Second Semester Fêtes

Sorry that this is turning into a unapologetic food-blog. I have found a lot of comfort in feeding large groups and, luckily, this semester has had plenty to celebrate. First was the Superbowl, which was a chance for us to celebrate American favorites in Paris: football, seven-layer dip, beer. 

Not able to start a party at midnight, we taped the game and watched it the next evening. We had a mix of French and American guests, but the best was how our French cohorts interpreted the event -- they were all adamant about bringing junk food and watching the commercials. They were also very excited about the Puppy Bowl. That was very heart-warming!

Next was Passover. We had 8 guests in our tiny living room, but it actually worked out quite well. We spent about 36 hours cooking/preparing, and even then, there were details unaccounted for and food getting cold, but at that point, though we were only "technically" on glass 1, most people had had their fair share of wine. I don't think anyone noticed or minded our slight disorganization. 

Most of our guests had never been to a Seder, which was both a blessing (I believe it is a mitzvah to invite those who have nowhere to go/did not know they were supposed to go anywhere for the occasion,) and a curse, (I did most, well all, of the singing.) I did get everyone to learn and participate in the frog song, though, which I think was the most entertaining part of the night.

Especially due to the double-entendre of the word frog (=frenchman). Frogs here, frogs there... frogs were jumping everywhere!

Lost in Translation

Boarding the train back to Paris on Saturday, I had a somewhat surprising experience. I was waiting in line for the, well, loo when a confused-looking blonde girl approached me, hesitantly, and said, "Bonjour...?" I replied in French and, following a huge sigh of relief realizing I could speak her language, we had a brief conversation about the vacancy status of the toilets. Not incredibly interesting, except that, in some way, I felt the same "relief" as her. Finally, someone I could understand! Maybe the English just mumble, but I swear I didn't understand fully any of the interactions I had in London.

That being said, what a great city! Matt had planned the trip back in December, as a birthday present for me, but also a nice vacation for the both of us. We stayed in Shoreditch, a hip east London neighborhood comparable to the Lower East Side of New York. We felt very much at home.

Maybe it's because I've had a few weeks off from touring, but I was amazed at how much I was able to do in one day without getting grumpy. The first afternoon, we did our own walking tour of the neighborhood, saw some of the highlights, went to Tesco. The second day, we spread out a little and headed west. We went to both the Tate Modern and the National Portrait Gallery and after a long tour of the ritzy neighborhood, we sat down to afternoon tea and scones! Matt ate all of his clotted cream, which I didn't think was possible...

Our last day, we spent some time at Broadway Market, perusing the endless stalls of exotic foods and produce. Everything looked so delicious, but we had a brunch reservation right up the street. Matt finally got his "full English" and I had a vegetarian version! I didn't know beans on toast could taste anything more than non-offensive. These were extraordinary.

Christmasland

We've just returned from our two-week vacation in the Netherlands and Germany! I'm not really sure, though, that we did all that much vacationing. From Amsterdam, to Hamburg, and the Westerwald to Berlin, the trip was sort of non-stop. But, it really fulfilled all of my Christmasy wishes! And a lot of my Jewish ones as well.

First, we were in Amsterdam. We stayed at the most adorable little hotel right on the Singel canal. We had a room with slanted floors, canal views, and there was even a cute Dutch breakfast. Matt ate cheese and soft boiled eggs, I always had a crumpet! Above, a picture of hotel. I'm in the window, can you see me?

Oh, hello! (This picture was Matt's idea...)

Amsterdam was really so cute, (they call this gezellig). Despite all the signs of sin, there are cozy restaurants and cafés everywhere, and that is coming from someone who lives in Paris. Nothing ever appeared too big or pretentious. We also went to the Rijk Museum and the Anne Frank House, both of which were pretty fascinating, but in the end, I think I enjoyed just walking around the most.

We spent the holidays with Benny and Laura in Western Germany. We met them in Mainz, where I saw the sights for the first time and we attended one of the cutest Christmas markets, where we all drank Glühwein and I ate many, many Kartoffelpuffer (latkes). Then, we headed to the Westerwald to spend Christmas Eve with Benny's mom and family.

After the Westerwald, we traveled to Laura's family's home for Christmas day. We had a traditional German meal and then went to the Opera in Gießen. They took us to see La Bohème! It was a really lovely, but small, production. The music was wonderful.

Finally, we arrived in Berlin. I of course had never been there before, which made it quite overwhelming, because there was so much I had wanted to see, but we were pretty sick of being tourists at that point. Some of the most impressive things I saw were somewhat spontaneous, like the Jewish cemetery that Matt had heard about. Most of it was "destroyed," but they preserved the destruction under ivy covered trees. The juxtaposition was breathtaking (see above).

This is us at the Weihnachtsmarkt in Mainz--glowing with wine!

Fall lives!

Also, just in case you were worried, autumn does exist in France! I found it at Monet's house in Giverny a few weeks ago and it was more than I could have asked for...

Voyage en Belgique

Things have been pretty crazy here. The semester is coming to a close, and I have tons of papers to write before Matt and I leave for Germany for the holiday. I also started tutoring for the SAT, though I've only trained so far, it's an intense program and I have a lot of learning to do before I can do any teaching. Luckily, I got a little break this past weekend on an overnight trip to Belgium.

I think my favorite thing about Belgium was that there are enough fries in the country that there has to be a sign condemning the bringing of fries into the centuries old cathedral. Yum! Columbia was nice enough to take us on a small overnight trip, most expenses included. We chose Belgium, and I'm so glad we did. We spent the first day and the night in Ghent, and then the following day in Brussels.

I don't think I took many pictures in Brussels, because Ghent was so darn cute. This was the square that our hotel was in. It was a very food-based vacation, actually. I made sure to try waffles, fries, beer, croquettes, essentially everything Belgian is fried. It was delicious. Oh, except for the chocolate, which I bought lots of and have been consuming slowly these past few days.

This is a funny carousel in Brussels. Weird.

Ghent at night was so lovely. We took a night time boat (canoe) cruise on the river and got to see the city all lit up, even though it was freezing and I hadn't brought any socks with me. In the end, it was definitely the most romantic city I had ever seen. It was the perfect break from a stressful time in Paris.

Hello, I'm crazy now.

Just a note to tell you all that I've lost my mind.

Yep. I made the ratatouille from Ratatouille the movie. But this is not New York and there were no rats to help with the process. So I cut all the veggies by hand.
Tomorrow, when I complain about not having had enough time to adequately finish my work, please direct me back to this site. Thank you.

Casa da Eira Velha

Portugal seems to fulfill every Iberian dream I could have had. Having never seen this part of Europe, palm trees, minarets, and corn-husking houses represent exactly that picture I had in my mind. The trip was so sweet, after landing around 1 am at the Faro airport, we were greeted by one of Matt's oldest friends, Benny, his lovely girlfriend, Laura, and Laura's brother, Roman. All Germans, all great at English. We, on the other hand, sounded quite like 4 year olds speaking in "German."

We stayed with Laura and Roman's family at their perennial vacation home, the Casa de Eira Velha, which I believe means something along the lines of the old house. Every morning we were greeted with fresh coffee and a spread of rolls, jams, cheeses, and meats (for those of the other persuasion). We dined outside each morning and evening, which was always delightful, despite the bees that would come dine with us.

On our last day, we took a stroll through the nearby town of Tavira, known for being the most charming tourist attraction in the area. We toured the castle there and sat for a drink on the harbor before we left for the airport. Indeed, I saw some very adorable sights.

I was, however, able to impart a small lesson of Jewish tradition by serving apples and honey on the new year and, let's say, "simply" explaining the prayers in German. Matt and I have been invited to stay with Benny and Laura again this Christmas, an offer we gladly accepted as we are looking forward to spending the holidays with families that make us feel at home.

(our gracious hosts.)