Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it...No!

After several years of having lived in hot climates, I've become a total sun snob and had a really difficult time managing the cold when we went to Montreal and New York for the holidays. I remember walking out of Trudeau International into the parking garage and gasping for air as the cold air hit me. I seriously couldn't breathe! If you want to experience instant hypothermia, go to Montreal in the dead of winter. For the next week there was snow and wind and ice. A couple of days we were literally housebound. Now and then the sun would force its way through but overall the weather was overcast. Still, when we could we bundled up (longjohns, two pairs of socks, etc.) and braved the cold. There was no way we weren't going to indulge in a grosse poutine at La Banquise, THE place in Montreal for this extremely unhealthy but delicious fast food, shop on Sainte Catherine, have smoked meat sandwiches at Reuben's, and stop off at Fairmount Bagels for the best bagels ever. And for the first time we visited the "underground city," which isn't where Montrealers hibernate for months on end when their igloos become unbearable, but where a series of tunnels, linked with the metro system, allow people respite from the cold and the chance to eat and shop without frozen fingers. I think the entire thing is 30-some kilometers long, so about 20-odd miles. Then it was on to New York, Tarrytown to be exact, to visit my family. The first day we drove into Manhattan there was a beautiful snow that lasted most of the way down the Hudson. We toured Central Park, then did 5th avenue before stopping for beer and burgers at the Heartland Brewery. Then it was off to Times Square, Rockefeller, Radio City, etc. Along the way, about every 5 blocks or so, we saw groups of NYPD cops gearing up for that night's celebrations. A stage was being erected, streets were blocked off, and people were already decked out and passing out invitations to bars and clubs. It was too cold to hang around all day and fight the crowds, so we headed back to the burbs and had a wonderful dinner at my aunt's house. The next day we went back to Manhattan, and I spent the day in Soho with my Mom and a childhood friend I hadn't seen in years. It was a great way to start 2009. We returned to Montreal and finished our vacation with a trip to Quebec City. It's a beautiful town that architecturally reminded me of England and France, and despite having almost got frostbite on my toes, it was fantastic, definitely worth a visit. But to top it all off, long story short, we arrived in Amsterdam for our connecting flight home the day it snowed in Marseille for the first time in 22 years!! The city was paralysed, people were stuck at work, and the airport shut down. It took us almost 3 days to get home, without our luggage!, but despite all the hassle it was really cool to see snow in the south of France. So here our some pics from our snow-filled holidays...

Yummy

So these are my first (and not last!) attempts at food photography...we picked up these cakes at an incredible patisserie in Marseille called "Dites Moi Tout." We had been walking around all day and I wanted to show my Dad, who was visiting, one of the reasons why I love living in France. These people know how to eat!

I know they're not the greatest shots but I was playing around with shadow and light, focus, distance...hard work while you're salivating!

B.O. Smells Good to Me

Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States!! Incredible. Even though I had trouble falling asleep last night and Marc woke up an hour before the alarm went off, we bolted out of bed at 6:15 as if it were Christmas morning. Only there was a sense of dread that accompanied our excitement; what if McCain was elected? Would the next 4 years be a continuation of the last 8, led by a man who changes ideological camps when it suits him and champions far-right policies or would the next 4 years be led by a man who is intelligent, capable, inspiring, and worthy? We turned on the TV and there it was, live: an image of Obama on stage in Chicago, waving to the crowds. Marc and I sleepily jumped up and down and hugged each other. America has disappointed me time and time again only to surprise me. I have a renewed faith and pride in my country, I really do. Just when the world had had enough of America we showed the world that we had had enough of ourselves and recognized, as Obama said, the time for change has come. It's strange to be in France during all of this, similar to when I was in Moscow during 9-11; only this time around it's a cause for celebration and a sense of change for the better, of new things to come, is palpable even an ocean away. Yesterday while running errands I had random encounters with 3 strangers -- a Lebanese tailor and a French aid worker and post office worker -- who all confessed their hope for Obama to win. I was nervous. There was the sense that if we elected McCain we'd not only be letting down our country but the world. Not this time! Before he left for work this morning Marc told me, "If we had an Obama button I'd wear it to work," and I laughed at the thought of a French-Canadian in a French company sporting an Obama button; not because I find it silly but because his comment is symbolic of all the hopes of so many who wanted Obama to win and saw that hope become a reality. I can't wait to go home in January!!!!

My Date with Death

Just when I thought Life was getting cushiony, I now have the immense pleasure of facing Death every Thursday at 1 pm. Death comes in the form of a large, burly and gruff-voiced man named Jean* who wears a forest green welder's outfit lined with white, a very expensive watch and a thick, gold-chain necklace to accesorize his understated Grim Reaper look. Jean likes to burp and fart during our lessons, most of which he does in the adjacent room while preparing two cups of hot coffee spiked with methane. Yet he listens attentively and really tries to differentiate between "in" and "on" even though he always confuses them and will probably have Repetitive Stress Syndrome in his wrist from having to constantly flip through his notebook. Why is Jean Death, you ask? He works at a sterile, male-infested company that sits in a warehouse that sits at the farthest end of the industrial ports of Marseille so that, just to make my life more interesting, I have to call the company from the guard station and ask for someone to come pick me up. (This is already after a 30-minute hike to the bus, then a 15-minute bus ride.) Like Pluto's underworld, my river Styx is a boring drive along ugly hangars and warehouses. In the morning, that is. When Jean takes me in the afternoon, I strap in my seatbelt and hold on for life, searching for comfort in the miniature Horton elephant that sits on his dashboard. Who said Death didn't have a sense of humor. The next 2 minutes we are flying (today he drove 95 km in a 30 km zone) past buildings, overtaking slow trucks, skirting past speedbumps, and squealing around roundabouts. Dear Lord. When we get to the top of the hill and I thank him for the ride, I have usually given myself the biggest wedgie which I then gracefully wait to pick once I have reached the bus stop IF I am even able to walk. To wrap up this atypical blog, it certainly makes Life more exciting to wonder if every Thursday I'll die or not, seated next to Jean the flatulent guido welder. *name change

Bivouaking in the Alps

With a little encouragement from Heather today, I decided to share our trip to Les Queyras. We went there back in July. I think what impressed me most, other than camping in the Alps, was that only 1 hour outside of Marseille we were cruising along winding roads past country farms and small villages and gorgeous lakes, and 3 hours later, taking tight curves and passing under tunnels in the Alps. Les Queyras are in the Southern Alps and hug the Italian border. We had thought about taking a trail that took us across the border but decided to stick to France. (Apparently the terrain in Italy is pretty intense and not having camped in almost 3 years we thought it best to take it easy.) We parked the car in a town called l'Echalp that was literally a hodge-podge of 4 or 5 ramshackle buildings. Larger than the town was a gravel parking lot, from which we picked up the GR58 or Tour du Queyras From there on out it was nothing but climb, climb, climb. Man! I was beat an hour into what would be a 5.5 hour hike (about 7 km) that took us from 1,687 meters to 2,618 meters. Along the way we stopped to snack at lookout points, check out a herd of sheep that followed us with their jingling bells, breathe the pristine air, marvel at the silence (no scooters and horns and trash trucks!), and chill at Lac Egorgeou. It was so pristine. I dipped my feet in and washed my face. Nothing like some fresh Alpine water! Our goal was to set up camp at the next lake, Lac Foreant. We had read that you could see the first lake from the second, because it was at a higher altitude, so we thought, hey, it must be close. Nope. Another 1.5 hour hike up some rocky inclines and finally we reached our destination. We set up camp literally 30 seconds before it began to rain -- luckily a refreshing alpine drizzle -- and then had dinner. There were only 2 other tents so we felt pretty secluded. After an O.K. night of sleep (who sleeps like a baby in a tent?) we woke up and watched a couple fish. Not fish, people. They were an older couple and had woken us up at 4 in the morning when it was still pitch dark. At first I thought it was some boar (there are lynx and wolf as well) but it was just some crazy folks who must've left at 1 or 2 am to reach the lake in order to get a good catch. Pretty amazing. After breakfast we started the hike back and voila! our first camping trip in the Alps was a success.

Winged Visitors

Just a few pictures of the lovely birds that took over our courtyard during our last weeks living there. There were two babies, one of which learnt to fly about 3 days earlier than the second, pictured on my finger. Initially we tried to help it get up in the air -- we placed it on the table, we unknotted a string that got tangled around its talons, we gave it lots of moral support and encouragement (go baby oiseau, go!) but, in the end, I think we ended up traumatizing more than helping the poor thing. I felt horrible when one day I poured cleaning solution on the terrace in order to clean up their bird poop (it was everywhere, like it had rained blueberries!) and the baby, in an attempt to dodge me, decided to go for a little swim. I was afraid it would get sick so I washed it clean with the watering can. Needless to say, it did not enjoy its first shower. The parents were pretty protective, anytime we got close to the birds they began to chirp, their song sounding metallic -- like someone rubbing a rock on a cheese grater. Or something like that. Anyway, it may sound silly but we were so excited, and a little sad, when baby oiseau flew the coop...

The Three Men Who Cried for Port

Back in June, to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, Marc and I went to Porto. I came across this adage before going: "Lisbon plays, Braga prays, and Porto works." I've never been to Lisbon but since it's the capital and the richest city in Portugal, I think I can safely assume that Lisbon does indeed play. We made it to Braga, by train, a two-hour ride north of Porto through sleepy towns and rolling hills. It's a medieval town with stunning churches and clean streets and lots of balloons. (We happened to be there the weekend of the famous Sao Joao festival.) Porto was definitely industrial, like any port city I suppose, but had enough pockets of charm and tranquility that I wasn't so bummed by the amount of graffiti and crumbling buildings. There is tile work everywhere -- on the facades of houses, businesses, churches -- and it really lights up the stonework that has blackedned from years of pollution. We watched football (it was also the weekend of the EURO Cup Semis) and ate salted cod, and attempted to speak pidgen Portugese which was a lot harder than I expected. And I don't mean pronouncing words, I mean hearing them. It's a beautiful language, very sonorous, but when the Portugese speak it sounds like they're wrapping their words in a wad of cotton. We also took a boat ride along the Duoro River and spotted an enormous peacock in a tree in some beautiful park. I didn't know that peacocks hung out in trees...maybe Portugese peacocks do? The highlight of the trip was a day of Port tastings. We went to two places, Ramos Pinto (where I learned about white port) and Graham's. Graham's was the most fun and informative. Our guide, whose name I've forgotten, was really enthusiastic and completely transmitted his love of everything Port to us. It turned out his stepfather, un Francais, owned one of the surprisingly few Port tasting bars in the city, one which we had found the night before and stopped by only to find it closed. We were a small group of 4, guide included. The other was an American radiologist, from Maryland of all places, who took to Marc and I and who was really a pleasure to speak to. After a post-tour tasting he offered us a flight of vintage Ports and we just couldn't pass that up. So we stayed for another hour or so, chatting about Port and its history, and the pleasure of drinking Port, and travelling, and drank 4 vintage portst, all of which were incredibly good and one of which was the current year's and a gift from our guide. And it was during this carefree, slightly drunken afternoon that I heard 3 interesting stories involving Port. The first man is the radiologist's father. He fought in WWII and after fighting finds himself in London. There he drinks Port for the first time and falls in love. He spends the rest of his time scavenging the city's liquor stores for Port and by the time he leaves has put together quite a nice collection. When he goes through customs in New York he's told that the bottles have to be impounded. The man bursts into tears and begs the custom's agents not to quarantine his bottles because they'll be ruined. Perhaps surprised by the man's outburst, touched by his passion for something as seemingly banal as Port wine, or feeling nice on that particular day, they let him go -- with this bottles of Port. One of those bottles was from the 1940s, which the radiologist had the pleasure of sharing with his family this past Thanksgiving. Unfortunately his father had died a few years earlier but, as the radiologist told us, his father was there in spirit. I'm sure it was a memorable feast. The second man orders a case of vintage port. He picks up the case at a bar (the same one owned by the stepfather of our friend) and on the way out trips and falls. All the bottles shatter and the port spills out onto the street. He literally gets down on his hands and knees, crying like a baby, and begins to lick the Port off the street. Someone joins him. Eventually they are convinced it's not a good idea to lick the street and so the man, heartbroken, resigns himself to the loss.

The third and final man is our guide. He was young, a couple of years younger than me, but had grown up, as I imagine him, living and breathing Port. He had worked for a variety of Port companies and found Graham's the most authentic (despite it being run by an immigrant Scottish family) and the least commercial. There he has free reign. His guides are completely his. He goes on tangents, he gives his opinion, he holds up the other group behind us in order to finish his point. There's no script, no timed pauses. During the flight of vintage Port wines, he explains how the French are too chatty, the Americans not interested enough, the Germans and the Dutch too impatient to drink, and that in all his experiences the most enthusiastic listeners who pose the best questions are, drum roll please, the Maltese. Go figure. One day he had a large group of Maltese, about 50 strong, who were so attentive, so involved, and so patient (instead of running to the tables after the tour and guzzling down drinks they waited for him to tell them what to do) that he cried. He cried in front of 50-some people because their love of Port wine matched his own and so he cried because he was happy. He cried as they gave him their addresses in Malta, telling him to come visit. And he almost seemed to want to cry when telling us this story. Needless to say, I am now an ardent fan of Port wine. (And a factual tidbit: Graham's 2000 Vintage Port, which I tasted, was 1 of 5 Graham ports, a rarity in and of itself, to make it on the 2006 Wine Spectator's top 250 wines from 1995-2005.)