My non-stop USA tour!

I'm finally back! 3 weeks ago I was packing my stuff before starting my latest adventure: going around United States by plane, car, train and on foot! Many many many miles were made, new friends met, around 3000 pictures taken and hours of video produced... I'm tired but very satisfied with this crazy idea.

The goal was simple: during 3 weeks I wanted to visit as much as possible around the United States. Visit some of the usual places and try, really try, to visit and do different things.
To accomplish this I need to meet local people. In some cities I had friends waiting (thank you for your patience with me!), other times I met new people and made new friends through the CouchSurfing community (thank you all for accepting my challenge) and a special thank you to those who crossed my way, with a smile, always ready to help this guy who never stopped taking pictures... and never stopped talking :-)

I must confess I was positively surprised on how people were cheerful and nice. Thanks again for making this trip so great.
Lots of coffee and coke (Coca-Cola, to avoid misunderstandings) were drank to keep my engine going. And the engine never failed! :-P

New York
The Big Apple was my start and ending point. As soon as I arrived I spent two days visiting the best of the city that never sleeps. And I can garantee that I didn't sleep much :)
The astonishing Times Square, the busy Rockfeller Plaza and Wall Street, the calm and squirrels at Central Park, the Metropolitan and Natural History museums, the night view from the Empire State Building (but the view is far better from Top of The Rock Observation Deck, at Rockfeller center/GE Building), the Brooklyn Bridge and the morning cupcakes.
During my initial stay in New York I was lucky enough to see the Veteran's Day Parade... and I was even luckier by being able to walk in the parade to get the best pictures :-)
As a fan of the TV show "30 Rock" I had to visit the NBC Studios to learn more about the magic behind the small screen! ;-)

USA Tour: NY Album

My next stop was Chicago... but that's for another post... it's not easy to organize thousands of pictures :)

Live from the skies!

Hello boys and girls! This is a live broadcast coming from above your heads ;-)So behave...because I'm watching you all ;-) eheheh

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey! Turkey! Turkey! :P

Not a spooky Halloween

Wow! I've just realized this blog isn't update for more than a month! :-) Well, I'm alive and the delay isn't due to all those strikes you have all seen on TV!

Well, strikes become a routine if you live in France for a while. If there was such a thing as Strike Olympics, France would win all the medals: gold, silver and bronze! eheh And countries like China wouldn't be even qualified to participate :)

It was the same routine: public transportations crowded, students blocking schools (not during school vacations, of course), gasoline production stopped (stome stations were selling it at 52euros/l), protesters block road access to the airports (tourists must exit taxis and walk), others just like to break stuff and put fire on everything (as seen on TV!) eheh

The most positive thing was in fact Halloween. People disguised and partied for the fun, after all it's a marketing celebration ;-)
The strikes were "scarier", "darker" and definitely spookier! eheh

I'll be back with more... in a month or so! :)

The longest day

It was a sunny Sunday. The weather was nice and I didn't have special plans for that day. "What can I do today", I thought. "I know! I'm going to wait 7h in queue to visit a building".

It's sad, but it's true. I spent almost half-day just waiting to enter the official french presidential residency.
With the Europeans Heritage Days public can enjoy events and unusual visits, because many public and private sites are open to everyone.
These Heritage Days happen during a weekend, all over Europe. In France, the most popular visit is the official residence of the President of the French Republic: the Élysée Palace.
Here, people can visit the Presiden't office, the room where Council of Ministers meets and the big dinning room for galas and receptions.

But, as this visit is so so popular, usualy people have to wait several hours before passing security. So, thanks to my bright idea, I spent 7 hours (!!) just waiting to enter. It was my longest day... :-P

At least I've learned a good hint. If you want to visit a popular place and you want to avoid crowds, just go with a pregnant woman. They have priority... and almost a red carpet! ;-)

Live from the red carpet

The most popular movie festival in France is in Cannes, of course. Besides movies, people can enjoy sun and sea.

But there is another movie festival, on the other side of France, which is not that different. Only its size.

Recently I decided to visit Deauville, one nice and small coast city in north of France. Very popular during summer but also during its famous American Film Festival.
As you can imagine, at this festival you only have american productions, from movies to TV shows.

I had the opportunity to discover some premieres like "Waking Sleeping Beauty" (a documentary about Disney), "Charlie St. Cloud" (a cheesy movie for teenagers) and "Buried" (one of the best thrillers in recent years). More details in my Tweeter ;-)


The movie festival at Cannes is very elitist, not very open to the public audience. Deauville festival is the opposite, they try to catch general public attention by selling 1-day or 1-week passes. Still, some movies are invitation only.

It was a weekend of sun, wind (a very windy region) and movies. There were other highlights, but I leave that for another post. :-P

My twin sister's visit

Recently I had this surprise visit from my twin sister. She lives very far away and she came here to present her latest movie ;-)

In case you don't know, I'm talking about Angelina Jolie, of course. She was in Paris to present "Salt" and I was lucky enough to see her.
We can't neglect family, right? ;-)

My movie reviews are now in Twitter mode, but in case you want to know "Salt" is a good action movie, with a twisting plot until the very end. I recommend you to watch it. Although the ending could be smarter.

One thing I've noticed: my sister is very very thin, almost anorexic! I think I should be cooking for her, with more pepper and less salt! eheh So she could be in "Tomb Raider" shape! Go, go Lara Croft! ;-)