Vienna

At the beginning of June, we spent a long weekend in Vienna. I’ve had some trouble getting to this blog because the trip wasn’t all that blog worthy. Not a whole lot happened so I was afraid of boring everyone.

Jim had a CLE conference in Vienna on Monday and Tuesday so Sabine and I decided to tag along.

Unfortunately Sabine has reached some new octaves since our last plane ride so we were treated to a screaming opera on the flight to Vienna.

Jim’s boss, Peter, was also at the conference so we met up with him for some dinner on Saturday night. He had scoped out an Italian restaurant near the hotel that was affordable and delicious. Sabine wasn’t very agreeable since she had missed her naps so we made it an early evening. I think poor Peter was ready to get back to his quiet, childfree room.

The next morning, Jim and I went in search of a café for breakfast since the hotel breakfast was exorbitant. We found a really nice café and got seats in the sun. The forecast for the weekend wasn’t good so I wanted to soak up as much sun as possible before the weather turned ugly.

Jim and Peter went to church while I wandered the area around the Hofburg Palace and Sabine slept in the stroller. After church we hit our favorite Italian chain, Vapiano, for lunch. We got there just before it started to downpour and hail.

When the rain died down a bit we went out to visit the Hofburg Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum. According to Rick, the Hofburg and Schoenbrunn Palace are equal and there is no need to see both. I disagree, I thought the Hofburg was ok, but on Tuesday I went to the Schoennbrunn Palace and it blew the Hofburg away. It is really worth it to take the short train ride out to the Schoennbrunn. In addition to the palace you have the beautiful gardens.

After the Hofburg tour, we wandered around some neighborhoods before heading back for a little rest before dinner. We ended up at a Chinese restaurant for dinner and I remembered why I hadn’t eaten Chinese food in 10 years. Why eat Chinese when you can eat Thai, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese? Chinese food is just flavorless.

I was on my own the next two days since Jim and Peter were in conferences. On Monday I went downtown to do a little shopping and check out a few of the churches.

Although the Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral) is much larger and on the tourist circuit, it was the St. Peter’s Cathedral I fell in love with. The décor was incredibly ornate and the gold and brown colors gave the church a warm feeling which is hard to achieve in such a large building with high ceilings. So many of the cathedrals I see are made with grey stone and have damp, cool air. Unfortunately, the photos I took of the church really didn’t capture its true beauty.

On Tuesday, I took the train out to the Schoenbrunn Palace which is the Hapsburgs’ version of Versailles. After touring the beautiful Rococo styled rooms inside, I wandered around the gardens and climbed the hill to the Gloriette, a small building overlooking the Palace, the gardens and the city beyond. The weather was quite blustery and rainy so it wasn’t an ideal day to wander the gardens but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I took the train back and Jim and I caught a flight home to Bonn that night.

See, I told you this trip wasn’t very exciting. I even fell asleep there in the middle while I was writing this. I would have skipped it altogether but needed to at least write something so as not to forget we have been to Vienna.

Stay tuned for my blogs on Venice and Salzkammergut. I promise that I will get them done in a more timely manner. Bad blogger, bad blogger.

Epernay and the burbs of Paris

Last Monday was another holiday in Germany. There are so many holidays in the spring that it is hard to keep track of them. I think this one was Pfingsten which in English is Whit Monday. All I know is that it is a religious holiday, but after reading the Wikipedia entry, I’m still not sure exactly what it is all about.

We decided to go to Paris for the long weekend. We decided to spend the night in Epernay in the Champagne region on the way there so that we could have a shorter drive Friday night and get to see something new.

We left Friday after work so didn’t arrive in Epernay until 11:30 pm. I reserved a room at the Premiere Classe hotel which was a budget hotel (45 euro a night). It had gotten good reviews on TripAvisor and it was supposed to be next to a park or what I thought was a park. Apparently Parc D’Activities in French means industrial park. Oops!

The hotel was nice and clean but I do find it entertaining that the cheaper the hotel or crappier the apartment complex the more pretentious the name. There were some apartments near our house in Littleton named the Beaux Manor Apartments and they were anything but beaux. Likewise, the Premiere Classe Hotel was definitely not a First Class Hotel but for 45 Euros it was a great deal.

The next morning we walked the 10 minutes into the center of Epernay to visit a Cave de Champagne. We wanted to visit a smaller, less commercialized cave but the only one open at 10:30am was the behemoth Moet et Chandon. I guess most people wait until after 12:00 to start drinking Champagne.

The hour long tour was actually really informative. I didn’t realize how involved champagne was but now I understand why it can be so expensive.

I was surprised to discover that champagne is made from a mix of 3 grapes. Moet et Chandon use Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier to make their champagne along with some old wine so that they can keep a consistent flavor from year to year. They pick all of the grapes by hand so that none of the red grapes get bruised and result in coloring the wine. All three grape harvests are pressed individually and then blended together after they can determine the flavor of the grapes. The first fermentation process yields wine and then yeast and sugar are added to the mix for the second fermentation creating the bubbles. The longer the champagne ages, the smaller the bubbles get which more desirable.

After the 2nd fermentation, they tilt the bottles neck down and turn the bottles ¼ of a turn every day by hand for 8 weeks so that the yeast deposits settle in neck of the bottle. The neck of the bottle is then frozen to create a little yeast ice cube and removed.

I didn’t realize that they don’t make vintage champagne every year. There must be an extraordinary harvest for them to use only the grapes of that year. The last vintage Moet et Chanson made was in 2003 and the magnum bottle of that vintage started at 20,000 Euros.

The tour was conducted underground in the champagne cellars. There are 110 kilometers of cellars underneath the town of Epernay. I can’t even begin to image how many bottles of Champagne must be stored underneath the town. Sabine was even shocked by the sheer amount of Champagne that surrounded us.

Of course the Champagne tour wouldn’t be complete without a tasting. Sabine was just a little too young for some Champagne but she certainly enjoyed watching the bubbles in the glass.

After our tour we went for lunch at La Grillade Gourmande (www.lagrilladegourmande.com). It was a Michelin recommended restaurant and was a bit off the beaten track so wasn’t overrun with tourists. It was the best meal that we’ve had in France. We started with some Champagne and a dozen oysters. For the main course we shared a grilled Dorado filet with basil oil and grilled beef tournedos with fois gras. Although the dishes were simple with few ingredients, they were cooked perfectly and the wood fire imparted a lot of flavor to both dishes. We ended the meal with cheese for me and Chocolat Moelleux for Jim.

We arrived at the Veyron’s a bit late for dinner due to some traffic in Paris which made for a late evening as dining at the Veyron’s is always a lengthy affair. Their meals routinely start in the living room with cocktails and crackers. We then retire to the dining room for the main course, followed by salad (the French always eat their salad after the main meal) then the cheese course, dessert, coffee and then cocktails back in the living room. The French certainly know how to eat but sometimes you just want a quick bite and an early bedtime.

The next day we had a lazy morning sitting outside reading in the sun and watching their Jack Russell balance a soccer ball on its head. I think they could get that dog in the movies. He is amazing. Of course the chickens on their property don’t find him very amazing since he has killed a lot of their brethren. They are now forced to live in a tiny cage while he has free rein of the entire property.

We planned to visit Claude Monet’s house and gardens in Giverney that day but after the marathon lunch with the Veyrons, we didn’t get on the road until almost 2:30. We then got a bit lost thanks to our trusty (or not so trusty) GPS so close to 4:00 by the time we got to Giverney. Being a holiday weekend with glorious weather the parking situation was not good. It took us 30 minutes to find a parking place a few kilometers away. Unfortunately once we finally got to Monet’s house, the line to get in was long and Sabine was hungry so we decided to pass on the whole thing.

That night we packed all our stuff up and moved over to Jim’s friend, Andrew’s house. We had our first al fresco dinner of the season on Andrew’s balcony. It was a relaxing evening even with the male bonding banter that is inevitable when two guys get together.

The next day Andrew and Jim went out for a ride while I explored the little subdivision Andrew lives in. His area is very quiet and family friendly for being so close to Paris. It is bordered by a hilly forest on one side and an open meadow on the other.

After a very typical French lunch of omlette, cheve chaud salad, baguette and cheese, we drove to Versailles.

We wanted to see the gardens but didn’t want to pay for them or go anywhere near the main entrance which would be a mobbed on a holiday weekend in beautiful weather. Andrew thought we could actually walk into the back of the gardens from a farm with a petting zoo. We decided to visit the farm first but Sabine wasn’t too interested in the animals. Surprisingly she didn’t even flinch when one of the donkeys started braying like crazy. It scared me but she was unfazed.

We found out that the Versailles gardens were 8 k away from the farm and the gardens closed the gates at 7:00. Since it was already after 5:00 we decided to just go to the town and get dinner. However, on our way there we stumbled across a place where you could actually drive into the gardens and park. We only had about 90 minutes but had a nice time strolling around the gardens among the statues and topiaries.

We drove home to Bonn the next day but stopped at an amazing restaurant we found in the Michelin guide. The restaurant was located 2k off of the highway next to a budget hotel in a town of maybe 100. Only in France do you find gourmet restaurants next to the equivalent of a Super 8 Motel in a podunk town.

A Rabbit? Really?

I have gotten accustomed to seeing dogs everywhere in Germany. People bring their dogs into restaurants, stores, offices; there is really no place that seems to be off limits for dogs. I am a dog lover so this doesn't really bother me and I hardly notice it now.

However, today was a first. While walking through Galleria (a big department store with a grocery store in the basement) I was shocked to see a women with a rabbit. At first glance, I thought she was holding a stuffed animal wrapped in a blanket. That would be strange enough considering she wasn't with a child. I then realized the thing was alive which was even odder. Who brings their pet rabbit shopping with them? She had the rabbit clutched to her chest like a baby and wrapped in a blanket while she browsed the jewelry selection. Was she looking for a broach to go with her rabbit?

Google Translate - a life saver

About a year after living in Germany, I finally discovered that you can have Google translate German websites into English. Before this I was forced to sit next to my computer with a dictionary making very slow progress deciphering German sites.

This revelation has made my life so much easier. I always had used Google translate when writing emails or planning out my phone conversation to doctors, plumbers, heating specialists, dentists, or hairdressers, but it took me a year to figure out I could set up a toolbar to have sites always translated. I'm obviously not that bright or computer savvy.

Although the translations are far from perfect, they enable me to get the general gist of an email or website which is better than I am able to do on my own.

It is also a great source of entertainment to see how Google translates some things into English. Our weather forecast for today is:

In Bonn the morning rain falls and the temperatures are 5-7 ° C. In the further course of the day it is open for lunch and dinner covered at temperatures 7-11 ° C. Towards the later the sky is overcast, the sun is not visible. At night, parts of the sky covered with clouds with lows of 5 ° C.

Of course, knowing the translation from German to English is so off makes me realize what an idiot I must sound like in my emails to our landlord or neighbors when I do the translations in the reverse - English to German.

Let's Play - Name that Body Part

One of the great things about having a baby is trying to figure out who your baby looks like and which body parts are a result of your genes and which are of your spouse's. Does she have my nose? Does she have Jim's mouth. A lot of the body parts will remain unknown until she is older so neither of us can lay claim to them yet; like her eyes or hair. So far they are blue and brown respectively, but I know that can change for up to a year.

However, there are a few things we do know for sure. Unfortunately for little Sabine she has my cold, clamy hands and stinky feet. Now when I say stinky, I'm sure you are thinking to yourself, how stinky can a baby's feet really be; she doesn't wear shoes and doesn't actually use her feet for anything other than entertainment during diaper changes. Nevertheless, I can assure you they are quite rotten. She would even agree. Yesterday she managed to put a toe in her mouth and even she thought that was an unpleasant experience. Of course she looked at me accusingly as if I had something to do with the awful taste in her mouth. I wonder if they make baby oder eaters? Although there really isn't anywhere to put them since she won't keep shoes on her feet for more than a minute.

Sabine was also graced with Jim's freakishly long toes and his waxy ears. I know that the wax has a purpose (to keep out the dirt and other things that shouldn't get into ears) but does it have to be orange?

I'm hoping that along with the ears and toes, she inherits Jim's ridiculously long eyelashes. Since her lashes are already longer than my little stubs, I think she just might be that lucky.

Now the gas, that's a crap shoot. It could Jim or it could be me. We are equally gassy. So poor Sabine may be doubly gassy.

There are so many other parts of her to discover and I can't wait to see who she becomes. Will she be 50% me and 50% Jim or some other percentage of us? What I do know now is that she is 100% adorable, stinky toes and all.

Explosive Discovery

It's been an explosive week with bombs in Times Square and bombs in Popplesdorf, not to mention a few explosive vomits and poops courtesy of Sabine.

Yesterday just a few blocks from our house an old 500 kilogram WWII bomb was found when an empty lot was excavated. The fire department evacuated about 4,000 people and shut down the highway coming into Bonn while they removed the bomb.

Unfortunately, I missed all the excitement because I was downtown running errands and getting a coffee with a friend.

Weekend in Münster

Last weekend we headed up to Münster which is about 90 minutes north east of Bonn. Münster is a compact little town of 250,000. It has a young, vibrant feel to it due to the University. It reminded me a bit of Fribourg in that regard but architecturally looked more like Bruges.

Unfortunately Münster suffered considerable damage from the war. However, since the city decided to rebuild it exactly as it had been, the Altstadt (old town) still looks like it did from the 30s.

After we found parking on Saturday morning, we sought out a spot for lunch. Mokka D’Or was a recommendation by Lonely Planet. The restaurant was down a little alley which we would have never found without the address. The menu was almost exclusively all pizzas so we decided to both get pizzas and we weren’t disappointed. They were probably the best pizzas we’ve had since we were in the Amalfi Coast. Jim got an Arrabiata pizza and I got their specialty pizza with truffle sauce, bresaola, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms and arugula. After 2 espressos we hit the town to wander around.

Our first stop was the big Saturday market which was set up in the shadow of the Dom St. Paul in the Prizipalmarkt. The majority of the vendors were food related. We didn’t want to get lured in by the cheese vendors so we got out of the crowds for a visit inside the Dom.

The cathedral was rebuilt after the war but it wasn’t an exact replica so didn’t have the same ornate design it once had. The best part about the church was an astronomical clock from the 16th century. The clock was removed from the church during the war so wasn’t damaged. The church used the clock to ascertain the dates of religious holidays. It is interesting to see ways in which the church at one time embraced science and technology. Now science and religion seem to be at opposite spectrums.

Of course we lit a few candles which I always enjoy for a few reasons. 1) It’s a great way to lighten your wallet and get rid of all those 1 and 2 cent pieces and 2) Jim always manages to burn himself and the cursing that ensues is always entertaining.

The other interesting aspect of the church was a gigantic statue of St. Christopher who is the patron saint of travelers; currently my favorite saint. St. Anthony, the finder of lost things, and I are still on the outs since the lost camera incident in Sorrento last year. I think the statue was so different from others I’ve seen in churches because of the sheer size of the statue and the fact that he had a real wood walking stick in his hand. The church must have stripped a tree of its leaves and placed in the statue’s hand.

After the cathedral, we did a little loop around the city stopping in stores and churches that interested us. When Sabine needed to eat, we stopped at Café Sieben for a coffee. The café sat along the green, tree lined bike path that circumvented the city.

Münster is an incredibly bike friendly town with bike paths all over the city and into the surrounding countryside known as Münsterland. I’d love to go back when Sabine can be in the bike carrier next summer and tour around visiting some of the 100 castles in the area.

We next walked to the Münster Schloss to walk through the gardens. The building itself is now part of the university so is closed to the public. We stumbled across a free botanic garden which was a pleasant surprise. We strolled through the garden while Jim held Sabine and pointed out plants. We quickly realized the danger of having Sabine feel any of the plants. She has mastered the ability to grasp things but we are still working on letting go so there were a few molested trees and plants along the way.

From the gardens we walked a few kilometers to the Aasee which is an artificial lake built to reduce the risk of flooding in the city of Münster. It was a beautiful day so there were lots of people by the water at the surrounding restaurants and tons of students barbequing in the nearby park. We stopped for a Flammkuchen (essentially the German version of pizza so we had pizza for lunch and dinner) and a beer by the water.

As the temperature started to drop we walked back to the Altstadt in search of gelato for dessert. We found a place in the mall which had the best gelato I’ve had outside of Italy. Thankfully for my hips and butt, they don’t have gelato this good in Bonn.

We made a quick stop at Starbucks to feed Sabine before heading to the hotel. I’m slowly breaking down Jim’s resistance to the ubiquitous coffee shop. Their seats are just so much more comfortable for breastfeeding and they are almost always open.

The hotels in the altstadt of Munster were all pretty pricey so I found a cheap hotel about 15 minutes away. The hotel was right off of the highway so I figured it would be a time saver and easy to find. Unfortunately gas stations and truck stops are also located right off the highway so our hotel room looked out on a parking lot full of trucks and the florescent lights of the truck stop. Oddly enough the lights were pleasing in a strange way. Our room was basked in a green glow that night which reminded me of being in a pool at night. Sabine, however, didn’t seem to like it and woke up five times that night so our family and the 10 truckers staying there didn’t get any sleep that night.

After our sleepless night we enjoyed our brotchens and coffee amid a few truckers’ glares in our direction. Our relaxing breakfast came to a swift end when Sabine managed to poop all over her father.

After checking out of the hotel, we drove to Ludinghausen to visit Burg Vischering.

This castle was from the 13th century complete with drawbridges and surrounded by a moat. We didn’t go into the museum. I guess people involved in 13th century construction didn’t think about making things stroller friendly. We simply walked around the path on the banks of the moat to see the castle from all angles.

Our next castle was completely different. We drove a short way to Schloss Nordkirchen which was billed as a German Versailles. This castle is now part of the state college so the only part that is accessible is the restaurant / café. We stopped for a coffee at the café before venturing out into the beautiful gardens where Sabine got her first introduction to grass.

Where are all of the French toilet seats?

Where oh where has my toilet seat gone, oh where oh where can it be? These days everything in my life can be related to some nursery rhyme. I spend my days narrating my life to a 4 month old who I’m sure has no idea what I’m saying. To make my boring monologues a little more interesting for both of us, I generally set them to a nursery rhyme tune.

This last trip to Provence, I noticed that most of the cafes, restaurants and gas station toilets are all missing their seats. I wonder if there is a toilet seat thief out there. Or do these establishments buy a new toilet and immediately rip off the seat? Is the thought process that if there isn’t a toilet seat, there is less to clean? Or is it that they want to promote a squatting stance so then they don’t have to clean the toilet at all since no one will be touching it? Normally I find it depressing to drive back into Germany but this trip, I was happy to see the return of the toilet seat and self cleaning ones to boot.

We decided to head down to Provence again for Easter this year. It would be our first vacation with a baby so we were looking for an easy trip. We’d done the same route last year so we knew where to stay on the way down and Jim knew his way around Aix-en-Provence.

On Thursday morning we woke up at 5am intending to leave by 6am. Of course everything takes much longer with a baby so we found ourselves walking out the door 4hours later at 9am.

The trip down to our first stop in Chardonnay went well. Sabine slept a lot of the way and other than driving through a freak snow storm, it was uneventful.

We had a nice visit with Nick and Rebecca at Le Chardon and had dinner at their restaurant and then left for Aix early the next morning.

We were a little disappointed that the trees didn’t have leaves on them yet. Last year Easter was later so the landscape was farther along. As we drove, we pointed out every tree that had leaves on it, each hoping that as we got closer to Aix, everything would be in full bloom. I secretly hoped that we just had to cross some imaginary line and spring would be on the other side. Unfortunately that imaginary line is farther south than Aix.

I wanted to stay in the city of Aix for this trip so that I would have something to do when Jim was out riding his bike. We rented an amazing little apartment- http://www.charmappart.com/maisondauphine1a.html, just a few blocks off of the main drag, Cours Mirabou. The apartment was in a renovated building from the 17th century so had high ceilings with a floral appliqué ceiling, marble fireplace and wall to wall windows.

Once we were unpacked, we went out for provisions at Monoprix. Monoprix is a little like Target. I had only shopped there for groceries in the past but this trip I discovered Monoprix has great baby clothes that are very reasonably priced.

After dropping off the groceries, we went to explore Aix a little bit. Sabine was getting tired of the stroller so we stopped for a quick beer in a sunny square to let her stretch her legs.

For dinner we planned to try one of the restaurants that our hostess recommended – Ze Bistro, La Tomate Verte or Joe’s Pizza. We hoped that Sabine would fall asleep in the stroller so we could enjoy a nice dinner, but she didn’t have the same idea. After walking around for 30 minutes, we decided to get pizza from a street vendor and take it back to the apartment.

Aix has a produce market every day but only on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday does it have a main market with clothes, antiques, soaps, linins, pottery and other specialty Provencal items. I love wandering around markets so that was first on my agenda for Saturday morning. We picked up some cheese and fixings for some mussels Provencal which I planned to make for Sunday night.

After loading up our stroller with goodies, we headed back to the apartment for lunch and so Jim could go out for a ride.

After Jim’s ride, I went out to do a little shopping. The French really know how to dress their kids. Every French town we’ve been to has so many kids’ clothing stores. The challenge is trying to restrain myself and remember that she’ll only be wearing the stuff for a short time.

On Saturday night, we were invited to a friend of Jim’s for dinner. Sophie, her husband Pascal and her two teenage boys, Mathieu and Paul live in a small town just outside of Aix. Sophie speaks English but her husband and boys do not so the evening was a mish mash of Franglish. I was surprised how well I was able to follow the conversations in French. I think I’ve just gotten very good at reading situations after living in a country where I don’t speak the language rather than that I’ve actually learned any French after listening to Jim speak to Sabine.

We had a very French dinner – duck ribs. I can’t say that I’ve ever even heard of people eating duck ribs but they were actually pretty good. We finished the meal with macaroons which are a specialty in Aix. I’ve always thought of macaroons with coconut or almond but these looked like brightly colored mini hamburgers. They have various flavors but my favorites were the chocolate and pistachio. Even the McCafe at a gas station we stopped at on the trip home had them.

Sunday was rainy so we had a lazy morning or as they say in French a Grasse Matinee (literally fat morning). We finally got out the door at about noon and headed to Lourmarin which was recommended to us by both Sophie and our hostess.

Loumarin was a little town in the Luberon region. It was only about 45 minutes from Aix. When we arrived it was about 1:00 and a few of the shops were open even though it was a Sunday. We needed to eat lunch and due to a bathroom emergency we chose the first place we saw for lunch. It was your standard café lunch. Jim got lamb and I got a salad. The French really know how to take the “healthy” out of a salad. This salad was loaded with fatty lardons (similar to bacon) and Roquefort cheese and then doused in dressing.

I’m not exactly sure why this little town was supposed to be so special. There really wasn’t a lot to see there. By the time we were done with lunch all of the little boutiques were closed except one. We walked up to the castle which wasn’t all that attractive from the outside. After taking a look at the stairs required to get inside we decided against going inside with the stroller and headed back to the car to go back to Aix.

The weather started to clear up so Jim went out for a ride while I wandered around the town to take pictures while the sun was out. Along the way I stumbled across an artisan market where I made a number of acquisitions, namely candlesticks.

Ever since our trip to Scotland, I have been obsessed with candlesticks. We visited a restaurant there called The Dog which had a bar covered with all different types of candlesticks. It had a really nice eclectic look to it which I’ve tried to copy with little success to date. For some reason I can’t quite master an eclectic or random look. I always want to make everything perfectly symmetrical or completely even. I think the technical medical diagnosis is Matchy-matchyosis.

While living in Europe, I thought I should collect some antiques and thought candlesticks would be a great start since they are easy to transport while traveling. I realized, however, that most antique candlesticks are made of silver. Silver sounds nice until you think about the hours required to polish the stuff. That seemed like far too much work for something decorative. Plus after checking out a few antique shops, I realized how pricey they are. So my solution has been to collect new candlesticks that are made to look old – going the shabby chic route or is it just the shabby cheap route?

Anyway, I found a few candlesticks at the market and was feeling a little passive aggressive about the fact that Jim was out riding his bike so I snatched them up. I considered it some good retail therapy.

High from my shopping buzz, I returned home to make some amazing mussels with tons of garlic, shallots, white wine, tomatoes and basil. They were the biggest mussels I’ve ever eaten and the sauce was so good that we ate it like soup after the mussels were all gone. It was by far the best meal that we had on our trip.

On Monday, Jim had planned to do a long ride while I went shopping with Sabine. Unfortunately, all the stores were closed for Easter Monday. The Monday after Easter is a holiday in Europe so you always have a 4 day weekend for Easter. Since we don’t have that day off in the U.S., I completely forgot that it was a holiday. I ended up going for a coffee on Cours Mirabou and people watched for a little bit.

After Jim’s ride, we went to Le Pain Quotidien for lunch and met Sophie, her friend Sylvie, and Mathieu for a coffee and soaked up some sun. Unfortunately, because it was so hot I took off my coat and then proceeded to leave it behind when we got up to go. A trip just wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t manage to lose something. Thankfully it was a ratty old Target trench coat instead of a camera this time.

The next morning I wanted to hit the big market again to pick up a shirt I had seen on Saturday but didn’t buy so I shopped while Jim watched Sabine and packed up.

We were going to just have lunch in the apartment but the cleaning lady had already come. We didn’t want to make a mess so we decided to stop in Bonnieux for lunch.

Bonnieux was another little town in the Luberon region and was on the way to Chardonnay. The town was built into a hill so the walkways were generally stairs. Since Sabine was sleeping we decided to just grab lunch at the first place we saw. We got pizzas and a salad and enjoyed the view of the valley on the terrace.

On the way out of town we stopped at the Cave de Bonnieux and tasted some wine. Our car was pretty tightly packed so we only bought a few bottles of wine.

We ended our trip with another stay at Le Chardon in Chardonnay. We wanted to try to eat at Relais d’Oznay after our fabulous meal there last year. I was especially excited about it since I had to abstain from wine and soft cheeses the last time around. Unfortunately, they were closed on Tuesday nights so we had dinner again at Nick and Rebecca’s. It was probably a blessing in disguise. I don’t think babies pair well with Michelin starred restaurants.

Nancy, France

Long time no blog. What can I say; I was busy having a baby and learning to be a parent. As far as excuses go, I think that’s a pretty good one.

Rather than rehash the birth and the last few months I think I’ll skip ahead to our first trip with our brand spankin’ new little girl, Sabine.

After being cooped up for the month of January and the beginning of February, we decided to see how Sabine would travel. We went to Nancy, France which had been on our list for a while. Nancy is only about 3 ½ hours away so was a perfect spot for a long weekend. We had heard that Nancy had some beautiful plazas and nice architecture and as well as a good dining scene. There were a few Michelin starred restaurants that we thought we might try if Sabine was up to it.

We left Friday night and were lucky enough to have Sabine sleep the entire way. I wasn’t sure how she would do in the car since she’s only been in the car a few times. Up until that point, I walked everywhere so she wasn’t accustomed to being strapped down in the car seat like a mental patient.

My search for accommodation was a Iittle bit different this time around. Instead of trying to find a charming B&B like I usually do, I was simply looking for a place with parking and large rooms so that we wouldn’t feel too cramped with the pack n’ play and the stroller. I also wanted one that had a fridge and a microwave so we didn’t have to try to get out for breakfast. I settled on a room at Suitehotel just outside the city center.

When we arrived on Friday night, we were very excited to discover that we had a movie channel with 33 free movies in English! We will definitely stay in another Suitehotel. Although the décor is reminiscent of a dorm room with cheap modern looking lighting, the rooms are so spacious and great for a family. Our room would have comfortably held a family of 4 and a baby.

On Saturday after breakfast in the room, we ventured out. Our plan was to do some shopping as shops would be closed on Sunday and to try and have a really nice lunch. We had identified a restaurant that we wanted to try.

Our first stop, however, was to see the Place Stanislas. We had both seen pictures of this large plaza and heard how beautiful it was. We were both a little disappointed by the plaza. I think it was because pictures we had seen had been taken in the summer so all of the cafes and restaurants had tables set up lining the plaza. Since it was way too cold for anyone to eat outside, the plaza looked a little bare and forlorn. It also didn’t help that all of the fountains were frozen solid.

After a quick stop at the tourist office and a coffee at Commerce café, we set out to find the restaurant we wanted to eat at for lunch. Unfortunately, when we finally found the restaurant, we realized that it was Valentine’s Day weekend so they had a set meal which was 80 Euros per person. We weren’t ready to blow that much money on a meal when we had a 2 ½ month old in tow who didn’t look a bit sleepy.

After trying a few more restaurants which were all booked up, we finally ended up at a seafood restaurant which was ok but nothing I’d recommend to anyone.

We decided to shop for the rest of the afternoon. They had a lot of kid’s clothing shops and the stuff was so much cuter than what I’ve seen in Germany. I’d go back to Nancy just for the shops. We ended up just buying Sabine a few things but nothing for ourselves.

When we were shopped out, we sought out a restaurant that had been recommended by one of Jim’s coworkers. Unfortunately the restaurant didn’t open until 7:30. We decided we didn’t want to wait around for an hour only to find out that they were all booked up so we went in search of another option. After getting turned away at restaurants all over town, we finally went to a hole in the wall pizza joint. By this point, we were just happy to be somewhere warm. Since it was pretty deserted (obviously everyone else wanted to be at a nicer place for Valentine’s Day), Sabine’s crying didn’t seem to bother anyone.

Sunday morning Jim ran out to buy croissants for breakfast at a nearby bakery. After we packed up the car and checked out of the hotel, we walked into town to go visit the Beau Arts museum. Unfortunately, Sabine wasn’t too interested in the museum so started squawking in the second room. Luckily, there was a couch in one of the rooms so I was able to feed Sabine while Jim did a whirlwind tour of the museum. I think our museum days might be over for a while.

After the museum, we once again attempted to find a nice place for a meal. While we looked we ran into a small farmers market. A guy was giving out samples and somehow we ended up walking away with 50 Euros worth of cheese. I don’t know how that happened.

We weren’t any closer to finding a restaurant for lunch but Sabine needed hers so we stopped at a cute tea and coffee shop for a quick feed and a coffee.

We decided that we might be walking around forever before finding a restaurant with space so we went back over to the touristy restaurant row off of Place Stanislas and ended up at France’s equivalent to TGIF. The restaurant logo was a cow with a bow tie which I think says it all. Oh, how far we’ve fallen.

We briefly contemplated staying another day so that we could watch a bunch of movies in the hotel room and have one more go at a good meal. However, we decided that cost wise that didn’t make too much sense so we headed back to the hotel and got on the road.

Even though Nancy didn’t turn out to be the dining panacea we hoped for, it was still a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend.

Weinachtsbaum Hunt 2009

Last year for Christmas we decided to get a live, potted tree so that we could use it again the next Christmas. Sadly, our little Christmas tree didn’t fair too well over the past year. It is slowly dying from the bottom up and now only has a few boughs of needles at the top. In my effort to be more green, I failed to consider my lack of a green thumb.

Since we were going to be here this year for Christmas, we needed to have a full sized tree and needed to get it early, before the baby came. So last weekend we set out for a Christmas tree farm to pick out a tree. We went to a Christmas tree farm out in Pech.

Germans generally put up their Christmas trees much later than we do in the States. Some follow tradition and still wait until Christmas Eve to put up their tree. They pick out the tree in advance and tag it with their name in order to reserve it until Christmas Eve when they will come and cut it down.

We liked the idea of cutting down our own tree, but unfortunately we couldn’t find a skinny enough tree to fit in our apartment. They were all quite fat at the bottom and a bit Charlie Brownish. Not having shopped for a Christmas tree last year, I didn’t realize that this was the norm. In Germany, they don’t do much grooming of the trees. They look much more natural rather than the full, perfectly cone shaped trees in the States.

After thinking about the differences between the German and American cultures, it makes a lot of sense that Germans would go for the natural tree look. They eat natural and organic foods, take a more natural or holistic approach to medicine and even like to swim au natural. Whereas Americans want the perfect tree to go with their Botox, pill popping and preservative laden food lifestyle

I spent a day looking for Christmas trees at the various DYI stores in the area and decided that Knauber had the best tree selection. Jim and I went back that night and found a nice skinny tree. The best part about a more natural tree was that Jim could carry it all by himself.

While we decorated the tree Jim drank some Glögg (sweden's version of Gluhwein) that we had been given to us by some Swedish friends. Even though he was the one drinking, it was his clumsy wife who broke an ornament. Jim had just said that he thought too many of my ornaments were fragile. Of course, I disagreed with him and then seconds later dropped a hand painted ornament which shattered on the floor.

Successful 1st Turkey Day

Last Friday we celebrated Thanksgiving with a Swedish couple from Jim’s work. I decided that for my first time entertaining on Thanksgiving I’d invite a couple who didn’t know anything about the American Holiday. That way if anything didn’t turn out, they would have no idea what it was supposed to taste like or compare it to their great Aunt Bessie’s recipe. Plus we only have two additional chairs so our entertaining is generally limited to one other couple.

I decided to go the route of a turkey breast rather than the whole turkey. I figured that most people like the breast meat the most and with my tiny oven I’d have to have a rather small turkey. I also didn’t want to have another overcooked turkey like last year’s Thanksgiving attempt.

I brined the turkey in a salt and brown sugar solution at my mother’s recommendation, and it turned out beautifully. After brining, I slathered it with some herbs and put it in an oven bag to cook. I couldn’t believe how flavorful and moist it was, even the next day. I’d definitely recommend the brining technique.

The rest of the menu was pretty traditional and basic with sage stuffing, sweet potatoes topped with caramelized pecans, green beans with toasted almonds and a warm cranberry sauce but surprisingly everything turned out really well. I think it was the first time entertaining that I was pleased with everything I served.

I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin pie. My slice is generally slathered in so much whipping cream that you can’t even tell there is pie under there. So for dessert I decided to make a French Apple Tart from cooking light. It looked quite pro for the non baker that I am and was very tasty along with some vanilla ice cream.

All in all it was a successful Thanksgiving. Jim said that it was the best Thanksgiving he’d ever had. I’m not sure though if that was because I had a knife in my hand at the time or that he is smart enough to know that he should tell his very pregnant wife who has cooked and cleaned all day that it is the best food to ever touch his lips.