Nothing keeps the cold at bay like a fur coat.
When you're four.
At school.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Also
it snowed today.
I looked out of the window in the middle of one of my classes this morning and there was white stuff falling from the sky. Yuck. It didn't last long, and eventually turned into cold, wet, rain.
Welcome to winter in Paris.
I looked out of the window in the middle of one of my classes this morning and there was white stuff falling from the sky. Yuck. It didn't last long, and eventually turned into cold, wet, rain.
Welcome to winter in Paris.
Le Grand Tasting and Enjoying Paris
Yesterday was the Grand Tasting, a wine tasting event at the Carrousel du Louvre. Being the wine connoisseurs, or perhaps just appreciators, that we are, we of course got tickets to check out the big event with our friends Alex and Marie and Julia and Thomas.
We've been to many wine shows in the past, but this one was different in a couple of important ways. First of all, we actually had to pay to get in. Usually producers just send out free invitations, but this was a slightly 'higher class' event, so there was an entry fee, and it was fairly high (20€). Luckily we found reasonably priced passes online. Secondly, you had to pay a deposit for your glass. Which meant that you got a real wine glass (yay!) but that we couldn't take the glasses home (boo!). Thirdly, this wine show was all about tasting, with very few of the booths actually selling bottles on the premises. It was nice to taste and not feel pressured to buy anything afterwards, and not being able to buy right away forces you to take notes on the wines you really like so that you can remember why you like them, and where you can actually find them.
We really enjoyed our afternoon, and discovered some interesting wines that we will definitely be seeking out, including a great Spanish wine, along with a recommendation for a tapas restaurant, that conveniently serves this wine. We were feeling quite festive, and took the 'scenic' route back to Alex and Marie's afterwards.
And so, without further ado, here are the obligatory pictures:
Group shot, near the end of the afternoon
Alex and Marie get serious about wine
Does this picture require a caption?
Marie and I after she sweet talked Piper Heidsick into serving us the 150€ bottle that they were hiding under the counter. We were actually trying to capture the wine glass chandelier in the background.
For some reason we decided to do a photo shoot in the Carrousel du Louvre after leaving the show. I'll spare you the rest of the many, many more cheesy shots we took there.
Who likes ferris wheels? We do!
Waiting to board, trying to convince the guy to let us into the VIP car.
Inside our little 'gondola'
Alex bought marrons chaudes afterwards, and we all happily caught the metro back to Alex and Marie's to watch the France-Australia rugby match before dancing to 80s tunes and then heading home.
We love Paris.
We've been to many wine shows in the past, but this one was different in a couple of important ways. First of all, we actually had to pay to get in. Usually producers just send out free invitations, but this was a slightly 'higher class' event, so there was an entry fee, and it was fairly high (20€). Luckily we found reasonably priced passes online. Secondly, you had to pay a deposit for your glass. Which meant that you got a real wine glass (yay!) but that we couldn't take the glasses home (boo!). Thirdly, this wine show was all about tasting, with very few of the booths actually selling bottles on the premises. It was nice to taste and not feel pressured to buy anything afterwards, and not being able to buy right away forces you to take notes on the wines you really like so that you can remember why you like them, and where you can actually find them.
We really enjoyed our afternoon, and discovered some interesting wines that we will definitely be seeking out, including a great Spanish wine, along with a recommendation for a tapas restaurant, that conveniently serves this wine. We were feeling quite festive, and took the 'scenic' route back to Alex and Marie's afterwards.
And so, without further ado, here are the obligatory pictures:
Group shot, near the end of the afternoon
Alex and Marie get serious about wine
Does this picture require a caption?
Marie and I after she sweet talked Piper Heidsick into serving us the 150€ bottle that they were hiding under the counter. We were actually trying to capture the wine glass chandelier in the background.
For some reason we decided to do a photo shoot in the Carrousel du Louvre after leaving the show. I'll spare you the rest of the many, many more cheesy shots we took there.
Who likes ferris wheels? We do!
Waiting to board, trying to convince the guy to let us into the VIP car.
Inside our little 'gondola'
Alex bought marrons chaudes afterwards, and we all happily caught the metro back to Alex and Marie's to watch the France-Australia rugby match before dancing to 80s tunes and then heading home.
We love Paris.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Happy France-iversary to Us!
Saturday marked our three year anniversary of living in France. I guess I should maybe be writing this in French, huh?
I can still remember how foreign everything seemed when we first arrived here three years ago. The novelty of buying fresh bread, buying wine for under five euros at the grocery store, and the minuscule elevator that we had in our first building. All things that seem so normal now that I literally have a hard time imagining life without bakeries on every street corner and good wine practically flowing out of the taps. And I actually did a double take when I got in a 'real' elevator at the Gap a while back.
Where we once had difficulty carrying on a conversation with a French person, we now we both speak French more than well enough to get by. Erik often cracks jokes in this crazy language, and has even spent the better part of the weekend reading the beshcerelle. I often find thoughts floating through my head in French, and there are certainly things that I find easier to communicate in French. Funny how our brains work. That being said, I also find myself throwing English words into the middle of sentences unknowingly, simply because they came up faster than the French version.
So far, we haven't done anything special to mark the occasion. I worked at the gym, and Erik spent the day preparing for some courses that he is teaching this week. Pretty exciting. We did go out salsa dancing last night, although it was for a friend's birthday. I'm happy to report that I still have all ten toenails, despite dancing with my lovely husband :).
Today we both worked again (perhaps not the glamorous life you were imagining for two foreigners in Paris) and napped for most of the afternoon. Very productive.
We have some more interesting things lined up for next weekend, I'll be sure to bring the camera and report back.
Dinner's ready, so I should go!
A bientot :)
I can still remember how foreign everything seemed when we first arrived here three years ago. The novelty of buying fresh bread, buying wine for under five euros at the grocery store, and the minuscule elevator that we had in our first building. All things that seem so normal now that I literally have a hard time imagining life without bakeries on every street corner and good wine practically flowing out of the taps. And I actually did a double take when I got in a 'real' elevator at the Gap a while back.
Where we once had difficulty carrying on a conversation with a French person, we now we both speak French more than well enough to get by. Erik often cracks jokes in this crazy language, and has even spent the better part of the weekend reading the beshcerelle. I often find thoughts floating through my head in French, and there are certainly things that I find easier to communicate in French. Funny how our brains work. That being said, I also find myself throwing English words into the middle of sentences unknowingly, simply because they came up faster than the French version.
So far, we haven't done anything special to mark the occasion. I worked at the gym, and Erik spent the day preparing for some courses that he is teaching this week. Pretty exciting. We did go out salsa dancing last night, although it was for a friend's birthday. I'm happy to report that I still have all ten toenails, despite dancing with my lovely husband :).
Today we both worked again (perhaps not the glamorous life you were imagining for two foreigners in Paris) and napped for most of the afternoon. Very productive.
We have some more interesting things lined up for next weekend, I'll be sure to bring the camera and report back.
Dinner's ready, so I should go!
A bientot :)
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Erik's Pot
Before I get into this, please note that 'pot' is pronounced 'po'.
On Wednesday afternoon, Erik threw his much anticipated pot in celebration of the start of his CNRS position.
One pot to go: 8 bottles of Champagne, 4 bottles of white wine, 12 bottles of red, one bottle of rye, 12 Canadian beers, assorted pop and juice, chips, veggies and dips, sliced ham, four kinds of cheese (gorgonzola and mascarpone, goat cheese, comte, brie de meaux), red pepper and goat cheese tarts, rice krispie squares, cheesecake brownies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, grapes and ten baguettes.
Tatiana came and picked us up around noon on Wednesday to transport us and all our goodies out to the ecole. We spent the next couple of hours finding ice, and transforming a conference room into party central.
Around 4:00, the entire lab, about 70 people, showed up to enjoy the celebration. Erik gave a little speech, then the bottles of champagne were popped and the party began.
Pavel graciously brought some smoked pig fat studded with garlic.
The rye whisky was quite popular. All that was left at the end was the purple bag.
The aftermath
The verdict: best pot ever!
On Wednesday afternoon, Erik threw his much anticipated pot in celebration of the start of his CNRS position.
One pot to go: 8 bottles of Champagne, 4 bottles of white wine, 12 bottles of red, one bottle of rye, 12 Canadian beers, assorted pop and juice, chips, veggies and dips, sliced ham, four kinds of cheese (gorgonzola and mascarpone, goat cheese, comte, brie de meaux), red pepper and goat cheese tarts, rice krispie squares, cheesecake brownies, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, grapes and ten baguettes.
Tatiana came and picked us up around noon on Wednesday to transport us and all our goodies out to the ecole. We spent the next couple of hours finding ice, and transforming a conference room into party central.
Around 4:00, the entire lab, about 70 people, showed up to enjoy the celebration. Erik gave a little speech, then the bottles of champagne were popped and the party began.
Pavel graciously brought some smoked pig fat studded with garlic.
The rye whisky was quite popular. All that was left at the end was the purple bag.
The aftermath
The verdict: best pot ever!
Sunday, November 02, 2008
The Cave
Ever wonder what all these beautiful Parisian apartments are like down below?
We finally got keys to our landlady's cave (pronounced with a short a, please), and thought you might appreciate seeing just what it's like.
Come on down, and check it out!
It's pretty much as unfinished as you can get.
One long hallway to each side leading to the storage spaces.
The lovely dirt floor.
Did I mention that our cave doesn't have a light? Today we brought down the flashlight, and I got to check it out for the first time.
It's kind of musty smelling, but I have to say, about a thousand times less scary than the basement that we had on Augusta in Toronto. Now that was a disgusting basement! I kind of wish I hadn't thought about it, I'll probably have nightmares now.
The Canned Food Aisle Just Got a Lot More Interesting....
Can you believe that this (minus the veggies):
Confit de canard, cassoulet (white beans, sausage and duck cooked in duck fat) and roasted vegetables.
came from this:
Well, maybe you can, but we were pretty impressed. Sure beats Chef Boyardee! We may have both consumed our yearly recommended intake of duck fat in one meal. The can of confit de canard even recommended that we save all the delicious fat that the duck was conserved in to use when making omelette's, or on toast. Don't worry, we didn't.
And next time, we might restrict ourselves to one duck delight per meal instead of three. Our arteries would probably appreciate it.
Confit de canard, cassoulet (white beans, sausage and duck cooked in duck fat) and roasted vegetables.
came from this:
Well, maybe you can, but we were pretty impressed. Sure beats Chef Boyardee! We may have both consumed our yearly recommended intake of duck fat in one meal. The can of confit de canard even recommended that we save all the delicious fat that the duck was conserved in to use when making omelette's, or on toast. Don't worry, we didn't.
And next time, we might restrict ourselves to one duck delight per meal instead of three. Our arteries would probably appreciate it.
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