Taste with your eyes.

Bonjour! Since I have been quite busy traveling all through Paris I have quickly realized it is hard to keep in touch with everyone. Although I do not promise many blog posts, when I feel like writing to all of you this will be the perfect way for me to do it :) I would just post things on Facebook, but you all know how I can make a long story "short." I am sitting in my Apartment in Paris now, and I can look to my left out the window and see the top third of the Tour Eiffel... C'est Magnifique! Now on to the stories! These will only be the ones that don't warrant a shocked response, those I will hold off on ;)

This lovely macaroon you see was DEVOURED by Kailey and I in the most American way you could possibly imagine. It was our second night in Paris, and since I have been reading A Movable Feast by Earnest Hemingway he talks about sitting at a lovely cafe called Le Deux Magots. It is situated on a busy corner surrounded by many other Cafes and Bars that were frequented by artist of the early 20th Century. It was close to closing time, but many of the seats were full. We were new to the Parisian lifestyle so we were told by the waiter to find ourselves a seat and wait to be served. We sat down and ordered our dessert, a macaroon and a chocolate cake, along with coffee for me, and a cappuccino for Kailey. A few minutes later the waiter informed us there was only Macaron Ispahan left. We decided to split the Macaroon, seeing as it was 13,50 euro... the most expensive dessert on the menu, of course. At that point we were going to be sure to enjoy it! It was TRES BON! Although, later we found the Bakery they get their desserts from and realized we could get pretty much the same thing for less than 4 euro, but the experience was PRICELESS. Notice the rose petal on the macaroon. I figured because it was glued on, and the Macaroon was 13,50 after all, it MUST be edible. I am all for trying new things, so I too a fork full of rose... the picture on the right is me realizing it is no special rose...

Kailey, Teo and I

I will get better at remembering the names of Bakeries or Boulangerie

The meringue cookies here are EXCEPTIONAL!

Mousse au Chocolat. My favorite yet! You can't find chocolate mousse like this in the States.

Kailey loves her Macaroons!

My white wine & Kailey's Cappuccino

We went to a Happy Hour at a cafe across the way. Un garcon (server) was not very nice, but the reviews on the cappuccino was a resounding YUM! They sprinkled it with cocoa powder and sugar. I must go back and have one for myself!

These are a couple pictures from our night out in the City of Lights. We had a picnic of wine, wine, and wine... The park was full of people. We ended up chatting with a couple of french boys who helped us with our french. In the end all I learned was that I will NEVER speak French the way it should be spoken... ANNNNNYWAYS, I guess I am just too full of excitement with my words. I can't hit the low notes.

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte

Teo treated Kailey and I to a glass of Rose wine in the garden of the Chateau while the sun started to set. The whole Chateau lined with candles flickered at sunset, and the chateau can be seen reflected in a pool of water at the edge of the gardens... it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I'll show you those pictures later ;)

In-n-Out of Paris

Above is L'as Du Fallafel the most amazing Falafel in Paris. It is located in the Jewish District in Paris. The falafel pita sets you back only 5,50 euro and keeps you full for hours! It is full of tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, eggplant, taziki, houmous (they spell it different too), more falafel and stuffed into a pita. We got it for lunch one day, and dinner the next. The line is long, but moves quickly. It reminds me of In-n-Out because it is open late, the menu is simple, and anyone who has had it CRAVES it!!!!

Strawberry Sorbet and Vanilla Gelato & Tiramisu

There is a wonderful cafe in the Jardin de Luxembourg where all the servers are friendly and the food is DELISH! I had lunch there once and had a really tasty jambon salade. Kailey and I went back and treated ourselves to a sweet treat on a hot afternoon. We were there for an hour or two doing what we do best: People Watching. There was the funniest guy working at a "Take Away" window (some places have a menu for take away and a more expensive menu for sitting down, but different than in the States. When you sit at a cafe in Paris you are never rushed. Ever.) Back to the guy at the take away window, every time he helped a new customer he would look them straight in the eyes and say "Bonjour!" and immediately his eyes widened and his eyebrows jumped up half way up his forehead. Kailey and I laughed for hooooours! ... maybe you had to be there, lol.

Tammy- this is the meal we were cooking when I called you to ask about cooking with Olive Oil

So one of my least favorite things about writing is having to reread what I have written and edit it to make sense... its not my strong point. I have realized that none of my short stories flow and I am kinda all over the place... SORRY!!!!!!! But that doesn't mean I will change, lol. Above is the Kailey 'n Kristin Falafel Sandwich... Bon Appetit! We purchased a 90 cent Baguette, grape tomatoes, roasted pine nuts Houmous, Falafel and carrots. We cooked our falafel in olive oil because the previous day we almost burnt our room down by over microwaving the falafel... I have a picture somewhere... Anyway, this sandwich made us proud. Okay, my stories are losing excitement... Here is one more: a third of the class went to a prefixed 3 course meal, the entree, or "starter" plate as we call it, was escargot for me! It was actually tasty! It was already removed from its shell and put in one of the most mouth watering cheese sauces. Kailey even tried it! She took one small snail and cut it in half. The girl is a BEAST!!!