Following Rabbits Blog — do it

What a week! I booked my plane tickets for our annual family trip to the Bahamas and my love life took a nose dive... both good motivators to get back into fabulous shape. A coworker of mine told me on Tuesday that she was starting the Dukan Diet on Wednesday and asked me to join her. I will admit she got my attention when she said Kate Middleton and other members of her family used it before the Royal Wedding.

My coworker had the book in the office, so I browsed through and decided it was something I could stick with. I'm a pretty finnicky eater and don't eat seafood of any kind, so a lot of diets with prescribed meals and foods won't work for me. The diet is comprised of 4 phases, the first of which lasts an average of 5 days-- the Attack Phase. During this first phase you are to eat only lean protein (meat, eggs, tofu), nonfat dairy (milk, eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, etc.), and 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran (I mix this into my vanilla yogurt every morning for breakfast). In the first 3 days on the diet I've lost 6 pounds! My goal is 15, and at this rate, I'll be slim and happy at my goal weight in time for the Bahamas next month. Not every diet is a good choice for everyone, but this news spot from ABC news gives a great video overview of the phases of the diet and how it works, by Dr. Dukan himself. My mum seemed skeptical, since for the first phase there are NO vegetables (or fruit, carbs, starches....) but I convinced her to do the first phase and see if it works for her. She's already lost more weight than I have, and she's a day behind me. Have you tried it? Do you plan to? Got any fab recipes? Tell me about your experiences!

This weekend my boyfriend and I went to visit Harry Houdini's grave. We walk and explore a lot, and after Saturday's nasty weather, it was a good excuse to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Houdini (who died on Halloween) is buried in a family plot in the Machpelah Cemetery in Queens.

In the 1890s he performed at Coney Island with his brother, and later his wife. After several years of touring Europe with his magical act, he returned to NYC and purchased a brownstone in Harlem at 278 W 113th St. He died in 1926 at age 52 from a ruptured appendix. (Considering all of the death-defying stunts he survived, it seems a rather ridiculous way for him to go.) 

 Houdini was born Erik Weisz (later Ehrich Weiss)

Houdini's wife is not actually buried here per her wishes; her Catholic family didn't want her buried in a Jewish cemetery, so she is buried in Westchester.

Houdini's grave is right at the main entrance to the cemetery. We walked all around in there-- it was super quiet being the only ones there and with the fresh blanket of snow on everything. We took the J Train to Cypress Hills and walked from there, but there's also a bus that runs up Cypress Hills Street from the train station that will save you the uphill hike.

Paris at night is absolutely gorgeous. I was usually exhausted by nightfall with all of the exploring I was doing during the day, but I tried to take a walk along the Seine every night before bed.

Tonight I wandered off track a bit to find the street corner from Midnight in Paris... where Owen Wilson's character goes every night at midnight. If you haven't seen the movie, you must. It was very good, and one of the things that made me finally bite the bullet and book this trip for myself.

Today I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I walked there again from my apartment in the 1st arrondisement and brought a little picnic lunch that I ate under the tower before waiting in line two hours to get to the top.

While I was waiting in line, a couple was taking their wedding photos under and around the tower-- cute!!

This is looking straight up while in the elevator... the track curves like a rollercoaster. Makes for an interesting ascent. 

The Louvre front and center (on the far side of the Seine)

Notre Dame in the center

NYC 5,489 km away!

I've been snapping lots of pictures of street art and signage that I see on my daily walks. I really love these:

Today I got up early to see the changing of the guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace only to get there and find out that there was no ceremony today. Rats.

I did a little tour of Clarence House (where Prince Charles, Camilla and Prince Harry live) then headed to Camden. My boyfriend promised me that I'd love Camden and he was right-- it was my favorite part of London. Once you get off the tube, there's a long stretch where it seems every store is either selling sneakers or graphic tees or doing piercings and tats. My kinda neighborhood! I found the Stables Market which was a maze of vendors selling everything you can imagine. I got some really great souvenirs for friends, a couple Banksy t-shirts, a leather hooded bomber jacket, and lunch. 

I left Camden weighed down with lots of bags, and headed south to the London Eye. I only had 2 days in London, and the giant ferris wheel was on my list of must-dos. South Bank is a really cool place to hang out-- I had dinner and a beer overlooking the Thames, was fab.

London was absolutely incredible-- I wish I booked one more day there! I'll definitely be back asap so I can explore more in-depth. But for now, off to Paris!