Passarelle Debilly
Caught anti-socializing
Good ol' Eiffey put on a nice show
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Questions
My summer vacation is almost over. As much as I am going to miss surfing the Internet and reading Anthony Bourdain books (highly recommend Kitchen Confidential, A Cooks Tour and The Nasty Bits) I am looking forward to seeing the kids and teachers again on a regular basis. The start of all school years seem to involve some sort of shopping, it wouldn't be a new year after all without some retail therapy to numb the pain of the end of your freedom. As a result I spent some quality time at WH Smith picking up some books for school, and I also splurged on some new clothes for the fall (a necessity seeing as I've been wearing the same clothes for almost 12 straight months now. The summer skirts and dresses never stood a chance in this weather).
Hmmm...that was a bit of a tangent. My whole point today was that I was checking my stat counter today (something that I probably won't get around to doing very often once school starts), and I'm always surprised by who is reading this blog. StatCounter is a handy little tool that can tell you the countries and sometimes the cities of the people reading this blog. I like to think that it's mostly people that we know who are reading, but I'm not so naive to think that anything on the Internet is that private. I think I can make some pretty good guesses about the make up of the Canadian contingent, and I'm going to assume that Steve makes up the 3% Japanese readership but almost 50% of the readers are apparently coming from the States and someone in Germany logged on yesterday. So, who are you? I know you're reading :)
Leave me a comment, or send me an email. The curiosity is killing me!
Hmmm...that was a bit of a tangent. My whole point today was that I was checking my stat counter today (something that I probably won't get around to doing very often once school starts), and I'm always surprised by who is reading this blog. StatCounter is a handy little tool that can tell you the countries and sometimes the cities of the people reading this blog. I like to think that it's mostly people that we know who are reading, but I'm not so naive to think that anything on the Internet is that private. I think I can make some pretty good guesses about the make up of the Canadian contingent, and I'm going to assume that Steve makes up the 3% Japanese readership but almost 50% of the readers are apparently coming from the States and someone in Germany logged on yesterday. So, who are you? I know you're reading :)
Leave me a comment, or send me an email. The curiosity is killing me!
Monday, August 27, 2007
How to ruin a good night
1. Arrive at Alex's with two bottles of Champagne in tow (the payment she requested for the bookshelf she is selling us)
2. Pop the champagne, and enjoy it with a delicious meal prepared by your host.
3. When the champagne is gone, drink the 'coke-hitos' that Alex has created in an attempt to finish up the duty free vodka that she has (yes, the drinks contained neither rum, nor lime, but since we are mojito obsessed, and had mint, we figured the name was appropriate).
4. Open up the bottle of Baron to drink with the cheese course, and dessert (pain perdu)
5. Head out for the Scary Bathroom Bar. Enjoy the 15 minute walk through the deserted streets of Paris.
6. Arrive at SBB and greet the owner with kisses (us) and handshakes (Erik).
7. Order the obligatory bottle of rose, and inform the owner that this is Alex's last weekend in Paris.
8. Begin taking the necessary drink induced silly photographs.
9. Realize that Alex's bag is missing when she reaches for her camera (camera was actually forgotten at home).
10. Sober up quickly when you realize that Alex's bag is REALLY missing, search the entire bar, the streets, and the bar again.
11. Try and figure out how it could have disappeared when there were only about ten other people in the bar, the bag was on my chair, and none of us saw anyone pass behind us.
12. Leave SBB without even using the bathroom, and hop in a cab so that Alex can begin cancelling all her cards.
13. Have an impromptu sleep-over because Alex's house keys were in the bag that was taken.
Luckily Alex was able to get back into her apartment the next day, and all her cards were cancelled on time. We all went to Rock en Seine on Sunday, and although the weather was great, the bag theft certainly cast a grey cloud over the remainder of the weekend.
2. Pop the champagne, and enjoy it with a delicious meal prepared by your host.
3. When the champagne is gone, drink the 'coke-hitos' that Alex has created in an attempt to finish up the duty free vodka that she has (yes, the drinks contained neither rum, nor lime, but since we are mojito obsessed, and had mint, we figured the name was appropriate).
4. Open up the bottle of Baron to drink with the cheese course, and dessert (pain perdu)
5. Head out for the Scary Bathroom Bar. Enjoy the 15 minute walk through the deserted streets of Paris.
6. Arrive at SBB and greet the owner with kisses (us) and handshakes (Erik).
7. Order the obligatory bottle of rose, and inform the owner that this is Alex's last weekend in Paris.
8. Begin taking the necessary drink induced silly photographs.
9. Realize that Alex's bag is missing when she reaches for her camera (camera was actually forgotten at home).
10. Sober up quickly when you realize that Alex's bag is REALLY missing, search the entire bar, the streets, and the bar again.
11. Try and figure out how it could have disappeared when there were only about ten other people in the bar, the bag was on my chair, and none of us saw anyone pass behind us.
12. Leave SBB without even using the bathroom, and hop in a cab so that Alex can begin cancelling all her cards.
13. Have an impromptu sleep-over because Alex's house keys were in the bag that was taken.
Luckily Alex was able to get back into her apartment the next day, and all her cards were cancelled on time. We all went to Rock en Seine on Sunday, and although the weather was great, the bag theft certainly cast a grey cloud over the remainder of the weekend.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
More pictures
On the road
Looking through the vineyards to the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot
Standing next to one of the huge grape presses at the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot
In the caves at the Marche des Vins in Beaune
We are wine tasting experts!
Yes, we are drinking out of metal saucer shaped things called tastevins
We thought this was a pretty funny thing to have written on a wine glass.
And then the camera battery died. You know how you always forget one thing when you go away? We forgot the battery charger.
Looking through the vineyards to the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot
Standing next to one of the huge grape presses at the Chateau du Clos de Vougeot
In the caves at the Marche des Vins in Beaune
We are wine tasting experts!
Yes, we are drinking out of metal saucer shaped things called tastevins
We thought this was a pretty funny thing to have written on a wine glass.
And then the camera battery died. You know how you always forget one thing when you go away? We forgot the battery charger.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Happy Anniversary to Us!
On Monday August 13th, we celebrated our second wedding anniversary by getting up really early and catching the TGV to Dijon.
We spent the day climbing towers
Checking out the lucky 'chouette' (owl)
and having cocktails on a patio.
Apparently two years of marriage doesn't agree with me. Or maybe after two years of marriage Erik is getting better at catching some of my finer faces on camera.
Then we got dressed up and treated ourselves to our first one-Michelin-starred restaurant dining experience at the Hostellerie du Chapeau Rouge. It was fantastic. I now want to eat like that all the time.
And here's a particularly unflattering picture of us before dinner.
We spent the day climbing towers
Checking out the lucky 'chouette' (owl)
and having cocktails on a patio.
Apparently two years of marriage doesn't agree with me. Or maybe after two years of marriage Erik is getting better at catching some of my finer faces on camera.
Then we got dressed up and treated ourselves to our first one-Michelin-starred restaurant dining experience at the Hostellerie du Chapeau Rouge. It was fantastic. I now want to eat like that all the time.
And here's a particularly unflattering picture of us before dinner.
Ouch!
We were so convinced it was going to rain, we forgot to put on sunscreen. We did however learn that 'farmer's tan' translates quite literally into 'bronzage de fermier'.
Compare and Contrast
Biking day one Germany, last summer
Biking, day one Dijon on Monday. Less rain, more maps, and more fun. Oh, and better bikes.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Visitors
Steve and Christy arrived in Paris, and we had a great weekend catching up, and enjoying the fantastic weather. We spent Saturday afternoon taking advantage of various patios, then on Sunday they came over for dinner.
The joys of Ve'lib. We ended up walking all the way home from Hotel de Ville because we couldn't find two bikes. We stopped at all the stations on our route home, finally returning my bike after our fifth stop. What a pain!
The joys of Ve'lib. We ended up walking all the way home from Hotel de Ville because we couldn't find two bikes. We stopped at all the stations on our route home, finally returning my bike after our fifth stop. What a pain!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Ve'lib
Paris has implemented a new system of bike rentals around the city. Every 300 metres or so you can find bike stations where you can pick up a bike and then drop it off when you arrive at your destination.
Erik and I have tried it out a couple of times this past week, and have had a lot of fun with it. Despite the fact that it can easily take upwards of five minutes at the one ticket machine for each bike that you rent which means that there's always a line up, the bikes are comfortable, easy to ride, and convenient. There are two stations near our place, however we're less familiar with the locations in the rest of the city, and have spent some time either on bikes, or on foot looking for a point to pick them up or drop them off.
Anyway, in an attempt to speed things up for ourselves, we decided to get the year long pass, which you can have loaded on to your metro card. This should mean that we'll just have to swipe our passes directly at the bike instead of queing at the machine for a ticket.
But, because this is France, nothing is as easy as it seems.
I logged onto the Ve'lib website yesterday to sign up online, and proceeded to happily fill in the boxes while thinking about how easy it was.
Until I got to the last step.
Where it asked me to then print off all the information I had entered and send it to them in the mail.
At least in 15 days I'll be able to ride away from all my frustrations on a shiny rental bike.
Erik and I have tried it out a couple of times this past week, and have had a lot of fun with it. Despite the fact that it can easily take upwards of five minutes at the one ticket machine for each bike that you rent which means that there's always a line up, the bikes are comfortable, easy to ride, and convenient. There are two stations near our place, however we're less familiar with the locations in the rest of the city, and have spent some time either on bikes, or on foot looking for a point to pick them up or drop them off.
Anyway, in an attempt to speed things up for ourselves, we decided to get the year long pass, which you can have loaded on to your metro card. This should mean that we'll just have to swipe our passes directly at the bike instead of queing at the machine for a ticket.
But, because this is France, nothing is as easy as it seems.
I logged onto the Ve'lib website yesterday to sign up online, and proceeded to happily fill in the boxes while thinking about how easy it was.
Until I got to the last step.
Where it asked me to then print off all the information I had entered and send it to them in the mail.
At least in 15 days I'll be able to ride away from all my frustrations on a shiny rental bike.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Curry Pan
It's 3:00. I'm still in my pyjamas, and still wearing my glasses, and have spent the better part of today (and yesterday) creating this delightful snack and reading Harry Potter.
Yes folks, it's curry-pan, a deep fried bun filled with Japanese-style curry. Erik and I fell in love with this snack that was readily available at all the combinis we visited both times we were in Japan. And since I'm now officially on vacation and have nothing better to do than avoid the rain, I decided I had to give it a try. And despite the amount of time required to make both the curry (dinner last night) and then the buns, both recipes were fairly easy.
So, if you're in the neighbourhood, feel free to stop by for a snack. :)
Recipes can be found here and here.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Lost
I hate losing things. I can never believe that something is really lost. Our living space consists of a mere 38 square metres*. How could two people lose things in such a small space? There's only so many places to look before you go crazy.
Yet, since we've lived here, we've lost more things than I can remember losing elsewhere. The latest missing item, and the cause of our current frustration, is our video card.
Which we of course only noticed was lost as I put my coat on to head out the door and rent the movie (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, for what it's worth. We're in serious HP mode right now. The new book should arrive on Wednesday).
Sigh.
I guess it's time to check my wallet for the fourth time.
*400 square feet
Yet, since we've lived here, we've lost more things than I can remember losing elsewhere. The latest missing item, and the cause of our current frustration, is our video card.
Which we of course only noticed was lost as I put my coat on to head out the door and rent the movie (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, for what it's worth. We're in serious HP mode right now. The new book should arrive on Wednesday).
Sigh.
I guess it's time to check my wallet for the fourth time.
*400 square feet
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Day After
On Sunday, after a night of celebrating the anniversary of the storming of Bastille we dragged ourselves to the Parc Floral for a picnic, some jazz and some petanque.
Erik couldn't be bothered to sit up
I wish I were still in bed
The twins are looking cheery
And lucky Alex apparently took all these shots, because there aren't any of her. The petanque game that followed got off to a bad start, with the non-French (Alex, Erik and I) losing quite badly to the French (Eric and Philippe), until Alex and I took a break. Then Erik got to play on a winning team.
Erik couldn't be bothered to sit up
I wish I were still in bed
The twins are looking cheery
And lucky Alex apparently took all these shots, because there aren't any of her. The petanque game that followed got off to a bad start, with the non-French (Alex, Erik and I) losing quite badly to the French (Eric and Philippe), until Alex and I took a break. Then Erik got to play on a winning team.
Happy Bastille Day
Of course there are still good times to be had here in Paris, and last Saturday was the Fete National, or what we like to call Bastille Day.
Instead of fighting the massive crowds at the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower to see the fireworks, we happily accepted an invitation to dine and drink on the roof of our friend Philippe's apartment in the 2e arrondissement.
After climbing up all seven flights of stairs, we then continued to climb, up a rickety ladder through an open skylight and onto the roof. Now, this wasn't any fancy terrasse, it was literally a roof, that was probably not designed for entertaining 30-odd people. But the views were fantatstic, and the trip to the bathroom an adventure after more than one glass of wine. The twins had cleverly rigged up three electric barbeques, threading the cords down through Philippe's window, and everyone enjoyed a bbq of sausages and brochettes. When it finally got dark around 10:30 the fireworks could be seen at the Eiffel tower, and afterward, when the sun set, we made ourselves comfortable, enjoying the view over the rooftops of this fabulous city.
The view
the way up
Seriously, I left my skinny arms in TO.
Sometimes I have too much fun trying to figure out the settings on the camera. I took a lot of blurry photos that night.
The token fireworks shots
maxing and relaxing
Instead of fighting the massive crowds at the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower to see the fireworks, we happily accepted an invitation to dine and drink on the roof of our friend Philippe's apartment in the 2e arrondissement.
After climbing up all seven flights of stairs, we then continued to climb, up a rickety ladder through an open skylight and onto the roof. Now, this wasn't any fancy terrasse, it was literally a roof, that was probably not designed for entertaining 30-odd people. But the views were fantatstic, and the trip to the bathroom an adventure after more than one glass of wine. The twins had cleverly rigged up three electric barbeques, threading the cords down through Philippe's window, and everyone enjoyed a bbq of sausages and brochettes. When it finally got dark around 10:30 the fireworks could be seen at the Eiffel tower, and afterward, when the sun set, we made ourselves comfortable, enjoying the view over the rooftops of this fabulous city.
The view
the way up
Seriously, I left my skinny arms in TO.
Sometimes I have too much fun trying to figure out the settings on the camera. I took a lot of blurry photos that night.
The token fireworks shots
maxing and relaxing
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