more from the wine cellar

"I drink it when I'm happy and when I'm sad.
Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone.
When I have company I consider it obligatory.
I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and I drink it when I am.
Otherwise I never touch it, unless I'm thirsty."

- Lili Boulanger on Champagne

Wine tasting last week was fabulous...mainly because we not only got to taste wines from Bordeaux, but champagnes as well!  

Here is a list for reference:

All Champagne and one delicious port:

1. Louis Roederer, Brut Premier

2. Cuvee William Deutz 1995

3. Larmandier-Bermier, Vertus, Cote des Blancs

4. Louis Roederer Vintage Rose 1997

5. Taylor's Vintage Port, 2000

Bordeaux wines:

1. Chateau Carbonnieux, White Pessac Leognan 2006 Grand Cru Classe

2. Chateau Rieussee Santerres 1979, Premier Grand Cru Classe

3. Alter Ego de Palmer Margaux 2000

4. Chateau Canon-la-Gaffeliere, Saint Emilion, Grand Cru 1996

3. Chateau d'Issan Margaux 3rd Growth Grand Cru Classe 1999

eating, drinking, eating and more eating

I cannot BELIEVE how much i've eaten since I arrived in Paris!! There are just so many amazing restaurants and cafes and mouth watering patisserie's on every corner - you're always being tempted to eat something. And of course the mystery still remains...how are french women so damn thin?!! The French eat baguettes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  They pour cream sauces and loads of butter on everything and there is one whole aisle in every supermarket dedicated to different varieties of pudding!!  I have to resist the temptation to indulge at every glimpse of a strawberry mille feuilles or macaron in the quaint little patisseries located on every block...just after I finish this crepe...

Last week I had the pleasure of dining at Kong (1 rue Pont Neuf) for a friends' birthday party.  It's a restaurant designed by Philippe Starck and located in the Kenzo headquarters.  The restaurant is on the last two floors of the building and has an amazing view of the city!  The design concept for the restaurant is "the fight between the moderns and the classics"...so, classic geisha meets modern kawai...huh?

Just cafe chillin' with classmates 

Having a productive team meeting aka. eating homemade pasta, drinking wine, gorging on apple tart with rum and raison ice cream and being entertained with 'live' music! 

Lunch at Laduree(16, rue Royale), one of the finest patisseries in France, known for their beautiful macarons - how adorable is my desert?  It's puff pastry filled with raspberries and rose cream. yumm!

Last night we decided to have a big night out and went to Society(4, place saint-Germain) for dinner, and Le Montana(28, rue Saint-Benoit) and Le Baron(6, avenue Marceau) for drinks and dancing.  If you're part of the fashionista crowd, this is where you go to hang out and be 'seen' - lots of pretty people and pretty outfits too!

Today I walked along rue saint honore and checked out a bunch of stores, most notably, Colette(213 rue Saint-Honore), which is a true shopping destination.  I salivated over a marc jacobs leather bag and bracelet made of ratty material with a skull hanging off it...although i think i can make it myself!  I eventually made it to the Marais and had a bite with two friends at the Marche des Enfants Rouge(39, rue de Bretagne).  It's an adorable little market with all kinds of yummy food, flowers and beautiful rustic wood picnic benches to sit on and enjoy your meal. 

Ok, I'm starting to feel sick talking about all this food - I think it's time for another detox...

Amanda

xoxo

park party

Before I arrived in France I was anticipating that my birthday this year would be a sad case.  I imagined myself alone, lost in the city and OLD.

but, it seems i've been blessed by the birthday gods of Paris!! I couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration. The weather was amazing (and i'm serious when i say AMAZING...by Paris standards), most of my friends were there and people came equipped with marvelous gifts and the most delicious foods...well, I guess I did say bring edible delights and 'nector of the gods' on the invite...one thing can be concluded here: THESE PEOPLE LISTEN!!

Silke and I set up camp with our bottles of bubbly, baguettes and large chunk of salty butter (...gotta have the butter, and it better be salted) - if no one had shown up, I still would have had the best day ever!

Me, enjoying the sun before everyone arrived

This is where we set up camp, next to this skinny little tree.  

Barend made a massive tiramisu...and it was completely devoured within minutes.

Lot's of yummy treats from Laduree

Luna brought this amazing pear and chocolate tart...i love that combo

I took polaroids throughout the afternoon - i used my last pack EVER!  

R.I.P Polaroid.

Thank you to everyone who came out!! I had such a wonderful day!

Amanda

xx

I'm celebrating my birthday in Paris.  what could be better?

An afternoon picnic in a scenic park.

This is my invite...oh, and i'm not suggesting anyone show up naked...

xoxo

um...so...what's oenology?

Who knew an MBA program could be this fun?

e·nol·o·gy also oe·nol·o·gy   

(ē-nŏl'ə-jē)     n.  The study of wine and the making of wine; viticulture.

How cool is it that I get to learn about and taste wine...during class hours!  So far, we've had two classes and have tasted 8 different wines - amazing.  Our professor is incredibly passionate about wine thus making the class so enjoyable.  He's a wine journalist and educator and knows anything and everything you'll ever want to know about wine.

Assess colour (against white background), swirl and sniff!

Here are the wines we've tasted:

Chardonnay - Chablis 2007, Domaine William Fevre (from Burgundy)

Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre La Comete 2008, Paul Prieur

Pinot Noir, Bourgogne Clos des Vignes, 2007 Guyot

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chateau La Tour, Haut-Caussan, 2006 Bordeaux, Medoc

 

These are all from Burgundy:

Chambolle-Musigny La Combe d'Orveau Premier Cru 2002, Domaine Faively

Meursault Genevrieres Premier Cru, 1999, Bouchard Pere et Fils

Nuit-Saint-George aux Perdrix, Premier Cru 2003

Corton Clos des Meix, Grand Cru, 2000 Domaine Philippe Senard

If you want to know the price of any of these wines or any wine at all, you can go to:

winesearcher.com 

Next week is Champagne, bring it on...krug, dom, moet...my good friends!

xoxo

Symmetry

I am in awe of the French perfection of landscape.

No matter where you are in Paris, if there are trees, they are perfectly lined up from every angle.  If there are flowers they are in perfect rows with their complementary counterparts.  Bushes and hedges have been manicured to perfection.  

Perfect, perfect, perfect.  

There is a thrill out of being surrounded by such beauty, but I must say, sometimes there is a distance that is created.  It's a distance that says "look but don't touch".  But, I do know one thing for sure, it always makes for great photos.

walking, cycling and lunching...

I've really lucked out with two beautiful Parisien weekends in a row...perfect for walking the streets and of course riding bikes in the insane Paris traffic (almost got run over by a chick on a vespa!)  Of course no one wears helmets here...that would just ruin the romantic vision of a beautiful woman on her bike with her baguette, wine and cheese in her perfect wooden basket, hair blowing...etc

Diana led the way...it's quite an adventure weaving through the traffic with all the other cyclists on the road.  

We also stopped at Rose Bakery, which is a British cafe in Paris.  They now have two locations and very long lineups.  Their carrot cake with cream cheese icing is beyond amazing.

This is what the delicious carrot cake looks like...yummmm

So...on to more food...we decided to have 'brunch for lunch' at Le Pain Quotidien.  Let's just say soft boiled eggs with toast strips to dip is not the easiest to eat...you also don't look your best when you're sitting out on a beautiful patio and egg yolk is running down your face...hehehe...I won't be ordering that next time!

Their spreads were amazing!  Apricot jam and "Blondie", which is white chocolate spread.

p.s. while we were there Olivier Theyskens walked by...but of course, I was too busy wiping egg yolk off my chin and only caught his behind!

antiques...at your door?

wow.  

what an amazing weekend in Paris.  I'm back in my dorm room, exhausted from the weekend and in serious need of sleep - thank the good lord classes don't start until 10:30 am tomorrow.

i took so many pictures this weekend, and am really getting the hang of remembering to take them...although I must say, there are moments that are just too good to take a picture...at times it can honestly take away from the moment...nonetheless, i'm documenting as much as i can so that you can see some of the wonders of Paris through my eyes.

we woke up on Saturday morning to a wonderful surprise.  the whole street was covered with antique stalls.  no need to go to the flea market when it can come directly to you...as in...to your doorstep.

The view of part of the antique market from the window...i love that the smart car is half parked on the sidewalk...oh, Paris!

the displays were great

The photos below are of a very quaint antique shop in Montmartre, it's called 

L'objet qui parle...

I love the window display

off to bed.  

a demain.

xoxo