"It was by chance we met, by choice we became friends." Unknown

Ami means friend.  Tonight Pri and I had dinner with some French amies.

I know what you're thinking, so "diverse."

We ate Raclette, which is sort of like fondue but more intense.  C'est bon.

Every person gets a mini skillet and you put a slice of raclette [cheese] and melt it in the bottom portion of this thingy.  Then you can grill vegetables/salmon/deli meats on top.

Here is what my plate looked like.  You typically pour the cheese over the potato and eat with the veggies.

Nothing says French dinner party like a game of Cranium.  In French, mind you.

La Bouchon Lyonnais

After a treacherous day at work, we devoured the most delectable meal.  It was tres francais!

Escargot in a champignon [mushroom] sauce.

Veal with roasted potatoes.

Creme Brulee.

Tres delicieux!

"Just Eat, Pray, Loving It Over Here!" Amy Zide

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Miyoko and I went to yoga today and now I feel like this.

Also spent alll day in my favorite cafe.  I've made it my mission to try everything on the menu.

I love this cafe so much, I'm going to make a special post just about it.

Found the barn in Blois, Amy...

"The eye of a human being is a microscope, which makes the world seem bigger than it really is." Khalil Gibran

Loire River

Frenchy Thanksgiving

The other American assistants and I recreated the most American Thanksgiving we could muster, given the constraints of well, living in France.

Mixing Pecan Pie

Check that out!

Frying onions for the Green Bean Casserole.
If you look closely, you will notice seran wrap on my right arm.  That would be the result of an oven burn.  Cooking is dangerous!

Voila the Green Bean Casserole (they dug in before I snapped the picture!)

 

The table full of wonderful people and food! 

Wannabe Turkey

Here's what our plates looked like

So what did our French friends think of this gluttonous affair?
They loved every deliciously fattening morcel.  They just thought it was weird we ate the corn warm.

It was a perfect little feast, if I do say so myself.

I Heard the Cowboys Won...

Miyoko and I celebrating their victory.  And yes, it is appropriate to wear Cowboys' jerseys in France.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing I was celebrating my favorite holiday in the US with all the people I love.  Eat some turkey for me--they don't have that here until December haha!

Don't worry though, the other Americans here and I will be recreating Thanksgiving with poulet [chicken] for the sweetest French family and some French friends on Saturday.  Here is the damage after our shopping trip:

Wish us luck!

P.S.  We feasted on Indian food with our favorite French friends tonight.  Quelle irony.

Happy Founder's Day, Tri Delt!

Deltas are everywhere--even France ;-)

Toile d'Araignee

or spiderweb en anglais.  I spotted this in front of the Conseil General on my way to school.  Isn't it beautiful the way it's covered with morning dew?

It looks like a necklace.

I am Thankful for...

Teaching the Frenchies about Thanksgiving this week.  Their final assignment was to write, "I am thankful for..."

This is my personal favorite so far.  Pretty much sums up the French.

Please note the use of space.  "I'm thankful for God if is real, to have been created me and my perfect body."  This from a 15 year-old boy.  Dying.

"Paris is Always a Good Idea." Audrey Hepburn

Rendezvous at Laduree in Paris with Freddie and a Tri Delta from Furman...what a small world!

Ma Chambre

My room!  This is my door.  My nickname is apparently Alvin.  Notice giant booty.  Obviously my door.

Enter.  Notice fabulous carpet.

Window of friendship :)

Bed with (growing) mural of random pictures/postcards.

 Yes, that is my Tri Delta blankie and a carry-on serving as a bedside table...hey, I'm on a teacher's salary!

Creeper Mobile

What is this eyesore Creeper Mobile doing on my beautiful street?

Getouttahere!

"I Gain Weight Just by Reading Your Blog." Ryan Lim

Ha!  Welcome to my life.

Greek feta meatballs with couscous, veggies and greek cucumber and dill yogurt.

"Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers." Herbert Hoover

Learning to live simply.  Fisherman at the Loire River

Things That Don't Exist in My French Life

Skim Milk---Whatever this is doesn't even have to be refrigerated and tastes like it's straight from a vache.

Elevators---Four flights just to get to my apartment.  Everyyy singleee timeee.

Nail Salons---It's getting serious...where does someone get a mani/pedi around here?!

Dryers---Proud owner of a drying rack?
Which can I say, these things are so inefficient. By the time I finally finish doing laundry, I have to do it again!

Pandora---But I've discovered one that will suffice for the time being...jango.com.  Meh.

Ugly kids---Seriously, I've yet to encounter an ugly youngling.

Shower Doors---What is this?  Pretty sure this is so difficult to use we caused a leak our first week.  Yep.

Your Opinion Please

Seventh week of French Living and I have made a few promises.  And I require your assistance!

1.  To cook...well on my way as you can see below.  But send me recipes that you love or want to try and I'll let you know how they turn out ;-)

2.  To read...have made no headway.  Need fantabulous book recommendations.  Will read almost anything.

3.  To travel...have begun checking places off of my list.  What are some places you love in Europe?

I Have a Cold!

But the weather was absurdly gorgeous today, so after picking up some yummy things from the market, I whipped up a little omelette

and walked to this wonderful little park, with its beautiful fall smell and colors

and came home just in time to watch the sun set (which is so ridiculously early here!).

Amboise

Took a little field trip today to a nearby castle and Leonardo Da Vinci's last home.

Amboise [ahm-bwaz] is a beautiful, tiny town, with a population of about 2,000.

As is true in most of the region, the centre ville surrounds the chateau.  Le Chateau Amboise was mostly destroyed but this still remains:

Beautiful grounds:

Burial place of Da Vinci:

Tried some pizza avec fruit de mer to change things up:

Da Vinci's last home/place of death:

Some Da Vinci inventions (but really, what didn't he invent?):

Sunset on the way home:

Quite possibly one of the loveliest days in France...Happy 11-11-11 a tous!!!

"There are some days when I think I'm going to die from an overdose of satisfaction." Salvador Dali

Gourmand

Or in English, a "foodie."

Lover of food and the eating experience.

In my attempts to become more French, I invited my first French friends in Blois over for dinner.  A real, homemade dinner.  Made by none other than moi.

I'll wait for the laughter to subside and the disbelief to dissist.  Because it happened, and I have proof.

Was I freaking out?  Noo.  [Yes, terribly, but no one was going to know it!]

It started with my shopping excursion.  Cheddar cheese does not exist, despite France being known for cheese.  What is tomato paste?  Your guess as good as mine.  Why is the flour not with the baking ingredients?  What are oats in French...and so on.

I then proceed to cook non-stop for a little under four hours, timing everything perfectly for my guests' prompt 7:30 PM arrival.  That's right.  I, Alaa, was on time.

My dinner guests were not.  ONE HOUR LATER, and my tardy friends appeared for dinner.  Ugh, the French.

The menu?
Lentil Soup

Macaroni and Cheese

Stuffed Eggplant

Salad

Apple Crisp

Luckily the food turned out better than the pictures and there were no leftovers, which I'm taking as a good thing.

Happy and fed dinner guests (minus Emily who insisted on taking the picture) about to have some tisain and dessert:

First cooking experience/French dinner party.  Success!