jesus loves paris.

The title of this is in reference to my awesome new shirt I bought there, of which has the aforementioned text on it. I mean, Jesus definitely does love Paris.. but I don't know if he would like the metro there because I sure didn't and I'm basically close enough, right?

But hey, enough about me and Jesus and more about me and Paris.

"Gay Pareee" as nobody calls it, was wonderful, although I wish I could have spent two more days there (at least) to really have the chance to do everything that I wanted to. BUT we did quite a lot in the time that we did have, and I had a blast. Some highlights would have to be..

1. Holding a baby on top of the Eiffel Tower. (A couple actually asked me if I could hold their infant while they took a photo.. Hahaha. But it was *awesome*)

2. CRÊPES. !!!!!!! (And crème brûlée! Mmmm.)

3. Watching all the guys who try and ambush you to sell you €1 Eiffel Tower statues get chased by the police across the park and the accompanying jingling of all the statues as they bolted down the grass.

4. Going to the Louvre at night.. and for free because we're students! Definitely way better than going in the daytime.. so mainstream. Also seeing Napoleon III's living quarters there was probably my favorite part. There was also an audio installation going on there so it sounded like a jungle juxtaposed against the elaborate Baroque-style room decor. It was heavenly, I daresay. (And his 40+ person dining room table..!?)

5. Well.. I'm sure there's more but I can't think of any other specific things. I will say that Paris is wonderful, and all the fall colors were gorgeous. Walking around there doesn't feel real.. Everything is much too beautiful for it to feel like reality. I just left but I can't wait to go back! [..Eventually. When my bank account has miraculously regained its funds..]

Nothing like curling up on a train to get the party started off right.
Eiffel Tower! :)
Houses and such.
IMAGINE.. that you were here with me.. har har har.

Lots of beautiful squares hidden away from the tourists..
These guys were everywhere!

The Seine
The back side of the Notre Dame.. Check out those hot buttresses, yo.

Must have just missed Esmerelda & Hunchie.. :'(

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris!
The main area.. I'm sure it has a technical name but I don't know it. So... "main area" it is.

The stained glass in the Notre Dame is so beautiful and impressive.
(That's a stupid caption but I'm really not feeling too creative and/or witty right now, so.. yeahhh..)
More stained glass with an emo sculpture in front of it.

Candles everywhere! Byahhh!
Amazing street full of restaurants, food shops and more importantly.. crêpe vendors!

So deliciousss. Nutella and banana, of course. This was the first of MANY.. >:)
Part of the Louvre :)

Same section of the Louvre at night.. and the moon!
Shmona Lisa.. Also to accompany this photo let me include a quote as exchanged by my roommate and a
security guard who was hitting on her: "Aren't you supposed to be watching the Mona Lisa?" "No, I am
watching you."

Everyone ogling at the Mona Lisa.. Well mostly taking pictures of it and not really looking at it.

Coronation of Napoleon by David.. It's insanely huge, essentially life sized. And that's me in the picture, duh.
A mum at Cimetière du Père Lachaise, one of my favorite places we went to.
The Père Lachaise has graves of many famous people like Chopin, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, a
dude whose genitals you rub on a statue of him and then you get pregnant or have a good sex life, and many
more!

Jim Morrison's grave.

Graffiti on a pole by the grave.. The dedication his fans have to him is really quite inspiring.

Oscar Wilde's grave.. Was going to kiss it except for the fact that it was completely engulfed with scaffolding
because it was under construction/restoration.. So here's a picture of him that was laid by the grave. People still
kissed everything around the scaffolding, including the scaffolding. And tree. And this photo.. etc.
The Sacré Cœur, located in Montmarte on the highest point in Paris.

Street arttt, !
Lots of painters lined the main square in Montmarte.. Wished I could have gotten a piece but I'm too poor.. :'(
La Boheme.. reminds me of the Moulin Rouge movie. Speaking of...
The Moulin Rouge!
I daresay, the amount of sex shops that line the street its located on is impressive.. and funny.
La Tour Eiffel!

Looking down on the street.
:)

Paris!
Panoramic view off of the tower.
Babst & Jurgen, 11.07.1989
The only picture from the Eiffel Tower that I look like a normal person in..

Dusk!
The city all lit up.
It's the most amazing thing to turn a corner at night and see this shining back at you.

Sparkling! It's difficult to capture how beautiful this is on camera.. But just trust me!
(Or go visit and see for yourself.. ;)

So hopefully I  haven't overwhelmed you with photos.. Because I took waaay more, of which you can check out on Facebook should you so feel inclined.. *winky face*
Stay tuneddd for more cool posts by me! Of things! That I do periodically!
weeeee

xx

celebrating halloween.

Really I'd like to title this post "Celebrating Halloween in a Country That Doesn't Really Celebrate Halloween" ..but that was a bit too long. But surely you must be curious about what it's like to be in a country that doesn't really get into Halloween (and spells it Hallowe'en ..like. Really, England? "we'en"?) but luckily you have me, Halloween enthusiast, here to tell you alll about it.

So, I fabricated a costume in legitimately 10 minutes because I had to work late on Halloween (because it was on a MONDAY this year.. what kind of sorcery is that. Pfff.) and I came up with the idea to be Cindy-Lou Who when I was riding the tube home. So I came up with this gem of a costume..

  

It actually turned out pretty awesome, I was pretty proud of myself. Now.. I know since seeing this photo you're probably saying "HOW on earth did she get her hair like that??" ..I know this because I was asked it hundreds of times by anyone who wasn't too afraid to talk to or look at me. I would probably crown it the question of the night, because seriously. Everybody. No exceptions.. Not even my roommates. Hahah. But yeah, I used a vegetable oil bottle (emptied and washed out, clearly) (but not clearly, because that would be question of the night, level 2.) and draped my long, luscious locks over it and tied it at the top. To me, it was Wacky Hair Day Fifth Grade basics.. But hey. They don't care about Halloween here, so the chances of them having Wacky Hair Days.. pfffffft. Slim to none. So anyways, moving on..


My roommates were also all dressed up.. Nicki Minaj, army chick and RyanAir flight attendant. Moments after walking outside, everyone is legitimately gaping at us. And by us, I mean mostly my hair. Going on public transport was probably the best thing we could have done because it was the most hilarious thing ever. We step on the down escalator, and the entire up escalator just turns their heads and stares. At my head. I mean, I felt like half celebrity, half Elephant Man. Even after getting on the tube and being inside the car of it, people would stop on the platforms and wait for the train to go by just so they could look.

I have realized that people just don't care if they stare shamelessly at you. People were just completely unabashed at whispering to their friend/person and then turning around and just gawking. Once we got off the tube, it was slightly better because there were more people in costumes, but 'costumes' were essentially in one of these three categories:
1. Zombie of any sort
2. Sexy ______.. Mostly something that you can put ears and a leotard on for, such as: devil, cat, animal of any sort, I don't know.
3. No costume, we don't celebrate Halloween.

So yes. That about sums up that. I got more photos taken of me/with me than I ever have before.. So to all those people with pictures of me: *winky face* *sly smile* *awkward convulsion*

(Asteriks denote me doing an action.. In case you didn't know.) (err..)

The other popular thing for people to do was to grab my hair and go "WHOA what's in there?!??" ..For future reference to guys trying to pick up a girl, that's really not the best way to go about it.. Especially since I don't really know what you'd be expecting me to say. "Oooh it's a big bottle of lube and 5 packs of condoms, and since you're the first person to ask, YOU WIN."  ...I mean, honestly. It's an empty bottle.. wooo.

My hair was a bit of a drunk person Mecca, if you will. Everyone wanted to touch it, grab it, swat it, hover their hands around it like it was a scary crystal ball.. Yeah. So basically I was the coolest person in London on Halloween. No big deal.

And that is my "Celebrating Halloween in a Country That Doesn't Really Celebrate Halloween" story. I'd highly recommend it to anyone.

  

Stay tuned for my Paris post later this week..

xx

naked statues.. and norway.

This past weekend I traveled to Oslo, Norway with a group of "homies," "compadres," or "classmates" ..whichever one you are more comfortable using. At any rate, there was seven of us altogether and then I was also able to meet up with my fabulous native Norwegian friend Mille as well, which was *ahem* fun.. :)

At any rate, Oslo is a beautiful little city.. the landscape reminded me a lot of northern MN with all the pine trees and such. All the trees were also changing colors, the majority of them being brilliant shades of yellow. It was quite beautiful to see, especially in contrast to the buildings situated around them.

A definite downside to Norway is how extremely expensive everything is. It's really hard to wrap your head around eating a $15 sub of which most people get for $5 in the States. So if you're attempting to live your life on a budget.. definitely steer clear of Scandinavian countries. Jussayin'..

Overall it was a fun weekend trip, even though it was a cold one, it was beautiful there and the sunsets were fabulous. It made me feel a little closer to my Norwegian roots.. now I just need to visit Poland and Germany and I'll be set with my heritage visits! ;)

xx

Downtown along Karl Johans Gate.. The Freia sign lights up at night :)
(Freia is the main chocolate brand in Norway.. so good!)

More along the main pedestrian/tourist street Karl Johans Gate.

Trees! :)

Dandelion fountain.
In front of the royal palace.

Big ol' horse booty

The royal palace.. complete with scaffolding.

On a side note, if you're a scaffold company owner you should lend me some money since you clearly must be
loaded, seeing as scaffolding is EVERYWHERE all over Europe. Thanks in advance.. <3

View down Karl Johans Gate from the Palace.

A firey tree in the midst of boring buildings.
Lots of birds down by the pier. I use the term "birds" loosely.. they're pigeons and they don't have souls.
Or normal eyeballs.

Pierrrr

Sunset and a ship.

Sunset :) :)
The Holmenkollen ski jump.. very cool to see up close. I don't know why anyone would willingly ski down it,
but hey. It makes for a nice tourist attraction.

SKY

Cute flowers. They remind of me of something reindeer would eat.
I don't really know why ...Just does.

Vigeland sculptures.. Such great attention to detail. Also very realistic situations.. Clearly.

Playing a fun game of "toss-the-baby-whilst-free-balling-it."
Vigeland bridge. It's quite beautiful in the park, and despite the bizarreness of the sculptures they somehow
work perfectly together and with the landscape.

Gate, complete with Franken-face, nipples and deuces.

The large phallic sculpture that is the main focal point of the park.. And more naked people statues and children in
comprising and weird positions.
The sun setting.. :)