No need for presents this year!

Christmas at my house is quite the event. First, it is my lovely dad's birthday on the 24th of December, and even through the hustle and bustle of the preparations required for the réveillon that night, we always take the time for a little quatre heure to celebrate my dad's birthday, which usually consists of a delicious tisane, some decadent bûches de Noël from la Patisserie de Nancy and of course a few birthday gifts!
Christmas is special for us because we eat things that we only eat once a year, including my dad's famous cigars, and we indulge in typical French delicacies, such as foie gras and oysters.
Of course, there is also an orgy of presents, which we open throughout the meal, when everyone starts shouting "Un cadeau, un cadeau, un cadeau!". I love Christmas at home, because I feel like a child again, all excited about the gifts to come, the company to be had and the great food to be eaten. I love Christmas at home because my sister LOVES Christmas so much, and it is so nice to see her so happy and excited. I love Christmas at home because I love being with my family and sharing that time of year with them.
But this year, for the second time in 4 years, I will not be home for Christmas. I decided early on that I would stay here for Christmas, and in the heat of August, my decision did not seem like a hard one to make. But now that the C-day is approaching, that the streets are decorated, that the spirit of sharing and family is in the air, I feel a bit (read: a lot!) sad that I will not be home for Christmas.
However, I will certainly not be alone here during this time. I have decided that this is the perfect time for me to share with you a most happy news- your Pearl has found herself an oyster!!! This most unexpected, but greatly awaited, meeting took place only two weeks after my arrival here in Berlin- talk about something that was meant to happen! The lucky oyster's name is Ronny, and we have now been together for almost 4 (wonderful) months. He has made me the happiest girl in the world, and all my wishes have come true with his arrival in my life.
Christmas this year will thus be spent with my perfect oyster and his lovely family- something I am very much looking forward to.
Santa doesn't need to worry about finding the perfect gift for me this year- I already have all that I want and need!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a most Happy New Year! May 2008 bring you health, love, friendship, success, happiness, discoveries and perhaps also a trip to Germany!
Thank you all for the lovely comments that have waited for me on this blog. It means a lot to me to know that so many of you read me and are following me throughout this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I love and miss all of you very much!

Barcelona, part deux!

Although most of you have probably forgotten that I had promised you a second part to my Barcelona trip, I did not! I apologize for the delay.....my friend Aïda had to copy my pictures on a CD, and as she is very busy with work, and probably not the most technologically savvy person (!!!), it took a little longer for me to receive my pictures. But here they are! I hope you enjoy them!

Mercado de la Boqueria:

Iberica ham, mushrooms, fruits and veggies and much much more.

Chocolates, nuts, dried fruits and candies!

Hot peppers anyone?

Seafood BONANZA!!!

Gaudì buildings:

The neighbour who owns the fish store:

Home made paëlla!

Segrada Familia:

The four missing pictures!

The astronomical church


A Christmas market in the Old Town Square


The Jerusalem Synagogue


A colorful row of houses

Praha

I don't know about you guys, but my week-end was very exciting! The parentals and I decided to live it up, and so we went to Prague this week-end! That's right, we took advantage of the fact that the Czech Republic's capital is at a reasonable distance from Berlin and went there for a three day trip. We arrived in Praha just in time for lunch, which we had in a lovely Czech pub-like establishment. The walking started shortly afterwards, and continued for the next two days! Needless to say, I will need a vacation once my parents leave, as I am completely exhausted!

Prague should be on everyone's list of cities-to-visit-before-I-die. It is an extremely beautiful city, and it is no wonder that many people argue that it is even nicer than Paris (in my opinion, the two cities are completely different from each other and should not be compared to one another, but rather both visited, many times each if possible!). We were very lucky with the weather- except for a short, but intense rain fall on Friday, we had blue skies and sun the rest of the time.

Although we only had two full days there, we still managed to see all that Prague is known for: the Charles Bridge, the St. Vitus Cathedral, the old town square, with its Town Hall Tower and Astronomical Clock, the Jerusalem Synagogue, the Prague Castle and the many Christmas markets that can be found on every public place!

Views of Prague

Charles Bridge, and the many tourists visiting the Czech capital

St. Vitus Cathedral- very impressive!

A sampling of some of Prague's many beautiful buildings

A church!

***I wanted to include four more pictures to this entry, but the Blogger site seems to be undergoing some technical difficulties, and I am not able to upload the last pictures, so I will try to post them tomorrow***

My parents are already leaving on Wednesday morning. Time sure passes quickly when you are having fun! I think that they have enjoyed their time here and have liked the touring program that I set up for them!

En Français, pour les parents!

Après une multitudes de problèmes, incluant une annulation de vol, un délai de trois heures et une correspondance de vol manquée, mes parents sont finalement arrivés à Berlin!!!
Ça fait tout drôle d'avoir mes parents ici avec moi! Ils ont déjà vu plein de choses- sous la pluie par contre! Et oui, le temps est gris et pluvieux, un vrai hiver typiquement Berlinois.
Voici quelques photos du premier jour de mes parents à Berlin- comme vous pouvez le voir, les habitudes Allemandes (saussice et bière) ont été vite adoptées!

Final resting place- and a paper story

Last week, I was walking around Berlin's Mitte district, with no real destination in mind. Actually, that is not true! I went to Mitte specifically to find a paper store. For those of you who don't know, I have a passion for paper, and all its derivatives, such as cards, envelopes, wrapping paper, note books, agendas, journals, calendars and tags, to name a few. I have an extensive paper collection and visiting a papeterie is one of my favorite things. While reading through a Time Out guide for Berlin, I came across a few addresses for paper stores that I did not know yet, and so last week I set out to find these little treasures. One of the two stores was quite disappointing, with nothing new, but the other one!!!!!!!!! Let me tell you! It was a very small store, but once again it goes to show that size doesn't matter, because the shelves were full of beautifully hand printed cards, funky letter sets, delicate notebooks, and so much more. It was hard for me to concentrate and to control the urging need to buy everything! i was, so to say, like a kid in a candy store! I kept on telling the girl working there that there were so many nice things in her store, and I think she found me *special*. I left with a nice loot, some of which will end up in some of my reader's mailboxes!

But I digress. The point I wanted to make was that the store only opened at noon, and as I was there at 11:30, I had some time to spare. So I decided to walk down a small street and ended up in a cemetery. Actually, I ended up in one of Berlin's oldest cemeteries, and of course, I did not have my camera with me. So today I went back to this cemetery, and took some pictures. My beloved paper store was on the way to the cemetery, and it took all that I had not to go in!

The Friedhof der Garnisonkirche was built in 1722, thus making it more than 300 years old. It is a military cemetery, where soldiers who fought in all the battles that Berlin took part in, including the First and Second World Wars, are buried. Some of the headstones have been there for so long that the writing on them is illegible due to all the moss that has now established itself on them.

There is something about cemeteries that I love. Although of course the existence of a cemetery is related to death and sadness, there is also something really peaceful and serene about wandering in a cemetery. Doing so helps to put everything in perspective about one's life, and that's always a good thing.

"Soldiers are murderers" written on an abandoned house, right next to the cemetery.