Airplane Food

Trust Air France to have edible (very edible, delicious maybe) airplane food.

1. A whole grain baguette
2. Pesto pasta salad with goat cheese
3. Plum tartlette

It's March

It's already March and I can't believe I've been here for two months already.

Well, I can and I can't. I can believe it because:

a) I've gotten to know Paris fairly well (it's a pretty big place, so I don't know if I'll ever know it really well, even after six months)...I have a pretty good sense of direction and I can tell you how to get to any neighborhood by metro and in certain neighborhoods, by walking.

b) My french has actually improved. Speaking more than writing, but still! I can now carry conversations with French people and not be socially awkward or virtually out of the loop the entire time. Sometimes, I even make jokes. And today, some woman asked me for directions and I was able to give them to her in fluid French.

c) I have favorite places.

- Le Jardin du Luxembourg for a quick lunch stroll

- The cheap boulangerie on Rue Vavin

- Eric Kayser for the best almond croissants ever

- Happy Nouilles for my Asian food fix

-La Musée d'Orsay to study/read/write in

- Le 138 Café in the Bastille

- Bar Dix near Odeon for fabulous Sangria

- Le Caveau des Oubliettes near Saint-Michel for some great jazz

- l'avant comptoir for the best, freshly-made gauffres in town

- Le Piano Vache for cheap drinks and gypsy, Django Reindhardt-like jazz on Monday nights

- UGC Gobelins for cheap movie tickets during the week

...and the list goes on.

d) I've stopped being harassed so much. In the beginning I was getting whistled at, propositioned, etc. A LOT. And honestly, I think it was because I stuck out like the sore tourist-looking thumb I appeared to be. But now, I must carry myself differently because I haven't had much interaction with these hommes louches.

Strasbourg

On a whim, Emma and I went to Strasbourg up in the northeast part of France in the Alsace region. We took the TGV so it was super zippy and comfortable getting there and back. It borders Germany, and you can definitely tell when you look around at the architecture and taste the amazing food.

The cathedral there is famous since it used to be the tallest cathedral in Europe. It's always windy there, however, and we were told that there's this myth that a woman was being chased by the devil, and when she ducked into the cathedral to hide, the devil couldn't go in. So, he waited for her to come out, running around the church even until today. That's why no matter what temperature, no matter how calm it is elsewhere in Strasbourg, there is always wind by the Cathedral.

Strasbourg is also a really international place since the Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, Eurocorps, etc. all have headquarters there. When we went to a bar to watch the last game of the winter olympics, there were americans, english, canadians, irish, french, and germans.

Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art

An amazing tarte tatin à la mode by Mark Gorey

Hanging out at the Gorey apartment

More contemporary art

Emma saying she can't make pizza while making pizza

Beautiful architecture that's been there for hundreds of years (miraculously, it wasn't destroyed in world war II)

Foos Ball Tournaments galore. Intense wrist exercise.

Amorino ice cream. Get as many flavors and they'll shape it into a flower for you!

Petite France

I absolutely love the colors on these houses!

Much love and thanks to the Gorey family for hosting Emma and myself. We had a fabulous weekend filled with good home cooking by Mark, fooseball tournaments, movies, lots and lots of tea, art, and tours of the city of Strasbourg!

Christian Boltanski

At the Grand Palais.

50 Tons of Clothes accompanied by the sound of 15000 heartbeats in a concrete space.

Happy Nouilles!

It's about that time. Yes, I've gone a month without Asian food, and happy noodles were in order. Yum.

Relais de L'Éntrecôte

Steak. Fries. Sauce.

Oh and Chocolate Cake I guess, too.

In case you didn't know, this place only serves steak and fries. Don't even think about coming here if you're vegetarian or not an avid carnivore.

The place is an establishment. They have been around for over twenty years, and everyone loves the concept and the food of Relais de L'Entrecôte.

If you get there at 7:30 you don't need reservations, since the French don't really eat dinner until 8:30 - 9:00pm. Although, there was a line out the door as soon as we sat down. The decor is simple: primary colors with an emphasis on the red. Red means meat, and red also has been studied to enhance hunger pangs in the brain.

The first thing they ask you when you sit down is not what you'd like to drink, but how you want your steak done. Bleu, Sagnant, A Point, or Bien Cuit. Never order bien cuit (well done).

Then they come to you with the steak cut perfectly along the grain and a pile of fries on the side -- everything doused with their special green butter sauce. I think it's a combination of herbs (tarragon definitely), mustard because you can feel the grains, and definitely a bit of vinegar since there is a tang that cuts the meat nicely.

Ah, it's so delicious.

Then they come back to you for seconds...

La Dame Aux Camélias

As part of Bing Trip, we went to go see La Dame Aux Camélias last night at Opéra Garnier. It was my first ballet and it's now a regret that I haven't seen more. A ballet is so moving in ways that other theatrical performances like dramatic theater, opera, etc. have not been able to evoke -- The pure physicality of it, the raw emotion that is displayed in such grace. I can't really put into words how beautiful and striking every second of it was for me.

If you haven't seen the movie version yet, there's one with Greta Garbo. The story is very similar if not the same as Moulin Rouge. There is a young woman of easy virtue, Marguerite, who is dying of tuberculosis, and she ends up falling in love with this innocent nobody, Armand whilst having to carry on her diamond-studded life of flirting with rich dukes. Marguerite eventually gives that life up to be with Armand, but then his father does not approve. The father implores her to please give up his son so that Armand's sister can have a proper marriage without Marguerite tainting the family name. Since Marguerite is the type of heroine with a heart of gold, she lies to Armand that she wants her diamonds back and leaves him. Armand believes her and even though they are reunited for one last time, she has to leave him. The next time he sees her he throws money at her for "services rendered." And then she dies alone.

Sigh. Impossible love.

Anyway, bottom line: go see a ballet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb8ZsnfE9Sg&feature=related