I went to Paris for a few days last week and then I went to Amsterdam for a day trip. I was asked which one I like better, and I don't think I have an answer. Paris is definitely more "traditionally" beautiful. It's insane! There are all these things you see in movies and read in books, and then you go to Paris and here they are; right in front of you. These amazing, legendary buildings or locations or pieces of art right in front of you and you have no idea what you ever did to warrant this kind of experience. It's pretty overwhelming. That might actually be a problem. Paris is really pretty, but it might actually be TOO pretty. I feel like I wouldn't want to live there because everyday you would just walk outside, look anywhere at anything, and it would just be far too beautiful. You need some ugly to appreciate the beautiful! I'm a big fan of water, so I was quite enamored by the canals all over Amsterdam.
I consider myself a tourist, but even I was annoyed with the tourists in Paris. By the way, a really good way to let everyone know you are not French is to wear a beret. I have never seen a single French person wearing a beret. It's like the French came up with a clever ploy to instantly identify foreigners. They came up with the idea to create this image of a beret-wearing French person, but actually no one wears them. Ever. At all. Don't wear them if you are visiting, okay?
I went to a pub called The Frog and the Rosbif. It's a French/English pub. It's fairly obvious that English speakers call the French frogs because they eat frogs. Apparently, the French have a similar term for the British; "rosbif", as in roast beef. This is probably the least offensive ethnic slur I have ever heard. Anyway, I had a beer called Dark de Triomphe. It made me so happy.
On my flight back into France after Christmas, there was a movie playing called Monte Carlo starring Selena Gomez. Now, I personally do not like Ms. Gomez. I'm sure she works hard and is generally a nice person, but the problem is her name. Her name is Selena. She is not worthy of such a name. You see, I grew up in the age of THE Selena. The one that each and every Mexican knew and loved. Her untimely demise was a huge blow to me and everyone I knew. This Justin Beiber, tweenpop, Disneycore whatever cannot and will not compare to the one true Selena. Sorry. I am not fooled by this false prophet.
I'm going back to London for St. Patty's Day. The Brits are pretty much the same as the Irish, right?
I ordered a CD from Sub Pop records (Seattle!) and it came in the mail the other day. I like hardcopies, okay? It came with a pretty photo album, so shut up piratejerk.torrent. The CD is by a duo from Toronto called Memoryhouse. For all the Seattleites, they are performing at The Crocodile on March 9, and will be live on KEXP on March 10. Highly recommend you go see them. Then tell me how they were. Here is their full new album:
