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Posts Tagged ‘France’

5 Oct

MY EURO TOUR Part 26 Paris, France

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, France, Paris, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: European tour, European travel, France, my life, Paris, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 86 comments

Hi there ! !

I was hoping I could publish at least 3 posts in September, but I just didn’t have the time. All my blogging time was spent reading a backlog of unread subscriptions. At this moment , I’m scared to check out my email folder. ” So, why are you scared, Ren? It doesn’t make sense. Just delete.” Problem is, I don’t delete unread subscriptions. I read all of them, every single word. Heck, I even click the links if they say click HERE, and watch all the videos. This time , I think I will. I can actually delete everything in one click, but then, I get to delete even the ones I want to preserve for eternity. Maybe I can keep them somewhere, I know there’s a place for them . As of 2 days ago, my unread emails number is …. 0_0″…….. 25,000. Have mercy.

And by the way, these humungous emails make my reading soooooooooo slow. It takes about a minute to get one email deleted. Sometimes it doesn;t even delete and I have to click again, and wait another minute.

I am already overwhelmed. So please let me to start over again from zero. Oh, and these are getting in the way of blogging. I need to read them, too. ( ~_~)”

Oh, yeah, those too. Ha ha ha. You know what they say… all work and no play makes Jill whatever. Reading comics and mangas entertain me. Yep, Spiderman, and Walking Dead, the original. You do know this TV show is based on the comics, right? Oh, and lookit ! The new Spiderman is a Black teenager ! Cool ! ! * You do know Parker, the original Spiderman died, right ? *

*ponders*

Are you aware there’s something big going on here in the US ? The Federal government had been shut down, and to date, it’s still closed. Normally, I’d be ranting , huffing and puffing and what have you, here on WP, but I’ve decided to keep my lips zipped. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. . The issue is affordable care act ( ACA ) or what we call Obamacare. I just wish for everyone to have access to affordable health insurance. People shouldn’t die because they are poor.

It’s funny that the republicans also opposed mandated Social Security contributions and Medicare and Medicaid when they were first taken up and later implemented by Democrats half a century ago. They said it was a socialist/communistic policy that had no place in a democratic and free society . And now, 98 % of retired seniors have only their Social Security pension and Medicare to depend on. Republicans seem to abhor anything that will provide assistance to the poor, even a health insurance that’s not even free, just made affordable for everyone, including the poor. Heck , they hate anything that regulates potentially abusive business practices and laissez faire economy. One more thing, we were mandated to have all vehicles insured, why not our health ? There’s something seriously wrong with the mindset, I tell you. Hey, it’s for the common good, folks. Get over it. Even if you’re still young and healthy now you’d thank Obamacare when you get prostrate or breast cancer later in life. Enroll now and be secure.

Alright, I said enough. Zip. Peace. Miss Pollyana isn’t looking for a fight here.

So, anyway, as promised…. my Paris tour.

Shown here is the famous Notre Dame Cathedral and additional photos of the Eiffel Tower taken on our second day in Paris. We were there on our first day. And guess what, we came back on the third day.

Notre Dame Cathedral by Seine River.

.The girl in the pic is my cousin. The senior man is part of tour group, from Australia.

aaaargh ! Good thing , Paris fashion police didn’t arrest me. What the heck is that outfit . Sheer black blouse and a white undershirt. It’s an abomination. Who wears that? He hehe…. Take note, this photo was taken the day before the last day of our Euro tour… we;d run out of clothes to wear ! We were allowed one luggage each with specific dimension, not big enough for a one – month tour. Oh, we brought enough unmentionables, so perish the thought. We wore a fresh one everyday. ( though I wore the same blue jeans for one week. Ha ha ha )

The Photos taken inside Notre Dame are bad because we were not allowed to use flash. The originals are totally dark, like the photo below.

.Do you see that mini-balcony in the photo ? That’s the pulpit. That’s where the priests used to deliver their ” sermons”. Modern churches don’t have this anymore.

.The outfit ! Bwahahaha ! Whatever, I’m in the picture. ~(^_^~) (~^_^)~

Well, this is it for now. My next post will be the last of my Euro tour, I hope. Oh, I did say I was going to have a countdown to my next trip to Asia in summer of 2014, just like what I did before my Euro tour . Well, it’s 9 months to go ! ! !

.Good day to all. Be good, be nice, and PEACE ! ! !

14 Aug

My Euro Tour Part 25 Paris, France

Posted by renxkyoko in Boracay Island Philippines, European travel, European trip, France, my life, Paris, Random thoughts. Tagged: Boracay Island, European tour, European travel, France, my life, Paris France, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 130 comments

Hi, Renxkyoko Iglesias here. * waves *

I wrote about the beach house my family is building on Boracay Island, Philippines. If you haven’t read it, it’s here. We’ve been calling our aunt in the Philippines to check on the progress of construction. As of last week, the foundation had been dug and they had already put the rebars , etc. The original plan was just a one -story duplex, one unit for rent, and one for the family. We’ve since altered the plan. Now it’s a two-story house with 6 bedrooms and 4 toilet/baths. I/m worried my parents and aunt have bitten off more than they could chew, but I trust they can do this. They have supervised construction of several properties, after all..However, though they are all rentals too, this is the first time they’re going into this kind of business… We classify it as Vacation House for Rent by Owner and we’re going to advertise it as such. Locals and foreigners can reserve the house at VRBO.com ( Vacation Rental By Owner ) by February, 2014. It’s 7,000 Philippines pesos a day ( USD150). That’s cheap, considering that the cheapest room at nearby Shangrila Hotel is USD300. Ours is the whole house that can accomodate at least 12 persons. During low season, we’ll rent out individual rooms for $30 /day. We’re still figuring out how this can be done. Oh, and the most important thing is to have it advertised in South Korea and Japan in their own language, especially South Korea.

Speaking of which…….

There was a joke that went around in the Philippines during the North Korea crisis. They say the South Koreans are not worried about North Korea because half of the population of S.Korea are already residing in the Philippines. Ha ha . J/k

Currently, dozens of US Embassies in the Middle East, and North Africa have been closed indefinitely, or on high alert. Americans are warned not to travel to these countries. Well, you can travel to the Philippines. Two days ago, Chris Matthews on Hardball announced a list of top 5 countries that view The US most favorably. # 5 is Kenya ( Pres. Obama’;s father was from there) and guess what is # 1. Tadaaaa ! The Philippines. 86% of the country view the US favorably. I expected England and Japan to be # 1 …. surprisingly, no. So, fellow Americans, we’re welcome there, very much so.

Okay, enough of self-promotion.On to my Paris tour, as promised.

The following are photos of Paris street scenes and fine architecture.

The Seine River , Notre Dame Cathedral is nearby. By the way, it’s pronounced No-truh Dahm ( the “o ” in No is like the “o” in hot ) . TV hosts , especially sportcasters are perpetuating this Noter Deym pronunciation. Well, there’s nothing we can do to correct Los Angeles. But it’s pronounced Los An-he-les. Sorry for nitpicking. lol

.City dwellers should drive this smart car here in the US. It doesn’t occupy too much space, and doesn’t consume too much gasoline. It’s green. This was actually the very first thing I noticed in Europe. The cars were small, especially in Italy and the Netherlands.

*ponders*

I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed that there are countries where the word “The ” is placed before the name of the country. Ex: the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, and , oh, yeah, the Philippines. In fact, these are the only countries that I know of that have ” THE ” before the name. We don’t say, in the Japan, in the Indonesia, in the England, in the China , in the Italy, etc. It does sound awkward, doesn;t it?

.This is the avenue going to the famous Arc de Triomphe

.The building of this arch was commissioned by Emperor Napoleon to honor those who died during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. It’s located on the right bank of the Seine River.

This is all for now, folks. Next posts will feature The Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, and yes, the Mona Lisa.

Good day to all. Be nice, be good, stay cool, and PEACE !

7 Jul

My Euro Tour Part 24, Paris, France

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, France, my life, Paris, random musings, Random thoughts. Tagged: anime/mangas, European tour, European travel, France, manga, my life, Paris, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 165 comments

Hi, there ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

It’s time to post about my Paris tour, so I’ll cut my chatting short. ( Like that’s gonna happen, but I’ll try. He he he…. I know, I’m so chatty. )

Three days ago, I fainted at my workplace due to heatstroke. It was more like a black-out. You see, for almost a week now, we’ve been getting 3 digit temperatures here in our neck of the woods. Yesterday, the 4th of July, the temperature was 108F. ( ~ 42 C ). On the day I blacked out, the temp was 110F . Driving to work was worse for me because the A/C in my car was not working… and well, you know how it is, the temp in the car is usually 10 degrees higher initially. Opening the windows didn’t help at all. It was a tortuous 30 minute drive to my workplace. Anyway, as soon as I got out of the car, I felt a bit woozy, then as I was walking to the store, I knew I was about to black out. First, my vision turned greenish- orangy, then in slow motion, it turned grayish. It was thru sheer will power that I managed not to collapse on the pavement. As soon as I reached the store entrance , I let go and keeled over. My co-workers called 911. The paramedics came and easily revived me. When I came to, the paramedic asked if I had breakfast before I came to work. I said ” Yes, I ate a big Sio-Pao.” They all laughed. He he…. I thought that was funny too. I mean, I could have just said, ” Yes, I did “, or just nodded . I’m sure they didn’t even know what a Sio-Pao is. Well, that’s a meatbun.

When the paramedics left, I just had to ask my co-workers, ” Guys, was my nouth open? Did I drool? Did the cute paramedic see something inappropriate?” ( I was wearing a stretch hip -hugging mini skirt ) Anyway, that was actually the 3rd time something like this happened to me, so I knew what was coming. Oh, well, tough luck. I’m one of those who are prone to heatstrokes.

But honestly, it wasn’t just my sensitiveness ( or is it sensitivity ? ) to heat that I blacked out. That day, I didn’t get to sleep at all….. not a wink. Why, you ask. Well, I was reading a manga but I didn’t like where the story was going and got really p*ssed at and agitated by the main guy’s douchebaggery . Pardon the language but I was like this after reading…..

And I thought ” I need a spoiler ! A spoiler !!!! I wanna know what happens ! I need to find the rawssssss!!!! ! ” I did find the raws but , of course it was in Japanese. Normally I get the story just by looking at the drawings, but this time, I wanted to know what they’re saying. So I looked for another language that I could Google translate to English, and found one in French..

I translated at least 5 volumes the whole night, til 7 AM.. Hey, it wasn’t easy.

Oh, Sweet revenge ! It was so satisfying to know that the main guy gets his comeuppance later in the story. But of course , he still gets a happy ending with the main girl. Boooo !

So, on to gay Paree !!
I don’t think Paris and the Eiffel Tower need an introduction. So I’ll just post pictures if that’s okay with you.

Above is the famous Seine River, just a few meters from the tower.

You know, I don’t know if this is true all over Europe but I noticed something in France. Most of the outdoor cafes have chairs facing the street. I wonder if this is for people- watching.

This is the Monpartnasse area, located on the Left bank of the Seine River. Montpartnasse used to be the meeting ground of artists from all over the world, mostly penniless, but they all thrived happily in poverty…. Picasso, Chagall, Ernest Hemingway,Degas, Salvador Dali, Diego Rivera, henri Rousseau, James Joyce, Modigliani. The artists/painters used to sell their paintings for a few francs for food. Now their works are worth millions of Euros.

This was our first day in Paris. We arrived in the afternoon, walked around Montpartnasse, had coffee and petit fours at a sidewalk cafe, checked out the outdoor artists’ market, ( most of the shops were closed… it was a Sunday afternoon ), after which we went to see The Eiffel Tower. We’d go to the tower three times during our stay in Paris, which was 3 days.

Alright, this is all for now. Good day to all, and PEACE.

Stay cool.
.

12 Jun

My Euro Tour, Part 23, Bordeaux, France

Posted by renxkyoko in Bordeaux, European travel, European trip, France, Genetically modified organisms, Monsanto, my life, Random thoughts. Tagged: Bordeaux, European tour, European travel, France, French kiss, genetically modified organisms, monsanto, my life, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 152 comments

Renxkyoko Iglesias here.

It’s my summer vacation . Yay ! Well, it’s June 9 today. Last year , June 9, 2012, was the day we flew to Europe for our 30 day tour. I was really hoping I could end my travelogue post today, the anniversary of our trip, but I guess not. * sets aside the fireworks, disappointed* You’d think I’d have more time to blog, read other people’s blogs, more time for stuff I’d like to do, which is to play video games, read books, read mangas, watch TV, etc. and oh, yeah, post more often, but no, my employer had the temerity to promote me to a managerial position. Now, don’t get impressed with the title. It just means I work longer hours supervising 3 hapless sales clerks, I keep the keys, and handle some confidential store stuff. It’s a high end clothes store, though. A simple women’s Tshirt that sells for $ 5 at walMart, we sell for over $100.00. We have walk -in customers, and we have clients. Clients come by appintments, and they’re usually businessmen from overseas who choose the clothes themselves. ( We wear each dress and show it off to the client. I happen to be the favorite of Asian shoppers , the big spenders from Indonesia,Shanghai, HongKong, Malaysia, Singapore , and Japan. I have the body size of an Asian girl, ( I’m size 1 ) so I’m the one who gets to show off the dresses. If I’m lucky, I get a free dress. * blows my own horn * . I get the highest sales every month,too. * beats drum*

And well, that’s not the only job I have. I have another one…. I work at an ice cream parlor, scooping ice cream at Baskin and Robbins…. my very, very first job. I’m loyal to Kamal, my boss, even if she hasn’t given me a raise for years. ( So, okay , I got one teeny raise…. 25 cents an hour….. Booooo ! ! ) But, I’m the only one she trusts to handle money, and my work hours are flexible. I’m grateful to her for the work she gives me, at my own convenience.
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One reader asked me about Monsanto. I’ve heard of it, but don’t know anything about it. I read up , but gave up trying to know. This corporation is huge ! ! First off, what is Monsanto? According to Wikipedia, Monsanto is a ” publicly traded American multinational biotechnology corporation and is the leading producer of genetically engineered seed ( GE) and now known as GMO ( genetically modified organism).” It is considered by purists to be an ” evil” corporation that breeds modified seeds that are detrimental to humanity’s health.

I’m an environmentalist, a tree- hugger, if you will, but I’m not sure if I can totally side with the anti-GMOs . I have to be honest…… my sister, a microbiologist, had applied for a job at Monsanto. She didn’t get it, but will apply again when a position opens. She currently works for an establishment that does chemical anlysis of food products, fresh produce and manufactured ones.( Department of Analytical Chemistry ) I’m majoring in Molecular Microbiology, and when I graduate , hopefully this school year, I hope to follow my sister’s career.

There;s a research facilty in the Philippines, the IRRI ( International Rice Research Institute ) that is based in the Philippines, at the University of the Philippines, Los Banos, Laguna. According to Wikipedia, the main goal of IRRI is ” to find sustainable ways to improve the well-being of rice farmers and consumers, as well as the environment.” The IRRI is a pioneer in genetic diversification and breeding of rice to improve yield, and grow more resistant to drought and pests , and breeds that are less likely to ” fall over”. While Monsanto started in the 90’s, IRRI was launched much earlier, in late 60’s. According to Wikepedia, ” 60% of the world’s rice area is planted to IRRI -bred rice varieties or their progenies.” The difference between IRRI and Monsanto is that IRRI is non-profit. Seeds have been distributed at no cost to rice farmers all over Asia. Since then, farmers in Asia have been planting high yielding varieties of rice. This helps feed the growing population of Asia, and so far, we have not seen anyone who has grown a horn or two heads. This is the reason why I cannot make a judgement on what Monsanto is doing. Not all of these biotech researches are bad, as long as they don’t make something like Soylent Green. What is Soylent Green, you ask. Soylent Green is a 1973 science fiction film that depicts an overpopulated earth, not much food, and available food is rationed, produced by Soylent Corporation, and whose product, Soylent Green, is advertised as high energy plankton. However, they discover that Soylent Green foods are made up of human remains. They are people.

Oh, by the way, Monsanto sells seeds to practically every farmer in America. It has captured the market, and worse, the seeds are ” copyrighted and patented” . In other words, the farmer cannot save seeds for next planting. He has to buy new ones.

* ponders*
If I were a reader of this post, I’d get bored and stop reading halfway. Oh, well. Better get back to the main topic of this post…. my tour of Bordeaux, France. Actually, I don’t have much material ( photos) of Bordeaux. We merely stopped for lunch there and lingered for about 4 hours.

Although I saw very little of Bordeaux, what I did see was impressive. <a
Bordeaux is the major wine capital of the world. No wine can be labeled as Bordeaux wine unless it’s actually produced in Bordeaux..Bordeaux wine has come to mean red wine as 90% of Bordeaux wines are red. Claret is English red wine. Excusez- moi, but I’m not a wine aficionado so I’m as clueless as the peon beside me.

There’s a flea market going on in this photo.

Porte Cailhau
Below photo is the Place de la Bourse

Below is the Place de la Bourse at night

Bordeaux has one of Europe’s biggest 18th century urban areas, with buildings still intact, and all the buildings that you see here are in one area. The buildings are impressive.

In case you haven’t noticed, the architectural designs of the 18th century buildings shown here are almost identical.

These buildings must have looked awesome to a person from a small town in the 1700’s.

Above is the column of the Girondins on the Esplanade des Quinconces. It is the largest square in Europe.

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Holy s*it! Look, Ma, a couple kissing ! Oooops, pardon my French.

Anyway, above photo is Rue Sainte-Catherine, one of the longest pedestrian only shopping street in Europe. ( I’ve seen this kind of shopping mall in Barcelona and Madrid )

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The photo below was our group’s meeting place….. a toilet at the carpark….. a nice place to end our tour of Bordeaux.

*ponders*

I wonder why we call a kiss a French Kiss. It was supposed to have originated in the 1920’s (after WW1) when American soldiers came home and showed their wives and girlfriends how the French kissed. I guess, when Americans kissed before that time, they only locked their dry lips together. Then they found exchanging saliva and slipping their tongues into each other’s mouths more erotic. I bet they also brought home French lingeries for their wives. Throw away the bloomers and cotton panties , honey, and wear this…Ooooh, French lace! .

Aaaah, this post is so moi. I talked about my boring job, genetically modified organisms, food made of people, Bordeaux, France, wines, toilet, underwears, and French kiss…. all packed in one post. Good job, Ren., good job. You did it again.

This is all for now. Good day to all, and stay cool ! PEACE !

13 May

My Euro tour Part 22 Amboise, France

Posted by renxkyoko in Amboise France, European travel, European trip, France, my life. Tagged: Amboise France, Bordeaux France, Botdeaux France, European tour, European travel, France, my life, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 123 comments

Renxkyoko Iglesias here. Hi there !

I won’t be chatty on this post, although I don’t know what not being chatty means to yours truly…..less than 1000 words, I guess.Besides, it’s either my computer or WordPress itself is whacked, but writing a post now is so annoying. I don’t know how to fix this coz I’m technically -challenged.

I got a letter and Certificate of Appreciation from the Southern Poverty Law Center. It states. ” This certificate is presented to Ren Iglesias in recognition of your contribution to the ongoing fight againts hatred and intolerance in America. The name shown above will be added to the Wall of Tolerance in Montgomery, Alabama, to provide inspiration to all those who chose to take a stand againts hatred. Thank you for taking a stand. Morris Dees, Founder …. Southern Poverty Law Centre.”

SPLC was founded by Morris Dees and Josepj Levin, Jr. as a legal firm to handle anti-discrimination cases and has now become a nonprofit civil rights organization that deals and monitors the activities of hate groups such as the Klu Klux Klan, neo-Nazi white supremacist groups, or any group that assault or discriminate againts groups of people, like colored people, gays, immigrants, and the like. I consider myself a colored immigrant. I’m a double whammy.

The main headquarters of SPLC in Montgomery, Alabama.

Oh, I haven’t told ypu that I also got a Christmas card from the White House. I’m sure, million others got the same exact card… with a picture of their dog Bo frolicking in the snow, and the White House as backround.

To be honest, I don’t think I deserve to have my name added to the Wall of Tolerance, because you know what, I’m intolerant…. intolerant of injustice, wastefullness…. in fact, I can list dozens of things I cannot tolerate. Everytime I see, for example, Michelle Bachmann or Rush Limbaugh, Sens. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, Glen Beck and any of these nutjobs, I cannot tolerate to see their faces. I believe they’re evil. I even rejected a hot guy who thought climate change was a hoax. So, yeh, I’m quite intolerant.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day. To all the mothers of the world, Happy Mother’s day ! !Below is my mother. I was told she was pretty popular in college, one of the campus’ beauties in her time. Pity I don’t look like her. I look like Dad. +_+”

My Mom

So, here’s my tour of Amboise , France.

Amboise ( pronounced Abwaz), located in central France. It is a small market town, but used to be a French royal court, and lies on the banks of Loire River.\

This is how I envision A French town should look like.

That house is carved into the rock mountain. It’s a little unexpected to see that in France .

The photo avove is the house where Leonardo da Vinci actually lived and died.

I thought I could include Bordeaux , France, but I have enough materials for Amboise. In fact, I have dozens more, but they are redundant, and I think the ones I posted are representative of the place.

This is all for now. Bordeaux, France is next. Paris will be my last travel post. The thought that it’s almost the end makes me teary eyed and sad. But I’m sure to go back and see those beautiful places again. I will start to save up for a second trip and it starts NOW.

Have a good day and PEACE !

8 Apr

My European tour part 21, Poitiers, France

Posted by renxkyoko in European travel, European trip, France, my life, Poitiers France, Random thoughts. Tagged: European tour, European travel, France, Just my thoughts today, Kamala Harris, my life, Poitiers France, postaweek2011, random political musing, random thoughts. 79 comments

Hello there !

Where do I start ? I’ve got tons of disorganized random thoughts swirling on my mind right now. But I finally figured out how to make sense of them….. make them current. That’s right.

So to start off and without much further ado…..

Yesterday, Pres. Obama complimented California’s attorney general, Kamala Harris, for her good looks. But that was after saying nice things about her brilliant work as an attorney-general.

.There was an ” uproar” among feminists. Oh, from just a few critics but boy, were they loud. They said it was sexist and inappropriate. C’mon. It was said at a fund raising event where jokes were tossed around and bandied about among friends and allies. I’ve always been with you , sisters, but not this time. Your outrage is silly and over the top, and it makes you look like some bitter Ms. goody two shoes with this holier than thou attitude. It’s nasty and it won’t advance your cause. Thank goodness this is just a one-day wonder. Lighten up, ladies. The glass ceiling is going to finally break in 2016. . Save your energy. The fight is about to commence. Who’s with me?

.We have a bunch of Hilarry stickers like the picture above left over from her 2008 Primary run againts Pres. Obama. I couldn’t even vote yet when Mom dragged me along as volunteers for Hillary’s campaign. At their headquarters, I worked the phones for a while, but I really couldn’t stand getting yelled at by obvious Obama supporters at the end of the line….. And we weren’t supposed to argue, nor contradict, nor be contentious, we just explained things nicely , stuck to written guidelines, then got the heck off the phone fast . Ha ha. That was NASTY ! When I whined about it, I was given the task of posting on different fora. My “favorites ” were DailyKos and Huffington Post. At first , I was polite and meek, but it didn’t work on DailyKos, so I took off my mask and gave as good as I got, blow by blow, tit for tat, to the point that I was almost banned from the forum. He he he. Oh, the adrenaline ! ! I was the goddess of Rock ! ! Good thing there were a few nice posters who defended me … it was like, ” Look, guys, we’re all Democrats here. We have to unite at one point behind one candidate . We’ve heard of Hillary supporters threatening to sit out this election if things turn out even more contentious than this. ” And the poster was right. My parents left the names for President blank. Mom said she was so pissed she voted for McCain. No, she didn’t, ( though I’m not sure ) but we did go into sulk mode. It took us maybe a year to warm up to Obama. Yay, Obama ! ( We still don’t like Bill Richardson and that b*tch what’s – her- face from CNN. )

Enough of my chitty chatty and let’s get down to the nitty gritty……my trip to France.

Here’s my problem though…… I forgot the name of the first French town we visited and stayed the night in. ( 6__6) I remember the hotel was Ibis. So , any one from France who gets to read this, can you please tell me what town this is? It’s a small, charming postcard pretty town, and the street sign here says , Limoges Chateuroux, Bessac, CHU de Poitiers. Could it be Poitiers, France? I’m not sure.

.The ubiquitous Chinese restaurant

.The photo is blurry…. posted this just to show you we had coffee at the public square or esplanade.

There was no guided tour of the town. We just walked around within the vicinity of the hotel, had coffee and cakes and people watched.

Our dinner at the hotel…. an entree of chevre ( goat cheese ) on toast and veggie salad

.Turkey meat with delicious gravy…..

.Bon appetit !

Well, this is it for now. Amboise and Bordeux, France are next.

Bonne journee. La paix. Au revoir.

28 Dec

My European Trip Pt.15. Avignon , Carcassone, France

Posted by renxkyoko in Avignon, Carcassone, European travel, European trip, France, my life, Random thoughts. Tagged: Avignon, Carcassone, European tour, European travel, France, holiday musing, my life, postaweek2011, random thoughts. 86 comments

Hello ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here ! I greet you all a Happy Christmas and peace and goodwill to all, no matter what your religions are.

And here’s my humble wish list…. oh, please change the ’54 Covertible to a brand new Beemer, 2 door.

. I’m not jumping for joy this Christmas. I’m remembering those 20 kids who were massacred in Connecticut, and what effect their deaths are on their families. I wonder what the parents are feeling now. I wonder what the other 6 year old twin is feeling now that her sibling is gone. I wonder what the parents are thinking as they go over their dead child’s stuff… their clothes, shoes, toys, and the change of clothes before they went to school and never came home. . I’m not a parent, but I feel the pain so much. My tears have not dried up.

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.To be honest, Christmas always makes me feel nostalgic and long for all the happier Christmases past.

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So, anyway, this post is about my trip to Avignon and Carcassone. Avignon and Carcassone were mere side trips, although we did stay overnight in Carcassone.

Avignon is also called ” The city of Popes” because the Popes made Avignon their residence for over 100 years. This happened during the Papacy’s schism when there were 2 rival Popes who assumed the papacy, one residing in Rome, the other in Avignon.

The population of Avignon is 100,000, and about 12,000 live within the ancient town centre that is enclosed by medieval ramparts or defensive walls

Below is the enclosed medieval town center, courtesy of Wikepedia.

.Photos below are the only ones I have of Avignon. It was raining very hard , and we stayed for 4 hours or so. We had lunch there and I also had “lavander” gelato ( ice cream). Growing lavander flowers ( for the essential oils) is one of Avignon’s main produce.

Do you see that red hood at right hand corner? That’s yours truly, ha ha. This time , that’s the only thing you see of me, he he he… No Monaco – like stuff.

.The photo below is the panoramic view of the center, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Next is Carcassone..

Carcassone consists of 2 areas, the upper part which is heavily fortified, surrounded by 2 outer walls ( double ramparts) of concentric design. The fortress that time was considered impregnable. The lower part is the area outside the fortress. There are 53 towers, one of which is called The Inquisition Tower. It was used during the Catholic Inquisition. ( I don’t like to talk about the Catholic Inquistion. Suffice it to say that the Inquisitors did indeed use torture to break the will of those they considered heretics ) I saw one original torture equipment employed by the Catholic Church . It ain’t pretty.

Below are photos of the fortress , courtesy of Wikepedia.

.Above is the view from my hotel room. Super, huh.

.Above photo is a medieval bridge going to the fort.

Another old bridge…..

.So that’s it for Avignon and Carcassone.

I was supposed to post this before Christmas but I was so busy with holiday activities. At work, there were so many late holiday shoppers. The best one was on Christmas Eve when a Hongkong businessman came in, a regular client, who bought all the clothes I showed him, mostly Runway clothes. Runway meaning, clothes that have been designed for a runway show of the designer. I wore each design and showed it to him. So happy that he bought the designs, all sizes. I got a free Runway blouse for a job well done. I’m sure I’m going to get another silver circle.

So, here’s my new blouse. That’s a Runway blouse, okay? * happy dance*

Of course we knew the businessman was coming, so I had to wear a 4 inch heels, put on makeup, do my hair, etc. I got 2 more free runway dresses this december. Almost all our big time clients are Asians ( Japanese, Chinese, Singaporean, Indonesians, Koreans )…. I’m Asian, so I;m the one who gets to wear and show off the clothes. I have the body build of an Asian , petite, small boned, etc. They want to see how each dress looks on an Asian girl. So, yeah, that’s part of my job. And I always get something free, right off the bat. Like that red blouse. My manager told me not to take it off anymore. It’s mine.

This is all for now. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL ! !

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Posts Tagged ‘France’

MY EURO TOUR Part 26 Paris, France

My Euro Tour Part 25 Paris, France

My Euro Tour Part 24, Paris, France

My Euro Tour, Part 23, Bordeaux, France

My Euro tour Part 22 Amboise, France

My European tour part 21, Poitiers, France

My European Trip Pt.15. Avignon , Carcassone, France

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