Filed under: Travel Quotes, Travel diary | Tags: Bitches&Cream, Midi sur l'Asie, Travel diary
Right now I’m feeling…
Excited
Scared
Melancholic
Emotional
Curious
Expectative
ALIVE!
A busy week is behind me. I got the Indonesian visa and the travellers cheques, the Malaron which cost me an arm and a leg (!), packed everything or almost, sorted out my stuff, my bedroom, my bank, my phone… I am now leaving in a riot of boxes, clothes, plastic bags and chocolate wrappers! (Thanks Molly for the wonderful, beautiful, best chocolate EVER!)
Last week-end was party week-end: leaving do at 1000Heads followed by a magnificent evening at Canal 125. Quite a few friends braved the cold weather to come and dance to the booty shaking tunes of Bitches&Cream, alias Alina and I. Emotional moments that will stay in history (and on my Flickr account)!
Someone said ‘If you don’t know where you are going, look where you come from’. I’d like to add onto that ‘and look where you’ve been’! Guys, I will be taking these souvenirs of you with me for the ride, thank you for being part of my life and making it so rich! (I’m not talking about the chocolate!)
… I told you I was getting emotional!
—–
La, maintenant, tout de suite, je me sens:
Excitée
Un peu angoissée
Mélancolique
Emue
Curieuse
Dans l’expectation
VIVANTE!
Une semaine bien occupée est derrière moi. J’ai enfin mon visa Indonésien, mes Traveller cheques, le Malaron qui m’a coûté les yeux de la tête (!) fait mon sac, vide ma chambre, fais mes papiers… Je vis maintenant dans un capharnaüm de boites, cartons, vêtements, sacs et papiers de chocolat (Merci Molly pour le fabuleux, merveilleux, magnifique, meilleur chocolat du monde!)
Le week-end dernier était ‘party week-end’: pot de départ de chez 1000Heads suivi d’une soirée d’exception au canal 125 ou plusieurs amis avaient brave le froid pour venir danser sur le son de Bitches&Cream, alias Alina et moi. Moments d’émotion qui resteront graves dans l’histoire (et aussi sur mon compte Flickr)!
Quelqu’un a dit ‘Si tu ne sais pas où tu vas regarde d’où tu viens’. J’aimerai ajouter a cela ‘regarde ou tu es allé’ J’emmènerai ces souvenirs – et vous avec – dans mes aventures. Merci de faire partie de ma vie et de la rendre si riche! (Et je ne parle pas du chocolat!)
… Je vous avais dit que je devenais un peu fleur bleue!
Filed under: Travel diary, travel events | Tags: Travel diary, travel events
Oh oh oh! Happy New Year 2009 all!!! As my friend Pierre would say:
DEPARTURE… For destination happiness on flight 2009. Duration of the flight, 365 days. Essential luggage’s: health, money, peace, love, tranquility and successes!
(Ah, he’s good my friend Pierre he is!)
I think I owe you an explanation. More than one month I hadn’t posted anything although I have been traveling all over the place and doing loads of stuff to prepare my trip.
Jabs, doctor, dentist and shopping for essentials, done. Subscription to couch surfing, done. Itinerary, not done. I’ll see when I’m there. Next step, pick up my visa at the Indonesian Embassy (I’ll do the others on the way), prepare my stuff in my new shinny backpack, get the travelers cheques, empty my room but of course before that, organize a proper send off with my friends and colleagues.
Saturday, for the third time in man’s life, Bitches & Cream will do an appearance at Canal 125, a lovely little venue near Kings Cross. For the occasion, Alina has offered me a princess dress, a shinny golden dress that makes me look like an opera singer. Sounds promising!
Oh! And today is my last day in the office. Party party, more parties…
…..
A la demande générale, je traduirais dorénavant mes posts en Français. Accrochez-vous mes amis et pardonnez ma ponctuation…
Oh oh oh! Bonne année 2009 a tous! Comme mon ami Pierre le dit si bien:
DEPART pour destination bonheur sur le vol 2009. Durée du vol, 365 jours. Bagages essentiels : Sante, argent, paix, amour, tranquillité et succès !
(Ah… Il est bon mon ami Pierre !)
Je pense que je vous dois une explication. Plus d’un mois que je n’ai rien poste sur ce blog et j’ai pourtant bien avance dans la préparation de mon voyage. Vaccins, docteur, dentiste et achat des choses essentielles, fait. Inscription sur le site de Couch Surfing, fait. Itinéraire, pas fait. On verra bien sur place. Prochaine étape, récupérer mon visa a l’Ambassade d’Indonésie, préparer mes affaires dans mon tout nouveau, tout beau sac a dos, faire les traveller chèques, déménager ma chambre mais avant ca, organiser une soirée de départ digne de ce nom.
Samedi, pour la troisième fois dans histoire d’homme, Bitches & Cream feront une apparence au Canal 125, un charmant petit pub sur les bords du Canal de Camden. Pour l’occasion, Alina m’a offert une robe de princesse dorée qui me fait ressembler à une chanteuse d’opéra ! Ca promet!…
Oh! Et aujourd’hui c’est mon dernier jour au bureau! Fetes, fetes, toujours plus de fetes…
Filed under: Iceland, Travel diary | Tags: Glacier, Iceland, Seljalandfoss, Skógafos, Travel diary, Vik
Iceland has 5 main glaciers, one of them being only 3 hours drive away from Reykjavik on the south coast. So here we are, on our way to see one with our own eyes before it completely melts (total carbon footprint for the week-end = 3,500,000; errr, did I say I was green?) But before that, we want to see two more waterfalls: Seljalandfoss and Skógafoss and the little village of Vik , Iceland ’s biggest town before Reykjavik developed (big = 320 habitants (!)). Beaches there are made of black volcanic sand. There are also volcanic columns but we didn’t go far enough to see them.
The pictures tell more than any other word really (or maybe I’m getting lazy but anyway).
One of the highlights of the day was driving at the top of a volcano to reach the glacier and admire the view.
Just a quick word about our hotel, yes it’s a big touristic complex but the Lofteidir hotel is the only one in Reykjavik with its own pool. And when you’re all stiff from spending 10 hours in a car, a swim and a steam bath are the best way to recover. Reykjavik has several public geothermal pools but I’ve got to say it’s nice having your own at hand.
We spent another day in Reykjavik and got a few Christmas presents and souvenirs before flying back to London .
So, my opinion about Iceland? This is the most amazing, breathtaking country I have visited so far. Amazing landascapes, amazing light, lovely people… A destination to go back to for sure. Anyone interested?
And i don’t know where to start!
Right now I need to:
- Subscribe to Couch Surfing
- Tell you about Iceland
- Book an hotel for Paris
- Tell you about Travel Blog Camp
And millions of other things!
Back in a minute with more updates
Filed under: Travel diary | Tags: Cathay Pacific, STA Travel, Travel diary
I am very very proud and pleased to tell you that today, I finally booked my flights to Bali!
I went as planned to STA at 1:30. I have to say, I was pretty warmed up already because I checked the flights again on Internet and they were almost twice as more expensive as they were the week before. And I originally booked this appointment last week! Anyway, after a 40m wait on one of the seat in the STA branch, I finally got to speak to Jess. Poor girl, she was so sorry for making me wait that my anger suddenly fell and we started devising together the best way to get there. She managed to find a flight for 625£, which I upgraded to 699£ to gain time and hopefully comfort. I’m flying with Cathay Pacific. Apparently they have just refurbished all of their flights which should guarantee a minimum comfort on board. One stop in Hong Kong and 27h later, I will be in Bali. The other option was to flight with Quatar airlines but there was an 8h wait in Quatar and you can’t come out of the airport because you need a visa. The decision was made and we sealed the pact.
Blimey! I don’t think I’ve ever paid that much money in one go! I suddenly freaked out. 4 months is long! What if I don’t like it? What if I want to go home? What if I run out of money over there? What if I get sick?… I have been preparing this trip for a while now but it’s been a dream so far and seeing it becoming a reality is quite something! There’s no turning back now, no way to chicken out! Of course I can still cancel, I took an insurance in case something happens but why would I want to do that?
So the next step will be the visas. I thought STA Travel would sort it out for me but Jess said she couldn’t because I’m French and the legislation may change compare to England. Damn!
Photo courtesy of RodBegby – Flickr
I eventually got an email on Thursday from STA. Right. A bit late but since I haven’t booked anything yet, I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt and phone back. My appointment tomorrow is booked and confirmed. Yes, a week later I will finally get my flights and everything that goes with it.
Yooohhooo! I’m excited!
Filed under: Travel diary | Tags: Fligt booking, STA Travel, Travel diary
… didn’t call me back. It’s Wednesday and they didn’t call me back. And the flights have already raised.
I might just buy my tickets online tonight.
I was meant to go to Paris this week-end, but fate has decided otherwise and I finally got to stay in London.
The down side:
I haven’t made any plan for the week-end
The up side:
I get to spend Saturday morning in bed, I save some money for my trip and I get to write on this blog.
Indeed, statistics for this week:
- post started: 5
- posts finished: 1
- posts published:1
For someone who had decided to write actively every day or two, that’s a good start!
Obviously with all these researches and stuff, I’ve been starting to have weird dreams of me walking on a beach, the sand tickling my feet & the wind in my hair… [sight] But let’s be real, these days my tan lines come more from my monitor glare!
Anyway I couldn’t resist to dig in my old pictures something to make us feel a little closer from it all. You could almost feel the sun on your chicks!…
Filed under: Travel diary | Tags: Midi sur l'Asie, South East Asia, Travel diary
So, this is it then. This where it all starts. I have made an attempt to write a blog before but I’ve got to say I haven’t been very good at keeping it alive for very long!
Last week I went to ask my boss if I could take a 3 months sabbatical and come back afterwards. He said yes, but only if I created an awful lot of WOM. Hum hum… An awful lot of WOM… Awful, for sure, a lot, not so sure…
I’m working for a Social Media agency. We work with our clients to help them promoting their brand and products within the Social Media sphere. My daily duties consist in reading blogs and forum threads and encouraging people to write about one thing or the other and improve their online presence. I know the theory, but advisers run no risks, and I’m not escaping the old adage. I dread the white page and I never know where to start. When I was 14, I wanted to write a book about my life and someone asked me why did I think someone would be interested, why would people read about my ventures and find them interesting? Well I don’t know, you tell me! Why do people read blogs every day? I could tell you all about the theory here but at the end of the day, that’s the story itself that keeps people returning to your blog. And I think I have the basics for a good story here so I’ll give it a try and if no-one but my family and colleagues read it well, fuck it! Excuse my French but, hey, it had to be said.
So yes, that’s where it all starts. Wish me luck and please, please come, comment, shout, share your ideas, your tips and opinions, this blog has been created for this very purpose.
