a little rhody easter

totally out of order of things i need to blog but i wanted to get these pictures up before it was june!

we spent easter in rhode island and it was a bit thrown together as nana was in the hospital until saturday (after over 20 days in that place, ick).  mz and i decided to do our best to keep easter going even though we weren't sure who could/would attend.  so thankful that i had blogged our easter recipes from last year because they were sure fire items that were easy to make and quite tasty!  mz grilled up the lamb, mom made some potatoes, i made a ricotta pie (didn't work quite as well as last year!) and heated a ham for good measure.

when it was all on the table it looked like we had been planning it all along...and we ended up filling the dining room with family and friends, which was very nice!

the rest of the weekend was spent driving around RI, making pasta and collecting sea glass down at nana's.  i also fell hard on the rocks...first time ever, must be because i'm so dang old now.  i'm obsessed with sea glass, always have been...luckily i had some great helpers on my treasure hunt!

click here for more pictures! 

little beach!

beavertail lighthouse

sister & CT

i got the kitchen aid pasta attachments for my bday and we've used them 4 or 5 times already, so in love!!  thanks to my awesome brother&sister-in-laws!!

reading terminal market food fest

seems like a million years ago that my friend jess suggested going to the reading terminal market and cooking up a storm with our tasty purchases.  just thinking about it makes me want to recreate the day all over again!

we started the trip off right with a delicious cookie and la columbe coffee while we attempted to narrow down the recipes we had poured through all week long in preparation for our food fest.

and now enter a day of food through the eye of my phone and retro camera app...

welcome to the market!! let the games begin!

probably made a mistake only getting coffee from here and not indulging in a cannoli right after our cookies!

making homemade pasta...papardelle, yum!

nutella creme brulee fresh out the oven

must have more pasta!!! 

cake pops from jess's mom and honey stix from the market

fresh chick peas lightly steamed with a little kick of chipotle

attempting to open oysters with a screwdriver and a mechanics glove...actually worked better than trying to find an oyster knife which seem to only exist in fish markets. 

only 3 cheeses?! cheese snobs in the market thought 4 would've been too much 4 people...dopes.  accompanied by grain mustard, honey and turkish figs.

apple, turnip and potato soup - so flippin' fantastic.  think it was a bon appetite recipe.

terribly out of focus picture of brussel sprouts, walnuts and raisins. 

pasta with a cream mushroom sauce...wish i had some of this in the fridge right now!

emma attempting to bring her stick inside.

 

one dessert is never enough so we made mini key lime pies too!

oh my my my, time to head back to the market because i'm STARVING!!

ps...this is what happens when there's extra fruit lying around...

sistema + granola

this year for christmas, i bought mz the weirdest present ever...tupperware.  now granted it was just a small portion of his christmas presents, but i was REALLY excited about this purchase...so much so that i had to buy some for myself too!

can you think of anything nerdier?!

i was passing through macy's on my way out of the mall, with zero intention of even focusing my eyes on any of the stuff they have in there, when a martha stewart display caught my eye.  i had a plan to start bringing lunch in 2012 and martha was giving me just the extra push of motivation i needed!!  she brought this great system (Sistema) from new zealand, slapped her brand on it and i'm sure both companies are making a pretty penny right now.

here are the pieces that i purchased...and have been seriously obsessed with since the very first time i used them.  chances are if you comment on my sistema ware in the cafeteria i'll go into infomercial mode and tell you how phenomenal they are...you've been warned.  they really make me excited to make/eat lunch every day!

sandwich container: this bad boy has a spot for your sandwich and two smaller compartments for treats or other snacks...and there's a divider between both halves to keep everything nice and tidy.

salad container: the fork and knife are in 2 pieces each and they SNAP IN to the bottom of the tray that's in the container!! how great is that!?  there's also a cup for dressing.  i also have found myself using this container on occasion to tote leftover quesadillas...'dillas on the bottom, tomatoes, guac and beans on the top tray and a little sour cream in the dressing cup.

breakfast or soup: again, the spoon snaps in just like the salad container.  my favorite use for this is some outta this world barefoot contessa granola (with better dried fruits than cherries, ick) and either milk or yogurt...the tray ensures that your granola doesn't get soggy before you get a chance to devour it!

okay, who's hungry now!?

girls' weekend in boston

just wrapped up another wonderful weekend with family.  my aunt, uncle and nana came to visit for a few days and we had a lot of great food (ate here & here and made this) and just as many laughs :).  didn't take any pictures though, so instead i'm going to recap another awesome weekend...last weekend in boston with my mom and sista...where i also took zero pictures, but luckily K had her camera handy!!

got into boston much later than expected last friday night, due to terrible rain storms, but still managed to have a great evening at local 149.  it was such a bustling place and the food was delicious!!  plus there was an awesome pumpkin beer (pumking) on tap that tasted like heaven.

the next day, mom drove up to meet up with us and brave the windy streets of beantown.  we put on our walking shoes and headed to the open loft event that kara had read about (she had everything planned and made up a cute agenda(er) for us! so thoughtful!!).  we went to the Fort Point Open Studios event which was really neat...after we got over the initial shock that 'open studios' truly meant what it said...that artists (young and old) were opening their studios (i.e. their homes in many cases!) to the public.  Totally fascinating to see some of the loft spaces and how people transform them in such different ways based on their art.  so glad we didn't chicken out and actually went into a bunch of the lofts!

we also spent some time in the firefighter's museum in the fort point area and got a whole lotta history about firefighting and the great boston fire (maybe a little too much from the man who had little to do ;-) ) before heading over to the Mothers' Walk and Faneuil hall where we were nearly boiled alive and then through a movie scene that was completely littered with busted car parts!

saturday night we had a scrumptious morrocan-esque dinner while listening to some live jazz at The Beehive!

love these ladies!!

on sunday we went to the most wonderful place of all...the SoWa market!! kara and mom had been and i was pretty jealous when i heard about it, so i was thrilled that they were willing to go back when i was in town!  so much to see (and eat), we could've been there all day!!  we all left with unique recycled silverware bracelets (by John Atkinson) that i can't get enough of...he sells in boston, ri, vt and then fl in the winter months...send him an email to track his jewelry down, you'll be glad you did!  thank goodness we did so much walking that weekend because we also ate at the south end buttery for brunch as well as here and here...and the food was decadent!  such a fun weekend, so sad when they fly by so quickly!

more pictures here!

San Francisco: the sights

before i start in on the stuff we did (other than eat), i realize i forgot something from the food post...Off the Grid!  While we didn't actually go to this food truck gathering, it sounded amazing so kinda sad we didn't have time to fit it into the schedule.

okay now on to where we went...really easier to say where we didn't go since we walked all over that city!  we didn't make it to the Mission district (supposed to one of the top 10 new restaurants in the country) or to haight-ashbury, but other than that you name it and we saw it!  we walked through fog, wind, a little rain and a few moments of sun....prepare for every type of weather if you're heading to the city by the bay...we'd be sweating on one block and then wrapping ourselves in sweaters and scarves on the next.  true story.

here are some highlights (or you can just click this link for the pictures if you don't want to read!):

Alcatraz Tours - book in advance and make sure it's a day that you're willing to be tolerant of a million nincompoops all trying to take in this site.

Golden Gate Park - this place is enormous!  we walked through most of it and then got picked up by david to get to the beach for lunch.  while you're in there, check out the conservatory of flowers (even if you don't want to pay to go in, there are nice flowers outside).  it also houses the deYoung museum...again we didn't pay to go in, but you can go up to the top of the observation tower to get a view of the city.  the botanical garden, arboretum, buffalo paddock and model boat yacht club can be found in this gem too.  really wish we had something like this, even on a slightly smaller scale, around PA!

Union Square - it seemed like there was ALWAYS something going on here, very cool spot and just so happens that our cousin is going to be doing a dance performance there later in the month!!  tons of nice stores around there as well...some way out of my price range but many 'normal' stores that just seemed larger than life since there are a lot of flagship stores there.

Golden Gate Bridge - duh.  we walked about halfway across and had to battle a lot of confused looking tourists and bikers, but it was a great experience!

Fisherman's Wharf - we walked through this area on our way to dinner and that 5 seconds was more than enough to let me know i never needed to go back there! haha very very commercial...kinda like the jersey shore boardwalk stores on crack.

Ferry Building - although crowded, i loved this place.  reminded me of chelsea market in NYC but with an amazing farmer's market.  we went here a couple of times, including saturday morning when the market wraps around the entire building...be sure to make it to the back of the market too, we almost missed it!

Muir Woods and Mount Tamalpais - you'll need a car for these trips (and a whole lot of 'parking karma').  awesome trees and gorgeous views...only wish we had brought better hiking clothes so we could've done more exploring.  we drove to the top of mt. tam and walked the path around it and soaked up the (obnoxious!) sun :).

Thanks to Uncle David, we were able to see much more than we ever would've expected.  We drove through the Presidio, including the palace of fine arts and Legion of Honor, and through a few different towns across the bay.  I'm so thankful that he was willing to put up with our touristy ways for a couple of days!!

I stayed in a terrible hotel the first few nights when I was there for the conference.  Thought for sure i was going to get murdered in the place or jumped on my 2 mile walk from Japantown to the Moscone center each morning, but luckily I survived! For the weekend we moved over to a nicer area and a grand, old hotel with newly decorated rooms; big improvement!

A few final words of advice - pack layers (LOTS!) and wear good shoes.  mostly everyone there wore flats or TOMS, the style is very laid back and functional compared to other big cities.  Also, I downloaded the GuidePal San Francisco app for android to use in conjunction with my fave phone thing ever - google maps - and it was pretty decent for a free app.

And last but not least, here are the PICTURES!! Enjoy and happy weekending! :)

San Francisco: the food

since it's dinner time and i'm starving, i figured i'd start my trip recap with the places we ate around town.  plus, when you really get down to it, food can really make or break any vacation!  i had a LOT of great recommendations and unfortunately not enough time to take them all in, but we ate our fair share...and luckily walked a good deal to burn off all of that deliciousness!

Thirsty Bear - went there with some work peeps before the metallica concert...great apps and tapas style bar food. some spanish style cuisine, but had something for everyone (even our iowa constituents!).  dessert was awesome with a funky flair...candied corn (like real deal corn) on the side of a cheesecake...mint/pea sauce with a chocolate torte.  strange but oh so tasty!

The Slanted Door - holy cannoli, this place was so flippin' tasty.  very fresh and modern, right on the water in the ferry building.  super duper busy so we just sat at the bar for lunch - which was an excellent choice because the bartenders in sanfran really take pride in their craft.  more people seem to order cocktails in this city and with outstanding bartenders everywhere you go, you could see why!

Mamacita - found this through a google search for top mexican restaurants while on the ferry back from alcatraz.  we thought we were going to be out of luck since open table said there weren't any reservations available....but the coolest thing we found in sanfran was that many of the restaurants don't take reservations on the weekends and even if they do they always hold a certain number of tables for walk-ins...so we walked right in and had some exceptional tacos.  we also were glad to have found this place because it was in a great area that reminded me of a grown up manayunk.

Rose's Cafe - it quickly became clear why michael's cousin picked this spot when we went for dinner...a little neighborhood feel and jazzed up home cooking made it a winner!!  everything was delectable, even down to the ridiculously flavorful olive oil.

Yogorino - this was right near mamacita's, too new to find in googlemaps...loved their gelato but steer clear of the barley flavor (what?! ew, gross.  it's supposed to be dessert, it doesn't need to be THAT healthy!)

Beach Chalet - we went here for lunch with michael's uncle david who was the best tour guide ever! can't thank him enough for showing us around and making the trip perfect!  there was live (very loud) music on the back deck so we sat upstairs and enjoyed the view of the beach...which looked incredibly cold!

The 'Balb' - one of david's many local haunts which had phenom risotto!  the menu is not what you would expect from the street, but it more than impressed, try it out!

Il Fornaio - mmm, who doesn't love italian food?!  seriously, so good and the fastest service ever!  plus, after our meal we walked through a fountain in Levi's Plaza which was such a fun experience!!

Yank Sing (Rincon Center location)- oh my! be prepared to first wait for a table and then be completely bombarded with some sensational dumpling selections.  i've never been for dim sum but it's always been on my list...never really worked out timing wise or hunger wise so i was really excited to stuff my face in a james beard award winning spot!

Delarosa - we only sat at the bar to rest our feet and grab a drink on our last day in the city, but the drinks were excellent (and do i need to mention the fab bartenders again?!) and the menu/food passing by looked awesome.

Susie Cakes - don't know why they don't mention the gorgeous pies in their name because those things looked baked to perfection!!  totally down to earth place without any frilliness, just honest to goodness tasty cupcakes with the right amount of frosting.  salted caramel apple and strawberry were our cupcakes of choice for a much needed afternoon snack.

Our last meal was at David's house...believe me, it was like something out of a magazine shoot.  Gorgeous french utensils and wonderful homemade minestrone soup.  So impressive!!  Maybe if you're nice he'll invite you over while you're there :).

Other places that were recommended but we didn't have a chance to try were:
tadich grill
kokorri
swan oyster depot
hog island
sears fine food - so sad we didn't get to go to this spot (right across from our hotel) but the line for breakfast was INSANE!!

just a note - while the menus in some places were a little pricey, every place we ate was well worth it...and nothing was fancy dress wise so it made it all that more enjoyable!
 
the one place we didn't eat...but made me laugh every time we passed one...which was like every 5 seconds because they were everywhere:

maple acres farm

since I've been trying to eat healthy lately I woke up with a craving for some nice fresh veggies...and for an awesome farmers market like the one I went to the other weekend in RI.  found this gem of a farm really close by with bushels and barrels of corn, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, peaches....and so much gorgeous produce that it didn't even matter that the skies opened up with a nasty thunderstorm while we were perusing.  Oh and they have a giant field of zinnias that you can cut yourself if you want! Not necessarily my fave flower, but when you look out onto a field full of beautiful brightly colored flowers how can you not smile?!
Hope you had a weekend full of fun and fresh food!

italian fest/feast 2011

i've said it before, but i'll say it again...i LOVE festivals/street fairs/carnivals, whatever they're called.  if there are brightly lit rides and artery stopping food available, i'm IN!  lucky for me there's one such event a block away from my house every year.  all centered around being italian, what could be better than that?!  truth be told, it's tiny, but it gets the job done...and has the best fried dough ever.  i think the fact that they use recycling bins to coat the hundreds of dough balls in sugar must add to the flavor ;-).

just a few shots from the festivities...

Aston - looking like a very serious old man!

the guys hanging out in the ghetto abandoned lot next door

 Okay let me explain the two pictures above...sometimes i get bad ideas and can't stop myself.  this was one such example.  we bought coronitas for the party which are cute/kid sized bottles.  and alexander is so good at getting the guys beers that i figured i'd make him one so he could be like one of the big boys.  for the record, it's only colored water in there, the beer had been dumped and the bottle was thoroughly washed.  plus i basically had to bribe him to take these pictures, he's so good he knew he's not supposed to have 'beer' and didn't want to get in trouble!

Alex & Andrea

Matt & Erin

safety last.

Bridgeport's Polish festival is next weekend...looking forward to eating some fried perogies!

Paris: fin!

eek, guess these posts keep getting longer and longer...hope you're hanging in there with me!!

Tuesday - our last full day in Paris didn't have much on the agenda since we had covered so much ground already!  I've gotta say, if you can only visit paris for 2 or 3 days you can definitely do the highlights but you won't get to really feel what the city's all about...but you should still go, even if just as a layover city!  Okay, back to Tuesday...after watching a slew of idiots attempt to navigate the metro ticket machines for what seemed like hours (ps, they have an english option, what's so difficult?!) we were finally on our way to the catacombs!! we got some breakfast at Paul - a large chain Patisserie which was pleasantly delicious! Another side note - holy crapola - i just googled them and found they opened a bakery in DC and in Florida!! WHAAAT?!? if you're near there, GO, right now! report back!! I had an anglais aux abricots (think apricot tarte...basically dessert) for breakfast and it was to die for.  could've eaten 10.  unfortunately, the line to enter the catacombs was not as wonderful as breakfast...it wrapped around the entire square and moved very slowly.  we stood outside in the damp, cool air behind 3 dirty 'couch surfers' who looked like they hadn't brushed their teeth in month.  so annoying.

thank goodness we waited out the line though because it was such a neat experience to be down amongst the bodies of 6 million parisians!  i couldn't believe how far underground the ossuary was or how old the entire structure/quarry system was since it looked like they had been made recently.  definitely less spooky and more fascinating than i expected.  the whole walk through the catacombs took about an hour and then we rode the metro back to St. Germain de Pres.  I was on a mission to go to the chocolate shop we saw a few nights back.  the store itself was gorgeous, only 6 months old, and the chocolate looked heavenly (insanely expensive, but heavenly nonetheless).  we bought 5 macarons and they were the most delicious morsels i had ever eaten!! guess i do like macarons after all, sure do wish i realized that years ago!

later that night we made an impromptu decision to take a boat tour along the seine.  we went to the ones at Pont Neuf since they were the closest ones i knew of.  the boat was a bit cheesy but a nice thing to do on a day without any real plans and gives a totally different perspective of the city/monuments.  after a highly entertaining ride, where we made a game out of taking the worst tourist pictures possible, it was time for dinner!  after much debate we ended up right across from the place we ate the previous night.  this time we were on Rue du Buci at L'Atlas...i made sure we picked a table so our waiter at Cafe de Paris wouldn't see us!  for our last meal we had some awesome boeuf bourguignon served in individual little pots. mmm, mmm, mmm, paris sure did treat our stomachs well!!

Wednesday - up early (7:45) for our 1:25 flight.  after i accidentally locked our passports in the room safe the day before (with some unknown combo) we decided to leave plenty of time to get to the airport...plus dealing with all of the moronic tourists at the train and airport is frustrating enough, no need to throw in the stress of running late!  lucked out with bulkhead/exit row seats...plenty of leg room and space to keep our treats safe for the ride home.

Au revoir!!

Paris: part trois

Monday - drat, i forgot that the catacombs are closed on Monday...luckily we didn't take the long train ride down there like mom & i did to find out the hard way many years ago!  Instead, we made our way to the Louvre.  But first we had to stop for something warm to drink & eat since it was a cool gray morning.  we came across what appeared to be a banksy mural right next to our hotel, cool find!  i tried my luck at the post office but the stamp machine only took coins so only the parents' postcards got mailed out.

Once at the Louvre, we spent most of the day on the 2nd floor checking out Napoleon III's apartment are before venturing out to the italian paintings wing.  And the Mona Lisa...which neither mz or i cared about as much as the hundreds of people waiting in line to get closer to her.  weird.  once we had enough museuming to last a lifetime, we wandered through the first part of the Tuileries before detouring to find a spot for lunch - priorities right?  Ended up at Cafe Royal Opera...just down the street from the royal opera house, duh.  Very different feel over here - pricier and bigger cars on the streets, many more business people and more expensive shops.  Since it was cool out, we both had Soupe de l'ognion (YUM!) and "croque monsieur for madame and croque madame for monsieur"...mz didn't think that was nearly as entertaining as the waiter (or I) did!

I wanted to walk around the area more since i thought there might be some good shops in the area (found out Fauchon was around the corner afterwards) but got too cold in my short sleeves, so we metroed it back to get warm...and mz got a little nap.  i should've slept but instead i spent way too long researching restaurants which of course were all way too expensive or closed on mondays!

Around 7 we made our way (after going 2 stops in the wrong direction on the RER) to the Eiffel Tower.  The line was pretty reasonable but the dimwit americans in front of us were NOT....took them 20 minutes to piece together that "pilier nord" meant North Pillar.  REALLY!?!  we went all the way to the tippy top in the lifts and on the way down we walked from the second floor.  so fun, one of those things that you just have to do!

Once back on the ground, the mission to find dinner became more and more important...it was already 10pm and i was starving!!  It was definitely our best meal of the trip at Cafe de Paris on Rue de Buci.  We sat inside and it was such a different experience (rich purple and dark wood furniture) than sitting in the same chairs that every place has outside.  mz had duck foie gras with fig jam to start - i almost even liked it, surprisingly!  we both had coq au vin for our entree...wow, so flippin' fabulous.  slightly precarious with all of the little bones, but melt in your mouth amazing food.  pair that up with some nice wine and follow it with a big slice of Tarte Tatin served with creme fraiche (basically upside down apple cake) and i was in heaven (my stomach's growling right now from just thinking about it).  oh yea, and we're getting wicked good at eating the european way...fork upside down in your left hand and knife in your right for the entire meal.  thank goodness we had to walk back to the hotel because i was so so stuffed afterwards.  it was a late night - even had to get buzzed in back at the hotel - but of course there were people out everywhere!

can i go back now please?! i'm huuungry!! :)

Paris: part deux

oops, apparently blogging during the summer is NOT my forte.  sorry!

back to the paris...

Saturday night - we ended up deciding on Le Relais Odeon for dinner in a must see alleyway near Rue de Buci (cour du commerce st. andre) and sat outside under the colored party lights.  At first I thought the waiter was super rude and almost made michael leave because when i asked him if he spoke english he said "i'm busy but will come back" and seemed offended i interrupted or asked him about english.  after much grumbling, mz finally came up with the thought that maybe that's exactly what he said in french and was just repeating himself in english as i requested.  ha, oops, yep, that's what it was! silly me!  dinner was delicious (gazpacho, veal and amazing bernaise) and the waiter ended up being FANTASTIC.  right after our appetizers were cleared there was a huge crack of thunder and then the rain began.  before we even had a chance to get rained on, the waiter whisked us (and at least 50 other diners) inside as if that's where we were sitting all along.  this place was CROWDED, i thought for certain dinner would be interrupted and we were going to be waiting a long time for others to finish their meals...but nope, miraculously there was a row of tables open!  there wasn't any delay whatsoever in getting our food, no mix ups...so professionally handled, really awesome service.  after dessert we walked back in the rain and were in bed by 12:30...so parisian to be out to dinner so late! :)

Sunday - time to bandaid up my feet so i wouldn't have to wear touristy flip-flops again.  after breakfast at a rip off tourist trap across from Le Conciergerie we went to Saint Chappelle.  It was beautiful as ever but unfortunately there weren't many tours on Sunday so we had to make up our own stories.  From there we took the metro to Pigalle (Pig Alley - pretty much the red light district).  Could not believe how raunchy it was even in the middle of the day!!  We saw the outside of Moulin Rouge and i could NOT imagine coming back here at night for a show, ick.  Even though it was a million degrees and pure humidity we walked up the hill and stairs to Montmartre & Sacre Coeur...as the funicular passed us by.  The basilica was very colorful, not sure if i had ever been in there before.  We also explored the crypt (boring, skip it) and the top of the dome (another 300 crazy tiny steps, but the view was well worth it!).

Afterwards we headed back to 'our' neighborhood for a quick pitstop, lunch and maybe some ice cream?!  we grabbed lunch from one of the many gyro shops behind our hotel - hot salty gyro with fries in them, hit the spot!  On Ile St.Louis it seemed like EVERYONE had the same idea...everywhere we turned there was a new window opening up to sell Berthillon ice cream and the line for the main store was around the block.  I got chocolate noir (basically like melting fudge, amazing) and rhubarb sorbet.  mz had the tiniest scoop of vanilla imaginable, so silly and so expensive but i couldn't resist.

Once the ice cream was gone and we ran out of places to window shop on Ile St.Louis, we ran out of ideas and headed back to the hotel.  Watched Due Date on the iPad (had rented some movies on iTunes beforehand - great idea since netflix, hulu and many other video sites were inaccessible in france)...uhm, i thought that movie was downright hysterical, let me know your thoughts!

For dinner we went to a seedy little place in the Latin Quarter called Le Grand Bistro...but the prices were good and they had a lot of cheese!  We both got the Raclette and laughed a lot since we basically were heating up chunks of cheese under what reminded me of a nail dryer at a salon!!  There was no doubt it was aimed at tourists, and we were pretty okay with that for a night...lots of english radio playing and Frank Sinatra's "my way" even came on during dinner.  made me think of papa of course!  when we left dinner crazy lightning was starting and by the time we got our out-of-this-world crepes (from the "crepe ninja" street stand at Boulangerie de Papa) the rain began.  We hustled back to our hotel and made it just before an intense downpour killed the street life for the evening.  Anyone want to make me a crepe right now please?!?!

voila...a post about paris!!

the day is finally here...paris vacation recap post day! hooray! :) don't get too excited though, i think the pictures are going to be way better than anything i could share in writing.  i must admit that i have about 22 teeny pages of my fancy new moleskine notebook with travel journal documentation but i'm going to spare you the gory details of my inner monologue and just touch on the highlights.  

so we left the good ol' u.s. of a thursday night around 7pm...almost missed the flight since we were sitting in a waiting area a gate or two away due to the crowds near our gate.  not a very smooth start but once we were on the plane for a couple of minutes i settled back into the 'yay, vacation!!' mindset.  we arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport an hour early...what?! yes i said that right an HOUR early and it wasn't just because i messed up the time zone change!  Let me tell ya, this airport was so snazzy looking.  Really beautiful with glass everywhere, put philly to shame, but you have to walk/people move/shuttle about 15 million miles before you can even exit.  That was slightly exhausting but who cared, we were in PARIS on the RER speeding towards our hotel!  eek!! :)

Friday turned out to be a gorgeous day, mid 70's and sunny.  just perfect!  our hotel room wasn't ready so we got changed, left our bags in the care of the pleasant (and english speaking) concierge and were off to get acquainted with our new neighborhood, the Latin Quarter.  And to find food of course.  We wandered past Saint Severin church, the Pantheon, the Sorbonne, through Luxembourg garden, many winding side streets that took us past Boulevard St. Germain and eventually back to the river Seine.  Chocolate croissants were purchased along the way...i think i read that they help combat jet lag ;-).  We later had lunch in the shadows of our hotel and Notre Dame at Le Petit Pont cafe.  Super touristy with the waiters/host calling at people on the streets to get them to come to their cafe, but it hit the spot and was a fun first experience.   After lunch we checked into our room and it was so funky, totally different than the place i've stayed in Paris before (or really any other hotel i've been to...maybe similar to the vibe at cork, ireland airport hotel?).  All i know is it was perfect for a much needed nap!!  After getting refreshed we headed west down the Seine to an area i'd never seen before and to the Jardin des Plantes (Paris' botanical garden).  It left a little something to be desired, looked a bit more like a city co-op than an impressive garden like i was expecting, but it was something new to see and there were some animals that appreciated our company in the menagerie area.  we found a place for dinner in the area right behind our hotel.  The pedestrian area of the Latin Quarter is kinda like a philly south street on steroids....packed little alleys, people selling art that they're making on the street, restaurants of all sorts at every door...and i swear it's like a bermuda triangle, such a maze of streets.  Dinner didn't knock our socks off at Le Bistrot 30, but it was good for the price and we were too tired for anything more impressive anyway!

wow this is getting long already...can you imagine if i transcribed everything in my journal!? gosh.  sorry, hang in there!!

Saturday - did something mom would never do on vacation and slept until 10! Grabbed a quick croissant (almond for me, choco for mz) and cafe crema at my fave place - La boulangerie de Papa!  Then we were off to walk our feet off again.  Past Notre Dame and all around Ile St. Louis then over to the right bank area and up to Bastille until we made it to the old Jewish section of the city and Rue de Rosiers.  I had read about L'aus de falafel in a few books so I wanted to try that out, but they were closed so we settled for King Falafel Palace.  WOW, who knew something so simple could be so delicious?!  Two pitas (almost like a bowl), really crispy falafel, eggplant, fried onions, tomatoes, cukes, cabbage & tzatziki sauce.  Unfortunately that delectable experience was slightly ruined once MZ became the target of an evil pigeon, waaah. waah.  I was determined to not let that ruin another sunny day though, so he changed his clothes (and eventually attitude) and we decided to head out of pigeon territory and inside for a tour of Notre Dame.  In the afternoon we also saw the flower market on Ile de la Cite, the Champs d'Elysee (although very much under construction), and everything in between - Grand & Petit Palais, Invalides (from a distance), Musee D'Orsay, Pont Alexandre III, and Rue de Seine with tons of great art galleries.  We also happened upon Rue de Buci with great restaurants and a little hidden alley way that I had forgotten all about from my previous trips!  We had our first parisian baguette along the way and picked a place to return for dinner....

More tomorrow but here are the pictures to tide you over!  Paris pictures part un & part deux.

making mozzarella. almost.

i've mentioned before how i love groupon.  the daily deals that get sent directly to my phone always look enticing, although sometimes a little outside of my normal spending comfort zone.  when i saw a 'make your own mozzarella' class pop-up as the deal of the day i thought it could be fun but at $60 it seemed a little too 'spensie.  but mz was all for it, he'd been seeing a lot of mozzarella making on food shows and wanted to try, so i signed us up as quick as i could!  let me tell ya, it's no fault of groupon, but this was seriously the worst $60 i've EVER spent.  even spending money on shoes that hurt forever or a dress you only wear once made me feel better than this experience!!

Here's the email that I sent to the fellows over at Taste.  It's seriously not an exaggeration at all.  This chick was wacky - she stuck her hand in a pot of boiling water, multiple times...and had a brown front tooth.  An 8th grader would've handled themselves better.  Spread the word - stay away from this class and probably the store too!

To whom it may concern:

My husband and I recently attended your Learn How to Make Mozzarella class and were thoroughly disappointed.  We have heard such good things about your winery and store so were excited about the opportunity to take a class at a well known establishment in the area.  When we got there, the "instructor" was running behind, nearly had a panic attack, yelled at the class and cried before we were able to get under way an hour late.  What followed was not a class, it was a joke.  I learned more about how she was afraid to drive in the snow and her dog's bowel movements than I did about mozzarella.  The cheese turned out terrible because, as she informed us every 15 minutes, she had no idea what she was doing and had never taught this class before.  She handled herself in a completely unprofessional manner that was uncomfortable and rather insulting for all of the people who had paid good money to be there.  The wine tasting was also uninformative and did your store/winery a complete disservice.  I would guess that "this wine isn't really good for drinking but try it with food, you might like it then" isn't part of your standard sales pitch.

The fact that you decided to offer this without a real kitchen by a person with zero knowledge about wine or cheese is offensive and seems like you're running a scam rather than a class.  It's truly a shame because I know many friends who were as excited as I was about taking this class and I've had to tell them that it was a complete waste of money and to not bother.

Bad right?!  Now if anyone wants to really teach me how to make mozzarella please give me a call!!


**post edited to include the crummy response from the manager at Taste:


Thank you for the feedback, the ex-employee is now under care by a professional, she is doing better though it maybe a long road ahead.  Again, thank you for the feedback and everyone is sorry for the experience and understandably concerned for her will being.


uhm, yea, i think you missed the point that offering this class is a scam since you don't have a kitchen.  oh well.  i tried.  and for the record, groupon is AWESOME...they gave me a credit for the classes!!

the little a's

yesterday we had a quesadilla cookout during the very few hours of sunlight we had...and look who came to hang out, aston & alexander, yay!

Alexander, his new buddy Michael, and his 'pack-pack'

gardener in training - gotta start 'em young

so cute!

he stayed awake long enough for lots of pics :)

found his thumb!

not sure why i didn't take pictures of the massive amounts of delicious food we made yesterday, guess the kiddos were too cute (more pics here)!

but for the record, grilled quesadillas should be on your list of things to make this summer...so easy and who doesn't love mexican?!  don't know how/why/when we decided to do it but here's a little run down...get some large tortillas (burrito size), put it on the grill,  sprinkle lots of shredded cheese all over the circle (i use a mexican blend), put meat (optional) on just one side.   grill until melted then fold in half.  easy peasy.  mz grilled up scrumptious pork in a spice rub, then kicked up some of it with chili in adobo glaze.  we also made some bbq chicken quesadillas too, you could really use anything you like - even leftovers.  served it with fresh guac, sour cream, fresh pico and grilled corn off the cob....and now i'm drooling, time for dinner!