Tag Archives: featured

The girl with the red Vespa

October 16, 2017 Virginie the Frenchie 4 Comments

Going to Central Market with my bike on Saturdays is the best!

Spring time is my favourite season in Adelaide! I really enjoy riding my bike to go to work, central market or else through the parks. You would think that after all this time I got used to it and I don’t really pay attention but it is not true. I’m still amazed by my commute. For the birds lovers, you will be greeted on your way by cockatoos, magpies and colourful parrots. And forgive me if sometimes I arrive late at work, I was probably enjoying the ride a bit too much and stopping to take pictures of those cuties 😉

Sharing a glass with my friend Sybilla at Brighton beach!

I believe that when you have the chance to live in a such beautiful city as Adelaide, you should enjoy the landscapes, feeling free with the wind in your hair driving along the beach in an old vintage car or a motorcycle, stopping at a terrasse for a glass of wine while gazing at the sunset on the jetty… There is something romantic about vintage transportation, la dolce vita, as they say in Italy… this is actually how I picture it. And I believe Adelaide is the perfect spot to enjoy life and take your time to seize the day. I think sometimes we are so used to the place where we live, we are so stuck in our own routine that we don’t acknowledge anymore the beauty of it, we don’t pay attention to what is beautiful and unique, we don’t feel enough grateful for what we have… and maybe this is the beauty about being a foreigner because you still have this fresh outlook on your country and culture of adoption and you keep being surprised and amazed by your everyday life.

OULALA !!!! Gigi and I were meant to be!

Speaking of it, one of my crazy dreams has always been to own a red Vespa. I think they are so cute and I like their retro look, their style, their shape… To quote this song, that I’ve heard so much on the radio lately : “I’m in love with the shape of your body”… well…for sure the singer was not talking about a Vespa but I am! So when I met my friend Sybilla (Germany) and she told me her husband had a Vespa called “Gigi” , and yes that’s a SHE, I thought the universe was telling me something! So instantly my next question was to enquire about her colour and when she told me it was red… I knew instantly Gigi and I would be an item ❤

Sybilla and I being both crazy about GIGI!

For a city like Adelaide, a Vespa can be a good option because you can park easily, which is very important. Besides, you can cruise around the city and enjoy the streets of Adelaide without speeding and it seems pretty safe to drive (even if the first time I tried it I managed to fall…but it was me being clumsy and inexperienced). I believe it can be perfect to explore Adelaide surroundings (compared to a bike where you are a bit limited). And I can’t help thinking how charming it must be to ride a vespa on a nice and sunny spring day, even if it is to go to work, it feels already like an adventure, and it is impossible not to feel happy with a great smile on your face when driving it 😀

So to Vespa or not to Vespa… this is the question… what do you think?! Shall I find Zoé (that’s how I call my bike) a new friend? So I can keep exploring and blogging even more about Adelaide and its surroundings!

australia, England, lifestyle

Yoga at the beach

April 20, 2017 Virginie the Frenchie 3 Comments

A Mexican girl and a French girl, both focus and enjoying yoga at Semaphore beach in Australia

When I was living in Paris, many people would talk to me about the benefits of practising yoga. Life in a big city can be stressful between your job, the commute, busy people and so little time to enjoy life. I was curious about it and I thought maybe I should try and see by myself how it feels. So I enrolled to a class and it was good but I did not connect with it and I stopped after a few sessions. Some of my friends were surprised as they really believed that it would fit with my personality but sometimes all it takes is to meet the right person.

I want to hug the sun with all my heart ❤

And it happened… with patience… many years after in another country actually. Life, work and opportunities took me to London (UK) for a year and this is where I met the most amazing yoga teacher you can imagine. And have you also noticed that often the best things that happen to you in life, are very often the ones that you were not looking for. It is like sometimes, life has little gifts for you. And this is what happened to me with Mieke 🙂 at that time I was really not thinking about yoga or anything and I found a card in my letter box and I was about to throw it directly in the bin, but some words caught my attention because I could relate to them. And this is how I started yoga sessions, 5 times a week with the adorable Mieke. And you can’t imagine how much it helped me at a time I needed it the most in my life. At the beginning I remember it was challenging because it was in English and I did not know the names of the postures etc… but then I got used to (watching her mainly and associating images with words) and now I can’t imagine yoga in another language than English, funny isn’t it?

My family name is related to nature and more specifically to trees… so this posture was made for me 😉 even if I am a very tiny and not very flexible tree lol I can bend but I won’t break!

Now that I am living in Australia, I still practise sometimes yoga on my own thanks to internet and when I find the time to do so. It is a very calming and grounding activity that I highly recommend. Besides I must say that with this beautiful weather I had the opportunity to go and practise yoga at the beach and it was a great experience with all these beautiful colours, the sound of the waves rolling on the beach and this beautiful sun in this vibrant blue sky. It was like a dream and practising yoga in such a beautiful setting made me feel very grateful. Besides I had the opportunity to teach some postures to some of my friends (Jessica from Mexico and Liliana from Venezuela) and they really enjoyed it! It is a good way to feel connected with earth and feel your stress leaving you as you are embracing yoga with all of your heart, letting go, no where to go, no where to be, just in the present moment!

Namaste! ❤

australia, lifestyle

Looking beyond the horizon

April 16, 2017 Virginie the Frenchie 1 Comment

“Being happy does not mean everything is perfect, it means that you have decided to look beyond the imperfections” – Gerard Way

My friend Jessica (Mexico) often says that people come to your life for a specific reason. Sometimes it is to teach you something about life or yourself, sometimes it is to bring you love and kindness, sometimes to challenge you… and you have to embrace this feeling!

There will be sometimes, when living abroad, when you will feel frustrated, like nothing is working the way you want and you don’t really understand why because you are trying your best. It is a strange feeling that many foreigners experience because we are far away from our country, our culture, our family… and everything is new and different. The key is to learn to adapt as quickly as possible which is not always easy. But you can’t do this alone, you have to surround yourself with true friends. Friends who will become your second family, friends you choose because they are “like” you, friends who will show you the way when you are lost, friends who will be there for you no matter what. These people will make a big difference not just in your day but also in your life and you will do the same for them too, sometimes without even realising it!

I recall once I had a “perfect” day with my friend Liliana (Venezuela) and it felt really nice. We did not do anything “spectacular”, we were just 2 girls sharing a nice picnic together, taking pictures/selfies, enjoying a good conversation! But it was sooooo good. Sometimes you think that you need complicated things to be happy and you can feel frustrated thinking that it is going to be hard to get them but thinking of it most of the time it is the simplest things that make you really happy. Think of it, try to remember when was the last time you really felt happy and I am sure you are going to realise that it was something very simple.

When France meets Brazil, it’s crazyyyyyyyyyyy! My Brazilian friend and I, partners in laughing crime.

It can be a smile, a compliment, a nice walk, something nice to eat, a beautiful bird passing by… you don’t need your day to be perfect to feel it is perfect, you just need to collect moments, those who make a difference in the rest of your day and will accompany you the rest of your week. And sometimes, total strangers will make a difference too without knowing it, just because they are genuinely nice and friendly when you need it the most.

So yes, all in all it does not have to be perfect and does perfection really exists anyway? The most important is not to be fooled by imperfections, not to focus on them but rather look beyond them, what really matters and enjoy 🙂