Permission at last

Yesterday I got my work permit (Permis de sejour). To work in Luxembourg and live in Europe. For a very long time,. For ever if I want.

This wouldn't be newsworthy if it wasn't for the fact it's taken a year and 3 months and millions of set-backs to get here. In Jan 09 I decided to pursue a dream of living and working in Europe. Obstacles: Recession, lack of work permit, lack of job, lack of French-speaking ability, lack of useful degree,..lack of optimism.

Miraculously though, the process began somehow! And so did the waiting game. Further obstacles: : Royal Mail strikes in London, passport lost, Ministry unreachable (all ways!!!)

After 2 denials, 2 re-applications and 22 new swear words...the endless waiting finally ended.

Apr10: Got letter of authorisation for work permit.

28 Apr 10: Got visa in passport at Ministry of Immigration.

30 Apr 10: Woke up with champagne headache.

A is for Amsterdam

This weekend I realised again that Amsterdam is undoubtedly one of the coolest cities in Europe. Why? Because it's small and beautiful, people cycle and walk everywhere, you get freshly squeezed OJ and perfectly delicious sandwiches on every corner....

...there are tulips and bridges and narrow rivers (with boats on them) everywhere. And next to the rivers everywhere are very cool restaurants and bars for you to enjoy beer in the sun with friends while watching the tulips and the bridges and the narrow rivers (with boats on them) everywhere. The narrow streets are lined with walls that have random accidental-art on them, like this piece of building I snapped while pacing past...

If the free street art and live outside entertainment isn't enough to get you hooked, then there's a whole lifetime of night-life to be lived. For example, Amsterdam is home to one of the coolest, most underrated live music venues in the world- a place called Paradiso. This intimate venue has hosted some of the best almost-famous bands in the world, with about 8 live acts per night ranging from Kings of Leon (a few years ago), to a local high school battle-of-the-bands winner. This is a photo of us sitting on a balcony in Paradiso listening to Hudson Mowhawke mix his magic.

The photo below is of a friend's flat on Dam square and it portrays yet another awsome-ity of this place: that everything is close together, everything share's the space, everything is accessible. As a visitor, you get to feel part of the buzz, in on the fun.

The Dutch are a super-chilled, well balanced, welcoming folk with a sense of both humour and occasion. Which concludes my list of reasons why Amsterdam is A+. Dank je wel!

to share a fridge

I love my new flatmate. He's a real treat and we get on like a house on fire. It's fun to just be living our separate lives under the same roof. He makes great pizza, introduces me to amazing wine, plays me new music and makes me laugh so much that my tummy aches.

We have super cozy, corny matching woollen socks that my Grandmother knitted for us.

I heart him. I could live with him forever.

the weekend in pictures

All the chaos in the air (volcanic ash), revived our sense of adventure for things closer to home.

cherry blossoms=mid-spring

picnic with a view of the city

beer not to be opened

a tiny piece of wallpaper at Mudam (Luxembourg's Museaum of Modern Art)

inside Mudam, Kimsooja's exhibition called "A Mirror Woman"

Jennifer & Kevin McCoy's exhibition of miniature objects called "Traffic Series"

the end.

life is like a box of chocolates

There is a Chocolaterie, Biscuiterie in Bordeuax called G. Larnicol (which is the name of the chocolate maker/biscuit baker/shop owner) If anyone can name their Chocolaterie after themselves, it's Mr Larnicol! He's a proud carrier of the highly-respected title M.O.F, Meilleur Ouvrier de France.


Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France translates as "One of the Best Craftsmen of France" and is an award held every four years (since 1924!), given to the best craftsmen competing in each field, covering everything from chocolate making to cabinetry. Each competitor enters a masterpiece that demonstrates technical excellence, a showpiece that is then strictly evaluated against very specific french standards. G. Larnicol won the award for his chocolate making and the proof is in the pudding!


I regret not buying a years' supply.

Red red wine..

For Easter I visited Bordeaux with a group of CA's from various corners of the earth (Nam, SA, France, UK, Lux) who conveniently also happen to be wine&travel-lovers. We took a 3 hour train ride from Paris, picked up a 7-seater Renault courtesy of Avis and rented a house in the village of Montagne, right next to one of the most beautiful towns in France known as Saint Emillion.

My understatement of the day is that 'in France, wine-making is taken rather seriously'. Bordeaux wine is filled to the brim with years of precision, patience, and above all passion. The final product speaks for itself. In a language of it's own.

I realised at the speed of light that Wine is far more dynamic and complex than the Wine I've always known (the "some yummy house red with my pasta" kind). There's just so much more to it than meets the amateur's eye...or nose...and tongue. Est magnifique!

Not to mention the Chocolate (!) in Bordeaux, of which we had plenty in the spirit of Easter, indulgence, and adventure! A whole different story altogether - next time.

Fake it till you make it

Monday mornings can be miserable beyond reason. Forcing oneself out of a comfortable bed to face another stressful week at work seems impossibly difficult. Life usually completely sucks on Mondays.

But it no longer has to! Check out my three easy Monday-morning-blues-busters that work wonders for me.

1. On Sunday night, pick a fun, smile-inducing song as your alarm tone for Monday morning. Mine this morning was Xavier Rudd's "Let Me Be". Next Monday, it'll be Baby Dayliner " You Push I'll Go". NB: If you snooze, you lose. Let the song play and get up straight away!

2. Jump in the shower and 2 minutes before you get out, close the hot water tap nice'n tight. Switch to cold water only! Don't suppress the urge to yell out loud- scream and laugh all you want!

3. After you've brushed the pearly-whites and rinsed your tramp with Listerine (or a similar, burns-like-fire mouthwash, which FYI does not yet exist), give yourself a huge, hanger-in-the-mouth, dental-add smile in the mirror. Top it off with a cheesy wink, if you dare.

Bring on Monday, Jim!

More waste, less speed.

Here in Europe it has become standard practice to have five different 'waste' bins in every household. Glass, paper, plastic, compost and non-recyable waste all have separate containers for disposal. On different days of the week the filled bags can be put out for regular curbside collection. No fuss, zero effort, huge difference.

At the end of every week, we have only a small black bag of real non-recycable rubbish. And every week I aspire to an even smaller size. All it is, in fact, is simply dropping the biscuit box 20cm to the left of where I would usually dunk it.

As far as the problem of world waste reduction is concerned I've learnt a very obvious and significant lesson:

I am the solution.

These two pics were taken at the California Academy of Sciences in San Fransisco. A super-cool place indeed!