Paris, Part Trois –- The Pictures!

At long last:

Paris - May 2008

© ELA Photography

Paris, Part Deux –- The Food

It's true, the French can cook. And bake. And eat. Like many places in Europe, it's not particularly easy/enjoyable to eat vegetarian and it's especially difficult for the lactose-challenged. If you avoid foie gras (for health, taste, or ideological reasons), keep those thoughts to yourself and be vigilant; if you love it, rejoice!

Friday

1. Drinks at Le Seven's Bar (7e, 58 Rue St-Dominique) -- it was our very first non-train station/non-hotel interaction, so we hesitantly ordered and then quietly sipped our cocktails while oh-so-casually flipping through the French newspaper left on the bar. We practiced asking for the bill and Eliot finally worked up the courage combined with the international 'check please!' motion. The two bartenders couldn't have been nicer and thanked us in English when we left. It was a reassuring start.
   
2. Dinner at L'Ami Jean (7e, 27 Rue Malar) -- FANTASTIC! -- we couldn't get a reservation until 10:30pm (and didn't sit until after 11pm). The set menu was €33 and well, well worth it. I had a white asparagus appetizer, cod, then a watermelon 'milk shake.' Eliot had some sort of chicken appetizer recommended by our server, John Dory, then riz au lait (very fancy rice pudding in a HUGE bowl).

Saturday

1. Lunch on-the-go (baguette, cheese, salami) before our bike tour that never happened because the Bike About Tours guy never showed up! (And we haven't heard anything from Bike About Tours since despite our follow-up phone call and email.)
   
2. The amazing Berthillon ice cream – caramel for Eliot and cherry sorbet for me – on the Ile St. Louis
3. Dinner at Le Dome du Marais (4e, 53 Rue Francs Bourgeois). Our res was at 8:30pm, which was good because there were numerous courses. We did the cheapest prix fixe (€36?). The restaurant was beautiful (it is indeed a dome) and the cheese course and desserts were especially tasty. The maitre d' recommended the nearby Cafe des Musees (49 rue de Turenne) when we asked for a suggestion for Sunday, which we didn't get to try. Maybe next time...
   

Sunday

1. A wonderful surprise b-day breakfast in bed at our hotel! (We saved every last little jam and honey pot.)
   
2. Picnic lunch (supplies from the Rue Cler market) in the park at Hotel des Invalides.
3. Cocktail hour at the Hemingway Bar at the Ritz. Our drinks were *on the expensive side.* Let's call it one of those once in a lifetime/"well, we are on vacation..."/only because it's my birthday experiences.
   
4. Late-night, post-Eiffel Tower dinner at Les Philosophes (Le Marais, 28 Rue Vieille du Temple), which was a place that had been recommended to us, but we actually just stumbled upon it after the two falafel places we were aiming for were closed. Our server couldn’t have been nicer and even seemed (unnecessarily) apologetic about his minimal English. It was a great place for a casual outdoor midnight meal.

Monday

1. Lunch at Comptoir de L’Arc (73 Avenue Marceau, a block SE of the Arc de Triomphe), which appeared to be a hip place for the suits and cigarette-smoking, espresso-drinking 20-somethings alike. And for good reason, our lunch was delicious.
2. Macarons from Laduree (75 Champs-Elysees) – we picked out a colorful selection of 15 mini-macarons to take home and then bought two (larger ones) for the road. Cookies have never been savored as these macarons were. Eliot and I managed to get two bites per person out of each mini-macaron -- mind you, these are about the size of Oreos. AMAZINGLY, we discovered that Laduree has an outpost at Harrod’s in London, so we restocked this past weekend. If you go anywhere in Paris, go to Laduree. I guarantee satisfaction.

“Paris, Part Trois – The Pictures” coming soon!

Paris, Part Un -- The Sights

We went to Paris for the three-day weekend (also, coincidentally, my b-day ;) ). I have always been a little nervous about Paris because I speak no French and you know what they say. Well, it was no problem at all. Bonjour/bonsoir/madame/monsieur/merci/parlez-vous anglais/au revoir/and lots of smiling sweetly sufficed.

ITINERARY

Saturday

1. 11:00 am: The Louvre. We started out big. With our Museum Pass (if you're planning to go to more than one museum, get one), we breezed right in. We followed Rick Steves' museum tour, which I thought was great. Most importantly it gave us direction. The Mona Lisa sat demurely for the screaming masses. I actually kind of had to jump up and down to see her; not a classic viewing technique really.
2. 2:00 pm: Walk along the Seine to the Charlemagne Statue for our bike tour with Bike About Tours, which didn't happen because our tour guide didn't show up(!!), so we went into the Notre-Dame instead.
3. 4:30 pm: Deportation Memorial – a memorial for the 200,000 deported to Nazi Concentration Camps during WWII.
4. 5:00 pm: Ile St. Louis for ice cream.
5. 5:30 pm: Walk along Blvd. St. Germain (the Left Bank). We saw the famous Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots, but couldn’t stop because my allergies were killing me.
6. 8:30 pm: Dinner in Le Marais (see “Paris, Part Deux” coming soon).

Sunday

1. 11:00 am: Rue Cler Market, which is adorable. The flower shop had a line stretching halfway into the street. I would have bought peonies.
2. 12:00 pm: Walk to/under the Eiffel Tower.
3. 1:00 pm: Musée du quai Branly for the Planète Métisse (Mestizo Planet) exhibit, which was interesting, particularly because of the way it was presented.
4. 3:00 pm: Napoleon’s Tomb, which is…decadent.
5. 3:30 pm: Rodin Museum – The Thinker is really beautifully displayed outside in the garden. I was happy we squeezed this museum in actually; it was very enjoyable (especially with our Rick Steves’ tour :) ).
6. 5:00 pm: Musée d'Orsay. We had one hour exactly before closing so we raced, and I mean RACED, through the 5th floor (the Impressionists). The collection is actually pretty amazing, but how many museums can one do in a day really.
7. 6:00 pm: Hotel for shoe changing and power napping.
8. 7:30 pm: Hemingway Bar at the Ritz.
9. 9:30 pm: Up the Eiffel Tower! I think we made it to the top at about 10:30 pm and it was gorgeous (albeit windy). There was some sort of French pop concert happening in the Trocadero, which provided some needed entertainment while waiting in line (in the rain).
10. Midnight: dinner in Le Marais.

Monday

1. 11:00am: Arc de Triomphe – We probably wouldn’t have gone up if we hadn’t had Museum Passes, but the view is gorgeous, as is the Arc itself.
2. 12:00pm: Champs Elysees – We got about half a mile down (didn’t pass any stores of interest really – we popped into the Peugeot store and looked at the garish bags in the window at LV) and then somehow Eliot managed to drag me off track for lunch and then before I knew it, it was time to go back to the hotel to checkout. No clothing and, more importantly, no shoes were purchased. How did this happen??
3. 3:30pm: RER back to CDG. :(

Stay tuned for “Paris, Part Deux – The Food”

Amsterdam

WARNING: Belated Post! (Work is cramping my blogging style.)

We went to Amsterdam for the 4-day Easter weekend (way back in March) and it couldn't have been easier: Cardiff to Schipol in a little over an hour. We took the train to Centraal Station and the tram to our hotel. We did not take a single taxi the entire weekend, which was pretty amazing considering the high temperature was 3 degrees C. After dropping our stuff off at the Hilton (we got a great rate on Expedia), we headed the few blocks north to Vondelpark. It was cold, but not snowing, so we walked and walked. And kept walking for four days. It snowed off and on for our entire trip, which was not ideal for sight-seeing, but it was beautiful. And yes, the locals bike in the rain, sleet, and snow. They bike holding umbrellas. They bike text-messaging.

Highlights:

• Walking through the 'residential' neighborhoods -- Many flats have curtain-less, street-front windows revealing their impeccably decorated and perfectly lit homes. And everyone seemed to be hosting gorgeous dinner parties -- sometimes we literally weren't sure if it was an apartment or a tiny restaurant! Every so often, we'd also come to a perfect corner pub that we swore would be *our* pub if and when we moved here.
  
• Shopping at the tiny neighborhood stores -- I bought a 'unique' tank top at Universe on a Tshirt, peach moccasin-like flats in a teeny hip shoe store, LaBeuf, in/near Chinatown, and several things at Sissy-Boy (which is decidedly not a neighborhood store, but still a success -- it's sort of like H&M but with more 100% cotton). Oh, and the neighborhood grocers and bakeries were to die for; even the convenience stores had personality.
• Eating at perfect little restaurants -- We stumbled upon La Oliva (Egelantierstraat 122-124) after attempting Ristorante Hostaria (next door) and couldn't have been happier. Our menu options were in Dutch or Spanish (we chose Spanish) and we enjoyed several courses of tapas while the snow swirled madly outside. And we didn't hear a single American or British accent! Success! The next night, per our guidebook's instruction, we had the rijsttafel at Tempo Doeloe (Utrechtsestraat 75), where we were taken in like old friends. Imagine my sheer glee, when I later found this article on Bittman's Bitten.
  

Advice:

• Get a strippenkaart (strip card) if you're planning to take public transportation. We bought ours at a kiosk in Centraal Station.
• Buy a pack of Stroopwafels (caramel cookie-type things). They are amazing, and a perfect snack while sight-seeing (thanks for the advice, Travis!). However, I've now seen them at the supermarket AND at Starbucks here in Cardiff, so I'm pretty sure the word is out.
• BUY YOUR MUSEUM TICKETS ONLINE. The lines for both the Van Gogh and Rijks museums would have been prohibitively long had we not bought our tickets online. (You don't even have to choose a date or anything.) We did not buy a ticket for the Anne Frank House/Huis because we would have had to select not only a date, but also time slot. Thus, we had to wait for about an hour (but it was well worth it). I spent most of my time in line trying to recite David Sedaris' "Possession" (excerpt here) to Eliot, but the essay is definitely not as funny in the retelling.

Pictures

© ELA Photography

There is hardly a European city that I've been to that I don't matter-of-factly say to Eliot "I would live here," but I really would live in Amsterdam. I would just need a new coat. :)

The One

Our coworker Joanne often describes things as "the one." This cake is "the one," this curry is "the one," this guy at the gym is "the one," and so on.

Well, this butternut squash soup (from All Recipes) is "THE ONE."

We made about half of the recipe, but altered it slightly (based on the comments and what we had).

• Half a large onion, chopped up real nice
  
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 4 cups butternut squash
• 2 cups water
  
• 2 cubes chicken bouillon
  
• (didn't have marjoram)
• several grinds of black pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  
• Approx 2 oz low-fat cream cheese (which is much less than the original recipe calls for)
  

We followed the cooking instructions and pureed in the blender. It was AMAZING. Better than any I've had at a restaurant and it couldn't have been easier. It gives new meaning to "the one."

We're proud of ourselves

With the exception of Indian takeout (two times) and a meal at Mimosa (which we were generously treated to), we have cooked dinner (or had leftovers) every night for the past three weeks. I know there are billions of people around the world for whom this is nothing out of the ordinary, but for the two of us...it is. And all but a few were new recipes.

A sampling:

• Chicken & Lemon Grass Curry
• Pesto Salmon
  
• Vegetarian Sushi
• Chicken Harira (Moroccan soup)
• Mom's Mini Teri Burgers
• Mom's Chinese Chicken Salad + Mango Sticky Rice (for dessert)
• Red Lentil Curry
• Whole-Wheat Penne Primavera (zucchini, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, etc.)

Some side dishes/appetizers:

• Baked Eggplant Appetizer
• Sweet Potato Potato Salad (for some reason the picture appears to be of greasy day-old nachos, but the salad is really tasty!)
  

We're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate.

The good things about the UK -- Part 2

I forgot something. Something obvious.

The Tunnock's Teacake.

Thank you, David S., for both introducing me to this little mound of glory and pointing out my omission.

No description can do it justice.

The good things about the UK

Obviously the UK is lacking in some respects (to be discussed later), but even after the fall of the empire, this kingdom still has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Cars & Transportation

1. Roundabouts. They make giving/getting directions a huge a pain, but they're fun to drive around and they seem to be an efficient system for intersections, both large and small.
   
   
2. Passing. The Brits are experts at passing on the freeways. As soon as drivers pass (on the right here), they immediately move over to the slow lane to allow for only the fastest drivers to fly by in peace. It's impressive really.
   
   
3. Fuel Efficient Engines. The engines here, even in car models we have in the States, are much more fuel efficient. Although the luxury SUV is also popular -- I see a fair number of Range Rovers around town -- the average car here has much better fuel economy than its counterpart in the US. And it would have to -- gas ("petrol") is about $8/gallon.
   
   
4. Top Gear. I have not owned a car since 2003 and don't plan on owning one soon. I don't know anything about cars and don't really care to. That being said, Top Gear, is a fantastic TV show. This British car show is hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, who I would call the Anthony Bourdain of the car world -- immensely likable, extremely knowledgeable, and pleasantly masculine with an endearing and not overbearing sense of humor. Jeremy has two co-hosts, and the three of them review new cars and enter into these various car challenges (e.g., making amphibious vehicles that they have to drive to the Channel and then sail them across, building limos out of the beaters of their choice, racing from Italy to London with Jeremy in a Bugatti and his co-hosts traveling by plane, train, and bus). Each show they have a British celebrity race an ordinary car around the Top Gear track -- I think Simon Cowell actually holds this season's record, which is somewhat annoying/not all that surprising. Anyway, this show would be a huge success in the US -- Spike TV would run Top Gear marathons every weekend. I even registered us for tickets to see the filming of the show near London. There is a 1-2 year waiting list, but if someone cancels, we could get a call any minute!

Electronics & Appliances

1. Socket Switches. Most sockets here, and all sockets in our new apartment, have on and off switches, so you can turn the power off at the socket without having to remove the plug. This is especially useful in the kitchen and home office. You can avoid the 'phantom load' by just flipping a switch!
   
   
2. Electric Kettles. We think the reason why these haven't caught on in the US is because they wouldn't work as well at 110 Volts (as compared to 240V), but we have not confirmed this fact. These are FANTASTIC appliances that everyone has here (because it is a country of tea drinkers). You don't have to turn on the stove or use the microwave to heat water. Honestly, it's one of those things that I would never have thought necessary (and didn't even know existed), but now I can't live without.

Sports & Leisure

1. Football. I was a soccer fan before, so this was not a tough sell, but the football culture here is amazing. It's the NFL, the NBA, and MLB combined into one massive societal obsession. Even the club managers are household names. The country -- or at least the news media -- came to a screeching halt when Chelsea's Jose Mourinho left 'by mutual consent' earlier this season. There are seemingly endless tournaments and championships to win. Ohhhh!!!! Cardiff City FC (an average team in the league below the Premiership) just went ahead 2-0 in their FA Cup quarter-final game against Middlesbrough. Cardiff hasn't won the FA Cup since 1927, but Manchester United and Chelsea were knocked out yesterday -- maybe this is the year of the Bluebirds!
   
   
2. Rugby. Rugby is huge in Wales. (Wales just won the Six Nations' Triple Crown!) I still don't understand all/many of the rules, but it's a very enjoyable game with such good-natured fans. At football matches the two sides need to be separated with rows of security guards, but for the much more violent game of rugby, all the fans are mixed together and after the game, it's hard to tell who won from the jolly faces of the singing fans spilling from the stadium.
   

Chips

1. I cannot bring myself to call this category "Food" because, well, it would be absurd to have a post about the pros of the UK and have "food" be a major section. However, chips/French fries are *the* single bright light in this culinary black hole. I love French fries and I love ketchup (which usually needs to be requested separately here). I love that chips come standard with EVERYTHING: steak, curry, pizza -- it's nuts. And, I'm pretty sure that it is considered a vegetable, or at least it's not considered junk food. It's incredible.

Hmmm...I think that might be it for now.

Swan Lake

The start of 2008 was rather dreary here in Cardiff. Rain, wind, hail, and darkness were not in short supply. At the first glimpse of sun in February, we ventured out to explore Roath Park, Cardiff's most popular park (according to Wikipedia). I wouldn't describe it as so much of a 'park' per se -- it's more of a 'lake' really -- but no matter because there were SWANS. Bevies of swans.

© ELA Photography

Ahhhh...nature

When Chrissy came to visit (yay!) last month, we drove up to Brecon Beacons National Park and stopped at this reservoir. Sure NYC may have its museums and restaurants and "culture," but we've got our nature.

© ELA & ACM Photography

A little sexism with your coffee?

I like to watch morning news programs while I'm getting ready for work. I do this for two reasons:

1. I much prefer sitting down and leisurely putting on my make-up to awkwardly leaning over the sink peering into the foggy bathroom mirror.
   
2. I like 'lite' news in the morning, especially on Fridays. It makes for good water cooler fodder and it's usually entertaining to get little slices of Americana/(the equivalent in the UK).

All of my roommates past and present are very familiar with this habit.

In the US, NBC's Today Show was my preference, which is not unrelated to my mild crush on Matt Lauer (did you see his Paris Hilton Halloween costume?!). I now watch BBC Breakfast, which is OK. The "hall of fame" presenters are pleasant with the glaring exception of one woman who makes such strange off-the-cuff comments that her colleagues (and the audience...and the people she interviews) are more often than not left wide-eyed with shock. I've found that the newscasters here tend to editorialize slightly more than their American counterparts, which is actually a little surprising. All-in-all it's fine for the 15 minutes I eat breakfast and put on my face. That is, until this morning.

Breakfast was doing a feature on the shortage of spaces in secondary schools (high schools) in the UK. Apparently some schools are initiating a lottery system to assign the limited number of spots, which has caused some families concern. Or something. I actually couldn't pay attention because not only did they decide to interview two "mums" on location in the kitchen, they filmed the interview WHILE they were doing dishes. And I am in no way exaggerating. It's as if the producers told these two woman that under no circumstance where they allowed to stop doing their household chores, so up until the point where the newscaster asked direct questions, the two woman were actively washing and drying plates. When it comes time for Mum #1 to speak, she is forced to answer awkwardly over her shoulder with her hands submerged in the soapy water. Mum #2 says her piece and then immediately turns away from the camera and returns to her drying duties. The newscaster then strolls out of the kitchen to the living room where father and son are reading together on the couch. (What in the world would they have done if the child was a girl? Where would they have put her??) The whole thing could have been on The Colbert Report.

BBC, I will take this post down, if the next story on sub-prime lending features a dad, beer in hand, watching a football game on the couch. Or maybe taking out the trash.

Jet Lagged

Some relief for travel-weary eyes: A Users Manual to Seat 21C (NYTimes, 1/3/08).

A prologue:

When you arrive at your gate, which more often than not will be the last gate of your terminal, take a seat and proceed to talk on your mobile phone until the last possible second. Once the gate attendant announces that the BOARDING PROCESS will begin, rush to form a line (preferably 3-4 people in width) that extends out into the terminal. Even though the attendant only called for First Class and Passengers Needing Assistance, and despite the fact that you are in Seating Group 5, it is imperative that you crowd the gate if for no other reason than to block and confuse those in Seating Group 1.

Notable exception: when flying out of the Cancun airport, the airline may or may not alert the passengers when boarding begins (or when the flight is expected to be delayed). In this circumstance, you must not get lulled into tequila-hazed oblivion by the ubiquitous Jimmy Buffett tunes, but remain alert so as to form the giant line at any given moment.