i hadn't updated in sometime. i was recently reminded that i even had this blog. the month before moving to paris last september had been really crazy. i applied for school at ecole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne. didn't get accepted because the spaces were full(i turned my apps in, in march). then received an email in june, 3 months before school started, stating that a student dropped and that i would be able to start as a sophomore. i had planned a vacation to paris late june- early july. from the time i got back from the vacation to the time i actually started school was about 6-7 weeks. i had no time to figure out life. i had just moved in may. then had to sell all of my stuff that i collected over 7 years of living on my own. i moved again in september into my parents house for two weeks. had to work on getting my visa. got it september 8th, then september 10th 2010 i officially moved to paris. the whole time i was working at my salon, trying to fit as many of my clients in as possible, getting my life sorted, figuring out what i needed to bring with me. ended up being jsut some clothes, and art supplies and materials for designing.
the first month living in paris, i was homeless. i stayed in a hostel the first 2 weeks. that was shit. the first few days it was ok because i didnt have school yet. then when i started school, it was a different story. people party too much. i couldn't sleep. i had to get up at 730am while people were getting back to the room at 5am. after staying there, i started looking for a place to stay. i ended up staying in a studio with someone i found off of a roommate search site. it's sort of like match.com for roommates. he was nice. he was never home. his sleeping hours were the same as my sleeping hours. he slept on the mezanine type bed, i slept on the fold out bed. it wasn't weird as it may sound. kind of like being in the hostel, but with a respectful roommate. i only stayed there till i got my permanent apartment in belleville. i got really lucky with this one. a two bedroom apt without a roommate, a huge kitchen, huge bathroom, and huge balcony. and my rent was cheap.
tired of writing for now. i'll continue about more interesting stuff later.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Friday, July 9, 2010
L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne
today i met with the dean of the school. i kind of love him. he's like the french tim gunn. eloquent, charming, simple. i needed to drop off some papers for him, and received my documents stating that i am enrolled in the school. i'm official. first payment made, and i'll be all set. it's now on lock.
stuttgart. paris. school.
i went there last weekend to hang with my cousin. it was alright, but definitely not like paris. it sort of reminded me a bit of copenhagen with less charm. we watched some football(soccer) and ate way too much food. i must have gained 5 pounds in the two days i was there. uff. then back to paris. i've just been trying to get things wrapped up here in paris. filling out my student visa. learning french. meeting with the school. i've gotten a bit done lately. my campus france form is almost finished. i need to go the bank to make a payment to the school.
yesterday was quite a productive day. i had french class all day. went home and put on a cute outfit to meet with the dean of my future fashion school. he was like the french tim gunn. so well put together and eloquent with his words. so much so that i only really understood 60-70% of what he said. i felt so honored to be at l'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. I couldn't stop smiling. come to find out, they only accept 75 students per year. out of all the applicants, i got accepted. i saw many stacks of student files on the desk. hundreds even. he told me that i stood out and that i seemed really interesting. he also told me that i'm too advanced to start as a freshman and that i would be bored. that sure made me feel good. this means only 2-3 years of school for me. senior year is a special year where you actually have to apply for. the focus on that year is learning how to work with other people in design. learning specific parts of fashion design of your choice. for me, it's either going to be accessories or pret-a-porter. when we got finished with the interview, i walked out with a huge smile. monsieur broca, you really made my day.
after meeting with the dean, i was so late. i had a date with my amazing old friend miho. we met last year at l'ecole perl. she also is a fashion designer. it was amazing hanging out with her. we talked fashion. we talked in french. we went to see a dj set by pony pony run run to meet up with some other friends and had a bottle of wine after. and then home. what a great day and night. my feet hurt.
yesterday was quite a productive day. i had french class all day. went home and put on a cute outfit to meet with the dean of my future fashion school. he was like the french tim gunn. so well put together and eloquent with his words. so much so that i only really understood 60-70% of what he said. i felt so honored to be at l'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. I couldn't stop smiling. come to find out, they only accept 75 students per year. out of all the applicants, i got accepted. i saw many stacks of student files on the desk. hundreds even. he told me that i stood out and that i seemed really interesting. he also told me that i'm too advanced to start as a freshman and that i would be bored. that sure made me feel good. this means only 2-3 years of school for me. senior year is a special year where you actually have to apply for. the focus on that year is learning how to work with other people in design. learning specific parts of fashion design of your choice. for me, it's either going to be accessories or pret-a-porter. when we got finished with the interview, i walked out with a huge smile. monsieur broca, you really made my day.
after meeting with the dean, i was so late. i had a date with my amazing old friend miho. we met last year at l'ecole perl. she also is a fashion designer. it was amazing hanging out with her. we talked fashion. we talked in french. we went to see a dj set by pony pony run run to meet up with some other friends and had a bottle of wine after. and then home. what a great day and night. my feet hurt.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
ysl
he is amazing! i went to the exhibit today at le petit palais. my oh my was it amazing. he seemed like such a sweet soul, and so creative. he is mainly my inspiration for applying to l'ecole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne. he went there and dropped out. it really worked out for him since christian dior had him take over. there was a part of the exhibit where there was a video of him drawing and audio of an interview that really touched me. pictures of his dog as a puppy, his work desk, and questions being asked to him like, who is your biggest influence? miss chanel. who is your favorite artist? picasso. who is your favorite musician? bach. softly and gently, he answered. i have to admit, when i was at the exhibit, i got a bit sentimental. he's awesome. thanks ysl for being.
quoted from the exhibit,"coco chanel gave women personality, yves saint laurent gave women power".
quoted from the exhibit,"coco chanel gave women personality, yves saint laurent gave women power".
Monday, June 28, 2010
i'ts been a long time coming.
I know i haven't posted in a year and a half, so here i am. i'm back in Paris. i love it here. initially this was a vacation that i had planned a few weeks ago, but now it's turned into a workng vacay. i'm studying french here for 3 weeks and will be searching for an apartment. yes an apartment. permanently. i received an email a week and a half ago about how i got accepted into l'ecole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne. only one of the most amazing fashion schools ever. alumni include, yves saint laurent, issey miyake, valentino, etc...you think i'm stoked? you betcha. now to figure life out
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
men
one more thing. i'm about to generalize men and their regards to women like myself(in relationships)
anh: i'm sorry i have a bf
italian man: it's ok i have a girlfriend too.
and they will keep trying.
anh: blah blah blah my bf.
danish man: cool blah blah.
they seem to not be on the prowl.
anh: i'm sorry i have a bf.
icelandic man: i have to use the restroom. *immediately walks away*
has no game and neanderthal tactics.
french man: bonsoir? comment ca va?
anh: ca va bien(in american accent)
french man:oh, you speak french so well blah blah. are you alone?
anh: yes, but i have a bf at home.
french man: *continues to be charming until i walk away*
although witty and charming probably has 3 gfs.
anh: i'm sorry i have a bf
italian man: it's ok i have a girlfriend too.
and they will keep trying.
anh: blah blah blah my bf.
danish man: cool blah blah.
they seem to not be on the prowl.
anh: i'm sorry i have a bf.
icelandic man: i have to use the restroom. *immediately walks away*
has no game and neanderthal tactics.
french man: bonsoir? comment ca va?
anh: ca va bien(in american accent)
french man:oh, you speak french so well blah blah. are you alone?
anh: yes, but i have a bf at home.
french man: *continues to be charming until i walk away*
although witty and charming probably has 3 gfs.
coming home
i figured out a metaphor for impero hotel. polished turd. that's it.
this place is a piece of shit. they tried to charge me extra. took a cold shower. it's 7 and breakfast is not ready yet. i need to catch my flight. fuck this shit. fuck these people. and they are probably taking their time to get breakfast ready because they don't like me. these fucking people piss me off. i'm so happy to be out of that place. i'm usually not hard to please when it comes to hotels. i've stayed in some shitty places, but when the desk people are dicks to me intentionally, its different.
i'm now at the airport. things are going good. i got to the train station 20 minutes before the train left. that is plenty of time. i got to the airport two hours ahead of time. that gave me enough time to get my stamps for tax back, and i ended up with a little extra money in my pocket. yay! i can't wait to get on the plane to sleep. i didn't sleep last night since i stayed up organizing my bags as well as filling out tax forms. i think i may have left my gloves somewhere. i'm not sure. i don't remember seeing them when i was packing. i don't know why i spent so much time packing. everything needs to be washed anyway.
this place is a piece of shit. they tried to charge me extra. took a cold shower. it's 7 and breakfast is not ready yet. i need to catch my flight. fuck this shit. fuck these people. and they are probably taking their time to get breakfast ready because they don't like me. these fucking people piss me off. i'm so happy to be out of that place. i'm usually not hard to please when it comes to hotels. i've stayed in some shitty places, but when the desk people are dicks to me intentionally, its different.
i'm now at the airport. things are going good. i got to the train station 20 minutes before the train left. that is plenty of time. i got to the airport two hours ahead of time. that gave me enough time to get my stamps for tax back, and i ended up with a little extra money in my pocket. yay! i can't wait to get on the plane to sleep. i didn't sleep last night since i stayed up organizing my bags as well as filling out tax forms. i think i may have left my gloves somewhere. i'm not sure. i don't remember seeing them when i was packing. i don't know why i spent so much time packing. everything needs to be washed anyway.
Monday, January 19, 2009
back in rome.
i got back to rome yesterday in the morning. word to self: do not book flights out of beauvais airport in paris early on a sunday morning. early any morning, rather. the airport is 1 hour away from the city. there are buses that can take you there, but i needed to be at the airport at 8:30am to catch my flight. the first public transport left at 8am. i would have definately misssed my flight. so 125 euros ($162) later and by taxi, i reached my flight on time.
arriving in rome at 10:30am, i got to my hotel(impero) i hate my hotel. don't ever stay at hotel impero. it's in the city center, but on a bad street, and the service here is bullshit. i should have just gotten a room at yes hotel, where me and sara stayed the first time i was here. i arrived at the hotel at 12:30pm. i came to front desk and stand there for about 5 minutes while the staff is eating lunch and yelling at one of the employees to go help me. they told me to come back at 2pm. so i had to do something with myself for 1.5 hours. i asked them, are there any rooms ready. they said no come back at 2. i come back and there is a line of people waiting to check in at the same time. i have to wait 20 minutes for them to get to me. they checked maybe 3 groups of people before me. later i find out there were several rooms open. if they would have just started checking people in sooner this big ass line would not have been there. then once they got to me, they couldn't find my paperwork and told me i did not have a room. the website i booked through sent me a text confirmation, so i showed it to reception. he said,"no that is not ok. you have to have the paper". i think to myself, i am travelling and don't have a fucking printer. he looks through paperwork doesn't find it. 10-15 minutes later he decides to check on their website to see if my info is there. it is. they didn't print the info out. after about 20 minutes i finally get my key. and my luggage is not brought to me. i had to ask them for my luggage.
i get in my room and it's a decent room. the bed is soft, theres a towel warmer in the bathroom, hairdryer, soaps, bodywash, and shampoo. i check if there is internet since the website said there was wireless. the wireless internet doesn't work in my room and i have to pay 5 euros an hour. wtf. then i went shopping. found a pair of brown boots finally! tried them on again the back of the boot is ripped. fuck! cheap ass boots.
after shopping i tried going to open colonna, which is a very well known restaurant here, but it is closed for a private event. it's the second time i've tried to eat there. no luck. then i go to a traditional roman style restaurant. damn was the food good. i had flat bread, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, proscuitto, and tortellini. the tortellini was a bit heavy on salt but still tasty. then i stayed in, since i'm afraid of italian men. they are just so aggressive. i feel like i cannot go out alone here. ciao bella, oh bellisima, ni hao.
so i woke up at 10 this morning. the hotel serves breakfast till 10. i get down to the breakfast room. it is closed. exactly at 10am. who the fuck does that. this hotel is bullshit. and everytime i come back to the hotel at night, i have to ring the doorbell and wait for the guy working night shift to wake up to open the door for me. wtf.
i did my last little bit of shopping and toured around the ancient ruins in the middle of rome. it's pretty much amazing. it is so weird walking through these ruins and being in the middle of a big city. i finally did some damage here in rome. 4 pairs of shoes and a purse. i also tried to go to another restaurant ao roma. closed mondays. ps. all of the cool restaurants close on mondays. the end. i leave for san diego tommorow. my flight leaves at 10:30am. that means i go to the train station at 7:25am. it.s now 3:37am. i havent packed. thanks for listening to me rant. see you at home!
arriving in rome at 10:30am, i got to my hotel(impero) i hate my hotel. don't ever stay at hotel impero. it's in the city center, but on a bad street, and the service here is bullshit. i should have just gotten a room at yes hotel, where me and sara stayed the first time i was here. i arrived at the hotel at 12:30pm. i came to front desk and stand there for about 5 minutes while the staff is eating lunch and yelling at one of the employees to go help me. they told me to come back at 2pm. so i had to do something with myself for 1.5 hours. i asked them, are there any rooms ready. they said no come back at 2. i come back and there is a line of people waiting to check in at the same time. i have to wait 20 minutes for them to get to me. they checked maybe 3 groups of people before me. later i find out there were several rooms open. if they would have just started checking people in sooner this big ass line would not have been there. then once they got to me, they couldn't find my paperwork and told me i did not have a room. the website i booked through sent me a text confirmation, so i showed it to reception. he said,"no that is not ok. you have to have the paper". i think to myself, i am travelling and don't have a fucking printer. he looks through paperwork doesn't find it. 10-15 minutes later he decides to check on their website to see if my info is there. it is. they didn't print the info out. after about 20 minutes i finally get my key. and my luggage is not brought to me. i had to ask them for my luggage.
i get in my room and it's a decent room. the bed is soft, theres a towel warmer in the bathroom, hairdryer, soaps, bodywash, and shampoo. i check if there is internet since the website said there was wireless. the wireless internet doesn't work in my room and i have to pay 5 euros an hour. wtf. then i went shopping. found a pair of brown boots finally! tried them on again the back of the boot is ripped. fuck! cheap ass boots.
after shopping i tried going to open colonna, which is a very well known restaurant here, but it is closed for a private event. it's the second time i've tried to eat there. no luck. then i go to a traditional roman style restaurant. damn was the food good. i had flat bread, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, proscuitto, and tortellini. the tortellini was a bit heavy on salt but still tasty. then i stayed in, since i'm afraid of italian men. they are just so aggressive. i feel like i cannot go out alone here. ciao bella, oh bellisima, ni hao.
so i woke up at 10 this morning. the hotel serves breakfast till 10. i get down to the breakfast room. it is closed. exactly at 10am. who the fuck does that. this hotel is bullshit. and everytime i come back to the hotel at night, i have to ring the doorbell and wait for the guy working night shift to wake up to open the door for me. wtf.
i did my last little bit of shopping and toured around the ancient ruins in the middle of rome. it's pretty much amazing. it is so weird walking through these ruins and being in the middle of a big city. i finally did some damage here in rome. 4 pairs of shoes and a purse. i also tried to go to another restaurant ao roma. closed mondays. ps. all of the cool restaurants close on mondays. the end. i leave for san diego tommorow. my flight leaves at 10:30am. that means i go to the train station at 7:25am. it.s now 3:37am. i havent packed. thanks for listening to me rant. see you at home!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
last night
last night i did more shopping after le marais, but i didn't seem to find anything i needed from the st germain de pres area. i stopped inside some shops there and tried on a dress at kenzo. it was very cute, on sale, and the service was excellent. the guy who helped me brought me shoes, styled me and even brought me a bag to wear. i ended up looking chic, but looked a lot older when he was done with me. i stopped at galleries lafayette also. omg! everything was on sale. i wish i would have waited to buy a purse, because everything was 50% off. i am debating giong back to buy some chanel boots. i don't know if i should.
after my shopping, i went to eat at a place called chez benoit, which is the oldest traditional french restaurant in paris. these two americans were sat down next to me. i heard their accent and called them out. we ended up having a lot of similar interests. they work for details magazine, and alberto was originally from east county san diego. el cajon to be exact.
we went out for a drink after dinner. alberto wanted to meet up with an old friend. so we waited for his arrival. turns out he is a model for jean paul gaultier and brought one of my favorite supermodels with him...omahyra. she is the tough looking from dominican republic one with tattoos all over. we ended up going to very exclusive bar and then to a club, both of which i never would have found myself. that was a strange and fun night. thanks guys!
i'm glad i didnt go out the night before. it probably would have just made me tired and last night may not have happenned.
after my shopping, i went to eat at a place called chez benoit, which is the oldest traditional french restaurant in paris. these two americans were sat down next to me. i heard their accent and called them out. we ended up having a lot of similar interests. they work for details magazine, and alberto was originally from east county san diego. el cajon to be exact.
we went out for a drink after dinner. alberto wanted to meet up with an old friend. so we waited for his arrival. turns out he is a model for jean paul gaultier and brought one of my favorite supermodels with him...omahyra. she is the tough looking from dominican republic one with tattoos all over. we ended up going to very exclusive bar and then to a club, both of which i never would have found myself. that was a strange and fun night. thanks guys!
i'm glad i didnt go out the night before. it probably would have just made me tired and last night may not have happenned.
Friday, January 16, 2009
nightmare.
last night i was thinking about when i was going to see the catacombs. it gave me nightmares about a house which people had a mass suicide and their organs were cut up into pieces, all over the floor, and i was one of the people who had to clean it up. it was quite disturbing. then after the clean up, the space was turned into a cafe. wierd.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
travel time
yesterday i arrived in london. to get on my train to paris. as i was waiting in londonthis man sat down right next to me. i didn't think anything of him at first, but then this girl came up to him and smiled. she must have known him. he kept saying you her, "what do you want? i don't know you. what are you doing?" then they walked away for a bit. he walked back and sat down and started to talk to himself. i still don't know what was up with that.
then i got on my train to paris. as i arrived in gare du nord, i see a fight break loose. a girl was beating up an old man. i couldn't understand what was going on there either.
then i did a little shopping, had some sushi, grabbed a drink and went to bed.
today i got up at about noon. went to do some shopping. i dunno how i ended up spending 2 hours inside colette. it pretty much is awesome. it's too bad i couldn't afford most of the things there. i ended up getting a dress and some music.
i went to chatelet/les halles and got a pair of boots, skincare products to last me a year, and a new sim card for my phone.
tommorow i will do more marathon shopping. april 77, surface to air, rue du charlot, and most likely st germain de pres. i will also try to fit in le catacombs as well as visiting the school of couture.
then i got on my train to paris. as i arrived in gare du nord, i see a fight break loose. a girl was beating up an old man. i couldn't understand what was going on there either.
then i did a little shopping, had some sushi, grabbed a drink and went to bed.
today i got up at about noon. went to do some shopping. i dunno how i ended up spending 2 hours inside colette. it pretty much is awesome. it's too bad i couldn't afford most of the things there. i ended up getting a dress and some music.
i went to chatelet/les halles and got a pair of boots, skincare products to last me a year, and a new sim card for my phone.
tommorow i will do more marathon shopping. april 77, surface to air, rue du charlot, and most likely st germain de pres. i will also try to fit in le catacombs as well as visiting the school of couture.
leaving reykjavik
this morning i left reykjavik. now on my way to paris. my eyes hurt. i didn't get to bed until 1am and woke up at 4:25 am. i didn't even party last night. i just went on a tour, went out for dinner, had a drink, and came home to pack up my stuff and to get ready for paris. my room is finally booked. my flight and train also booked. i shuold have gotten my tickets for paris ahead of time. at one point it would only cost me about $90 for reykjavik to paris. because i waited till last minute, it would cost about $600. i am not paying that much for a one way ticket. so i found ways around it. i flew into london. took a train to london city, and took the chunnel into paris. which i cheated the system by saying i was 25 to get a discounted ticket. total travel time from when i woke up. 12 hours. shitty.
yesterday i went to the post office to send some stuff home. hotel leifur erikson did it again. such great service. i asked if they had a box handy. they sure did. i also asked if they could mail out my postcards. they said yes. they also had breakfast ready for me this morning when i came downstairs at 4:45am. breakfast is normally served between 6:30-9:30.
on a tour to gullfoss and geysir. we drove from the european tectonic plates to the north american tectonic plates. that was strange. we also saw a beautiful water fall. then i went to a icelandic restaurant and had raw puffin, whale, and deer pate. i didn't like much of it. puffin was sort of mushroom texture. whale was like steak. and deer pate tasted like old dry pate.
yesterday i went to the post office to send some stuff home. hotel leifur erikson did it again. such great service. i asked if they had a box handy. they sure did. i also asked if they could mail out my postcards. they said yes. they also had breakfast ready for me this morning when i came downstairs at 4:45am. breakfast is normally served between 6:30-9:30.
on a tour to gullfoss and geysir. we drove from the european tectonic plates to the north american tectonic plates. that was strange. we also saw a beautiful water fall. then i went to a icelandic restaurant and had raw puffin, whale, and deer pate. i didn't like much of it. puffin was sort of mushroom texture. whale was like steak. and deer pate tasted like old dry pate.
Monday, January 12, 2009
waking up in reykjavik
it was tough for me to get up this morning at 11am. maybe it's because i was chatting till 3am. maybe it's because i've been used to waking up in the afternoon after staying out way too late. maybe it's because it's been dark until 11:30am. either way i had to get up. i missed breakfast, which ends at 9:30am. i got up, showered, left the hotel at about noon. today i tried my hardest to do some shopping. it's nice that all of the boutiques are on my street, as well an intersecting street. it makes it really hard for me to get lost. anyhow, i walked outside and somehow a swarm of asian tourists wearing their tourist uniforms surrounded me. you know, the puffy parkas, the hiking shoes, the wire rimmed glasses, and all in neutral colors(blue, khaki, white, and sometimes orange). i think to myself,"oh god, i hope no one thinks i'm with them.
first stop was 12 tonar, a local music store with a record label. the guy working was very nice. i asked him about icelandic music so he openned up some shrink wrapped cds for me to listen to and even made me some espresso. icelandic coffee isn't the best. but it was the thought that counts.
then i stopped at a place called fish and chips. you can imagine what i ate. and damn was it good. organic, freshly fished out of the ocean this morning, cod.
i proceeded to go shopping for clothing. some of the stores i tried to visit ended up being shut down. i walked through almost every single boutique in reykjavik. i ended up with a purse and a few scarves. no clothing. i was very suprised since all of the window displays look so cool. i think icelandic clothing is just not my style. a little too crafty looking for me, a bit too nineties, or some things looked like i can make it myself.
so i stopped in another music shop. this one belongs to the former sugar cubes. of course the guy managing had good taste although the store is known to be called "bad taste". i got a few records and the sugar cubes box set on vinyl. i can't wait to get home to listen to my new finds. the guy managing also tipped me off to different cafes with live music. thanks guy!
after shopping, i got hungry again and stopped at this little coffee shop on my street. i met my first gay in iceland. he was the owner of the coffee shop. he was not icelandic, but his husband is. he made me a crepe and a chai tea. both pretty damned good. wifi food and tea. what a perfect combo. and he was soo nice. i think i'll go there tommorow.
i also booked a tour to see aurora borealis. and here i am, stuck with like 20 asian tourists. i felt like such an outcast, even though we are all asian. then some tourists from other countries showed up. i felt normal again. these asian tourists keep blowing my cover. and the booking agents think i'm with them. can't they tell i don't have the tourist uniform on?
so i paid 49 euro to go on this tour. it was a bust. no aurora borealis. i think all the photos of it were photoshopped or maybe someone mad a mistake while developing film.
first stop was 12 tonar, a local music store with a record label. the guy working was very nice. i asked him about icelandic music so he openned up some shrink wrapped cds for me to listen to and even made me some espresso. icelandic coffee isn't the best. but it was the thought that counts.
then i stopped at a place called fish and chips. you can imagine what i ate. and damn was it good. organic, freshly fished out of the ocean this morning, cod.
i proceeded to go shopping for clothing. some of the stores i tried to visit ended up being shut down. i walked through almost every single boutique in reykjavik. i ended up with a purse and a few scarves. no clothing. i was very suprised since all of the window displays look so cool. i think icelandic clothing is just not my style. a little too crafty looking for me, a bit too nineties, or some things looked like i can make it myself.
so i stopped in another music shop. this one belongs to the former sugar cubes. of course the guy managing had good taste although the store is known to be called "bad taste". i got a few records and the sugar cubes box set on vinyl. i can't wait to get home to listen to my new finds. the guy managing also tipped me off to different cafes with live music. thanks guy!
after shopping, i got hungry again and stopped at this little coffee shop on my street. i met my first gay in iceland. he was the owner of the coffee shop. he was not icelandic, but his husband is. he made me a crepe and a chai tea. both pretty damned good. wifi food and tea. what a perfect combo. and he was soo nice. i think i'll go there tommorow.
i also booked a tour to see aurora borealis. and here i am, stuck with like 20 asian tourists. i felt like such an outcast, even though we are all asian. then some tourists from other countries showed up. i felt normal again. these asian tourists keep blowing my cover. and the booking agents think i'm with them. can't they tell i don't have the tourist uniform on?
so i paid 49 euro to go on this tour. it was a bust. no aurora borealis. i think all the photos of it were photoshopped or maybe someone mad a mistake while developing film.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
hotel leifur eriksson
is the shit!!! i needed strange things such as thread and a needle. they had it. i asked if they had a phone charger...they have many for my phone, and the front desk guy told me that i could have it! free wireless internet. i feel more connected to the world now. and my hotel costed me a whopping $143 for 4 nights in the center of the city. 2 blocks from downtown. wtf?!
relaxing
reykjavik has been soo chill. i sort of like that this city forces me to slow down. last night i went to see a janis joplin musical. the band was really good. the songs were performed well, but i couldn't understand the monologue. i had seats in the 3rd row, but i was falling asleep, so i left during intermission. i went back to the hotel for a nap. i woke up at about midnight..(havent used any alarm clocks here). got dressed and went out. i'd say i left at about 1:30am. people were just getting out at that time. i went to a place called nasa, which big acts in reykjavik usually play at, such as sigur ros, gus gus, mum. last night it was raver time. i wasn't feeling the music much, but i stayed for a bit anyway. i left at about 4am. people were still driving into town. i wanted to go to the place bjork sometimes shows up to, but it got shut down. oh well. today, i went to the blue lagoon. it was really quite strange. it's a geothermal pool in the middle of volcanic rock. it was a 45 minute drive out there. i wanted to get in for a massage, but they were all booked. so i just floated around in the milky blue water for a few hours. had some food, styled my hair and left. i took a nap, after i got back to the hotel. the northern lights tour was cancelled. it was too overcast and snowing. nothing is open. i'm in the hotel contemplating going out for a small bite.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
reykjavik.
i got to the keflavik airport at 3pm. all sorts of signs for disaster started happening. our flight was delayed. our landing was really hard. i bought a phone charger that doesnt work. the only people in the airport were me and the people on my flight. it's like a ghost town. 4pm i arrive at the hotel. showered, relaxed, no internet. went out for a walk at about 5:30. all of the businesses are closed and there is no one walking around. it is strange. i guess this trip is going to be my relaxing trip. i'm afraid of going to bars here. i may be the only person.
bummer iceland about your economy. i guess i really can see how it's affecting people.
bummer iceland about your economy. i guess i really can see how it's affecting people.
leaving copenhagen.
it's such a cool city. it's too bad i slept most of my days away. i'm still trying to catch up with sleep, but there just seems to be too much to do. you can pretty much go out any night until the wee hours of the morning. i found a local jazz club, called mojos, to go to. so i'd gone there a few times. i also found another place called lades which had live music almost every night. last night was reggae. as for day time stuff, i went to the staten's museum for kunst, which had a collection of modern and traditional art works. the building was an old danish style, with the inside being ultra modern. i also did a lot of shopping. one jacket, a pair of boots, 2 dresses, 2 tops, a scarf and some fun home stuff. shopping in copenhagen is awesome. simple things with cool details.
i booked my flight to iceland just a few days ago. it ended up being a lot more than i was expecting. i guess i should have booked earlier. i booked my hotel last night. that ended up being a lot less than i was expecting. so it worked out really well. $143 for 4 nights. wtf. in the middle of the city.
today as i was leaving copenhagen to get to the airport, it wasn't too much of a rush. though i seemed to be very unorganized. i didn't do a nice job of packing my stuff. couldn't find my passport. couldn't find a pen. when i got the airport, i got into the wrong line and waited 1/2 an hour. i knocked over a little kid as i ran to the right line. fortunately for me, the kastrup airport in copenhagen is extremely organized. the security line was the most efficient security line ever. they have tray dispensers that rotate they trays for people. they dont make you take off your shoes. the security the was only 5-6 people ahead of me and 3-4 lines. it looks like they open up more lines if it was more crowded.
i went to lades, one last time, the night before until 4am. i somehow became friends with the staff and was helping them out with coat check. a guy came to pickup his coat and it was no where to be found...i hope i didn't hand it to someone else by mistake. i don't think it was me though. i got free drinks all night in return and it was fun. i asked the owner of the bar,"if i move to copenhagen, can i have a job here?" he said no. i don't think he understood that it was a joke.
drinks in copenhagen are typically $10-$15, and they are usually pretty weak. even if it's a beer. everyone pays it with no delay. it's amazing you can end up spend $100 in drinks and not even realize that you did.
now i have to figure out a way to get back to europe mainland. i was checking flights from reykjavik to paris, they are now at $600 for tickets. i should have booked my ticket ahead of time. but i never know what i want to do until i'm here or there. too many restrictions feel like i'm not on vacation. and now i have to pay for it. literally and figuratively.
i booked my flight to iceland just a few days ago. it ended up being a lot more than i was expecting. i guess i should have booked earlier. i booked my hotel last night. that ended up being a lot less than i was expecting. so it worked out really well. $143 for 4 nights. wtf. in the middle of the city.
today as i was leaving copenhagen to get to the airport, it wasn't too much of a rush. though i seemed to be very unorganized. i didn't do a nice job of packing my stuff. couldn't find my passport. couldn't find a pen. when i got the airport, i got into the wrong line and waited 1/2 an hour. i knocked over a little kid as i ran to the right line. fortunately for me, the kastrup airport in copenhagen is extremely organized. the security line was the most efficient security line ever. they have tray dispensers that rotate they trays for people. they dont make you take off your shoes. the security the was only 5-6 people ahead of me and 3-4 lines. it looks like they open up more lines if it was more crowded.
i went to lades, one last time, the night before until 4am. i somehow became friends with the staff and was helping them out with coat check. a guy came to pickup his coat and it was no where to be found...i hope i didn't hand it to someone else by mistake. i don't think it was me though. i got free drinks all night in return and it was fun. i asked the owner of the bar,"if i move to copenhagen, can i have a job here?" he said no. i don't think he understood that it was a joke.
drinks in copenhagen are typically $10-$15, and they are usually pretty weak. even if it's a beer. everyone pays it with no delay. it's amazing you can end up spend $100 in drinks and not even realize that you did.
now i have to figure out a way to get back to europe mainland. i was checking flights from reykjavik to paris, they are now at $600 for tickets. i should have booked my ticket ahead of time. but i never know what i want to do until i'm here or there. too many restrictions feel like i'm not on vacation. and now i have to pay for it. literally and figuratively.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
copenhagen
it's such a cool city. though as i arrived, i encountered dissapointment. i had a llist of things to do.
copenhagen:
eat potato cakes.
eat at alberto k.
shopping.
lousiana museum.
vega.
my favorite bakery no longer makes potato cakes. alberto k will be closed until jan 11th. i will be gone by then. i thought about leaving early since i couldn't complete half of my list. and then i went for a stroll. i did a bit of shopping, and man danish style is so cool. i got two dresses and a jacket it the matter of 1 hour. there were plenty of home items that i wanted to get also, but i don't think i have the space in my luggage. i may have to just purchase and send it home.
since i didn't go to alberto k, i found this other restaurant called victor's cafe. it was french food, danish style. i ate all of my favorite things. onion soup, a roast duck salad, foie gras, and scallops. it was delish! i sat by the window and saw snow falling for the second time in my life. it was pretty darned cool. then i went an undergruond jazz bar called mojo. that place stays open till 5am. on a tuesday night. from what the locals said, mojo is the most alternative and happening place you can find on a tuesday.
today i will do some laundry at the laundromat cafe. and have some food. fun!
copenhagen:
eat potato cakes.
eat at alberto k.
shopping.
lousiana museum.
vega.
my favorite bakery no longer makes potato cakes. alberto k will be closed until jan 11th. i will be gone by then. i thought about leaving early since i couldn't complete half of my list. and then i went for a stroll. i did a bit of shopping, and man danish style is so cool. i got two dresses and a jacket it the matter of 1 hour. there were plenty of home items that i wanted to get also, but i don't think i have the space in my luggage. i may have to just purchase and send it home.
since i didn't go to alberto k, i found this other restaurant called victor's cafe. it was french food, danish style. i ate all of my favorite things. onion soup, a roast duck salad, foie gras, and scallops. it was delish! i sat by the window and saw snow falling for the second time in my life. it was pretty darned cool. then i went an undergruond jazz bar called mojo. that place stays open till 5am. on a tuesday night. from what the locals said, mojo is the most alternative and happening place you can find on a tuesday.
today i will do some laundry at the laundromat cafe. and have some food. fun!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
airport
recap. my trip to rome was cool. my shoes are worn out and it's only been 4 days. i feel like i may need more time there. it's a big city with soo many amazing monuments to see. being there is strange because you are in the city, yet there are archaelogical ruins in the middle of it.
another strange thing is that i was spoken to in french quite often. people didn't know what language to speak to me in. most people spoke to me in italian, of course, then i was approached in french at least 6 times. and then english. i think i threw people off with the way i dress, my height, and my brown hair.
i'm now in the fiumincio airport on my way to copenhagen. i may stay for a few days. i'm not sure how many. i've been on about 4 hours of sleep per night. tonight i will have a room alone, so i think i will sleep better. nap time in the plane. everything closes early in copenhagen so i will nap when the stores close. i'm going to try to check out some jazz clubs.
another strange thing is that i was spoken to in french quite often. people didn't know what language to speak to me in. most people spoke to me in italian, of course, then i was approached in french at least 6 times. and then english. i think i threw people off with the way i dress, my height, and my brown hair.
i'm now in the fiumincio airport on my way to copenhagen. i may stay for a few days. i'm not sure how many. i've been on about 4 hours of sleep per night. tonight i will have a room alone, so i think i will sleep better. nap time in the plane. everything closes early in copenhagen so i will nap when the stores close. i'm going to try to check out some jazz clubs.
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