An Australian Girl in Paris - Part Une

Today's post title is brought to you by Sex and the City.

So, as much as I enjoyed Amsterdam and despite the fact that we've had to wake up at a very uncool hour of the morning, I cannot (and will not) hide my excitement at the fact that today is the day I will arrive in Paris. Yes, Paris, France.

I've got a list of places I want to hit as long as my arm. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to fit it all in (both time and stomach wise). Not to worry, I'll just have to come back again (and again) to see the things that I don't fit into this trip.

We're on the train bright and early for our 2 hour train trip to from Amsterdam to Paris. We end up sitting opposite a really nice guy from New York, Jonah, who is also headed to Paris. Jonah runs a charity back in New York, working with kids in the city. He's heading to Paris to attend some courses and for a bit of a holiday. We chat for most of the trip.

We arrive in Paris, say 'au revoir' to Jonah, transfer to the Metro and head for our hostel. Located in the 19th arrondissement on Quai de la Seine, St Christopher's Hostel is brand-spanking new and has quite a view. The Quai de la Seine is a 900m long dock located along the Bassin de la Villette (part of the Parisian canal system). So, while we're not overlooking the Seine, we're pretty happy with our digs and the view.

It's mid-afternoon by the time we're checked in and ready for the adventure to begin. We jump on the Metro and head to the 4th arrondissement, which is both the gay and the Jewish area of the city. I've heard there is an awesome felafel to be had at 'L'as du fallafel' and going by the size of the line out the front I'm not the only one. They are so busy that there is a guy walking up and down the line taking orders before you even get to the counter.

The felafel is insanely good. The felafel balls are so crispy, the salad fresh and crunchy and the yogurt sauce is the perfect tangy topping. It's also a pretty good size and only 5 euros. Happy belly.

For the rest of the night we just walk. I know I'm far from the first and I definitely won't be the last to say so, but Paris is just gorgeous. I can hardly believe that little old me is finally walking its streets.

Hotel de ville

We wake the next day and Libby is sick as a dog. It's decided that she's not well enough to be out in the cold so I venture out alone. I really wanted to go and check out the equipment/ingredient shops on Rue Montorgueil in the Les Halles area and since Libby wasn't really all that interested in things like croissant cutters and weird and wonderful types of chocolate, it made sense to go on the day she was out of action.

I had been wanting to go to G. Detou since reading all about it on David Lebovitz's website. A bakers dream, stocking incredible quality chocolates, nuts and all sorts of baking goodies. Sadly, it wasn't to be. I arrived to find the roller shutters locked tight. I couldn't work it out, it was a Monday at 11am. Turns out, while it was the 3rd January, the 1st had fallen on a Saturday, so Paris was taking its public holiday on this, the following Monday. Bummer dude.

Most of the other shops of interest on Rue Montorgueil were also closed, but a couple of grocers and bakeries were open.

The bakery windows in Paris are amazing. There is such effort put into the displays and presentation. I could stand in front of them for hours, just looking.

The produce also looks spectacular. I can also confirm that it tastes pretty amazing too! Later that day I buy a few mandarines at another store and they are unbelievably good. I don't bother with mandarines back home since I rarely get one that is worth the effort of dealing with peel, pith and pips. I picked these up as I thought they'd be a good thing for Libby to eat with her cold. They didn't stick around for long!

After seeing all I can, consulting my map and thinking about what will be open, I settle on the Musee d'Orsay. I grab a sandwich from bakery chain 'Paul' for later and head off.

The Musee d'Orsay offers more disappointment. It's closed on Mondays. Jeez.

I cross the road and look out over the River Seine and consult the map again. I work out that if I follow the river I'll eventually end up at the Eiffel Tower. I have a plan.

On the way, I come across Pont Alexandre III, which is a beautiful arch bridge that crosses the Seine.

This has to be the most extravagant bridge in the world. Each side has these amazing lamp posts every few metres.

There is also the odd cherub, nymph and winged horse thrown in for good measure... You know, as you do.

And, just in case you didn't believe that I was really there, I conveniently have some photographic evidence!

Lunch - wooohoo!!!

After lunch, I continue my walk along the Seine towards the Eiffel Tower, catching little glimpses of her here and there and then all of a sudden...

It's huge, spectacular and very, very busy. It's a public holiday, a Monday and there is a comet set to zoom by any minute (OK, I made this last thing up, I'm still a little miffed that almost everything is closed) so it is possibly the only thing open. Since I know I'll be back I walk around a little and then keep moving to check out the rest of the hood.

The buildings in this area are particularly spectacular and I found the building where I'm going to live when I move to Paris. I'm sure rent is only about a billion dollars a week.

Can't you just see me out the front, red and white striped shirt, navy peacoat, baguette under one arm, walking a small white fluffy dog? One day.

All the walking and daydreaming has made me a bit peckish. Better stop for an afternoon treat. One of the greatest things about Paris and something that I didn't expect at all, is that there are so many patisseries and boulangeries. I mean there are the famous ones, Pierre Herme, Laduree etc... But there are also just the regular neighbourhood ones. Seriously, I would turn a corner and there would be another one. Every one that I happened to step into had quality stuff. I'm sure there must be a couple of dodgy ones, but for the most part, since there is a lot of competition, the overall quality is pretty high.

In this particular patisserie, a small raspberry tart caught my eye.

It's a sable breton base filled with creme diplomat and topped with fresh raspberries - absolutely delicious. The sweet treat recharges my batteries and I keep on walking until dusk. Another trip on the Metro and I'm back at the hostel to check up on Libby and make an action plan for the next day.

Ams-to-the-dam

So, I've long been back in Sydney from my overseas adventure, but lately a few friends have commented (and not through me fishing for compliments) on how much they enjoyed reading my blog while I was away and that I really should keep it up. I had a look through my photos today and realised that I've only posted on San Francisco and that was only half my trip. The rest of the trip was also insanely awesome and deserves some props.

So, after a rather traumatic experience at SFO (note to self: never travel in North America 5 days before to Christmas day again) where I seriously thought I was going to miss my plane (there was running involved and a large amount of swearing), I was on my way to Toronto, Canada. A few hours later and I'm back in the T-dot jumping up and down like crazy person in the airport with my great friend Libby (who I hadn't seen in a couple of years).

The next 7 days is a bit of a blur. I know I got the flu and gastro and Christmas was tucked in there somewhere. Libby and I were heading to Amsterdam for New Years and there were a few nervous days where we weren't sure if we would be able to fly because Heathrow had shut down due to bad weather, but luckily everything went to plan.

We rock up to the airport headed for Amsterdam and it's packed. Post Christmas travel combined with them still trying to clear the backlog due to weather closures and our check-in chick asked us to "wait over there while she tried to find us some seats on the plane". We waited, nervously, to hear back from her. She bounced over after about 15 minutes with a big smile, and what I think might be the best thing I've ever heard "I've found you a couple of seats in Premium Economy." We thanked her profusely and then I said something highly inappropriate about wanting to have her babies (hey, I'd never been bumped up before). Next thing we know, we're seated on our flight and for once I'm on 'that side' of the curtain, which is soon pulled shut so we don't have to have our eyes or ears polluted those less fortunate than us in economy.

After a truly delightful flying experience we touchdown at Heathrow and change planes for the 40 minute flight to Amsterdam. This part was not so delightful. The flight over was super quick, but upon landing, something on the plane broke and we started spewing hydraulic fluid all over the joint. It also meant that our pilot couldn't steer the plane to get us to the terminal. We are stuck out on the runway and can't move until something comes to tow us. A few minutes later the pilot is back on the speaker telling us not to be alarmed by the fire trucks that are now surrounding the plane. Another 15 minutes pass and we're informed that we are, in fact, spewing out a hell of a lot of hydraulic fluid and it is a bit of a problem, our tow will be arriving shortly, but will be towing us out to the furthest point in the airport. While our pilot doesn't say that this is being done because we are now in danger of blowing up not only ourselves but everything around us, but we all know. Who would have thought there would be more danger on the ground than in the air? I'm glad both myself and Libby aren't nervous about flying. We're more annoyed that we've been up since some ungodly hour and we just want off the plane already.

Finally, we're out of the airport and we jump onto a train and a streetcar and we arrive at the Flying Pig Hostel and we're greated with a big hug from Alan, good friend and manager there. He shows us to our 4 bed dorm (I haven't hostelled in quite some time, and I won't be doing so again, I think, ever. Well, certainly not with drunk sleep-talking and snoring boys). Half an hour later, we're settled in and enjoying a beer in the bar (both handy and dangerous being inside the hostel). We have some dinner, more drinks and then we take a walk and I get my first proper look at Amsterdam. The streets are busy and still covered with dirty snow and it's cold out. Regardless, I'm enchanted. The buildings are so old and beautiful, the sky is clear and then there are the canals. At night, the water twinkles with the reflection of the street lights. This my first proper look at Europe and I like it!

Soon enough, it's off to bed for some serious rest. The next few days holds much partying and I'm still recovering from the germs Canada unleashed upon me, so I need my rest.

The next day starts with a big brekkie and lots of walking around Amsterdam. We head to Anne Frank house, only to be disappointed by a queue that goes up the street and around the corner. It's quite chilly out and we don't really fancy a 3 hour wait, so instead we head to the Amsterdam Museum instead and soak up some culture. We head back to the hostel in the late afternoon to await the second of the 'arrivals' (Libby and I being the first). A friend of Libby and Alan's, Jamie, is arriving from London to join the party.

There is much drinking that follows, a brief walk through the red-light district and an interesting cab ride back to the hostel (which involves Alan yelling at the driver in Dutch not to rip us off).

The next morning is a late start (I'm in the best shape given that I only did the one shot of Jagermeister and said no to the Jagerbombs). I wanted to be semi-functioning during the days since I hadn't been to Amsterdam before and all the others had. While Libby and Jamie caught up over lunch, I braved the queue to the Rijksmuseum. Two hours and numb feet later, I'm finally in and it is well worth the wait and the possible multiple toe amputation that I will later have to undergo. I mean the building itself is spectacular (even though half is covered with scaffolding), but it is what is inside that is really special. I remember when I was young and my parents took me to see some of the Old Masters on display at the National Gallery in Canberra and for the first time I saw what I now know to be some of the most famous paintings in the world. While I still do this day remember the paintings I saw there, I wasn't able to fully appreciate what I was seeing and how special it was. This time, standing in the Rijksmusuem, in Amsterdam, in Europe, I was and I felt so lucky. Some people will only ever be able to see a picture in a book or on the internet of either Vermeer's The Milkmaid or Rembrandt's The Night Watch, but not me. I'm one of the lucky ones that has seen it in the flesh!

The next day I'm up for some serious touristy sightseeing. I'm disappointed that the only photos I have of Amsterdam so far have been all been taken in bars!

We hit the Anne Frank house yet again, only to find even longer queues. Instead, we hop on one of the many boats that tour the canals. As much as I like walking around new cities, it was kind of nice to boat around this one. Plus, I was told I had to save my strength for the arrival of something called a 'Giz'. You see, it was also New Years Eve, and the third of the arrivals was en route and apparently, I was unlikely to come out the other side alive.

The boat tour is great. There are 4 different loops you can take, so we change throughout the day and are taken to all four corners of the city.

Our chariot.

I love the houseboats that line the sides of the canals. Since my first visit to Sausalito a few years ago I've often daydreamed about living on one - they just seem so fun.

The building that holds the Amsterdam Science Museum is also a little bit awesome. It looks like a sinking ship.

Amsterdam's super schmancy hotel - the Intercontinental. This is one seriously beautiful building.

We also cruise past the Heineken Brewery, but didn't stop for the tour, since apparently they no longer actually brew the beer that they bottle and sell here. They only do token batches for the tour groups. Boooooo!

A couple of hours later, we put on our New Years Eve duds and hit the bar. After a few bevvies, Giz arrives and the festivities really begin. An agreement was made later that night that the photos we took from the evening would not be posted on facebook, and while I know this isn't facebook, I'm pretty sure that was meant to cover all forms of internet publication. How about I just post a couple of the 'safe' ones.

Our beer of choice and a shot of Jagermeister.

After a round of Jagerbombs.

OK, so they are the only 'safe' ones. Let's just say it was a great night. A New Years Eve that I will definitely remember! Moving on.

The next day we spend feeling very sorry for ourselves. A hearty breakfast (at about 2pm) perks us up a little. We spend our last Amsterdam dinner with Alan. We're all leaving early in the morning: Libby and I for Paris, Alan for Costa Rica and Giz for home.

I have to admit that before my trip, Amsterdam had never made an appearance on my 'to do' list. I've met many a glaze-eyed, knitted rasta cap wearing backpacker in my time and listened to their tales of smoking "so much weed, dude" and loitering around the red light district. It didn't seem all that appealing. Had it not have been for Libby's promise to friend Alan that she would spend New Years there with him (and asking me to come along for the ride) I know that I would still think of it as a city where backpackers go to legally get stoned. After seeing the beauty of the city of Amsterdam and learning a little about the rich history of the Netherlands, I can happily say that it is so much more than that. I only hope it won't be too long before I'm able to return and see more.

Another wonderful thing about Amsterdam? It's only a 2 hour train ride away from Paris. How convenient.

From Mexico, with love

People in San Francisco love their Mexican food. Luckily for me, they were also more than happy to tell me of their favourite place and what they recommend.

However, be warned - if you are asking a group of people where to find the best taco/burrito etc shit could get nasty.

People will fight to the death about crispy vs. soft tacos, where has the best salsa, the pros and cons of rice in your burrito and where to get the best frescas (don't even get started on which flavour). I feel confident that with my thoroughly enjoyable research 'field trips' during my time in San Francisco can now at least offer some semi-informed opinions on these very important topics.

Topic of hot debate #1 - The Fish Taco

After much research I decided on El Metate (Bryant & 22nd) and had a fish taco and a prawn taco.

While the fish taco was good, it was the prawn taco that was the real winner (and not just because they called it prawn rather than shrimp on the menu). The fat, juicy prawns combined with a squeeze of fresh lime and jalapeno all wrapped up in a soft taco was just perfect.

Topic of hot debate #2 - the quintessential quesadilla

This one was unplanned. I'd had no time to check on chowhound, yelp or consult the quesadilla oracle for advice. After an evening of open-air ice skating with the delightful Ben Barry we were absolutely starving and in need of a little warmth in the form of alcohol. Pancho Villa (16th & Valencia) conveniently delivered both.

The prawn quesadilla was two toasted, crispy tortillas around prawns, salsa, salad, guacamole and cheese. Teamed with a few selections from the salsa bar and all washed down with a Mexican beer and I was one happy camper.

Oh, and here are my skate clad feet shortly before Ben and I recreated Torvil and Dean's 1984 Winter Olympics Bolero routine.

Topic of hot debate #3 - the biggest and best burrito

Taqueria La Cumbre (Valencia between 16th & 17th) is home to the 2 pound 'Mission Burrito'. Not only large, but rumoured to be pretty damn good as well. Once again, Mexican Food Wing Man Ben accompanied me for dinner. To be honest, we didn't give any thought to the 'Mission Burrito', since both of us have been horrified a number of times by the massive portion sizes over here. We opted to share a regular sized burrito and a couple of tacos.

This place has been around since 1967 and I'm pretty sure the decor has not been updated since then, but that is part of the charm of Taqueria La Cumbre. Our burrito did not disappoint.

This is also the night I say 'adios' to the lovely Ben. He's heading east for a Christmas adventure in New York and in a few days my San Francisco experience will come to and end and I'll head to Toronto. Not wanting to say goodbye just yet we head to a local bar for a couple of margaritas.

Benu Restaurant, San Francisco

On my second last night in awesome San Francisco I had one of the best dining experiences of my life.

Benu is a relatively new restaurant on the San Francisco scene. The chef is Corey Lee, previously of 3 Michelin Star restaurant ‘French Laundry’.

I was joined by two lovely girls from Houston that I had met through the bread course I was taking at the San Francisco Baking Institute. Both girls were fellow food lovers and one had a knowledge of wine so impressive that I think even the sommelier was a little floored.

The interior of the restaurant is great – it’s very open and the tables are spaced far enough apart with some structural partitions here and there that you actually sort of feel like you are in your own private dining room. We were able to carry on a conversation and not feel like we had to raise our voices to compete with the noise from the surrounding diners.

Within seconds of being seated our lovely waitress came over and introduced herself and arranged for water to be brought to our table. Throughout the night the waitstaff are attentive, making sure our water and wine was never lacking. They were able to do this while remaining pretty much invisible, I never once felt like they were hovering right behind me, ready to pounce, yet anytime I might have thought about reaching for the wine bottle they were there topping me up before I could.

We had already agreed that we were all going to have the 16 course degustation. I’ve never had a degustation menu before and there were many things on the menu that I hadn’t tried before and I knew were going to be a little outside my comfort zone – this was going to be fun!

After we have ordered with our waitress she sends over the restaurants sommelier, Yoon Ha, to help us with the wine list. My dining companion proceeded to surprise him and I with her knowledge of the wines and together they decided on a bottle of white to start and a bottle of red to switch to about half way through when the courses started to get a little richer.

**Note: Sorry about some of the photos, it was quite dark in the restaurant, so I had to use a flash, which against some white plates caused a "white out" effect. Also, the framing of some is appalling - I'll blame the wine for that.

~ The first course: Thousand-year-old quail egg, cabbage, ginger

The first thing that comes to mind is there is no way in the world I will be anywhere near full at the end of this if everything that comes out is this small (boy, was I wrong).

Second thought, after actually taking a bite, was that they have really come out of the gate strong. It’s absolutely delicious.

~ The second course: Oyster, apple, horseradish

This is an interesting one. Its two oysters in a horseradish sauce and it’s all covered with a green apple snow. The horseradish is mild, with just a little bite to it, the oysters are, well… oysters and the apple snow is fruit and icy. It is a strange flavour and texture combination. Up until this point I had always said I didn’t like oysters. After eating this I can now honestly say that I don’t mind them. Oh, and sorry about the photo – I got a bit carried away and started eating before I remember to take a photo. Ooops.

~ The third course: Sesame tofu with marinated salmon roe

This was one of the prettiest dishes of the night. It’s a little ball of tofu with salmon roe tucked into it. The salmon roe inside are each about the size of a pea and they burst in your mouth.

~ The fourth course: Abalone grenobloise, cauliflower, caper, lemon

So, this was my favourite dish of the night. I’ve never had abalone before and now I want more! The abalone is sliced thinly and has a spicy thin, crispy crust around it. It sort of has the texture of a scallop, though maybe a little bit firmer. It is freaking delicious.

~ The fifth, sixth and seventh course:

Eel, feuille de brick, crème fraiche

Caramelized anchovy, peanut, lily bulb

Mountain yam and shrimp soufflé

These three dishes come out together.

The eel is wrapped in the feuille de brick and you dip it in the crème fraiche.

The little anchovies are so tiny and a great combination with the peanut and crunchy lily bulb.

The mountain yam and shrimp soufflé doesn’t really do anything for me. A great texture, but flavourwise I found it a little bland.

~ The eighth course: Monkfish liver torchon, cucumber, turnip, salted plum, brioche

Another favourite. It’s like having the world’s best pate on brioche. What’s not to love? Oh, and it looks absolutely beautiful on the plate.

**Oh, and have I mentioned by this stage I’m starting to get quite full!**

~ The ninth course: Crispy cod milt, pickles, mustard

The description pretty much says it all. Cod is not my favourite fish, I find it quite heavy, oily and fishy. Not this one, though. It’s light and has a thin crispy batter and the pickled vegetables and mustard go so well with it. I love the presentation of this dish in particular.

~ The tenth course: “Shark’s fin” soup, Dungeness crab, jinhua ham, black truffle custard

This one is very cool visually. It comes out with a bowl with a layer of black goo on the bottom (black truffle custard) and then the soup is poured over the top by our waiter. The custard comes away from the bottom of the bowl, but doesn’t really mix in with the soup, so you get a couple of different textures in your mouth while you’re slurping away. Another great dish.

~ The eleventh course: Pumpkin porridge, lobster, black truffle

So, this one was our only choice on the menu. We all chose this one over the risotto with white truffle from alba. I love pumpkin, so it was an easy choice. This dish did not let me down. Creamy and delicious.

~ The twelfth course: Chicken Cecilia

To be honest, I don’t remember much about this particular dish. I know that I didn’t dislike it, but it didn’t stand out amongst the others.

~ The thirteenth course: Beef rib cap, matsutake mushroom, pine needle honey, pear, mitsuba

This one I do remember. I want all pieces of steak I eat to be accompanied by these ingredients in the future. Oh, and I want the person who cooked this piece of meat to tender perfection to come live with me.

~ The fourteenth course: White chocolate, olive, yuzu, cilantro

Apart from the white chocolate, you wouldn’t know it, but we’ve hit dessert. Um… yum. Oh, and I had to google yuzu - it's an East Asian citrus fruit.

~ The fifteenth course: Persimmon pudding, burnt acorn ice-cream, mace

This is my favourite of the two plated desserts. The waiter tells us that the burnt acorn ice-cream was a delicious accident (one of the chefs burnt the acorns but not wanting to tell the head chef just went ahead and used them anyway, and now, they do it this way intentionally). Also, another plate that is just so pretty to look at.

~ The sixteenth course: chocolate, coffee, tea

We made it! I’m ridiculously full at this stage, but I made a commitment and I’m going to see it through to the end. I order the white tea, which I’ve never had before. This tea rocked my world. And as for the chocolates, we’re not talking some crappy after dinner mint here, we’re given a box of 8 gorgeous truffles. We didn’t make it through many, not because they weren’t great, but because we were stuffed. We had the rest packed up to take with us and one of the girls took them home to Houston as a treat for her husband.

During out meal we had overheard one thing from a nearby table. It was one lady at a table of four raving about having been given a tour of the kitchen while the others sat around the table talking and finishing their drinks.

Well, we wanted a tour of the kitchen too. Benu happily granted us our wish. Since our reservation was for 8:45pm by the time we had finished eating and were ready for our tour it was around 11:30pm and the kitchen was winding down. All the action was over and the staff were cleaning and putting things away. I would imagine that they probably wouldn’t want people traipsing through there in the middle of dinner service anyway.

A couple of minutes after being in there and the chef himself, Corey Lee, came up and introduced himself and chatted with us for a few minutes. That was a real treat, since he was really lovely and without a hint of the pretentiousness that you sometimes come to expect with that level of talent.

Once outside and on our way back to the BART station we’re back in the real world and there is a rowdy bar a few door down and there is a girl passed out drunk on the pavement with another girl kneeling down next to her going through her handbag. I asked if she was OK and the conscious one replied “yes’, but who knows. We walked on and had a bit of a giggle about how horrible she was going to feel tomorrow and how almost certainly between vomits she would be uttering those time honoured words “I’m never drinking again”.

A few stops on the BART and I said goodbye to the lovely Houston girls and was home and so happy that I had such a wonderful Benu experience.

An open letter to Darren Hayes (yes, the one from Savage Garden) OR My Return to Sausalito

Dear Mr. Hayes,

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alex and I'm also from Australia. I have visited Sausalito twice now and I'm truly madly deeply in love with it. I want to live on a houseboat and bake bread to sell in my Sausalito bakery.

So, what does this have to do with you? Well, according to the Sausalito wikipedia page (and we all know, wikipedia never lies) you are a resident of this magical place. The place:

~ with the beautiful sky

~ where Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours' was recorded

~ at the end of a beautiful ferry ride

~ with awesome fish and chips and view to match

~ where people say 'hello' to one another walking down the street.

Anyway, I really need not convince you. I'm sure you moved there for these exact same reasons.

I know it is a lot to ask since you barely know me, but I was hoping you might consider buying me a houseboat and a bakery and having a chat with immigration about getting me in on a more permanent basis (I'm sure they'd listen to you). In exchange I will always give you free bread, you can crash on the houseboat any time you like and I wouldn't be opposed to doing some light housework at your place (which I'm sure is lovely). Oh, and I'll totally buy all the albums you put out in the future (gotta keep those royalties coming in).

Anyhoo, let me know what you think or if there are any points you'd like to discuss.

Thanks Dazza.

Big hugs,

Alex