10:30 p.m. in Paris..............

We are presently taking a break from dinner before dessert, champagne and espresso.................

We started with champagne and canapes

Next: Fois Gras with toasted brown bread and onion chutney
French rose wine

Roasted quail stuffed with fois gras
Hericots Verts wrapped with bacon
Pommes Frites
Bordeaux

Cheese with brown bread with raisins and walnuts

More to come at midnight.  Now we're watching a French variety show with comedians, musicians, acrobats and other entertainers so time is going fast while we count down to the New Year.  Now I think I'll pour another glass of wine and relax...................

Happy New Year !!!

Montmartre

Montmartre is a beautiful place to visit.  The church is high on a hill with over 200 steps to climb to reach it.  (Nearby is a tram that you can take instead of walking the steps).  We've visited it several times so today we took the Metro and went shopping through the many stores in the area.  Most are souvenir and tourist shops but it's also an area where you can buy beautiful fabric and home decorating items. 










When we returned we took another walk through the neighborhood to just enjoy the interesting city.


New Years Eve plans changed.  Originally we were going to go to Afran and Philippe's friend's house to see the fireworks but they are both ill.  Afran is also still ill so we agreed that it's best to stay inside, enjoy a leisurely dinner and stay away from the crowds.  Philippe has been food shopping all afternoon.  I know that we're having a goose liver appetizer (no, I'm still not tired of it) - Oh...... Afran just came in to tell me that we're having stuffed quail (the little birds at the butcher shop with their heads still attached - hopefully, she'll remove them...........)

We each have three wine glasses on the table so things look promising.

Monday Morning..............

Before breakfast each day Philippe drives or walks to a nearby bakery for fresh baguette.  This morning I went with him.

When I took this photo we were the only ones there, but when we left, there was a line of at least ten people.  The inside is about the size of a large kitchen so the line extended a long way out the door.

There's definitely no English spoken here so Philippe had to tell them that I wanted to buy Petit Fours.  There was a small tray with a pretty assortment so I bought the whole thing.  They'll be dessert after tonight's dinner.

One difference between bakeries in the U.S. and France is that here your purchases are all wrapped with a special waxed type paper and tied with ribbon or string.

Things I've Learned About France

Traveling outside the U.S. is a fascinating experience.  Many things are different so I decided to start a list of my observations.  I'm sure that there will be many more added before our trip ends.

• Public toilets in cafes are either upstairs or downstairs - never on the ground floor
• Kitchen appliances such as a dishwasher, clothes washer, oven are about 1/2 the size
• Most people have a clothes washer but very few have a clothes drier
• Toilets flush in about a thousand different ways (maybe I'm exaggerating a little)
• A cafe serves only drinks, glace and a limited number of pastries
• A brasserie serves drinks and food
• Breakfast is an espresso and croissant - maybe a crepe if you go to an upscale place
• Lunch is from about 2 to 4 p.m. - Dinner is from 8:00 to midnight
• Bedtime is about 1 to 3 p.m.
• When you buy groceries you must bring your own bag.  Otherwise you are charged $1 euro for a plastic bag
• If you want to use a grocery cart - $1 euro, please...............
• Tipping is frowned upon (only stupid Americans give big tips)
• Showers are very complicated.  You can adjust the spray from top, to sideways or to a handheld shower head.  If you turn the wrong knob you get an unpleasant surprise because the first water to erupt is ice cold.
• A "supermarket" is about the size of a U.S. 7-Eleven (some are a little bigger, but not much)
• Museums, other than the Louvre, have free admission
• The Metro costs only $1.70 euros and trains come every minute during rush hour
•  Freeways in Belgium are fully lit.  There are light stanchions the entire length of all freeways and on or off ramps have extra lights.  It's very beautiful to see as you drive.
• In Belgium there are huge rest stops every 100 miles with full service fresh food cafeterias, shops with souvenirs and snacks and bathroom facilities.  There is also a gasoline station and small budget hotel (Ibis).
• Most vehicles are European (not Japanese or American) and they operate on diesel.
• Only crazy people drive in Paris (or maybe driving in Paris makes one crazy).  No matter what, it's like driving bumper cars in a carnival - lots of horns, arm and hand gestures with an occasional exchange of "words".
• When walking in a residential neighborhood you'll find a minimum of two bakeries, two butcher shops and two cheese shops on each side of the street of one block.  Then add a couple of cafes and brasseries.
• Gasoline stations are on the sidewalk.  Just pull the car into a parking space and the attendant will fill your tank.  Make sure that your gas tank faces the pump.
• Dogs of any size are welcome inside elegant restaurants as long as they behave.  (Bella would love this)
• When downtown, English is tolerated - in the neighborhood you are either ignored or scorned if you don't ask for what you want in French (good I brought a translation book).
• There are lots of street people (almost as bad as Portland)

Another Eifel Tower Perspective

Our original plan today was to drive to the coast but Afran has a terrible chest cold and we felt that it was better to keep her at home and delay the trip.


This afternoon Philippe, Roger and I drove to the Seine where we planned to board a boat to cruise down the river and hear the history of Paris.  Plans changed when we discovered that there were thousands of people with the same idea.  Sidewalks were a mass of people, some even walking in the streets.  Parking was impossible so we decided that the Sunday between Christmas and New Years was not a good time to take the tour.

The Eifel Tower is only about two blocks away so Philippe drove around the area so I could take photos from three different directions.  It was a good opportunity to see how dramatically different a night and a day photo can be.

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We took a driving tour of the St Germain area so now I have two days planned; one to shop at Montmartre and another to walk through St Germain.  This time I'll take the Metro so parking won't be an issue.

Shopping For Dinner..........

Today was my first time alone in the neighborhood with the task of buying groceries for tonight's dinner.  Roger is in charge of chicken and bread and I went to a beautiful Marche for salad makings, appetizers and fruit.  On the way back I found a bakery that I couldn't resist going into and there I found an apple tart, large enough for four people.  I was pleased to accomplish all this without speaking French and I was relieved that I was able to find my way back...........

One interesting place on my walk was an open air fish market with fish for sale right on the sidewalk.  The man had six boxes of different species of oysters and every other seafood imaginable.

Tomorrow it will be sunny and dry so it will be a perfect day to get outside to explore..

Day At The Louvre

After dropping Helia at the airport, we got a ride to the Louvre where we spent most of the day.  We oldsters are really dragging...........  Huge lines, thousands of people, and crowded exhibits are due to it being a holiday week.  The good thing is that the entrance fee is still only $11E which is money well spent.  The place is massive - we likely saw about ten percent of it but we saw what we wanted and now I think that we'll stick to smaller museums.

We used the Metro to come back where we enjoyed a late lunch at a neighborhood Brasserie and did some shopping at a wine shop.  Wine here is not expensive.  A glass of wine at a cafe is generally only around $4E and we bought four bottles with an average of $11E each and the wine shop owner insisted they were some of his best.  (Our fingers are crossed).

More About Le Bel Canto

This elegant restaurant has a unique concept with professional opera singing waiters who sing songs from well known opera as you enjoy a three course dinner.  A beautiful young woman plays a concert piano.  The restaurant is located in a very wealthy part of Paris on a narrow street and from what I could tell, it caters only to a French clientele.  

I ordered foie gras (again) served with toasted baguette and an orange marmalade, veal filet mignon and a cheese plate instead of dessert.  Roger also had the pate, with two different fish for the entree and molten chocolate cake with ice cream for dessert.  Philippe ordered Cote du Rhone for the wine and after the last course we had a sweet champagne.  It was a fabulous evening and one that we'll always remember.

After dinner, Philippe drove us back to Champs Elysees on our ride back home.

I'm writing this at 7 a.m. (after four hours of sleep) so we'll soon be taking Helia to the airport.  Then, our adventure continues for another week before it's our turn to go home...........

Opera at Le Bel Canto Restaurant

II'll let the photos and the web site tell the story of our evening.  It's 1:15 a.m. and I'm ready for bed because we're taking Helia to the airport early tomorrow morning.

 

www.lebelcanto.com

Bonne Nuit

Foie Gras..............

Foie Gras is vacuum sealed in containers that appear to be about eight ounces.in size.  Each package is 80E (close to $100 U.S.).  It's very entertaining to see how meat is displayed in windows.  We saw some cute little birds (I'm not sure if they were quail or squab) and they still have their feathered heads attached.  We didn't walk far this afternoon because it's cold and raining but it was fun seeing the neighborhood.  Afran and Philippe live in the 10th District of Paris and there are two Metro stations nearby with a huge number of bakeries and cafes and small boutiques.

We have been told to "dress up" tonight.  It's Helia's last night in Paris and we're going to an elegant restaurant for dinner.  We're told that it's very special and that they've had reservations for a couple of months, but it's a surprise............

A Funny Shopping Experience..........

This is Helia's full day in Paris.  She flies back to S.F. tomorrow morning so she got up very early this morning and took the Metro to Montmartre to do some last minute shopping.  She found some souvenirs and then went into a beautiful shop that specializes in linens.  She was interested in seeing a tablecloth but she didn't know the size so she picked it up to open it when an older clerk walked up and said "no" and slapped her hand.  She saw a beautiful lace table runner that she knew she wanted so she picked it up and paid for it, hoping that the lady would then let her touch other merchandise.  The plan didn't work.  No matter what she touched the lady continued to slap her fingers and say "no".  Helia started to laugh and that made the clerk angry so finally Helia had to leave without any other purchases.  The runner she bought for 8 E is an antique and it's beautiful so she ended up with a great purchase and a funny story. She has decided to take Afran or Sunny with her the rest of the day so she'll be with someone who speaks French.

One More Christmas Celebration

Tonight Roger's sister and two neices arrived at the train station; one from Cologne and the others from Hamburg.  The train station is very sleek and modern so it was interesting to see it.

Anna and Afran prepared another Christmas celebration dinner with roast goose and baked salmon with about 18 guests so it was a full evening.

 This is Aramak from Hamburg who is thoroughly enjoying munching on a goose leg.
















Helia talking to her aunt from Hamburg, Akram.

 

More Christmas..............

Besides seeing Brussels, I had to visit a Belgium bar to have some draft so Philippe took Helia, Roger and me to a popular bar in downtown.

Helia had a dark beer, Philippe had a cherry beer and I had a dark "holiday" beer.  Helia and I believe that hers and mine tasted the same but having a holiday beer sounded like the thing to try.

Our last stop was to a vendor who sells a marshmallow dark chocolate dipped wafer that is delicious.  Philippe bought two dozen so dessert tonight also includes a fresh made raspberry tart and a rolled ice cream dessert, both made by Anna.

I'm writing this at 1:10 a.m. so I think that bedtime is soon to come................. Merry Christmas everyone!.

Christmas Day In Brussels

 This afternoon we drove into downtown Brussels and, after driving around the city, we found a parking place close to what looked like an open market.  It was great fun.  Besides the usual shops about 30 vendors had set up little "houses" to present a Christmas Faire with an assortment of local hand made and food items.  We checked out several Belgium chocolate places before finding the one we liked best so between Helia and me we have over $100 E of chocolate items (our only purchase).  We also stopped at a bar that specializes in many varieties of Belgium beer and we enjoyed some on draft.

Belgium is a combination of very old and very modern but, because of my love for old things, (like me) I enjoyed the architecture of the old buildings more.  As evening arrived the buildings were lit with colored lights.  The sky was beautiful all day with a combination of clouds and sun so the photo below has not been altered. 

Christmas Eve In Brussels..........

The Hatefi family celebrates Christmas on the night of the 24th so there was lots of activity in the house yesterday.  Dinner was a leg of veal and a stuffed duck so, as usual, the food is fabulous.

There were 16 for dinner with conversations in many different languages.  It's actually fun, listening as words are translated from one to another.  English is the last language so I've often wondered if I was getting the actual statement (likely an abbreviated version).  Several people speak English so I always have someone to talk to.

Tonight we're adding family from Berlin and Hamburg so, now, German will have to be included.

Shown in the photos is Roger's sister, Afran, and his brother, Khorsoro.

Waterloo and Raspberry Beer

Last night I discovered there are two time zones in Belgium - "old" and "young".  Old people go to bed between 1 and 2 a.m. and young people leave at 1:00 a.m. to party until 8.  This complicates the sleeping arrangements because some people are waking as others are going to sleep.  The "kids" had a great time.  They went to an upscale club in downtown Brussels, drank champagne (the real stuff @ $90 E per bottle) and danced until dawn.........

This afternoon one of Roger's nephews drove us to the Waterloo Battle site where they have a pavilion with a panoramic painting of the battle scene.  When we arrived last night I didn't realize that we actually were in Waterloo so we haven't had a chance to see Brussels yet.  The plan is to drive there tomorrow.  I also learned that the land that Roger's brother lives on was a part of the battle site, as well.

On the way home we stopped at a market where Roger bought  Belgium raspberry beer that I was anxious to try.  It took awhile to find it in the market because "raspberry" is not a word that translates to French.  It turned out that it's called "Rosee" with a picture of one raspberry on the label.  It's only 3% alcohol and it tastes a little like sweet sparkling wine. 

It's about six o'clock and the kitchen smells are starting but I doubt that we'll be eating before 10 p.m.so now we have some time to relax and prepare for a busy evening.

Sunday Before Christmas

After a quick trip to Montmartre by Metro to tour the Cathedral and watch the street portrait artists, we packed the car with dozens of packages and luggage for five people (not an easy feat in a European car) and hit the autobahn to Belgium.

We arrived at the home of Roger's brother about 8 p.m. and we were greeted with Bordeaux and lots of hugs and kisses.  We just finished an authentic Iranian feast.  Shanhaz (we call her Anna) was a pastry chef until she recently had surgery so she fixed Belgium fruit and cream tarts and a rolled whipped cream dessert that was soft, light and fabulous.  At the moment we have conversations going in Persian, French, Flemish, and a little English so I join in occasionally to get the highlights.  

I just learned that we are three miles from the famous Waterloo so tomorrow we hope the weather will allow us to tour the village and soak up some history from the Napoleon era.

More of Saturday Night...........

Last night we spent almost four hours driving around the city to see the Christmas lights.

We spent a lot of time on the Champs Elysees where bright sparkling lights decorate both sides of the boulevard.

Philippe knows a wonderful place to stop for a full view of the Eifel Tower so we spent a lot of time just gazing at the beautiful scene.  Fortunately, it was a mild evening with weather in the 50s with no wind or rain.  All the historical buildings are beautifully lit at night so we revisited the Parliament, City Hall, Opera Plaza, the monument of the Bastille and many other places.  The evening ended with a drink at a beautiful sidewalk cafe so it turned out to be a memorable experience.

It's about 9 a.m. now and I'm the only one awake but soon there will be lots of activity as we prepare for a drive to Brussels where we'll spend Christmas.  We'll be there three nights.  I'll take the laptop but I'm uncertain if I'll be able to connect....................... SO.................. Roger and I send Christmas wishes to you all with hope that you are able to spend time with friends and family to celebrate the birth of Christ.  MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

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Midnight In Paris

Well, actually it's after 2:00 a.m. but we had an exciting evening and I just had to "play" with a few of the photos that I took tonight.  More tomorrow.................

 

Saturday In Paris

Today was a huge shopping day in downtown Paris - people everywhere and stores jammed with Christmas shoppers.  The Layfayette shopping center is elegant and all their windows were decorated with moving puppets or toys advertising high end goods such as Chanel and Gucci.  We went inside to take a photo of the tree and ceiling which is too beautiful to describe - absolutely breathtaking.  It's about eight stories from floor to ceiling.  We didn't stay long because Helia and I were both more interested in shopping at small boutiques.

Many shops are decorated on the exterior and the interesting thing about tree lights in Paris is that they shimmer, rather than twinkle - almost like sparklers on July 4th..















We took the Metro today and the transportation system is very fast.  Generally you can board a train within 30 seconds after arriving at the stations.

The most fun is standing outside the pastry, bakery and charcuterie shops and just gazing at the beautiful things to buy.  Food is decorated to perfection and, yes, it tastes as good as it looks.

Cotes du Rhone and Escargot

Each day becomes more decadent.  Tonight Philippe opened a special bottle of Cotes du Rhone wine that is bottled only for the French Parliament.  Afran did a favor for one of the members and he gifted her with the bottle so we feel very special to have the opportunity to share it.

Escargot and fresh baguette completed the first course of our dinner which was followed with duck and chestnut stuffing for the entree.  We're feeling very spoiled..............

Touring St Michel

Busy, Busy Day In Paris

The day started early with a drive to Charles de Gaulle to pick up Helia who flew into Paris from San Francisco.  After picking her up Afran drove us through the downtown area to give us all an overview of the inner city.  None of us had been to the Pantheon so we made a short stop there for some photos.

There's a lot to see, all within a short distance, so we made a quick stop at Notre Dame, drove by the Louvre and along the Seine with plans to take the Metro back another day so we can spend a full day walking through the area.

 The photo at the right is Roger, Philippe, Afran and Helia.

Our next stop was a walking tour along the Seine and the St Michel area.  It's unquestionably a tourist area but we still enjoyed the ambiance - even the tacky parts.

By then we were hungry so we stopped at a Creperie where we enjoyed gigantic crepe sandwiches in an upstairs cafe.

Helia is all settled in her room so now we've been promised escargot for an appetizer and it's time to enjoy a glass of Bordeaux.