Lynna, David, & Emmett's Adventures in Paris: October 2005

We love Amorino!

We found a small chain of gelato boutiques in Paris that we don't think existed on previous trips. Amorino makes artisan gelato in the most delicious flavors. If we lived closer to one of their six boutiques around Paris, I would no longer fit into my pants. If I could, I would have a medium-sized cone (moyen cornetto) (which they'll fill with unlimited flavors!!) every single day.

It's a feast for the eyes, too. They use a flat spatula to shape the different flavors into petals, so what they hand you is a huge flower-on-a-cone. And the flavors! I usually go for the chocolate, caramel, and pistachio, but occasionally, I'll mix it up a bit and go for coffee, coconut, Nutella, and/or stracciatella. In addition to coffee and stracciatella, David likes their fruity sorbets: pineapple, strawberry, mango, and pink grapefruit. Today, Emmett got to sample little tiny tastes of David's mango and pineapple sorbets.

Come visit in Paris and we'll treat!! That's our promise.

Long live Coquilles St. Jacques!

I love scallops in any form: baked, BBQed, raw, pan-fried, deep-fried, in seafood stews, in salads, in pasta, in sushi. You name it, if it contains scallops, I'll eat it. (Kathleen and Nina, you may want to skip this entry as I know neither of you are fans of scallops :) )

Last week, we ventured into the territory of the Coquilles St. Jacques, as scallops are known here in France. Amazingly, one can purchase live scallops still in the shell. We invited Kyra's friend Lauren over for dinner and as I described in a previous blog entry, David shucked the live scallops himself. Apparently, having that one meal of scallops wasn't enough because I went to our local outdoor market and picked up more than 4 kilos of Coquilles Saint Jacques on Friday morning from our favorite fishmonger (at a great price because they were packing up!).

David spent about 30 minutes shucking the scallops -- not a pleasant task, but definitely worth the effort. Each scallop that emerged from the ooey-gooey mess was white, pristine, and sweet-smelling. It was a shame to throw away all those beautiful coquilles shells (did you know that they were once used for currency?). Our next task was to figure out what to do with 24 beautiful scallops.

Typical of how we cook together, David wanted to make some his way, and I wanted to make some my way.

David transformed his scallops into Scallop Dynamite, his version of a Japanese appetizer we've enjoyed in restaurants. It consisted of scallops, sauteed mushrooms, shallot, mayonnaise, soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper and paprika combined and baked in a scallop shell in the oven and topped off with a squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped parsley. The result was delicious: savory, sweet, creamy, and rich.

I have been re-reading my Gourmet Magazine 2001 Paris issue. In it were two coquilles recipes that I tried: seared scallops with a beurre blanc sauce and baked marinated scallops with herbs and butter. Both recipes were very simple to prepare (I was able to do it with Emmett hanging out in the backpack) and both highlighted exactly what I love about scallops: they were sweet, tender, and meaty.

We polished off our remaining scallops for dinner tonight. My biggest regrets are that I didn't take any photos of our finished products and that Emmett is still too young to have some with us.

School Update (Dave's first blog entry)

Ok, ok, ok, it's been almost two months and I haven't written a single blog entry. So now that I've already completed 5 classes and my school schedule lightens up considerably from here on out, I hope to be able to make more regular contributions. For my first entry, I thought I'd let everyone know what business school has been like over here in Paris since people are always asking me "how's school?" and I guess it's one of the main reasons we're here in Paris.

I'm currently doing a semester abroad at HEC (Hautes Etudes Commerciales), which is located in Jouy-en-Josas, just outside of Paris. It takes me anywhere from an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half door-to-door. I usually take the Metro to Gare Montparnasse, where I catch a non-stop SNCF train to Versailles-Chantiers, where I then catch the RER C train to Jouy-en-Josas. From the train station at Jouy, I either take a bus or make the 15 minute walk to campus. It sounds complicated, but it's not so bad once you get the hang of it.

The HEC campus is really nice, although it's sort of in the middle of nowhere. I feel bad for some of the exchange students who are living on campus because they have to commute the hour and a half just to get to Paris. At least on the weekends, I can step outside my door and I'm in Paris.

I thought I'd give a quick re-cap of some of my classes so far:

Marketing of Luxury and Differentiated Products (taught by Vincent Bastien): This class has been really great. The teacher is the former CEO of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) and the former CEO of Yves Saint Laurent as well. He's energetic, smart, honest and realistic. It's been a real eye-opener learning how to market luxury products and how the strategies and issues are very different from marketing "normal" differentiated products.
Consumer Knowledge (taught by Corinne Dauger): The teacher for this class really made it worthwhile. Ms. Dauger used to work for Proctor and Gamble here in France and also worked at Hermes. She told us a great story about the genesis of the "Vizirette", a small ball that was introduced to slowly release liquid laundry detergent in washing machines in France. This class may not have been as "academic" as a comparable class at Haas, but the real-life experience of Ms. Dauger more than made up for it.
Customer Lifetime Value Management (taught by Janghyuk Lee): This class was crammed into five sessions over the course of about a week so it went by really fast. Some of this class was review from the fabulous Information and Technology-Based Marketing Class that I took at Haas last semester, but I found the class materials and the approach valuable. It was good to re-visit the subject of calculating customer lifetime value and get some new perspectives from Prof. Lee.
The Hidden Side of Organizational Dynamics (taught by Gerard Pavy): If you can figure out what this class is about, please let me know. In addition to the fact that it was difficult to understand Mr. Pavy's English, he also colored our class material with such flowery terms as "diachronically" and "intersubjective". There were also lots of fun-looking, complicated diagrams that didn't make a lot of sense. We spent an entire class period on differentiating between hysteria and obsession. Mr. Pavy also talked about "being nasty", "perversion", "sado-masochism" and the Oedipal complex. Fun, eh? Wait, maybe this class wasn't so bad after all.
International Negotiations (taught by Stephen Weiss): This class was crammed into two full days from 9 am until 6 pm, but boy was it worth it. I had never taken a negotiations class at Haas, so I was anxious to take this class and Mr. Weiss made it worthwhile. He moved really quickly, but we still managed to work in several role-plays including a one-on-one, a three-on-two, a three-on-three and a multi-laternal (two-on-two-on-two) negotiation. I really got a lot of practical skills out of this class that I'm sure will come in handy in the future.

So, that's my school round-up so far. I'm also taking a beginning French class which has been a lot of fun. Additionally, I'm in the process of reading Trading Up and Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong during my commute to and from school.

David's parents have arrived!

They arrived on Wednesday for what will be a three-week stay. They're in Amsterdam for four days right now visiting friends and relatives, so we haven't had a chance to see much of Paris with them yet. I'm sure we'll have many adventures with them when they return on Sunday.

On their first day here, they accompanied Emmett and me for a walk around our neighborhood to a couple of our favorite parks, including the Place des Vosges.

To my great surprise, we actually ran into a MESSAGE acquaintance while there, my first time running into someone in Paris (I know so few people here so far). As we were leaving the park, a woman approached us and told us in French how happy she thought we all looked together. Apparently she had been observing Akung holding Emmett as they watched the toddlers play in the sandbox. The woman sitting next to her was the acquaintance I had just met recently at a MESSAGE event. Kirsty explained that she and her mother-in-law (the friendly woman who approached us) had been watching the doting grandparents for a while and thought "they looked just lovely together. I wish I'd had my camera with me!"

Running into Kirsty and her family encapsulated what we love so much about this city. We've found Paris to be incredibly warm, friendly, welcoming and gracious, and we're cherishing each moment here. These spontaneous acts of graciousness have been regular occurences for us, thanks in large part to Emmett, I'm sure. Who couldn't love a city that treasures children as much as the Parisians do?

I Found a Job!

Well, it's just a temporary job, but I'll take what I can get!

Thanks again to MESSAGE, my lifeline here in Paris, I responded to a job posting on the forum. A France-based marketing company called DMS was looking for native English speakers to proofread and edit a set of questionnaires for one of their clients, Louis Vuitton. I went in for an informal interview and briefing session a couple weeks ago and started work almost immediately. The best part (and the only reason I could take the position) is that I can do all the work from home and submit everything on-line. I get paid 6 € for each questionnaire I edit. It won't be a lot of money, but at least what I earn will add to our babysitting fund and allow us to splurge on a couple of meals.

I haven't actually gotten paid yet, so we'll see how French bureaucrazy works with this endeavor.

Our First Playgroup

Emmett and I attended our first playgroup ever this morning, and I left wondering two things, "Why did it take me so long to do this?" and "We really don't have enough toys for him." (As I mentioned in an email later to my friends Anne and Kathy, corks, uncooked potatoes and green beans, and water bottles filled with dried lentil beans can only be amusing up to a point.)

Emmett played *hard* -- he loved being around the other babies, one of whom was his age; he had a blast playing with all the toys; and he surprised me by playing quite independently, unlike how he can be at home when it's just the two of us.

The playgroup is hosted each week by a group of MESSAGE members who live in the vicinity. The host this week happened to be a Boalt graduate ('93) whose mother lives in North Berkeley. Christine is Chinese-American and married to a Frenchman. The other mothers were from Australia and Oregon. I was warmly welcomed and left with some great advice about schools, train travel, and a mother-baby spa in western France! I hope to continue attending this playgroup until we leave as I think Emmett needs more opportunities to play with other kids. AND, I appreciate the chance to talk to other moms, all of whom share a love of this beautiful city.

Salon du Chocolat

This past weekend we attended Paris' annual Salon du Chocolat. I had high hopes for this event, but it was, alas, quite a madhouse with wall-to-wall people in a expo hall that was too small. (Notice the line behind us in the photo. It was like being at an amusement park, but fortunately the line moved quickly.) We sampled a few chocolates and chocolate treats from some of our favorite chocolatiers and witnessed chocolate-dipping and part of a cooking demonstration. David arranged to have us meet up with some classmates of his from HEC which was fun.

The highlight of our visit was meeting Monsieur Pierre Hermé! David said, "There's something going on over there... people are snapping pictures with someone who might be famous." I looked over and recognized him immediately! My first introduction to him was a guest on an episode of Martha Stewart Cooking. He's written a few dessert cookbooks which I'll need to examine the next time I'm at the bookstore.

Coincidentally, I had just visited his pastry shop last week to pick up some decadent desserts for Emmett's 11-month birthday. He was autographing books, but I requested a photo with him because I couldn't afford to drop over 120€ on his latest book, Ph 10: Pâtisserie Pierre Hermé. I told him how much we enjoyed his desserts and David said he seemed pleased when I reeled off the three we had. I'm sure I blathered on for too long, but I didn't care: I was standing next to Pierre Hermé himself!

Near the end of our visit, there was a fashion show which Emmett watched from my shoulders. David took a few photos of the models on the runaway wearing "chocolate-themed" fashion.

I'm happy to report that I can knock a few items off of my "confessions" list, based on events from the last couple weeks:

1. I may have found a couple potential language partners through MESSAGE (the English-speaking mothers' group). One mom teaches English and forwarded me the names of three students (all adults) who are interested in doing an exchange. I will keep my fingers crossed that this works out!

2. I rode the bus! Emmett and I took the metro to a suburb of Paris to attend the MESSAGE (my English-speaking mothers' group) Fall Bring & Buy sale located at a Hotel Ibis in Neuilly-sur-Seine. It was great to meet the other mothers, especially those whose names I recognized from the online forums. I also picked up a couple secondhand items for Emmett and me.
But back to the bus: I got off the metro with Emmett in tow and walked too far in the wrong direction trying to get to Avenue Victor Hugo when in fact I needed to be on Blvd. Victor Hugo. When a kind gentleman pointed out my mistake, he suggested I take the bus across town-- and it was easy! We need to take it more often.

5. David and I finally had dinner out together alone and it was a relief to not have to worry about packing up baby food, disrupting other diners, or looking at our watches to make sure we weren't keeping Emmett out too late. Anabel came over to watch Emmett, and the two of us enjoyed a leisurely dinner at Les Olivades (see blog post).

7. Our cooking recently progressed beyond roasting, broiling, and searing. Our good friend Kyra's friend Lauren O'Hara has lived here in Paris for about nine years and she came over for dinner. The prospect of cooking for a Parisian was enough to jumpstart our culinary exploits. David made mussels and bought live scallops which he shucked and prepared himself.

6. I am the proud owner of two Parisian coats! My Aunt Ellen bought herself, Nancy, and me the same khaki-colored trench coat which I've already worn twice. It's exactly what I wanted. Last week, Scotia and I did some late-night (11:30 p.m.) shopping along the Champs-Elysees and I picked up a red pea coat. It's time to let go of my tired old coats from home.

8. We broke down and bought a microwave! It's an inexpensive one from our neighborhood supermarket Shopi (35€), and we debated about whether to do it ("We can do without a microwave for a few months, can't we?!"), but are we glad to have it. Meal prep for Emmett takes a few seconds, as opposed to a few minutes -- a big difference when everyone's hungry. Leftovers can be re-heated instantly, all on one plate, as opposed to one bowl at a time in the our steamer pot. Heating hot water for tea is a snap.

13. I have definitely eaten my fill of cheese, and then some, thanks to Scotia. In fact, I'm certain that I ate more cheese last week with her here than I did the entire month of September. I'm also getting lots of use out of my book of French Cheeses.

15. I didn't think I missed Asian food...until my Aunt Ellen and Uncle David from China Bee visited and cooked for us. They made us a pot of Chinese pork noodle soup with napa cabbage which was so comforting and nourishing. They also bought us a small bag of jasmine rice and some Asian vegetables from the Chinatown here in Paris. When they sauteed everything and plated it up, it was all delicious and I wasn't sure if I could have enough! We haven't purchased Chinese food here yet (I hear it's not good), but I did have a bowl of Vietnamese pho (for 8 Euros -- yikes!) which wasn't great, but wasn't bad.

17. I've made a friend, or at least Emmett has. Ella and her mom Nicole from MESSAGE came over to our house last week to talk about work (I have a temporary job -- more on that later). Nicole is from Wisconsin, but has lived in Paris for over 9 years, first as an au pair and later married to a Frenchman. Her 8-month old daughter Ella is a happy adorable little cherub, and she and Emmett enjoyed each other's company for the most part. I was a bit horrified when Emmett grabbed at something she was playing with (twice) and thought to myself, "I think it's time we joined a playgroup." We attend our first one later this week.

Dinner at Chez Georges

Our first attempt to have dinner at Chez Georges was back in 2003 with Jen and Helen. We walked in with no reservation and were turned away because the entire restaurant was full. Dejected, we had pizza for dinner that night.

This time, we successfully made a reservation for three -- David, Scotia, and me.

For our starters, we shared their famous salade aux frisée, lardons, et ouef poche (frisee salad with bacon and a poached egg) and a foie gras d'oie maison.

Scotia had the Coquilles St. Jacques Sauteés avec eschalotes. (Scallops seared in butter with shallots) The scallops were incredibly sweet and tender -- perfectly prepared.

David had Ris de Veau aux morilles et pate (Veal sweetbreads with morel mushrooms and fresh pasta)

I had the entrecôte grillée a la moëlee avec frites. (Rib-eye steak with fries and a side of bone marrow) I felt like I scored the jackpot here when this dish was presented to me. I have only eaten bone marrow at a restaurant twice -- once at 42 Degrees in San Francisco, spooned straight out of the roasted marrow bones, and another time in Paris at Baracane-Bistrot de L’Oulette. It is pure indulgence when prepared correctly -- soft pieces of buttery, creamy marrow that melt in your mouth. I like to spread it on toast, but on this occasion, I went whole hog and just ate it straight out of the heated dish. Each piece was perfectly salted, the ideal companion for my smoky rib-eye steak. I don't think anyone could believe that I polished off almost every morsel of food... and had room for dessert. I justified it by thinking about how much I ran over the weekend, but still....

Dessert: The three of us shared the world's most amazing profiteroles filled with vanilla ice cream. There were 6 perfect little profiteroles sitting in a pool of warm bittersweet chocolate sauce. See how happy David looks? Scotia and I each threatened to lick the plate. I was serious, and I think Scotia was, too.

Chez Georges
1, rue du Mail in the 2nd arr.

Scotia was here!

After the race last weekend, Scotia and I got dressed up and went to the Theatre des Champs-Élysée to see my one of my favorite operas, Le Nozze di Figaro. Unfortunately, jet-lagged Scotia and race-exhausted Lynna fell asleep in the warm, dark opera house, despite our uncomfortable seats in the nose-bleed section. During the intermission, we discovered an empty private box with an obstructed view of the stage, so we settled ourselves in and napped some more to the strains of Mozart. Shameless, but I greatly enjoyed the parts for which I was able to stay awake. Afterward, we had a leisurely dinner at Bar du Theatres across the street from the theatre on swanky Rue Montaigne. (Thanks for babysitting, David!)

It was great to have a girlfriend here to play with: besides rubbing elbows with Yoko Ono, we went for long walks in our neighborhood, did a little shopping on the Champs-Élysée at 11:00 p.m., indulged in fabulous pastries together, and had some memorable meals out. I had to sacrifice and force myself to partake of these treats ... all in the name of being a proper hostess.

We celebrated Emmett's 11-month birthday together on Wednesday the 19th. (Can he already be almost a year old?? I refuse to believe it.) The indulgent dessert for this month's birthday was actually 3 desserts from Pierre Hermé! Our selections were:

Émotion Mahogany: Lychee, mango, vanilla cake, caramel mascarpone, and coconut marshmallows layered into a short highball glass.
Carrément chocolat: Layered chocolate cake, chocolate mouse, and chocolate ganache.
Tarte au café: Coffee-soaked shortbread, coffee ganache, and coffee chantilly.

For Scotia's last night in Paris, she requested that we go somewhere with a cheese platter, and boy, do we know the place. Remember Restaurant Astier and their "wheel of cheese"? It is hands-down the best cheese platter in all of Paris, and fortunately, Scotia agreed.

Emmett models the latest in Parisian fall fashion...

Onesie Couture!

(Emmett, when you read this someday, please forgive us for being the silly parents that we are, taking and publishing photos of you looking ridiculous for the world to see on our blog! I'm sure you'll find a way to get back at us....)

Dinner at Les Olivades

Based on a glowing recommendation from our good friends Joyce and Jeff, we had our first dinner out alone in Paris at Les Olivades. Anabel came over to take care of Emmett for a few hours. It was our first time really seeing Paris at night and we relished every minute, especially knowing that Emmett was in such good hands.

We ordered the Menu découverte (Discovery Menu) and a couple other items off the main menu. We savored every bite and appreciated that each dish was both a treat for the eyes as well as our mouths! Our meal consisted of (I took a few notes along the way for future reference):

Bisque de Homard (Lobster Bisque): Deep orange color with the consistency and richness of heavy cream. Drops of basil oil and a few drops of balsamic vinegar enhanced the flavor. True lobster essence. We mopped up every single drop. (No photo)

Gambas (Black Tiger Prawns) rôtis, brunoise de papaye, poivrons et oignons doux (Prawns with papaya salsa, peppers, and sweet onions): Three perfectly grilled prawns with a papaya salsa and lime sauce. Artfully presented.

Poêlée de chipirons, riso, poivrons confits et chorizo (Squid with riso, peppers, and chorizo sausage): Lots of tender squid, perfectly prepared. Smoky flavor because of the chorizo -- this dish reminded us of our paella, except it was made with riso (rice-shaped pasta), so the texture was different. Very flavorful and tasty. Fruity olive oil and basil oil -- perfect for bread-dipping.

Foie gras de canard poêlé, ananas Victoria rôti et vanille de Tahiti (Foie gras with roasted pineapple and Tahitian vanilla): David loves this dish and says every ingredient just shined through and complemented each other. Sweet, oily, decadent, melt-in-your-mouth. Ever so slightly undersalted.

Filet de biche sauce grand-veneur (Venison with a celery root puree and spaetzle): We didn't know what 'biche' until it arrived and we asked. The server who didn't speak much English said, "Uhh, doe? How to say...deer?" Being the child of a deer hunter from Wisconsin who was forced to eat venison growing up, I am not a fan of the biche. Fortunately, David, who had never eaten venison before, loved it and we traded dishes.

Joue de boeuf braisée aux carrotes et persil plat (Braised beef cheek with carrots and parsley): Falling-apart tender with sauteed carrot coins. Like eating short-rib without the bone. Rich, wine-y sauce. Melted in the mouth.

Figues rôtis aux côtes du Luberson et épices douces (Wine-poached figs with sweet spices and ice cream): Maroon-colored figs. When cut open with a spoon, seeds and a red juice burst forth, mixing with the ice cream and creating a luscious soup!

Service was courteous and friendly -- not overly warm, but we definitely felt welcomed by the small staff. Not a place to bring Emmett as the restaurant was slightly more upscale than our usual bistros and brasseries.

Les Olivades
41, avenue de Ségur in the 7th

20 Km de Paris

Ran another race over the weekend: the 20km de Paris

The race was supposed to start at a nice late hour (10:00 a.m.), but the actual race didn't start until a breezy 20 minutes later. I guess that's just how they do it here in Paris, unlike the races in the bay area that start promptly at the appointed hour (usually 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning). It felt great to "sleep in" on a race day.

The weather was perfect: slightly overcast at times and sunny during certain points of the race. The course took us all over the city, starting at the base of le Tour Eiffel, through the Bois de Boulogne (a foresty park in Paris), along the Seine River, past the Musee D'Orsay, past the Tuileries and Place de la Concorde, and ending at le Tour Eiffel again. There were families, tourists, and spectators cheering and lots of shouts of "Allez, allez, allez!!!" I even got a "Vous êtes superb, Madame!" (I must have been looking particularly haggard) along the way which made the race for me and kept me going for another few kilometers.

Like La Parisienne, the 6K race I ran last month, the music along the way kept me going, as well. It wasn't just piped in rock music, but live entertainment: African drummers, a small contingent of a high school band, a brass quintet, small rock bands, and best of all, bagpipers in kilts all along the route. It nearly brought tears to my eyes to hear one group of bagpipers playing "Amazing Grace". They were the best part of the race.

I hit a bit of a wall at 13K and started feeling hungry, so when the refreshment table appeared at 15K (there was one every 5 kilometers), I was grateful to see some snacks: oranges and prunes never tasted so good. I bypassed the sugarcubes they passed out...I've never seen that before at a race.

Once again, as in La Parisienne, they handed out those confounded plastic water bottles! I couldn't believe it and will write a letter to the organizers politely suggesting that they hand out paper cups of water instead. The waste was appallling -- mountains of plastic water bottles along the side of the road and throughout the course. Between the water bottle missiles (from runners taking one swig and throwing the almost-full water bottle off to the side) and the slippery orange peels strewn all over the road after each refreshment stop, the course was a bit hazardous at some points. I'm prone to slipping and falling as it is.

Afterward, there was a huge bottleneck that lasted at least 15 minutes to get out past the finish line to collect a medal and a bag of snacks. Despite this, the race was very well organized overall. I'd like to run it again someday.