Thoughts: Pills

I have decided that the French do not like to pop pills. Every single time, I go to the pharmacy, I end coming home with medecine in Alka-Seltzer form. Such as aspirin, vitamins, upset stomach, flu and every other medecine you can think of comes this way. I guess people are afraid of those little white pills getting stuck in their throats, oh no, quelle horreur!

And it tastes nasty or dégoutant (I could use another word, but this one is less vulgar!)

Next time, I will be asking for the pop it in kind, so I do not have to deal with the hassle of holding my nose!

Thoughts from the RER: Mistaken for Americans

I opened the RER doors on Monday and discovered 5 people wearing cowboy hats. I really truly thought they were Texans that were coming to Paris, until they started speaking French! It turned out that they were coming back from Texas and they found it hilarious each time someone opened the doors and saw a sea of cowboys. Obviously, everyone else thought like me, "what kind of American comes to France dressed as a cowboy?!"

Then yesterday, I was sitting on the train going back home. At each stop someone yelled the name of the spot. And I looked up and saw a sea of John Deere hats. First, I

thought they were Americains again, because they didn't look like real French. They were blond, so it kind of made sense.

But they were French coming back from the Salon d'Agriculture which is going on just until Sunday and they must have decided to buy out the whole John Deere store.

Do you have any stories about mistaken identity?

Thoughts: Chinatown

You know you are in chinatown when there is no boulangerie in sight!

I work in chinatown, and sometimes when I want a sandwich for lunch it means I have to go walking 10 minutes to find one.

Usually I have to go to the post office and I do this on my lunch break. The post office and the boulangerie are in two opposite directions. The street for the post office is all Chinese/Asian restuarants, it sounds to crazy to be true, but it is true.

If you have seen a boulangerie on Avenue de Choisy or Avenue de Italie near Avenue Tolbiac, let me know.

Wanted: Vacation Ideas

My husband and I are interested in taking a small weekend vacaction. Somewhere not too expensive, in France. Anyone have any ideas?

Also, we are looking for a vacation spot for the summer, my family is coming to visit and we are interested in getting out of the city and renting a house. Any ideas?

Thanks!

So Much to Do, so little time

I know that I have not wrote in a while. I have been so busy. I have thought about writing, but I just haven’t found the time to sit down and write. But that time is now, as I take a 5 minute work break.

This week is vacation for school children, meaning I have to remind myself what time it is in the morning, because I usually hear their screaming voices in the stairwell (they seem way too excited to go to school). So, this means that the bus and the trains have been much less crowded, I think that the parents must have a vacation too.

Me, on the other hand, do not have a break. Even if I did, it would not be a relaxing break, I have so much to get done for my school project, projects for my internship and life projects.

My husband and I celebrated Valentine’s Day on Sunday by walking from Jardin du Luxembourg to the Mosque in Paris where we drank mint tea and baklava. Then we walked in Jardin des Plantes and saw a roller skate rally where they blocked the whole entire street, never saw that many rollerskaters in my life! Then we continued to Bastille, and we didn’t feel like spending 15 euros on two cafés and we continued past Republique, Strasbourg Saint Denis, Gare de l’Est until we stumbled to Gare du Nord. We drank at a small café right outside of the station and we mapped out how many kilometers we walked: 5 to 6! Y liked it so much he decided we are going to do it next week and the weeks to come, now that the weather is becoming spring-like.

Hope to write back soon.

From the French Kitchen: Crepes

Today, I was flipping through the Carrefour ads and saw a picture of a skillet to make crepes. I knew that we had one somewhere, so I raced off to find it. Then, I searched the internet to find a recipe. I did find one here.

I had to make changes, I didn't have butter or real all-purpose flour. But, they tasted awesome and not too sweet.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour - I used whole wheat bread flour and ground up hazelnuts
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups milk - I used skim
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted - I used olive oil

Directions

1. Sift together flour, sugar and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs and milk together in a food processor Beat in flour mixture until smooth; stir in melted butter.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 2 tablespoons for each crepe. Tip and rotate pan to spread batter as thinly as possible. Brown on both sides and serve hot.Sprinkle with cinammon and sugar or add some nutella.

Share your crepes and recipes!