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Monday, April 20, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Les boulangeries
Before we moved to France, every french croissant I ever had was AMAZING. All of the baguettes were just delectable. The pain au chocolats were all just soooo good. Well, it's been 8 months and I hate to say it, but my palate can discern the subtle differences so that now, I will not finish a croissant that is just average.
Yes, I hang my head in shame at the snobbery that my taste buds are practicing. But I can tell you, that when you can taste the difference, a whole new world opens up.
I thought I found the best pain au chocolat when I first got here when I went to Paul's bakery. It's a chain so you can find them all over the country. It is now average on my palate scale but because it is more expensive, it's low on the average. I noticed that the pain au chocolats were always cheaper than the plain croissants, and as a north american, you are taken aback because in our eyes, the croissant has less in it than the pain au chocolat, so this makes no logical sense. And then I realize that the croissant is truly a more delicate, complicated flavour and the pastry much flakier and probably harder to make. And then, the almond croissant mystery...it's more expensive than the plain croissant. And when I say more, the difference in prices between the pain au chocolat to the almond croissant is 10 cents. But again, curiosity won and I did my first taste test: pain au chocolat vs plain croissant vs almond croissant. Now I pay for the 10 cent difference, because the almond croissant is truly the best tasting croissant out there.
Once I evolved from Paul's I started to seek out the best in the city. I figured out that the best baguette is from Salees et Sucrees, near the cathedral (this is another blog entry adventure). But their croissants were so-so. And then I went to Kirn. And that's when I realized that Paul's is just "the people's croissanterie". There is better. Kirn's is a Strasbourg bakery. There are 3 locations, but each location has its own baker. Their baguette is on par with Salees but since Salees is near the source for gluten-free items, I buy my baguette from there.
I noticed a bio bakery (organic) a little further (about 40 steps) but always a lineup. So I went one day and got an almond croissant. WAY better than Paul's and at par with Kirn. I thought I found it.
And then the croissant clouds parted. While Ax and I were dealing with more french paperwork (which I now know will never end), I decided to stop at a tiny bakery on the way home to get a loaf of bread. Since baguettes are usually too big for 1, baguettes are a rarity in the house unless we have guests. I needed a little snack so I got an almond croissant. It was still warm. I bit into it and I knew I found it. It's the one. The croissant that is on my mind when I wake up. The pastry of all time. I went back for two more. The ultimate test for me is the taste after an overnight lag period. Well, it didn't fail me. Even after 24 full hours, 3 minutes in the toaster oven and it was heaven all over again.
I want to tell you where this is...but today I went to get some for my NYC trip and I got there and they were all gone. Not even 1. So I fear that once I post this, I will never make it on time to get more. I may post it one day, once I get the timing of the bakery. Maybe.
Yes, I hang my head in shame at the snobbery that my taste buds are practicing. But I can tell you, that when you can taste the difference, a whole new world opens up.
I thought I found the best pain au chocolat when I first got here when I went to Paul's bakery. It's a chain so you can find them all over the country. It is now average on my palate scale but because it is more expensive, it's low on the average. I noticed that the pain au chocolats were always cheaper than the plain croissants, and as a north american, you are taken aback because in our eyes, the croissant has less in it than the pain au chocolat, so this makes no logical sense. And then I realize that the croissant is truly a more delicate, complicated flavour and the pastry much flakier and probably harder to make. And then, the almond croissant mystery...it's more expensive than the plain croissant. And when I say more, the difference in prices between the pain au chocolat to the almond croissant is 10 cents. But again, curiosity won and I did my first taste test: pain au chocolat vs plain croissant vs almond croissant. Now I pay for the 10 cent difference, because the almond croissant is truly the best tasting croissant out there.
Once I evolved from Paul's I started to seek out the best in the city. I figured out that the best baguette is from Salees et Sucrees, near the cathedral (this is another blog entry adventure). But their croissants were so-so. And then I went to Kirn. And that's when I realized that Paul's is just "the people's croissanterie". There is better. Kirn's is a Strasbourg bakery. There are 3 locations, but each location has its own baker. Their baguette is on par with Salees but since Salees is near the source for gluten-free items, I buy my baguette from there.
I noticed a bio bakery (organic) a little further (about 40 steps) but always a lineup. So I went one day and got an almond croissant. WAY better than Paul's and at par with Kirn. I thought I found it.
And then the croissant clouds parted. While Ax and I were dealing with more french paperwork (which I now know will never end), I decided to stop at a tiny bakery on the way home to get a loaf of bread. Since baguettes are usually too big for 1, baguettes are a rarity in the house unless we have guests. I needed a little snack so I got an almond croissant. It was still warm. I bit into it and I knew I found it. It's the one. The croissant that is on my mind when I wake up. The pastry of all time. I went back for two more. The ultimate test for me is the taste after an overnight lag period. Well, it didn't fail me. Even after 24 full hours, 3 minutes in the toaster oven and it was heaven all over again.
I want to tell you where this is...but today I went to get some for my NYC trip and I got there and they were all gone. Not even 1. So I fear that once I post this, I will never make it on time to get more. I may post it one day, once I get the timing of the bakery. Maybe.
NATO is over but the lingering protesters still wanna party
I just did my laundry in the petite France laundrymat...it's the one I blogged about in our 2nd blog entry. Since we were there that one time, they have replaced all of the machines that were sat on by very heavy animals and overall, it's not bad. Our laundry man, Alain, who washes, dries and folds our laundry for no extra charge in his laundrymat, is renovating his house and because I needed to get some groceries, the other laundry place had to do.
While I waited for the clothes to dry, two obvious NATO protesters came in and asked me about the machines. They were obviously protesters because, not only did they have the obligatory dreadlocks, guitars and accordian, but they also had their big protest signs folded up and tied to their guitar cases. After explaining the machines, they set up their machines and filled it with mud-filled, extremely smelly clothes. One of them was laughing and showed me his once-white sock caked in mud and soot. I asked him if he went to the protest where the fire was and they both laughed and said they were part of the group that set the fire in the building near the Ibis hotel (which also was set on fire). They said they were in the G20 but it wasn't as fun as the police were too calm. The other guy said that when the police are calm, the protest is too, which makes for a very boring day. They both agreed that this protest, though much smaller than they thought it would be, was way cooler than the G20. Then I asked how they got the money to go from one protest to the other, since they had southern french accents (both were from near Marseille and were impressed that an etrangere could tell). They said that they save up for these protests. They figure out, with their protester groups, which summits would be best to protest, based on cause and location. Location is key since the London - Strasbourg - Marseille trip is cheap. And they sleep in the parks during their trip, so it's actually not as expensive as one would think. Anyway, they decided that since they didn't know Alsace very well at all, they were going to stay for at least 2 weeks and party.
To make this encounter even better, they needed soap for their laundry. So they gave me 4 euros for 2 machines worth (which was awesome since that was half of what we paid). So I made a little cash on the side. And the rip off wasn't intentional...they just gave it to me and when I said that was too much, they waved me away.
We got back from Luxembourg in the late afternoon on the last day of the NATO summit, so we missed the action and basic lockdown of the city. Caroline, a friend who has been in Strasbourg since first year university, and I decided that since we were ditched by Axel and her boyfriend Mario for Stephen Harper (I'll let Ax blog about that), we would grab some ice cream in the main square. It was hot and sunny and really was the start of spring. And we wanted to test Caroline's orange zone pass. We walked by a hotel that housed the cops and our path crossed a sniper who was going home. We knew he was because he had a HUGE black case that was narrow and was shaped like a gun. I said, "I wonder if that's a guitar" to Caro as a joke...and the guy turned to me and just shook his head. The ice cream store was PACKED but once we got our ice cream, we went and sat at Place Kleber. The barricades were gone since Kleber is technically in the orange zone, but the cop vans lined the streets (I will add pictures when I find my cell phone) and the robo cops still lingered. We parted and I sauntered home. I overheard some tourists who looked like they were from the NATO summit (only because they were wearing their passes and speaking english) remark at how all of the stores are closed and wondered how they made any money. I don't think they realize how the two day photo op shut this city down and that NATO was the reason that the stores weren't open, since the orange zone workers wouldn't be able to get through the checkpoints!
Axel met our prime minister during the afternoon. He'll fill you in soon.
While I waited for the clothes to dry, two obvious NATO protesters came in and asked me about the machines. They were obviously protesters because, not only did they have the obligatory dreadlocks, guitars and accordian, but they also had their big protest signs folded up and tied to their guitar cases. After explaining the machines, they set up their machines and filled it with mud-filled, extremely smelly clothes. One of them was laughing and showed me his once-white sock caked in mud and soot. I asked him if he went to the protest where the fire was and they both laughed and said they were part of the group that set the fire in the building near the Ibis hotel (which also was set on fire). They said they were in the G20 but it wasn't as fun as the police were too calm. The other guy said that when the police are calm, the protest is too, which makes for a very boring day. They both agreed that this protest, though much smaller than they thought it would be, was way cooler than the G20. Then I asked how they got the money to go from one protest to the other, since they had southern french accents (both were from near Marseille and were impressed that an etrangere could tell). They said that they save up for these protests. They figure out, with their protester groups, which summits would be best to protest, based on cause and location. Location is key since the London - Strasbourg - Marseille trip is cheap. And they sleep in the parks during their trip, so it's actually not as expensive as one would think. Anyway, they decided that since they didn't know Alsace very well at all, they were going to stay for at least 2 weeks and party.
To make this encounter even better, they needed soap for their laundry. So they gave me 4 euros for 2 machines worth (which was awesome since that was half of what we paid). So I made a little cash on the side. And the rip off wasn't intentional...they just gave it to me and when I said that was too much, they waved me away.
We got back from Luxembourg in the late afternoon on the last day of the NATO summit, so we missed the action and basic lockdown of the city. Caroline, a friend who has been in Strasbourg since first year university, and I decided that since we were ditched by Axel and her boyfriend Mario for Stephen Harper (I'll let Ax blog about that), we would grab some ice cream in the main square. It was hot and sunny and really was the start of spring. And we wanted to test Caroline's orange zone pass. We walked by a hotel that housed the cops and our path crossed a sniper who was going home. We knew he was because he had a HUGE black case that was narrow and was shaped like a gun. I said, "I wonder if that's a guitar" to Caro as a joke...and the guy turned to me and just shook his head. The ice cream store was PACKED but once we got our ice cream, we went and sat at Place Kleber. The barricades were gone since Kleber is technically in the orange zone, but the cop vans lined the streets (I will add pictures when I find my cell phone) and the robo cops still lingered. We parted and I sauntered home. I overheard some tourists who looked like they were from the NATO summit (only because they were wearing their passes and speaking english) remark at how all of the stores are closed and wondered how they made any money. I don't think they realize how the two day photo op shut this city down and that NATO was the reason that the stores weren't open, since the orange zone workers wouldn't be able to get through the checkpoints!
Axel met our prime minister during the afternoon. He'll fill you in soon.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sublet for the summer!
Hi guys,
We are looking for people to sublet our place. We have one guy who wants it for all of June but July until end of August, it's free! It's 720 euros a month which includes everything (internet with free international phone calls), electricity etc. It's fully furnished so all you really need to bring are your clothes! It's got a full kitchen (with a full fridge! very rare in france). I'll post pics but if you know anyone who needs it in July and Aug, let us know!!!
We are looking for people to sublet our place. We have one guy who wants it for all of June but July until end of August, it's free! It's 720 euros a month which includes everything (internet with free international phone calls), electricity etc. It's fully furnished so all you really need to bring are your clothes! It's got a full kitchen (with a full fridge! very rare in france). I'll post pics but if you know anyone who needs it in July and Aug, let us know!!!
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