Blue Doors

For this Too Good to Miss Tuesday I must address a universal truth . . . blue doors are beautiful. The evidence: substantial number of instances found throughout Europe.

With shades ranging from chicken egg blue (yes they exist--my sister has a chicken that lays blue eggs) to "almost green" turquoise I love them all. Included are a few "un-door" examples too significant to leave out.

"Sky on a snowy day blue" with a "dash of retro vibe aqua"

Clockwise from top left: Riomaggiore Italy, Bratislava Slovakia, Paris France x2, Verona Italy, Paris France

"Solemn-enough" grey/blue fit for nobility and a monastery

Clockwise from top left: Modena Italy, Prague Czech Republic (x2), Inveraray Scotland. Center: Prage Czech Republic

"You know you want to know more" electric blue  juxtaposed with "sophisticated sky" blues

Clockwise from top left: Bologna Italy, Amsterdam Netherlands, Zurich Switzerland, Amsterdam Netherlands. Center: Paris, France

The unorthodox mix . . . of course the Gelato University sign is blue, and the 2 black doors in Amsterdam are made even more stunning by the neighboring blue paint. Those sky blue/grey door and window frames in Zurich are the portals to a cozy home decor shop. I dream of wallpapering a nook with their library/book wall covering just as they did.

Turquoise that's all I'm gonna say

Clockwise from top left: Ghent Belgium, Inveraray Scotland, Dozza Italy, Gothenburg Sweden, Verona Italy, Edinburgh Scotland

And below, the pic of that romanticly lit door caught in a drizzly haze was the last blue door I captured on my last night in Europe.

Ardently Indigo

Clockwise from left: Bergen Norway, London (Notting Hill) England, Paris France

Bon Appetit

My coat still smells like duck fat. More about that in a moment.

My heart is pounding out of my chest as I sit here on the shuttle bus to Beauvais airport and the the bus turn signal which actually sounds like a failing heart monitor isn't helping. First, I just took a taxi ride through the roundabout of the Arc de Triomphe. The driver actually turned the car perpendicular to the rest of traffic at one point--talk about a once in a lifetime experience. Second, I'm on my next leg of the journey to an airport I've never been to (I eased myself into this adventure with London & Paris having been to both before), to a country I've never been to, speaking a language I don't even know how to say "hello" in, yet.

Back to the duck fat...last night we attended an evening market and cooking class taught by a professional chef, Constance. We received a lovely overview of French cheeses while standing in a fromage or cheese shop.

Did you know...
~Goat cheese from the south of France was rolled in ash to protect it from birds and humidity (now it's tradition).
~There are 2 traditional kinds of brie named for the towns where they are made. Meaux - produced in a large wheel so you find this in long skinny slices. Melun - a smaller wheel with a browner crust that has a stronger flavor.
~Double cream Brie is 70% fat as opposed to all other cheeses that are 45% fat.
~That cheese with a wet looking rind has been regularly washed or coated in wine or alcohol specific to the region.

So there is your little cheese lesson for the day. After visiting the butcher, the fish monger, the grocer and the boulangerie we went off to cook.

We shucked our own scallops, cleaned and seasoned duck breast, tried to put too much butter into the potato foam, turned a perfect circle of pastry into something resembling the USA, enjoyed wonderful company and ate like royalty.

Le Menu
Scallops with leeks and onions
Duck breast on potato foam with parsnips in orange sauce
Beautiful butter with beautiful bread
Cheese course (the one covered in black ash was the class favorite)
Chocolate tart

Voila! Tres Bon!

And now......I'm in Norway!

That is chef Constance next to me. She will soon be posting videos to YouTube with cooking demonstrations. I will so be watching. And I would recommend this company for Paris cooking classes. Small, great info and great food: cook'n with class.

Paris in the Sunshine

The sun came out for a wee bit this morning, just long enough for us to enjoy the gardens at the Rodin museum.

The sun disappeared again, but everything was rose colored as we ate a framboise macaron sitting on a park bench at Place des Vosges: a macaron with raspberries that taste like raspberries are supposed to taste and a fluffy raspberry cream filling.

And to round out the afternoon a few images from a ribbon store and Musee Carnavalet.

Up next our cooking adventures in the evening with a trained chef.

Fountainebleu to Bon Marche and a celebrity chef

First an apology. Now that I've had a few minutes to breathe I see many typos in recent posts, like the title "Nottingham hill" should be "Notting hill". Wading through html code is not my strong suit and I hope you forgive me as I adjust to editing and posting from my phone. Now to the fun stuff...

When looking for help with a train ticket to Chateau Fountainebleu I asked, "parlez-vous l'anglaise," to which the man replied, "do you speak any french". Touche!
I really wish I spoke more French along with some other languages. The pocketful of phrases I DO know usually fly out of my head the moment I need them. But I'm reminded that I need to spend more time learning, remembering and using the phrases first, out of respect for those whose country I am visiting. I am super grateful to those who have been truly helpful, like the girl at the ticket counter who asked questions to determine our trip needs and supplied us with timetables and information that proved to be extremely helpful throughout the day.

Later as my sister and I stood in line at Bon Marche--with our goodies for the next couple of meals (not a crumb is left of the baguette by the way)--I heard a woman apologetically say, "pardon pardon," and then laugh. Thinking "I know that laugh" I looked over and it dawned on me, that is the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. My sister Melissa introduced me to her cookbooks, I've cooked from those books to rave reviews, I've watched her show on TV. So Christy leaned over to her and said, "pardon, I love your recipes". To which she giggled and said, "thank you". That was the chantilly cream on my Paris food shopping excursion.

Paris

We arrived in Paris by Chunnel today. I didn't expect confetti or streamers to fly but I at least thought there would be an announcement when we emerged on the France side. It was a smooth ride but got a little crazy with all of the swindlers at the station on the Paris side. No worries they didn't fool us.

Our last hour in London was spent at Brompton Cemetery which seems quite appropriate because we've been homesick for London since leaving.

But never fear we enjoyed sweets at Laduree as well as the sparkling Eiffel Tower.

But my favorite moment in Paris so far was as we passed 2 Paris policeman walking on a quiet side street as they ate THEIR crepes with Nutella.