Saturday, April 28, 2012

grandpa Giorgio and grandma Gheghi in Paris


As usual, Grandpa and Grandma amazed us with special effects. Despite the age (81 him and some less her), they arrived in Paris by train and spent a week with us (in a friend's apartment first then at our place). We were thrilled to drag them around to visit once more places very familiar to them ... In fact, some 48 years ago, they lived one year here in Paris (Giuseppe was born in Torino 9 month after their French adventure...). Josh was obviously excited, though in some occasions, he would rather stay a little 'more' at home and play with them instead of going to museums. But accompanying them around the city gave him the opportunity to show them his progresses with the language and his knowledge of the city (" The Musee d'Orsay? Again? I've been there already six times!"). We were able to plan, finally, our visit to the Chateau du Versailles, where we visited the museu, we walked and went biking in the gardens and rowing on the Grand Canal.  Tonight, while I write, grandpa went alone to the Eiffel Tower, to take photographs during the short interval of 5 minutes when it sparks.











We had a very good time. Unfortunately they had to go back to Turin to their usual occupation.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Cooking class....for adults

I couldn't return back in the U.S. without having take at least once a lesson in French cuisineI signed up with Linda, via the Internet, a session offered by the La Cuisine Paris


the menu included stuffed quail, roasted vegetables and chocolate mousse.
The location already is incredible: a small boutique overlooking the Seine in quai de l'Hotel de Ville. 


On the first floor there is a simple but elegant room with shelves full of cookbooks and cooking tools (look at this biscuit cutter....)


followed by a small reception area where two nice young ladies confirmed our reservation. Upstairs a large kitchen and a central table occupy most of the floor, aside from a small dining area next to the window facing the river. 



When we arrived the oven was already hot, so we took our positions: each of us had a cutting board, a knife, bowls and an apron. In the center of the main table were standing all the ingredients (veggies, butter, eggs, chocolate, quails, cheese  ready to be cooked by us, the students. We wrote our names on the apron and then the Chef is affable and friendly, instructed us, step by step in the recipes: how to beat the egg whites until stiff, how to melt chocolate without burning it, how to cut the onions without letting out all the juice, how to prepare the filling for the quail, etc etc.  











All in a relaxed, friendly and jovial atmosphere. 


In the end, when everything was ready, we cleaned the work surface, set the table and tasted the delicious freshly prepared dinner. A real treat for the palate.
  
Cailles farcies avec legumes de saison rotin
mousse au chocolat

My friend Linda, who was in a very bad mood at the beginning of the evening due to some problem with her Visa application, left the place relaxed and happy, "cured" by this wondrous meal, just as int "Babette's feast" where old quarrels are healed and past sins forgiven while the guests are initiated to the pleasure of life! 


Absolutely an amazing experience. Next time .... baguettes?



Monday, April 23, 2012

Voting in France

Here in France, you can vote by "procuration" i.e. by proxy. Quite different from the absentee ballot in USA. I'm not talking about nominating the Director of the HOA. I'm talking about selecting their President!
Since, as in this turn, the election day occurs on a holiday (all school are closed, it's Printemps...) and since going in vacation is the main activity for the French, well, they needed to figure out a way to prevent absenteeism and improve voter turnout ...so here's what happens. 
Absent voters (you don't need a valid reason) designate a person to vote freely in its place on the day of an election. The process is conducted at the police, the gendarmerie, the district court or consular authorities. It's free and the only documents required are proof of identity allowed to vote (national identity card, passport or driving license for example). Then, you can relax, get in the car and forget about all this fuss..It's holiday, right?







I can't imagine what would happen in Italy if we were allowed to vote by proxy.....


New York or Paris?

Does it look familiar? 


I'll give you a hint: this one appear to be standing over the balconies of a building facing the Seine...

  

We've seen the first replica at the Jardins of Luxembourg back in September.
This one, near the Grenelle Bridge, on the Ile aux Cygnes, is much bigger even though, compared to the Tour Eiffel in the background, it looks tiny. 

  

 There are two dates on the tablet (I'm not sure you can see them from the picture): the USA Declaration of Independence (July 4th, 1776) and the Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789).



We are on a quest now, to find the other two (a replica and the flame) around Paris....to be updated.

The giant vanilla meringue that is Montmartre

What was crossing the French's mind when they decided to build the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Sacré-Cœur) ? It looks nothing short of bizarre: crowning the Montmartre hill, it resembles a giant white meringue.

  

Even the Dome of the Basilica has a form very unusual: don't you agree it looks like an onion ? Unlike most of the monuments in this city that darken with pollution and smog, the white limestone of which ​​the Basilica is made has the characteristic of not retain dust and smog. So, after every rain (believe me, it rains a lot!!), the Sacre-Coeur is even more brilliant
Among all the monuments of Paris, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart seems to me the least attractive, from the artistic point of view save only for the giant mosaic inside. Obviously there are few who share my opinion, given that the Basilica is the second most visited monument in Paris after the Eiffel Tower.  

Aside from it, the walk by funicular or on foot, to this hill, with its cobbled streets, stairs, street entertainers, music, painters or portrait artists, remains one of my favorite destinations


is that a puppet or a man hanging from the window?
  
How unusual to find, in the middle of this city, a vineyard ("Le Clos Montmartre") or a windmill ("Le Mulin de la Galette").


Le Mulin de la Galette

Le Clos de Montmartre with its vineyard
 I try sometimes to imagine how this place was at the end of the last century, when here lived and worked Picasso, Renoir, Van Gogh and so many others. What a time! How I'd like to be able,  if only for a moment, to be there, at that moment of time! Perhaps, I could be depicted in some of Renoir's paintings....
  
Bal du Mulin de la Galette
 I almost forgot...there's my favorite Taverne in Paris right here! 

At the "Taverne de Montmartre"
 Of all the places in Paris, I'll miss this hill the most.


Sunday, April 22, 2012

Trip to Norway

Sometimes, when at 3 o'clock in the morning, I see the light still on and I realize that Giuseppe is still working on one of his projects, I wish he wasn't so good as he is in his job, so that he could take a break and enjoy more time with us. On the other hand, when he is invited to Norway as guest speaker in a conference, I really like the fact that he is so damn good at what he does! When I told a friend of mine that we would go to Trysil  and then to Oslo with Giuseppe, she said:" Damn! I think I picked up the wrong husband!". 
The trip was long, especially the 3 hrs bus ride to the ski resort (only one stop in the middle of nowhere, without coffee...) but as soon as we arrived, it started snowing. In the next couple of days we spent most of our time relaxing (bowling, swimming pool and of course sauna!!!)...




 





...and of course skiing!













Josh found a couple of peers to play with...



 Then on Friday we left the mountain and the snow and we went back to Oslo. 




 




The city is very small but spotless. We spent one afternoon visiting around and eating once more salmon (breakfast, lunch and dinner). I think  I had enough of it for the next year....














The coolest place? Certainly the Icebar where everything, from the walls to the bar and event the glasses are made of ice. The price for a 45 minutes stay + 1 drink is crazy but, since there's only a dozen of them around the world and one was right in front of us, how can you resist? 







The hotel was good, in the center of the city but had a major problem: no sugar for the coffee. Only sweetener. How can you do this?