London, Paris, New York… and Longmont

London, Paris, New York… and Longmont

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
It all started with laughter and a longing to be somewhere else.I don't miss my hometown. I moved out of Longmont, Colorado in 1994, and never wanted to move back. For me, crossing that town line is like stepping into a dark parallel universe of bad memories. It's a time machine that only goes back to traumatic events; to people who only knew me as the juvenile delinquent offspring of a narcissistic, alcoholic mother. People who said I'd end up as nothing, popping out kids, smoking crack and ending up dead in a ditch. It's the town where a loser who nearly killed me is still frequently seen walking around on the street.I still have some very awesome friends living in Longmont, and while I almost envy their loving view of the place, I simply do not share it.My home life was not as bad or as good as it could have been, but it was difficult. It had a...
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Fluent in Fromage

Fluent in Fromage

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
After exchanging emails, letters and phone calls for 8 months with a French guy I'd met online, it was time to go to Paris to meet him face-to-face; time to look one another in the eye and discover if our long-distance chemistry would hold up in the flesh. I'd been in Paris one other time, 7 years before, but this time was different. This time, I wasn't a tourist.This time, I was on a crazy, international, first-date adventure that would last for 2 weeks.Olivier picked me up at Charles de Gaule airport. We went to his apartment in Montmartre and listened to April in Paris. Because funny enough - it really was April and we were in Paris.httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCJRoG6W8yQHe told me he'd planned a road trip for us and that he wanted to introduce me to some of his friends. After talking every day for almost a year, I knew quite a bit about most of his friends already, so I...
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Ciao For Now, Argentina

Ciao For Now, Argentina

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
For our last full day in Salta & our final free day in Argentina, we'd planned another tour. This one, however, was a bit different. This time, our guide & driver were two separate people. We rode in a little bus rather than a pickup truck, would be making fewer stops & wouldn't be hanging out in any strange, tiny outposts with mummies or singing gauchos.Instead, we'd sit in our comfy seats while our guide pointed out all the cool shit on the side of the road, the cool shit we'd see later & various stories about the area. Then we'd go check out a winery before being set loose to run amok in the town of Cafayate.Like our previous tour, we made a few stops to check out the scenery & take photos. The only problem with making these stops is that Olivier is part monkey & cannot resist the urge to climb on rocks & things, so he'd...
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Single-Serving Friends in Salta

Single-Serving Friends in Salta

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
I didn't know much about Salta. I was told there would be wine and mountains -- not wee fucking hills, but proper mountains. That's all I need to know. I don't require much more than wine and mountains to be happy. I'm low-maintenance like that.After  a short flight from Buenos Aires and a 20-minute cab ride, we arrived at our hotel, El Castillo de San Lorenzo.Our first couple of days and nights at the hotel, we were exhausted, so we didn't do much. We strolled around the area of San Lorenzo, the tiny little town where our hotel was located. We passed a couple of horses, several dogs and a smiley hobo who decided to chat with a tree after he realized we weren't going to be very good conversation. Neither one of us could understand the poor guy. Not because we couldn't understand any Spanish, but because we do not speak tree.We stayed in and had dinner in the...
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The Joys of Not Being a Skinny Girl

The Joys of Not Being a Skinny Girl

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
“I've got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don't want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I'd rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before 'thin'. And frankly, I'd rather they didn't give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls.” ― J.K. Rowling“By choosing healthy over skinny you are choosing self-love over self-judgment. You are beautiful!” ― Steve Maraboli“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” ― Kate Moss *** Let me start off by saying that Kate Moss is a fucking idiot. I've been there. I've worn her size 2. I've been skinny. I've also tasted many different things & I'm here to tell you that she's flat-out WRONG. Tasting things feels good. Tasting...
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When in Rome, Do as the Heathens Do

When in Rome, Do as the Heathens Do

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
"Rome! By all means, Rome. I will cherish my visit here in memory as long as I live." - Audrey Hepburn, Roman Holiday*Rome isn't an enormous city & it's true that the Colosseum & the Forum are probably two of the biggest attractions there. Just by looking at the mobs of tourists in those places, it's easy to believe that there really isn't much else for visitors to see.This, of course, is total bullshit.Since Olivier & I hit these chaotic tourist places on our first day in Rome, we had our second & final day free to explore the city in a bit more detail.We left early in the morning & embarked on a walking tour through the historical center of the city. This started at Largo di Torre Argentina. This archeological site is fenced off, but is inhabited by a large number of stray cats, hanging out & napping on the ruins of the site where Julius Caesar was...
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