I had always wondered when I was little why my hometown was nicknamed the City of Trees. I was like, okay, we have trees, but other places have trees, too. Greener trees, even. Wondering about that just a couple of minutes ago, I googled it and found that the city has the most trees per capita in the world. What! But then that reminded me of the times I've come back home after long journeys like school in Texas, where I was able to see the city differently than I normally do. Driving down the interstate, I would normally just see the cement of the freeway, but now I see all the treetops lining either side and out in the distance. Instead of seeing the cement of the bridge I'm driving over, I turn my head for once and see how beautiful our tree-lined rivers are. After all this time, I've finally come to appreciate my city and how it really is such a great place to grow up and live.
Anyone looking for an update on the house I mentioned in my last post? We're in a counter-offer war and there's been lots of addendums to the original offer in that we decided to scrap it and start over. The selling agent claimed that everything had become "convoluted", so that's where we are at. Now I'm waiting to see what the sellers will say about our latest offer and hoping they decide to go with it. There isn't much room left to negotiate further now. We'll see!
July 30, 2014
July 24, 2014
What is happening!
Over the last year or so I've been casually reviewing homes for sale on Zillow and Trulia just for funziez. We all know that I want to move out of the house. The problem has been that my mom isn't comfortable living by herself, and so the only way everyone can get what they want (for the most part) is to move into a large home that can be split into two units.
After walking through an open house of a particular home very close to where I work, we saw a lot of potential for us: a two story house that could be split per floor. The only major renovations to be done at some point on the house include an installation of an upstairs kitchen and a second entrance to the second story via outside staircase and deck. Coincidentally, this deck would provide lots of needed shade on that side of the house. The rest is cosmetic updates to the downstairs kitchen and bathrooms that don't have to be done for years if I can't get around to it for a while. It's on a dead-end and tree-lined street, within walking distance of my work and grocery market. You can imagine how excited I am right meow.
At this very moment, my mom is having her handy dandy and knowledgeable ex husband inspect the home for flaws, so we have an idea of how much we can knock off of an offer we may make. My mom is also going to measure the house to create a floor plan that we can plan renovation layouts off of, however neither of us will have renovation money for a while until my mom manages to sell her current home.
WISH ME LUCK I'M SO EXCITED OMG AM I GONNA BE A NEW HOMEOWNER?
After walking through an open house of a particular home very close to where I work, we saw a lot of potential for us: a two story house that could be split per floor. The only major renovations to be done at some point on the house include an installation of an upstairs kitchen and a second entrance to the second story via outside staircase and deck. Coincidentally, this deck would provide lots of needed shade on that side of the house. The rest is cosmetic updates to the downstairs kitchen and bathrooms that don't have to be done for years if I can't get around to it for a while. It's on a dead-end and tree-lined street, within walking distance of my work and grocery market. You can imagine how excited I am right meow.
At this very moment, my mom is having her handy dandy and knowledgeable ex husband inspect the home for flaws, so we have an idea of how much we can knock off of an offer we may make. My mom is also going to measure the house to create a floor plan that we can plan renovation layouts off of, however neither of us will have renovation money for a while until my mom manages to sell her current home.
WISH ME LUCK I'M SO EXCITED OMG AM I GONNA BE A NEW HOMEOWNER?
July 17, 2014
Paris
June 2014
The 11 hour flight afforded us loads of time to watch a shit ton of movies, but I was determined to make myself fall asleep on the plane to help me transition between time zones without jet lag. I'm happy to report that I was very successful, despite my plan being foiled by a 4 hour flight delay.
Arriving in the Paris airport was a huge relief on my body, and customs was a joke. They hardly looked at my passport, and one of the guards by the customs stations came up to me when I was waiting for my mom, asking me if I was travelling alone. Nope. My mom came over, and then the guard backs away smiling, like oh, okay, "Be careful! I'm a thief!" ...What? Welcome to Paris.
Using the metros were simple, and useful, and all over the place, thank goodness. Despite the dirtiness of the metros and much of the city in general, I would have sincerely regretted a decision to actually drive in Paris. They are mad drivers there, with confusing traffic lights, and the roundabout at the Arc du Triomphe was 5 cars wide with no lane marks. Everyone was weaving in and out of each other and they somehow never managed to collide. Nope. NopeNopeNope.
While knowing how to read a little tiny bit of French is very helpful, I was relieved to find that knowing how to speak it wasn't a huge necessity. Nearly every French person who waited in restaurants or boulangeries knew enough English for us to get by. The magic words were, "Parlez-vous anglais?"
I tried my first ever French macaron, chocolate, of course. There were baguettes and chocolate croissants everywhere. Breakfasts are a big deal in Paris, even if they only offered orange juice with coffee and a croissant. I tried my first ever real carbonara (raw egg yolk on top), at the same time trying my first fresh pasta ever, it was the best. The carbonara order was actually an accident: my mom had meant to order us both bolognese instead. I'm not even mad!
My mom claims that the French people are rude, but I was more under the impression that they were merely indifferent. Everyone smokes. There were a lot of North Africans at famous landmarks trying to sell things like little Eiffel Tower statues, postcards, or water bottles, which is illegal. When my mom and I were walking out of Versailles, our timing was perfect when police cars drove up and the North Africans scattered, leaving their ice cold water bottles ripe for the tourist picking. My mom ran over with the rest of the mob and grabbed two. Thank goodness. Versailles Chateau sells a small water bottle for 3 euros, which equates to about $5. Nope. I went thirsty instead.
But the North Africans aren't necessarily this much of a blessing all the time. In the Tuileries garden near the Louvre, one of them grabbed at a girl's wallet as she was paying for a trinket! Her friend yelled at the man and smacked at his arm, but the man was persistently aggressive with this girl and continued trying to grab the wallet, even throwing in a couple of whacks. Scaaaaary. There were plenty of children everywhere too holding clipboards out for people to read and sign and/or donate or show them where they keep their money so they can pickpocket them later. There are signs everywhere to beware of pickpockets.
I noticed that the south side of the River Siene was cleanest with seemingly richer neighborhoods. We ended up staying a couple miles in on the north side in a middle eastern neighborhood according to the types of shops nearby. It was very dirty, but the hotel we stayed at called itself a 4 star. Let me tell you, it sure wasn't. The air conditioner didn't cool the air at all, so at night in order to sleep comfortably without sweating we had to open the screen-less windows that let in mosquitoes that raped my arms and neck, as well as the vocal enthusiasm of the masses over the FIFA World Cup. They also didn't have a proper "do not disturb" sign for our door, only a "come back later" sign, so housekeeping came in eventually whether we wanted them to or not. But reception was very helpful. That's it. We were randomly upgraded to the highest quality room they have (disbelievingly "worth" 520 euros per night--Thank goodness for early booking discounts), which was smaller than you would normally see in the US, so I could scarcely believe what they offer for their most economic room.
My overall impression of Paris is that the old French monarchies and emperors had completely over the top and gaudy tastes, the food is utterly divine, the city is loud and bustling and dangerous, the people are fashionably indifferent smokers who can pronounce my name correctly the first time ("Aubrey-elle"), and while I enjoyed putting on many miles trekking all over the city and soaking up the incredible architecture and history, especially through the parks and the Louvre, I don't really see myself visiting again.
Adieu, Paris. You were a beautiful one night stand.
The 11 hour flight afforded us loads of time to watch a shit ton of movies, but I was determined to make myself fall asleep on the plane to help me transition between time zones without jet lag. I'm happy to report that I was very successful, despite my plan being foiled by a 4 hour flight delay.
Arriving in the Paris airport was a huge relief on my body, and customs was a joke. They hardly looked at my passport, and one of the guards by the customs stations came up to me when I was waiting for my mom, asking me if I was travelling alone. Nope. My mom came over, and then the guard backs away smiling, like oh, okay, "Be careful! I'm a thief!" ...What? Welcome to Paris.
Using the metros were simple, and useful, and all over the place, thank goodness. Despite the dirtiness of the metros and much of the city in general, I would have sincerely regretted a decision to actually drive in Paris. They are mad drivers there, with confusing traffic lights, and the roundabout at the Arc du Triomphe was 5 cars wide with no lane marks. Everyone was weaving in and out of each other and they somehow never managed to collide. Nope. NopeNopeNope.
While knowing how to read a little tiny bit of French is very helpful, I was relieved to find that knowing how to speak it wasn't a huge necessity. Nearly every French person who waited in restaurants or boulangeries knew enough English for us to get by. The magic words were, "Parlez-vous anglais?"
My mom claims that the French people are rude, but I was more under the impression that they were merely indifferent. Everyone smokes. There were a lot of North Africans at famous landmarks trying to sell things like little Eiffel Tower statues, postcards, or water bottles, which is illegal. When my mom and I were walking out of Versailles, our timing was perfect when police cars drove up and the North Africans scattered, leaving their ice cold water bottles ripe for the tourist picking. My mom ran over with the rest of the mob and grabbed two. Thank goodness. Versailles Chateau sells a small water bottle for 3 euros, which equates to about $5. Nope. I went thirsty instead.
But the North Africans aren't necessarily this much of a blessing all the time. In the Tuileries garden near the Louvre, one of them grabbed at a girl's wallet as she was paying for a trinket! Her friend yelled at the man and smacked at his arm, but the man was persistently aggressive with this girl and continued trying to grab the wallet, even throwing in a couple of whacks. Scaaaaary. There were plenty of children everywhere too holding clipboards out for people to read and sign and/or donate or show them where they keep their money so they can pickpocket them later. There are signs everywhere to beware of pickpockets.
I noticed that the south side of the River Siene was cleanest with seemingly richer neighborhoods. We ended up staying a couple miles in on the north side in a middle eastern neighborhood according to the types of shops nearby. It was very dirty, but the hotel we stayed at called itself a 4 star. Let me tell you, it sure wasn't. The air conditioner didn't cool the air at all, so at night in order to sleep comfortably without sweating we had to open the screen-less windows that let in mosquitoes that raped my arms and neck, as well as the vocal enthusiasm of the masses over the FIFA World Cup. They also didn't have a proper "do not disturb" sign for our door, only a "come back later" sign, so housekeeping came in eventually whether we wanted them to or not. But reception was very helpful. That's it. We were randomly upgraded to the highest quality room they have (disbelievingly "worth" 520 euros per night--Thank goodness for early booking discounts), which was smaller than you would normally see in the US, so I could scarcely believe what they offer for their most economic room.
My overall impression of Paris is that the old French monarchies and emperors had completely over the top and gaudy tastes, the food is utterly divine, the city is loud and bustling and dangerous, the people are fashionably indifferent smokers who can pronounce my name correctly the first time ("Aubrey-elle"), and while I enjoyed putting on many miles trekking all over the city and soaking up the incredible architecture and history, especially through the parks and the Louvre, I don't really see myself visiting again.
Adieu, Paris. You were a beautiful one night stand.
Labels:
architecture,
food,
france,
new things,
Paris,
travel
July 6, 2014
Bonjour and Cheerio!
Cheerio from London! I don't want to make this post all about my entire trip here and in Paris... that will take a lot of time and explanation and PICTURES which you may even be able to browse some of now on the Instagram stream above.
In the meantime, I will share only little things, like how many mosquito bites I got while I slept in Paris. We had to keep the windows open at night to keep the room cool because the air conditioning was insufficient. The only choice we had was between wretched heat and sweat soaked sheets or these damned mosquito bites. One of them welted pretty bad on my wrist. Sad face.
But the architecture in Paris was fantastic! If I ever have enough money later in life to design my own house, it will probably have a Paris inspired roof. All the museums were lovely! But the city itself was pretty dirty and the people were generally indifferent of us, whereas here in London it is very clean and the people are so friendly and considerate and helpful without us even asking. Straight off when my mom and I were looking for directions to our hotel via the underground system, a stranger had us follow him in the train and offer to help us with our bags up and down stairs until he got off on his own station. And it's not like he was hitting on us, he shared that he had a wife and kids. They're just really nice people.
I'm really enjoying the countryside journeys and I hope to incorporate those types of excursions in future vacation destinations. Ireland or Iceland next?
In the meantime, I will share only little things, like how many mosquito bites I got while I slept in Paris. We had to keep the windows open at night to keep the room cool because the air conditioning was insufficient. The only choice we had was between wretched heat and sweat soaked sheets or these damned mosquito bites. One of them welted pretty bad on my wrist. Sad face.
But the architecture in Paris was fantastic! If I ever have enough money later in life to design my own house, it will probably have a Paris inspired roof. All the museums were lovely! But the city itself was pretty dirty and the people were generally indifferent of us, whereas here in London it is very clean and the people are so friendly and considerate and helpful without us even asking. Straight off when my mom and I were looking for directions to our hotel via the underground system, a stranger had us follow him in the train and offer to help us with our bags up and down stairs until he got off on his own station. And it's not like he was hitting on us, he shared that he had a wife and kids. They're just really nice people.
I'm really enjoying the countryside journeys and I hope to incorporate those types of excursions in future vacation destinations. Ireland or Iceland next?
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