tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54597925246557040682024-03-13T22:01:04.286-07:00My Life in FoodMarie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-76779232002030852492014-10-17T15:27:00.002-07:002014-10-17T15:27:56.424-07:00Last Sunday, we had dinner at Volt's Table 21 in Frederick, to celebrate Heather's weekend home for her University of Maryland Medical School interview. It was <i>amazing</i>. The experience itself is not quite as special as Minibar -- the seating doesn't give you as good a view of the kitchen preparation; there is much less interaction with the chefs (at Volt, you're served from your side of the counter by a waiter; at Minibar, you're served from the kitchen side of the counter by the chefs). So you don't feel quite as much like a VIP. But the food is just spectacular. I loved everything except the calamari bolognese (which was just sort of OK). The smoked eggplant that came with the lamb was not especially good, which was OK for me but disappointing for my vegetarian brother, for whom it was the main part of the plate. (The vegetarian version of the meal was mostly very good, but in some cases it was just "the meat dish, plus more side dish, minus meat," which was often not quite on target.)<br />
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I didn't take pictures of everything, but this should give you the idea. We also had the wine pairing and I tried to remember where they matched the wine pours with the courses.<br />
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AVIATION creme de violette, maraschino, gin<br />
<i>A cocktail in the form of a sorbet. A little strong for me -- I don't care for gin much.</i><br />
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DEVILED EGG osetra caviar, whitmore farm hen egg, celeriac<br />
<i>Yum yum yum yum yum!! I love deviled eggs and this was like the ultimate deviled egg ever.</i><br />
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OYSTER yuzu, lemon cucumber<br />
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SCALLOP roasted pawpaw vinaigrette, habanero, spaghetti squash<br />
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RICE CRISP aged cheddar, our bay spice<br />
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SMOKED BEET yellowfin tuna, egg yolk, tonnato<br />
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HUCKLEBERRY rose wine, fresh cheese<br />
pierre paillard, grand cru, bouzy, champagne, france, m.v.<br />
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LOBSTER MUSHROOM tosaka seaweed, pickled ramps, sea beans<br />
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FOIE GRAS arugula, pickled sour cherry<br />
tegernseerhof, zweigelt, rose, mittelbach, wachau, austria, 2012<br />
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WHITE ASPARAGUS sea urchin, dashi, hickory smoke<br />
<i>This was so delicious I forgot to take a picture until I had finished it...</i><br />
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MUSTARD GREEN SOUP mussels, radish, brioche croutons<br />
lucien crochet, sauvignon blanc, sancerre, france, 2012<br />
<i>This was maybe the most luscious texture of the evening.</i><br />
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SWEET CORN filet bean, pea miso, corn smut<br />
<i>This was my favorite dish -- I love sweet corn, and this dish just had a perfect balance of flavors. I could have eaten a giant bowl of this and been happy. It was maybe the only dish where I genuinely regretted that there wasn't a lot more of it. (With 21 courses, you seriously have to pace yourself...)</i><br />
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CALAMARI BOLOGNESE squid ink cavatelli, pepperoni, parmesan<br />
r. lopez de heredia, viura/malvasia, vina gravonia, rioja, spain, 2004<br />
<i>Like I said. Meh. Just sort of dense and heavy, and nothing special about the flavors.</i><br />
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OPEN BOOK FARMS CHICKEN sprouted quinoa, hen of the woods mushrooms, cipollini onion<br />
<i>Phenomenally tender chicken, perfectly cooked, perfect accompaniments.</i><br />
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SWEETBREADS mole, pickled butternut squash, masa<br />
keller estate, pinot noir, la cruz vineyard, sonoma coast, california, 2009<br />
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LAMB summer beans, smoked eggplant, meyer lemon<br />
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WAGYU BEEF salsify, malt, charred leeks<br />
catena alta, malbec, historic rows, mendoza, argentina, 2010<br />
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PLEASANT RIDGE carrot, sourdough, golden raisin<br />
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GOLDEN GINGER APPLE walnut, sesame seed, bay leaf<br />
chateau pajzos, tokaji, aszu, hungary, 2006<br />
<i>Surprisingly, this was the best dessert -- normally, I would go for the chocolate option every time, but the sesame with the chocolate didn't </i>quite<i> work for me.</i><br />
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CHOCOLATE sesame, caramel<br />
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ORANGE CREAMSICLE<br />
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BOX OF CHOCOLATESMarie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-31484113028625293262014-10-11T21:05:00.001-07:002014-10-11T21:05:11.722-07:00Day 6.0: Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety JigWow. Hard to believe -- it was finally time to go back home, after five amazing weeks in Paris.<br />
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I had pretty much packed everything up the night before, so finishing up and heading out was pretty quick -- just one last check to be sure I hadn't left anything behind, and I was off. Boy, was my suitcase heavy! Getting down those spiral stairs was quite a trick -- I just lowered the suitcase down one step at a time and took it nice and slo-o-o-o-ow.<br />
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After dropping off the apartment key at the security office, I went back to my neighborhood quick-stop bakery for one last French breakfast (speculoos cappuccino and <i>pain au chocolat</i>). <br />
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Then I was off to the airport. Pretty awkward with the 60-pound suitcase (about which more later), but I managed OK, with the kind help of a young French man who carried my suitcase up the longest of the staircases I had to navigate. I had a bit of a panic moment at the RER station when it wouldn't take my credit card, and there was nobody on duty at the ticket window, but luckily I had saved just enough French cash to buy the one-way ticket to the airport.<br />
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The United checkin at CDG airport is just obscenely long. They have no kiosks; they don't have enough clerks; and they are unbelievably slow. It took me just under an hour to get through the line to check my bag and get a boarding pass. Then another hour or so to get through the whole passport / walk / security maze. I am very glad that I got to the airport super-early because I wasn't stressed out at all, knowing that I had plenty of time. (By contrast, the people just behind me in line were on an earlier flight, and they were totally panicked the entire time.)<br />
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The one snafu (and it is relevant for the My Life in Food blog) is that CDG is divided up into little departure pods, with 8-10 gates after the security checkpoint. So there aren't many services in each pod, and there was just one little cafe near the gate. Remember how I told you I had just enough cash to buy my RER ticket? Yeah, so when the cafe's credit card machine broke just before I got to the front of the line, I realized that I had no way to get any food (no ATM, no time to go back out to buy something else). I really wished I had bought something outside, but how could I have known? Luckily there was a convenience store that took credit cards even for small purchases, so I bought a soda, bag of chips, and package of cookies, and that tided me over until the flight.<br />
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The flight was pretty much uneventful. Mediocre airplane food, of course. Thank goodness for the on-demand entertainment system -- I watched three movies on the way home, and got a little bit of work and an even littler bit of napping done in between.<br />
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The passport line in the US was un-frickin'-believable. It was just insanely, insanely long, snaking back and forth, and just as you thought maybe you were getting to the front, you realized that the line then wound over to another side area where you were channeled through a whole new maze of zigzagging rows. Incredibly frustrating and a truly crappy way to re-enter the country. We really ought to be able to do better than this. The dumbest part is that when you get to the front, they ask you what you're bringing back to the country with you. In passport control. And then you have to go pick up your bags, and go through customs, another long (but not quite as long) line, where they ask you <i>the same freaking questions as the passport control guy</i>!! So irritating.<br />
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Finally, finally, finally I made it through and got to an area with a cell phone signal, and called John, who came to pick me up -- and then I was officially home.<br />
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I'm writing this almost a week later, and I still feel a little discombobulated (waking up at 2 or 3 in the morning; wondering why people aren't speaking French; missing my early evening kir; and feeling a bit overwhelmed at times by having an entire walk-in closet full of clothes to choose from). I am so grateful that I had the opportunity for this once-in-a-lifetime experience that I'll never forget.<br />
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And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Stay tuned for tomorrow's incredible celebratory meal (for Heather's brief homecoming for her UMd med school interview), at a location to be disclosed soon.Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-36004834810069131962014-10-05T13:48:00.003-07:002014-10-05T13:48:36.850-07:00Day 5.7: My Father's Diamond BirthdayI couldn't have had a better last day in Paris.<br />
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I got up early and went to the Musee d'Orsay before they opened -- it is the first Sunday of the month, so all of the major museums in Paris are free. When I arrived at 9:10am (20 minutes before opening), there were already more than 100 people inline. Today was the first raw, chilly, windy day that I've had in Paris -- the only day that I was really glad to have my jacket (it was maybe 55 or 60 Fahrenheit, with a chilly, damp wind). I spent a few hours at the museum, mostly in the Impressionist galleries but also enjoying the decorative arts galleries. I'm always amazed by how stunningly beautiful the building itself is. It's hard to imagine that if things had gone differently, the Orsay could just be a big commercial mall or something -- looking at it now, it seems so inevitable that it was always meant to be a museum, but of course that's not the case.<br />
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My original plan was to pick up a sandwich and have lunch in the garden at the Rodin Museum, but given how chilly it was, I was too tempted by the menu at the Restaurant de la Musee d'Orsay and ate there instead. The restaurant is in one of the gorgeous, classical spaces, with gold filigree, high windows, and painted ceilings. And the food is extremely good. I started with the chilled pea soup with smoked salmon:<br />
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and then had the fish and chips, which was light and crispy, with a really tasty, fresh tartar sauce.<br />
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Naturally, I had to end with the cafe gourmand, with a chocolate <i>macaron</i>, mango(?) jelly, and some other kind of yummy gelatin-like dessert.<br />
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Afterwards, I took the Metro back to my neighborhood and stopped at Gerard Mulot (a really awesome patisserie) to pick up <i>macarons </i>and <i>chocolats </i>to bring back home. <br />
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Then I went back to finish packing (NO WAY will my suitcase be under 50 pounds, but I have an collapsible carry-on duffel that I can hopefully offload enough to avoid the surcharge). <br />
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My dad and Flora stopped by just before 6 to see my apartment and walk over to our celebratory dinner for my dad's 75th birthday, at Joel Robuchon. We had the tasting menu with wine pairing, and <i>wow</i> was it good! There are few things in life that are more wonderful than having a world-class meal with the people who mean the most to you. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.<br />
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The first amuse-bouche was king crab with daikon, which was just light and refreshing and delicious. The second was "half-cooked salmon" (seared on the outside, basically raw on the inside) with caviar and other garnishes. Wow. At this point, it was clear we were in for an <i>amazing </i>meal.<br />
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Next a <i>perfectly</i> cooked scallop, with <i>lardon </i>(bacon) foam and other delicious garnishes.<br />
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Then we had a chestnut soup with <i>crême fraiche</i>. It is impossible to describe how unctuous, luxurious, and simply wonderful this soup was. It is one of the best things I have ever eaten.<br />
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The <i>foie gras</i> was absolutely perfectly cooked -- seared on the outside, meltingly sensual on the inside, served with -- well, it's hard to explain, but it's basically the world's most perfect fruit roll-up: apple strips marinated in hibiscus. Again, one of the most absolutely memorable dishes I have ever had.<br />
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Then chicken gyoza (which I sadly was too busy lusciously enjoying to photograph) and John Dory with salsify:<br />
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We had a choice of three main courses, but luckily there were three of us, so we got to try all three -- lamb chops with essence of thyme, quail with foie gras and truffled potato puree, and steak with shallot confit and black cardamom. All very good, but the quail was just remarkably tender, and the sauce it was served in was so intensely reduced, it was like pure wonderful flavor. (And I was too busy eating to take pictures, especially since at this point we were on the third glass of our wine pairing, and I'd started with a kir royale...)<br />
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Then two desserts -- lime-coconut cream with rum granita and "chocolate temptation," just chocolate amazingness with mousse, cocoa nibs, and I don't even know what else.<br />
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Finally, decaf espresso (which of course came with a tiny madeleine and a petite caramel):</div>
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What a wonderful, unforgettable celebratory dinner, and what a perfect last night in Paris.</div>
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<br />Now it is time to finish packing, go to bed, and try to get some sleep before tomorrow's departure. It's just so hard to believe that this amazing adventure is over. I will never forget this experience.</div>
<br />Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-45009548769239498262014-10-04T14:01:00.002-07:002014-10-04T14:01:22.879-07:00Days 5.5-5.6: Lots of LastsIt's hard to believe that I'm in my last few days of this epic trip.<br />
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Yesterday, I had a <i>speculoos cappuccino </i>(so yum!) and <i>brioche au chocolat</i> at the counter-service bakery I'd eaten at the day before. Work was great -- lots of good ideas being exchanged, and hopefully the projects will keep going after I return home. <br />
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Last night, I went to <i>Café Louise</i>, just across the street and had a kir <i>mûre</i> (blackberry) and a <i>crôque monsieur</i> -- I'd had one at another cafe that wasn't very good, so I thought I should have one more before leaving Paris. Definitely better, but oh so rich! (I couldn't finish it.) <br />
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Afterwards, I went to see Daniel Radcliffe's new movie, <i>Horns</i>, which is actually pretty funny and sort of intriguing (though I don't think Daniel Radcliffe is a particularly great actor).<br />
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Today, I went back to <i>L'Enfance du Lard</i> for lunch -- it was one of the first places I'd eaten at, so very nice to revisit just before leaving. I had their <i>terrine du chef </i>(which was good but sort of odd -- mushrooms and chicken pieces in a mold) and <i>onglet du veau avec sauce roquefort</i>, which was really delicious -- super-tender and very tasty.<br />
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After lunch, I went up to the Montmartre area and met my friend Jérôme for a stroll and a coffee, then came back to the apartment for a while to pack and get organized. For dinner, I went to <i>Côté Bergamote</i>, a restaurant that I'd seen my very first night but took a while to relocate because I was so turned around that night, so I hadn't been there yet. It was really good and I'm sorry I hadn't been there before. I started with the house special cocktail -- a <i>kir bergamote. </i>Yum!<br />
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For an <i>entrée</i>, I had the <i>fois gras</i>, flavored with vanilla and tarragon -- it was pretty good but had a little bit of a bitter undertaste that I couldn't quite make up my mind about. Paired with the bit of fruit jam and <i>pain d'épices</i>, though, it balanced out.<br />
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Since I had such a heavy lunch, I stuck with a salad for the main course -- but it was a <i>huge </i>salad, the <i>salade Côté Sud</i>, with ham, melon, parmesan, roasted peppers, and gooseberries. <br />
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I wasn't sure about dessert, but then I spotted the <i>café gourmand</i>, and I thought, crap, how is it that I've been in France for <i>five friggin' weeks</i> and I haven't ordered a <i>café gourmand</i> (which is coffee with several mini-desserts). I feel that I have wasted my time here! This one was extra-yummy -- a strawberry <i>macaron</i>, a mini <i>crême brulée</i>, and a super-rich <i>gâteau chocolat</i>.<br />
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<br />Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-20617428206573329122014-10-02T14:30:00.000-07:002014-10-02T14:30:31.487-07:00Days 5.3-5.4: The Long MarchYesterday (Wednesday), I met a former student (Amy) at <i>Le Mâchon d'Henri</i> for lunch. The food and the company were both awesome! I had the roast chicken in orange sauce with mashed potatoes and a cheese plate (which was way more of three kinds of cheese than two people could eat -- all yummy, though!)<br />
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Later in the afternoon, I went over to Paris Dauphine to meet with their president. That was an especially interesting conversation, because Paris Dauphine is really unique among French universities in that it is selective like the "grands écoles" but also a research university. How they "got there from here" was the main focus of our conversation. The president (Laurent Batsch) actually wrote a book about it ("<i>Paris-Dauphine: Quand l'Université fait École</i>") and gave me a signed copy, which I am looking forward to reading, although it will fully stretch my French abilities!</div>
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Afterwards, I decided to walk to the <i>Arc de Triomphe</i>, since it didn't seem that far. Actually it was farther than it seemed, but once I had made it there, I decided I really should walk down the <i>Champs-Élysées</i>, which I hadn't done yet -- and that is always farther than one thinks it will be. Still, after I had gotten to the far end, I thought, well, I may as well just continue through the <i>Tuileries </i>to the Louvre -- and that was much farther than I remembered it to be! In the end, though, I walked nearly 4 miles from Paris Dauphine to my apartment. Whew! It was a lovely night for it, though, and I'm very glad that I had that adventure. </div>
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I ended up eating at a cafe very close to my apartment, but in a direction I hadn't walked before (east). I sat outside and had <i>escargots</i> and pizza, thoug there was either something wrong with the waiter's hearing or the walk had somehow made my French speaking muscles tired. First he apparently interpreted "<i>six escargots</i>" as "Caesar salad" and brought me a salad instead of snails. (I could not possibly have eaten it in any case -- it had a gargantuan "American-sized" quantity of dressing on it, nearly as much dressing as lettuce!) He was very polite about the mistake, though, and eventually brought me the snails (which were delicious, garlic-parsley-buttery, and served with crusty bread, as snails should be). I decided not to bother correcting the second error, which is that he brought me the <i>entirely </i>wrong pizza. I ordered "<i>pizza quatre fromages</i>" (which is really not that hard to say, so I don't think I said it wrong), and this is what I got:</div>
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Ham, onions, arugula, and balsamic. One cheese, as far as I could tell. It was yummy, though. I do feel that I must again remark that when I talk about American eating habits with French people, they all comment on how large our serving sizes are -- but whenever I eat at a French restaurant, a meal for one is the size of this pizza. Still can't figure out how that works for them -- you definitely do not see an awful lot of heavy French people (though they do exist!)</div>
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Today I went to a "counter bakery" restaurant nearby and had a simple <i>formule express</i> - espresso and a <i>pain au chocolat</i>. Yum, and much cheaper than the bistros I've been having breakfast at. </div>
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I lingered there for a while, working a little and reading a little, then walked down to <i>Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie</i>, where I gave a talk in their seminar series. Very enjoyable -- attentive audience, good conversations afterwards. On the way back, I stopped at a store near campus where I was finally able to buy some gifts to bring back home, then went to a nearby counter-service Turkish place and had a gyro-style sandwich (though I think the meat was a mix of lamb and turkey) with the best fries I've had in Paris.</div>
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Afterwards I found the shop where Shakespeare & Co. buys books, and tried to sell back some of my books. In retrospect, I wish I had just turned down their offer and left the books in some public place for an American tourist to maybe find -- of the six books I brought, he was only willing to pay for four (though said he'd take the other two and put them on the free table), and only offered me 1 euro each for those books. Three of the books were brand new, and had all been on the NYT top-ten book lists in the last year -- these aren't some junky old books. And one of the books was not brand new, but I had just bought it from <i>them</i> for 5 euros, so surely they should have been willing to give me half of that? (Though he didn't look inside the book to see that it had been bought from them.) Anyway, I really didn't feel like carrying them home, and didn't have a better plan ready, so I took the four crummy euros and felt a bit ripped off. Oh, well. At least I don't have to carry them or find a way to abandon them where they might find a home.</div>
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Later in the afternoon, I went back over to Paris Dauphine, where Alexis had offered to introduce me to a friend/colleague (same general research area) who is the Rector (effectively equivalent to an American or French university president) at Istanbul Bilgi University. That was a very interesting conversation, because his path into the presidency was completely different from anybody else I've talked to.</div>
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When I got back (via Metro) to my neighborhood, I went back to Sushi House where I'd eaten a few weeks ago and had a bento box (soup, salad, sashimi, sushi, maki, and gyoza) -- a nice "sampler platter" and just what I was in the mood for. Then I went to Amorino (yes, again!!) and this time was completely free to choose what I would -- which was mango, speculoos, and (surprisingly) orzo. It's hard to describe the orzo flavor -- the closest I can come is the barley tea that is often served at Korean restaurant. It's sort of a nutty, grainy flavor -- but of course sweetened to become an ice cream. It sounds weird but is surprisingly mellow and satisfying.</div>
Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-90995054688785650322014-10-02T14:07:00.000-07:002014-10-02T14:07:22.919-07:00Days 5.1-5.2: Last week in Paris!On Monday, I had a cafe and croissant at Le Pré aux Clercs, then ended up working through lunch. So I thought I would have an early dinner, and decided to try Le Relais de l'Entrecôte, which a friend had told me had the best steak frites in Paris. But my "early dinner" plans were somewhat foiled when I found that they didn't open until 7:00 (early by Paris standards, but not mine). So I went to Cafe Flore, just up the street, for a kir (and a danged expensive one -- at 9,50E, twice what they charge at most cafes. But it did come with some spiffy seasoned potato chips as a snacklet, so that tided me over until dinner).<br />
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Not wanting to be gauchely early, I decided to walk down to the Seine and come back to the restaurant around 7:15. But when I walked past around 6:50, I saw there were already about 25-30 people in two rather disorganized lines, waiting for it to open. So I decided I'd better get in line, even though I couldn't figure out which end to join. (Turned out they both kind of came in in parallel, and the other one was shorter, but oh well. I managed to snag the last outside table. I waited for a while, eventually had a waitress (note that this is the only restaurant I've been to in Paris with an <i>entirely </i>female waitstaff, all in kitschy little black-and-white short-skirt outfits) come by to take the extra glasses (table was set for two). When she came back again, I thought she'd bring a menu, but <i>non</i>. There is no menu. There is one <i>menu</i> (fixed-price dinner): green salad, steak, and <i>frites. </i>Well, then, I guess I'll have that!<br />
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The salad was just so-so (very heavily dressed, very strong horseradish flavor in the vinaigrette). <br />
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But the fries were the best I've had in Paris (hot and crispy) and the steak was very good -- tender and perfectly cooked, with the "house sauce" (basically garlic-parsley butter sauce). <br />
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My only complaint would have been that the serving of steak wasn't very large -- but then, as I was finishing up, they brought <i>more </i>fries (a ridiculous amount of more fries) and <i>more </i>steak.<br />
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I chose to pass on dessert, and instead went to Amorino for the final chapter in my grand challenge: I finally had the banana (which was OK for banana, given that I don't really like banana-flavored things), and then repeated the <i>L'Inimitabile</i> (chocolate hazelnut) and pistachio. Ta-da! I have now eaten all of the flavors of Amorino gelato! Success is mine!<br />
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Today (Tuesday), I just had yogurt for breakfast and then met Pavlos to walk to the main building of the university to meet with the president. First of all, his offices are in a very old part of the main building -- the room we waited in was a gorgeous classically French style drawing room, with 30' ceilings, and his office was not much less spectacular. We had a really interesting conversation, ranging from recent changes of French universities to become slightly more autonomous, to managing a staff and faculty that consists entirely of public servants (== lifetime tenure), to innovation in the classroom, to the transition from the research laboratory/classroom into an administrative position.<br />
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Afterwards, I walked back, worked for a while, met with Bruno and then had lunch with him and some other faculty at the university cafeteria (followed by a <i>café </i>on their fabulous 7th-floor terrace that looks out over the entire city). After lunch, I was reviewing the slides for my 3pm talk when the fire alarms started blaring -- apparently they have fire drills every few months, and I got lucky with the timing. They evacuated the entire building (none too quickly; it's a <i>huge </i>building with only a few entrances) and then we all waited outside until shortly after 3, when they let us back in. We went straight to the presentation room (luckily I'd brought my computer and VGA connector with me), gave people a few minutes to show up and settle in, and then I went straight into the talk. It went pretty well -- there were about 30 attendees, mostly students, and they were very attentive and engaged. (Considering that I'll give the talk at least four more times here and at home, it was a good investment of time to prepare it!) Afterwards, I met with Pavlos for a while, then came back to the apartment to crash and cool off a bit. (All those trips up and down 8 flights of stairs did me in!)<br />
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For dinner, I went back to Chalet Grégoire, where I'd had fondue the first week here. I was planning to try their raclette, but that seemed too heavy, so I ended up ordering the <i>crême brûlée foie gras</i> (yes, just what it sounds like -- a sort of creamy mousse with <i>foie gras, brûléed </i>like a dessert), veal scallop with mushroom cream sauce, and <i>fondant au chocolat</i> (which turned out to be basically a really outrageously rich and delicious chocolate lava cake, with vanilla ice cream). So much for not heavy, but it was all very good! (Well, actually, the <i>crême brulée</i> dish was a bit on the bland side, but the texture made up for it.)<br />
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Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-33685325338318075992014-09-28T12:21:00.001-07:002014-09-28T12:21:21.277-07:00Day 4.7: Around the NeighborhoodI slept <i>really</i> late today after my walking adventure yesterday -- such luxury!<br />
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I caught up on my email, ate a banana, washed dishes, and did a bit of laundry (I figured if I washed out a few things, I would be able to make it until my return home without going to the laundromat again). Then I went to the movies (stopping on the way to pick up a sandwich from the corner shop, which I ate during the movie -- they seem much less concerned about outside food at the movies here, and they don't understand about movie popcorn and hot dogs!)<br />
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I had wanted to see <i>Gemma Bovery</i> since I saw the trailer for it. It's about an English couple (Gemma and Charles Bovery) who move to Normandy and their French neighbor who realizes that they are reliving the story of <i>Madame Bovary</i>. I thought I would be able to follow it better because part of the movie is in English (the main characters and some of the others speak English at times). I also studied up this time -- I read a synopsis of the plot of <i>Madame Bovary</i> and also a summary of the graphic novel <i>Gemma Bovery</i> that the movie is based on. Moderate success! I understood about half of the French (and of course all of the English...), so I followed most of the movie except for a few details here and there -- even the ending, which is different from the novel. It was fun to watch a movie in French that I actually (mainly) understood.<br />
<br />After the movie, I had a <i>kir pêche </i>at a nearby cafe, then sat on a bench reading a book for a while, then went back to the first restaurant I ate at in Paris -- <i>La Jacobine</i>. I had had trouble finding it again, but had the business card they'd given me with a little map, and finally remembered that it's down a sort of alley off bd St-Germain, not a drivable street. They didn't have any tables, but they took my name (I was very proud of managing that particular transaction in French! - although they also speak English there, since they cater to a lot of tourists...) and I only waited about ten minutes. This time I ordered a dish that had intrigued me the first time -- <i>camembert rôti</i>, which was just broiled/melted Camembert with a bit of salad and some bread. Really yummy and simple.<br />
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For the main course, I had <i>filet de mignon de porc à la sauce moutarde</i> - very tasty, tender pork medallions in a mustard cream sauce, with potatoes and vegetables. The sides were just OK, but the meat was really delicious.</div>
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Continuing my quest, I walked by Amorino for dessert -- <i>chocolat Amorino </i>(a repeat)<i>, </i>coconut, and<i> bergamote </i>(which I didn't know what it was, but after tasting and looking it up on Wikipedia I realized it's a kind of very tangy orange that's most well known for being the source of the essential oil that flavors Earl Gray tea). I'm just one flavor (banana) away from trying them all!</div>
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Hard to believe I've been here for nearly a month, and will return home in a week. It feels weird and unsettling -- I'm definitely ready to go back home, and yet there's some nostalgia creeping in, knowing that I'll probably never do anything quite like this again. Every time I do something feels like (and probably is, at least for a long while) the last time -- last movie in Paris, last visit to La Jacobin, last visit to Amorino (but not that, yet!)</div>
Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-34546887208806741462014-09-28T05:00:00.002-07:002014-09-28T05:00:20.870-07:00Day 4.6: A Walking AdventureSaturday I set out to walk across Paris -- from my apartment to Sacré-Coeur (about 2.5 miles according to Google Maps).<br />
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I made sure to build up my strength by sleeping in! I brought a few things from the fridge, stopped at the local <i>épicerie</i> for more supplies, and ate a picnic lunch on a bunch near the Louvre. Then I started the real walk. It's almost directly north, but since the streets don't always go straight, I followed 11 different streets along the way: <i>Rue de Rom, Avenue de l'Opéra, Rue St-Anne, Rue de Gramont, Rue Laffitte, Rue de Châteaudon, Rue Flécher, Rue des Martyrs, Rue Lallier, Bd de Rochechouart,</i> <i>Rue Danton, Rue des Trois Frères, Rue Chappe, </i>and <i>Rue Gabrielle</i>.<br />
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I discovered some interesting neighborhoods and areas that I had never seen before. <i>Rue St-Anne</i> is Paris's Japantown -- there are dozens of Japanese restuarants and stores, as well as a scattering of Korean and Vietnamese ones. <i>Rue des Martyrs</i> is the beginning of the Montmartre area (<i>Montmartre</i> means literally "mountain of the martyrs") -- steep, narrow streets with lots of funky stores and cafes.<br />
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I celebrated my arrival at the summit with a walk inside Sacre-Coeur and then a pint of cider: from the sublime to the somatic!<br />
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I wanted to explore parts of Montmartre that I hadn't been to before, so I went into the <i>Église St-Pierre du Montmartre</i> (the second oldest church in France; though I couldn't explore too much because they were just getting ready for a mass or some other service, and people were arriving for that). I thought about going to the Dali museum but it was 11,50E and I'm not <i>that </i>keen on surrealism. Instead I went to the <i>Musée du Montmartre</i>, which is in a really lovely setting -- the front building is a house where Renoir and other artists lived and painted, but the rear area includes several gorgeous gardens, looking out over the vineyards of Montmartre. (The vineyards were replanted in the early 20th century -- all of the original vineyards had been destroyed during the period of development -- and are still actively harvested, to raise money for Montmartre-area projects and events.) The museum itself includes paintings and other documents from the history of Montmartre. It's a small but very pleasant museum.</div>
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I walked back down and took the Metro back to my neighborhood. I went back to my room, took a shower, rested for a while, and then went out again to see an organ concert at Notre Dame. They just finished a multi-year, massive restoration project on the Grand Organ, and last week was the inaugural concert. They have a series of concerts to celebrate the restoration. I got there around 8pm (for the 8:30 concert) and was glad I had come early, as the church was quite full. Of course, it really doesn't matter much where you sit for an organ concert! The program included music by Dupré, Wagner (Prelude and Liebestod), Liszt, and Stravinsky (The Rite of Spring, a four-handed piano arrangement played on the organ with a second organist accompanying). In all honesty, I can't say that I exactly <i>enjoyed</i> the Stravinsky (I'm not a big fan of modern music) but it was an extremely interesting experience to hear Stravinsky on one of the most famous/best organs in the world, in a 350-year-old church!</div>
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Somehow I never got around to having an actual dinner -- I ate some crackers when I got back to the room and then decided napping/resting would be more useful than eating. So on the way back to my apartment, I picked up a <i>crêpe Speculoos</i> (if you don't know what Speculoos is, it's kind of like peanut butter but with the flavor of a gingerbread cookie). That hit the spot!</div>
Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-48457820667565373732014-09-26T15:11:00.001-07:002014-09-28T04:39:55.938-07:00Day 4.5: Authentic GreekToday I had several breakthroughs at work, so it was very productive!<br />
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Breakfast was simple -- a <i>café</i> and croissant at the corner bistro. Lunch, with Bruno and Marc, was the <i>galette du minute</i> (today's special - ham, cheese, and vegetables, with a fried egg) at <i>Café Galette</i>, across the street from the university.<br />
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Dinner was special, though -- I took the bus with Pavlos back to his neighborhood in the 16th, and we had dinner with his partner Jacqueline at a neighborhood Greek restaurant called <i>Chez Tony</i> (quite a name for a Greek restaurant! -- apparently it used to be more Greek, I think <i>Souvlaki Mykonos</i> or some such, but they changed it to bring in a broader clientele, while keeping the Greek menu). It was <i>awesome </i>-- we just had a bunch of appetizers/small plates to share. First a round of phyllo pastries -- <i>spanakopita</i>, meat, and cheese triangles, all served with a small salad with balsamic and cilantro. Next came flat pitas with cheese -- basically Greek <i>quesadillas</i>, just a little spicy and wonderfully toasted on the outside. Finally was a round of dips -- <i>taramosalata</i>, <i>tzatziki</i>, and eggplant (basically <i>baba ganoush</i>) with warm pita bread. They also were willing to indulge my taste for <i>retsina</i> (which is impossible to describe if you've never had it, but it's basically pine-flavored wine -- an acquired taste but really delicious and special once you acquire that taste!) All in all, a terrific meal with wonderful company.<br />
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Late-night update: around 12:30am, I heard a lot of yelling outside, along with what sounded like police whistling. It went on for a while, and since I was up anyway, I went down to see what the commotion was. After a bit, I saw some people coming past on the sidewalk, yelling something but also moving in a strangely smooth way, and I realized they were on skates. Then another guy joined them, covered with flashing blue lights. OK, now I am sure there is something odd going on, so I start googling around, and learned about <a href="http://inlineskating.about.com/od/wheretoskat1/a/pari_roller.htm">Paris Roller</a>, "the world's biggest weekly skating event." So every Friday night, hundreds (thousands?) of inline skaters get together at Montparnasse and skate for a couple of hours, pausing only for a civilized wine and snack break. The police monitor the event and close the street. It's all very... French. I think I have actually heard this event go past before, but I just thought it was rowdy people (and was already in bed so really not in a mood to get up and see why it was so loud outside). Just as I was figuring this out, it really got lively, and I looked out in time to see the main group go skating past, right down the middle of Bd St-Germain.<br />
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Wild.Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-54769974408414637012014-09-26T00:40:00.000-07:002014-09-26T00:40:58.430-07:00Day 4.4: Low-key all aroundBreakfast: The rest of the baguette with butter and plum jam.<br />
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A morning of semi-productive work (got down to a zero inbox, so that was exciting!)<br />
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Lunch: <i>faux-filet</i> at the university cafeteria with Bruno, and a <i>café express</i> at the cafe next door.<br />
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An afternoon of more semi-productive work.<br />
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Dinner: takeout from a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place down the street (lemongrass chicken, roast duck, steamed broccoli, and Cantonese rice, all surprisingly yummy), and a <i>chou au chocolat</i> (which was full of this outrageously dense chocolate cream).<br />
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Like the subject line said, a low-key day!<br />
<br />Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-16815383485021629502014-09-24T12:56:00.002-07:002014-09-24T12:56:45.039-07:00Days 3.6 - 4.3: It's all a blur!Having Caroline here, and then starting to think about my "re-entry" back home in a couple of weeks, has had me in a whirl, and the days are starting to run together. :-)<br />
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On the walk back from Shu on Friday night, we stopped at Maison Georges Larnicol, where I'd seen these intriguing pastries called <i><a href="http://www.chocolaterielarnicol.fr/#Kouignettes">kouignettes</a>.</i> We bought four and had them for breakfast Saturday morning -- an almond, a <i>framboise </i>(raspberry), a chocolate, and a salted caramel. These things are simply unreal -- basically each one is a half-stick of butter, bound densely together with a little flour, a lot of sugar, and whatever flavorings are mixed in. Good but just outrageously rich.<br />
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We had slept in pretty late (noonish by the time the princess got up), but we still managed to squeeze in a full day -- a visit to the <i>Musée de Cluny</i> (a museum of medieval arts, where the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are housed), a stop at Starbuck's, a walk up to the Pantheon, a stop in the Tuileries to sit quietly and read for a while, then a run to the Metro station when the skies turned dark, and a race from the <i>Grands Boulevards </i>station through the rain to <i>Bouillon Chartier</i>, the restaurant and French institution that John and I discovered on our very first trip to Paris together. </div>
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We ate cheek-to-jowl with strangers, as is always the way at <i>Chartier</i>, and had <i>escargots</i> (the toughest-to-remove little critters I've ever had), a <i>salade frisée aux lardons</i>, <i>boeuf bourgignonne</i>, and lamb chops. The food is always decent -- not the best in France, but good, and way cheaper than almost any comparable restaurant you can find. Instead of having dessert there, we stopped once again at Amorino (I didn't make any progress towards my try-every-flavor goal, since I only had repeats: pistachio, chocolate-hazelnut, and raspberry).</div>
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Caroline had a midday flight Sunday, so we took the train out to Charles Degaulle pretty early. We had planned to buy a <i>crêpe</i> along the way, but I didn't realize that the kiosks would all be closed Sunday morning! Very disappointing -- Caroline had to settle for the mediocre packaged madeleines from the Metro vending machine for breakfast. Once I sent her off through security, I stopped at the airport Starbuck's and had the intriguing American pancakes with maple syrup (you can't get these at a Starbuck's in the U.S., interestingly -- they're not bad, actually) and an iced chai latte (which was disappointingly weak and watery; I guess I really will have to wait until I get back to the U.S. for my fix).</div>
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On the way back, I stopped at St-Sulpice for the weekly organ concert (a female organist this time, quite unusual I think!) I had lunch at <i>Café Six</i>, which I'd walked by before and thought looked good. It was pretty tasty -- taramasalata and duck confit (and odd combination but it worked).</div>
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I was supposed to meet a friend later for a walk and coffee or dinner in Montmartre, but I ended up cancelling and just falling asleep for a while in the afternoon -- it had been a long week! That evening I went to a sushi/yakitori place I'd seen nearby, but made a booboo -- I walked in and sat down; they brought me a little <i>amuse</i> (plate of two snails -- I ate one but it was oddly fishy and not very appealing) and the menu. I didn't see the combination meal I had planned to order, so I asked the waitress whether they had any <i>formules</i> or combinations, and she said, no, but the sushi meal (for 35 euros!!) included soup, but no salad or anything. Um, this is not what I thought I was getting into. Suddenly I remembered that there were <i>two</i> Japanese places on that street and I wandered into the wrong one. I almost let myself be social-pressured into staying but decided that was just too ridiculousl (Tsukizi)y expensive and not even what I wanted to eat. So I awkwardly excused myself, left, and walked down to the other place (Yushi), where for 15E, I had soup, salad, sashimi <i>and</i> five skewers. It was decent, nothing to go out of your way for but perfectly fine.</div>
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On Monday, I decided to go out to breakfast, which I don't usually do. I went back to the place I'd most enjoyed my simple <i>café</i> and <i>croissant</i>, <i>Le Pré aux Clercs</i> on <i>Rue Jacob</i>. Very nice -- just simple, open and bright, nobody bothering me, so I sat for a while, did some work (no wifi, though, of course), read a bit, and lingered over the meal. I wasn't actually hungry at lunchtime, but felt sort of out of sorts, so just wandered for a while, picked up a few more English books at a used bookstore, and ended up getting a snack at McDonald's (which I regretted; I really wasn't in the mood for junk food, especially not secondhand junk food, but I just couldn't make a decision).</div>
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Dinner, however, was wonderful. Pavlos invited me (and his other colleague Yannis) out to dinner at <i>La Petite Chaise</i>, which is the oldest restaurant in Paris (they've been serving food at that location as an inn or restaurant since 1680, and still have the original iron grillwork in front). I had the <i>assiette nordique</i> (three kinds of smoked fish, with lime sorbet), <i>magret de canard</i>, and the <i>gâteau au chocolat. </i>We shared a bottle of Beaujolais, and I thoroughly enjoyed the food, the wine, the company, and the ambience.</div>
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Yesterday, I just had yogurt for breakfast, worked for a while, then went to lunch with Bruno at a Japanese restaurant he had recommended -- Higuma, near the <i>Palais Royal. </i>The menu is basic -- ramen (which they call "lamen"), a few sauteéd items, and <i>donburi</i>. I had the <i>miso ramen set</i> - miso ramen soup with bamboo shoots and roasted pork, plus a plate of gyoza. The miso soup was good -- basic comfort food, tasty and filling (and twice as much as one person could possibly eat!) but the gyoza were just fabulous, crispy on the outside, succulent juicy filling. Really super.</div>
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Last night I thought I'd get an inexpensive takeout dinner. I was two-thirds right. I went to the <i>épicerie</i> I've been to before (but haven't bought prepared foods at before) -- asked for a small container of <i>crevettes mayonnaise </i>(shrimp in dill mayonnaise sauce) and a small container of mushroom salad, plus a plum <i>clafoutis</i>, a sesame roll, and a chilled bottle of <i>rosé</i>. The total came out to over 40E! I was shocked but figured, well, what am I going to do, refuse to pay after they've filled the containers? When I got to the apartment, I checked, and it turned out that the shrimp (maybe about 15-20 small-to-medium shrimp) cost over 10E, the mushroom salad was an outrageous 8E, and the pastry was 6E. Which means the wine (which was not particularly fancy) was probably 15E, which is a ripoff too. Well, the food tasted good anyway, though not nearly 40E good. At least it turned out there was enough of it that I made a second meal of it for tonight's dinner.</div>
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Today I had leftover sesame roll and jam for breakfast. For lunch, I was aimless and wandering again, and ended up at <i>Le Pré aux Clercs</i>, where I'd enjoyed breakfast so much. Really bad idea. I ordered the roast chicken with fries, and it was maybe the least enjoyable chicken I've had anywhere -- really tough and dry meat, rubbery skin. The fries were OK. So then I was kind of mopey, thinking how I'd wasted the opportunity for a perfectly good meal, and figured I'd indulge in dessert. I got the pear-Nutella crumble, and that was pretty good if not amazing -- gooey inside, crisp and buttery on top.<br />
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Dinner was the leftovers, plus a <i>demi-baguette</i> and <i>le Royal</i> pastry from <i>Artisan Boulanger</i> across the street (I <i>love </i>their bread!). <i>Le Royal</i> turned out to be a chocolate mousse with a layer of crispy chocolate stuff underneath. Really rich and yummy. Too much dessert for one day, though -- I am going to force myself to get up and go running tomorrow for the first time since before Caroline came to visit!<br />
<br />Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-78903910740345048612014-09-19T13:21:00.002-07:002014-09-19T13:31:39.247-07:00Days 3.4-3.5: Work, a boat ride, and another amazing mealOn Thursday, Caroline rode out to <i>La Défense</i> to do some shopping, and I went over to <i>Paris Dauphine</i> to visit some colleagues. We tried to have dinner at <i>Relais de l'Entrecôte</i>, which a friend told me has the best <i>steak frites</i> in Paris, but there was a line of about 20 people waiting when we got there! So I guess it really is very good, but we weren't going to wait that long. We ended up just up the street, at a little <i>bistro </i>called <i>Au Saint Benoit</i>, which had live jazz (a Brazilian singer and guitarist) and decent (but not spectacular) food. We had <i>soupe a l'oignon</i>, <i>saumon fumé</i>, <i>steak au poivre</i>, and <i>magret de canard</i>. Their desserts were the best part -- really interesting and very tasty -- we had a Nutella molten lava cake and banana eggrolls.<br />
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Today, we rode the <i>Paris Canal</i> boat up the St-Martin Canal. I've never been in that part of Paris. It was really nice -- the boatride was pleasant (although we couldn't understand most of the narration -- even when he was talking in English, it sounded like French, and was too quiet and very mumbled). When you turn up the canal off of the Seine, you first go through a lock (I've never been through a canal lock before, so that was pretty cool), then through a 2km tunnel that feels ancient and mysterious, then through four more double locks through the neighborhoods of eastern Paris before you arrive at <i>Parc de la Villette</i> -- about a 2.5-hour ride altogether. A very pleasant way to spend a beautiful morning!<br />
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I've never been to the <i>Parc de la Villette</i> before, either. It's really great -- very large and spread out, with lots of different areas -- incredible playgrounds for kids, quiet hideaways for adults, a bamboo garden, cafes, strolling paths and benches. We wandered around and down to the southern side of the park, had one of the best lunches I've had in Paris (see below), and then tried to go to the Museum of Musical Instruments -- but sadly, they are closed for renovation until mid-October. It looks like they have a really amazing collection, so I will try to go back the next time I'm in Paris.<br />
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Lunch was at <i>Le Local Rock</i>, a tiny bistro on <i>Avenue Jean Jaurès</i>. We sat at outdoor tables with just enough shade (and wonder of wonder, nobody near us smoked the whole time, so we could enjoy the air too!) As Caroline pointed out later, sometimes the restaurants with the smallest menus have the best food, and that was certainly the case here. They only had maybe half a dozen appetizers, half a dozen main courses, and half a dozen desserts -- but the <i>formule midi</i> (appetizer/main or main/dessert) was only 14,95 and all of the food was wonderful. I had the <i>croustillant St-Nectaire</i>, not sure what it would be but thinking it might be something crusty/crunchy. <i>St-Nectaire</i> turns out to be a kind of delicious cheese, and the <i>croustillant </i>was basically baked cheese <i>en croute</i>. So good!! Caroline had <i>boeuf tartare</i> (the waitress looked surprised and said, "Ce n'est pas cuit -- it's raw -- it's OK??" -- not the first time somebody has been surprised that a 17-year-old will eat <i>anything</i>), which was very good and even I (who don't usually like steak tartare) enjoyed it. I had the baked salmon, and it was incredible -- meltingly, perfectly cooked, with a crisp skin, in a cream sauce that was to die for. For dessert, we had a <i>crême brulée aux amandes amères</i>, and each had a <i>cafe express. </i>Such a perfect, perfectly French meal!<br />
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Since the museum was closed, we were somewhat aimless, and decided to go back to our neighborhood and see whether there was a movie playing. We decided to see <i>Les recettes de bonheur </i>(which is the French title for the Helen Mirren movie, "A Hundred-Foot Journey"). We had a little time to kill, so we sat at a cafe and had a <i>chocolat chaud </i>(Caroline) and a <i>kir vin blanc pêche</i> (me) -- both very refreshing! <br />
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The movie was wonderful -- uplifting and heartwarming without being cheesy, and full of delicious food!<br />
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From there, we went directly to dinner at <i>Shu</i>, a Japanese cafe I had read about online, on <i>rue Suger</i> near St-Martin. (Yes, the door is really that tiny! You have to duck going in -- the restaurant is half a level below the street.)<br />
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Wow. Just wow. Really terrific, creative, delicate food -- every bite was a work of art. Again, it was a tasting menu that included an <i>amuse-bouche</i>, sashimi, three "seasonal dishes," nine skewers (their specialty), and dessert.<br />
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<i>Amuse</i>: tofu with horse mackerel<br />
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Sashimi (not shown): sea bream, yellowtail, and sea bass</div>
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Seasonal dish #1: scallop, salmon roe, and seaweed</div>
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Seasonal dish #2: minced chicken and dashi</div>
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Seasonal dish #3: sea bream <i>en croute</i></div>
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First three skewers (which were all incredibly crispy outside and delicately cooked inside): shiitake mushrooms stuffed with shrimp, chicken with miso sauce, eggplant (not shown)</div>
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Next trio of skewers: rice ball with mushrooms, scallop (the best one of all of them, I thought -- <i>perfectly</i> cooked inside), and baby corn</div>
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Last trio of skewers (not shown): shrimp, broccoli, and crab</div>
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Dessert: yuzu(?) jelly with grapefruit. Note where we were seated -- at the counter by the kitchen, the two best seats in the house. Really special and a wonderful evening out!</div>
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Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-38593007935427869972014-09-19T12:50:00.000-07:002014-09-19T12:50:05.148-07:00Day 3.3: A Gourmet FeastOn Wednesday night, we had dinner at <i>La Table d'Eugène</i>. I mentioned in my earlier post that it is in an unprepossessing neighborhood, but the cognitive dissonance between the neighborhood (rundown and gritty) and the restaurant (upscale and elegant) is really startling.<br />
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There is no menu -- you can choose a 4-course, 7-course, or 10-course <i>dégustation</i>, optionally with wine. Of course we had the 10-course menu, with wine for me. I won't try to explain the dishes too much -- words don't really do them justice -- but every single bite was absolutely delicious. (The wine accompaniments were all very good, but the only one I remember was the <i>Cuvée Marie</i> for obvious reasons -- also because it was incredibly good, a dry, buttery <i>Jurançon sec</i>.)<br />
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This dinner took us <i>four hours </i>from start to finish.<br />
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(1) <i>Foie gras</i> with cucumbers<br />
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(2) Fresh tomatoes with tomato sorbet and tomato <i>jus</i> (for those of you who know me well, you will know that it is startling that I actually really enjoyed this dish -- yes, with raw tomatoes!)</div>
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(3) Tuna tartare with compressed watermelon and radishes<br />
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(4) Grilled scallions with balsamic, Parmesan, and quail egg</div>
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(4) Monkfish with artichoke chips, artichoke hearts, and herbal sorbet<br />
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(5) Veal with various vegetables</div>
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(6) Squab with mushrooms, puree of something delicious, vanilla foam, and chocolate glaze</div>
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(7) Cheese course, with grapes and guava <i>gélée</i></div>
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<i>Entremet</i>: Basil sorbet and meringue stick</div>
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(8) Figs in cassis with almond cake and herb sorbet (maybe lemon verbena)</div>
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(9) White chocolate, <i>choux creme</i>, and raspberries, with another herbal sorbet</div>
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(10) Chocolate <i>bombe</i>, melted with <i>chocolat chaud</i> -- I wish I had a video. When they put the <i>bombe</i> down, it was smooth and perfectly round, then they poured the <i>chocolat</i> over it and it just -- dissolved into this succulent, <i>perfectly</i> chocolatey dessert with just the right amount of crackly texture. Possibly <i>the</i> most amazing chocolate dessert I have ever had.</div>
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<br />Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-15051672731652153722014-09-18T14:18:00.001-07:002014-09-18T14:18:13.853-07:00Days 3.1-3.3 - The Arrival of the Prodigal Daughter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Caroline arrived Monday morning -- her flight was a little delayed, but not by much, and she successfully navigated her way to my apartment. We went to Cafe Flore to celebrate over breakfast -- legendary <i>chocolat Flore</i> (note the cute little insulating "flag" covering the handle of the pot), <i>sandwich jambon et beurre</i>, and a <i>tartine</i> and <i>oeuf dur </i>for me. The eggs were a bit of a surprise - after I ordered, he reached over to an empty next to us, picked up a plate of four eggs that were just sitting there, and put them on our table. I guess they just keep the eggs on hand for anybody who might want them? I only ate one egg but wasn't sure whether it was an all-you-can-eat sort of deal or whether you were charged by the <i>oeuf.</i></div>
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After breakfast, we walked through the <i>Jardin de Luxembourg </i>and then over to Montparnasse, where we saw a movie. (Along the way, we had another round of gelato at Amorino -- I figured sooner or later, if I was going to meet my goal to try all flavors, I'd have to have some less preferred ones, so I thought I'd get it over with -- <i>vanille bourbon Madagascar</i> (sounds fancy but is just vanilla), <i>figue </i>(yes, fig; meh), and <i>stracciatella </i>(aka chocolate chip).) Our idea was to see a movie we had already seen in English, figuring we'd know it well enough to follow the French. But it turns out they mostly don't dub movies into French; they just subtitle them. So we saw <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i> in English, with French subtitles. Still fun to try to follow the French subtitles (and see how things are translated that sometimes just aren't translated that well). The best non sequitur translation was when a character referred to Jon Stamos (as an example of an minor famous person) and it was translated as David Hasselhoff.<br />
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After the movie, we took the Metro to <i>Île de la Cité</i>, walked through Notre Dame, and then sat at a nearby cafe for a <i>kir</i> and <i>crêpe confiture</i>. The only blemish on the day (and it was unfortunately rather a big blemish) is that when I got my wallet out to pay, I realized I had been pickpocketed somewhere along the way -- I had had about 25 euros in cash, and the cash was all gone. Very strangely, the credit cards and ATM card were still in my wallet. I wasn't that upset about the cash, though I was really perplexed and honestly couldn't figure out how they had managed it (or why they hadn't taken the credit cards, since it would have been easier to just pinch the whole wallet) -- but I was <i>really</i> upset later in the evening, when I realized they had in fact also taken my Nexus tablet. :-( (Which is bad not just because tablets are expensive, but because that was my source of books while I'm in France -- I had read all of the print books I had brought with me, and was reading e-books borrowed from the library.)<br />
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We came back to the apartment and Caroline crashed -- fell asleep completely for a few hours -- then I dragged her out of bed and out to dinner, back to <i>Le Mâchot d'Henri</i>, which I had enjoyed so much on Friday. This time, Caroline had the <i>foie entiere</i>, and I ordered a random thing that had the word <i>porc</i> in it, which turned to be a plate of salami with vinaigrette and shallots. Unexpected, but not bad.<br />
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For dinner, I had the <i>canard au gingembre et orange</i> and Caroline had the <i>steak echalotes.</i></div>
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For dessert, we went to Amorino (yes, again!) -- this time, I went more mainline, and decided to start repeating some of my more favorite flavors, with speculoos, <i>fraise</i> (strawberry), and salted caramel.</div>
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On Monday, we were going to take a cruise on the <i>Canal St-Martin</i>, but Caroline hadn't slept well and was just wiped out, so I let her sleep. Instead, we went over to the Latin Quarter, had a picnic in the botanical gardens (fresh <i>baguette</i>, salmon pâté, <i>jambon</i>, country pâté, and nectarines) and went to the zoo (lots of <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/35415024@N02/15094708848/in/set-72157647100261402">pictures on my Flickr site</a>!). Then we found our way to Shakespeare & Co., where I was able to buy enough used books to hopefully tide me over until I get home. (I could not <i>possibly </i>go for three weeks without books!!) We were planning to go to <i>Chartier</i>, a Paris classic and one of our favorite restaurants, but a fondue restaurant near St-Severin called out to us, so we ate there instead: <i>escargots</i>, <i>salade mixte</i>, three-meat fondue (chicken, duck, and beef, to be cooked in oil), and three-cheese fondue (which again, and inexplicably, came with potatoes in addition to bread).</div>
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On Wednesday, I went to work for the day, and Caroline slept in, then went over to the <i>Champs-Élysées </i>on her own -- very adventurous! For dinner, I had made reservations at <i>La Table d'Eugène</i>, in the <i>18ème arrondissement</i>, which had gotten great reviews on TripAdvisor. The neighborhood is not at all nice, and you wouldn't expect a decent restaurant to be there. When we got there at 7:10 for our 7:00 reservation, the door was locked. We could see people moving around, so we knocked a few times, and eventually a woman came to the door and said that they didn't open until 7:30. It was very odd that they took my 7:00 reservation without mentioning that they weren't open yet, and we were <i>really </i>hungry, so we almost left -- but just then, another couple came up (also American) and said that their concierge had highly recommended the restaurant, so we decided to stay. And boy, were we glad we did! That meal is worthy of its own post, though, which I will work on tomorrow. So stay tuned!</div>
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Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-46750369644022199372014-09-15T01:21:00.002-07:002014-09-15T01:21:23.544-07:00Day 2.7: Laundry Day!I had heard that there was an organ concert at <i>St-Sulpice</i> every week after Sunday mass, so I went over there around 11:30 and watched the second half of mass (it's always interesting to see different religious observances, and a Sunday mass in French is quite elaborate, with candle lighting, censing, and sung prayers). Sure enough, in addition to the organ music during the mass, afterwards there was a complete organ recital (called an <i>audition</i>), by a guest organist from Québec of all places. I really enjoyed it and will try to go back again before I leave France.<br />
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I went out to lunch afterwards and had my only really disappointing meal so far during my stay. I went to <i>Bistrot d'Henri</i>, which I think is the sister restaurant of <i>Le Mâchot d'Henri</i>, one block over (where I had dinner on Friday night) -- a lot of the menu items were the same. I ordered crab bisque and the <i>quenelles</i>, which seemed to translate as fish dumplings -- I'd tried to order those on Friday but they were out. The bisque was... okay. Not especially crabby, and it didn't have that rich sherry flavor that I usually associate with bisque, but it was creamy and rich. Tasty, not great. There were small croutons of toasted bread, which would have been good but there were about 50 of them and it was just too high of a bread-to-soup ratio. The small slices of tomato garnish were odd, too.<br />
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The <i>quenelles</i> (two long cylindrical "dumplings") had to be one of the most bland things I've ever tasted. I couldn't detect any fish flavor, or really any flavor at all, and the texture was... I don't know, weird. Extremely smooth, but not really creamy, just sort of spongy, maybe? And it was in a brown sauce that tasted pretty much like the crab bisque but had even less flavor. The rice was just rice. The picture is blurry but honestly the food seemed kind of blurry, so it looks more or less the way it tasted to me. I managed to eat most of one <i>quenelle</i> and then gave up. They asked if anything was wrong, but I didn't have the heart (or sufficient knowledge of French) to say it was bland, so I just smiled and said I was <i>plein</i> (full).<br />
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After lunch, I went back to the studio to collect my laundry, and made my way to the <i>laverie</i> near the <i>marché St-Germain</i>. Yet another adventure to be had! I had to ask somebody how the soap dispenser worked (you had to pay at a different, central machine, and enter the red number that was posted on the soap machine, and then the soap came out in a packet of two tablets). Based on that, I figured out the washing machine (you put in your clothes, set the temperature (I just did one load in cold water), put in the soap tablet (another thing I had to ask somebody about, though later I found the sign that explained it), and pay centrally, entering the number of the washing machine to start it. I didn't have a lot of change but the machine took a 5 Euro bill.</div>
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There were only four seats in the laundromat --it wasn't very crowded, but two people were sitting in two of the seats, and one woman was sitting on a third seat with her feet up on the fourth one, watching a video on her ipad. So I sat outside on the curb for a while. Eventually the machine finished, and now it was time to figure out the dryer. Transferring the clothes was nontrivial (there weren't any wheeled carts, and I thought there were two large waterproof bags at one point, but it turned out those belonged to somebody who had brought them along), so I had to use the shopping bags that I had carried the clothes in. But the machine wasn't too complicated -- put in the clothes in, pay centrally, enter the number. Except for the fact that the machine takes Euro notes <i>sauf sêchage</i> -- except for drying! So I wandered around the neighborhood for a little while, and eventually went into a bakery, bought a <i>brioche au chocolat</i> and a drink, and got change that way. They gave me a few Euros and a 5E note in change, which I asked them to break into coins -- good thing, because the dryer needed a second cycle. (Turned out your 1,20E payment was good for ten minutes of drying time.) Some things were still a bit damp after the second cycle, but I just carried everything home at that point and hung up the damp items.</div>
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Adventure accomplished!</div>
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Dinner was much better than lunch, on account of I made it myself. Steak (sirloin or <i>faux-filet</i>) with red wine garlic sauce, <i>pain naturel</i>, and green salad. No dessert -- I figured between the <i>brioche</i> and the fact that Caroline arrives today, I would need to save on calories!</div>
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Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-72857502917238999392014-09-13T13:37:00.000-07:002014-09-13T13:37:07.272-07:00Days 2.5-2.6: So very French!On Friday, I just had yogurt and went to work, then ate with Bruno in the university cafeteria. Nothing worth writing about, really... it's cafeteria food. Nice that they have the option, though!<br />
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After work, I went back to my room for a bit, then strolled down <i>boul St-Germain</i> and had a <i>kir</i> (white wine and cassis) at a <i>café</i> on the main drag. Very refreshing, and it even came with a complimentary <i>amuse</i> - a few toast points with a little container of smoked fish spread.<br />
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Then I walked around the neighborhood for quite a while, very indecisive about where to eat. Some places just don't seem like they're going to be welcoming (especially to a single diner, as I've mentioned before). Finally I ended up at <i>Le Mâchot d'Henri</i>, which turned out to be just perfect. I was seated at a small table in a tiny back room that also had a table for four, and soon after I sat down, a couple was seated at that table. It turned out that they were South African and spoke very little French, so I ended up helping them order. We struck up a conversation, and they (Irma and Burgert) were so friendly and nice, it really made my day. They invited me to come visit any time, and Irma gave me the URL for the nonprofit organization she had founded -- <a href="http://www.kaross.co.za/">Kaross</a>, which distributes handmade crafts by South African natives.</div>
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Dinner was really delicious and perfectly French -- a <i>salade champignons</i> with arugula and Parmesan, and <i>saumon rôti</i> with cream sauce and <i>haricots verts</i>:</div>
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(Also <i>mousse au chocolat</i>, though I forgot to take a picture of that...) I had way too much wine, because the waiter thought I ordered a <i>carafe</i> of wine (75,cl) instead of the <i>quart</i> (25,cl) I was trying to order. I need to work on that. I think maybe I'll try <i>un petit pichet</i> next time.)</div>
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Today (Saturday), I very lazily slept in (I blame the wine!). Eventually I got up, finished inflating the air mattress that a friend at the university had lent me for Caroline's visit (I couldn't get the built-in foot pump to work, so ended up blowing it up with "lungpower" in several sittings), then stopped by the local <i>crêpe </i>kiosk for a <i>crêpe Nutella</i> on my way to the <i>Métro</i>. </div>
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I rode to the <i>Rambuteau</i> station near <i>Centre Pompidou </i>and decided to actually go into the museum -- in all of the times I've been to Paris, I've never actually been inside. I must admit I'm not all that much of a modern art fan, but it was interesting and there were some things that I did really enjoy.</div>
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By the time I was ready to leave a couple of hours later, I was getting hungry again. There are tons of little restaurants and sidewalk stands, but I was in indecisive mode and couldn't decide what I want. Then my homesickness got the better of me, and I went to McDonald's for some fries and diet Coke (though in some ways, eating McDonald's fries and drinking diet Coke in Paris is just a way to become more homesick, since neither one tastes at all right! Still, it hit the spot...) That area is full of young people, and a mecca for any type of fast food that an ex-pat might want -- McDonald's, KFC, Subway, Pizza Hut, and even a Mexican restaurant all within a few blocks of each other!</div>
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I wandered through <i>Les Halles</i> a bit (a huge underground mall, with less familiar stores than <i>Quatre Temps</i>, though I did spot a Clare's), then took the <i>Métro</i> back "home." I went into the <i>Marché St-Germain</i> but wasn't really inspired enough to overcome the intimidation factor of buying food there. (It was kind of deserted by that time of day, so I felt out of place.) I ended up just going to <i>Monoprix</i> and buying enough groceries for dinner tonight and tomorrow night (I remembered that everything is closed on Sundays!)</div>
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Tonight's dinner: pork chops with plum glaze (which you may recognize from the chicken I made on Day Three...), ginger carrots, green salad, and <i>pain nature au beurre,</i> plus a glass of the Bordeaux that my officemate gave me last week. Delicious!</div>
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Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-12701724281905178572014-09-11T12:02:00.000-07:002014-09-11T12:02:29.621-07:00Day 2.4: Another Day, Another BaguetteI got yet another late start this morning -- had a banana in the park while reading a technical paper, then walked down to retrieve my left-behind tablet from the fondue restaurant. The manager wasn't in yet, so I was kind of aimless for a while -- ended up wandering through a new side street, then all the way back to my apartment to pick up a magazine. I decided it was time for a taste of home and had lunch at <i>Maison Burger</i> on <i>rue Grégoire de Tours</i>, right next to the fondue place. Quite a tasty burger, actually -- I had the <i>Original</i> (with sautéed red onions, some kind of sundried tomato relish, and Cheddar cheese) with fries and a diet Coke. Not <i>too</i> much like being at home, but interestingly different. For one thing, you can order your burger <i>saignant</i> (rare). For another thing, the fries really aren't as good (sorry, French people, even though we named them after you, I think this is one thing that the Americans mostly do better...)<br />
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After lunch, I stopped by the fondue restaurant, and <i>voilà</i>! The manager was there and knew just what I was talking about, so I retrieved my tablet and now have access to unlimited books through the e-library again. Whew!<br />
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I spent the rest of the afternoon in the office, doing email miscellanea, thinking about proposals, reading technical papers, and meeting with Pavlos. Afterwards, I thought, why wait until after dinner for dessert anyway? and strolled back up to Amorino to continue my quest to consume all of their gelato flavors. They are making it tricky by occasionally introducing new ones, so I tried one of those -- I don't remember the name, but it had lime and something else in it -- along with amarena (cherry) and <i>chocolat pur</i> (they have four different chocolate flavors, so trying to get the one that just said "chocolate" was a bit challenging!) The way they scoop the gelato results in the most beautiful flower-petal ice cream servings I've ever seen. (The picture doesn't quite do it justice -- it's a very three-dimensional effect in reality.)<br />
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Since I'd outdone myself with the pre-dinner dessert, I kept dinner simple, just the leftover things I had in the fridge -- some <i>fagottini</i> (stuffed pasta) that I'd picked up at the market a few days ago, the rest of the salad, olives, a <i>demi traditional</i> (French load) from the <i>boulanger</i> across the street, and some <i>mousse de canard</i> from <i>Monoprix</i>. Very satisfying and actually more than I could eat after all that ice cream!</div>
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Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-16588261031796454192014-09-10T13:35:00.000-07:002014-09-10T13:35:15.542-07:00Day 2.3 - Low-key and forgetfulThis morning I wasn't that hungry, just had a banana for breakfast and went to work. My colleague Bruno invited me to lunch, and by the time we went out, <i>j'etais très faim!</i> (A banana is not really a complete breakfast...) We went to a little crêpe place on the corner, and I had a <i>galette</i> (buckwheat flour crêpe) with potatoes and bacon. Very yummy and simple. I also had some <i>cidre doux</i>, but I wasn't too crazy about it -- it had a sort of musty flavor that almost seemed as though it had gone off.<br />
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I went out for a late (well, normal to the French, around 8pm) dinner on the little street of restaurants that I discovered yesterday -- <i>rue de Grégoire de Tours</i>. I ate at <i>Chalet Grégoire</i>, a little local place that specializes in <i>fondues</i> and <i>raclette</i>. I ordered the <i>cuisses de grenouilles à l'ail</i> (yes, that is in fact frogs' legs) and <i>fondue traditionelle</i>. Both were delicious -- the frogs' legs were tiny and succulent, very garlicky, with nice bread to soak up the garlic butter. The fondue was Emmenthaler and Gruyère, plus I think one other cheese I don't remember, with bread, potatoes, and (oddly) iceberg lettuce (which also came with the frogs' legs). <br />
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Before (a little blurry, forgive me):<br />
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After:</div>
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Fondue:</div>
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After that dinner, tomorrow I <i>really </i>need to go for the run that I didn't go for today...</div>
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On the walk to the restaurant, I saw a guy standing outside of <i>St-Germain</i> playing a one-man band sort of arrangement and singing <i>What a Wonderful World</i> in this slightly wacky raspy voice. I almost stopped to take a picture, but thought, nah, I'll keep walking. On the way back he was still! (or again?) there. Now he was singing <i>Bei Mir Bist Du Schön</i>, and I couldn't resist stopping to take a picture for my daughter (that song is one of the Radcliffe Pitches' signature songs):</div>
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The forgetful part (stupid me) is that I got caught up in conversation with two nice American women at the table next to me (including one from Carroll County who rides horses and had just come from the quadrennial World Equestrian Games in Normandy) -- and got distracted enough that I left my Nexus tablet at the restaurant and didn't realize I had left it behind until I got back to the studio. I called the restaurant, though, and the waiter who had served me remembered me, said he had the tablet and said <i>oui, oui, </i>of course I could come by tomorrow midday to pick it up again. (For the record, that makes <i style="font-weight: bold;">three</i> phone calls that I have made successfully in French while I was here!)</div>
Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-92184697255333119512014-09-09T13:12:00.001-07:002014-09-10T13:40:41.884-07:00Days 2.1 and 2.2I thought it would be easier to use Week.Day numbers instead of counting to 35 or whatever it will be by the end of my sojourn!<br />
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Yesterday (2.1) was mainly a work day. I ate some leftover baguette and plum jam, then went to the office. I got a lot done, pausing only to pick up a <i>prosciutto e formaggio</i> panini from the little Italian takeout place across the street and eating it back at the apartment. I managed to get my collaborator's code up and running, read several papers, get caught up on my email, and write a complete draft of my personal development plan. (Ask me about that aspect of the ACE Fellows program sometime -- talk about a tough task to set for yourself!)<br />
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My plan of buying a rotisserie chicken was dashed when I realized that the <i>boucher</i> is closed on Sundays <i>and</i> Mondays. So I just bought a dessert pastry, went back to the room to cool off, then went out to a local pizza place that I'd walked by a few times and looked good - Pizza Vesuvio, just off of <i>boul St-Germain</i>. I had a pizza <i>quattro stagione</i> (ham, mozzarella, mushrooms, artichokes, and olives -- pits and all!) and a carafe of rosé (which I meant to be the little 25,cl carafe, but that is a <i>quart-carafe</i> and I ordered a <i>demi-. </i>Oops). The pizza was very yummy, and I ate the whole thing even though I really didn't mean to. <br />
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I struck up a nice little chat with an American woman sitting next to me who was having dinner with her 12-year-old daughter -- they were in town from Las Vegas and were very nice. Those were the first Americans I've talked to since I've been here, which felt paradoxically normal and strange. <br />
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I hadn't slept well the night before, and unfortunately, last night wasn't much better. Not sure what it is -- I thought I was finally adjusting to the time change but maybe not. It was also pretty hot, and the apartment can get stuffy with the windows closed (and there's no way I can leave them open -- as it is, the street noise is pretty loud and part of the problem). Anyway, I had really planned to get up and go running, but instead I slept until 9 or so and then didn't roll out of bed until nearly 10. So much for best intentions.<br />
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I went to the <i>café </i>where I'd had a drink with Bruno the first night I was here, where the waiters were a bit brusque but I figured I'd give it another try. I sat inside to try to be away from the cigarette smoke, but maybe I was too well hidden because nobody came to my table for 10-15 minutes. Finally the water stopped by, and seemed nice enough, but seemed to smirk when I placed my order, or maybe I was just imagining it. A <i>café noisette</i> and a <i>croissant </i>are perfectly normal things to order, right? I'd read about it and it was on the menu, but the way he repeated <i>noisette?</i> back seemed snarky. Then he brought the coffee but said they didn't had any croissants, and didn't offer an alternative, but finally I convinced him he could perhaps bring me some <i>pain</i> instead. The <i>noisette</i> wasn't exactly what I was expecting - I thought it would be an espresso mixed with a little milk, like a <i>macchiato</i> (or that's what I'd read). Instead, it was an espresso with a separate pitcher with a little milk -- and no room in the espresso cup to add any of the milk. Weird. So I did a sequential dilution, adding milk each time the espresso dropped by a third to a half, so it was like having many different drinks in a row. :-) The bread was just a third of a baguette, toasted a bit and slathered with butter, with a pot of strawberry jam. Very yummy, very French. But there are a zillion other cafes, so I don't think I'll go there again.<br />
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Since I got to work so late, I decided to work for a while longer than I originally planned, and by the time I stopped for "lunch" it was around 2:30. So instead of lunch, I thought a long walk and a gelato would be a good idea. I went to the same gelato place I'd been to twice before -- I've decided I should try to taste all of their flavors before I leave. Today was hazelnut (hey, another <i>noisette</i> in the same day!), <i>café</i>, and <i>fruits de bois</i> (mixed berries). All completely delicious.<br />
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For dinner, I did finally obtain the elusive rotisserie chicken, and had some of that for dinner, along with another simple salad and some sauteed fingerling potatoes with garlic and chives. I also picked up a lemon meringue tart for dessert. Yum.<br />
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Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-70284632263340893632014-09-07T12:31:00.000-07:002014-09-07T12:31:01.765-07:00Day Seven: Quiet SundayI stayed close to home today -- slept in a bit, strolled up to the <i>St-Sulpice</i> neighborhood and had lunch at a small cafe I'd seen earlier in the week and wanted to try -- <i>L'Enfance de Lard</i>, which as near as I can tell means "young bacon." The staff was very friendly, I had a perfect table by the window, and the food was delicious -- grilled chicken livers (I wasn't expecting to get four of them!) and green salad, and grilled hanger steak with caramelized shallots and <i>frites</i>, with a glass of <i>Côtes du Rhône</i>.<br />
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After lunch, I strolled into <i>cathédrale St-Sulpice</i> and wandered around the neighborhood some -- up to the <i>jardins de Luxembourg</i> and back to the north side of <i>boul. St-Germain</i>. I was hoping to stop by the market to buy a few things for dinner, but pretty much everything was closed on Sunday. Next week I'll know to shop ahead! I did find the best <i>baguette</i> I've had, at a <i>boulangerie/pâtisserie</i> called <i>Gérard Mulot</i> on <i>rue de Seine</i>. Next time I'll have to try their pastries, too, but I resisted temptation today! I also went back to the <i>épicerie</i> where I bought my <i>pique-nique</i> earlier in the week -- they're open seven days a week, and even though they're tiny, they have just about everything you might want. I bought some produce and cheese, plus my first Orangina since arriving in Paris.</div>
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By then I was hot and sweaty (it's been cool and overcast in the mornings, then clearing and getting sunnier and warm in the afternoons), so I went back to the room and rested for a while. The cold Orangina really hit the spot!</div>
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Later on, I bestirred myself to go back out for a run (the same route through the <i>jardins de Luxembourg</i> as last time), then came back, showered, and made dinner -- a lovely simple summer dinner of green salad, <i>pâté</i>, the aforementioned perfect <i>baguette</i>, and a really nice cheese that I bought at the <i>marché</i> the other day (the label said <i>rosethym</i> -- as you can see, it has a sprig of rosemary on it, and is just slightly herbal scented. By the texture, it seemed to be a goat's milk cheese but it's hard to say. Anyway, it was yummy). </div>
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These are the vegetables that went into the salad: the most adorable lettuces of all time, plus radishes and cucumber:</div>
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And here's how the dinner turned out -- I forgot to buy any sort of salad dressing, but made do with a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of soy sauce, and a sprinkling of pepper and <i>fines herbes</i>. It was actually better than any store-bought dressing, so I'll probably stick with this next time too!</div>
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Back to work tomorrow... I have a lot I want to get done during the day, but already have my eye set on a <i>boucher</i> that has precooked rotisserie chickens for dinner. And maybe one of those pastries from <i>Gérard Mulot...</i></div>
Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-7201469161416169522014-09-06T13:13:00.000-07:002014-09-06T13:13:18.812-07:00Day Six: Picnic & WanderingToday, I slept in (it's not easy to sleep on a Friday night in Paris when your window looks out over <i>boul. St.-Germain</i>! Between the late-night carousing, the sirens, and then the car alarm that went off every minute or so from 6-6:30am, I didn't get too much sleep...) I checked my email, worked a bit, and packed myself a picnic lunch, then headed out, stopping briefly at a local <i>épicerie</i> to pick up a <i>petit pain</i> and a plum, and strolled across the <i>pont du Carrousel. </i>I found a nice bench in the shade and people-watched for a while while enjoying the picnic -- very Parisian, just bread, cheese, <i>charcuteries</i>, olives, and fruit.<br />
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After eating, I wandered for a good long while -- up to the <i>Palais Royal</i>, into the <i>Église St.-Roch</i>, up to <i>Place Vendôme</i>, to the Opera, into H&M (found a new shirt and some socks, neither of which I'd packed enough of), and through the <i>Galeries Lafayette</i> (boy, does that place make me feel <i>déclassée</i>...). By that time, I'd had enough wandering for the time being, and hopped on the subway back to <i>Odéon</i>, then remembered it was time for <i>goûter</i>! I also remembered where I had seen gelato, so I strolled down to Amorino for pistachio, mango, and Speculoos gelato -- yummy!</div>
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I went back to my room, cleaned up, and relaxed for a bit, then changed and went out for the evening. I have to admit, I'm doing OK with being on my own in Paris for the most part, but it's a bit intimidating being out alone on a Saturday night. It is much less common here to see people dining alone than in the U.S. -- people almost always travel in pairs (very occasionally larger groups, but I would estimate that nearly 90% of the groups I saw at restaurants were pairs, with a few larger groups, and even fewer single diners). And there are even fewer single women. But oh well.</div>
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When I was in Greece, I tried <i>ouzo</i>, so here in Paris, I figured I had to try <i>pastis</i> at least once It's a lot like <i>ouzo</i> - anise/licorice flavored and <i>very</i> strong. It comes as a golden liquid, served with water and a glass of ice. You pour it over the ice and add water to your taste. It turns cloudy when it hits the ice, which is a pretty cool effect. I'm not much for hard liquor, but if you like sake or other high-proof liquors (and don't absolutely despise licorice), you would probably enjoy <i>pastis</i>.</div>
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The bar where I ordered the <i>pastis </i>also served dinner, but I figured I'd try something different, and remembered that I'd strolled past an area of small <i>bistros</i> south of <i>boul. St.-Germain</i>, surrounding the <i>marché St.-Germain-des-Prés</i>. I ended up at a tiny restaurant called <i>Le Petit Vatel</i> on <i>rue Loubineau</i>, and had <i>poireaux vinaigrette</i>, which I thought would have something to do with pears, but it was actually leeks. Ah well, that's the adventure of dining in a foreign country. It was challenging to cut (very fibrous and I only had a butter knife), but quite tasty. Then I had a <i>rumpsteack mi-saignant</i>, perfectly cooked, which came with mashed potatoes and a variety of steamed vegetables, all simple but very tasty. I asked the very friendly waitress for a recommendation for cheese, and she brought a <i>Saint-Marcellin</i> -- very creamy and a little on the strong side, but delicious. A glass of <i>Viognier</i> with the <i>entrée </i>and a <i>Côtes du Rhône </i>with the steak rounded out the meal perfectly.</div>
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A wonderful end to a relaxing day!</div>
<br />Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-61276602499256534252014-09-05T12:13:00.001-07:002014-09-05T12:13:15.049-07:00Day Five: La DefenseExciting news! - I've discovered how to insert accents in my blog posts (you just hold down the key and a little popup menu appears with the different accent options for that letter). I'll try to be correct about accents in French words, but I warn you all that I'm not particularly good at diacriticals (that and pronoun genders...)<br />
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Today started in a leisurely sort of way, sleeping in then puttering around, and by the time I left the apartment, it was time for lunch -- a <i>croque monsieur</i> at the corner cafe (Cafe de Flore). It was pretty mediocre, just a sort of fast-food <i>croque</i> (though not at fast-food prices -- it cost 8E) -- but what really chapped my hide is that when I ordered <i>thé glâcé, </i>they brought me a tiny (,25l) bottle of Lipton's sweetened tea (a.k.a. "sugar water"), and they charged me 5,5E for it! (that's a little over $7 if you didn't know.) I don't mind that they don't have actual iced tea, but just <i>tell</i> me you don't have iced tea! (I know, I know, that's what they think iced tea <i>is</i>. And my mistake for not checking the menu for the price, but honestly.) Anyway, there are a billion other cafes, so I think I can safely skip that one next time.<br />
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One of my goals is to visit some neighborhoods in Paris that I've never had the opportunity to visit when I was here for shorter periods of time. Today, I picked La Défense (walking tour #15 in the Insight Guides <i>Explore Paris</i>). I rode the Métro to Les Halles and took the RER A out to La Défense -- you can also take the Métro out there, but the RER is faster <i>and </i>air conditioned. <br />
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I wandered around <i>Quatre Temps</i> for a while -- it's a ginormous shopping mall (139,400 sq. m. -- by way of comparison, that's twice as big as the Columbia Mall, a little over half as big as the Mall of America, but only 1/5 as big as the New South China Mall, which <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_shopping_malls_in_the_world">Wikipedia claims</a> is the biggest shopping mall in the world). Most of the stores are the same stores you'd see in the Columbia Mall, which just goes to show that globalization is real. But the prices are mostly 1.5 to twice as much, which just goes to show that Paris is expensive.<br />
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After that, I wandered out to look at the Grande Arche and stroll down along <i>l'esplanade du Général-de-Gaulle</i>, taking <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/35415024@N02/14962576478/in/set-72157647100261402">lots of pictures</a> along the way. Gorgeous day for a stroll. Unfortunately the <i>museé de la Défense</i> is closed until next year. <i>Tant pis.</i><br />
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I took the Métro back "home" and decided to try watching a French-language movie. It was an interesting experience and reminded me that my French really is not that good. I can understand written French quite a bit better than spoken French, but if people speak slowly and clearly enough, I can follow most daily conversational French. Rapid-fire French with medical jargon was definitely way beyond my abilities -- I understood maybe 10% of the dialogue, and was so proud of myself when I figured out that they said somebody's blood pressure was 180/120 (<i>dix-huit douze</i> in French, since they apparently divide by ten). But the movie (<i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2891070/">Hippocrate</a></i>) seemed like it would be good if you understood it. I'd like to see it again in English some day. Next time I go to a movie, I'll try to pick one with at least some spoken English (there was a preview for <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2788556/"><i>Gemma Bovery</i>,</a> which seemed like it would be more my speed).<br />
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After the movie, I stopped at <i>Monoprix</i> and picked up dish soap and a sponge (finally, clean dishes!) and a few things for a <i>pique-nique</i> tomorrow. For dinner, I reheated the rest of the <i>moules dijonnaise</i> and <i>pommes frites</i> from Leon de Bruxell, supplemented with a <i>baguette</i> and an avocado. (By the way, I hadn't realized just how weird I would seem when I asked to take the rest of the mussels with me. The waiter looked perplexed, left and sent the manager over, who asked if there was a problem. I said that I would like to take the rest of the mussels with me (there was <i>no way</i>) that one person, even an American, could have finished the mussels in one sitting -- there must have been four dozen). He explained that he was <i>tres désolé</i>, but he would have to charge me three Euros -- but that would he would throw in some fresh <i>pommes frites</i>. Uh... okay, <i>ça va bien</i>... Do they really just always throw away all of the leftover food in French restaurants? What a waste. It's not often that I think the French are less enlightened than Americans, but this was definitely one of those moments!)<br />
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Other interesting things I learned today: in Paris, when you go to a movie, you have to stand around outside until some magical time when people seem to know it's OK to go into the theater (maybe 5-10 minutes before the movie starts, not before). Parisian theaters (or at least this one) don't sell popcorn, boo-hoo. On the other hand, they show even more movie trailers than in the U.S. (I lost track around the 8th or 9th one.) The French (or I guess some of them) pride themselves on their disdain for monogamy so much that there are prominent advertisements in the Métro for <a href="https://en.gleeden.com/">Gleeden</a>, "an extramarital dating site." There are a lot of dogs in Paris (which I knew), and nobody picks up after their dog's business (at least not that I ever saw).<br />
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It's no longer the case that <i>everybody </i>in France smokes constantly. But it is true that a <i>lot</i> of people smoke. I was actually startled to find that <a href="http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/lung-cancers/by-country/">the lung cancer death rate</a> in the U.S. is still higher than it is in France (35.4 deaths per 100,000 people in the U.S. vs. 29.6 in France) -- but less surprised to learn that over time, <a href="http://www-dep.iarc.fr/WHOdb/Graph4p.asp?cancer%5B%5D=80&male=1&female=2&country%5B%5D=4080&country%5B%5D=2450&sYear=1950&eYear=2020&stat=3&age_from=1&age_to=18&orientation=1&window=1&grid=1&line=2&moving=1&scale=0&submit=%A0%A0%A0Execute%A0%A0%A0">France is closing in on the U.S.</a> (especially among French women) and will probably surpass us soon if the smoking differential keeps up. Hope things start to change here faster than they have been. It's pleasant being able to occasionally get a breath of fresh air in a <i>bistro</i> or park, and would be nice to have even more fresh air, but saving people's lives is even more important...<br />
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Not sure what my plans are for tomorrow, but I need to spend at least some time doing work, since I played hooky today! (Nicer to sightsee during the week and avoid the crowds.)Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-89151863052511899262014-09-05T02:48:00.001-07:002014-09-05T02:48:41.419-07:00Day Four: Getting Out in ParisYesterday morning, I decided to explore a bit, so after finishing the chocolate biscuits from the previous day's <i>gouter,</i> going for a run, and showering, I set off towards the Seine. I had planned to sit down along the Seine to do some work, but it continued to be a bit chilly, so I just walked instead -- across the <i>Pont du Carouselle </i>and into the courtyard of the Louvre, then back to the Left Bank and along the Seine for a ways. <br />
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Eventually the chill caught up with me and I popped into a cafe for a <i>cafe express</i> (I hardly ever drink coffee, but here it's just so much of the culture, I had to!) and croissant (oh such buttery goodness!). I sat there eating and working for a while, then strolled back to the apartment for a simple lunch of bread, cheese, <i>charcuteries</i>, and melon:<br />
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In the afternoon, I went to my office and worked for several more hours to finish and submit both papers that I had been working on (for submission to SIGCSE-15, a major computer science education conference). To celebrate, I decided to explore a bit more, and hopped on the Metro to Pere LaChaise, following one of the walking tours in the <i>Explore Paris </i>Insight Guide. The cemetery itself was closed (pity), but I walked through the (steep!) park alongside the northern edge of the cemetery, then northwards through the 20th and 19th <i>arrondissements, </i>with a mix of parks, middle-class and working-class neighborhoods. <br />
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I stopped at a small cafe across from the <i>Parc de Belleville</i>, ordered wine, and tried to order dinner, but they explained that the kitchen didn't open until 8pm (it was about 7:15, which I thought was late enough to have dinner, even in Paris). Ah well. Instead, I finished the wine, walked down to the Pyrenees station, and returned to Odeon (two stops away from my apartment). I had seen a couple of Japanese restaurants and thought I'd check them out, which turned out to be a good call! I went into Sushi House on Rue Dauphine and ordered a <i>bento maison</i>: miso soup, salad (sort of an Asian cole slaw), sushi, sashimi, maki, tempura, and skewers. Super-yummy and very satisfying on a cool Parisian evening! (But not so cool that I could resist temptation: on the walk back, I stopped for a hazelnut chocolate gelato at one of the many yummy-looking ice cream shops in the neighborhood...)<br />
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Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-4620754914156956182014-09-04T00:40:00.000-07:002014-09-04T01:03:33.617-07:00Day Three: The Cooking AdventureYesterday I got up at a more reasonable hour and made myself a lovely simple breakfast of melon and yogurt. The kitchen is incredibly minimalist. There is one knife: it's a serrated steak knife, and the handle is loose. Cutting up the melon was a challenge, and a harbinger of what was to come later.<br />
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I had a productive day, getting a lot of work done in the morning and afternoon. I nearly finished a paper that had been only 15% written at the start of the day, so that was quite an accomplishment! <br />
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My colleague Bruno kindly took me to lunch at the university cafeteria (fennel salad, green salad with ham, roasted chicken, rice, and a custard-chocolate tart -- cafeteria food, but not bad). Later in the afternoon, my friendly officemate, Osman, announced that it was time for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/23/dining/where-all-paris-can-be-found-indulging-in-the-afternoon.html"><<<i>gouter</i>>></a> and offered several snacks. I tried to demur, saying I didn't normally eat at that time, but he explained quite clearly that I was in France now and I should do as the French do. (Now I understand why they are able to eat dinner so late, at the "civilized" hour of 9 or so -- <i>gouter </i>carries them through!) I had a tasty chocolate biscuit that was nominally breakfast food but was deemed acceptable for <i>gouter </i>nonetheless.<br />
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At the end of the day, I repaired to my <i>pied-a-terre</i> to make dinner. Now the adventure began. <i>Necessite est la mere de l'invention. </i>The kitchen was completely unstocked, so I had only what I bought at the <i>Monoprix</i> the day before: chicken breast, radishes, <i>haricots verts</i>, mushrooms, ginger, soy sauce, olive oil, <i>confiture des mirabelles de Lorraine</i> (which turns out to be yellow plum jam), and <i>fines herbes</i>, plus mini salt and pepper shakers that I had filched from the plane. I had also bought a half whole grain baguette at the boulanger across the street just before dinner, and an <i>eclair chocolat. </i><br />
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There are precisely two skillets, the aforementioned knife, and of course no cutting board. I managed to cut up the vegetables and ginger on a dinner plate and set them aside. Luckily I had bought the chicken in a deboned, filleted form, because butchering is definitely out of the question!<br />
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There are two electric burners but the labels on the knobs have been rubbed away. I could just make out a "4" and "5" on one of the knobs, so I turned both knobs in that direction, past the "5." After a minute, the burners were lukewarm. After a few more minutes, they were quite warm but not what you would call hot. I gave it five minutes or so, and then thought, well, I'll have to try to cook this food, and if not, hopefully the microwave will work. I added olive oil, seasoned the chicken, waited some more time, sprinkled a few drops of water in the vain hopes of seeing it spatter (no such luck), hoped for the best, and put the chicken in. It... sat. The very bottom gradually turned white, but that was about it. Clearly it was not going to cook. I tried the vegetables in the other burner, and nothing. So then I started experimenting. I though, well, maybe turning the knob all the way past "5" isn't a good idea -- maybe there's a super-low setting there, or something. And maybe the back burner knob turns in the <i>opposite </i>direction of the partially labeled front burner. So I turned the front burner to around where "6" would be, and the back burner to where "2" would be -- <i>et voila!</i> Finally, sizzling!<br />
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After the chicken cooked, I deglazed the pan with a bit of the <i>rose</i> I had bought (luckily there <i>was</i> a corkscrew, so at least you know it is, in fact, a French kitchen), reduced it, and stirred in some plum jam to make a simple glaze. The vegetables got a splash of soy sauce; I poured a bit of olive oil into a teacup for dipping the bread in; and finally I had an actual homecooked meal! The chicken was a bit tough in parts (not sure if it was the chicken itself or because it sat in the pan for so long) but really tasty -- I wish I had had more of the sauce! It was actually super-easy to make and I would definitely make it again -- but maybe not in <i>this</i> kitchen...<br />
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(Oh, and another thing that I forgot to mention -- there is no dishwashing soap and no sponge. I thought I would have time to run to the store yesterday afternoon, but ended up working too late. So I cleaned everything with very hot water and paper towels, but I think the skillets need a second pass when I manage to pick up some proper cleaning supplies...)</div>
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This morning, I continued my virtuous trend of work, healthy eating, and healthy living by going for a jog:<br />
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<a href="http://www.senat.fr/visite/jardin/index.html">Luxembourg Gardens</a> really is such a lovely and typical Parisian park -- manicured grassy lawns, perfectly groomed flower beds, sculpted trees, wide packed dirt/gravel paths and open areas, and of course tons of chairs and benches scattered everywhere. I hadn't seen one single jogger or person doing any sort of exercise on the street going to the park, but the park itself was full of joggers, runners, walkers, and tennis players. Very pleasant, and a perfect day for a jog -- it's cool (60F) and a bit overcast (but is supposed to warm up again later). In fact, I think after I shower, I'll stroll the few blocks to the Seine and sit down there doing some work before it starts to heat up.</div>
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Bonne journee a tous!</div>
Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5459792524655704068.post-76749312824744214712014-09-03T01:46:00.000-07:002014-09-03T01:46:11.529-07:00Second dayI slept in a bit (ah, there you are, my old friend jetlag!) and then had to walk about 20 minutes to the place where I needed to pay the rent on my studio apartment. (Well, I could have taken the Metro partway, but it hardly seemed worth it -- it was a <i>beautiful</i> day!) I picked up Paris's classic street food for breakfast along the way - a <i>crepe sucre et citron</i> (lemon sugar crepe). Perfect! The crepe was just crisped enough along the edges; the sugar gave just the right sweetness, slightly gritty as it should be; and the <i>citron</i> jam added a tang to the happy dance in my mouth.<br />
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On the way back, I ran various errands (tried to buy a sim card at an <<<i>Orange</i>>> store, but could not figure out the right level of Parisian pushiness to become the next customer in line; tried to buy a sim card at a <<<i>Monoprix</i>>>, as I had been told I could, but they didn't actually carry them; tried to buy a sim card at a <<<i>Poste</i>>>, <i>et voila! Succes!</i>) Since I was at the <i>Monoprix</i> anyway, I picked up a premade sandwich (smoked salmon and <i>creme fraiche</i> on flatbread - actually pretty tasty!). Tried to eat in the park outside my studio, but it was full of Parisians eating their own lunches, so I just took it up to my room.<br />
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In the afternoon, I met with Bruno (one of my collaborators) to talk about research possibilities, and then went to my office -- my officemates weren't there, and I got caught up in working on a paper that I'm hoping to submit at the end of the week. So it got pretty late, and I didn't feel energetic enough to cook dinner as I'd planned. Instead, I walked down to <i>Leon de Bruxell</i>, a Belgian restaurant I'd seen near the Metro, and had <i>moules dijonnaise et frites:</i><br />
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Tender, tangy, and delicious, with plenty of <i>baguette</i> to soak up the creamy mustard sauce, and crisp golden fries on the side. (Though the French really do not understand ketchup...) And for dessert, <i>un gauffre avec sauce chocolat: </i></div>
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Marie desJardinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12257408715199284354noreply@blogger.com0