adieu!

My home phone and internet have been cut off, so, essentially, I'm off! I'll be travelling for the next five weeks, in France, the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Hungary and Italy. I'll be back at the beginning of August, from Vancouver. See you then.

prêt à partir

One of my two travel bags for July, packed and ready to go in the front hall.

A going-back-to-Canada suitcase.

My sunbathing towel, dirty but perfect for lying on, near the back terrace.

how i feel about parrots.

I am not a fan of parrots.

One of my first-ever jobs was cleaning bird cages at age 15. A friend of a friend was an elderly man who was not longer able to care for the massive cages of his birds, one of which was a parrot. The thing was fiercely territorial. It hated me. Cleaning the cage -- which was, maybe, 8'x8' -- involved me running to one side, opening the door, removing something, and then closing the door and running to the other side and repeating the process. This cage-dance was required because, inside, there was an angry foot-tall bird with a beak like scissors, hurtling itself towards my fingers. It hated me. When I left, it would bop up and down and flap its wings in a little victory dance. What a jerk!

You can see the evil in the eye of this parrot, I think. It's obvious that his great-grandfather was a t-rex.

Also pictured: a pretty flower, in one of the world's largest conservatories at parc phoenix, Nice.

continued...

... Parc Phoenix.

I love lionfish. They always look so sad!

Also, that peacock had one of the longest tails I'd ever seen. Do peacock tails get longer as they age? If so, this guy was re-e-e-eally old!

more parc phoenix

Today was my last day of work -- just invigilated two written exams. Now all I have left is a short meeting on Friday to sum up and hand in my keys. Life here is packing up. Tomorrow I'm going to drop a suitcase off at a friend's place -- I'm not taking my whole life with me when I travel in July -- and on Monday my parents arrive for a week in the south of France. Then on July 2nd I leave for almost a full month of travelling in Eastern Europe. There is much to look forward to.

parc phoenix

26!

Happy birthday to me! Let's celebrate by listening to some great French pop:



Julien Doré - Les Limits -- he has three versions of this video, but I think this one is my favourite. I promise that you'll like this song even if you don't speak french.




Emily Loizeau - Je suis jalouse - with english subtitles, for your benefit!




Dionysos - Tais toi, mon coeur -- not actually my favourite song on this album, but a cute video and more english. I think I found a translation error, though!




Paris Combo - Moi, mon ame et ma conscience - this unofficial video makes this song.




Plastic Bertrand - Ça plane pour moi -- I have been trying to learn the lyrics since September, to do this for karaoke. I think it's impossible. All I can do is "en quatre couleur" and "I am the king of the divan."

the reason I saw all those orchids yesterday

I went to a place called parc phoenix, which was part botanical garden, part bird-only zoo, part very small aquarium ... part world's largest conservatory! More orchids than I've ever seen in my life.

today I saw more orchids than I've ever seen in my life.

Explanations will have to wait until tomorrow. I have to get ready for karaoke!

i don't

... post about my own shop here very often -- or, at least, I try not to -- but I made a new necklace last night and I'm quite happy with how it turned out, so I felt like sharing.

jacques cousteau! bagette!

Included on my short list of places I really ought to go to before my parents arrive in 13 days is the Monaco Aquarium and Oceanographic Museum, where Jacques Cousteau used to work. I love fish, and I love museums that look like they were last curated in 1953.

the perfect topic

I'm currently in the process of trying to find a research area for my PhD. It's pretty difficult work. The idea I've been fleshing out all morning would be great ... if only the late Victorians had written comedies about imperialist expansion ... which I'm starting to think they didn't.

I know a girl who is studying Jewish History in Northern Africa under French Imperialism. I always thought, wow. What a great topic. Group of people, part of the world, time in history. Perfect. If only there was such a neat format for literary studies!

If you don't get many new photos in the coming weeks, it's because I'm holed up in a room, trying to learn about Gilbert & Sullivan.

alas alack

... our brief stant of good weather didn't hold. I ask you, what is the pont of living in a beach town if it's going to rain for weeks on end?

I am comforted somewhat by the memory of this adorable, shiny mohawk pig from the archaeological museum. I believe it is a reconstruction. I also believe that it is adorable.

sea change

Vieux Nice; the old Roman ruins; the port

It has been wet and grey for the past three weeks, but, on Sunday, the skies shifted to blue and the sun finally burned through the clouds. Long may it last!