Fêtes, fêtes, and more fêtes

Six Dalzells, six days in Paris. Whoa. It was delicious, hilarious, and quite walky. They crushed it. I only have a few pics because typically my hands were full with food. Chrstmas Eve at Notre Dame de Paris. Christmas dinner with roast chickens bought on the bustling Turkish/Kurdish commercial street in our neighborhood. Not to mention street markets, Montmartre, Left Bank glitz, the Tower, Trocadero, the Arc, Champs Elysées, drinks in the Marais, le Cimetière du Père Lachaise, la Place des Vosges, le Musée de Carnavalet, drinks on Ile-Saint-Louis, Galleries Lafayette and associated rooftop, le Palais Garnier, choir with freaking orchestra warming up "Ode to Joy" in la Madeleine, la Place de la Concorde, le Jardin des Tuileries, le Musée du Louvre, etc., etc. Whoa.

Anyway, I'm exhausted and very proud. It's Drue's birthday today. Then I think we need to get out of town for a couple days, let things cool off a little. (The pics ae both of ours.)

Fêtes, fêtes, and more fêtes

Printemps

Printemps

Fantastic Weekend!

As Harlan said below, Brussels was magnificent! We woke up early yesterday and piled into the car (with a freshly baked baguette). I woke up three hours later and low and behold we were in Belgium!

We walked around a bit and then headed to lunch. The food was unbelievably unhealthy and delicious! After hitting the Christmas market it was time for a waffle. The waffle I ate was in my top five meals of all time (as you know, waffles are my favorite food, so I am an expert). Then we walked around some more and went to the Beer Museum which was really strange. It was basically two rooms; the first full of antique beer making things and the second with an un-narrated euro-tastic video of people drinking beer. Then after you visit these two rooms you have a beer and homemade candied orange rind. Strange but fun. Then we went to some lace shops (apparently something Belgium is famous for). After that we had waffle number two and hit the road! Great day!

Today Amy and I went to Printemps at Galleries Lafayette. It was HUGE and filled with millions of Christmas shoppers, but the roof top terrace has the most beautiful view of the city and we caught the sunset! Then we bought macaroons at Pierre Herme- the creme brule flavored one was incredible and the truffle one was one of the grosser things I have ever eaten. Next time I am going to try the chocolate foie gras flavor... maybe.

Brussels/Bruxelles

Here we come a-waffling!

Outstanding day trip to Brussels with my sweetie and the inimitables, Michelle Dellatorre and Amy Danielson.

I heartily recommend Kemwel/AutoEurope for your European car rental needs. I also counsel you to watch out for Bruxelleois drivers--they appear really to like to back up in traffic, especially in the dark and the rain.

Mostly, I recommend gaufres Lièges (Liège-style Belgian waffles). Holy crap. Also, Belgian beer's the best. 

Drue has more pics.

Brussels/Brussel/Bruxelles !

Cozy Christmasy Party

Cozy Christmasy Party

Pere Lachaise

Pere Lachaise

Museum Day / La Paella

Around Paris

A few new photos:

November 29, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Day of the Dinde

We did indeed have a proper Thanksgiving meal here in Paris! I can't believe that we were able to make all of our favorite dishes in our tiny, ill-equipped kitchens, but we did, and it turned out wonderfully. Shopping for ingredients was challenging (brown sugar, ground nutmeg, stuffing, and cranberry sauce all have to be bought at specialty stores). The specialty shops were filled yesterday with Americans looking for pumpkin pie spice, Stovetop stuffing and other essentials.

Between the 15 American students in the program only one of them had an oven...a very small oven. Harlan was, of course, in charge of the turkey. Despite the fact that the turkey could barely fit into the oven and we didn't have a roasting pan- it was actually the best turkey I have ever had! He also made the gravy and stuffing, which were equally delicious. The rest of us made our dishes at home and then brought them to the party. I made sweet-potatoes with butter, brown sugar, ginger and orange zest and applesauce with cognac and cinnamon. Our lovely roommate made the most delicious brussel sprouts that were sauteed in balsamic vinegar, almond slivers and honey. Other guests brought green-bean casserole, mashed potatoes, creamy onion and zucchini casserole, mulled wine, salad with goat cheese and cranberries, homemade cranberry sauce, roasted potatoes, pumpkin pie, Martha Stewart's chocolate pudding with wafers and banana, and French fruit tarts... and many baguettes!

It was definitely a very special holiday. Many of us had never met before celebrating together, and this was also a first Thanksgiving away from family for many of us. But, between the food, the American football playing on the TV, and taking turns saying what we were thankful for, it felt very much like home.

And now, just as we are recovering from last night's meal, we are getting ready for Thanksgiving #2 tomorrow with some dear friends who couldn't make it yesterday!

Sweet

This weekend marks my first drip coffee in three months. It's great
here, and I don't want to diminish my French experience, but this is a
glorious reunion.

Quick Update:

Just a quick update (not much news for once):

This week has been a great week of wandering around Paris... window shopping, getting lost, spending money and finding new things to eat! The most exciting purchase of the week was a pair of "house socks" you know the fuzzy kind with tred on the bottom. My feet have been freezing and real slippers are crazy expensive (a minimum of $20 for super thin ugly ones). So I found this store that pretty much only sells cozy things: pajamas, yoga clothes, snuggies, and house socks. I want to live in that store.

I met a fellow Athens girl, Jessica, for coffee! It was so nice to see a friendly face from home and we went to my new favorite coffee shop! This place is the best! It is run by three American girls.

http://www.sugarplumcakeshop.com/en/

They have free refills of coffee and wi-fi and big tables that you can sit at all day! I had the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting- SO good.

Finally got to go inside Notre Dame! I have walked by a few times with the hope of going in but I always seem to be there at the wrong time. It is beautiful inside and I can't wait to go back and go on a tour where you can climb up in the tower!

Still looking for a new gig, but trying to look at all this free time as a blessing =)

Getting ready for Thanksgiving!!! It looks like we are going to do a big Thanksgiving dinner with some of the other American students here! Should be fun! Harlan is on Turkey duty, of course.

Two Weeks Down

A lot has happened in the past week! First of all, I had my first day of work on Monday the 7th. It was terrible! Basically, I had been in contact with this family who wanted to hire me to work as their nanny for the school year and my hours would be from 4-8pm each day. They had two children ages 6 and 3. It seemed like the perfect situation... but no, no, it was not.

Long story short, they had a Philipina housekeeper who had been caring for the children since they were born. The parents had explained to me that the reason this situation was no longer working out was that the housekeeper was not very fluent in either French or English and that she spoiled the children. They stressed that discipline and manners were very important to them and that they hoped that I would be strict with the children. I figured that the children might test some limits at first, but pretty soon we would find our groove and all would work out fine. After having spent one day with the children it was clear that they had never been told NO to anything ever in their entire lives. The next two days basically consisted of me having to discipline the children the entire time. This was not fun for any of us. Then there was the fact that the mom spoke to me like I was "the help" and the housekeeper was clearly afraid of her employers. On day three I found what I am pretty sure was a nanny-cam in the living room. So, I quit. It just didn't seem worth dealing with a bad situation if I am only going to be here for such a short amount of time.

And ever since the moment I quit, my time in Paris has been phenomenal! Things are looking up!

A few highlights from the nanny job:

1. The first night the mom got home and asked if I would make a cake for her son's birthday while she went out to a meeting (all after the time I was supposed to go home).

2. There was a pig's leg in the kitchen. Yes, an entire pig leg (hair, hoof and all). I guess it was to eat? The kids didn't really seem to notice it.

3. The children (who just a reminder were 3 & 6) both wore diapers to bed, had bottles with formula in them, cribs and pacifiers.

4. The housekeeper let the kids eat anything they wanted...e.g. 6 doughnuts for an after-school-snack.

5. They had the full-time housekeeper, me and then they were also going to hire a live-in au pair in the coming months... but they were only willing to pay 10 euros an hour?

My New Paris:

On Friday, Harlan and I went out to dinner and drinks with Coleman (Harlan's old college roommate), Katie (friend of Coleman's who is from Columbus, OH) and Michelle (our lovely roommate). It was so much fun! I ate an entire charcuterie plate on my own at the bar. The meat was unrocognizable but delicious!

On Saturday, we went shopping and found many things we "needed": popcorn, rice cakes, hand-held blender for soup making, speakers so we can play music, and lots of chocolate. We found the french version of the Farmacy (it even smelled the same) and a Big-Lots-ish store. That night we made some awesome butternut squash soup and watched tv and ate popcorn- my dream night! Then today Harlan and I woke up early (9am) and rode bikes to the Eiffel Tower!!! We got breakfast to-go from a boulangerie and ate it under the tower. How Parisian is that? Then we rode home along the Seine! It was great (a little scary to bike in Paris where traffic laws don't exist). Then this afternoon I met up with Natalie (a girl I went to high school with)! We had coffee and took a great walk along the Champs Elysées!

Early November

Run: Bois de Vincennes bis

Taste of Home

Run: Parc de la Villette, and Out and About

Drue's First Days

Around Paris

So far...

These first few days in Paris have been both wonderful and much harder than I imagined they would be. It is absolutely paralyzing not to speak any French. It is one thing to be a tourist who doesn't speak the language but is only going to be in Paris for a few days and a very different thing to be living here. It has been frustrating this week to have to rely on Harlan for nearly everything. (Equally frustrating for Harlan because he has to be my chaperone to many places he would prefer not to go, e.g. H&M) I am pretty sure that most people I interact with during the day (or lack there of) think that I am either an abused wife whose husband speaks for her or that I have autism. Sales clerks will speak to me and either I have no idea that they are talking to me and just shuffling around the store OR they say something to me and I look at Harlan panicked and wait for him to answer.

But, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else! The city is magical! The boulangeries that line the streets are filled with the most incredible desserts I have ever seen. The food is unreal here. And yet, it is true that everyone is thin... I am so confused. Everything is loaded with delicious butter and cream and sugar! French is beautiful to listen to and everyone speaking it seems infinitely cooler than anyone I have ever met. The shoes and clothes are fantastic. And best of all Harlan is here!

We watched Amelie the other night. The movie is much more fun to watch in Paris... especially when you can pause it and say "Look that is where we walked today!"

In an effort to do something independent and combat the croissants, I took a yoga class today! It was great! The instructor was very patient and kind and would come over and correct me if I had obviously not understood her directions in french. The class is a mix of beginner types like me and two "injured dancers" who of course do not seem injured at all. So, it was a success! Oh and the best thing of all was that Harlan brought me a croissant after class (in case it was a disaster or as a congratulations)!

La Nouvelle blague

We finally got it together to visit the marché today. Of course, there was no marché, because they were filming what I suspect is a movie called Les Turfistes. In any event, we saw this guy: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0149260/, along with some other French actor types I didn't recognize. And a horse. So, that was cool.

Then with lunch in the parc we had a pretty life changing dessert called a Saint-Honoré, a sort of fractal cream puff explosion ingeniously fastened to a pâte feuillée disc, with little pats of torched sugar on the smallest cream puffs. Watch out for that.

I'm here! I'm here!

Day One in Paris= Great Success

My flight was actually pretty enjoyable, long, but alright! Thanks to my dear Tara, I snacked on trail mix and chocolate while watching Bridesmaids! I had a brief layover in Iceland (just long enough for me to eat Icelandic yogurt for breakfast...delicious!) Harlan met me at the airport, flowers in hand. Then we took the train home. Our apartment is just how I imagined it would be (only smaller... hahaha...how is that possible). The shower is tiny and the hot water lasts for literally four minutes. (I know, I know, shut up you are getting to live in Paris!) After eating yogurt and baguette I slept for six hours! We had take-out tacos for dinner- not very Parisian, but very very delicious. This morning we slept in and then went our for brunch at this little place right next door to us. While the food in the cafe was delicious, the experience was much more terrifying than I had imagined it to be. I have been so focused on getting to Paris that the fact that I don't speak any french had not really hit me... OH MY GOD I DON'T SPEAK ANY FRENCH. I have no idea what I am going to do when Harlan is not with me. Anyway, after lunch we went shopping and sightseeing around our neighborhood. It is really wonderful here!

This Picture Was Taken in Paris

That is good news.

Countdown to the Most Anticipated Arrival in Paris of the Year

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

Back in the Saddle

Beautiful Sunday for a bike ride to and from Versailles. As some of you may know, I was between iPhone screens over the weekend, and it's considerably more difficult to use a proper camera while mounted. As a result, the photodocumentation is unusually (and perhaps mercifully) concise. Also, it's a good thing Michelle came: Although I was without my beloved RunKeeper app and its bounty of GPS data, she charted the course here http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5154492 the old fashioned way, with a cursor and Google Maps.

Versaille by Cycle

In other news, I'm so excited that...that...well, I'm just really excited.

What's new where you are?

Love,
HD

My Weekend Did Not Suck

Casks & Castles: Loire Valley Weekend

Run: Parc Monceau

Around Paris

Whoa.

I haven't seen Parisians do anything with as much dispatch and cohesion as they just evacuated the school during a fire alarm.

Perhaps relatedly, two hours ago, I somewhat inadvertently opened this window in the library and have been unable to close it.

On further inspection, we see that the locking mechanism is magnetically driven. So it is not entirely clear to me how I was able to open it in the first place. Merde.

Oh, well, it's really stuffy in here.

Around Paris

Vici

As of this morning, my Brooks have clapped the cobbles in every arrondissement of Paris, always leaving from my front door. Keep it coming.

Run: Parc André Citroën

Much better?

It turns out one pair of my exactly-two-weeks'-worth of gym socks is from Boston Bowl. So, not only was I the only $#$@&@* jogging in Paris this morning, but I had American flags on my socks. Go US.

Antidoting

The French are brilliant at a whole lot of things. This year of my life will largely be an exploration and a celebration of these things. They also suck at some things. Day five of this hideous, French cold, and I'm ready to share some of the latter. Get it while it's hot--I'm sure I'll take this list down when I'm in a better mood. (If it's any explanation, I haven't had a run, a drink, or a real cup of coffee in four days.)

Here, in no particular order are some things the French suck at:
- letting my wife into the country
- the Internets
- actually, information technology, come to think of it
- actually, technology, come to think of it
- customer service
- letting my wife into the country
- opening doors
- solving actual problems
- administering institutions of higher learning
- coffee (Weirdly, for a cafe culture, it's really not a...cafe...culture.)
- beer (It's like given their proximity to Belgium and Germany, they don't even try.)
- last, for now, but definitely not least, letting my wife into the country

What bugs you about the French?

Love,
HD

Paroisse St. Sulpice, Run on la Promenade plantée

Like this

I just had a tradi (24-hour leavened, additive-free baguette) with freaking chocolate in it. I'm pretty sure I stepped in pâté on my way home from class last night.

Around Paris

The Beat Goes On

All right. Here's the deal: As the new pics come up that don't constitute whole chapters, they're going to be added to this album, which will be reposted with new pics at the front. So, you can always click the first album on this blog to see the very most recentest images. Deal?

How was your day?

Love,

HD

Around Paris

Weekend in Normandy

Moving, fascinating, exhausting, hilarious weekend on the northern coast, led by JohnPaul LeCedre.

Americans in Normandy

First week of school, or conquering the Old World

Runs 10, 11: Place de la Nation, Lost on the Far Side of Montmartre; First Day of School

Runs 8, 9: Place de Clichy, Opéra Garnier

Run 7: Butte aux Cailles

Run 6: le Jardin des Plantes

Run 5: le Parc des Buttes Chaumant

Run 4: Jardin de Luxembourg

Run 3: Right Bank Ramble

Le Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

Les joggings touristiques

Morning, y'all. I sincerely hope everyone's staying safe from the vicious vagaries of that surly, tropical termagant whose name I shan't mention.

If you're looking for postcards from far from the storm, here are pics from my first two runs à Paris. (That strange, black magic men call jet lag carried the day yesterday, but today's réveil at 7:45 is a compromise I can live with.)

La deuxième journée

Le jogging à Montmartre

Keep it battened down.

Love, missing, and the usual apologies

HD

Comme a dit le grand chanteur Robbie Williams, << L'ego a atteri >> . In the words of the great singer Robbie Williams, "The ego has landed."

Or Up and Running.

Border police didn't tackle me to the ground, pummel me, and put me on a cargo plane back to the States. Customs literally didn't notice me. I made the train ride in from les banlieus unmolested (merci beaucoup à mon guide, Coleman duPont Donaldson, III). Everything has been delicious. (Our apartment is owned by an Italian, and so far I have found four moka pots.) It only took me four tries to open the front door to the building last night. All that remains is to learn French, open a bank account, get a phone, student ID, metro pass, and bike rental, register with immigration, get Drue here (!!), and earn a degree before I can take a load off and explore Europe a bit. So far so good.

To have been wide awake at 5:30 this morning is somewhat confusing, as that would have been 11:30 p.m. in DC. Meanwhile, I still seem to be the only one up--Do the French not work on Thursday?

Enough about me; look at some pictures of me. Here are some snaps from my arrival. Come visit, tous.

L'arrivée

Love,

HD

Harlan leaves for Paris today!