Jun 04
Corn is not a major ingredient in French cuisine except in the Basque country. So how come we saw corn fields in the Dordogne Valley? Two words: Foie gras. Corn is a key component of overfeeding ducks and geese to produce the fatty liver that’s such a delicacy in the region. Julian had some duck …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/04/cornfields-in-france/
Jun 04
It’s a good thing we came here during the age of the digital camera. Julian would have gone broke with all the pictures he’s taken on this trip if he still used film. Photoshop has also saved him from over- or underexposed shots. He’ll be spending many hours after we get home tweaking his photos …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/04/pictorial-observations/
Jun 04
Your standard American rest area on an interstate toll road is little more than a bad vending machine. Forty years ago rest areas were run by Howard Johnson in the northeast, Stuckey’s in the south, and other chains elsewhere. If you drive the New Jersey Turnpike these days, you might find a Roy Rogers, Subway, …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/06/04/rest-stops-a-la-francais/
May 31
Today was our last day in Paris. Unfortunately, it rained. We wandered around the Jardin de Luxembourg and the neighborhood where we rented an apartment four years ago. In the afternoon we attended a short organ concert at St. Eustache church, which boasts the largest pipe organ in Europe. We had dinner at Alsace aux …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/31/off-to-the-hinterlands/
May 31
Friends, we have been to the Promised Land. It’s the Galeries Lafayette Gourmet Shop, which has FOUR FLOORS of food, beverages, and cooking tools. The Harrods Food Halls in London and the KDV Food Halls in Berlin are pale pretenders. Even our beloved Pike Place Market in Seattle doesn’t have the density or breadth of …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/31/foodie-heaven-on-earth/
May 30
Four years ago we were walking around Rue Francois Miron and happened upon an organ concert in St. Gervais Church. While we were listening to the concert, I noticed that some of the stained-glass windows looked way too modern for such an old church. A trip to Google revealed the answer: The church was bombed …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/30/a-touchstone-for-me-at-least-in-paris/
May 30
The letter R in French poses a problem for English-speaking learners. It sounds more like a gargle than the rolled R of Spanish. So we saw this delivery truck bringing supplies to the café downstairs, and I immediately thought of our French class. The name on the truck is François Frites Fraîches. French fries (frites …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/30/a-french-alliteration/
May 29
If the drivers in Paris are maniacs, the scooter and motorcycle riders have death wishes. “Traffic lights? We don’t need no stinking traffic lights!” (Of course, they say it in French.) The prudent pedestrian looks both ways and prays when the walk light comes on.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/29/speaking-of-maniacs/
May 29
Wednesday we hit three shrines: Two religious and one secular. We got up early to stand on line to enter Sainte-Chapelle. This church is two blocks away from Notre Dame. It’s also older and smaller than its neighbor. The entrance to Sainte-Chapelle is shared with the Palace of Justice. Our line progressed much faster than …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/29/two-days-four-give-or-take-shrines/
May 26
This afternoon we went to the Louvre to walk around the plaza. Many people believe that the I.M. Pei-designed pyramids are a stain on the museum, but this trumps anything I could imagine: Louis XIV, the guy on the horse, is doing cartwheels in his grave.
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2015/05/26/what-were-they-thinking/
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