Surprise! Another post!

Ok, not really another Europe post- this is a blog post to tell you to visit my other blog:

http://brownandblogginit.blogspot.com/

Brown and Bloggin It is more everyday stuff. I will eventually download all my pictures from Europe onto A Taste for Life, but until then, please enjoy Brown and Bloggin It :-)

And by the way, if you are following my blogs, please let me know by clicking the little button on the blog that says "Follow". I want to know who my audience is (and check to see if I still have one!)

xoxo

Jenn

Day of Culture

Wednesday July 29

It wasn't until I was in Paris that I realized I had married an art lover. I mean, I would say most people can appreciate art. For a little while anyway. But I didn't know how much Scott appreciated it until we were in a city full of art museums. He wanted to go to all of them! And for HOURS on end. I'm not talking about breezily strolling through the Louvre, glancing here and there at the beautiful paintings, and enjoying a nice cultural experience. I'm talking about standing around for hours (on concrete floors by the way- in flip flops), studying each painting, and reading the descriptions- which were all written in French! At first I thought it was fun, I felt very traveled and cultural. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus d' Milo, and tons of Monets, Da Vincis, and Picassos. But then after several hours of culture, you start to think that maybe you've had enough culture, and then realize that hey, this culture would be a lot more interesting if there was a glass or two of wine to go with it. But alas, there was no wine to be had :-(

Me with a statue of the goddess of wine

Ancient Hieroglyphics

A few of the amazing, ornate ceilings in the Louvre

My sister Megan told me that she had heard that if you walked through the Louvre, and just glanced at each exhibit in there, it would take you 9 months to see it all. 9 months! When she told me that, I thought, yeah right. But after actually going through it and seeing it for myself, oh, my gosh was she right! It was INSANELY ginormous.

This is one staircase in one stairwell of one of the many levels of the Louvre. How majestic is this? And it's a STAIRWELL! Unbelievable.

So, after a few hours of all this culture, I couldn't stand anymore. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate it, or find it amazing and beautiful- because it was! It was just..... SO much of it. So, so, so, so much of it. It's kind of like eating a piece of rich, gooey, decadent chocolate cake. The sight and smell of the cake is so appetizing, so gorgeous, so heavely that it makes your mouth water just to LOOK at it. Then you take a bite of that moist, chocolatey goodness, and it is literally just the absolute best cake you've ever eaten. The next bite is just as good, just as rich. Same with the third, maybe even the fourth. Then on the fifth bite, it's still wonderful, but your mouth has finally gotten over the shock of the chocolate heaven, and now it's just very good. And the sixth bite is still good, just not as good as the first few. By the time you've finished it, you think, wow... did I really eat that whole big piece? And then you start to feel that slight twinge of nausea, from having eaten too much of a good thing. Well, imagine art as a piece of that cake. So fabulous for the first couple of bites, or hours. But then, imagine eating that WHOLE big chocolate cake. That's the Louvre. Too much of a good thing will make you sick. At least, it made me sick. Scott seemed to be enjoying every lip smacking bite and wanted to go back and lick the plate.

Finally after a few hours, I had to drag him out of there before my feet and legs just wore out from sheer exhaustion of constant standing, standing, standing (again, on concrete, in flip flops).

One room with a collection of statues. Notice the hard concrete floors. Ow.

After we left the Louvre. Notice the look of relief on my face!

After all that culture, we decided we needed to go to one of our favorite cultural spots.... a piano bar! Oh, how we love those piano bars. Everyone is happy, singing, and having the time of their lives. There is no sadness, no stress, no aching legs and feet; there's nothing ever wrong in the magical land of the piano bar. We found a great one and sat at the bar and listened to a French guy sing American songs with a thick French accent. It was so much fun!

After a couple hours of enjoyment, our stomachs told us that it was time to fill up on something other than that illustrious chocolate cake. To make our evening of culture complete, we decided on the number one cultural icon that began a century ago and is still going strong:

The carry out pizza. Mmm, mmm!

Bonsoir, Pari! See you in the morning!

Ok, Back to Paris!

Tuesday, July 28

So, to recap. The last blog entry on Paris was that Scott and I went to bed after a beautiful, romantic night touring the City of Lights. Fast forward to 8:00 am (that's 2 am KY time for all you who are keeping track) HAMMER HAMMER HAMMER SAW SAW SAW DRILL DRILL DRILL HAMMER SAW DRILLL BANG BANG BANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's what we woke up to. In hindsight, yes, we had noticed the ominous steel scaffolding literally right outside our window, but we thought, maybe it won't be so bad..... famous last words!

Since our banging, sawing, wake up call woke us up so early, we figured it was a good excuse to finally get out of bed before 11. So naturally, the first thing we did was go to the front desk and complain :) After our room was changed from the top 4th floor street view, down to the lower 2nd floor garden view, we went out on the town.

We stopped for breakfast at "Le Pain Quotidien", and had a delicious, light breakfast:

Scott: Soft Boiled Eggs with Toast Points Jenn: Roasted Pepper, Eggplant, and Zucchini on Toast

Afterwards, we decided that we needed some after breakfast drinks. I mean, we were on vacation, in EUROPE! Hello! So we stopped at a cafe and had some champagne. Mmm, mmm!

After the champagne, we walked and shopped for most of the afternoon.

We walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral; it was magnificent

Afterwards, we sat on a boat/restaurant, sipped a glass of wine, and admired the beautiful Notre Dome from a view from the Seine River.

We had made dinner RSVP (which thanks to our stay in France, I learned that this means, responde s'il vous plaît ...Response Please. I never took French, give me some slack!)

We went to dinner at a restaurant called Le Pamphlet. For the Entree (starter), we shared some Duck Foie Gras. It was exquisite! So velvety smooth, it just melted in our mouths. For the Main, Scott had seared sea bass on a bed of artichokes and tomatoes (the picture turned out blurry so I'm not posting it). I had filet of beef with potatoes. It was devine!

For dessert, Scott got a plate of Goat Cheese with Balsamic Vinegrette and a Spring Mix Lettuce. I was too stuffed to even look at the menu. After that, we were served a complimentary dessert tray of various small chocolates and currants dusted with powedered sugar:

Even though we were completely stuffed, we still took the Metro over to the Eiffel Tower. Looking at the Eiffel Tower, all lit up at night, was indescribable. It was so breathtakingly beautiful, I decided to forget being mad at Scott for dragging me across town with a full belly when all I wanted to do was go back to the hotel and go to sleep. It was worth the 20 minute commute to see the flickering lights and realize "Holy crap, that's the Eiffel Tower! And I'm right here in real life, looking at it!"

Us underneath the Tower (the camera is on the ground, on automatic timer to capture this).

After another wonderful night in Paris, we went back to our Hotel Beaubourg happy, full, and content.

A Break from Europe...

Ok, I know this is right smack in the middle of the Paris stories, but we ate at this FABULOUS restaurant last night and I wanted to record it since it is fresh in my mind!

Mike and Brandy Skelton were in Louisville last night for her step-dad's work convention. Since her parents were available to babysit, Mike and Brandy asked Scott and I if we would like to have dinner. We said yes of course, so we went to this new restaurant, 732 Social.

When we walked in, it instantly reminded me of the type of restaurant we'd go to in NYC. Their menu consisted of local produce and organic wines. Check them out: http://www.732social.com/

We knew we had hit the jackpot when we read that they specialized in "french inspired comfort food". The French know a thing or two about good food, so we were so excited to try out several french inspired dishes!

732 Social is a tapas style restaurant, so they encourage guests to try a couple plates per person and share them. As a starter, we got a cheese course for an appetizer. However, had we really been in France, they would never offer a cheese plate first; cheese is served after the meal, either before dessert, or as dessert. We were glad to have it first, as we were all starving, and it was SO delicious!

Here is the cheese we ate:

Bucheron; Goat, Loire Valley (the white rind, far right)

Blue Costello;Cow, Danish Triple- Cream (in the egg cup)

Idiazabel;Sheep/Spain, Soft (the flat, thin cheese in center)

Ossau Iraty; Ewe, Basque Region (the yellow rind, far left)

Accompanied by Candied Black Walnuts, Watermelon, and Honey Comb.

Yum yum yummy!

Next, Brandy and Mike got a watermelon salad. I didn't take a picture of it, but here is a cute one of them after they've enjoyed eating it:

Scott and I got a small plate of Ratatouille

A picture is worth a thousand words, so you can tell by looking at it how unbelievably delicious it was!

For our entrees (or "main" as the French call it... entree actually means an appetizer plate!)

Mike and Brandy shared a plate of Mussels in a Garlic, Fennel, and White Wine Sauce

Scott got the Beef Short Ribs with Root Vegetables and Roasted Bone Marrow

And I got the Roasted Organic Chicken, with Heirloom Carrot, Split Pea, and Duck Crackling:

The chicken was so moist; it was a fabulous dish.

After dinner, we wanted to hang out a little more, so we went to Jeff Rubys for an after dinner drink. We had a great time with Mike and Brandy, as always, and are looking forward to the next one!

Ah, Pari!

Monday, July 27

Bonjour! We took a train from Amsterdam to Paris, and arrived at 6:30 pm. We checked into our hotel, the Hotel Beaubourg. It was a cute boutique hotel, with each room varying in color and style. Ours was very chic, and the bathroom was nice, new, and clean.

After setteling in, we walked to dinner at a restaurant called Le Mesturet. Scott had Steak Tartare, which looked completly disgusting. It was literally a pile of raw steak pieces, served with a raw egg yolk in the middle. I did not try a bite of this; he said it was just OK, not great. I had Veal in a white wine sauce, and it was FABULOUS! I am hungry right now just remembering it, mmm mmm!

Veal with delicious white wine sauce

Steak Tartare with egg yolk... YUCK!

After dinner, we walked to the Louvre. It was so beautiful at night, all lit up. Everything was, in fact. I understand why it's called the City of Lights.. every building was lit up and they all looked magnificent.

The Louvre (just one teeny section of it- it is so huge!)

Over looking the Seine River

The Pompidou Centre, a contemporary art museum across the street from our hotel

The Eiffel Tower in the background

Paris at night is so beautiful. The perfect ending to a wonderful first evening in Paris. Bonsoir!

Another day in Amsterdam... now what?

Sunday, July 26

As if this wasn't expected... yes, we slept in late again. From now on, I'm just going to create the assumption that yes, we slept in every day, because we pretty much did. Moving on...

We woke up to another beautiful day in Amsterdam. Scott read in the tour book about a place we had to go to for traditional Dutch Pancakes. We walked down to the restaurant, and secured a table for 4 outside. We thought this was a friendly, quaint place, until Ben went to the restroom to wash his hands, and the attendants (or bathroom guards, some would say) demanded 30 cents for entry. So of course, Ben was not happy about this.... he was still not over having to pay 9 Euros for water on Friday night. But, he calmed down when he read the menu filled with various kinds of pancakes and sweet treats. He and Megan got milkshakes for breakfast, Scott got an espresso, and I got a latte. Megan and Scott both decided to try an official Dutch pancake- Scott got one with currants and raisins, and Megan got one with just cheese. Yes, I said cheese on a pancake. Also toppings to note were bacon and apples; (I went online to look at the menu for more toppings but it was all written in Dutch) Ben and I decided that we were more in the mood for brunch, so he got a club sandwich, and I got some delicious herb encrusted goat cheese, served with toast points.

After our satisfying brunch, we walked around Amsterdam. And walked. And walked. And pretty much just kept walking around, kind of aimlessly, for most of the afternoon. There aren't many sites to see in Amsterdam, and unless you are getting high or getting a hooker, the town is pretty quiet. We took many pictures of beautiful canals, quaint buildings, and general "Take a picture of us, we're on vacation" shots.

"Take a picture of us, we're on vacation!"

A Beautiful Canal

Quaint Houses

After admiring all the scenery we could stand, we decided it was time for a wine and cheese break. So we went to a cheese shop and sampled some delicious cheese. We finally decided on a couple different ones, and also bought a bottle of wine. We found the perfect spot to have our picnic; a bench that overlooked a canal. We had a nice time watching the boats cruise up and down the canals. Sadly, it was time for Megan and Ben to leave for the train station, so with heavy hearts we walked back to the hotel to get their luggage, and then walked with them to the train station. We saw them off, then thought, "now what?" So, we did what we always do on vacation... walked around. We stopped at the occassional pub for a glass of Heineken, then walked around some more. When we finally got back to the room around 11:30, we were happily surprised to find.... Megan and Ben! They had missed their train, and had to stay another night and catch the early train the next morning. So, we had another fun night in the hotel, just talking and planning the next weekend together when we would meet in London.

The Land of Wooden Shoes, Coffehouses, and The Red Light District

Saturday, 7/25

We woke up late (this seems to becoming a trend...) and went to brunch at a cute little locally owned place. We all had really delicious food! I got a "Biba", which was a sandwich with gouda, lettuce, tomato, and basil mayo (oh, how I love you, basil mayo!) Scott got a 3 cheese omlett with truffle oil- yum. Ben got a BLT sandwich, and Megan got a sandwich made with raisin toast and "old cheese" (some sort of parmasean, we think). Here are pictures of our fabulous food:

My "Biba" Scott's Omlett Megan's Raisin Toast & Old Cheese

(Ben's BLT looked just like mine, so picture mine with Bacon)

After brunch, we decided to explore Amsterdam. We walked around, did some shopping, and bought some little wooden shoes for souveniers. They were so cute, and EVERYWHERE! Here are some pictures of a souvenier shop shop with a ceiling literally covered in wooden shoes

Aren't these cute? There were some houseshoes that looked just like wooden shoes.. I wish now that I would have bought some. They were so funny!

So, after the wholesome shopping, we decide to shop for something else... hookers! Ok, we just window shopped. We went to the Red Light District (the tour books say it's the #1 tourist attraction!) There were girls (all shapes and sizes) just standing in store front windows in their lingerie. They would look at you as you walked by, some would even motion for you to "come here" with thier finger. We were all looking around us, saying "is this really happening?" It was so weird- like being in some sketchy movie. It was eye opening to say the least!

Afterwards, we decided since we were apparently in the Land of Sin, we might as well make our trip complete with a visit to a Coffeeshop. This is where you can go and buy weed and smoke it there. We walked inside one, checked out the weed menu (who knew there were that many kinds!), noticed the smoking room with the patrons sitting around enjoying thier menu selections, and quickly left. Whew! Amsterdam, you are a wild, weird place.

Since Sunday was Ben's 24th birthday, we decided to take him and Megan out for an early birthday dinner on Saturday night. We went to this Indonesian Restaurant called Puri Mas. It was delicious! We all got to share 14 dishes, including lamb, chicken, beef, and various vegetables. It was really fun to share and talk about the food, and to rate it on Ben's "1-10 Scale" of deliciousness. All in all, it was a fabulous end to a fun filled day.