Preparing for Christmas!

Although today (Wednesday) we had rain all day, yesterday was beautiful and we took advantage of that!

Rick and I walked about a mile up the street to see the Canal St Martin.  The canal runs from the Seine further into Paris.  At the Bastille it goes underground, and below the metro, for a mile to the Place de la Republique.  Apparently on nice Sundays it is a great place to wander and have brunch.  Yesterday there were not too many people enjoying it.

There are nine locks, two swing bridges, and eight bridges crossing the canal.

Here is one of the locks that allow barges to travel up the canal.

And walkways on either side........

Then we took the metro to the Place de la Madeleine to do a little shopping at the many gorgeous, and expensive, food stores there....Fauchon and Hediard, and La Maison du la Truffe.

Truffles, foie gras ..............

And chocolates..............
We stopped for a champagne at a cafe' and Rick was really surprised when I said, There's my friend, Susan!"  Quite fun to be sitting on the Rue Rivoli and see someone you know..............

Today we had to get serious!  I had shopping to do for the Christmas Eve dinner.  Courtney Greer and Chris arrive on Friday evening, and Chris' cousin, Dana, is coming in from Denmark to join us for Christmas.

We bought the foie gras, fig confit, and eyed the crates of oysters, but decided to pick those up on Saturday so they are at their freshest. And we plan on buying huge gambas at the marche'.  This afternoon, while Rick did some  Christmas shopping, I made Beef Bourguignon. This time I stepped it up a bit and used truffle oil (it's Christmas afterall!)

I purchased sun-dried tomatoes at my little vegetable market for a different dish.  I asked for roasted tomatoes, but the salesman just didn't get it.  Luckily there were several women in line with me and they all discussed what it was I wanted. When I finally got the "dried" tomatoes, produced in Italy, everyone was very happy! Even though it was raining..."it's the season, after all."

Rick is in charge of the wine purchases and I predict by the end of the holiday, he and Pascal, at our neighborhood Nicholas store, will be good friends.

And even though, it's a totally different Christmas than we usually have at home in Oak Harbor, it is quite nice to be in Paris this year.

Guest Blogger - Chef Richard!

Tonight we have a guest blogger. Chef Richard has arrived to prepare a wonderful Soupe au Poulet, that a 4 star French chef would be proud to serve.

He started at the Marche' Bastille, where he purchased poulet roti (chicken roasted on a spit).

His secret recipe is as follows:

• After you have removed all of the large portions of white and dark meat for one or two meals, boil the remaining chicken carcass in a pot with 1 1/2 litre of Parisian tap water.
• Add special seasonings:   salt and pepper to taste

                                                 1 clove crushed garlic
                                                 1 medium onion, chopped
                                                 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme, chopped
                                                 4 sliced basil leaves

• Don't add wine to the soup, but the chef may have a glass while cooking.
• Boil for 45 minutes on low heat.  Stir often and then allow to simmer for 3 hours.
• Crush bones in the pot and let the soup cool for 2 hours.
• Remove all bones and skin.
• Add of cup of broken angel hair pasta noodles.
• Reheat to a low boil, allowing pasta to cook for 30 minutes.

                                                

Serve with a fresh baguette and a good bottle of French Chardonnay wine (if there is any left from the Chef's tasting). If the noodles are not completely soft, drink more wine until they are. 

Serve with candle light........

It is "so darn good", if one follows this recipe correctly this is all that should remain of the poulet roti.

OOOHHH  LAA LAA!
Have another glass of wine to reward yourself for a job well done.



December 19, 2011

We did more than watch a guy producing bubbles with two sticks and a string today.

We've been eating quite a bit so I thought we needed a long walk.  We headed over to St-Germain-des-Pres.  My goal was to check out some of the nativities in the major churches.

We got in line to go into Notre Dame to see their decoration (along with many other tourists)....

And at our local church, St Louis-St Paul...........

In between churches, we visited two Marche' Noel, and Rick warmed up with hot wine.....

And although my neighborhood has a few cute Christmas windows.....

St-Germain-des-Pres is a little more decked out..............

And when we got home (in the rain again, but I was almost sure it would snow) Rick made delicious chicken soup.  The recipe will be published in another post.

Not so Tiny Bubbles

Rick is fascinated by the bubble production on the streets of Paris.  He's studying the technique so that he can do it on the streets of Oak Harbor when he returns to the States.  And he has a new camera, so can get lots of shots......

                                            I did not want that bubble popping in my face.


We watched the bubble man for about 5 minutes and threw 1 Euro in his dish, which I considered Rick's tuition money. And if Rick is successful on the streets of Oak Harbor, he should be able to make about $2 a day. At that rate we won't be coming back to Paris for awhile!

Paris Evenings!

We've been spending most evenings in. 

Cooking......

Watching TV.......

And playing Gin Rummy, which was much more fun for me when Rick didn't really know how to play.

Saturday, December 17

Saturday we woke up to clear blue sky!  But Rick woke up with a bad sinus infection, so we hustled over to the pharmacy to get him some drugs.  And then took our walk.............

I wanted to go to the Christmas Market on the Champs-Élysées, and I thought the walk down Rue Rivoli would give us some good exercise.

Our first stop was at the Hotel de Ville to see the ice rink.

It's cold! But everyone was having fun.

Rick wants to learn how to make these big bubbles, so he can do it on the street at home. Retirement job!

Across the street at the BVH department store, everyone was admiring the window displays of automated bunnies...........

By the time we reached the Champs-Élysées, the weather had deteriorated, but there was a huge crowd for the Marche' Noel.

They had lots for sale, but the favorite chalets had hot mulled wine. Not my favorite, but Rick had some.

There was another ice rink............

And even chestnuts roasting on the open fire.....

When it really started to rain, we scooted over to the metro.  But we weren't the only ones with that idea, it was packed.

Busy Week!

Rick flew into Paris on Tuesday morning with a storm. I met up with him at the Indiana Cafe' after my French class.  It was pouring.  We had hardly gotten into the apartment when it started to hail.  It sounded like someone was pouring little pebbles down the chimney and when I opened the fireplace, it was full of little ice chips. But as is often the case in Paris, the weather cleared later in the afternoon.

On Wednesday morning, Rick and I had the pleasure of meeting and visiting with Mick and Marti, a couple from Washington who have owned an apartment in Paris for 12 years.  It was fun to hear of their trials and tribulations, and we did agree, over lunch later, that we have no desire to buy an apartment in Paris.

Thursday besides French class, I had a party at the school.  By the time I got home I could tell that Rick was getting over the jetlag and stress he had left home with.  It helped that he had a GREAT Thai massage in the afternoon.  He was like a new person.