unparischemin

[unparischemin]

Au Revior Paris... But only for a short while?

Here's to the best five weeks of my life — A new mindset, new adventures, and new life — Here's to Paris. 

xoxo,

Teagan.

[unparischemin]

It's four am and...

... we are finishing packing. Onward-ho to Florida and "real" life.

Le sigh, am I right?

Teagan.

[unparischemin]

I'm quite proud to say I am Austrian - I always have been - and more now than ever after visiting Salzburg. Everything is beautified in Salzburg, everyone is friendly, the weather was cold and beautiful. We were there a little less than three days, but it was so wonderful. Here's just a few pictures from the trip - I took 1,318, oops. The first picture shows some of the delicious desserts from Cafe Tomaselli a beautiful two-story cafe adorned with flowers with has been there since the seventeen-hundreds; we opted for classic apple strudel. Then of course we tried a pretzel in the public square near our hotel (which was absolutely perfect) where there were three pieces of modern art featured for a temporary exhibit. The view from the modern art museum was absolutely breath-taking. We didn't go in the museum, but enjoyed the view and the short hike up to it. There were horse-drawn carriages at every turn pulling tourists along, and right before I snapped this picture the horses were snuggling their heads together! The picture after - can you tell we are foodies? - was taken at the restaurant attached to our hotel, of delicious cream of tomato soup. Lactose intolerant, beware. All in all, the Old City was brilliant. 

T.

[unparischemin]

Today is our last day in Paris...

It's about 46 or so degrees, and I'm drinking my morning coffee while mom gets ready for the day. We're off to the Bastille, an area we have yet to explore. It won't be a long day out, we have to come back to pack up the whole apartment for our six am flight tomorrow. I'm so overwhelmed with the idea of leaving... I'm trying not to think about it.

Teagan.

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We just got back from a three-day run to Salzburg, Austria and it could not have been more perfect. 

T.

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We had the best weekend this past Saturday/Sunday cooking for Jim Haynes' Paris Sunday Dinners. We spent Saturday shopping, having awesome Chinese food with Jim, and prepping for the big meal on Sunday — eighty-nine people were scheduled to come to dinner. We've never cooked with bigger pots in our lives. We were so overwhelmed but once Shamus came to help at seven, we were calm, then the guests arrived around eight, and after people began to enjoy the food, we had a blast chatting with strangers. We met a woman who wrote a cookbook and she raved about the food and her husband came up to us and said "You cooked? This was awesome!" Another lady came up to my mom and said "I honestly thought this is the best meal I've had here!" Holy cow. I think Jim called out about six times "This is Susan - she was the cook tonight!" Not to have a big head, but we were so proud. The food looks just okay in these pictures, but if only you could taste it and smell it. Our menu was a sugared-tarragon salad of cucumbers and radishes with melty toasts of goat cheese and caramelized onion topping. The main course was an absolutely beautiful dish, and unfortunately we were so wrapped up in moment, I didn't get a chance to take a picture. Imagine on the plate rice, tandori-curry chicken with potatoes, onions and golden raisons, indian cucumber raita, and garlicky zucchini-spinach all garnished with cilantro. We used twenty-pounds of chicken, it was insane! And cutting the onions was a long and laborious two-day affair which took off all of my makeup and made both mom and I cry. Dessert was simple, but a great finish. Cooked buttery apples with sugared-brioche croutons and vanilla bean ice-cream. It was such an experience, and quite possibly the best weekend in Paris.

Hats off to this wonderful adventure.

Teagan.

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Well tonight was spectacular. Went for a delicious Japanese dinner and to see a production of Jason Robert Browns 'Songs for a New World' - which was great - with just about the best group of people I could have hoped to spend an evening with. Great, great love to my mom, Jim, Shamus, and Varda. 

Teagan.

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Shameless selfie pictures at the Eiffel Tower and a locks-bridge today. Happy, happy, happy. Today was beautiful.

T.

[unparischemin]

I haven’t been posting, yesterday marks that we have one week left, and we have had a busy weekend cooking dinner for Jim Haynes’ Sunday Dinners! A few days ago, we went to the musee Galliera - an amazing fashion and textile museum - which houses over one hundred thousand clothes and accessories. The musée Galliera is the City of Paris Museum of Fashion. Opened in 1977, it is housed in a Renaissance-style palace built at the end of the 19th century for the Duchesse de Galliera. The museum collects and displays creations that have marked the development of historical and contemporary fashion. It presents temporary exhibitions, on a specific theme or a single couturier, revealing part of its huge collection of clothing and accessories from the 18th century to the present day. The museum is open only during the temporary exhibitions in order to preserve the fabrics of its collections. It had been closed for a whole year due to renovations and we were lucky enough to go the second day of opening and see an amazing exhibit centered around the brilliant mind and work of Azzedine Alaia, a couturier and shoe designer who flies under the radar and creates works of art, though openly has slammed Karl Lagerfield and Anna Wintour. His work is timeless, a piece from the eighties looks as if he made it yesterday. Focusing on the female figure, Alaia’s clothes look the be ‘grown on the female form’ which is quite the accurate description; all of the work was so inspiring. 

T.

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The sunset from our apartment last night.

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The Louvre at night! 

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Amazing Parisian street art. 

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Strolling around The Tuileries yesterday.

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We are so lucky the Musee de la Vie Romantique is right down the street. It is absolutely beautiful; Filled with great art, great history, and great vibes. As the tourism website reads: "The Musée de la Vie Romantique is located in the house of the painter Ary Scheffer, built in 1830. Situated in Pigalle, in La Nouvelle Athènes, the museum recreates a harmonious historical setting evoking the romantic period. The ground floor is devoted to George Sand: 17th and 19 century portraits, furniture and jewelry. On the first floor, Ary Scheffer's paintings are surrounded by contemporary works. Two annual temporary exhibitions are organized as well as concerts, readings and activities for children. In the museum's garden, the seasonal tea room, a real haven of peace open from March to October, invites you in for a tasty snack."  One of the things that makes the 'museum' so cool is that you can see locals with stacks of books or open sketchpads sitting in the garden cafe with an espresso. It's really a spot to escape the city just down one cobblestone path, and it just made me happy!

  T.

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We took a macaroon baking class today in Montmartre at Cookn with Class.

Our small group of 6 was taught by a great instructor Kelly who hailed from Australia but now lives in Paris with her French husband and family.  This is not the macaroon we are used to in the States.  They are exceptionally sweet, the french macaroon is lightly sweet, flavorful and aromatic.  We made three selections, one with a pure raspberry and rose filling, one with chocolate ganache and passion fruit, and the last with white chocolate infused with jasmine tea.  Every shell is the same, it is the fillings that set them apart.  In Three hours we produced 70+ macaroons and I must say I was impressed at how professional they looked.  Macaroons have been around for a long time - starting out as a single cookie - no filling  It was Marie Antoinette who wanted color and voila - the rainbow of macaroons appeared.  (By the way she/MarieAntoinette appears to have been an absolute design/color diva and created an huge influence in the eye candy world of design in the paris - she is one person in history I would like to have had a macaroon and espresso with!)  We finished our day walking thru Montmartre, exploring the Abbesses and tonight while i write zucchini spears and baby tomatoes are roasting while we wait for our terrine, duck foie gras and something en croute comes to room temperature for us to enjoy with a fresh baguette.  My american cooking will certainly be influenced by these 5 weeks in Paris.

  Susan.

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We started our day going to Saint Germain and following the little streets behind St. Germain de Pres one of the oldest churches in Paris. Wandered into Taschen, the famous bookstore. This particular stores interiors by Philippe Starck... beautiful, simplistic, welcoming. We stopped in so many shops along the way and bought a few select things to bring home. After walking through the 5th arrondissement

we ended up for dinner at Chalet Gregoroire for a wonderful traditional fondue of bread, boiled potato and simple salad.  It was delicious!  Walked St. Germain back to the metro to our paris home where we finished the evening listening to music and sketching.  A perfect Parisian day!

  Susan.

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Rue de Martyrs food market today was awesome; every Sunday until one in Pigalle, and so worth the crowd. Going to Rue de Martyrs you really feel like a local, just going to the Sunday market to buy your food for the week. 

T.