Paris Day 3

 

 
Bonjour !
Today spent the whole day at the Eiffel tower ! it was freezing though...
we climbed up till the second level...dint take the lift ! :D it was harder than it looks....that too the air was so cold my nose hurt....and the wind was so strong..
when i first saw it..first thought was..hmm..it looks a little rusty....but then you look at the architecture, teh story behind it and the very size and then you get caught up with the idea that you are standing in front of one of the most famous monuments in the world !
we climbed up huffing and puffing and sat at the first level for a bit..then dragged ourselves up to the second level...
the view was fabulous !we could see all teh main sights in paris from up there....and the city is so large....and so well organized..
went straight to the cafe and had some nice hot coffee with chocolate waffles...feeling a whole lot better we just stared at the city from up there....and browsed the souvenir shops ....and waited for it to get dark :) at 5 it got dark and the lights all around the city came up and slowly so did the ones on the tower....oh so pretty it was...
we oohed and aahed...and then descended by the lift ...then as we were walking away from teh tower....in a building in front of us we could see a lott of sparkling lights and we said oh what is that place..its all lit up...then we just look back and the whole tower is sparkling ! i cant describe it....its a sight of a lifetime...
the building was just reflecting it....
we just stood and looked it for a long time...then walked to the arc de triomphe and the Champs Elysee...:D oh my....
all top brands....Louis Vuitton ,Gucci, Prada, Rado the Mercedes and Toyota showroom...Hagen Dasz....:D and teh whole road was lit up ! i went into the Toyota and Mercedes showrooms...
saw the Latest Hybrid and even a toyota concept car ! :D saw a Rolls Roys passing by even.....sexy street...
Outside of Louis Vuitton there is a line....people waiting to go inside and spend 1000's of Euro s...:D and saw watches worth 22-23 Lacs...yes thts like 35000 Euros....and yes..on a watch !
then Shwetank joined us...it was 7 by then and his office is on the champs elysee....all day Priya and me were roaming..
we 3 had dinner on some Italian Restaurant there only....quite nice it was....
then thats it..today over...
tomoro not sure what the plan is...but we ll see all thats left over....maybe i ll go back to teh eiffel tower..to see it sparkle again...:).
gnite....
lots of love
Aishu

Paris Day 2

the inverted pyramid

victoire de samothrace

the crowd in front of the mona lisa !

louvre

arc de triomphe

hii all !
today was quite a nice day.....ate awesome breakfast..Priya made Alu Poha....
then we went to the Louvre...it is indescribable....i actually wanted to cry..it was that beautiful....
we did the Egyptian and Roman Antiquities....the Egyptian was brilliant ! having watched The Mummy and The Mummy Returns several times..the names sounded very familiar and i could understand a lot of the things being showcased....the main things being
"The book of the Dead ! " ( for chotu of special interest ! ) A real Mummy...
there was also the Hamurabhi Code Edifice...
and  then we went into the Paintings wing...Italian Paintings only....
it is Awe inspiring...the size and detail on these pieces....
of course i saw The Mona Lisa....:) she s a little thing hidden behind glass and a barrier and beefy security guards....
it was nice to look at her finally...but then....honestly...i dont know why such a big deal has been made of her...
there are 100 s of paintings far far better than her....
the painting just opposite to her is bigger than a movie screen and is spectacular...i could not understand "why her ? "
of course its like tirupathi in front of her..push shove "Excusez Moi ! PArdon sil vous plait " and then u can take a photo of her...
i think i might go back to the louvre on wednesday and spend a whole day there......i dont mind at all staring at paintings all day...
then we came out of the Louvre at 4...took photos with the inverted pyramid and all....relived our Da Vinci code and Angels and Demons Reading days....looked at the Holy Grail....
then walked to the Musee d'orsay..which was closing by then and it had been raining all day !! so we took the metro to chatlet...and had a late lunch+dinner...at this place called Maos...
it was delicious!! we get Pita bread with 4 falafal pakodas inside..and we have almost 14 toppings to pick up....stuff it in....and its eat all you can...so it was great....!
after this we came back to La Defence...and roamed around in teh christmas market going on here....:) it was super pretty...
got some chocolates and crepes...
PS: going to Vinay s house tomoro ! for dinner...( a distant relative who lives here with his wife )
so tomoro plans are Eiffel tower..go up all the way...champs Elysee Tuleries garden and the Champs Elysee Christmas market and whatever else that comes up..:)
ive slept for 3.5 hrs last night...so im off now...
More tomoro !
Love
Aishu

Paris Day 1

Notre dame

 

Sacre Coeur (Sacred heart church)

hey all !
well today was my first day in Paris and it was indeed lovely...
i reached at around 9 and then hopped metro s to reach La Defence which is in the outer regions of Paris , it is the modern part of paris...here Shwetank came to pick me up. quick background- Shwetank and Priya are my neighbours from Bangalore and they now live in Paris. so im here to stay with them fro 5 days. they are 26 - 27 and so we all get along very well.
It was the warmest welcome one can expect :) it felt just great...they were both so excited to have me and they had planned things to do and places to take me ...where and what to eat....
and when we reached Priya even asked me what i craved most so she can cook it for me :) it was incredibly sweet. btw i said dosa with coconut chutney and bhindi ki sabzi...
                          we sat at home and chatted till like 2..then left to the gare du Nord which has teh Indian colony...once we reach this area its like our MG road...all indian stores! jewellery to salwar kameez and saree to tamila nd hindi cd shops and blouse stitching tailors to bindi selling stores...and here and there the various vada makers...krishna something...thirupathi something...sagar something..one would thing they are all tamilians from Chennai but no..mostly Sri Lankans....
and then finally Saravana Bhavan...oh my god....it was fabulous! we had not had lunch and it was 4.30...we ate like some 10 diff varieties of dishes..and finished of with filter coffee....
i had a food baby but was in heaven and could not care less.....
finished at around 6.30...then we walked to the nearby Ganesha Temple....it was in a run down area and if we saw from outside we would not even say it was a temple...but inside was nice...
and the Lord here receives Euros..:p
so we had finished both "Pet and Puja " we headed towards La Sacre Coeur..or the Sacred Heart Church...which sat upon this lil hill facing the Eiffel Tower....
it was so pretty....we walked around and even went inside and sat for abt 15 mins....very beautifdul inside..
by 5 its night here so all this is under artificial lighting of course...and the christmas lights have gone up too which made it even prettier...
then we stared at the Eiffel tower from there for a bit...which was not too far away...it was fully lit up and looked like a dream come true....we made all the appropriate noises..:D
on the way to the metro did a lot of souvenir shopping..
next stop an area called Chatlet...this is the old paris city but has teh young crowd hanging out here. the whole place is alive with people...very very unlike Belfort where the whole city shuts down at 7.  here we saw the Notre Dame De Paris...the church of Notre Dame. which looks like its top has been cut off....but very ancient and nice :p
it feels so great when all these places that ive read about in books and watched on TV and seen pictures of come to life in front of me....i keep thinking in my head " oh i saw a picture of this place in my French text book 2 years ago !!  wow its in front of me !! "
we walked around in the lil cooblestoned roads and stood and watched an artist do magic with paper and spray paints...( in 10 mins...a piece of masterful art...spectacular) then sat in a cafe....till 12 then we found our way back home....
tomoro is the first sunday of the  month so all big museums are free entry so we ve planned Le Louvre and another called Musee D'Orsee...the Champs Elysee after that perhaps...
but im just going along with them...for once i have nothing planned but things are going even better. today we dint plan a thing but a lot of places got covered...the touristic and non touristic kind.
oh and in the indian road so many indian supermarkets selling everything!! from Avvakai to MTR ready to eat to haldirams and Maggi ! of course i stocked up...
Belfort is some Halli !! nothing i get over there. not even green chillies. dumb place.
ok its really late..and have an early and long day tomoro!
so gnite
more later...
love
Aishu

Thanksgiving comes early to France

It was a potluck dinner so each of us got something to the table and it was fantastic ! And just so that i could eat too they all made vegitarian dishes and just one dish of meat for them all to share...it was extremely nice of them. the food was amazing and the desserts were over the top ! we had 5 varieties of cakes and fruit salads and puddings too..:) overall a great evening..

Dinner at Dasha 's house :)

 
 
 





we go to Besancon for the day...

with our lung scans! look! mine is scarily small!

we went there for our medical check up. for visa purposes. and ended up spending the whole day.10 mins thts over and we done by 10.30. after tht we hung out with the assistants from other regions near Besancon till 4.30...
it was nice..breakfast went to a cafe..i asked for coffee and forgot to mention cafe au lait "with milk"...so i got a shot of espresso...but i surprisingly could get it down...had lunch at this lil french restaurant...had pasta and cheese....which was yum...and then we walked around...visited the citadel there...then in the evening went to "salon de the"...tea and pastry shop...
had juice and a chocolate croissant..and we were talking lost track of time..then had to run to the station!

me and dasha with the other assistants

citadel de Besancon

Dinner at Louise's on the 15th of November.

i made fried capsicum..quick and easy and yum ! eat it with salt and pepper..louise made a vegitable broth..real filling and lina got dessert..:D

Dinner at Louise's with Lina

Lina et Moi



an Eclair , a Tiramisu and a Mirangue



My long Weekend

The 10^th Well my cycle was stolen..:( or rather Victorine s cycle was stolen…I left it at the school I work and it was locked ..and when I came back 2 hrs later it was gone…well I walked around the whole area looking and I even informed the school and the security lady said she ll make enquiries on Monday when it reopens. And I cried cuz I felt even worse it was not mine…I walked to the police station to file a report and then called vic from there to tell her…she reassured me that it was not a problem at all. She was very nice about it said that it happens all the time…they had lost 3 bikes already. And that its just a bike and nothing serious has happened…but then im sure it must have been a lil expensive…it had gears and everything..:( I asked her details about the bike to tell the police and she said not to cuz then ill just spend 3 hrs with them giving details and they ll never find a cycle…and that I should just come to her house…so then I walked to her house….and talked to them some more….and they joked about how now ill have to cancel my Italy trip because ill have to pay them for the cycle…then they said they  have another one and i can use tht now. I said no thanks ! no more cycles for me! Ill just walk. I miss tht cycle though…

Well after that the rest of the week has been fairly good…

On 11^th I had lunch at  Dani s place. the spanish assistant.he is the only other assistant who is in belfort for this weekend. everyone has gone to swiss or other places...so he made rice and omlette and fried banana then for dessert some kind or fruit confecture.. with bread. Yum!

i also tasted this yum olive which was pickled..

and im going back to his place for dinner..my turn to cook this time.

12^th nov



Alu ka Paratha and Raitha !



 

   


So yesterday was a hit...

dasha and jesus joined me and Dani for dinner so i cooked for 4.....

the alu parathas came out awesome...though for me it was not at all spicy the others loved it....!

and the other 2 had been to swiss for the day they came back with dessert for us...chocolate mousse and marshmellow from thr...awesome stuff....we drank tea and chatted tiil 11.30..then i came home and watched a movie till 3.30.

a tamil movie!! suriya !! :D Aadhavan….

today lunch was at dani s again...he cooked tortillas for the 4 of us !spanish tortilla is diff from mexican which we get at taco bell and all...and its super good.

and u know wot for dessert...he melted chocolate and we cut up bananas orange kiwi and apple..and we had fruit with chocolate fondue!! it was sooo awesome. ppl here are big on dessert and they do such creative things in such a simple manner.

dinner is again thr..and this time dasha is cooking....i don know wot...

we just came back from grocery shopping for tomoro.

we going up the mountain..

dinner at dani’s was awesome..dasha made stuffed capsicum! It was brilliant…it has a very complicated Russian name….inside was vegetable and rice….with a tomato and capsicum sauce..


Dani's awesome chocolate fondue with fruits





Dasha s stuffed capsicum with a very complicated russian name i cant remember



13th

my day was ok....so last night i was up till 2.30 making roti and cutting onions for today to take up the hill.

then we are at the bus stop....and thr is another stand on the opp side of the road....our bus comes....to tht side...and before we can cross the road he just leaves cuz thr is no one thr...and its a sun so a bus in every 4 hrs...so we cancelled mountain plan and went to lake malsaucy...which is 8 km from belfort...we walked till thr and walked back.

the walk was super tiring...but it was beautiful all the way...

we get thr and then Dani says "kerstin was right ! she was not kidding. there is no water here"

its a beach...in summer ppl come here and laze in the sand...but its called "lake malsaucy"...and thr is no water "in winter "!

it was very bizzare....

and it was freezing !! today was too cold...most of the day my hands were numb. and my face. thankfully i had my thermos flask with hot chocolate....and that spicy tomato chutney and onion and steamed corn roti roll I packed for lunch really warmed my stomach...

only one other guy could eat it. the other 2 took a bite and said it was too spicy...lol...i made them taste hajmola too!! the expression on their face!! ROFLMAO hilarious! lol...!

so we hung abt eating and drinking and thr was this play ground and we all played for a while...

then we went to the train station and nobody was thr..its a like a small village and sunday is desolate...so a train passed and we all said bye bye to everyone in it..lol...

no trains running to belfort tht day no busses either. so walk back all the way..

finally we found civilization and a bus stop with a bus an hour later...we had a choice to walk 4 km or wait an hour..we decided to crash at a nearby cafe in the warmth...ate some fries..and then caught the bus...went to dasha s place..drank some tea and i fell asleep on her bed. then i came awake cuz i got a call from my neighbour....with real bad news...

my landlord passed away the previous weeka nd we got to know today. Bernard..the old man i told u guys right he lives in the mountains and had invited me to his place ..well the whole of this week ive been trying to call him to tell im free and id like to come up to visit him. lil did i know. i feel bad..he was so sweet. and then i kept trying to call him to tell ive transfered the money to his account and all and no reply. sso i immediately came back home and his daughter and her husband came to each of our houses to assure us tht we wont have to leave and all but there is some paperwork to be done and we ll have to send money next month to some other acc and all...

so thts my day..tomoro im just going to sit at home because ive been sutthifying too much the past 3 days…

and by the way to everyone else…my Christmas vacations have been planned tickets bought…

I leave for Italy on the 17^th of Dec..1 day in Milan, 2 days in Venice, 3 days in Florence half a day at Pisa, 1 day Sienna, 4 days in Rome and 3 days in Tuscany at my friends place J and I come back to france with her on the 2^nd of Jan.

I am really excited about it!! Feels like a dream…:D

And this time I wont be going alone…there are a bunch of indian girls who want to join me and also another assistant from Belfort itself who s coming with me so im happy J

Ill tell you guys more when it planned better and I have all details.

Ciao!



on the way to lac de Malsaucy



Dinner at Stephanie's

 
 

Hello !
today was nice...i went grocery shopping in the morning..
the rest of the assistants weent ice skating! ill go with them next time  :) well the evening was very very pleasant..
Dasha and i had been invited by one of the teachers to her home for dinner with her family.
stephanie has a nicest cosiest home ever ! her husband is very sweet and the kids are the cutest! louise and theophile...4 and 5 :)
oh my god adorable..:) and theo the boy was very excited to see me because he thought i would be wearing feathers...u know as in "red indian "....lol...i din know if i shud be amused or insulted...i went with amused...
they have a fireplace! :D and the whole house is very woodsy and eclectic...a lil stone here and there...pictures evrywhere...
homelike...reached at 7..were eating tortillas and dip and some other appetizers with anchovies(fish i think) for the others..they said we just had to taste the fine wine they got just for us..devastated when we said we don drink..they said but u have to taste it ..a lil at least b4 saying no..they looked so sad i said sure ill taste a lil. white wine. nasty stuff. but less nasty then red wine.
and dinner was potatoes with cheese fondue kind of dish...pretty good and they had pork saussages and i had veg saussage (soya).. :)  and a salad of course...
then she got out the dessert she d made specially..showed us the recipe..looked complicated...it was yum ! slathered in some king of raspberry+strawberry+blueberry syrup....
by then the kids were feasting on the chocolate box...and we all tasted some..and then we had some " Limonade" which is btw not lemonade. :D its like limca except much lesser fizz. its soda with lime in it.
and then we all  played card games with the kids...."dringo" some lame game but they loved it..lol:) there is a buzzer to hit..so obvi they were on a high....
then it was the kids "bed time" :) so they came gave us kisses and lent their cheeks for us to kiss...its so adorable
and off they go. we 4 sat chatting till 11.30 abt our countries....and the places we ve seen...they showed us photos from their trip to mexico b4 the kids came along....so many questions abt india...usual ones...
showed me DVD s of all teh indian movies they ve seen...they have DEVDAS in french ! :D ive borrowed it...to laugh at for tomoro!
well then she dropped me back home...:)
and you know what ...they dont do any work half heartedly...or incomplete you know...she dropped me and was on her way..i tried to open my door and it was kinda stuck...but i thought she d gone by then..but she parks her car and comes back to see if she can help...i don think i would ever invite someone to my home like this...and if i did in my head id already be doing them a huge favour so would not even think about transaport services.....but now i think i will...i dont know im rambling....
maybe its all normal...

PS: in the process of planning Italy for Chrsitmas and Paris for the coming long 4 day weekend ! :D

well there was my day for you...
ill keep the updates coming

love
aishu