Winning London

Unfortunately my school work trumps my blogging this week. As I am approaching the end of the semester (eek!!!), my homework is seriously accelerating. Therefore, I cannot provide a detailed account of my trip to London. However, I will say that it was magical! It was my first time in the city, and I absolutely loved it. While every other trip I have taken has been wonderful in its own right, I have always come back to Paris feeling like I had sufficiently explored whatever city we visited. This was not the case with London. I could have easily used three more days! Fortunately on Saturday we fully assumed our roles as tourists and took a double decker bus tour (in the rain). This allowed us to see all the big sites, but we did not have enough time to really explore them. We also fit in trips to Notting Hill, Abbey Road, a spectacular Christmas Fair, some pubs for beer and fish and chips, and a delicious Indian dinner. The best part of all was experiencing it with two of my best friends, who were always up for any adventure!
Here are some photos to say more than I can at the moment:

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Girls in the Kitchen

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I just arrived home from my friend Elizabeth's apartment, where Elizabeth, her brother, Taylor,  Liza and I cooked a delicious thanksgiving meal. I am currently on bed rest with my food baby and needed to be rolled home Violet Beauregard style.

Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potatoes and Carrot Soufflé, Pumpkin Bread

Being away from home for the holidays is one of the hardest parts about being abroad. Thanksgiving is a tradition that I hold very dear to my heart. My family and my aunts, uncles and cousins all drive down to my grandparents' house in San Diego to spend the holiday together. I am definitely missing reuniting in my grandma's kitchen over her famous coffee cake and zucchini bread, waking up on their living room floor with all of my cousins, going to the movies while the turkey is in the oven, cooking and eating and laughing together, and waking up at 5 AM to get peppermint lattes before Black Friday shopping. Fortunately, I know these holidays apart will be few and far between, and I am incredibly grateful to have such wonderful traditions with such an amazing family.

The Fan Fave: Stuffing and the recipe

That being said, if I were to have to spend a Thanksgiving away, I couldn't have dreamt of a better situation. After finally finishing class, we all went to Elizabeth's apartment and made stuffing, carrot soufflé, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, green beans, asparagus, pumpkin pie and cooked apples... hence the food baby. I must say, fresh french baguettes and pastry dough do add quite a delicious touch.  Not only was the food absolutely delicious, but the company was fabulous! It was the perfect expat celebration! I am so thankful to be able to share these parisian adventures with such lovely ladies.

Finished product

I am so thankful to even have the opportunity to be spending the semester here. I am grateful for not only my friends, with whom I am able to share these experiences with, but also my family, without whom I would not be here. I cannot thank you enough for your love and support, and I miss you all so much, especially today. Please take the time to thank those that you are grateful for and give them a big hug! Sending mine from Paris!

Easy, Breezy, Beautiful: Paris

This weekend was the first since September that I didn't have someone staying with me or plans to travel somewhere. While I wouldn't change a minute of my travels or visits, it was so nice being able to do Paris at my own speed.

On Thursday we celebrated Beaujolais, a celebration in France that commemorates the opening of the new year of wine. After class, we grabbed a glass at a cafe before cooking dinner at Maddi's, and finishing our homework...until the power went out. After we had taken part in this beloved French tradition and new Maddi was safe in her apartment, we all went our separate ways.

Friday was Maddy's 21st birthday! We went to a delicious dinner with her lovely family, followed by a fabulous club equipped with fun friends, great American music, and stick on mustaches! Afterwards Taylor and I had a slumber party at our friend Ritchey's apartment. Seeing as we live in homestays, we have been missing out on girly activities we love at school, such as getting ready together, watching movies in our rooms together, and sleepovers. Luckily this weekend we got to do a little bit of all three.

On Saturday we slept in late and enjoyed a delicious brunch of chocolate chip banana pancakes and american coffee at Breakfast in America. Afterwards, Taylor and I enjoyed the luxury of being able to wander and enjoy Paris at whatever pace we wanted. I finally feel like I am able to navigate the city well. The pieces are coming together, and I feel like I have my nooks that I know like the back of my hand.

We hopped on the bus over to the 3rd to check out an exhibit, however there was at least a 2 hour wait. Instead we wandered in and out of vintage shops and enjoyed frozen yogurt, a treat we had been missing a lot. We then took advantage of the slightly warmer than normal temperature and wandered along the seine, continuing to be in awe of this beautiful city.

We then made our way to Musee d'Orsay where we met up with my great friend from high school Amy. We caught up at a cafe and then went our separate ways until reconvening for dinner. In the meantime, Taylor and I crossed back over the Seine to take a ride on the giant Christmas ferris wheel. The view was beautiful!! We then met Amy and her friends for dinner and Parisian nightlife. It was so great to see a friend who I have known for 15 years and be able to share these wonderful adventures with each other!

Sunday was devoted to homework. We have lots of trips coming up, so Taylor and I buckled down and finished a good chunk of our work so we won't have to let it spoil our future fun. We then rewarded ourselves with chocolate granola and Elf! Since they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, Christmas is already in full swing, and I am not complaining! That being said, I am definitely sad I am missing Thanksgiving with my family. A part of me is very jealous of all those college students hopping on planes today to go home to their families. I know I will see mine soon though!!

Jo and Dad's Not Totally Traditional Paris: Part II

Part II... from my Dad's Prospective:

Jordan asked me to write a few words about our recent adventures together. While I lack both her skill and style as a blogger I will give it a shot…

First, for those who are not familiar with the Bleibtreu family’s love of “adventure” a few words of explanation. Our family loves to take adventures versus vacations. We like to walk down unbeaten paths, try new places that may not be a top ten-tourist site and we love all types of road food, from local burger joints to a chocolate dip at DQ. We’re not big on detailed itineraries preferring to have goals… As an example in Hawaii the goals for today could be to try a new lunch place, explore a new beach and be back for sunset cocktails.

So when Jordan first posted the lovely quote from Gwyneth Paltrow I knew that I had to go to Paris. And my goal was to experience the city through Jordan’s eyes, not based on places I’d been to. I wanted the pace of our adventure to be lead by her, not me. It’s now very clearly her city.

The first step was timing, when could I get off work, and when was she actually going to be in Paris? We settled on Sunday the 11^th through Wednesday the 14^th of November [ a special thank you to my lovely wife who’s birthday was the 14^th and told me to go have fun with Jordan] So I booked a ticket and we set simple goals: eat, walk and talk through her Paris. We wanted to be open to inspiration and enjoy ourselves at whatever pace felt right. However we had one mandatory activity, taking a baking class together. We were going to learn the secrets behind making great baguettes and croissants. Jordan did her research and booked us in Tuesday morning, the rest of our three days were wide open to find adventures…

All good adventures have travel delays, because travel issues make us appreciate life when things actually go right. They also can set the table for a great adventure – if you are open to it versus just being frustrated - That means my connection out of JFK lost a generator 30 minutes after we took off causing us to return to JFK and then burn up our brakes on landing… A 3-hour delay ensued, they found a new plane and I was again on my way. The delay caused a reseating on the plane, which in turn gave me a wonderful French family as seatmates. A conversation with the mom of course included food, and our love of local “road” food, which lead to her tearing a page from her magazine giving me a selection of great local cheese shops…This lead to the wonderful picnic Jordan described below… This is why I like talking to folks when I travel… because one never knows what can happen… We find the shop, pick great cheeses and antipastos then stroll across the street into a really cute park and viola an amazing picnic where I sit in the glow of Jordan talking about her new home Paris…All because my flight was delayed…That’s the Bleibtreu way to travel!

Lunch then lead us to walk the neighborhood, one that Jordan knows well, however because we came into from a different side we discovered one of the oldest open markets in Paris. A marketplace I know Jordan will go back to, as there was a cous cous place that looked amazing. Seeing that market gave us the inspiration for the cuisine of choice for the evening. However we had to walk off lunch first.

It was a lovely walk filled with conversations about her travels, friends and classes. All of which I loved hearing about. We then went to her room at her apartment, which is shockingly clean and orderly! Her host mom and dad were lovely people and seemed to enjoy having Jordan stay with them. The fact that her apartment is a half floor below the main apartment gives it a feeling of being both separate and part of the their living space which gives Jordan the best of both worlds.

As a parent there is so much pride and admiration in actually experiencing your child’s maturity. Watching her navigate Paris, order meals and confidently lead us around city was just wonderful.

Over dinner plans were made for the morning. Great coffee and Paris are synonymous so after a great night’s sleep we were off to one of her favorite coffee houses. However great coffee and an Australian coffee shop in the shadow of Sacre Coeur was totally unexpected! The coffee was made in an “air press” and was one of the best cups I’ve ever had!

Over coffee and marble cake we talked about her brother Austin, and how his football season went, that of course led us to talk about Dim Sum [the relationship between football and Dim Sum is another story altogether]. That conversation set the location for our dinner adventure. We were going out for Dim Sum in Paris. It took Jordan less than 15 minutes to locate a restaurant in Chinatown [who knew there was a Chinatown in Paris]. So we were set for dinner… After coffee Monday included classes for Jordan, lunch where I met her lovely friends over great pizza, and a lovely walk for me through the Luxemburg Gardens.

Tuesday morning was upon us, which meant the cooking class. Lacking great coffee we still managed to get to the bakery on time ready to learn the secrets of French bread baking. The sample he gave us as we descended from the shop to the kitchen told us two things. First of all we were in the presence of a great baker, and secondly I now am quite confident that you can cook anywhere. His kitchen in the basement was small, hot and crowded. Yet he and his staff worked together in perfect harmony turning out hundreds of outstanding baked goods daily. Putting our aprons on we dug our hands into the dough. Over the next two plus hours we learned yeast techniques, sponges, starters, flours and oven temperatures. We learned when and why you use steam, and perhaps most importantly he infected us with his sense of exploration. He has learned the art of the traditional baguette, but also new breads with combinations of rye and whole grain flours, breads with white chocolate and dark chocolate. He also taught us the secret to great croissants: 22% butter! Yes a great croissant needs to have a minimum of 22% butter layered and folded into 100+ layers that get rolled out into triangles and rolled into croissants.

I had thought quite a bit about what to expect from the baking class, and I can say that it exceeded my expectations on every level. We had the opportunity to send time with a master who made the 2^nd best baguette in Paris in just his 5^th year of baking. It was a great morning.

As Tuesday was our last day together we both covered our impending sadness with great walking conversations about her upcoming trip to Rome and London. We ran a few errands and then wound up were everyone should on a cold day in Paris – Angelina for a great cup of hot chocolate.

Writing this post on the plane ride home has given me some time for reflections on what was one of the best adventures I’ve ever had. I have seen Paris from a new perspective. I experienced the city led by a local native Parisian, a person who has curiosity, confidence and genetic sense of adventure.

Jordan and I rode numerous trains, walked many miles and talked for hours. We ate extremely well and had three days that have created a life time of memories.

Jo and Dad's Not Totally Traditional Paris: Part I

One day in October when I was perusing blogs about Paris, I stumbled upon a post from Gwyneth Paltrow that said:

"When I was ten years old, my father and I took a trip to Paris, leaving my younger brother and mother in London where she was filming a movie. My dad believed in one-on-one time with us, and sometimes that extended to a weekend away. We stayed at a great hotel and he said I could order whatever I wanted for breakfast (French fries). We went to the Pompidou museum, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre - the usual spots. It was pretty great. On the plane back to London he asked me if I knew why we had gone, just he and I, to Paris for the weekend. I said no, but I felt so lucky for the trip. He said, “I wanted you to see Paris for the first time with a man who would always love you, no matter what.” From that time on, Paris was and continues to be very special to me."

I immediately emailed it to my dad, and we planned his trip to come visit. Sunday, he finally arrived. I met him along the Seine between the metro from the airport and the apartment we rented. Being the friendly and inquisitive man he is, my dad had received a page from a magazine of cheese shop recommendations from a Parisian passenger. Being his daughter, I knew we were on the same page in feeling the need to try one of them. So, after dropping off his suitcase, we hopped on the metro for our first of many culinary adventures. We arrived at Mmmozza, a small Italian deli near the Marais and ordered an antipasti plate and fresh burrata to go. We then enjoyed it in an adorable little park across the street.

After being far from disappointed by our first meal, we wandered around the neighborhood, discovered an adorable open market complete with an authentic couscous stand, and enjoyed a baked good or two while catching up. We then picked up some macarons before he met my host parents. That night, we scarfed down lemon sugar crepes in line to see Skyfall, which we both absolutely enjoyed, and then enjoyed dinner at my favorite couscous restaurant, Chez Omar. 

On Monday morning, I took him up to Montmartre to share my favorite coffee shop, Kooka Boora, with the man who taught me to appreciate good coffee. Unfortunately we had to part ways for a few hours while I went to class, and he did some solo exploration. In between my classes, he met up with me and my friends for a delicious lunch at Pizza Chic. After class I met him back at the apartment, and we decided to check out Paris' Chinatown for a not totally traditional, but totally us, adventure. After some online research and wandering around, we decided upon Tricotin for dimsum. We sampled bao, shrimp dumplings, duck potstickers, pho noodles and beef with broccoli, and once again, we were not disappointed. 

On Tuesday we woke up relatively early and head to 134 RDT bakery in the Marais for a croissant and baguette course for just the two of us. My dad and my grandma Mimi are the two people who I credit for instilling my passion for cooking and baking. I feel so fortunate to call them my teachers, chefs and partners in the kitchen. My dad and I are always looking for new recipes to try and genres to explore, with our own flair of course. Croissants had recently been added to our long list of culinary feats to tackle. What better place to learn how to than Paris?! 

After hours of research, numerous emails and almost defeat, I finally found one! We arrived to the bakery and were immediately given an amazing piece of bread with white chocolate bits to taste before being lead down into the basement with the professional bakers. After tying on our aprons, we began with baguettes and learned how he makes his starter, cuts the dough, and rolls them into their classic shape. While the other bakers whizzed around us, we practiced folding and stretching the dough. While the unbaked wands of dough sat before being able to enter the oven, we walked around the corner to his new bakery that was almost finished being built...but not before he gave us a freshly baked croissant and chocolate bread to share on the way. Here, we learned the art of croissant making. We watched as they sent the cold, butter-laden dough through electric rollers to thin it out before slicing it. We then practiced rolling them into fluffy crescents and pain au chocolat, with a proper chocolat to pain ratio. We then walked back over to the other bakery to put our baguettes in the oven, learn some more tricks of the trade, and eventually taste our delicious creation.

After dropping our baguettes off at the apartment and before enjoying a spectacular dinner and some the best risotto we have ever had, we walked along the Seine and locked a lock on Pont de l'Archeveche, better known as the lock bridge. While many may consider this an act reserved for young couples with the hope of promising an everlasting love, I couldn't help but remember the blog post above. I now completely and totally understand her and her father's sentiment. The love between family and a parent and a child, specifically a father and a daughter, is the only love that truly lasts a lifetime. While I have no doubt that I will return to Paris in the future after I finish my studies, these few days with my dad will forever be some of the most memorable and bring Paris even closer to my heart. 

2000!

I have surpassed 2,000 views!! Thank you so much to all of you who have been reading my blog! It means more to me than you know! I was mildly skeptical as to how exactly this blog would progress. I set out with the intention of creating a different version of a journal that I could look back on in the future. Now, this blog has become a vehicle through which I can communicate with those I miss, chronicle my adventures, and really reflect on the amazing opportunities I have been experiencing. It is as much for me as it is for you! Your attention and feedback have meant so much to me!

While I have absolutely fallen in love with Paris (post to come about this), I miss you all immensely and  cannot wait to see you in the near future! I have found that I when I used to say "miss you" I didn't always truly mean it. Now, I do. 

I cannot believe that I am over half way finished and only have 6 weeks left! I am going to continue to eat well, travel often, and make the most of my time here... and blog about it of course!

Week at a Glance

The last few days have been filled with so many wonderful activities that I cannot begin to elaborate on! In an effort to spare our time, especially seeing as I have an essay to write, I am going to give an abbreviated glance into the last 4 days!
Thursday:
Thursday was Toussaints day, a national French holiday, so we had 2 days off of school. I used this day to sleep in and catch up on school work before a busy few days ahead. That night, I met up with Liza for the most delicious dinner at the authentic couscous restaurant Chez Omar before heading to the first night of Pitchfork Paris Music Festival. It was one of the best meals I have ever had. Just the couscous itself was heavenly! Then we caught the Metro to Parc de la Villette to see John Talabot and Sebastian Tellier. Unfortunately we left a bit early and missed M83 in order to catch the metro home. Both artists were fantastic, and the general energy of the concert was so happy and enjoyable. Live music will continue to be a necessary and invigorating activity for me.

Friday:
I enjoyed another day off from school before meeting Liza again for dinner before the concert. We planned to grab a bite at our favorite sushi restaurant, only to find out it is being renovated! Luckily, Paris is full of delicious places to eat around every corner. We stumbled upon a little asian noodle restaurant and were very pleased with our yummy sesame noodles!  We then went back to Parc de la Villete for day 2 and enjoyed performances by The Walkmen, Chromatics, Robyn and Animal Collective. Robyn is one of my favorite artists, and her performance surpassed any expectations I had. She was fabulous!!

Saturday:
Three of my closest friends from Hopkins, Liz, Allie and Lucie, came to visit for a couple days! Liza, Taylor and I met them at the train station and then took them for lunch and shopping in the Marais. We then strolled by Notre Dame before grabbing some macarons at Laduree. That night we went back to Refuge de Fondues for classic French fondue and wine in baby bottles before checking out a club embedded in a bridge along the Seine. While all of these activities were fantastic, the best part was being together! Being abroad really emphasizes the important people and aspects of your life, and being able to share such an incredible experience with your closest friends is indescribable and unforgettable.

Sunday:
We woke up this morning and enjoyed hot chocolate and pastries at Angelina for brunch before walking up the Champs Elysees to climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We stood in awe of the amazing view of the city. After the sun began to peek through the previously rainy clouds, we climbed back down and headed towards Luxembourg Garden for a picnic lunch in the sun. Unfortunately, they had to head back to their respective programs in Madrid and London, but I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and to have had the opportunity to spend the weekend with them in the most beautiful city! I miss them already and look forward to many more adventures together in the future!