1. The weather here has been beautiful lately.
2. I realized that my kitty Bojangles is going to be nine this year and almost cried.
3. I was hanging out with some people last night and one French guy was wearing a shirt that said "Rochester" on it. I asked him if he knew where that was and he had no idea. Then, he responded by saying- "When you wear a shirt that says Beauvais on it in the States, no one is going to ask you where that is." My only answer was that I don't ever plan on doing that.
4. It is one hundred and ten percent sure that my kids are getting good in English. Ok, not "good", but we're making serious progress.
Oh, and tomorrow I will have officially been here six months.
Odd.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Delicious Raclette
Two weeks ago, my French friend Mélanie took me along to a weekend excursion in Normandy. It was her friend Elsa's birthday and there were a lot of people my age there. It was interesting, fun and refreshing. But quite frankly it was slightly overwhelming. I think half of the people thought I didn't speak French at all so they didn't approach me and the other half wanted to know about New York. It's ok- it was an experience and my friend Mél is great fun, so there you go.
Well, well, well. We got to Elsa's house in Normandy on Friday night. People started to trickle in and the table was being set, set with these big grill sort of appliances. Then, a ton of cheese, charcuterie (assorted cooked meat), and various veggies were put out. I was informed that this is called a Raclette.
This was like fondue only more French (ok, technically it is Swiss). You put the cheese, which is actually called "Raclette" itself, into a little dish on the heat and when it is melted you scrape it onto your plate and eat it with whatever you want - some potatoes, gherkins, prosciutto, etc. You can even get fancy and put some things in with the cheese on the grill. The name actually comes from the French verb "racler", meaning "to scrape".
I am all about dinners that take a while and allow for some lingering and chatter. How disappointing is it when you set the table and then clear it 10 minutes later?
Everyone, look into this and add that appliance onto your christmas list for next year.
Have a nice Saturday, friends!
Well, well, well. We got to Elsa's house in Normandy on Friday night. People started to trickle in and the table was being set, set with these big grill sort of appliances. Then, a ton of cheese, charcuterie (assorted cooked meat), and various veggies were put out. I was informed that this is called a Raclette.
This was like fondue only more French (ok, technically it is Swiss). You put the cheese, which is actually called "Raclette" itself, into a little dish on the heat and when it is melted you scrape it onto your plate and eat it with whatever you want - some potatoes, gherkins, prosciutto, etc. You can even get fancy and put some things in with the cheese on the grill. The name actually comes from the French verb "racler", meaning "to scrape".
I am all about dinners that take a while and allow for some lingering and chatter. How disappointing is it when you set the table and then clear it 10 minutes later?
Everyone, look into this and add that appliance onto your christmas list for next year.
Have a nice Saturday, friends!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Greek & Turkish Fun
Oh my goodness, it has been a while since I have posted. I have missed it! I got back from my adventures in Greece & Turkey about two and a half weeks ago and have been busy!! Busy babysitting and teaching and catching up with all the anglophones in Beauvais. Busy reading the Kite Runner (great). Busy enjoying the sunny weather, for once.
Greece and Turkey were mind boggling. The languages were refreshingly different, the food knocked my socks off, and I learned a lot. Cecilia and I (in my opinion) are sort of dorky travelers. We like to taste all the different foods, meet other cool backpackers in the hostel & go out occasionally but we are secretly in LOVE with museums, archaeological sites, etc. We had a splendid little time, although we were drenched in rain in Istanbul and got little sun in Greece. It's ok!
Here is a little recap for you.
On February 22nd, we arrived in Istanbul. We stayed at this funky place decked out in carpets on the walls with a cool guy named Volcano at the desk. We bought a really delicious kebab next door the night we arrived and tried to sleep in a room with our noisy Brazilian roommates. The next couple of days, we did Istanbul up. We learned things, we haggled, we got stared at for having blue eyes, we discovered awesome, cheesy foods, and bought cool stuff. We went to a bunch of really gorgeous places like the Hagia Sophia (part mosque, part church, officially a museum) the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cisterns, the Suleymaniye Mosque, etc. But, oh my goodness. The best and most outrageous part of this city was the bazaars. We went to the Spice Bazaar first, where we ate pistachio candy and gazed at the heeping, perfectly placed piles of colorful herbs. We thought we were in heaven. UNTIL, we realized that that was the baby bazaar and that the Grand Bazaar would be a hundred times bigger and crazier. There was a general madness in the Grand Bazaar, but instead, I will tell you my personal madness that occurred. I bought an incredible tunic shirt dress after trying on around 15. I had someone take apart one bracelet so I could get the piece I wanted put onto a different bracelet, all the while talking about Wisconsin and the Great Lakes. The whole while I was being brought apple tea by the store owners. Cecilia was having an equally fun time - browsing, bargaining, and sipping. At one point, this carpet seller asked us to come into his shop. We said very honestly, that we won't waste his time because we could not even afford a thread of his carpets (this is not even a joke). He laughed and said "come on! Just let me show!" and we said "No, Really- they are beautiful but we are not the people for this!" In five minutes, I was sitting down on a comfy sofa, drinking an apple tea, and being shown carpets in five different color schemes in 20 different sizes- as this man hopped and kneeled and bent over and around to bring out the carpets that he had stacked up to the ceiling. Quite the time.
On February 26th, we took a plane to Athens. I thought Athens was so extremely awesome. The Acropolis was bigger and more majestic than I ever imagined (although the scaffolding sort of put a damper on things). On that Sunday, we checked out the Monastiraki Flea Market. A crazy mix of new and old- where I bought a delicious, crispy sesame bread to snack on. We checked out all the cool, hip areas like Exarhia and Psirri. We ate at Greek taverns. I ate a lot of feta cheese and loved every minute of it. The Acropolis Museum was amazing. The top floor was made to be the exact dimensions of the Parthenon, and it showed the statues that adorned each side depicting a scene from Greek Mythology. Cecilia got a little bit sick in Athens, so I spent some time with two of our roommates- Phil, an Australian living in London and Yves, a French-Canadian Engineer. We did a sweet walking tour and ventured around at night together. On our last day in Athens, I stopped at a cute place for lunch. I ate outside and enjoyed an awesome lunch of Souvlaki with a Greek "Mthos" beer. yum! :o)
In between our time in Athens, we actually squeezed in a visit to the island of Paros in the Cyclades. It was March, so it was quiet- and honestly, beautiful! We were in the main town of Parikia and we had fun wandering the white and blue lined cobblestone streets. I bought pretty leather sandals, starred at the Aegean Sea, continued to eat feta cheese and just relaxed. It was very peaceful. Plus, we found a few respectful nooks for coffee- which definitely doesn't hurt.
Honestly, we did a whole lot more than this- but if I went through it all I would not have stories to tell in person when I got back to the the States- and where is the fun in that?
Greece and Turkey were mind boggling. The languages were refreshingly different, the food knocked my socks off, and I learned a lot. Cecilia and I (in my opinion) are sort of dorky travelers. We like to taste all the different foods, meet other cool backpackers in the hostel & go out occasionally but we are secretly in LOVE with museums, archaeological sites, etc. We had a splendid little time, although we were drenched in rain in Istanbul and got little sun in Greece. It's ok!
Here is a little recap for you.
On February 22nd, we arrived in Istanbul. We stayed at this funky place decked out in carpets on the walls with a cool guy named Volcano at the desk. We bought a really delicious kebab next door the night we arrived and tried to sleep in a room with our noisy Brazilian roommates. The next couple of days, we did Istanbul up. We learned things, we haggled, we got stared at for having blue eyes, we discovered awesome, cheesy foods, and bought cool stuff. We went to a bunch of really gorgeous places like the Hagia Sophia (part mosque, part church, officially a museum) the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cisterns, the Suleymaniye Mosque, etc. But, oh my goodness. The best and most outrageous part of this city was the bazaars. We went to the Spice Bazaar first, where we ate pistachio candy and gazed at the heeping, perfectly placed piles of colorful herbs. We thought we were in heaven. UNTIL, we realized that that was the baby bazaar and that the Grand Bazaar would be a hundred times bigger and crazier. There was a general madness in the Grand Bazaar, but instead, I will tell you my personal madness that occurred. I bought an incredible tunic shirt dress after trying on around 15. I had someone take apart one bracelet so I could get the piece I wanted put onto a different bracelet, all the while talking about Wisconsin and the Great Lakes. The whole while I was being brought apple tea by the store owners. Cecilia was having an equally fun time - browsing, bargaining, and sipping. At one point, this carpet seller asked us to come into his shop. We said very honestly, that we won't waste his time because we could not even afford a thread of his carpets (this is not even a joke). He laughed and said "come on! Just let me show!" and we said "No, Really- they are beautiful but we are not the people for this!" In five minutes, I was sitting down on a comfy sofa, drinking an apple tea, and being shown carpets in five different color schemes in 20 different sizes- as this man hopped and kneeled and bent over and around to bring out the carpets that he had stacked up to the ceiling. Quite the time.
On February 26th, we took a plane to Athens. I thought Athens was so extremely awesome. The Acropolis was bigger and more majestic than I ever imagined (although the scaffolding sort of put a damper on things). On that Sunday, we checked out the Monastiraki Flea Market. A crazy mix of new and old- where I bought a delicious, crispy sesame bread to snack on. We checked out all the cool, hip areas like Exarhia and Psirri. We ate at Greek taverns. I ate a lot of feta cheese and loved every minute of it. The Acropolis Museum was amazing. The top floor was made to be the exact dimensions of the Parthenon, and it showed the statues that adorned each side depicting a scene from Greek Mythology. Cecilia got a little bit sick in Athens, so I spent some time with two of our roommates- Phil, an Australian living in London and Yves, a French-Canadian Engineer. We did a sweet walking tour and ventured around at night together. On our last day in Athens, I stopped at a cute place for lunch. I ate outside and enjoyed an awesome lunch of Souvlaki with a Greek "Mthos" beer. yum! :o)
In between our time in Athens, we actually squeezed in a visit to the island of Paros in the Cyclades. It was March, so it was quiet- and honestly, beautiful! We were in the main town of Parikia and we had fun wandering the white and blue lined cobblestone streets. I bought pretty leather sandals, starred at the Aegean Sea, continued to eat feta cheese and just relaxed. It was very peaceful. Plus, we found a few respectful nooks for coffee- which definitely doesn't hurt.
Honestly, we did a whole lot more than this- but if I went through it all I would not have stories to tell in person when I got back to the the States- and where is the fun in that?
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