Saturday, March 31, 2007

reasons why americans are smarter than everyone else

apparently if you live in this country and you speak more than one language, you live in the ghetto. at least, so says a leader of our country. i love sweeping racist stereotypes.

meat, good.

last night's attempt at recreating steak au poivre a francais was a success! delicious, tender nebraska filet mignon and blue cheese mashed potatoes. never mind it was 9:15 before we ate. it was worth it.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

spring cleaning

just arrived home from our london/paris springtime venture, and had such a delicious time. highlights:

1. the tube and the metro -- didn't get lost once!
2. caught a football match at a notting hill corner pub with the locals (man-u won, thanks to renaldo's penalty kick).
3. ate the most delectable food. in london, it was a bangladeshi meal to rival all other curries i've ever had. in paris, how do i narrow it down? the 3+ hour meal at brasserie flo, complete with french onion soup and profiteroles and a lake of chocolate sauce? brie sandwiches outside the louvre? baguette, stinky cheese and wine consumed in our hotel room after a quick shopping outing in monmartre? or, the pain au chocolat that i ate every morning for breakfast (and that i smuggled back to the states)? no way to pick. don't get me started on the espresso.
4. now knowing what it means to stand at the foot of the eiffel tower and stare upward at the massive steel structure. overwhelming and beautiful.
5. three words: big ben, parliament! (shout out to bessi, who knows what that means)
6. irreverently dedicating our trip to wandering the footsteps of diana, princess of wales -- mickey sang the elton john tribute song the entire time.
7. the one souvenir i brought home was a magnet of the mona lisa from the louvre.

photos here, if you're so inclined.

now that we're home, i'm starting spring cleaning, starting with my blog. trying out the new functionality in blogger, and also a new bit of geek candy, courtesy of semaphoria, called twitter. if i could only be so cool as she.

flowers are blooming, trees are leafing out, and the sidewalks are pink with cherry blossom petals. i'm ready for sun and spring!

Friday, March 16, 2007

life goes by

it's been an extraordinarily busy month since i last posted, but i don't feel i've got much to show (or tell) for it. i realized how disconnected i've been from my personal life today when i checked my email and noticed messages coming in from last week. not good. i have a friend who has asked us to get together what must be 15 times since thanksgiving, and every time we're traveling or otherwise occupied -- just in the last month my excuses have been conflicting trips to SF twice and NYC once. in today's email (which he sent tuesday...), he asked to get together for st. paddy's day. of course, i had to decline because we are leaving for what i guess has to be my last celebration for the thirtieth birthday -- a week in paris and london. can't stretch the ol' birthday out any further.

but, today is lovely so far -- day off, sleep in, good cup of coffee, catching up with friends and family. sun is out. it's quiet in my house, save for the washing machine whirring about like a jet engine. yep, i'm ready to relax, drink some beer and wine and eat copious amounts of croissants.

cheerio and au revior to you all, and stay tuned for reports from across the pond.