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October 25, 2007

Ryan's Two Today

It's been a tough week, but it's time to say Happy Birthday to the cutest boy in the world.

Posted by Shannon at 5:11 PM | Comments (8)

October 7, 2007

Battle of the Croque Monsieurs

I can't believe this took me so long.

OK. So, in France, we ate a lot of Croque Monsieurs and Croque Madames. These are toasted ham and cheese sandwiches on pretty much every cafe and bistro menu. The Croque Madame has a fried egg on top. THEY ROCK.

On this day, Colleen and I sat at an outdoor table overlooking the bridge between the Ile. St. Louis and the Ile de la Cite in Paris. It was a touristy place and the wine was kind of expensive, but we didn't care, because it was a beautiful day. In fact, we ordered a second carafe of wine.

At a much lower price, but equally tasty, was the croque in Amboise, a bustling town in the Loire Valley. Colleen had mussels. They were awesome.

This time Colleen had the croque and I had a "big plate of meat." We were in Chinon, another town in the Loire Valley, one that I loved.

Lest you think this is all we ate, never fear. Here are some others and this is just a handful.

L' As du Fallafel is kind of famous. Supposedly they have the best falafel in Paris, but I never had anyone else's so I can't really judge. It's a cool little spot in the Marais, and Kim and I showed up at about 2:30 and waited for a while for Colleen. This is what we snacked on till she got there, THEN we had falafel and schwarma. Needless to say we didn't need to eat for a while, but guess what, we DID. Paris has that affect on people.

L' As du Fallafel is recommended by Lenny Kravitz. I don't know why I thought this was so humorous, but I did.

Kim has an obsession with macarons, one that Colleen and I certainly benefitted from.

I love pizza. I love pizza so much that I eat it as much as possible, even in the land of Croque Monsieurs. We ate these pizzas after going to a crazy street market out in the 20th. The smell of ganga or whatever made me extra hungry.

In the Loire, Colleen and I went to an egg festival. It was sort of a giant garage sale but they did have an egg stand and a wine stand, thank goodness. An 11:00 glass of Rose never tasted so good.

Also in the Loire, and everywhere - the ultimate in roasted chickens. Be sure to check out the little potatoes at the bottom, just sitting there soaking up all the juice.

We loved coming back to our little farmhouse cottage in the Loire and snacking on assorted cheeses, pates and breads every day. Not to mention the roasted chicken dinners.

Not food, but still good - the techno parade on my last day in Paris.

It was a great trip.

Posted by Shannon at 3:32 PM | Comments (5)