highlights of the cannes film festival

i still can't believe i was there to experience it.

the fact that i got the job in france, on the riviera, in one of the world's film cities.

that we lived so close we could hear screaming fans from our apartment.

that we got to act cool and say "ugh - tourists." haha.

it was a great time.

and now - i know what you really want - the pictures :P

the palais des festivals, where all the action is :)

this was my fave thing.  they screened films on the beach! for free!

the movie screen is built on a dock in the ocean.  they also gave everyone blankets.  the man walking is selling roasted nuts.  toes in the sand - best way to watch a movie ever.

the famed red carpet :)

the collection of ladders that screaming fans stand on.

waiting in line...

crazy weird and expensive cars. (this one was in Monaco on the night before the Formula 1)

and now i present:

the adventures of mel's only 'fancy' dress

"I'M ON A BOAT" ridiculousness on a yacht in Monaco.

 on the way to the VIP room club.  we got in! michelle rodriguez was the dj! it was a crazy fun night.

& the final adventure of the dress: 

i won tickets to see the closing night film at the Cannes Film Festival.  they drew less than 500 names for the whole city and i won! tux & bowtie mandatory (which i loved) steve had to borrow one.  

we got to walk the red carpet.

perfect end to a great year.

i miss you already cannes.

leaving france.

sadly i only have hours left in france. 

an early flight tomorrow morning + so many connections & layovers that we'll be traveling for 23 hours.  ugh. 

i have to admit, i'm not loving that i have to leave.  

but, canada will feel like home again soon enough.... i hope!

if only ontario was on an ocean.

no photos with this post, but i have a lot to catch up on ;)

lovely berlin

here it is friends - the last installment of the northern europe trip april 2010.

after a brief moment of not thinking we'd get there, buying a really expensive train ticket, + riding 7 hours while reading orwell's nineteen eighty-four, we arrived.

it's an amazing city.

so much history and so much change.

we needed to see checkpoint charlie and the wall - of course.

the bricks run through the city showing where the wall was.

it was interesting to see damage from the war that has never been repaired.

this church was bombed as well.

the jewish memorial and holocaust museum were moving, unsettling and sombre.

the monuement is huge, full of layered rows of unmarked pillars.

the city is full of all kinds of history, but also is filled with some of the most interesting modern art and architecture in the world. it's a great juxtaposition.

resting my feet at the top of the parliament building.

our favourite activity was the hamburger banhoff museum. (not only because it was warm inside)

this 'piece' was steve's favourite. a huge room, filled with the overwhelming sounds of a football(soccer) match, complimented by the game on the little tv.

my fave was dancing displays of shadows made from random objects as they spun.

this was an unexpected surprise.

berlin we loved you :)

(and your great beer and pastries)

more pics on flickr

happy mail meet-up in london

i'm not sure if i've mentioned before that i'm involved in happy mail

but it's a lot of fun and i've 'met' some great people so far.

and there's nothing better than meeting a penpal in person!

charlotte and i were happy mail partners a few months ago, and decided to meet when i mentioned that i'd be traveling to london.

the mailboxes are cool aren't they?

first we went for lunch, then for a little window shopping.

liberty of london.

the store was massive and filled with loads of character.

i loved this mirror. and sadly this is where my camera battery died. such an amateur mistake, for me to not carry a spare. thankfully charlotte had hers and let me take some snaps.

heart-shaped tufted buttons on this loveseat!

i could never handle eating on these plates! *shudder

the little section in the back that had the stuff that's at target... love the sign.

the back entrance on carnaby street

we continued shopping along oxford and regent streets and wandered into the huge anthropologie store. beautiful!

check out the giant living wall - all real plants :)

& i know london is known as a fashion capital of the world, but there are some clear strike-outs.

(this was not at anthro. haha)

charlotte, i'm so thrilled that we were able to meet up and hang out! i had a blast.

maybe we'll meet in asia next time? need more curry.

lovely amsterdam

the second stop on our trip was amsterdam :)

it really is a beautiful city.  the canals are so peaceful.  

i love that bicycles outnumber cars as the transportation of choice throughout the entire country.

someday when i own my dream house, it will have these trees in the yard.

some silliness

the buildings are really tall and narrow.  this construction was going on over a canal - hence the giant yellow 'crane.'

we had to.

 we spent a lot of time walking around/exploring, and then some solid time sitting along the canal resting, eating lunch in the sunshine :)

 check out what "cool ranch" doritos are called:

(they tasted the same)

 a parkade outside a metro station - truly the size of a normal parking lot.

i fed some leftover bread to this swan, so that i could get a picture of him.  but when i ran out of bread i realized that swans are actually quite intimidating and scary.  seriously.  freaky bird.  

i like you better from far.

(more on flickr if you like)