Hello Saigon.

My epic adventures in Paris are about to drastically change...and move across the planet.
To Vietnam to be exact.

I am about to finish my Master 1 at the École du Louvre and after I hand in my thesis, do my defense and nab that diploma I will be on an airplane to Saigon to work as a junior editorial assistant for an International publishing house called Sirrocco Parkstone.

I'm a bit nervous about the transition and sad to leave my lovely city of Paris (don't worry, i'll be back)...but very excited at the same time. I spend my days either working on my thesis or researching Vietnamese life. Apparently it takes 10 minutes to cross the street in the city because the drivers are insane...hmm, the food is supposed to be delicious and on top of that good for you! and the whole country is basically on the beach.

I'm also hoping to get work on some more of my photography...no more Richard Avedon, lets go National Geographic!

Soon I'll look like these guys...

twenty. ten.

Happy New Years 2010!

I'm typically one of those people who just makes some sort of general resolution for the new year. This year, I didn't even think about it to be honest until Jérôme asked me when I got home to Paris yesterday. I thought about it for a second and my answer was "to have an even better year than the last one"....pretty easy to accomplish right? so we'll see.

Another resolution might be: "keep my blog updated"

I just got back from a warm and sunny San Antonio Christmas, and this freezing Paris weather is going to take some getting used to. I've been cooped up in my studio since my return sauf for a trip to the grocery store and dinner last night at an Indian restaurant that I foolishly walked to in my converse. Converse=holes on the side of the sole=icicle feet.

This last semester has flown by with my 8 classes and work I didnt have that much time for blogging. So here's a short update:

Basically, the Louvre rocks. I love it...no matter how freaking hard it is.

All my anglophone friends decided to leave Paris permanently...boo.

My bathroom is covered in black mold.

I'm writing a thesis on the representation of Hinduism in the museum collection

I have a new baby niece, Tatiana.

I have a new job watching a little boy called Max that starts on Monday.

I started knitting a bright orange scarf, but i keep messing it up.

In about a week, I have my finals coming up for the semester and I'm really nervous about it. I've made about a million notecards. Too bad my writing in French is equivalent to that of a 15 year old. After exam/hell week the second semester starts and all my classes are going to be seminars instead of lectures and theyre going to be held in the C2RMF conservation laboratory in the Louvre.

After watching Julie & Julia for the 3rd time I'm seriusly considering writing a food blog. I love food. I love making food. I love eating food. and food is way more interesting than what I write about on a regular basis....problem is, I dont think I have the discipline for it, so I guess I'll just stick to googling Paula Dean recipes and cooking to ease my stress.

I think I'm going to do these next:

In the midst of summertime

To anyone who reads this blog,

It's been a while. I stopped my inconsistent blogging near the end of the semester. Mostly due to a busy schedule and stress. Now, I have no excuse. I am in ending days of summer and I have only 2 weeks until I return to the land of baguettes and cheese...only this time I'll be attending the Ecole du Louvre! and not as an exchange student:) I got into their Master's program..so I'll be in the city of light for at least another 2 years! That is...unless I fail, which could potentially happen.

In other big news, as most of you know, my sister is pregnant! Right now she only has 6 weeks left until the little bugger pops out. She is having a baby girl, Tatyana or Tay, who is going to be completely adorable and obscenely spoiled by my entire family....including myself.

Now. A 10 point list of the things I have done this summer:

1. I spent the first 2 weeks in Soho staying with my friend Pam...who incidentally designs shoes and lives on Mott. I also got a brand new camera thanks to my main man:):)

2. I rode a train to Fairfield where I got to see the majority of my friends from Uconn while simultaneously going to the beach, playing scrabble and skinny dipping in private lakes.

3. Jay's Brook 66- the newfound home of Jackie, Julien and John (very cute). We spent a week in northern-ish Connecticut canoeing, swimming, singing and eating health food.

4. I ran 4 miles....something I've never done before and probably will never do again.

5. We sent a few days before I left for Texas in Clinton, CT with Jérôme's very eccentric aunt and uncle. They live on a small farm with beautiful gardens, peacocks and pot.

6. I flew to San Antonio at 6am and landed safe and sound.

7. I've been in Texas since the end of July and I have successfully eaten Mexican, barbecue and many other foods that I used to take for granted.

8. Jess visited me for 5 days. We swam, chatted and had a nice relaxing week together. We also probably gained 5 pounds from all the food we ate, but it was worth it.

9. I swim at least 20 laps at the pool everyday, and I try to cook as much as I can.

10. Movies, lots of movies.

so overall...my summer has been pretty chouette. Not a lot of activity, but its been nice seeing everyone. I'm going to try and get back into the swing of updating as much as I can.

xo. pucca

Go Sweden!

Movie Review:


Millénium, a movie based off the very popular crime/thriller book series by Stieg Larsson...a Swedish author.

I have yet to read the books, but now that I have seen the first film...I want to read all 3! The film was in Swedish then subtitled in French, but it's actually amazing how similar Swedish and English are...I could understand entire phrases!

The film takes place in..SWEDEN...obvs...and is following a journalist who gets a job with a rich family, called Vanger, to find a missing niece...Harriet. So the entire film is kind of a murder mystery, but very dark. The other main aspect is that of an extremely troubled girl, Lisbeth, who is a computer hacker and ends up helping the journalist on the case.


...this is a very vage discription, but all of you foreign film lovers should definitely check this one out if you can and if you can find it.


GO SWEDEN!

Back from the land of pancakes and waffles!

So this past weekend I spent 3 days in Gent, Belgium with Caroline. We decided to take a girls weekend and check out this beautiful historical city. In National Geographic Traveler, Gent was rated the 3rd most well-preserved historical city in the ENTIRE WORLD!

click here to see the complete list:):)

The trip was loads of fun, and the best part was that I got try out my new "couch-surfing" wings! We stayed with 2 different hosts. Our first hosts' name was Elias and he was super friendly and had a great personality that some might call weird, but we found particularly hilarious. Our second hosts were a house of 4 guys (you're think "oh no" right)...well they happened to be some of the nicest people I think I've ever met. Their names were Bart, Pieter, Wim and Jochen along with Bart's girlfriend Ruth. So we got to experience a new city and also meet real Belgians from the town to show us around!

Here are some highlights of the trip that I definitely don't want to forget:

*We left early Friday morning (around 8am at Place de la Concorde) to catch out bus to Brussels and there were only 5 of us on the bus so it was a nice trip there. When we actually arrived in Brussels our busdriver had no idea where he was going and we got a nice drive by tour of Brussels since it took him about an hour to get us to the right train station. He was really nice though...but he stopped at every single stop light to ask someone for directions...by the end of the ride we were laughing our asses off.

*When we arrived in Gent at the Saint Peter's train station (I have no idea how it's spelled in Dutch) Elias met us and we walked about 5 miles to his apt on the other side of the city with our backpacks...needless to say we got a good look at the city and we even stopped for a break to taste our first Belgian beer.

*We spent the first day just walking around and exploring the center of the city. The architecture was absolutely amazing and the town itself reminds me of a smaller version of Amsterdam, but less touristy. It was built over canals and there is a big medeival castle right in the middle along with 3 different gothic cathedrals with towers that all line up with one another...
-The Bell Tour
-Saint Nicholas' Cathedral
-Saint Bart's Cathedral

We went to the top of the bell tower to see an aerial view of Gent.

*The first night we made dinner for our host. We got groceries and I made a giant bowl of guacamole and a big pot of bean chili! Elias introduced us to his roommates and to his brother....we were a little dissapointed that we didnt get to meet his grandpappy and play chess (apparently he meets his grandpa every week to play Chess) Because we were so tired, we didn't end up going out the first night. We just went to bed early so we could get up and be refreshed for the next 2 days in Gent.

*On Saturday we got up and got some hot chocolate at a café with Elias and his brother Brecht, then we walked around a bit. Luckily the weather was fantastic! We got an early lunch of pancakes topped with fresh fruit and yummy milkshakes!! (they were big on milkshakes in Gent). Afterward, Caroline and I decided to go on a boat tour along the canals, which was great! we got to see so many neat things that way!

*That night we moved to our second host's house, and hung out there for a bit have a quick nap and chat. We all then decided to go out to eat at this famous spaghetti restaurant that serves giant bowls of fantastic pasta...along with beer of course:):)Bart, our host, is actually a DJ and invited us to a party that he was invited to play for that night, but the funny part was that it was a Boy Scout party for all the Dutch 15 and16 year olds in Gent....we were definitely the oldest ones there, but we DID make friends with a 16 year old, Arnold, who taught us the "Belgian dance"...which was basically swing dancing. We ended up laughing the entire night.

*Sunday was my favorite day in Gent. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we decided to go and get waffles then visit the Gravensteen castle. Well, the waffle places weren't serving waffles until about 3pm, oddly, so we decided to go to this super cute tea restaurant and got an afternoon brunch that consistes of amazing pancakes (again) with blueberries bananas, scones with english cream, eggs, freeze squeezed orange juice and a pot of tea...all of this only costed 13 euros!!! (in Paris a meal like that would cost AT LEAST 25 euros). We sat in the sun and talked and watched all the people that were walking by.

*We next went to the castle and spent almost the entire day inside. The architecture was amazing and extremely well preserved. The word Gravensteen in Dutch literally means "castle of the count" and dates back all the way to the year 1177 and was constructed by the count Fillips of Alsasse. There is a torture instrument museum inside and you can walk all around the walls and the courtyard. We took tons of pictures and just had a blast. Afterwards we decided to walk to the Saint Bart's Cathedral and take a look inside, but on the way there was a nice little park so we stopped to lay in the grass for a bit and started to to handstands and yoga.

*Our last evening in Gent was spent at our host's house. They invited us to have a BBQ with them so we all sat, ate and talked then we decided to watch a movie, which I fell asleep in because I was exhausted. We woke up the next morning early and caught our bus back to Paris...it wasn't the most comfortable ride because the bus was completely packed and I had no armrest, but it was only a 3 hour ride.


voilà, my weekend in Gent...now for current stuff:

We have our first couchsurfer staying with us from Australia! His name is Keith and he is awesome....we pretty much just want him to move in. This weekend we are taking him to the countryside with us which should a be a blast and a cool experience for him.

I've booked my flight back to the US and I'm staying in Connecticut for at least the first half of July..and I cant wait to see everyone!

(oh, yeah. i'm graduated too!! WOOHOO!)

now the big question is: WHAT'S NEXT???

xo. Hill

Out of hybernation

SALUT GAMINS!!!!!!!







So i'm back from the dead...yes yes, it's been a good 4 months since my last posting. I have been slacking due to such a busy/exciting life here in Paris.

So it is now May, and time for some update.....so Bref, (to make a long long long story short) here it goes:

1. My sister got engaged, pregnant AND married. My parents flew me home in the beginning of March for their Las Vegas wedding. Luckily I ran into Elise and got to see her there for a few hours. It was my first trip to the Sin City, and a quick one too....I had a 9 hour décallage (jet-lag) and I did 1 slot machine, BUT i did get to see the Cirque du Soleil "Zumanity" show which was super fun and sexy.

2. Stephi came to visit for a week before she left for her 2 year Peace Corps stunt in Senegal. We had a blast and caught up on old times. We even did a hommage to Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and had a baguette fight in front of the Eiffel Tower.

3. Caroline's BFF from home, Jackie, came to visit with her adorable son Julian for 2 whole weeks. I had so much fun and made some new friends...and started to become addicted to organic peanut butter:):) Julian got to spend his 3rd birthday here in Paris at the top of the Eiffel Tower....LUCKY BOY!....all in all....2 great people who I would enjoy to keep in touch with.

4. I sent in my application for the École du Louvre (one of the most prestigious Art History schools in the world) and I am crossing my fingers to get into their Master's program. If that is the case then it's another 2 years here in the city of light!
**As a side note** I may also have a job nannying 2 BEAUTIFUl little french boys in the 16th. On verra.

5. Jérôme got a tattoo!!! It is the same star that I have on my inner thigh, but his is on the right side of his rib cage. It's his declaration of love for me...bwa haha.

6. Caroline got a tattoo TOOOO!!! Her's is a naked picture of me doing yoga covering her entire back. ALSO to declare her undying love.





**haha JK** It's a naked woman sitting in the Lotus position, on top of a Lotus flower, with the 7 shakras going through her body. It's because she's a big huge Yogi.

7. Caroline and I figured out how to make raw food bars similar to the "LARA BARS" in the states. You just need a food processor and a love for dates. We spent all of Wednesday making them and we even invented 10 new flavors!

8. We just discovered the wonders of couchsurfing. Over spring break Caroline spent 4 days couchsurfing in Berlin and this weekend we are going to Brugges, Belgium to couchsurf some more! I'm hoping to indulge in some yummy waffles and chocolate.

9. I just returned from a long weekend in the countryside with Jérôme, Pat and Véronique. It was sunny and beautiful the whole weekend and I got a nice tan. We went horse back riding for 2 hours on Saturday and went bike riding yesterday. It's so green and beautiful out there, I feel so close to the Earth!

10. IF i don't get accepted into the Master's program that I applied for nor the internship at the MoMA, then Jérôme and I are thinking about moving to Mayotte for a year. Mayotte is a French department...so technically part of France, but it was once a colony. It's an island located off the coast of Madagascar...and supposedely very beautiful. So I'm definitely ready for some more adventure if the door opens!

Voilà....I am planning on coming home this summer...(home as in San Antonio) to visit my family and so on, but the dates aren't set yet. most likely all of August and maybe July.

à la prochaine!

xo Hillarey

Greetings 2009ers

Hola everyone!! that is the extent of my spanish SPEAKING skills currently. I sadly realized while I was in Spain that I cannot speak the language. I can understand it almost perfectly...I could even slightly understand the Catalan because its a mixture of French and Spanish...but when I tried to blubber my thoughts in good ole espagnol everything tumbled out of my mouth in français! It was like my brain was being torn in 2 different directions..horrible and frusterating. But other than that little letdown I had an amazing time in Catalunya.

Here is a little summary of my 16 day vacation in northeastern Spain....

The first week was spent in Barcelona. We left on Friday the 19th right after work and we arrived in Spain that night. I had already booked the hostal and the hotel for that first week. Our hostal was in the Barri Gothic and as soon as we finally got there we saw some amazing street dancers on Ls Ramblas...one of the main boulevards in the city. At about 11pm we found this little restaurant called La Concha where we ate some amazing jamon iberico (a specialty there), an epanada and some bomb sangria which Jerome soon became obsessed with. The next few days were spent walking around and stuffing ourselves with amazing Spanish tapas and Sangria...i was a fan of the typical Spanish Tortilla...basically a potato and onion omelette...because it was tasty and cheap. While living in Europe I have also become a fan of squid and octopus...We did all of the "must do" tourist things like the Park Guell, La Sagrada Familia, La Casa Mila etc...all Gaudi all the time! I loved it...it was a very cultural vacationt o say the least...i think we went to almost every museum in Barcelona by the time we were done. We even got to hit up the aquarium at the port. We spent most of the day walking around exploring, playing chess whenever we got a chance and finding new places to learn about. My favorite visit in Barcelona was actually the Palau de la Musica Catalan...it was an amazing piece of art and architecture. On Christmas Eve we moved from out little hostal into an amazing 4 star hotel called the Hotel Condes de Barcelona which was located on the Passeig de Gracia ( basically the Champs Elysees of Barcelona) right across from La Casa Mila. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas night there and lived the life of luxury for a couple days. There was a sauna and everything..and we definitely took advantage of all of it. On the 26th of December we checked out of the hotel and caught a train about an hour south of Barcelona to this small seaside town called Stiges. It was absolutely beautiful but absolutely dead as well. We decided not to spend the night there and headed about another hour south to this town called Tarragona which actually used to be an ancient Roman territory, so therewere ruins of the old forum that used to be there. We spent 2 days there and sw the famous Cathedral de Tarragona, which was one of my favorite things I must admit, and the old Roman amphitheater and 'Circus' (the part of the ancient forum where the horses would race). From Tarragona we headed north to Figueres...about 3 hour train ride, then caught a night bus to Cadaques, this small seaside town surrounded by mountains, where Salvador Dali is actually from. This was my favorite stop of the trip. We spent about 3 days there and we hitchiked to the lighthouse at the end of the peninsula and hiked all the way back to the town, we got to visit Dali's house, and the town itself was something out of a dream. From Cadaques we traveled back to Figueres for a night to see the Theatre Museu Dali...the super famous Dali museum that he commissioned and designed himself out of an old theater. For New Years, we headed from Figueres to Girona, another ancient Roman territory with a giant cathedral. It took us a while to find a hostal on New Years, but in the end we got the best one. It was right next to the cathedral and it was the coziest, cutest little hostal ever. It was decorated with French country linens and we got a free breakfast FEAST...which was most important for me. On New Years Eve we went to this chic restaurant with amazing tapas and rang in 2009 complete with Sangria and grapes. We spent another day there and ate at that same restaurant 3 times because Jerome LOVED the tapas. After Girona we went back to Barcelona and spent the last day and a half there, eating our last tapas and visting the Museu Picasso, which basically saturated my head with Picasso for at least the next year. We got back to Paris on Sunday the 4th late at night and moved into our new apt. the next day!

....no worries I will be posting pictures of the new abode.
Right now I am just living the high life in Paris while I can...finishing finals and then starting my last semester as an undergrad! (ahhhhhhhhhhhhh) I dont really know where I am going to end up at this point....but thats just another adventure in itself!!

à la prochaine!
moi