Lights, Camera, More Lights!

Okay, I better get on this blogging thing before I have accumulated too many stories to recount. Charlie's parents and sister arrived on the 18th and 20th, respectively, and since then we have been adventuring around this beautiful city like crazy. We have had to do much of it sans Charlie because he he was working as an assistant at Cordon Bleu up until the 23rd and then took ill shortly thereafter. He is on the mend now and I have taken his place. As I type this I am sitting in bed, abstaining from the day's outing so as to recover my health and my voice.

I'm thankful that we stayed in Paris for the holidays, partly because of the travel chaos that weather conditions were causing for some of my friends. I heard several horror stories of people spending days at the airport, losing their luggage, and just barely making it to their planned destinations. Fortunately, none of our guests went through this (fingers crossed for the coming week) and we have enjoyed ourselves quite thoroughly just by staying put. Also, I can't really think of a better place to spend the holidays, except maybe another magical European city like this one.

First of all, the arrival of Charlie's parents and sister also marked the arrival of several sought after goodies from afar, including ancho chilis and several Chinese spices and snacks like Sichuan peanuts and White Rabbit candy. Yummy! Also Charlie received a gift that I ordered for him months ago but that could not be shipped to France: His very own t-shirt featuring the likeness of chef Auguste Escoffier:

Chef on chef

New t-shirt in place, we embarked on our first outing to the Champs-des-Elysées Christmas market, known for its colorful light displays, good food and (to me) ridiculously expensive craft-works. Along the way we stopped to admire the Christmas lights that Paris appears to do very well.

Rue des Martyrs, a block from our house and where we do all of our shopping.

Ferris Wheel at Place de Concorde

 Lighted trees along Champs-des-Elysées

A very blue building, purportedly with an ice sculpture exhibit inside.

And now, for a corny video I made:

I envisioned this movie to be much cooler, but I do not have the right camera, nor great editing skills, nor the patience to walk around filming Christmas lights in order to make it what I had imagined it would be. Oh well.

After a freezing cold stroll through the market, we had worked up an appetite for something like French comfort food. We decided to head over to Café Constant, a restaurant that Charlie and I ate at a couple months ago.

 

On the way, we could see that Madame Eiffel had her head in the clouds.

For starters:

Terrine of foie gras, served with toast

 Châtaignes de mer, mousseline d'oeufs brouillés au corail d'oursin

Main dishes:

 Grilled filet of sea bass on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes

 Shepherd's pie

 Lamb trotter sausage with lentils

 Poached cod with local vegetables and garlic mayonnaise

Tête, langue et cervelle de veau croustillante, pommes vapeur et sauce gribiche

Dessert:

A happy clam

The next day, Charlie was back at work so I herded the remaining Hutchinsons onto a bus and we headed southwest for a trip to the Musée du Quay Branly, or what I like to call, "The Rape and Pillage Museum".

 Spacin' out on public transport

The Musée du Quay Branly is notable for its large collection of what one might call "cultural artifacts"; you know, things like totem poles, jewelry, clothing and spiritual objects from nearly every non-white culture in the world. While the pieces themselves are interesting, I have my qualms about this museum.  Not only are there an overwhelming number of objects on display, but there are also an even larger number of visibly stored in a glass enclosure in the middle of the museum. One has to wonder what the cultures these objects came from went through for them to be obtained. One has to wonder whether or not they are even still alive.

But anyway...

 My favorite voodoo dude at the museum

 Little devils

The Eiffel Tower is quite literally behind the museum, so we made the short walk to its base to take a closer look. We contemplated going up, but the number of people standing in line dissuaded us from doing so, especially on such a cold day.

 A living wall on the building next to the museum

 Flat-topped trees at the Tower grounds

 Tony and Elena at the foot of the grande madame

By then we were hungry, so we took a slightly longer walk to what I know to be an excellent Italian restaurant. I have dined there on a couple of occasions during my lunch breaks at school.

 On a mission

For lunch we all had beautiful things, like grilled salad, cream of mushroom soup, spaghetti bolognese and sauteed veal and vegetables. It was an ideal stop on a chilly day. Afterward we headed home to meet Charlie, stopping on the way to take a gander at the little Paroisse Saint-Jean in the courtyard of one of my school buildings.

I have class behind the tiny church.

To be continued...