Tag Archives: Feelings

Bikeway To Hell

November 11, 2016 Virginie the Frenchie 1 Comment

Sometimes I have crazy ideas and luckily for me I have always awesome friends to follow me in my euphoric projects. So it is no surprise that when I decided to go to Henley Beach by bike to celebrate my birthday, my friend Nasim (from Iran) was part of it! For those who have been following me and paying attention, last year, for my birthday I got a beautiful green bike that became my fav. transportation mode to go to work, school, activities, market etc… So it makes sense that this year I wanted to take it to the next level and go on a bike trip from Adelaide CBD to the beautiful Henley beach.

Adelaide’s parks are full of surprises. Look at this party setting with permanent balloons floating all around! Happy birthday to me I guess!

The river Torrens Linear trail is known to be pretty easy, flat and scenic. Imagine yourself biking along the river, in the parks, with the beautiful and majestic trees swaying in the breeze, the enchanting colourful birds singing along the way (have you ever heard a Cockatoo?! not very melodious lol) and the nature surrounding you like a comforting cup of tea on a Sunday morning. I really believe, this is worth giving it a try and we are so lucky to have many bike trails here in Adelaide. It is a good way to discover a city and its surroundings. Besides it is very easy to rent a City Bike in Adelaide for free, so no excuse!

Nasim, in a very sporty attitude, ready to hit the road, no stop signs, no limit, nobody to slow her down on her bikeway to hell 😉

Nasim and I met first at San Churro for breakfast. I guess we both needed a good dose of sugar to boost our bodies before hitting the road. At the beginning, everything was really nice and we really enjoyed it. Nasim was even considering buying a new bike to do that more often. I mean it is an healthy and fun way to exercice. We stopped many times to take funny pictures, to gaze at the landscapes, to relax… But what I did not consider is that even if this trail is said to be easy, it is quite long and you need at least a bit of practice. So basically I think it took us about 3 hours (maybe more) from the CBD to reach Henley Beach. When we arrived there, I think Nasim was about to collapse.

I think at this stage, Nasim had enough… this pic was taken sometimes between her collapsing and then having lunch.

We rested a bit, walked on the beach (well deserved), took some more pictures and ended up in a restaurant with a view on the seaside. It was good to relax and chat about this little adventure. Despite the fact that we were both exhausted, there is no doubt that this bike trail is wonderful and the feeling you have when you arrive closed to the beach: awesome! All these little houses facing the beach, the white sand, the blue sky, this is the dream picture ❤

Adelaide and its surroundings are so beautiful. Sometimes I can’t believe I live here!

As we started to make our way back, it appeared that Nasim had no more juice. Her body hurt, she was not feeling well and soon riding her bike became a nightmare. We tried many things, we switched our bikes, I encouraged her… but when the body shuts down, there is nothing that can be really done. And sadly for Nasim, this was over. I was getting a bit worried because it was in the late afternoon and the sun was slowly vanishing on the horizon and I started to worry picturing us, walking in the dark woods next to our bikes, the gloomy shadows of the trees, the scary sounds of the nocturnal birds and the silence of the night surrounding us like a dark trap. BOO!

The power of the mind is funny sometimes, what was magic a few hours before became suddenly scary. I started to feel bad because this was my whole idea, what on earth was wrong with me, we are talking about maybe 23 km and it is not like that we are used to ride our bikes that much. Nasim suddenly quit cold turkey and called her husband to pick her up in the middle of nowhere. There was not enough room in the car for 2 bikes and I felt I had enough energy to go on and reach my home before the night comes. So it was me all alone against the clock haha!

Last smile before scratching my belly on the tree (natural scrubbing… yes you bet!)

As I was riding back to the CBD, I could not help feeling grateful to Nasim for joining me in this crazy but funny bike trip. I felt really happy about the whole day. All in all it was one of the best birthday activities I have ever had 🙂 I liked it despite of its unexpected events: Nasim thought at some point she had broken her bike, a lady advised us to be careful with the Magpie attacks, a guy asked me for the time and I thought he wanted to steal my bag, I scratched my belly climbing in a tree for a scenic picture… and all those km that obviously we were not trained enough for.

It is all those little moments that make also good memories and you know what now looking back at it, Nasim and I really enjoyed this beautiful day together because we laughed, we had fun and we experienced with delight our very own bikeway to hell. Life does not have to be perfect to be fun, it is its imperfections that make us smile and stick to our minds forever… Life goes beyond the beautiful pictures and selfies that we post daily on social medias… it is living the present moment, experiencing feelings, the good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful, the laugh and the tears. It may not be always perfect but it is the REAL deal and it is up to you to make it count! I am sure if we had to do it all again, Nasim would jump on her bike in a matter of second to join me 😉

“Don’t wait for the perfect moment, take the moment and make it perfect” ❤

australia, lifestyle

Colour the world, colour your mood

September 8, 2016 Virginie the Frenchie 2 Comments

Lately I have been obsessed with coloring books for adults. It’s the new trend and it is nearly impossible to miss them when you are in a Bookshop. Anyway I own a few of them and I really enjoy using those books whenever needed. I believe coloring has a grounding effect.

It all started when my friend Ana (my former Spanish teacher from Colombia) offered me a postcard from the artist: Johanna Basford! When it comes to coloring book, this girl is a GURU, believe me! Her work is amazing: have a look at “Secret garden” (my fav), there is so much poesy in her art, she managed to create a real enchanted universe.

74-treehouse — Colouring book for adults “Secret Garden”, Johanna Basford

So I started with her books and her postcards that I would share with some friends. Sometimes we would go together to the café, with some pencils and we would colour some beautiful magic scenes while chatting. It turned out to be very effective, especially when we were stressed or worried about something. It acted like a colour therapy session and it was a very calming and a comforting activity.

Texturing and colouring my breakfast bowl: a good way to start the day happy and zen 🙂

It is a combination of little things that separately are just details, but when all combined, it is like a ritual where all your senses are activated. The colours that are dancing in a farandole in front of your eyes, the paper texture under your fingers, the soft sound of the pencils pressed on the paper, the delicate smell of the drawing in progress and the taste of gratitude as the image starts to appear more and more alive.

So now I extended my selection to other colouring books such as: Enchanted Forest by Johanna Basford, The mini Mandala by Susanne Fincher, the little book of Mindfulness colouring by Holly Macdonald. I really enjoy them as they are a great help to meditate , to relax and sometimes to escape .

What about you? Have you ever tried it? Tell me all about it in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear about your experiences when it comes to coloring books 🙂

australia, lifestyle

When Swan Lake meets the Torrens river

June 3, 2016 Virginie the Frenchie 2 Comments

“Dancing is an art. The floor is my canvas and I am the brush and whatever I create comes from the heart”.

To me, ballet is like a day dream, where the music takes you to a sweet escape and for one moment you belong to the story and everything falls in its right place. There is no need to speak, to explain, you just feel it and your imagination does the rest.

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend to one of the most famous ballet : Swan Lake! Luckily a friend of mine managed to get me a ticket to the dress rehearsal at the Adelaide festival centre by the Torrens river and I really enjoyed this moment.

I swear I could see the swans on the stage, the way they move, they were so real. The main ballerina was so gracious and really into her character : sweet and fragile as a white swan and her doppelgänger charming and confident as a black swan. The music was so touching, melancholic… and the end so sad… but we all already knew that, didn’t we ?!

As it was a dress rehearsal, it was also interesting because I could see how they improve the settings, adjust the lights, how the dancers adapt and sometimes request to repeat a particular moment. When you see a ballet, the dancers make it so easy that it feels so natural that sometimes you forget all the work, commitment, dedication and hard training to complete the perfect choreography.

What can be said about a classic like Swan Lake that hasn’t already been said! Some critics would say that the storyline lacks of originality but to me, if I should say in just one sentence how I felt about it, I would say:

Sweet and Bitter as Love can be sometimes…

lifestyle, School

How does sunlight sound?

April 23, 2016 Virginie the Frenchie 8 Comments

The sunlight tiptoed in my bedroom, crawling silently in the dark like a cat approaching its prey. Gently, silently making its way to my bed, caressing my face and whispering in my ears, calling my name. ‘A little bit more,’ I implored turning my back. But it did not want to listen, it did not care, it kept going crescendo brighter, making a warm crackling sound on the floor, its loud colour invading my space, knocking on the walls, jumping on the sheets like a capricious child. ‘For the last time I beg you to let me sleep! Just five minutes more, that’s all I am asking for!’ and I hid my face into the pillow. But now the roaring noise was getting louder, producing sharp disharmonious combinations of yellow and white tones, exploding like a military band in my ears, blowing through the windows like a storm: it was unstoppable, it was everywhere! The deafening sunlight had a message to deliver and was determined to make me listen. I could not ignore its voice anymore, it was time for me to surrender, wake up and get ready because today was the day and there was nothing I could do about it!

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This text is one of my assignments from creative writing class that I wanted to share with you. We were asked to write a paragraph using synaesthetic metaphors. The idea was to create new ways of expression by creating cross-sensory experiences where you can for example hear colours, smell sounds, see music, feel the texture of light and so on… By mixing the different senses you can layer your story and come up with a unique and original piece. In order to warm up our creativity, we were given a list of questions and we had to pick one of them and work on it using synaesthetic metaphors… I was inspired by “How does sunlight sound?” and I built a short story starting from this question. I must say I was pretty impressed with the result because it worked really good and I was really proud and happy about what I came up with! I think this technique helps to describe a scene in a original way and it helps creating a real universe by using lively images so people can truly feel the atmosphere! I hope you have enjoyed this story and I hope it will intrigue you so you want to know more 😉 Please do not hesitate to leave me a comment: Did this text tickle your imagination and if that so why do you think the main character does not want to get up? I am curious to know because it is always interesting to hear about different ideas and then we can compare with what I had in mind when I wrote that piece… Come on, don’t be shy, I am sure it will be fun!

lifestyle

More than a jeans!

June 4, 2015 Virginie the Frenchie 3 Comments

Do you know what is the most common fear for people living abroad? No matter the origin, colour, religion… it is always the same obsession! You would think: the language to master? the new culture to adapt? missing your family so much that you can’t breath? I won’t deny that these are part of the concerns too but the most common fear is actually and surprisingly: gaining weight!

When you think about it, it does make sense! Afterall when you move overseas, you have a lot of free time when you arrive, meaning a lot of opportunities to taste local dishes, an enormous curiosity to satisfy and the desire to discover everything about your new culture and food is definitely part of the plan! But all these little culinary experiences have a price and soon before you realise you have gained 1 or 2 size and it can be more if you have abused of comforting food!

I have a little trick in order to avoid this unfortunate experience! I have the perfect weapon that I always have in my wardrobe! Please I hope you are not thinking of Bridget Jones’slim panties! Please… No! My secret weapon is actually a pair of jeans that I used to wear in my early twenties! It has even a name: it is called the “Sienna Miller”! Why this name? because when I bought it, there was a big black and white poster in the shop featuring the beautiful Sienna Miller wearing this exact same jeans! She was absolutely gorgeous ❤ with her beautiful curves sublimated in this mythical denim pants!

Wherever I am going, I always bring my “Sienna Miller jeans” with me! I can’t really wear it anymore because it is 15 years old, very used and full of holes but I can assure you it works better than a scale. Whenever I am in doubt about my figures, I just have to fit the SM jean: if it fits it means I can still enjoy cakes and candies, if it does not then it leads automatically to more walking and less treats! It is as simple as that and so far it has worked for me wherever I lived and despite my love for St Viateur bagels in Canada, my obsession for scones with marmalade and cream in England and my sweet spot for Lamington in Australia!

In conclusion, a scale can lie to you because these are just numbers… it can be water retention, hormonal etc… but the Sienna Miller jean will always be true to you showing no mercy to extra kilos!

lifestyle, School

Red

April 8, 2015 Virginie the Frenchie Leave a comment

She stopped the car at the red light. She looked briefly into the rearview mirror and she noticed her eyes were still red from crying. The roses were lying next to her on the front seat. She was wondering who was sending the flowers; probably somebody who wanted to feel good about it! Each damn year on Valentine’s day it was the same old scenario: a beautiful deep red bouquet would be delivered to her work place without a card or a message. In a way it felt good that somebody cared about her, but at the same time it hurt so much because it also reminded her of the passion and love she once had, which had been tragically and irremediably taken away from her.

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This text is one of my assignments from creative writing class. Rather than starting to write from an idea, I was encouraged to start with a word that would act as a trigger for writing. The idea is to explore the sounds and meanings of words, to get new ideas and perspectives. I was asked to write only a paragraph (short story) using the trigger word: RED by sound or by meaning… it was up to me! I must say it was interesting because I never proceeded this way before… generally ideas or images drive my creativity! So it was interesting to start from a simple word as “red” and build a story around it! I am happy with the result because I managed to create a story in just 100 words! What I really enjoyed about this exercice is the fact that at the beginning I had no idea where my story would go… I just knew I would use “valentine’s day”, “roses”, “traffic light”, “passion” because they are deeply associated to the red colour but my story really took life under my pen with the words I was using one line at a time, growing like a deep velvet rose on the heart of my white page filling it with its warm colour!

australia, lifestyle

Moving abroad with or without your pet?

March 26, 2015 Virginie the Frenchie 6 Comments

“Until one has loved an animal a part of one’s soul remains unawakened” – Anatole France

A couple of years ago, I decided that I wanted to live the dream and have an international career. It was a project dear to my heart hidden in a little corner of my mind like forever. But at that time I was living in Paris with my 10 years old cat and his name was Paulo.

P1040237 — Paulo and myself sitting on the window of our Parisian flat

He was the most adorable cat you could ever have imagined, always purring, asking for cuddles, giving love. Paulo was neither the bravest cat nore the most agile one… First, he was scared to death when hearing somebody sneezing! Secondly jumping from the floor to the table or walking on the bed frame seemed to be too challenging: actually he fell a few times BUT he had a big ego and hated when I would laugh at him that’s when I learnt to do my Poker face (thank you Lady Gaga). But he was my cat and I loved him unconditionally no matter what. So it was obvious that Paulo would be part of my adventures should I move someday overseas. I started to enquire about how it worked, what kind of vaccination would I need, paperwork to deal with, pet carrier to choose… it seemed complicated and expensive but a pet is part of your family so you’re ready to face these kind of problems! Unfortunately Paulo was diagnosed with kidney cancer and passed away shortly after this heart breaking news. So I never got the chance to bring my cat with me abroad. But as a pet lover I can totally put myself in your shoes. So what is going to follow now, is not my own experience but stories from friends who live overseas with or without their pets.

First you need to know that the decision is not that easy… Moving abroad is a lot of logistic and stress (for you and your animal) so some people decide it is a too big an issue and they prefer not to bring their little companion. They choose instead to give their dog or cat to a friend or a relative. It seems “easier” on a logistic point of view but actually it is not… because I have seen these same people crying and missing their pet a LOT!

I mean when you adopt your animal at the first place it is because you want to love it forever! Remember the first day your pet arrived in your home, how happy you were, how much you cared about your dog or your cat! So having the feeling of abandoning your little companion to make both of your life easier can be hard to cope with! So think about it twice… if you decide to leave your dog/cat behind you, make sure it is in good hands with people you trust and who will be able to keep you posted and be ok to handle the situation if you change your mind and want your animal back. Because you can think at the first place it is going to be ok and then realize you are too sad and too depressed… Keep in mind that when you will move overseas you will have no friends at the beginning and you will miss your country, your family, your old life a lot! So the absence of your cat/dog could be the straw that broke the camel’s back, better to have a plan B just in case!

On the contrary, I know other people who can not possibly imagine their life abroad without their pet. My friend Nasim (from Iran) has a lovely dog named Judy that she loves very much. When she decided to move to Australia, her dog was part of the plan!

11081793_10152988999148876_573859500_n — Judy in her previous home in Iran

But it is not easy either because when you move with your pet to Australia, laws are very strict and you have a very long delay to respect and it can be extended depending on your dogs’ results, current health etc… http://www.agriculture.gov.au/cats-dogs . You have to live with the guilt of putting your animal through all these confusing experiences (leaving its home, its family and its routine for a while, long stressful trip, noisy shelters, cold cages, multiple tests, long time no see, strangers)… like I said there are no ideal solutions.

Furthermore, Nasim’s dog could not do its quarantine in Iran and had to be sent to Canada in a shelter for the whole duration and it is been a long time now… It is hard because the duration was extended many times and Nasim is missing Judy a lot and wondering how her dog feels about this situation… she has not seen Judy for 8 months! But a few days ago, Nasim received a good news: Australia is ready to welcome Judy now, all paperworks have been approved and she will see her dog very soon! The next step now is to find a good pet doctor in the neighborhood, nice parks for dogs and most important a welcoming home! Bear in mind that many landlords don’t accept animals so it is important when you move abroad with your pet to find a place where it is allowed and mentioned in the leasing contract!

Whatever you decide, focus on your pets’ interests, find the “best” solution for both sides and try not to feel guilty about the situation (it won’t help anyway). Good luck ❤

“Tant que vous n’avez pas aimé un animal, une partie de votre âme sera toujours sans éclat, endormie.” Anatole France

lifestyle

All we want is…

February 19, 2015 Virginie the Frenchie Leave a comment

Five women sitting at a table: one is from Venezuela, another is from Vietnam, a third one is from Japan, another is from Australia and the last one is from France. What is the common point between these 5 women? They are all talking about the same feeling. A feeling we all experience, no matter our background, education, culture, religion, belief, skin color… a universal feeling that anyone can understand: LOVE ❤

I find it always interesting to discuss with people from other countries; somehow you always realize that besides all our differences, inside we are just the same. And I guess this is even more true when it comes about romantic relationships… and of course MEN… there is a lot to say about them too… a worldwide concept 😉

Many times I have heard that I come from the country of love.. “oui l’amour!” and I think it is cute… I want to believe this is true… that in France: you can bump into couples kissing at each corner of the streets, we do say “je t’aime” at least 4 times in the day and if not it is because we caught a bad cold and we can’t speak, we have regularly red roses delivered at work, we hold hands and kiss all the time, we don’t accept to have dinner if there is not a chandelier or candles on the table and we can’t imagine a dinner without chocolate, champagne and sweet little words whispered in our ears… I actually like this vision of France and I really want to believe in it, I really do! Afterall, maybe it is because I am French that I enjoy so much to hear about “l’amour”, “mon chéri”… when talking with my international friends.

Actually, my heart wants to jump when I hear about a beautiful love story, I want to cry inside when I hear about a painful break up, I want to believe that passion can come back when I think there is still hope, I want to explode when a man makes a woman unhappy, I want to spice up things when I sense there is routine, I want to believe that the perfect guy is on his way when I hear “single” . It is true, I love to listen to all these stories and I am glad when I can help… that’s what women do, we comfort and support each other no matter what because we have all been there, we just know what it feels like!

I am sure Cinderella, Snow White, Barbie… do the same when they are having coffee together (maybe not at Cafe Cibbo… Starbuck?). Surprisingly we never read this part of the story… All we know for sure is that they felt madly in love and they kissed the boy but what happened then? What about the 1 week, 6 months, 3 years and 7 years milestones? and why didn’t they leave us any memo?

“Falling in love” seems to be the easy part of the story… the love boat is sailing, the sky is blue and it is the beginning of a wonderful journey full of promises: remember your eyes have been replaced by 2 shiny hearts, you see “la vie en rose”, you can’t eat, you can’t sleep, you are glowing and giggling all the time, you can not possibly get rid of your smile, everybody but you can tell you are in love (it is written on your forehead) and of course that is when all the men decide suddenly to chase you…try to figure!

And then there is “being in love and in a relationship” and this is demanding because it is not the destination, it is THE journey! It is an adventure, it is the moment of truth where your dreams and expectations meet the reality! Sometimes you will travel on a beautiful and peaceful sea with amazing stars over your head and other times there will be storms, waves and rain… But you don’t learn to sail in just one day, do you?! It takes time, patience, compromises and a lot of love to grow together looking in the same direction without forgetting who you are, where you want to go, what really matters… but when you know, you know!

It is a long way to go but it is worth it… Because at the end of the day, what do we want? Pretty simple… to love deeply, fully with all of our heart and to be loved passionately, indefinitely, madly in return… universal ❤ so let’s embark on this boat and see what the future holds… and remember: