After spending a lovely week in Switzerland, I'm back in France - Nice actually!
Pedro & I spent the week in Lausanne with his cousins. We got to see quite a bit of Lausanne (arrived at the end of one of their festivals, which was really cool!), a bit of Geneva (little train tour), Gruyere (!! where we had awesome fondue) and Bern. Both of us loooved Bern because it was beautiful, very green and just generally nice. Smaller than we thought but great! We went to the Einstein museum there which was particularly cool (insert nerd jokes here). Pedro's cousin with whom we stayed, Bea, had her birthday in the middle of the week so we got to celebrate that with her – we had a picnic aperitif in a park in Lausanne followed by dinner with a huge group of (great and funny) people. So nice!
After our stay in Switzerland we headed WEST for Annecy… a small town that I had visited two summers ago and really loved! It was a little cloudy and rainy the days that we were there but we got to see a lot anyway. And! We went kayaking on the lake. I had really wanted to kayak so I was really excited that we actually did it (even though at some point I was a little scared).
After Annecy we ended up in Saint Cyr sur Mer, a small town on the coast of France but a beautfiful one! This was our first stay in the real heat of summer. Bug bites and sun galore …We stayed with a super nice family from the club where Pedro was playing a tournament for two nights and got to know them and their daughter, Emmanuelle, who plays tennis in North Carolina. We told her she had to come visit Blacksburg next semester so hopefully we’ll see her again!
One of the days in St Cyr we were able to go (back) to Cassis, another town that I loved on the coast. It was just as beautiful and we had a lot of fun wandering around the old town and the calanques…
After we left our family in St Cyr we made it to Nice, where we rented an apartment for 10 days in the old town (vieille ville). Old it is!! Everything was, as the name suggest, very old. Philippe, our roommate, was very welcoming and helped to make our stay pleasant! The apartment was on the corner of some bustling streets (bars, restaurants, markets) so there was always a lively atmosphere (read: noise). I would never be able to live there long term but it was a fun experience anyway! This time I felt like I got to know Nice well – beaches, a little tennis (where I met a really sweet grandmother and her grandson, Pierre, who was a big fan of Pedro), markets and walking around (okay, okay, and a little shopping). We also took day trips to Antibes and Cannes – very cool! Antibes was really beautiful and quaint…and they had an awesome Picasso museum!! I really loved that. Cannes was pretty busy and touristy but the beaches and architecture were pretty.
Well if that wasn’t enough, we headed to Italy after a last tournament and tour in Monaco (!). We met up with one of our friends who lives in Reggio Emilia, a smallish (but not that small) city near Bologna.
We stayed with Corrado one night and then with his girlfriend the four of us headed even furtherrrr east to meet up with two friends in Croatia! We actually met up in Slovenia first, in a small town called Isola (near the Croatian border) where Luka and Mia (Croatian friends) were staying in their grandparents’s apartment. We walked around the town one day and the next two went to Umag, a nice town with beaches and an ATP Tournament! It was really awesome to go to such a big tournament and see such good players. Very impressive to say the least.
Then: Croatia! We stayed one night in Karlovac, where Luka and Mia live, before heading to the beach house. We didn’t get to see too much but we were welcomed by Luka’s family with an amazing lunch/dinner of cibapcici and frozen wind (various grilled things and a fruit/cream cake!). We saw a little bit of downtown after going downtown one night and then the next morning we headed to Dalmatia. The drive to and from Dalmatia was beautiful! Winding in the mountains and in the country side, we saw a lot. The beach was crowded with similar other tourists but it was relaxing and enjoyable anyway!
Another great meal awaited us on return to Karlovac: lasagna from Luka’s grandma. Sooo good! We couldn’t believe that they eat like that so often :)
Overall I enjoyed Croatia and everything that we saw – it was very different from the rest of everything I had seen in France, Switzerland and Italy. I would definitely return to the beaches some day!
On our way back from Croatia we made an afternoon stop in…Venice!!! I was really excited to see the city since I’d heard such good things about it. It was super crowded so we had a harder time parking than we thought, but once we actually parked and got on a boat headed towards the islands it was smooth sailing! The boats are the taxis and trams so you see them everywhere ferrying people from stop to stop. It’s really quaint (but also a reason the water there is so polluted apparently. The architecture was of course amazing and we saw lots of beautiful things winding through all the streets and canals…
Once we (the four of us) got back to Reggio we RESTED! for a day, wiped out after so much driving and traveling. The next day Pedro and I took a day trip to Firenze!!!!!! I was so excited to see Firenze, a city so famous for its history and the monumental things it produced. We didn’t have as much time as we would have liked because our train was an hour late in the morning (sigh), but we still got to se the two of the most beautiful places –the cathedral and its duomo and the musee Uffici. Both buildings are artwork in themselves (especially the outside of the cathedral!!) but we also got to see an amazing view from the top of the duomo and wonderful art inside the museum. All in all a great day trip, but it left me wanting more ☺ I can’t complain, though, about speeding through the country side of Tuscany in our train and watching the sunset!
That night we had dinner at Corrado’s..his mom’s ragu! So good! Italy begins to rival France for food….
The next day the four of us set out againnnnn – for Siena! One of Letizia’s friends was from the city so we were able to meet up with him and walk around while he shared his knowledge with us.
And finally…Rome!! Hopefully you can all see my pictures on facebook because that will capture it more. Everything was just COOL – all the ruins and seeing so much history everywhere. For me, everything was impressive but the art – especially everything in the Vatican and st. Peters is truly unbelievable…all the gold?! Marble and beauty of everything combined. Being there in person is definitely unmatchable….
On our second to last day there we went to the Villa Borghese, an old residence to the Borghese family but now an art gallery. WOW!! I wasn’t expecting that much but the paintings were just as impressive as St. Peters. There were several sculptures by Bernini there that were so, so beautiful. It’s hard to describe but when you see something so detailed and fluid in person, knowing that it’s made from stone….ahh!! So cool.
And of course the food was pretty incredible ☺ Corrado’s mom gave us a few recommendations for places to see and restaurants – so we followed them! Needless to say, great idea. We ate twice at a restaurant in the old Jewish quarter, which is now known for its good food. Both times we had carciofi alla Judea, a lightly fried artichoke that is simply incredible! We also tried a bunch of different pastas, including carbonara (which does not have any cream sauce…only the yellows of eggs!) and cace pepe (lightly peppered spaghetti…again, simple but delicious!). We also happened to find the best coffee place in Rome so I enjoyed a nice caffe latte freddo there….awesome! All in all, another unbelievable city…
But of course on the way from Rome to Paris I ran into problems (the first real time all summer but still!)….I easily found the RER and hopped on in good time, only to have it stop 5 stations before the airport….What the heck France? Really, strikes all the time? Is that necessary?
Friday, July 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Paris, Brussels, Toulouse, Montpellier, Nimes?
Oh my! A long list now that I write it out...
Paris
Well now it’s been so long since Paris! I must say that I’ve been enjoying my time dans le moment and neglecting to write about everything! Well I left Bordeaux on the 13th and headed to Paris to meet up with one of my favorite people, my French teacher from Tech, Professor Johnson! I was really glad that the timing worked out that I could go see her before my trip to Proctor & Gamble in Brussels. I got there Monday afternoon and was greeted (after a somewhat arduous trek through the Paris metro) with a wonderful salade nicoise. We caught up and talked over said delicious lunch and then attacked la belle ville! Over the next day and a half we walked and walked and saw all the sights : ) We saw a great exposition at the Hotel de Ville on the life of Paris at the time of the impressionists (late 1800s), which was really interesting. We also saw midnight showing of a cute French movie on the Champs-Elysees - awesome! I could enumerate all the amazing things we ate, as we both share an appreciation for the freshness and high quality of food in France,…and I will. The best croissants (pain au chocolat of course), homemade fig jam, homemade pasta carbonara with ingredients from the local Italian store, really great fruit (fig, mangoes and rapsberries with strawberry puree...yum!!!) and the best tea date ever at one of the nicest (the nicest?) tea salon in Paris. We had a really interesting tea at this place along with a little sandwich and the most amazing (tea infused) desserts. I’m so spoiled! And not to mention a really good creperie next to Prof. J’s apartment (de la vraie Bretagne bien sur).
I was so excited to have Professor Johnson showing me around the city because I know how well she knows it and loves it and how much we share in common. Needless to say we enjoyed doing all the same things! I got to see a lot more of the “artsy” district, St. Germain de Pres, than I did last time I was in Paris, which was great. I loooved all the architecture and atmosphere of the quartier, in addition to all the cute stores it had to offer. After the Brussels trip I stayed in this neighborhood for the last night before I went back south so I got to see even more, then, too!
What I love most about Paris is the lively and unique atmosphere you see and feel in the quieter parts of the quartiers. The museums and monuments are fabulous (a revist to the Efifel Tower was necessary, just to confirm the fact that I was IN PARIS!!) but the crowds are so overwhelming! I much prefer the quieter life in the streets that everyone doesn’t know – in the center but just a little bit hidden. I definitely got my summer’s share of Paris in and would be happy to return, but perhaps for a longer, more restful stay (three weeks, a year?) in a nice little apartment…
Brussels
Brussels: Smaller than I thought! I met up with the other ‘intern’ from the University of Arkansas in Paris after my stay with Professor Johnson and we took the (short) train ride together to Brussels. It was pretty easy to navigate and once we got settled in our hotel that afternoon we went downtown and explored a bit. There was one square in particular in the center that had amazing architecture that I found really beautiful. In addition, chocolate shops everywhere!!! So nice. We had a nice dinner together (free champagne for our wait…!) and just enjoyed the atmosphere before our P&G meeting the next day.
The presentations and tour that we took of one of the regional warehouses was very interesting…definitely really cool for a logistics person! I learned a lot and was happy to see my interest peaked by what I saw. After our two nights in Brussels we went back to Paris for a meeting with a French professor at the Ecole de Mines (best engineering school in Paris/France). That was also very cool! The professor had a wonderful view out of his office of the Eiffel Tower…something I wouldn’t mind switching schools for. Not to mention a private part of the Luxembourg gardens for the school. Bah! Learned a lot at this meeting, too, for the projects…
Toulouse
Finally read to leave Paris (sort of), I headed back via train to Toulouse to meet up with Pedro, where he was playing a tournament. We had a day and a half to explore the city and definitely made the most of it! Great kebabs, to start. The hostel we stayed at gave us free tickets to a music festival that had been going on that week so we go to see two nights of really good music (Rio Loco! was the name of the festival). The city was pretty but seemed smaller than I expected (well, what wouldn’t after Paris?) but we enjoyed it a lot anyway.
Montpellier
After the weekend in Toulouse we were finally headed to Montpellier to “settle down” for a few (two) weeks. I can’t believe we just left because the time went by so quickly! Highlights included, however:
- A visit from friends (Karen and Salem) who were finishing up their 5 week European tour and dropped in for a few days : )
- Les Estivales, a festival that the town has every Friday night from June-September…lots of artisan shops and restaurants sell things at their various stands and vineyards from all over the area (Languedoc-Rosillon) come to show off their wines – a great deal: for 4 euros you get to taste 3 different glasses and keep the glass! Hoping the glasses make it home as a souvenir…
- An awesome hidden bakery that we discovered while out promenading one day, which resulted in a GREAT croissant breakfast one morning….all the flaky deliciousness that a French croissant should be!
- Tennis tournaments! We met a really cool guy named Nico at the first one who we saw a few times more during the stay
- Ratatouill! Steak with our awesome wine salt! Making crepes! (That didn’t turn out that well in form but were still really good)
- Discovering an amaaaazing Sicilian/Italian restaurant that we frequented twice (everything we ate there was great so I recommend it to anyone…near the area?)
- Trekking up to the fifth floor of our apartment (and up once and own once with all our luggage…)
- Day trip to Nimes with Karen and Salem! Seeing the sweet Roman ruins there!!
- The beach!!! We took the tram/bus from downtown Montpellier to the beach (Pavalas-les-Flots) three times and had some great beach days
- The addition of mango to our diets
- Drinking some of the wine that Pedro won in Bordeaux. Yum.
- Seeing Midnight in Paris (so good!) and subsequently having a very French day/evening (e.g. walking out of the movie theatre to someone playing the classical French accordion)
- Finding a great postcard/paper/ decoration store where I wanted to buy everything (but settled for two small apartment things!)
- Generally relaxing and enjoying the town!
- LES SOLDES!! (Everything in France going on sale) (buying an awesome dress that turned out to be super multifunctional!)
Suisse
…And now we’re finally on our way to Swizza, where we are meeting up with Pedro’s cousins in Lausanne. I was here two summers ago and absolutely loved it so I’m happy to be returning, and revisiting cooler weather! I’m so excited to spend time with them (speaking lots of French) and traveling some more. I believe we’re going to Bern one day, doing a cheese tasting (!) and celebrating one of the cousins birthdays one day, too. After that we’re headed back to another town I’ve been to, Annecy, for a tournament Pedro is playing and then back to the south! More work and adventures to come…..Is it already July?!
And Happy Fourth of July to all of you!
Paris
Well now it’s been so long since Paris! I must say that I’ve been enjoying my time dans le moment and neglecting to write about everything! Well I left Bordeaux on the 13th and headed to Paris to meet up with one of my favorite people, my French teacher from Tech, Professor Johnson! I was really glad that the timing worked out that I could go see her before my trip to Proctor & Gamble in Brussels. I got there Monday afternoon and was greeted (after a somewhat arduous trek through the Paris metro) with a wonderful salade nicoise. We caught up and talked over said delicious lunch and then attacked la belle ville! Over the next day and a half we walked and walked and saw all the sights : ) We saw a great exposition at the Hotel de Ville on the life of Paris at the time of the impressionists (late 1800s), which was really interesting. We also saw midnight showing of a cute French movie on the Champs-Elysees - awesome! I could enumerate all the amazing things we ate, as we both share an appreciation for the freshness and high quality of food in France,…and I will. The best croissants (pain au chocolat of course), homemade fig jam, homemade pasta carbonara with ingredients from the local Italian store, really great fruit (fig, mangoes and rapsberries with strawberry puree...yum!!!) and the best tea date ever at one of the nicest (the nicest?) tea salon in Paris. We had a really interesting tea at this place along with a little sandwich and the most amazing (tea infused) desserts. I’m so spoiled! And not to mention a really good creperie next to Prof. J’s apartment (de la vraie Bretagne bien sur).
I was so excited to have Professor Johnson showing me around the city because I know how well she knows it and loves it and how much we share in common. Needless to say we enjoyed doing all the same things! I got to see a lot more of the “artsy” district, St. Germain de Pres, than I did last time I was in Paris, which was great. I loooved all the architecture and atmosphere of the quartier, in addition to all the cute stores it had to offer. After the Brussels trip I stayed in this neighborhood for the last night before I went back south so I got to see even more, then, too!
What I love most about Paris is the lively and unique atmosphere you see and feel in the quieter parts of the quartiers. The museums and monuments are fabulous (a revist to the Efifel Tower was necessary, just to confirm the fact that I was IN PARIS!!) but the crowds are so overwhelming! I much prefer the quieter life in the streets that everyone doesn’t know – in the center but just a little bit hidden. I definitely got my summer’s share of Paris in and would be happy to return, but perhaps for a longer, more restful stay (three weeks, a year?) in a nice little apartment…
Brussels
Brussels: Smaller than I thought! I met up with the other ‘intern’ from the University of Arkansas in Paris after my stay with Professor Johnson and we took the (short) train ride together to Brussels. It was pretty easy to navigate and once we got settled in our hotel that afternoon we went downtown and explored a bit. There was one square in particular in the center that had amazing architecture that I found really beautiful. In addition, chocolate shops everywhere!!! So nice. We had a nice dinner together (free champagne for our wait…!) and just enjoyed the atmosphere before our P&G meeting the next day.
The presentations and tour that we took of one of the regional warehouses was very interesting…definitely really cool for a logistics person! I learned a lot and was happy to see my interest peaked by what I saw. After our two nights in Brussels we went back to Paris for a meeting with a French professor at the Ecole de Mines (best engineering school in Paris/France). That was also very cool! The professor had a wonderful view out of his office of the Eiffel Tower…something I wouldn’t mind switching schools for. Not to mention a private part of the Luxembourg gardens for the school. Bah! Learned a lot at this meeting, too, for the projects…
Toulouse
Finally read to leave Paris (sort of), I headed back via train to Toulouse to meet up with Pedro, where he was playing a tournament. We had a day and a half to explore the city and definitely made the most of it! Great kebabs, to start. The hostel we stayed at gave us free tickets to a music festival that had been going on that week so we go to see two nights of really good music (Rio Loco! was the name of the festival). The city was pretty but seemed smaller than I expected (well, what wouldn’t after Paris?) but we enjoyed it a lot anyway.
Montpellier
After the weekend in Toulouse we were finally headed to Montpellier to “settle down” for a few (two) weeks. I can’t believe we just left because the time went by so quickly! Highlights included, however:
- A visit from friends (Karen and Salem) who were finishing up their 5 week European tour and dropped in for a few days : )
- Les Estivales, a festival that the town has every Friday night from June-September…lots of artisan shops and restaurants sell things at their various stands and vineyards from all over the area (Languedoc-Rosillon) come to show off their wines – a great deal: for 4 euros you get to taste 3 different glasses and keep the glass! Hoping the glasses make it home as a souvenir…
- An awesome hidden bakery that we discovered while out promenading one day, which resulted in a GREAT croissant breakfast one morning….all the flaky deliciousness that a French croissant should be!
- Tennis tournaments! We met a really cool guy named Nico at the first one who we saw a few times more during the stay
- Ratatouill! Steak with our awesome wine salt! Making crepes! (That didn’t turn out that well in form but were still really good)
- Discovering an amaaaazing Sicilian/Italian restaurant that we frequented twice (everything we ate there was great so I recommend it to anyone…near the area?)
- Trekking up to the fifth floor of our apartment (and up once and own once with all our luggage…)
- Day trip to Nimes with Karen and Salem! Seeing the sweet Roman ruins there!!
- The beach!!! We took the tram/bus from downtown Montpellier to the beach (Pavalas-les-Flots) three times and had some great beach days
- The addition of mango to our diets
- Drinking some of the wine that Pedro won in Bordeaux. Yum.
- Seeing Midnight in Paris (so good!) and subsequently having a very French day/evening (e.g. walking out of the movie theatre to someone playing the classical French accordion)
- Finding a great postcard/paper/ decoration store where I wanted to buy everything (but settled for two small apartment things!)
- Generally relaxing and enjoying the town!
- LES SOLDES!! (Everything in France going on sale) (buying an awesome dress that turned out to be super multifunctional!)
Suisse
…And now we’re finally on our way to Swizza, where we are meeting up with Pedro’s cousins in Lausanne. I was here two summers ago and absolutely loved it so I’m happy to be returning, and revisiting cooler weather! I’m so excited to spend time with them (speaking lots of French) and traveling some more. I believe we’re going to Bern one day, doing a cheese tasting (!) and celebrating one of the cousins birthdays one day, too. After that we’re headed back to another town I’ve been to, Annecy, for a tournament Pedro is playing and then back to the south! More work and adventures to come…..Is it already July?!
And Happy Fourth of July to all of you!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Lussac and Weekend in Perigueux
Another week has flown by in Bordeaux, more so the surrounding areas. I worked earlier in the week and caught up with some housekeeping and of course shopping items. I went back to a few of the tres mignonnes boutiques that I had been wanting to visit but hadn’t stopped in – much fun! The only place where I ended up really liking something was a small place near the apartment. The lady at the store started talking with me and was excited that I spoke English because she had learned it from her aunt, who now lives in the US, and wanted to practice. She made me a coffee and we ended up chatting for a while I got to browse the store : ) I went back and visited her later in the week, too, which was nice!
Bordeaux center, it turns out, is much smaller than it looks like. I stumbled upon a salon de the that I had seen one of the first days and finally went in and had my much desired café at a café (with a bite of chocolate cake…yes). Delightful! One of my favorite things here has to be just sitting in a quiet place like that (or a bustling place, also fun) and enjoying the atmosphere.
About mid-week I met up with Pedro in Lussac for the end of the town’s tournament. I met and we stayed with his friend Arnaud, Arnaud’s girlfriend Laurence and their attack cat, Berlios. My experience with Berlios was particularly memorable, as he left me with no shortage of scratches and bites, but I forgave him after I woke up with him purring on top of me.
In addition to watching the tournament and having a lovely meal with the people from the club, Arnaud took us to another vineyard where we did a mini-tour and had another private tasting. Oh la la! We were really lucky, I must say. We did a vertical tasting (I believe that’s what it’s called) where we tried their wine from three different consecutive years. Pedro ended up winning three bottles of wine, one of them from this chateau (vineyard) so we’re really excited to try it again!
After Lussac we came back to Bordeaux for the day and finished our tour du musée d’Aquitaine and then headed to Périgueux for another tournament. We stayed with the Presidents of the club – it was nice to be in a house for the weekend and of course so have such generous hospitality! We got to borrow one of their cars so on Friday we road tripped to Sarlat, a small and well preserved medieval village about an hour from Perigueux. So cool!! The cobbled little streets and their surrounding architecture were beautiful. We stopped at a restaurant in town for dinner and had a very regional meal – the area is known for its canard (duck) so duck and foie gras are almost always on the menu. I had a salad to start with duck that was quite, quite delicious, along with an omlette aux cepes, a type of Parisian mushroom I had been wanting to try. So good!! It was also served with patates sarladaises: sliced potatoes with a delicious sauce, presumably well-known in the region. Walnuts are also popular there so the dessert was a walnut cake with crème angalise. All this for 15 euro? YES!!! So good. Pedro was nearly brought to tears about how good his meal was (flashback to spring break); that’s always a good sign.
I forgot to mention that we stopped at a castle on the way and took a tour….!! Very cool. I still can’t believe how they built such enormous “houses” back then in the middle of nowhere…really incredible.
I’m back from Perigueux now but have left Bordeaux for Paris!!! I’ll be spending two nights with my most favorite French professor and then headed to Bruxelles for a meeting with P&G (VT work). After that, headed back to Toulouse to meet up with my long lost tennis player!
More about Paris and Brussels to come : ) I’m already missing all the nice people I met in Bordeaux!
Bordeaux center, it turns out, is much smaller than it looks like. I stumbled upon a salon de the that I had seen one of the first days and finally went in and had my much desired café at a café (with a bite of chocolate cake…yes). Delightful! One of my favorite things here has to be just sitting in a quiet place like that (or a bustling place, also fun) and enjoying the atmosphere.
About mid-week I met up with Pedro in Lussac for the end of the town’s tournament. I met and we stayed with his friend Arnaud, Arnaud’s girlfriend Laurence and their attack cat, Berlios. My experience with Berlios was particularly memorable, as he left me with no shortage of scratches and bites, but I forgave him after I woke up with him purring on top of me.
In addition to watching the tournament and having a lovely meal with the people from the club, Arnaud took us to another vineyard where we did a mini-tour and had another private tasting. Oh la la! We were really lucky, I must say. We did a vertical tasting (I believe that’s what it’s called) where we tried their wine from three different consecutive years. Pedro ended up winning three bottles of wine, one of them from this chateau (vineyard) so we’re really excited to try it again!
After Lussac we came back to Bordeaux for the day and finished our tour du musée d’Aquitaine and then headed to Périgueux for another tournament. We stayed with the Presidents of the club – it was nice to be in a house for the weekend and of course so have such generous hospitality! We got to borrow one of their cars so on Friday we road tripped to Sarlat, a small and well preserved medieval village about an hour from Perigueux. So cool!! The cobbled little streets and their surrounding architecture were beautiful. We stopped at a restaurant in town for dinner and had a very regional meal – the area is known for its canard (duck) so duck and foie gras are almost always on the menu. I had a salad to start with duck that was quite, quite delicious, along with an omlette aux cepes, a type of Parisian mushroom I had been wanting to try. So good!! It was also served with patates sarladaises: sliced potatoes with a delicious sauce, presumably well-known in the region. Walnuts are also popular there so the dessert was a walnut cake with crème angalise. All this for 15 euro? YES!!! So good. Pedro was nearly brought to tears about how good his meal was (flashback to spring break); that’s always a good sign.
I forgot to mention that we stopped at a castle on the way and took a tour….!! Very cool. I still can’t believe how they built such enormous “houses” back then in the middle of nowhere…really incredible.
I’m back from Perigueux now but have left Bordeaux for Paris!!! I’ll be spending two nights with my most favorite French professor and then headed to Bruxelles for a meeting with P&G (VT work). After that, headed back to Toulouse to meet up with my long lost tennis player!
More about Paris and Brussels to come : ) I’m already missing all the nice people I met in Bordeaux!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Recent Happenings
Well it's been a little while but we've been busy in Bordeaux! Last I left off Pedro was playing the tournament at Cenon, which he got second place at. Woo! The apero afterwards (little appetizers) was really good and everyone was super friendly (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100319926721143&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater et http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100319926895793&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater).
The next day we went to St Germain de Puch again before the last match (last Sunday). We had a super awesome dinner at JB's house - seafood, steak with Syrah-infused sea salt (! will be bringing back), salad, homemade fries (yum) and a particularly good fruit salad with ice cream for dessert. The company and the food were great. The match at St Germain was a lot of fun and everyone was really happy that the team won and moved up a classement. I hung out with a lot of the club members and families as well as Loan and Elea. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun though tiring after 9 hours of tennis...Afterwards everyone ate together and then went to a friend's house in St. Germain where we had another apero - appetizers, rose wine and champagne (this was so good!). The guy's house was beautiful and we all hung out outside by his pool/garden until late. :)
The beginning of last week we spent exploring Bordeaux some more, mostly the city center/old town parts. We had a really, really good kebab dinner one night after a disappointing attempt to go to a creperie (of course it was closed the day we went). But the kebabs did not disappoint!
We got to go to St. Emilion, too - a small town outside of Bordeaux (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100323678786973&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater) that is famous for....(http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100323679465613&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater) wine!! We took a tour of the town and go to see a really cool underground church and catacombs. The church was particularly impressive because it was carved out of the stone, mostly underground, instead of being built. The catacombs were also really interesting - man, people were motivated. It's incredible to think how much effort those things must have taken hundreds of years ago.
During the week we also visited the Musee des beaux arts (fine arts museum), musee d'Aquitaine (regional history museum), and the modern art museum. Highlights at the fine arts museum included Renoir and Mary Casatt! The regional history museum was interesting but we still have to go back and see the second half of it. I really liked the 1600/1700s things that we saw, as well as some ancient Roman things (including a leather shoe from hundreds of years ago that was perfectly in tact!). The modern art museum was definitely interesting, though maybe not my thing...Fun to see the stuff anyway. The building had one of my favorite automatic coffee machines (which we NEED to have in the US, particularly on college campuses) so that was a redeeming quality.
We also found a park near downtown where we had a lovely picnic one day (perfect weather!).
(I'm doing some work, too...)
This past Friday we went out for an awesome dinner!! We started wandering downtown in the quartiers and there were people everywhere eating, playing music and hanging out. The environment was so nice. We decided on a cute restaurant near all the action (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100327893051553&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater) where we could hear some jazz music and traveling guitar playing man. Awesome! And to top if off, the food was amazing. I had a salad with a light vinagrette and warm goat cheese (!), beef bourgignon with rice ( a small but delicious serving) and profiteroles for dessert! I had been needing a hearty dessert and this did the trick. Think http://www.bellemaisoninc.com/chez-catherine/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/PROFITEROLES2.jpg with ice cream and whipped cream. Yum.
On Saturday we finally made it to the market in the center of town (near one of the cathedrals) and it was sooo worth it!! We stopped for a bakery dessert on the way (ah-mazing, of course - apple tart and a walnut mille-feuille) and when we go there at around 11 it was packed!! So many vendors everywhere, and everything looked amazing. We mostly came back with fresh fruits and vegetables, along with a really good cheese (Cantal jeune). Eggplant parmesan (minus parmesan, plus the Cantal) was made with market eggplant and tomatoes...delizioso! The raspberries that were got there were also particularly incredible. Probably the best raspberries I've ever had...We also got a melon from Morocco that was really good. Fresh food like that is just can't be beat!
and to wrap up...yesterday we watched the final of Roland Garros, played tennis and had dinner at one of Pedro's friend's place (with him and his girlfriend). His girlfriend is actually from Virginia so it was fun to talk to another Virginian in Bordeaux...go figure! We had homemade ravioli that they had bought from the market and it was hands down the best of the best! I'm convinced that I can't buy store bought pasta again...Oh we also went to a classical concert at the Grand Theatre in Bordeaux (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100327894159333&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater) - great! And went to mass at the cathedral (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100327893839973&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater) - also really nice. We also went up to the top of the bell tower adjacent to the cathedral and saw an awesome city view!! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100327894847953&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater
Like I said, we've been busy! Working some more and catching up on things the next few days. Going to Perigeux (http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&biw=1536&bih=727&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ry_tTanEIYGO8gOEl7WUAQ&ved=0CDkQvwUoAQ&q=p%C3%A9rigueux+france&spell=1) on Thursday for a tournament and visiting some people.
Whew! Thinking of my friends and wishing you were all here to share these experiences with me!
The next day we went to St Germain de Puch again before the last match (last Sunday). We had a super awesome dinner at JB's house - seafood, steak with Syrah-infused sea salt (! will be bringing back), salad, homemade fries (yum) and a particularly good fruit salad with ice cream for dessert. The company and the food were great. The match at St Germain was a lot of fun and everyone was really happy that the team won and moved up a classement. I hung out with a lot of the club members and families as well as Loan and Elea. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun though tiring after 9 hours of tennis...Afterwards everyone ate together and then went to a friend's house in St. Germain where we had another apero - appetizers, rose wine and champagne (this was so good!). The guy's house was beautiful and we all hung out outside by his pool/garden until late. :)
The beginning of last week we spent exploring Bordeaux some more, mostly the city center/old town parts. We had a really, really good kebab dinner one night after a disappointing attempt to go to a creperie (of course it was closed the day we went). But the kebabs did not disappoint!
We got to go to St. Emilion, too - a small town outside of Bordeaux (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100323678786973&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater) that is famous for....(http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100323679465613&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater) wine!! We took a tour of the town and go to see a really cool underground church and catacombs. The church was particularly impressive because it was carved out of the stone, mostly underground, instead of being built. The catacombs were also really interesting - man, people were motivated. It's incredible to think how much effort those things must have taken hundreds of years ago.
During the week we also visited the Musee des beaux arts (fine arts museum), musee d'Aquitaine (regional history museum), and the modern art museum. Highlights at the fine arts museum included Renoir and Mary Casatt! The regional history museum was interesting but we still have to go back and see the second half of it. I really liked the 1600/1700s things that we saw, as well as some ancient Roman things (including a leather shoe from hundreds of years ago that was perfectly in tact!). The modern art museum was definitely interesting, though maybe not my thing...Fun to see the stuff anyway. The building had one of my favorite automatic coffee machines (which we NEED to have in the US, particularly on college campuses) so that was a redeeming quality.
We also found a park near downtown where we had a lovely picnic one day (perfect weather!).
(I'm doing some work, too...)
This past Friday we went out for an awesome dinner!! We started wandering downtown in the quartiers and there were people everywhere eating, playing music and hanging out. The environment was so nice. We decided on a cute restaurant near all the action (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100327893051553&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater) where we could hear some jazz music and traveling guitar playing man. Awesome! And to top if off, the food was amazing. I had a salad with a light vinagrette and warm goat cheese (!), beef bourgignon with rice ( a small but delicious serving) and profiteroles for dessert! I had been needing a hearty dessert and this did the trick. Think http://www.bellemaisoninc.com/chez-catherine/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/PROFITEROLES2.jpg with ice cream and whipped cream. Yum.
On Saturday we finally made it to the market in the center of town (near one of the cathedrals) and it was sooo worth it!! We stopped for a bakery dessert on the way (ah-mazing, of course - apple tart and a walnut mille-feuille) and when we go there at around 11 it was packed!! So many vendors everywhere, and everything looked amazing. We mostly came back with fresh fruits and vegetables, along with a really good cheese (Cantal jeune). Eggplant parmesan (minus parmesan, plus the Cantal) was made with market eggplant and tomatoes...delizioso! The raspberries that were got there were also particularly incredible. Probably the best raspberries I've ever had...We also got a melon from Morocco that was really good. Fresh food like that is just can't be beat!
and to wrap up...yesterday we watched the final of Roland Garros, played tennis and had dinner at one of Pedro's friend's place (with him and his girlfriend). His girlfriend is actually from Virginia so it was fun to talk to another Virginian in Bordeaux...go figure! We had homemade ravioli that they had bought from the market and it was hands down the best of the best! I'm convinced that I can't buy store bought pasta again...Oh we also went to a classical concert at the Grand Theatre in Bordeaux (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100327894159333&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater) - great! And went to mass at the cathedral (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100327893839973&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater) - also really nice. We also went up to the top of the bell tower adjacent to the cathedral and saw an awesome city view!! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10100327894847953&set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577&type=1&theater
Like I said, we've been busy! Working some more and catching up on things the next few days. Going to Perigeux (http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en&biw=1536&bih=727&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ry_tTanEIYGO8gOEl7WUAQ&ved=0CDkQvwUoAQ&q=p%C3%A9rigueux+france&spell=1) on Thursday for a tournament and visiting some people.
Whew! Thinking of my friends and wishing you were all here to share these experiences with me!
Friday, May 27, 2011
STEAK
Last night after Pedro's match we went out to eat with the guy he beat! He actually knew him from Virginia because the other guy played for VCU. It was our first time out in Bordeaux at night and it was so beautiful!! Pedro's friend took us to this restaurant called L'Entrecote (http://www.entrecote.fr/french/cours-30-juillet-bordeaux,16,16,section,modules,contenu-mc.html) which is a really nice restaurant found in the five major cities of France. The menu is fixed so you don't actually order but it's because they do their meal well - really well. They brought out really good bread to start (of course) followed by a small salad with walnuts. It was really simple but the dressing was great! The next part is the steak-frites, or steak and fries. They serve small slices of the steak with a huge mound of thinly cut fries (see below). Their secret method is the sauce that they put on the meat...incredible! It's hard to describe but it was just really, really good and the meat was cooked perfectly.
Yum.
Off to see the finalist match in Cenon!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Arcachon, oh my!
Yesterday one of Pedro's teammates, Thomas, was awesome enough to take us to Arcachon, a smaller town about an hour west of Bordeaux. The main attraction: beaches!!! It was a beautiful today and the beach was very beautiful and relaxing. We also drove over to La Dune du Pilat - the largest sand dune in Europe. So cool! A bit challenging to ascend but worth the beautiful 360 degree view of the beaches and forest. ( http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100314837889203.2703431.6234577)
We had lunch at Thomas' house in between being at the beach at the basin and the ocean (!) and dinner there, after. Lots of fresh seafood...not necessarily cooked, but good quand meme.
We came back to Bordeaux this morning and Pedro and Thomas played their first match at a tournament in Cenon (across the river from Bordeaux). They both played really well!! Pedro's best win in France so far. He plays again tonight. Meanwhile, I'm on tennis overload with this + Roland Garros + being in France. Not that I can complain...
The work I've been doing is also going well; a little tedious but I'm making progress...
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sunday's Match
…was so awesome! I hung out with a few of the grandparents of the coaches and players on the team which was so much fun. There was one guy in particular, Andre, who just told jokes the whole time and kept trying to teach me all sorts of things. Very fun ☺
Pictures *on facebook, more Bordeaux exploring tonight!
Pictures *on facebook, more Bordeaux exploring tonight!
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