Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
Two songs for the price of one from Calvin Harris' second album. The first album wasn't that interesting but when listening to the second one you can clearly hear that Calvin learned from his mistakes. Two different styles, the first one is relaxed: Calvin Harris - Burns Night.
The second one is great to move your body: Calvin Harris - Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La
La suite!
Belgium Under The Snow
Last Thursday snow fell over Belgium, it was a real treat. Some tiny snowflakes started falling in the morning, they became much bigger and Belgium was covered with snow around lunch time.
After lunch a colleague and I started a snow fight, it was the best way to digest. It was not easy to avoid being hit by snowballs as I was wearing Derby shoes but I managed, luckily for me my colleague was as bad at throwing snowballs as I was. We were so spent after the fight that we almost went for a nap.
There is nothing more beautiful than a country covered by snow.
La suite!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Kim Clijsters Is In The House!
I love working here! This morning as I was taking a break I discovered a conference with Kim Clijsters. The company I am working for here is one of her sponsors so they invited her for a Q&A with the employees. How many companies in the world do that kind of thing? After lunch the company gave everyone posters of the tennis player and you could have your poster signed by her. I may think of applying to this company...
La suite!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Give It A Ponder
James Lipton the host of the show Inside The Actors Studio is in the series of ads for LG. The ads cleverly use the famous beard of the actor, they are great.
Catfight
Locker Room
Angry
Unicorn
La suite!
Friday, December 18, 2009
A Walk In Brussels
This week-end we decided to take a walk in the city, we went to the Grand Place where we got the surprise to find a Christmas market.
During this holiday season the Grand Place is really the place to be for Brussels inhabitants, when getting out of the subway one can see the flow of people walking toward that famous place. The more you get near the more the street gets narrow and you have to start struggling to find a path among the people if you want to keep walking at your own pace. The Terraces are full even if it is cold outside and people look up to witness the light and music show going on city hall walls.
From the Grand Place, we went for a walk on rue du Lombard then on rue du Midi to get to the Bourse where a lot of wooden cabins where ready to satiate the need of any belly. Cotton candy, caramel apple, fruits covered in chocolate on a stick, brioches, paella, tartiflette, hot wine, Touraine wine, wine with cinnamon… There is everything you need not to starve or to dying of thirst. As it is cold it is recommended to get a hot dish to warm the hands.
From la Bourse we walked through rue Paul Delvaux which led us to Brussels Chinatown. I am so used to the size of Chinatown in Paris that it is odd for me to see a Chinatown which is only the size of a street. Existing Chinatown we discovered Sainte Catherine church with an exhibit about Mongolia in front of it. Half of fake yurts were place all over the square in front of the church were visitors could buy traditional objects, pictures, culinary specialties or find tourist information. We tried the mare milk, it is like drinking the milk that sits on top of a yogurt: it is really not that good.
There was a beautiful roundabout which really caught my eye next to the exhibit: le manege d’Andrea.
From there we went to the quai aux briques and the quai aux bois à bruler, you can find the biggest concentration of wooden cabins for the Christmas market between those streets, there is even an ice rink. Whether you are hungry or thirsty, it is not possible that don’t find some dish to satisfy your belly. You can find products from all over the world: Vietnam, China, Canada, France, Spain... After having filled your belly, I recommend a ride on the Ferris wheel.
La suite!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
No need to say what i feel like doing when i listen to this: PlantLife - Got 2 Find A Better Way.
La suite!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
This is exactly what i would call happy music, when you listen to this you just want to hold someone close: Kish Mauve - Lose Control (Fred Falke Remix).
La suite!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
How To Keep Your Salad Fresh?
You just need to sell it with its roots in a watertight bag. This way the salads keeps all its freshness much more longer.
La suite!
Monday, December 7, 2009
A Little Bit Of Magic
This is Dynamo, he is showing is magic and Method Man and Redman can't believe their eyes.
La suite!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Life Is Too Shirt
I have just discovered these nice t-shirts called Life Is Too Shirt, their designs are really cool go check them out. Here are two designs below.
La suite!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
If one morning you don't feel like going to work, listen to this and you will be full of energy at the office: Rafale - Drive.
La suite!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Trains On Time, Oh Joy!
I take the train everyday to go to work, i love using public transportation because it gives me a lot of time to read. The trains here are often late, you can see the billboard of Brussels Zuid train station on the picture below and notice that there is a special column dedicated only to display the delay of each trains. That is what I call efficiency.
La suite!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Crispycones
Just when you start to think that food can't get any worse, there is always some guy who finds a way to make you lie. Ladies and Gentlemen i present to you the Crispycones, it is a bit like a pizza but in a cone.
La suite!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
From Time To Time
It doesn’t happen often this days but sometimes the sun manages to shine through the thick cloud layer that stays above the city early in the morning and when it happens you get this!
La suite!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
This is all that i like, a good hip-hop rhyme with a great electro sound: Dizzee Rascal - Dance Wiv Me Feat Calvin Harris.
La suite!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tired While Shopping
If you go shopping at Galerie Louise in Brussels you will be able to rest on one of these benches when you feel like you have walked too much or your bags are to heavy.
La suite!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Japanese Are The Best!
Why can't we find such marvels in France, writing letters in water fountains is just amazing.
La suite!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
Mos Def is a great showman who sets the stage on fire, i am a big fan: Mos Def - Auditiorium Feat Slick Rick.
La suite!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Nice Office, Fun Office
During my stay in Belgium I have had the luck to work in a great environment. I usually work in old building with no windows and in the middle of servers that make a lot of noise. Thankfully it was time for a change.
I work in a brand new building that is filled with large windows for walls that completely negates the confinement feeling you can get in some office buildings. As you get natural light almost everywhere in the building you almost feel like you are outside when you are going for a walk. The open space have been so well designed that the employees don’t feel like they are crowded.
Everything is done to have relaxed employees, you can find coffee, tea, sparkling water and plain water dispensers in every open space; the building is completely smoke free, plants and couches are disposed here and there so that everyone can enjoy a comfortable break and not be far from their desk.
The office cafeteria is hiding the best surprises, there are stairs in the back of the cafeteria that lead to a playroom and a fitness room. In the playroom you will be able to play Table football, Pool, Pinball or Air Hockey. The best thing is that you will find 2 Wii with which you will be able to compete against your colleagues on Wii Sport, thanks to this game I managed to understand how Baseball is played! For fitness enthusiasts the fitness room will offer you all the necessary equipments to keep in shape. You can run, ride an indoor bike, use the steps or work on your abs. You now have the choice between fake sports with the Wii and the real deal in the fitness room.
I am quite happy to go to work in the morning!
Updated on November 23rd 2009
Today our customer organised a small bike show in its office because it is sponsoring a cycling team. You would find bikes for hardcore cyclists, I say hardcore because the feature bikes where worth an average of 4000€. You could buy every product of the karcher brand, try all necessary devices to turn your garage into a real bike garage, collect all the necessary accessories need by every cyclists, taste some power bars… Some cards with questions were given in the office in the morning, when you would give back the cards you would get a nice hat with the company’s colours, then at the end of the day one card would be picked and the winner would go home with a nice race bike. Cycling is an important thing here.
La suite!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
He is back! Maxwell's last release was 8 years ago, he is back with BLACKsummers'night and here is a song from the album: Maxwell - Love You.
La suite!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Are You kidding Me? The End
This is the end of the story. Last week-end I met the general manager of the hotel who was back from holydays, I wanted the hotel to pay for the 1000€ I paid to change my door lock. He was ready for me and had prepared what he was going to say, he said that when I accepted to be compensated for my suitcase and what was in it I lost the ability to be compensated for the replacement of our door lock. I don’t know where he has read that being partially compensated for the loss of my suitcase prevents me from being fully compensated. I tried to explain that there was no law protecting the hotel when something was stolen from their storage room. I reminded the manager that his hotel had no security system at all but he wouldn’t hear me. I was a little bit pissed off when I left him but I will stay in Belgium long enough to find an organization who can help in this can of problems. I am not worried.
To be continued...
La suite!
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Herbaliser Live In Paris
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Funny Bike
Riding a bike is the same as driving a car here, people don't hesitate to ride their bikes to bring their children to school. It is quite common to see bikes like the one below.
I even saw bikes with covered seats for the kids in the front for rainy days, i will try to take a picture of one.
La suite!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
He is back! Prince is has strong as ever and he proves it with a triple release from where i have extracted today's song: Prince - Chocolate Box.
Some of you may have seen the Man at one of his concerts at Le Grand Palais in Paris, the others can watch the video below.
La suite!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
It Took Me A While
But i finally watched the 257 Super Bowl 2009 commercials, this year was not so great i was kind of disappointed thankfully i managed to find a few good ads.
Bridgestone - Astronauts
Doritos - Ultimate Power
Subway - Destructive
La suite!
Monday, November 2, 2009
From Blue To Gray
In Belgium, when the sun rises the sky is beautiful but then bad weather is taking back its place.
La suite!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
See Carrefour And Die
Carrefour is an international retail chain from France like Wall Mart in the US or Tesco in the UK. Last week we went to Carrefour to buy some beers and we were completely stunned by the shop. The store looked like a hard discount store: uneven corridors, old shelves, dirty linoleum floor and products everywhere. I have never seen a supermarket in such a state, you can have a look at it below.
La suite!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Are You kidding Me? 2
Last October 16, the trolley that I left in the storage room of the Lindner hotel in Antwerp disappeared, it was first believed that the suitcase had been given to another customer by mistake.
Last week as I was fed up of waiting for the hotel to actually start looking for my suitcase, I went to see the hotel manager. This country seems to bring nothing but bad luck to me, the manager had gone on holyday the exact day I wanted to see him and he was returning 10 days later. I sat down with his assistant to talk about my trolley and I learned that the suitcase that was staying in the storage room belonged to a frequent hotel customer who wanted to travel light. Just like that I learned that my suitcase had been stolen from the storage room of the hotel (locked with a magnetic key) and not given to another hotel customer; if I hadn’t asked the hotel would probably not have told me. When I explain how the hotel should operate to find the thief, I just get an understanding smile from the manager. The hotel as no surveillance system but to video cameras are located on the side of the hotel entrance, one would just have to look at the video to see at what time the thief left the hotel with my trolley and crosscheck with the checkout of the hotel customers to know who stole my suitcase. But we can’t look at the surveillance video! But we can’t browse the checkout logs! But we can’t call all our clients! Once again I am faced with a total lack of will to find my suitcase. I leave telling her to contact the manager’s boss to find a solution and again she is not convinced with my idea.
On Thursday as I am going to have breakfast, I get stopped by a hotel employee who tells me that everything is settled and the assistant will explain it to me when she gets to the hotel. I stay calm and go enjoy my breakfast. When she arrived, she explained that she called the regional manager and he agreed to pay the amount that was on the bill I gave them. I told her that I wrote the bill to give them an idea of the money I would have to spend to buy back my things and to replace my door lock; I expected them to pay for everything and not just a part of it. The hotel was willing to pay for what was on the bill but nothing more, the assistant said that the hotel didn’t have to pay me any money because it was written on the storage room receipt that the hotel was not liable for anything happening to what was left there. I told the assistant that If I had made a more expensive bill (like my wife told me to) the hotel would have spent much more money, she answered that people are honest in Belgium. Amazing, they are willing to pay some of my expenses but not all of them! As I leave, I explain to her that I want a full refund and I am willing to go to court to have all my money back if necessary. As always she just nodded.
I went to the police station to declare the theft, as I was giving details the policeman explained that going to court would only waste my time and money as the case would not go anywhere. I finally accepted the hotels offer because my insurance company told me that hotels never pay anything when suitcases are lost in cases such as mine. The new lock cost 1000€, thank you very much Lindner hotel!
La suite!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
Crank up the noise, stand in front of the loud speakers and start moving your head up and down: Test Icicles - Circle.Square.Triangle.
La suite!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Are You kidding Me?
Last Friday, I do my checkout and ask the hotel to keep my trolley while I go to work before catching the train back home. After work I go back to the hotel 30 minutes before the train departure to fetch my suitcase. I give my ticket and start waiting, waiting, waiting...
The person I gave my ticket to comes and goes but each time without my suitcase. At one point she even asks me to whom I had given the trolley even though she was the one I gave it to in the morning. She is looking for my trolley but can't find it. I come with her to look for it in the storage area but it is not there: Lindner hotel has given my suitcase to someone else! As I have to catch my train and will be back on Monday I tell them to do what is necessary to find my suitcase and call me during the week-end to let me know so that I don't have to travel back to Belgium with another trolley. Of course I get no calls during the week-end and each time I call someone tells me that they have found no information about the person who has my trolley in the remaining suitcase.
I am back in Lindner hotel on Monday, I have to remind you that it is a 4 stars hotel, they still don't know who has my suitcase. When I tell them that they just have to call every person who left the hotel on Friday, they answer that Friday is their busiest checkout day so they couldn't do it. How great is that? They lose my suitcase and are patiently waiting for the person who has my suitcase to bring it back! The guy has my address and my frigging keys. I served them with a bill containing everything that was in the trolley and the replacement of our apartment door lock: a minimum of 600€! What a bunch of jackasses!
La suite!
Friday, October 16, 2009
A Poem In The Workplace
Here is a poem you can find fixed on walls in offices here:
This is a little friendly poem
Asking you to clean your desk before you go home
Keep the kitchen and meeting room clean
Than nobody has to look at you mean
Every day an office neat and tidy
With some extra effort on Friday
It will keep away the bugs
And you might deserve some hugs
La suite!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Breakfast In The City
This week i stay in a 4 stars hotel called Lindner Hotel & City Lounge in Antwerp, if i want to have breakfast in the morning in need to spend 18€! For that price i only can choose one kind of juice and i can't even have hot chocolate.
Thankfully i have managed to find the perfect place to have a french breakfast not too far from the hotel.
La suite!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
This week-end i listened to the DJ Kicks from Chromeo and there was this jewel inside: Cheri - Murphy's Law.
La suite!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
I just discovered the band Chromeo, i like them so much that i put 2 of their tracks today. The first track reminds me of the sound Prince had when he started, it also reminds me of the band The Time (for those who have a little bit of musical culture). Chromeo is one of those bands that can reuse everything that was good in 80's music and turn that into something fresh: Chromeo - Outta Sight.
Chromeo - 100%
La suite!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Belgium Here I Come
I am now on the way to Mechelen after my 3 day trip in Nantes. Let me remind you that I spend 3 days in Nantes to discuss the workshop in Mechelen this week. To make it even simpler: we discussed during the meetings in Nantes to decide what we would discuss during the meetings in Mechelen. You so want to be right now!
I am in the Thalys train taking me to Brussels surrounded by suits, I must be the only person in first class who is not wearing a shirt! Everything is done for the businessman who is always busy: free breakfast, power plugs for the laptop, taxi waiting at the station and free internet access through wifi... I feel a little bit lonely when I am in the middle of such a crowd because I can’t find anything common between those men and those few women. But at the same time I am writing my blog on my phone when everyone else is typing something on their laptop. I like Belgium very much so I am in quite a hurry to get their even though the workshop waiting for me would be a good reason to stay home.
P.S.: I had to make a round trip back to Paris in the evening because i realized when i arrived in front of the customers office that my laptop was at home.
La suite!
Monday, October 5, 2009
3 Days In Nantes
The best way to enjoy a travel is to go to 4 meetings of 4 hours each during 3 days and spend the rest of the time in the train travelling.
As is often the case in my job, I got called at the end of the afternoon because I had to urgently go to Nantes the next day. The project I am working on has more than one month delay and I was asked to find the blocking points and allow the project to move forward. Each specialist in a specific domain has been requested to take part in a 3 day workshop where each blocking point would be reviewed and the best solution would be found. As in many meetings, there was a lot of talk but not much decision making.
Going to Nantes usually means seeing respected colleagues and hanging out with them to have a good time. Sadly I had little time to go talk to them this time. I was so tired in the evening that I wouldn’t even have the energy to go have a drink in the city. I usually don’t go to meetings because it seems like as soon as people get out of room they forget what each of them have to do and you will spend time reminding everyone of their duties. I had no choice this time and I would be completely dead at the end of the day: this travel was all work and no play. It is a shame because Nantes is a beautiful and pleasant city.
Anyway I know that my next travel to Nantes will be much more laid back. I couldn't go to a small market where I could have found furniture for our next apartment.
La suite!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
De La Soul Live In Paris
Last September 9, i had the pleasure of being in Paris to go see one of my favorite bands live. At the end of the concert i learned from a guy who filmed the whole concert next to me with a professional camera that the concert would soon be available online.
You can now see De La Soul live at the Jazz a la Vilette festival in Paris thanks to GrandCrew, it is da bomb!
La suite!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Nu Stiu Ce (I Don't Know What)
Back from holiday spent in Romania, it is amazing that I have to take holidays to spend time with my wife but that is our life.
It is always a pleasure for me to go to Romania, first because my wife is from there, second because I will see her family and friends and third because the country is a nice place to live. I have to admit that I still don’t speak Romanian even though my wife speaks fluent French, it often happens that I don’t speak for hours because I can’t be part of the conversation. As I can’t express myself in Romanian I can focus my whole attention to try to understand what is being said around me, it is not easy but I use the 5 Romanian lessons I took as a base. I don’t understand anything most of the time because most people speak too fast for me but as soon as the language speed slows I start understanding some words here and there and maybe the occasional sentence. It would of course be simpler for me to learn the language once and for all but I like to learn a few words from the country I am in and it is not possible to learn two languages at the same time; anyway I don’t plan on travelling all my life when I will stop I will seriously start learning.
Travelling to Romania means going to Fagaras, the birthplace of my wife, to spend time with my in laws. Being with them is always interesting as we can only communicate when my wife is translating otherwise they limit the use of difficult vocabulary to a minimum. My in laws only speak Romanian and they make simple sentences for me to understand or they ask questions that only require da (yes) or nu (no) answers; in any cases mime is always useful. From time to time I will try and create a full sentence but I am almost sure it must be tough for the ears.
The Ceausescu buildings
Fagaras is the countryside for me even though it is the second biggest city in the judetiul (department); my wife hates it when say it but it is how I feel. With time and mostly thanks to my travels I have a list of what makes the place countryside:
- if someone stares at me, I am in the countryside
- if someone grunts when passing me by, I am in the countryside (specific for China)
- if some points at me, I am in the countryside (specific for China)
- if there is movie theatre in the city, I am in the countryside
- if I can walk in the street without being disturbed by cars, I am in the countryside
- if the city centre is as big as neighbourhood block, I am in the countryside
- if the city doesn’t have a map, I am in the countryside
- if a 3h train ride from the capital city is required, I am in the countryside
National Council on Solutions against Dissent
During my stay in Fagaras I was surprised by a behaviour that I wasn’t used to encounter before, many young people starting laughing when passing me by. I truly believe that this never happened before and I find this attitude puzzling. What in my appearance could create laughter? I am used to have people stare, scared, smile, point or grunt but I was a little bit surprised by the laughing people. I will never know why they laughed but I will add this behaviour to my countryside list.
Fagaras is a nice quiet small city, my wife says she wouldn’t be able to live there anymore but I wouldn’t be against a nice far from the senseless troubles of the city inhabitants if I have an internet access to get my daily dose of news. The city is located close to the Carpathian mountains for those who like hiking, the Fagaras country has a lot of churches and monastery for visitors to enjoy and if you like castles there is a fortress built in 1310 located in the centre of the city.
We visited Brancoveanu Monastery in the little town of Sambata, it used to be a small church that got turned into a monastery in 1696. The interior decoration is very rich in details, there is no space left unpainted or covered with golden leaves even on the ceiling; I believe this is a common style among orthodox churches. There are plenty of churches in Romania, the city of Fagaras counts 6 of them counting the largest one being actually built in the city centre.
The call for mass
I have a mixed feeling about Bucharest: on one side the city is a big mess but on the other it hides a lot of nice places; it all depends on how you live. As many cities, Bucharest was not built for the car and if you add the trams you have a recipe for disaster because large avenues become completely jammed during rush hour preventing public transportation from working efficiently. The subway can’t even help in the matter, with only 4 lines a lot of neighbourhood are not even covered. If the car is not of importance to you, you will have the opportunity to walk the smaller streets of the city which where the sound of traffic jam is not the norm, in public transportation it can be quite interesting: 2 stops with the subway, 3 with the tram and 1 with the bus; it doesn’t work for people in a hurry but you get the opportunity to see the city a different way.
The city is discovering its historical centre and decided to give it back its former glory after leaving it to the gipsies for years. Now that the neighbourhood has found a new commercial interest some Romanians are complaining to find the gipsies even if no one complained when they moved in before the renewal project. People wouldn’t want the gipsies to ruin the nice picture of this old place made new again, I don’t know how the authorities will take care of this situation but it looks to me like the Romanians found a new reason to hate the gipsies. When wandering through the streets you will see the many many terraces among the very dirty buildings, as the authorities haven’t decided to evict the gypsies from the buildings they inhabit (rent free) no building renovation can be done. Only the streets have been repaired and have become car free: the contrast between the terraces and the old buildings is stunning but funny. Time will tell how this place will evolve.
A little bit of music for the end.
La suite!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
A treat for your hears made in Japan, it is the soundtrack of the Samurai Champloo anime: Minmi - Who's Theme.
La suite!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Delivery Service Chinese Style
This is the storage area of one of the largest parcels delivery company in China, the employees sure know how to take care of the parcels.
La suite!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
You may not believe me but this song is great to dance with someone, thank you Mos Def et Talib Kweli: Black Star - K. O. S. Feat Vinia Mojica.
La suite!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
My Sound Of The Day
Here is something that clearly stands on its own, i thank my brother for the discovery last week-end: Midnight Juggernauts - Shadows.
La suite!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Alcohool Abuse Never Has A Happy Ending
The french should look for inspiration from foreign ad campaigns to prevent alcohol abuse.
La suite!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
In An Absolut World
It's amazing how the companies that sell the most dangerous products to health are showing us this perfect image. This ad is amazing.
La suite!
Friday, August 14, 2009
Hoodie Ahead!
As hoodies ar fashionable i can get an extra 15 minutes sleep and start having breakfast during my morning commute.
La suite!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
No Pictures
I am in Nantes where the sun shines but since my digital camera died in Tahiti (after a forced dip in the lagoon) i can't take a decent picture anymore.
I need to find myself a new thin digital camera that could stay in my pocket as the old one did. I haven't really been the most motivated person to look for a new camera, i have been back from Tahiti for 3 month and have only checked which camera have been released lately. Buying a new one could be simple, i would only need to walk into any shop and listen to the seller advice to make my decision but that is not really my style.
My style is to look for specific criteria that suit my needs:
- thin case
- photo quality in low light
- color rendering
- flash power
- shutter speed
- video quality
- megapixel
Once a short list has been made i go through professional reviews as well as user reviews and if possible i try and find a website comparing the characteristics to see what each device is made of.
At the end of the choosing process i choose the camera which suits me the most and hope it is sold in France.
Does anybody have a camera recommendation or know a comparing website?
La suite!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
For A Few Ads More
Another series of commercials: Bic - For Smoother Legs.
Chiken Of The Sea.
JBC - It's Good To Be You.
Kuoni - Relaxed.
A Marca Bavaria - The Best Of Brazil.
La suite!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Survival Guide To Tahiti - Everyday Life
Life in French Polynesia is a real pleasure, life starts and ends with the sun. You have to be in sync with the local rhythm to really enjoy the place, there is nothing worse than coming to Polynesia expecting to live as in any other cities.
The people are up around 6 in the morning and start working around 7, you don’t have to follow that rhythm but lets say that it is quite nice to have a change from time to time. Besides you wake early and you go to bed early so you still get the sleep you need. The main reason to keep your routine is that there is only one road to go around the island hence going to Papeete, there is a huge traffic jam every morning when everyone is going to the city to work and around 4h00 PM when everyone is driving home; if you stick to your routine you will avoid all that. By leaving work around 4h00 PM even with traffic you have time to go hang out at the beach with your family, time to go surfing, time to go fishing, time to practice your va’a (the traditional canoe). As the sun sets at 5h30PM, staying late at work means not enjoying the sun as much as you should which is sad in a place like this.
If you don’t have too much work you can go have breakfast on a terrace in the city center, you will find all the French pastries you might fancy. In my case, on the days I wouldn’t be too busy I would go for a dive before coming to work. The best dives are done in the morning, as the water is extremely clear and there is almost no current you get great visibility, you just need to be all woken up at 8 in the morning. After the dive there is no muscle in my body that isn’t relaxed.
In the evening you can go grab something to eat « aux roulottes » those are vans that are transformed into mobile kitchen, you can find them on Vaiate square or almost everywhere on Tahiti Island. There you will be able to eat pizzas, crepes, waffles, brochette de coeur (veal hearts on a stick), chinese food, raw fish salad (local dish), tuna sashimi... The local population isn’t famous for eating healthy food, you will quickly see how fat some men and women can be because they love eating a lot. The local dishes are very healthy but consumer society has arrived on the island so people prefer eating burgers and pizzas, every evening cars are queuing up at the 3 Mc Donald’s of the city (they are all located in a 3 mile radius). The Polynesian population used to stay fit thanks to traditional activities but as society changed due to outside influence the youth preferred the American way of life to the Polynesian one.
Here is one story to explain how much people like to eat. It is possible to buy a whole frozen sheep in the shopping centre for a barbecue. If you go there on Friday evening you will see people with carts containing 2 or 3 sheep.
This is the last part of my survival guide, enjoy your stay in Tahiti.
La suite!
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