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!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
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!
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