Most of the French I encounter on a daily basis is a little over my head, but this sweet sentiment truly was. "Mais oui, tu es belle!," the mirror reads. ("But yes, you are beautiful!") Non—I think it should say "mais oui, tu es petite!" instead.
Month: April 2018
Fit for a king
Last Friday, Colin skipped work to go with me to Versailles. We knew we wanted to avoid le week-end in hopes of it being slightly less crowded, and the grounds are closed on Mondays and there were transit strikes on Wednesday and Thursday, so Friday it was. Versailles is only about 12 miles outside of Paris on the RER, … Continue reading Fit for a king
The Parme-marathon: How to make parmesan baskets, sans magic
On Sunday, Colin and I hosted his boss Anthony and partner Anne-Claire for dinner, to return the favor after the eventful evening at their place a couple weeks ago. Now, cooking is pretty much my least favorite household chore; I would much rather clean bathrooms and vacuum every day of the week than spend more … Continue reading The Parme-marathon: How to make parmesan baskets, sans magic
La Liste
I've alluded to my ever-growing To Do for Fun list in previous posts, but I never actually talked about what was on it. The list currently stands at 61 items, although a couple have been removed after further research (for example, tickets to the Moulin Rouge are outrageously expensive, so we decided we weren't interested) … Continue reading La Liste
Pique-nique
Last Friday was the first day it was truly warm in Paris, so I set out on one of my longer walks—north from our apartment in the 4th arrondissement, into the 11th, and straight through to the 19th. My destination was the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, an oasis with winding trails, a manmade lake, and grass … Continue reading Pique-nique
Raisins
After finishing dinner on Saturday night but before the great toilet debacle, Colin and Anthony were enjoying a digestif of rum. Anthony, as one would expect for someone who's lived in France for years, knows alcohol well and, after offering his quick assessment, asked Colin what he thought. "It tastes like sunshine!" Colin joked, not … Continue reading Raisins
Making a splash
On Saturday, Colin and I went to dinner at his boss's apartment. Perhaps "boss" is too formal, but Anthony is the researcher here who's welcomed Colin into his lab for the year. They've known each other for ages and get along as friends, despite Anthony being quite a bit older. The meal began as all … Continue reading Making a splash
This post brought to you by a laptop-friendly cafe
The French do not mix work and food, or really anything and food. Most of the time I love this about France, but over the past couple weeks I began to get frustrated for one reason: my dream of parking myself at a cafe to read and write for hours on end began seeming like … Continue reading This post brought to you by a laptop-friendly cafe
Le printemps
Spring has definitely sprung in Paris, although lately it's been more of the April showers than flowers variety. Still, I've taken advantage of breaks in the rain to seek out spring colors wherever I can find them, which is a little like an Easter egg hunt in this city of très chic black and gray. … Continue reading Le printemps
Practice Makes Parfait 