Carnaval de Dunkerque....a family tradition

Many of you have heard me talked about the Carnival from where I grew up. So when I visited my dad last week-end, on sunday, it was the official closure of the season. My dad's friends came for lunch in their outfits before heading off partying. It is very difficult to explain what this carnival is since it is rather unusual. It is very popular (i.e for the people), very crude songs, lots of drinking, lots of eating, lots of men dressed up as women and starts mid-january til mid march.

A little bit of history: sailors used to party for 3 days (around Mardi Gras) before sailing out to sea for 6 months. The bill was paid for by the people who owned the boats. No women were allowed on the boats (bad luck) so men would dress up as women to pretend. The umbrellas that you see is a mockery of the high society who used to come to the beach with their little umbrellas....

This video on youtube captures pretty well what is all about (honestly I didn't know there were so many videos on youtube about this event!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBCiyUC0w50&NR=1

If you are born in Dunkerque, you grow up with this, you don't even walk, that your parents are already dragging you to see 'La Bande', you go to your first ball at the age of 12, and usually that when you get drunk for the first time too!

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" by Woody Allen

If you are looking for a light comedy, this is for you. I used to be a big fan of Woody Allen but over the years he really made crappy movies. Just because you have the name, Mr Allen, does not mean that you are making good movies - regardless of your following. The movie is based in Barcelona (where I am going next week) and the characters are hot and sexy....boys (Javier Badem) and girls (Rebecca Hall, Penelope Cruz - she is really hot when she gets angry in spanish! - Scarlett Johansson)...so everybody should really enjoy it...

W. by Oliver Stone

So I watched the movie "W." by Oliver Stone a couple of nights ago. Some of you might remember that the movie had a bit of publicity last September/October because it was the first time that a movie about a US president was out in theaters while the president was still in office. Looking back on it, a few days later, I have to admit that I was disappointed. I thought I would be more outraged by the character (i.e Bush). I ended up not liking nor disliking the character, I just felt sorry for him - he is a person who is/was a drunk, is in constant battle to please his dad (I think that's why he went into politics and why he drank so much), is being definitely a puppet to Romney and Cheney. He always tried to reinforce the fact that he was the decision maker mainly because nobody respected him. I don't respect him, I think he made very poor decision and could never stand up for himself. Remember we are all humans, so we all make mistakes, some of us make bigger mistakes that other (for sure!) - btw, don't take me wrong, I am not defending any of his actions, I just think it is very sad that somebody had to go this length to please his parents (or at least get their recognition/acknowledgment)

Decorative project

My wall are too white to stay empty - tell me what you think....

To San Francisco and Back...

As many of you know, I took a short trip back home, and by home I mean San Francisco. It was a much needed (short) trip to recharge my batteries, spent some time with Damon (my wonderful boyfriend), hang out with some friends and enjoy the nice weather and the sun. I was getting very unkind to the grey weather here. It also gave me the opportunity to bring back my little trouble maker Halcyone aka Halcy aka Babou (pictured)

For those interested, his flight was uneventful, mainly because he was probably high on tranquilisers (thank you Cynthia), and the customs didn't even bother looking at his papers or even at him for a matter of fact. So he is slowly adjusting to be an indoor cat again.

Suprisingly, since I came back it looks like Geneva has been waking up from hibernation - the weather has been very nice: cafe and restaurants are bringing out their patios and people seem to enjoy having a beer after work. I feel that I have come back to a different city. So it looks promising for the spring and summer month. Although on the week end, it still seems rather empty since people still go skiing.

Crazy people do exist in Geneva!

So I must have been very naive about moving to Geneva...I thought that people begging or talking to themselves didn't exist in Geneva! I was wrong.

Yesterday, it must have been "Crazy People Day-Out" day in Geneva - because it really felt like being back on 6th Street and Market - the only difference is that they are speaking French, German, English, Italian and some other languages I do not understand. So Geneva's crazy people are maybe educated (granted they didn't speak all the said languages at once!)

Also, what I have noticed lately is that a lot of people coming from Eastern Europe do beg on the tram. But they do play music for you. Mainly the accordion (did I ever tell anybody that I hate the accordion?). Although the other day, two people got on. One with an accordion and one with a stand-up bass. I could not see them since they were behind me. I thought: "Hmmm, pretty original". As I got off the tram, I noticed the stand-up bass: it was soooo hand-made, with strings that you use for hanging your clothes (you know what I am talking about right?) in fluorescent colors, and one string was made of the string you use to seal up a box. Unbelievable! Also they played American Songs like Tutti Frutti, Blue Suede Shoes...(by the way some of the words didn't make any sense!)... etc. It was rather unreal.

And tonite, as I was walking home and talking in English with a lady I just met at an expat meeting, we were approached by a homeless person (rather drunk) asking us for our papers in French, and telling us he was from the "foreign people police". He got quite a shock when I replied in French - I think he sobered up all of the sudden!

Have a great night,
Sabine

The famous Water Fountain - yes you can see from my window!

Some of you may have heard of the famous water fountain in Geneva (http://www.ville-ge.ch/en/decouvrir/en-bref/jet.htm), well I woke up on saturday morning and guess what I realised that I can actually see it from my kitchen window. Here are the proofs.

How to stay warm in Geneva?

So last sunday (i.e february 22), as i got home from Paris, I discovered that I had no heat. But I did have hot water. Since it took the heating company 3 days (yes you read it correctly) to come and have a look at what was happening, I still had the opportunity to take a hot bath and curled up in bed and stay warm.

Well since yesterday, not only I do not have any heat, I also do not have any hot water! So what do you do, considering it is about 40 degrees outside, that I live in an old building with old windows? Well you lock yourself up in the kitchen, put on the oven (it is electric so not to worry) and make some hot dinner, and drink half a bottle of wine! - FYI I have hardly had a drink since in a month! I am sure my coached training session tomorrow am is gonna me interesting!