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 11th
through Wednesday the 14th of November [ a special thank you to my
lovely wife who’s birthday was the 14th 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 2nd best
baguette in Paris in just his 5th 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.
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