Time traveling to the Medieval Ages

Since 1996 three small hamlets have been staging an annual Les Grandes Medievales d'Andilly near Geneva. What started out as an experiment for the villagers to work together has turned into one of the biggest festivals in France. The fête operates with over 1,000 volunteers.  

I'm impressed by how well-organized it is—and the festival's environmental friendliness. Instead of disposable plastic cups, it costs 1€ for a commemorative plastic cup which is necessary to get drinks everywhere in the medieval village. In place of plastic utensils, only one set of wooden fork/knife/napkin is given with every purchased meal. Extra napkins are available but you have to ask for them..so there's no greedy grabbing. Even the toilets are green—instead of disgusting portable potties, the village has built "dry toilets" which have no running water. To my surprise, they don't smell bad at all because they use hay/straw as natural deodorizers. Then they use what's in the toilets for compost!?!

After parking our car on a sloping grassy meadow R and I walked up and through another meadow. We're now in the forest and everywhere we look are village people dressed up in medieval costumes. I see a knight, and a monk. Then a blacksmith and a farmer. Ladies in waiting. Children dressed up as townspeople. I feel like I've walked into 13th century France—and life is good here. All the buildings (except one) are wooden structures with thatch/hay roofs. Nary so much as a piece of plastic anywhere. Tables, benches, everything is mostly wood.

Food is simple and good—sausage with rustic bread and a large potato. Followed by crêpe chocolat, then strawberry and chocolate/vanilla glace, ice cream. In the evening, we settled down to a dinner of pork shoulder with lentils and bread. As evening settled in, we warmed ourselves up with hot tea and cider while watching the minstrel show.

Andilly was super fun—the costumes and scenery were authentic. The roaming musical groups got me dancing. At the falcon show, I saw an eagle and falcons about five feet away and they flew right past me, flapping their giant wings overhead. At the farm, I drank fresh raw milk and petted lambs, calves, and cows. I cooed at chickens living among the bunnies. At the parade and the grand finale, I clapped my hands and cheered for the good knights and booed the evil ones.

Freiburg, Bern, and Bears

Currywurst sandwich

En route home from our friends' wedding in Germany, R and I made stops in Freiburg and Bern. So I could see Germany and the German part of Switzerland. Freiburg, the southernmost German city, borders the Black Forest where I imagined "Hansel and Gretal" was set. Freiburg is charming—I loved the Munsterplatz, the farmer's market, and the "Bächle" that run through the city center. 

I love good good, I'm not a snob when it comes to eating well. I love fine dining at the best restaurants as much as the next girl, but I'm also really happy eating lovingly cooked meals at home, and more so when it's prepared by some of my favorite foodie friends. Sometimes on the street is where you find the best local food.

Take this simple currywurst sandwich at Freiburg's daily farmer's market in Munsterplatz. The pork sausage was perfectly sauced with a tomato sauce with a good dose of curry in it. Even though it seemed early for strawberries—I couldn't resist buying a quart of little strawberries for 2€. These strawberries tasted they were picked straight off the plant on a hot summer's day. I should have bought at least four more quarts.

Wedding in Germany

Neustadt a.d.W—my friend's hometown—is situated an hour south of Frankfurt. With a population of 53,000, it is small but very cute, with a small pedestrian zone in town, and vineyards outside the city where my friend's parents live. The day we arrive, Victoria got us a bit lost and we ended up getting stuck in a wine festival that was taking place in town because some roads were closed or were not listed on her maps. This region has many wine festivals..including the one that is taking place next weekend where J and M met nearly eight years ago.

Upon arrival, we are greeted by J's parents since the soon-to-be newlyweds were at a nearby hotel where M's family is staying. The hotel is set beside the vineyards with a large terrace overlooking miles and miles of grapevines and almond trees. It boasts an excellent restaurant serving local and seasonal food, and is where the wedding reception will take place. After hanging out on the terrace a bit with M's family, we all head back to J's parents' for a wonderful BBQ prepared by J's Mom who is great cook.

She and her friends made potato salad, flavorful red onion chutney, and they perfectly marinated lamb, pork and different kinds of sausages and bratwursts. And of course, local wine to pair with the tasty food. When I visited J in 2007, J's Mom introduced me to several German specialties...I need to ask J what they're called before I post the names of the dishes. I've never tasted such great smoky tender lamb before...Julia and I each got a small piece as the men who were hanging out with J's brother as he grilled snacked on most of the lamb before the plates made it to us on the terrace!

On the morning of the wedding, we were at the salon for two hours for hair and makeup. Lots of hairspray (and teasing the hell out of her hair) was used to get her hair into a wedding-ready updo, crowned with red-orange, champagne and peach colored flowers. I documented the week in Germany by taking lots of pictures, but it takes forever to upload pics on Blogger, so I've only posted a few up. Before the church ceremony, I accompanied and assisted Erik Patton, their photographer, who took many gorgeous photos.

GERMAN WEDDING, JM STYLE
The church service lasted about 45 minutes with lots of organ music and German hymns. Instead of standing (as I assumed they would do), the bride and groom were seated, looking at the preacher. Friends and families sat in pews all around the three of them. Instead of the American tradition of repeating the vows after the preacher, there was a simple "Yeah" when they were asked if they would marry each other and then an exchange of rings.

After the wedding, our party congregated on the church grounds and congratulated the new couple with a champagne toast before making our way to Nett's where the wedding reception was held. The table was lovely with flowers and candles floating in water. We sat outside for a bit but then it started to rain hard so we moved the reception in doors—Nett's anticipating that it might storm, had set a duplicate table inside for us. Dinner was spectacular - asparagus was in season so it was featured in asparagus soup as well as a side dish for the main course of the most tender beef I have ever tasted. R loved it so much, he ate some of my steak and some of J's mom's too. R would like to clarify that he did not take J's mom's steak without her knowledge and approval!

My friends looked gorgeous on their wedding day, even more than usual, which is saying something because they are both very good-looking. J wore a champagne JCrew wedding dress and M wore a new Hugo Boss suit.

It was so nice being able to spend a few days with our friends and their families before and after the wedding. Special thanks goes out to J's parents who hosted us in a truly beautiful setting and M's family who also welcomed us into their family.

Six hours to Germany

R and I are on way to Germany today for our friends' wedding this week. In the car we have all we need for the six to eight hour drive to our friends' hometown—snacks and lunch; a fully loaded CD changer with ABBA, Aha!, The Coors, Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, and some Algerian and French music. On the windshield, Victoria (R's British voiced TomTom helper) is perched ready to guide us from the French countryside to the German countryside.

The fastest route to take is via Switzerland, through the French-speaking parts (Geneva and Lausanne) over to the Swiss-German side. At Bern, the Swiss-German border, road signs appeared in both French and German, and childish as it sounds, I couldn't help giggling at the German sign for exit, Ausfahrt. The countryside is beautiful, rolling hills with the mighty Juras in the background. A thousand shades of green cut by bursts of yellow fields of tournesols, or sunflowers. We cross over to Germany shortly after Basel, a Swiss-German city I visited in 2000 with my Mom on our European tour.

As R and I get closer to my friend's hometown I am very excited, even though I only last saw them twelve days ago, it seems like an eternity. Traveling on a Sunday was a good idea—sans arrêter, we made the trip in 6 hours and 15 minutes. Feeling very happy and lucky to be here to share their special week with J, M, and their families.

At Home

It's a nice drive up to our house—we take a small windy road from town to our village, and then a left turn onto our small private lane which leads to the house and large stone-paved driveway. With all the rain we've been getting, we're growing a garden of weeds and grass in between the stones. The moss is also threatening to take over.

While I love to garden, I loathe weeding because weeding is the opposite of growing something good to eat! While I cursed the state of the driveway (and weeded), R used the high water pressure jet to clean the stones and border wall in the driveway. After working outside for many hours, we were famished and ate a big lunch—grilling outside is wonderful and I hope to BBQ more this summer. Today we grilled pork and chicken marinated with my homemade Teriyaki sauce, a nice steak, prawns, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes. 

After lunch, I ran inside to clean up so I could Skype with my sister, brother in law and nephews. I was "seated" with them at the table while they had their breakfast. The video quality was much better this time, so it was a nice experience. I even played peek-a-boo with nephew A just like I was there...except I couldn't pick him up after to give him a kiss. Nephew I said "You could come back to Boston now." I miss my family and can't wait to visit them soon.

After dinner R and I tried to visit neighbor P who helped plow our vegetable garden. When we were greeted by their three-legged dog Oxanne, we knew they weren't home. Instead we took an evening stroll, past the cows in the meadows. It was 20:30h and still daylight as the crickets started singing their evening song.

Tomorrow R and I are driving to Germany for my friends' J and M's wedding. Have a good Sunday.

Asian markets in Geneva

Watching Ocean's 13 right now as I write today's post. The weather was really nice, so R and I decided to spend the day in Geneva. Overall today was a success—I bought a Swiss cell phone so R and I can contact each other while in Switzerland (and for emergencies everywhere else). Then we visited some schools that offer French language courses.

FRENCH CLASSES

There are several good options which I've listed below—at this time I'm leaning towards Migros' École-Club which is located in Geneva, Switzerland just over the French border. Before signing up, I will check at the Mairie in case they can suggest French classes closer to home.

University of Geneva (UNIGE) offers fairly cheap, intensive summer French classes, and is located a short tram ride away from Cornavin, Geneva's central train station.

Migros, a Swiss supermarket chain offers French courses as part of École-Club. In addition to French and other language classes, they also offer dance, fitness, cooking, finance, and business classes. At École-Club, I took a free French language placement test and got 26/36 questions correct, placing me at the A2 level (which is advanced beginner). 

Ifage is another option. Like Migros, it is well-priced, with good schedules, and is centrally located at the train station. But it was kind of depressing looking. I saw some brochures for EF at Ifage, however, I don't think EF is associated with Ifage.

BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO GENEVA
Before arriving in Geneva I knew very little about the city, only that it ranked as the number one city to live (having tied with Zurich in a study conducted in 2007) and that it was home to the United Nations and the Geneva Conventions. Therefore I knew Geneva would be international, but just how much was quite a surprise. Wikipedia gives la ville de Genève a population of 191, 000 (as of 2010) while the Canton of Geneva has a population 457,428. Of that nearly half a million population, 39.2% are foreigners and more than 50% of people living in Geneva (the canton I believe) hold foreign passports. These numbers don't even take into account foreigners who work in Geneva but live in neighboring France (such as me and R and many expats who work for CERN situated both in Pays Gex (France) and Geneva).

The United Nations and its many agencies play a huge part in creating an international, bringing in diplomats, staff, and support from 192 countries, or member-states. Wikipedia cites that Geneva is home to 22 international organizations and more than 250 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). In addition Geneva serves as the European headquarters for many corporate companies like Proctor and Gamble, HP, and Dupont amongst others.

Due to its international setting, there are more Asian stores than I expected, most of them centered in the Paquis district, close to the railroad station. Walking around the Paquis, R and I found many more shops than we found through a quick Google search. I read somewhere that Geneva has a large Japanese ex-pat population. And more recently Geneva is trying to court the Chinese banks so there may be a small Chinatown here in the near future. Genève is quite small and compact so we weren't that far away from the Paquis district. Today we visited the stores below.

ASIAN STORES IN GENEVA

Asia Store 

• Pros: Clean and organized, no weird smells, with good basic selection. A nice surprise was the owner of Asia Store was not only Chinese, but he spoke Teo Chew, my dialect. We chatted briefly and I found out his last name is Chan, which is as common as Smith or Jones. He emigrated to France from Cambodia and now lives in Switzerland.

• Cons: Tiny with only about 3 rows of food. Not a wide selection. Quite expensive. I paid 7.10CHF for ginger, vermicelli, and rice paper (which would have cost maybe $3 in Boston). Eating out, and food in general, costs much more in Switzerland partly due to universal healthcare and the high salaries the Swiss enjoy. I have to keep that in mind instead of making a straight comparison to Boston prices.

Alimentation Japonaise Miyai
45 Rue de Zurich, 1201 Genéve
Tel: 022-731-4862
Pros: Neat, well-stocked Japanese grocery store where I bought pickled plums, miso paste, wasabi peas, and gyoza wrappers.
Cons: Expensive, but not any more expensive than Asia Store or other Asian markets in Geneva.

Vietnamese Market (whose name I forget)
En route to find dinner, we accidentally found the best Chinese/Vietnamese supermarket.

• Pros: The owners are Vietnamese—and directed us to Cho Lon, a Vietnamese restaurant around the corner from their store. We should have heeded their advice, but we didn’t, opting instead for another one nearby. Before heading to dinner, we checked out the store. Although still quite small compared to Asian markets in Boston, it was still the biggest one yet. It carried a big selection of Asian fresh vegetables, packaged goods, big bags of rice, different kinds of tofu, lots of frozen fish, fish sauce, shrimp paste, rice paper, many kinds of noodles, and even "mam", fermented river fish. Most of the goods came from China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand. I quickly bought some hoisin sauce, roast pork "char siu" marinade, and a bag of dried green mung beans. Why mung beans? From these dried beans, I can sprout my own bean sprouts at any moment to use in fresh summer rolls, or to use in Vietnamese dishes. I have yet to find fresh bean sprouts in my French markets, so I'm super excited that I found the dried green mung beans today!

• Cons: None

Crazy French drivers and market day

Thursdays are Market days in our little valley. Yesterday R and I hiked down to town and then back up home after our errands. It was a 2 hour roundtrip. We made two stops, first at La Poste for stamps. It costs .58€ to send domestic mail up to 20 grams and .87€ for international mail up to the same amount. Then a quick stop at the Turkish bakery for baklava and sweets shaped like a mini-eggroll. At the bakery, the daughter of the shopkeeper served us—she was quite young (maybe 9 years old) and barely reached over the tall counter. She was adorably pudgy and super polite. We'll be returning soon because the baklava was great.

This morning R and I planned to walk down again and take the market bus back up to our house, but we were too late. The market bus picks up the residents in our little village at 9am and drives them back up around 12pm. We drove down instead and it was an adventure—luckily we and the car made it down (and up) in 1 piece.

The roads in our area are narrow and seriously hilly with some blind spots where the road curves sharply. From what I've experienced so far, the French drivers here are seriously crazy drivers!! They claim their side of the road as well as part of ours, and they do not yield, instead continue doing what they're doing and hope you move out of their way.

As we were driving down to the farmer's market today, a car came flying up the hill, narrowly missing us by inches. Then the market bus (the one we had planned on taking earlier) drove up at top speed even though he saw us and should have seen that there was not enough room for him to pass us. The bus driver continued ahead anyways, and R had to quickly drive over the curb to avert a collision. Then bus driver just continued, not stopping to see if we were okay. I was pissed—and tomorrow, we're going to stop by the Mairie to lodge a complaint because this has happened way too many times and it's just not safe.

Anyway, we and the car are ok—so we head to the market which is already in full swing with many more vendors this week than the past month. R says it gets bigger in the warmer months as farmers bring more vegetables to sell. Today we spent 20€ for 2 pineapples, 2 kgs of tomatoes, whole wheat baguette, 2 fresh garlic heads (purple in color with tops on them), 5 apples, 2 pears, 4 peaches, 4 nectarines, 5 kinds of cheese (total price 7€), 4 avocados, and a dozen free-range chicken eggs.

Back at home, we had a nice lunch: salad with beets and tomatoes, cow's cheese with nectarines, peaches, and pear. And on the side, some pork terrine, smoked sausage, and pâté de canard.

For dinner I made a Vietnamese tamarind fish soup with prawns (heads still on). My mother makes a great version, and I tried to recreate hers tonight using jumbo prawns (which I purchased earlier today, 3€ for 300 grams which seemed like a great deal to me). I briefly looked at the recipe here and then used what was available in my fridge and pantry. I only used half of the prawns tonight, so maybe prawns for lunch tomorrow.

Last thing, the tail pipe is now fixed. Today I did much better driving the car, only stalling twice. R says I need to shift more smoothly and quicker. Still driving on an empty road, but hey, I am driving and on my way to mastering the clutch and gearbox!

One week anniversary and a broken tail pipe

Bonne anniversaire to me! I arrived one week ago  and have been busy acclimating. One of things I need to get is my French driver's license since my MA license isn't recognized here. More practically, our sole car has a manual transmission, not an automatic one. I'm used to having a gas pedal and a brake—so the introduction of a gear box and a clutch totally unsettles me.

Back in February, R started me on my driving lessons in an empty parking lot nearby. I got lucky a few times at first, but mostly I tried unsuccessfully to get it into first gear. Learning how to drive after driving for almost twenty years is truly frustrating!! R goes through a detailed explanation and says I should listen to the car. I think I understand what I need to do, but my feet just don't get it. Time and time again, the engine stalls and the car jerks violently, causing poor R's head to knock back and forth against the headrest. Then of course I get super nervous and lose concentration, causing the car to stall again. So frustrating. Why don't they teach kids to drive stick shift in the U.S.? I wish I had learned when I was young.

Last night, after visiting R's Dutch friend and his Brazilian wife (who are moving back to Brazil), we went to an empty parking lot for my third driving lesson. I was tired and hungry and after 30 minutes, I gave up trying because I just didn't get it. The lesson was also over because after many violent jerks, the tail pipe broke. It didn't come off exactly but it was hanging low. This sucks. I feel bad but R says it was old anyway, and probably would have broken soon.

This morning, we brought it to the mechanic's (think Midas, not mom and pop repair shop). They are ordering the parts today and we have to bring it back in tomorrow afternoon. Service and parts will cost 309€, but at least the car will still drive.

The mechanic said the tail pipe wouldn't fall off, so we figured we'll do one more lesson today. R brought us to an area where they are building an office park. Roads are paved, but there aren't any buildings yet, so it's a great empty area to practice on. The terrain was a bit hilly and that made it easier to get it into first gear without stalling the car.

I did much better today, and even took the car from first to fourth gear. I'm still shifting way too slow. A few times, I mistook fifth for third gear, and the R groaned in response. R says I'm good at reversing the car uphill—which he says is a difficult thing to do.

Anyway, I drove today!!!! Albeit on a road where no other cars were driving...but still I was super happy. Of course I stalled many times too, but much less than before. Now I have a bit more confidence in myself and I'm hoping that during my next lesson, I won't stall more than a few times. What was it like when you learned how to drive a manual transmission car....did you just "get it" one day?

Planting and a hidden economy

It's almost 1am. My circadian rhythm is still off, and I find myself waking up late, staying up later, and napping somewhere in between. But at least there is sun today. R and I postponed going to Geneva until later this week, opting to work on the garden and researching French language classes instead.

How does our garden grow?
Neighbor P's rototiller did a great job of turning over the grass, weeds, and compacted soil to unearth the black gold in our vegetable patch. Life was teeming underneath the super aerated rich soil—in addition to lots of worms, there were snails, ants, and beetles including one beautiful metallic green/blue/yellow beetle.

On La Poste and motorcycle riding

Clouds hung overhead as R and I made our way to La Poste today on the motorcycle. La Poste, or the French postal system is more than just a post office. Not only can you buy those pretty French stamps and send letters and packages, but you can also make copies and do your banking there too. The reason for today's visit was official—I have a long stay visa (visa de long sejour) that entitles me to stay in France for a year. However, such a visa is only valid if OFII (Office Francaise de l'Immigration et de l'Integration) grants me a residency permit. 

Which leads me to La Poste. I'm here to make copies of my passport, French Visa, and the passport page displaying my entry stamp into France. The cost for copies and mailing the OFII form: 5€ by registered mail to the local OFII office in Bourg-en-Bresse.

At La Poste, we queued behind a long but orderly line. La Poste was extremely efficient—while two tellers at les guichets were helping people, an additional two employees were roaming about, answering questions for people in line and directing them to the automatic stamp dispensing machines. I've read about the French way of cutting the line. Was that in David Sedaris' book "Me Talk Pretty One Day" or was it in the "Sweet Life in Paris?" by David Lebovitz. This time I didn't see any of that...perhaps that only happens in Paris or bigger cities, but not in a small town like mine.

Now that I've sent in my form, the waiting begins. OFII will contact me in two to three months for an interview and medical exam which will take place at Bourg. At that interview, I'll need to produce additional documentation/proofs of identify, and pay a tax/processing fee before receiving my residency permit.

After La Poste, we continued to the bank but forgot it was closed Mondays. With the sun now out, and the temperature in the low 60s, we sat outside, sharing the small lunch I had prepared. Food tastes better when eaten outside with your fingers and with the one you love. We shared a baguette with pâté du canard and terrine du porc; an apple; smoked almonds from Mom; and milk chocolate with hazelnuts/raisins.

As R and I are going to our friends' wedding next weekend, we drove vers Annecy to purchase R's early birthday gift from me—a TomTom, good for this trip and others I hope we would take together this summer.

On motorcycles. My first time riding on a motorcycle was in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I rode behind my uncle and it totally freaked me out as the traffic in HCM is intimidating (kind of an understatement). Bikers, motorcycles, trucks, cars all move together in total chaos—there are no marked lanes, and traffic moves in all directions.

Even though R is a very careful and good driver, I felt pretty nervous on the motorcycle the first few times. Now that I'm more comfortable, I've learned to lean into turns with him, sit so my helmet does not knock into his, and hold onto my handbar firmly without overstraining or gripping too hard. R and I have signals to indicate 1) something pretty to see 2) if I need to reposition my weight 3) if I want to stop for a minute 4) when going over big speed bumps. My behind is a little sore now after today's long ride. But it was so worth it—I like the thrill of the ride and the 360 degree view of nature around us. We drove through beautiful countryside, up and down mountainsides overlooking farms with cows resting under trees. At some point, we saw free range chickens roaming next to the side of the road. I always knew whenever we were approaching a farm—I smelled cowpies as we approached the farms!

Since we were so close to Annecy, we took the motorcycle to Lac Annecy. Picture a lake set at the base of the Alps with sharp peaks reaching out to the sky, some with snow still on them. Imagine living here —skiing in winter, watersports in warmer months, and hiking all year long. Annecy has been called the Venice of France due to the many canals in the city center. Even though I am in France, I still had a craving for rice, so R and I had a nice sushi dinner in a cute modern sushi bar (run by Chinese people). We were happily surprised by the quality, portion, and the cost 20€ (for a big plate of sushi with miso soup and salad).

Returning home, we found our vegetable garden had been tilled during our daytrip. Tomorrow's plan: plant our veggies, stop at neighbor P's to thank him for tilling the veggie garden, and then head to Geneva. While R meets with former colleagues, I'll look for a Swiss mobile phone and tour the University of Geneva (UNIGE) where I may be taking French classes this summer.

Comice Agricole and wild daffodils

We still haven't shaken the cold spell quite yet, but there are signs of spring outside and the days are getting longer. It's crazy but the days seem longer here, perhaps because we're in the mountains but these days, it only gets dark around 21:00h. Another sign of spring: R thinks we may have baby birds this spring as he's spotted a small bird circling in and out of the birdhouse in our yard. 

In France, Sunday is the day devoted to spending time with your family. The entire family convenes at the grandparents' house—and the cooking starts early. Neighbor P's children and grandchildren live nearby, so he and his wife were busy preparing for their extended family.

Graduation and modern amenities in the country

Congratulations to my cousin T who’s graduating and speaking at the Babson commencement ceremony today. Good luck on your speech and I can’t wait to see pictures and hear about your day later.

Day 4: I’m still feeling a bit wasted this afternoon from major jetlag. R just woke me up to watch the last few minutes of the French Extreme Makeover: Home Edition on TF1 a French public TV channel. For my friends who've inquired about my access to Internet and TV (in jest I hope), it's a "oui". In addition to French TV, we also have Dutch satellite TV where many of the shows are in their original languages. Most days shows and movies during prime-time are in either American or British English with Dutch subtitles. As for French TV, most shows are dubbed to French with no subtitles. I'm happy about this actually because it's going to force me to learn French toute de suite. Right now, we’re watching Obama talk about the BP oil leak on Aljazeera TV in English. The oil spill is apparently 5 to 15 times larger than they originally anticipated. I learned today that they are collecting human hair cuttings to absorb the oil—did you know human hair can absorb up to six times its weight?

Springing forward

Spring is in full bloom in our mountainside. I just missed the cherry trees blossoming, but everywhere around us, plants and animals are waking from their hibernation. After many months away from R, I am so happy to be where I am right now.

For the past few days, I've been getting over jetlag and settling into my new environment. R and I visited our town's farmer's market yesterday and today we visited le mairie and strolled along the belle river walkway. Throughout the day, we spotted a woodpecker, a sleeping bat behind our shutters, large snails without shells called limas, swans, and creamy cows grazing across the meadow. At the nursery we looked for plants and seeds and came home with strawberry, tomato, eggplant, zucchini, lettuce plants; raspberry and groseille bushes; and seeds for beets, leeks, basil, coriander, mesclun, green onions, and bell pepper. Still looking for mint. Looking forward to doing some planting tomorrow!

New beginnings

Bienvenue sur mon blog. Welcome to my blog.

Raised and schooled in Boston, I am a city girl who loves the eats, culture, and heart of the city. I seized the opportunity to live and work in NYC for a short time—and there, I fell in love with French pastries, opera at the MET, ramen, dumplings...and with my boyfriend R who traversed the city with me on bicycle, train, and foot to little dumpling shops, museums, and even an MP3 experience, thanks to the awesome folks at ImprovEverywhere.

Fast forward a little bit—R and I are sharing new adventures together, this time traveling through the French countryside and European continent. I've created this blog for me (and eventually for friends, family and the blogosphere) to capture my experiences abroad. I never leave home without my French pocket dictionary, my camera or Moleskin notebook to jot down names, people, and places. Here I will post photos and updates about my thoughts on life, food, and traveling abroad. Check back often to read about my French experience—mostly centered on food, language, culture and customs.