Cheap, yet delicious French food

I have a new favorite food: croque madame! It's a ham and cheese sandwich with a couple fried eggs on top. Traditional french cuisine, yet fairly cheap, and absolutely delicious.

Lunch one day last week: croque madame and a cafe creme

There are other traditional french dishes that have very similar ingredients: quiche lorraine and galette complete.

I have learned how to make a mean quiche lorraine. I eat it with the family about once every two weeks. Here is the recipe (all amounts are approximated)

Quiche Lorraine
1 Pate brisee (my host mother told me that in the US, Pilsbury comes the closest to the traditional French quiche dough)
1 cup chopped ham
3 eggs
2 tbsp creme fraiche (http://www.joyofbaking.com/CremeFraiche.html)
1/2 cup emmental cheese

Preheat the oven to 180C (356F) Place your pate brisee in your tart pan. Put in the oven for approximately 5 min to precook. Take the dough out of the oven and spread the cheese evenly over the dough. In a bowl, beat the eggs, then add the creme fraiche. Stir until smooth and add ham. Pour the mixture into the dough and bake for 40 min. Voila!

Galette Complete- photo courtesy: http://www.poopoopidoo.com/category/cinema-cinema/

On Friday night, my friend Margaux had me over for dinner. It was the first time I had ever had galette complete. I had seen the crepe-like discs in the supermarket before, but I assumed they were used for fast crepe making. Boy was I wrong. These crepes are specially made for salty dishes. The galette originated in Brittney (northern France) and was seen as the "poor man's dish" because you can fill them with almost anything... basically toss your leftovers in the galette and call it a day! It's very traditional for the galette to include ham, cheese, and an egg.

Alongside our galette complete, Margaux taught me how to make her homemade dressing. It is so easy, yet so good. I doubt I'll spend money on pre-made dressing again. I have to share!

Margaux's Homemade Salad Dressing
2 parts balsamic vinegar
1 part extra virgin olive oil
Dijon mustard to taste

Easy variation: Instead of mustard, add just a little honey!

One Extremely Valuable Hour

I just got home from meeting one of my opera idols... the incredibly talented, Jennifer Larmore!
If you've never heard her before, check out this youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByPRpeI64Ic&NR=1

In the small amount of experiences I've had thus far, I feel a lot of what happens in the opera world stems from talent, connections, timing, and luck. Last March I had the pleasure of meeting the great Joyce DiDonato, another fabulous mezzo-soprano, because of a connection through my voice teacher, Dr. Regina Zona. DiDonato and Zona had both performed and studied together at the Academy of Vocal Arts. I mentioned to Dr. Zona in one of my voice lessons, that I was going to see Joyce DiDonato perform in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figao at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her reply, "Would you like to meet her?" Would I like to meet her!?! Uh, yes please!

I spent about 30 minutes with Joyce after the opera talking about life, her career, etc... In fact, she is the person who gave me the push to move to France. She told me, "if you have the opportunity, you MUST go. No questions." I'm glad I listened to her.

A few months ago, my mother was talking to a lady that attends my parents' church about my move to Paris. The lady mentioned she knows an opera singer who lives in Paris, "Jenny" Larmore. Umm.... you mean Jennifer Larmore?!? The lady offered to give me her contact information so I could set up a meeting while I would be living abroad. I was so nervous to contact her. I was afraid she would be too busy with more important things, or better yet, never respond. I sent the email, expecting for nothing to ever come of it. The very next day, I had a response. "I would love to meet you," she said. I was so thrilled I could hardly stand it! I immediately picked up the phone, calling all my friends I knew would understand my excitement.

Today was the day of our meeting. I figured it would probably take me an hour to get there, so I left thirty minutes earlier, giving myself plenty of cushion time in case I had trouble finding her apartment. I didn't... I got there exactly thirty minutes early. I walked around her area a little until about five minutes till. I nervously walked in her building. I kept telling myself, "Act cool." I rang the doorbell. The door swung open, and she greeted me with open arms and the most southern "hello" I've heard in a looong time! Her boyfriend made us cappuccinos while we sat and talked about her path to success and my journey thus far. She had the most wonderful advice for me, really incredible. She even wrote out a "plan" for my year and told me that she could put me in contact with her accompanist who knows a lot about the opportunities for young singers in Paris. She is leaving for a few months to sing elsewhere, but wants to get together again when she's back. In the meantime, she is having me email her some of my portfolio stuff, so she can give me suggestions. As we were saying goodbye, she looked at me and said, "You are not alone here. If you ever need anything or have a question, please call me." She was so genuine. I can't get over how incredibly kind and helpful she was today. I left her apartment high on life, all the while humming opera arias my whole way home. 

The three most important lessons I took away from my meeting today:
1. Get into shape! The opera world of today cares about appearance.
2. Approach this career as a business. I must begin to market myself.
3. One can make it in this business while keeping his or her integrity...Jennifer Larmore did!

Dublin in a Flash

For those of you who don't know, I sang in a vocal jazz group in graduate school. It was a fantastic experience! Not only were they a group of fabulous people but talented performers as well. This summer we sang at the International Society of Music Educators Conference in Beijing, China. What an amazing time! We had such an overwhelming positive response from our audience. It was so much fun to introduce them to a new genre of music, not to mention climbing the Great Wall and eating amazing food. We were also invited to perform in Ireland and did so last week. Because of my job, I unfortunately could not be with the group the entire week, but I did get to perform on the weekend.

Lake Effect in China - August 2010

As I mentioned in my last post, I had to work the full workday on Friday so I didn't arrive in Dublin until 10pm that night. Because of some miscommunication issues, I was stranded at the airport for about a good hour and a half. I ended up paying a few euro to get on the computer to see if I could get in contact with someone. Thank God for Facebook! Eric, a fellow performer, was on fb and gave me the address of his whereabouts. I took a taxi and was able to meet up with a few people that night.

The next morning, two of the guys (Eric and Kevin) took me into Dublin and showed me around. What a cool place. It was the "homiest" big city I've ever seen! We walked around Trinity College and then along Grafton Street. This street is completely lined with people performing in effort to make a few bucks (or euros). Our group had actually performed a few days before for less than an hour and made like eighty euros!

Grafton Street

Then we walked to a beautiful park. All I can say is the fall season really likes Dublin. It was beautiful. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the park:

After a little bit, we walked back to the train and went to Malahide, where our 2pm rehearsal would be taking place. Immediately when I walked in the hall, I was surrounded by my best friends. It was so good to see them. I have missed them so much. We rehearsed and then split up for lunch. Jenna, who was my next door neighbor/coworker for two years, and I went to a little cafe and caught up over great food and americanos... our favorite! It felt so good to do something "normal."

The concert, which was a benefit for cancer research, was well received. Afterward we were all invited to attend a party. This party was full of good food, a dance room, open bar, and lots of fun people! All in all it was one of the best nights I've had in a long time. That night alone was worth the cost of the plane ticket!

About two hours or so after we got back to our host's house, we had to leave to catch our flights. The trip was a complete whirlwind and wasn't long enough, but it felt so good to see my friends (and not worry about conjugating verbs for 24 hrs)!

My First French Strike

Church in Versailles

Okay, before I begin my rant about the french strike, here are a few pics from my 2nd trip to Versailles:

Inside the Church in Versailles

The Chapel in the chateau of Versailles

The hallway of mirrors

The awful exhibit in the beautiful chateau

Marije, Myself, and Sara outside the chateau

Now we can discuss the strike! Last week, it seemed that everything was gonna blow over. It didn't really effect me until I had to fly to Dublin on Friday. Yeah, so the RER and the Metro weren't running as often as possible. Since I couldn't get off of work on Friday, I wouldn't be able to risk the amount of time I had to get to the airport via the train. Luckily, my host family let me drive my car. That wasn't fun. I thought rush hour in Atlanta was bad... sheesh! I had to pay 44 euro to park my car for two days.... yeah, that was a lot of unexpected money! Thanks again, strike. I got to the gate with 15 minutes to spare. Thank goodness.

I arrived back from Dublin on Sunday (posting about Dublin tomorrow), only to find that you basically can't get gas anywhere. I have about a quarter tank left.... let's hope the strike ends soon. Yesterday I had to go to the market for the family. After buying our fresh fruits and veggies, I stopped by the supermarket to get myself some yogurt. All of the sudden I heard screaming from outside. About 200 or so high schoolers were marching down the street. The managers locked the door to the supermarket and no one was allowed to leave until the protesters were gone. I think I was the only person in the entire store that seemed phased by this! After I was able to leave, I was driving away and some students came up and slapped my car. I'm not really sure what they thought this accomplished, but I was just glad they didn't throw rocks! Thank god the protesters weren't violent here in Saint Germain en Laye.

Next week is a big holiday for the kids here in France. I was kinda bummed when I found out I was working. A lot of my friends have time off. Some made plans to travel to different countries. Unfortunately because of the strike, some of their flights are now cancelled or could be soon. What a bummer.

I was talking to a local last night about the strike. He explained to me that basically everyone who is striking (metro, train, oil, schools, etc) all will retire in their 50's regardless of the new retirement age. The are striking for all the others. Wait!?! Mostly everyone I've met thinks the strike is ridiculous. So basically, the people who are trying to get to work on time, would like gas in their car, and want their kids to learn something in school must not only work 2 years longer, but now have obstacles to overcome in their everyday life because of someone else taking up their offense? Interesting....

Dear Strike,

You can go away now.

Sincerely,
Christine

Back to Versailles!

I have been here a full month! My first weekend, I went to Versailles. Unfortunately, I was unable to go in the chateau... but not this time. I finally went inside. I accompanied my friends Sarah and Mary for the day. It was really great. We had beautiful weather, a yummy french-style picnic, and we were inside a gorgeous castle... um, you get the picture!

Just a little side note: My amigos here are from all over the world. I have friends from the US, Wales, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Scotland, and France of course! My friend Mary is from Holland. Funny story: Her name really isn't Mary, but no one can pronounce her real name, so she told us to just call her "Mary." Hey, it works! :)

We arrived at the chateau around lunch time. Sarah and I had packed a lunch, but Mary needed to stop by a local bakery to pick up some quiche. On our way to the bakery, we saw this big beautiful cathedral in the center of Versailles. Since we were so close, we walked inside and took a couple pictures.

One really great thing about being an au pair in France is that your visa is a student visa. Technically all French au pairs are students, since we're required to take French language classes. One of the perks of the student visa, is that some places then have free admission for European students... and the chateau is one of them. I really do love all the freebies here! After visiting the church, we attempted to go into the chateau from the back entrance. I had been told that there is virtually no line from the back of the chateau. They were right, there wasn't.... but it was going to cost like 8 euro just to enter through the garden. We had to walk the long trek back to the front, but we got in for free... so it was worth it!

About halfway through the tour of the house, we walked into one of the ballrooms, and there was the most hideous thing I have ever seen! There was some modern Japanese art exhibit that was being displayed at the chateau. It was such an awful mixture of beautiful classical paintings, and Pokemon-looking figures. The two just didn't belong together.

We left Versailles and headed for Paris to meet up with some of our other friends to see Let Me In (Laissez Moi Entre). I had been very excited to see the film. I think the most recent vampire films/television shows have changed the public view on the image of vampires. Most of the other girls were pretty terrified. Side note: Chloe is fantastic!

Sorry I haven't really written this week. It has been pretty hectic. I have a very interesting blog for tomorrow... so get excited! Also... my internet is being slow again... I'll have to upload pictures tomorrow.

Last note:  I am leaving for Ireland tomorrow night to sing with my friends from University of Minnesota-Duluth. I am so pumped!

Second Chances

Just so you know... life in Paris isn't perfect. It's close, but not completely.   :)

I can't believe I have been here three weeks! Sometimes it feels like I've been here for ages, and other times it feels like I just arrived. I think back to my first full work week. At times I was very stressed out. The parents were on vacation. I was kind of thrown in, sink or swim. The first two days... I was definitely sinking! I was so worried about getting all the kids to school/activities on time and finding parking was a total nightmare.

I remember that Monday I finally found a parking spot near one of the schools after searching for about 15 minutes. I was so ecstatic and felt huge relief because I was right on time to pick the daughter up from school. My car was ever-so-slightly touching a crosswalk. I mean, barely touching the paint. I was getting the youngest child out of his car seat when this older woman, pushing a baby in a stroller, started cussing me out for being on the crosswalk. I mean, she was yelling and shaking her finger towards me.
I couldn't believe:
1. This was that big of a deal... she could still walk across the street using the crosswalk, no problem
2. That she would yell at me in front of children.
 
In general, the French are truly lovely people. They get a bad rap sometimes in the US because "they do not accommodate English-speaking tourists." Whatever. I have not found that to be true at all. The only thing I have noticed, is that you can meet the most wonderfully nice person and then when they get behind the wheel of a car, you better watch out... I thought Americans had bad road rage. Please! They take this behavior to a whole new level!

I see this elderly lady almost everyday while we're both waiting to pick up our kids. I have avoided her at all cost. After my first impression of her, I immediately pegged her as a mean, anger-filled older woman, who would look for reasons to be in a bad mood. Why would I want to speak to her? We obviously have completely different outlooks on life, not to mention, we probably have nothing in common because of our age difference.

On Thursdays the kids' teachers post their homework assignments for the next week in their agendas. I take them to the park for an hour or so, and translate the text so I know what is due. Yesterday, I sat down on one of the park benches next to an elderly man. Noticing my French/English dictionary, he asked me if I was American. He had spent 3 months in California years ago and had also traveled up the east coast a bit. Towards the end of our conversation, he warned me that he was going to leave soon. His grandchildren's babysitter was on her way to watch the kids. A few minutes later, I noticed the angry old woman in the park. She began to walk towards us....then you wouldn't believe it, but she sat down on the bench next to the nice old man. He then turned to me and introduced her. She was the babysitter! She very shyly stuck out her hand to greet me. Barely even looking at her, I said hello and then went back to my translating. Before you think I am an awful person, I have been truly afraid of this woman... no joke.

The nice old man left, leaving us alone on the bench. Probably five minutes passed without us speaking. I don't remember who initiated conversation, but we ended up slowly speaking to one another. Before I knew it, we were laughing about different experiences with our respective kids. We actually ended up having a great conversation. We even hugged when we said goodbye.

Today when I went to pick up the kids, I didn't even notice her until I saw two arms flailing about, while she shouted her greetings towards me. I had to smile. Second chances are more important than first impressions.

Sunday O'Fun

Sunday was so busy! Morning began with my commute to church. I took the RER into Paris, made a Metro transfer and then had to walk about 5-7 minutes. It really wasn't too bad. The RER/Metro is so easy to figure out and is extremely convenient...plus during my walk, I passed Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Cartier. Sounds rough, right? :)

Church was fantastic. I went to the American Cathedral in Paris. Everyone was incredibly friendly. It was a traditional Episcopal service, complete with fantastic music and a thought provoking message. It reminded me a lot of Saint Peters in Rome, GA. I felt very at home there. After the service, I attended the coffee hour and introduced myself to the priests and some regular attenders. I really enjoyed myself.

I had plans to meet my friend Simona, another opera singer from Sieur Du Luth, at 17H (or 5pm)... so I had a good 5 hours or so to kill. From the church, it only takes approximately 10 minutes or so to walk to the Champs-Elysees, so I decided to spend my Sunday exploring that area.

When I visited in the summer of 2009, I only had 7 days to see everything... there is so much to see/do in Paris!  I was able to hit all the major spots, but now I am able to spend time at each location,  looking at every statue, every description. It's absolutely wonderful. I'm totally one of those "annoying tourists" who could spend hours upon hours at a museum reading every caption on every painting.

For those of you who don't know, at one end of the Champs-Elysee stands the majestic Arc de Triomphe. At the opposite end, the Place de la Concorde. Although I walked the entire length of the street and back (2.4 miles), I spent most of my time at the Arc de Triomphe. Napolean commissed the building of the arc in 1806, to represent the strength of his military and memorialize the death of many soldiers. Four years later, in 1810, a wooden arc (with the same dimensions) was built to celebrate his marriage to Mary Louise. It wasn't until 15 years after he passed  away, that the arc, as it now stands, was completed.

The arc has been the location for many significant celebrations: victorious parade after WWI, De Gauille's liberation march after WWII, World Cup celebrations, Bastille Day, VE Day, and Remembrance Day. In 1920, the Tomb of the Unknown Solider was installed, complete with a Memorial Flame.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Memorial Flame

The best view, however, is not from the ground. You can go inside the arc, climb 284 steps, and see all of Paris. It's an amazing sight! Totally worth the 3-5 euros (discounted price). But you don't have to take my word for it... here are some of the pictures I took on Sunday:

Sacre Coeur

After visting the Arc of Triompe, I walked down the Champs-Elyees. It's a very busy street, with people and cars all around. It is also the home to some fantastic shopping opportunites, if you have an abundance of money.   :)

I stopped in a side garden just off the street and ate my packed lunch. I sat there for a while just admiring the flowers, my surroundings, and thanking God for giving me this opportunity to live in such a beautiful place. After I snapped out of my daze, I decided to go to the Petit Palais to see their current exhibition.

Grand Palais

Petit Palais

Lobby of Petit Palais

Courtyard of Petit Palais

Side Note: Many of the museums have free admission on the first Sunday of every month.

I honestly wasn't too fond of the exhibition. The museum was sectioned off into tiny viewing areas. Each area housed a short 3-5 minute film of a famous painting. Literally, they took a video camera, scanned across the painting, and piped in sounds effects. I had seen many of the paintings live... so I wasn't too impressed. I left the Petit Palais and walked to the Pont Alexandre III (bridge), one of my favorite views of the Eiffel Tower and quite possibly the most beautiful bridge in Paris.

This bridge was built in 1900 to honor the "new" alliance between Russia and France. The coat of arms from both countries can be found on the bridge, along with four bronze Pegasus statues. One thing that I didn't notice during my last visit were all of the locks attached to the bridge. When I got home, I looked up the significance of the locks. People attach their locks to the bridge, symbolizing their love, wishes, or promises. I hope to attach a lock before I leave. I will wait, however, until my purpose is known!

Padlocks on the bridge

If you would like to see a great video of the bridge go here: http://vimeo.com/10648133

Myself and Simona

After my walk on the bridge, I took the Metro to my friend, Simona's place. We had such a good time. We ate dinner, went shopping, and had coffee twice! I've missed her! I am so glad I have been able to keep in touch with my Parisian friends for so long!

I need floaties!

Because of my recent successful conversation experiences, I decided I wanted to go out this weekend to try to speak a little to the locals. Everyone has told me how imperative it is to really put yourself out there and speak french as much as possible.

In my town, there are really two pubs that I know of, Le Milady's and OSullivans. Milady's is technically a Belgium bar, but everyone there speaks only french. I've been a few times with a group of au pairs, so I've been able to hold conversations with them. The other, OSullivans is an Irish pub. Most people there speak English. I tried to get some of the other girls to come out last night, but everyone had to babysit. I have to babysit tonight, so I decided that I was going out alone!

I made the decision to go to Le Milady's because I really wanted to challenge myself. As I was driving there, I had visions of myself striking up a conversation with people, being taught new words/phrases, locals helping me with pronunciation, and really just having a great time. When I got there, I went up to the bar and ordered a glass of pinot noir. The bartender couldn't understand me. I shouted it louder. I know I can pronounce "pinot noir" correctly! The guy standing next to me said something to the bartender and he brought me out a glass of red wine. I'm pretty sure it was merlot. Oh well.

I stood back and looked over the situation. Everyone was sitting in groups. No loners. I put on my big girl britches and approached a group of guys standing at that bar. I introduced myself. They did the same. I told them what I could. They spoke a lot of french I couldn't understand. I asked them if they knew any english. They said no. Basically, the conversation went nowhere! I finished my glass of wine and decided to leave. As I was putting on my coat, one of the guys asked me if I was leaving. I was able to tell him, "I go. It is too difficult because I know a little french." I think he understood me. I left the bar feeling completely defeated.

I walked back to my car and decided to call it a night. I pulled out the GPS and pressed Go Home. About one minute into the drive, I thought, "What am I thinking!?! This is not me. I do not give up!" I drove to OSullivans. I took a deep breath and walked in the door. Here goes nothing. I ordered a glass of wine. When I turned around, I saw two people I met on Monday. YAY!

Both guys are french but both speak fluent english. I told them about my night. We all got a good laugh out of that one. I ended up having a fabulous time and we stayed till bar close. I realized that I threw myself in the deep end before I knew how to swim. For right now, I need floaties.

Always waiting for a ride!

I am truly blessed to be living in Saint Germain-en-Laye. As you have seen in my pictures, it is a beautiful, vibrant place. I live more in the county than the city, hence why I drive a car. Many of the other au pairs live in the city and walk from place to place. There are pros and cons to both, but I feel very fortunate. To get to my neighborhood, I must drive through a wooded area, for a few miles. Because I am picking up the kids, dropping them off at activities, going to the market and such, I drive through this wooded area several times a day. Often I see a girl sitting at the turn around area in the woods, waiting for a ride. I have even thought about offering one to her, after seeing that she has been there several hours. Because of the language barrier, and safety risk, I haven't... but I often have felt bad for her.

The other day, my host mother took me to the library so I could check out some DVDs. She suggested that I watch one each week with french subtitles so I can see and hear the french at the same time. She did this to improve her english. ***If you have any suggestions of historical english films for her, please comment!*** Anyway, we were driving to the library and I saw the girl again. I told my host mother how she is always sitting there, waiting for her ride. My host mother laughed and told me that she wasn't waiting for anyone in particular. She was working. Working!?! How could I have been so naive? She was a prostitute. I didn't realize that was legal in France. My host mother then explained that it is legal in the wooded areas of Saint Germain. Wow...

Yesterday I was driving back home after dropping off the kids and I saw a man walk out of the woods at the turn around. She followed him. Out loud in my car, I burst into nervous laughter. It was so awkward. Crazy!

Now to talk about something completly unrelated: I started language classes. I can't believe how much I have learned so far. It is incredible. I got lost the other day walking around Saint Germain, and was able to ask a stranger how to get back to the area where my car was located. Also, I went to the market today to get some cheese. The cheese was incorrectly priced. I was able to tell her the correct price on the shelf. When the clerk refused to give me the shelf price, or even check for that matter, I was able to tell her that I no longer wanted it. Yay!