August 2010
2 posts
We've Moved!
We’re no longer at Tumblr, but we’ve got our own new home!
This page should redirect, but if it doesn’t, click here
July 2010
3 posts
4 tags
Teaser
A teaser of the new layout/site launch - coming very soon!
4 tags
Change is in the Air
Hello lovelies! ♥ Gareth and I just wanted to produce a small echo here to all our dear readers that we are in fact still here :)
Alive and well, we are now two post-Europers suffering from travelling blues, back as full-time students as opposed to hostel-jumpers!
We have good news too! We’re going to continue on with our Les Deux adventures, but altering the angle a bit so we...
6 tags
Back through Beijing
It’s always tough to leave somewhere that you’ve called home for an extended period time. Just as it was hard to leave Sydney for the first time (in 2006 for me and 2009 for Hel), it was trying to have to vacate our small international studio in Cergy, France. Luckily, it was not straight back to the reality of university, work and winter. Instead, we had, as originally planned, 10 days in China...
3 tags
We're Baaaaack!
Hey everyone!
So we just spent the last fortnight in China, visiting the historical city of Beijing and awesome Shanghai following the most amazing year in France and Paris.
At long last, we touched down to home Sydney soil yesterday morning and are now back in our respective beds. It feels weird being back, more weird than having no Facebook, Youtube or Tumblr access for a full fortnight in...
June 2010
5 posts
7 tags
Vintage Horses
I have to admit that I’ve never been a huge fan of vintage stores, what with the smelly old dusty odours and the fact that there is sooo much stuff, it can be a real pain to wade through it all to find that *one* or more (if you’re lucky) special vintage piece. Even luckier if it’s a high designer brand too.
But being in Paris, I figured why not give it a try? Now, amongst my...
7 tags
Garden of Flowers
Exams are finally over and done with, woo! Gareth and I finished our last exam in Financial Engineering (don’t ask…) yesterday morning, and since then we have been busy with retail therapy! Which means of course… a fashion dose soon on Les Deux!
But before we go on a style tangent, I thought that it was finally time to show you the splendour and the magical inspiration that...
6 tags
Love from Disney
Once upon a time in a land far far away, there was a place where you could go to visit a pink castle, princesses, many interesting and lovable characters and of course eat toffee apples and go on fun rollercoasters… luckily, this land still exists and Gareth and I went for a day to have some childhood fun!
We’re sorry for the current lack of posts, we’ve been super busy and and...
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Whose is that Pooh?
After living in Paris for a combined time of almost two years, I, along with some of the other exchange students, finally made it to Disneyland Paris for the first time. Although the weather was ominous at the outset, with a huge shower passing through Paris as we were heading there, in the end we managed to stay dry and have a fantastic time. More on that later, probably from Hel…
In the...
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Matches on Clay
The passing Sunday, we had our first Roland Garros experience along with our friend Fisher. Having spent nearly an hour and a half one evening in February trying to buy these fourth round Suzanne Lenglen tickets (second main court)… it was definitely worth the trouble!
Thankfully, the weather kept up for the most of the day, and it wasn’t until the last match, when we were...
May 2010
19 posts
2 tags
Happy Monday !
Here’s a sneak peek into our recently very eventful and fantastic weekend!
Have a guess at where we went - one full of flowers, one full of clay…
All will be revealed very soon :)
Have a great start of the week everybody!
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Finally, Stockholm!
A new sidekick has being added to our collection - come check out STOCKHOLM here!
Enjoy :)
PS. Special thanks to CC and E for their accommodation contribution, and of course to our dear Dennis for his pointers ♥
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Green fields on Les Champs-Elysées
Something that the French do really well and quite often is random mass-scale demonstrations regarding some sort of industry or part of their heritage. That’s why there is basically une fête
for every possible thing - la fête de la musique, la fête du pain (bread festival)….
So it was no surprise that last weekend, a brilliantly sunny day (and not before time), l’Avenue des...
6 tags
Doggies
The sun was shining strongly on Sunday and a couple of friends wanted an excuse to drink by a lake, so instead of traipsing around Paris by myself as I had planned to, I decided to go along and ultimately, enjoyed a very relaxed day on the grass in Cergy.
From the top of the staircase, looking out towards La Defense in the haze
Now for those that don’t know the suburb of Cergy...
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!
Hello lovelies, just wanted to excuse ourselves of any aesthetic no-no’s that you may see for this (short) moment. I’m currently tweaking a few things concerning the layout dimensions, so that explains for the awkward placements of older photo posts.
Will look squeaky shiny and new in no time :)
Don’t forget to dash to our new presence on Flickr to brighten up your day!
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Olive's New Friend
Okay… so I finally did it. I bought a new camera! Not a proper SLR since I haven’t saved up for one yet but a mini Diana ♥
I’d been lusting after it for a while but wasn’t sure which type I should get and figured well… I’d prefer the ease of developing 35mm back in Sydney and it’s cheaper, so a mini Diana it is!
I’m going to take it...
3 tags
Sprouts Galore
Hmm…. bean sprouts? Plant sprouts? Any guesses what they are??
That’s right… onions turned bad and sprouting! This is definitely how onions should NOT look like!! :/
Basically, when we were leaving for Budapest + Prague recently and were cleaning out the kitchen, we did indeed forget to look under the sink cupboard… where we normally keep onions, garlic etc. We...
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Musings & City Snapshots
UPDATE:
I got us a Flickr PRO account (*happy dance*) - so for now, come check it out for the first of our City Snapshots!
- - -
How great did the cast of the Sylvia ballet look??? I loved it immensely, particularly as ballet is one of my new passions (though I can’t dance!) that developed during my adolescence. The finesse in which they move their entire body, the elaborate and...
4 tags
Budapest and Ballet
So Budapest was wet…really wet…and windy and cold. We managed to walk into a 3-day non-stop storm which left us drenched on the first night and wind-beaten on the next two. Still, we were happy to have the chance to enjoy this eastern European city.
Going to see Slyvia
One of the highlights was surely going to the ballet on Sunday night. Not only were the tickets cheap as...
5 tags
Prague Part 2: Detail & Design
Guess what guys, we are now in Budapest! Having woken up VERY early this morning to get a 6hr bus ride from Prague, we thought to have escaped the dreary Prague weather but are now confronted with downpour - Budapest style :(
But before we talk about Budapest, Prague is still worth talking about, particularly its architecture, buildings and design. A sight to behold in person, the streets are...
3 tags
A Couple of History Lessons in Prague
Rain and sub-10 degree Celsius temperatures added up to a museum day today in Prague. So we ended up visiting two really great museums to add a bit of history to our so-far sightseeing and stomach-stuffing sejour.
The first was the Prague City Museum. I generally love these types of municipal, small museums because they teach you a lot about the city and not just the country or people, they...
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Sax and the City
In the heart of the Old Town of Prague today, we went to see the typical touristy attractions such as the orloj (clock tower), Tyn Church, St Nicholas’ Church amongst many other beautiful monuments and buildings.
Apart from all these sights, what most caught my eye was not the amazing architecture and contrast of colours of nearly all the buildings in the city, but this one saxophone...
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Prague Part 1: Flora & Foliage
For those that know me well, I love love LOVE flowers (and plants and trees) and particularly taking photos of them. That’s why gardens excite me. Being in Prague with Gareth at the moment, being in one of those cities whose old-style charm and prettiness DOES win you away… not only is it one of the most photogenic places (particularly with its colours), but it is surrounded by nature...
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First Food Feelings in Prague
When you arrive somewhere, having organised the trip at the last moment, and with very few expectations, it’s a delicate thing. Your first impression often counts for more than a day or two can make up. Have a bad experience and as much as you try it can hard to be completely positive in the days that follow. Be amazed or even just happily impressed and the feeling counts.
So it was for us...
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Heading East Again...
It seems that the Euro-crisis isn’t that great after all. The Australian dollar has appreciated something like 40% in the last year, meaning we multiply by 1.6 now instead of 2….yay!
But the recent troubles in Greece meant that we had to cancel our much-anticipated holiday on the Greek island of Santorini. Riots were one thing, but the chance of snap strikes was just too great a...
5 tags
Paris by Night
As Gareth and I were walking home the other day, we finally noticed how the trees and bushes around our residence were green! Gone are the days of depressing leaf-less trees and that terribly cold Winter feeling.
Although honestly, no matter how cold and dreary the weather is in Paris, I still found it beautiful, even the leaf-less trees (Gareth disagrees!)
I’ve been wanting to put up...
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New Sidekick!
Click here to download our newest addition to City Sidekicks… RIGA!
We know it wasn’t the planned next city, but Gareth decided he had the urge to do it!
We’re still brewing several others simultaneously, so they should be released soon!
Enjoy ! ♡
PS. Don’t forget to follow us on Bloglovin’ - a really great interface that lets you keep up to date with...
6 tags
Feeling Down?
I’ve been meaning to do this post for a while… but I just didn’t get around to sitting down and taking extra snapshots of what I had planned… until now!
During our recent trip down to Barcelona, one of the stores on my checklist was Happy Pills (see more here), a very unique confectionary store, where you can select whatever candy you want and then they’ll be put...
6 tags
Cards & Company Amongst Blossoms
Last week after class one day, some friends, Gareth and I decided it would be a great idea to spend the rest of the afternoon outside. Why? Well, for one it was actually a sunny day for once (which isn’t often the case these days), and two, well… after 3 hours of finance, our brains needed a rest!
We picked out a nice patch of grass outside our residence and spent the afternoon...
April 2010
20 posts
6 tags
Socks, Socks, Socks!
Welcome to the magical world of Tabio… ♥
During of my shopping days out in the Marais district in Paris not too long ago, one of the many ‘to-visit-shops’ on my list was Tabio, a colourful and globally popular Japanese sock brand that has one of its boutiques in Paris. Most of you probably know it well for the brand that stocks those oh-so-cute heart stockings,...
7 tags
Going to Market
One of my favourite things to do when travelling through Europe, probably induced by my almost 24-hour need to eat, is to check out the local markets. Sometimes it can be an underwhelming experience that makes you question the well-held assumption that Europeans do fresh food best.
On other occasions it can be amazing and make you realize just how behind the ‘New World’ can be...
8 tags
Tulips, Trees and Tortoises
On our last day in Madrid, we took it easy after a previous late night out with several Spanish friends, and decided to have a picnic lunch at my new favourite hangout, the Parque del Retiro (Retiro Park) followed by a visit to two museums: the Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza (highly recommended!!).
Oh, and did I mention tulips? Well we passed by some throughout the day, and they’re...
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Lust-After: Camper TWS
A girl can never have enough pair of shoes, don’t you agree?
But that’s beside the point… I don’t think you need to reason why you need or don’t need them… after all, if they’re pretty and functionable, why not! (Luckiliy, shoes are always functionable!)
Since I saw the new Spring women’s range for Camper, I’ve fallen for these darlings (as...
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A Breath of Barcelona
Barcelona was and is breathtaking. With its mix of beach and urban cultures, hideaway streets and constant buzz, we loved it!
So to share with you guys our memories, here is a little sneak peak into a few of my favourite images from our collection ♥
From top to bottom, left to right:
1. Flowers from a florist along La Rambla
2. Thousands and thousands of...
5 tags
C is for...
CASSOULET
[ka-soo-LAY]
A classic dish from France’s Languedoc region consisting of white beans and various meats (such as sausages, pork and preserved duck or goose). The combination varies according to regional preference. A cassoulet is covered and cooked very slowly to harmonize the flavors.
CONFIT
[kohn-FEE, kon-FEE]
This specialty of Gascony, France, is derived from an...
4 tags
A Rose City
Toulouse: City near the Franco-Spanish border. City of cassoulet and churches. City of rose-coloured wonder…
We spent just over a day in this splendid city on our way to Barcelona from Paris. Thank goodness we planned the first two legs by bus… otherwise our trip would have never occurred due to the Icelandic volcanic explosion!
[Edit: Oops, accidentally posted using...
5 tags
Pencils, Paint & Paper
In a part of Paris far far away, near the Père Lachaise cemetery, a wonderful world of vibrant colours, textures and anything one could ever need to paint, draw, colour, sketch is at one’s fingertips… at Le Géant des Beaux Arts.
Whilst Gareth was flying half way across the world for ‘business’, leaving me to do chores and cook 5 days straight (!!), I thought it...
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Next Stop?
That’s right chicos y chicas…. we’re going to Spain! 3 days in Madrid and 4 Barcelona from Sunday evening. Between tomorrow and then, a stop-by in Toulouse, down south-west of France.
For the meantime, I highly recommend you to watch this absolutely HILARIOUS video that my Spanish teacher back in Sydney showed us one time in class:
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Dash across the world...
I am hoping that being in Paris on Friday, Sydney on Sunday and Paris on Thursday is note-worthy enough to deserve a post. The opportunity to be flown back to Sydney for an interview was exciting and bizarre at the same time. The quick trip was the culmination of that admittedly gruelling, jumping-through-hoops process: graduate recruitment.
Anyone who has even gone through the two weeks of...
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City Sidekicks
One of our greatest passions has always been to travel, experience new cultures and see amazing things. For Gareth, it’s been with him practically all his life. For myself, it’s a new indulgence, made possible by this adventurous exchange experience.
Over the past few months, we’ve had the chance to visit a range of destinations - Italy, Sweden, Latvia and Egypt just to name a...
6 tags
Oh Aïda!
One of the cutest café/cake establishments that I’ve ever come across… Aïda ♥
A coffee/cake chain that we visited in Vienna, that tickles your fancy from miles away with its nostalgic pink and brown décor - inside and out!
Many thanks to our lovely Jenni for taking us to this cute little place where the staff are dressed in sandals and pink socks! The service was great...
3 tags
End of My Geek Week
So for those who have a Facebook, you may or may not have come across on your news feed, that approximately 22,952 Facebookers have been celebrating Pokemon Week online!
When I saw that some of my friends had joined the event, I immediately reminisced those joyous geeky times spent playing Pokemon (blue version) on my Nintendo Gameboy Color (soooo old school!), trading Pokemon cards under...
6 tags
Waiting for the Sun...
Finally the sun has come back to France. And even if the temperatures remain mild, it makes no end of difference to wake up and see blues of motivation rather than that dreary grey which stayed around for such a long time. With the sun come sunnies. In the recent GQ France I spied something which made me dream of the coming season and struck a creative chord.
A collaboration between Kulte...
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Kunsthistorisches
Of the many museums and interesting galleries available for locals and tourists alike to frequent in Vienna and Europe, the Kunsthistorisches Museum has recently become one of my top favourites.
Entrance Lobby
Embarrassingly, I have to admit that I can’t pronounce nor spell it (thank you copy/paste shortcuts !), but nonetheless what lay inside the museum itself was blinding!...
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Viennese Spring
Our first video on Les Deux! Unfortunately, we haven’t had time to edit it since we are on the road, but the next one shall be, we promise :)
Here is a quick journey into Vienna, just outside the Karlskirche Church with the lovely background music thanks to an accordian player on a side bench. Gareth and Westie feature in the video too… can you spot them?
P.S. Headed to...
6 tags
An Easter Egg Hunt
Les Deux would like to wish you all a Very Happy Easter, wherever in the world you are ! :)
We hope you get the chance to eat some sweet brown goodies in various shapes and sizes.
Celebrating Easter in Vienna has been an absolute delight, with easter eggs EVERYWHERE! I think that I’ve lost count so far, with the range of colourful and eye-catching designs, particularly at the...
5 tags
Welcome to Wien
At last, we have arrived in the great town of Wien, or otherwise better known as Vienna, the capital of Austria!
We arrived at our hotel around 8.30PM and organised to meet up with our dear Finnish friend, Jenni shortly after for dinner in the main city square. You could have probably guessed that we were STARVING by now! (For those that know me well, I am starving within every 3 hours…....
5 tags
The New Black
Consumerism 1 - Helen 0
I did a dreadful thing the other day, I knew what I wanted, and I knew where to get it. So what did I do? I went and bought it.
My new Swatch watch in black matt, not bad don’t you think? Thank you Colette ♥
Now if only this would be the answer to all my ‘late’ problems…. ;)
PS. Off to Vienna today, so look forward to some Austrian...
March 2010
15 posts
4 tags
Mission Jacket: Accomplished
When Westie and I both realised we were free during a weekday last week, we decided to hit up the shops with a common goal in mind: to find a new spring jacket.
Sick of the fact that we were still wearing our heavy winter jackets/coats when the warmer weather was slowly starting to resurface, we mutually agreed that enough was enough: Mission Jacket.
Success rate? 2/2 jackets found!...
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Giddy-Up!
Children’s toys horses, Annecy France
This is one of my favourite photos from when I visited Annecy in August last year, a town situated in the east of France right near the Alps.
Taken at the park besides the beautiful Annecy Lake, we were only staying there for a few days before heading to Paris. We soaked in one of the last few days of summer, taking a promenade around the...