...I can walk in le jardin du Luxembourg once again.
Showing posts with label paris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paris. Show all posts
7.13.2011
6.01.2011
2.07.2011
yearning
my heart yearns
for a myriad of things
these days
but the constant—
the one that never leaves—
is Paris.
these days
but the constant—
the one that never leaves—
is Paris.
3.26.2010
favorite things
i really love these favorite things of mine... some of these are old and have been with me for years, some are new, and more than one is vital to my sanity.
scarves
i don't remember when i first started wearing scarves, it is another of those things that feels much like i have been doing it the whole of my life. much of the fun i now have with my scarves is remembering where i bought them each time they are worn. the black, white and pink one in the photo i got in Niagara-on-the-Lake when Angie and i went there. the orange one i found calling out to me in the window of a little shop on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris. *sigh*
kraft barbecue ranch salad dressing
this little gem of deliciousness i found at Longo's last week, and it is nothing but pure goodness. so far, i have put this on not only salad, but a grilled chicken sandwich, hamburger, and oven fries. i have yet to discover something that it could not make better. now, i haven't tried it with ice cream, but i don't think i'm going to go there!
Moleskines
the Moleskine website says that their aim was to bring back the legendary notebooks of great artists, such as Vincent van Gogh and Ernest Hemingway. i haven't talked to Vince or Ernie lately, so i don't know how they feel about Moleskines, but i LOVE them. my first one was a black reporter notebook that Ang got me for my birthday one year, and with that, i was hooked. for the past three years i have used their red daily planner as my portable brain, and most recently i have been scribbling furiously in my Moleskine NYC City Notebook all the things that i want to remember when i get to the Big Apple. it is a rare day when you can catch me without one.
saturday mornings
i love a lazy saturday morning. last week, for example, i was awake before 6am, which is normal. so i gathered up my things and walked over to starbucks {with a stop at the Town Talk bakery for one of their blueberry scones first}. there i sat for over two hours, drinking my cafe americano, writing, reading and watching the world of Streetsville pass me by. it really was pure bliss, and i will do it again and again as often as i can.
well, that i all i have for now... although i am listening to the Emma soundtrack right now, and it being pure bliss itself is my bonus favorite thing for you. the whole album is amazing, but there is one song in particular that makes me stop and notice it no matter what else i am doing. it's called Cliff Tops, and is heartbreakingly beautiful.
have a most super weekend, and as always, i'd love to hear about your favorite things, if you'd like to leave a comment and tell me.
scarves
i don't remember when i first started wearing scarves, it is another of those things that feels much like i have been doing it the whole of my life. much of the fun i now have with my scarves is remembering where i bought them each time they are worn. the black, white and pink one in the photo i got in Niagara-on-the-Lake when Angie and i went there. the orange one i found calling out to me in the window of a little shop on the Île Saint-Louis in Paris. *sigh*
kraft barbecue ranch salad dressing
this little gem of deliciousness i found at Longo's last week, and it is nothing but pure goodness. so far, i have put this on not only salad, but a grilled chicken sandwich, hamburger, and oven fries. i have yet to discover something that it could not make better. now, i haven't tried it with ice cream, but i don't think i'm going to go there!
Moleskines
the Moleskine website says that their aim was to bring back the legendary notebooks of great artists, such as Vincent van Gogh and Ernest Hemingway. i haven't talked to Vince or Ernie lately, so i don't know how they feel about Moleskines, but i LOVE them. my first one was a black reporter notebook that Ang got me for my birthday one year, and with that, i was hooked. for the past three years i have used their red daily planner as my portable brain, and most recently i have been scribbling furiously in my Moleskine NYC City Notebook all the things that i want to remember when i get to the Big Apple. it is a rare day when you can catch me without one.
saturday mornings
i love a lazy saturday morning. last week, for example, i was awake before 6am, which is normal. so i gathered up my things and walked over to starbucks {with a stop at the Town Talk bakery for one of their blueberry scones first}. there i sat for over two hours, drinking my cafe americano, writing, reading and watching the world of Streetsville pass me by. it really was pure bliss, and i will do it again and again as often as i can.
* * * * *
well, that i all i have for now... although i am listening to the Emma soundtrack right now, and it being pure bliss itself is my bonus favorite thing for you. the whole album is amazing, but there is one song in particular that makes me stop and notice it no matter what else i am doing. it's called Cliff Tops, and is heartbreakingly beautiful.
have a most super weekend, and as always, i'd love to hear about your favorite things, if you'd like to leave a comment and tell me.
9.25.2009
sigh...
yes, i always miss paris. it is true. but there are days when the homesickness is stronger than others.
on those days, movies like paris, je t'aime get me through.
this is one of my favorite scenes...
on those days, movies like paris, je t'aime get me through.
this is one of my favorite scenes...
8.25.2009
bliss
i went to see Julie & Julia with L. tonight, and all i can say, is that it was pure bliss. how could it be otherwise, the heady combination of paris, cooking and blogging?!this afternoon, i predicted to someone that at the end of the movie, i would walk out wanting to cook, and L. would want to blog... so it ended up with me being the one who wanted to to both.
i love baking, but cooking intimidates me. french cooking, in particular, scares me silly. for the life of me, i cannot think of a good reason why this is so. after all, i am french. perhaps one day i will break down and actually buy this cookbook...
one thing i do admire about both women, however, is their tenacity, not only in finding what they wanted to do with their lives, but doggedly doing it, regardless of how much opposition {snooty french women/de-boning a duck/discouragement/disgusting messes} they encountered.
if you haven't yet seen it, and you're in the mood to simply be happy {and hungry}, i highly recommend it. the paris scenery alone is heavenly. i may have sighed, "i am homesick," more than once during the movie.
bon appetit!
3.02.2009
suddenly it was march...
Slayer of the winter, art thou here again?
O welcome, thou that bring'st the summer nigh!
The bitter wind makes not the victory vain.
Nor will we mock thee for thy faint blue sky.{William Morris}
2.26.2009
2.20.2009
an evening in paris
tonight my good friend alicia and i went to a cooking class at a local grocery store. the title of the class was an evening in paris. how could we refuse such a title? we arrived at 7pm and listened as our chef, kelly hughes, laid out an overview of the evening.
first up was the salad, frisee aux lardons. now, i like salad. but to be honest, i didn't have a great deal of hope given what the promo had said about the salad... but wow, was i wrong. the salad was, perhaps because i had such low expectations, the best part of the meal for me!
next was my very favorite thing to eat when i am actually in paris, steak frites. the chef had some great tips about tying the meat (so oddly shaped pieces look the same as the rest), and pan searing. also, she showed us how to make a tarragon aioli to go with the dish. i had absolutely no idea that making mayonnaise could be so easy! and the piece de resistence of any dish with the word 'frites' in it, the hand cut, glorious french fries. i cannot tell you how good the whole thing was. both alicia and i were full before we were done, but, fortunately, we soldiered on, and none of this delicious food went to waste!
for dessert, my favorite indulgence of all time, creme brulee. there was a problem with the temperature of the oven, and so it wasn't as good as one may have hoped, but seriously, bad creme brulee is better than no creme brulee!
i took pictures of both of our creme brulees, and there were some very distinct markings on the tops of each of ours. we wondered if perhaps the 'brulee' part was a bit like reading tea leaves, and whatever design shows up in your burnt sugar would have some sort of meaning.
alicia's creme brulee clearly looks like the letter 'Z', which i think means that she has sleep in her future. at first i thought that mine looked like a happy face, but upon closer inspection, it looks like mine is a pair of shoes! o happy day!
all in all, it was a very fun evening with a good friend. thanx for the idea and for sharing this with me, alicia! let's go to paris again soon...
first up was the salad, frisee aux lardons. now, i like salad. but to be honest, i didn't have a great deal of hope given what the promo had said about the salad... but wow, was i wrong. the salad was, perhaps because i had such low expectations, the best part of the meal for me!
next was my very favorite thing to eat when i am actually in paris, steak frites. the chef had some great tips about tying the meat (so oddly shaped pieces look the same as the rest), and pan searing. also, she showed us how to make a tarragon aioli to go with the dish. i had absolutely no idea that making mayonnaise could be so easy! and the piece de resistence of any dish with the word 'frites' in it, the hand cut, glorious french fries. i cannot tell you how good the whole thing was. both alicia and i were full before we were done, but, fortunately, we soldiered on, and none of this delicious food went to waste!
for dessert, my favorite indulgence of all time, creme brulee. there was a problem with the temperature of the oven, and so it wasn't as good as one may have hoped, but seriously, bad creme brulee is better than no creme brulee!
i took pictures of both of our creme brulees, and there were some very distinct markings on the tops of each of ours. we wondered if perhaps the 'brulee' part was a bit like reading tea leaves, and whatever design shows up in your burnt sugar would have some sort of meaning.
alicia's creme brulee clearly looks like the letter 'Z', which i think means that she has sleep in her future. at first i thought that mine looked like a happy face, but upon closer inspection, it looks like mine is a pair of shoes! o happy day!
all in all, it was a very fun evening with a good friend. thanx for the idea and for sharing this with me, alicia! let's go to paris again soon...
8.29.2008
favorite things
while i have never aspired to be oprah, i do have my share of favorite things. so tonight, on this most exciting occasion of a friday evening at home, i have decided to share with you some favorite things which are a part of my evening.
given my extreme {and vocal} love of good coffee, it has
been a surprise to many that my latest drink passion is a tea... the republic of tea's spring cherry green tea to be exact. i had purchased a tin of it last year while visiting angie in michigan, and when i almost ran out, and failed to find it in my country, i had almost given up hope. then, the good republicans made delivery to canada a reality, and as of this week, i am hooked up again. and what better to drink a hot beverage in, than a new mug {from starbucks, no less}, a gift from a good friend. it is a perfect combination.
the second thing that has made my evening tonight, is gourmet magazine's latest issue which is dedicated solely to...wait for it...paris! for some reason, reading about macarons and the left bank and the unparalleled experience of eating and walking and being in paris makes the fact that i am not there a bit more bearable. and while i like to think that i am unique in my passion for the city, i love that i am not the only one whose heart can be made happy simply by walking down a parisian street! {and let me just say that this delightful find is courtesy of my super-cool friend angie, a fellow magazine junkie!}
the magazine lists some affordable hotels in a city where you can easily spend $500 a night for a room, and i was ecstatic to read that the familia hotel, my parisian home, was listed among the chosen few. if you are going to visit paris, i cannot recommend the familia {or her sister hotel, the minerve, right next door} enough. it is in the latin quarter, right down the street from the sorbonne, and only a most enjoyable ten minute walk separates you from notre dame...what more could you ask for?!
which brings me to my last favorite thing of the evening, my copy of the books of the bible {i have the orange one}. last year it really started to bug me that i was treating the bible more like a handbook or text book, than a book to be read and enjoyed. maybe it was all those numbers, and given my extreme fear of math, the combination was just too much. but then i found this gem... the bible, without chapter and verse numbers, in chronological order. this baby has changed the way i read God's word, and i love it!
that's all i've got for now. hope you're having a good evening.
given my extreme {and vocal} love of good coffee, it has
been a surprise to many that my latest drink passion is a tea... the republic of tea's spring cherry green tea to be exact. i had purchased a tin of it last year while visiting angie in michigan, and when i almost ran out, and failed to find it in my country, i had almost given up hope. then, the good republicans made delivery to canada a reality, and as of this week, i am hooked up again. and what better to drink a hot beverage in, than a new mug {from starbucks, no less}, a gift from a good friend. it is a perfect combination.
the second thing that has made my evening tonight, is gourmet magazine's latest issue which is dedicated solely to...wait for it...paris! for some reason, reading about macarons and the left bank and the unparalleled experience of eating and walking and being in paris makes the fact that i am not there a bit more bearable. and while i like to think that i am unique in my passion for the city, i love that i am not the only one whose heart can be made happy simply by walking down a parisian street! {and let me just say that this delightful find is courtesy of my super-cool friend angie, a fellow magazine junkie!}
the magazine lists some affordable hotels in a city where you can easily spend $500 a night for a room, and i was ecstatic to read that the familia hotel, my parisian home, was listed among the chosen few. if you are going to visit paris, i cannot recommend the familia {or her sister hotel, the minerve, right next door} enough. it is in the latin quarter, right down the street from the sorbonne, and only a most enjoyable ten minute walk separates you from notre dame...what more could you ask for?!
which brings me to my last favorite thing of the evening, my copy of the books of the bible {i have the orange one}. last year it really started to bug me that i was treating the bible more like a handbook or text book, than a book to be read and enjoyed. maybe it was all those numbers, and given my extreme fear of math, the combination was just too much. but then i found this gem... the bible, without chapter and verse numbers, in chronological order. this baby has changed the way i read God's word, and i love it!
that's all i've got for now. hope you're having a good evening.
5.12.2008
more Paris pics...
from a bridge over the seine
the Rodin museum
(how often do you get to sit in a room full of torsos?!)
(how often do you get to sit in a room full of torsos?!)
i don't remember who this is,
but it's right across the street from the Sorbonne.
but it's right across the street from the Sorbonne.
a Parisian street close to the Seine
the area behind the musee de l'Orangerie
(why do Parisian park benches look so darn appealing?)
(why do Parisian park benches look so darn appealing?)
inside the Rodin museum
(the sculpture reflected in the mirror)
(the sculpture reflected in the mirror)
in the Luxembourg garden
more Luxembourg garden...this time including the palace
Notre Dame & the Seine
in the courtyard of the Louvre
in the jardin de Tuileries looking toward the Louvre
the Louvre...
4.11.2008
paris in the spring 2008
le jardin des tuileries
even in the rain, the tuileries are beautiful.
you cannot see them, but kids were sailing boats in this pool.
notice the tres chic umbrella :-)
not exactly sure why...but then again, why not?
ah, the Angelina Tea room.
the center of the universe for all chocolate lovers!
peeking in Angelina's window before i went in.
why don't they make macaroons like this in canada?!
Africain chocolat...it doesn't get any better than this!
entrance to metro by the Concorde
see, i actually was here!
here i'm standing in the courtyard of the Louvre 
le Arc de Triomphe...from the bottom.
...from the inside... 
...and after climbing the 284 steps to the top.
beautiful view of the Champs Elysee, just after the rain.
if you look hard enough, you can see the obelisk and Louvre at the very end!
the one view of Paris that needs no introduction. 
inside the Musee de l'Orangerie.
one of the eight panels of Monet's waterlilies.
a garden near Shakespeare & Co.
the Varennes Metro sign with Napolean's tomb in the background.
the Rodin Museum.
just looking at the picture i feel the magic and wonder.
(Rodin's The Three Shades)
just looking at the picture i feel the magic and wonder.
(Rodin's The Three Shades)
Rodin's art
Rodin's The Kiss
the man was an artistic genius...
Notre Dame, my Parisian touchstone.
area behind Notre Dame
quite simply, a Parisian street.
and yes, i would like to live here.
the Luxembourg Gardens 
the Medicis Fountain, my favorite.
and just down the street from my hotel, the Sorbonne.
i stood on this bridge listening to a trumpet player who was
down by the river. it was a perfect moment.
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