Laxie through the Looking Glass

[The_duke]

S'amuser, a un grand temps et embrasse la culture.

[trafficjam]

Have a great time Laxie x

[Dingdell]

Oh dear god - it was just a matter of time...........

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20110210/tod-french-penis-leash-couple-arrested-a-7f81b96.html

[Laxie]

Oh dear god - it was just a matter of time...........

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20110210/tod-french-penis-leash-couple-arrested-a-7f81b96.html

   Wasn't me occifer. 

Having an absolutely fabulous time!!!  Might be forced to change my mind about Paris too. 

Last night I met Michelle Orpe (among many others) and we had such a laugh.  She asked me to post a special message for Tikay.  Don't remember the entire message, but do know I was to say "How are you sexy?"  In the end we decided a video message would be more effective.  This is what she had to say...just for you



Now we'll see does he ever read the drivel on this diary.   

[Laxie]

I take back any nasty thoughts I ever had about Paris.  Absolute blast of a time!!!  Doing me best to keep mental notes for a trip report, but first I've to put down one last day here.  Flying home tomorrow.

[trafficjam]

I take back any nasty thoughts I ever had about Paris.  Absolute blast of a time!!!  Doing me best to keep mental notes for a trip report, but first I've to put down one last day here.  Flying home tomorrow.

Cannot wait for a detailed report.

[Laxie]

I take back any nasty thoughts I ever had about Paris.  Absolute blast of a time!!!  Doing me best to keep mental notes for a trip report, but first I've to put down one last day here.  Flying home tomorrow.

Cannot wait for a detailed report.

Landed home safe and sound. 

Will start the trip report either later tonight after the Sky poker stuff or first thing in the morning.  Until then, I leave you with this video link...

http://uk.pokernews.com/video/european-poker-awards-winner-s-reactions-790022413001.htm

[Claw75]

I take back any nasty thoughts I ever had about Paris.  Absolute blast of a time!!!  Doing me best to keep mental notes for a trip report, but first I've to put down one last day here.  Flying home tomorrow.

Cannot wait for a detailed report.

Landed home safe and sound. 

Will start the trip report either later tonight after the Sky poker stuff or first thing in the morning.  Until then, I leave you with this video link...

http://uk.pokernews.com/video/european-poker-awards-winner-s-reactions-790022413001.htm

lol good work. reminds me of the pictures of nirvana hanging around in the background when flushy was being interviewed in vegas

[Laxie]

   To be fair, I was stood there first.  They didn't set up in front til a goodly bit after.  That said, was only hope I had of getting a shot of the dress!  There were lots of pics taken on the night but not sure what site they're posted on. 

[Laxie]

Paris 2011 - Getting there

As we all know, my record with airport security is pretty poor at the best of times.  This time there was a slightly bigger concern.  Landing...in one piece preferably.  Managed to get through Cork security no hassle so I was off to a good start. 

I flew with Aer Lingus and can't say enough good things about them.  Comfortable enough designated seating compared to some of the budget airlines and the staff are lovely.  It's not their fault about the passengers.  One thing that always gets me when flying...the boarding procedure.  Nice airline person announces it's time to board and people rush from every corner fighting for the top spot in line.  I'll never understand it.  We've all got designated seats.  Aer Lingus is good that way to be fair.  So what's the point in rushing the plane like a pack of American football tacklers?!  I sat with my pint and lappy surfing the net til the coast was clear then made my way to the now much calmer airport staff. 

Went about taking my seat on the plane only to find this couple tucked into the same row.  Not normally a problem, but this pair were well stuck in with their newspapers and magazines.  The man with the newspaper had it open to the max and was so absorbed in it, with elbows stretched out just for good measure...I was going to be cramped sitting there.  No doubt about it. 

One look to the other side I noticed an empty row and figured I was safe enough there.  Being one of the last to board does have it perks.  Not this time as it happens.  In fairness to them, the nice couple who arrived said I could stay in the spare seat if I liked, but I reckoned it'd be my luck there was one last straggler meant for that one, so took the proper seat next to newspaper man.  He sure was thrilled to see me.  "Wait til we start playing elbow tennis with the arm rest in a bit" I thought to myself.

Once in the air, the woman needed to run to the loo.  Turns out she's preggars with their first child and lots of loo breaks are the norm for her.  They were also a bit nervous being on a plane after the recent crash at Cork airport...hence trying to fill their minds with all the reading at take off.  Fair enough.  They apologised profusely in advance for what they reckoned would be a number of disturbances to my relaxing flight.  No problem.  I've knocked out three meself so know what it's like.  With that, he left me elbow space alone.  And to top it off...she only needed to go that one time during the trip.  Result!  Granted, there was a reason for it...

So we're in the air, I've had my drink and snack and I'm tucked into the music stored on my phone.  I'd let Sinéad and Sarah loose with it last week and they threw all sorts on.  Was time to find out what they'd picked.  Not all of it was to my taste, but wasn't horrible at the same time.  Just as I was about to dose off for a wee nap the plane hit some turbulence.  Well, really it hit lots of it.  Flight attendants announced everyone to their seats with seatbelts on.  The couple next to me were white knuckled from hanging on to the arm rests with fear.  And that's when this song came on and had me in fits of giggles on sooooo many levels...



Reckon the couple next to me thought I was borderline nuts.  They wouldn't be far wrong.  But at least I wasn't afraid of crashing.  Not today anyway.  I smiled quietly (figured they'd enough of the giggling) and thought, "This is going to be such a great trip".  And we made a perfect landing.

[Laxie]

Day One - Getting to Know You

But first I had to find Mick.  Never realised just how big CDG airport was.  It's fecking HUGE imo.  Went to one of those 'You are Here' maps and had a look.  I was in terminal 1 and needed to get to terminal 2.  According to the map, it seemed pretty straight forward and not too far away.  I could just walk it from the outside whilst smoking my first post-flight ciggy.  Turns out their map was all lies and I couldn't walk it.  Only took 2 ciggys to figure that much out so not too bad.

Made my way to the nearest information desk where I proceeded to speak my best Spanish, complete with accent...in Paris.  [ ] As ya do.     Managed to gather my bearings when she replied in French first - followed by English when she heard me giving out to meself for speaking Spanish.  Good thing I'd stopped walking outdoors and asked.  We got there in the end once the language barrier was sorted and off I went with directions which included a tram for terminal 2.  And a reeeeeeally long walk to arrivals within that terminal.  Was making me way to arrivals and running out of time.  I'd an hour between our flights and needed every minute of it in the end.  As I was marching with great speed through terminal 2, another song popped into me head - much to my amusement...



Had planned to be sitting in the nearest bar to arrivals when Mick landed, but as it turns out I landed same time as himself.  With the greetings out of the way, we headed for the taxi rank and made our way to the hotel. 

I'd asked him for the contact details earlier in the week as I always leave the information here for the crew when I travel.  His email reply was, "We'll be living it up at the...  http://www.hotel-california-paris.com/ "  That's where all of the judges and organisers for the awards do seemed to be staying and it was lovely.  Staff were excellent too.  Once we unloaded the cases and changed into night gear it was time to head to the Aviation Club. 

Now I've never been there and had no interest out of principal.  They charge €100 membership fee just to walk through the fecking door!  Mick had said not to worry about that as I was his guest and there'd be no charge, but I brought the money with intentions of handing it over if there was a problem.  Didn't want to be the cause of any upset just walking in the door.  Turned out there was no need to worry.  I was given the nod after a quick call from front desk to Bruno.  I think that was his name anyway.  Met soooo many new people it's all a bit jumbled here and there.  Very tall man and a nice guy too.  He also happened to be in charge of the place. 

Once membership was sorted, we made our way to the bar.  That's where we met Michelle Orpe, Nic Szeremeta and Tony Holden.  What a line up in my first five minutes!  This was a whole different league to my poker in the pub crowd.  Blimey.  I'd never met any of them before but they gave me such a warm welcome and I was at ease from the get go.  Didn't take long for Michelle's special message to Tikay to happen and from then we chatted away like we'd known each other for years.

The plan was to have dinner with the judging panel at the Aviation Club.  Except the club had some special gig on for Chinese New Year and they were fully booked.  The whole place was decked out in Chinese décor and looked lovely.  While they arranged a table at an Italian restaurant around the corner for us, I watched the show taking place in the lobby area of the club.  Tried taking pictures, but they were moving so fast!  Every shot came out more blurry than if I'd given Tikay a camera for the day.  So I went with a bit of video instead.  Granted, might have helped if I'd been holding it the right way around at the time...



Dinner was lovely.  The chat flowed freely and so did the red wine.  Good god we drank a fair bit.  During the dinner myself, Nic and Tony would head out now and then for a smoke break together.  We met Barry Carter and his Mrs. during one of our trips out and were chatting to them when who should walk by only Mad Marty Wilson.  He's a nutter and an absolute sweetheart of a man.  I've met him before, but never really got chatting with him until this week-end.  He's known for his long winded tales and he didn't disappoint us as we stood outside smoking our ciggys. 

After he finished his tale, he gave me a quizzical look. Then he proceeded to ask the question I'd be asked a number of times throughout the week-end..."I know I've seen you before, but can't place where.  Who are you and what brings you here?"  Gave him my name followed by..."I'm a mate of Mick's and he asked if I'd like to make the trip so here I am."  In true Marty style, I got a lovely smile and "Well, that's good enough for me."  From then on, we chatted away like we'd always know each other too.  This turned out to be the trend for the rest of my visit with just about everyone I met.

After dinner things are a bit foggy...ish.  lol  We'd intentions of going to a pub to hang out, but when we got there they'd disco music playing and no way were we going to be able to chat with all the noise.  Pretty sure (but wouldn't swear on it) we spent some more time in the Aviation club too before calling it a night and heading our separate ways. 

Here's Mick and Michelle at the Italian restaurant...

Click to see full-size image.

[Laxie]

Day Two - Awards Night

The day was pretty much spent pottering around as Mick and the other judges had to meet to do the voting.  Took me time about getting ready whilst watching the rugby match in the afternoon.  Sighhhhh over Ireland losing the match, but never mind.  Once judging and pottering was done, we met Marty and a few more in the hotel lobby and made our way to Queenie for the awards gig.  

http://www.lequeenie.fr/main.html  

The Aviation had booked the place out for us so it was a private party and we had to wear a wee arm band for the night to say we were 'on the list'.

Another lovely spot.  However my dress was short and the stairs getting in and out of the place were long.  lol  Made for some interesting manoeuvring through the course of the night when a smoke break was needed and meant I probably only smoked half of what I normally would.  Granted, when I say short - this is coming from a girl who doesn't usually wear a dress to begin with...never mind high heels!  Was probably fine if I'd been used to it.

Had a fantastic night being introduced to all sorts from the poker world who were all lovely.  It's an odd one.  I've watched all of these people on the telly at some point and seen them around when I work the Killarney events and there they were in the flesh.  Chatting away with the girl from Cork like she belonged.  I was gob smacked at how nice everyone was.  First up was Jesse May.  I'd actually met him before but we'd never really chatted.  He was another one who did a double take and said, "I know I know you from somewhere but can't place where."  Normally when I'm working the Killarney events and these lot land, I give them their space.  It's business.  But tonight everyone was much more relaxed.  Including me.

Simon Trumper landed with his son Ben and he did a double take too.  Notice a trend?  lol  Only difference this time was he knows me from the visits to DTD, so the question wasn't "Who are you?" but "What are you doing here?!"  I could say the same about him fer feck sake!  Record number at the UKIPT in Notts and here he was in Paris.  That's when he reminded me of the excellent team he has at DTD.  They could handle his being away for one night.  He had a point and it was nice to catch up with him again in a neutral setting.  

Was a bit of a rubdown being up for Poker Staff Person of the Year and missing out, only to carry back 3 awards for others who he knew were at his club.  Liv and Jake were at DTD and they'd both won in their categories.  That said, one of the guys Simon was up against (Gerard Serra) was on his 4th year running for this award.  He'd missed out every other year and you could tell it was paining him.  He got it this time though and was truly over the moon about it so that made the disappointment for Simon lessen a bit.

Michelle did a great job presenting the awards under difficult circumstances too.  She'd to wait for a French translation between lines which would cause upset in the flow for most people, but she managed without a hitch.  Was a bit like the poker world's version of Eurovision and had me giggling a bit at the start.  

We'd a lovely night with drinks, laughs and chat all flowing.  If anyone landed who I didn't know, Mick was quick to introduce us - and so the flow continued.  I didn't bother taking any pictures on the night because every time we turned around there was a camera of some sort in our faces.  Sometimes it was video and other times it was camera shots.  Figure some of the pictures/videos will pop up eventually and if not...the pictures in me brain will do and you lot are out of luck.  For now you'll just have to make do with that link I posted above from Pokernews and take my word for it.  The Chicka did in fact wear a dress.  And she really enjoyed the night.

[Laxie]

Day Three - Valentine's Day in Paris. 

By now it was pretty much established that Mick didn't have to worry about minding me as such because I'd a bad habit of running off now and then anyway.  This is a good thing because it means I'm comfortable with my surroundings.  However I was starting to feel a wee bit guilty about it and hadn't actually brought up the topic with Mick.  He's a sweetheart of a man and good as gold.  Like I've said before, we could chat for Ireland or sit there saying nothing just watching the world go by and I never feel odd.  However we're just good mates and this was Valentine's Day.  Didn't know what to do with meself.  There were a few options on the table for the day and night.  In the end, this is how it went...

During the day Mick took me on a walking tour of Paris.  Man oh man did we walk.  But it was the really nice kind of walk.  No real schedule or direction as such - bar the Eiffel Tower.  We decided we'd get as far as there and take a different route on the way back.  So off we went.  Rambling along the streets of Paris for hours at our ease, stopping now and then if something interesting caught either of us.  The weather wasn't particularly great, but at least the rain held out and it wasn't too cold.  Some of the architecture in Paris though - WOW!  Absolutely stunning! 

Once we arrived at the Eiffel Tower there were talks of making our way to the top.  Well, he half mentioned it and I explained my jumbo size fear of heights.  I did say he could head up on his own and I'd wait down below for him, but turns out he wasn't too keen on the walk up those stairs anyway as it's a long hike.  God love him, he was being polite giving me the option...and had a lucky swerve when I declined.

Click to see full-size image.

On the way back we passed the place where Princess Diana died.  The walls behind the gold flame have all sorts of tributes written by visitors.  It's covered with writing in all sorts of languages but we all know how good I am at translation...so will let ye at it. 

Click to see full-size image.

Apparently there's always loads of flower tributes around the gold flame too, but there were only a few wee ones during our visit.

Click to see full-size image.

Once we got back to the hotel, was quick shower and change time before heading off to dinner.  I'd it in me head I was treating for the dinner as he'd been so kind to bring me along on the trip and at least I could say thanks in some small way.  Only we hadn't a clue where to go.  So we stumbled into this Italian place neither of us had been to and went about ordering.  It wasn't horrible, but deffo wasn't the 'wow' factor I'd been hoping for when I wanted to treat him as a thank you.  Ah well...never mind.  At least we had a good chat and during the meal it was set in stone that I'd be playing the Aviation Club's €200 Ladies Event that night with a start time of 9pm.

[cia260895]

What a tops read keep it coming 

sounds like you had a ball

[boldie]

Hehehehe,,, so you did go to play the ladies event, see what wearing a dress does to ya?