Playing the role of dinner guest

Since arriving in Paris three weeks ago I have had quite a few dinners cooked for me.  This is always nice and I have definitely enjoyed being welcomed into new friends homes for dinner.  We should do this more often in New York- tiny apartments be damned!

Last night was one of my favorite and most adult dinners.  I had kindly been invited over to the home of a British family who lives in my neighborhood.  The husband and wife are old friends of an ex-coworker of mine from my last job.  They live about 10 minutes away and their apartment was spectacular!  After entering the code to the front gate you walk through a very large and beautiful courtyard with apartments on each side, all with their own terrace area and lots of plants and foliage for privacy.  The apartment itself (if you can even call it an apartment) was very large.  I only saw the first floor, but it had wood beamed ceilings and felt very lush and almost renaissance like.  Apparently they have a small apartment above that they sometimes rent out to people on holiday, if anyone is interested...

After meeting the children and having a glass of sparkling rose, we sent the kids to bed and sat down for supper.  Their were 4 of us all together since another friend of the couple who was there to plan a get together with the wife was asked to stay for dinner.  Dinner was lovely, we had sardines baked with tomatoes and chicken tagine with potatoes before finishing with salad, cheese and some strawberries with ice cream.  We also had a bit of wine and conversation flowed very easily.

I had such a great time!  They even invited me to stay in their home while they would be away for the month of August.  Can you imagine?!?

That reminds me though, I still need to tell you about my new neighborhood...

xx

French toothpaste tastes bad

There has been a lack in posts this week due to exhaustion, over extending myself and a mild cold.  I also had a moment this past week, in the midst of the aforementioned reasons for pause, where I just wanted to walk down the street and get a large drip coffee from Olso and an everything bagel from the Bagel Store...

That said, I've had a wonderful weekend and a chance to recenter myself.  I look forward to catching you all up on the goings on over here in Paris! 

Now I'm going to shut the NYer in me up and go have a croissant right away!

xx

6 New York & the art of fine cuisine

Let me tell you about my most cliched Paris experience thus far...

Monday night, since I had told the American that I hadn't seen the Eiffel Tower up close yet and since he worked right by it, he invited me to meet him after work to check it out and get dinner.  It was pouring cats and dogs out and I was running so late that by the time I met him we ended up just going up to his office to check out the view.  It was amazing and I don't know how he gets any work done around there!  He then informed me that he had made reservations for dinner at this place his coworkers had recommended called Restaurant le 6 New York (it's on Avenue de New York).  He said the place was going to be a bit fancy and since he had picked it he was going to treat.  Well, ok....

 View of la Tour Eiffel from the Apple offices

Wow this place was intense!  I mean, the whole nine yards, a quintessential  french haute cuisine experience complete with the palate cleansing courses they bring you in between each of your real courses.  The chef even came out to tell us about the special plats for that day.  Amazing!  We both ordered starters or entrees (as they are called in French) and desserts so that we could try out a few different items on the menu.  For our entrees I had a plate of vegetables that was more beautiful then half of the paintings I viewed last week and came with 4 types of sauces (which is heaven for a condiments fanatic like me) and my friend had the crab and avocado (pureed and shaped like a cake).  We both had the special for our main course, which was beef with au ju and black truffle served under potatoes.  Basically, and ironically, the most American thing I've eaten in a long time haha!  For dessert I had this incredible combination of caramel sorbet and caramel profiterole with more caramel sauce to top it.  Divine!  The American had the rice pudding (also with insane amounts of caramel sauce) and a small portion of french toast that I tasted and have to say is the only one I've had that surpasses my Dad's french toast (shh!  don't tell him I said that).

Since I didn't take any pictures of the food during dinner, here is a link to the restaurant (hope that works for you Shan!):

http://www.6newyork.fr/uk/index.php

The food was incredible and the wine was delicious too.  I cannot decide what my favorite part of the meal was that night, everything was just too good to be true!  I definitely felt like I needed to be wheeled away at the end.  The night wouldn't have been complete without a stroll over to the base of the Eiffel Tower, which we did- even though it was freezing and the rain cut like knives when it hit you.  It doesn't really bother you when you look up and the whole tower is in the midst of a sparkly light show.

 cinematic indeed

It was quite a nice evening and at the end of the night I was very happy to be snug in bed dreaming of caramel and sparkly towers...

xx

Weekend a la francais

What a whirlwind weekend!  I took the day off from posting about my trip yesterday and just spent some downtime enjoying the chilly rainy Paris weather in a cafe down by the Seine.  I read, relaxed and tried to recover from what was a very busy weekend.

Let me quickly fill you in on what I was up to...

Friday night I went to see an Australian band called Angus & Julia Stone play at Cafe de la Danse, which is very similar to Music Hall of Williamsburg (both the venue and the neighborhood).  It was only a 10-15 minute walk from my apartment which was very nice.  The concert was great.  I had begun listening to the band a few months ago in New York and really liked their music.  When I noticed they would be playing in Paris during my trip I decided to get tickets knowing there would probably be other anglophones there.  The show was sold out and everyone seemed to really enjoy their set.

Saturday night I had plans with someone (let's call him Mexifrenchie) I had met at the American group happy hour this past week.  We went to a great locals wine cave up in the 18th.  The place was perfect!  It truly felt like I was in a french version of a bar on Bedford Avenue.  I loved the beat up, vintage vibe and the music that was playing (apparently they like Local Natives in France too!).  This was good because Mexifrenchie was concerned the place might be to "hippie" for me.  Non!  We took a walk from there towards his house, in the posh 8th arrondissement, where he had kindly offered to make dinner.  On the way we stopped at a little Lebanese place to pick up some desert (Baklava-yumm).   It smelled delicious in there and I made a note to come back for lunch someday.  Dinner was tasty, nothing fancy since his kitchen is a little smaller than mine, but just good food.  We had pasta with a homemade sauce and I even allowed him to use mushrooms (everyone knows how much I hate them), which I surprisingly enjoyed.  Mexifrenchie was glad that I liked the mushrooms and so was I, that is, until I learned they were Paris mushrooms, a specialty of the area.  So I finally found a mushroom I like and I can't get at home?  Go figure!

Sunday was a full day!  I met up with another friend, an American, from the American happy hour at the Musee des artes et metiers.  It's an arts and science museum that he wanted to check out (he is an engineer at Apple).  It was a nice break to be looking at something other than art for a change, but not a place I would go back to.  After the museum we decided to take advantage of the sunny weather (while it lasted) and went to check out this popular pizza place by the Canal St Matin.  It's called Pink Flamingo and they offer really interesting pizza choices.  We split the Basquiat (Gorgonzola, Fig and Ham) and a couple of beers that we enjoyed by the canal.  Later on we realized that we both just moved to the 11th arrondissement and actually live just down the street from one another.  It should be fun to have a friend in the neighborhood.

Sunday night I made plans to check out a music venue down the street with a British guy I had been emailing back and forth with lately.  He noticed my posting for an apartment on the American Meetup Group website and forwarded me his friend's email about subletting her place.  It didn't work out, but we kept in touch.  Also, it turns out that he is friends with the girl who runs the meet up and who I almost lived with- Paris is even smaller than New York if you can believe it!  Anyways, we went to see this french ska/dance hallesque band called Toubab All Stars at a place down the street from me called Alimentation General (a mix between Arlene's Grocery and Zebulon).  The band had the entire room on their feet, dancing and jumping and all around participating.  It was amazingly fun to see a crowd that into the music in France or otherwise.  A very fun night indeed!

So yes, now I am exhausted and thoroughly enjoying taking the day off from any scheduled activities, but stay tuned as I hope to visit Versailles this week.

xx

The most fantastic store in the world

I've decided I'm moving here and marrying a Frenchman just so I can register at BHV (Bazar Hotel de Ville)- possibly the greatest store I have ever been to...

It's hard to describe, but it is basically 5 floors that combine Bloomingdales, Home Depot, Target, an arts and crafts store and Bed Bath & Beyond.  Basically one stop shopping and a huge liability!

I will shut-up and let the pictures do the talking:

 Front entrance to BHV (Bazar Hotel de Ville)

Interior shot of the Masion floor (home decor heaven!)

Very New York, non?  This is an entry vignette in their interior design competition.

 Typo?? Oh, tres tres French!

I've already picked out my china...

 

They even have a DIY section with arts and crafts!

These books are cardboard and quite pointless, but don't you want at least 3 or 4?

Here are the items currently on my wish list:

 

A colorful and kitschy pillow

This cheeky vase is definitely coming home with me

A funky lampshade provides inspiration

Faux animal skin wallpaper?!?

Here is what I actually bought that day (I went back again but restrained myself once more, must be turning over a new leaf!):

 

My purchases...tea, madelines, a scented candle and toiletries

Don't worry though, I plan to fill a bag of stuff to send home with my Mom in a couple of weeks!!!

xx

 

A night of music in Montmartre

Do you ever catch yourself in a moment of unrivaled happiness and think, wow I can't wait to relieve this as a memory, or is it just me?  Thursday night was definitely one of those moments!

I had gone to Montmartre to meet the Frenchie and we were supposed to go hear some Jazz at this place called the Blue Note.  We got to the bar and the band was on break, so we grabbed a drink.  While waiting at the bar I noticed this French guy doing a double take and then he started to talk to me, unfortunately I had to tell him I didn't speak French.  Well, he apparently had a mouthful to say to my companion, and I still have no idea what he said. I have a feeling it was not very nice though, because when I asked Frenchie about it later he said he didn't really know what he was saying (a kind lie, I'm sure).

After grabbing a beer we sat down and chatted until the band started.  It was not a jazz band at all, because the first song they played was by the Stones.  I can't say I was disappointed though.  I mean I love cover bands, so why not a French cover band singing some of my favorite American songs?  To be fair, they also did a couple of French songs.  One of them was a very popular song from the 80s that everyone in the bar sang and danced along to.  Speaking of the dancing, wow, no words could describe the insane skill level (for some) and ridiculous dance moves (for most of the rest) going on in this crowd.  It was really fun and entertaining and I felt like I was finally starting to become less of a tourist or at least more of a faux-Parisian.

Oh, that reminds me, I noticed all of this food and little decorations all over the place.  I asked Frenchie if there was a party going on or if that was normal.  He said it was just an "after work get together" and that it wasn't that unusual.  Then later, when we came inside from a smoke break, he mentioned that he had heard outside that it was actually a private party-ha!  We had inadvertently ended up spending the evening at Anne's Birthday Soiree!  Too funny indeed and no one seemed to care, at least that's what I thought, until some girl passed by our table twice with an icy glare.   Yikes!  C'est la vie

After singing happy birthday and listening to the Serge Gainsbourg reggae version of the French National anthem we realized it was almost 2 am and the metro had stopped running.  So, seeing as I always get lost, Frenchie (who has trouble sleeping) kindly offered to walk me towards my flat.  Home by 3 am and safely tucked into bed.

By the way, Paris is eerily beautiful and empty at night.  It was a nice chance to see the city in another way.

xx

Happy Hour till midnight

Wednesday night I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a group of Americans.  I had met one of the organizers of the American Expat meet-up group while I was looking for flats last week and she invited me to join them for this party.

It was so much fun to be out and about and I met so many great people!  The crowd was probably more international than American (the New In Paris group joined the Americans for the event), but the nice thing was that everyone spoke English and was there to make new friends.  Business cards and emails were exchanged and plans were tossed around and wouldn't you know it I've already been in contact with a few people I met that night.

Look out folks, this blog will get a whole lot more interesting now that I have a legit social life!

xx