#hotel des relais

[postcard-from-the-past]

Fishing boats and Hotel des Relais in the Ngor borough of Dakar, Senegal

French vintage postcard, mailed in 1961 to Belgium

[jarrimimram]

20110817_IMG_1526

[lepetitlugourmand]

La Chèvre d'Or de Tom Meyer - Une Chèvre au caractère déjà bien trempé

Cette année, La Chèvre d’Or, maison iconique de la Côte d’Azur, a fait vibrer toute la sphère culinaire en annonçant, non seulement le départ du Chef MOF Arnaud Faye à destination du Bristol afin de succéder à un autre MOF Eric Fréchon, mais également l’arrivée du brillantissime Tom Meyer, lui aussi MOF, pour orchestrer toutes les offres restauration de l’établissement. En place depuis juillet…

[wellourgerdes]

Raphael Paris Hotel

Hotel Raphaël Paris This elegant hotel in a 1925 building is 1.8 km from the Eiffel Tower and a 7-minute walk from the Charles de Gaulle – Étoile metro/RER station and the Arc de Triomphe. Located in the centre of Paris, just a short stroll from the Arc de Triomphe and a 2-minute walk from the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, this five-star hotel provides opulent lodging. This 5-star…

[hotelbooking]

Le Relais de Chhlong At Front desk services including concierge service, express check-in or check-out and safety deposit boxes can assist with your needs. Feeling lazy? In-room conveniences like daily housekeeping let you get the most out of your room time. All rooms at It's good to know that bathroom amenities including bathrobes are provided in some of the guest bathrooms. Every morning you can wake up to a delicious free breakfast at Apart from amenities and services, Cool off on hot days by joining water-world activities like fishing. If you like water sports, you'll appreciate the convenience of boats provided by Facilities at this hotel are rated higher than 92% of other accommodations in the city. Past guests love the cleanliness here, ranking it higher than 92% of the city's accommodation. Staff and service here are considered high quality by past guests whose ratings put it above 92% of the city's options.

[sgiandubh]

Do you have any secret tips for restaurants or cafés for a trip to Paris?

Dear Paris Anon,

I am happy and amused you ask me this question. Happy, because I have been calling Paris home for six years: that means there are places where I was madly kissing a beautiful (and cruel) boy from Bastia, places where I walked at night drunk as a boiled owl with people who are still in my life, places where I regularly went shopping or having an endless coffee with friends and places I was entrusted with, like precious jewels. Amused, because to be honest, Paris is probably the last French destination I could think of for an enjoyable week-end en amoureux (I suppose you want to go as a couple?), right now: it is overpriced as hell (the Olympics are round the corner), dirty and seedy (I was shocked, last time I visited and Manu Macron, my old acquaintance of yore, spoke about parking all the homeless outside of town during the Games 'for aesthetic reasons' - the boy never had a sense of humor, trust me on this one).

I shall give you 5 restaurants and 5 cafés (oh God, why didn't you ask me about Bangkok, instead?). Many of them are on the Left Bank (all of my addresses were there, simply because the closer to the university, the better).

Five restaurants: as it happens in Rome (where the gap is truly tragic), I will try and recommend places where locals go. You will find a menu in English everywhere, but at least try the holy trinity of bonjour, l'addition (the check) et merci. All the Parisian waiters are sourer than the Politburo and insolent as highway robbers, but do not be deterred by their manners. Order away.

Le Relais de Venise - son entrecôte (271 Bd Pereire, 75017). It is not in the center. They do not take reservations. You will be met with a long line of people patiently waiting (Seinfeld style) to get in. They have a minimal set menu (which is always a very good sign: https://relaisdevenise.com/menus/set-menu.php). The waitresses are kind and dressed like 1920's maids. It will be the damn best entrecôte-frites you've ever had (their sauce is a secret). Nothing changed there since 1959. Double check opening times and plan accordingly: you will need a taxi and plenty of time ahead. Almost a bargain for its stellar performance. The London one is a sad spin off.

Le Soufflé (36 rue du Mont Thabor, 75001). An original choice, but oh so good! They only cook soufflés (not exactly a pudding, but a pudding angels must have on a daily basis). Very reasonably priced for Paris (set menus at 40 and 55 euros - https://www.lesouffle.fr/bienvenue/home/menu/). If you want to eat à la carte, I recommend le soufflé Henri IV (cheese soufflé with chicken & mushrooms sauce) : it is heaven.

La Jacobine (59-61 Rue Saint-André des Arts, 75006). You will find tourists in this one, it is always full. Service is impeccable. Do not bother with Le Procope round the corner: it used to be one of my haunts, but this is over. The best soupe à l'oignon (onion soup, notoriously hard to cook) I ever had (yes, they still add white wine!). I would also recommend the magret de canard sauce aux cèpes (duck breast with a porcini mushrooms sauce). I could not find a decent menu, but that should give you an idea - they don't have a website (https://eater.space/la-jacobine). Very reasonably priced, too - and very, very good.

Chez Julien (1, rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, 75004 Paris). This is one of my mum's favorites. It is open only in the evenings, but it is an excellent choice if you want to call it a night, because it has service continu (all night long, wow!). It is more expensive - this is, after all, the Right Bank, so expect prices to go drastically up. This is the only option serving wonderful breakfasts, so I beg you: have breakfast in town at least once, Paris hotels tend to do it on the sad and sorry side (https://www.chezjulien.paris/en/home#menu-en). Pair anything you pick with a glass of Pouilly fumé white wine (it goes with anything, it is that magically good).

Money is no object? Entice the guy to take you at (I am torn, here, to be honest) La Tour d'Argent (19 Quai de la Tournelle, 75005). It is very expensive (like VERY), but it is worth every penny (https://tourdargent.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/LTDA-SEPTEMBRE-EN.pdf). You must (it's an order!) order the canard au sang (you will find it on the menu under the entry Duckling Frédéric Delair and it is outrageously priced). But you will never have a chance to see the table show anywhere else (it is served in two times: first the fillet and then the legs and it uses a sort of Medieval contraption, to get the blood out for the sauce) - just a specialty from Normandy, you will not find in Rouen anymore. It is divine. They have been there since 1583. What are you waiting for? (for a less break the bank option, try Le Grand Véfour, near the Louvre - google it, it will take forever to explain why).

Four cafés and a salon de thé (tea parlor) : all are haunts of mine. In every single one of them something very personal happened to me. Consider yourself lucky. On a more practical side, all of them double as excellent lunch options, for a fraction of what you would spend in a restaurant. :)

Chez Carette (4 Pl. du Trocadéro, 75016, but also Place des Vosges, with a nod to C). You will have an exceptional choice of anything you could think of and the same Roaring Twenties atmosphere as in the Relais de Venise restaurant. The chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) is almost perfection (do NOT go to Angelina, on the rue de Rivoli, that is another favorite which went south and not in a good way). The best macarons you will find North of Saint Jean de Luz's Maison Adam (where the story of macarons began in earnest). This is Someone's favorite, but then he always was a Right Bank purist. Service is old school, which means supremely kind, if only a bit on the slow side: you are in France, soak it in!

Les Deux Magots (6 Pl. Saint-Germain des Prés, 75006). On the Left Bank in the publishing houses district. This is my second favorite (there is a first favorite) and you will likely find me on the heated terrace with a cigarette and a newspaper, if I were there. Service is appalling, but you should not mind, I have warned you. Reasonably priced for what and where it is. Breakfasts are mediocre, but still enjoyable and lunch/dinner menus are typical brasserie fare - you are not there for the food, you are there to cosplay Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir and act intellectual and sophisticated and have endless talks about the world's destiny (https://lesdeuxmagots.fr/en/breakfast-menu/). If nature calls, head downstairs with an air of intrinsic superiority and don't forget to pay the grumpy dame pipi (toilet lady), who will give you what you need and look at you like you are the scum of the Earth. Always makes me laugh.

Le Café de l'Epoque (2 Rue du Bouloi, 75001). On the Right Bank, at the end of one of the most beautiful passages couverts (glass-roofed passageways) of Paris. Again, you are there for the supremely dreamy atmosphere, I can only fail to describe. Look on the map for all of these passageways and then get lost in the maze of stamp shops, bookstores, taxidermists and God only knows what else you could think of (or at least add to this passageway the Galerie Vivienne). Usual brasserie/bistro fare, reasonable prices (https://cafedelepoque.fr/en/services). The lemon meringue pies are to die for.

Café Le Rostand (6 Pl. Edmond Rostand, 75006). Steps away from the Luxembourg Gardens, which I crossed every single day to go to the uni. Steps away also from the secret and sublime Medici fountain in above park (oh, the things I did there!). Surprisingly good French fare, the beef tartare is excellent (a rare thing!) and well priced (https://lerostand.fr/carte/ - use Google translate, they don't care for tourists). Service is cheeky. Round the corner, one of the most charming shops in Paris, Parapluies Simon (56 Boulevard Saint-Michel, 75006) - only umbrellas and dandy walking sticks (you can hide a whisky mini flask in one of them, I am told by Someone on the phone, but I think he is trolling us - we love that shop).

The Tea Caddy (14 Rue Saint-Julien le Pauvre, 75005). It's been there since 1928, when a certain Miss Klinklin opened it and introduced the Devon scones to France. It is my favorite favorite (https://the-tea-caddy.com/en/tea-room/) and it is perfect on a rainy day. Steps away from the Medieval church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, one of the most authentic and moving experiences of its kind in a very secular town. The Shakespeare & Co. bookstore is just round the corner. A rare gem of a place.

I could go on and on and on. Three more short tips and you will thank me for it, as alternatives to deceiving mainstream options:

The Musée de l'Orangerie instead of The Louvre. Blasphemy? Intense perfumes come in small bottles. It is breathtaking (https://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en).

Château de Rambouillet instead of Versailles (you will not be able to enjoy it AT ALL). Where else could you find Marie Antoinette's private 'milk bar' (La Laiterie de la Reine/ The Queen's Dairy), a supremely elegant affair, with milk-spouting fountains, built to encourage hygienic milk consumption as an alternative to breast-feeding (she was unable to). Trust me and plan a full day for it (https://www.chateau-rambouillet.fr/en/discover).

La Sainte-Chapelle instead of Notre Dame. I always preferred it to anything else, except perhaps Vézelay (far, far away from Paris). It will shock you, but in such a perfect way (https://www.sainte-chapelle.fr/en). Enough said: I will let you discover. Across the Seine, couple this visit with the Musée de Cluny and tell The Lady and the Unicorn I miss them (https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/en/).

I am not sorry for the length of this post. At all. I hope you will enjoy this modest, but very personal selection and perhaps you will come back and tell me if it was worth something. Bon voyage!

Notre Dame on a snowy evening, Paris 1953

[k-evans-reads]

In Living Color

Chapter 9 - Part Two

Summary: When Natalie Marton, lead character designer for Buzz Lightyear, meets the voice of Buzz, Chris Evans, the sparks are undeniable. But when their work pushes them away from each other, both physically and emotionally, will the sheer differences between their worlds be enough to force them apart?

Pairing: Chris Evans x Pixar Animator OFC Natalie Marton

Word Count: 4,705

By: @k-evans-writes and @ourfinest-hour

We do NOT give permission for our works to be reuploaded, translated, or reposted on any other site. Our work is our own.

Warnings: None.

Previous | Main Masterlist | In Living Color Masterlist

June 2021

If Chris had to guess, he’d say he slept maybe for twenty minutes the previous night.

Twenty restless minutes, after which he woke feeling as though he’d had a nightmare. But what he wished was only a nightmare had become his reality, which was that damned leaked picture from the catering company, one with him all over Nat in the background.

Chris couldn’t stop thinking that this was just an absolute fucking disaster. One that didn’t end when he opened his eyes, instead playing out in front of him with every passing moment where his phone didn’t light up with a text from here and when he was still so fucking annoyed and discouraged, not knowing how or if he should reach out first when Nat was the one to end things. 

Thankfully, the crew had the day off to adjust back to day shoots after a long few weeks of night work, but the reprieve didn’t last long when he heard the door to his hotel room unlock and open as Scott came inside with a yawn. They’d made plans the previous night – before Chris’ life went up in flames thanks to a simple phone call – to eat breakfast in Chris’ room, then find the Sox game on a random online stream and spend the day on the couch. 

Chris didn’t even look up from where he was staring out the window when Scott came into the room, shoulders taught when Scott asked, “So how’s Nat?” 

“The fuck if I know,” he shook his head, glancing down at the table before he took a sip of coffee, hoping it somehow held the answers to how to fix everything.

Scott’s face fell and he reared back before hurrying to sit down at the table next to Chris, pulling a plate of eggs from room service in front of him. “What the hell does that mean?” He asked Chris with a raised brow as he sprinkled some pepper onto his food. 

“It means I wouldn’t have a clue,” Chris began before he scoffed and his hand flew in the air. “She’s going to Seattle and doesn’t want to talk to me. We fought last night and she said she wanted time to think.” 

Scott listened to him with an expression of pure disbelief, and once Chris explained what happened vaguely, his younger brother held his own hand in the air and ordered, “Hold on, back up and start from the beginning. None of this is making sense.” 

With a sigh, Chris began from the beginning, reminding him about the stressful hurried texts and calls with Megan in between takes and during dinner, but then caught him up to speed on what happened after the fact, once he was back in his room and Nat was on her way home from work. And as he retold the story, he was struck by just how sideways everything went, and how quickly it went wrong. But he still couldn’t figure out why Nat got so frustrated with him relaying what Megan – one of the people he trusted the most in this industry, almost implicitly – advised them to do to handle this. Which was her job. What he paid her to do. “I just feel like she was blaming me for everything when all I was doing was trying to make it better for her,” he finished, shrugging as he shook his head in frustration. 

But he didn’t expect Scott’s scowl once he finished, and the dirty blond held his hands in the air placatingly as he told Chris, “Look, don’t shoot the messenger, but it sounds like she kind of told you she just wanted some emotional support.” 

“That’s what I was trying to do! I was trying to solve it so she wouldn’t have to deal with it,” Chris explained, hands flying in the air as he clenched his jaw. 

“She had to deal with it anyway though, Chris,” Scott explained slowly, in a way that made Chris feel as though he was a four-year-old getting chastised. “Remember that Nat isn’t used to any of this. I’m sure it really scared her.” 

He stared at his hands as they anxiously fiddled in his lap, wrapping around themselves before they dropped to his sides, only to go right back to it again. “....It did,” he admitted, remembering how gutted and terrified she sounded, almost more than she did the previous week when she’d call him distraught. 

Scott listened to Chris and was quiet for several minutes as Chris moved his food around his plate and Scott ate. Even looking at the food made Chris feel sick, he just wanted to hop onto the next flight out and apologize to Nat and hold her. But he couldn’t. He had too much riding against him here – commitments and contracts, things he absolutely couldn’t get out of without fucking up his career, and people relying on him, people he had to owe a good portion of his career to – but he yearned to see her face to face, to make things right. 

“C’mon, I know you’re thinking something. What’s going on in your head?” Scott prodded gently, pointing his fork towards Chris. 

“I don’t know Scott, I just know I fucked it up,” he whispered, rubbing a hand over his face to hopefully calm himself down and stave off something like a panic attack. “I think me wanting to solve all of this with the picture was more about wanting to solve it for me than it was for her.” 

“Why do you think that?” 

Chris shrugged, frowning as he tried to clear the lump in his throat. “Because I think I knew how much it would hurt her and make her see all the shit that goes along with me,” he admitted finally. 

Scott sighed, almost sympathetically as he pointed out, “But that’s unavoidable. With the level of fame that you’re at, that’s what goes with it.” 

“That’s the problem. Anyone who’s with me has to deal with it,” Chris agreed, his voice stronger. It’d taken him a long time to recognize the burden he placed on his loved ones with just being him. With being the guy on his nephews and niece’s friends’ lunch boxes, the guy in every other commercial some years. It sucked, it was a level of fame he never quite desired, and he was grateful for it – don’t get him wrong, he was immensely grateful for the career he worked for – but he missed the days where people didn’t breathe down his neck, didn’t tag him in random pictures every minute, and didn’t flood his mentions with less than desirable things. It was all the biggest turn offs to anyone, but especially someone like Nat, who had a career that afforded her with the privacy and autonomy he no longer knew. “And Nat’s no social climber who likes the spotlight but she’s also not someone in the industry who’s used to it and I know she’s going to hate it.” 

But Scott saw right through that argument, that line of logic, and in between bites of bacon he told Chris, “If she cares about you though, it won’t matter.” 

“I’m just afraid that we haven’t had the chance for the good to outweigh the bad,” Chris confessed quietly, feeling as though he was now just waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

“You can’t control that though,” Scott argued back, but then his expression turned empathetic as he studied Chris with a sad half-smile. “And I know you hate that.” 

“I dunno, Scott. Maybe it’s for the best,” Chris shrugged and tried to assure himself of just that. That he would bring nothing but chaos and a spotlight to Nat’s otherwise peaceful, uninteresting-to-the-average-fan life. “Nat’s better off without all this in her life.” 

“Are you better off without her?” 

“I don’t think that’s part of the equation anymore,” Chris admitted, more to himself than Scott. “I fucked it up, but then again I always seem to.”

“So don’t you think you should work on fixing things?” Scott asked with a shrug, with the self-surety that only came with being Scott. At Chris’ silence and odd look, he explained, “I’m not trying to make you feel worse, Chris. I’m really not. I just feel like you do something you perceive as wrong and then just beat yourself up for it. Nobody is perfect, nobody handles things the right way every time but that’s why you have to just learn from it, apologize and move on.” 

“I know you’re right,” Chris began quietly, taking a large sip of his coffee, more to distract himself and hold off on speaking more than anything. “I just don’t think Nat wants to hear from me. It didn’t sound good when she said she wanted to think things over… it sounded like it was it for us and that just scared the shit out of me. Then I was an ass and made it worse by saying I’d maybe see her later.” 

Scott pointed his fork at Chris again, eyes wide as he instructed, “So tell her that. Tell her you were scared and you’re sorry.” 

Chris listened, eyes finding his phone from where it sat a few feet away, screen dark with no messages from Nat. “...I don’t think she’ll answer,” he whispered. 

But Scott simply shrugged, reaching for his iced latte and drawling, “Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t say it though.” 

He just nodded before changing the subject as he finished breakfast with his brother, but the words Scott had spoken stuck in his brain throughout the day. He couldn’t stop thinking about how all of this had happened, how good things had been and just how quickly they went wrong. His brain kept churning and replaying it over and over in his mind as the day wore on, but now that the shock and emotion of seeing that picture surface and the panic he felt was gone, all he could seem to remember was the emotion in Nat’s voice when she talked to him on that phone. 

Chris had been so focused on fixing this, on trying to make it go away to assure Nat that dating him wouldn't be the circus that he knew it was at times. He had tried to come into it with a strategy to make her feel as if he had it under control and yet all he managed to do was push her away and cause that crackle in her voice that still plagued his memory, and he was determined to make it up to her. 

Nat couldn’t help but feel disappointed that even coming back home to Washington didn’t seem to soothe her heart, and instead of breathing a sigh of relief as she stepped off the plane, she only choked back more tears. The flight, under three hours long, only provided her with more opportunities to mull over the situation with her and Chris, to think back on their highs together only to come crashing back down as she remembered their lows… and what had happened just a day earlier. 

And while she looked forward to seeing her sisters, the pair volunteering to pick her up from the airport, the grilling she received on what had just transpired hurt even more than she imagined. She hadn’t thought it could get worse than it already had, but hearing about how even Heather and Alex had felt the effects of the blow up put the final dagger in her, both having hundreds of follow requests as well, for no reason except being the sisters of Natalie Marton, Chris’ fling. 

She pushed aside those feelings however, determined to enjoy the evening at home, finally. And she did – she enjoyed walking into her childhood home, into the comforting and warm arms of her father, and hugging her brother-in-laws and getting tackled by her nieces and nephew. But all throughout dinner and until after the kids went to bed, her eyes kept getting drawn to her phone, hoping for something from Chris, something that said this was just a nightmare, or a horrible misunderstanding.

Nat thought she’d disguised her emotions well enough behind the genuine excitement of finally being home, but her cover was blown once she finally ignored and walked away her phone while she helped her father with the dishes while Heather, Ryan, Alex, and Zach were busy getting the kids down for bed and cleaning up the backyard.

“I’m so glad you were able to come, Nattie,” her father murmured, his voice hardly audible over the running water from the sink as he washed dishes before handing them, one by one, to Nat for her to dry and put away. “We love it when you’re around.” 

“I do too,” she agreed, knowing just how much being with her family had made this better and having people who loved her so deeply brought comfort to her. Nat kept her eyes on the plate she was wiping, letting out a soft sigh before telling him, “It was nice to have my mind off of… everything.” 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him give her a long glance before finally asking,“You want to fill me in on what’s going on, honey?”

Nat rolled her eyes, feeling the anxiety inside of her rise as she told him, “I’m sure Heather and Alex already have, considering the nonstop texts I’ve got from them all day yesterday.”

But Eric simply shut the sink off, turning as he dried his hands with a dish towel and leaned the small of his back against the sink as he looked at her. “They told me that there was a picture online, but that doesn’t tell me how you’re feeling and that’s what I’m concerned about.”

“I just can’t wrap my head around it. I was having a normal day at work and then suddenly everything turned upside down because of one stupid picture where Chris had his arm around me,” Nat still didn’t understand the reality of this all, all the fear and anxiety spilling over as her voice rose and she tossed a hand in the air. 

Her father shook his head, muttering, “I can’t imagine what it must be like for Chris to always have to be looking over his shoulder.”

“Now I feel like I do too,” Nat admitted quietly, swallowing nervously as tears threatened to burn her eyes. “I mean, I’m nobody and yet I have thousands and thousands of his fans requesting to follow me.”

“What did Chris say about all of this?”

At just one mention of his name and the memory of that hurtful conversation that was only one day ago, tears sprung to her eyes as she thought back to his cold tone and swallowed hard, “… That was the worst part.” 

“Here, let’s sit down and tell me what’s going on,” Eric could see the emotions passing over her face and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading his youngest daughter over to the kitchen table. He pulled out a chair for her that Nat ungracefully plopped into before he sat down across from her and instantly reached a hand across the wood table top to hold one of her hands in his. 

“Dad, I was so freaked out,” Nat confessed with a shaky voice, trying to blink away the tears unsuccessfully before they slipped down her cheeks. “I mean, I got blindsided by this and Chris and I aren’t even officially together or anything but he called me and just gave me a laundry list from his publicist of what I can and can’t do.”

“Oh really?”

“Can you imagine how that made me feel? I was so terrified and all he wanted to say was that I had to make sure to keep everything private and don’t say a word about it to people I’m not close with,” the words just came pouring out of her mouth, finally having an opportunity to fully process and express her feelings. Nat ran a hand through her messy curls before admitting, “I felt like he couldn’t care less how I was doing.”

“Did you tell him that?” Eric tried to prod as he looked right into her eyes. 

“Yeah,” she shrugged. But Nat knew it didn’t seem to matter because even when she had told him, he had been less than understanding, but in an attempt to give her father a whole picture of the situation she filled him in that, “He just said trying to fix it was because he cared about me.”

“I’m sure he was,” Eric nodded. 

“I get people don’t always react the best in the moment. I know I wasn’t thinking the most clearly but I…” Nat had to stop for a moment to swallow the lump in her throat, going on with, “I told him I just needed time to think and he basically called off coming back to LA and said he’ll maybe see me later which felt like a big fuck you.”

When Nat saw the way her dad’s eyes arched in sympathy, she knew that it probably wasn’t good and it only caused the knot in her stomach to tighten. The tears filling her eyes just didn’t seem to stop and when Alex came walking into the room, she knew that her sister saw them by the way she stopped short. Nat didn’t say a word as Alex walked over, just putting an arm around her and giving her a soft squeeze before saying, “You left your phone outside and it was ringing.” 

And with that and a soft kiss on the top of her head, Alex left the pair the way they were a minute ago as they sat in the soft light of the kitchen. Nat tapped on the screen and instantly felt her heart drop when she saw that name on her screen, and her father must have known too based on the way he asked, “Is it Chris?” 

“Yeah… he um, left me a voicemail,” she whispered, eyes frozen on her phone, thumb hovering anxiously between the play and delete buttons. 

Eric was quiet, nodding more to himself than to Nat as he took a sip from the glass of water resting on the table next to him. “Maybe you should listen to it,” he finally suggested. 

Part of Nat didn’t want to. She was afraid of what might be waiting for her on the other end of the line. She should have known from day one that there was no way any of this… this connection they seemed to have would go anywhere but then somehow it seemed to. Nat had tricked herself into believing it all would somehow be okay until that bubble was popped yesterday. She got hit with the reminder that this couldn’t be and somehow it felt like it would be easier if it could just slip away, but it looked like she wasn’t going to get out of it without hearing what he decided she needed to hear. 

With a shaky hand, she turned the volume up and clicked play, hearing that husky voice of his start talking, “Hey…. It's me. Nat, I’ve been such an idiot. I handled all of this like shit and I just want to tell you how sorry I am. I couldn’t believe how much this blew up and I knew it wouldn’t be anything you were prepared for so I think I just wanted to solve it and have a plan to make it all better, but in doing that, I missed out on the most important thing which is you.” Nat kept listening to the voicemail as the line paused for a minute, hearing his soft sigh before he continued, “I kind of um, wanted to be able to say this right to you, but I get you need space and I respect that. I just want you to know that I’m sorry, Nattie. I’m so, so, sorry.” 

She was quiet as she listened to his last deep breath before he had hung up, tears freely falling from her eyes as she processed what had just been said. She almost forgot that her father was sitting just across the table from her until he tilted his head, looking at her in concern as he whispered, “Nattie…”

“Dad, what am I going to do? How do I figure any of this out?” Nat’s voice crackled as she practically begged him for any answers. “This is not anything I thought I’d ever have to deal with.”

“Times like this I wish your mom was here,” her dad’s voice was soft as he lightly shook his head, remembering, “She always knew what to say.”

“I just don’t know what I should do…” 

“Nattie, I don’t know that I’m always the wisest person or have all the right answers,” she could see just how uneasy her dad was, knowing that he was doing everything in his power to be there for Nat in the way she needed in this moment. 

“I’d really like to know what you think, Dad,” Nat insisted, knowing that Eric was never one to tell anyone what to do, but she needed his guidance, explaining, “I’m so confused.”

Eric reached out, taking Nat’s hand again and squeezing it softly as he gave her a sad smile. “All I know Nattie is that you get that sparkle in your eye when you talk about him. And that from even just those few moments when he came while we were having lunch in California, I could tell by the way he looked at you just how deeply he cared for you,” he told her, and Nat let out a deep breath as she realized she agreed with him. Chris did care for her, hell she cared for him more than she thought was ever possible, but she also had never been here before, never had to consider anything more than updating her Facebook status as a relationship grew and changed. 

“I know he does… I know he means what he said in that voicemail,” Nat knew there was no way she could deny that what Chris had expressed to her was anything less than authentic. But she finally gave voice to her underlying fears, “I just don’t know if it’s enough… if I can deal with everything that comes with him and his life.”

“I don’t have an answer to that, honey,” Eric was honest, a hand motioning vaguely in the air before he told her, “But I think you’re in too deep for him not to find out for sure.”

“… I’m really crazy about him, dad,” the emotions inside of Nat feeling so heavy and deep, knowing that what she felt for Chris wasn’t something she’d be able to walk away from so easily and admitted, “I don’t want things to slip away as easy as they seemed to on the phone when we talked.”

“Give him a call, Nattie.”

“I don’t know… it’s late… he’s probably asleep,” Nat muttered, knowing that he might not even be up yet, or could be in the middle of filming, but more so finding an excuse to shield her feelings from any further damage. 

“Just call him,” Eric murmured again, a sideways grin on his face as he nodded resolutely. “Trust me.”

She felt him give her hand a soft squeeze before Nat nodded, silently agreeing before she used the sleeve of her sweatshirt to wipe away her tears. Eric pulled Nat in for a long hug before they were interrupted by her elder sisters coming in with both their husbands behind them, carrying in the last few things from outside and filling the kitchen with their loud chatter. While the chaos was happening as everyone filled the kitchen, Nat was the only one who saw the little wink Eric gave her, encouraging Nat to slip out of the kitchen unnoticed and walk up the stairs and down to the end of the long hallway where her childhood room still was. 

Nat closed the door behind her before going to sit on the full-size bed, hearing the soft creak as she put her weight on it. She just sat there for a long moment, staring at the phone in her hands as she wondered what she should do… What should she say? Maybe this was something that should wait, she thought to herself. Nat’s brain kept filtering through every excuse in the book before impulsively hitting the call button. 

It only rang a few times, enough that she was sure it’d go to voicemail and she’d be spared from having to face him, but soon his gruff, sleepy voice answered, “Nattie?” 

“Shit, you were sleeping weren’t you?” She swore, frowning as she shut her eyes. Nat kicked off her flip flops, moving her legs onto the bed and leaned her back against the pale yellow wall. “I knew I shouldn’t have called.” 

But his voice sounded much more awake than it had only a few seconds ago when he explained, “No, no. I was just dozing.” 

Nat nodded to herself, staring down at the worn quilt as she picked at a loose thread on it restlessly. “I just wanted to call you and tell you that I’m sorry,” she finally whispered, pausing for a moment as she felt unable to help but listen to every sound that left his lips, no matter how small. “I’m really sorry, Chris.” 

“Are you kidding me? What do you have to apologize for?” He asked, his voice quiet but incredulous. “I was the one who was an ass, Nattie.” 

She frowned, listening to him but insisting, “I don’t feel like I handled any of this well at all.” 

“Why should you? You were blindsided and not at all equipped for any of this,” he explained, and Nat felt relieved that he finally saw how she’d been feeling throughout all of this. “And instead of helping, I just made everything fuckin’ worse and I can’t tell you how sorry I am for that.” 

Tears filled her eyes as relief flooded her, and it was then that she knew that they’d make it out of this, out of this nightmare that’d been consuming them. It wasn’t something she’d ever entertained happening – them pushing through it together – because it just seemed so final and absolute, the way they’d left things, but they’d come together and began picking up the pieces as a pair instead of broken individuals. “...I’m just scared and I miss you,” she admitted, her voice cracking as tears slipped down her cheeks.  

“I miss you too, I’m so sorry baby,” his voice was low and tender and Nat could almost see him shaking his head before he told her, “I wish I could make it up to you.” 

“Your apology was more than enough,” she told him, shaking her head to herself as she listened to the sound of him breathing, aching to be there next to him. “But… you could still take me out to dinner when you come back if you’re available.” 

Chris’ voice was stronger, no room for question as he told her, “When I come back from Europe, I’m spending a couple days at home to shake off the jet lag and get Dodger, and then I’m flying straight out to see you.” 

She bit her lip as a smile spread across her face, feeling some butterflies in her stomach as she whispered, “I think that sounds really good.” 

“I do too, Nattie,” he whispered back, a smile evident in his own voice before he yawned. “I’ll see you soon.” 

Even as the call ended, the smile that was on her lips stayed put as she realized that she would - finally - see him soon. That mental countdown she’d had for a month now was moving closer and closer to the end with every passing moment, and she fell asleep with a smile on her face as she thought about tomorrow, about her niece Ella’s birthday party, but also about how she’d be one day closer to being back in his arms again. 

A/N: We hope this made up for everything! We can't wait to hear what you all think! Please feel free to send in an ask or leave a comment!

[gonzalo-obes]

IMAGENES Y DATOS INTERESANTES DEL DIA 25 DE JULIO DE 2024

Día Mundial para la Prevención de los Ahogamientos, Día Internacional de la Mujer Afrodescendiente, Año Internacional de los Camélidos.

Santa Valentina, Santa Glosinda, San Cristóbal y Santiago Apostol.

Tal día como hoy en el año 2018

Un grupo de científicos italianos anuncian que el radar instalado en la sonda espacial europea Mars Express ha detectado, después de muchos años de búsqueda, un gran lago de agua salada bajo la superficie del polo sur de Marte, reabriendo el debate sobre la posibilidad de existencia de vida bajo el subsuelo del planeta rojo. (Hace 6 años)

2000

El avión supersónico de pasajeros anglo-francés Concorde, de la compañía Air France, se estrella pocos minutos después de despegar del aeropuerto Roissy Charles de Gaulle de París (Francia), sobre el hotel Relais Bleu en la localidad de Gonesse, a 17 km al norte de París, poco antes de las 17:00 hora local (15:00 GMT), causando la muerte de las 109 personas que van bordo y de cuatro personas en tierra. La aeronave ha caído en picado al suelo después de que uno de los motores del ala izquierda se incendiara durante el despegue. Este accidente será el principio del fin de este polémico avión, que realizará su último vuelo el 23 de octubre de 2003. (Hace 24 años)

1992

Con la presencia de 169 países y 9.367 deportistas, se inauguran en Barcelona (España) las XXII Olimpiadas de la Era Moderna. Se clausurarán el 9 de agosto. (Hace 32 años)

1943

En Italia, el rey Víctor Manuel III declara ilegal el Gobierno fascista y Mussolini es arrestado por la policía tras 21 años de dictadura. Con la excusa de liberarlo, Alemania invadirá Italia. (Hace 81 años)

1909

Louis Bleriot, francés, gana las 1.000 libras que ofrece el diario británico Daily Mail al atravesar en aeroplano el Canal de la Mancha en un vuelo de 37 minutos de duración. (Hace 115 años)

1814

Cerca de las cataratas del Niágara (EE.UU.), tropas británicas comandadas por el general Phineas Riall frustran una invasión de Canadá por una fuerza de EE.UU., dirigida por el general Jacob Brown, en la Batalla de Lundy's Lane, durante la Guerra de 1812. (Hace 210 años)

1814

George Stephenson, ingeniero inglés, pone en marcha su primera locomotora a vapor, inventada para circular sobre carriles de hierro. (Hace 210 años)

1567

El español Diego de Losada funda la ciudad de Caracas (Venezuela). (Hace 457 años)

1537

Aunque en 1534 y 1535 Sebastián de Belalcázar, en su expedición hacia el norte, fundó la ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil, que será quemada y refundada en dos ocasiones, no es hasta el día de hoy con su refundación y cambio de emplazamiento cuando la ciudad, pensada como astillero y puerto comercial al servicio de la Corona española, comienza a tomar auge. (Hace 487 años)

1524

En la actual Guatemala, en un paraje cercano a Iximché, el español Don Pedro de Alvarado y Contreras, funda la bonita ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala. En 1979 será designada Patrimonio cultural de la Humanidad por la Unesco. (Hace 500 años)

1139

El condado de Portugal, hasta ahora dependiente del reino de Castilla y León regido por Alfonso VII, se convierte en reino al resultar proclamado por sus tropas rey de Portugal el conde Alfonso I, tras haber vencido a los árabes en Ourique. En 1143 se firmará el tratado de Zamora entre este reino y Castilla, reconociendo de hecho la independencia potuguesa y marcando el límite territorial entre ambos territorios. (Hace 885 años)

306

Al morir en el día de hoy en Eboracum (actual York en Inglaterra) el emperador del Imperio Romano de Occidente Gayo Flavio Valerio Constancio durante una expedición contra los pictos y escotos, su hijo Constantino I es proclamado augusto (emperador) por sus tropas tal como su padre ha recomendado a su ejército en su lecho de muerte. El reinado de Constantino será transcendental para occidente por su conversión al cristianismo en 313. (Hace 1718 años)

[tintinology]

With the Spielberg/Jackson sequel becoming less and less likely to ever happen, here's a look at another Tintin movie we could one day have if Moulinsart stops being such a little bitch

English translation under the cut:

The Castafiore Emerald: Patrice Leconte dreams of a "slightly artsy" film in the style of Wes Anderson

In 2020, we learned that the director of Les Bronzés wanted to adapt Tintin to the cinema. More precisely: The Castafiore Emerald. Patrice Leconte swore he had already chosen the interpreters of the singer and Captain Haddock, but very quickly, the question of adaptation rights posed a problem, and the filmmaker finally directed Maigret with Gérard Depardieu.

Just as he releases a book devoted to the Belgian investigator published by Moulinsart Casterman, entitled Tintin de A à Z [Tintin from A to Z] (which takes elements from the famous cover of Emerald as can be seen above), he gives an update on this film, which he still intends to shoot.

"The Castafiore Emerald film project is not completely down the drain, but it's so complicated, what with the rights issues with Paramount and Moulinsart," deplores the filmmaker, relayed by BFMTV [a French national television channel]. "Maybe to calm my impatience, Moulinsart offered me this Tintin primer. They gave me carte blanche."

He then justifies his choice of the only Hergé comic strip taking place entirely at Marlinspike Hall ("I dream of making an adventure film without adventure") and specifies that he already has "the whole film in mind". Quoting the works of Wes Anderson (whose universe sometimes openly refers to the work of Hergé, notably in The Grand Budapest Hotel, where some shots seemed to be taken from his comics), Leconte speaks of a "slightly artsy film": "I will not take the album in my left hand and the camera in my right hand, but I will try to respect everything that the album visually communicates: the fabrics of the Castafiore's outfits, the step that is missing a chunk of marble... I really believe that we can make a film in a ligne claire style [...] We can allow ourselves liberties if they are in the spirit of comics, but otherwise it will be extremely faithful. I want it to be very close in terms of frames, colours, flat tints, absence of shadow."

On the casting side, if he had mentioned actors in 2020 (without quoting them), he no longer talks about them here, simply explaining that he will undoubtedly bet on an unknown actor for the title role: "What will amuse me when I shoot, it's to only have known actors for lines like ‘Hello, is this Mr. Cutts, the butcher?' and that the only unknown actor is Tintin. But I don’t see any known twenty-year-old actors who look like Tintin. I prefer to do a complete casting to find a Tintin." As for Snowy, he assured three years ago: "We will take any pooch, that won’t be a problem."

While he has "the whole film in mind", Patrice Leconte has not yet written his screenplay. He specifies that he wants to team up again with his accomplice Jérôme Tonnerre (Mon meilleur ami, Confidences trop intimes, etc.), but adds in the process: "We are not going to spend three months of our life writing a screenplay if the film never ends up being made. I don't want to get too involved. You can't live too long with fierce hope, because afterwards you can only be disappointed." Finding the process of adapting Tintin "too long", he concludes by saying that he won't do it after his 77th birthday (to respect the saying that Tintin is aimed at readers aged 7 to 77?): "I said that I only had a year and a half left to make the film, because I'm going to be 77, the age limit for enjoying Tintin. It was an irrefutable argument, but it didn't bother them too much."

Finally, evoking all of Hergé's comics in Tintin de A à Z, he proclaims his admiration for the adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg in 2011, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn: "It's the best adaptation of Tintin. Pure Hergé and pure Spielberg. He understood everything. He managed to translate without betraying. I really enjoyed it."

[thepastisalreadywritten]

25 July 2024

The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games will see competitors parade on boats along the River Seine through central Paris on Friday.

An unprecedented security operation is in place, with organisers also facing challenges over the cleanliness of the Seine, costs and the environmental impact of the Games.

When are the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games?

The summer Olympics run from 26 July to 11 August, with 10,500 athletes competing in 329 events.

The Paralympics take place from 28 August to 8 September, featuring 4,400 athletes in 549 events.

There will be 206 countries represented at the Olympics, and 184 at the Paralympics.

Where will Olympic and Paralympic events take place?

The main athletics events will be at the Stade de France, on the northern outskirts of Paris.

There are also Olympic and Paralympic venues in the city centre.

The Pont d'Iena, for example, is hosting cycling events, while beach volleyball is at the Eiffel Tower and the marathon starts at the Hotel de Ville and ends at Les Invalides.

Is the Seine clean enough for swimming?

Open water swimming and triathlon events are due to take place in the Seine, more than 100 years after swimming in the river was banned.

Tests done in mid-June showed that levels of E. coli in the water were 10 times the acceptable level.

However, Games organisers hope July sunshine and measures like a rainwater storage basin will make it clean enough.

Ahead of the Games, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip to try to prove the river was safe.

How are France's security forces preparing for the Games?

The Games will be protected by the largest peacetime deployment of security forces in French history

Up to 75,000 police, soldiers and hired guards will be on patrol in Paris at any one time to guard venues and events.

The use of the Seine for the opening ceremony, with crowds watching the parade from the banks, is a first for the modern Olympics.

The original plan was to give free tickets to 600,000 members of the public to watch from the river's banks.

However, the government was worried about potential threats such as a drone attack, and spectator numbers were scaled back to 326,000.

More than 220,000 of those will be invited guests and 104,000 will be members of the public who have bought tickets.

Some 44,000 barriers have been erected, with QR codes for residents and others seeking access to the river Seine and its islands.

Many of the barriers will be removed after the opening ceremony.

Intelligence services uncovered two plots against the country by suspected Islamic militants in early 2024.

In May, a man was detained on suspicion of planning an attack on the torch relay in Bordeaux, and another man was arrested in southern France over a plan to attack an Olympic football venue.

How much are the Games costing?

The cost of this year's Games is estimated to be about 9bn euros (£7.6bn), less than any of the previous four Games — in Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, London, and Beijing.

Much of the funding is coming from private companies, as well as sales of tickets and broadcasting rights.

The government's official auditors have said it may have to pay between 3bn and 5bn euros (£2.5bn and £4.2bn) for costs such as policing.

Are the Games environmentally friendly?

The organising committee of Paris 2024 has promised to make it the greenest Games in Olympic history, with half the carbon footprint of London 2012 and Rio 2016.

The Games will be held in the same city where, in 2015, world leaders agreed to try to prevent global temperatures rising by more than 1.5C.

About 95% of the Olympic and Paralympic sites are either existing structures or temporary ones.

The organisers say they are using as much recycled material as they can — including recycled cardboard beds for athletes — and trying to minimise carbon emissions.

However, it has been reported that thousands of air-conditioning units have been ordered for Olympic Village rooms by some national teams.

Are the Games pushing up prices in Paris?

Millions of visitors are expected in Paris during the Games, with ticket holders expected to spend an estimated 2.6bn euros (£2.2bn).

Hoteliers in Paris pushed up their rates, in many cases doubling them or more, in anticipation of a big rise in demand.

But there have been reports that many hotels have had unexpectedly low sales.

Bus and metro fares are also doubling in the capital during the Games.

In January, the Louvre art gallery put up its entrance fees by almost 30%.

[ggsworldstory]

Chapter 2 Act 5: Hotel Havoc

With GG’s latest plan having been a success (somewhat), the search for the rest of the rogue’s gallery and to clear Terry’s name was on harder than ever and with a simple description of their next target, He knew just where to go

“Well, I’ll hand it to you” Terry said “this is the most obvious choice” as the duo stepped into the borders of Guatemala city,

"Now, let’s get going!" GG shouted aloud as the duo began to wander about the place

Unfortunately, they didn't notice a row skulls lined up on one of the shop's display, most were decorative, but one was listening, it's eyes glowed as it hopped to a walkie-talkie and relayed the information it heard to the person on the other side

atop a high building,the sombrero and mask wearing Bounty hunter, Emelia Esqueleto was staking out the city, when she suddenly heard a chattering of teeth over her walkie-talkie 

"Dios mio!" She responded to the Skull's warning "Wally was right, and that's a first, they really are after us!" With another bout of chatter, the skull responded "not to worry, I have a plan…" 

"How will they understand you? Just keep your walkie talkie discreet and I'll do the talking"

"No, Hierba won't recognize my voice, i'll make sure to use a filter"

"How I can understand you? por el amor de Dios, you're always such a nitpicker, Jeremy"

Meanwhile, they duo searched and searched hard

They searched the streets, the parks, on the bridges, below the bridges, in the restaurants (after eating in them), they left not one stone, rock, or pebble unturned!

By the end of their search, night had fallen

"Geez, we must've looked through at least half this country" GG remarked in exhaustion 

"What?" Terry replied "no, we've only done this one city"

"Oh, well we'd best get going with the rest"

"You're joking, look at you, you're clearly exhausted!" 

"Nonsense, I could do this all day!"

"You did!"

"AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN!"

"No, we’re gonna get a hotel before you nod off on the concrete” Terry said as he began dragging GG around, trying to find someplace to stay, when suddenly the duo were approached by a hooded figure

“Hola! I couldn’t help but overhear you on the lookout for a place to stay, why not check in to ‘No es una trampa casa’?” they enthusiastically announced “We’re sure you’ll enjoy our luxuries, especially considering we’re the only hotel open for miles!”

The figure said this while giving a deathly glare to another hotel manager across the street, prompting them to back away from turning the ‘closed’ sign over

“So what d’ya say?”

“Sure” Terry said without hesitation as the figure led the two inside, they walked through the resort’s many corridors, it was packed with various restaurants, gift shops, even an exotic chocolate shop

Soon enough, they found themselves to their room, “well, sleep tight!” the figure said, closing the door

With a yawn, GG announced “Y’know, I said I wanted to keep searching, but seeing that soft bed simply calling my name, I gotta admit-”

“We can’t sleep” Terry retorted

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE CAN’T”

“C’mon, you think I didn’t see through that crappy disguise? I could easily see the skull through that hood”

“Oh, right, disguise… that means they're here somewhere! Ugh, I’m so tired though, lemme just get some- where’s the coffee? DID THEY TAKE THE COFFEE POT!?”

“Don’t worry, there’s gotta be some more somewhere, you pick yourself up, then we’ll meet up”

“Alright, sounds like a plan”

“Oh and be careful, Emelia’s Skeletons are bound to be all over”

“Yeah, sure, skeletons… WAIT, WHAT!?” 

GG’s shock wouldn’t be answered as Terry left the room, to begin his search

Meanwhile, watching through the eyes of the room’s painting, Emelia saw the two leave the room “They’re still on to us, but they’ve split up, it’s now or never” she said as she strummed her guitar, prompting one of her skeletal allies to hand her her signature weapon, a shining, sharp rapier

GG, meanwhile groggily meandered about the resort, looking for something to wake him up, until he remembered something that made his eyes light up

“S’pose I got time to check out that chocolate shop” he thought out loud, rubbing his hands together, excitedly

A few of Emelia’s skeletons caught wind of the boy’s remarks and snuck out to the back of the shop to prepare for an ambush, just as GG entered through the front

The boy begun to parooze the shelves, marveling at the sheer variety of chocolate in one place, one in particular caught his eye

“Chocolate covered coffee beans? Sweet, kill two birds with one stone!” 

The skeletons tried to sneak up from around the corner, only to quickly hide back as GG looked over his shoulder, though he only did so to check if any staff were watching him, “hmm, seems pretty empty… guess I could sneak a quick taste test” GG said as he licked his lips and peeled back the candy’s wrapper, seeing as he was distracted, the skeletons once more continued their pursuit, one taking his left and the other his right, they got close enough and readied themselves to strike!

Then GG took a bite, any grogginess in his eyes vanished instantly, he had such a spike in energy, he couldn’t help but throw back his arms with a loud “Woo!” unknowingly knocking out the skeletons behind him, turning his head and seeing the boney foes he’d just taken out, he suddenly remembered, “Right, Terry!” he then froze, having heard yet more skeletal clatter, turning around to see the skeletons had reassembled themselves, “hey…” GG fearfully murmured as he attempted to back away, “why don’t we settle this over some… Pocket ash!” as he threw out his hand and launched a blast of smoke and ash, right into the skeleton’s eyes!

Or, lack thereof, seeing as how neither so much as flinched at GG’s attack

GG saw his plan wasn’t going to work, quickly pocketed a handful of beans and dashed off to look for his partner

Terry meanwhile, was vigilant as ever as he searched the resort, “Emelia! Emelia, where are you!?” he cried out, constantly checking over his shoulder, soon he heard a subtle strum of a guitar, suddenly a horde of skeletons surrounded Terry and rushed to ambush him! But Terry quickly jet-packed high up, the skeletons all crashed into one another with their remains scattered all over the floor

“Show yourself, I know all your tricks!” Terry exclaimed

“Well that’s the thing, hierba” Emelia announced before quickly descending from her hiding spot on the ceiling and puncturing his fuel tank with her sword and with a few quick strums of her guitar, the scattered bones on the floor came together, forming a skeletal cage around the cowboy, “I’m always getting new ones” Terry tried to reach into his pack’s storage, but it was empty!

“Looking for this?” Emelia asked mockingly, holding a second guitar from the music shop, before she smashed it on the ground

 “I’m telling you, I’m innocent!”

“And why should I believe you?”

“Why do you believe him!?”

“The Director may be a mierda leader, but what happened that day was undeniable,and if you think you or your little accomplice are going to walk out scott-free, you’re dead wrong. Speaking of which, where is- ”

“Terry!” GG yelped as he stood at the end of the corridor

“Ah, how convenient, you must be the sidekick I’ve heard so much about”

“Sidekick?! Oh, you’re lucky I can’t kill you”

“Well unfortunately I can’t either, will you be doing this the easy way or the hard way?”

“Yeah, are you gonna tell me what you know about Terry’s framing, or am I gonna have to pound you into a tamale?”

“Hmmph, the hard way it is…” Emelia proceeded to grab her extra sword and toss it right by GG’s feet, “pick it up” she said

“You’re… giving me a weapon?”

“I’m not above a fair fight, pequeño”

“Huh, well I am!” GG shouted as he charged quickly with a lightning dash, intending to catch her by surprise by running and slashing her as quick as possible, but to his shock, Emelia’s sword instantly blocked GG’s attempted blow “no, I don’t think you are” she retorted as she knocked GG back onto the ground, GG quickly jumped back up and wildly flailed his sword at Emelia, but she clashed back at every last slash with little effort, no matter what he tried, until GG started feeling winded

“Had enough, little toppat?” Emelia snickered, approaching the boy

“No…” GG said between tired breaths, “I got one more trick up my sleeve…" he announced before taking a pause, much to Emelia’s anticipation

Then he proceeded to run away, but the skeleton’s quickly reacted and swarmed the boy, he tried to fight back with his flames, but no matter what, they would always quickly reform

“GG!” Terry yelled, “You just need a g-” he tried to speak was interrupted as one of the skeleton’s arms covered his mouth

With this knowledge (or lack thereof), GG ran as fast as he could, as he broke out of the swarm “ok, ok” he thought to himself “what was he gonna say? g… g…” he continually tried to figure it out as the horde of skeletons chased him,while they couldn’t quite keep up with him, they’d toss their various limbs at the boy with shocking accuracy,  until he passed by the resort’s bakery and read one of the signs “galletas, that’s it!” he yelped as he ran in and grabbed every galleta his arms could carry before jumping out and throwing them at the army like ninja stars!

He kept throwing and throwing until he realized, this wasn’t working and the only reason Emelia and her army were not charging was because they were in shock at his sheer stupidity

And with a few strums at her guitar, the chase was back on track as GG would repeatedly make pit stops to throw whatever he could think of at them, globes, guacamole, gatos (well porcelain ones anyway) but nothing worked

Soon enough, the chase lead the two parties inside a music store “nowhere to run now!” Emelia arrogantly cried as GG was backed into a corner, his hands thrown back in fear, the skeletons stepping steadily forward, his back against the wall, his arms flailing rapidly in fear

Until, by accident, he strummed one of the guitars hung on the wall, the skeletons lurched back at the sound, GG stood, confused as to what just happened, quickly, Emelia gave a couple more strums and they charged again

GG once more took a pluck of the instrument’s strings and they flinched backwards once more, he figured it out, a smile spread across his face as he grabbed the guitar off the wall and strummed like no tomorrow! It didn’t sound anything like what a sane person would call music, but that didn’t matter as the skeletons were repelled by the sounds, Emelia saw this and jumped into action, rushing at GG with her sword, the boy quickly dashed away, hopping to and fro as he plucked and strummed all across the shop, soon Emelia stopped and once more began to play her guitar, her strums getting stronger, tempo faster, music louder and slowly the skeletons had begun to overpower the influence of GG’s relentless plucking, it seemed he was placed back in the same position he was before

But then, he reached into his pockets, and chowed down on the chocolate covered coffee beans he had been saving, instantly his energy spiked as he used his electricity to amp up his guitar playing,but Emelia was not ready to give up, holding and playing her guitar in one hand and grabbing her sword in the other, she once more charged at the toppat, GG followed suit and they slashed once more

Emelia was shocked to find her guitar’s strings were all slashed and her sword was reduced to just a hilt! She turned back to GG to find him with a smug face, still strumming as he blew out the flame at his fingertip, and unleashing another round of pocket ash into her eyes!

At this moment, she couldn’t see, she could only hear the music get closer and closer as GG approached, then her sight returned and she found GG, standing in front of her and then he hit her over the head with his guitar!

By the time Emelia came to, she was tied up, Terry was free and her army was gone “have a good sleep?” GG asked “now, answers”

“Fine, you want the truth? I’ll tell you, on that day, I was walking down the hall when I heard a loud bang, it still rings in my ears to this day and when I went to check, our leader’s body was lifeless on the floor, next to HIS smoking revolver!”

“That could’ve been anyone using it!” GG retorted

“Hmmph, a likely story,” Emelia scowled,turning to Terry “you snapped, didn’t you, got tired of being the little runt and decided to take to the top by force? Well guess what, you can kill all you want, you can try to run from every last one of your problems, but you’ll always be nothing more than a pequeño hierba!”

At that moment, she reached from behind, giving a little strum to a guitar behind her. All of a sudden a cavalcade of skeletal hands reached from the ground, dragging her through the dirt to make her mistake. GG ran and tried to grab her, but it was too late…

“Dammit!” GG yelled before sighing in disappointment and turning to the cowboy “Terry, be honest with me?” 

“About what?”

“Are you sure the rogues ever really cared about you…?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know, all this talk of them hating you, barely hesitating to put the blame on you with barely any evidence, it’s just all a buncha bad signs to me…”

“Look, I know it’s a lot, but there were… some good times, if I could just clear my name… look, it’ll be fine, alright? For now, let’s get some sleep, you must be real tired”

“yeah…I guess”

And so, the duo returned to the room to doze off, in GG’s mind, doubts may have floated about his brain, but for the sake of Terry, he’d stay optimistic to the very end!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[End of Act 5]~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[Epilogue]

“Yes yes, I couldn’t ask for a better backstage!” The director shouted as he shoved the trio of Lights, Camera, and action out of their meeting hall

Seeing another of their ideas be dismissed without hesitation, Lights started to droop their head down 

“Hey, hey!” Action intervened “What we’ve gots is great! So what if that bozo doesn’t wanna listen, once it’s done they’re gonna have their socks rocked off!”

At that moment, both Lights and Camera instantly perked up, much to Action’s delight

“Yeah, that's what I loves to see! Now, what’s the next step? Action announced, turning back to Lights, who responded simply by holding a finger up

“Ah, need some time to think? Take ya time, buddy!” Lights gave a thumbs up as they retreated to their room and opened their laptop, opening their email and sent out a message, within minutes they received a reply

“Sounds to me, you’ve got all your materials in order, you just gotta put 'em’ together, trust me, you stick with it and you and your little menagerie will be on top in no time!”

After reading this, Lights closed his Laptop and returned to the group

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next

Previous

[aloneinstitute]

🇫🇷10 cafés/restaurantes em St Germain 🇫🇷

Já salva para não esquecer:

1) Bar Josephine (lindíssimo) e Brasserie Lutetia (deliciosa) dentro do hotel 5 estrelas.

2) Cafe de Flore - Desde 1887, frequentado pelo escritor Hemingway, a romancista Zelda Fitzgerald, entre outros.

3) Les Deux Magots - Muito importante para a vida cultural de Paris, já que foi ponto de encontro de artistas e intelectuais, como Sartre e Pablo Picasso.

4) Le Relais de L’Entrecôte - O tradicional restaurante parisiense, fundado em 1959, que serve apenas um prato: o entrecôte com batatas fritas.

5) Cafe Bonaparte - típico de bairro onde você sente o espírito parisiense.

6) Vagenende - Brasserie inaugurada em 1902, renovada mas ainda classificada como Monumento Histórico.

7) Brasserie Lipp - O ambiente tem decoração no estilo Art Nouveau, com azulejos de cerâmica na parede, enquanto os tetos foram pintados por Charly Garrey.

8) Le Comptoir; L’ Avant Comptoir e Comptoir de la Mer, 3 casas do grupo do chef Yves Camdborde, com excelente gastronomia.

9) Cafe les Éditeurs - Com ambiente elegante e acolhedor em dois andares, o salão tem decoração clássica com cadeiras vermelhas, muita madeira e lustres imponentes.

10) Ralph’s - simpático restô dentro da elegante loja Ralph Lauren.

E aí, já foi em quais? O que faltou nesta lista?

#restaurantesparis #gastronomiafrancesa #gastronomiaparis #restaurantesstgermain #saintgermaindespres #YMGemParis

[visaforfrance]

Find out the best places to stay in Paris

Introduction

This year's 2024 Olympics made Paris a global spotlight in the whole world. But did you know that there are a lot of other attractions like the palace of Versailles to the famous river, and Paris itself being the city of lovers, it has many things to cater the needs of everyone. The city is always alive with the bright light of the Eiffel Tower, great food and has a great history. 

All these things make Paris one of the most popular destinations where sometimes you feel like staying for a long time. But finding the best places to stay in Paris whether it's suited for family, couples or solo travelers can be a daunting task. So get your France Visa and pack your bags as you will feel like leaving for Paris after reading the post.  

Hence today in this pose we will be discussing the best places to stay in Paris. 

How to travel around in Paris

Paris has a lot of transport options to navigate around. There are more than 300 railway stations with 16 best metro lines. You can even use the trams and buses to go around the city. Although most of the people prefer walking on the cobblestone streets. Remember that only a few of the Paris metro stations are accessible due to their location. If you are traveling with children or a large family it would be best to take the advantage of bus or tram. 

Best location to stay in Paris for families

It is estimated that around 30 million tourists come to visit Paris along with their families. If you are planning to be one of them then make sure to plan out your transportation options and the itinerary. For example it will be easier to take the RER A train from Central Paris to the Chatelet station to reach Disneyland. 

Hence we would recommend the 8th arrondissement area for families as you will be right at the center of the city having the main attraction in the walking distance. The streets are large enough to take your kids on a stroller. If you want to take a mid day nap, there are plenty of rooms available. 

You can choose either Hotel Park Lane Paris or Hotel Litteraire le Swann. Both the places offer a family friendly and child friendly services in the area of 8th arrondissement, thus best places to stay in Paris. 

Best places to stay in Paris for couples

Everybody knows that Paris is the city of Lovers. If you are up for a birthday, honeymoon or anniversary celebration , there are around a thousand hotels which can capture the city’s romantic nature. There is a small town with bars and restaurants on the cobbled streets called Montmartre. It even has its own vineyard and a perfect place for couples to relax together. 

You can even choose Le Relais Montmartre which is right next to Moulin Rouge. A fine place for couples to walk and immerse in the streets and to increase the feeling of love. If you are looking for a long stay , you can choose the Montmartre Residence.

And lastly you can book a dinner on cruise on the Seine, or on the Eiffel tower or on the observation deck at Montparnasse Tower, thus confirming the best places to stay in Paris. 

Best places to stay in Paris for solo travelers

Traveling alone? Don't worry in Paris you will never feel alone. The city is full of museums, theaters and restaurants which mean there is always some activity to perform. But it’s very expensive to stay in Parin being a solo traveler. 

In this case hostel rooms can be preferred instead of hotels. However if you have a bigger budget and you are old , then the Saint-Germain-des-Pres area is the nicest part of Paris. You will absolutely move away from the rush of the city with its small cafes and beautiful buildings. The famous attraction The Arc de Triomphe is near to this place.

Then we have Hotel Artus which is also walking distance from the main attractions such as the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Champs Elysees. You can even choose Hotel Apolonia Pairs Montmartre which is one of the best places to stay in Paris. 

Get some professional assistance on how to book a France Visa Appointment in London

So are you ready to experience the best places to stay in Paris? In order to do that, you will have to get the France Visa from the UK first. If you are traveling to this country for the first time, being a UK resident, you might need some professional assistance to prepare your documents for filing the France Visa application.  We provide complete and clear guidance on obtaining a France Visa from the UK and manage the immediate Visa appointment from start to finish for a nominal service charge. 

All you have to do is visit our website, fill out the France Visa UK form with all your details, and complete the online payment to reserve your express appointment slot at the Visa Center. Then one of our advisors from the team will get back to you. 

Conclusion

Hence we can conclude that Paris has a wide range of neighborhoods and accommodation , each with its unique character and properties. Choosing the right neighborhood or place to stay can greatly enhance your experience, which will allow you to completely immerse yourself in the city’s actual culture and atmosphere. So take your time to find the right accommodation that suits your needs and preferences. So what are you waiting to get your France Visa now to experience the magic city of Light. 

[hotelbooking]

Hotel Le Relais de Poste Arles Centre Historique A former coaching inn from the 18th-century, Le Relais De Poste is a hotel located in central Arles. The main sites of the historic city are just a 3-minute walk away. Free WiFi is available throughout. It features guestrooms furnished in a Provençal style. All of them come with a TV and a direct dial phone. Some rooms have air conditioning. The central location of the Relais de Poste hotel also allows you to fully discover the city of Arles, its cultural attractions, museums and pedestrian areas.

[beach-buzios]

Como Escolher o Melhor Hotel em Búzios: Dicas e Recomendações

Escolher o hotel perfeito em Búzios pode transformar suas férias em uma experiência inesquecível. Com uma infinidade de opções, que vão desde luxuosos resorts à beira-mar até pousadas aconchegantes no centro da cidade, é importante considerar diversos fatores para garantir uma estadia confortável e agradável. Este guia oferece dicas valiosas e recomendações para ajudá-lo a encontrar a acomodação ideal em Búzios.

1. Considere a Localização

A localização do hotel é crucial para maximizar sua experiência em Búzios. Aqui estão algumas áreas populares:

Praia de Geribá: Ideal para surfistas e famílias, esta praia oferece uma vasta extensão de areia e diversas opções de restaurantes e bares.

Centro e Rua das Pedras: Se você prefere estar próximo da vida noturna e das principais atrações, opte por hotéis no centro de Búzios.

Praia da Ferradura: Conhecida por suas águas calmas, esta praia é perfeita para quem busca tranquilidade e opções de esportes aquáticos.

Praia João Fernandes: Famosa por suas águas cristalinas e ótimas opções de snorkel, esta área é ideal para casais e amantes da natureza​​.

2. Avalie as Comodidades Oferecidas

As comodidades disponíveis podem fazer uma grande diferença na qualidade da sua estadia. Aqui estão algumas a considerar:

Piscina: Muitos hotéis e pousadas em Búzios oferecem piscinas com vistas deslumbrantes do mar.

Wi-Fi gratuito: Essencial para quem precisa se manter conectado, seja por motivos de trabalho ou lazer.

Café da manhã incluído: Uma vantagem que pode economizar tempo e dinheiro durante sua estadia.

Spa e bem-estar: Muitos resorts oferecem tratamentos de spa para que você possa relaxar e se revitalizar durante as férias​​.

3. Leia Avaliações de Outros Hóspedes

Antes de fazer uma reserva, é altamente recomendável ler as avaliações de outros hóspedes. Sites como TripAdvisor e Google Reviews podem fornecer insights valiosos sobre a qualidade do serviço, limpeza, conforto e outras características importantes do hotel.

4. Verifique as Políticas do Hotel em Búzios

Cada hotel tem suas próprias políticas, que podem impactar sua estadia. Certifique-se de verificar:

Política de cancelamento: Saiba se o hotel oferece cancelamento gratuito e até quando.

Check-in e check-out: Verifique os horários para evitar surpresas.

Política de crianças e pets: Se você está viajando com crianças ou animais de estimação, assegure-se de que o hotel é adequado para suas necessidades​.

5. Compare Preços e Benefícios

Utilize sites de comparação de preços para garantir que você está obtendo o melhor valor. Além do preço, considere os benefícios adicionais que o hotel em Búzios pode oferecer, como traslados gratuitos, atividades recreativas e pacotes promocionais.

Recomendações de Hotéis em Búzios

Insólito Boutique Hotel & Spa: Localizado na Praia da Ferradura, oferece uma experiência de luxo com vistas panorâmicas do mar e um spa renomado​.

Casas Brancas Boutique Hotel & Spa: Situado na Orla Bardot, combina luxo e serviço excepcional com vistas deslumbrantes da Baía de Búzios​​.

Le Relais La Borie: Na Praia de Geribá, oferece hospitalidade francesa e uma experiência gastronômica refinada​.

Pousada Pedra da Laguna & Spa by L’Occitane: Próxima à Praia da Ferradura, esta pousada oferece um ambiente tranquilo e tratamentos de spa de alta qualidade​​.

Conclusão

Escolher o hotel perfeito em Búzios pode parecer desafiador, mas com estas dicas e recomendações, você estará bem preparado para fazer a melhor escolha. Considere suas preferências pessoais, leia avaliações, compare preços e aproveite todas as comodidades que Búzios tem a oferecer.

Pronto para reservar sua estadia? Confira mais opções de hospedagem e faça sua reserva no Beach Búzios. Garanta uma experiência inesquecível em um dos destinos mais encantadores do Brasil!

Leia mais: https://beachbuzios.com.br/postings/66708c15fd67ff991dc0b29e