My Life - So Far

"Unbounded ambition makes an obscure existence simply impossible for me"
Lucien de Rubempré

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Internship I

As I was working pretty hard the last two weeks, nothing of relevance happened, so here are some thoughts.
Mark van Huisseling (MvH), a journalist, was in Paris the same time as we were. He writes a weekly column in the journal "Die Weltwoche", this time about his stay in Paris, where he was invited to attend a jeans auction at Drouot. In his article, he recommends the club "Les Bains" which we may go to see next time we're in Paris!

Another piece of news: Guru's Jazzmatazz will perform at Blue Note in Biel/BE on friday, 14th November. I've listened to all albums and it would be great to see them perfom live, but most likely I won't attend the gig. If it was in Zurich, why not, but Biel is a bit too far away.

Lately, we watched Keinohrhasen, a german movie with Til Schweiger, which is pretty funny. Then we watched Into the Wild, which recounts the life of a 22-years old student which sets out on a crosscountry drive towards his ultimate goal: to live alone and off the land in Alaska. Into the Wild was directed by Sean Penn, which stars also in 21 Grams, a 2003 drama directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Then we watched Atonement, which won an Oscar and was nominated for six others.
Besides, Wall-E is a movie which is in cinemas right now. It's a computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios, which has been highly rated and already been compared to the japanese anime movies directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Murano Resort VII

Now we come to the end of the story. On tuesday morning we had to leave our room but could leave our luggage there. So we went to the Champs-Elysée to have breakfast and buy some souvenirs and food for the journey back home. Then we went to the H&M at boulevard Haussmann where we met Hélène. She has been in the same hostel in Tokyo one year ago and lives in Paris. Unfortunately we had only 15 min to talk as she had to work before and we had to leave for the airport Paris-Orly in the south of the city. Therefore we took the metro back to the Murano, snatched our baggage and went to Les Invalides where an Air France Bus should leave every 15min to the airport. Should. That was our problem. I read that in the Lonely Planet and had made already a calculation. We already sat in the bus as a man asked the driver when the bus is going to leave. And the answer was hard. He said in 30min. This would still have been okey, but it was 4PM and therefore a lot of traffic on the streets! Yes, and as we finally arrived at Paris-Orly, the easyjet desk was closed...

So we had to pay 100 Euro and to wait until 9.45PM for the next flight to Geneva. But that was the next problem. The flight was around one hour, so we were in Geneva at 11PM. At this time we had no train to Schaffhausen or at least to Zurich. In Zurich we for sure could have had a room at my friends place. But in Geneva? Jeannine, the wife of Valentinas brother then organized us a bed in the YHA in Geneva. We arrived at 12 and had to get up again at 4.15AM to catch the 4.56 train to Zurich. We tried to sleep in the train but at 7 it was impossible, as all commuters had to go to work in the morning. So had I! When we were in Schaffhausen Valentina took all the baggage and I went straight working at Unilever, as we had important product tests! I was pretty exhausted in the evening! :-)

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Murano Resort VI

I'm sorry for the delay! I hope you'll soon understand why I didn't blog for a couple of days. Okay, back to the last post. After we walked along the Champs-Elysées we had a relaxed lunch in the Jardin des Tuileries, which is surrounded by the Louvre, the seine and the Place de la Concorde. We were watching the ducks in the pond and all the people walking by. The sun came up just to say hello and disappeared behind the clouds soon after. This was the sign to leave the park and to take a metro to Les Galeries Lafayette. I saw some shoes the day before in a store named Minelli, which you can find on every corner in Paris. But unfortunately they had a very narrow cut, so I decided not to take them. However, inside of Les Galerie Lafayette I found a pair of shoes by G-Star Raw, which I immediately bought. After a coffee we went to a H&M near boulevard Sébastopol, where Valentina bought some clothes.

As we were tired because of our shopping tour we went back to the Murano. For dinner we actually wanted to go to Baan Boran again, as this thai restaurant was really delicious! But then I found an indonesian restaurant with the tellingly name Indonesia, located near the Odéon at rue Vaugirard. I took the Nasi Goreng menu and Valentina the chicken curry. Frankly, we'd better gone to Baan Boran again. It was not really special, somehow the indonesian taste was missing. The drinks were too sweet and very small and all the small details which we have seen at Murano or Baan Boran were missing as well. For the next time we know! :-)

After a short ride with the RER train, we were at the Eiffel Tower again! This time it was illuminated in a blue colour with stars on one side. At 10PM thousands of small lights started flashing for 5min. That was very beautiful!

Monday, October 06, 2008

Murano Resort V

Before we went out for dinner yesterday evening, we went to the Tour Montparnasse, where we bought a ticket for the elevator to the 56th floor. There we had to walk up another 3 floors to be on the rooftop on 210m. It was extremely windy up there and pretty difficult to take pictures. Nevertheless we managed to make a few good shots! As I mentioned before, we went out for dinner afterwards. Actually we planned to eat senegalese in the restaurant Nouveau Paris-Dakar, but unfortunately we noticed to late that most restaurants in Paris close on sundays! According to the Lonely Planet a thai restaurant was supposed to be open. Its name was Aux 3 Eléphants, rue Tiquetonne. The rest you can read in the internet or in the Lonely Planet! :-)

This morning we had our pain au chocolate and the coffee and tea respectively at the same place as yesterday. As the sun was shining, we walked past the boulevards and discovered a little nice café called De La Ville Café at Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelles. There we drank a Jus de Litchi before we took the metro to l'Arc de Triomphe. We took a few pictures and walked along the Champs-Elysées.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

Murano Resort IV

Today we were upgraded to a Junior Suit at the Murano Resort. So in the morning we had to pack our luggage before we left the old room. When we came back in the late afternoon we were already received by a concierge, who led us to the new room in the 5th floor. When we entered we couldn't stop marvelling at the size! The new room is at least three times bigger than the old one, the DVD screen is larger and the bath room is divided in three rooms! It doesn't feel like a hotel room, but more like a cutting-edge design apartment!

Besides we also did some sight seeing today! In the morning we had breakfast in a café at the Boulevard Montmartre before we went to the white church Sacre Coeur on the montmartre hill. Sooner we took the metro to the Jardin de Luxembourg. There we bought some chicken with rice and coconut-lime sauce at Wokbar! This is a small take-away restaurant with a great concept. You can choose each ingredient and they prepare it in a wok just in front of you! Three minutes later you can eat your menu at the bar or take it away. We eat in the Jardin, which surrounds the Palace de Luxembourg. It's a lovely palace with a little pond and palm trees on each side. Unfortunatley the weather was not that good to really enjoy it.

Sooner we walked to the Pantheon but we didn't go in as we would have paied an entrance fee. Normally you don't pay for churches, so after the Notre Dame and the Sacre Coeur we didn't wanted to see a church that demands an entrance fee. So we went to Starbucks for a coffee. Furthermore, while walking to Starbucks, I already saw some shoes I might buy tomorrow! After the coffee stop we walked to the Jardin des Plantes near Gare d'Austerlitz where we looked at all the different plants Mr. Linné collected some centuries ago!

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Murano Resort III

Yesterday evening we went to the Louvre. On friday evenings the entrance is free for people under 26 years. So in no time we were inside the famous museum. Actually we just wanted to see the Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo da Vinci back in 1505. So we walked straight up to the first floor and past most other paintings. Most other visitors thought the same, as a big crowd was already waiting to see the Mona Lisa. Honestly, it's not that impressing as the painting is rather small and behind a glass wall.
Anyway, we then went upstairs to see some belgian painters like Rubens.

When we left the Louvre, there was a fantastic evening ambiance! The sun was lightening the sky and all the old majestic buildings! So we decided to eat in the nearby thai restaurant Baan Boran. The chicken with green curry and cocos milk for Valentina and the chicken with red curry were delicious, so were the fruity appetizers called Phuket Morning! The restaurant is located rue Montpensier, actually just around the corner of the Louvre. It was already full and we had to wait for 5 min until a table was free. But the waiting time was really worth it!

This morning we went to the Tour Eiffel. You either could walk up the stairs to the first and second floor, or you could take the elevator to the third floor on 274m! And this is what we did! It was pretty cold and windy up there but the stunning views made up for everything! The weather conditions were good as well, so we could take some good pictures. When we returned to the ground we walked to Trocadéro where we eat crépes! After a short metro ride we left at Avenue New York where we saw the Lady Diana memorial flame, as she died there in a car accident in 1997. Valentina knew that there is a replica of the statue of the liberty in Paris. I found something about that in the Lonely Planet and not much later we strolled along a artificial narrow island in the middle of the river Seine to the statue.

After a lunch stop we went to La Défense. It's the major business district for the city of Paris, with 150'000 employes and 20'000 residents. We sat down for a while and enjoyed the sun!

In the evening, we went by metro to the station Crimée where my friend Peter was waiting for us. We last saw us at the Kantifest in Schaffhausen and he was so kind to drive us home late at night. This time we were invited by his girlfriend Marie to eat a very delicious quiche lorraine!

Friday, October 03, 2008

Murano Resort II

This morning we got up at 9am as we sat in the hotel lobby for quite a long time. The lobby, under glass roof, is dominated by a colossal fireplace whose flames spread furrow in 6-meters. A huge Chesterfield is facing it, to contemplate the fireplace at one’s leisure. First we had a nice fruity drink in front of the glowing fire. As we were hungry we sooner ordered a Club Sandwich, which was larger as expected. Sitting in the lobby is very special. This urban palace of a new style, is a subtle mixture of luxury, modernity and comfort.

After getting ready in the morning, we took the metro at Republique and went to the Centre Georges Pompidou to have a coffee at Starbucks. Then we walked to the Hotel de Ville and further on to the famous church Notre Dame. It's impressing not only from outside but also from the inside. After eating a crêpe at Creposuk, we went to La Fayette were we strolled around and had a closer look at the newest fashion trends.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Murano Resort I

On the road again! Today we boarded an aircraft from Geneva to Paris. After a very short flight we landed in Paris Orly, took the train to Paris Central and then a taxi to the Murano Urban Resort! It's a deluxe design hotel in the Marais district of Paris, with everything you can dream of! As soon as you arrive the concierge takes your baggage, they show you around the bar, the lounge and the restaurant.

Then they lead you upstairs to your room where you have to register your fingerprint, as you do not have a key. You just press your finger on a little field next to the door. Then you have a big Bang & Olufsen DVD and CD player as well as Grundig toilet interior. The rest is all brand new design. The table, the chairs, the bed, everything! You can even change the color of the room from green to blue to yellow to red... I'm just sitting in front of the DVD screen on the wall writing this post on my Apple Powerbook. Live blogging, actually!

In this post some pictures of the bath in our room. It's held completely in black and with with silver fittings. Even the toilet paper is black!