New Year's Eve in a nutshell
Ok, so you've probably realized I've been a bit behind on posting about our New Year's Eve celebration. Well, that's mostly because I haven't had the time (i.e. patience) to upload all of the pictures we took from the celebration into an album. So, I decided I'd just post a few pics that highlight the night. We celebrated with good friends of Guillaume who live in Clamart (where he grew up), and it seems everyone he grew up with was in attendance. I spoke the most French I've spoken since I've arrived here (that's what happens after one-too-many glasses of celebratory champagne, I guess), and we both started the new year with sugar-filled bellies (thanks to the mountains of Haribo products at arms-length), beacoup bisous (I've never seen so many guys with girlfriends kiss each other) and big smiles. We even danced - who dances at house parties anymore, you ask. The French jeunes - and so do their girlfriends! :) Definitely a NYE celebration for the books.
beaucoup bisous = lots of kisses
jeunes = what France refers to as their young population
I made a quiche and ruined it - freakin' weird French ovens!! :(
All that's left of 5 desserts. Miam miam.
Real champagne, real plastic cups. :)
Happy New Year!
beaucoup bisous = lots of kisses
jeunes = what France refers to as their young population
I made a quiche and ruined it - freakin' weird French ovens!! :(
All that's left of 5 desserts. Miam miam.
Real champagne, real plastic cups. :)
Happy New Year!Ah, Paris
For a change, we spent the entire day in Paris today. I had been reading about some things to do and places to go in Paris from local bloggers and travelers, and I decided it was time for a little exploration around the city. I'll admit, I haven't taken enough advantage of my new surroundings since I've been here; I guess it's part timidity, part fear and maybe even part laziness. Unfortunately, at the moment our current residence isn't so convenient to all the action of the city, so I really have to be willing to trek into the freezing temps for a long walk there and a long walk back - wherever I want to go.
Luckily, today was pretty warm, and even more luckily, the sun didn't go down after 11am like it usually does! So, we headed out to L'As Falafel in Le Marais for a nice falafel lunch. Gui and I had been to Le Marais last month with his aunt and made an evening visit to Place des Vosges where Victor Hugo once lived that I mentioned in an earlier post, so we decided to pay the area a visit during the day this time. It was the perfect place to finish up our delicious falafel and hang out in the sun for a while.
We met up with a friend of Gui's after a failed attempt to score a macaron at the [closed-on-Mondays] Pierre Hermé shop. Next time I'll do my homework to be sure the place is open before we make the trip on the metro. Lucky for us, Gui's friend always has a huge stash of chocolate, so we were able to cure our sweet teeth before heading back home for some homemade moules et frites. Mmmmm...it was heavenly. I can't wait to have it again in February on our trip to Brussels!!
moules et frites = mussels and fries
I couldn't get enough....so yummy!
Luckily, today was pretty warm, and even more luckily, the sun didn't go down after 11am like it usually does! So, we headed out to L'As Falafel in Le Marais for a nice falafel lunch. Gui and I had been to Le Marais last month with his aunt and made an evening visit to Place des Vosges where Victor Hugo once lived that I mentioned in an earlier post, so we decided to pay the area a visit during the day this time. It was the perfect place to finish up our delicious falafel and hang out in the sun for a while.
We met up with a friend of Gui's after a failed attempt to score a macaron at the [closed-on-Mondays] Pierre Hermé shop. Next time I'll do my homework to be sure the place is open before we make the trip on the metro. Lucky for us, Gui's friend always has a huge stash of chocolate, so we were able to cure our sweet teeth before heading back home for some homemade moules et frites. Mmmmm...it was heavenly. I can't wait to have it again in February on our trip to Brussels!!
moules et frites = mussels and fries
I couldn't get enough....so yummy!Front-page news in Paris
"Obama, a new favorite for the White House"We've been reading about it, hearing about it, and watching it on TV for the past couple of days. France seems to be as excited as we are about the prospect of Barack Obama becoming the next president. Has America finally learned from its mistakes? I hope we have. Change is coming!
Obama '08!
Christmas Review
So, it took me longer than I thought (I'm sure my procrastination had a little to do with it, too), but here are the pics from my first Christmas in France. We started the celebration on the 24th, with Guillaume's dad's family. It was my first time being exposed to such massive quantities of unlimited food and drink. It seemed like it was never going to end. I overindulged to the point of near-sickness, but it was a good training course for the rest of the week.
On Christmas day, we set out for Guillaume's grandfather's property in Marcq. We spent Christmas day and the day after there, and had a really nice, relaxing time mostly indoors by the fire. Guillaume got to show me the tree he used to climb when he was a kid and we dined on turkey (which I, surprisingly, didn't take pictures of) and the usuals - foie gras, cheese, cake. Before we left, Monique (Gui's grandmother) served us up some of her special spaghetti (Guillaume's favorite). It was to-die-for and perfect before hitting the road back home.
After an evening of rest, we headed out on the 27th to a Russian restaurant to exchange Christmas wishes and gifts with Gui's uncle and cousin. It was a nice change of (eating-)pace, and my first experience eating true Russian food. I had the beef stroganoff as my main course, and it was really great - nothing like the Hamburger Helper I ate in college. :) I also discovered the reason Russian vodka is more expensive - it's so much better! I've had colonel's before (lemon sorbet swimming in vodka), but I usually have problems finishing the vodka after I've finished the sorbet. Not this time! It was a very tasty meal, and wonderful way to finish off the Christmas celebrations.
As for New Year's Eve, I'll have to work on updating my blog with those pics tomorrow. Suffice it to say it was a very good time with LOTS of friends and, of course, lots of food and champagne.
On Christmas day, we set out for Guillaume's grandfather's property in Marcq. We spent Christmas day and the day after there, and had a really nice, relaxing time mostly indoors by the fire. Guillaume got to show me the tree he used to climb when he was a kid and we dined on turkey (which I, surprisingly, didn't take pictures of) and the usuals - foie gras, cheese, cake. Before we left, Monique (Gui's grandmother) served us up some of her special spaghetti (Guillaume's favorite). It was to-die-for and perfect before hitting the road back home.
After an evening of rest, we headed out on the 27th to a Russian restaurant to exchange Christmas wishes and gifts with Gui's uncle and cousin. It was a nice change of (eating-)pace, and my first experience eating true Russian food. I had the beef stroganoff as my main course, and it was really great - nothing like the Hamburger Helper I ate in college. :) I also discovered the reason Russian vodka is more expensive - it's so much better! I've had colonel's before (lemon sorbet swimming in vodka), but I usually have problems finishing the vodka after I've finished the sorbet. Not this time! It was a very tasty meal, and wonderful way to finish off the Christmas celebrations.
As for New Year's Eve, I'll have to work on updating my blog with those pics tomorrow. Suffice it to say it was a very good time with LOTS of friends and, of course, lots of food and champagne.
See you tomorrow
Ok, so I've been putting off posting a new entry until our last celebration - New Year's Eve. Tomorrow, after relieving my exhaustion tonight, I'll be back with an update and tons of pics to share. Bonne année!!
Camembert pasta chez Baptiste
Our friend, Baptiste invited us for a pasta dinner that he'd promised to make me while he was visiting Texas as soon as I came to France. It was definitely worth the wait - gooey Camembert, crushed pecans and just the right touch of parsley on maccheroncelli with a goose foie gras appetizer was the perfect pasta meal. We enjoyed the meal while watching soccer (what else?) and a bit of Rugby before heading out to catch a late movie. All-in-all, an enjoyable evening.
Pre-Christmas update
The Christmas festivities for Guillaume's family begin tomorrow evening, so with my fully-charged camera, I'm sure to take tons of pics over the next few days to share with you when it's all said and done. Before that, I thought I'd share a short picture review of what we've been doing the past few days while we prepare for the holidays.
Countdown to clean air
Paris restaurants will be smoking out the smokers beginning January 1 next year, and I'm quite happy about it. More than 5000 people die every year in France from secondhand smoke, and as many as 70,000 people die each year in France from smoking-related illnesses. Ridiculous and unnecessary? Yes! I have no problem with smokers or smoking, but I agree that it's necessary to consider others when one's actions affect not only oneself. I'm glad Paris has finally come around and decided to join other big cities for the sake of health, and in a effort to create a smoke-free world.
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