If you only follow me on my blog, you’ve probably been wondering where have I been for the past months. “Why is she only posting only one or two blog posts, here and there?”
Well, to be honest, a lot happened; from finishing high school to travelling.
Let’s start off with a big chapter of my life that ended; I’m talking about school. I did my last year of high school in Hong Kong. At first, it felt weird to tell myself that I only had a few months left in this kind of educational environment because, after that, comes uni, which is a complete new adventure. In June, we had our final exams. Although it was a stressful moment for all the students, we still wanted to live and enjoy to the fullest our last moments together, which we mostly managed to do. I graduated with honours and thus could look forward to the graduation ceremony, the last moment when all of the students were assembled. The following week, I spent my days meeting up with my closest friends.
During that whole time, we also followed the FIFA World Cup. What an experience, I have to say, to live it in Hong Kong this time. Whenever France played, we went out with my family and friends, from the first to the very last (and special) game. As we won the game after game euphoria rose in the French community, all the way to the final. Who would have believed that this would be our lucky year?
For this very special moment, pretty much all French people in Hong Kong gathered to watch the final in a big hotel. It made me very emotional to see everybody united, to see the whole nation united for these moments, whether it was in France or all around the world. It was beautiful to see how football could bring so many people together. All our life problems and other concerns were set aside at that moment. During the final, every goal was a step closer to reaching a milestone that we all wanted: adding another star to our football shirt. For the people of my generation, it was a dream to live a moment we never had the opportunity to experience before. Of the ’98 victory, we only saw videos and heard what our parents told us. At the end of the game, every French person’s dream came true. Nothing could quite describe our joy.
Two days later, I was off for a month-long trip to Europe with one of my best friends. We planned to visit Italy, Spain, and Portugal via InterRail. I’ve already been to Italy and Spain many times but I don’t have many memories concerning Spain because I was very young at the time. So while this trip wasn’t totally a step into the unknown, we visited several cities I had never been to. The only new country I discovered was Portugal. I want to say FI.NA.LLY. !!! because I’ve been dreaming of going there for about more than seven years now. So dreams do come true. Maybe late but better than never. This trip was an amazing experience that helped me grow and learn more about different cultures.
On August 8th, I headed to Paris. Back to my city of birth; back to the roots. I stayed at my friend’s place for a few days. It felt so good to be back. I finally could rest and catch up on sleep. When I arrived, the first thing I did was to look out the window and enjoy the breathtaking view I had of the city. Even though I haven’t really lived here, when I come back I always feel like I grew up here.
On my first “full day”, my host friend and I headed to Le Bon Marché to grab lunch: a very tasty and heavenly salad before meeting up with other friends. One had her birthday. We spent the afternoon walking around Paris even though the weather wasn’t at its best that day.
The next day, I decided to have a productive day. Not the typical one, but one un which I would get all of what I needed. In the morning, I went to Citypharma, which is probably my favorite French pharmacy. They have every French product you can think of at attractive prices. I stocked up on my favourites. Next stop: “Aux Champs-Élysées, Aux Champs-Élysées…”. I spent some time strolling on the avenue and the adjoining streets. One of my favourites is the Avenue Montaigne.
In the afternoon, I went to the unavoidable shop, Merci. I love getting a bit of inspiration from this shop in terms of decoration or even fashion.
At the end of the day, my friend proposed a little picnic near the Seine. We walked on the Quai d’Orsay enjoying the beautiful cityscape. We sat down to eat right by the water. I loved the atmosphere of the place. It was Friday night and everybody was having a good time with colleagues or friends. After that, we walked A LOT but it was so worth it. I missed this city so much and being back couldn’t have made me make me happier.
During the following days, I went to different places. To name a few: Galeries Lafayette and most importantly Ladurée, my heavenly place.
After these long trips, I spent time visiting my family. First was my paternal grandmother in the south-east of France. Then the maternal family side in Thailand. After two weeks, I was back in Hong Kong for only a few days. Enough time to get ready to move to London.
So here I am now, writing this blog post in London.
Hope you enjoyed this little update on what I’ve been up to lately. I promise that more blog posts will be coming really soon.
Mwuah,
Issa ☆
The Fashion Vitamin 