Retrospective #10 - Ooooh la la

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I went to Paris with my sister and brother in November when they came to visit. I loooooved it. I'm not sure anyone could hate Paris. How the hell could you?

I was getting so ridiculously french while I was there. I had a glass of champagne before every meal as an apertif, bought red lipstick and wore high heels every day.

I accompanied my sister shopping, and in turn took them to the European photography museum and went to a cool little tea house. We also ate some kickass Vietnamese and Japanese food, and had a totally luxe 3 Michelin star lunch at Hotel Le Bristol where the pre G20 summit meetings were being held and we saw Gordon Brown. I sat up straight, wore a skirt and ate 9 courses for lunch.

I also had a sneaky lunch of escargots and french onion soup by myself!

These are some highlights from the mobile phone. I took my Fish eye camera but most of the photos are real duds.

The Chosen one - street art in Paris

OMG. Macarons and other assorted cavity inducing perfections at Pierre Herme.
I had a citrus tart for breakfast and I was not ashamed.


Escargots

The 11 Commandments of living in Paris

Garden of Luxembourg

Garden of Luxembourg

Garden of Luxembourg

Playing peekaboo with the Eiffel Tower

Dream come true

Roman Holiday

All photos by me.

dum spiro, spero.

"While I breathe, I hope."

For honesty

For love

For beauty

For purpose

All images by me.

Top 10 list w/c September 6th 2010

What's Hot

1. Dry September - 3 weeks of sobriety. You read correctly the first time. Not a drop to drink from 6th September until 24th September.

2. Commitment - Mattress Shopping on Saturday. Big bucks spent means more long term comfort for moi. Previous hesitation to spend up on household items went out the window since I slept for the first time in comfort on a FUTON in Hamburg in a little while. It's just not right.

3. Vegetables - I had delicious homemade carrot and sesame seed soup tonight, with a rice, carrot, beetroot and apple salad, a la Laura. Bellissimo!

4. Reading - It's the quiet life for me, for a little while. And that's A-OK with me.

5. Hamburg - This city has got it going on. What's not to love? Cosmopolitan, with a bit of a gritty edge, it's where media and shipping moguls wheel and deal, and it's flat. Also the city where I found an original Russian produced 1994 Lomo LC-A camera (discontinued, limited edition!!) at a Flea Market for 5 EU in prima working condition. A restored one made in PRC costs 200 EU online!! OMFG!! Lomographer's HOLY GRAIL! Check out more here.

6. Reunions with old friends and making new ones - Italy and Germany was good for seeing them and meeting new folks.

7. Nice guys - Love it when friends find a good one.

8. Having nice colleagues - Surprise Tim Tams from one that came back from Australia, cheery and helpful colleagues, and lovely colleagues you don't often work with that notice you were out of the office for a while.

9. Random 16 piece brass bands killing time in German Railway stations.

10. Scandinavian clothing labels

What's Not

1. Trains - No more travel by rail. For a long, long, long time.

2. Restlessness - Need to find a cure from within.

3. Faux-mance over Romance - Not playing anymore.

4. Carbohydrates - Overloaded in Italy and Germany.

5. Rain - It returns tomorrow for a week and may stay for a while. Like 8 months.

6. Aching - It hurts. Everywhere.

7. Overthinking mortality - Good time or a long time?

8. Indecision - It plagues me.

9. Facebook politics - U.G.H.... I just DON'T want to fret for another nanosecond about this.

10. Wanting a holiday after your holiday, and realising your next holiday is going to be just as frantic.

A Lomo Diary, reel 3 - An animator and his wanderer (Sverre Frederikson's studio)

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Double Exposure: The wooden set and the camera - Svrrmajson stop-motion studio, Amsterdam

The craft and cutting table - Svrrmajson stop-motion studio, Amsterdam

Lights, camera, stop-motion! - Svrrmajson stop-motion studio, Amsterdam

Double Exposure: Storyboards and Wanderer close up carving - Sverrmajson Stop-motion studio, Amsterdam

The craft and cutting table - Svrrmajson stop-motion studio, Amsterdam

The Wanderer from 4 perspectives - Svrrmajson stop-motion studio, Amsterdam

A Lomo Diary, Reel 2 - Amsterdam in May (A contrast study in beauty and filth)

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Acension Day (Public Holiday) - Korte Leidsedwarstraat, Amsterdam, facing North

The impact of the Cleaners strike - Korte Leidsedwarstraat, Amsterdam

It's all organic - Overtoom, Amsterdam




Spiegelgracht, Amsterdam




Spiegelgracht, Amsterdam




Canal bridge flower boxes - Spiegelgracht, Amsterdam




These flowers get the best view every day - Spiegelgracht, Amsterdam

A Lomo Diary, Reel 1 - Amsterdam's first Underground Boeren Markt

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Arrival - Underground Boeren Markt, Amsterdam

Chinese newspapers and Oolong tea - Underground Boeren Markt, Amsterdam

The tea stall - Underground Boeren Markt, Amsterdam

Friands? - Underground Boeren Markt, Amsterdam

For ten euros, a hen is all yours - Underground Boeren Markt, Amsterdam

Beautifully styled food, brought from Hoorn - Underground Boeren Markt, Amsterdam

Cute tea cosies - Underground Boeren Markt, Amsterdam