Our TRADITIONAL lunch and dinner in Gannat on Xmas day are usually agitated and alcoholized! This year, only one asian was: Qin! The latter got into some drinking competition with my uncle and they drank till their faces got red! The game was only starting then when Willie got trapped by the (in)famous MOULIN and got his face covered with flour! Let's say French country-side still has a lot to show and to be proud of... or not! :) Oh, and for those two poor asian guys, we had snails AGAIN! :(

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(Korean to come)
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After having eaten such a huge meal the day before, it was necessary for our little dandies to stretch their legs and run in the fresh air on the next day! In Vichy, nature and parks is not what we lack... My mother, my Grandma and the three of us went for a walk with Champion. The latter ran a lot, so did Willie. But which of these two was the most tired? Let me tell you, that's not the hairy one...

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(Korean to come)
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The Big day has come and the presents are all gathered under the Xmas tree to make everyone happy for a whole new year! But before festivities start, there is a long preparation to go through and a long long meal to digest! Here is how it started for us:

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Amuse-Bouches & Moet Chandon
(brought by our special guest Qin Mama)
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Salmon Verine Covered with Caviar
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Foie Gras on Toasted Whole Wheat Bread & Onion Marmelade
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Snails in Shallot Sauce
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Scallops in their Marine Sauce
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Roasted Capon
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French Beans Bundle
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Cheese
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Frozen Desert

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After that came the presents and the dog was the first to get his! Everybody got surprises and more, some until the last minutes! Melodie got a computer, Thibaud got a trip to a ski resort, my father got a nice watch, my mother got a wrist chain and a Hermes bag, and our two guests were also well-treated by Xmas father! Here are some random pictures of that nice evening...
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(Korean to come)

After Clermont Ferrand, the second town we visited was Lyon. Being the second biggest city of France, Lyon still looks like a small village with nice architecture. There, we had lunch with Florence, an old friend of mine, with whom long ago I took a plane to Senegal to meet our dear Guillaume. She had presents to buy, so did we! We meandered the whole afternoon under sun and rain trying to find some exquisite gifts and sights from Lyon. We ended up frozen, drinking coffee in a small cafe, which clotured the nice day in her company.

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(Korean to come)

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Xmas is coming, Qin too! Two days before the final ceremony of presents, the well-known "Qin Mama" arrived in Vichy to spend a little family time because Xmas is famous for being a "Family Thing". After picking Qin up from the "Gare de Vichy", we had a coffee in the city center, we judged people who were passing by, and it started to rain so we had to head home. In the evening, Fredo, Catherine's best friend, who used to play football with her, came by to distribute the early arrived presents! Champion, the family dog, was sooo excited but he didnt get anything... That night was full of surprises and calories as we ate a "Raclette". It is a french traditional dish, supposed to be eaten in cold winters or in Ski resorts because it is good to warm your body up. It is a dish mainly constituted with ham, potatoes and melting cheese... Delicieux~

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(Korean to come)
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New week, new cities! Clermont Ferrand was our starter. In this city, most buildings were built using volcanoes' stones, including the massive cathedral, this is why they all look so dark! There we met WeiWei, a chinese student who stayed at Catherine & Thierry's place for more than 3 months. We had a coffee in the Pascal Bar, we went through the Xmas market, where I met an old friend of mine (Julien Decoudun) and shopped around the medieval city.
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(Korean to come)
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When you go countryside, you never go back! On that day, Willie, my Mum and myself went to Montpensier to check the farm and buy some fish for my father's tank, which was totally empty. Christmas was already in the air and Willie was getting excited! We had fun touching and taking pictures of animals and breathing the fresh smell of horse poop...

(korean to come)

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On Saturday, we ate a huge piece of beef for lunch and after that, Fredo visited us and got her Xmas present. In the afternoon, we walked around in Vichy and fixed the internet. Fredo ate my Cartier candy and at night, we decorated the Xmas tree! The latter fell down 20 min later... So, Melodie, Willie and myself decorated it once more but even better!

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(korean to come)

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For our first day in Vichy, we tried to keep it cool. After a little walk in the parks, originally built by Napoleon, we had a little evening at home, enjoying the family company and Melodie, who came to greet us! All gathered around the table for a Crepe Party, we played games till late, the snow keeping us in.

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(Korean to come)

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After having visited all the hot spots in Paris, we couldn't leave without seeing the Sacre Coeur. However, on that day, we woke up and the streets were covered with snow! This white coat suits so well the area of Montmartre. Though a little bit dangerous, we climbed the hill of Montmartre and went to visit the beautiful church sitting on top of the hill. After that, my father arrived in Paris, ready to drive us to Vichy! We left early, but we arrived very late... What usually is a 3-hour drive quickly became a six-and-a-half-hour drive because of the heavy snow! Trucks were asked to stop and parked aside, we drove very slowly because of the frost. Nevertheless, we arrived in Vichy all alive!

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(Korean to come)

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Freezing our asses like hell but still under the sunlight, we decided to be quite touristic on that Wednesday! We payed a visit to the Eiffel Tower, we also went back to Place Vendome and enjoyed a second coffee in Cartier because the watch bought the day before was on sale and the sales lady forgot to give Qin the money back. After that, we went to have a drink in Le Marais with Cedric and two of his friends. Qin went back home to help Phil pack his stuff. Willie and I made our little evening walk towards Notre Dame, where we met Helene again. Later that night, Yoann et Jeremy met us for dinner!

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파리에서의 셋째날,눈이와서 그런탓도있지만,살을 파고드는 듯한 바람이 사방에서 불어서 인지 정말 추웠다.이날우리는 파리에서 꼭 가봐야한다는 에펠탑과 노틀담성당등을 가보았다.가까이서보는 에펠타워란 생각보다 크고 웅장한 느낌이었다 그래서 에펠탑이 보이는 여기저기서 사진도 찍고 여러가지 포즈도 취해봤다.돌아가는길에 에펠탑에 불이 켜지고 아름다운 파리의 밤이 시작 돼었다. 세느강 주변으로 이어지는 긴 자동차들의 불빛부터 건물들 외관의 불빛까지도 파리를 한층 아름답게 만들었다.에펠타워 앞에서 버스를 타고 Le Marais (르 마헤)로 향에 친의 친구들과 커피를 마시며 꽁꽁얼었던 몸을 녹이고 노틀담으로 향했다.아쉽게도 성당문을 닫아서 안쪽까지는 들어 갈수없었지만. 노틀담의 외관모습은 정말이지 세세하고 정교하게 만들어 졌음을 볼수있엇다. 사진을 몇개 찍어봣지만 내사진과 노틀담을 한꺼번에 담기에는 역부족이었다.엄청 추웟지만 파리의 도시를 돌아다니면서 구경하니 우리는 추위도 잊고 즐겁게 여행을 마칠수있엇다.

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After a short night at Phil's place, here we start the first day of our Paris trip, following metro Line 1. We met Helene, a friend of Qin and I, and walked the Champs-Elysees up from the Louvre till the Arc of Triumph, walking through Concorde Square and the Tuileries Garden. We started the day as glam as we are, drinking hot wine on a Xmas market! We ended up drinking champagne in LV and sipped a coffee at Cartier's first shop ever, where Qin purchased a nice and expensive watch. We ate in some french fastfood on the Champs-Elysees, we passed the 7/7 drugstore Publicis and thought of our dear friend Daniel, whom we miss a lot. At night, we all met for a drink in Le Marais, where my cousin and other friends joined.

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파리공항의 도착후,친구네 집에서 짧은 하루를 보내고 다음날 아침, 파리에서 첫번째 여행을 시작했다.친,룸메이트,친의 친구 엘렌 그리고 나 이렇게 네명이서, 파리에서 유명한 샹젤리제 거리로 향했다. 가는길에 루블박물관,독립문등을 구경했다.샹젤리제 도착하기 바로전에 크리스마스거리에서 독일사람들이 즐겨마신다는 핫와인도 마셔보고 판매하는 여러가지 크리스마스 선물들을 구경했다.그리고 샹젤리제에 도착해서 프랑스 맥도날드라고 불리는 "퀵"에서 간단히 점심을 먹었다. 퀵은 햄버거에 빵을 토스트로 대신해서 판매해서 유명하다고 엘렌이 말해줫다. 한국에 패스트 푸드점은 보통 젊은층 혹은 아이들이 대부분인데 여기서는 보통 직장인들이 대부분이고 데이트하는거같은 사람 책을보는 사람등 다양한 사람들이 같이 있었다.점심을 먹은후에 부자 친과 함께 루이비통본점에가서 가방을 사고 샴페인도 같이 마시고,카르티에로 향해 또다른 시계를 구매해서 그유명하다는 카르티에 본점 카페를 생에 첫번째로 마셔보았다.밤에는 룸메이트의 사촌동생과 또다른 친구들이 와서 다같이 디스코에서 신나는 시간을 보냈다.

On Monday, 14 December, an insignificant road accident and an argument with a policeman later, Erin, one of my former colleagues, managed to get us to Shanghai International Airport. We checked in, we waited and finally we got on board. Waiting for the plane to take off, I noticed that the aircraft and the service of the russian airline, which my mother managed to get us, had improved. The drink trolley displayed fresh Tropicana fruit juice and the meal set featured salmon! The displayed security video and the staff politeness also showed a lot of improvement in terms of quality. But things get different when it comes to passengers. Five years have passed since my last flight on Aeroflot but russian people havent showed an ounce of change. Apparently, it is still very had for them to get deodorant, nice clothes and taste. However, at midflight, something strange occured: Willie made conversation with 31F. The middle-aged man started talking about his language skills and multiple travelling experiences. His mouth wasn't the only thing he opened though, he actually bought his new korean mate a Coke! Russians mingle and dress badly whilst French dress well and behave cockily.

The announcement said: "Local temperature is -21'C" as we landed in Moscow International Airport, which to be honest looked like a communist duty free shopping mall. In Moscow, it is allowed to smoke and litter in the airport. In Shanghai, it is allowed to shout and cut in line. Different country, different customs, I will never disagree. But I couldn't help but wonder, which of these two is considered a 'developing country'...

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  14 일 아침 룸메이트의 친구의 도움으로 제시간에 공항에 도착할수있엇다.처음으로 가는 유럽이라서 인지.. 설레는 마음을 가지고 비행기에 올랐다.러시아를 경유해서 가는거라서 우선 모스크바로 출발햇는데 상해에서 모스크바까지 10시간이 걸릴줄은 미처 생각하지 못햇다.비행기안에서 잠도 자고,영화도 보고 옆에 있던 러시아 사람이랑 얘기도 하다보니 어느덧 긴시간이 지나고 모스크바에 거희 도착햇다는 승무원의 안내방송이 나왔다. 그리고 한마디 모스크바 현지 온도는  "-21도" 라는 말을 듣고는 달랑 셔츠 한개 입고 있는 룸메와 나는 살짝 걱정이 들기 시작했다.

  모스크바 시간 4시에 모스크바에 국제공항에 도착했다. 러시아의 풍경은 생각했던것과는 많이 틀렷다. 오후4시면 아직 날이 밝을 시간인데 러시아는 이미 한밤중과 같이 어두웟다.열시간 넘게 비행기를 타고와서 그런지 조금 피곤한 느낌도 있엇지만.공항내부를 돌아봤다. 러시아 국제 공항의 분위기는,"국제"라는 단어를 붙이기 어색할만큼 크진 않았다.하지만 공항내부에 면세점의 규모는 인천공항과 흡사한 분위기에 많은 종류의 물품을 판매하는데 아쉽게도 가격들이 다 루블화로 표기돼어있어서 가격이 싼지 비싼지는 알수가없엇다.

러시아와 상해는 두 곳다 발전중 국가라는 타이틀을 가지고 있지만... 한곳을 공항내 흡연,다른 한곳은 공항내에서 고함치거나 새치기등 부도덕적인 행위를 제지 하지 않고 방치하는데에서... 공중도덕의식을 가지는데는 엄청난 시간이 필요하다는 걸느꼇다...

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