Sacré-Cœur | Paris, France

The final stop on my tour of Montmartre was the beautiful Sacré-Cœur Basilica. It's one of the most popular sites in Paris and droves of people visit every day. Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, translates to Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As someone who has Catholic parents that planned trips specifically to visit churches and basilicas, I've seen my fair share of religious monuments. Sacré-Cœur was definitely a stunner with the most beautiful facade. The walk there was quite lovely and I was hoping that there wouldn’t be too many people there, but I was unfortunately mistaken. It was a beautiful Summer Sunday, so I should’ve known better. The line snaked all around from the doors, across the street and to the top of the stairs. We had so much planned that first day, so we opted to skip out on the inside. I'm a bit bummed we didn't get to go inside, but it's okay because the outside and surrounding areas were beautiful. 

The one thing that really ruined the vibe was dudes aggressively hawking bracelets. They were stationed in groups all over the hill. They would go up to unsuspecting tourists holding the ends and tying them onto their wrists. Obviously it was a scam and they would harass people until they paid them. That kind of thing really annoys me and at times. Even though we didn't make eye contact, the would still come up to us. I would get really aggressive back and just say “no” really loudly. It stinks that these sort of people and scams exist, but it’s all about being aware and just avoiding it. So, if you ever make it over to the Sacré-Cœur, just avoid the shady dudes with string! 

Creepy Cinema 2017: Week One

Hello boils and ghouls, October has finally arrived and you know what that means! It's time for Creepy Cinema on Ganda-Ganda! I honestly can't believe it's been five years of horror movies. I didn't think I was going to last one year, but here we are half a decade later and we're still doing it. If this is the first time you're hearing of Creepy Cinema, I'll give you a quick rundown. I'm terrified of scary movies, I just can't do them. I get scared by anything and have been known to scream quite loudly at the littlest things. My husband Markus on the other hand, has loved them since he was a kid. His knowledge of horror films is so vast and since he's an incredible husband every day, I decided to give him October to indulge in all things creepy. Thus the beginning of Creepy Cinema.

This year, I'll be watching and reviewing ten movies created from 2010 to this current year. I will say that I've gotten better with some genres of scary movies, but in some cases, I'm still the same and can barely watch in one sitting. There have been some incredible movies this year and some stinkers. This year Markus suggested that I implement a rating system to help separate the tricks from the treats. I hope you guys enjoy the offerings this year and don't hesitate to leave me your thoughts on the films below! 

1. Get Out - (2017)

I’m obviously super late to the party on this one, but wanted to include it because it was such a great movie and truly one of the most terrifying ones in so many ways. So if you’ve been living under a rock and have no idea what Get Out is about, I’ll give you a quick run down. Basically, the story revolves around a young, interracial couple, Chris and Rose. Chris hasn’t met Rose’s parents, so they decide to spend a weekend at her parent’s country estate. From the start, everything seems a bit off. Let’s be real, her family is real WASPy and there are major Stepford Wives-vibes happening. As the viewer you know that these people are doing something awful and that something terrible is going to happen.

The thing I loved most about this film was how relevant and real it was. There was no sugar coating on anything. It tackles the race issue head on. It was so much more than a “horror movie”. Get Out is not only clever and well acted, it makes you think about the social issues of today. It becomes a conversation starter and hopefully sparks the change for something good. At least, that’s what I think. Either way it’s an incredible film.  Usually with these sort of horror movies, I can guess or make predictions and I’m dead on. I was close with this one, but they managed to surprise me with another layer to their horrifying twist. If you haven’t seen Get Out, please do.

2. Beware the Slenderman (2016)

For the first time in Creepy Cinema history, I’m going to write about a documentary, but this documentary is based off of something truly terrifying and worst of all, very very real. Not sure if you know this about me, but I am a huge fan of true crime. I watch tons of crime shows like Dateline, 48 Hours, etc., and listen to lots of podcasts that cover murderers and mysteries. I attribute it to the fact that I watched Unsolved Mysteries with my dad when I was little girl. True crime and mysteries were also so interesting to me, because I always wanted to know why someone could do something so terrible. Also, I don’t trust people, so it’s always good to be educated. So when I heard that they were making a documentary of the horrible story of two 12 year girls that attempted to murder their friend in the spring of 2014, I knew I had to watch.

I don’t want to give too much away, because I think it’s really interesting to know the story and motivation behind why these girls did what they did. It wasn’t something as simple as jealousy or monetary gain, like most true crime stories. It was something completely different, it had to do with the modern day Bogeyman better known as Slenderman. Those that are current with memes and pop culture know who he is and most know that he’s a fictional character meant to scare people. However for these two girls, he wasn’t make-believe, he was very real. The documentary tackles issues of adolescence, parenting, bullying and mental illness. For me, I had problems with the way they tried to downplay the crime that these girls committed. However it does give us an inside look from the point of view of the parents of the two accused girls, and sheds a light on some really tough issues. Of all the things I’ve seen this year, this was by far the scariest and truly hard to watch.

3. The Girl with all the Gifts (2016)

We watched this film on the recommendation from our friends from the U.K. They knew that Markus and I do Creepy Cinema every year and suggested we check it out. Fun fact, scenes were shot in Stoke-on-Trent, the little town we spent Christmas 2016 in. The Girl with all the Gifts is based off the 2014 book of the same name by M.R. Carey. I didn’t know much about the novel or film before watching, and sometimes that’s a good thing. The film is set in the near post-apocalyptic, dystopian future. Everyone pretty much speaks British English except for Glenn Close. Humanity was wiped out by a type of fungal disease that causes everyone to lose their minds and suddenly crave flesh, so this brand of zombies are dubbed “hungries”. The hungries remain dormant, until disturbed by the scent of uninfected humans, at which point they attack you crazy-fast. The only hope for humanity is a small group of gifted children and most importantly one specific girl named Melanie.  

Overall, I thought The Girl with all the Gifts was just okay. It wasn’t terrible by any stretch, but it wasn’t great either. In the past five years or so, there has been an onslaught of these female-driven, post-apocalyptic films as well as heaps of zombie films. So for me, the market is just too saturated with movies that contain a lot of the same tropes. I definitely got some 28 Days Later vibes when I was watching, which was refreshing. I also like that the main character was different from most protagonists, however the storytelling was a bit awkward and slighty unmemorable.

Mini Tour of Montmartre | Paris, France

Since Montmartre is a bit further away from all the popular sites we decided to spend our first real day in Paris in Montmartre. We woke up decently early and had breakfast at Cafe des Deux Moulins from the film Amélie. Afterward we decided to take the 15 minute walk to Sacré-Cœur. We passed the Moulin Rouge and it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. Maybe it was because it was daytime. I didn't get the full effect and maybe I needed a bit of help from the Green Fairy? I did look up tickets and they were around 115€ and up. Maybe one day we'll be able to catch a show! It was our first taste of Paris and it was really lovely. The real star of Montmartre is the Sacré-Cœur, but that will be a post for the future. Just for now, enjoy all the photos from our mini tour of Montmartre!

Cafe des Deux Moulins | Montmartre, Paris

Let me take you back to 2001. I just graduated from high school and was in my first year of college. I spent four years bumbling through high school, hating everything and everyone, most of all myself. I really didn't know who I was. No one liked the same things I did and deep down I knew I was different than my parents, my family and my friends. So I spent a lot of that first year feeling alone and misunderstood. That all changed in November when I watched the French film Amélie. I know it's weird to say that a film changed your life, but in a way it did. I've always loved movies and stories, but no other movie affected me in such a way.  

Everything about the movie resonated and helped me realize that it was okay to be different. She was so quirky and interesting and there was a quality to the movie that a lot of films lack. One of my favorite lines from the film is, "Les temps sont durs pour les rêveurs," or "Times are hard for dreamers." It's crazy how this is still so relevant. I could go on and on about it, but I think that would have to be a story for another time. If you've never seen the movie, I highly recommend it. So that brings me to our recent trip to France and how Amélie ties in...

Amélie is set in Montmartre in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. When we knew we were going to be in Paris for two days, I purposefully planned to spend a day exploring the same streets and haunts as Amélie. The first place that we stopped at was the very same place she worked, Cafe des Deux Moulins. I will admit the place is a bit of a tourist trap and overrun with tourists gaping and gawking outside. It took me forever to get a chance to get a photo in front and there were still heaps of people hanging around. Nevertheless, Cafe des Deux Moulins still retains it's charm. There are locals that frequent the place and can be seen having a cafe and reading the newspaper. Markus and I decided to have breakfast instead of stopping in and taking photos. We ordered the, Petit déjeuner (12€) that came with coffee, orange juice, viennoiserie, butter bread with jam and three eggs. It wasn't a fancy outstanding meal, but it definitely was a small price to pay to spend an hour or so in such an iconic place. 

New College, Edinburgh | Scotland

Back when Markus and I visited Edinburgh in 2012, we passed by the New College, but had no idea how beautiful it was on the inside. Our dear friend Ryan, who we know from Fort Lauderdale, ended up continuing his education at New College. On our whirlwind first day in Edinburgh with them, we stopped by to check it out. Ryan said that it was one of the most photographed places in the city. I didn't believe him, but decided we needed to check it out. When we arrived, no one was there and it was perfect. After about fifteen minutes and a few photos later, people were trickling in. I was quite surprised because I didn't think it was that popular. I was definitely happy to be proven wrong.