[November] My blog in one picture

This month Clara has chosen a rather difficult theme for the monthly photo!

I often meet with bloggers that have a "real theme" asking me what's my blog's main subject. It's a question I personally dislike as my blog does not stems from a particular vision, I only needed to practice writing in French for my Master thesis.

I think I kept on writing since I was lucky enough to get comments, particularly from Shandara, from the get go. Today, I've been blogging since 2009, sometimes a bit uneven but still going.

I write mostly about things I love, like books, photography, graphic novels, travel, NDS games, museums, Paris, some live shows, a sprinkle of sewing and a bit about my-self. But, like in the picture there are some shadowy areas as I unfortunately don't always take time to write about the interesting stuff I do.

My blog is a mess!


Dr CaSo, Nicky, Sephiraph, Cara, Happy Us, DelphineF, LaFamilleD , Flo, Frédéric, Leviacarmina, Champagne, Pilisi, Le Mag à lire, Nathalie, El Padawan, Dorydee, Krn, Louiki, Xavier Mohr, Natderueil, La Nantaise, Carole In Australia, Christeav, Lucile et Rod, magda627, 100driiine, Guillaume, Louisianne, Sébastien, Cessna, oui !, N, Xoliv', Thilily, Caterine, M, Céline in Paris, Lauriane, Dame Skarlette, Manola, Clara, Alban, Nataru, Cindy Chou, Valentine, Alexanne, Akaieric, Solveig, Kyoko, Josiane, Viviane, Céliano, Une niçoise, Alice, J'adore j'adhère, Lhise, Emma, Un jour une rencontre, Alice Wonderland, LaGodiche, Cekoline, Dreamteam, Lyonelk, Vanilla, Narayan, Caro, Chris et Nanou, Zaza, Thalie, Isabelle et Gilles, Juriste-in-the-city , Virginie, Lavandine, Cherrybee, Les zinzins, Ava, Les petits supplices !, Arwen, M.C.O, Filamots, Bestofava, Tambour Major, A&G, La Parigina, Cynthia, La Flaneuse, Les voyages de Lucy, Les voyages de Seth et Lise, Mgie les bons tuyaux, Marion, Blogoth67, Karrijini, Stephane08, Cricriyom from Paris, Hibiscus, Gizeh, Violette, La Papote, Kob, Carnets d'images, Ori, Batilou, Mistinguett, E, Angélique, Mamysoren, Eloclemence, Melting Pot, Sophie Rififi, Anne, Laure, Escapade en Tunisie, Galinette, Anne Laure T, Sinuaisons, The Mouse, Skipi, Laurent Nicolas, Justine, Isaquarel, Nora, La Fille de l'Air, Marmotte, Djoul, Fanfan Raccoon, Jean Wilmotte, Coco, Petite Marie, François le Niçois, David et Mélanie, Agrippine, Alexinparis, Annick, Cocosophie, Renepaulhenry, Pat Québec, Cathy, Caprices de filles, Maïder, Gilsoub, La Messine, Olivier, Lo, Shandara.

FR // [Novembre] Mon blog en une photo

Vacationing in Hollywood, FL rather than Miami

It's much easier to casually say that I've spent my summer holidays in Miami rather than explain that I spent my vacation in Hollywood - no, not the one in California, the one in Broward county, FL - a suburb of Miami. 

Miami is a lot like Los Angeles in the way that it's an endless sprawling urban center and you go from town to town without even noticing it.

At first i was a bit sad to spend my vacations in the suburb of Miami, thinking that we would miss out on dining and nightclubbing. Little did I know, the heat took away my desire to eat something else than salad and between the jet-lag and a busy schedule we wen to bed at 10 PM every night.

Ten years ago when I was still a teenager, I was wide-eyed in South Beach with its eccentric crowd. As I remember it, it was less crowded and the Art Deco district was still undergoing restoration (some hotels were really creepy) and the chic Delano Hotel designed by Philip Stark had just opened.

This year I found South Beach much more tourity and the typical tourist has also changed. Goodbye students and middle class families, this time around we were surrounded by rather affluent foreign couples. Needless to say it was a completely different atmosphere.

I was shocked by the level of noise coming out of hotels and restaurants: a permanent sound clash! Not the relaxing vacations I was looking for!

Hollywood,Florida

This city that I had first considered as a second choice was in fact just the perfect place to vacation. During the winter French-Canadians flock to this city which becomes for a while a French speaking city (you can even buy the most popular daily newspaper). There was even a movie made about it in Quebec, called La Florida (1993).

You might not want to spend your holidays with snowbirds from Quebec but fortunately during the summer there are not many tourists in Hollywood.

The most crowded beach: Fort Lauderdale

To relax, nothing is better than a beautiful sandy beach with empty turquoise waters. Much better than vacationing in South of France where the beach is so crowded they might start piling people on top of each other.

Even though Hollywood is not renown for its nightlife like Miami, there are places to have a casual night out like the Boardwalk or Downtown where you'll find restaurants and bars. For serious shopping, it's better to drive to the Gulfstream or the Aventura Mall where you'll find every imaginable type of store. If you would rather avoid malls, Las Olas street in Fort Lauderdale is the best place.

Eating out in downtown Hollywood

Unless you are a golfing fan, if you are renting an apartment or a room you should not venture too far off from Ocean Drive on the peninsula between the Ocean and the Canal. If you are staying on mainland you'll find yourself so far from the beach that you'll have to drive to it. Even during the hot summer months, parking is rare and expensive. Plus, it's nice to return quickly home when a thunderstorm is peering over the horizon.

As you can probably get from this post is that Southern Florida is not a destination for backpackers. Unless you are an hitchhiker,it's best to rent a car as public transportation is downright chaotic. Some places we thought out expressly for pedestrians like the boardwalk but for europeans: don't forget everything is farther than you think and you cannot walk everywhere.

Hollywood from the canal

In your car you'll discover the great paradox of Southern Florida: it's impossible to get anywhere without a car and once you get there you'll find nowhere to park (at least for free)!

Holidays in Florida Should You Be Travelling to Florida in August? Vacationing in Hollywood rather than Miami Find my Florida pictures on Flickr

FR: Vacances à Hollywood plutôt qu’à Miami

Parisian tourism

I have not written as much as I would have liked on this blog but at least, I had a good reason. A girlfriend from Montreal with whom I attended Concordia’s journalism school came to visit me in Paris.

At Victor Hugo's

I had the firm intention of updating my blog but sharing a pot of tea well past midnight and all of the sightseeing we have done together have hampered my will to write.

I was very happy to see my friend as we have a lot in common, we majored in the same thing and both received a religious education. I guess what keeps things interesting is that we have not studied the same religion and while she’s an Anglophone, I am a francophone. 

A stroll at Carnavalet museum

I guess we get along well because of this great mix that allows us to have deep conversations. So relaxing to have a Canadian-style political conversation rather than a French-style sparring match!

While I’ll spare you our satisfaction with Stephen Harper’ foreign policy or our lack of affection for the baby boomers, but I’ll share with you our Parisian peregrinations.

My friend was travelling with a small budget and since she now lives in London and has travelled extensively through Europe, we have made some drastic choices. From the get go we have eliminated the gigantic Louvre which is impossible to visit in one day and Versailles which is crowded, expensive and an hour away from Paris.

My girlfriend is fascinated by the French revolution so we headed to the Carnavalet museum, which focuses on the history of Paris. Some rooms are exclusively dedicated to the 1789 revolution a time-period that remains blurry for me.

I love this free museum with its knick-knacks from every era spanning from the Gauls to the 20th century.

We visited the house of Victor Hugo located on the posh Place des Vosges which is also a free museum. The Parisian writer lived in this apartment a few years before being exiled in Belgium. Neither the furniture nor the disposition of the apartment are original to the time he lived in this apartment. However, the furniture was recovered from the various homes Hugo lived in thereafter.

If you happen to have time to devote to this museum by all means rent the 5 Euros audio-guide that you will find at the entrance. You will learn everything that you ever wanted to know about Victor Hugo.

After a busy Saturday, we sat for a meal at Chez Justine on Oberkampf Street. The daily special was rather tempting but we ended up with much more fat than meat on our plate. Fortunately, the wonderful deserts saved the day and we had a great waitress.

Not to end a wonderful day early, we visited two local bars that do not charge cover to listen to some live music. We danced one hell of a twist at the Miz Miz before going to bed. 

Sunday began on the steps of the Opera Garnier for a guided walk in English with Discover Paris.

I enjoyed the tour but have mixed feelings about the concept. The tour is advertised as free but once it has started we learn that Discover Walks collects 5€50 for each person attending the tour and meanwhile the guide works without any kind of social security. As the tour comes to an end, the guide suggests a contribution of roughly 15€.

Personally, I would have rather like to know in advance the price for the walk while still having the discretion to leave a tip if I genuinely appreciated the guide (which I did). Plus, I would think that it’s fairer to the guide to know in advance if she’s going to earn any money during her walk.

With that being said, we still enjoyed our visit because we were a small group of five people. Meaning it was easier to follow the group but also to hear the explanations. The person who guided us through the monument on the right bank of Paris was very interesting and even taught me some new things about my adopted city.

To end a tiring day, we took a ride on the Seine on the super–kitschy boat “Vedettes du Pont Neuf”. I enjoyed seeing Paris from the river but don’t take this tour for the comments I could not understand them, in French or in English.  This particular company has been using interns as guides for years, which makes the quality uneven. Needless to say, I did not bother to leave a tip.

After a few days in good company, it is strange that English no longer resonates between my walls. I’m just hoping I’ll have time to visit my girlfriend in London before her work-holiday visa is over.

FR; Tourisme Parisien