SPRING IS HERE !!
Edinburgh is finally sunny, warm and beautiful. The flowers are blooming, the trees are all green, people are sipping coffee in terraces and wearing sunglasses..
As I was sharing my happiness with the rest of the office today, a colleague said ‘Ne’er cast a cloot ’til May is oot’.
A bit taken aback, I finally understood that it meant ‘Be careful Amanda, you shouldn’t claim victory till the start of June’
Funnily enough, there is a French saying that goes like this: ‘En avril, ne te découvre pas d’un fil; en mai, fais ce qu’il te plaît’
… which basically translates to ‘Ne’er cast a cloot ’til April is oot’.
:-D
mai 6th, 2008
Taken in India - I promise !
Don’t worry, this blog is not turning into a car-lover’s diary… But I thought about this picture when I posted the Scot Cadillac! Here is a shot from Madurai, in Southern India - apart from the sanskrit writing, who would think it was taken there?
avril 27th, 2008
An unexpected sight !
A ray of sunshine on Old College caught my eye and next thing I know, my iPhone lens catches a surreal moment as a turquoise Cadillac drives by…
avril 25th, 2008
Because of the freshness in the air
Because of the little white dots in the never-ending green hills
Because of those redheads that have terrible breath, lovely curls and heavy legs (yes, I do mean Highland cows)
Because Edinburgh is magical, especially at night, when you feel like you’re walking in Hogwart
Because the pubs are cosy and smoke-free
Because the whiskies are amazing
Because North Berwick is 30 minutes away (see pic below)
Because people are nice
Because people are simple
Because they don’t pretend to know how to dress - ahem
Because they kindly repeat if you don’t understand what they say
Because they always wonder why you like Scotland so much (a French person would never ask you why you like France so much)
Because they can roll “r” when they speak English - but not Spanish
Because they love French
Because they trust young people at work
Because they laugh out loud without worrying whether they look stupid
Because the elderly tell you “Ta, luv” (=thank you, love) when you open the door for them
Because they actually do buy the Big Issue here
Because the way they religiously drink tea 4 times a day is hilarious
… and because I felt at home here the minute I got off that plane.
avril 19th, 2008
Even the Guardian says so: French women are thin, elegant, beautiful, and they’ve got that je-ne-sais-quoi, the French touch, a mix of sexiness, insouciance, personal style and self-confidence.
Cherchez la femme explores the reason why British women so often feel dwarfed by their French counterparts.
I don’t agree with most of what’s said in the article - I think that overall, French women are not more beautiful, or more sexy then the British. We are a little thinner, I’ll give you that (it’s been scientifically proven), but beauty has nothing to do with size - as long as we stay between 30kgs and 150kgs. I’ve seen stunning redheads in Scotland, with way more charisma and “pinta” (ask a Portuguese friend) than the average Parisian brunette.
However, it is true that the way British women dress does not do anything to help them look beautiful… Traditionally, French girls and women are told to look for their own style rather than going for the one-for-all fashionista costume you see in magazines.
That picture was taken at Stansted airport in June 2007. It speaks for itself, doesn’t it?
mars 26th, 2008
Who would be stupid enough to go camping (as in tent-camping, not caravan camping) in the Western Highlands in March?
Turns out, we are!
We camped in Lochgilphead for two nights (enough to really get away from it all, but also enough to get a stiff neck, runny nose and sore back), to visit the surrounding areas, in particular the Crinan canal, the Moine Mhor, the Crinan hotel, the Tayvallich Inn and the standing stones at Kilmartin.
First of all, we were greeted on the road by numerous sheep, completely at ease with the passing cars, quietly feeding their offspring - sometimes in odd positions….
Crinan was breath-taking… The bright colours of the boats, the locks, the perfectly green grass, the deep-blue sea, and the islands just off the shore… A truly magical place, I wish we had more time there, walking the canal from Lochgilphead to Crinan must be a great walk!
We were lucky enough to see one boat operate the locks! There were not that many sailing the canal, apparently Scots are not as mad as we are, and Easter isn’t even ‘early in the season’, it’s more of a ‘what the heck are you doing out here with this cold??’ sort of feeling…
The Crinan Hotel definitely lived up to our expectations, we gorged ourselves on beautiful, local salmon, scallops and macquerel… The views on the harbour were very enjoyable, as was the all-wooden, cosy and quiet atmosphere of the restaurant.
A bit pricey (we’re cutting on accomodation budget to afford nice restaurants - yep, definitely French!!) but worth it. They make really nice home-made shortbread as well
We ran into this nice fella in the middle of a long walk into the forest, which nearly ended up badly, since we pathetically lost ourselves… Needless to say, it was our fault, the map I took was an 1994 one. After 4.5 hours of walking (the last hour being a bit scary as we had no idea where we were), a nice Glaswegian appeared out of nowhere and saved our lives (yes, I like to dramatize). Phew.
On the last day, we drove down to Keilmore, where we got a glimpse of what the end of the world surely looks like. Two abandoned houses facing the ocean and its fierce winds, with only the isle of Jura to break the horizon.
But on the way there, we of course took advantage of the Tayvallich Inn, and enjoyed beautiful moules marinières… On ne se refait pas :)
mars 25th, 2008
The Brass Monkey, Drummond street, Edinburgh
Located about 150m from our place (we’re lazy, lazy people), The Brass Monkey is a pub with a twist - it is mainly decorated in red (raaaaaaaah lovely) and has a cinema theme, but not in the boring, 1950-black-and-white-Greta-Garbo or Charlie-Chaplin-way…
The first room is a ‘normal’ one (see pic below), with a bar and stalls. Yes, it does have a TV but I’ve never seen anyone stare at it and let alone shout at it (eugh).
The second room is a lot more funky. It’s covered in cushions and low tables (see first pic), so you can lie down, relax and enjoy your pint in an Roman-orgy kind of atmosphere, without the inappropriate touching.
The walls are decorated with movie posters, they have a good range of whiskies (including Glenmorangie and Glenkinchie, yummy), the music is usually very good and it’s reasonaly unexpensive - que demande le peuple ? ;)
Photos are property of Lizvang, and I hope she won’t mind me using them to illustrate this post!
mars 20th, 2008
Graduation day, 27 November 2007, McEwan Hall, Edinburgh
We don’t have graduation ceremonies in France, and I think it’s a shame. The tradition, the gowns, the speeches, it was all magical, I felt part of an Harry Potter novel!
And most importantly, it all made me feel proud of what I had just achieved.
.
mars 16th, 2008
Edinburgh Filmhouse currently hosts the French Festival, and although I did miss Jean-Pierre Darroussin (dammit!), we managed to see a great, great movie today.
Directed by
Louis Malle and released in 1990, the movie explores the peculiar
May 1968 events in France.
It does so from a rather surprising point of view, this of a group of friends and family reunited in a summer house following the death of the grandmother. The radio is their only point of contact to the ‘outside world’, the world of strikes, protests, free love and street violence.
I’ve seen and heard countless analysis about what happened in May 1968 in France, but this movie present a whole other side to this, by choosing to focus on how the events were perceived from a rural area, between two picnics on the grass.
As any family, this one counts with young rebels (driving ‘Deux Chevaux‘ and singing the Internationale), old nostalgics (of times when they didn’t have to explain what ‘the pill’ is to their grand-daughter), yuppies in their mid-30s (who wonder why the army is not stepping in and showing some balls) and the weird skinny girl (who is a lesbian into SM).
This diversity allows Louis Malle to present different points of view on the events in Paris, criticize every single socio-economic groups, the wealthy and the poor, the rebels and the traditionals, the hopeless and the fearless.
Possibly the best scene is when the young priest, praying by the side of the deceased grandmother, subtly bends over to reach the volume control of the radio and turn louder, to hear the latest news on what barricade have formed in Paris…
Priceless.
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mars 15th, 2008
Jökulsárlón lagoon, Iceland, July 08
I see this picture everyday as I set it as my desktop background on my PC at work.
Every time a colleague comes to take a look at something on my computer, they literally gasp and ask where on earth that is… I once got ‘Is that a Photoshop image?? Man it’s well done!’
For more info on this amazing place, the Wikipedia page is quite good.
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mars 13th, 2008
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