A little virtual tour of the world, courtesy of Google maps. While some of the mystery is gone from travel, the wonder is still there. Downtown, Omaha, Canal Saint-Martin, Buckinghamshire, Southbank. Look at the shadow of the London Eye – amazing!
(Hmm, I am starting to reconsider the 500px width of this blog…)
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Paris Syndrome or Syndrome de Paris is a temporary psychological condition suffered by some visitors to Paris. When great expectations meet the gritty reality of Paris life (e.g. dog poo) severe culture shock can set in.
Most victims are Japanese women their 30s, who after being fed a lifetime of highly romanticized images (Amelie, À bout de souffle, Love in the Afternoon – and other top films to see Paris on the silver screen) cannot not handle the gritty reality of Paris life. As Paris Syndrome affects about 12 Japanese tourists a year, the Japanese embassy has a 24-hour hotline in place and can offer help in case of hospitalization. Discovered by Professor Hiroaki Ota, a Japanese psychiatrist working in France, it is similar to Stendahl syndrome.
As the the BBC said in its discussion of Paris Syndrome, “[m]any of the visitors come with a deeply romantic vision of Paris [but the] reality can come as a shock. An encounter with a rude taxi driver, or a Parisian waiter who shouts at customers who cannot speak fluent French, might be laughed off by those from other Western cultures. But for the Japanese – used to a more polite and helpful society in which voices are rarely raised in anger – the experience of their dream city turning into a nightmare can simply be too much.”
If you’ve been to Nippon, the Japanese’s romantic vision of Paris will come as no surprise – Tokyo is awash with French brands and pâtisseries - you’ll even spot an Eiffel-inspired lattice tower on the skyline. Viz, my buddy Richard & I near the Tokyo Tower in 2007:
Can you say baby-faced? Anyway, I’m sure I will be in full control of my psyche and expectations when I land at Orly, Paris in just 26 days… but it’s best to be prepared!
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Hello friends! I’m very excited to say that in August I’ll be moving 18331 kilometres (or 11390 miles) away to London, England with my fancy new visa.
The next little while will be busy – I have to finish up at work, have my tonsils removed, pack up my life (into a 30 kilogram baggage allowance no less), and have one last fling with Auckland. Oh, I’m stopping in Paris for a week first to to “recover” from jet lag with cheese and wine, before zipping to my final destination on the Eurostar.
Gosh oh gosh I will miss my loved ones, but I’m really looking forward to this new adventure.
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During our trip to the Far North we left Omapere/Opononi, where my grandmother lives, and drove 20 minutes to the next town, Rawene, for coffee. Aside from the Boatshed Cafe, the cross-harbour vehicle ferry, and the dairy/post office, there’s not too much happening here.
It was so very quiet, but it’s kind of reassuring to know that some places never change, and are always how you left them. Even the chocolate fudge cake recipe hasn’t changed from 2009 to 2011!
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Last weekend in New Zealand we enjoyed a public holiday for the Queen’s Birthday. It’s not her actual birthday, but I’ll take a free day off. We decided to get out of the city for a bit and drive up to see my grandmother in the Hokianga.
It’s a green-blue harbour at the tip of the North Island, with a clutch of sleepy villages nestled in its arms. Maori call the place Te Kohanga o Te Tai Tokerau (“the nest of the northern people”) or Te Puna o Te Ao Marama (“the wellspring of moonlight”). I call it home.
I took these photos when we walked up and across the headlands, on a morning so foggy that sometimes the sand hills were barely visible.
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Last weekend, my friend Rachael was kind enough to take Thom and I sailing out on her yacht, White Out. Despite the wind chill, was so much fun! We set off from the Orakei Marina, an headed to the middle of the Waitemata Harbour. We then had a little picnic onboard with delicious sandwiches wrapped in paper, and cold cans of beer. After lunch Rach, Thom & Rach’s dad started fishing, hoping to catch some dinner.
While they cast their lines, hoping to hook a golden pink snapper or stubby kahawai, I lounged about on the side of the deck – looking straight out over the green sea to an ancient volcano. It was really nice – I watched shags dive into the ocean and waved at passing boats. Our number one catch was “the bottom” - it snagged lots of lines and when we were lucky, we pulled up a few rocks! However in the end we did come home with 2 decent sized fish. It was really refreshing to get out on the water, I hope I can do it again soon.
(The title of this post is lyrics from Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) by Enya.)
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Look at these gorgeous infrared images of Paris! With infrared, it’s always springtime with ‘pink blossoms’ and ‘blue skies’…
From the top: A view of the Eiffel tower, the gently flowing Seine river, a Lion Statue at the Pont Alexandre III and finally, the ferris wheel – Grande Roue de Paris – right next to the Lourve.
Coincidentally, my litte brother has just set off on his first trip to Paris today, and I am so very excited for him. It brings back all my memories of last summer – the cheese, the bread, the phenomenal art and the sneaky antics of gypsies. Bon voyage James!
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“I shot a photo roughly every two miles between take-off in San Francisco and landing in Paris CDG to make this airplane time lapse”:
The northen lights look amazing! I hope to fly over that part of the world sometime soon, or even better, leg it to Finland and stay in a glass igloo. In the mean time, this swish little time lapse makes me happy.
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I love these highly saturated, engaging videos for EF International Language Centres. Combining typography with lush cinematography, each video teaches us some bite-sized lingo from the featured city – Paris, Barcelona, Beijing and London.
Perhaps because I’m learning español (I’m three weeks into classes), and I haven’t been there yet, the Barcelona one is my favourite. It makes me want to pack my bags and jet off now.
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I love the work of Francisco Varone. He shoots with a 35mm camera, an Olympus XA, roaming Central and South America.
These images are mostly from Mexico. All going well I will be visiting there in September.
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Auckland is experiencing some hot and sweaty weather right now; which while rather uncomfortable (hug the fan!), makes me long for South East Asia. From the archives, I present Thailand 2005. Highlights included: eating in street-side restaurants, exploring 14th century ruins, temple hopping, ankle massages, and haggling ever day at the markets.
This is Richard. We met when he was living in Auckland for a year, and he amicably agreed to come to Thailand and be my travel buddy. Since then we’ve met up in Japan, America and I’ve been to his house in Sheffield, England. He’s awesome!
This amazing melded tree/Buddha is amazing can be found in Ayutthaya, an old capital of Thailand an hour and a half north of Bangkok. It’s famous for its ruins, and recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It’s said Ayutthaya was one of the world’s most prosperous cities in the 17th Century.
The post title comes from the “One Night in Bangkok” – the song originally sung by Murray Head for the musical Chess, circa 1984. Take me back, only this time I’ll bring enough money to make it to the islands! Have you been to Thailand? What did you enjoy?
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A few weeks ago I drove to Raglan with my boyfriend to spend a couple of days relaxing and enjoying the high summer. We stayed at the Solscape eco retreat in a luxurious wee tipi. Glamping is an appropriate word to use – we enjoyed a double bed made up with fresh linen, little side tables, and reading lights.
My favourite part was opening up the smoke flap in the middle of the evening and gazing up at the stars. Icredible! And for the geeks amongst you, I highly highly recommend downloading Google’s Sky Map app.
My least favourite part? Waking up to the wildlife invading our tent. It was totally our fault, we came home late and forgot to put the loaf of bread in the (awesome) communal kitchen area. Instead it was sitting inside the tipi, and at 4am I whispered to Thom “I think there’s something in our tent…”
This little fella was chowing down, and when disturbed, dragged his bounty through the gap at the bottom of the tipi. The possum was finally driven away with 2 x jandals to the head and a lot of yelping from us city kids. We then spent the next few hours fitfully sleeping, because manuka leaves dropping onto tipi canvas sounds just like scrabbly little possum claws.
Aside from lounging in one’s deliciously cool tipi, what, may you ask, is there to do in Raglan? Well now…
Summer bliss! I didn’t even get a massage at the retreat and yet I came back to Auckland with my limbs all wobbly from relaxation.
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So excited – as a new year’s gift to myself I am going to go stay in a tipi by the sea. There may also be surf lessons and massages involved. I definitely think it’s the perfect way to start 2011 off right.
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On the way back from Wellington we headed west to Wanganui and spent a night at Monica’s Mum’s farm. The place is magic. After just a couple of hours there, waves of relaxation (and wine) were washing over me and I felt ‘wholesome’.
One of eight feathered friends, running free around the place.
Good work, hens.
Know your soil pH – these are base.
Sheep! And if a farm has sheep, it must need a… wool shed:
This one is not currently in use, but it has aspirations of becoming a bar and dance floor for a summer wedding. Cleaned out and smothered with fairy lights, I think it’s going to be gorgeous. (Monica has more photos of the wool shed.)
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Hello! My name is Amber Parkin. I'm a New Zealander living in London. I'm a writer obsessed with fondue, chesterfield sofas, vintage dresses, foxes, and 35mm.
Here I like to talk about fashion, design, food, travel, writing & books, and culture. Everything else (including my photography) goes into my digital notebook.
If you'd like to email me the address is amber@codeforsomething.com
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