madeleine

Good morning lovelies! Hope you all had a splendid weekend :). I was thinking that mine would probably be low-key and possibly boring, since there was no traveling involved... boy was I wrong...

Just look at how much fun I'm having standing with Madeleine?! She is the new addition to my little French host family, a darling blue bike that will be my constant companion for the next three months on my ways to and from school, my internship, and general city travel.

Just yesterday we drove downtown to meet a fellow vegetarian friend at this adorable veg & organic café. While waiting to sit we browsed through their wonderful collection of chocolate for sale. I will definitely be coming back for some fondue! And quite possibly everything else as a few people had previously done in this section. All that was left was delicious slices of dark chocolate bark, crafted with dried fruits, nuts, and all kinds of spices. Yum! But we sat because I have a rule, no chocolate before lunch time :) and our table was ready. On Sundays the brunch menu is the only one available featuring different sized brunch platters. I ordered the simply which began with a cup of java and jus de carottes. And then came this darling brunch plate... probably about the cutest little thing I've ever seen. All the containers fit perfectly into the wooden block and there were sesame and poppy seeds available at the corners. My little plates included an egg sunny-side up, a carrot and cucumber salad, an incredible oatmeal chocolate raisin cookie, berry yogurt, a sprouts, zucchini, bell pepper salad, and fruit salad, and then we were served some French bread to eat alongside it. I was so overwhelmingly happy with my meal, presentation just about does it for me. Plus, luckily for my taste buds, every single thing was delicious. Gloria was a little hungrier than I so got the next size up on the menu. She's a sharer like me so we both got to try the other's delectable dishes :). We spent two hours talking and eating, it was so great to catch up.

Then we both reluctantly headed out after realizing how much work we had to do that day still. I have mid-terms in two weeks, when the heck did that happen? Gosh, how time flies!

I did make sure to snap a picture of her with the cathedral though! And then Madeleine and I worked our way back up to the northern part of town where I live. The buildings up there are beautiful as well, very Parisian I would say, but nothing beats the quaintness of these.

Working backwards a bit towards breakfast for that day, I had a piece of baguette, Brie, tomat, and a clementine alongside tea.

I also thought it'd be blogworthy to feature what my host-mom whipped up for her son's Sunday lunch visit. He's older and lives outside the city. The main dish was chicken and I already had plans on eating out so I didn't get to try anything but I did drool just a little ;).

Saturday night my friends and I went out for Indien! My favorite! We started, as per usual, with a bottle of wine, a 2005 Bordeaux.

I had a vegetable and tofu dish in a yogurt sauce with Indian spices.

Enjoyed alongside Veggie Basmati Rice and Naan. This place was sooo good, definitely authentic and such a warm atmosphere. I was also in great company with a big group of about 7 other girls. I love nights on the town like this one, we find the best places!

Continuing on the cultural wagon we headed to "Mosquito" a Spanish bar with cheap Sangria, mmm, and met a group of Frenchies that welcomed us to join them at their table. Stuck-up? Not at all.

Friday was fun too because I went over to Kehl, Germany with my host mom, it's about a 10 minute drive. Beforehand I had a bowl of cereal and yogurt with kiwi and tea.

Then I went with her from store to store to store. I especially loved the organic shop that was with products at cheaper prices than in the US or France. Unfortunately I was unprepared for the hunger that stroke promptly at noon. There's fiber-less corn flakes for you!

I had a granola bar to hold me over until lunch time and an obligatory piece of chocolate. Kinder Country, is my host-sister's favorite, made with milk chocolate, a real cream center, and rice krispies. I was a fan, but dark will always have a special place in my heart.

And there you have it, another exciting weekend in France :). P.S. This is Friday night's dinner, Salmon Ravioli. I've got to head out for another quick shopping trip with Liz. She is on the prowl for a new pair of shoes and the clock is ticking, European sales end ce mercredi. Bisous!