.

yesterday it was his birthday... and yet we have had no time to celebrate it... 

things have been particularly hectic the few past weeks - we keep getting up earlier and getting home later and later...

but on a bright side i've finally sent the letter to cancel the contract of this apartment, which means that in february we'll have  a space of our own, and a fifth person to ruin the whole mood of the house won't be a problem - this really has killed my happiness lately.

it will also be 'our' first apartment  :)

and... benny the cat will finally be living with me once again!

and i saw snow outside of my window for the 1st time in my life... and i felt as excited as a kid :)

bois de vincennes

we've only been this one time to bois de vincennes, but i loved seeing everyone enjoying their sunday in rowboats. it really seemed like the perfect way to spend a nice afternoon... and there were also kids riding ponies  :)

 we've been adding more and more buildings and places to see in our google earth map wishlist... but it seems the free time is never enough.

how i miss studying instead of working...!

my friend silvia is coming on friday and i'm looking forward to spending time with her, and chatting in portuguese while showing her paris!

sceaux

i fell in love with the garden of sceaux. maybe it was because the day was splendid and sunny. 

the combination of wildflowers with the geometrically treamed tress was just so beautiful.

and when i got home i found out i had only seen a 1/3 or a 1/4 of it...

and thank you guys for all the suggestions for little trips in france :)

the marne, again

on the day i went to the marne to document the beggining of the color change, it was a wonderful sunny day.

and i finally took some photos of the sweet little houses on the river side.

i noticed yesterday that the colors haven't changed that much... the trees are still mostely green, even though it has been a while since i took these.

also, on saturday we went to provins! it alsmost felt like the road trips i used to do back in portugal... only by train...

i think i need to visit more outside of paris...  any suggestions on lovely places?!

i've worked pretty hard, but i've also been rewarded with two nice treats :)

i got this amazing photo from isabelle in the mail and it made me so happy! i just know i will go there someday!

and my dad came over to paris!

we've walked throught most of paris with him just like tourist do, even if the cold is almost unbearable (for us at least!) 

and yesterday, when we went to jardins de luxembourg, i saw a little girl feeding birds and a few steps forward a bit of bread on the floor. i hold it in my hand and the cutest little birds flew right in my hand! and tó's hand too :)

i'm anxious to get some films developed now...

i've been feeling quite nostalgic this week.

a lot of work at the office and the horrible weather  are taking a toll on me.

i haven't bee feeling like myself lately...

i also have the urge to move out and search for a place just for us... with no colocs. it's ok to share a house with people you get along with, but it only takes one person to bring the mood of the whole house down.

i hope next week proves to be better!

 today it rained and i stayed the whole day inside the house... and thankfully i'm almost done with the flu.

the sky has been grey, and i'm feeling the urge to document the the greyness of paris with my camera.

but i think i'll walk by the river tomorrow. i've noticed on the train on the way home that the trees are beginning to change colors :) the greens are now intercalated with some reds and browns!

in july i went to le corbusier's apartment :)  my camera wasn't very cooperative with the small spaces... so i ended up shootting only details.

by accident, tó peeked out of a window and saw a nest with a weird bird... it looked more like a duck actually...

today i stayed home... the wintery weather took its toll on me and i have a flu...

it's the second time since arriving in paris... two times more than i normally have in portugal!

and the two lions i loved so much at joana vasconcelos' exhibition at versailles...

saturdays

i feel like i haven't had time to do much, other than work... but i've been doing my best to keep exploring this lovely city.

on saturdays we usually go for a walk without destination. just circulating the streets, and admiring little charming streets or shops. 

i've had the chance to get to know a few more book stores with extremely cheap (french) books, and i've finally found one with a good story that is easy enough for me to read and understand - and it has been my company in the train and metro :)

today though, our flatmate made delicious bread doh (turned into a even more delicous pizza tonight!) and we went shortly to jardin des plantes. still a wonderful day :)

benny*

when i saw the photos i took of benny in one of my father's balconies, i felt rather strange...

in the photos he doesn't looks less chubby at all, even though in real life he truly does and i know he is - aftearll i weighed him to know for sure!

but it feels comforting to see he can still look like he used to :)

i love him so very much!!!

*newborn kitties*

when i visited my mom and aunt during my trip to portugal, i got to see 3 days old kitties - it's a normal think to see kitties since kika (the mom) is a very fertil cat! she's two and tiny and has had 4 litters already!

but it was the first time i saw kitties so young their eyes were not even open :)

they were six little cuties with pink noses :)  

they filled almost every moment i had in that house. i just loved to see them suckling and crawling over each other to reach their mommy...

it was truly cat heaven!

letter from toi*

after a couple of weeks of hectiness at work, a bee stinging tó underneath the eye (!)  and some more hectiness from juggling work and friends from home visiting, i've finally have the time to post :)

after polly's letter i got this amazing treasure from toi!
i believe my mail box has been extremely satisfied :)

i've been a fan of her photographs for a long time and it was such a nice treat. 

lovely photos, a felted bear wrapped up in the sweetest piece of fabric and a bear head were some of the things she sent me.

i kept unwrapping more more treasures and calling tó to see them one after the other :)

thank you so so much!

i believe penpalling is absolutely wonderful! they always make me feel like a little girl at christmas :)

thank you polly*

as i arrived from my trip back home i saw a letter from polly waiting for me and it made me very happy!

 beautiful kitties, postcards,  black and white photos and words :)

i tried saving the delicious marianne candies... but they're just too delicious! 

they remind me of an inverted 'after eight' chocolate :)

i'm so glad to be her pen pal and get these lovely surprises!

*thank you polly*

i've been two weeks in portugal and it felt like i had never left in the first place...

and i got to see benny the cat -  i got a little worried because he's lost a good amount of weight (between 1,5 and 2kg) in just three months... (i liked him so much as a chubby cat.. his face doesn't even look the same) but other than that he's his regular playful and cuddly self...

now i need to get some rolls developed :)

home

 tomorrow we'll be on our way to portugal for a couple of weeks with family and friends!

i cannot wait to squeeze benny the cat so so hard! :)

other things i will do that i miss are driving (mostly on road trips, but in general as well), the ocean and the beach, the food!, late nights in coffees (or outside of them)...

what do you miss the most about your home when living in a different country?

marne

15 minutes walking from our door we have the marne river. 

this saturday we went there for a long walk and a tiny tiny run.

and it turned out to be the best idea.

the fresh air and the beautiful green shores, the dainty houses on the island, the lovely italien style little restaurant with vibrant flower pots and white wood details, the boats... it was definately the most relaxing saturday we had since we arrived :)

now i wish i had a bike to pedal along the river all the way until paris...

today we visited carnavalet museum. one (or another!) museum i just have to revisit!

joana vasconcelos

this is less than half of joana vasconelos' exhibition in versailles.

the part that was on the roll that already got developed...

i have to say i was not disappointed at all.

almost all of the pieces really meshed well with the higly decorated rooms.

the only thing different than what i had imagine was the size of the pot shoes. for some reason i though they were much bigger.

but still, with the amount of people visiting the castle, combined with my 50mm lens i could not capture them completely... what a shame!

my favorite pieces were the laced covered animals. just fantastic!

.

a couple of weeks filled with picnics and farewell dinners...

the sun is out and strong and i should be happy, but the few friends i made here (fellow architecture interns) are going away, one by one, to their homes...

this makes the trip to portugal almost a necessity. 

also, i should actually remember to put the letters and postcards i already wrote in the actual mail...!