Someone requested my recipe for Vietnamese eggrolls. My mother wrote up her recipe several years ago and gave it to me when I went off to college. These are the eggrolls that I remember her making when I was growing up. Since then, she has changed her recipe quite a bit. She now uses pork instead of turkey. I have stuck to the old recipe and really enjoy it.
My mom can make a batch of these in one evening for work potlucks or to give to friends. I usually make a lot of them at once, so I only make them once a year for my annual Holiday party.
I used to cut the vegetables by hand but that took a long time. If you have a food processor, it cuts the prep time in half. You can find most of the ingredients in a regular market. However, the wood ear mushrooms and eggroll wrappers are usually found in Asian markets.
I also make a vegan version of these rolls by replacing the turkey with 2 slabs of firm tofu that I have broken into pieces. After I have mixed the ingredients, I allow them to sit in a strainer overnight to leech out some of the water. This makes the rolls easier to cook and they are less likely to break apart. To seal the rolls, I use a mixture of water and flour rather than egg. And I make a dipping sauce with soy sauce.
Eggrolls
2 lbs cabbage, shredded
3/4 lb onion, shredded
4 carrots, peeled and shredded
1 bag bean thread or rice vermicelli noodles, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and cut into strips
1/2 oz dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes, rinsed and then chopped into strips
2 lbs ground turkey
2 tbs sugar
1 tbs salt
1 tbs black pepper
1/6 tbs MSG
2 bags eggroll wrappers
1 egg, slightly beaten
Vegetable oil
Mix all of the ingredients together up to MSG. The wrappers are frozen and need to sit on the counter for a couple of hours to thaw. To wrap, place a wrapper in front of you on its point so that it looks like a diamond. Put 1-2 tbs of the mixture on the top third of the diamond. Shape the mixture into a longish tube. Fold in the sides. Fold the top point down over the mixture and continue to roll the wrapper until you have about 1/4 inch of wrapper left. Smear that part with some egg and roll the wrapper over to seal.
This recipe makes 50 eggrolls. You can make make the mixture and wrap the rolls one day ahead. If you're stacking the rolls for storing overnight, be sure to slip in some wax paper to keep the top stacks from sticking to the bottom.
When you're ready to fry them, heat a pan with at least 2 inches of oil in it to 275 Fahrenheit. Drop in a few rolls and cook them until they are golden brown on the outside. To make sure they are cooked through, you can cut into one and if the cabbage is translucent, then the roll is done.
I serve these rolls with a dipping sauce made with equal parts fish sauce, sugar, water and white vinegar. Mix all of the ingredients together until the sugar is fully dissolved. You can add shredded carrots and sliced garlic for more flavor.
To make a meal, you can serve cut eggrolls on top of a bed of rice noodles with shredded lettuce, carrots, basil, mint and bean sprouts with the dipping sauce on the side.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Pork Chop Redux
I created a pork chop recipe in Paris from flavors that I remembered sampling when I lived there several years ago. Since returning to the States, I have had occasion to refine the recipe. Since friends have been asking for it, I thought I would write it up with ingredient amounts and whatnot.
Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Creme Fraiche Sauce
5 pork chops, thin-sliced
salt and pepper
3 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced (I usually use cremini, but you can really use anything)
1/4 cup white wine or vermouth
1 cup creme fraiche*
Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle salt and pepper the pork chops. Heat up a cast iron skillet or heavy duty metal skillet until very hot. Sear the pork chops until brown on both sides. Take care not to cook them too long or they'll dry out, especially if you're using boneless. Take the pan off the heat. Remove the pork chops. Return pan to medium heat, add olive oil and chopped garlic. Saute until fragrant, then add the mushrooms. Cook them down until the is very little liquid. Add white wine and cook until the mixture reduces a little. Stir to deglaze the pan. Stir in the creme fraiche. Cook until it thickens. Add the pork chops for a couple of minutes turning to coat with sauce. Place the pan in the oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking the pork chops.
*Creme fraiche is really easy to make with a little time. You take two cups of heavy whipping cream and mix it with two tbs of buttermilk. Stir together. Cover the container and set at room temperature overnight until the mixture thickens to the consistency of sour cream. Then you can refrigerate and use. Alternatively, if you're strapped for time, or simple don't want to make creme fraiche, you can substitute sour cream in the recipe. It comes out a little more acidic that way.
Pork Chops with Mushrooms and Creme Fraiche Sauce
5 pork chops, thin-sliced
salt and pepper
3 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced (I usually use cremini, but you can really use anything)
1/4 cup white wine or vermouth
1 cup creme fraiche*
Preheat oven to 350. Sprinkle salt and pepper the pork chops. Heat up a cast iron skillet or heavy duty metal skillet until very hot. Sear the pork chops until brown on both sides. Take care not to cook them too long or they'll dry out, especially if you're using boneless. Take the pan off the heat. Remove the pork chops. Return pan to medium heat, add olive oil and chopped garlic. Saute until fragrant, then add the mushrooms. Cook them down until the is very little liquid. Add white wine and cook until the mixture reduces a little. Stir to deglaze the pan. Stir in the creme fraiche. Cook until it thickens. Add the pork chops for a couple of minutes turning to coat with sauce. Place the pan in the oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking the pork chops.
*Creme fraiche is really easy to make with a little time. You take two cups of heavy whipping cream and mix it with two tbs of buttermilk. Stir together. Cover the container and set at room temperature overnight until the mixture thickens to the consistency of sour cream. Then you can refrigerate and use. Alternatively, if you're strapped for time, or simple don't want to make creme fraiche, you can substitute sour cream in the recipe. It comes out a little more acidic that way.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Back home again
So we're back in DC. I've been busy applying for jobs...or not so busy, depending on the day. I've been doing a lot of cooking and home projects. This is my latest one so far: a jewelry display for my necklaces. The patterns come from papers (bags, giftwrap, random scraps) that I've accumulated over the years. That was the most fun part. That and using the power tools to cut the dowels and drill the holes.
Friday, July 25, 2008
More music
Check out Jacob's performance at the Placard Headphone Festival in Paris. http://feeds.feedburner.com/scallopshell
A big thank you to Chris
A big thank you to Chris
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Books I've read while on this trip
Can I just say that I love the Kindle. I brought along so many books and only have to carry one. Since I don't have to read for school anymore, I've been happily reading for pleasure. Thus far, I've read:
- the entire Harry Potter series
- The Omnivore's Dilemma
- In Defense of Food
- May's issue of The Atlantic
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- 3/4 of The Blue Fairy Book
What can I say? I have a fondness for children's literature. And I really wanted some reading that was the opposite of what I had been reading for the last two years.
Right now, I'm reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States and a new book we picked up in Cairo called Taxi which collects the stories and musings of taxi drivers in Cairo.
- the entire Harry Potter series
- The Omnivore's Dilemma
- In Defense of Food
- May's issue of The Atlantic
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- 3/4 of The Blue Fairy Book
What can I say? I have a fondness for children's literature. And I really wanted some reading that was the opposite of what I had been reading for the last two years.
Right now, I'm reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States and a new book we picked up in Cairo called Taxi which collects the stories and musings of taxi drivers in Cairo.
A complaint about the Lonely Planet Guide to Rome
The maps in this book, which was published in 2008 were really bad. Jacob and I got lost several times looking for sites that were marked on the map and coming up on random buildings housing something else. It was quite frustrating and put us off Lonely Planet for the near future.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
When in Rome, Part II
So what did we do in Rome? Enjoyed the good food, walked around, and rode the bus. It was nice to be in a bigger city and to mix with actual Italians again going about their own lives. We really enjoyed the hotel's location because it was in a residential quarter where we didn't really run into any other tourists.
We did get so see some of the sites. One day, we went to the Coliseum, which is an amazing and always impressive structure. I enjoyed catching a seat in the shade and watching the tourists mingle with the vendors and random people in costume.
Did I mention it was hot in Rome? Really, really hot and crazy humid. Though a little less so than in Florence. After walking around the Coliseum and then standing in line in the sun for 30 minutes to get tickets only to be told that we could not pay for them with credit cards, Jacob and I gave up the effort for the day and went to find a nice park to have lunch.
In the afternoon, we decided to make our way to a less crowded site, the Baths of Caracalla. They are some of the most striking ruins in the city and their architecture served to be the basis for the grand hall of Penn Station.
After this successful outing, Jacob and I looked through our guidebook, a Lonely Planet Rome that was in the hotel lobby and decided that we wanted to see the Apian Road and the aqueducts that were pictured along the road. We hopped a bus and rode out of town and did end up on the Apian Road. Unfortunately, the road is lined with mostly private homes that are walled off. We walked along its cobblestoned length looking fruitlessly for a sign of the aqueducts. After about a half mile or so, we came to a cafe and stopped for a quick ice cream and asked for directions to the picture in our book. The owner of the cafe said that we wanted to get off the Apian Road and head back towards town for the Park of the Aqueducts. On questioning someone else, we learned the photo was of a fragment that was located another 4 km away.
We decided to go for the surer and closer bet figuring a place called Park of the Aqueducts had to have something. We hopped on another bus, walked another mile or so through some dodgy areas where it was just us, some junk yards and some large guard dogs. There was one large aqueduct running through the dodgy area which was interesting but not exactly picturesque. Then we got to a metro which we took and after a 15 minute walk, we arrived at the park to find this intact aqueduct from the 16th century.
It was indeed an aqueduct....but it still wasn't the graceful arches that we were looking for. So we walked a little further into the park to take pictures and see what else we could find.
This aqueduct dated from 38 AD.
On another day in Rome, Jacob and I hung out at the river near the Trastevere area. There happened to be a festival being held on the banks and we saw Romans out and about enjoying the beautiful evening.
Our last day in Rome, we spent most of the morning packing to make our two o'clock flight. This time, we arrived in plenty of time to check in. And we ended up waiting in line for most of that time as the agents working the ticket counter for Egypt Air did not decide to start checking in passengers until 30 minutes before departure. This gave us plenty of time to change our remaining Euros back into dollars so that we could pay the visa fee for Egypt. (We knew from our research that you could get visas at the Cairo airport. However, we did not know if they would accept Euros. We definitely knew that they would accept American Dollars.)
After getting our boarding passes, we were then confronted with the problem of only having twenty minutes to get to the gate, which we thought was doable until we saw that you had to clear immigration on the way out of Italy as well, and immigration was much slower than security. There were no set lines, just a mob of people all trying to jostle their way to the front. So I grabbed Jacob's hand and wound my way through the crowd to get us through to the gate.
All of this rushing, however, proved to be utterly useless because in the end, the flight was delayed 10 hours. Through Italian law, the airline took us from the airport in buses to a hotel and gave us all rooms and fed us dinner. Jacob was very impressed by this service. I was less so when we arrived in Cairo with red rashes all over that I swear we got from that fleabag airport hotel.
We did get so see some of the sites. One day, we went to the Coliseum, which is an amazing and always impressive structure. I enjoyed catching a seat in the shade and watching the tourists mingle with the vendors and random people in costume.
Did I mention it was hot in Rome? Really, really hot and crazy humid. Though a little less so than in Florence. After walking around the Coliseum and then standing in line in the sun for 30 minutes to get tickets only to be told that we could not pay for them with credit cards, Jacob and I gave up the effort for the day and went to find a nice park to have lunch.
In the afternoon, we decided to make our way to a less crowded site, the Baths of Caracalla. They are some of the most striking ruins in the city and their architecture served to be the basis for the grand hall of Penn Station.
After this successful outing, Jacob and I looked through our guidebook, a Lonely Planet Rome that was in the hotel lobby and decided that we wanted to see the Apian Road and the aqueducts that were pictured along the road. We hopped a bus and rode out of town and did end up on the Apian Road. Unfortunately, the road is lined with mostly private homes that are walled off. We walked along its cobblestoned length looking fruitlessly for a sign of the aqueducts. After about a half mile or so, we came to a cafe and stopped for a quick ice cream and asked for directions to the picture in our book. The owner of the cafe said that we wanted to get off the Apian Road and head back towards town for the Park of the Aqueducts. On questioning someone else, we learned the photo was of a fragment that was located another 4 km away.
We decided to go for the surer and closer bet figuring a place called Park of the Aqueducts had to have something. We hopped on another bus, walked another mile or so through some dodgy areas where it was just us, some junk yards and some large guard dogs. There was one large aqueduct running through the dodgy area which was interesting but not exactly picturesque. Then we got to a metro which we took and after a 15 minute walk, we arrived at the park to find this intact aqueduct from the 16th century.
It was indeed an aqueduct....but it still wasn't the graceful arches that we were looking for. So we walked a little further into the park to take pictures and see what else we could find.
This aqueduct dated from 38 AD.
On another day in Rome, Jacob and I hung out at the river near the Trastevere area. There happened to be a festival being held on the banks and we saw Romans out and about enjoying the beautiful evening.
Our last day in Rome, we spent most of the morning packing to make our two o'clock flight. This time, we arrived in plenty of time to check in. And we ended up waiting in line for most of that time as the agents working the ticket counter for Egypt Air did not decide to start checking in passengers until 30 minutes before departure. This gave us plenty of time to change our remaining Euros back into dollars so that we could pay the visa fee for Egypt. (We knew from our research that you could get visas at the Cairo airport. However, we did not know if they would accept Euros. We definitely knew that they would accept American Dollars.)
After getting our boarding passes, we were then confronted with the problem of only having twenty minutes to get to the gate, which we thought was doable until we saw that you had to clear immigration on the way out of Italy as well, and immigration was much slower than security. There were no set lines, just a mob of people all trying to jostle their way to the front. So I grabbed Jacob's hand and wound my way through the crowd to get us through to the gate.
All of this rushing, however, proved to be utterly useless because in the end, the flight was delayed 10 hours. Through Italian law, the airline took us from the airport in buses to a hotel and gave us all rooms and fed us dinner. Jacob was very impressed by this service. I was less so when we arrived in Cairo with red rashes all over that I swear we got from that fleabag airport hotel.
When in Rome, Part I
After five days and one scooter accident, Jacob and I were ready to leave Florence. Our trip to Rome was relatively easy if really hot by train. We thought we were getting an air-conditioned train but the AC broke about 30 minutes into the trip and didn't start working again until about 15 minutes before we reached our destination. And, because the train was air-conditioned, the windows wouldn't open. This all meant that I spent the whole four hours falling asleep watching the hills of Italy roll by the window. Jacob spent his time figuring out his classes for next semester.
By the time we got to Roma Termini train station, we were both a little out of it which was why it took us about an hour to figure out:
- there was no information desk open at the train station that was not a privately-owned venture looking to book you on expensive tours
- where our hotel was in Rome since Jacob booked it quickly online in the hour we had at the Internet cafe in Florence and only remembered to write down the address and phone number
- how best to get to the hotel, the cheaper the better
All in all, though, we did alright. We found a bookstore with large section of maps of Rome and determined that the hotel was in the northern part of the city and about 2 km from a metro. We decided that buses would be the best mode of transport in Rome and after a bit of wandering around in front of the train station found the information desk for the buses, which did not provide you with a bus map nor with tickets but could point you to a local newsstand that had both. I must say that the bus was our mainstay in Rome. It was efficient and cheap. From there it was a really quick trip on the bus to our hotel.
The Hotel Aniene was a great surprise after our experience with Residenzia Belli in Florence. This was a boutique hotel that had just opened 20 days prior. The rooms were spacious, even ours on the first floor which lacked a balcony, everything was clean and the staff was exceedingly nice. We did have a weird incident where in picking up the telephone by the bed would turn on and off the light in our entry way and the phone would not actually make calls. But Jacob quickly resolved that problem. I highly recommend the place, if you're ever in Rome.
That first night, after unpacking and resting a little bit, Jacob and I decided to take in a little bit of site-seeing by going to the Spanish Steps. Jacob had heard that they afforded a good view of the city at sunset. The only problem was that the place was mobbed with tourists and souvenir hawkers. You couldn't find a square-inch of space free on which to sit until you got to the very top. We got to see the skyline of the city. The best thing, though, was the great gelato shop that we found on the way back to the bus.
Below is a sunset picture of the Roman skyline from another, less crowded hill a few days later.
Our booking had mentioned a free breakfast, so the next day we walked downstairs expecting the usual uninspired continental breakfast that most places layout. I actually laughed out loud when we were greeted by good fresh coffee, oj, fresh croissants, two types of cakes, yoghurt, fruit salad, eggs, bacon, toast and a selection of preserved meats. All warm and really well-cooked. From that point on, we knew that we would enjoy Rome more than Florence.
By the time we got to Roma Termini train station, we were both a little out of it which was why it took us about an hour to figure out:
- there was no information desk open at the train station that was not a privately-owned venture looking to book you on expensive tours
- where our hotel was in Rome since Jacob booked it quickly online in the hour we had at the Internet cafe in Florence and only remembered to write down the address and phone number
- how best to get to the hotel, the cheaper the better
All in all, though, we did alright. We found a bookstore with large section of maps of Rome and determined that the hotel was in the northern part of the city and about 2 km from a metro. We decided that buses would be the best mode of transport in Rome and after a bit of wandering around in front of the train station found the information desk for the buses, which did not provide you with a bus map nor with tickets but could point you to a local newsstand that had both. I must say that the bus was our mainstay in Rome. It was efficient and cheap. From there it was a really quick trip on the bus to our hotel.
The Hotel Aniene was a great surprise after our experience with Residenzia Belli in Florence. This was a boutique hotel that had just opened 20 days prior. The rooms were spacious, even ours on the first floor which lacked a balcony, everything was clean and the staff was exceedingly nice. We did have a weird incident where in picking up the telephone by the bed would turn on and off the light in our entry way and the phone would not actually make calls. But Jacob quickly resolved that problem. I highly recommend the place, if you're ever in Rome.
That first night, after unpacking and resting a little bit, Jacob and I decided to take in a little bit of site-seeing by going to the Spanish Steps. Jacob had heard that they afforded a good view of the city at sunset. The only problem was that the place was mobbed with tourists and souvenir hawkers. You couldn't find a square-inch of space free on which to sit until you got to the very top. We got to see the skyline of the city. The best thing, though, was the great gelato shop that we found on the way back to the bus.
Below is a sunset picture of the Roman skyline from another, less crowded hill a few days later.
Our booking had mentioned a free breakfast, so the next day we walked downstairs expecting the usual uninspired continental breakfast that most places layout. I actually laughed out loud when we were greeted by good fresh coffee, oj, fresh croissants, two types of cakes, yoghurt, fruit salad, eggs, bacon, toast and a selection of preserved meats. All warm and really well-cooked. From that point on, we knew that we would enjoy Rome more than Florence.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Florence in summer
I have always loved Florence with its narrow roads, lovely architecture, museums, great restaurants, gelato shops,etc. I have to say, though, Florence in the summer is a big pain. The city is overrun with tourists. It's hot and humid and there are lines for all of the major sites.
Jacob and I stayed at a hotel near Santa Maria Novella, a relatively central location which enabled us to enjoy much of the city be walking. The Residenzia Belli, however, left a lot to be desired, cramped rooms, unfriendly staff, bugs, and strange odors. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. We were particularly not happy with the fact that the website advertised Internet access in every room to find out that there was a communal computer in the lobby of another hotel that we could only use in 30 minute intervals.
Actually, wi-fi access in Florence was really limited. Coming from Paris, where even the parks have free wi-fi, this took a little getting used to. After a few days, we finally found out that the Italian government passed a law a few years ago that required all places offering Internet access to register the identify of all of their users. Whenever, you went into an Internet cafe, you would have to present your passport. This wasn't particularly important, except that Jacob had to finish some school stuff and that we needed to find accommodations for our stay in Rome.
We found, however, that we really enjoyed just walking around the city, staying in the shade and finding gardens when we could. My favorite was the site of the Duomo towering over the narrow side-streets. Jacob and I hiked up to San Miniato to get a look at the city at sunset one evening.
We also got a tour of Santa Croce, which was not nearly as crowded as the Duomo. The small museum in the back was blessedly free of tourists and we spent some time admiring Brunelleschi's chapel.
One thing I noticed when we were walking around and never got a chance to ask an Italian about: In many places we found large, bristling groups of padlocks around iron grates. Many of them had initials carved into them. There was a whole bunch of them on the Ponte Vecchio and in San Miniato.
In the end, Jacob and I wanted to get away from the masses of tourists so we decided to rent a scooter for a day and take it into Chianti. We found a place with a good rate for rental, though the shop reeked of wet dog because they had a giant doberman locked behind a gate inside. The landscape of Chianti is really idyllic, rolling hills with vineyards and olive orchards dotted with picturesque villas and towns.
We brought along a picnic lunch of sandwiches and fruit assembled from the vendors in the Mercato Centrale that we ate on the side of a hill overlooking a vineyard.
Mostly, we had a great time. The one thing that marred the day was that we wrecked the scooter making a sharp left turn. It wasn't a bad accident. Jacob ended up being thrown from the bike and rolling a few feet on the road. I ended up sliding with the bike until it stopped. There were a couple of other people on the road on motorcycles who helped us up. And we were able to patch ourselves up with our first aid kit.
And, it being Chianti, the spot the we wrecked in was an impossibly beautiful intersection.
We were really lucky, though, and did not end up with any serious injury. Since I slid with the bike, my left knee ended up being pretty scraped up. Thoughtfully, we had dressed in long pants. So it wasn't too bad. It looked pretty gross, though, with raw skin and massive bruises all over the knee. Writing this two weeks later in Cairo, my knees almost better. The scabs are mostly gone and the bruising's pretty much disappeared.
I have a really gross picture of it if anyone wants me to send it to them.
Jacob and I stayed at a hotel near Santa Maria Novella, a relatively central location which enabled us to enjoy much of the city be walking. The Residenzia Belli, however, left a lot to be desired, cramped rooms, unfriendly staff, bugs, and strange odors. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. We were particularly not happy with the fact that the website advertised Internet access in every room to find out that there was a communal computer in the lobby of another hotel that we could only use in 30 minute intervals.
Actually, wi-fi access in Florence was really limited. Coming from Paris, where even the parks have free wi-fi, this took a little getting used to. After a few days, we finally found out that the Italian government passed a law a few years ago that required all places offering Internet access to register the identify of all of their users. Whenever, you went into an Internet cafe, you would have to present your passport. This wasn't particularly important, except that Jacob had to finish some school stuff and that we needed to find accommodations for our stay in Rome.
We found, however, that we really enjoyed just walking around the city, staying in the shade and finding gardens when we could. My favorite was the site of the Duomo towering over the narrow side-streets. Jacob and I hiked up to San Miniato to get a look at the city at sunset one evening.
We also got a tour of Santa Croce, which was not nearly as crowded as the Duomo. The small museum in the back was blessedly free of tourists and we spent some time admiring Brunelleschi's chapel.
One thing I noticed when we were walking around and never got a chance to ask an Italian about: In many places we found large, bristling groups of padlocks around iron grates. Many of them had initials carved into them. There was a whole bunch of them on the Ponte Vecchio and in San Miniato.
In the end, Jacob and I wanted to get away from the masses of tourists so we decided to rent a scooter for a day and take it into Chianti. We found a place with a good rate for rental, though the shop reeked of wet dog because they had a giant doberman locked behind a gate inside. The landscape of Chianti is really idyllic, rolling hills with vineyards and olive orchards dotted with picturesque villas and towns.
We brought along a picnic lunch of sandwiches and fruit assembled from the vendors in the Mercato Centrale that we ate on the side of a hill overlooking a vineyard.
Mostly, we had a great time. The one thing that marred the day was that we wrecked the scooter making a sharp left turn. It wasn't a bad accident. Jacob ended up being thrown from the bike and rolling a few feet on the road. I ended up sliding with the bike until it stopped. There were a couple of other people on the road on motorcycles who helped us up. And we were able to patch ourselves up with our first aid kit.
And, it being Chianti, the spot the we wrecked in was an impossibly beautiful intersection.
We were really lucky, though, and did not end up with any serious injury. Since I slid with the bike, my left knee ended up being pretty scraped up. Thoughtfully, we had dressed in long pants. So it wasn't too bad. It looked pretty gross, though, with raw skin and massive bruises all over the knee. Writing this two weeks later in Cairo, my knees almost better. The scabs are mostly gone and the bruising's pretty much disappeared.
I have a really gross picture of it if anyone wants me to send it to them.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Last Days in Paris
After the weekend in Dijon, it was nice to come back to our flat in Paris. We spent the rest of the week doing very little but enjoying the warmer weather, walking around the different neighborhoods, and trying to take care of last minute details while we had free access to Internet.
We did get a chance to see JP a couple of times before we left, once for lunch at the Jardin des Plantes where he was working and another time at the Cite de la Musique where he has his main office. Maybe half of the museum was closed for renovations but JP was able to escort us through that area and a tour of his workshop. The museum offers a great collection of instruments that have fallen out of use in more recent times.
There was also a fascinating exhibit on the tools used in promote virtuosity in young performers when speed and agility were greatly prized. Check out the different ways you can widen the spaces between a person's fingers.
One of my favorite sections, however, was the twentieth century musical instruments. This exhibit showed the shift from acoustic to electronic. This area had these gigantic boards with knobs on them that allowed musicians various ways to distort sound. Jacob really wanted to play one.
Continuing on the vein of music, Jacob had made several connections in Paris and one of the last things we did there was to attend the Placard Headphones Festival in a squat on the outskirts of the city where Jacob got a chance to DJ a set. The squat was held by this artists' community that had moved from a building in Belleville. The artists were having an open studio and block party in conjunction with the Placard Festival.
The space where for the Festival was this old modular home from the 1960s.
It was Jacob's second excursion as a DJ, and I thought that it was pretty good. Everyone really enjoyed the music.
And then it was frantic packing and last minute tasks before we set off for Italy.
We did get a chance to see JP a couple of times before we left, once for lunch at the Jardin des Plantes where he was working and another time at the Cite de la Musique where he has his main office. Maybe half of the museum was closed for renovations but JP was able to escort us through that area and a tour of his workshop. The museum offers a great collection of instruments that have fallen out of use in more recent times.
There was also a fascinating exhibit on the tools used in promote virtuosity in young performers when speed and agility were greatly prized. Check out the different ways you can widen the spaces between a person's fingers.
One of my favorite sections, however, was the twentieth century musical instruments. This exhibit showed the shift from acoustic to electronic. This area had these gigantic boards with knobs on them that allowed musicians various ways to distort sound. Jacob really wanted to play one.
Continuing on the vein of music, Jacob had made several connections in Paris and one of the last things we did there was to attend the Placard Headphones Festival in a squat on the outskirts of the city where Jacob got a chance to DJ a set. The squat was held by this artists' community that had moved from a building in Belleville. The artists were having an open studio and block party in conjunction with the Placard Festival.
The space where for the Festival was this old modular home from the 1960s.
It was Jacob's second excursion as a DJ, and I thought that it was pretty good. Everyone really enjoyed the music.
And then it was frantic packing and last minute tasks before we set off for Italy.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
A weekend in the country, Part II
With the rental car, we were also able to drive around the countryside of Dijon. JP had recommended a beautiful former abbey called Fontenay. Jacob, Eric and I decided to go there one afternoon. The structure was no longer being used as an abbey. It had been converted in the late 1800s into a paper mill. In the early 1900s, that the current owners acquired the land and restored the buildings and grounds to their original state. It's in excellent condition, partly because it had been used as a paper mill, which kept it from being razed as many other religious buildings were in the wake of the Revolution.
I agree with JP. There is a feeling of immense peace that you can find sitting on the grounds and in the main church.
We also got a chance to drive through the Comte region of France and into Switzerland. Jacob discovered that his paternal forebears came from an area near Bern. We spent a really nice day driving through farm fields and vineyards. We had lunch in the shadow of a large chateau overlooking some grapevines and a beautiful lake.
Afterwards, we all lounged around in the shade of an orchard.
While we weren't able to meet up with anyone bearing Jacob's last name, some rigorous Google-searching and persistence in the face of ill-marked roads did lead us to some limited success.
On the way back, we stopped at a little restaurant in a small town close to the French border and had dinner, mostly meat and various iterations of potato.
The drive back to Paris was overcast and a little rainy. Jacob and Eric were able to be good samaritans by trying to pushstart this old couple's car.
Unfortunately, the engine had locked up. So after several minutes of pushing the car around the gas station, the owner decided to take it to a garage.
Getting back into Paris was a little less hectic than getting out. We timed our return for before the start of rush hour, which we mostly missed. However, coming back into town, we did run into this large truck carrying some really weird cargo.
I agree with JP. There is a feeling of immense peace that you can find sitting on the grounds and in the main church.
We also got a chance to drive through the Comte region of France and into Switzerland. Jacob discovered that his paternal forebears came from an area near Bern. We spent a really nice day driving through farm fields and vineyards. We had lunch in the shadow of a large chateau overlooking some grapevines and a beautiful lake.
Afterwards, we all lounged around in the shade of an orchard.
While we weren't able to meet up with anyone bearing Jacob's last name, some rigorous Google-searching and persistence in the face of ill-marked roads did lead us to some limited success.
On the way back, we stopped at a little restaurant in a small town close to the French border and had dinner, mostly meat and various iterations of potato.
The drive back to Paris was overcast and a little rainy. Jacob and Eric were able to be good samaritans by trying to pushstart this old couple's car.
Unfortunately, the engine had locked up. So after several minutes of pushing the car around the gas station, the owner decided to take it to a garage.
Getting back into Paris was a little less hectic than getting out. We timed our return for before the start of rush hour, which we mostly missed. However, coming back into town, we did run into this large truck carrying some really weird cargo.
Friday, July 4, 2008
A weekend in the country, Part I
We've been having a great time in Paris, hanging out, seeing the sights and enjoying the experience of getting to know a different city. However, with the weather getting warmer and three weeks into our time in Paris, Jacob, Eric and I gladly accepted an invitation to visit JP's brother, Henri, in Dijon and spend an afternoon their home village of Etaules.
As ever, we didn't settle on an itinerary until the last minute. Looking at the cost of train tickets to get to Dijon, we decided that it would be cheaper and allow us greater flexibility to rent a car. The idea would then be to spend a few days in Dijon, go out to Etaules and then spend a day or two driving around to surrounding villages and maybe an excursion into Switzerland.
Jacob found a great deal on a Renault Clio with diesel engine. The most exciting feature was that it got 70 miles to the gallon and comfortably fit four people. Jacob wants one when we get back to the states.
The drive out to Dijon was really pretty, once we got through the mess that was Paris traffic. There were little farm stands selling freshly picked cherries and raspberries.
We took a little coffee break in a town called Avallon.
Henri's place was in the middle of Dijon, an apartment in a five floor walk-up with great views of the city scape.
Henri was also a great host, taking time out of his schedule to show us around the city and introduce us to his friends.
On our second day in Dijon, we went out to Etaules to visit JP and Henri's mom, Claude. JP, Christine, Enzo and Camille had driven down from Paris. We drove over with Henri and spent a really nice afternoon. Claude made a great tart with mirabel plums and we had some cool cheese, that I've forgotten the name of.
We were lucky to be in Dijon for France's annual Fete de la Musique, a day of free concerts all over the country. Anyone could perform in the streets. I had been to the Fete in Paris on my first trip to France. That was admittedly a more harrowing experience since I was 16. The crowds were amazing. We didn't know where to go and some of the metro stations were closed. What I remember of that night was the press of drunk people, the noise, the chaos. Looking back, I have great sympathy for the teacher that accompanied us on that trip.
The Fete de la Musique in Dijon was a lot better. Having been in a few bands, Henri knew where the good ones were playing. He seemed to know at least one person in every band. Jacob was able to record a lot of bands that we heard, so will hopefully upload the performances to his podcast soon.
As ever, we didn't settle on an itinerary until the last minute. Looking at the cost of train tickets to get to Dijon, we decided that it would be cheaper and allow us greater flexibility to rent a car. The idea would then be to spend a few days in Dijon, go out to Etaules and then spend a day or two driving around to surrounding villages and maybe an excursion into Switzerland.
Jacob found a great deal on a Renault Clio with diesel engine. The most exciting feature was that it got 70 miles to the gallon and comfortably fit four people. Jacob wants one when we get back to the states.
The drive out to Dijon was really pretty, once we got through the mess that was Paris traffic. There were little farm stands selling freshly picked cherries and raspberries.
We took a little coffee break in a town called Avallon.
Henri's place was in the middle of Dijon, an apartment in a five floor walk-up with great views of the city scape.
Henri was also a great host, taking time out of his schedule to show us around the city and introduce us to his friends.
On our second day in Dijon, we went out to Etaules to visit JP and Henri's mom, Claude. JP, Christine, Enzo and Camille had driven down from Paris. We drove over with Henri and spent a really nice afternoon. Claude made a great tart with mirabel plums and we had some cool cheese, that I've forgotten the name of.
We were lucky to be in Dijon for France's annual Fete de la Musique, a day of free concerts all over the country. Anyone could perform in the streets. I had been to the Fete in Paris on my first trip to France. That was admittedly a more harrowing experience since I was 16. The crowds were amazing. We didn't know where to go and some of the metro stations were closed. What I remember of that night was the press of drunk people, the noise, the chaos. Looking back, I have great sympathy for the teacher that accompanied us on that trip.
The Fete de la Musique in Dijon was a lot better. Having been in a few bands, Henri knew where the good ones were playing. He seemed to know at least one person in every band. Jacob was able to record a lot of bands that we heard, so will hopefully upload the performances to his podcast soon.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Old friends in unexpected places
The last few weeks in Paris have been a lot of fun. We've been out to a few restaurants and have explored a lot the city that I didn't get to see when I was here last. Jacob and I have enjoyed meeting up with Eric and our old roommate, JP.
JP lived with us for a year working for that National Gallery of Art before returning to France. We always told him that we would come to visit him in Paris at our first opportunity. He was one of the reasons that Jacob and I came up with the idea for a grand tour around the world. We got to meet up with him and his girlfriend, Christine, and her son, Enzo, within the first week of coming to Paris. They took us to this great restaurant near the Canal St. Martin called La Verre Vole which specializes in traditional French food and features only locally produced wines from small family-run vineyards.
We got to meet JP and Christine's daughter, Camille a couple of weeks later when we trekked out to their apartment in Sevran, a suburb northeast of Paris. She was very shy at the beginning, not wanting to even look at us. But quickly warmed up after we all went for a walk and helped her push her tricycle.
We also got a really nice surprise when we found out that one of Jacob's good friends from high school was in Paris. Trust the power of the Internet. Neal updated his status on Facebook before he left Paris about his upcoming trip. When we saw it, Jacob sent an email to him and his wife, Trina. We got the name of his hotel, which turned out to be located really close to our apartment. After a couple of days of leaving messages and trying to get in touch by phone, we were finally able to meet up with Neal for a few hours after his students' curfew. Neal was accompanying a group of 13 high school students on a whirlwind trip through France and Spain. The last time Jacob and I had seen him, was around the time of our weddings. Neal and Trina got married about two weeks after we did. Neal was one of the groomsmen at our wedding and Jacob was Neal's groomsman two weeks later in Bozeman. It was nice to see another familiar face in a new city.
This past week, we hung out with Eric's two sisters who decided at the last minute to visit him in Paris. Staci stayed for 10 days and Katie was here for 5. It was nice to have them here because they definitely had a site-seeing agenda that forced us to get out of the house and see some of the more classic tourist sites of Paris. Antione, who shared Eric's last apartment in Paris, got us into the Louvre for an afternoon. It was the typical first-time-in-the-Louvre-must-see-all-
the-"big"-pieces-of-art afternoons. We didn't run exactly, but it was a very quick tour through the two levels of French sculptures in the Marly Court to Napolean's apartments, cutting through the Mesopotamian art to go by the Winged Victory of Samathrace to cut through the French and Italian paintings with a stop by the Mona Lisa and out through the rooms containing pieces from one of the palaces of Darius in ancient Iran. Talk about "museum feet" at the end.
Non-stop site-seeing proved to be too much for us. So after a few days, we would just meet up with Eric and his sisters for lunch and spend some time with them in the afternoons and over dinner. The picture below was taken on top of an abandoned railway track that had been converted into park space near the Bastille metro.
JP lived with us for a year working for that National Gallery of Art before returning to France. We always told him that we would come to visit him in Paris at our first opportunity. He was one of the reasons that Jacob and I came up with the idea for a grand tour around the world. We got to meet up with him and his girlfriend, Christine, and her son, Enzo, within the first week of coming to Paris. They took us to this great restaurant near the Canal St. Martin called La Verre Vole which specializes in traditional French food and features only locally produced wines from small family-run vineyards.
We got to meet JP and Christine's daughter, Camille a couple of weeks later when we trekked out to their apartment in Sevran, a suburb northeast of Paris. She was very shy at the beginning, not wanting to even look at us. But quickly warmed up after we all went for a walk and helped her push her tricycle.
We also got a really nice surprise when we found out that one of Jacob's good friends from high school was in Paris. Trust the power of the Internet. Neal updated his status on Facebook before he left Paris about his upcoming trip. When we saw it, Jacob sent an email to him and his wife, Trina. We got the name of his hotel, which turned out to be located really close to our apartment. After a couple of days of leaving messages and trying to get in touch by phone, we were finally able to meet up with Neal for a few hours after his students' curfew. Neal was accompanying a group of 13 high school students on a whirlwind trip through France and Spain. The last time Jacob and I had seen him, was around the time of our weddings. Neal and Trina got married about two weeks after we did. Neal was one of the groomsmen at our wedding and Jacob was Neal's groomsman two weeks later in Bozeman. It was nice to see another familiar face in a new city.
This past week, we hung out with Eric's two sisters who decided at the last minute to visit him in Paris. Staci stayed for 10 days and Katie was here for 5. It was nice to have them here because they definitely had a site-seeing agenda that forced us to get out of the house and see some of the more classic tourist sites of Paris. Antione, who shared Eric's last apartment in Paris, got us into the Louvre for an afternoon. It was the typical first-time-in-the-Louvre-must-see-all-
the-"big"-pieces-of-art afternoons. We didn't run exactly, but it was a very quick tour through the two levels of French sculptures in the Marly Court to Napolean's apartments, cutting through the Mesopotamian art to go by the Winged Victory of Samathrace to cut through the French and Italian paintings with a stop by the Mona Lisa and out through the rooms containing pieces from one of the palaces of Darius in ancient Iran. Talk about "museum feet" at the end.
Non-stop site-seeing proved to be too much for us. So after a few days, we would just meet up with Eric and his sisters for lunch and spend some time with them in the afternoons and over dinner. The picture below was taken on top of an abandoned railway track that had been converted into park space near the Bastille metro.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
A Link to Jacob's New Podcast
Subscribe, listen, and enjoy! Just uploaded the traditional Irish music we recorded in Belfast. More to come! http://feeds.feedburner.com/scallopshell
A big thank you to Chris and Libsyn.com for making this podcast possible!
A big thank you to Chris and Libsyn.com for making this podcast possible!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Reminiscences on the occasion of our first aniversary
It's hard to believe that a year ago Jacob and I were madly running around trying to get things ready for our wedding. All in all, however, I think that the wedding turned out really well. There were no major glitches and everyone had a great time.
The only thing that I regret is that we didn't make some kind of sound recording of the ceremony. I'm not a big fan of home movies but Jacob's brother, David, worked really hard to arrange the music. Our friend Kristen sang the Ave Maria. It was all beautiful and I would have loved to be able to sit down and listen to it at a more leisurely pace.
Food in Paris
Our apartment in Paris has one of the largest kitchens that I've seen in this city. With this and the kitchen in Eric's apartments, the three of us have been cooking pretty frequently. One of my favorite activities is to troll the outdoor food markets that crop up on certain days in certain neighborhoods.
One of the first ones that we went to was the market near the Belleville Metro in the northeast part of the city. It's an area known for its Vietnamese restaurants and Chinese markets. The outdoor market, however, did not have much in the way of specifically Asian ingredients. What we found mostly were very fresh fruits and vegetables, artisinal cheeses, meats and breads. Jacob was also very happy to find a pair of jeans from one of the vendors just outside of the main market for 8 Euros. He now has two pairs of pants, which makes it much easier for him to wash his clothes.
With the ingredients from the market that day, we decided to make Vietnamese spring rolls. We got cucumbers, lettuce, mint, and cilantro at the outdoor market. Then we headed up rue de Belleville to hit the Asian groceries to buy hoisin sauce, rice papers, bean sprouts, rice noodles, and a green mango.
We also found some nice Moroccan olives and preserved lemons at the Belleville market. So a few days later, Eric and I made a Moroccan chicken tagine with green olives and preserved lemons and served it up with couscous. It was the first time I had cooked with a French chicken and I must say that it was delicious. Though the chicken was a little expensive, 14 Euros for a 4.4 lb chicken, it made an excellent stew.
Recently, I decided to try to recreate a dish that my French host mom made for me the last time I was in Paris. It was chicken breast with a creme fraiche sauce. However, I was craving pork - and Eric and I thought that pork would be cheaper than chicken after our Moroccan experience. I took four bone-in, 1/4 inch pork chops, salted and peppered them and cooked them in a thick-bottomed pan for about 5 minutes. After browning, I took them out of the pan. I returned pan to the heat and added 2 tbs of butter and then sauted some chopped garlic and chopped onion. Next, I added a little bit of white wine to deglaze the pan. And then I added chopped mushrooms to cook in the wine solution until they had soaked up all of the liquid. Lastly, I added the creme fraiche, which is a little like American sour cream, to make the sauce. I served the pork chops on a plate and spooned the sauce on top. Eric made pasta with tomato sauce and I sauted some zucchini for a bit of greenery.
One of the first ones that we went to was the market near the Belleville Metro in the northeast part of the city. It's an area known for its Vietnamese restaurants and Chinese markets. The outdoor market, however, did not have much in the way of specifically Asian ingredients. What we found mostly were very fresh fruits and vegetables, artisinal cheeses, meats and breads. Jacob was also very happy to find a pair of jeans from one of the vendors just outside of the main market for 8 Euros. He now has two pairs of pants, which makes it much easier for him to wash his clothes.
With the ingredients from the market that day, we decided to make Vietnamese spring rolls. We got cucumbers, lettuce, mint, and cilantro at the outdoor market. Then we headed up rue de Belleville to hit the Asian groceries to buy hoisin sauce, rice papers, bean sprouts, rice noodles, and a green mango.
We also found some nice Moroccan olives and preserved lemons at the Belleville market. So a few days later, Eric and I made a Moroccan chicken tagine with green olives and preserved lemons and served it up with couscous. It was the first time I had cooked with a French chicken and I must say that it was delicious. Though the chicken was a little expensive, 14 Euros for a 4.4 lb chicken, it made an excellent stew.
Recently, I decided to try to recreate a dish that my French host mom made for me the last time I was in Paris. It was chicken breast with a creme fraiche sauce. However, I was craving pork - and Eric and I thought that pork would be cheaper than chicken after our Moroccan experience. I took four bone-in, 1/4 inch pork chops, salted and peppered them and cooked them in a thick-bottomed pan for about 5 minutes. After browning, I took them out of the pan. I returned pan to the heat and added 2 tbs of butter and then sauted some chopped garlic and chopped onion. Next, I added a little bit of white wine to deglaze the pan. And then I added chopped mushrooms to cook in the wine solution until they had soaked up all of the liquid. Lastly, I added the creme fraiche, which is a little like American sour cream, to make the sauce. I served the pork chops on a plate and spooned the sauce on top. Eric made pasta with tomato sauce and I sauted some zucchini for a bit of greenery.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A note on packing
Jacob and I decided to travel light for this trip. We did not want to lug pounds and pounds of luggage over who knows what kind of terrain for three months. Moreover, Jacob wanted to bring some electronic equipment for possible dj gigs. So what did we bring with us?
As for clothes, I brought two pairs of long pants (and one pair of pajama pants), one pair of shorts, three tank tops, two t-shirts, one short-sleeved button down one long skirt, one short, four pairs socks, 5 pairs underwear, two bras, one rain jacket, one thermal shirt for colder weather, one swimsuit for the beach, and one long scarf. For equipment, I have my tiny digital camera, two 1G memory cards, my Ipod, a cell phone, and (coolest of all) my Kindle electronic reader with a 4G memory card and about 1,000 books I bought on Amazon or downloaded from other sources on the Internet. I always bring books and love to read in my down time. I was having a hard time deciding on what to bring on this trip when Jacob gave me the Kindle for my birthday. It was the perfect solution. I also have travel toiletries and a little bit of make-up.
Jacob went even further and outfitted himself in special travel gear from REI and other camping stores. He packed only one pair of special quick drying, long wearing pants, 3 boxers, two quick-drying, long-wearing button-down shirts (one short-sleeved, the other long), one pair of shorts/swim trunks, one quick-drying t-shirt, 3 pairs of socks, one rain jacket, a couple of handkerchiefs, and one bandana. This light packing was so that he could also bring along his PDA cell phone, his leatherman, the laptop computer, an audio interface, a MIDI controller, a digital audio recorder that our friend Chris, a pair of headphones, a whole bunch of cables and adapters and connectors, and one book. He also has some toiletries.
We also brought along a pretty stocked first-aid kit with a small knife, bandages, water purification tablets, antibiotics, etc. in case we run into emergencies. We each brought along a hand towel-sized travel towel.
We're carrying all of this in one carry-on sized roller bag, one padded back pack, my purse and a smaller day pack.
Overall, it hasn't been so bad. We had to adjust a few things for weather in Belfast, which while warm was a lot cooler than the weather we left in DC. However, we were able to borrow extra layers from Paul, which made things so much easier. In Belfast, Jacob also bought a gaelic football t-shirt as a souvenir. He broke down in Paris and bought a pair of jeans at the outdoor market in Belleville for 8 Euros because he was finding it difficult with only one pair of pants when he had to do laundry.
As for souvenirs along the way, we figure that we'll just mail things as we accumulate them. Eric has volunteered to carry stuff back to the US for us when he returns at the end of June. To be honest, though, our budget's pretty tight. While we've been doing a good job staying under budget in Paris, we don't have a lot of leeway for souvenirs. I think we'll probably end up buying more in cheaper locations such as Egypt and Southeast Asia.
As for clothes, I brought two pairs of long pants (and one pair of pajama pants), one pair of shorts, three tank tops, two t-shirts, one short-sleeved button down one long skirt, one short, four pairs socks, 5 pairs underwear, two bras, one rain jacket, one thermal shirt for colder weather, one swimsuit for the beach, and one long scarf. For equipment, I have my tiny digital camera, two 1G memory cards, my Ipod, a cell phone, and (coolest of all) my Kindle electronic reader with a 4G memory card and about 1,000 books I bought on Amazon or downloaded from other sources on the Internet. I always bring books and love to read in my down time. I was having a hard time deciding on what to bring on this trip when Jacob gave me the Kindle for my birthday. It was the perfect solution. I also have travel toiletries and a little bit of make-up.
Jacob went even further and outfitted himself in special travel gear from REI and other camping stores. He packed only one pair of special quick drying, long wearing pants, 3 boxers, two quick-drying, long-wearing button-down shirts (one short-sleeved, the other long), one pair of shorts/swim trunks, one quick-drying t-shirt, 3 pairs of socks, one rain jacket, a couple of handkerchiefs, and one bandana. This light packing was so that he could also bring along his PDA cell phone, his leatherman, the laptop computer, an audio interface, a MIDI controller, a digital audio recorder that our friend Chris, a pair of headphones, a whole bunch of cables and adapters and connectors, and one book. He also has some toiletries.
We also brought along a pretty stocked first-aid kit with a small knife, bandages, water purification tablets, antibiotics, etc. in case we run into emergencies. We each brought along a hand towel-sized travel towel.
We're carrying all of this in one carry-on sized roller bag, one padded back pack, my purse and a smaller day pack.
Overall, it hasn't been so bad. We had to adjust a few things for weather in Belfast, which while warm was a lot cooler than the weather we left in DC. However, we were able to borrow extra layers from Paul, which made things so much easier. In Belfast, Jacob also bought a gaelic football t-shirt as a souvenir. He broke down in Paris and bought a pair of jeans at the outdoor market in Belleville for 8 Euros because he was finding it difficult with only one pair of pants when he had to do laundry.
As for souvenirs along the way, we figure that we'll just mail things as we accumulate them. Eric has volunteered to carry stuff back to the US for us when he returns at the end of June. To be honest, though, our budget's pretty tight. While we've been doing a good job staying under budget in Paris, we don't have a lot of leeway for souvenirs. I think we'll probably end up buying more in cheaper locations such as Egypt and Southeast Asia.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Paris!
Our Ryanair flight arrived a few minutes early in Beauvais, which is an airport that is 55 miles north of Paris, around 10:30 PM. From there, we caught a bus into the outer edge of the city near the Porte Maillot Metro Station at midnight. It was a little disconcerting once we were out of the bus. Even though I had lived in Paris for a while, I had not ventured to this area. So Jacob and I had to collect our bags and follow the great load of people to the Metro. With our roommate Eric's help, we had rented an apartment in the northeast part of the city. The apartment's located right next to one of the city's largest train stations, the Gare du Nord.
The next morning, we met Eric at one of the cafes for breakfast and walked. A lot. From the Gare du Nord, we walked down to the Chatelet-Les Halles area. Jacob was on the look out for some plug converters. We stopped at this household goods store called E. Dehillerin, which I thought might have something.
E. Dehillerin turned out to be this amazing kitchen store. It was this large store house of anything and everything you've ever wanted in the way of kitchen supplies. I was enthralled and spent some time wandering the aisles. I think I might go back for a nice knife.
Jacob did manage to find what he was looking for at FNAC, an electronics store in the underground mall in Les Halles. They were even cheaper in the outdoor markets in Belleville, the next day.
Because of the length of our trip, we're on a pretty tight budget for expenditures, particularly in Europe. We're trying to cut down on eating out too much. It was pretty easy to fall back into the habit of cooking food with Eric. We had a brief tour of the Marche St. Quentin near the house and spent 45 minutes beneath the Gare du Nord trying to find the supermarket, Monoprix. The train station is huge with trains, metros lines and commuter rail lines running through it. In the end, I think we jumped the turnstiles twice, once to get in and once to get out of the Monoprix.
So our first meal in Paris was steaks with pasta and tomato sauce accompanied by a nice bottle of red wine and a baguette from one of the local bakeries. The kitchen in our apartment is easily the largest I've seen in Paris. The woman we're renting the room from cooks a lot herself, so it's also packed with plenty of nice pots, pans, silverware and plates. After stocking up on the basics (olive oil, butter, garlic, onions, jam, yogurt, juice, eggs, pasta, canned tomatoes, mustard, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper) and the ingredients specific to the meal, we were all set to go.
The next morning, we met Eric at one of the cafes for breakfast and walked. A lot. From the Gare du Nord, we walked down to the Chatelet-Les Halles area. Jacob was on the look out for some plug converters. We stopped at this household goods store called E. Dehillerin, which I thought might have something.
E. Dehillerin turned out to be this amazing kitchen store. It was this large store house of anything and everything you've ever wanted in the way of kitchen supplies. I was enthralled and spent some time wandering the aisles. I think I might go back for a nice knife.
Jacob did manage to find what he was looking for at FNAC, an electronics store in the underground mall in Les Halles. They were even cheaper in the outdoor markets in Belleville, the next day.
Because of the length of our trip, we're on a pretty tight budget for expenditures, particularly in Europe. We're trying to cut down on eating out too much. It was pretty easy to fall back into the habit of cooking food with Eric. We had a brief tour of the Marche St. Quentin near the house and spent 45 minutes beneath the Gare du Nord trying to find the supermarket, Monoprix. The train station is huge with trains, metros lines and commuter rail lines running through it. In the end, I think we jumped the turnstiles twice, once to get in and once to get out of the Monoprix.
So our first meal in Paris was steaks with pasta and tomato sauce accompanied by a nice bottle of red wine and a baguette from one of the local bakeries. The kitchen in our apartment is easily the largest I've seen in Paris. The woman we're renting the room from cooks a lot herself, so it's also packed with plenty of nice pots, pans, silverware and plates. After stocking up on the basics (olive oil, butter, garlic, onions, jam, yogurt, juice, eggs, pasta, canned tomatoes, mustard, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper) and the ingredients specific to the meal, we were all set to go.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Leaving Belfast
Our week in Belfast was great! Thanks to Paul and his family for their hospitality! Jacob and I were reluctant to leave.
The weather stayed nice pretty much the entire time - Only our last day in the city was rainy. On Tuesday we went to Titanic Quarter of Belfast. Near the ship yards where the Titanic was built, this neighborhood has seen some recent development and will be home to pricey condos and hip restaurants in the near future.
Among the construction sites, however, we were able to find some the original dock where the Titanic was built, pictured below.
In the pumphouse next door, we saw the panel that allowed the builders to control the flow of water into the dock.
I found this old fashioned "post-it" note on one of the panels. I couldn't get the lettering to come out very well but it says "Do not turn off".
And later that afternoon, we all headed to the Queen's University area for lunch. It was such a nice day that we opted for a picnic blanket on the grass.
Afterwards, I sat down with my Kindle and caught up on some reading while Jacob and Paul spent the afternoon working on Paul's car, Jacob's mission before we left Belfast.
On Wednesday, we spent the day packing and hanging out at Paul's place before taking the bus down to Dublin and a flight on Ryanair to Paris Beauvais airport. For some reason, we mixed up the flight times and thought that our plane left at 10 PM. We decided that catching the 5PM bus to Dublin would give us plenty of time to get to the airport, get some food and get settled onto the plane. The bus arrived in Dublin without any problems. We arrived at the airport at 7:15.
Once we got our bags checked and our boarding passes printed, Jacob asked the ticketing agent about the food options available behind security. She said that there were some but that she didn't think we would have time. That's when we looked at boarding passes and realized that we were on the 8 PM flight. We ran to security and made it through in ten minutes, even with all of Jacob's electronics. And then we sprinted for the gate, which seemed to be at the farthest point in the airport away from us.
Luckily, we managed to get to the gate just as they had started boarding and were even able to seats together on the plane. The backs of the seats on Ryanair featured their emergency exit protocol. I particularly like the photo on the right of the woman sliding down with her hands crossed over her knees to keep her skirt from flying up....Since modesty is the most important thing in this circumstance. (Click on the photo for a larger resolution pic.)
The weather stayed nice pretty much the entire time - Only our last day in the city was rainy. On Tuesday we went to Titanic Quarter of Belfast. Near the ship yards where the Titanic was built, this neighborhood has seen some recent development and will be home to pricey condos and hip restaurants in the near future.
Among the construction sites, however, we were able to find some the original dock where the Titanic was built, pictured below.
In the pumphouse next door, we saw the panel that allowed the builders to control the flow of water into the dock.
I found this old fashioned "post-it" note on one of the panels. I couldn't get the lettering to come out very well but it says "Do not turn off".
And later that afternoon, we all headed to the Queen's University area for lunch. It was such a nice day that we opted for a picnic blanket on the grass.
Afterwards, I sat down with my Kindle and caught up on some reading while Jacob and Paul spent the afternoon working on Paul's car, Jacob's mission before we left Belfast.
On Wednesday, we spent the day packing and hanging out at Paul's place before taking the bus down to Dublin and a flight on Ryanair to Paris Beauvais airport. For some reason, we mixed up the flight times and thought that our plane left at 10 PM. We decided that catching the 5PM bus to Dublin would give us plenty of time to get to the airport, get some food and get settled onto the plane. The bus arrived in Dublin without any problems. We arrived at the airport at 7:15.
Once we got our bags checked and our boarding passes printed, Jacob asked the ticketing agent about the food options available behind security. She said that there were some but that she didn't think we would have time. That's when we looked at boarding passes and realized that we were on the 8 PM flight. We ran to security and made it through in ten minutes, even with all of Jacob's electronics. And then we sprinted for the gate, which seemed to be at the farthest point in the airport away from us.
Luckily, we managed to get to the gate just as they had started boarding and were even able to seats together on the plane. The backs of the seats on Ryanair featured their emergency exit protocol. I particularly like the photo on the right of the woman sliding down with her hands crossed over her knees to keep her skirt from flying up....Since modesty is the most important thing in this circumstance. (Click on the photo for a larger resolution pic.)
Friday, June 6, 2008
Belfast
Paul took us out a few times to tour different parts of Belfast. The city has many murals commemorating the conflict between the Nationalists fighting for a united Ireland and the Unionists who favored remaining under British rule.
The picture above shows a mural from the Catholic standpoint. The picture below was taken in one of the predominantly Protestant parts of town.
Belfast has become more peaceful in the last few years but you can still see signs of its troubled history in the razor wire that encircled many buildings and the fortifications that enclosed most of the police stations.
The above picture shows a wall of murals painted to show solidarity with other areas in conflict. This one criticizes the U.S.'s role in Iraq. The one below speaks to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
Paul also took us to listen to some traditional Irish music at his local bars. The older musicians performed songs commemorating Nationalist heroes who had died. Jacob recorded a few of their songs and will put them up once he gets them into a format that can be posted on the Internet.
The picture above shows a mural from the Catholic standpoint. The picture below was taken in one of the predominantly Protestant parts of town.
Belfast has become more peaceful in the last few years but you can still see signs of its troubled history in the razor wire that encircled many buildings and the fortifications that enclosed most of the police stations.
The above picture shows a wall of murals painted to show solidarity with other areas in conflict. This one criticizes the U.S.'s role in Iraq. The one below speaks to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
Paul also took us to listen to some traditional Irish music at his local bars. The older musicians performed songs commemorating Nationalist heroes who had died. Jacob recorded a few of their songs and will put them up once he gets them into a format that can be posted on the Internet.
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