Eating

Inspired by a plate at the swell Mary Celeste in Paris, this mess is some spicy ålg (moose) ragu over polenta.  

It tasted much better than it looked.  That or I've got to start getting out the fancy camera to better photograph this food.  Yes, I think so.

Another one that should have warranted the fancy cams.

I found the cutest local Swedish pears (pretty sure they're of the seckel variety), which were just about egg-sized.  I baked 'em with walnut oil and maple syrup and served 'em with toasted walnuts and Turkish yogurt.

I think baked fruit is gonna be my new go-to dessert.

One Outfit, Four Photos

I know I've worn this top before, but whatever.  It's that good.

Top H&M, pants old UO samples, jacket Les Fées de Bengale (RIP), necklace vintage, shoes I forget...

Sainte Jean de Montmartre

Turns out I prefer the other church in the Montmartre area.

Spare yourself the throngs of tourists and spend a little time in Sainte Jean de Montmartre instead.  The mosaic work is wonderful and there was just enough stuff crumbling or peeling to make me appreciate it all the more.

Stuff on Walls #843

Up to my old tricks.

Not all of it's graffiti, but it is all on walls.

Lucky Dogs

Paris dogs are the best.

Scenes From A Fabric Show

At PV:
The guy with the water bottle in the middle there?  Oh, that's just John Malkovich.

Turns out he's got a clothing line called Technobohemian.  (I know, what?)  You can peep the collection here.

At Texworld:
This sad lunch from the Indian kiosk (shortest lines, I'm not picky) cost me 17.50 euros.  EUROS.
Ugh.

Paris Things

New good stuffs.

We stayed at the Hotel du Temps in the 9th and highly recommend it.  We spoke to the owner when we were checking out, and he totally deserves all of the props he's been getting for the place.  The decor is so refreshing--every piece seems thought out and curated, but not in a precious way.  Here are a few shots of our room.

Telescope for good coffee and a simple environment, just off the Palais Royale.

Parmentier giveth the potatoes.  Love this statue in the metro station bearing his name.

Weird shadowing, but running into old friends is always swell.  Look at this dashing fellow who was dining just nearby at Astier!

This is me at my most happiest ever, with a vegetarian galette from the crepe guy at Marché des Enfants Rouges.
This.
This would be my last meal, I've already decided.

Cough City

I've been sick.  Like dog.

What started as a dry cough pre-Bangladesh, continued into a real-deal cough that had me stepping out of meetings and away from others during my time in Dhaka and Shanghai.  I came home thinking that the clean Swedish air would ease my respiratory distress.  But no.  The Swedish doctor gave a line about if it hadn't killed me yet it wasn't going to and if I could do without the antibiotics, I should.

Except that the cough persisted--got worse, even--until I found myself in Paris for another work trip, barely able to get around without coughing/wheezing/gagging.

Ugh.  Talk about the worst timing, ever.  By the time I got to Paris, I was on 5 weeks of coughing.  5 WEEKS.

It's bad enough to be laid up in Paris just because it's Paris and there is so much to do and see and it's my favorite place in the world.  But I was there for work.  I felt so desperate to get moving.  And I definitely couldn't miss the fabric shows.  So I used the SOS Medecins service, wherein a (nice-smelling) doctor (in fancy shoes) was dispatched to my hotel room, only to tell me I had bronchitis (le bronchite, everything sounds better in French) and prescribe me some drugs.  A couple days of prednisone (yuck) and amoxicillin and I was starting to feel better, thankfully.  But I was never really functioning at more than 60%.  And there was, like, no wine for me.  BOO.  I blame that wimpy Swedish doctor for not insisting on the antibiotics earlier.  I know antibiotics are the devil but if I come in telling you I've been coughing for over 4 weeks...

Grr.

Randoms

Catching up...

That one time Marina was over.

That one time at Rosendal's with Baby Daisy.

That one time I bruised after acupuncture.

That one time B was baiting the beast.

That one time B randomly dressed like Schneider from One Day at a Time.

That one time we wrote our names in permanent marker on the whiteboard in Bangla.  (Sorry, Nordic Club.)

That one time the Sri Lankans got in trouble for marrying dogs.

Dhaka and Shanghai

I spent the past 2 weeks at our offices in Dhaka and Shanghai.  Here are some assorted shots.

The Bangla school bus.

Shanghai feets.

Time Out says it's the best uni in Shanghai (at Sasano).

Plant signage at the office in Shanghai.

Grannies dancing near the Jing'An Temple.

"We have no amateur tea and coffee.  that's why tea and coffee loves come here."  Perfect.

The most wonderful $6 lunch the world over:  Crossing the Bridge noodles from Yunnan province.