Skiing in Switzerland

In case you haven’t heard yet, it has been a record cold winter here in Europe.  We somehow managed to leave behind an unusually warm winter on the East Coast for an unbelievably cold winter here.  But that said, what better to do in subzero temperatures than ski?! We packed up our ski gear and traveled by plane, train and automobile to Davos, Switzerland last weekend.  It was a long journey, but well worth the trip.  We arrived late Friday evening in time for a meal of “bolo” (the slang term for pasta bolognese in German) with our German friends.  They were nice enough to keep reminding each other to speak in English rather than German most of the weekend, but I couldn’t help but wish that I took German (as well as French) in school.  We hit the slopes relatively early Saturday morning, despite the bitter cold….and when I say bitter cold, I really do mean it, around negative 18 degrees fahrenheit to be exact.  Despite the bone chilling temperatures, the skiing was incredible.  I had to constantly remind myself to stop looking up at the breathtaking panoramic views of the Swiss Alps and to instead focus on the trail while skiing.  Although I am pretty sure Felix uttered something to the effect of “this is no Alta” on Saturday morning, we both had a fantastic time.  Some highlights from the trip (beyond the incredible skiing and picturesque views) include skiing in powder without powder cords and subsequently spending over a half hour searching for our friend’s ski, eating a raclette dinner (in Switzerland), making friends on the train to Davos with some locals and playing cards with them for the duration of the trip, and repeatedly saying “that’s bolo” to everything we liked over the weekend.

Happy crepe day!

Galette des Rois

It is a little bit late to be discussing the Galette des Rois, but given that its fabulous month of existence is about to come to a close, it bears posting.  The Galette des Rois, or the cake of three kings in English, is a traditional French cake that first appears on the Epiphany (January 6th) and is available all throughout France until the end of January.  It is made up of luscious layers of buttery crust and frangipane (almond cream paste).   Hidden inside the cake is a feve (a little ceramic or glass token) which one lucky person will find and be crowned king for the day.  My favorite part of this tradition is the cutting of the cake (tirage des rois).  If there is a child in the room, they are asked to hide under the table while an adult slices the Galette.  The adult then asks the child who the first piece is for, then the second, third, and so on.  Everyone then eats their cake (very carefully) and the person who finds the feve is crowned king for the day and can select their queen.  Our first Galette experience was after a Hash House Harriers run and Felix was the lucky king for the day! Our second Galette experience was with our friends Rob & Clotilde and I was the lucky winner of the feve (the feve had a striking resemblance to a tooth no less).  We had one last Galette last weekend after having a traditional Sunday lunch with my coworker and his family.  The traditional Sunday lunch consisted of champagne to start, several courses of incredible French food, wine, more champagne, Pierre Hermé macarons, Galette de Rois and of course, very strong coffee.  Thankfully my coworker has a dog, which gave us an excuse to walk after such an incredible feast.

Patin à glace sur la tour eiffel

We started to create a Paris bucket list of all of the things that we want to do and see before we move back to the US.  Dinner on the Eiffel Tower was on the top of the list, so we went to Tour 58 for Felix’s birthday earlier this month.  Little did we know that we would also partake is something that would trump bucket-lists of bucket-lists…ice skating on top of the Eiffel Tower! After a lovely dinner at Tour 58, we walked over to the ice rink and picked up skates.  The rink was relatively small in size, but still an incredible sight to see, equipped with skates of all sizes, a DJ, a skate up bar, and a mini Eiffel Tower replica in the center of the rink.  Although it was a chilly night up on the Eiffel Tower, we skated/danced to the music for at least two hours before calling it a night.  C’était fantastique!

Le Marais

Last weekend we wandered down to Le Marais to explore the Jewish Quarter.  This area of Paris has a mix of South End Chic (boutiques and hip cafes) and also incredibly tasty food, ranging from a Yiddish sandwich shop to the best fallafel in all of Paris.

Exploring the 5th

In our quest to explore Paris by foot, we spent an afternoon and evening wandering through the 5th arrondissement.  We happened upon the Jardin des Plantes, Natural History Museum, Mosque de Paris, Rue Moffetard, Le Pantheon, and of course, fresh baked baguette.  My favorite find in the 5th was Rue Moffetard, with its cobblestone streets free of cars, an abundance of raclette and fondue restaurants, and a certain je ne sais quoi Parisian charm that is so unbelievably captivating.  We wondered along the street stopping in several shops, including a movie store that had a good selection of American and French films (all in French, of course).  We picked up a copy of Inglorious Bastards en français in hopes that watching it will improve our French.  Speaking of which…we finally signed up for French classes! We have picked up a bit of French since we arrived and have enough basic vocabulary to get by, but we really want to actually be able to speak French.  I told a woman at my office that my 2012 resolution is to learn French and she told me that she will only speak French to me at lunch from now on (maybe I shouldn’t of said anything).

Bonne année!