A Very French Weekend

With the gorgeous, early autumn weather we've been having, this weekend was the perfect opportunity to get out of Jouy and spend some time in Paris. Luckily, my family's apartment was not rented for the weekend, so we took the opportunity to stay in the city and enjoy Paris for a night. On Saturday, Peter had class until noon, and after lunch we took the train into Paris (a thirty-minute trip when you catch the express train!) There was a big market festival going on , right down on the Seine, next to Notre Dame Cathedral. It specialized in goods from southwest France, where we honeymooned, so we were very excited to explore what was there.
It was a fantastic market, with samples of cheeses, wines, honey, fruits and meats from southwest France. We shared a four-euro cheese plate, which turned out to be enough food for four people, but was delicious!The market was packed, but that is part of the fun of experiencing a city like Paris. At the end of the market, people lined the Seine enjoying their cheese and wine samples and the beautiful, crisp, fall weather.After riding bikes throughout the city on Saturday, (the Velib bikes are fantastic- one euro per day to ride a bike all over the city!), we were ready for a good meal. We enjoyed some seafood and good wine at a little restaurant near the Luxembourg Garden, until we headed home to get a good night's sleep.

Sunday morning we were up early to head out of Paris to see our friends, Priscilla and Eduardo. They live in Versailles, and invited us to join them for a trip to the Sunday market and lunch at their apartment, just down the street from the famous Versailles palace. The market was fantastic, actually better than any market either of us had ever visited in Paris! It was huge, and had foods from all over France, and all over the world!
After picking up some fresh vegetables, cheese and herbs to cook with this week, we headed back to Eduardo and Priscila's apartment just a few blocks away. Eduardo prepared an unbelievable meal of squid, mussels and shrimp in fresh Italian pasta, and we ate like kings! After desserts from Paul (a chain bakery here in Paris, but a favorite of ours), and coffee, as well as a few bottles of wine, Peter and I took the 8-minute train back to Jouy, and were back in our home-sweet-home in time to catch the Eagles game :-)All in all, it was a great weekend, filled with good food and great company. We're all set for another busy week. I'll start babysitting for an American family in Paris this week, and continue searching for other activities to do, and Peter will start his first REAL week of classes. But we both look forward to next weekend so we can continue to enjoy all that France has to offer.

Please Pass the Herring

One of the big reasons Peter and I decided to move to France this year was so we could really take advantage of the easy travel opportunities here in Europe. Keeping an eye on cheap airline tickets, we came upon a very inexpensive deal for a trip to Oslo, so we took it! It was our first trip to Scandinavia, and although we were only there for the weekend, we feel like we had a nice, quick introduction to Norway, and we definitely want to go back to explore more.We arrived Friday night and went for a long walk in search of dinner. Oslo is far and away the most expensive city we've visited, but with a little research (and some suggestions from the helpful hotel concierge), we found a great place with delicious food, and a price that didn't break the bank. As Oslo is so far north, it really felt like autumn there, where in Connecticut we know this time of year is often still summer-like. All of the restaurants down on the water had outdoor patios, but had heat lamps and blankets on the backs of the chairs for chilly patrons.
The next day, we bought an Oslo pass giving us access to all of the museums and transportation services in Oslo. A ferry brought us across the bay, to a neighborhood containing many cool museums. We learned a lot about the Viking history and Oslo's important shipbuilding culture. These are pictures from the marine museums we visited. On the left is an actual Viking ship that was excavated in Norway in the late 1800's, and on the right is Peter sailing a pirate ship through the bay in Oslo.
Another museum commemorates the remarkable journeys of Thor Heyerdahl and his crews who sailed on incredible voyages on hand-made reed boats. His objective was to show that the styles of boat-making of ancient cultures all around the world were advanced enough that they could allow people to journey far and wide, explaining the similarities between some cultures who geographically are very far from one another. One journey took Thor on a reed raft all the way to Easter Island.

One of our favorite activities in Oslo was our trip to the Vigeland Sculpture Garden. It's an enormous, beautiful garden in the city, filled with incredible sculptures by a Norwegian artist. The sculptures stand out because they represent actions and stages of life, rather than depicting still images of people, and they really feel as though the sculptures may come to life at any moment. From the top of the hill, there is also a great view of the city and the garden.


On Saturday, we ran into an enormous street fair. We were lucky enough to be hungry, so we could sample the amazing kanelbolls (cinnamon buns) that we had been eyeing throughout the city. They seem to be a popular snack, and we could see why.

The majority of our trip was spent walking around the city. Oslo is a modern city that is easy to get around. There is a very (VERY) small "old town" section of the city, but the majority of the buildings are new, and the city is filled with restaurants, cafes and bars, giving Oslo a young, energetic vibe.We really enjoyed our first visit to Scandinavia, and we know we'll be back. Below is a picture of Norway from way up high!

Tam Erope Strikes Again

As you may remember from a previous post, Team Europe is what we and our London friends have proudly named ourselves, giving ourselves a big pat on the back for our bravery in moving overseas. Well, they were back in Paris last week, and since Jeff couldn't make it, we removed some letters from our name in his honor.Tam Erope's second meeting was filled, again, with lots of walking, drinking and eating. This time we explored the city by bike most days. Kyra's birthday was Friday, August 27th and we celebrated with an outrageously good and filling meal at a restaurant that specializes in eggs. Below is a picture of Peter's meal. The server, who I guess assumed we had a collective good sense of humor, seeing as we'd been laughing all night at our table, called these "tee-tees" as he placed them on the table. So French- you just can't escape "tee-tees" in France.On Saturday, we took a day trip out to Reims, which is in Champagne country! The weather was great, and the drive was beautiful. While Reims isn't a "bumpin'" city, it is filled with champagne houses that give great tours- and tastings. We visited the Mumm Champagne House and learned a lot while enjoying a couple glasses of the good stuff.
The rest of the weekend was complete with street markets, a trip to Montmartre, and, well, more wine and food. It was great to have everyone back together in Paris again, (sans Jeff), but our next reunion will be in London for sure.
This is a cool shot of the famous Sacre Coeur church in Nikhil's shades. Below is a photo of Priscilla (a new friend at Peter's school) and Kyra and I in front of the view from Sacre Coeur.

Follow-up to What's Different About France

Oh yeah, and no Garden Catering...

What's Different About France

As Caroline and I get adjusted to France we're noticing a lot of differences from the states (obviously).  Here are just a few:

• Bread, bread, bread.  Apparently the anti-carb craze that attacked the U.S. several years ago has not yet invaded France.  Every meal comes with bread.  If you buy a take-out (en porter) salad, they throw a piece of bread in it, if you want a sandwich, it is one piece of ham and a giant baguette.  So be it, it is delicious.
• Nothing is open late.  As our friend Alex rightly pointed out, nothing is open late at night in Paris, so if you have the late night munchies, you better hope you have some baguette back at the apartment or you are SOL.
• Dog poop in the street.  Any one who has been to Paris knows this one, but if you haven't been, Parisiens do not feel obliged to clean up after their dogs, so walking the sidewalks requires a heightened level of awareness.  If you ask Caroline, she will note from first hand experience, that this attitude sometimes also applies to the homeless, who also don't clean up after themselves...
• BO.  Based on my previous experiences, I have to say that this trip to Paris has been less smelly than those in the past, but it still remains a serious issue.
• Pace of life.  Everyone knows that everything runs a little slower in France, but Caroline and I saw one of the most egregious examples the other day at the grocery store.  While waiting in line during the evening rush, the woman in front of us decides to pay for her two tomatoes in pennies.  While this is something that I have seen before in the states it proceeded to get worse as she and the cashier decided to hang out and chat about life for a few minutes.  All this while about 6 people waited patiently in line to buy their groceries.

Martignac, France

Last week Peter's mom, Terumi, came to Paris for a visit. We had a great time walking, eating and shopping. While Peter was at French class (mine is over for the summer), Terumi and I spent an afternoon in the Marais, exploring the stores, sampling some of the local Jewish pastries and enjoying the beautiful weather. On Friday, we all hopped aboard the SNCF train to Cahors, France, and after a 40 minute drive, we pulled up to the Gale's house in Martignac. Martignac is a tiny "town" of maybe 10 houses and one beautiful, old church. The view from the porch stretches over the Lot valley for miles. There's nothing more relaxing than enjoying a glass of rose wine, reading a book with a background fit for a painting (actually, there is a painting of this incredible area in the living room of the house, painted by a family friend, hung over the hundreds of years old, 4-foot tall fireplace. The fireplace, I might add, still has a hanging iron hook and chain, for hanging your dead rabbit or pot of gruel over the fire). It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend and after visiting two local vineyards, and the "cave" at the house, we came back to Paris 6-bottles of wine richer, relaxed and happy.

Team Europe Comes to Paris

One of the huge benefits of us moving to France has been that we already have friends close by in London. Being the third couple to move to Europe from the Tri-State Area, Peter and I were officially inducted into “Team Europe” last weekend. Jeff and Rebecca, and Niki and Kyra came to visit us for our second weekend in Paris, and what a weekend it was. It was filled with walking by the Seine, eating crepes on the Ils-St. Louis followed by the famous Parisian Berthillon ice cream and a boat ride down the river.

There was a champagne picnic, (champagne provided by our thoughtful guests) complete with a variety of cheeses, baguettes and olives, all enjoyed in the Luxembourg Garden- until the weather took an unexpected turn for the worse, and we had to bolt for the nearest restaurant to continue the party. Saturday night also included time spent at Peter’s favorite spot, La Pinte, a pint-sized bar in our neighborhood where the six of us pretty much filled up the bar, and we spent the night doing what we do best- laughing, chatting and drinking. We spent Sunday in the Jewish Quarter, the Marais, enjoying a leisurely lunch and time to hang out in the Place des Vosges. We walked west through the city, past the Louvre and spent some more time relaxing in the Jardin des Tuileries, while some enjoyed a “petit snack” from the Paul bakery stand in the park.

Eating in Strasbourg

Where to begin?

As Caroline mentioned, we had a great time in Strasbourg.  While we were there, I managed to pretty much eat myself through the city, so here is a quick summary of what we ate.

Our first night was Caroline's birthday, so we went to dinner at a nice place on the main square and I made an attempt at the local specialty, chocroute, which is just French for Sauerkraut.  My chocroute was also topped with 8 different kinds of meat, which are plainly visible above.  There were 4 different kinds of sausage, a chunk of bacon and three other pork products of various sorts.  You will be glad to know that responsible Peter showed up for the evening and did not try to finish the entire plate.  Caroline's meal (in the background) was no less delicious.  It was a really well done chicken in cream sauce (not to be mistaken with team cream sauce).  To top it all off, we were entertained by a number of the terrible street performers of Strasbourg, including the guy below.  Caroline and I have established that despite its charm, Strasbourgeois street performers are far and away the worst we have ever encountered.  After this saxophone guy, we were serenaded by a young man with a recorder and a girl with a flute all over the course of one meal.

I digress.  Later in the trip, we ate the following masterpiece for lunch.  It is a spaetzle mac & cheese with gruyere and mushrooms.  Very good stuff.

Anyway, I'm going to bed, so I'll write more later this week.  This is our first week of language classes, we are going to see George Clinton on Wednesday, and we have friends in town for the weekend, so I am sure there will be lots to write about.

Bonne nuit.

Honeymoon Part 2 (Strasbourg)

We spent the second half of our honeymoon (or lune de miel) in Strasbourg, a city on the border of Germany. Strasbourg displays a lot of German influence with its architecture, language and cuisine. Again, we spent most of our time strolling aimlessly through the streets (our favorite thing to do), and resting occasionally for a glass of Alsatian wine or beer. Strasbourg is beautiful, filled with small cobblestone streets and little shops, and hundreds of restaurants and cafes.
In the center of town was one of the most beautiful cathedrals we've seen. To our surprise, during the months of July and August, a nightly light show is put on. As we enjoyed our after-dinner beer at a small cafe on the street, people started to gather around us and by 10:30 the entire square was filled with onlookers, ready for the light show. It was a great sight, timed to beautiful classical music.
We took a day trip to Colmar, a small town 30 minutes south of Strasbourg. It was worth a visit. We saw the home of the sculptor who built the Statue of Liberty, including some of his drawings and models. A little boat ride gave us a view of the canals of the town, which was nice (and was better than the boat ride we took in Strasbourg, during which the driver fell asleep at the wheel and we smashed into the side of the river). All in all, a lovely side trip.

Honeymoon Part 1 (St. Jean-de-Luz)

We returned at midnight last night from our beach vacation to St. Jean-de-Luz, a small beach town in Southwestern France. In the heart of Basque country, this town consists of a beautiful beach surrounded by the sprawling Pyrenees and a ton of restaurants serving chorizo, wine by the pitcher and other regional specialties. We spent our time strolling, reading our Kindles at the beach, and we took a day trip to Biarritz, which, we were told, is where young people go, as opposed to St. Jean-de-Luz, where old people go. Regardless, we loved this little town (maybe even more than "hip" Biarritz) and had an extremely relaxing 3 days together.

Our favorite meal was at Boinga, where we had a tasting starter of 4 entrees (which in France are appetizers), of crab with avocado, cod with a pesto sauce, gazpacho with couscous and langoustine, and shrimp with mayonaise. Our main course was a shared 15 inch cod roasted with sliced garlic and olive oil. One of many great nights so far.






In St. Jean-de-Luz, we had nice weather, but not "beach" weather, except one day. So much of our time was spent strolling the streets, checking out neighborhoods, and one day we took a boat ride across the bay to a different part of town. Filled with families braving the slightly chilly, but still beautiful day, the gentleman depicted below shows you just a small example of what a European beach is like. We were happy with our decision to stick to the city streets.

Back in Paris for one day, we spent the day with a long walk and lunch at a well-known brasserie, Chantier, with cheap food in a classic French atmosphere. Dinner was a simple salad, cheese, bread, olive combo followed by packing for our next adventure to Strasbourg!