[2015 France-Paris]Market, Marais shopping & crepe

We started this morning with this amazing jar of chestnut yogurt. The French and I have one thing in common: our love for chestnuts. This was sweet almost like dessert, but delicious nonetheless (who doesn't like dessert?!). People weren't kidding when they gush about how awesome French yogurt tastes.

The Marche Monge is scheduled for today, so of course I gotta go check it out. On the way there, we passed some cute store signs. I remember in the Carnavalet museum there's an entire room's collection of these whimsical adorable items. Highly recommend it if you're ever in Paris.

[2015 France-Paris] Tasting menu @ AG

This morning Gaetan called a cab for us to get to the train station. The driver was clad in an all-black tight-fitting outfit like a spy in the movies. He even had a black moleskin notebook for all his appointments. Quite rare and a welcoming sight in this age of smartphones! Once we arrived at the train station, we waited nervously for the Rhonexpress. If they pull the same crap as we experienced on our trip into Lyon, we'd miss our flight! Thankfully, there was none of that and we got onto the plane with plenty of time to spare.

  

We stepped onto the RER blue line at CDG airport. It was a straight shot to our stop: Luxembourg. Lucky for us, we got onto the express train, so we shaved off 20 minutes of travel time. I remember from guidebooks and online forums before my last trip that the RER line is pickpocket heaven, but it didn't feel particularly dangerous. Maybe the situation improved over the past 10 years? Or maybe I'm just not alert enough... 

Upon exiting the Metro station, I felt like a country rat in a big city. The air was now filled with the stink of piss and we were surrounded by people hurrying to their destination, even the sky seemed less blue compared to Lyon. The confusing little streets around the station didn't help to lift my spirits. Imagine my dismay when I realized our new airbnb is on the THIRD FLOOR!!! I told Mr. Kimchi: if our luggages end up too heavy when we leave, I'm just gonna chuck it down the stairs!

[2015 France-Lyon] Chinese food in the gourmet capital of the world? You've gotta be kidding me!

This is our last day in Lyon, so we had to make good use of our time and do all the good stuff that's left on our agenda. We passed by Pains Des Jacobin on Saturday and noticed the long line out the door, so we vowed to return when it opens. Mr. Kimchi nicely offered to get breakfast there this morning...I think he got the afternoon's pastry quota filled too.

On the agenda for this morning is the Croix-Rousse region in the northern part of the peninsula. This is the stronghold of Lyon's silk industry, so naturally the silk worker's museum (Maison Des Canuts) is located here. Honestly, it's not much of museum as it is tiny, but at least it's free. There's also a silk weaving demo offered only in French.

[2015 France-Lyon] Sunday, market day

It's Sunday today. As the French are devout Catholics, most of the stores were closed. I remember reading about the Marche de Creation by the Saone river every Sunday morning, so hence started our morning. I've never been too comfortable taking picture of artwork, so the one above will have to suffice. It was a pleasant stroll, not super crowded, very low key, and some of the stalls had interesting artworks.

 This is one of Lyon's main attractions: the library mural. Lyon has converted various empty wall spaces into these spectacular works of art. I highly recommend seeking them out.

[2015 France-Lyon] Leg-breaking start in Lyon

Lyon, with its 490k population, is the third largest city in France, situated between Paris & Marseille. Ever since I saw Bourdain hunting with Lyon's famous chef Paul Bocuse, I've been dying to visit this gastronomy capital of the world.

Life was hectic before the trip, so I didn't think too clearly before booking round trip tickets to Paris first, then adding on round trip tickets between Paris & Lyon. This turned out to be a mistake in two ways:

1. The airports are very far out of the cities.
2. French airport security is slow/strict.
3. We had to pay crazy check luggage fees for the domestic flights.

Turns out the TGV train to Lyon also stops at CDG airport. I'll remember this for future reference!


 

First impression of Lyon airport: wow!

[2015 New Orleans] Super-Gwen & feast of live music

This morning begins with a cemetery tour, which starts in the courtyard of the nearby Cafe Beignet. Naturally, beignets for breakfast! Honestly I still don't understand what's the big deal, because to me beignets are simply fried dough covered in powdered sugar. But hey, it's what NOLA's known for, so we gotta have it! Even though this is not THE Cafe du Monde, it still had a line, but the wait wasn't bad, maybe around 15 minutes. The beignets were fresh out of the fryer, and survived the short walk back to our hotel. I liked it but didn't think I could eat too many in a row.

[2015 New Orleans] Happy Easter Sunday! Let's go on a swamp tour!

It's Easter today. I thought I'd planned it quite well: go for a jazz brunch by Jackson Square, and we'd finish just in time for the second Easter parade. Yes, New Orleans takes Easter Sunday very seriously, with 3 parades! Maybe that's why the square was packed with people in formal attire and beautiful hats.

[2015 New Orleans] Vibrant NOLA

Ever since watching season 11 of Top Chef, I've been dying to visit New Orleans. The beautiful wrought iron balconies, endless supply of fresh seafood and all sorts of delicious Southern food, what's not to like (love)? So as soon as we decided on our vacation time, I strong-armed D to a trip down south (he''d visited NOLA before and didn't like it). The weather forecast for NOLA was sunny with highs in the 80s, I was even looking forward to the humidity, so I excitedly wheeled my huge luggage filled with summer clothing out of storage, even though Chicago was nowhere close to spring, let alone summer.

Our plane flew across the swamps outside the city during the descent, and my first impression was: green! All shades of green made NOLA look lush and full of life, unlike the dead brownish Midwest.

The cab ride from the airport into the city was about 30 minutes and uneventful. I liked the fact that it's a fixed price of $33, so I didn't have to worry about traffic. We're staying at the hotel Monteleone, a block away from Bourbon St. on Royal St. It's a historical landmark, and the lobby looks stunning.

Since our room wasn't ready, we dropped off the luggages and went searching for food. It was way past lunch time, so we were staving. I'm glad we chose to walk down Royal St. so my first impression of NOLA was a quiet clean street with lots of art galleries and tiny storefronts that begged me to go in. "Food first." D was very focused.

Second annual Sardinian Lamb Jam @ Terzo Piano

My BFF told me about this event on Gilt City and suggested we go check it out. Although I've been to Terzo Piano before and was generally unimpressed, the event listed five Chicago area restaurants participating, so I figured it can't be too bad. Besides, it was offered at a significant discount, so off we went on one of the last cold days of Chicago. 

Upon entering, I was surprised by how empty the dining room was. Usually these food events turn out to be complete mob scenes, but this one was a breath of fresh air (literally, there was actually plenty of fresh air for all of us, as opposed to some other events I've been to...). After collecting our voting wine corks and wine glasses, we were unleashed on the five food stations. 

This was the second annual Sardinian Lamb Jam, where five Chicago restaurants each create a dish featuring lamb inspired by Sardinian flavors. There was also unlimited amounts of Sardinian wine for pairing with each of the dishes. At the end of the night, guests can vote for their favorite dish with their voting cork. Terzo Piano also graciously included a small buffet of cheeses to supplement the lamb dishes. 

[Chicago] Pysanka workshop@Ukrainian National Museum

The professional collection

I first heard about pysanka at the Chicago  Open House 2014, when I visited the Ukrainian National Museum in the Ukrainian Village neighborhood. To be honest, I was more excited about the ornate churches in the neighborhood at that time. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this little museum. The staff was super-friendly, and the collection was quite interesting. I have to admit I'm rather ignorant about that part of the world, so I learned something as I walked through the museum.

One thing that stood out for me was the collection of beautiful pysanky. I couldn't take my eyes off of the eggs with beautiful vibrant colors and intricate designs. So when I saw the signup sheet about future pysanka workshops, I jumped at the opportunity.