Returning to the Italian roots

No time to rest, the day after my arrival, I was already leaving for Italy to see my family.

It was great seeing everyone once again and doing the usual things (cycling in the city, going to buy bread, going to the beach...).

The best day I spent there was when I went to Venice. It's been a long time that I was complaining not to know exactly how Venice is, as everytime I went there I was only following friends or members of my family. This time, I had decided to go by myself and walk across the city to discover it. I never expected to see what I saw...

I woke up early in the morning (around 7am) and looked outside the window. The previous day there was a storm but that morning the sky was shiny and clear. I got dressed, prepared sandwiches for lunch and left to the ferry not far from home. During the hour spent on the boat, I read, took pictures, looked at the landscape recognizing some places where I'd been, sunbathed and smelled the perfume of the salty see. Just that moment was already a sign that the day was about to be very nice.

Arrived in Venice, I decided not to take the usual tour (the touristic one going from Piazza San Marco toward the Rialto) and went on the right behind the Ponte dei Sospiri. Taking that way led me to discover the "real" Venice, the one I had never seen, the one that we only see in movies.

I walked along the houses, got surprised when I saw a grocery shop (the first one I saw in Venice... I've always asked myself where people buy food), smiled when I saw clothes drying on a rope stretched from one window to another and went to places tourists don't know. I felt I was the only one to know what was Venice.

I took a hundred picture of all kinds: houses, rivers, gardens, squares, buildings, bridges, gondolas, people... I laughed when I saw a bar named "Karibu" which remind me of Finland and slowed down in front of the various shops. I decided to start a collection of masks and bought 3 of them. I also bought earrings for my mum which costed me an arm and a leg.

When I came back to the quay where the ferry was about to leave, I was exhausted, had sore feet and was thirsty. I spent a lot to get a bottle of water as I didn't have anything to drink the whole day (one thing is true, Venice is damn expensive!).
I arrived home satisfied and with a lot to tell and to show to my grandma.

The rest of the time spent in Italy, I went to see my family and went to the beach (I even got sunburned).

This past month was really a great holiday time!

You'll be in my heart

I can't believe 6 months have already past. My life here was just extraordinary and I don't want to leave.

I've said goodbye to almost everyone and now I'm trying to finish to pack. I'll never get in the plane with such heavy and big luggages! I've brought everything I really needed and left the rest to Marie.

Saying goodbye to her was really hard. I've been living with her and I did so many things with her that just imagining not seeing her every morning is awkward. I used to talk to her about everything, go out with her for a smoke even if I don't smoke, call her in the morning when I knew she was in her room awake just because I was too lazy to get up and say hi in person... I'll miss all these little things...

Finaly Célie and I left. Arriving in Baggot Street, my hand luggage, which was uncredibly heavy, broke! We just left since 2 minutes and I had already a problem!!! Célie and I decided to take a cab to the airport but getting closer to it, we got stuck in the traffic jam. We were really short in time and we started praying not to miss the plane.

Fortunately we arrived and the next problem to solve was the luggages to check in. I don't know how I did. I transferred stuff from one bag to the other until it got a bit lighter... that meant that Célie and I had each 2 pullovers, 1 coat, 1 bag about to break and 1 broken, plus other stuff that was about to fall down every second. We were desperate!

We asked a couple to help us carrying our stuff until the plane but these stupid and selfish people refused because they were afraid we were carrying bombs or stuff like this. Do we look like terrorists?!!!! That really got on our nerves but fortunately another man saw our desperation and helped us.

We arrived in Beauvais airport and I was waiting for my luggages when I heard the speakers saying "For your security, we allow only one luggage per person". I looked at Célie and together we started laughing.

Célie's mother was waiting for us outside and we drove to Célie's home. Just the time to grab some clean clothes and we were on the road to Paris.

Here finishes the story of my Irish adventure. I've made a lot of new and very good friends (among my best friends!), visited a wonderful country and learned so much on all levels. I'll never forget this amazing and great experience and I'm decided to go there again. Ireland is my best adventure so far!

Visiting the city... one last time

14.08.07
After two days spend writing my report for the school, Célie and I went to visit Dublin Zoo. We were disappointed. The entry was quite expensive and the zoo wasn't that exceptional.

We went for a coffee with a friend (potential boyfriend for me ;-) ) and in the evening we joined Alex and Ramona for the final diner together. It was nice, though a bit weird. Saying goodbye wasn't easy...

15.08.07
Last visit of the city (St Patrick's Cathedral and Christchurch) with Célie, my (still) potential boyfriend and a friend of my cousin's girlfriend (are you still following?).

The evening was a nice memory as well: Japanese restaurant with Célie and Marie (my last evening with her) and one last drink at the Capitol Bar where Richie joined us!!

End of the Finish adventure

Time to leave Finland and Aurélia.

6.30 am?: Getting up
Here we are, packing the last things before leaving. Nothing's left behind, we can go and say goodbye to Rauma, and Aurélia's appartment (she already left as she had to catch a plane for France in the morning)

7.15 am: HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO??????
The bus left just in front of us leaving us and our luggages at the bus station without any other solution to go to the airport. Célie and I started worrying. This bus was our unique chance to be on time to catch the coach that would have lead us to the airport from Tempere. We started thinking of the possibilities left:
- taking the next bus would have left us in Tempere without any transport to go to the airport... except the taxi
- grabbing a taxi from Rauma to Tempere: we asked, it would have cost 200€ (1,50€ per km!!!)
- doing hitch-hiking until Tempere

We voted for the last solution and tried stopping cars on the streets. The problem was that people didn't go that far and we didn't want to stop in the middle of nowhere risking not to find any cars afterwards... So we tried until the next bus to Tempere arrived and we cought it. In Tempere we decided to take a taxi. That was another 30€ but at least we were at the airport and ready to check in. The funny thing is that we were the first to get into the plane and that we got the place next to the windows! Amazing, when you think how the day started!

15 pm: Arrival in Dublin
Even though the wheather isn't great as in Finland, it's so good to be home!!!

Turku Express

Last but one day before going back to Dublin.

This morning we had decided to take our time and to stay in bed. After a while, we stood up quietly and got ready. We had planed to have a good and big lunch with pasta as we had only eaten bred and cheese all the previous days. We also had planed to go to Turku in the afternoon and to visit the city.

Around 3 pm, we still hadn't eaten and the girl of the tourism office told us the next bus was leaving in 20 min. We looked at each other with Célie and understood our thoughts: we had to run back home, prepare our stuff and run again to the bus station... that meant also giving up our big lunch.

Though a bit disappointed not to have pasta, we went home and got ready in less time then expected. On the way to the bus station, we were already tired and, joking, we suggested to do hitch-hiking. That was actually successful! A car stopped and it took us some time to make the driver understand where we wanted to go ("Bus station... Das Bus... le bus... Bus...")

We had 5 min left before the bus' departure. The driver of the car understood we were in a hurry and really cooperated. He drove fast until the arrival point and we manage to catch the bus! That was our first hitch-hiking experience!!! And it was funny!

In Turku, we went to see a nice church that had a river flowing just aside. On both sides of the river was a kind of park where people lay down and rested. Instead of getting in the church and visit, we decided to rest as well a bit and we ended up sleeping in the grass!
After a 20 minutes nap, we sang (as usual!), visited a bit the city center and went back to our meeting point where Aurélia was supposed to join us. In effect, we had planed to go to Naantali, the Finish Saint-Tropez, where sunsets are well-known for being among the most wonderful.

Aurélia arrived (1 hour late!!) and we got a bit lost in Naatali. But the show we attended was amazing! We went on the edge of a lake where ducks were bathing and took some great pictures!

We stopped for a beer to celebrate our trip and to thank our friend for welcoming us. But time was running and we still didn't had diner so we drove back to Turku and had a burger in the Finish Mac Donald's: Hesburger! Not bad.

"Les Island"

3rd day in Finland.

We decided with Célie to change landscape and to visit some islands that the tourism office described us.

First of all, there was a misunderstanding regarding the departure time. The first boat, that was marked as leaving around 10 am, was finally cancelled. It took us almost 30 minutes to understand that as noone was talking English or wanted to help us. Fortunately, we met a really nice Finish couple that translated for us.

So we had about two and a half hours to kill and since the weather was once more very hot and shiny, we decided to stay on Rauma's harbour, to visit the Lighthouse and just lay on the rocks under the sun.

These 2 hours were the most peaceful we spent in Finland. We listened to music, chatted, enjoyed, discovered wild life...

At the right time we went to buy our tickets for the tour. This was the program:
- 1st island (unpronounceable name so I re baptised it Couscoustajine... quite close to the real name): 5 hours on it. Historical island, bonkers, military canteen...
- 2nd island (can't remember the name): one and a half hour on it. The lighthouse.

When we left the harbour, we were really excited because the trip really changed the landscape around us: sea, boats, fresh air. Just great!
As soon as we arrived on the island, we kind of changed face. We soon discovered that there was not much to see. Bonkers, bonkers, abandoned places and... bonkers. 5 hours HERE!!! We occupied our time on the swing, having an ice cream in the military canteen, going to a viewpoint on top of a tower and... chatting... again!

We were really happy to see the boat coming back to lead us to the 2nd island. We were like 2 adventurers rescued after 1 month in a tropical jungle without seeing anybody. So when the boat arrived, we didn't even let the people come down and jumped on the deck.

2nd island: worse then the first one!! It was 3 stones in the sea and a lighthouse on the middle of it. And that was basically all!!!! And THERE we had to stay one and a half hour!!!!!! The area of the place was around 600m². No kidding!

We tried to stay calm and went up the lighthouse. The view was really nice... but still to desert to be that exciting! I think we were really surptised when we discovered that the lighthouse was also a hotel!! Why do people spend 100€ (we asked for the price!) to spend one night in the middle of nowhere????

Coming back to the continent, we decided that the day was still nice even though a bit long.

In the evening we went to a restaurant to eat traditional food: reindeer. It was delicious and we ended up our day coming back, stomach full.

Helsinki, capital and city of our hearts

It took us only a couple of minutes to decide to cover the 254 km separating us from Helsinki yesterday evening.

Leaving early in the morning (around 5am), it took us 4 hours, 32,10€ each and a looooooooot of patience to arrive. Fortunately, we left taking with us our cameras, the guidebook and our good temper that help us bear the trip. We sang all the way long and I'm sure that the other passengers didn't realised they would need some patience too to bear the trip with us!

Arrived in Helsinki, we stop at the terrace of a bar to have breakfast and started to visit the city. The weather was once more unbelievable shiny and we spent a great day walking along the lake, taking pics with flowers, and discovering the harbour and it's cute market place.

The most impressive thing that engraved our memories is evidently the wonderful cathedral right in the centre of the city and not far from the harbour. So white and so sober that it looked like it was shining over the whole city.

Coming back from Helsinki, travelling the 254 km in the other way and so, getting bored another 4 hours, we joined Aurélia and her friends at the terrace of a café for a drink. But apparently no one realised that it was evening and that the mosquitoes were already out to bite some fresh French flesh. Therefore we didn't stay long.

Memorable day... for various reasons! ;-)

Rauma, peaceful city

This morning, Célie and I took our time. Aurélia and her housemate already left for work so we were only the two of us ready for our Finish adventure.

After having shopped a bit for breakfast and dinner, we left to visit this cosy city. We went to the tourism office and asked for information and activities to do, visited the city centre walking (Célie bought sunglasses! :) ) and enjoyed a huge pizza at the terrace of a restaurant. And then it was already the end of the afternoon!

We spent a nice and quiet day in the sun and for a first approach, it was really good.

In the evening we had an aperitif with Barbara, Aurélia's housemate, and went to see the most wonderful sunset ever at the little beach beside home.

From Dublin to Rauma

4:00: Time to wake up
Finishing the luggages, preparing the sandwiches for the trip and leaving.

5:45: Waiting for the Air Coach
Célie and I are in the streets, really awake, singing out loud "Regarde! Le jour se lèèèèèveeeee!!!!!", having big laughs and impatient to be in the plane to Finland. The weather is so smooth and even though it's raining a bit (which make Célie very happy because she can use her "Kaputze") I'm only wearing a jacket.

7:45: The plane takes off

13:00: Arrival in Tempere!!!!
"Look Célie the little plane over there! That's our private jet! ;-)"
And then, looking at the airport: "OH-MY-GOD!!! Where are we??? Is this little shack the airport???.... Ok keep the faith, it's a Ryanair flight, therefore it's normal that we arrive in some lost places...". Well, we hope!...

Afternoon: Visiting Tempere
Visit of a nice church and then chatting at the terrace of a café having a great ice cream. The weather is unbelievable! 24°C!!!! We're out in the sun, in our little tops and T-shirts enjoying life and holidays!!

18:00: Arrival in Rauma
Very different from what we expected with Célie. At this time of the day, everything id closed. The historical city centre is made of little cabins of wood... and basically, Aurélia explains us that's it's the only attraction of the city... Ok, I admit it, Célie and I were a bit worried at that precise moment: "What are we gonna do here for 5 days???"

22:00: Sunset
We went to the creek just down home to see the magnificent sunset over the lake (already the 2nd one we saw today!) and, after having taken 1000 pictures, came back because of the mosquitoes!!!

Last day at Siemens

Here we are, my last day at Siemens. I can't believe I already spent 6 months in that company.

I had to clean up everything, organize the last files and say goodbye to everyone... and obviously it took me longer than expected!

After the working day, we all left (Célie and Alex comprised) to Kobra and then to D Two to get our last team drinks.

I makes me quite sad and nostalgic to realise it's already the end. After all, I would have been glad to stay a couple of months longer. I was really appreciating my life style here...

I really want to thank you all for your friendliness and your help. I'll always remember you.

A piece of Picardie in Dublin County

A long and excited trip for Célie who came to visit me. She just arrived home when I suggested to join Marie and her friends in Café en Seine. Célie, full of energy and happiness, accepted and it was the beginning of a long evening! (As always with Marie! ;-) )

Around 3am we came back home and went to bed. I had to be ready for my last day at Siemens... and Célie's Birthday!

N.I. - Day 4: From the cliffs toward home

Last day of our wonderful trip in Northern Ireland. Today the weather was not that great but one day out of four, we couldn't really complain.

We drove along the Donegal coast. It was like being at the end of the world: the coast, the sea, and the sky. Just great.

The closer we arrived to the cliffs, the more scary it was. The road was quite small and it went up and down, right and left, each time without seeing where it ended up... After all these emotions we discovered the marvellous landscape of Slieve League. They're the highest cliffs in Europe: almost 600m! Quite impressive!

We walked on the One Man's Path (or so we thought) which is a very small path up on the cliffs and enjoyed the view over the Atlantic ocean on one side and over Donegal County on the other.

Then it was already time to go back to Dublin... :(
On our way, we went to Sligo and saw the Benbulbin, a huge mountain that's often compared to a table with "folded" sides. It's 80km long and quite massive in the landscape.

We finally arrived at the airport parking place and had to say goodbye to our great car...

I first want to thank Michi for his company, friendship and kindness during the trip and for having been such a good driver!! I couldn't do best! ;-)

And remember, whenever you want, I'm ready to do this all over again with you! I had a great time!!!!

N.I. - Day 3: Emotions and adventure

Third day with my wonderful driver, adventurer and friend. The sun was still shining even though the wind was stronger.

We woke up in front of the magnificent view, had a great breakfast and packed all our stuff in the car. We walked to the cliffs in order to see Giant's Causeway, one of the most wonderful and amazing places. We decided to take the walk up the cliffs first and to come back to Giant's Causeway and the viewpoint afterwards. The walk was really worth it. We saw some other more sheeps, took another fifty pictures...each! and then walked down to see the amazing job Nature did. The columns, made by the sudden cooling of a lava flow sixty millions years ago, were something unbelievable. They were all in the shape of perfects hexagons and the highest of them was 12m high!!! If this would have been only for a couple of rocks, I'd just find it funny but what really made it impressive and unbelievable was that this phenomenon was reproduced to a whole rocky zone! People walked on these rocks using them as stairs as these were so amazingly positioned.

Our guide says this have a legendary explanation: a powerful giant would have built this path to reach his fiancée on an island... Isn't it romantic?

Anyway, after this curiosity of nature, we went back West to Carrikarade rope bridge. This is a regional attraction. A rope bridge is built between the coast and an island closeby. It's about 25m high and really impressive once you're on it. On the island, nothing to see but the sensations you get on the bridge are worth the ride!

Last visit of the day: Dunluce castle. This previous fortress of 1584 had a wonderful location and should have been a great place to leave!

Finally, we left the coast to drive completely East toward Donegal city where Michi and I decided to go to see the highest cliffs of Europe.

...To be continued!

N.I. - Day 2: Belfast and the route to beauty

First thing when waking up: watching the sky to see what the weather was like. Once again, we were lucky: sun was shining bright!

We went to the centre of Belfast to visit and we had a big surprise: all the monuments we wanted to see (basically all the famous ones) were under renovation and therefore closed! We decided to walk to the centre and to have a look around. It was quite scary because the city was desert: no soul on the streets, the weather was turning bad and it started to rain... it seems we were in some kind of western movie...

We decided to come back to the city hall to grab a black taxi to do the historical visit and that was a great idea! The driver brought us the see the murals, the wall of peace, the Protestant part and the Christian one... and explained us all the details of the drama. The hardest thing was to understand what he was saying as the Belfast accent is particularly strong! It was really interesting though!

We left Belfast to go more North towards Giant's Causeway. We drove all along the coast, discovering landscapes one more beautiful than the other. We stopped several times to enjoy the view and the weather. Unfortunately, time was running fast and we had to find a B&B before the night so we decided to stop next to Bushmills and to stay in a B&B where a friend of Michi's housemate stayed. The location was simply incredible: on one side we had a view on the hills and the cows and on the other we could see the coast and the cliffs. Like a dream...

We had a salad in a restaurant closeby and enjoyed the sunset at the B&B's terrasse.
That was a quiet and dreamlike day. :)

N.I. - Day 1: Norther Ireland, we're coming!

After having talked about it for quite a while, Michi and I finally decided to go to visit Northern Ireland. Ramona promised us it was the nicest part of Ireland and it was really worth it. She was right. I took 2 days off to accomplish this trip and on Saturday morning, Michi and I went to the airport parking place to take the car we rented: a Ford Fiesta with only 200km on the counter. Direction Belfast!

On the way we visited Newry, a charming little town just after the border. We stopped for a coffee and a walk, then we went along the coastal road and discovered a lot of wonderful viewpoints. The weather was unbelievable. Even though it had rained the past days, on these 4 days trip, the sun was shining and the temperature very high, which allowed us to enjoy every single moment. We were really lucky on that point and we would never had expected such a nice weather!

Anyway, we finally arrived in Belfast and had to find for a guest house to spend the night. First problem: everything was full! All the youth hostel, the guest houses, the hotels... nothing was free for one night.... but we got lucky! On our way to a guest house marked in Michi's guide, we noticed a guest house and decided to try. Luckily, they had one room left and we established there for the night. The room was lovely and after a nice shower, we walked to the city center to have dinner in a restaurant with a funny concept: people, when they come in, are given a bipper. They go to the bar for some drinks while they wait for their table and choose the menu. Once they get one, they're bipped and can order.
Michi and I had a great time and good laughs at that restaurant!

After the restaurant, we went for a drink in a pub and the bad part started when we came back: I've never seen so many people drunk in the streets and so many policemen! We were really scared that something happens to us! After this episode, we really deserved some rest!

Will you mary me?

19th July 2007: Back to Paris to celebrate my friend's wedding. I just had time to arrive on that Thursday, I already got to pack to go to Saint Aignan where the wedding was supposed to take place. The next morning, after 2 hours train, I was picked up at th station by the bride, Aurore, and her other 2 bridesmaid, Pascale and Adeline. We spent the whole day decorating the room where we'd celebrate: blowing balloons to hang everywhere, preparing the entertainments, etc...
It was long and tiring and Pascale and I agreed that for our marriage, we'd rather hire a wedding planner!

21st July 2007: Here we go! D-Day for Aurore, Raphaël and all the people who helped to the preparation. Early waking up, making up, getting dressed... it was a real marathon! But it was worth it! First "I do" at the City Hall and then at the church. The wedding was simply great and the party very funny! We first had the cocktail in the "African plane". In effect, the party was taking place in a zoo which was quite original. My first impression when I knew it was "You're getting married in a zoo!!!???". But then, when I saw the place, I knew it would be the best idea ever! The landscape was fantastic! So we had the cocktail over there and enjoyed the late afternoon sun. Then we moved toward the room to have dinner and to celebrate. At that precise moment, it started raining! We were really lucky!
The party started and with it all the games and speeches. Everyone liked mine which, I must say, really comfort me as I was really stressed before doing it!

22nd July 2007: Cleaning the room, saying goodbye to the remaining people and enjoying the last moments with the newly weds.

Aurore is the first friend I marry and it made me quite an impression.
I wish her and Raphaël to be happy ever after.

Golf makes life easier

Today wasn't a common Friday. Although I still had to go to work, I went working in a totally different environment. After 2 weeks spent on the organization of that event, I had the opportunity to take part to the Siemens golf outing at Powerscourt.

Ramona, Michi and I took the taxi from the office to the golf court and started to prepare everything: welcome desk, display stand, bags for the golfers...
When everyone arrived, we dispatched them in their team and as soon as they left to play, we were free.
Unfortunately for the golfers, the weather was awful: rain and clouds. But for us, it wasn't that bad since we were supposed to stay inside enjoying our free time. Michi had to take some pictures so, since it was raining, we decided to take a buggy and to drive around the court to take some pics. Michi was the only one supposed to drive as Ramona didn't wanted to and I wasn't feeling confident enough to do it. But then, by joking, I got a buggy as well and I had to drive. I was afraid of doing something foolish and of destroying the car. But after a few seconds getting used to the levers, I was driving perfectly! :) The first time I drive for real after I got my driving license!!! :D

Finally we had to distribute drinks to the golfers so Ramona took her own buggy and we started racing on the court. It was so funny!!! Having fun, taking pictures, golfing (one guy of the company offered Ramona to do her first swing!).

Around 5 pm, we came back to the golf club and prepared the evening: disposition of the tables for dinner, prizes, ... The golfers showered, sat at the tables and the dinner started. It was really good, we had red and white wine and the people at our table were particularly friendly. I exceeded my apprehension and chatted with my neighbor as Ramona wanted me to do. ;-)

Finally, everyone left and we remaied Ramona, Michi, Michael, Sarah and me for a final glass of wine. We were all drunk and Michael took a taxi home... but not us! The taxi brought us to Alex' party and from there we ended at the Howl At The Moon (a bar close to my place and very nice) for a last beer.

The day was really funny and I have great memories! Thanks floks for your company today!

My 22nd birthday

"A bet is a bet!" All the girls from the office were off on that day thanks to Ramona's perfect forecast at the dogs race.

For that occasion, I went to Ranelagh with Marie and we got a coffee in a very cute Italian restaurant. Then we ordered a cake and finaly we didn't resist to the temptation of buying a panino ciabatta which was simply delicious! After that we came home and later in the evening I met Ramona, Alex, Michi, Sheila, Erika and Douggie (Erika's boyfriend) at the Quays pub. When I arrive, a cake was on the table and a beer was waiting for me! They lightened the candles and I blew them before the fire alarm rang! :)

They offered me all my drinks and we spent a really nice evening all together. Then I went home with Michi and we had a great long conversation together. I really felt I had a good friend.

The evening was just great and broadly speaking the whole day was nice! I will remember my 22nd birthday for a long time, as it was exceptional... exactly how I wanted it to be! ;)

Justin Timberlake's concert

I still can't believe I went there.

Everything started when Michi and Sheila told me they were going to buy tickets for Justin's concert in Dublin on the 1st July. They asked me if I wanted to buy one as well but as I am not a big fan of Justin and I don't really know his songs, I thought it was useless going.

Then I came home and I saw Sheila saying on MSN "Concert of Justin Timberlake the 1st of July". I realized then it was the day before my birthday! The next morning I woke up with the willing to go, thinking this could be a nice present I could do to myself. So just after work I went to buy a ticket.

Michi gave me Justin's last album so that I could familiarize with the songs and the artist and I actually started to really like his music!

The concert was planned to take place in an open space and the whole week before it rained so I was starting to think the guy that organised the concert was 1. not an Irish and 2. very stupid for not thinking it might rain!!!

So on the day we went to the concert's place and discovered. It was a huge field with a stage in the middle and big TV screens on 2 sides to admire Justin face from closer. We were really licky because even though it rained a bit before the concert, during the show the sky was pretty clear and it wasn't cold at all. Justin even thanked the person who prayed for us not to have rain on that day (that means me!!!!).

Anyway, the show was simply GREAT! We got 50 Cent as a first part and then Timbaland came to sing with Justin. Justin was great: a wonderful singer, great dancer and very sexy as well. I wasn't prepared at all to see such a good concert!

Square's party

Never stop when you're on your way.

After the dogs race, going to bed at 5 am drunk, I had to wake up at 8 to go to the office. At the race, Michael accepted that we come in the office at 11am but one of us had to be there at 9 in case someone from another division comes. I volunteer but I think I didn't really realize by then how hard it would be to wake up after 3 hours of sleep...

When the others came in, we aggreed on the fact that we all had a hangover and when lunch time arrived, we postponed it because we where feeling too ill to eat anything.

The worst thing is that we had another "office" party that night. The design company we work with (Square) was celebrating their new offices, so after work I had to go back home to take a shower and join the other members of my team at Square. I arrived 1h after the others and by the time I joined them there, Ramona was already pissed. It was so funny.

The evening was nice and we drunk so much that we (meaning Ramona and me) turned the party into a salsa dancefloor. We put the music on and started dancing salsa with who wanted. Ramona started with Paul (our favorite employee at Square... a good friend now) and I tought Michi the basic steps of salsa. Then I "danced" with Paul that obviously didn't notice he was just making me run to follow him. He was dancing a kind of rock on the salsa music and was carying me as if we were dancing acrobatic rock.

The best part of the evening was Michael. He was completely drun, put his arms on Ramona's and my shoulder and starting saying how great it was to work with us, that he was going to miss us and that we were more then welcome to come by again.

Then, at the end of the party (it should have been already 1 o'clock) he said: "Shall we go for a pizza?" We all looked at him thinking "he's crazy!" but he insisted: "Do you have a credit card? I'll sign everything! You know if I put that on personal expenses, Werner (ndlr: the CEO) has to sign it, but if you have a credit card I'll sign EVERYTHING! Do you have a credit card? Do you? I'll sign!!!" It was so funny!

Ramona wanted to bring us to the farewell party of a common friend so we put Michael in a taxi by telling him his son was home waiting for him and finally he left.

Ramona, Erika, Paul and me left for Nicolas' farewell party. We arrived there very late and it was already the end. But we really enjoyed our time there... especially me since I talked with Nicolas' friend that kept on making blunders. It was so funny!

Once more, great evening! ;)

Dogs race

Team building evening... well, kind of...

We went Michael, Sarah (our event help), Michi, Erika, Ramona and me to a dogs race. Apparently, it's a very popular activity for Irish persons. So here we go: one drink and a small book with all the information regarding the dogs.

We had dinner and fun all together, talking about everything and drinking and after a while it was time to bet. first 1€. Fear of losing and discovery made me not take risks but little by little I became more and more "expert" and even if I always bet only 1 or 2€ I won some money on some races.

At about the 5th or the 6th race we decided to make a pool. We put 1€ each and bet on one dog so the reward would be better. One of us had to choose the dog for each race and the price in case the dog wins was having next Monday off. Ramona bet and lost. I bet and lost. Michi bet and lost. Erika bet and lost. Pissed off of not winning anything and convinced it wouldn't be better later on, Ramona jocked and suggested that all the girls of the division would have off on Moday (that basicaly means only Michi would have to work on that day). She bet and SHE WON!!!! We thought Michael will never give to (quite) all of us the same day off but he answered "a bet is a bet" so on Monday, day of my birthday, I could stay home.


Unfortunately, contrarily to Luca, my cousin, who finished positive at the end of a poker evening, I lost some money when I made the balance. But the whole evening was great and really worth it. I mean, where else than in Ireland could you have a day off by betting on a dog with your boss??? And where else than in Ireland would you see your boss completely pissed???

That was GREAT FUN!!

Gudrun and Jesper's farewell party

I can't believe it's already time to say bye to these two. Time went so fast... and they're already leaving for Australia!

To celebrate we went for diner at the Quays restaurant. It was really great. Everybody was there... at least the most important: Ramona, Alex, Michi, Sheila, Kasper, Gina, Jesper's brother and of course Gudrun and Jesper. We had a lot of fun listening to the live music.

Gudrun really liked the album we gave her as a goodbye present. She was wiping tears from her eyes and that made me sad. I really realised at that moment that she was leaving for quite a long time. No more Icelandic stories, no more dances, no more "moi toi" instead of "me too"... I'm really gonna miss her...

After the restaurant we went to the City Bar and had fun dancing first sitting and then on the dancefloor. It was definitely a great evening!!!

Dear Gudrun,
It was a real pleasure getting to know you and spending so much time with you. I'm gonna miss you so much!!

I wish you and Jesper all the best and a lot of fun in Australia.
I hope I can come to visit you there... Anyway, we keep in touch!

Après le mémoire, les mémoires...

Finaly it's over. D-Day, as my Irish housemate Richard was calling it, is over and my thesis is done. Yesterday the 15th of June 2007 was the last day to give back my work and after a lot of sleepless nights and stess, I really deserve some free and quiet time.

But before enjoying my time going shopping, drinking and having fun, I would like to thank Ramona and Michi for their help on D-Day. Without them I would never have manage. So guys, I want to tell you how grateful I am and I hope I can do the same for you if one day you need it.
You're great!!!!

And now, let's have fun!!!!

A little bit of culture

As we have a lot of advantages in this marketing department (just to remind you, I work for Siemens), we got entrances to go to the annual opening of an art exhibition. Well, actually, Michael, my manager, got them but as he didn't want to go, he gave us the tickets.

Therefore we went there Erika, Michael (the junior one, we have two Michael in the office: my manager that we now call Michael Senior, and the intern one. He is from Switzerland and we call him Michi, Micha or Michael jr) and me. I always have special relations with art exhibitions as apparently, my vision of art is not the same as the one of artists. Anyway, we went there and looked at the pictures, paintings and sculptures. .....interesting.....

Some paintings/pictures were nice. Some portraits (not the best ones unfortunately) were made in Paris and there was also paintings representing Paris streets... But these weren't really nice. And after a while, talking to myself, trying to explain myself what this or that was representing, imagining the most funny stories ever (one of the painting made me think of the Council Chambre in Star Wars!!), we started getting bored.

We were wondering what the "rot dots" (as Erika said instead of "red dots"... German culture) on the title of some paintings were and Erika explained that they were there to tell that the painting has been sold.
Just after her explaination, we stopped in front of 2 paintings: one was sold, the other was representing a street with a traffic light. The light was red. And Michi, with his legendary humour and calm, said showing the sold painting first and then the other one: "So this one is sold....... and this one also!". I laughed for 10 minutes!!!

Finaly we arrived at the end of the exhibition and saw the last "pieces of art": the sculpture of a Happy Meal (I'm not kidding!), two models of houses (we had fun with Michi by trying to imagine which one was ours and how we would arrange the rooms) and a dress made of iron.

The exhibition wasn't THAT good but at least it changed from the usual evenings in front of the computer.

One more thing to conclude with that event: there was a weird painting but that was telling something really relevant for me. In the painting was a bubble (like in comic books) saying (in spanish...what a wonderful thing being able to talk a lot of languages!): "This is art! But not the one we know !"

Day 4: Time to say goodbye

Already the end. I had to go to work and to come back straight away to say bye to my mum and my sweet little brother.
Just the time to go with the big luggage to the bus station and they were gone.

Both of them really enjoyed their time here and it was really nice going on holiday with the whole family. We decided to do that again and we have been thinking of some destinations. I suggested to go to Greece or to Croatia but my brother had already big projects in his little mind: he suggested to fly to New York!!! :D

Funny thing: my mum was a bit disappointed not to see sheeps here.
"Yes mum, sheeps in Dublin centre... SURE!!!!" ;)

Day 3: Feel the wind and enjoy the view

Finaly I did it. After months saying "I wanna go to Howth to visit", I finaly made it. Howth is a small peninsula on the East of Dublin that is really nice for long walks. In my tourist guide there was a hiking way adviced and we decided to follow it.

We left aroud 11am Mum, Greg, Marie (my housemate) and me and took the DART (the regional train). It was nice going a bit out of Dublin and seeing other landscapes than buildings and cars. Arrived there, we began our walk but after a few minutes we were already lost! We didn't really know which way to go as in Ireland, streets are not always named. So we "visited" the port and then began our walk in the right direction.

The guide said that we had to go up on the hill to enjoy the nice view over the bay. The funny thing is that the way was described so precisely that it was almost hard to really get it. For example, we were on the right street and in the guide was written "at the public phone turn right"... but who knows what happened to the public phone meanwhile?? Maybe they removed it! And that's actually what happened: we didn't find it! A man on the street told us it was "always up" (with the funny Irish accent) so we just walked up... untill we finally figured out we were too high! We were supposed to cross the golf course and it came out the course was below us! But at least, after having walked between the bushes and the wind during a while without even knowing if we were on the right way, we really enjoyed the view over both the Dublin Bay and the other side of the peninsula.

We decided to stop in a place were we were protected from the wind and had lunch: ham sandwiches with cocumbers and cheddar (Mum didn't pay attention when buying the cheese! But it wasn't bad at all :) ). And we finaly came back by the same side we came up. We stopped in a pub recommended by the guide and had a cofe and a piece of cake. It was soooooo good!!! Having a rest in a warm place with a warm cup of capuccino for me and a delicious piece of cake...

And just when we decided to go to take the DART to go back home it began to rain! We were so lucky! The weather forcast said it should have rained from time to time but actually the weather wasn't bad at all! (except for the wind but at least it gave my mum an overview of the typical Irish weather).

Greg was really cute and walked all the time without saying anything, just enjoying the nature. He played with Marie who really had a good feeling with him and my mum enjoyed seeing something else than the capital. What for me, I wanna go there again and try to find the right way this time!!! :D

Day 2: Prison Break!

The second day, we decided to go to Kilmainham Goal. On the way, we went through Merrion Square. My mum had seen some pictures of it and I thought it would have been nice for her to see it in real as it was on our way. We also stopped at Trinity College to have a look and to see the place where I took the funny pictures with Ablaye and Donovan.

Then, we took the Luas (name of the tram) and went directly to Kilmainham Goal. This prison is really famous for having "hosted" some of the most important characters in the history of Ireland. Therefore it was entertaining for my brother who saw his first real prison and for my mum and me for the cultural aspect. The tour was really interesting. We even could enter the cells!!

The nice thing for me was I saw the movie "Michael Collins" about the revolution of 1916 in Ireland about 2 months ago. So it was funny knowing the names of these guys who fought for the independence of their country and thinking they had been here and walked on the same floor I was walking!

We ended the afternoon by taking a rest in Phoenix Park that was nearby. The sun was shining from time to time and even if the air was fresh it was nice lying on the grass and having a rest.

In the evening we went to Porterhouse which is a chain of restaurant really nicely decorated and special. There we had a typical Irish diner: Irish Stew and ... (arf! I can't remember!) It was delicious!

I wanted my mum and my brother to listen to some typical Irish music before leaving so as we were close to the Gogarty's, I thought it was the best place to get a Guiness! Unfortunately, the pub is strictly over 21 and with my brother we couldn't get in.

So we went home and decided to go somewhere else for a Guiness the next day.
Greg fall asleep in two seconds and my mum and I went through ALL the pictures of my cousin's blog. Since Luca is in California, he's living a lot of nice adventures and it was nice following him through pics. It reminded my mum her trip to the USA! :)

We got a thought for you cuginetto!! ;)

Day 1: Balade et shopping

Un réveil matinal par mon frérot adoré qui comme a son habitude a fait la java dans la chambre dès 8h du matin. Puis préparation et départ pour Dublin 4 du coté des ambassades ou je savais que ma mère trouverait son bonheur dans l'une des sublissimes maison du quartier. Le coin lui a aussi tapé dans l'oeil et la balade était vraiment sympa. Début des potins, pause sur le terrain de rugby découvert avec Daffy, et de manière générale, bon temps et détente.

Puis nous avons pris le bus de Dublin 4 jusqu'au centre ville et a l'arrêt, je rencontre la femme du PDG de Siemens Irlande, qui est devenue une "amie" maintenant. "Die Welt ist klein" comme elle me l'a si bien dit. Le temps pour mon frère de manger un Happy Meal au McDo et on était repartis pour une aprèm shopping!

Résultat: un haut, une ceinture et un superbe manteau (mon coup de coeur!) de mi-saison. De son côté, ma mère aussi s'est fait plaisir avec un haut et un pantalon.

Au retour, nous étions tous ultra fatigués. Greg avait été super sage toute la journée, il n'a jamais râlé même pendant que nous faisions notre shopping! Un vrai petit ange! La soirée s'est bien vite terminée: repos forcé pour reprendre des forces. Demain, visite de la prison!

Retrouvailles familiales

Après une longue attente, voici la famille qui se réunit. C'était super. Ma mère et mon frère sont arrivés samedi soir et c'était un réel plaisir de revoir mon bout de chou et ma petite maman. La soirée n'a pas été bien longue: a peine rentrés, nous sommes directement partis nous coucher. Le voyage avait été long pour eux et la journée ménage tout aussi remplie pour moi!

Ce n'est qu'un au revoir....

Monday, already time to say goodbye... Daffy was leaving in the afternoon and I just had time to come back from work during my lunch break and to say bye...

Thanks a lot my lovely Daphné for your company and your help. Without you I think I would still be down in the dumps. You cheered me up and you helped me going through the hard times when my wisdom tooth was hurting like hell!

I hope you enjoyed your stay here in Dublin. You're always more than welcome! ;)

Typical evening

Ok, on request of my cousin who reads more easily English than French, I've decided to continue in English (it's gonna be harder but I'm sure I'll manage!)

The last day spent with Daffy was pretty lazy. We went to buy some food in the morning as there was nothing for breakfast and spent the day, doing little things.

The motivation came in the evening when I told Daphné she had to hear some Irish traditionnal music and taste the Guiness (who can come to Ireland and not taste it? NOONE!!). Therefore we went to Temple Bar, the best touristic area. After a tour where I made the guide telling the funny stories of the place, we stopped at the Gogarty's which is the most famous bar in Temple Bar, if not the most famous in Dublin. There, every night, a band plays live music and the athmosphere is really friendly and warm. We got a Guiness and good seats in front of the band and listen to this happy music.

Everything was going fine and we were really enjoying our time when two guys came over. They were from Austria and in a second, I found myself trying to speak German again. That was so hard!... I was mixing all the words, even if I could understand almost everything of what the guy was saying. Daffy, on her side, was doing her best to speak English to the other guy. She seamed to handle it very well.

Regarding the music and the tradition, Daffy wanted to keep a souvenir of her trip here so we decided to buy the CD of the band. We thought it would be a good way to remember the evening as well as Ireland!

Finaly, after two drinks, we decided to go home and the way back was as funny as the whole day! We were tired, we were a bit drunk, and all that lead us to big laughs and making the guard of the Parliament house take a picture of the two of us in front of the building.

I think we'll remember that evening! ;)

Dublin 4, quartier de mon coeur

Il fallait que je l'y emmène! Depuis que j'ai été dans ce quartier, j'en suis littéralement tombée amoureuse. Il n'y a pourtant là-bas, rien de typique, rien d'étonnant. Mais c'est de loin le meilleur endroit de Dublin pour moi.

Dublin 4 est le quartier le plus riche de Dublin. Et l'aire dans laquelle j'ai emmené Daphné est le quartier des ambassades. Jamais de ma vie je n'avais vu de pareilles maisons! Jamais de ma vie je n'en avais vues autant! Toutes plus belles les unes que les autres, toutes plus grandes que la précédente, toutes avec un jardin entretenu à merveille (les arbustes devant la porte en tire-bouchon, les tulipes parfaitement aménagées, l'herbe coupée à ras) et surtout, toutes avec LA voiture devant la porte... et attention!!! Pas la Clio! Là on tape dans le haut de gamme! Mercedes, Toyota, et j'en passe. Le genre d'endroit qui vous fait rêver et imaginer les plus beaux comptes de fées ("ah! si j'étais riche...!") et qui vous ramène en 1 seconde et demi à votre condition ("oui mais je dois encore trouver quoi faire de ma vie").

Après avoir admiré les plus belles ambassades (Belgique: wow!, Finlande: ravissante) et être passées devant le baraquement qui sert d'ambassade aux expatriés Français (je vous raconte pas la honte!), Daffy et moi avons trouvé un terrain de foot où nous reposer un peu. Cette pause nous a permis de faire une scéance photo dont je me souviendrais! Je crois n'avoir jamais eu autant et d'aussi belles photos de moi!!

Nous avons fini l'après-midi à Phoenix Park, le parc le plus grand d'Europe avec ses 700 hectares de jardins. Juste le temps pour nous de nous poser, de souffler un peu de notre grande balade et de rire et discuter encore un peu et nous étions de retour vers la maison.

Ce fut une excellente promenade!

Mon 1er visiteur!!!!!!

Toujours là, toujours prête, toujours enthousiaste! Ma petite Daffy a été la première de mes amis à mettre le pied sur la terre irlandaise.

Une arrivée un peu chaotique mais tout va bien, elle est là, en un seul morceau et vivante!! La fête peu commencer!!!

Le mercredi après-midi et le jeudi ont été consacrés aux études: Daphné le nez dans les poly et moi au travail.

Mais c'est le vendredi que tout a commencé: J'avais pris ma journée pour être plus disponible pour elle et nous en avons profité pour aller faire les magasins! (Deux filles à Dublin, fallait au moins ça!)
En même temps que nous passions d'un magasin à l'autre, nous avons visité les quelques superbes églises qui se trouvaient sur notre chemin (vous allez vous demander ce que j'ai avec les églises! :) ). Daphné a fait quelques folies mais moi je suis restée sage avec seulement un haut à 4€ en poche. Mais on s'est fait plaisir en essayant pas mal d'horreurs! Il faut dire que les goûts vestimentaires ici sont... particuliers!

Cette première journée à été particulièrement fatigante... mais le meilleur est à venir... ;)

My sweet whisky!!!

Sheila a reçu un invité pour le week-end, et elle m'a proposé de me joindre à eux pour différentes excursions et soirées qu'ils ont faites. C'est ainsi que nous avons fini à la Old Jameson Distillery que je n'avais encore jamais visité, malgré le nombre de fois où j'étais passé devant. Cette fois c'est parti, on va apprendre à faire du whisky!!

En attendant que le tour commence, Sheila et Martin (son ami) ont commencé au taquet avec un Irish whisky. Le moins qu'on puisse dire c'est qu'ils se sont mis dans le bain direct! Moi j'ai préféré être sage et me réserver pour la fin...

Le tour était très intéressant et instructif. J'ai pris pas mal de photos. A un moment, tout le monde avançait dans une salle et moi je suis restée prendre en photo les fameuses 3 cuves qui font du whisky Jameson un whisky d'une extrême qualité. J'étais sur le point de photographier la 3ème cuve (je sais elles se ressemblent toutes mais bon) quand je me retourne et je vois le guide qui attendait patiemment que je termine pour pouvoir fermer la porte de la salle dans laquelle tout le monde était entré. Je les ai rejoins en courant sans finalement prendre ma dernière photo (donc ne me demandez pas comment s'appelle la 3ème étape de la distillation!). J'était ultra gênée et Martin s'est bien moqué de moi!!!

Puis nous avons fini le tour par une dégustation de whisky que j'ai choisi de boire mélangé à du jus d'airelle. Délicieux!! Martin a joué aux hommes en le prenant "on the rocks" et Sheila a opté pour le "ginger ale": pas mauvais du tout!!

Puis d'un coup nos verres ont disparus et en sortant de la distillerie nous les avons retrouvés dans nos sacs... Mais? Comme c'est bizarre!! C'est fou ce que ça m'a rappelé l'Allemagne!!!

Time for visiting!

Aujourd'hui Sheila et moi avons décidé de faire nos touristes. Au programme: visite des églises les plus connues de la ville et des coins les plus touristiques que nous n'avions pas encore visité.

Arrivées devant St Patrick's Cathedral, petite scéance photo. Mais voilà, à peine sorti l'appareil, ma batterie décide de me lacher!! C'est bien ma veine! Il ne me restais plus qu'à compter sur l'appareil de Sheila et à espérer que ses photos soient bien. C'est là qu'elle m'annonce que la sienne ne durera pas longtemps non plus. Moi je me disais déjà qu'il me faudrait revenir juste pour les photos!

St Patrick's Catheral est une très belle cathédrale qui regorge de trésors. Elle est avant tout la cathédrale la plus longue d'Irlande et son haut clocher de 69m donne l'impression de toucher le ciel!

Puis nous sommes allées voir Christchurch Cathedral qui est une autre cathedrale connue de Dublin et qui, je dois l'admettre, est vraiment magnifique. Intime et touchante, elle est restée des deux ma préférée. Une chorale s'entrainait à chanter et la sonorité au sein du monument était vraiment prenante. C'est surement ça qui m'a touchée dans cette église. J'ai écouté la chorale, parfois en fermant les yeux, et je me suis laissée emportée par la beauté de la musique et de l'endroit. Je me suis promise d'y retourner!!!

La touche d'originalité de l'église est surement le chat et le rat momifiés qui trônent sur l'un des côtés de l'église. Ils ont été retrouvés dans l'un des tubes de l'orgue. Les deux animaux se poursuivaient jusqu'à ce qu'ils soient tout deux pris au piège... et finissent momifiés.

Nous avons fini notre journée de visite par la cour du château de Dublin dont seule une partie des murailles prouvent qu'il s'agit bien d'un château. L'entrée est vraiment cachée et le bâtiment a été entièrement reconstruit de manière moderne. Fort dommage, les murailles sont vraiment belles.

Nous sommes passées devant l'Hôtel de ville et avons fini par aller manger un morceau dans un genre de Subway.

Très belle journée! :)

Quand Dublin revêt son vert manteau

15-19.03.07

La voilà, cette journée tant attendue. Le fameux jour de la St Patrick et je suis en Irlande!! Alors j'en ai profité.

RDV avec Ablaye et Sheila pour aller voir le défilé. Une foule monstre dans les rues, tous avec un petit signe distinctif: un collier en trèfle, une barbe de leprechaune, un petit chapeau de lutin ou au moins un joli trèfle vert sur la joue. Beaucoup de gens étaient déguisés et c'était sympa de voir l'ambiance! Le défilé a duré longtemps et de là où j'étais je ne voyais que le haut des chapeaux des gens. Heureusement Ablaye, du haut de son mètre 97 (j'espère ne pas me tromper parce que sinon je vais encore me faire engueuler!), a pu filmer une bonne partie de la fête. On était sensés retrouver Gudrun et son copain mais dans une peuplade de milliers de personnes, essayez vous de retrouver quelqu'un... surtout si cette personne bouge sans cesse!!!!!

Le défilé fini, il fallait voir l'état des rues: DE-GOU-TANT!!!!!!! Toutes les ordures trainaient par terre! Enfin, amas de monde, amas de saleté!

Finalement, après une restauration rapide au Burger King (restaurant fétiche du repas sur le pouce), on s'est dirigés vers Merrion Square, près de chez moi, où avait été installée une mini fête foraine. Cette fois nous avions RDV avec Gudrun là-bas et on espérait bien se trouver!!!! mais là encore, Gudrun a préféré jouer à cache-cache et se déplacer vers un pub. A la fête foraine nous n'avons rien fait. C'était soit extrêmement cher, soit pas très excitant. Enfin, on s'est amusés de voir les gens crier dans la seule attraction forte (qui durait 1 min) et de les voir se manger le vent et le début de pluie du haut de la grande roue! Disons que quand on connait la Foire du Trône, on n'est plus aussi impressionné!

Finalement nous avons rejoint Gudrun en fin de journée (après lui avoir couru après pendant un long moment!) dans un pub à côté de la maison. Le temps de nous discuter quelques minutes et nous étions repartis Sheila et moi (Ablaye n'a pas tenu le rythme!) chez Kasper, un ami à Gudrun où nous avons dîné comme des princes.

Le temps pour moi de rentrer chez moi et de finir la soirée dans mon canapé avec une bonne bouteille de vin blanc, et je clôturais la soirée en toute beauté!

Le festival a duré tout le week-end et le lundi matin (qui était férié) il y avait deux danseuses du ventre habillées d'un simple soutien gorge et de leggins en train de danser sous un vent et un froid inégalés!!! Elles ont été très courageuses mais on dû finir le lendemain au lit avec 40 de fièvre!!!!!

Enfin, ce week-end était vraiment sympa et l'ambiance très particulière. A refaire!!!!

Retour à l'université

4.03.07

Trinity College est l'université la plus connue et la plus côtée de tout Dublin et très certainement d'Irlande par la même occasion. Ce qui est original, c'est qu'au sein de ses murs se mèlent étudiants et touristes, salles de classes et galeries d'art, chapelle et jardins. Par beau temps il est très agréable de s'y arrêter et c'est exactement ce qui nous est arrivés.

Par un beau dimanche Ablaye, Donovan et moi avons décider de visiter la partie gratuite (étant donné que nos recettes sont encore fragiles...) et nous nous sommes bien amusés. Quelques photos touristiques des lieux et quelques photos délire que vous pouvez voir à côté prouvent que la journée a été placée sous le signe de la détente et du soleil...

Le grand souvenir restera tout de même Ablaye et ses conneries: tout d'abord nous avons été visiter la chapelle. C'est une chapelle bleue située au premier étage d'un bâtiment et nous n'étions que tous les trois. Au moment d'en sortir, Ablaye a fermé la porte derrière lui en m'enfermant à l'intérieur. Sauf que ce petit mâlin ne s'est pas rendu compte qu'il n'y avait pas de poignée de son côté!!! Donc pas moyen de rouvrir la porte pour lui!!! Il a été pris un peu de panique avant que je le rassure en affirmant qu'il y avait un poignée de mon côté (encore heureux!!!!). Mais le plus drôle est arrivé juste après. Suite à cela, nous avons descendu les marches et sommes arrivés à l'entrée du bâtiment. Là il y avait un écriteau qui disait "fermer la porte derrière vous". Précisons tout de même que lorsque nous sommes arrivés, la porte était entrebaillée. Oui mais Ablaye, bête et discipliné, a REELEMENT fermé la porte!!! Bien entendu, comme pour la porte de la chapelle, il était impossible d'ouvrir la porte du bâtiment de l'extérieur, tant et si bien qu'Ablaye a fermé l'accès à la chapelle pour tous les autres visiteurs!!!
Cela nous a valu une bonne crise de rire!
Regardez les photos, elles sont vraiment sympa...

Are you doing business under the moon?

Nuit du 3 au 4.03.07

Cette nuit, je suis pas prête de l'oublier!!!
J'ai découvert par hasard qu'une éclipse de lune aurait lieu durant la nuit et n'en ayant jamais vu, je me suis dit que je ne pouvais pas la rater!!

Après beaucoup de galères, je sorti l'appareil photo et je me suis postée sur un poteau dans une rue voisine où d'habitude personne ne passe. Elle est déserte pendant le jour alors la nuit je me suis dit que peu de gens se pointeraient. J'ai regardé la lune, pris quelques clichés et je me suis émerveillée. C'est là qu'on se dit qu'on est vraiment petits dans l'univers...

J'étais donc assise sur mon poteau, au beau milieu d’une rue qui s'est avérée pas si abandonnée que ça par les voitures la nuit, et je me suis dit qu’il allait quand même falloir que je sois prudente. L’éclipse c’est bien mais mon sac contenait tous mes papiers les plus importants (carte d’identité, argent, permis de conduire, cartes de crédit…). J’aurais mieux fait de partir les mains dans les poches avec mon appareil photo pour seul compagnon ! Je ne connais pas encore bien les habitudes du quartier et les clochards et les alcooliques sont monnaie courante à Dublin. On n’est jamais à l’abri de se faire importuner. D’ailleurs une camionnette vient de s’arrêter et un gars s’approche de moi. Pitié qu’il passe son chemin…
- "Hi!
- Hi... (méfiante)
- Lookin’ at the moon ?
- Yes (rassurée, il connait l’évènement et il va me commenter la chose)
- Are you doing business ? (j’hallucine !!! Il me demande si je tapine là ???)
- No no no no no !!
- Don’t you... 40€
- No no no (j’ai pas compris mais de toute façon c’est non! Je nie d’un signe de tête. Je crois qu’il voulait une fellation. De toute façon, crois moi, si je faisais quoi que ce soit, ce ne serait pas 40 € !!!)
- You're not doing business?
- No! (ferme et définitif!)"

Le type est parti et là j'étais hallucinée. J'étais en jean, baskets, avec une grosse doudoune, et ce type m’avait prise pour une prostituée !!! Là ce n’était pas possible, j'ai décidé de partir. Je suis allée me poser dans un coin plus discret, plus près de chez moi: un muret dans ma rue. Après quelques photos, le voisin de la maison d'en face est sorti et m'a demandé de façon agressive ce que je faisais là. "Looking at the moon!" Bah quoi, c'était évident par un pareil soir!!!

Au moment où l'éclipse devenait totale, une voiture s'est engouffré dans ma ruelle et s'est arrêtée devant moi. Et voilà que ça recommençait!
- "Are you doing business ?
- No!"
Il allait partir mais il m'a dit "It’s the Red Zone here" et même si je ne comprenais pas ce qu'il voulait dire, je me suis justifiée en lui disant qu'il y avait une éclipse et que c'était pour ça que j'étais là. Le conducteur a garé sa (superbe) voiture et est descendu regarder le ciel avec moi. Là je me suis rendue compte du danger et j'ai prié pour ne pas m'attirer d'ennuis... On a discuté de l'éclipse quelques minutes puis le gars m’a expliqué qu’il y a beaucoup de prostituées dans le coin et qu’il fallait faire attention. Il a finit par s’en aller en me disant qu’il fait parti d’un cercle de vigilance qui patrouille dans le quartier. Et juste avant de disparaitre derrière le mur où était garé sa voiture, il m'a dit : « I’m under cover ! » Sur le coup je n'ai pas réagi. Le type est parti et je me suis mise à rire : il ressemblait comme deux gouttes d’eau à Kévin Costner !

A ce moment là je me suis dit que ça suffisait: j'avais froid, j'avais été importunée suffisamment de fois et je me suis décidée à rentrer.
Derrière chez moi il y a une courette. J'y suis allé pour voir quelle était la vue de là mais j'étais convaincue qu'avec les toits on ne verrait rien. GROSSE ERREUR! La vue était encore plus belle que dans la rue : pas de pollution lumineuse due aux lampadaires, pas un bruit de voiture et surtout, un ciel étoilé merveilleusement dégagé par les basses maisons environnantes…

Dégoutée!!! Enfin, au moins l'éclipse valait bien toutes ces aventures. Regardez les photos... même si elle ne rendent pas aussi bien!

Paris-Dublin: le début de l'aventure

A peine quelques jours pour boucler les valises et se préparer psychologiquement à un nouveau départ. Cette fois, c'est Dublin qui m'attendait.

Jour J: une amie précieuse et une surprise nous ont accompagnés Ablaye, mon compagnon de voyage, et moi à l'aéroport. Daffy a accepté de se lever aux aurores pour nous emmener et Amélie ne pouvait pas nous voir partir sans nous dire un dernier au revoir. Du coup, on a galéré pour rentrer nos 8 bagages dans la voiture!!!

A l'aéroport, les problèmes ont commencés. Trop de kilos! Moi à 25kg je ne passais pas. Même en expliquant à la madame du guichet que je partais pour 6 mois, pas moyen de faire l'impasse sur les quelques kilos en trop. "Il faut que vous enleviez au moins 2-3 kilos" Moi les enlevés je veux bien... mais je les mets où?????????? Finalement j'ai enlevé un jean et un haut (ce qui devait faire 200g) et elle a bien voulu accepter ma valise.
Ablaye, lui, n'a bien entendu pas eu ce soucis. Sa valise de 26kg est passée quasiment comme une lettre à la poste. Les yeux doux, quelques mots de tchatche et il avait ses billets! Déjà les problèmes commençaient pour moi...

Puis le temps de se séparer de nos deux amies est arrivé. Petite séance photo, dernières crises de rire, derniers regards...
Dur de réaliser qu'on part et qu'on ne les reverra pas avant un moment.

Finalement le voyage s'est bien passé. Ablaye et moi n'avons pas cessé de nous disputer pendant tout le voyage, ce qui nous a valu d'énormes crises de rire (comme à notre habitude!) et l'amitié du passager à côté de moi (Donovan), qu'on a eu l'occasion de retrouver par la suite dans Dublin et avec lequel on se retrouve de temps à autres.

Arrivés à Dublin, direction notre nouvelle résidence: l'hostel. Une demi heure de marche avec les valises pour arriver dans un endroit plutôt sympa mais blindé de Français!
Enfin, au moins on a fait quelques connaissances et on s'est amusés en attendant de trouver un appartement.

5 jours après notre arrivée et suite à bon nombre de visites (7 pour ma part), Ablaye emménageait chez lui, et moi j'obtenais mon appartement le lendemain: collocation à 10 minutes de mon travail, avec une Française de 22 ans, Marie, et un Irlandais de 29, Richard.

Nouvelle adresse:
Chloé TAWFIK
28 Herbert Lane
Dublin 2
IRELAND