Back to basics

The longer we live in France, the fewer processed foods in our diet.  One reason is practicality - we can't find the foods we love (Mexican!) in this country, so when we crave a fajitas, we make it ourselves. Another reasons is that the basic ingredients in France are just better than what we ever found in the US.  The French really care about the quality of their food.  And since quality is often related to where the food comes from, most make deliberate decisions based on geography when buying their produce.  For example, most prefer not to buy produce from Spain (I haven't quite figured out why yet. People have told me that they don't treat workers well, other say that its very industrial).

Loire- Wine, Bikes, and Castles

Early last month, I was told that I was going to lose 12 days of vacation if I didn't take them before the end of March.  There was no way I could schedule two and half weeks of holiday on such sort notice. So as to not lose it all, we decided to go for along weekend to the Loire Valley.  Being only two hours away it was the perfect destination for a three day holiday.

Scout gets a new ride

For the past two years, we've been driving a 1997 Nissan,  It was given to us by a former colleague who was returning to the US.  He himself got it for free.

It was the perfect city car.  It wasn't pretty, but it was functional.  We drove it fearlessly through Paris without worry of bumps and scratches since it had plenty already.  But after two years, and multiple vacation car rentals, we decided that it was time to upgrade.

We thought about buying a new car.  But driving a new car in a city where its denizens use bumpers as a parking aid seems a bit impractical. With lots of people at work coming and going, there is a good source of used cars.

We found a nice, well maintained, hardly driven 2008 Citroën.  While its not as powerful as Thomas would have liked, it meets our needs for now. Scout has a ride to the park.  We can do our weekly grocery shopping.  We even planned a weekend trip to Loire.  The only inconvenience is that it's a stick shift.

Louis Vuitton in the Park

Each weekend we try to find something new to do.   It is easy to really get into a routine and forget to appreciate the fact that we live in one of the most beautiful and dynamic cities in the world. So that we do not take our situation for granted, I've tried to make sure we do more than just errands on the weekend.  Even if its just going to the park.

Thankfully for us, going to the park isn't always a mundane event.  The French really know how to create outdoor spaces that everyone can enjoy.  Whether its beautiful formal garden that surrounds a chateau or large forest with hiking paths or even multi-use city parks, the French know how to make good use of public spaces.  Considering how our 48m2 apartment is considered large by French standards, it is a good thing that Parisians have access to green grass, fresh air, and space.

Return to Normalcy

After all the craziness of last week, we thought the best thing we could do was to continue with what we had planned for the weekend.  After stopping at the kosher supermarket to lay down some flowers and pay our respects, we headed to the Chateau de Vincennes on the outskirts of Paris.  

“The only security of all is in a free press” - Thomas Jefferson

On the morning of January 7th, two terrorists infiltrated the offices of a french satirical magazine and assassinated 11 people (including 8 staff, one maintenance person, one police officer assigned to protect the editor, and a visitor). These people were killed because the terrorists did not agree with what the magazine said.  Moments later, the gunmen went on to kill another police officer who was responding to the attack.

Joyeux Noël in the Midi-Pyrenees

Cozy country cottage that is Scout approved

Since we were staying in Europe through the holidays again, we wanted to find some place that was Christmas-y.  We wanted to find a small European town with the old world feel, snowy fields where we could hike with our beagle, and a small cottage with a fire place.  Thomas and I had originally thought about going to the German Black Forest for the holidays.  However, the complications of renting a car in Paris and driving to Germany which has stricter rules and regulations made us change our plans.  Both countries might be in the same union, but it is surprisingly difficult to find a rental car in Paris with all the specs required in Germany (specifically snow tires which are required by German law, optional in France, and only available on rental cars in Lyon or closer to the border).  Given this complication we decided to stay in France. The question now was which part.  In the end, we found a charming little cottage surrounded by working farms in the foothills of the Pyrenees.  No snow, but it was a great location.  It was within a short drive (less than an hour) of fortresses, medieval castles, hikes, and even wineries.  It was also about a two hours drive from the mountains and ski resorts, and hiking trails are everywhere (even one that passed right by our house).