mes parents

My parents touched down in Paris a mere 30 hours after I did (having just returned from K's wedding in Lake Tahoe, California). It was hectic and ambitious to have them around: (1) because I was very adamant about them enjoying themselves, especially as it was my dad's first ever experience in Europe and (2) because I was very dedicated to enjoying myself as well in the last two weeks of my actual-living in the City of Light. We somehow managed to eat and drink well :) a brief overview of how we spent their five days:

{Friday, 4:30pm: wine tasting on the Seine; 7pm: Clamato oysters with Lorelei}

{Saturday, 1-5pm: overpriced bus tour}

{Saturday, 8pm: dining at Le Quincampe with my French family; competitive Mikado game included}

{Saturday, 11pm: boat cruise on the Seine by night}

{Sunday, 9:30am: breakfast at Rose Bakery}

{Sunday, 2:30pm: simple lunch en famille in Melun}


{Sunday, 5:00pm: stroll down the Promenade plantée}

{Sunday, 8:50pm: El Nopal tacos on the canal}

{Monday, 11:30am: visit to the Châteaux de Chantilly}

{Monday, 8pm: Wine, cheese, and charcuterie at Comestibles et Marchand de Vins} 

 {Tuesday, 10am: AUP graduation and delivery of MA degree}

{Tuesday, 2pm: graduation lunch at Bistrot du 1er with Marie, her mom, Rachael, and Lorelei}

{Tuesday, 8:30pm: Paris Beer Week celebration at La Fine Mousse}

My dad fell in love with Paris (despite ever-gray skies) and my mom is happy when he is, so I'd call the visit a success. I basically celebrated my birthday all week basking in their company and generosity, too. Yay for "traveling" with my parents for the second time this year! Growing up is a funny process in and of itself, but I'm finding the evolution of our relationship most intriguing. This just in: they're two especially wonderful and imperfect people, doing their best and figuring out life as they go along. Lucky me.

the dreams that come true

{Auxerre, France}

He told me he wanted to sail a boat around the world,
He wanted to take me with him.
We'd explore faraway lands and love each other and live exceptionally,
simply.

I smiled warmly as I sat in front of the computer screen
1,230 miles away. Northeast.
Thank God for AIM
and the college prep summer program that brought us together.

I was entranced by his intelligence and sense of adventure,
by the way his opinions varied from my own,
by his accent, of course.
I wanted to live his dreams in all their vastness.

That was for eventually though.
For now, I had a boyfriend and a part-time job,
and we were only entertaining a someday idea;
no harm in that.

There was, of course,
I just didn't let myself realize it until later.
We never did sail around the world,
and we fell out of whatever love we thought we were in.

Nothing turned out
as we'd so naively planned.

It was never supposed to.

He chose planes over boats.
I accumulated more dreams of my own,
and have gone about living them.
Still inspired by memories of a high school romance.

Also inspired by the recent passing of Colombian novelist, Gabriel Garcíá Márquez, who'd "entwined tales of time, memory ... love".

biodynamic in bourgogne

Putting together the first draft of my master's thesis has kept my brain rather consistently scattered (i.e. the sequence of recent posts: blog curation, neobistro lunches, actual 'good' people, simple, seasonal menus?). I hope it's forgivable as I've compared the process to "knitting a quilt for a giant." Are quilts even knit? Should I ask someone? There I go again... luckily, a milestone has been reached. I just submitted it for review! And I doubt I could have done so without last Saturday's much-needed break in Burgundy.

Lorelei and I joined fellow AUP students on a day trip. Though I fell asleep soon after boarding the bus, I awoke to fields of vibrant yellow flowers as we approached the town of Auxerre. We wandered past quaint, timbered houses for two hours, stopping at all the major sites: the cathedral, tour d'horloge, and abbey. Then, we had boulangerie sandwiches by the river to bask in the gorgeous sun.

Afterwards, we went to Chablis to visit Jean-Marc Brocard's vineyard and learn about biodynamic agriculture--a system that views the vineyard as an ecosystem, accouting for astrological influences and lunar cycles. It produces a natural (not quite organic) wine.

And, as I happily discovered, it also produces a wine that is just lovely to taste on a warm, sunshine-y afternoon in the countryside. Good to know: Chablis is a white wine (almost entirely Chardonnay) from the northernmost area of the French Burgundy region. It's crisp and dry, with a refreshing acidity brought about by the fossil-rich limestone soil. I highly recommend you sip some soon :).

one day in saint-jean-de-luz

Last night, I watched Kung Fu Panda at an apartment in Belleville. Cute movie. "My friend, the panda will never fulfill his destiny, nor you yours, until you let go of the illusion of control," the old turtle told the tiny red panda. However juvenile the context, it resonated with me as I embark on my last full month in Paris and accept the fact that I still don't know where I'll relocate to after.

It also reminded me of a Buddhist lesson my cousin tried teaching me. “To let go means to give up coercing, resisting, or struggling, in exchange for something more powerful and wholesome which comes out of allowing things to be as they are without getting caught up in your attraction to or rejection of them, in the intrinsic stickiness of wanting, of liking and disliking.” -Jon Kabat-Zinn

Spending a day in Saint-Jean-de-Luz was a practice in such wisdom as well. Following a series of unfortunate events, Leslie and I found ourselves with 12 extra hours in le Pays Basque and one coastal city we hadn't yet visited. All we could do was make the best of it; and gosh, after all that rain, how brightly the warm sun shone to rouse the process. Paella and ice cream surely helped, too :).