Foire d'Automne

The weekend we spent in Madrid was also the weekend of the celebrated Foire d'Automne, a huge collection of trade shows and festivals in an exhibition hall in the 15th arrondisement of Paris. One major hall was hosting the annual Salon du Chocolat, which may or may not be exactly what you'd imagine. If you're picturing an ENORMOUS room filled from wall to wall with chocolate vendors, you're right.

If you're imagining chocolate sculptures, chocolate cooking demonstrations, chocolate fashion, you're also right.

Now, I know you're not picturing salons with chocolate hair products, chocolate foot massages and Peruvian dance shows celebrating the cacao seed that gives us the dark, bitter goodness we call chocolate. But these things were all present at the Salon du Chocolat, too.
Even a few chocolate-free treats were there, like these "fruits confits", or candied fruits, and the scrumptious eclairs above.

Luckily, we came back from Madrid on a Sunday evening of a three-day weekend, so Monday I had free to visit this spectacular event. Peter had to study (I guess being in business school means having to forgo chocolate festivals, sometimes, in order to study for midterms), but I got to attend with my friend Adeline, and her friend Charlotte. Not only did we sample as much chocolate as possible, we spoke French (their native language) the whole day, which was a lot of fun and great practice for me!

After Charlotte left us, Adeline and I continued into the next exhibition hall, not knowing what we'd find. We knew that the Foire d'Autumn would contain exhibits on housing materials, such as green-energy heating systems (heat is VERY expensive in Paris!) and furniture. What we didn't know we'd find was...well...everything you can possibly imagine. New-wave weight-loss machines, hot tubs, REALLY ugly lamps, clothing and accessories, space-saving beds that can be pulled down from the ceiling, and a host of infomercial products. Adeline had to give this window-washing device a try. She was very impressed!

Moving through the exhibition, we just happened to stumble upon....yes, you guessed it...a huge food market! Bars serving Caribbean drinks and jerk chicken sandwiches, saucisson and thousands of cheeses, raclette cooking on iron pans,and specialties from all over France, and even other parts of the world! There were cooking lessons to sign up for, wine-tasting lessons, and we were just blown away.

We had a great time and recommend this event to anyone in Paris next fall!

Football in Madrid, Spain

Last weekend we packed our bags and headed to Madrid for the IE Greenlaces Cup football tournament. Our HEC teams (men and women) were scheduled to play in the tournament and watching this spectacle was a lot of fun. But before getting to the serious competition, there was of course a lot of sightseeing, partying, and EATING.

On our walk through the city, what did we discover? Peter's dream...a place called Museo de Jamon...which turned out not to be a Ham Museum at all...

Instead, this was a ham cafeteria, where young and old piled in to start the day off right (at 11:00 am) with a beer and a ham sandwich, filled with meat cut fresh from your choice of legs hanging from the ceiling.

Our next stop was at the Mercado de San Miguel, which was a huge indoor market. This market was different from those in France, however, because not only were fresh fish, meat and vegetables sold, but tapas was set out at every stall, and at every corner there was yet another bar, serving thirsty patrons. We sampled a few things (toast topped with various types of mushrooms, marinated octopus, and stuffed peppers) and then headed for lunch on Cava Baja, a cute street in the La Latina neighborhood.

La Latina was a charming neighborhood with small streets, dotted with restaurants, churches and markets. Of course, we had lunch here, following the recommendation of the New York Times' 36-Hours Madrid article. We dined at Casa Lucas, and the food was amazing. Sharing the tapas, we filled up on pork with carmelized onions on bread, boudin noir (blood sausage) and rice, and chicken with corn mousse and potatoes.
The rest of our free time was spent checking out the town hall, palace, churches and the beautiful views of Madrid.

Plaza de Mayor

A beautiful building we liked due to the large "G" (for Gale) on the front.

We even had time for a boat ride in Retiro Park.

After all the sightseeing, it was time for the football to begin. HEC brought two tough-looking teams (women and men) and although both teams lost their games, everyone had a good time.

And of course, there was plenty of partying to keep us all distracted from the losses.

A Quick Word About "L'Automne"

Autumn has come to Paris! Moving here from the East Coast, which is known world-wide for its beautiful autumn colors and weather, we were skeptical that Paris in the fall could be anywhere near as lovely. However, we've been pleasantly surprised! Paris, which is always beautiful, doesn't sport the brilliant hues that the East Coast boasts, but has its own subtle autumnal charm.A little park near Cherche-Midi

Below are some pictures of autumn in Jouy-en-Josas, our home sweet home, which may be outside of Paris, but is beautiful and peaceful. One of our favorite parts of campus is this lake, which is a great spot for jogging and barbeques.


One of the best parts of the autumn is the change in produce at the local markets.

It's no New England autumn, but it's not too shabby, either!

Finally, a favorite photo of Paris on a rainy, autumn day.