Monaco

monaco's port, f1 race track, and yacht parking lot

long lost bading sibling ni oblation

looking for michael

where monaco's heart beats... the casino

couldn't resist taking this picture... i am in the city where the great and big-chinned schumacher LIVES!!!

the palace of rainier and grace... the royalty still live here

a small eskinita fronting the palais. parang nakita ko na ang eskinitang ito in tens of period movies. topmost on my mind is immortal beloved... that seedy hotel where hinintay ni "beloved" si beethoven. of course that place was very dark and seedy and rainy so this can't be it. pero the narrowness of the eskinita gives it the same feel, without the look of "noir" nga lang.

another small-ish eskinita fronting the place

hanggang sa libingan, mega pa rin si grace kelly sa pagka-stylish.

Cannes

at the palais du festival where they hold the... er, the cannes film FESTIVAL. just missed the stars. kakaalis lang ata nila. when we went here they had the world GSM festival--where SMART (or was it GLOBE? basta PINOY, proud ako!) won top innovative GSM application for their PASALOAD service! bravo! mabuhay!

sarap sanang magshopping pero hanggang tingin lang kami huhuhu

paintings of the beach by the beach

konting handprints lang ang nakita namin kasi they cordoned off most of the palais because of the GSM expo nga. at the time imbyerna kami ni mikoy syempre... saka hindi pa namin alam nun na mananalo nga ang pinoy sa expo. anyway, saw some handprints naman, like this of sharon stone, the pink panther, si julie andrews, michael douglas. bigo akong makita ang handprint ni johnny depp man lang or ni nicole kidman.

Nice Port

Le Nice Port! My first sunny day in Europe!

One thing amazing about our Nice trip is the swanking yacht we stayed in, thanks to Alex, who graciously allowed us to bunk in with them at the Sheleila, the yacht he works in! Thanks to this guy, we had a "homebase" on our journey through Cannes and Monaco. On a student budget, we definitely couldn't afford accomodations anywhere on the Cote d'Azur.

the warm colors of the mediterranean buildings were a fresh break from the beige-white-gray monotony of the apartments in paris and angers

Lourdes

parang disney


kinalbong puno



do drink the water...

really love pointy things.

First gala around Paris

First Sunday of February, we immediately hit Paris. Reason #1: libre sa louvre dahil first Sunday (ang PG!). Reason #2: gusto naming mainitan kasi balita namin ilang degree rin mas mataas ang Paris sa Angers. At this point, sawang-sawang-sawa na akong magdoble ng pants (jeans plus jogging pants) at miss na miss na miss ko na ang fingers ko dahil ilang araw ko na silang hindi nakikita at lagi silang naka-gloves. Brrrr!

But Paris was wonderful. Puro haaaayyy moments kahit ang ginaw at ang bigat ng dala naming food ni Mikoy. In fairness to Paris weather, medyo umaraw naman nung tanghali so we were able to enjoy our lunch at jardin de tuileries. This day was jampacked: louvre, champs elysees, arc de triomphe, notre dame. Had time permitted, we would've gone pa to the other sites, e.g., sacre coeur, moulin rouge, etc. but I guess we'll save that na lang for the next first-sunday of the month... which is my birthday! :)

The Louvre

the louvre as the old parisians know it (without the pyramid)


namisss ko tuloy si bituin.



muntik na akong atakehin sa statwang to. akala ko bata.



the pyramid is a controversial topic amongst parisians daw. it can ignite fights much more heated debates. they say it's either they love it or they hate it. since i have none of the frenchmen's historical baggage, i would have to say it's still a work of art and is put there for a reason--time is better spent appreciating the work instead of arguing about its existence.

Arc de Triomphe

most paris sites are under renovation in the spring in preparation for summer. not that this is a case of completely bad timing. i can still go back in may. plus how parisians live their normal non-touristy lives is never fails to satisfy my own totally-touristy curiosity.


under the arch




on the champs elysees going to the arc de triomphe from the louvre, saw this intersting storefront. duh i wonder what store this was...

Notre Dame de Paris

fly, fly, fly high in the sky... lucky shot this picture is.



view from the notre dame across to the left bank below these buildings are landmarks cafe panis and the quaint and aged bookstore: shakespeare & co.


i can almost imagine quasimodo peeking from behind these columns


i love stained glass things.

Ma Chambre, N°50

My room in France, still not yet lived in. Took this picture around January or early February, I think. Was still very homesick at the time. The walls are still bare and I’ve got only a few things on the table. This first floor room is very cozy although something can be done with the color of the walls… if I had my way, I would have painted it yellow, like my room back home. White does not in any way give off a “feel-at-home” ambiance, I have to say. I blame these walls for much of my first-week-homesickness, you know. I’m convinced that had they been yellow or orange, I wouldn’t have spent my first night in this room bawling my eyes out.

Party with the world in Angers

One of the few parties mikoy and I went to was with our ESSCA batchmates at andrea's place near the gare st. laud. Everyone was an international exchange student. Thank heavens everyone was also good in English (except some from HK and Spain).