discover the beauty in your own "backyard" if you look hard enough. In fact there is probably even more beauty there than in all those other countries you want to travel to...

Image from lonelovaas via Weheartit

Franck Provost Paris Sydney offer

There's only a few hours left to take advantage of this great offer to get a Haircut, Blow-wave, and Kerastase Treatment PLUS Scalp massage, Shampoo/Condition, and a glass of Champagne for just $49 (normally $110) at Franck Provost Sydney.

According to their Facebook they are:

Number 1 in Paris and hairstylist to many stars and events like the Cannes Film Festival, Franck Provost just opened his first Australian salon in the heart of Sydney. Come and experience French style, be pampered and practice your French!

The price is a really good deal and I'd totally do it if I wasn't saving up... (I did take a quick sticky beak at the Franck Provost website in France though to see their prices ;) and you can get a similar thing for around 38€. What can I say? Sydney is one helluva expensive city to live in and his salon is located right in the heart of the central business district (CBD).

Disclaimer: I do not work for Ouffer or Franck Provost, just passing on this great deal since I can't use it (sob sob).

J'adore les macarons de Baroque Bistro Pâtisserie

Les macarons de Baroque Bistro Pâtisserie 2


previous related post

After my first taste of a Baroque macaron I had to go back for more! On my second trip, the nice staff member allowed me to try another one for free and I ended up buying a pack of 6 (they also come in packs of 4, 9 and 12).

Here's my pack (after I'd eaten one). It was sheer willpower to allow myself to eat only one per day! They do keep very well in the fridge.

Don't quote me but I think these were the flavours:
1) jasmine tea, 2) rosewater, 3) pistachio with sour cherry, 4) salted caramel, 5) chocolate.

This photo was taken after my third trip back to Baroque. I took a new French friend for a tour around Sydney city and we went to Baroque which was nearby because I just HAD to get some more!

Here is mine (strawberry) half eaten with Sydney Harbour in the background.

On Sunday I attended a free macaron making class with Jean-Michel Raynaud, the Production & Business Development Manager of Baroque. It wasn't really a class as it wasn't hands on for us but then it was free, so I'm not complaining ;) It was to help promote his actual upcoming macaron (and other dessert) making classes.

Overall I enjoyed it but I have to say that the organisers did a very very poor job of it all. I have seen cooking demonstrations like this before and all of them were far superior.

For one thing, you couldn't see what he was doing at all. I was sitting more towards the back but even so, you really need an overhead camera (or mirror) and the camera was placed on the back wall so all you could see were the people blocking the view of the table! Not only that, the television screens were just too small for an audience of that size.

I also got the feeling that Jean-Michel was nervous and/or very conscious of the time as I found that he spoke way too quickly and combined with a very strong French accent, made him a bit hard to understand. I'm sure it'd be better in one of his classes with far less people. This is not a criticism of him at all but more a criticism of the organisation of the event.

The hostess was pretty good. She was friendly and informative but she had a very strong American accent which... I'm sure annoying is the wrong word to use, more like... distracting.

But, the worst part was, the staff of the event (a catering/event company) started giving out the pre-made macarons and I think they would have got into a lot of trouble later as they gave them ALL out. They started from the front and since there weren't enough for everyone, they'd run out about halfway through the crowd. Then once they opened a new platter (different flavour) they'd start at the front again instead of where they finished off so the people at the front got 4-5 and I only tasted one :( This was highly disappointing. Not only that, I got there a good half hour before the show started and the people who got there at the last minute and stood by the door ended up tasting more as well because the staff members distributed them to the standing people first sometimes. When I first arrived they were serving water and walked past me so many times and ignored me. I just got the feeling that the staff/waiters didn't really know what they were doing as they had never done an event like this before. I also got the feeling they tended to cater more for the older people more and perhaps ignored me because I looked young... I don't know!!

The "30 days of home and entertaining" event goes for 30 days during the whole of April. I wanted to go to more events but considering the poor management and organisation I don't think I will. The location was also not very good. It was situated in a tiny, short and narrow little lane, nowhere near a train station and without ample car parking either.

The class took well over an hour, yet I didn't really learn anything that I didn't already know. I think there was too much time wasted with getting the audience members to help or maybe there was just too much to explain/do in the time allocated. I'm not sure. It wouldn't stop me from registering in a class though but it all depends on how much it costs and it's not advertised on their website yet.

I still don't think I've tried every flavour but my favourites are the ones recommended to me by the staff: pistachio (with sour cherry), chocolate, salted caramel and also the runner's up strawberry. I didn't think the jasmine had much of a taste and the blueberry or grape (I can't remember.. it was a purplish colour) was way too strong/sweet. I also tasted a morcel of a passionfruit flavoured one at the show and that was pretty good too but one really must try them all. The overall most amazing has to be the salted caramel though! :)

Il est très bon !

Paris-like metro station in Sydney, Museum station

I normally never go to Museum station (in Sydney) but after having gone to see films for the French Film Festival I passed through this station many times recently.

I was immediately struck by how "Paris-like" this station was!

I have only been to Paris once and for a very short time but I have memories of photos that I have seen and I'm well acquainted with the curved ceiling and tiled walls...

As far as I know, Museum station is the only station in Sydney which looks like this. St James looks similar but isn't as 'polished' looking.

Almost all the train stations in Sydney are above-ground and outdoors, which is why we don't call it the metro or the subway, but simply 'the train'. Those stations that are underground tend to have an "open plan" feel because of the way the stairs link to them. Most of them have the platform in the middle and 2 sets of tracks on either side, whereas with Museum station and Paris ones, they have the platforms on either side, and the track/s in the middle. It's hard to explain but basically none of them really have this 'enclosed' feeling, except Museum. Some of the newer underground stations may be similar but they are just ugly concrete boxes. They don't have the charm of yesteryear.

The walls of Museum station are covered with charming old black&white magazine/newspaper advertisements from eras gone by but when I took this photo, they had all just been (temporarily) replaced with colourful close-up photos of easter eggs!

For comparison, Paris metro stations:

Pasteur:



Varenne:



Concorde:

What I found interesting is that our trains and stations have overhead wires but Paris trains don't. It seems that they are powered from underneath the trains! Also, something curious about Sydney trains is that they are all double-deckered, well actually it's split-level onto 3 levels. There's the entrance level, and an upper and lower deck. I could write more but that's a whole other post! :)

Flickr: Miss Cantankerous, Barmy Bee and Barmy Bee.

Earth Hour 2010

What started as a little event in Sydney in 2007 has grown to a massive worldwide event involving more than 4000 cities.

In an effort to raise awareness about carbon emissions, householders were asked to turn off all lights and electrical appliances for one hour on March 28, starting from 8:30pm (the time chosen because that's when it's finally becomes pitch black in our summer daylight savings time).

I remember participating in this in 2007. It was quite exciting and I remember sitting in almost darkness with candles suddenly aware that time seems to stand still when you're without light (no tv, no internet, no reading, just talking or listening to music).

In 2008 I didn't do it as I wasn't in the country, and last year (2009) I remember playing Pictionary in the (almost) dark with some friends who came over! This year (2010) I was at a friends house and we only managed to last 20 minutes before we got 'bored' and decided to play their new console games (with the lights off mind you, so we were half doing it, OK, half cheating too ;) ).

I'm pleased to hear that Paris got in on it too :)



Sydney Morning Herald report
Earth Hour site
Le monde : Earth Hour

Baroque Bistro Bar Pâtisserie, The Rocks, Sydney

Baroque website

Last Saturday, after my French class I took a leisurely walk to the historic Rocks district to claim my free macaron from Baroque. Being a perfectly gorgeous, warm and sunny day, I didn't mind the 30 minute walk at all.

I was so dumbfounded that they gave me the free macaron no questions asked and didn't ask if I wanted to buy anything else that I didn't even think of buying more while I was there till much much later (dammit). The guy who served me was Australian but spoke French and I practised on him. Hehe. I also asked if I could take some photos and if they had said no, I would have thought, "No free advertising for you then!" As it was, they were pretty busy and didn't care about li'l ol' me snapping away :)

The only macarons I've ever tried are from The Lindt Café and La Renaissance (who have the same owners as Baroque, I believe).

I didn't have any expectations but this macaron simply blew me away! I chose the classic pistachio flavour as I love pistachio and couldn't get past the bright vivid green and gold flecks on top.

It looked quite small, but on the other hand was higher or deeper than some other macarons I've seen. I'm not sure how much they chargely normally for one of these babies (kinda forgot to ask!) but I am dying to get some more (talk about an effective marketing strategy) ;)

I took the top layer off and was surprised to find a brownish maroon coloured blob in the middle which, at first, I thought was chocolate. However, it was not brown enough to be chocolate and in that sun it would have melted a lot more than that. It was the exact colour of 'red bean' and I wondered if they would put such an 'exotic' (and non-French) ingredient in a macaron. I tasted it, trying to figure out what it was and I think it was a (cooked obviously) cherry. It was definitely a great taste sensation as well as a visual treat!

I did not like the macarons from Lindt as I found them way too sweet and the one I tried at La Renaissance (even though they are supposed to be the same) did not seem as good as this one either. The texture, the sweetness, the surprise in the middle - everything was just perfect!

I haven't mentioned it on this blog before, but I've actually been trying to make macarons myself and they are extremely difficult as everything has to be precise and it takes a LOT of trial and error. And the baking times and temperatures in recipes need to be altered drastically depending on your oven. I even got some French cookbooks. I have only just managed to make perfect little 'feet' on my macaron and get them to look right but I have not even started on colouring or flavouring them yet, or making the ganache for the middle. It was hard enough to get past the first hurdle after I finally discovered the secret of making fluffy white meringue from egg whites (the egg whites need to be left out 2 days, and there needs to be some acid in the stainless or glass (not plastic) mixing bowl for example), and making sure the 'macaronnage' was just perfect.

One of these days when I get around to making a decent macaron I'll post my embarrassing trial and error photos and cooking tips :)

5.000 personnes posent nues devant l'Opéra de Sydney

Les photos de nues du photographe Spencer Tunick ont eu lieu hier, le 1 mars.

J'ai trouvé un article de cet évènement en français pour vous à lire. Mais vous pouvez en chercher un en anglais, bien sûr, si vous voulez ! ;)


Cliquez ici

Quelqu'un qui a raconté de son expérience intéressante.. (en anglais)

Hier matin, je voulais aller voir cet évènement mais je n'arrivais pas à me réveiller si tôt. Dans cet article, il y a une petite faute « ...de la grande parade Gay et Lesbian, qui aura lieu samedi dans les rues de Sydney. » doit être « ...de la grande parade Gay et Lesbian, qui avait lieu samedi dans les rues de Sydney. »

Photo: Toby Zerna, Daily Telegraph


(je vais écrire de ma nouvelle demain)

Nouvel an chinois 2010 l'annee du tigre

Aujourd'hui, le 14 février est le nouvel an chinois 2010 (l'annee du tigre).

Hier soir, je suis allée chez ma mère pour dîner. C'était sympa et le repas était bon. J'ai reçu des petits paquets rouges (avec de l'argent à l'intérieur) de mes parents et grandparents. C'est toujours sympa de recevoir les cadeaux et l'argent :P et bientôt après le Noël qui a récemment passé, j'ai de la chance!

L'astrologie chinoise

Lequel êtes-vous?

1° le rat (rat)

1948
1960
1972
1984
1996
2008

2° le buffle (ox/cow)

1949
1961
1973
1985
1997
2009

3° le tigre (tiger)

1950
1962
1974
1986
1998
2010

4° le lapin (rabbit/hare)

1951
1963
1975
1987
1999
2011

5° le dragon (dragon)

1940
1952
1964
1976
1988
2000
2012

6° le serpent (snake)

1941
1953
1965
1977
1989
2001
2013

7° le cheval (horse)

1942
1954
1966
1978
1990
2002
2014

8° la chèvre (goat/sheep)

1943
1955
1967
1979
1991
2003
2015

9° le singe (monkey)

1944
1956
1968
1980
1992
2004
2016

10°le coq (rooster)

1945
1957
1969
1981
1993
2005
2017

11°le chien (dog)

1946
1958
1970
1982
1994
2006
2018

12°le cochon (pig)

1947
1959
1971
1983
1995
2007
2019


Le nouvel an chinois commence:

le 08 février 1940
le 27 janvier 1941
le 15 février 1942
le 05 février 1943
le 25 janvier 1944
le 13 février 1945
le 02 février 1946
le 22 janvier 1947
le 10 février 1948
le 29 janvier 1949
le 27 janvier 1952
le 14 février 1953
le 03 février 1954
le 24 janvier 1955
le 12 février 1956
le 31 janvier 1957
le 18 février 1958
le 08 février 1959
le 28 janvier 1960
le 15 février 1961
le 05 février 1962
le 25 janvier 1963
le 13 février 1964
le 02 février 1965
le 21 janvier 1966
le 09 février 1967
le 30 janvier 1968
le 17 février 1969
le 06 février 1970
le 27 janvier 1971
le 15 février 1972
le 03 février 1973
le 23 janvier 1974
le 11 février 1975
le 31 janvier 1976
le 18 février 1977
le 07 février 1978
le 28 janvier 1979
le 16 février 1980
le 05 février 1981
le 25 janvier 1982
le 13 février 1983
le 02 février 1984
le 20 février 1985
le 09 février 1986
le 29 janvier 1987
le 17 février 1988
le 06 février 1989
le 27 janvier 1990
le 15 février 1991
le 04 février 1992
le 23 janvier 1993
le 10 février 1994
le 31 janvier 1995
le 19 février 1996
le 07 février 1997
le 28 janvier 1998
le 16 février 1999
le 05 février 2000
le 24 janvier 2001
le 12 février 2002
le 01 février 2003
le 22 janvier 2004
le 09 février 2005
le 29 janvier 2006
le 18 février 2007
le 07 février 2008
le 26 janvier 2009
le 14 février 2010
le 03 février 2011
le 23 janvier 2012
le 10 février 2013
le 31 janvier 2014
le 19 février 2015
le 08 février 2016
le 28 janvier 2017
le 16 février 2018
le 05 février 2019


donc, si vous êtes né(e) en janvier ou en février vérifiez les dates pour chaque année.

---

La semaine prochaine je vais marcher/dancer dans une parade/défilé de chars avec 2700 autres personnes dans la rue principale de Sydney! Je suis enthousiaste!

Cliquez ici, ici et ici pour en savoir plus.