Happy post-Boxing Day

Sunday 27th December 2009

Yesterday we went in the early evening to the Pantheon, an impressive structure in the Latin Quarter.  The light as fading quickly but with a fast lens and decent camera, many things are possible.

After a relaxing dinner (which became less relaxing at the end as we had to travel across the city to the theatre), we went to see Avatar in 3D.  Excellent digital effects and good solid 3D glasses.  Although the film was in English, the Na'vi subtitles were in French.  I got the gist of it though :)

Today we'll probably go exploring again.  Perhaps the Rodin museum.

Have a great day.
Steve

Merry Christmas to you all

Friday 25th December 2009

After an uneventful overnight flight (Delta - what is that chicken thing you serve?), arrived in Paris to find it slightly busier than Atlanta's airport.  Since the French railways have been spotty of late, I took the excellent Air France bus into the city and walked to the apartment.

Exchanged gifts, had some lunch and went for a nice walk to the park and back via the Arc de Triomphe.  Spending a quiet evening in with some good wine, Christollen, pate, sausage etc. Tomorrow (Boxing Day), we will probably go on an adventure somewhere outside the city.


Pictures for today can be found at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/spbutterworth/sets/72157623068144202/

Have a wonderful Christmas.
Steve & Claudia

Have a wonderful Christmas

Thursday 24th December 2009

A merry Christmas to all.  Tonight I'm leaving for Paris again (sigh :) ) so will get to see the French transportation system on a day when I'm sure there will be challenges.  Looking forward to being with my sweetheart again.  

Have a wonderful Christmas - I am sure I'll be posting some nauseating pictures next week.  Prepare for food and scenery :)

Enjoy!

Steve 

Happy birthday to Claudia

December 5th, 2009 - Paris.




Here we are in Paris again (well, Claudia's been here since September) and today is my wonderful, beautiful wife's birthday.  Today we had a relatively quiet day to ourselves that started with a quiet breakfast and then a trip to the Orangerie Museum in Paris.



This museum is home to many huge Monet panels as well as Renoirs, Matisse, Derain and a host of others.  Worth a visit and since it's close to the Louvre, if you are not suffering from art history poisoning, definitely a place to go.




Dinner tonight is at a local Cameroon restaurant (meat, meat and more meat) - we're looking forward to that. Tomorrow will be relatively quiet (might try to take in a graveyard or two) and I leave on Monday to fly back to sunny Atlanta.

December 15th is the midpoint of Claudia's time in France.  Not that I am counting....

Taming the island

Sunday 15th November 2009

An interesting week.  Started it in Paris on Monday morning and was glad to be back home (although not to be apart) and got home to discover that phase one of the landscape project had taken place.  The untamed jungle island in front of the house was in need of some treatment so the first phase to clear that of miscellaneous weeds and put down azaleas and pine straw was under way.  Thanks to a very soggy Tuesday, it was completed later in the week and does look remarkably better than it did before.  My neighbour who is retired and spends his days working on his garden is probably quite delighted.  Next year will see phase two (the back).  That will be a much larger undertaking.




As I write, it's officially the tenth anniversary of the formation of Silverpop - we had a company 10th anniversary celebration at the Georgian Club on Wednesday which was very enjoyable.  I believe without prompting, we received a congratulatory letter from the state Governor.  So there was cake for that, and again on Thursday for Bill's birthday (our CEO).  Quite a week for eating things that are bad for one.




Feeling decidedly crappy by Friday (not the swine flu) and was delighted to start the day with a trip to the foot doctor for an interesting case of plantar fasciitis (which google wants to change to Fascist) - so a couple of cortisone injections in the foot and it's all good.  Well, it will be after the next couple of injections and a few weeks of exercising it with a frozen water bottle (don't ask).




Feeling better today so I spend an hour putting up insulation strips on the garage doors which will make the basement a warmer place during the winter (and perhaps more pleasant in the summer too).   They were remarkably simple to put up and we'll see when it gets cold here just how effective they will be.




Hopefully this will be a relatively quiet week and I can also get some photography done.  Other than cats or leaves or that new rosemary bush I bought.

Have a fun week.







 

Picasso adventure

Saturday 7th November 2009

A late lunch in the quaint Rue Cler which probably doesn't get a whole lot of traffic as it sits near the Eiffel Tower and by the time most people have climbed up and down it, their legs won't take them further.  Rue Cler is a very short street with restaurants and all manner of gourmet cheese, wine and fruit stores.  We had crepes at a Greek restaurant that played the same tune over and over.  A sign that they staff were immune to it; I wanted to come home and look it up on iTunes :)

Later, we went in search of the Picasso museum in Paris - located near the Pompidou arts centre.  Alas after traipsing through the relatively busy streets, we discover that the museum has been closed since late August for "building renovations".  So no Picasso.  It did however involve two passes through Captain Nemo's interesting metro station (Arts et Metiers) mentioned earlier this week.

We did however see the excellent National Archive building and took some pictures.




Last full day in Paris tomorrow.

A day of culture

Friday 6th November 2009

Having a slightly later start than planned today, we decided to skip Versailles for another day (probably my next visit - weekends are insane there) and went instead to the national library and the opera house.




The French National Library, located by the river quite some distance out (several long metro hops) is a large subterranean complex holding a copy of pretty much everything published in France.  It is also home to several exhibitions including the permanent site of the "Globes of Louis XIV"; these massive spheres were created for Louis in 1681 and 1683 and show the Earth and night sky as perceived back in the late 17th century.  Currently the library is also showing an exhibition of documentation relating to King Arthur - and amusingly they show the Holy Grail movie clips too.

Francois Mitterand is not dead - just on "deep" retirement.





After the library, we took the metro to the Opera Garnier which is a stunning building - the outside is decorative as with many Parisian buildings but the inside is remarkable.  The pictures don't do it justice.  Unfortunately the ballet company were rehearsing so we couldn't go into the main hall itself.  Another day.




Have a fun weekend.

A walk in the park

Wednesday 4th November 2009


Just a quick note - today we took a lunchtime walk to the local park and on the way passed not only a Canon camera store, but also the Russian (and Angolan) delegations.



I resisted going to look at all the nice new shiny camera equipment (including the new Canon 7D which retails at a mind-numbing $1,900 (USD) without a lens. Not that I need it :) The park was nice and the rain held off for the entire day which was great. Stopped on the way at a bakery for coffee and something for dessert.


We had our second wedding anniversary dinner tonight (19 days early but who's counting?) and went to this really nice local restaurant specializing in dishes from southern France. "Il Etait une Oie dans le Sud-Ouest" was the name of the reataurant (quite a mouthful) but the food was excellent; foie gras, cassoulet, cheese and coffee with mini-desserts. A great end to the day.


I'll leave you with this, which was related to our dinner in some way or another.





Have a lovely evening (and Happy 5th November to all my British friends).

Looks like winter

Sunday 1st November 2009

A gloomy, rainy Parisian Sunday greets All Souls Day here.  A planned trip to the Pompidou arts centre was foiled by the "Free Sunday" - the first of the month in this case being free admission to many museums and galleries.  The queue to get in stretched around the square ensuring not only a full museum, but a wet and stinky one too.

On a positive note, we did get to see the bizarre Metro station "Arts and Crafts" on line 11 that is fashioned like the inside of some elaborate 19th century submarine, complete with portholes and odd ceiling machinery. Alas my picture of it did not do well thanks to the horrid lighting down there but here it is anyway.




So our next plan was to visit the vast cemetery of Pere-Lachaise which occupies almost 120 acres in central Paris.    "Home" to many famous people from world history, it's really more of an interesting place to visit for the scenery and the atmosphere.  I'd love to come back on a foggy day or one with a fresh coat of snow.  Trawl the pages of flikr and you'll also find it home to a number of cats.




After a quick bite at a nearby Colombian restaurant, home to post pictures and prepare for the work week ahead.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend...

More pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spbutterworth/

Napoleon's Tomb and the Army Museum

Saturday 31st October 2009

A quiet morning spent over coffee and bread (brioche of course) followed by a trip on the metro to the Army Museum and Tomb of Napoleon.  Metro trips provide adequate entertainment - the trick is to spot the accordion/saxophone/harmonica player and avoid that carriage like the plague.  When it gets busy, the challenge can also be getting off at your station prior to the doors closing (preferably whilst retaining all your limbs).



The Army Museum is large and offers an extensive series of exhibitions but especially good coverage of  (body) armour, swords and early firearms.  They have a relatively comprehensive section dedicated to each world war and the view from France.



Adjacent to the Museum is the very impressive Tomb of Napoleon - a large structure with sculptures, painted dome ceilings and everything one would expect for an significant historical leader.



Four hours of touring these two sites left little time to continue on to the Mitterand Library, so we'll leave that for another day. A late afternoon lunch of (French) onion soup and a selection of meats completed a very satisfying day.

Another day, another airport

Friday 30th October 2009

It's been a while since I updated this in which time I broke my golden rule and joined a social networking site but I digress.  This morning found me at Paris Charles de Gaulle bleary eyed after a rather pleasant overnight flight (thanks, Delta).  That in itself was interesting - five hours into the flight, the moving map display stopped updating  so when the lights came on in the dark cabin and it was black as pitch outside, one seriously questioned a breakfast service - much like a midnight feast.  Checking the map, it said there were over three hours remaining. The may however was wrong (and we arrived with over three hours still remaining).

Approaching Paris, the city was blanketed in a thick impenetrable bank of fog, yet thanks to some decent flying and good instrumentation, we hit the centre line of the runway right were we should have.  Good job I wasn't flying NorthWest or I might have ended up in Poland.  Claudia met me at the airport which was great although it meant an early start.  The Paris train system is relatively efficient and reliable (when no strikes are in progress).


Paris rooftops once the fog had lifted.

Breakfast at the apartment consisted of brioche, almond pastry and coffee (lots of coffee). After briefly unpacking, my next priority was to get online (which I did) and get connected to the work VPN to check on things. Remote desktop is a great thing even if Toad can act up somewhat...

From the pictures I posted last week, my latest culinary delight has been "100 things you can do with stainless steel that non-stick just won't do". I had tormented Claudia since then with tales of my adventures with peppercorn sauces and other delights involving searing and cognac.



Since Claudia's apartment does not have a decent frying pan, our afternoon quest involved the purchasing of some decent free range steaks, a good peppercorn assortment and some other minor items; the crowning glory was a trip to Dehillerin, the famous chef supply store where copper and stainless steel pans are in abundance.  We left with an excellent stainless 11 inch pan which would suit my purposes and as it turned out, the steaks were excellent.

Taking the metro to Les Halles, we exited the station into a labyrinth maze of mall stores that best could be described as retail hell.  There was literally no easy escape from it as it's clearly designed to keep one trapped until all funds have been depleted.  Fortunately, being cunning rats, we avoided the cheese and exited, blinking, into the daylight.

On the way to the cookware store was the St Eustache church which was quite interesting and being late October, very quiet.  As with most European cities, you turn a corner here and stumble upon something magnificent like this almost everywhere.



All photos from today are located here (Flikr).

Tomorrow - a few museums and more pictures.  Have a fun evening.

Week in review - January 25, 2009

2009- Year of the Coffee Bean

Welcome to 2009 - this is my first update in a while and I've been strangely absent but now I'm back (sort of). You'll have probably seen the deluge of email with pictures from the European trip in December so I won't bore everyone with that again.

Apart from a wonderful time in Europe, I brought back an appreciation that in general the coffee here is terrible and rarely excels. In Europe, the cafes served coffee that was lively and exceeded my expectations on so many levels.

My current effort to replication such quality has led me to somewhat of an obvious solution - change the beans. Lavazza espresso beans are now my poison of choice for my Capresso C1000 machine and the crema and general quality of the coffee has increased tenfold. I have augmented this device with something more suitable as a portable device and added a Nespresso C100 to my collection of coffee devices. It makes great coffee from the pods and is as good as the Lavazza should you choose one of the stronger pods.

Steve's museum of coffee appliances will open in 2009 and will feature a Capresso C1000 SuperAutomatic, Nespresso C100 (pod), Bodum French Press, Italian stove-top espresso, a good old filter machine and perhaps a vacuum pot also. Claudia is mystified by my array of methods for coffee production but one must have the right tools :)



Coffee goes well with bread. Whole Foods make a great French Brioche however strangely once I bring it home, parts of it go missing. I also made Yorkshire Pudding the other day which came out well enough however never seems to look like ones from jolly old Blighty.



Winter
Seems to have arrived although briefly. We had a minuscule snowfall last week that probably amounted to a quarter inch. It was cold as well last week, one night dropping to around 16f. Enough to freeze most of the water in the fountain on the porch.



New cat
After the unpleasant events of December, we adopted a Russian Blue cat earlier this month. We're going through the adjustment period now as they get used to each other and some days are better than others. They likely ambush each other for fun but sometimes end up chasing each other around the house with some snarling. It'll pass.



Tsarina likes to sleep. Actually she pretty much can sleep anywhere. She also is highly addicted to catnip and we are seeking professional help for her to get over the addiction :)



Year ahead
Will be a busy one. Claudia is off to study in Paris come October for 4-5 months. For me, this year at work will be an exciting one with many projects to occupy and entertain. We also have St Joseph now to protect the house and the supply of coffee beans (probably a good idea since the cats generally sleep on the job).



Also this year I have a lot of reading to do with a number of books purchased last year and yet to be started. I also am attempting Spanish and since I have an on-site consultant, it will be quite an adventure.

Reviews
Books - Paris after the Liberation is currently on the night stand. It's very interesting and highlights the fractures in the various alliances during the war. Yes, I've been reading it for a month or more now but haven't dedicated as much time to it as I'd like.

Movies - Traitor is next in the Netflix queue - will see how that one is. I'm not holding my breath for it to be more than a couple of hours entertainment. I have however added many of the top nominations for Oscars to the queue and those might yield more lingering thoughts. Beyond "well, that's 90 minutes of my life I won't get back".

Postscript...
This made me laugh at the Netflix site.... To be tempted and then to have it snatched cruelly away.