chocolate, fries, and all that jazz

The warm weather is now distant memory, but I am loving the cold and I really hope it snows here. Speaking of the cold, I'm already wearing fuzzy socks at home. I love fuzzy socks.

Two weekends ago, I made a brief escape to Belgium with a friend thanks to a cheap flight ticket. This time, I was able to go to Brugge, where it was surprisingly very sunny, despite the cold temperature.

So, our train on Friday night was gloriously delayed by almost an hour. Not sure what happened, but because of the delay, the train didn't stop in Lille and directly went from Paris to Brussels. I guess we made up for lost time during that detour. Either way, by the time we got to our hotel, it was already past midnight. Waking up the next morning around 6h30 was a joy to catch the train around 8am to Brugge. During the entire hour train ride, we had to listen to a bunch of Spanish people talk while we were trying to get some sleep. They spent about 30 mins debating on the finer points of how to say "Brugge."  Half asleep, we heard, " So is it 'Brrrruge?' Brruha?' 'Bruuje?' For 30 MINUTES.

Brugge was beautiful, almost like Annecy but with a North European flavor. Beautiful and quaint little buildings with SO MUCH CHOCOLATE. I'm all chocolated out.

Beautiful little canals

Center square

Cute house

After visiting the chocolate museum and the diamond museum, we made our way back to the train station and headed back to Brussels to enjoy the rest of the time there. Having been there nearly four years ago, I still remember streets and sights and of course, Tintin. We mostly spent the rest of Saturday wandering about old town and visiting a lot of chocolate stores. THERE WERE SAMPLES OF EVERY CHOCOLATE in most of the stores.

We decided to skip going inside the Centre Belge de la Bande Desinée as I've been there before and my friend was content on going into the bookstore in there.

There's a musical instruments museum in Brussels featuring all different kinds of instruments from all over the world. I'd say that was a favorite of mine. Some instruments were pretty trippy though and makes you wonder how sounds could possibly be made from those.

From street musicians to fries to music in Brussels, I'd say it was a pretty good trip. Looking forward to more adventures to come in the next few weeks. The Fete des Lumières is the first weekend of December! I'm definitely looking forward to this as I've missed it for the past 3 years.

Paris tomorrow! Bon weekend, everyone!

catching up!

I am a terrible blogger. It has definitely been awhile since I've blogged. In that time, I've been to Estonia and Finland. And I took 4 glorious days of a long weekend to spend it in the countryside. Indeed, I think I'll stay mostly in France for the moment since I'm short on funds. In other news, I have signed up for the 10k Run in Lyon race. The goal is to run it in less than an hour!

In the meantime, to keep me busy, I've been following the NPT 2014 Prepcom like mad, through live stream webtv or twitter. Occasionally, it's quite amusing to poke fun at some of the statements. This week is the Group of Experts meeting on Lethal Autonomous Robots, so I'll be following that as well.

So, Estonia. For the first time, I actually had to use Russian, not counting the times in Geneva. But in Tallinn, most of the young people speak English. Most of the older ones didn't, so the Russian was quite useful. I was pleased that I actually had to speak Russian. The old town in Tallinn was beautiful. Outside the old city, I can definitely see the architecture of the Soviet Union. If you go to Tallinn, I highly recommend the KGB museum. It's inside a hotel, called Hotel Viru. The reason why this hotel was built was to accommodate all the tourists that wanted to visit Tallinn. However, the Soviet Union government didn't want those outsiders to talk to the folks in town so this hotel was designed to be a closed hotel, where everything you ever need is inside the hotel. You would never have to leave the hotel. In this way, the Soviet Union kept all the foreigners in one place. The spying was done inside the hotel. Cameras and recording devices were everywhere. In fact, this sign on a door cracked me up.

It says: "There is nothing here." Some logic the KGB had. This is an original office on the 23rd floor where they held the KGB. The room was left as it is after the KGB fled, right after the fall of the Soviet Union. If you want to go, be sure to reserve online. You'd pay at the museum, 9 euros. 

City gates

It was gorgeously sunny for the entire 4 days during Easter. This Russian Orthodox Cathedral was magnificent. One of my friends was baptized here. Beautiful on the inside and definitely worth visiting. Old town takes awhile to get through if you're planning to explore every nook and cranny. Of course, in any old town, there are hills to climb and cobblestones to conquer. But honestly, that's the charms of old towns! It's amazing that it is so intact and ancient. The remaining ancient city walls have remained mostly connected, though I can't imagine people running up and down the stairs since they're unimaginably steep. How do you run up and down those things if there's actually a battle going on?

Town hall

View of the harbor from St. Olaf's Cathedral 

View of Old town from St. Olaf's Cathedral

Easter day was reserved for a quick day trip to Helsinki, Finland. The boat ride took 2h40 each way, but roundtrip ticket was only 28 euros. Honestly, if it weren't a Sunday and Easter, things would have been opened. However, because it was a Sunday and Easter, all the museums were closed, except restaurants and churches. Oh, not to mention, it is an expensive city. One hour on the public transportation will cost you three euros. Luckily, despite most things being closed, it was sunny day. A boat ride to Finland (on right)

Helsinki Cathedral

Cute church where most of my French family were baptized

The four days that I spent in the countryside was, like I said, the most relaxing four days I ever had. I hopped on the train Wednesday after work, got picked up at the train station, and give into my brain's need to rest. Besides sleeping and eating, we watched films, went on walks, and went to Troyes. I slept in for the first time in my life! I was also able to put in two days of running, did lots of reading and feeling generally free from the lack of wifi. The place was great to train for the race. I definitely need to go there more often.

By Lac d'Orient

Here, the flowers are yellow. In the south, they're purple (morning run)

We took Friday afternoon off to go to Troyes, a city not far from Paris.

Troyes Cathedral

Inside the Cathedral

Looking forward to more adventures on the way. A trip to Paris has been scheduled at the end of the month! I may head south in June and after that, we'll see where the wind blows me. Life in Lyon is absolutely wonderful. I still plan on loving this city for many years to come. The goal this month is to find a church that'll suit me and continue to read those English and French books.

À la prochaine!

a beautiful thing called vacation (and coffee break)

Who knew I would crave for sleep so much?

I'm also on a coffee break that will end tomorrow. Why am I doing this? Because I'm under a treaty known as the Comprehensive Coffee Ban Treaty. The treaty started Monday and goes until Friday. Yes, even after school is over, I (and my friend) are still nerds. Look, we even have verification methods! In fact, here's the treaty (It's modeled after the Chemical Weapon Convention):

Comprehensive Coffee Ban Treaty (CCBT)

Preamble:
The States Parties to this Convention,

Determined to achieve effective progress towards general and complete decaffeination under strict and effective international control,

Bearing in mind the horrific damage caused by the indiscriminate use of coffee during the One Day Module War,

Determined for the sake of all mankind, to exclude completely the possibility of the further use of coffee in Module production,

Desiring to promote the trade and development of peaceful beverages,

Have agreed as follows:

Article I: General Obligations
1. Each State Party to this Convention undertakes, for a five day period, not:
a) To produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile or retain coffee, or transfer, directly or indirectly, coffee to third parties;
b) To employ coffee;
c) To encourage or assist in any way a third party from obtaining, stockpiling, or retaining coffee.

2. Each State Party to this Convention undertakes, for a five day period, to destroy all current stocks of coffee under its control, regardless of its current location or control sub-delegation.

3. Each State Party to this Convention undertakes, for a five day period, to:
a) repatriate any forwards-deployed coffee capable devices;
b) refrain from positioning coffee capable devices within 100 meters of national borders;
c) freeze the development of new coffee capable devices.

4. Each State Party to this Convention undertakes to destroy all coffee making devices or convert all coffee making devices to peaceful use for the duration of the agreement.

5. Each State Party to this Convention must abide to the Verification Protocol in Annex I.

Article II: Definitions and Criteria
For the purposes of this Convention:

1. “Coffee precursors” means the following, together or separately:
a) the seeds of several species of shrubs of the Coffea genus, as defined in Appendix A, and physical changes of the above, including but not limited to ground versions;
b) synthetic equivalents to such substances.

2. “Coffee” is defined as coffee precursors which have been converted into Module-useable form, regardless of method, and notably including but not limited to through the boiling, steeping, or pressurizing of coffee precursors.

3. “Coffee capable devices” are defined as any device which produces coffee, by any method, including but not limited to boiling, steeping, and pressurizing, except if:
a) the maximum quantity produced is less than 1mL;
or if:
b) the maximum concentration of caffeine is less than 1 ppm.

Annex I: Verification Protocol
Definition:
1. "Challenge Inspection" means the inspection of an area under the jurisdiction or control of a State Party, as requested by another State Party, within the bounds of the Implementation protocol.

Implementation:
1. States may request a Challenge Inspection at any time within the five day period covered by the Convention, which must announce a location to be inspected of no more than 10m in diameter.

2. States facing a Challenge Inspection request must grant access to the location stipulated within two hours of the demand.

3. In the event that a state refuses a Challenge Inspection, the state in violation of its Convention agreement is required to buy lunch for five days to the state which requested a Challenge Inspection.

4. Claims of violations based on the results of a Challenge Inspection will be submitted to the Skype Security Council.

Appendix A:
Refer to Fig. 14.1, Lashermes Philippe, Bertrand Benoît, Etienne Hervé, “Breeding Coffee (Coffea arabica) for Sustainable Production,” Breeding Plantation Tree Crops: Tropical Species, eds. S. Mohan Jain, P. M. Priyadarshan (New York: Springer, 2009), 527.

Charming. I'm craving for coffee terribly, but I have get through today and tomorrow. Having this coffee detox is probably a good idea for my sanity. I'm sure I'll have better coffee when I go back to France. In just a month and five days, I'll be back in my sweet home, Lyon!

weekend getaway in slovenia and croatia!

How can I possibly stay away from Slovenia after the last visit 2 years ago? Here I am again in the land of cute villages, burek, turbo-folk music, polka, beautiful countrysides, among others. What a treat it was to see a friend I haven't seen in 2 years! Several differences between the first visit and this one. Unlike last time, I'm not sick, so I got to go to Zagreb, Croatia on Friday! The weather wasn't the best but when travelling, one doesn't complain about that. Also, I actually found myself understanding a bit of Slovenian and Croatian, thanks to my Russian training. It makes me want to master Russian even more now and then learn Slovenian and Croatian. Made my time in both countries a lot easier this time around being able to understand snatches of conversation so I don't look like an idiot on the street. I didn't really go into town much, just explored the outskirts, since I was mostly in Ljubljana last time around and have seen a lot of it.

With that said, voici some of my adventures in Slovenia and Croatia: 

Zagreb: I managed to go on a day where the senior high schoolers are partying and rejoicing like no other. They're celebrating because they got into college and it's a huge show on the streets with screaming, shooting each other with water, and dressing in different colors. Apparently, in the states, we have graduation party, other here, they go all out on the streets in the center of the city:

An advice to anyone going for a day trip from Ljubljana to Zagreb, the train system isn't the best here. There's a train that goes from Ljubljana at 8h15 and gets there around 10h35. To get back, there's one that leaves at 12h30, or 18h25. Nothing in between if you want to come back earlier. Just be prepared for the inefficient train system here. Otherwise, you're good. To see a timetable, click here. Roundtrip tickets cost 25 Euros. 

Having slept for nearly most of the ride, I got out of the train station, somewhat more awake and ready to explore this place. Zagreb is divided into the Upper town and Lower town. If you go to the information center in the train station, you should be able to get a map that outlines the routes for both parts of town. The route also covers most of the museums too if that interests you.

Zagreb has a great coffee culture and I would have sat down outside in a coffee bar had the weather been nicer. I spent most of the time walking around town and visiting museums and churches. A lot of coffee places are in the upper town. 

View from Upper Town

Check out this museum, totally worth it. To get in, you'll have to pay 25 Kunas

THE MARKET

It was kind of hard to see that Croatia was part of the ex-Yugoslavia country. Now completely vibrant with life and culture (although their economy isn't doing so well), Croatia is set to join the EU this year in July. So this will probably be the last few months before you get passport checked and stamped. And now, my passport proudly holds the stamps of both Slovenia and Croatia. Must. Visit. Other. Balkan. Countries. Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro are on my list!

The Museum of Broken Relationships has a pretty darn good exhibition of stories, things that represented past relationships, people searching for peace and etc. Go there and get a peace of mind or perhaps be amused by some stories.

Ljubljana: I was mostly in the outskirts of the city this time. Lots of cute villages, beautiful weather and beautiful scenery. Some photos:

Cows everywhere. It's like I never left Davis

At a Veselica  (the merriest party in every village in spring/summer!)

An excerpt of the music and dancing!

A snail slowly making its way 

Ice cream and friends. Life is good

Reunited with this beautiful instrument!

I was in the center of Ljubljana just for 3 hours before my flight, so voici some old familiar sites:

Next to Ljubljana river

The Market!

The Dragon Bridge!

And last but not least:

We made cake :))

So there you have it, my short yet pleasant vacation to Slovenia and Croatia. I can't wait to go back again when I'm in Europe once more :) 

lyon, je t'aime toujours

Another beautiful weekend in Lyon. The weather has definitely improved and I can officially say that spring is in the air (it took long enough!)

It was pretty cloudy and rainy leaving Geneva and getting into France. Luckily, it became super sunny in the afternoon, which I was really grateful for. I don't think I was prepared for the trip at all, having literally packed the morning of the trip. Not to mention sleeping poorly because again because I had the strangest dream. Apparently, I dreamt that I was in an interrogation room, getting bombarded with questions about Syria's chemical weapons. And for some reason, I was asked about their clandestine nuclear weapons program (which doesn't exist). I just remembered it being extremely tiring and draining and my life being threatened. What a dream.

Maybe I need a long, long break. If that's even possible. Because I completely lost my head Saturday afternoon....and lost my friend's key. But seriously, how could I remember my route (because I retraced it to try to locate the key) and not remember where the key went??

Apparently, I had also forgotten you could hear everything going on outside on the streets while in the house. I mean the walls in each apartment are thick so you don't hear the neighbors but you hear everything outside in the streets. Such as, drunk people singing past midnight in the streets. I feel like I'm outside next to them in a sing-along.

I thought I was going to take carpooling back to Geneve Sunday night, instead I took the train back Monday morning, bright and early. My friend went to Paris and was taking the train at the same time as me, so she offered to take me in a taxi to the train station. I pretty much slept through the entire train ride, and was late to work because the train was late. Nonetheless, I'm happy to have stayed in Lyon until Monday. Everyday I tell myself that I'm so lucky to be able to go back to Lyon on a monthly basis  and I'm so grateful for my friend's hospitality.

Saturday and Sunday, a nice walk around town through old town and Croix-Rousse. Beautiful views and spending time with my favorite people in the world.

Sur la Saône

Le marché aux puces

View of Fourvière, a constant reminder that I'm home

Hôtel de ville

one of my favorite cafés in Croix-Rousse

Et voilà, my most lovely trip to Lyon. All in my favorite places, with my favorite people. What more could I ask for? And it's been such a privilege to see another beautiful friend with her little girl who moved to Australia. It's been 2 years since I've seen them and I never thought I'd see them so soon much less under the same roof as my Lyonnaise friend! What a odd little family we make (the best kind of course). You'll find us having a jolly ole' time together, or find us working away at the same table.

I can't believe I have just under 2 months left of my internship. Time is going by too fast, but I look forward to the next part of my life during the summer as well as the last (hopefully) semester of grad school. Seriously, it's time to move to the work force. Or. Maybe I could just drop everything and move back to France. That idea doesn't even need entertaining because it's bound to happen. I can feel it deep within me.

Bon courage pour la reprise, tout le monde!
Aka, Happy Monday!