THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE.....

After waiting for summer all year (and last year too), now it has finally arrived and we are all walking around saying "its too hot!". Saw this on the internet today. Explains perfectly what it is like in Paris this week.... max temperature today of 33.6 degrees.

Cranky from the heat? I bet you are.

The first few days of glorious sun in Paris made us all go wild with unbridled joy. We lounged on café terraces, had picnics on the banks of the Seine, got sunburned, ate ice cream, the kids were happy to be outside and at the end of each day everyone fell into yummy, soft, Summer slumber.

Now it’s been a few weeks of oppressive, humid heat and we’re starting to get grumpy. Today I noticed that the usually Summer-loving Parisians have officially turned into glassy-eyed, foot-dragging Zombies.

Gone are the lovely Amélie Poulian look-alikes in the their short skirts, breezing by, flashing long legs and wide smiles on their Vèlibs. Gone too are the little kids frolicking happily in the local ‘jardins’.

During my lunch hour, I ate my sandwich on a park bench to the shrieking tune of a gaggle of tantrum throwing children.

As she watched her daughter squirming on the ground in the throes of an impressive (in this heat!) hysterical fit, a nearby mother looked at me, rolled her eyes in despair, and said:

“Que voulez-vous que je fasse?”

What to do, indeed?

http://www.ivyparisnews.com/

WE LIEBER BERLIN

For Amy's birthday we headed to my spiritual home, Berlin. What an awesome place. Great people (who all speak English), great beer, great food, great sights. Too much to take in at once. Was the first time that I have visited Berlin in summer and it was a real change from winter. Not as much atmosphere but that was definitely compensated for all the sun and leaves and beer garden drinking, not to mention the floating bar we visited. We also got to see Barak Obama give his only European speech under the Victory column facing the Brandenburger Tor. A historical moment????
Amy and I got pierced to mark the occasion, me up the top of my ear, and Amy got her nose done. Unfortunately, she accidentally ripped it out about 38 hours after getting in done!! But here is proof it really happened:

DRINKING STARS in CHAMPAGNE

Daz and I drove around the Champagne region for a few days before our trip to Berlin. We went on a tour of a champagne house, Tattinger (yummy).... it is a real pain to make, you need to do 2 fermentations, then freeze the top of the bottle to get rid of the yeast sediment, then top it up with sugared wine to give it sweetness. phew! Tastes good though.


We also visited the medieval towns of Troyes and Auxerre, and Reims, which has a great cathedral. Nice and relaxing.... the sunflowers were my favourite. They make me happy :)

BASTILLE DAY 2008 = the finale

Another successful picnic on the 14 July, the French national holiday with our visitors Nick and Tracy .... except for the last bit where JJ's hand got mashed in a door! Happy holiday!

*** NEWSFLASH ***

Daz arrived in Paris yesterday, and to kick off his month here, he just found out he got into uni!!!! Macquarie Uni in Sydney doing Bachelor of Arts with Dip. Ed to be exact. Bring it on Sydney!!

Fete de la Musique

Every year, on June 21st (the summer solstice), France celebrates with the Fete de la Musique. This annual event basically gives everyone the right to play and listen to music. Nearly every bar, restaurant and empty space will be full of performers in all styles. Everyone takes to the street and dances the night away. This year we were lucky that it was a hot Saturday night, and we stayed out all night in the Belleville area (north east) and on the Canal St. Martin partying with the Parisians.

MICHELIN STARS

Hmm, well I've been very slack lately with this blog, so I will attempt to update you with some of the big things that have happened in the last couple of months. One of them was Amy, Twinnie and my trip to Lyon in May. Unfortunately I screwed my back up again, so I wasn't really able to see much. BUT! I could still eat... and thank god for that, as Lyon is considered to be the gastronomical capital of the gastronomic capital of the world.

We had 2 great foodie experiences there, the first a visit to a traditional bouchon, and the other, a fine fine dining experience at a Michelin Star restaurant. A bouchon is a restaurant serving traditional Lyonnaise cuisine, which relies heavily on offal. Yes, that's right... a restaurant based on intestines, livers, kidneys and pig noses and feet. Mmmmm, delicious. Actually, if its cooked properly its not too bad, tasty even. Amy was in seventh heaven as her childhood memories of steak and kidney pudding were revived.

France has a number of michelin star restaurants, all of which are pretty pricey. But if you go for lunch and have the set menu then it can be great value. We went to the Auberge du Fond Rose, and for 40 euros we had an entree, main and dessert, 2 amuse bouches (tiny cleanser plates) and 2 glasses of wine that were matched to our food for us. The service was boardering on over the top - a waiter actually took you to the toilet and opened the door and turned the light on for you!!! But the food was absolutely amazing. One of the best meals we have all ever had, and it really shows you what fine dining is all about. Very addicitive too - we have plans to go to a Parisian Michelin restaurant before Daz leaves.