Golden Rules of Stalking + Paris Photo Diary

I’m so bad, it was the Googly Gooeys’ 6th birthday yesterday but I haven’t written about it. I have my draft but I don’t feel like it’s time to upload it yet so instead of coming up with something half-baked, I’d rather write about something else instead. 😉

*Yeah, apparently, birthdays can be postponed.*

Anyhooz, a couple of friends & I had a watercolor date earlier this month & we were discussing how it’s easier to stalk people online today more than ever.  To boot, there’s the ever elusive social networking privacy settings where, no matter how much you hide your photos, the social networking gods are bound to reveal to your non-friends.

Then, it’s hard to be with someone you stalk so much–be it your favorite artist / musician / a person you admire because there’s just so much you can’t talk about even if you’ve already seen it online.   You can’t just continue on with a convo you probably invented inside your head.

But, on the flipside, these days, people just use “stalk” casually in a sentence.

“Ya, I know. I’ve stalked you!”

I don’t know if I’m no longer updated but as far as I know, these WERE the golden rules of stalking.  If there’s anything I missed, let me know. 😉

Then again, I’m probably not the best stalker.  A couple of years ago, in one of them art fairs / exhibits a couple of years ago, I finally saw a couple of my favorite artists whose quirky works I’ve been loving for more than a decade now!  This was the convo between me & Ponggo:

T: (wide-eyed & in an excited tone) You know what? Maybe I should approach them.  Maybe I should tell them I’m their big fan!
P: Don’t do that.  It will be awkward.
T: But I always wanted to meet them!  This is my only chance!
P: Uhmm…They’re still talking to a bunch of people…in the middle of the road.  You will look creepy.
T: Really? I don’t think so.
P: If you approach them, I’ll leave & pretend I’m not with you.
T: Whyyyy?

I decided to let the night pass without approaching them anyway.  But yes, I tried to walk past them like 4 times trying to wait for the right moment to speak to them.  Lol.  Looking back, yes, it would have been creepy & awkward.  In another exhibit though, I did let Ponggo do the talking.  I nudged his elbow then I just gave a sheepish smile to the artist whom I was meeting in the flesh for the first time while I was trying to pull myself together and preventing myself from fangirling. Ehehehehe.

Speaking of stalking, one of the people I follow on Instagram is Ivanka Trump.  I’ve seen her during her Vogue years and I’ve always admired her for being smart, strong-willed, being able to take care of herself.  Not that she’s my absolute life peg but I just usually look harassed and I always forget to brush my hair when I’m busy.  *Woops!*  Anyway, in one of her posts, I saw that she went to this art supply store in Paris just across the Louvre.

Sennelier was the first one to make pastels for Picasso.  When I mentioned this to Ponggo, he asked, “So, you actually think your work will get some of Picasso’s powers when you step into this store?” He was just being his usual silly sarcastic self.  I bought a couple of brush pens, a watercolor set and a watercolor pad from this store.

If there are stores I would come back to in Paris, it would be this one, Depuis, another art store in the Latin Quarters, and Palais de Tokyo which has an awesome selection of quirky books & magazines!

This was the first floor and they had rolls and rolls of paper almost as tall as me on their second floor.  The last floor had all sorts of supplies including stuff from Japan.  I laughed when I found that the Japanese brands I can’t get in Manila, I can actually find here. Haha.  Talk about globalization. 😉  As soon as I got home, relatives & friends asked me:

Them: “So, what did you buy in Paris? What bag? Which brand.”
Me: “Umm…I bought art supplies?”
Them: “Really? Didn’t you see any bag that you liked?”
Me: “I really liked this watercolor paper from this store and…”
Them: “What?”
Me: “I don’t know.  The stuff they had was just really awesome!”

But, wait.  How did we get here?

Last October, after the Big Blog X trip, Ponggo proposed that we should revisit Paris.  I was begging him to take me to the south of France so we can see the vineyards & such. He didn’t agree.  I told him so many times that I didn’t want to go to the same places that I’ve already visited and after being so stubborn, he finally told me, “Our wedding anniversary falls on the day that will be in Paris!”

“How silly & forgetful of me”, I thought.  You see, this blue guy isn’t really the cheesy most romantic person in the world.  For the record, my name on his phone is still my Nickname + Maiden Name.  He’s not the type who would baby talk or who would give me a pet name.  He’s also not the one who loves giving flowers.  We don’t really give each other anniversary gifts nor do we go out on a date on Valentine’s day.  But, once in a while he makes up for it.  Some 6 years ago,  he proposed to me in Paris under the Eiffel Tower (totally cheesy) but he didn’t even kneeeeeelll (so totally typical of him)!  It was supposed to be a trip with friends and then he surprised me last minute that he was joining too!

The first time I was in Paris with my family, I was in a bus and we rushed from one landmark to the other.  Some Asians living in Luxembourg called this the crazy Asian tour. The second time I was there, we did a mini version of Amazing race hopping from one museum to the other.  I think third time’s a charm since there was no pressure to cover everything in a few days and we just walked very slowly along the river Seine. Also, for the first time, we were blessed with really really good weather: the skies with blue and the sunrise was always gorgeous–it looked like our sunsets here in Manila. 🙂

View of the City Cathédrale Notre-Dame by Ponggo

Ponggo and I went up the Notre-Dame Cathedral before so I refused to go with him this time.  Hahahaha. I was resting from the Italian leg of my trip which entailed me to visit a new city every day and had me packing and unpacking every two days.  Well, before I left for Italy, I sent Hostelling International my wish list.  They told me that the one I wanted was pretty hectic and that I might prefer to stay in fewer cities for more days.  When the actual trip came, I finally knew what they meant! Haha. But, looking at all the photos I took, the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met and the lessons it has taught me, I have no regrets. 🙂

Pigeons mid-air! 

We lived very near the Panthéon where the likes of Marie Curie, Voltaire, Rosseau and Victor Hugo’s remains were buried.  When I got to visit each of their resting places, I was like,

“Oh, hey, hi!
I used to see your names in textbooks but now, you & I are here in the flesh!
This is so cool. I mean, you’re cool.
Oh wait. I’m sorry.  That was awkward.  Let’s start over agin!
Hello there.  You guys are awesome!  Yeah!”

Then, when Ponggo & I saw Lagrange’s tomb, we went “Oh my gosh! Lagrange! I can’t remember your equations but you were once a part of our college life and you somehow brought us togethaaa.”

This is me feeling tiny by the columns of the Pantheon–literally by the enormity of it and figuratively by the achievements of all the notable French citizens resting in this church turned mausoleum. *No, I don’t miss my long hair. Hahahaha.*

So I said when I go back to Paris, I must must search for that carousel beside the Eiffel Tower.  I always see it on Flickr but I never saw where it was.

Before we left, one of our friends who studied in Paris was giving us tips on where to go.  He described this not-to-miss this Metro above ground.  We all laughed and thought that it was just like our MRT!  Everything here is above ground!  *Such innocent snarky remarks, no?*  However, as soon as I saw it, I told Ponggo that I MUST have my picture taken here!  He was so puzzled because we were running out of time.  I said “This was where Leonardo DiCaprio & Ellen Page walked in the movie Inception”.  *Pardon my references.*

As soon as we arrived in Paris, I saw an Anglina stall.  It spoke to me & said, “It’s now or never!”  *Yes, I have the ability to hear special voices. Or wait, it must’ve been my tummy!*  So, I bought a couple of cakes & enjoyed it by myself.  *Sorry Ponggo!*  Good thing I did.  We walked past another branch after a couple of days and the line was really loooooong!

I also had my fair share of Laduree macarons.  But it was night time & I also want to take photos during the day.  I was thinking, “This is something NOT meant to be shared on Instagram.  This is MY moment.” So, I ate it all.  As much as I love colors, when it comes to desserts, I just pretty much love anything dark chocolate. I’ve only learned how to appreciate cheesecake & carrot cake very recently. Hihi.

Faces by the River Seine

Thanks to all the walking that we did though I actually lost weight from this whole trip even if chocolates were pretty much a part of my diet every single day!  #WhatIsDefensive

That N stands for Napoleon actually.  Spot a tiny Ponggo in orange if you can. 😉

So, we realized we didn’t really have a lot of photos of ourselves.  Also, even during my time alone in Italy, most of my photos taken by random tourists were dark or blurry. Hahahaha.  This time, we stopped by the river Seine & took advantage of the good sunny day.  If you think Ponggo was projecting like a model, he was actually irked that his jacket is making him feel warm.  If you will check out our photo here in Iceland, we were on a glacier & he was wearing only a t-shirt and a dri-fit undershirt.  He’s such a Polar Bear! Haha.

Just to give you an idea:  This is how we pretty much looked like all the time shooting photos here and there.  I think it’s just awesome that generally, we have very different personalities and philosophies but through time, we eventually developed common hobbies like skating, photography & the love for cutesy things & geeky topics.   If you look closer, he’s wearing his mini Ponggo stuffed toy version.  As I’ve said, he’s not the romantic cheesy type but he always wears this when we travel.  So, I guess I can say he’s pretty happy that 1/2 of the blog was made in honor of his toothy grin. 😉 *I caught ya Mister!* 

For this particular day that we went near the Eiffel Tower, I used my zoom lens.  I’m not usually a fan of this range but I realized, it literally gives you a different perspective of the city.  I didn’t even know these words were written on the side of the huge metal structure!

We were lucky to have caught Paris right in the middle of the fall season this time.  The leaves were turning neon.  I always thought that neon was a man-made hue until I saw fish glowing under ultraviolet light & these leaves that made me want to freeze time forever. 😉

But of course, don’t think that Paris is all about the glamour of the fashion world and historical buildlings.  Just like every metropolis, its ecosystem also has its own share of pickpockets and oh myyy…they’re the most decent-looking bunch you’ll ever see in your life.  Haha.  So, just be careful with your stuff and watch each other’s backs.  This is how Ponggo & I pretty much looked like when we were at a Metro station.  Also, beware of anyone offering help to get you a ticket even if they’re wearing ID’s.  This is also the case in Italy.  And yes, this city will make you realize that the rootword of luggage is “LUG” thanks to its beautiful cobblestone streets.

But, other than that, this trip to Paris was a relaxing one.  *And oh! I have yet to blog about our trip to Versailles.*  I always thought, “Gahh…How lazy of me to have uploaded this more than 6 months after the trip?” Looking back though, I realized that it’s actually good that I had enought time to process and reminisce our trip and take time to treasure what we have in our relationship that I always tend to take for granted. 😉

XOXO,

Cheesy Pensive Silly Girl Tipsy ♥

Related Posts:

More Lists:
5 Signs That You’re a Stalker
5 Signs That You’re in Love

More Travel Posts:
Why You Should Travel Alone
Travel Coloring Book: Around the World with the Googly Gooeys
Clumsy Girl in Venice
Postcards from the Tuscan Region
10 Things to Do in Florence
Colorful Houses in Burano
Milan
Our Lucky Day in Rome
Iceland: Blue Lagoon & Glacier Walk
10 Reasons Why You Should Visit Iceland