Friday, August 10, 2007

Week 27-28.....Semaines 27-28

Okay.....

Last week . Saw the Tall Ships in Stockholm harbour. Over 100 sailing ships of various sizes in preparation for a big regatta race. Little yachts to big 3 masters! Mucho cool!

Other than that, Morgan the cat got into another fight and got another infection. Yea. More vet visits. And except for seeing Transformers, I stayed at home, studying my swedish lessons and started on various personnal design projects that I hope will eventually get me work or at least some cash.

This week. Saturday went to Pride Fest for the Parade. Was very cool on a very hot day except the organisers have got to learn about flow, Stop and run does not make a smooth parade.

Sunday we left to join Karen and Scot in Geneva. Much to my surprise, Switzerland has MOUNTAINS (inside joke) when it wasn't hazy from the heat or raining. Had much much fun visiting medieval castles, ancient churches, food festivals and pizza places. Saw a huge water fountain, people with way too expensive cars (Austin Martins, Neon Green Lamboughinis) and cuckoo clocks. Didn't buy any Rolexs or Swiss Army knives but did get me some chocolat.Yum!
--------------------------------
Ouf!

Bon. La semaine derniere. La fin de semaine derniere il y avait la course des Grands Voiliers dans le port de Stockholm. Plus que 100 bateaux a voiles de toutes sortes, de petits a gros voiliers a 3 mats. ce fut tres tres beau a voir.

A part de cela, Morgan le chat a encore été bagarreur et a ainsi eu encore une autre infection. Hourra.Encore une visite au vété. Et a part de voir le film Transformers, j'ai passé le reste du temps a la maison, a etudier mon Suedois et a mettre des projets en place pour trouver du travail ou au moins un peu de cash.

Cette semaine. Samedi on est aller voir la Parade de Fierté Gai a Stockholm. Assez bien mais la journée fut un peu chaude. Avis aux organisateurs, une parade c'est supposée etre fluide. Stop et cours-cours-cours ne fait pas une belle parade.

karen et Scot visitaient Geneve dimanche alors HOP! , on a passé quelques jours en Suisse! Et a la belle surprise, ya des MONTAGNES la bas ( inside joke) quand il y avait pas de la brume de chaleur ou de la pluie. Bien du plaisir a voir des chateaux médievaux, des vielles églises, une fete gourmandes et des places a pizza. Il ya a une fountain d'eau gigantesque, du monde riches a craquer avec des joujoux ridiculement cher ( Une Lambourghuini vert NEON!) et pleins d'horloges qui fait coucou! Malheureusement je n'ai pas acheter de ROLEXs ou de cooteau de l'Armée Suisse mais j'ai du bon chocolat! Miam!

Friday, August 3, 2007

Favorite 2: Summer Places- Endroits d'été



---------Okay everybody back from vacation? Everybody have a great time? Okay. This month's question: What is your favorite special summer place? Now, from your youth, someplace you go every summer? What is it?

As usual, i'll start it off.

1) Pointe des Cascades. No place like home. Walking by the canal, looking up at the stars in the quarry. Spending my youth playing pool and pinball at the miniputt, listening to the old jukebox.

2) St Gabriel de Brandon. Roseanne's and Jean Marc's cabin. Sitting on the beach, sketching the sunsets, wondering what I was going to do with my life.

Your turn.

Swedish word of the week 23-Mot Suedois de la Semaine 23

DALHALLA!

It's a place, not a thing. It's a composite word that comes from "Valhalla", which is the old Norse concept of heaven and "Dalarna" the province of Sweden where it is situated and it's probably the coolest place I will ever see a concert in my life.

It's an outdoor concert stage, built in 1993 at the bottom of an old limestone quarry that was carved into the ridge of a meteorite crater formed over 370 million years ago.

I'm sitting there listening to Elvis Costello with Allen Toussaint and his band in a perfect sound environnement, looking at the various layers of old earth crust and fossils that are oblique instead of horziontal due to the force of impact and the reflections on the walls and light off the emerald green lake behind the stage and my jaw is just hanging.......

It a must see again, for sure.

I mean this is wicked! I saw a great concert in a an outdoor amphitheater with walls full of fossils in one of only three visible Earth craters......damn that was SO cool!

Here's some info for y'all.....

Size: Europe’s largest meteorite impact site – and one of the world’s largest
Diameter: 75 km
Shape: Ring-shaped crater with circular central plateau
Meteorite diameter: 2.5 km at impact
Meteorite speed: 15 km/sec at impact
Energy released at impact: Equivalent to c. 500 million atomic bombs
Depth: from crater rim top to lake bottom: over 400m

Check out the official site for pix, slide show, movie and info:
http://www.dalhalla.se/

And the Dalarna Tourism page for it
http://www.dalarna.se/kulturidalarna/eng/dalhalla.html