Long Overdue Updates

Well, it has certainly been a very long time since I wrote a content filled blog entry. My computer is finally fixed…and after almost one month without a personal computer, it is so great to have it back! A lot has been going on since Kaitlyn left in the beginning of January, and I am going to attempt to summarize what I (and others) have been up to this past month.

-       - Kaitlyn and I rang in the New Year in a very low-key way. We reflected upon 2010 by looking at The Economist and Time Magazine, and we played a game my mom sent me called Banana Grams (essentially a different way to play scrabble). We were in bed before midnight…11:52pm to be exact!

-       - On Sunday, January 2 Kaitlyn and I ventured out to Le Musée des Beaux Arts in Tours. It is free the first Sunday of every month, so we took advantage of this. It was a smaller art museum with an interesting collection of pieces/paintings/etc. All in all, it was a great way to get out and spend some time together before her departure. Though it was quite cold!

 

-       - The Wednesday before Kaitlyn left, we went to Azay-le-Rideau. It was her second chateau visit, and very different than the Chateau de Langeais. Azay-le-Rideau essentially sits in a pond and is decorated in a 16^th century Italian Renaissance architecture…Langeais sits in the middle of a village and is a medieval castle.

 

-       - I have also had my fair share of “Kings Cakes” too…or “Galettes du Rois” in France. They are so delicious! The first one that I ate was with Kaitlyn, Jenna, and Jenna’s friend from Chicago. We all had crepes together one night, and I decided to buy one…good choice/job Alex! The second one was given to me by Miriam and Jenny….thanks! And the third by my landlords after a party they had. They are filled with an almond-like paste and surrounded by layers of flaky and buttery phyllo-pastry. They are fortunately only made until the start of Lent…

 

-       - The Friday before Kaitlyn left, we invited a bunch of people over to my place for a fondue night. It was a lot of fun…as usual! We had a cheese fondue with bread, sausage/salami, apples, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and grapes…and an amazing chocolate fondue (spiced with cinnamon and curry powder) with apples, bananas, marshmallows, and grapes. Thanks all for a fun time of fondue, friends, and WINE!

 

-       - The night before Kaitlyn left, we went to the cutest creperie in Tours. It is called “Mamie Bigoud” and is decorated like a house….meaning that you might be sitting in the bathroom, closet, kitchen, dining room, living room, etc. Each room is decorated accordingly. Kaitlyn and I were sitting in the bathroom. Anybody who comes and visits me will get a dinner on me at this restaurant…incentive? I hope so!

 

-       - Other exciting things that I have been doing include dinners with friends! I was at Jenna’s after Kaitlyn left and we had a “Blanquette de veau”…yes I ate veal! It is a veal dish served in a creamy sauce and is traditionally served over rice. I had Miriam and Jenny over one night (they did laundry…) and we made pizzas together. Oh the joys of having an oven. A bunch of us went to Ryan’s for dinner one night too. We ate lamb shoulder in a tomato and pea sauce and for dessert we had flambéed nougat. INCREDIBLE! Emma, Jenna, and I have also had a couple of dinner dates…the first was at Emma’s and we made Jambalaya and had crepes for dessert and the second was at my place and she made us a yummy chicken and tarragon dish with sundried tomatoes. Lastly, I made some Ma Ba Tofu at Chantal’s one night, which was as usual very tasty.

 

 

-      - January 15-16…protests and demonstrations in Tours! The XVI Congrès du Front National (right-leaning party) held their conference in the city. The star of the conference was Mme. Le Pen (for the French and politically minded that means more…). Nevertheless, there were fires in the streets, people protesting, tons of police, the army, water cannons, and streets closed off.

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       - And, my place is finally “done”! On January 15, my landlords had a “Galette Party” to celebrate the completion of their work. They have been working on this place for 18-months! It is incredible the work that has been done…WOW! Now they are doing little things here and there.

Well, those are my updates for now…there is always new stuff happening and going on, but I think that should give you all an idea of what I have been doing lately. School is also going well, just wish I was in the classroom more. I have started pen pal letters with one of my classes at Ecole Victor Hugo. They are going to write letters to Kaitlyn’s old class (student teaching) and are very excited about it. I am helping another class prepare for a trip they will be taking to England at the end of the year…maybe I will get to go too! And, I am reading “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?” to my little ones.

It’s great to be reconnected with you all…via the internet and my blog! I have 25 days till I return to the states for a “working vacation”…

With love, Alex

Computer Problems....

For all you avid readers of "Le Quotidien d'Alex"....I just wanted to let you know that there will be few updates over the course of the next weeks...My computer is having problems and is being repaired at a store in Tours. Thus, I use the computers at my schools....meaning I have limited computer and internet usage. Yes, it sucks, but "C'est la vie..."

“The Tourist” starring Kaitlyn Evans and Alexander Jue*

We have definitely done our fair share of traveling over the past few weeks...from a week in Rome to a few days in Paris.

We spent Christmas in Tours...making it home just in time after our late arrival into the Paris Beauvais airport and getting stuck behind two salt trucks (for two-hours) on our bus ride from the airport into the center of Paris. Needless to say, we made it into Paris on 12/23....and home to Tours by Christmas Eve.

When we arrived in Tours on Christmas Eve morning we headed to my house to drop of our luggage and then immediately to Carrefour to get groceries for the week and for our Christmas Eve dinner. We were worried that we were not going to make it home in time (at least before the grocery stories closed) and would be stuck eating yogurt for dinner... Thank God we made it!

For our Christmas Eve dinner Kaitlyn and I had three “courses”...For our first course we had buttered slices of toasted baguette with goat cheese and raspberry jam, our second course was a spinach salad topped with grapes, pears, goat cheese, caramelized pecans, and a homemade dressing, and for our main course we made salmon with an herb butter and sides of couscous and broccoli. It was all delicious! For dessert we “made” cookies...I purchased pre-made butter cookies and Kaitlyn and I decorated them with frosting (powdered sugar, milk, water, and lemon juice/strawberry jam) and colored sprinkles. I purchased a mini oven....but did that cookie baking would be for another day. Kaitlyn and I needed to figure out a way to make cookies....so this was our solution.

On Christmas Day we woke up around 10:30-11AM and made crepes for breakfast. We then opened presents (thanks to my mom and Kaitlyn there were things to open)! I got some really fun things...nothing extravagant, but little things that are just great to have now (highlights include: alcohol infused whipped cream, a book of hangman puzzles with scratch off letters, a funny book on ethnic stereotypes, mini bonsai trees, Time Magazine’s Review of 2010...). After opening up presents Kaitlyn and I went on a walk around Tours; we explored the botanical gardens, walked along La Loire, and enjoyed the beautiful day. We came home and hung out together....and eventually made a quiche for dinner.

The day after Christmas we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows...it was very good and I look forward to seeing the second half of the movie.

On Tuesday we left for Paris; we spent a few days exploring the sites. It was wonderful...though Kaitlyn was a little sick. We went to: the top of the Arc de triomphe to see the Champs Elysees all lit up for Christmas, the Grand Palais to see the BVLGARI exhibition (very impressive), Pere Lachaise (saw Jim Morrison’s, Moliere’s, and Oscar Wade’s graves), the second floor of the Eiffel Tower (after waiting for more than 2 hours), the Musee Marmottan Monet to see a exhibition on Monet (not the highly publicized one that is going on in Paris...with waits up to an hour and a half), and the Maison Europeene de la Photographie (an incredible photography museum in the Marais neighborhood). And, we of course saw: Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Gardens of Luxembourg and the Tuilleries, and TONS OF PEOPLE! Note to self....NEVER go to Paris right before New Year’s...it is CRAZY!

Nevertheless, we had a wonderful time...but are very happy to be home in Tours! We will be bringing in the New Year together...very low key. I will make something yummy for dinner, Kaitlyn will sleep and get better! Who knows if we will even make it to midnight....but again, do we really have to?

Happy 2011 to everyone!
-Alex and Kaitlyn

*Title “inspired” by the actual movie “The Tourist” that we saw while in Paris. we thought the movie would be a great way to tie our trips in France and to Italy together! :)