Day 3

What a day! We woke up around 9:30 am and got moving quickly. We got out of bed, decided to test our new found wine skills and go to the supermarche to pick up some vin. We went in, bought some camembert cheese for 1.20 €, two bottles of wine both around 2€, a corkscrew to open the wine 5€, a 6 pack of huge water bottles 2.20 € and some more yogurt for 1.20€. The good food here is so amazingly cheap. We ended up with some wine from Beaujolais, which so far is my favorite wine region in France, even though our teacher said it was “meh.”


We then walked back and dropped off our food, saving a bottle of wine, a bottle of water and half the cheese for our trek to Versailles. We walked to the Boulanger and I got a pain au raisin, and Mark got a pain au chocolate. We got two café au lait and a baguette and headed off for the RER. We were able to get right on a train straight to Versailles. We are right on the Versailles route, so it was just a hop, skip and a jump.


Once we reached Versailles, we walked to the palace, which is amazingly wonderful. The building itself is spectacular and our museum pass allowed us entrance without the line. We saw everything, including Marie Antionette’s bedroom (or the queen’s chambers- she was just the last queen to occupy the room), the Hall of Mirrors, and the grounds of the palace. It was pretty neat, the Hall of Mirrors was amazingly beautiful and it’s neat to walk where such historical figures once walked. We had a snack at one of the snack bars before returning to get our bag. We then sat in a park people watching, ate our baguette & cheese and drank our wine. It was fun. We saw lots of fun dogs running around.

Marie Antoinette's bedroom


We took the RER back towards Paris, and stopped at the Musee D’Orsay which has the impressionist paintings from the mid 19th- early 20th century. This museum was the highlight of my trip, I saw many pictures that I remember seeing from childhood, including paintings by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh and many others. We spent a long time in this museum, and really enjoyed all of the sections.




We then took the trek to the Champs Élyesées to see the Arc de Triomphe. Our museum pass allowed us free entrance to the top of the Arc, and we walked up the stairwell that was round and seemed to last forever. Once at the top, we had a really great view of the city, the Eiffel Tower and the Sacré Cœur. We made it in time for the beginning of a military ceremony for the unknown soldier. We continued onto the Champs Élyesées and stopped in a few of the stores.


We went into the McDonalds on the Champs Élyesées because we wanted to get a Royal with Cheese, which Mark got. I like to see McDonald’s in foreign countries, because they’re hilarious. Our frittes we’re not as crispy as the ones in the US, which we were glad that we were not consuming trans fat.


We walked from the Champs Élyesées to the Invalides, back to the Trocodero, to the Eiffel Tower. We walked around 10 miles today, probably. Once we got to the Eiffel Tower, it was dark out. The tower was wonderfully lit. We approached it and as we got close the entire thing began to sparkle. I have seen this on videos and online, but I had never seen the tower do this since we have been there. It sparkled and was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We spend some time around the tower and began our 3 km. walk home. Mark stopped for a chocolate and banana crepe and we headed back. We stopped at the supermarche and picked up some crackers, macaroons, and candy bars and headed home.


We got home, ate the remaining cheese, drank some beers, and now we’re seriously watching Hulk Hogan fight Andre the Giant… Mark is really into it… I'm married to a 10 year old boy.

Day 2

Mark and I started our day out by sleeping through half of it. We didn’t wake up until around noon- That went our plan of getting to the Louvre early. We decided to go to the Invalides first, because it’s an easy RER stop for us, and see Napoleon’s tomb. It was pretty neat. We got quite a few pictures, which we will post later. Mark loved all of the military stuff, because it matched his video game about WW2.

Napolean's Tomb

We took the Metro from the Invalides and went to the Louvre area. We hadn’t taken the Metro yet, because it’s not quite as close to our hotel as the RER. The RER is like BART, the Metro is like Muni and the bus lines are like our bus lines. It’s so similar to San Francisco, I was surprised. They also have a ton of musicians in the Metros!

We got out at the Louvre carousel, which is a shopping center underground. We ate at the restaurant area, and got sandwiches from a vendor. I got a chicken and cheese sandwich, and Mark got a ham and goat cheese sandwich that was amazing, to say the least. Who knew you could go to a mall in France and get amazing homemade bread with delicious toppings? Both of our sandwiches had vinaigrette on them rather than mayo or mustard, it was amazingly better. I think I hate mustard now, and I always hated mayo.

We had our wine tasting tonight with O Chateau wine tasting. It was in the old wine caves from the King who lived in the Palace that is now the Louvre. Pretty neat! We tasted 6 different wines, including a Champagne, which were really good. We also learned how to read a French wine label, so we will be doing some wine shopping tomorrow. Wine here is between 1 and about 9€- Our sommelier said that the average cost of a bottle of wine in France is 3.5€. He said that California wine is good, but that a $45 bottle of wine in the US would run about 7€ in France. No wonder we don’t drink so much wine. He said that production is really cheap for wine because it’s only fermented grape juice, which makes sense- why is that nasty Welch’s grape juice so cheap?

After wine tasting we went to the Louvre, it was open late on Wednesday until 9:45. It was practically empty from what I have heard it usually is like. We got as close to the Mona Lisa as possible, the Venus De Milo and quite a few other masterpieces. It’s pretty neat- We were just in awe of how many paintings were on each wall. The intricacies were mind blowing- The palace itself was so big, we got tired, before we ran out of things to see. I have heard it takes months to even see everything in this place and I understand why.

From the Louvre we got back on the Metro and went back to our favorite neighborhood near the Notre Dame and the Hotel DeVille. We walked around again, and saw some breakdancers. They were pretty neat, and put on a good show. We found a gyro place that sold chicken and lamb gyros. I have to say, I have never had a chicken gyro in my life, but this was an amazing sandwich. Mark liked mine better, but liked his nonetheless. We then walked back to Mark’s favorite crepe place and got a chocolate crepe. The RER station was just down the street and we hopped on and went home.

We have a 2 day museum pass that we plan on using a lot tomorrow!

Paris- Day 1

Notre-Dame Cathedral @ Seine, Paris, France :: HDR
Originally uploaded by Erroba

Day 1 in Paris-
Mark and I arrived in Paris at 6:20 a.m. this morning. By the time we got on the RER (its like BART or a Subway) it was rush hour. We got crammed into our seat by a crazy train full of Parisians on their way to work and school. Luckily we were able to get off at our stop (which was wrong- oops) and it was pouring rain. We followed our correct directions from the wrong train station in the rain and couldn’t find our hotel. Luckily, I knew the area pretty well on paper, because I was doing my research we ended up in the right area, we found the correct RER station and our hotel immediately following that.
We got to our room, its decent. Small, but we have a king sized bed, and its clean. We cleaned up a little, dried off and walked to the boulangier (bakery) for a delicious croissant. Mark panicked and ended up with a croissant too because he couldn’t pronounce what he really wanted. Tomorrow, we will have a little more confidence and actually order correctly.
We walked along the Seine river to the Eiffel Tower, which is more majestic and beautiful in real life than I could ever imagine. Its HUGE! We will probably go up it on a clearer day, the thought of standing at the top with rain pummeling us, just wasn’t what we had in mind. Also, in the flurry of getting soaked and not finding our hotel, we left the camera back at the room, so we couldn’t go to the top without the camera. We then decided to go to the Musee de Orsay and walk around. We got to the musee and both decided that after being awake for 23 hours straight that we weren’t in the proper mind set to appreciate fine art.
We went back to the room, and took a 4 hour nap. It was wonderful. It woke us both up. We decided to go see a band in a cave (as someone recommended). It was near the Notre Dame cathedral so we decided to kill two birds with one stone and go. We got to the Notre Dame and we’re awe struck. It was huge, and the entire thing is carved into amazingly sculptural things. The front has everything, people, animals, gargoyles- it was incredible the amount of skill involved. We went inside just in time for Mass. We watched most of it, and it was truly amazing. The ritual, the beauty, the history, were all just amazing.
After Mass we stumbled into another cool area with a hotel that was renovated into a department store. It was pretty neat the Hotel De Ville was really pretty, with tons of amazing statues and fountains near by. We went inside and it was a regular old department store- but the outside was neat. We ended up eating at a little restaurant called Le Cavalier in that area. I had a glass of wine with a piece of chicken and pomme frites, Mark had a ham, cheese and tomato sandwich that he claims was like “nothing I have ever had before.” Ill agree to that, I had a couple bites and it was great. We wandered into a different area near the Notre Dame where Mark had his first crepe ever. He got a crepe with strawberry jam. Then about 10 minutes later he got his second crepe with nutella and banana. He is taking a break from crepes for a while.
We walked over to the jazz club in the cave, and looked at how packed it was and decided to just call it a night. We are now back in the hotel room after a nice long foot soak, and we’re going to watch some Flight of the Conchords-

The people have been nothing but nice and accommodating to us. My French is very very basic, and they tend to know I don’t speak French the minute I say “bonjour” so they speak English to us! I don’t think that the French are any worse than most San Franciscans- its not that they’re rude, its that they don’t care about you- like all bigger city people. I respect that, it’s a model I lived by while growing up and living in the bay area. I'm not going to smile and say ‘hi’ to everyone that passes me, and if someone asks me a question, I'm always a lot more helpful if they at least make the effort to communicate efficiently with me.
So far, so good!

Paris... take 2!

At MCI... mood: hopeful!
Originally uploaded by runaroundrachel

Mark and I began our travels yesterday with bright eyes and bushy tails, but we were grounded by bad weather in Chicago... Why, I ask, is Chicago a hub for any sort of international travel? That has to be the single most problematic airport (aside from Denver, but don't get me started on Denver) I have ever encountered.

Mark says they have a lot of TV stations here... (random flight of the conchords quote)

Anyway, today we're at MCI again, waiting to leave for Paris a day later, but just as hopeful. We were re-routed through DC this time, and we will arrive in Paris (hopefully) around 6:45 am on Tuesday morning. Just in time to experience the lovely Parisian rush hour.

Mark has plans to just run around saying "bonjour" in a high pitched accent. And he just asked me if I wanted to gamble once we hit international waters... I was confused but he clarified that he meant to gamble with him "for money." So its official, he has lost it. Just ignore his sections of the blog until we reach France at least.

Until next time. A bientot!

Sassy Issues

100_3523
Originally uploaded by runaroundrachel

We're having some aggression issues with Sassy and Slappy. It stinks because Slappy is one of the most mellow, easy to get along with dogs in the world, and yet somehow Sassy is having issues with her. Just last night Sassy went after Slappy for showing interest in a toy that was sitting on the ground.

We're not sure what to do, but we're keeping them separated for the time being because it makes it a lot easier on us :(

We will be in Paris in 13 days!!!

I cannot tell you all how excited we are! We have some fairly big plans once were there-
http://www.parismuseumpass.com/en/musees_liste_nom.php





Museum Pass- Gets us into every museum in Paris (most of them)
Wine Tasting- http://www.o-chateau.com/select-your-tasting.php#GrandSeven





Versailles- http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/

Our Hotel is 3km from the Eiffel Tower and located a block or so from the Seine River. The hotel is also in the 16th Arrondissement, which is not a touristy area at all. From the reviews I read, its very much a locals neighborhood, with lots of neat restaurants, grocery stores and of course a bread store. We're right across the river from the Left Bank, which is a very famous area of Paris. This is what I found on the 16th Arronddissment:

16th Arrondissement (Trocadéro/Bois de Boulogne) Originally the village of Passy, where Benjamin Franklin lived during most of his time in Paris, this district is still reminiscent of Proust's world. Highlights include the Bois de Boulogne; the Jardin du Trocadéro; the Maison de Balzac; the Musée Guimet (famous for its Asian collections); and the Cimetière de Passy, resting place of Manet, Talleyrand, Giraudoux, and Debussy. One of the largest arrondissements, it's known today for its well-heeled bourgeoisie, its upscale rents, and some rather posh (and, according to its critics, rather smug) residential boulevards. The arrondissement also has the best vantage point to view the Eiffel Tower: place du Trocadéro.

We're still open for suggestions, if anyone has already been and did something lifechanging! Even if we don't know you, please feel free to leave comments on the blog!

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

All it takes is a quart of buttermilk and a gallon of milk.



Put them in a large heavy bottomed pot and cook on high. The solids will separate around 190 degrees, (I don't use a thermometer).



Once it separates, you just strain the solids into a cheese cloth or thin dish towel and squeeze the water out.



You can use it immediately or put in the fridge for a few days.


I have to say, if you make this at home, you might as well use organic milk, and use at least 2% so you get a little fat in it. I did use fat free once and it was good, but I got a lot less of it.

I am not taking the bar exam!

BARBRI 004
Originally uploaded by mingerspice

My friends are all taking the Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas and other bar exams this week. I thought long and hard about sitting for MO, but it really would make no difference for me either way because I never plan to practice in Missouri. What does scare me is the fact that I am losing so much of what I learned in law school, so ill have to re-learn it for the CA bar, which is the hardest in the country. I won't have anything riding on my success other than pride, but I really would like to practice someday after I retire from my calling of librarianship. Once I get to an older age, I would love to work pro bono for a domestic violence non profit or shelter. I enjoyed doing that in law school, but I didn't want to make it my life's work.

I suppose this post is just a reflection of where I am at in my life. I am the envy of all my friends, I probably make as much, if not more than most of them, and I am happy. I think practicing law, especially during a recession, is just a cruel joke. So few actually love what they do, and for those of us who followed our hearts... well we have a crap load of debt to pay off!

My Birthday!

Last Sunday Rachel threw me the best birthday party ever! A couple weeks ago she came up with the idea to invite some friends over to play some music, and though it sounded like fun, I wasn't sure we would be able to get everybody together to make it work. She worked really hard on it and made it happen! I've been dying to play music again, but with school and life I haven't really had the time, so this was especially cool for me. I think we ended up with around 30 people total, though not everyone was a musician. We had 3-4 guitars players, 2 bass players, a fiddle player, a dobro player, a mandolin player and 3 drummers. Quite a collection! Rachel made some homemade pizzas with dough from Whole Foods that were incredible. I wouldn't hesitate to say they were the hit of the day. After everyone ate and had some beers, we got to rockin'! It's hard to figure out what to play when you get such a diverse group of people together, so we took turns introducing songs and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The songs ranged from a couple old Hank Williams songs to "Hey Joe" (the Hendrix version, of course) to "That's All Right Mama" by Elvis... I think our friend Tony even pulled out a zydeco tune. Overall, I think everyone had a great time and we had people asking when we were going to do it again! I definitely will not wait until my next birthday to do it again!

Mitchell singing Hank Williams, Nate playing the dobro and Chris on the drums


Matt and I having a good time


Master of the E chord


Beans the party dog! (He was great with all the people at our house!)

Farris, Anne, Ben and Dustin hanging out in the kitchen


Beans and his new best friend, Farris

Italian Night!

Mark and I hosted this month's dinner party and it was a roaring success!

Mark provided the Italian beer, Peroni and Morello.

I made a ziti with homemade ricotta and sauce. The fresh cheese gave it such a light and clean taste. I was really happy with it!


I also made a mushroom and pea risotto, which was phenomenal!


Chris made pizza bread, it was a stuffed bread with meat and mushrooms. The mushroom one was great- I ate about 3 pieces!


Katie outdid herself again with homemade gnocchi. She hand rolled the gnocchi and cooked them up. They were amazing!


Jessica made a delicious salad, recipe complements of Giada! She also made a delicious ricotta cheese dish that was in the oven when I was taking pictures and I totally forgot to take a picture of it!!!!!!!!!!!


Matt and Kelly made meatballs with marinara. They also made the garlic cheese bread!



Aubrey made a delicious Italian wedding cake- it was AMAZING!


Ben made an amazing panna cotta with a homemade raspberry topping... All I can say is YUM!


It was a success. We finished off a couple bottles of wine and a ton of beer.

Hammy went home!

Hammy left us last Sunday! We are very happy for him!

Mark and I joined a CSA Farm!

A CSA is community supported agriculture-

We joined the Strawberry Lane Farm in Trenton, MO. http://www.strawberrylanefarm.com/

We pay a weekly price- it comes out to be around $8 a week, and we pick up a basket of farm fresh veggies and fruit every week depending on what is in season and available at our organic farm. Its a great way to eat locally and support local farming!

Here is a bit about what it means:

How Does This Work?

CSA stands for CommunitySupported Agriculture. It is also called Subscription Farming, whch is a more accurate term for what we do. In a true CSA, all the members help the farmers a certain amount of time throughout the season and they share in the major decision-making for the farm. We are far enough from the city where most of our customers live, that subscribers are not expected to help do the farming, although they are welcome to help whenever they can. We do not have a core group (decision-makers) yet, but we are considering having one if anyone is interested.

Subscribers purchase their shares in the fall, winter or early spring for the following season. This allows the farmer to plan how much and what to plant and to have the production expenses guaranteed. In return for their investment, the subscribers receive a weekly share of fresh, locally-grown organic produce to be picked up at a set place from the middle of May to the middle of October. The exact starting date is determined by when crops are ready. This year, we plan to begin late May or early June, depending on Mother Nature's weather whims.

Becoming a subscriber creates a responsible relationship between people and the food they eat, the land on which it is grown and those who grow it. This arrangement helps create an economically stable farm operation in which subscribers are assured the highest quality FRESH produce at a reasonable price and in return, the farmer is assured a reliable market for a diverse selection of crops. It is a partnership in which everyone benefits. This is local food harvested at its peak for quality and freshness, resulting in the best-tasting, healthiest food available with no harm done to the environment.