Irish Coffee and Fish and Chips

I arrived to Ireland with some friends this past weekend, with no expectations, but left disappointed: disappointed that I couldn't stay longer, and see more. The Irish are really lovely people, although there existed a quite thick language barrier among myself and pretty well every cab driver, waiter and barman. A relatively humorous concept considering both parties consider themselves English speakers. Regardless, Ireland reminded me a lot of home, because of our own abundance of Irish pubs, but these were in a category of their own: the joyful sound of accordion and flute spilling out of every bar, beginning at around 7:00 pm, really set the mood. 

Howth, Ireland

After a lovely night falling in love with just about every Irishman, we headed out to find some of the "green" we have been conditioned to associate with Ireland. And did we ever find it. After a delicious meal at the local pub, we went on a hike with some breathtaking views of the Howth cliffs, stretching for kilometers alone the shoreline. If only I hadn't accidentally booked an early morning flight, I would spent some more time exploring this beautiful country. Can't wait to come back!

Hilarious sign at the Summit Pub, Howth, Ireland

When in Rome, do as the Romans do

Not sure that is by any means what we did! 

My Dad flew over for a little Parisian visit, and what do we decide to do? Well leave Paris of course! In search of some warmer weather, and the sun which has seemingly ceased to shine in Paris, we found ourselves in Rome.

The weather was beautiful, and I discovered a lot about my Dad. For one, although being an immigrant to Canada, it seems he has become well adjusted because for the first time ever, I realized how very "American" he has become. Firstly, to my utter dismay, I was forced into breaking all of my personal travel rules, one of the first being paying for a Hop on Hop off tour bus. I was coaxed into the idea seeing as my Dad is currently having a hard time walking, but inside I was growing increasing anxious in fear of the possibility of being convinced to rent a Segway. Luckily, we didn't have the time, since we spent most of the trip chasing after the bus, which made for fits of laughter at the irony of the situation. All in all, it was wonderful spending the weekend with my Dad, and we should not be, by any means, held responsible for the abdication of the Pope, of which we have been accused on multiple occasions.

We had a lovely pizza lunch in front of the Pantheon, where a waiter generously and rapidly set up a new table for us in the sun, which we thoroughly enjoyed until the evening when I regretfully realized I should have been wearing sunscreen.

Can't wait to wander the city again this summer.

Café Constant

139 rue Saint-Dominique 75007
Open: Tues-Sun: 12-2:30 and 7:00-10:30
(image: www.hipparis.com)

My boyfriend Nick made the crazy (but wonderful) decision to hop on a plane and cross a little thing I call the ocean, to pop by for a little 10 day visit in November. During which we wanted to do what we love to do best: EAT. I have to say I was still in the process of discovering where to go and where not to go, and there were many disappointing restaurant visits, but Café Constant was not one of them. Recommended by my dear friend Isobel, just around the corner of the Eiffel Tower, on a relatively quiet street. Although I am not a huge fan of the huge iron structure, it was a must see in the same way the restaurant needs to be tried out. Well priced, with a lovely atmosphere, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The place was tiny, and I can't tell you how many times I knocked elbows with my neighbor, but it was well worth it. What is more, it was very French!

(image: www.hipparis.com)

We had a delicious entrée, and main dish, and by the time we got to the dessert, which was equally mouth watering, we were so full and so happy, we didn't know what to do with ourselves. I highly recommend this place, and hope to be back very soon for some more! 

Poor quality iPhone photo of my appetizer made of artichokes!

"What are you going to do with all your spare time while in Paris?"

"What are you going to do with all your spare time while in Paris?" A reoccurring question, after people found out that I work only 15 hours a week. Although I didn't have any major life changing plans when I first got here, one thing was for sure: I want to read until my brain explodes. Seems fitting as Paris has always been a literary capital, and because after six years of reading books from my university course lists, I would finally have almost unlimited amounts of metro commute time to catch up on years of reading. It would be far from true if I said I haven't read any personal selections, since I did somehow flip through sixteen novels over the course of my intended "four months of serious thesis writing time" as a means of procrastination. But finally there would be no guilt associated with reading. My to-read list is very long, it's literally impossible to play catch up since I am adding something new all the time. 

Shakespeare & Co. 37 rue de la Bucherie

One of my most favorite places to go in Paris is the Shakespeare and Co. bookshop. Yes, I realize it is located in the heart of "tourist Paris", and I realize it paints an image of yet-another-expat-in-Paris, but there is something about this place that makes me happy the second I step through the door. Sure, the entire place is filled with English books, not really going to improve my French, but that was part of the deal I made with myself: read whatever you have wanted to read this year. And reading I am! 

• The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• Beatrice and Virginie by Yann Martel
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
• 1984 by George Orwell
• The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by John Baxter

Let them eat cake...

Sugarplum Bakery - 68 rue du Cardinal Lemoine
http://thetravelingpear.com

And eat cake they did... well some of them. After a late evening dancing in the equivalent of a cave until 5 in the morning, a couple colleagues and I decided that getting together to grade our student's English midterms in each other's company, while eating cake would be a good idea. Not only did this prove difficult because of our massive hangovers, but lack of concentration due to the hilarity of the so called "essays" or "creative writing paragraphs" ended up in me grading a whole of about four exams in four hours. That's right... I averaged one midterm an hour, and seeing as I had over 200 of these works of art to get through, this gathering received a 0 for productivity. What it did receive however, was very high marks for quality of cake, and delicious teas! 

Although I didn't myself purchase any cake, mainly because they didn't accept credit cards, and turns out my pockets were lighter than usual (who am I kidding, I'm quite often scrambling for a 50 centime coin to buy a coffee), my tea was delicious, and I had a good taste of some incredible carrot cake. The shop is located just a few steps from the gorgeous rue de Mouffetard (almost a direct quote from the shop's website), and a few steps from Ernest Hemingway's apartment, with it's blue door at 74 rue Cardinal Lemoine.

Ernest Hemingway apartment : 74 rue Cardinal Lemoine

My boyfriend and I, on his short visit to Paris in November, spent ages running up and down the street looking for this door, almost ready to give up. It was nowhere to be found between 73 and 75. We almost gave up, disappointed and exhausted, when we decided to take a walk further up the street. And there it was, unimpressive, out of order. The only thing connecting it to it's inhabitant in the 1920's was Nick's Google search page and the plaque hanging just to the left.

So if you're ever searching for this blue door, check out the Sugarplum Cake shop! http://www.sugarplumcakeshop.com

Pierre Hermé or Ladurée?

I have a fellow Canadian staying with me, having found herself homeless in the dead of Parisian winter, after two fruitless months of apartment hunting. As a grand merci for sharing my roof (and my bed) with her, she showed up to my front door with a box of beautiful French pastries from the "Purple Bakery" for lack of any other defining features, and lack of original name (Boulangerie Patisserie could be a number of bakeries in any given part of the country). Beside the delicious tarte au fraises and tarte aux framboises, were three giant macaroons.

Macaroons and some tea at Ladurée 
http://www.laduree.fr/

It seems that these colorful delights are an icon for French desserts, since even my boyfriend's brother in law  sent me to Paris with a list of must-visit restaurants and cafés. At the top of this list was the one and only Ladurée. Forgetting the list temporarily, my French roommate introduced me to what he believes are truly the best macaroons in France: and it was not Ladurée. We walked down Vaugirard from our tiny apartment, to Pierre Hermé, and my life changed forever. But it wasn't the macaroons that made my mouth water and desire for more. 

My croissant at the Champs de Mars
http://www.pierreherme.com/

A rose-raspberry flavored croissant. It seems that Pierre Hermé has won in my books, but there really was no competition at all. I must admit that to me, both macaroons are of similar quality, and although my dining experience in the beautifully decorated Ladurée with its over-priced but tasty bite size burgers, PH will forever finish first after I ate that croissant. Rose flavored things are on my list of least preferred flavors, but it seems that I have been wrong about it all along. 

Let's give this a go...

As this is not a first attempt, here's to hoping that I can actually keep this up for more than, say, a post or two. Since I have all this new found motivation, my goal is to start posting things that have already happened in my almost five beautiful months in Paris, and perhaps eventually catch up to the present, and take it from there. I hope to share with you some personal finds in terms of affordable I-just-finished-uni-and-have-a-huge-debt gastronomie, as well as some of the cute cafés I've stumbled upon here and there... books I'm reading, and whatever else I'm feeling on a given day :)