The Sound of Music

Was watching a rerun of Oprah on Diva Channel last night -  since it's the farewell season,  they've been showing back to back episodes and i luckily stumbled on two special episodes,  first was the one where Portia de Rossi was guest,   the second one was the one celebrating  The Sound of Music's  45th anniversary.     I read about that episode last year,  but never got to check out the actual episode since i can't seem to catch Oprah on a regular basis here in Manila.

Twas such a treat to see the cast,  Julie Andrews (who is very beautiful then and now),  Christopher Plummer (despite his being 80,  still has that regal bearing)  and the actors and actresses who played the Von Trapp children,  who are now, at least aged 50.    

They showed clips of the movie,  and in the interviews, they talked about several trivia during the shoot,  and what the cast is up to now.  

The Sound of Music is such a feel-good movie,  which provides values focusing on families,  loyalty to one's country and most importantly,  hope.     Seeing the opening scene where Julie Andrews would make the famous turn while on top of the Alps with such a magnificent view makes one really fill how alive the hills are.     I have seen the movie several times,   i thank my folks for introducing me and my brother to this movie,  and i now realize that my kids have not seen this movie yet.  I am sure they will also like it,  so i better go get the digitally mastered DVD right away.

kudos to Oprah who knows how to bring back memories like this . . . no wonder,  she is where she is and what she is now. . .

my french lessons are a bit late. .. .

My trip to Paris late last year was so enjoyable.   I initially wanted to go to as many European countries but twas a good thing my travel agent warned me that  i may be on the move all the time considering the very brief period (7 days) i had so my husband and i just decided to visit Paris and Rome and i'm glad we did.

Paris has a certain appeal - one gets to see the old and the new in this city of lights.  Here are some of the places i had fun in. . . 

Musee d' Louvre

One day is not enough for this repository of great works of art.  Two,  maybe three days would allow one to leisurely go through this museum and absorb the different stories behind some of the great works.

A visit to the Louvre will not be complete without dropping by to check in on her.  If the Eiffel Tower was larger than life,   i was surprised to see that La Gioconda's photo was not as big as i thought it would be.     Tip to would-be visitors:  Go there in time for the opening of the museum, then make her your first stop,  so that you can really go near  (as far as the cordon will allow)  and her visitors would still be manageable.

We also went to see the Palace of Versailles,   this used to be the seat of power when King Louis XIV moved to this place from Paris. Suffice it to say that this place is SOOOOO HUGE!   Not only that,  the palace grounds  includes the humongous Garden of Versailles.  It will take a village of gardeners to tend to that place.

We dropped by the  Basilique du Sacre Couer (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) where one can see the Parisian skyline from the steps of the Basilica.

A few blocks from the Basilica,  we had our first taste of French coffee,  in this market-like square full of small coffeeshops,   and in the middle,  there are stalls selling souvenirs and dainty paintings and drawings of Parisian life.

So you see,   my french lessons would have been put to good use,  if only i took it before my trip last year.  Oh well,  i'm sure i can still use it when i go back with the fam,  which i hope will be real soon.

Will blog about Rome next. . .

patati patata. . .

i started french language class.  i've always wanted to learn a third language,  in fact i finished the first module of  Spanish for beginners many years ago,  but wasn't able to continue as Instituto de Cervantes moved to a farther location.  this year, i felt the need to take up french when my daughter egged me for her to enroll in a french class for kids - and to make sure she can make the most out of it,  i plunged into the adult class so she can have someone to talk to - in French  :)

my knowledge of french is close to zilch - i didn't even know that excusez-moi  was a legitimate french phrase.  Our professor was a young pleasant Filipino gentleman named Robert - when he entered the room,  he started talking to us in French -  i knew that was their style,  to sort of force students to get used to listening to the spoken language.   My Spanish teacher did the same thing.   The students all had blank faces,   including myself.     3 hours of  french class for beginners caused major overload.  But Robert  patiently taught us.   i began to comfortably respond to questions answerable by oui (yes),  non  (no),  d'accord (okay)  or ca va  ( pronounced as sa va, it has multiple uses, but generally means okay) .    I went for a second session and the interest has been building up.  i even got myself a small phrasebook and i've been going thru the various sites available that offer free tutorials in French,  thank God for the internet.

I'm looking forward to my third 3-hour session,   but  i don't think i will be ready to blog in French anytime in the near century. i don't even know how long it will take for one to comfortably converse.   In the meantime, i am just enjoying learning the language.    by the way,  my title is the french version of blah blah blah. . . .

Jusqu' a mon prochain blog. . .

i fell for Eiffel. . .

the first time my husband and i laid our eyes on this unmistakeable French landmark,  we were so awed,  and in the hubby's words,  "it took my  breath away".    I am sure part of that is due to the fact that we  couldn't believe that we were actually in Paris.   And the bigger part is how the Eiffel Tower is so larger (literally and figuratively)  than life.   It has a whole lot of history attached to it being 121 years old.  Hence,  in our short stay,   we managed to drop by a number of times and we couldn't resist taking photos each and every time.  We had photos taken  amidst a morning drizzle . .

.

and on one lazy afternoon . .

and at night  where  the sight was simply unbelievable

Oh,  we also had a shot from under the tower,  while on queue to go up. . .

and while on the second level (too bad that's the highest point we were allowed to go to),  

with a view of the River Seine,   and the shadow of the mighty Eiffel.

While we were on the queue,   we saw slices of Paris society,   like a diorama  -  

There are tourists from various countries  (including European countries)  and  there are also locals accompanying their visitor-friends,  Eiffel being a mandatory stop for sightseeing .  France, specifically Paris  has such a large Tourism industry.

I also noticed a group of women,  who do not look like locals,   dressed uniformly in long skirts and layered tops,  some of them have veils,  and they would approach people  as they say "Speak English?" and if someone acknowledges,  they would show a piece of paper with something written on it.   I actually don't know what they wanted  as i also did not acknowledge them -  my friends who visited Paris in the past have given me a lot of reminders,   and that was one of them.     

I also saw a number of street vendors selling a multitude of souvenir items,    laid out on a blanket and it included all sizes of the miniature Eiffel Tower;   apparently,  they were unauthorized to do so,  as a French policeman would later chase them away . . hmm, so like Manila.     

All these just added to the mystique that is Eiffel.     My visits were  certainly not enough,  hence i hope to be able to do a Douglas MacArthur soon.

magazine addict

What's with magazines. . .  i love mags. . . i love seeing a lot of color,  both in the ads and in the articles.  I love the feel of a glossy . . .  not to mention the smell of a brand new one,  hahaha.  They're bulky,  all right,   especially if you subscribe to a number of them.  I have pondered many times on subscribing to a number of titles  simultaneously, it's a good thing i didn't give in.   I decided to subscribe to one title at a time and i realize that one should only subscribe to a title that  he/she absolutely loves,  whatever the issue is about,  whether it be thick or thin,  whether one likes the cover or not. . .

there were titles i subscribed to where,  after the second or third issue,  i suddenly found myself  accumulating unopened  (yes, still sealed in their plastic) mags.    And i remembered feeling so harassed as i felt i had a growing backlog of stuff to read,  that's real pressure huh.

So now,  i just subscribe to one title which i absolutely adore. . . i.e., In Style.   It has a little of everything, fashion,  celebrities,  home, and lifestyle in general.  The articles are well written,  the font and layout  are so friendly to the reader  (yes,  i notice even that).  

InStyle is unlike other titles which contain very long  articles,   small fonts at that.    There are also other titles where there are just too many pictures and not much written content anymore.    You see,  i believe a magazine should be able to say and show enough  but not too much that the readers lose interest.   Each of us has a favorite title,  as we look at it as educational,  entertaining and,  more importantly for me,   relaxing.

i tried buying a couple of e-magazines for my ipad.   Let's just say it may be sexier than the printed version,   what with all those extra features loaded on each issue,  but i must say i still prefer the printed one.    Nothing can beat the touch and feel of a glossy, and the sound as i turn each page is music to my ears.  So,  i'm staying with the  bulkier version  to rid me of stress at the end of a day's work.   Now i have to do some spring cleaning and discard my old magazines to give space to the newer ones.