What I like about the Holidays

1. Spending time with Family.

2The baking and cooking of all these wonderful foods.

3. Spending time with my second family at work.

4. Having family you haven't seen come over and visit.

5. Getting Christmas cards in the mail from friends far away.

From my family to yours

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! May we never forget the reason for the season, to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. Luke 2:1-20

It's beginning to smell like Christmas....

Started my holiday baking today but only got as far as making chocolate chip cookies, then I ran out of butter. =) So tomorrow after I get some sleep I will continue on to make sugar cookies, snickerdoodles and jam cookies. But now the house smells so good with the scent of freshly baked cookies. I love baking holiday cookies!

Back to Work . . .and other musings

It's back to work this week. Thankfully it has been pretty quiet because we have been short-staffed on graves. When I was gone I guess a few people ended up getting sick or having some kind of surgery. Oh well that is typical for my shift! My first night started with a bang and we had a perimeter (picture a lasso over a large map and the points where streets intersect are where a unit is located) set up for most of the shift in one area of town. Fortunately no one was hurt, on the bad side the person we were looking for wasn't caught either. The rest of the week was pretty tame and nothing worth writing about.

I bought an old movie called Daddy Long Legs which has Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron. Now I'm not a big fan of Fred Astaire but then I only watched him on one other movie, Funny Face, with Audrey Hepburn and I thought I would give him another chance. Fred Astaire is a good dancer for his time, I will admit that. But as an actor he doesn't really impress me, I think he was the Harrison Ford type of actor in his day. (Not the action movies of Harrison Ford but the role of being the older man that the younger female lead falls in love with i.e. Sabrina, Six nights & Seven days.) After watching the movie I thought the book was better! Of course the book is usually better than the movie it becomes.

I miss Paris and being on vacation. But work pays the bills and allows me to travel. I've been looking at the calendar and debating on where to go and when I'm going. I know that I've said New Zealand this year but that trip is dependent on whether or not my cousin can go with me. So I've got to make an alternative plan and since I didn't get to got see the 'world's largest aquarium' in Europe this year. . . I'm thinking Spain! The allure of flamingo dancers, paella, Gaudi's works of art around the city of Barcelona, the Spaniards, and the tapas. . . .ahh Espania.

Bittersweet

My last day in Paris. I decided to start it by going to where Paris began at Point Zero in front of Notre Dame, then it was time to forage for food. The thing I like about Paris is how you are able to just wander in the back streets and it seems like the city fades away. You find hidden restaurants or buildings that looked so old they're covered with ivy. There is always something new to discover around the corner. Nothing appealed to me in the cafes on the Ile de Cite, so I hopped on the Metro and went to the Champs-Elysees. La Brioche Doree had some tastey pastries displayed and with the winds and rain falling heavily down upon me, I decided to have my breakfast inside. Breakfast on the Champs-Elysees, what a great way to have your last breakfast. I had their almond pastry along with my usual cafe au lait...delicious! The wind was blowing so hard that my umbrella got beaten up. I had to stop at Laduree to get some pastry and chocolates to bring back to the family. That is one shop I wished they had near where I live!

My friend, David, and I made arrangements the day before to meet up for lunch at Angelina's. Another great place that I wished they had near my location, I had the roasted salmon. It was so nice and soft, the knife they gave might as well have been a butter knife. The nice thing about it was that you could still taste the salmon and the salad just complimented the meat. Dessert was and Opera, which was this round pastry with an almond filling. Yummy!

Walking toward the Metro station we passed by the Plaza de la Concorde and the view from the sidewalk was spectacular. You could get the obelisk and the Eiffel tower in one shot. Now where else in the world would you get a view like this as you walk down the street?

David and I went up the Montparnasse tower to the 56th floor, the 59th floor was closed due to the weather. The view from the top of the tower is amazing! We got to watch as the sunsets and the lights of the city turned on. One of the best views of the city, the only down side would be that you couldn't see Montparansse tower itself.

Dinner was at La Ralaise L'Entrecote. I promised to take David there for their steak and fries. Now I must say that there are places here in the states that serve better steaks, but this is still a nice restaurant in Paris. Frankly I like it because it was in a book I read that inspired me to take a trip to Paris. =) I had the Mont Blanc for dessert which is basically vanilla ice cream with whip cream and almonds on top. David had a chocolate cake, chocolate brownie and whip cream.
Before I had to return to my hotel, David promised to take me to the best place to view the Eiffel Tower-the Trocadero. This was another place that a scene from 'Sabrina' was shot at but apparently this was a popluar place for movies and photo shoots.

I was sad to leave Paris. I actually cried on the plane as it took off from the airport, something I have never done before. There is a quote in Sabrina with Julia Ormond saying "I found myself in Paris"...well that's almost what happend. But I already knew myself before I came to Paris, it was more along the lines of I found God again in Paris.

Perspective-The relationship of aspects of a subject to each other and to a whole; a view or vista. Going up to Montmarte with the Sacre Coeur overlooking the city of Paris gives one a different perspective of the city. It’s not just filled with crazy French taxi drivers, people on motorcycles who use the sidewalk as another lane and the many tourist walking around in awe…there is another side to the city. It is made up of villages. The city of Paris

is divided up into 20 arrondissement or small neighborhoods which give it a village like feel. I wanted to go back to Montmarte because it has a view that can’t be beat but also because there was no way I was going near the ‘Red light’ district alone. David had the morning off and he came with me. Here are some awesome views from the top of the hill.

We had lunch at a small café near the park where artists sell their works. I tried to buy one but there was no way I was going to pay 50 euros for it, even if it is an original. Where would I put it in my already cramped room? Now if I had a house with some room perhaps, but I don’t so I just watched them paint. There were plenty of tourists walking around looking at these artisans work. It still had the same feeling in the days of Monet or Van Goh. Lunch was Burgundy beef stew and potatoes with a Nutella crepe for dessert. The beef stew was actually pretty good, you could taste the wine flavoring used in the stew but there was no alcohol taste. The dessert was delicious, I had herd that Nutella was better than peanut butter and I have to agree. It is this nice thick chocolate spread!

David and I wandered around the back area of Sacre Coeur and found the vineyard that most people miss when they visit. Unfortunately it was closed so we couldn’t go in, not even to the museum area. We walked around the vineyard and I saw the buildings, which gave the area its village feel. Then we rounded a corner and there it was…the vine covered walk that was in a scene of “Sabrina” with Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford. It was when Sabrina was sent to Paris to work for Paris Vogue and she meets her boss who is this single lady. The boss talks to Sabrina and makes a comment about how Sabrina seems to be afraid of being alone. They get to know each other better during their walks and one scene had this vine covered walkway with the Sacre Coeur in the background. It was pretty awesome walking through there, I’m sure the place would be more beautiful in the spring time when the flowers are in bloom. But there was a park area with a nice view of the city.

Then I had to go back because I had a hair appointment with the salon next to my hotel. David had to go study for finals the next day so that worked out well. I had an interesting experience while I was trying to make it to my appointment. My metro train had some problems and they were trying to re-route it but it just wasn’t making it on time. So I decided to leave the Metro and just grab a cab. The nice thing was right outside the Metro exit was a cab that was free, so I get in and show the driver where I want to go with the Art wise map I had with me. He was trying to figure out how to get there and compare it with his map that he had when this lady rushes up to the cab. She tells the driver (in French) how she is in dire needs to get to the hospital and it was an emergency. The driver tells here that he already has a fare and if she didn’t mind sharing the cab with me he could take us both. Well the girl hops in and says something to me in French to which I replied in my horrible American accent that I only speak a little French. Now by this time I had already missed my hair appointment that was set for 3:30pm and it was like 3:35pm. (You all know how anal I am about time!). Well I figure that since the lady had an emergency that the cabbie would go to the hospital first. Imagine my surprise when he pulls up to the intersection of the street where the salon was. I felt like I was in a really bad tourist commercial! I got out of the cab and paid the cabbie probably more than the ride was worth but it was only 5euros, so I figure it’s not bad, rushed down the street and enter the salon in a tizzy. In my very limited French I told the lady how I’m very sorry and that my train was late. She just gives me that puzzled smile that most French people give tourist who can’t speak the language a lick (I’ve gotten my fair share of those looks!) and takes my coat. Then she puts a pink robe around me and guides me to where the shampoo area is. I was the only person in the salon so this was nice. The night before I had written that I wanted layers added and so I pulled out my little notebook and showed her what I meant to say, since she didn’t understand it apparently. She then gets a book and shows me a picture, to which I agree. Next thing I know 2-3 inches of my hair are falling down. I just took my glasses off and hoped that the haircut turns out okay. She cut; blow dried and styled my hair for a reasonable price. When she was done I rather liked the haircut. It’s different and makes my face look different but I think it was high time for a change. I really liked the bouncy feel of my hair and the lightness, but knowing how wavy it gets we’ll see tomorrow if I turn out looking like Shirley Temple!

After the haircut I went to see the Walt Disney exhibition in the Grand Palais. It was pretty cool. They didn’t have the lithograph of the Beauty and the Beast scene I wanted but then I’ve yet to find it. Afterward I did some last minute shopping and grabbed a cab ride home. I figure it was time to eat at the café around the corner where the front desk guy recommended my first day here. I got the soup of the day for starters, which was this white cream based soup with pieces of ham and some crunchy stuff and paprika. Delicious! The main meal was just omelets with cheese and it was very filling. I decided to have dessert which was Ile Flottant and it was basically this meringue floating on a cream and honey sauce. It was so sweet that it gave me a tooth ache and I had to ask for a second bottle of water. Fortunately my hotel was three doors down and I could brush my teeth afterwards!

Relaxed in Paris

The day started out surprisingly well by the fact that I could actually see the sun through the clouds. Most days it has been gray and you know that rain will soon follow, which it does. As I was walking to the Metro I got a glimpse of the sunrise, you can see the Montparnasse tower from the Eiffel Tower. Simply beautiful! I noticed there was a lot more guards around the tower than usual today and that they were setting up barricades but thought nothing of it. Since the day looked like it was going to be sunny and bright I decided to take my film camera about town taking pictures of main sights. I went back to Notre Dame, it’s just a few metro stops away, and tried to take a picture of the rose windows inside. For some reason it is really hard to get a nice clear shot of the beautiful stained glass windows and the altar. I had wanted to do a river tour of Paris and so I took the Metro back to the Eiffel tower since there is a Bateaux Parisian tour that is located there. When I got out of the Metro the entire roadway in front of the Eiffel Tower was blocked off and there were plenty of police officers around. Turns out there were some kind of ceremony for the soldiers of France that served in the Algiers. I got a picture of the crowd’s back from the Seine dock that the boat tour was leaving. There were some men dressed in coats that looked like the one’s the Three Musketeer’s would wear sitting in a van down near the docks.

The boat tour took an hour and I thought that it would pass by the small island near the miniature Statue of Liberty is located, but it didn’t. The tour wasn’t a big disappointment though since it allowed you to see a different view of Paris. From this angle you could see the bridges up close and there was the big “N” which was Napoleon’s mark on the bridges of Paris. What you don’t see above the river are the squatters that live in tents near the river I guess there are some problems that are universal, homelessness being one of them. Here are some pictures that I took while on the boat.

I had wanted to go eat my lunch at Samartine; this department store located near Notre Dame and has a good view of the Ile de Cite from the upper floors. Unfortunately the store is closed for renovations until further notice. L So I had to keep walking, now if you’ve read travel magazines or watched the travel shows about Paris they mention that some of the Metro stops have very ornate entrances. I found one of them near the Palais Royal area. Rick Steves says that if you want to find some good food with low prices, look for where the locals go. So I wandered around the back streets of the Palais Royal and found this nice Mediterranean place off Rue Moliere. The price was right and looked really cozy inside, so I ventured in. Wow what a lunch! I’m still stuffed from it. Their main meat was L’Agneau which is lamb. I ordered the Couscous Maison (house couscous) which came with chicken and lamb over couscous. The chicken was nice and tender that it just melted off with the cut of the knife and yet it wasn’t over cooked. You could taste the meat and didn’t have to chew so hard because once in your mouth it melted along with the couscous. The lamb was fantastic! Now before this trip I was a bit wary about eating lamb, but I must say that at least here in Paris I prefer it over beef. And that is saying quite a bit since I am a beef/pork person! But this leg of lamb was well done, not over cooked there was a tint of pink in it but you knew it was cooked because you could pull apart the meat easily with your fork. There was some kind of soup that you pour over the couscous and it absorbs it. Man what a meal, this is why I came to the gastronomic melting pot of Paris! The place began to get crowded just a few minutes after I sat down and since it was a hole in the wall place there wasn’t much room for people to sit. I think it could only about 30-35 people max and the chef would bring out your meal. He was this olive skinned older man who had a slight limp but boy can he cook! I had already planned that I would have tea at Laduree later on in the afternoon so I skipped dessert and the café that would end the meal. My lunch lasted almost 2 hours and I was alone. Can you tell I’m beginning to relax?

I wandered around the Jardin Tuileries forgetting that the Louvre was closed on Tuesday so I couldn’t use the bathroom there. There are several fountains with various green lawn chairs available for people to sit and relax in the Jardin. It was a bit windy and I watched the sea gulls struggle against the wind until they descended into the fountain to sit. Finally I decided to risk using the public bathroom in the Tuileries. Having experienced the public bathroom in Venice, I was expecting the worst (ask Allison about this! LOL). You had to pay .40 euros to use the bathroom but it was worth every penny! The bathroom was clean, there was a toilet seat and it didn’t smell funky inside. On the way to the Champs-Elysee I passed Angelina’s and I was so tempted to just have my tea there because of the hot chocolate. But the lure of the “French Kiss” and Laduree won out and I kept walking. I did some window shopping or as the literal French translation for it is called “window licking” around the fabulous shops near the Place de la Concorde. If you were rich this was the place to shop, there was all the name brand boutiques from home as well as the one’s here in Europe. Furs of all types were used in jackets that looked so inviting and the window displays were alluring, my pocket book kept me in reality though!

Now I wanted to go up to the top of the L’Arc du Triomphe and online I had read that there is an elevator you could take. When I got to the Arc though, it looked like people were using the stair and so I decided to put off climbing the Arc for another day. I didn’t pull a “Moses” and try crossing the roundabout surrounding the Arc; I followed the Japanese tourist that went through the tunnel instead. The view from the center of the Arc as you look down one side and see the Champs-Elysee and turn your head 180 degrees and see La Defense is amazing!

Tea at Laduree is another sumptuous experience. It would be like taking an elementary girl who read ‘Eloise in Paris’ to Foquets for a meal. I had ordered the Thé Mélange Speciale Laduree, which is a tea made up of oolong leaves, citrus, vanilla and rose petals. The smell was heavenly; you could smell the vanilla and roses. Also for food I had the Meillieux de Praline and Laduree’s special macaroons. Wow! The tea was so relaxing by the time I was done with my dessert I had that la-la land feeling. It was like I was drugged but not in a bad way in a good way, so totally relaxed. I spent an hour having tea by myself in Laduree. Not a bad way to spend part of your afternoon especially since I would face the mob of people that were shopping in Galleries Lafayette. The Galleries have the cutest window displays for kids and lots of families were stopping by just staring at the display even in the rain.