Thuy Long

Last week Erik and I tried out a vietnamese restaurant that the Lonely Planet mentioned in our neighbourhood. LP has been a bit hit or miss for restaurant recommendations, so we went into this one without any real expectations at all. We didn't want a fancy meal, just good food, or even decent food. The place is right around the corner from our place, and we probably would have never have gone in if it hadn't been for the LP.

What a good find this place was! When we left after the first visit, I decided it was the best meal that we had had since being here. We've been to some pretty good restaurants, but when you go in to a meal with absolutely no expectations, and then are pleasantly surprised by the delicious fresh tasting meal you are served, you can't help but be impressed. Perhaps the best part was that it was possibly even better than our favorite vietnamese restaurant in Toronto, Pho Hung. Thuy Long is owned by a friendly couple, who are eager to talk to their customers. The name of their restaurant is their two first names, and she does all the cooking. The place is tiny, and you can watch her prepare all the meals. So satisfying! It doesn't hurt that the three course menu comes in under 10euros. We went there for dinner again tonight, and we weren't dissapointed. Vietnamese food is refreshingly light and flavourful (in my opinion) in comparison to French food, and it's nice to know that a satisfying meal is so close to home.

Thuy Long
111 rue Vaugirard

So I have to aplogize for the lack of posts this week. Some of our fans were getting anxious, but not to worry, we're fine. It's just been a fairly uneventful week, but here are the highlights:

Inspired by our friends back home in Toronto who are buying houses, we jumped on the big-purchase bandwagon and bought a washing machine. Of course we didn't learn our lesson with the oven, and bought another floor model, which also arrived without a manual. The machine did conveniently come with a one page piece of paper with a drawings-only diagram of how to hook it up. Not surprisingly it didn't answer all our questions, and Erik had to ask for some outside help (thanks Howard!). Hopefully it will be up and running tomorrow. Erik is going to miss the laundromat.

We bought tickets to Valencia, Spain this week. We'll be soaking up the sun for three days while Karina is here visiting in April. Although it is finally warming up here, it is still consistently wet and grey.

This week was the third time in as many weeks that I got to deal with kids who had accidents at the Jardin (sounds so much better than Nursery School). I thought I was home-free this Thursday by the end of recess, but just before we went in, one kid couldn't get his pants down fast enough (another reason why jogging pants are such a great idea!)

Today was the Spring party at the Jardin. Seriously, I don't think there is anything cuter than a school full of kids dressed up as bumble bees, lady bugs, flowers, gardeners and butterflies. It was great. I almost forgot that I was feeling pretty lousy, I've caught a cold (probably from the same germ producing, but unbelievably cute kids) and barely made it to work today.

I finished my report cards, and sent one of my Wednesday afternoon kids to the office. That class is my least favorite by a mile, and they just drive me nuts!

And there you go. Our week. For all of you who care, I still don't have a fully functioning bank card. We've combined been to about 5 different branches of SG to try and get it fixed, and have gotten about 10 different reasons why it can't be done (my favorite was the guy who told me that the bank was broken. When I asked what other branch I could go to, he told me they were all broken). Erik finally sweet-talked his favorite teller in Lozere into just ordering me another card, but she really really really didn't want to do it.

I'll try to post more regularly this week. With report cards done, I have no excuse. I'm also working on getting Erik to post, he has some funny stories to share about work.