(I figured out how to add photos-- I write the blog entry with an app called BlogPress and I have access to photos from the iPad and from PhotoStream! You CAN teach old dogs new tricks.)
Okay, I will have to paint the picture with words because I am not iPad savvy enough at the moment to figure out how to post a photo without spending, oh, at least an hour and then I still probably would not be successful...
Paris was lovely. No rain, no snow. Lots of walking around. Falafel in the Marais. A visit to the Deportation Memorial near Notre Dame. Candles lit in Notre Dame. New friends. Dinner with my Favorite Parisien and one of his friends who I think is now my Second Favorite Parisien. Aligot and steak at Le Mistral. A beautiful stroll through Belleville, a quartier I had never visited. A drink at the Rosa Bonheur in the Buttes Chaumont Park. A view of Sacré Coeur in the distance, all lit up just for me. And a view of Mme La Tour Eiffel in her sparkly evening gown. Just for me, or least it seemed that way as I gazed at her while sipping my kir. An apéritif dînatoire (drinks with great snacks) at Fauchon near la Madeleine. A view of the Champs Élysées from la Place de la Concorde. The Arc de Triomphe all aglow, the red tail lights of cars on one side of the avenue and white ones from headlights on the other. Dinner chez la Contesse at her home on the outskirts of Paris. (That evening will get its own blog entry when I get home! I did manage to get a recipe, too, for an Alsatian dessert-- la Croustillade de Pommes. Merci, Butler!) Sampling foie gras at a market in the Quartier latin. Ah, Paris, la Ville Lumiere (can't find the accent grave on my new keyboard). I didn't buy internet service at the Marriott Rive Gauche (a great hotel with very comfy beds, though). 19,95 euros for 24 hours seemed a bit outrageous for me and free wi-fi is hard to come by in Paris. I did hear that McDonald's is the place to find it, but I just can't seem to bring myself to grace the doors of that place while in France. And I thought my 19,95 euros would be better spent on a croque-monsieur, salad, and un pichet de rouge. But that's just me.
I am now with Mme P in Pujaut. Tuesday was spent at school with her students interviewing me. They are so cute and so interested in the United States and in y school. We also met with the parents of the students who will host us in March and who will send their little darlings to stay with us in April. That went very well. Reassuring for them to actually see the person who will make sure that their children have good families to stay with in the States. Mme P has cooked up some delicious food for me, of course. Brandade the first night and pot au feu today. Last night, we went to dinner at La Strada in Les Angles with the two other teachers who will chaperone the trip in April. Delicious house made pasta with shaved truffles and a glass of red Lirac on the recommendation of Mlle de Tavel. Steak tartare for Mme P. Oh, and a salad of arugula and gooey fresh mozzarella for our appetizer. A lazy day today. No classes on Wednesday for Mme P. A walk near the Rhône in Villeneuve-lez-Avignon this afternoon. Tea and macarons from Marcellin bakery with Frenchie and his wife. Mme P is cooking as I type. Daughter #1 is setting the table and helping out. Son is doing homework and listening to music. Daughter #2 is upstairs. Cats are wrestling under the table. Dog is sleeping at my feet. There is French chatter in the background and soft lights are casting shadows.
Life is good. La vie est belle.
A table!
Bon appétit, mes amis!
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