Makin’ Up

NOLA has officially made up for last nights culinary disaster. But it was off to a rocky start.  Americans seem to things that if we do the thing, we did it well.  Breakfast, for me, does not consist of juggling a cup of coffee, a breakfast burrito, croissant and OJ in the middle of a bustling hall. So I felt crabby. Then come to find out I could have drug it into the keynote session room and dined at a table like a civilized person.  The keynote, Gail Stern

is funny, raw and true.  I had heard her before, but she was even better second time around, what she has to say is powerful and sadly true, that jokes diminish the ugliness of what people say.  That allowing humor to cover up the rape culture in which we live, just perpetuates it.  The other sessions were good and the lunch meeting was a smart move on the boards part, there were more people there this year at the business meeting.  We had salad, fixings for ham or turkey sandwiches, chips ( my dirty little secret is that I like ham sandwiches with potato chips on them).  and cute little key lime pies, and strawberry short cake shots.  Delish, but our table alone left enough food for a family of 4 for lunch or dinner.  When I asked the wait staff about the disposition of the food, hoping that they got to take it home, they told me that they had to throw it out.  I am finding that the conference industry is not very earth friendly.    

Dinner tonight was at the suggestion of one of our lunch companions, Coterie,

just around the corner, on the NOLA Restaurant Week list, and delish!  I had, at the suggestion of an old friend who knows I DO NOT like oysters very welll, à trio of chargrilled Oysters, each was amazing,

and Stephanie had Boudin Balls,

we mixed it up and shared.  My main was shrimp and grits,

which I coud not finish and dessert was bread pudding.  I MUST humbly admit, mine is better!  

We walked down to Jackson Square and back down Bourbon St.,

Stopping in to listen to a little Louis Armstrong and have a glass of wine for me and a margarita for Stephanie.  The music was nice, I got all warm and fuzzy when he sang La Vie en Rose!

NOLA NOW

I grew up VERY near where the worst aviation incident in Indiana history took place.  I remember riding the bus home from Triton West at the age of 10, I remembrer hearing the explosion, but having no idea what it was until the next day.  We were right there, not 500 yards from where the plane eventually hit, by the time the plane hit, the bus was already in the tiny town I grew up in..  My parents kept me pretty well shielded form the horror, but there was still playground talk, sensational to 10 year olds, and then that following summer too, was my first year at church camp and the stories told around the campfire of « Yellow MIke » the arm that would sneak up on you in the dark and get you., was made more real by this tragedy.  I was so terrified that one dark winter evening as I was taking my Great Grandfather dinner, singing hymns at the top of my voice, so God knew I was there, in the dark, scared, alone; a neighbor opened the door and yelled « shut up ».  SO that was 50 years ago yesterday. There as a memorial service and a big write up in the local paper, which I devoured last evening, before getting on a plane today.  I read the names of each of the dead in my own private memorial ceremony.  I wondered at their day before getting on the plane, their hopes, dreams, agonies.  There was a priest and a couple of Sisters.  NO kids, though, 20’s and up.  Some names thé same, maybe families?  Did I mention I have a genius IQ?  As evidenced by my behavior last night.  

SO today when we hit turbulence, probably thanks to Dorian, it was a bit worrisome, we made it here though, to New Orléans, to the IAFN conference.  

This year the hotel is nothing to wax on about, it is basic high rise hotel fare. 

 I am sure that there is more charm here if that is what you want.  (I usually do) We went to NOLA as a group of about 12 of us, with reservation and they acted as if we did not have one.  

To my disappointment they  seated us separately, while it was nice to visit with the other 5 at my table, it would have been nice for us to have been allowed to natter in a group.  My Salmon with rice and okra was OKish, aboût a 3 out of 10, some of the okra so tough I was not sure I would get it chooked down and no paper on the table to spit discretely into.  Yea they for being ecological,but still, sook the darned  okra, or at least not so woody! My wine, house red, was amazing, and we shared a cocoanut crème brûlée which was a wonderfully tropical twist on a restaurant dessert staple.  Hmmm. I wonder if I can............ .. Time to rest and get ready  for a full day of learning tomorrow !

Low Hanging Clouds and G7 2019

August 25,2019

I got the bright idea to blend a weekend get away and Asheville NC.  It has been a orgy of things I love.  The drive was not as bad as it cold have been, but long and the last 30 minutes were très LONG.  I usually sleep like a baby and Ian awake until 2 AM Thursday night.  SO we began our adventure, or at least I did, sleep deprived.  Jodi asked me about what the weather was forecasted to be, I had not checked, so she did, rain and thunderstorms, great.  It is a six and a half hour drive from my house to Asheville.  We ran into clouds in the mountains, Jodi says fog, but I am calling it low hanging clouds!  And rain, which allowed us to hydroplane for a few seconds.  That’s is always a prayerful moment!  

I had told the reservations person ( and we called again)  we would be late, so they were expecting us. We are staying at the same Holiday Inn we stayed at last year.  We had issues last time, but this go-round it has been great.  Well except for the fact that they leave coffee but no accoutrements.  I noticed though and picked up some sugar ( I brought cream, no powdered stuff for me) and a stirrer, down in the lobby before we went to bed and good thing because none yesterday either.  Nice location on the far east side with easy access and lovely views. 

Thé first order of business was Cheap Joes.  I had just placed an order and then realized that I was out of Violet, which made for a fabulous excuce to need to visit this store.  Honestly, I don’t need an excuse, Jodi is fairly tolerant of my foibles, but you know......   I managed to spend enough for it  to be worth the visit and on some coolish things.  I purchased a couple of water brushes at Hobby Lobby when my art pursuit began and they are junk,  I can’t get them back open to put in more water.  In addition to the water brushes, violet paint, I was lured into a flesh colored WC pencil, lovely metallic gold paint ( there were many lovely shades but I was SO restrained and only got one to try), a couple of kneaded erasers ( I found out the hard way, kneaded erasers and my trunk do not mix well). I bought more, but the point here is that it is so pleasurable to feel off, look at, consider, stuff before purchasing.  I lament the passing of stores that one can go in and experience rather than buying from websites or catalogues.  

Then we ( I ) was hungry and it was well past breakfast.  

Though..... I would have considered it had the little place we passed up due to a long wait, was still open, but we cold not find it so we settled for pizza at Mellow Mushroom.   We shared cheese bread and Pizza.  The Cheese bread was served with marinara sauce.  The half cheese, half sausage and mushroom with extra sauce was good, actually fairly similar to pizza in Italy.   

Next..... April Cornell. Sigh, just walking into this store makes me happy.  Yes there are stores that actually make me delighted, charmed, enchanted just to walk in.  Usually it is in conjunction with antiques or food, but sometimes clothing makes the list too.    Jodi settled on the couch after my perusal of the store.  Helpful clerks took my bounty to the dressing room and i began the feast of all these lovely frocks.  My Auntie Gert has a dress picked out for the he catalogue and I even tried on too.  (It. is. adorable - buy it!)    I ended up with a dress from the spring catalogue, currently on sale at 50% off, and a similar dress form the currently catalogue, which both look the same on the hanger but are totally different when on.  Also a lovely lace bottomed slip to let peep out of dresses, and a lovely knit, floral jacket that I TOTALLY Needed.  

SO my clothing allowance blown, off we went to Black Mountain to have a gander and maybe find somewhere to hang for what was left of the afternoon.  Once there, I spied a yarn shop (http://www.blackmountainyarnshop.com/) that required a closer look, Jodi stayed in the car and read.  We drove, looked, and just enjoyed the area.  We stopped or a coffee at a cute little book/coffee shop and then drove to the other side of the  freeway and wandered up the mountain there a bit discovering a Disciples retreat (Christchurch, I think- who knew that there were such things as rhododendron farms? )

and a cute little village of homes that needed to just be experienced.  

We came back to the room and Jodi turned on the TV to the news and all the G7 talk.  AUGH, amidst all this loveliness I find out that I may have to boycott American wine in response to the lummox.   Fortunately I was drinking some wine which (and chips) took the edge off.  But I think I am going to purchase somme French wine soon just in case, golly I wish I had purchased more last week in Cincinnati.

Jodi finally asked about dinner and were we going to the French restaurant, Bouchon.   I had sort of written that off as she had not seemed real thrilled about it last year, so I called for reservations and they do not take them.  That did not bode well at 7:15 on a Saturday evening, but off we went.  And it was an hour and 20 minutes, at first I though I heard only the 20 minutes.   But you know how sometimes things, sort of sink a second or so later?  Well, yes it was an hour, 20.  No Merci, you are not Le Petit France, which I am STILL mourning.  

So we started walking, fortunately most of the dining establishments in Asheville have menus in the windows and finally we sort of fell into Rankin Vault Lounge (rankinvault.com)that had outside seating and food.  Serendipity is always amazing as I had one of the best burgers I have had in a very long time, sorry Bru Burger, it was their house burger with white cheddar, arugula, onion bacon and their own special sauce, medium rare (Jodi’s=creamate), it was offered regular or slider size, so I had a mini orgasm without guilt!  

Back to the room for more wine and M&Ms  for dessert.  

Making it worse - On my Way Home

I hate leaving Paris,  It makes me feel frazzled, grumpy and a little,  triste.    IT is always a goat rodeo at the airport to leave Paris which is part of the frazzle, and this trip was no exception.  I got a confirmation e mail from Delta indicating that the flight was an Air France flight, and the short of it is, that I ended up in a Air France website which said it could not give me any information.  Arriving at the airport I went to Air France, and queued and waited, and got my boarding pass and then queued and waited and on and on, I got shuffled to 4 different gates before I was in the right place and got rid of my bag, then security again, and then Schengen Contorl, and then security and then another check, though no, I did not need to be there, I was already checked, and then another check..  I was waiting on body cavity searches, I had been security checked so much, my boarding pass was nearly in tatters.  Then I get on the plane and I am in the last damn row, seriously?  IT is bad enough to be leaving Paris, and this?  

This morning I got up and ran to the market to find more honey drops for Jodi, I had searched all over Paris to no avail and I was hoping that the honey man would be there and he was!

I am always struck by the beauty of the produce here, the multicolored tomatoes, the steaks of root veggies, and the flirty boys!

I Picked up a croissant in the market from a vendor and raced back, I had an hour before I thought SImone was supposed to be there to check me out, and as I approached the house she was letting herself in!  I went ahead and ate my breakfast as I had everything I needed and /or wanted to use up!  Comte cheese, the rest of an orange, a croissant and cherry jam, and coffee with delicious cream!

Anyway, now I am all tucked into the airplane seat,  grateful to be moved up a row and all alone in this row!

Misty. - Day 8

Last days are hard for me, What if this is my lat time in Paris, what is the one thing I still want to do, my mind whips back and forth and I nearly lose track of the actual day First tings first, box to the post and a trip for a croissant, well another rolled up almonds thingy, not sure what they are called, but they are delish!

Then, with gray skies threatening more rain, I decided it just had to be the Medici Fountain in Luxembourg gardens, so off I went to the Cluny Sorbonne Metro Stop and meandering down Boulevard St. Michel. 

Licking the windows (French slang for window shopping) until I got to an area where not one but 2 eating establishments were closed!  That sort of bummed me out, and then I wondered if I could open the cuter of the two and make a go of it?  Nah probably not, but still.......

I fiddled and fiddled trying to figure out perspective and how to manage what I wanted to accomplish.  I think one problem I have is that I dan not drew a worth a darn! Anyway, the rain held off, and I painted agin, this one took much longer, but then the subject is somewhat detailed too.

  

After I got hungry and decided ( serendipitously) to the west side of the garden, where I usually do not depart.  I was glad when I ran across an art exhibition open to the public,

and glider still when I saw a new Angelina attached to the back of the Chateau!

I decided to splurge and do Tea.  They were our of mini pastries so I had to settle for 4 macaron, darn! 

It was a cool day, I was a bit underdressed and the  hot chocolate was as amazing as ever and wonderfully warm!  THe sandwiches were a twist of a croque Monsieur, salmon and cream cheese and a croissant filled with a cream cheesy - chivey stuff.  Wonderful, and the macarons were tasty too, though I took 2 home with me for tomorrow.

I meandered to St Sublice, lit a candle for M&M and rendered more prayers for their family.  

I headed back to the house via Notre Dame,

settled down a bit and headed back to the 6th ( virtually where. I had just been). I hope dinner was to be at the Bistro d’ Henri, but he had no place for me.  I was crushed.  :(    I was sent around the corner to his sister restaurant Le Machon d’Henri, I was not going to go, but I was simply pulled in!  I am glad I allowed that pull to get the best of me!  I was seated and soon a couple sat next to me.  They were delightful dinner companions.  They are from Toronto, she is an artist, he a MD so we had a great interesting dinner, sharing our art, she encouraging me to paint and sell cards, talking medicine.......  I do remember what I ate, a goat cheese salad, Dick Breast of course and I have to say the honey sauce was even more delicious here, mashed potatoes ( my only disappointment ). I was stuffed so no dessert. 

I wandered back towards the Siene, in a fine drizzle,  to bid my girlfriend adieu.  One think I noticed is that I did even more wandering without a map and without fear of getting lost. 

That doesn’t mean I always knew exactly where I was, but it means that I know Paris well enough to not worry about needing to get out the phone, ask directions of get a map to get where I wanted to go or to get home.  Not many people on Pont Neuf, 

I found a spot and considered a quickie and going home, but the rain had stopped and it was 9:40, only 20 minutes until she would wink at me! 

While I waited I put this in my phone:  “I am standing here on pint neuf waiting for my other girlfriend to wink at me.  It’s 9:50 misty, (Kind of like I am feeling right now) slightly breezy,  and the skyline is all grays.  I am always so sad do my last day to come,  just like you can’t pick the people you love I have not been able to not love this city,  metro guards,  steps and slow waiters aside. I love this city! “

Au Revoir mon autre amour!

Painting Plein Air - Day 7

Today I had to get up and going as I had a lesson at 10:00.  That may not sound difficult but it feels that everything takes longer here.  I am not sure if life here takes more time or if I am just out of my element and so it takes ME longer. Regardless, ran to the Boulangerie with the yellow shade.

to get a croissant and have some breakfast, wash dishes and get ready before getting on the Metro to go to my last painting class.  This time I was doing cityscapes, I don’t think he found me a prize student, but it was still fun and I really enjoyed the class, Patrick and his style of teaching. 

He finally let me try a city scape of Paris, but that was rather a bit harder that I would have thought!  

Here is Patricks sample

Here is mine

After Class back to the house after a quick stop at a Boulangerie on my way back for a chicken, leek and mushroom tart, can you say YUM? 

I went to buy a box at the “Post” so that chore was done and then I decided to go to see my girlfriend.  I had not really had a good look at her yet.  I schlepped all my painting stuff and found a reasonable vantage point  from which to pint, after the afore mentioned cityscape fiasco I knew better than to try for the whole thing without a ruler!

As I painted, passerby’s were interesting.  One little girl completely with a sweet little dress and coke bottle bottom glasses came over close, commented nicely and watched me for quite a while.  A father drug his daughter over and wanted to know where I had purchased my paint supplies, so I had red the address of the store.  People would walk up, some thrown their eyes down and others smile approvingly, Bless all their hearts!

There was a slight forecast for rain and I just left praying that is would pass us by and it did! I did not one but two masterpieces!  ;)

I painted until I had a hungry headache

and went back to the house  via Bvd. Pipcus which was another street over rom the house and I wanted to have a look see. 

It is a lovely street and I was searching for food.  Finally I settled on the restaurant on the corner Marco Polo, but the signage and name was a bit misleading.  Yes, there was pasta, about 2 dishes, mostly traditional fare.  My meal of chèvre salad ( there were 6 slices of chèvre,but it was so mild and delish - and not much lettuce, had I only known). steak (He never asked how I wanted it cooked) and peppercorn sauce ( supposed to be Roquefort),

frites and more lettuce but without the chèvre ( I wished I had kept it - I had send about half back as it was just too much without more lettuce) was great but it toooooook.  Threeeeeeee LOOOOOONNNNG hours to eat a three course meal.  I was over it by the end.  Dessert was some concoction on the menu that at least had some berry sorbet that was good for a few bites, I really was over this experience.