Paris Tip : One

Here is the first of my Paris tips!

I'd only had the pleasure of going to Paris once before, for a day (apparently, though my memory is vague) when I was around 7 years old.

All I recall is sitting in a restaurant feeling sad due to the waiter who told me I couldn't eat my steak unless I had eaten at least one snail! (and yet my parents say that this wasn't Paris - it was Ostend!) But yeah - one day is all I had had.

I've always wanted to go back to Paris, but all I ever heard was "Paris is too expensive!".

It is not.

That's just a load of shit.

Sure, it might cost a little bit more to eat out. Use some imagination then and have a picnic!

Sure, it might cost at least 5 Euros for a beer. Get a bottle of wine in a Monoprix for 2 Euros, several strong beers and neck them on a park bench!

In my (few) tips I shall try to remember what we did to have such a fucking super amazing awesome time whilst sticking to a £30 per day food-activities-and-booze-budget!

One - accomodation

We stayed in a nice little 3* in Pigalle called Hotel Atlanta Frochot. It was cheap (!!!) and had the customer service of a 4*, perfectly sized rooms (especially if you had a front facing room with bibalcony windows!) and amazing breakfasts!

The only flaw is that the hotel is slightly outdated. But it's spotlessly clean and the location is superb! If you like hookers and pimps that is. And I do ;)

The area used to be pretty sleazy, but now it's morphing into something nicer, with just an added smidgen of sleaze...which is always good! Cheap hotels, great location and it's not packed full of tourists! :)

Take a look up and down the street and the neighbourhood on Google Maps!

It's right by the Pigalle metro station, which let's you get pretty much anywhere for less than 2 Euros!

The area is home to the Moulin Rouge (don't go there unless you're a 60 year old American woman with 150 Euros to spare), Dirty Dick (some sort of awesome brothel - just do NOT take photos of Dick or the lovely ladies...or the hotel staff will have to usher you out of the hotel when you leave so you don't get a pimp-slap!) Sexodrome (a massive sex shop!) and cool little hidden bars!

Walk for a couple of minutes and you're in Montmarte, home to plenty of awesome restaurants, bars and shops and Sacre Couer. Your legs might ache from the steep steep climbs and the hundreds of steps but it's worth it!

The DINOSauR

OK...I went back to my parent's last weekend and they're trying to clear out all of my old crap. Amongst it was this little Jurassic Park notebook from 1992...containing the below...which I wrote when I was 7?

One day I went to the park.

I saw a giant Ball.

It was in the air.

It was as Big as a planet.

A Big giant thing fell out of it.

It was a DINOSAUR.

It was a T.REX.

It was awful.

It nearly killed me.

I through a Bucket of water at it and it diser-peard.

The End

of volume one.

I feel like I ought to develop the story more, what do you think? It could easily be an AWESOME shit hollywood blockbuster piece of shit thing. :)

Hello Lyndsey!

You ok?

(According to Google Analytics nobody else has ever read this blog...well, almost!)

It's been so long! I kept meaning to put little recipes up and ramblings and photos...and now it's September!

I moved to an awesome new flat in July:

and visited Paris and Amsterdam for about a week each in August!

It was a fucking awesome trip, I intend to maybe write a few reviews and tips and shit. Perhaps with the addition of a few French and Dutch recipes too? :)

Coming soon...x

Guess What?

Marina and the Diamonds will actually be releasing "I Am Not a Robot" after all!

It comes out on 11th June says Marina :)

Metric - Manchester Academy 3, Monday 11th May '09

OK, I did my usual stupid thing of knowing about a gig for aaaages yet failing to buy tickets before they sold out!

I did manage to procure some last minute thank fuck! (Thanks Laura! :) )

I saw Metric in 2007 I think last, and I was fairly into them then. That was a good gig, quite intimate and nice.

But Monday's was fucking awesome!!!

After playing 'Fantasies' (the new album) pretty much constantly for the past few weeks I was incredibly excited to see them perform the new stuff live (aswell as the old stuff) :)

They played:

Twilight Galaxy (I thought it was odd to start with this...but it really worked as they built it up so much towards the end with strobes - felt like we were in some fucking warehouse rave of the future!)

Help I'm Alive (The powerful first track of the new album had everyone thumping their chests! The acoustic version on the album is gorgeous!)

Satellite Mind (...heard you fuck through the wall....=lovely)

Handshakes (From 'Live It Out' - this was fucking awesome. Loud and frantic. I love 'buy this car to drive to work, drive to work to pay for this car!' - even though I walk to work I still totalllllly get this. :P )

Sick Muse (I love this song. One of my favourites on 'Fantasies'.)

Gold Guns Girls (This too was great!)

Gimme Sympathy (See below...........:) )

Collect Call (This song is gorgeous and it really showed off Emily's vocal talents! :) )

Empty (Obviously one of the best tracks from 'Live It Out' - this was cool loud and live! Her head must have fucking hurt after thrashing it about so much - wish I had a video!)

Front Row (Another goooood song from the new album.)

Dead Disco ("Tits out, pants down, overnight to London" - hell yes!)

Stadium Love (My ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE track from the new album! In which they have imagined some post apocalyptic Noah's ark type scenario where every living thing is pitted against one another to battle it out! Get the album and get this one LOUD! :) )

Then, for the encore...

Monster Hospital (Best track of 'Live It Out' - hence the crowd went wild! Fucking loved it!)

Live It Out (A nice gorgeous end to an amazing night!)

I'm glad it was Academy 3! By far my favourite Manchester gig venue. Where else can a 6 foot 3 guy prop himself up at a bar for a constant supply of beer and cider whilst still having a flawless up close view of the stage???!!!

Emily Haines was fucking awesome! Like a cross between Peachs and Karen O! 

I used to be a PRO at getting backstage, especially in Academy 2 and 3 gigs. I'm sad to say that I've LOST MY TALENT! Some bitch told us "The band won't speak to ANYONE after the gig"...I said, "Not even you? Please just ask them to sign my ticket stub!". "They won't even speak to me!"

That's probably because the woman was a stupid bitch.

Meeting Emily Haines ended up being a little bit of a letdown for a new friend I met at the gig, but I guess she was nackered and deserving of a rest! :)

OK - Now for a crude admission, I do think it's necessary though.

You know when you're at a gig, and you've had a few beers/whatever....and you really need a piss? But you daren't go in fear of missing a beloved song?

Well the latest album is so good that I struggled to go and relieve myself for much of the gig. Eventually I settled for pissing during "Gimme Sympathy" - because it does piss me off a little bit....I dunno it just seems to have some weird patronising overtone or something.

So yeah, the gig was THAT GOOD that I nearly pissed my pants. 

Awesome Video

Check out this awesome video of a conveyor belt deely in a Sushi restaurant in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan.

I love it when it heads into the kitchen! :)

SOUNDS

I've been too lazy to type more than the odd word to someone on facebook chat recently.

So I'll just ramble a little about last Sunday (3rd May)!

Last Sunday the 3rd of May was Sounds from the Other City! An awesome little music festival in Salford. Lots of local pubs took part, The Mark Addy, The Rovers Returns, The Kings Arms etc. as well as a few of the churches.

Rather than describe the day and the lineup and shit I'd rather just mention the amazing day I had with my friends!

To be honest the lineup is so good and rammed you'd literally have to spend 15 mins or less at some of the shows as they always clash like fuck.

Our day started at 3pm, rather than head to the festival (which started at 3) we had a few cheap pints in Sinclairs first to say goodbye to our dear friend Constantine who is heading off to be in the army!!!

By the time we got to the festival we were pretty tipsy, and it was only 4:30pm.

****Highlights****

Tom Attah in The Salford Arms

We sat in here with some ale whilst he sang. His voice was hypnotic and I'd definitely pay to see him again! Check him out! :)

The Invisible in The Rovers Return

We'd listened to these guys before we the flat and were very excited about catching them! I'd describe them as a more upbeat, funkier (if I can use that word in 2009) version of TV on the Radio. You HAVE to check them out. I'll be keeping my ear out for them, hopefully they'll be playing somewhere nearby soon!

Marina and the Diamonds at Sacred Trinity Church

This was the gig I was most looking forward to, so we headed there in time to sit right at the front! The setting could not have been more perfect. Her voice was amazing and filled the little church (ok, I guess it was amplified through HUGE speakers, haha). 

Check out 'I am not a Robot' - it's my favourite song.

She told me afterwards that she wants to release it as a single, but her record label would prefer something else! I think it's ace though, do you? :)

***Better quality non iPhone pictures coming soon when I can be arsed to upload***

Cava under the bridge next to the Lowry Hotel

OK, so this wasn't on the agenda really, but whatever. We needed a break from the crowds so headed to the shop for a very nice bottle of expensive but reduced by half to £6 gorgeous Cava...and a bottle of Vodka (which we stirred into our cheaper-than-Beer-pints-of-coke).

We sipped it by the river under the bridge....TRAMP STYLE.     :)

All in all it was a fucking ace weekend! 

Easter Sunday

Yesterday was such a nice day.

I was a little hungover after the day in Heaton Park (followed by more wine at the flat and then a few bars!)...but it was very slight.

First stop was to Urbis to see the new 'State of The Art : New York' exhibition.

I've always found Urbis a bit hit-and-miss, sometimes I really love what they are doing....other

 times I just wish I hadn't hung around so long to get the weird elevator all the way up to the top (to put it politely!).

This time was different though. It was awesome!!!

The moment you enter the floor you are greeted with basically a huge head of Jesus suspended from the ceiling surround with a swarm of umbrellas, skulls and wooden boards.

I like it a lot.

Another I enjoyed (I ought to take more pics and remember the names of the pieces!) featured a loud electronic buzzing sound and a messed up tv screen full of coloured static which was also

 projected onto a white screen. Members of the public are encouraged by little wooden signs to weave lengths of coloured wires together. These are then woven across the white screen,

 blocking off some of the projection.

(iPhone pics don't do it any justice!)

It was bizzare. I like how the old materials/methods are mixed with the new :)        and I really loved the loud electronic buzzing sound for some reason!

My favourite of the lot however was a video installation in a small darkened room.

I didn't get to watch it the whole way through but I shall be back for more! 

The video features windows and various people from a neighbourhood basically shouting at passers by down below. It was hilarious to say the least...I couldn't contain my laughter, especially when a larger sized black lady was airing all of her dirty laundry. She must have shouted abuse at at least 3 of her exes from her window before having a go at a passing 'hoochie'.

"Don't tell me to act like a lady! I've seen you! I've seen you standing outside the liquor store offering yourself up for a cup of vodka!".....Or words to that effect.

Seriously, if you are in the Manchester area GO AND SEE IT, JUST FOR HER, PLEASE!!!

You have until 6th September anyway :P

Also, head to Lincoln Square to see 'True Yank' by the artist Leon Reid IV:

From there we took a nice scenic route past the Cathedral to Manchester Peace Gardens...basically a few benches and trees by the Town Hall. It was verrry peaceful though. An awesome spot for people watching aswell. I swear it must be in some Manchester Tour Book as I saw about 10 groups of tourists within 30mins!

Obviously we had to go to the Wetherspoons pub by the park. But at least it was the Waterhouse Wetherspoons. 

I'm quite a snob at times but that place is quite pleasant inside (no tramps or wasted alcoholics) and £1.29 for a Sailor Jerry and coke or a pint of John Smiths.....fuck yes! :)

On the way home I passed through China Town and headed to the bakery. Sadly I ate all the goods before I thought to photograph them. I had a Curry Beef Bun and a Sausage and Egg Bun. I'm hungry remembering them, argh!

I also browsed around a tiny chinese supermarket, the aisles in which were sooo tightly crammed together to fit more stock in that I could hardly get down them! I'm definitely going back there, it was as if I'd actually gone to China :)