The Net is flooded with food blogs, so I haven’t written much about food though it’s for me one of the pleasures of life. But it’s that time of year again to put that diet on hold and relish the food you love preferably in the company of those close to you. Then, worry about…
Munich: What a city! Beautiful, clean and orderly, and friendly. We both readily chose it over London. The good weather in April definitely worked in its favor as well as ours. On our way here, in a train trip with two long delays and more train changes than we had planned, time passed quite pleasantly…
I remember, as a child, eating dark, sweet,and fragrant cake/pudding so sticky it stuck to my teeth. It was made of rice, the only kind of cake I ever ate until my mother learned to bake. She didn’t make those rice cakes. Generous aunts usually brought them. Or, we bought them from street vendors, and…
Sounds We live directly across from L’Eglise Saint Louis. Right next to it is a grade school. We’re constantly reminded of these neighbors by sounds. Sounds that, to some, might be noise but to us signify the daily flow of life on the island. The bells of the church ring a few times a day…
Inside, the apartment is furnished in both vintage and Ikea. A cupboard proclaims its age on numbers carved on its middle door: 1779.
One of the first things we used to do after settling in a little in Paris was to scope out the neighborhood of our rented apartment. Our first objective—to find a bakery that offered baguette de tradition française. Made with a special kind of flour and given a long time to rise, its tangy goodness…
in Paris, but exhausted or stressed out? Taking in too many museums and monuments all at once? You have a number of choices for flaking out. Sitting in cafes and nursing an espresso (or expresse as they call it here) is what most people choose to do. Some stretch out or doze off in the…
I brought home five pounds of carrots yesterday. Organic carrots. I assume that since plants get much of their life out of the soil, roots absorb more of whatever the earth possesses. More than leaves, for instance. So—organic. To reduce the bad stuff (I hope). But I could be wrong. So, what do I do…
Green peppercorns. If you’ve ever used this ingredient, you probably got it out of a bottle. Soaked in brine. Its taste and aroma irreversibly altered by the long salty bath. I never knew the taste of fresh green peppercorns until I came across them in Paris. Not at one of the supermarchés nor the food…
We didn’t know exactly what to expect in Oaxaca, though we’d been to other parts of Mexico in an earlier trip. But we knew a couple who waxed wistful over Oaxaca’s charms especially “los siete moles,” a label often applied to Oaxaca. We just had to experience the place for ourselves. Mole, as you might…
Custard tarts and patterned stone pavements. These are the attractions that stood out for me in Macau when I visited it with my husband before China reclaimed it. Both are Portugal’s legacy to China. You may know that Hongkong once belonged to the British. But it’s neither the first nor the only Chinese region occupied…
Why cook in Paris? After all, you can just pop into a boulangerie, fromagerie, charcuterie, etc. and eat quite well. Or, you can splurge and go to a restaurant. Even when you have an apartment for a few days or so, cooking seems unnecessary. For us, though, who travel with an anthropollogical bent and stay…
Artsy Rambler 