Escape to Spain (my favorite: Valencia)

[@MarkDarnell-cq2wy]

YOU are now my Favorite Travel Host! Absolutely Love the beautiful Spirit you bring to your adventures! Gracias! Merci! Obrigado!...and Thank You!

[@amusingaida]

Thank you! Here's hoping I get more travel in soon to share other adventures!

[@LifeLessonsFromBooks]

Thanks for showing us around Valencia. What a wonderful city! I love your videos. Please keep sharing more as they’re so creative. Where’s the Pied Piper when you need him eh? 🤣

[@amusingaida]

Isn't Valencia great? I love Spain generally, but Valencia is perfect for a break of a few days.... And did you see the dress?!

[@jeffreymeyers543]

Aida, thank you for taking us along on your trip to Valencia! So many wonderful scenes. Now I want to visit there. Please keep the videos coming. When they're not frequent enough, you're not in our lives and we can forget about you. I'm almost as happy hearing you chat over a cup of coffee or glass of wine at a sidewalk cafe, listening to your always interesting Parisien take on life, as I am visiting foreign places with you. But if this is going to work, I need to see more of you. ;-)

[@amusingaida]

Valencia is one of my favorite cities in Spain. Authentic, vibrant and fun. As for pumping out more videos -- I'd love to go fulltime on it but just not possible. Too much other stuff on. I have one video shot but not edited, coming as soon as I can finish it. And another one half-shot. They're in the pipeline...

[@jeffreymeyers543]

@@amusingaida I understand. Just wanted to see more of your videos. Can't blame me for trying. :-)

[@FoneTool]

Love your videos. Very amusing and witty. Do not stop - please.

[@amusingaida]

I appreciate your comment so much! Thanks! I have another on the way!

[@dragosflorescu6769]

mice, mice, baby 🎶?!? 😂 you and your imagination really know how to entertain the audience!👌

[@amusingaida]

Thanks! Me and my imagination do our best!

[@vancejones4804]

Hi so glad you went and enjoyed the sun... Beautiful dress you picked but I'm sure you enjoyed the wine more.. Have a lovely weekend

[@amusingaida]

You like the dress? I love it! Can't wait for an occasion to wear it! And yes, I enjoyed the wine (and the sun, and the tapas and the general earthy vibe of the place -- it was a great break!). You too; enjoy your weekend!

[@waynehicks1969]

You really do have an eye for light, angles and juxtaposition of shapes. Also, the new dress looks great on you.

[@amusingaida]

Thanks... the light/angles/juxtaposition probably comes from watching too many TV series

[@annelombardi6461]

I enjoy your videos! I hope that your apartment was mouse free when you got home.

[@amusingaida]

So happy to hear you like them! Yes, my apartment was (thankfully) free of the furries, rid of the rodents, when I returned. All clean and homey again!

[@rosecarrolo1297]

Hi! Your video contents are always so cool! Ideas, creativity, production, edition, perfect spoken english! Hope to see them go viral soon.

[@amusingaida]

Hi Rose! You're in with the very first comment -- and a lovely one. Will my videos go viral? I guess that would be nice, if it ever happens. But really my pleasure is mostly in making them, in feeling like I get to spend a little burst of creativity, when I have time. C'est le septième art !

[@rosecarrolo1297]

@@amusingaida Agreed! Enjoying the journey wherever the destination,👏🏻🌟

[@mrpygmalion1]

My favorite place in the world!

[@amusingaida]

One of mine too!

[@marybethbasu8858]

Well, I plan to have a cat in Paris! But I am afraid of the winters, because I am so spoiled with sun in L.A. now, but I think your solution is very good.🙂

[@amusingaida]

I have a cat. And he didn't do anything about the mice (which have gone now, thankfully!). Yeah, Paris winters can be gloomy for extensive periods -- but having all of Europe within reach means there are so many solutions.

[@iamhandy-man]

Out of all the places we've visited, Valencia, by far, has the friendliest people. Such a delightful place, and you captured it well. I'm catching up on all of your content and am really enjoying it. I like your editing style a great deal. Does your partner do the shooting? He has quite an eye for framing. Your narrative is always quite engaging and the pacing is excellent. I'm enjoying your work--well done! I keep wondering what your country of origin is, every since you had your passport video. I'll make a guess and say, "Merhaba!"

[@amusingaida]

You're so right - Valencia is wonderful. I can't wait to get back there again. I'm glad you enjoyed my little Spanish escape there. And thanks too for the comments on the editing and shooting, which went down a treat with my little assistant. And on the narrative and pacing, which actually I find the biggest learning curve. Still a long way to go to make the sorts of productions I'm aiming for, but the fun is in the journey. As for nationality -- I'm a proud Française, and very much honor a citizenship that puts ideals and idealism over nativism.

[@iamhandy-man]

​@@amusingaida Narrative and pacing is *always* challenging, whether it's putting together a video or designing an impactful presentation. I think you're doing really well with it. I've watched all but two of your videos at this point, and I think you've built your skills up very well with your structuring. You have good teasers at the start that pull the viewer in, then an engaging narrative that keeps him engaged throughout. You may just have some natural gifting here. I think your shot selection, shot length, and transition usage are complementary to the narrative and doing the right thing in retaining viewership. I haven't mentioned your on-screen presence, which is also wonderful. You are displaying a warm personality and fun sense of humor that makes the viewer feel like he's being treated as a friend. I do like what you've done. What is your goal for productions? You're nailing this format. I'd be interested in where you want to go. I think I may have been misunderstood about the comment about your country of origin, for there was no hidden agenda in my curiosity. I live near Washington, DC. We are a nation of immigrants (which I love), and this particular area of the U.S. is WONDERFUL with its mix of people from so many other countries. I love living here because I get to meet people from so many distant lands, and it's always fascinating to learn of their backgrounds and why they moved here. That was why I was curious, only because you are interesting. My wife and I will be in Paris a couple of days next week and I plan to surprise her with a visit to Bagatelle. Then, after we drive around a few towns in Normandy, we'll be traveling up to Brussels where I plan to have a skateboarding experience--all because of you. Thank you!

[@amusingaida]

@@iamhandy-man Thanks, those words give me a real boost. Though I am very aware of how far I have yet to travel to turn out the sort of story-driven videos I'd like to make.My goal? Well, initially it will be to see if I can make something of this channel. But I know that I can really contribute to a bigger, more professional exercise as well, and some recent success in my other activity, as a budding actor, also underline that for me. TV looks appealing, and Paris is really buzzing with all sorts of productions. Your wife, btw, should love Bagatelle -- my favorite park in Paris. And I can't tell if you're serious about skateboarding in Brussels. I hope you are!

[@iamhandy-man]

​@@amusingaida The words of praise were well-earned. I didn't mention it, but I also like your music selections; they fit just right. When I've done short-form video projects, I often start with music selection before I start my edit. It often sets the theme of the edit for me. I am curious about your editing on an iPad. I've only used Adobe Premiere and am learning FCPX. I'm really surprised such a limited technology platform is up to the task. I think you're on the right path for story-driven videos, because your narrative structure is already showing you have those skills. I imagine it will just be a matter of fleshing out story lines and then making sure you can still retain good pacing. Your videos tell me you have the skills to pull this off. Wonderful to hear about your nascent acting work; if that's where you'd like to go with your career, I wish you great success! I'll try to remember to leave you a comment after we visit Bagatelle to tell you how it went. Too bad we cannot append photos in the comments. And, although I have to be 20 years older than you, I am 100% serious about skateboarding. My youngest son and I built our own longboards just before I turned 50, and when I worked in DC, I used to use my longboard between the subway station and my office. I road it while wearing a suit. I got weird looks, but it was both fun and cut my walking time in half. A skateboard is different than a longboard (shorter, smaller wheels), so I'm hoping to get some lessons in Brussels. My wife shakes her head at my adventures, but I do have fun! We'll be staying in the 18e next week. If I see you on the streets, we'll wave a hello. 😁

[@amusingaida]

@@iamhandy-man Again: I'm grateful you can spare so much time to give such thoughtful feedback. And that you appreciate the technical hills that have to be climbed to put out an engaging video (on that, even though I have FCPX and Adobe Premiere and DaVinci Resolve, I'm quite enjoying LumaFusion on the iPad; it may not be as fully featured, but it's tactile and I find -- much like shooting with a phone, not a mirrorless -- that the restrictions push me to creative solutions, and also I can focus more on storytelling than technical nuances). Good luck with the skateboarding! (I wore kneepads for a reason -- it's not an activity I know much about!)

[@johnwalsh8574]

Aida, yet another interesting and most fascinating video, thoroughly enjoyable and rich in culture. Where did you learn to speak English so perfectly. 😁

[@amusingaida]

A little off the Paris path this one -- I'm really glad you enjoyed it, and share my delight in culture! My English? I just studied, and watched and listened A LOT to English-language content. I like learning languages.

[@miraklemax]

I hope you brought some Spanish sun back with you since I will be in Paris for my 50th birthday tstarting his week, Aida!!

[@amusingaida]

For February it is unusually warm and sunny these days. Hopefully it'll stay that way for your big birthday!

[@inoahulu1541]

Love, love, love your channel. You're hilarious 😹

[@amusingaida]

Thanks, thanks, thanks!

[@ednanghamyan1776]

Going to a new place, albeit a new country, is great idea to reset! Staying in too much isn’t a good idea, even in winter… Cool vid!

[@amusingaida]

The advantage of living in the EU -- it's so cheap and easy to be in another country in a hour or two, speak another language and do a mental 'reset'. So privileged to be able to do that....

[@ednanghamyan1776]

@@amusingaida This was cathartic to me as I need a mental reset as well :) The ability to commute from long distances at low cost/time is clearly an advantage in EU! In the US, it is very expensive/time consuming to travel from city to city or other states with expensive gas and no mass transit :/ This is from someone who hates airports and long lines!

[@amusingaida]

@@ednanghamyan1776 I think the message I wanted to convey was: life, lemons, lemonade. And travel. We get too comfortable sitting in place. Travel is good, and even if costly, probably still worth it for the shift in perspective it brings

[@ednanghamyan1776]

@@amusingaida It would be nice to travel! However, travel would be much easier if it was funded by passive income. Besides creating cool YT vids, have you worked on any other passive income activities?

[@amusingaida]

@@ednanghamyan1776 ah, don't look to me for tips on how to be a digital nomad -- I think they're all in Bali right now

[@philip5899]

So the mice are a bonus then 😊😂!!!😊

[@amusingaida]

When you receive tomatoes, make a soup out of them! Yes! In the end, the mouse invasion was an opportunity to get out there and travel -- delightful! And... no more mice when I got back. My home is mouse-free!

[@billbollins]

Nice vid, Valencia looks like fun and the dress is beautiful.

[@amusingaida]

Yes, Valencia's great. I love it. And the dress too -- a lovely buy!

[@jmichelet2276]

Inquiring minds want to know….what’s your ethnicity?

[@amusingaida]

In France, the idea of 'ethnic nationality' does not and cannot exist (such is the law in fact). The French identity is welcoming -- without any distinction whatsoever -- of people from all horizons who adhere to its values. It's a rare privilege to be a citizen of such a country.

[@YacineBled-pr7ku]

J’apprécie chaque vidéo que tu partages et j’adore ta joie de vivre 🎉🥳❤️

[@amusingaida]

Merci ! Je reconnais que j'ai été absente depuis un moment - mais pas disparue !

[@csababanki7690]

Doof doof music in Valencia? Oh come on. Is there no other music in the world?

[@amusingaida]

There is an amazing plethora of music in the world, and I'm working through all of it, one track at a time

[@doloressanchez346]

Hi Sweetie siempre me apasiona ver Tus Emocionantes videos AMO España es UN Pais fascinante majestuosa lleno de cultura Con una gastronomia con una de las mejores del Mundo Tengo amigos ke viven en Valencia . No SABES como disfrutar El video 😻 Y tu siempre Luces muy natural y muy Linda ❣️. Abrazos y besos desde Utah . Have fun 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@amusingaida]

Muchas gracias Dolores, eres siempre entre los primeros a comentar los videos! Si, me encanto Españo tambien. Un pais fascinante y donde queria vivir un dia, si haya una oportunidad de hacerlo.

[@doloressanchez346]

@@amusingaida Hi SABES ke yo tambien Tengo ese MISMO ❣️ sueño de ir a España Me encanta y lo lograre siempre logro mis metas soy indomable hahahaha. Lo lograre yo naci en Madrid pero creci en Centro America y estoy viviendo desde 7 años es Utah USA.y es muy LINDO ❣️ Utah SUS montañas me gusta subir las montañas x ke me gustan las alturas . Pero me apasiona España verdaderamente Me gusta la cultura Europea y es bellisimo SUS museos SUS calles me apasiona . Gracias x tus muy lindos videos .. Tengo amigos en Valencia. Y sigues en España ? Abrazos 🌹🌹🌹 Have fun 😊

[@amusingaida]

@@doloressanchez346 infelizmente no podia quedarme en España, pero tengo la consolacion de poder regresar a Paris despues, entonces no era tan doloroso

[@doloressanchez346]

@@amusingaida Paris es bello tambien me encanta . Me encanta ❤️

[@Lacteagalaxia]

Francesa o Española ; guiri?

[@amusingaida]

Bien Francesa!