Full Circle - pics 8

D'abord... SIMON DEMERS! What the HELL!
Merci pour ton commentaire, ça m'a fait vraiment plaisir... Qu'est-ce que tu deviens? Envoie-moi un courriel, j'ai toujours mon adresse utoronto, elise point paradis at...
J'ai une photo spécialement pour toi, prise à Prague. Ça te rapellera peut-être des souvenirs de notre voyage à New York en secondaire 1:



Maintenant, aux choses sérieuses!
;)

Some more evidence of the soccer frenzy in Germany:

The soccer tuque:



The soccer puppy:



The soccer-ball tower:



The newspaper ad, a famous German soccer player turned into a baby:



Yasu trying to make the "lost Japanese soul in Köln" speak:





A "tourist" (aka Yasu, smiling) ruins my picture-taking session at night:




Cooking session in the diminutive kitchen of Yasu (I ended up cleaning the dishes and putting up the table):



The dinner was digne d'une reine:



Jeans with the fleur de lys on the back pocket:



Late meal, for Yasu and I, at a Belgium restaurant. Yasu:




Myself, mimicking the drunk C.V. back in Quebec city (we had very little to drink, actually...):



My new Birkis. Yasu and I strolled around in the rain to find those pieces of art. When we finally made it back to the apartment, Yasu fell on the floor, knocked out totally:



At the train station, Yasu and I shared a last greasy German pastry, along with a large coffee. We were sitting next to an old woman with very peculiar habits: it took her 10 minutes to place her things properly on the table and seat before she could go order her food and drink, and then another 3 minutes of preparation before she could touch the cake. When she was finally done, she took out her cigarette and paper. On the paper, as you can see in the following picture, half the page was taken by a basically nude woman. I couldn't help but think of my own grandmother, who would probably never even touch this journal:



All in all, Leslie and I had a good trip. We finally made it back to our temporary home in Toronto, and are now packing our stuff for Quebec City.
Wow. What an adventure. We are both glad we can talk about it online.



Sir Sanctis and the Shadow Knight have also made it whole back to Toronto. They miss the adventures, castles, and hot chicks in small shorts, but I'll take them out soon on another trip... 'til then, cheers to all of you, my silent guests on this silly blog!
;)

Travel pics - 7

Some new pictures! Wooo-hoo!

More pics from Munich. La Elisenstasse:



My German socks:



A sign at the science museum, for a machine to get a foot massage:



Me in front of a blue screen, thinking intensely about Wayne's World Delaware:



A sign against those very annoying rose sellers on the doorstep of a gay bar:



Pictures of Luke and Marshall, the great guys from Colorado. Marshall, with his hands almost touching the floor as he sits on his chair (re: Michelle's Doum in high school, mouahahahah!):



Luke wearing my coat, and showing off the "European Look":





Another night out in Munich! Nikola and I:



Tim in front of the hall where Hitler made his first speech:



Pour celui qui aimerait savoir a quoi ressemble Amsterdam, voila quelque photos:











A few pictures of our second night out in Amsterdam.
On this one, Luke, myself, Marshall and Gabriel:



Me wearing Gabriel's hat:



Gabriel in intense discussion mode:



"Hol" dogs sold at the hostel in Amsterdam:



A house taking a pee in Köln:



Me, growing a third arm on my forehead (actually, I was bitten by some unknown bug in the dorm at my hostel, which resulted in a very bad bump, inflamation, itchiness and blisters. yum!):



Germany is living the pre-World Cup 2006 frenzy. Lots to show for it:

Ces porcs, d'Amsterdam

I left Amsterdam yesterday, after a good time with Luke and Marshall, the two American cousins I met in Munich and who took the train with me. We had a good time last night, going to three different places with another guy I met at the hostel, an Italian called Gabriel.

I saw the Rijksmuseum, an exhibit on Rembrandt. It was very nice. Some pictures coming. I also went to a wonderful picture exhibition, the World Press Photo 2006. I bought a book with the pictures. Amazing visual survey of 2006.

I bought the funkiest pair of pants: red with flowers, they resemble my gi pants. Yasu agrees they are probably inspired by some Japanese clothing.

Generally, though, I can’t say that I liked Amsterdam. The place is a little bit nasty. I got bitten by some weird bugs at the hostel, such that I now look as if I had a third arm growing from my forehead. There were drug dealers everywhere, and men “eye-ing” me like I was nothing but a piece of flesh… which is exactly what most women are in Amsterdam. I found it quite disgusting. Happy I went there with some people I trusted…

I met Rob Hagendijk for dinner and a wonderful concert on the night of the 22nd. We had a great time, wonderful discussions as always, and he offered me a place in the Science Studies program if I am interested. Certainly a wonderful backup plan if Stanford turns out not to be what I expect. He showed me a few very nice places in the downtown, told me a little about the history of the city. We also went to a ship building field. Very interesting.

I am now at Yasu’s. We had a pasta dinner, had a “short” nap of four hours, and watched the Euro Trip movie, a MUST according to Yasu, the Americans, and all those I met on my trip. Quite funny.

We’ll cook a very nice meal tomorrow. Yasu, the chef, will hopefully teach me a few things. Great! Then, Friday, we’ll probably go to Belgium. I have to have some mussels and white beer. I promised ma Perounette.

From what I have seen now, I very much like Cologne, just like I liked Munich and Berlin. The air is fresh and smells nice, there are trees everywhere and birds signing, people look happy. It is all very good stuff.

Now, some more reflections on Europe and my European experience. As I told Yasu today, it is very interesting to travel Europe as a woman, because it seems that very much fewer women travel than guys. In Prague, for Vic’s birthday, we were 2 girls to 9 guys. When we went out on my last night in Munich, I was alone with 9 guys. Yesterday, I was alone with 3. The dynamics is just very strange… And it is not because I invited only guys out. I have invited everyone I met, but there are just NO WOMEN traveling.

For example, I was given an apple by a fruit store employee as I bought some food at the Viktuailmarkt in Munich. I was given a CD by an employee of a restaurant in Amsterdam. A chocolate too. Gabriel offered his hat (picture to come), which I could not take, really.

Yasu agreed that in many cultures, women would not even dare going on such a trip, and certainly not alone. In Japanese culture, as he said, women my age are more likely to be thinking about having a family than to go on holidays.

I have received an email from Eddy today. I am thinking about Haiti now. I wonder what I should do with the rest of my summer. I feel restless, quite frankly, and the discussions that I have had with the people around me here just make me want to leave again and experience some more things. Talking with Yasu about Japan, for example, makes me want to go there. And then there is Sam going to Argentina, Agnes going back to Europe. But there is also China with the Dojo that could happen next summer.

so many things about Munich

Okay, I have to start somewhere. Pictures will follow.

I have been having a great time in Munich, even if it is a little bit expansive to live here. Well.

On my first night, I tried to walk around the neiborhood to try to find a nice cafe where to sit for a beer. But as it happens, the neighborhood where my hostel is is quite shady: it is the strip joint scene, and I was THE ONLY WOMAN WALKING THERE: There were no women on the streets, no women at the table of the pubs and restaurants and cafes... So I decided it was safer to go back home.

Then, on my first day, I walked around and met a Nigerian guy working in Germany, who offered me to go out after his shift. I waited for 40 minutes outside his workplace, to no avail. He ditched me.

In the afternoon I went to the Viktuailmarkt (see previous post), and was offered an apple by one of the shop holders. Fun. I then went to the Teddy Bear museum. Pictures to come (Nyla, you'll be happy). That was awesome, although again, there was very little text that had been translated into English.









So I went back to the hostel, where I met, believe it or not, the identical twin of Dave (my ex Dave). He happened to be from Halifax TOO, had exactly the same shape, same hair, same eyes, made the same jokes, and had THE SAME LAST NAME. It was so totally weird, really. He invited me to join in for a pub crawl, which I did. Only thing, and Agnes will be happy: his jeans were not a little too tight. Mouahahahah!

I was a lot of fun. I met a bunch of people, from the States, mostly, then Canada, Australia, blabla.


Ok, this is Matt and I, at the pub crawl:



This is Craig:



Doug, aka Jack Black, being evil:



Jack's signature face:



We ended the night in a warehouse turned dance club, and I went back to the hostel at around 3am.

Yesterday, I tried to make something happen at the Goetheplatz and at the Beethovenplatz, but really, both were profoundly disappointing. I stopped at a small cafe to write, had my sandwich, and headed for the English garden.

On my way there, I met a guy coming out of his car with a wetsuit on and a surfboard under his arm. He was barefooted on the pavement. I started laughing, and asked him where he was coming from. He told me the right question to ask was where he was off to, and told me he was going to surf on the river besides the bridge, and offered me to follow.

So I went to see some very good looking dudes (and a very hot woman, mind you) surf in DOWNTOWN MUNICH.






Then I walked around for a while, and settled with the Shadow Knight and Sir Sanctis in the park with my Kundera. More about that soon.






Back at the hostel, I ran into some of the people from the pub crawl, and hung out with them at the hostel bar for a while. Then we headed off for a beer garden, where I bought some mackerel off a stick. That was AWESOME. My first real culinary experience in a while.
The picture I took was taken late, I am afraid, when there wasn't much left of the fish.

I went back home early, after agreeing with Craig to go to the Science museum the next day.

Here I am, now. I will stay one more night in Munich, and then meet Yasu in Cologne. I'll stay at his place for two nights, and then I am off to Amsterdam to meet with Rob. That is all very good news.

I have been invited by a guy here at a Paul Van Dyk concert tonight... 15€, sounds like a deal... I yet have to decide whether I am going or not. That would probably be a very long night. It'll depend on how I feel in mid-afternoon.

Chuz!