My first night in Bastia

If you know me well, I usually don't eat a lot, BUT I am always hungry. However, when I travel, I tend to eat a bit more because my eyes are bigger than my stomach and I want to try everything!! :D

That first day I got in Corsica, Sandrine and her boyfriend Olivier took me to a really good Italian restaurant called Gratzie Mille at the city center. OH GOD... I really ate like a GROSSE PORK!! The food was so good that I actually finished
everything!! :O

Carpaccio, Salmon linguini, Tiramisu! 

See how happy I was :P

Sandrine and Olivier

After that delicious meal, we went for a walk to the harbor... and it was beautiful!!! Bastia is a very, very charming city. It might by small, but WOW! The water, the boats, the buildings' architecture make the city so cozy with a really laid back feel. Loved it!

 

Isn't it PRETTY?!?!? Aaaah... Wish I can go back! :)

My Corsican friend!

Hmm... Where do I start?

I met this lovely girl 6 years ago at Concordia University in one of my English classes. It started with something like "Hey! Sorry... I haven't bought my book yet. Would you mind if I follow along with you?" and our friendship started to grow from that day.

Sandrine is her name. She was an exchange student from Corsica. She told me so much about her  island that I kind of fell in love with that place without really knowing anything about it... A bit like falling in love with a stranger :P I got my imagination going and in my mind I pictured that beautiful place with a blue sea, mountains everywhere, warm temperatures. I then told myself that one day I would go there!

During her stay in Montreal, I showed her around, brought her to different places AND obviously the good restaurants (my expertise :D ) We had very good times together "girl-talking", eating, eating, AND eating :P I actually really missed those good times I had with her.

After 6 years of dreaming, I finally got the chance and went to Corsica! The cute girl I met years ago has now turned into a beautiful woman with full of confidence who is pursuing her carrier as she always wanted to. One thing has not changed is her energetic and crazy personality which I love! So can you imagine what happened when another hyper girl joined the other?!? Oh yeah, that's right baby... CRAZINESS is in the house!! WOOT WOOT! :P

This time, it was her turn to take me around... to beautiful places, good restaurants! And guess what we did?! We talked, talked, and talked... We ate, ate, and ate!! 6 years of catching up... That's pretty long time!!

Thank you sweetheart for EVERYTHING!!! I miss you! Hope to see you before I go back to Montreal ;)

Un petit stop à P-A-R-I-S! Oui?!

Aaah... Paris, la ville romantique! Si vous êtes en Europe, il faut absolument passer à Paris!

Paris est une grande ville magnifique avec tout plein d'endroits à visiter. Autres que les monuments historiques et touristiques, il y a toujours des petits passages et ruelles à découvrir. Au nombre d'arrondissements qu'il y a, ce ne sont pas les places à explorer qui manquent!

Je me suis arrêtée à Paris pour une nuit. C'était ma deuxième fois et j'étais autant éblouie que la première fois! Évidemment, lorsque j'ai vu la tour Eiffel, j'ai dit "Awww..."! Quoique je dois dire que, de jour, elle n'a pas rien de spécial... vraiment! C'est une super grande tour pointue faite de fer rouillé, donc elle est d'une couleur brune-orangée... Point!

Par contre, de nuit, elle est magnifique! Entièrement illuminée, on peut la voir de très loin. Si je me rappelle bien, elle scintille à chaque 30 minutes à partir de 10pm... Mais je l'ai raté! :S Aaargg... mais bon, peut-être la prochaine fois!

Je suis allée rencontrer un ami de Montréal qui était en France à ce moment là. J'ai rencontré sa cousine et son copain à elle qui sont français et vivent pas très loin de Paris.  Ils étaient très sympas! Ils m'ont fait visité le coin de la tour Eiffel.

Nous avons mangé des crêpes... J'ai mangé comme une GROSSE PORK! J'ai partage avec Laiet la moitié d'une crêpe classique jambon-fromage et une autre fraise-nutella-crème fouettée! Oh god, c'était vraiment trop hahaha...

Tour de bateau-mouche sur la Seine?!? C'était vraiment super! J'ai bien aimé! Il faut le faire au moins une fois! Un conseil que je vous donne si vous decidez vraiment de le faire... C'est bien de s'asseoir sur les sièges à l'intérieur, mais il est vraiment beaucoup mieux de rester debout à l'extérieur pour mieux voir les monuments et pour prendre de meilleures photos.

Et oui, une fois à Paris, il ne faut surtout pas raté les Champs Élysées... La "plus belle rue du monde" de le majorité des femmes! C'est en effet une très belle rue... pour faire du window shopping :P Mais, durant le temps des fêtes, il faut y promener... Il faut aller voir les lumières!

Aaaah... J'ai passé une excellente soirée à Paris! C'était court, mais bon, mieux que rien! Merci à mes amis français d'avoir pris le temps pour moi!! Bisous!

Christmas far from home...

Snow is beautiful... ONLY on Christmas day!! However, for once, I wished that I would see snow more often, especially during Christmas holidays, so I could feel like I was back home with you guys.  I wished that I would wake up seeing white everywhere... TA-DAM!! My wish was fulfilled! I woke up that morning and looked by the window... A smile brightened my face! A beautiful white Christmas was waiting for me :)

I had to leave Piestany that morning... I got ready, said goodbye to the Novelinkovas, and left with a big bag of snacks that Martina's mom prepared for me! She's too sweet! **Thank you for the amazing Christmas Eve celebration... I had a wonderful time with you all!** Then I took the train and headed off to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.

When I arrived in Bratislava, everything was closed. I walked around the city with my carry-on luggage, my handbag, and my camera... I wandered in the deserted streets of the city with really ONLY ME, MYSELF, AND I! It was cool to visit a place from another angle... quiet and empty... That does not happen often! **For some reasons, I felt like I was in a war video game looking for my way out... OK, OK too much imagination!! HAHAHAH...** Bratislava was very beautiful. It was a city with old architectural monuments and small pathways... Very charming!

After that little walk around the city, I took the bus to the International Vienna Airport to fly out to my next destination. I arrived there, checked in, and had my Starbucks that I missed so much. I then went to the gate... All of a sudden, I heard someone whispering "Annie..." which I totally ignored. A few seconds later, I heard "Annie..." again but a bit louder this time. I told myself it's impossible that it could be me because I know no one in Europe, especially not in Vienna. Then I heard "Annie Luc!!" Next thing you know, there was a dude standing next to me... Surprised of hearing my full name, I looked up... And WHAAT??!?! I saw a friend from Montreal who was taking the same plane as mine! We also found out that we were going to sit diagonally from each other! What a coincidence!

I started my day being a bit sad because it was Christmas day and I was about to spend it alone... But someone up there wanted me to be happy, so he/she sent me a friend for Christmas! :D

Christmas is magical... as much for little kids as BIG kids! Love it, love it, love it!! :P

Joyeux Anniversaire ma cherie!

Bonne fete ma chère Soy!!

Je sais qu'on ne se voit pas souvent, même quand je suis à Montréal, mais je tiens à te dire que tu occupes une place spéciale dans mon coeur. Les années ont passé tellement rapidement! Il y a plein de choses qui se sont passées. Nos vies ont tranquillement changé, PAR CONTRE notre amitié est TOUJOURS restée la même!

Je te remercie pour toutes ces années d'amitié remplies de beaux souvenirs. Parfois, je repense à nos années du secondaire et ça me manque! On a passé par tous les stades ensemble... école, stupidités, conneries, clubbing, rires, pleurs, succès, échecs ;) Et dire qu'aujourd'hui tu as déjà 2 beaux enfants!! Et oui, les années avancent! ;)

Tu es une femme merveilleuse, intelligente **encore un peu slow :P** et ravissante. Je te souhaite le bonheur et l'amour que tu mérites. Profite de cette belle journée avec ta petite famille! On organisera un girls night à mon retour!!

Je t'embrasse!
xoxo

PS: Je viens de remarquer que ça fait des années qu'on n'a pas pris de photos ensemble! Cette photo date de 9 ans! OH GOD!! YOUNG AND PRETTY huh?!? :P

Christmas Eve dinner in Slovakia ;)

On Christmas Eve we had a traditional Slovak meal. I enjoyed the food, I learned a lot... and 2013 will just be AMAZING!!  Find out why!

First, we started off with oplátky s medom a cesnakom which are 2 thin waffles with honey and fresh garlic. There is actually a meaning behind that. The honey is soft and sweet so it will bring softness and sweetness into our lives, and the garlic is for good health! Then we continued the meal with the kapustnica soup with mushrooms, prunes, and sauerkraut. The main dish was vysmážaný kapor so zemiakovým šalátom - carp with potato salad. Food was great!!

After the meal, the tradition continued... One person of the family had to cut an apple in half across its width. If the the five-pointed star is nicely shaped that means everyone will have a good year. If not then we all blame the person who cuts it hahahah.. Good thing that our apple **cut by Martina** was just perfect! :D YEY! Good year for ALL OF US!! 

When I was about to leave the table, Martina's mom told me to look under the mat. I found fish scales... from the fish I just ate! Then the mom said that I have to put those scales in my wallet; they will bring money to it!:P

You think Chinese people are superstitious?! MAN! Slovak people are the same!! heheh...  

I am glad that I had the opportunity to learn about the Slovak culture! 
Good times!! ;)

Supermom's biskupský chlebíček... MIAM! ;)

I haven't had good homemade cooking since the day I got in England :S Food here is BLAH... The family that I am staying with cook for me everyday. However, I do not get a healthy balanced diet as I would want it to be. Oh well, dinner is ready on the table everyday as soon as I arrive from work... So NO COMPLAINTS! ;)

When I was in Slovakia, I stayed at Martina's parents place. Her mom is just AH-MA-ZING!! She is like a machine and she cooks non-stop! All the food on the table was homemade FOR EVERY SINGLE MEAL... soup, main dish, dessert, cookies even the wine! That was just AWE-SOOOME!!! So imagine Annie who loves eating AND who is always hungry... It was PARADISE!! hahahah!! :P Mom's cooking is ALWAYS the best because it is made with love!! <3

(@Olga: Hey Olga, she kind of reminds me of your mom!!! Speaking of that, I miss your mom's spanakopita!! Mmmm...)

My favorite of all time in Slovakia was a cake-bread called biskupský chlebíček, which I had for EVERY morning for breakfast. There was nuts, dried cranberries and dried orange peels **if I'm not mistaken**. It was sooo gooood!! Martina's mom usually makes that only during Christmas time... and uh.. hum.. Within 3 days, I finished the WHOLE loaf by myself!!!  :S :P :D I could have finished it the first day, but I didn't want to show them that I am a BIG PORK! hahaha...

Oh yeah! I also tried this homemade sweet drink... containing alcohol :P Yeah, yeah... It's a drink for 'women'! It was really good. I actually finished my glass! WHAAT?!?! Impressed huh? I know! I was impressed of myself too hahahah...
 

Thank you supermom for your cake! It was DELICIOUSLY yummmyyy!! I miss you, supermom... and I miss you, biskupský chlebíček :P