Fleur De Lori

POSTERITY ::: My old blog description from 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:15:00 +0000

Allons-y as I pack my St. Louis bags and head for Lyon, FRANCE to teach and be taught in the classroom of life! Did I mention I'm a Hugenot? There may be drama, there may be culture shock, but most importantly, there will be dancing - so I'm good.

No one in Europe wears cowboy boots.

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 12:32:00 +0000

I spent the last day marching around Paris. (are you checking my instagrams?? Eventually I'll figure out a way to get all my europe stuff to go to all my platforms -- ok enough techspeak, you're in europe lori! Talk about architecture and culture already!) I must've walked 10 miles all over - louvre, pont neuf, tuleries, sacre coeur, belleville, and an old church, also Notre Dame), but hey, I'm sortof uniquely qualified for that. I love a long walk through a town. Taking it to the streets makes me feel like I'm a person who lives in town and I'm just like, trying to get somewhere. I could walk 20 miles and not really notice. I climbed up to the Sacre Coeur, too. Yeah, I'm bragging. I have leg fitness, I'm proud.

In other news, there's a lot of macho culture here in Paris. Lots of dudes want to tell me how beautiful I am and generally it makes me feel skeeved out. It's not like Maurice Chevalier dancing around a lightpost kinda stuff. Calm it down dudes, it's annoying! And with that, I will stop complaining. I like how provocative my shoes are though. They may as well be space boots. Some teenagers mustered up the english skills to ask me if I was a cowboy, and i relished the opportunity to sass right back at them, "No, are you?" - of course now I can think of a million other funnier things to say to these dudes, but I did ok, and in french!

I am loving all the french people crowded outside drinking a beer and having intense conversations - in cafes and on canals - it is a pastime that I really vibed with when I lived here, and I miss opportunities for that in my everyday american life - partly b/c i don't try hard enough, partly because I dont' really like being that deep all the time and partly because there are like 90% more places to drink a beer and look intellectual but actually be talking about like, cheese or shampoo or something in France. Ambiance is key.

I can't wait to go back to Lyon and get a Biere au Peche - just sharing that with you. I'm so happy to be returning to Lyon and to my fav family, the Calderos. They are angels. We're going to sing ray charles all night and talk about Quentin Tarantino. OMG i can't wait. It's like they were sent to me from heaven, I can't even.

I don't know if many of you who know me have witnessed it, but I am crazy good at speaking french. It's almost like the time away from speaking it has made me better? Maybe I just don't care now that I'm an older lady and I'm less judgmental of myself, & I just wanna talk. I JUST WANNA TALK! I have also noticed how much I have forgotten how to speak italian and spanish. I never forget french, i guess I take it for granted that i'm 900% better at chatting in french because of some fortuitous timing and some abroad trips early in my foreign language development moments.

So, my walk through paris yesterday was lovely, my hostel has wifi so I can work and take skype calls and generally have my own mini coworking space and I can stay in touch with my clients, i just wrote a lot of postcards, I found the perfect shoulder bag for travelling and I'm reading the Happiness Project and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas! (liking them both...they're kindof complimentary).

European cities are so pleasantly accomodating to tourism, it really really really is inspiring me to keep up the prep to launch bestcityever.tumblr.com - I could be the Rick Steves of AMERICA! The prospect of even trying fills me with bubbles of hope for the future. PS Rick Steves is awesome. Just don't bother with any other european travel dude. He has such a lighthearted attitude. He is my guru.

I catch the train for Geneva in a few hours, where I'll spend the night with my college pal Katie (yay, friends!) and we're getting picked up by my college friend Chann and we're driving to a wedding! THE wedding. The reason I got my ticket and am taking this ride. I'm already getting sentimental about this wedding, I wish I'd brought waterproof mascara! It's gonna be a weeper.

Fleur de Lori REOPENED FOR BUSINESS

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 03:44:00 +0000

I was thinking about how I was going to keep track of all the whatevers that are going to be happening on my 2013 trip to Europe (last time I updated this was 6 years ago, on my last trip) and I thought what better idea than to re-open Fleur de Lori!

Woo! Check here for daily updates for all your Lori travel centric needs.

I leave tomorrow and I gotta finish packing!
I'll probably blog again from JFK tomorrow!

Updates coming soon

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:59:00 +0000

Realizing that I just didn't cover some countries, I'm going to be revisiting the back of my mind to fill you all in on the going's on of almost a year ago. Whoa.

Spain is the perfect place to end one´s country hopping

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Sat, 12 May 2007 16:01:00 +0000

Especially before returning to france to ride my bike by rivers and eat like, au gratin potatoes and other regional specialties.

But as for Granada .... It´s so hot here! It feels super super nice, the real heat.
Its pretty dry, its sortof crazy. There are at least 4 hammocks in my hostel´s garden courtyard. Legit.

This one gypsy -- after he tole me I was ¨juapa¨--- and invited me to dance or something, saying:

¨there´s flamenco in the mountains--- in caves¨

It was pretty much the most creepy/awesome thing ever said to me, and I was in a good mood bc his friend was a good flamenco singer dude, and I was getting some sun (If i haven´t told you before, I think I´m photosynthetic a little). Still, I was like, yeah, no thanks.... as much as I love flamenco, I´m going to wait until I know spanish, and kung fu, to come to dance flamenco in the mountains.

Actually, I should probably also learn flamenco. Spain´s existance will be a nice inspiration for me to pursue hobbies I had already intended to pick up. I can pretty much fake all the aforementioned things, but that´s just not the same as acutally knowing how to do stuff.

When I was having dinner with the Calderos, who are awesome (and who my friend Julia .. who I´ve known since I was 0-- is going to meet) I mentioned that sure, I´d figured out what I wanted to do, career-wise, but I thought I´d like to learn computer programming or something, too.... and Phillipe, Mr. Caldero to...well to pretty much no one (maybe his math students) said, ¨Lori, you must decide!¨

But I know he was kidding, since he´s a mathematician that likes to play David Bowie on his piano, and was in a one hit wonder band in Martinique in the 80s.

PS Becca helped me to figure out that I probably have some Black Irish ancestors (I´m thinking paternal grandmother) ... which would really really explain why most europeans I meet - when I ask them ¨what¨I look like, since I don´t really know - say....hmmm, you have a very latin face. Its the black irish! Spanish invaders in Ireland! This is why someone at the Methodist Church in kirkwood asked me if I was from South America! It would alsol explain why my dad looks sortof Spanish, especially in my family pictures from when we are young and bouncy blonde german lookin´kids! It really has unfurrowed my brow a great deal, this insight.

Argentina - best restaurant owner Vernazza!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:06:00 +0000

Argentina - best restaurant owner Vernazza!!
Originally uploaded by lolololori.

Blythe and I, being naturals at the whole "lets take 7 hours to eat dinner" thing that Italy seemed to have going for it, of course were the last ones to leave Volterra's best restaruant, whose name I have forgotten.
However, if you go there, just ask whoever you're staying with where to find Arge's (short for Argentina) place, and they'll probably know exactly where to find her, and heck, they will probably be related to her, b/c the town is rather tiny.

Arge, generous broken italian interpreter exemplaire, spoke to us about her name, her game and her love of restaruant owning. She is all about just chatting away for no good reason other than the best reason - just because. We spoke to her in english/italian, but by this time of the trip/night/wine bottle I was pretty confident in my italian speaking, and probably even ventured outside of the present tense a few times, hey-o.

The Precioius Georgian Couple were seated in the corner, and slightly impressed with our speaking italian, but my favorite Precious Georgian Couple moment was yet to come. Of course, the Precious Georgian Lady, PGL, had already asked us if we had boyfriends, so she knew we were single ladies (shock!) travelling. Being a true PGL, she was on the lookout for us at dinner, and made sure we knew that the Germans dressed as Fiddler on the Roof Chorus members (who were travelling around the Continent fixing people's roofs, as per some tradition -- they also had a cool walking stick) were "lookeein at y'all!" And then she did a little flapper-esque dance to show that we were single, they were single, hey! It was pretty hilarious.

Anyway, Arge ruled, and my anchovy pie ruled (it was quite inTENSE, but I tried to eat it) And my coffee had foam that looked like italy. It was another night of just chillin' with random people.

Blythe goes medieval

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 09:53:00 +0000

Blythe goes medieval
Originally uploaded by lolololori.

Earlier that day, Blythe and I decided to go on a crazy hike, b/c that's what you do in Cinqueterre. Blythe had heard that the paths were dangerous, so I was anxious to find out if they were "don't go there when you're drunk b/c you'll fall into the sea" or "roving bandits" type of dangerous.

I think it was the former, b/c I only saw not-quite-open, but awesome-looking cliffside restaurants, and a lot of fun trees to climb (not to mention crazy hiking germans with walking sticks).

Anyway, it was a killer hike - I was really feelin' the nature and it was also somewhat strenuous and painful, but in a good way. The views were crazy, and I only almost fell down once. It was a little misty/hazy for our hike, but that didn't realy affect much - if anything it kept it nice and cool&breezy. We hiked to Corniglia, and I wanted to go further, but part of the trail further had fallen into the ocean, and well, we were hangry and tired so the train we took back to Volterra to have dinner.

Dinner was quite an affair, what with Argentina, the best restauranteuse ever, The Precious Georgian Couple, and some Germans dressed up like chorus members of Fiddler on the Roof -- and some crazy Volterrian specialty that was like an anchovy pizza thing.

Cinque Terre - 5 lands of fun

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 09:42:00 +0000

cool relic from WWII!
Originally uploaded by lolololori.

After a train ride from Pisa (where we took pictures of everyone pretending to be holding it up, and where we were, like many people, unimpressed with Pisa Proper), we were not sure if we were headed to La Spezia, last stop before going to cinque terre.

So we stayed in a nice hotel rom in La Spezia, watched music videos and generally fell asleep, as we were more tired than either or us wanted to admit.

We wake up, and after the supremely unhelpful train attendants helped us not at all, we had a sandwich and went to one of the 5 cities. We sat around, watch the children play, and decided to go to Volterra (I think) to find a room.

We waded through the cats (so many cats in a fishing village) to find a "camera" and I rang a bell. Suddenly all the windows nearby open and these kind, dried-apple old ladies start waving in every which direction. At last Martina, a younger local, shows us up to her rooms, which are lovely, and smell of saltwater and beachiness. Its great!

I don't remember if we ate in that night or what, but the night we we did go out, we wentdown to where the fishermen in safety orange were having a coffee (so much coffee to be had) and met a swell couple from Georgia, with whom we shared a few words and they helped us figure out where to eat later on that evening. They were awesomely Georgian, and in their southernly way told us about some american who was living with an italian who makes stone fortress/condos/hotel rooms up on the hill and how respected he is buy the community and how his american girlfriend has a baby that her parents havn't even seen. (Secret hidden implication -- they're NOT MARRIED!!! How does that even happen to people?)

Anyway, they were precious as precious can be, and a most excellent travelin' Southern couple.

San Gimangniano days, Siena nights

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:48:00 +0000

Stretchin near San Gimangniano
Originally uploaded by lolololori.

Ok, so we went to San Gimigniano (sic?).

It was the town in Tea with Mussolini where, if you will journey back with me a bit, Judy "the" Dench ties herself and her cute dog to a bomb that the Germans were going to set off on one of the towers b/c she can do that sort of thing b/c she is The Dench. (to me, at least)

So we went and I am a genius, so I accidentally got us INTO the city in Jimmy (who, you should know by now, is our car) and probably drove around on a sidewalk for a bit, doing an Austin Powers-esque U turn on that sidewalk, much to the bepuzzlement of a nice old lady and her daughter carrying some groceries. OOops!

We found parking, where you see miss blythe, stretching (due to our miles long quest to re-find Jimmy, we had to walk a lot, and needed a stretch --- you would, too), and we set off. We saw towers, and we saw olive trees, and I made blythe climb to the top of a lot of stairs a few times. I supposed Austin is not as hilly as Lyon, so I am more thrilled by the prospect of a good stair climb to chill in some monk garden on a hill than she. But we did it, and together.

We were going to hit up a winery just northeast, but decided that we'd rather go get ready for dinner and go to sienna to beging hte 6 hour process of eating.

We park Jimmy next to the Insane Asylum/hospital, since that's the easiest place to RE-find, and set off to wander around (it was walking hour) and to find a place for a prosecco and some munchies. We finally, in all our hangriness (hunger induced anger/moodiness = hanger) decided upon Miami Cafe, and despite its lame name, was cool and local and had some nice little square pizza things that were amazing.

Done with our aperitivo, the great trattoria search began. Why not try BEHIND the big old building in the middle of the palio, we think?

We think right.

The trattoria we go to has books and other totally random stuff lining the walls, and 4 big tables, where they'd sit one couple on one side, and another on another side.

I don't remember what we got - i do remember that the dessert was strangely lemon/lime/merengue/licorice/? tasting, but actually it was a nice finish to things. I was a little concerned that we had an american couple next to us from like, Ohio or something ("crap, we chose a touristy place, this couple does not look cool" = my inner monologue), but luckily they were not awesome like us and only stayed 2 hours (I think we stayed like 5, to be honest, i love eating in Italy) making room for the best table-sharers ever, Gaia and her Husband of German/Austrian Descent! (never caught his name).

Blythe and I were having, as one does, wine fueled and firey conversatoins about life and such, and since its italy, we could be pretty loud and no one would notice b/c italians talk CRAZY loud.

Our table-sharers were nice enough to inquire where we were from, and talk about this and that, and I played the "i speak incredibly broken, but believably earnest italian" and blythe played some other card I probably didn't see and next thing you know it, we are all best friends. !

Gaia had been coming to this place for ages - she said she took her first date here, and now she was taking her husband, so it was super cool for her. Her lovely husband was nice enough to indulge us in some of his (probably way more expensive than our) wine, and it was all lovely, and we all got to try it and then make faces of approval. Gaia was buddies with the owner/head waiter, so he came to sit with us and talk about life. Blythe and the husband and the owner talked about WWII's effect on Italy vs. Germany, and about how Israel isn't necessarily always the good guy just b/c their Israel...blythe got snaps for her international/"person with a brain who uses it" perspective, I'm sure.

Meanwhile, me and Gaia were talking about how you can't stress yourself out too young, and one must travel and learn languages so that you can really live when you are the righ tage to really live. Something like that. it sounded really Profound and True in italian. I really liked speaking italian with Gaia, she was wonderful about correcting me in a very helpful way, and she is now my inspiration to learn Spanish and German. Ha, that reminds me, she was like, Oh, the german people, you must study! So fascinating a people, blah blah. I loved Gaia and her husband.

Mr. Gaia didn't like the strange yellow wine the owner brought out, and when he was away, Mr. Gaia would scoff silently to the girls, saying, "it tastes like Llamma (or some such ridiculous animal) piss." To that Gaia would scoff back at her awesomely drunk husband, and it was just sortof great. Oh man, it was a planetary allignment indeed. All from just STAYING where we were, ready to welcome whatever would be happening. I mean the food itself was worth the rest, but the people too? Wow.

We took a picture together (Gaia, Me and Blythe) at my urging, and being all wined up and whatnot, all the ladies were happy to oblige. Mr. Gaia was ready to give the stage to the ladies, so he's only narrowly in the shot. I was able to email Gaia (cool name, sidenote) the photo, and she emailed us photos of her kids at halloween (they were all dressed up as a famly of pirates!) and her and Mr. Gaia on vacation.

Real friends! I love it! Just thinking about it makes my heart want to tap dance.

Anyway, after reluctantly saying goodbye - closing town the trattoria about 2 hours after everyone else was gone.

It turns out Gaia's father, still a college professor and a writer at like, 90, invented the xray or brought it to Italy, or something totally ridiculous like that. Blythe did a good job of having a real or affected clue about that. I did a good job of being wowed, and talking about how I can't wait to be old and sprightly and wise and have birthday cakes with lots of candles.

After Gaia and her man walked off into the siena streets, blythe and I decided to roll around on the Campo in glee, b/c really there is no other way to express glee, especially not that late at night.

On our way back we ran into some youths, one of whom tried to charm us by telling us his american girlfriend had just broken up with him, so like, he neede comfort, and he had roses for us (Mine's pressed in some book now)....the best part was that the girl of the group kept on telling them that they were full of crap and that their crap would not work on these smart lookin' girls. Well she was right, and it was fun to say goodbye to them, and as we walked away, the "charming" one was nice enough to sing me a little song across tha campo that went a little something like this, "Loooooooooorrriiiiiiiiii."

A good song, but an even better night.

!

DirtyCoast is cooler than StL-Style

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:02:00 +0000

I hate to say it, but DirtyCoast.com is way cooler than her sista up the riva, StL-Style.com.

I am really loving their Crawfish (known to Me as a crawDAD) ...crawSOMETHING shirt. Its cool, and I want to get it for my dad, so he can again be accidentally cool.

Why!? I hope they really use the "everyone loves a good tshirt" (hello Threadless) to the advantage of St. Louis at large, b/c i think they totally could. Why NOT?! New Orleans makes me jealous.

I love the revolving flash banner thing, (Look at the smorgasboarrd over there on the right) whose image changes faster than I change my mind about whether I like StL or NOLA more, and I love the "Be Hot, Be Local" tagline bigtime. I know of quite a few Stlsters who'd be pretty enthused to banner themselves up, not to mention to be hot and local.

Plus Mr. DirtyCoast gave me a nice list of NOLA blogs to read - that was rather kind of him.

StLStyle, you could be such a force for good, and you already are, a little.
Fry the big (craw)fish, already! I just don't think its possible to start up another tshirt company, create dissent, etc... in a town that needs all the unity it could get.

There are at least 20 local foods/traditions/whatever that, with a good design and a clever little somethin', would look nice on anyone's chest.

Sigh.

Indiana Jones, and the Lost Blogpost of Glory

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 13:01:00 +0000

February Vacation
Originally uploaded by lolololori.

Ok, fine, I promised I'd write more about Italy, and I'm feeling sufficiently content to write it. Expect many sequels (maybe starring Sean Connery! hm, nah)

It's sunny here in Lyon, and I've already had one vacation after the Italy one, and am set to enjoy yet anouther sejour in May. More people should be burdened with such overabundance! As I pack my things to go home, I can't help but feel a little bit of guilt that I have nothing really to give back as gifts to all the people who'd like a little piece of Europe. I do have some rocks. From the Italian Riviera. But still, I'm supposin' that the only way I can give back is to write about all the lovely moments of my trip.

I'm also anticipating sitting at some table in the land of the free (home of the brave) and having to answer the question, "So Lori, how was your trip?"

So its a preparation for me, and a blog for you! Hurrah, it all evens out in the end.

I realize that I have not told you about Siena! Oh Siena, thank heaven for you - you were all you were supposed to be! It's so nice when your expectations are met and exceeded - it is so nice!

Blythe and I arrived at our lovely hostel Fattoria di Something Wonderful, and our lovely host Bernice praised Jimmy the Splint, our specTACular smartcar, and welcomed us into her totally amazing farmhouse. There were even garages for the tractors and whatnot, and the next day at breakfast blythe and I spotted what could only have been Bernice's dad trimming the bushes in their totally glorious garden.

The first night we went to Siena, and found probably the only restaurant open after wandering around in circles, getting kissed at by boys, and walking around at "Italian Walking Around Your City" hour, which is 6. Seriuosly, everyone goes on a walk at 6.

So we walked. I bought the green scarf you may or may not be seeing in all my pictures hence. We found the restaurant, and despite its seeming to have a "west Indies" theme, had some pretty awesome Pecorino cheese appetizer, with some sort of jelly made of heaven to go with it. I believe blythe got some sort of ravioli that blew her mind, and I got the traditional big cylinder spaghetti (the kind that looks like the noodles I made in my Play-Doh press back in the day, snaps to mom for buying me that, b/c i LOVED IT). It was delish, and the house wine was of course amazing as it probably came from the hill over there.

After a little wine and song (and searching for non-existant bars that are open late) we wandered into the suburbs for an hour, only to wander somewhere else, and eventually find Jimmy the Splint, our trusty smart car and drive home. The medieval street plan must have been devised to confuse invaders to death, as we were just that. Were it not for the loving arms of our Smartcar, Jimmy, we might've died of the stress of it all. Luckily Siena is powerfully serene and awesome, so actually we were fine, just tired and confused.

Next day, SanGimigniano!

To those I'm about to link to,

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 12:33:00 +0000

I salute you!

I've only recently clued-in to the fact that whenever I link to anyone, either here or on my wiki , I may end up with an email from that person, however far away they seem. This is almost always a super cool and uplifting sort of thing (what's better than a few comments from a semi-random person you admire, or an email of snaps for a book i had listed in my Favorite Books on my profile). I really like linking to people/things in my blog (have ya noticed?) and well, I'm going to keep on linkin' onto others' sites, b/c its the frickin' interNET, yo!

I liken owning the fact that those who i link to probs will find me on their reference page (first time that happened, it was with my Boss - and it was sortof funny/awesome) and be like, "hm", to owning the fact that if I say hi to people on the street, they may also go, "hm."

Seems to me that the kind of peolpe who have reference pages, blogs, etc... are the kind of people that wouldn't go "Hm," but would probably go more like, "hey!" or even "right back atcha!" and that is just nice. The internet can be so wonderful.

Mr. V

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 12:52:00 +0000

Kurt Vonnegut died.

I'm sad about that.

Stay awake.

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 22:59:00 +0000

Mary Poppins sang those words to those two adorable children when they couldn't go to sleep. I've been having weird trouble sleeping lately as well, and so has Miss. T. So I wrote her an email. NOw, miss blythe is the gal who probs/definitely told me that I should blog, so in thanks and in laziness (which is almost like a double thanks, coming from me, espesh lately - i blame the moon for my lethargy) here's the email I sent her.
See you round the web browser soon!

I've been having "insomnia," too!

I think about all the college boys whose advances I refused. Its totally awesome. I watch house, but he doesn't help.

Insomnia is what people not in Roald Dahl books get when they don't use their brains enough, so you should learn another language/do something really stressful, like flamenco dancing. I could never get to sleep in high school, except when I was taking AP Chem. I worked my brain so hard, that my body could do nothing but sleep.

I was in London all day today, and it was soo cool! Portobello market, or however its spelled, is another thing from my journeys that I will be importing to St. Louis. StL just got a lot more fun as of June 12. I also plan on having metrolink parties. We'll ride it all the way to the airport and back and have a party on a car. I of course got this idea from i website. newmindspace.com i think. I only looked at it b/c the head girl's name si Lori, and I like to check out other Loris on the scene. SHe's cool and I REALLY like what her deal is about. I'd link to her on my blog (ed. oops, I just did), and the to guy whose blog let me to hers, but then they'll start reading my blog and my admiration of them might be all too public. I don't like people knowing i admire them until I think they have a few reasons to admire me. Which I suppose they would. I have traveled a good deal of the western world. THat reminds me! I'm going to be in dublin for easter, and I need to look up what the Easter Rising was.

I picked up a copy of Ulysses. I need to read joyce if I'm going to ireland. So far from the introduction i think Joyce kept it amazingly real, though it seems as though he's kept it that real in his books from like, describing how Leo Bloom (also a character in a Mel Brooks movie/musical...coincidence? Mel Brooks a multifaceted genius? Tcha?) poops. I guess I will find Joyce's violation of the cult of the body refreshingly refreshing. We'll see. Its all an excuse not to read Catch 22, a book that did not cure my insomnia, and makes me go a little crazy. I think that's the idea, to show you how the mind of a soldier is like, all a catch 22 and how its all so inside out and upside down. But geez.

I like VOnnegut's morality, or lack thereof (I'm an intellectual, ps, I use "lack thereof" --- though I did almost not put two L's in intellectual.) --- at least Mr. V's certain about it. THe catch 22 guy makes me crazy. I'm like, man, speak english!

Just checked out the easter rising wiki page. ITs long. IRish people had some troubles. THe introduction of Ulysses compared them to Jews. Correctly so, I suppose. Irish people, generally, seem to be less judgemental about ya. I read in my Rick Steve's travel book, i heart it, how rick met some irish dude in a bar where there's a smoking ban - its everywhere in ireland now -- and he was like, "what's next, no guiness? If we don't die, how can we go to heaven?"

I think you could agree!

Start using your brain more, dude. You'll sleep like a baby.

I might blog this letter, I'm feelin lazy, despite my having a real internet connection. My hostel tomorrow is in SW london. i have to take a light rail to get there! Good? Bad? We'll see. I'm struggling with the blog, b/c I want to get up-to-date with italy, and with march for that matter, but I just can't bring myself to -- I'm usually in too bad of a mood to really do the week of paradise in italy justice. It was just so magical, i should've done it hours within arriving. I don't know if I'll get to go to elenora's this time around...she takes about a month to get a hold of me, and I might want to go stay for free in london and get some shopping in before i head to the Dday beaches, and then home, hopefully to a job (to have metrolink parties!).

Anyway, what I was saying is that I can't seem to figure out if I should return to the italy pages, or re-visit italy (and march)(and belgium)(and holland)(oh, and germany...i'm so worldly) as I go. I think I might revisit b/c the pressure is killing me and the blog be sufferin'!

Ok dudette.
Peace out and goodnight.
Lori

Antwerp - funniest statues yet

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:14:00 +0000

Ahoy, yonder me harken a giant thigh and wee fellers a'gaping!
Originally uploaded by lolololori.

Good local dishes as well, hurrah!

Brussels: beer, chocolate, fries, old stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:59:00 +0000

We're bein' columns
Originally uploaded by lolololori.

Amsterdam for bit

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:48:00 +0000

Cool museum square by bike
Originally uploaded by lolololori.

Grab your bikes and let's go to Amsterdam!

Turn your camera around in Pisa, and the fun begins

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:46:00 +0000

look at the guy on the far right
Originally uploaded by lolololori.

Hello Gorgeous

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:30:00 +0000

Blythe: Vernazza's blond sentry
Originally uploaded by lolololori.

Hey Italy, you don't look so bad, either.

reach out and touch some tuscany

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:26:00 +0000

I don't wanna leave! But I did. But I'll always have the memories, so here are a few. (Sorry for the bullet point mania but I'm French now and I'm already planning another vacation and so need to finish the last vacation before starting afresh...I'll explain later.)
Tuscany:
- We leave Elenora and take Jimmy the Splint to Volterra, up a giant hill, Volterra is cool, and I think I already mentioned this. There was a cool Brazilian lady working at the Gelateria, and tuscany is so incandescent and green and beautiful, even when its cloudy.
- The 4 of us (Including Jimmy, Me, Blythe, and One-Eyed Steve) ... to be continued!

Hello, Italy.

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 20:25:00 +0000

You're pretty, and kinda awesome, too.

- Going to find Blythe in Stanstead – she was at the pub the whole time and I was stupid not to check! Damn!

- Arriving in Pisa, getting the last automatic car in the entire airport of pisa from some hipster dude at “E@sy C@r” who told us to call a number if we went out and didn’t see our car. Luckily we did see it, and it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, especially after I christened him “Jimmy the Splint” – a name I later made sense of with the phrase, "...because he always sets us straight..when we're lost." We got lost not as much as i'd expected - snaps to italian signage. Its fun to give inanimate objects, and people for that matter -signifigace or no -- some Runyonesque, boxer/gangster names. Yes I did just use Runyonesque in my blog!

- From Pisa we had the great pisa hostel drama of 2007, but eventually it was resolved with some apologies and an extra bonus pay to the hostel owner for driving to get us at the airport when we’d rented a car already, sending her about an hour or so out of the way. Oops, we’re lame. And then we were lame and way poorer. But the hostel was a magic country oasis, and the house we stayed in was older than America. There were sounds of hunters and their dogs in the hills, the smell of real countryside, and a horse! Wow! It was sortof unbelievable.

- Our hostel owner and her 2 buddies (who worked in film or for a newspaper or i don't know in Milan) hung out with us that morning, and we chilled with her 2 fluffy white dogs, a wild horse, and a dog that looked like a dr. seuss character, and who i think was 100 years old in dog years. Elenora, the owner, told us about how she produces jazz records, and her friends make movies or write or something, and they are just neat people who co-own a country house. Its cool, and everyone should go there. They were such fun to hang out with after all the drama, and it was just so easy to stumble through my semi-italian speech, it was so nice how everyone was so encouraging and like, Oh wow, speak italian! wooo. Makes it easy to practice when you think people want to understand you.

SUPER BOWL in france

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:45:00 +0000

Ok kids, we all saw the superbowl, and we are all full of glee that Chicago got stomped. WHy didn't Prince sing more songs? Remember that time that Chicago scored way too early and we were all worried that chicago would win? Remember that one girl who yelled so loud you wanted to throw a chicken wing at her, but you resisted?
I do.
We're allglad that emilie and I wore coordinated outfits and we're all glad that the one annoying girl with the annoying chicago accent who kept yelling at the TV screen like a banshee (the one who almost got a chicken wing in the noggin'?) ended up crying as the Bears lost like the crap team they are. Remember how you don't like Chicago, just 'cuz? I don't know about football, but I heard their quarterback's sense of direction is so off he could jump out of a boat and miss the water.

Side note!
Before the superbowl Emilie and I had dinner with the Calderos (Best Family Ever) and we sang Grease, and David Bowie with their daughter and it was awesome. Emilie impressed everyone with her mad Pink Floyd skillz. Way to know Pink Floyd emilie, but I will always beat you with my Beatles knowledge. Together we are unstoppable.

Beer pong and flip cup are more fun with foreigners

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:21:00 +0000

Multi-lingual Superheroes

More details to come, but FYI i have not completely lost my touch on the beer pong court. Nor has Emilie, her team made it to the finals! Snaps to Jen and her apartment for keeping the American Dream alive.

We brought along Holly the English Lady, and she really tore up the beer pong circuit. It was excellent for her first time! I ended up losing, but it was close. Somewhere along the night we (and by we I mean me and Emilie) decided to put on our representin' costumes and really fight for something we believed in, like our alliegances to our respective origins, sorta. Hers being sweden, mine being StL, missouri. We both weren't born in either, but hey, i felt the love, and I wanted to share it. I also wanted a reason to wear the StL flag like a cape.

We played flip cup later to much success. Holly even joined (again her first time with the kooky semi-alcoholicness of american drinking games) and she got occasionally confused, but I'd give her a total A for effort. Caroline, my superhero of a friend, who is also french (oh snap!) stopped by later and we went to a gay - but not gay- bar where it was smoky and me and emilie wanted to just go home b/c it was torture.

Holly wandered away to a taxi sometime before this as she is known to do. SHe is tall, so we figured she'd be safe, and she was.

We were greeted by a half-blown-up air mattress and freezing air, but emilie and I managed to sleep a little and laugh a lot b/c it was just such an uncomfortable way to sleep, therefore it was hilarious.

The next day was time for hangovers, needless to say.

But that was not to stop us! Emilie's semi-boyfriend-but-not-really-at-all-like-not-at-all-he-was-just-in-love-with-her-and-whatev was in town and he was going to bring a friend and we were to dine with them. Well, I was like, not feeling all that cute and was a little wary of meeing another french boy and having to talk to him about the war in iraq so I was like, "em i hope this guy is not in the mood for love b/c I am NOT, and I'll bet he is not cute. "

Well that was poetic of me, b/c Emilie's friend's friend was probably one of the most attractive people I've seen in real life. So that was a fun dinner.

And I didn't look cute! I had glasses on, for heaven's sake. Sigh.

Later on in the evening was pretty swell, as we went to this mod lookin' lounge (where they play 60's soul music, hello I am sold) called "Voxx" to hang out with Becky from Cali and her french buddies and then went to 42, this nightclub where they played the frenchest music possible (they played "Champs Elysses, man...anyone who took french class knows that song) and I drank beer and stayed up suuuuuuuuuuper late.

We caught the bus home at around 5am. Emilie and I are too hard-core for our own good, seriously. You want to party with us...but maybe you don't b/c you might be embarrased if you are out-partied by a couple of smiley girls.

The coolest family ever, and the house-party concert time

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:25:00 +0000

I'm sure I've mentioned Phillipe and Agnes before -- Ms. Agnes was my first new friend in Lyon, and she's also sortof my boss. Anyway, she's got a swell family, a really good english accent (though I never hear it, we always speak french -- Agnes cares about my french skillz!) and is really awesome, did I mention that? Her husband, the legendary Phillipe, wanted me to sing at a concert in the city, but after a series of drama and messed up schedules, etc... we ended up having the concert at one of Philippe and Agnes' mathematician friends' houses. It was cute, and the kids got to run around in circles and dance around, and I got to sing stevie wonder and eat pasta at 3 am with a bunch of drunk adults, as is anyones dream, and mine came TRUE. It was awesome, and I'm so lucky to know these people!

I miss them, actually and havn't seen them in a while. This picture is me wearing the guitarist's shoe b/c i added a percussive stomping effect when I sang "Hallelujia I love him so" and there was joking and I ended up wearing his shoe b/c it was funny enough for me. It looks good, i think.

We hung out in the kitchen, where all the gleeful french mathematician/musicians/? made fun of me for almost understanding/speaking french, but it was a happy sort of making fun, like what you'd do to your 23 year old cousin if you were 40 and having a party at 3am and your 23 year old cousin laughed a lot but didn't QUITE understand what you were saying ever. With me? It was probably one of the best nights ever, and you know I loved dancing with the kids as we sang a half-hour version of Yellow Submarine. I also have a secret handshake with the kids now, too. Family time, how I miss you!

There was another gal that sang, but she had this very like, let me scat and be all jazzy sortof style, and I was like, I cannot feel the spirit if I'm babbidy-do'ing all the way to improv boredomland. That's just me.

Its lucky that we didn't end up at some bar in the city, b/c the house party was a much bigger success, and I will say it again, I am so lucky to know this family. yay!

Dinner parties and fending off French Philosophers

noreply@blogger.com (Lolololori) — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 17:18:00 +0000

Doris, the Australian One, cooked all the Duchere girls some delicious spetzle before we all went to my favorite jazz club/ray charles listening party (they play ray charles and pretty much ONLY ray charles after midnight) where I got attacked by some dude who felt like I needed to know about philosophy or something. Seriously, dude? I am chillin' do not make me play the brain-card. But play it I did, and I think he went over to educate someone else about like, how awesome Rousseau was or something. Rousseau was NOT awesome, ps.

I do give the philosopher dude snaps for jauntily laying down on the table and pensively biting an apple. I mean, that takes courage.