Alive and Well & Living in France, now Italy!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Well, I obviously have not been true to my word and haven't posted a thing in 3 months!! Well, it's summer and I am not actually in the City of Lights at the moment, but I thought I would give a few high fives to some yummy restos here in Paris.

First, over by the Luxembourg Gardens - Metro: Luxembourg is a fabulous restaurant called Les Papilles at 30 rue Gay Lussac. The owner is a former French Rugby player. I cannot say enough about this place. Everytime I have gone here, the meal has been fabulous. The menus is mostly Southwestern France with fantastic wines that are paired just so with each meal. The owner will gladly help you choose the best one for your meal. Peeking in the kitchen, you wonder how they are able to turn out any meal at all. The space is 2 x 2 with 2 people in there - they do have it down to a science. Meals are cooked in copper pans and presented at the table. There is a beautiful room downstairs where wine tastings are held. There are some good wine finds there. About €23 pp, but well worth the visit!

This is a must for any visitor!! Word to the wise - reservations are a must for lunch and dinner or you will find yourself out of luck!

Switching over to a more ethnic flare, we head over to the Indian Quarter - Metro: La Chapelle. I love this area - the beautiful saris in the windows, the food, smell of jasmine, a feast for the pallet. There is a fantastic vegetarian restaurant not to be missed called Krishna Bhavan - and for the price of €6,50 one can have a complete meal - really where in Paris can one possibly eat a decent meal for that price! Everything is very good - be sure to order their cardamom tea too. After eating, head down the street to the Cash and Carry for exotic spices and cardamom tea so you can fix your own at home.If you want some real local flavor, head over to Temple Ganash - oh - that's another story...... Happy eating!!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

One of the best places for Hot Chocolate and yummy pastries

If you are by St. Germain de Près, near Rue d 'Ecole des Medicins, this is an awesome little pastry place. They have the best hot chocolate in town!! - Also confirmed by the cute little 80 something french lady sitting across from me. If you arrive in the late afternoon for a "gouter", it may be a little hard to find a seat. You are often seated at tables with strangers, but don't let that worry you - easy enough to strike up a conversation or just smile at your table mates - it is well worth a visit more than once.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Cabinet - Le médecin is in

Doctor visits here give a whole new meaning to letting it all hang out! What....no paper gown, you want me to be bare naked?!!?Oh la! The Dr. doesn't even think twice and there isn't anybody else in the room with you. Hard to have a conversation to explain your problem while lying bare naked or worse, standing up, thereby having to cross your arms in just the right places to hide everything that is "moving south".

One of the first times I went to the Doctor here, my french was really bad (and still is) and he spoke no English at all. I didn't understand what he was asking me and he took out a book of female anatomy and pointed to different pictures in the book while trying to ask me questions. Needless to say, I was mortified! Another visit, this time to a rather attractive young doctor, who also asked me, once again to undress and again turning myself into a contortionist to hide all the lumps and bumps. We are just a bit more modest across the pond, but I just can't seem to break loose. Oh well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! I guess that's why one finds about an equal number of lingerie shops as boulangeries in this country.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Super stamp Site - pour les Tampons

www.infinimentscrap.com/espace_boutique/index

Lots of good stamps and awesome prices!!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

j'adore le mail art

Make your letters more exciting...... all we usually get in the mail these days is bills, ads, bills. Add some color to your letters and a smile on someone's face when they open their mailbox and find a piece of hand-decorated mail art. Anybody can do it!! You are only limited by your creativity!!

Concours de Mail Art

Monday, December 27, 2010

Cool Mail art site

http://www.canalblog.com

Foie Gras in the Cantine

The girls and I enjoy some good albeit interesting lunches at times. It is quite different from any school lunch we are accustomed to. We always have a starter and bread of course, followed by a main dish and then cheese and bread and of course yogurt, fruit yogurt, flan, chocolate, yogurt with sugar, you name it, we have had it!!

One Friday we had foie gras for our starter!! The children actually spread it on the bread and then eat it. Even the two year olds were given this. I guess that's one way to introduce the palette to different tastes at such a young age. Did Rachel and Isabel eat it? What do you think???!!!

A La Marché

I love the markets and the girls do as well. We pull our cart up to the market, yes, we have one of those "old lady carts" and savor what vegetables and fruits are in season. We have our "favorites" - we visit the same fruit and vegetable stand every week and when they see us coming, they always try out the little bit of English they know on us. The jolly old cheese man who gives the girls endless samples of his yummy cheese, the "chicken man" who has the best tasting poulet roti I have ever had, even the women who sells children's clothing is always eager to help us find exactly what we are looking for. These vendors take pride in their wares and take the time to ask you when you will eat the fruit, ensuring they pick the best one for that day. The customer service at these markets is probably something French people take for granted and just assume it's the norm, however for us, it is a nice change of pace to know you can purchase something and it has truly come from the heart.

You Are Charging Me How Much???!!!

7,50 euros for an application of mousse!! That is what my itemized bill said after I dared to look at it upon leaving the hairdresser. I feel certain I have paid for the entire case of the stuff for a month. For every bit of extra service one needs, you pay for it. I cannot figure out if our prices in America are so inflated that we don't even know we are paying exhoribitant prices or the French are nickel and diming every foreigner they can to get back at their own government for the high taxes they must pay.

Its All Relative

The living situation in France bring a whole new meaning to the word "small". Obviously people are smaller in both size and stature here, and their defination of "personal space" is completely opposite of mine, but come on!! 140 cm for 2 people. Basically this is the size of an american twin/double. I told my husband he better stop making extra trips to the bakery or we are going to have to get an extend-a-bed to fit him!!

I am still trying to imagine how anybody over 170 pounds fits in these french tubs. If you have wide hips, forget it. I am sure the pompiers have been called on more than one occasion to yank someone out of the tub. I do like the fact the toilet area is separate from the "douche" room, however, being the claustrophobic I am, have the toilet in a space the size of a closet just doesn't go over well with me. Even when you are there for just a bit, there is no ventilation, thereby causing one to continuely keel over from the sheer odor. I am sure my whole family will be diagnosed with some form of rare cancer from all the "odeur de maladie spray" we use everytime we exit "the closet".

Nothing Seems to Work Properly

Not even the liquid soap works correctly. I was warned about things not working well and the level of service one expects from living in the states. I am confussed why everything I have purchased thus far has broken or failed to live up to its expectation. I am trying to rationalize whether one pays a high price for each item they want just so they can have the thing live on way beyond their lifetime. This way, indeed they can pass on that foot pedal trash bin onto their children and even grandchildren if they are lucky to have it endure for that long.

My children are lucky, I think..... our 50 euro trash bin complete with a foot pedal broke after a month. They'll be able to put in for the "upgraded" model and the foot pedal won't get kicked around the kitchen floor all day long.

Many of the items from France are shipped from China, (Gasp) but the route is shorter. Maybe the items going to the states have an opportunity to ferment longer at sea, thereby creating a more rugged product. By the time the product reaches America, that liquid soap can handle lots of pushes. The route from China to Europe is much shorter, leaving me to believe not enough salt air has aged the product.

Le Bisous

Instead of a hug, one greets their friends, lovers, male, female etc with one kiss on each cheek - really almost an airbrush kiss. It takes some coordination to make sure the kiss lands on the cheek quickly as before you know it the person has turned their head to have the other cheek kissed. I have to admit I like this greeting. It is a bit more personal and takes some getting used to, but it is a very sweet way to greet or say goodbye to someone. However, one has to know when it is appropriate to use "le bisous". I wait for someone to initiate it as I am not sure if or when I should even be initiating this greeting, for fear of appearing over eager. Now, not everyone is the reciprocal of "le bisous". There is sort of an initiation to being on the receiving end of a kiss. It appears that one must have made your acquaintance at least a few times before, or just a "bonjour" or handshake is given. On that note, I'd say make lots of friends and give lots of bisous!! Remember one has to kiss both cheeks, if just one is done, it could be construed as the "kiss of death"!!