Why Parc Montsouris supercedes the other parcs and jardins in Paris

Among the several reasons why Paris is so great is its share of gardens and parks throughout the city.  The two most famous ones are the obvious Jardin des Tuileries and Jardin du Luxembourg.  And without a doubt those are famous for really good reasons.  Out of the 2, I especially enjoy the Jardin du Luxembourg.  There is nothing better than sitting on the bench in front of the water fountain to people watch and just enjoy...life I guess!
However, there are many other equally beautiful parks around Paris such as the Parc Butte Chaumont as well as Parc de la Villette in the 19th arrondissement.

My favorite, however, is the Parc Montsouris located in the 14th arrondissement by Cite Universitaire.  I would've never known about this magnificent place if I hadn't lived right by it.  Check out the scene from the 14th district in the movie "Paris, je t'aime" just to get a feel! 
The park offers a non-toursity scene. 
There are always locals taking a few laps around the parks while walking their dogs and chatting up a few lines with each other.

I go to the park several times a week in the morning to jog.  Along my jog, there is always the man walking his hairy and messy dog, carrying the same plastic bag from a local used bookstore.  Then there is an upbeat lady around 60 years old that does her half walk half jog everyday.  There's also a short older Asian jogger who is always happy and upbeat.  Every now and then a group of fireman will arrive in their firetruck and do a few laps around the park, a site that I particularly don't mind given they do wear their short shorts!
There's a beautiful lake on the bottom corner with black and white swans, ducks, and all sorts of avian creatures.  In the winter when the temperatures are low enough, the lake freezes over into a postcard like scenery.  In the spring time you get to see the baby ducks following their mother around.

On weekends parents bring along their young ones to the park where they can enjoy rides, have a crepe, ride ponies, or go to a puppet show at a small theatre inside the park.

The jardin du Luxembourg prohibits visitors to sit on any of the grassy areas; and this rule is heavily enforced by annoying park guards blowing their whisles at you.  At Montsouris however, people are allowed to freely sit and picnic on many of the grassy hills it has to offer.  On a beautiful sunny evening, it is the perfect place to picnic, to sit and chat, have a drink, or simply just to read.  

Oh and another perk, the park has... yes!  Free toilets, while others will charge you up to 50 cents!

My thoughts on Iceland

Like many, growing up I had known practically nothing about the country of Iceland.  The only memory I recall was learning in school, "why is Iceland called Iceland?"  answer: because the settlers liked it there so much that they called it Iceland, and the giant mass of glacial land next door Greenland so that people will think Greenland is better and move there instead.
Other than that I never gave the country much thought.

Fast forward a decade or so, I met my first and only Icelandic friend while attending graduate school at the University of Maryland.  I, along with my fellow classmates were very curious to meet someone from this Nordic country and bombarded him with odd questions the first few weeks.  Through this friendship, I for the first time wanted to visit Iceland, but I never really thought that would be possible in the near future.

Since I am currently based in Paris for a while, it is only a 2 hour plane ride away from Iceland.  And with bargain airlines like Icelandic Express, I took my opportunity.

June is an interesting time to go to Iceland.  The sun pretty much never sets; while it's setting, it's also getting ready to rise again.  On the car ride into the city, I remember being amazed by the formations of the cloud.  Maybe it's because there are hardly any trees around, but I have never seen clouds like that before. 

I have had many "first times" in Iceland.  Below are some thoughts and interesting facts.

1. Q. What do you do when you get lost in a forest in Iceland? A. stand up!
2. Iceland only has one national highway... highway number 1 that circles around the island with one lane in each direction.
3. The water quality of this country is probably the best in the world; you're an idiot if you're buying bottled water there.
   

    
4. Because of its many glaciers, Iceland has many waterfalls.  In the summer time they are the perfect sight at around 10pm.
   
    
5. The Blue Lagoon was probably the biggest disappointment.  It's pretty no doubt, but it's become too commercialized and hyped, not to mention the expensive entrance AND transportation fee.
   
    
6. It's best to travel in Iceland by renting a car.  There is no train system, and the buses have very limited schedules and high ticket prices.
7. Sadly, only low percentage alcoholic drinks can be sold in supermarkets, the rest has to be purchased from a state owned store, where they are heavily taxed (and I thought Utah was bad!).
8. Which is why at the duty free store in the airport, Icelanders were literally stocking up big time on their alcohol.  I even asked, is it really that much cheaper?  Answer: yes and almost by half!
9. There are a lot of sheep in Iceland.  And they roam everywhere (careful when driving on the highway) eating fresh grass and breath in fresh air!  Because of this, they taste very very yummy.
10. Horses are another common sight while driving on the highway.  And these are a breed specific only to Iceland.
11. Despite their "icy" look, Icelanders are actually very nice and humorous.
12. Some food specialities:

• Skyr, a thick yogurt like dairy product.  I was addicted!
• Dried fish
• Smoked fish (including smoked whale)
• 
• lots and lots of lamb (smoked, roasted, liver, testicles, hot dogs, its head, you name it!)
• 
• Type of flat bread made with rye flour, very good with smoked lamb meat or lamb pate
• Fermented shark meat (which I just realized that I brought a packet back with me but haven't yet tried it)
• Icelandic Schnapps a.k.a. black death.  Apparently this is what you wash down fermented shark with.

First time experiences:

• Eating whale meat.  People have asked me what it tastes like, but it's really hard to describe.  It's probably like an in between of tuna and good lean red meat.
• hitch-hiking: when the bus driver informed me that my connection bus would arrive in 3 hours, I decided to take my chances in one of the safest countries in the world.  A semi-truck transporting trash picked me up!
• Seeing a dead whale (our guide insisted on showing this to us on our trip to Snaefellsness.
• 
• Holding a 2 month old baby, yes I have never ever held a baby that small!
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• Going to bed when it's still light outside, trust me it's not easy.

Iceland is definitely worth another trip back!  This small country has much more to offer than what I have seen!

Entertaining meal at "Le Jeu de Quilles"

I rarely dine out at night.  Mainly because it's more expensive and usually it's a 2 to 3 hour ordeal, so by the time I get home it's about midnight.  However, when I have a friend in town, I always see it as an opportunity to do some fine dining and also to show a visitor a different side of the dining scene in Paris.

The area of Mouton Duvernet in the 14th district of Paris might not be well known, however, this neighborhood is filled with hidden jewels of restaurants, wine shops, and speciality shops.
I was taking a stroll in the area once and passed by the restaurant.  I have heard many great things and reviews about this small bistro, which probably sits only about 20 people.  The restaurant gets its meat from the famous butcher next door "Hugo Desnoyer" known as one of the best butcher shops in Paris.  It sources its beef from the region of Limousin of superb quality (yes meaning grass fed and able to roam around in an open area!)   It was about 7pm (way before dinner hour in France), outside "le jeu de quilles" the chefs and servers were chatting and drinking wine.  I went into make a reservation, and the staff was extremely friendly.  I was excited for my dinner already!

Friday night came, we went in, and the server immediately recognized me with a big smile.  The restaurant had an open kitchen, which you could see all the activities of the chefs, which is always a big enjoyment for me.  There was some lively music playing in the background, and the whole kitchen seemed like a party. 

I started off by asking for a recommendation of red wine, the server told me he'll bring me something that I will like, and I will have to guess what it is.  I ended up guessing wrong, but it was a glass of Morgan, from the Beaujolais Region.  I usually don't like Beaujolais wine, but this one was of quality.

The a la carte menu was reasonably priced.  For the appetizer, I ordered a marinated fish, tartare style.  While my friend opted for the poached White Asparagus with a cream sauce and pancetta.  The fish was simply marinated in olive oil and vinegar served with some warm green onions on top, it was divine.  I ordered the veal carpaccio as the main course.  Normally I don't go for meat when there is a fish option on the menu, but this place is known for their meat, and I know the quality is top!  Meagan ordered their famous Limousin steak (which she was told she doesn't get to decide how it's cooked.) 



Veal Carpaccio

The veal carpaccio can only be described as an orgasm in my mouth.  It was served with shaved Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and salad.  It was absolutely out of this world.  I don't think I have ever tasted something that just simply melts in your mouth like it belonged there.  I wished the plate would never end.  Meagan's steak was also top-notched, she actually said this might've been the best steak she's ever eaten.  These two dishes are the perfect examples of good, fresh, and quality ingredients.  It was simply prepared.  The steak didn't need to be marinated, only some simple sea salt and pepper was enough to let you take in the true taste of the meat.

When I finished my glass of wine, the server asked me if I wanted another one.  I made a joke and asked him if he was going to offer it to me.   And sure enough, I received a free glass of wine, of quality of course. 

After seeing what the couple next to us had for dessert, we simply couldn't say no.  We shared a chocolate "soup" topped with a pistachio macarron.  Ok, is it possible to have 2 orgasms in your mouth within 2 hours?  The chocolate soup was warm, and not overly sweet.  The macarron gave it the perfect finish.

Dinner at le jeu de quilles was not only just an unforgettable gastronomically experience, it was a taste of a real Parisian bistro with an amicable touch.




The server that was everyone's best friend

Jeu de Quilles45, rue Boulard, 75014
01 53 90 76 22. Open only Wed–Sat, lunch and dinner.



What I miss the most about the US of A

After being away from the American style for more or less two years, there are certain things that I really crave and miss.  Yes I am in France, the land of some of the best cuisine, culture, history, etc. in the world; and I am defnitely taking advantage of all that!  Yet, you know there are just the little things such as....

• Trader Joe's, 'nough said!
• REI, sorry but Decathlon is just not the same... not even close!
• People who know what a Chaco tan or TEVA tan is.
• Iced tea, I guess that's an American thing?
• Diner style breakfast such as pancakes (blueberries preferred), eggs, and some nice home fries.
• Veggie Burgers, actually any type of burgers in general, that's one thing the French can't do right!
• Local farmer's markets.
• Coffeeshops, I know Paris is famous for these, but I miss chill coffee places in the US where you can buy a huge cup of joe, and just sit and read for the entire day.
• Microbreweries: especially ones in Utah and Colorado!
• Happy hours!!  Sorry Parisian Cafe, but 5 Euros for a beer does not equal happy hour.
• Pot-lucks!!
• Camping and grilling
• 

   
• Thanksgiving, my favorite Holiday!
• 
• oh and of course MY AWESOME FRIENDS!
• 

Some of my favorite wine shops in Paris

I LOVE WINE.  I don't think I can put any more meaning into those 3 words!  And I am currently residing in the best place in the world for wine, France.  Nothing excites me more than going to a local neighborhood wine shop, even if I'm just browsing.  The regions, the grape varieties, the cepages, etc. The list is endless.  Paris is full of "cave a vins" which are specialized wine shops.  What I like about these stores rather than buying wine at the super market is that each shop usually stocks wines from specific producers.  Hence, every shop will generally have wines from very specific wines from small producers that you won't find else where.  Also, wine owners or sommeliers usually will give you excellent advice.  You can tell them what type of wine you're looking for, what kind of food you want to pair it with, along with the price range, and they will point out a few bottles for you.



Learning about wine is a challenge in itself.  There is just endless amount of information.  The best way to learn, of course, is to taste the wine.  Many fancy wine stores and restaurants will often have "cours des degustations", wine tasting courses.  However, these usually cost more than 80 Euros, and is way out of my budget.  Luckily, there are many wine shops in Paris that hold free tastings.  Some have them every Saturday, others do them once every so often.    But here are some that I frequent fairly often.

1. Les Caves de Taillevent
199 Rue du Faubourg Saint Honore, 75008 Paris
http://www.cavestaillevent.com/

Owned by the same people as the Michelin-starred restaurant "Le Taillevent" this wine store stocks some of the most prestigious wines from all over France.  Apparently the basement houses more than 150,000 bottles in it shop, which you would never know just by being inside the shop. 
Les Caves de Taillevent has something for you to taste every single day.  However, every Saturday they usually select 3 or 4 wines based on a specific theme, whether it's the grape, region, or one time it was "wine from the mountains."  I go so often now that all the sommeliers know me.  And even though I don't buy a lot of wines these (for obviously budget reasons!), they are still very friendly and willing to answer any questions that I have. 
This prestigious wine shop also has their own marque, the "Collections Taillevent" where they partner with 40 proprieters and chateaux in France.  They hold two sales every year, one in March and the other in September where a selection of wine is 20% off.  But better get there quick as the stock runs out fast!

2. Le Vin en Tête
Cave St. Georges
48 rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, 75009
Cave St. Placide
53 rue Saint Placide, 75006
Cave Batignolles
30 rue des Batignolles, 75017
http://levinentete.fr/

This friendly wine shop has 3 stores in Paris.  They supply many organic and natural wines.  The sommeliers there are always friendly and gives excellent advice.  They always have one or two bottles open for wine shoppers to taste.  Often they will hold tastings directly with the vignerons.  These are great opportunities to learn about wine from the people who produce them!  Tastings are usually Friday evenings and Saturday at the St. George store.  But it depends, I would say check their website for the latest tastings, however, it hasn't been updated recently.  Their wine is a little bit on the pricier side.

3. La Dernière Goutte
6 rue Bourbon le Chateau, 75006
http://ladernieregoutte.net/

This small wine shop in the St. Germain des Pres neighborhood is popular among English speakers, as the owner is Anglophone himself.  However don't let that deter you from going.  This shop stocks wines mainly from small producers of excellent quality.  Every Friday night from 17h30 to 19h30, they hold an informal "Happy Hour" where you get to taste a few wines along with some cheese.  On Saturdays they also hold an all day tasting.  Always fun and lively!

4. Le Cellier des Marchés
24, rue Mouton Duvernet 75014
http://www.cellierdesmarches.com/index.html

This is fast becoming probably my favorite wine shop in Paris.  One of the reasons being it's rather close to me.  They also stock wines from small producers across France.  I have rarely found wines in this stores else where.  The store attendant there is very knowledgeable and friendly, he always takes his time explaining each wine to me; and so far he has not recommended a bad wine to me.  The prices are very reasonable.  Usually they have 1 or 2 things to taste on Saturdays, except for when the truck shipment doesn't show up....

5. Les Caves de la Nation
55 avenue Philippe Auguste 75011
No website

I put down this wine store, because it is about 2 steps away from my office.  They stock some decent wines.  From time to time, one of my co-workers will go there and buy a bottle to drink at the park when the weather is nice.  The guy that works there is also very cute :)

6. Caves Auges
116 blvd Haussmann, 75008
http://www.cavesauge.com/

One of Paris' oldest wine shops.  Usually from March to June, they will host a grand monthly tasting based on a region in France.  The shop is worth going to just for browsing as their collection is quite overwhelming.  I do have to say the service isn't the greatest.

Saturday tasting at Cave Auges

Other wine stores that I like

La Cave des Papilles
35 rue Daguerre, 75014
http://www.lacavedespapilles.com/La_Cave_des_Papilles/La_Cave.html

La Cave des Martyrs
39 rue des Martyrs 75009

La Cave des Abbessess
43 rue des Abbesses, 75018

La Cave du Père Lachaise
3 Avenue Gambetta 75020
http://www.lacaveduperelachaise.com/

A few of my favorite things about Turkey!

In no particular order

1. Ayran: salty yogurt drink that is the perfect combination to a kebab, simit, or pretty much everything!

2. Self-Service restaurants: pick from an array of yummy food, and cheap!

3. Mosques: so beautiful!


4. That I was able to get from one continent to another in a 20 min. ferry ride.

5. Tea: people drank tea all the time!  I love the glassware and the trays they use.

6. Fresh squeezed juices: from orange, grapefruit, carrot, promegrenate, apple, etc. you name it, and all for less than one euro!
7. Beautiful coasts

8. Amazing historical sites like Epheus (the only one I got to see, there are many more of course!)

9. Excellent bus and ferry system

10. Turkish Coffee, it's totally worth the extra time to make it!

11. Dried fruits and dried chickpeas

Free Museum days in Paris, a few of my favorites

I love museums, and fortunately for me, I currently live in a city with some of the best museums in the world.  Other than the big names of the Louvre, Centre Pompidou, and Musee D'Orsay, there are many lesser known ones that are equally worth going to. 
Since I am no longer in the "under 26" age group, where entries to many museums are free, and since I am also too cheap to pay, I take advantage of the Free museum days.

One of my newly discovered place is the "Jeu de Paume".  It's a gallery right next to the Jardin des Tuileries that holds photography exhibitions that changes every few months.  It consists of three levels, usually with a different exhibition on each level.  They recently just concluded an excellent and compelling exhibition on the works of the now jailed Chinese activist/photographer Ai Wei Wei. 

Free when?

Only for studetns and those under 26 ! The last Tuesday of every month from 17h to 21h.  I would advise going before 19h to avoid a long line.
http://www.jeudepaume.org/

Another place that I've frequented is the Maison Europeene de la Photographie. It is located in a side-street near the metro "St. Paul".  It houses collections of contemporary photographic art as well as temporary photography exhibitions that changes frequently.  It's a must go for any photography or contemporary art fans!

Free when?

Every Wednesday evening from 17h to 20h.
http://www.mep-fr.org/us/default.htm

Musee des arts et Metiers has a collection of "stuff" and objects from science, engineering, transportation, communication, energy, etc.  They are displayed in a chronological order.  The museum is fun for kids and especially science geeks!

Free when?

The first Sunday of every month, and every Thursday from 18h to 21h.
http://www.arts-et-metiers.net/musee.php?P=228

The following is a list of museums that are free the First Sunday of every month (courtesy of Parisinfo.com)

Musée national d'art moderne - Centre Pompidou – 4^th

Musée de l'Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris – 5^th

Musée national des Arts asiatiques Guimet – 16^th

Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature – 3^th

Musée national Eugène Delacroix – 6^th

Musée Gustave Moreau - 9^th

Musée national Ernest Hebert

Musée national Jean-Jacques Henner – 17^th

Musée du Louvre – 1^st

Musée national du Moyen Âge - Thermes de Cluny – 5^th

Musée national de l'Orangerie – 1^st

Musée d'Orsay – 7^th

Musée national Picasso – 3^rd

Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine – 16^th

Cité nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration – 12^th

Musée du Quai Branly – 7^th

Musée Rodin – 7^th

Dinner at les Petits Plats, where les plats aren't really that petit!

This past weekend, I had my first visitor since my arrival in Paris.  My friend, whom I haven't seen in a year and a half came for a quick visit from Boston.  We both LOVE food and wine, so I really had to make sure I made reservations at some impressive restaurants.
This was also a chance for me to dine a bit more fancily at dinner.  Normally I only dine out at lunch as it is cheaper and not as weird to dine alone.
For our last night together, I made a reservations at a small restaurant not far from my apartment in the 14th arrondissement called "Les petits plats," meaning small plates.  The concept is to let diners try out different things in smaller portions.  The set dinner menu lets you choose 4 small plates for 35 euros.  You can choose any combination that you wish: I opted for 1 entree, 2 maind dishes, and 1 dessert, as did my friend.  We found out very soon that these plates aren't exactly as petit as we thought!

There was a little "mise en bouche" to start, with small crostinis and this amazing olive tapenade.  My first course was a white fish gravalax with a creme fraiche sauce wrapped in thinnly sliced carrots.  The creme balanced the fish well, and the piece of baguette was the perfect accompaniment.  My companion had a foamy soup that was poured into a bowl with fresh breadcrumbs right in front of us.  Again, one could probably go through a loaf of bread with the soup alone.

My second dish was pan-fried fish on top of a small crepe filled with leeks and pancetta.  The skin of the fish was crispy, but a bit under-flavored.  But the crepe certain made up for everything!  My friend's second dish was a "riz de veau" carpaccio.  It was served sliced cheese and an excellent cream sauce.  I think this was probably the best dish of the night.  The veal was flavoreful and tender (did I mention it was raw?)

My third course was kind of a decomposed paella.  It was served in two small hot plates, one with the seafood, and the other a wild black rice.  The sauce from the seafood was amazing that I could not resist another piece of bread, even though by this time I was already stuffed.  The other dish was a duck confit ravioli served with sliced pears and grapefruit.  Another inventive and unique dish.


We were both overly full by this point, and expecting our dessert to be just a small sample.  But then out came this big piece of hazelnut eclair and a big bowl of sweet fresh grapefruit and shaved ice.  If that was considered a small plate of eclair, then I don't even want to know what their version of a regular size eclair is!  The flavor of the eclair was to die for, and the caramel sauce complemented it perfectly.  My grapfruit ice dessert was a little lighter, but it was so much that I could barely handle the rest.


Les Petits Plats is a small and quiet restaurant that serves up fun and inventive dishes.  The service was good, and the wine options are plentiful with reasonable prices.  The menu changes everyday.  It is definitely a place that I would go back!

Things that you can ALWAYS find in Paris within a block's radius.

1. Pharmacie: Even the French admit it, every two steps you walk in Paris, you're never far away from the bright green neon light of a Pharmacie.  They do come in handy, especially when I got sick a gazillion times this past winter, and also the fact that I tend to hurt myself rather easily.
But really?  With all the Pharmacies around, you'd think that the French are all infected with some kind of illness or diseases.
There's also the "Parapharmacie" that sells body care products and such.  It's rather bizarre to see famous brands like "Biotherm" on its shelves, when they are sold at fancy department store counters in Taiwan.

2. Brasserie:  I love the multi-functionality of a French Brasserrie.  In the morning you can go and have a coffe with croissant or tartine.  At lunch, they serve lunch with very reasonable prices (usually around 10 Euros for the plat du jour).  In the afternoon, you can go and have coffee or a late-afternoon drink.  And of course dinner at night.  For me they are an excellent choice to rest my legs when I'm tired from exploring the city!
I can serious picture before the banning of smoking that these Brasseries were filled with non-stop smoking customers just chatting away.

3. Boulangerie:  The French love and need their bread for every meal, so it is essential for the existence of boulangeries every other step.  And also, you can even find some that are open on Sunday nights *gasp*
There is nothing better than passing by a boulangerie in the morning and smelling fresh baked bread.  I used to pass by one on my running route, and it'd kill me every time!  I guess since I'm not from here, I like to try out different boulangeries, since the quality differs emmensely.  But there are many French people who swear only by one boulangerie!!
Oh and just a side note, for some reason many of the award winning boulangeries are around the Montmartre area.  But so far my favorite baguette tradition is from a place called "les Ateliers des Pains" near Place de Clichy.

4. Banks:  I think Taipei and Paris should go head to head in who has the most banks in a hundred meter radius.  BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole, Banque Populaire, Credit Cooperatif, Caisse d'Epargne, HSBC, etc.  I think I can find all of these on Boulevard Voltaire.  Oh not to mention the Post Office also offers banking (and oddly, cellphone service).

5. Small super market chains: Franprix, monoprix, casino, etc.  They're convenient to a certain point, but what I don't like about them is it takes away my joy of shopping at local butchers, cheeseshops, wine shops, seafood shops, etc.  Their existence has also taken a lot of business from small shop owners.  Most of them are owned by the Casino Corporation. 

6. Traiteurs: which are more or less take out joints.  I'm actually really surprised how often the French eat pre-prepared food. 

7.  Ok I have to mention this again... DOG SHIT: and this is something you find every step of the way!

Parisian Cafés

I have always had a fascination with France ever since I was a child.  I would often dream of sitting in a outdoor cafe in the center of Paris, under the bright shining sun as if the time stays still, just like in the movies.  This scene has been romanticized in my head many times. 

Two of the most popular cafes in Paris is located on the Left Bank in the St. Germain des Pres quartier, not too far from each other.  They are the Cafe de Flore and the Cafe les Deux Magots.  Famous French, English, and American writers frequented these two cafes, and now they are a sure destinations for tourists charging an unthinkable amount for a cup of average espresso.   

The most expensive coffee that I know in Paris is located on, not suprisingly, none other than the Champs Elysees.  With a cup of tiny espresso coming to a tab of 7.90 Euros.  Yes you read that right, close to ten big bucks for a bad cup of coffee along with equally bad service.

Parisian Cafes come in a variety of forms, and prices vary from a simple brasserie, a fancy cafe, or of course there's always Starbucks!  Prices also differ depending on whether you want to stand at a bar to drink your coffee, sit inside, or sit on a terrasse.  If you decide to do what many French do, which is to order at the counter, the coffee is usually more or less around one euro.  I quite enjoy doing this because it's interesting to see the locals come in and chat a few lines with the owner along with their coffee and newspaper.  Also, because I'm cheap and I don't want to pay extra just to sit!  In the mornings many brasseries will also offer a tartine or croissant for breakfast at the counter. 
Of course if it's sunny outside and you have plenty of time to kill, then there's no reason to stop you from sitting at the terrasse, which costs double the amount of a coffee at the counter.  Rumor has it that cafes have to rent the outside space from the city, therefore, it's only fair that they charge you for using it.

But the best experience I've had was in the city of Narbonne, in the region of Languedoc Roussilon.  The weather was sunny, with not a cloud in sight.  The temperature was just right, I was comfortable in a light sweater (this was in March 2010).  We hadn't planned on sitting down for coffee, but it was simply too nice outside not to take advantage of it.

If you're not familiar with coffee in France, if you ask for "un cafe", it means a very very tiny cup of strong espresso that you can down in one sip.  If you want something a little less strong, go for a "cafe allonge" which is similar to our version of cafe Americano (it's bigger, and hence more American like right?)  You can almost never find drip coffee in restaruants or cafes, and free refills, forget about it!  In a restaurant, the coffee is always offered at the very end of the meal, after you have finished your dessert.
I would recommend going to different places to enjoy the coffee experience, there is not one way that's better than the other.  It's all about the experience!

Parisian Pickpocketers and Scammers

Paris is probably one of the most touristic cities in the world.  And for good reasons, the city has an endless list of things to offer to tourists.  But of course, as we all know, with the good, there comes the bad. 
Tourists are easy targets for skilled pickpocketers and scammers.  As I myself have experienced both. 
I consider myself a fairly careful person, but obviously I was outsmarted a few times, or at least almost.
Two years ago, I took my parents to France on a three week trip.  Paris was our last stop.  We took the TGV from Bordeaux to Paris Montparnasse.  We got on the metro with our huge luggage, and immediately a young girl offered to help us with our luggage.  As soon as I got on the metro, I thought, I had better check my messenger bag.  Surely enough, the buckle had been undone.  Luckily for me I had stuffed my smaller purse inside of it, so it was hard to take anything from inside.  As soon as I realized this I look to my mom, and saw that I could not see her purse.  I told her to immediately check for her things, and she too realized that someone had unzipped her purse.  But for some reason she had a towel at the very top of her purse, so again, it was hard to take anything from inside.  A few minutes later, a lady picked up my dad's wallet from the ground and gave it to him, saying that someone had tried to take it from his pocket.  All three of us had been targeted, and I guess we were just extremely lucky that nothing got stolen from us. 
The thing is, pickpocketers often work in groups.  They target tourists, especially ones with a lot of stuff on their hands.  They use kids as a distraction while the adults get to work.  It's rather sad actually to have young kids exposed to this type of lifestyle at such a young stage in their life.  So, now I always tell people when they visit Paris, or other cities like Rome or Barcelona, to never have their purse of bag outside of their eyesight when they are on the metro, near a touristy site such as the Eiffel Tower, or in a big crowd of people. 

Another thing happened to me today.  I live near a pretty touristy area, but I thought that it was a sign that it would be relatively safe since there are always people around.  I was withdrawing money from my bank.  Just after I had entered my pin code, a young man held up a piece of paper on the screen and started mumbling stuff.  I told him to leave me alone but he wouldn't stop.  I started to get nervous at this point.  At the same time a young French lady came up and told the guy to leave me alone or she's going to call the police.  He still wouldn't budge, and she started dialing her phone.  The guy ran away, and I realized that 300 Euros had came out of the ATM, when I had not specified the amount I wanted.  It was obvious that he had done something to the machine while trying to distract me with the piece of paper.  A few seconds after, the police came.  She explained the situation to the police, and he informed me that his colleague is going to go after the guy and see if he actually took any money from me.  I waited a few minutes with the police officer (and this is when I had to be somewhere in the next hour!).  He informed me that all seemed fine, his colleague didn't find any big sum of money on the guy.  I guess I was extremely lucky that the French girl had intervened, or who knows, I would've ended up losing 300 Euros!! 

So with these experiences, am I considered lucky?  It was bad luck to encounter these events, but at the same time lucky that nothing really was lost?

Needless to say, what a great way to start 2012.

Hot food vs. Cold food....a small observation

I was aboard a TGV on my way from Paris to Frankfurt to visit a friend.  The weather was rainy and cold.  Not long after the train crossed the German border, two guys came up and sat on the 2 seats next to me.  They both pulled out a cold sandwich from a sack and started eating.  I thought to myself "How can they eat that when it's so cold outside?"  Then it all of a sudden dawned upon me that in many cold northern European countries they tend to eat cold food during their meals.  When I visited a friend in Denmark, for dinner we would buy rye bread, cheese, ham, and cold meat spreads to put on the bread.  Nothing hot was involved.  And March in Denmark was still very very cold!  In Germany too, everywhere I see people eat cold sandwiches, the only hot item they seem to have were sausages.  And during the winter months of France, the boulangeries at lunch time always has a long line of people waiting to buy sandwiches.  Sandwiches that have been put in the fridge.  Oh and add a cold drink to that please! 
Are Americans the only ones to ask for our bread to be toasted?  So that it's nice and hot? So that the cheese and butter can melt nicely on top? 
All I want on a cold, windy and rainy day like today is a big bowl of hot noodles and soup, or even better hot pot!  Or just something to spice up my coldness here in Paris!!!

Which brings me to my next ironic observation.  People in hot countries tend to eat hot food.  Even on hot mornings in Taiwan, you can still see people at noodles stands slurping up a bowl of hot noodle soup.  At other breakfast stops, food are still cooked warm, such as egg pancakes, hot sandwiches, etc. so we rarely eat anything cold for breakfast, with the exception of maybe soymilk (even that comes hot!)  Spicy hot pot is a favorite during the summer, I don't know why, but maybe we like to sweat even more so than we already do in the hot and humid conditions of Taiwan.
When I visited Cambodia for a few days, hot rice noodles in soup was the typical breakfast staple.  Same thing in Malaysia, even their afternoon snacks involved a hot bun and hot tea.  And no, AC was not available, duh!

I mean are people in cold countries so adpated to the cold weather that they 're more cold-blooded (literally) than the rest?  Anyways, all I know is that the last thing I want to eat on a day like today when it's wet, cold, and humid is something less than 90 degrees!

Oh and of course these are some generalizations, and does not apply to every country or region.

bon appetit!

The Creperies at Montparnaase

I have a very bad impression of the Montparnasse area in Paris. You would think that for a metro station called "Montparnasse Bienvenue" meaning "Welcome Montparnasse" that you would actually fell very "bienvenue", uh but no. Last year when I took the train from Bordeaux to Gare de Montparnasse in Paris with my parents, the 3 of us were nearly pickpockted, and I mean each of us.

However, one will surely feel very "bienvenue" when one discovers the Creperie scene! Honestly who doesn't love crepes? Most of us know mainly crepes with nutella or banna. I personally love the savory crepes, which are called "galettes" even more. The batter of the galettes are made from buckwheat flour, instead of plain flour, and gives it more texture and taste to me. And frankly I like savory food better. It's hard to find galettes anywhere else in the world. For good crepes you can find in a lot of places, but Montparnasse is the place for the galettes!

If I am not mistaken, galettes come from the region of Brittany. Therefore you will often here les galettes de bretonnes. In the early days since trains from Brittany all arrive at Gare de Montparnasse, there were a lot of Bretons that settled in the area. So when you arrive at the Montparnasse Bienvenue metro, which is really big and ridiculous, go towards Blvd. Montparnasse, and then to Rue Montparnasse where you will find about 10 creperies on that road alone. The most famous one is the Creperie de Josselin, there is always a line, and some say that have the "best" galettes and crepes in the area. But it's always frun to check out some of the other ones around. And who seriously decides what the best galettes are anyways?

During lunch, many creperies offer a set menu including a galette, a sweet crepe and a cider for less than 10 Euros. And I guess cider is also a specialty from Brittany, because every creperie has then. Creperie de Josselin, however, being so popular doesn't need to offer a special menu, and since it had a line I decided to go elsewhere.

I settled at "Creperie St. Malo" which was offering a galette with egg, cheese, ham, and one extra item; a sugar or chocolate crepe, and cider or wine for 9.5 Euros.

There is something about eggs and cheese in a galette that appeals greatly to me. The galette was warm and tasty, and oh and a lot of butter was added to it, which makes it that much better! I was completely stuffed after eating another chocolate crepe.

I'll definitely return to the area again and try out another creperie!!! So Bienvenue a Montparnasse pour les galettes et crepes!

Paris for cheap!

Paris is probably known to many tourists, as well as the rest of the non-Parisian French as a very expensive city. I can attest to that, first of all, the rent is ridiculous, and the price won't be dropping anytime soon since there are more people searching for apartments than there are available. Oh we all know that lovely supply and demand chart don't we? For tourists, the most visited areas are filled with restaurants, expensive boutiques, and fancy pastries that all cost a fortune. But honestly, if you do your homework and ditch all the cliches in Paris, you'll find that you can actually do a lot for not a lot!!!
Yes, you have to go to the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, and all that jazz, but there are a lot of worthwhile museums that won't cost you a dime. Go to www.musees.paris.fr to check out the list!
One of my favorites is definitely Musee Carnavalet, since I'm such a history geek! The museum is located in the Marais district, so after you grab your falafel from one of the stands, head straight over and it'll be an afternoon well-spent! Also if you're a Victor Hugo fan, head a few blocks over to the Place de Vosages, where you can visit his house.
One of my favorite finds so far is the "Maison Europeene de la Photographie". It is free every Wednesday nights from 5-8pm, where normally it's 7 Euros to get in. The is an amazing permanent exhibit as well as temporary exhibits.
Another great thing about Paris is there there are a number of Cavistes aka wineshops in every quartier! And if you check out some of their websites, they often hold free degustations (tastings) on Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays. This is a great way to learn and taste wine from different regions of France. One of my favorite wineshops is located in St. Germain de Pres called Le Derniere Gutte. They have happy hour every Friday night where you can sample wine and eat some tasty cheese, and on Saturdays they have winemakers come in for a free degustation.
If you want to taste good food in Parisian restaurants, then go during lunch. Restaurants usually over a food menu (a 3 course meal) or a formule (appetizer plus entree, or entree plus dessert, but keep in mind that in France entree means appetizer!). I've had tasty formules for 10-12 Euros. Even some of the really fancy restaurants often have menus for less than 30 Euros. Also if you're a crepe fan, then head down to the Monparnasse area where on rue Montparnasse, you'll find endless Creperies that offer a menu of a savory crepe, a sweet crepe and a drink for about 10 Euros. Montparnasse is an area filled with authentic Bretonne style crepes.
Also a must-do for is a picnic lunch at one of the many beautiful parks in Paris. Let's be honest, France has the best baguettes, cheese, and wine in the world so if the sun is shining one day, there is no reason to stay inside a restaurant. I personally prefer the baguette tradition over the regular baguettes, and also some baguette de cereale is worthwhile too. And please go to a boulangerie to get one, the ones at Monoprix or Carrefour might be cheaper, but they are horrible! Also for those fearless people out there go to a boucherie, and try out their terrines, pates, rillettes, and other charcuteries.
If you're lucky enough to pass by one of their open markets by chance, then stop by and check it out. My favorite thing to do is go when they're about to close, they'll try and sell everything to you at a bargain.
Oh and of course if you're a winelover like me, then this IS the place to drink wine. I'm not wine connoisseur, but I do know that for less than 10 Euros, you can get a really good bottle of wine. I usually go to the Caviste now and tell them what I'm having for dinner, or what I'm looking for in particular, tell them my budget, and they can usually make a pretty good recommendation.
Oh and last advice, skip the Louis Vuitton bag, if you've been in France long enough, you'll realize that French people DO NOT carry LV anything! So for however much you're spending on that LV bag, you can probably afford a week's stay in Paris filled with fun and eventful activities!

Beaujolais Nouveau, another hyped up event in Paris!

A few days after my arrival in Paris, I keep hearing about the so-called "Beaujolais Nouveau", which is the day that the new Beaujolais' are revealed in France. It always takes place on the 3rd Thursday of November. I saw signs and even in guide books it made it sound like the entire streets of Paris will be drinking Beaujolais for 4 days straight.
First of all, let me just start off by saying Beaujolais is a horrible wine made out of the Gamay grape. It has a sexy name and it is lauded internationally. But I've yet to hear anyone order beaujolais wine in a restaurant. And for the same price, I'd rather stick to a Cotes du Rhone or something from Languedoc! There were wine shops that held tastings, most of them with one or two beaujolais. I visited the wine shop about 2 steps away from work, and they had one beaujolais available for tasting. I took a sip, and thought "wow this is really crappy wine that doesn't have a lot of body or taste to it." I also find it really acidic.
I was meeting up with a couple of friends that night in the supposed celebration. But as we walked down the streets by Bastille, it seemed very quiet for such a joyful event. We finally settled down in a small restaurant that was packed. We ordered some cheese plates and charcuterie along with a bottle of Beaujolais. Yet again, the Beaujolais tasted horrible. After a few more tastings that I did throughout that weekend, I was convinced that Beaujolais is not a wine that I would ever spend money on again.
Funny thing is I read on the French morning paper that they even held a big tasting event for Beaujolais Nouveau in Tokyo!
So let me put on my smarty I think I know it all hat and say, Beaujolais Nouveau is a hyped up event for foreigners who don't know what good wine is. There now judge me! :)

Arrival in Paris, observations so far....

I am into my third week here in France, and it's been kind of an ambivalent feeling that I have so far. I feel pretty well situated here, but there are still things that will take some getting used to. Things at work are still a bit unclear because I came at a very busy time. I had originally planned on being here in the middle of October. But thanks to my many visa issues, I didn't arrive until October 24th. I had two days to prepare for my trip. Luckily for me, my boss here in Paris had found me a temporary apartment so that I didn't have one more thing to stress me out.
Upon my arrival I found out that the following week I was going to Nice for 5 days to attend the protests and events against the G20 which took place in Cannes Nov. 3-4. So needless to say, things started out crazy and still continues to be crazy!

I thought I'd share a few observationst that I've made so far regarding Paris and the Parisians (I say Parisians and not French because there is a difference!)

- Winter in Paris is not pretty. And I mean literally, it's gloomy, the sun rises late and sets early. And on top of that everyone dresses in the depressing color of black...
- Paris is not very clean. Sure we see pictures of the elegant Champs Elysees, le jardin du Tuileries, etc. and it all seems so nice. The reality is that there are dog poop everywhere you walk. People throw their cigarette buds everywhere. What do they do after drinking a bottle of beer? Why leave it on the chair of course!
- 8 out of 10 women wears boots, it seems like. I almost feel out of place with my regular shoes. And how is it that they're able to walk on stony grounds and climb stairs in metro stations with those?
- It's cold and people still love sitting outside. At cafes, parks, on the street, everywhere!
- Many stereotypes might be false, but the one with a French person carrying baguette(s) is absolutely correct!!!! And damn are their baguettes good, and make sure the next time you're in France, buy a baguette tradition from a boulangerie, they're just that much better!
- Markets, I absolutely love them! However there are 2 types of markets. I hate to separate them by class, but it's the truth. I went to an organic market, and prices are double, triple what they are in a normal one. Also there are also markets in the not-as-nice areas, and that's the place you need to go for cheap produce! Go when they're about to close and they'll sell things for a great bargain!
- Every Parisian has their own cheese shop, wine shop, butcher shop that they've been going for years. They know each other, and it's probably like a big betrayal if you go somewhere else :)
- La Duree is so damn overrated. Ok I don't know what the big craze about stupid macarons are, but I've tasted them, and they are TOO sweet TOO expensive and TOO much overrated. La Duree is a famous store that sells them, and literally the line is ridiculous, and they're all tourists. Local Parisians don't go there! In fact I don't think I've ever seen a French person eat a damn macaron!
- Falafel is on every tourist's mind when they're in the Marais district. There's a very famous place called L'as du Falafel in the Marais, and I've tasted it, and it's pretty good. I went to the Marais the other day and there was a line in all 4 shops that sold falafel!
- If you love books and used books go to St. Germain des Pres. I was literally there for 4 hours going from book store to book store.
- Traffic lights, one turns green as soon as the other turns red. And as bad as Parisian drivers are, they do obey their traffic laws. I don't think I've seen anyone run a red light yet.
- I hate the metro. I really do. I got hit hard in the face once; I constantly have to watch my bag because I was close to being pick pocketed once; it's crazy crowded; the stairs are really tiring; and there are a billion different lines to figure out ahhh!!!
- People here seem to be always in a rush. I thought the French were known for taking their time! People will never watch where they're going on the street, even if you try hard to avoid running into them, they just run into you.
- If you want to eat well on a budget, lunch is the time to go out! And thanks to my flexible lunch hours I am able to do that (although not a lot of money to eat out...) But usually plats du jour range somewhere between 8.5 Euros to 15 Euros, depending on the restaurant.
- Now I know why the French can eat out during lunch so often, because their employers are required to give them lunch tickets which are called cheques dejeuner. They can be used all over France in most restaurants. Hell you can even buy groceries at Carrefour with them!

Ok I guess my list of observations ended up being almost a list of complaints. But the fact is there are many things that I love about the French culture, and that is why I decided to come to France. It's a place that I know well, and it's a place where I know I can stay. It's different, of course, because this time I will be here for a long period of time. I just need to find my rhythm, my space, and most of all where I fit into this city. oh and I need to of course have my own cheese, wine, and butcher shop :)
Food, now that's one area that I am taking advantage of! Just like the French says, "Il faut bien profiter!"

Until next time!

My first ever backpacking trip in Taiwan

I tend to do a lot of things by impulse, which is exactly how my first ever backpacking/hiking trip came about. One of the day hikes that I had long signed up for got canceled at the last moment. Feeling disappointed, I started searching for other similar hikes. I came across a 3 day 3 night hike in 白姑大山 near Taichung, Taiwan with a group called 523, which almost sounds like "I love mountain" in Mandarin. The mountain is number 42 on the top 100 peaks in Taiwan at 3341 meters.
The deadline had already passed to register, but I tried my luck anyways. Luckily for me, someone had back out at the last minute, and I was able to secure that last spot.
I was excited but nervous at the same time as I had never hiked up anything other than the streets of Europe with a big backpack before. The leader of the trip also informed me that this is one of the harder hikes in Taiwan. However, having conquered Mt. Kinabalu in Malaysia (which is literally the hardest thing I've ever done), I wasn't too concerned in the end.
One of the many things that I learned on this trip was how different camping is in Taiwan as opposed to that in the US. In terms of eating, hiking time, park regulations, the actual campsite, etc. It was definitely an eye-opening experience.
We met at a metro station at 10pm, and off we drove down to Taichung. I didn't know anyone else on this trip with a total of 7 people. It turned out that I was the only female participant. Oh well, I thought, I can rough 3 days out with 6 guys!
I half dozed off on the way down to Taichung, when we arrived, it was close to 1pm, and we had to switch to another car with 4 wheel drive in order to make it up the mountain. Off we go on another drive, and soon I found out why the 4x4 was needed. Not only was the road steep, it was bumpy, with holes and rocks everywhere. I was really surprised that roads like this actually existed in a civilized country. As of mileage the entire ride wasn't very long, but the difficulties of the road made the unbearable drive last almost 2 hours. When we arrived at the trailhead it was close to 4am. Many other groups were already there spread out in their sleeping bags. I decided to take advantage of the 3 hours that we had left before we start hiking by napping in the car. I slept like a baby.
We all woke up at around 7am, and started cooking breakfast, which was an amazing meal consisted of yummy flavored rice porridge with veggies inside. We even had eggs and other marinated goodies.

The Shack near the Trailhead

After fueling up, we started with our hike. One of the difficult parts of this hike was that it was very steep. There was a lot of up and downs, which I didn't mind because I find hikes that just go straight up a little boring. It was in a fairly forested area, so the air quality was excellent, and I felt great despite having little sleep. We reached the first point at around 11am, in time for an early lunch. As we waited for our leader, my mouth was already drooling in anticipation of the meal to come. However, to my great disappointment, our lunch consisted of a few slices of Taiwanese-style cheesecake type of bread. I ate 2 slices, and couldn't eat another slice. I felt like I needed actual food and not snack type of food. The funny thing was when I first saw those packages I thought that was for dessert. Wishful thinking....

First rest stop

We were hiking at pretty good speed and reached the campsite at around 3:30pm. There were already tons of other tents up. It was a 3 day weekend in Taiwan, and apparently a lot of people decided to do the same thing that we were doing. There were only a few good spots left to set up our tent, so we started before the rest of our group caught up. Afterwards, we went and a water at this pond, which had "dead water" meaning it was water retained from rain, and not a fresh water source. The dark brown color was due to the decaying of leaves and bugs, sounds yummy right? But hey I rather drink dirty water than die of thirst, when it comes to extremities, you gotta weigh out your pros and cons.

Campsite

Cooking dinner

We started cooking dinner at 5pm (we were all starving due to the light lunch we had). We cooked curry and rice for dinner and some soup. But I'm not gonna lie, at this time I was craving a PB&J sandwich, some granola bars, or some grilled veggies, OR grilled marshmallows.
We were all exhausted and with the sundown early and temperatures getting cold, everyone went into their tents. I went to bed at a record time, 7pm. I slept horribly in a cramped tent with 3 other people, but at least I was warm.

Yummy drinking water

The next morning, or should I say late night, other campers were talking and banging at 2am. Needless to say I could not sleep after that. Our group wasn't due to wake up until 4, so I stayed in my sleeping bag for 2 more hours.

View at the camp

Breakfast consisted of ricenoodles and soup (which was again NOT ENOUGH!)
The hike this day was even more difficult, because it had a lot of steep uphills and downhills, which became very difficult on my legs. The good thing is we didn't have to carry that big backpack. I was strutting along at good speed though, as I was always one of the first to arrive at our next point.

I was snacking every hour because my body felt so starved. We reached the peak at 3342 meters at around 10:30am. It felt like a big accomplishment! I wish I was there alone to savor that moment instead of listening to 30 other people chatting and taking pictures. I was again starving, and was almost angry to find out that lunch was vegetable crackers. My cravings for the items listed above were more intense than ever! If only I had a Apple Crisp flavored granola bar on me, or some bread at least! I want my carbs damn it!!!

View at the peak

The view at the peak was breathtaking as we were able to see many of the other famous mountain ranges in Taiwan. After resting and taking pictures for about an hour, we started our descent. Which wasn't much easier than the hike up because as I mentioned the entire hike was up and down so on the way back it was just as strenuous as going up. At the rest stop one hour before our campsite we decided to take and easy and nap for a while because we all know how noisy it was going to be back at the site.
Back at the site it was the same routine as the day before, dinner, chat, and then sleep.
The next day we started descending at around 7am after drying out the tents and such. Our bodies were tired, and our mind was tired due to the lack of sleep again thanks to our neighbors. What we all really wanted was a nice cold soda and a nice cold beer!

Early morning view

We finally made it down the mountain in about 3 hours!! I arrived back home that night not feeling tired as I should. I was so glad I went on this trip because I met some great people who shared very similar interests as me, and I found out many other hiking opportunities in the future that I can join. Taiwan mountain ranges, here I come!!!!