My blog

Last weekend we went out to brunch with a few friends at a place called Cannibale Café in the 11th arrondissement. It was pretty good…there was tons to eat! For starters, a coffee, a fresh orange and carrot juice, a mini baguette with butter and jam, a brioche with chocolate sauce, and white cheese (like yogourt) with honey…

Next came the beans, mache salad, half a tomato, slice of bacon (it’s round in France), scrambled eggs, baked potato, slice of cantal cheese (i love cheese), and sausages. I forgot to take the picture before eating

All in all, it was a pretty good meal for a reasonable price - 17 euros. I’m planning on going back again (even though it’s really far from our place) for a normal meal. Every time the waiters went by with a dish, it looked so good!

On Sunday we went to the market which is just in front of our building to do some food shopping and also to buy something to eat for lunch…poulet rôti. Like the kind you get at Save-on. It was yummy! I should try to go to the market more often seeing as it’s just right there. The only thing is that it’s over by 2pm, which means I can’t sleep in for that long.

On our way to the parents’ house for Sunday lunch, we had to pick up the baguettes. How practical is it that we found a drive-thru bakery? Ingenious! All we had to do was pull up to the window and say “Quatre baguettes, s’il vous plaît” and we were off! And the baguettes were even still warm!

On Saturday we went out with Patrice and Elodie. We were going to try out an all you can eat sushi restaurant, Holly Sushi, but it was “holly” expensive! 27 euros! Each! Thankfully our buddies knew a place close by. A REAL Japanese restaurant, priced very reasonably. It was called Sapporo, in the Opera area, and we had to wait in line for about a half an hour! But it was totally worth it. Finally, a Japanese restaurant that serves things other than salmon, tuna, and cucumber maki, sushi and sashimi, and bbq skewers. I had ramen noodles, and real gyoza for the first time in forever! It was sooooo good. Thanks Patrice and Elodie!

Yesterday for our day off, we decided to go for some “Moules frites” (mussels and fries) for lunch, and seeing as it was a holiday, we decided to go to Léon’s, a chain restaurant that specialises in moules frites, on the Champs Elysées so we could go to Fnac after (the one nearest our place was closed). To our surprise, the food was more expensive than at the Léon’s near our place. I didn’t know they could hike up their prices just because they’re on the Champs. So we walked out of there and went across the street to McDonald’s…or MacDo, as they call it here. And guess what I saw as I walked in? Macaroons! Macaroons at McDonald’s! I might just try one the next time we’re on the Champs. But then again, there’s a Ladurée on the same street! Why eat a McAroon when you can saveurrr un vrai macaron?!

Yesterday we decided to go biking using Velib. Since I already had my week pass (7 days for 5 euros), we just had to buy a day pass for Simon. There’s a station right by our building. Appropriately outfitted in my Lululemon pants and Talula tank, we were off to discover the city. We biked up to Montparnasse, then headed down to the Eiffel Tower. We ended up going all the way to the Tuilleries garden, where we parked to stop by Angelina Café. Thanks to Jordan and Daphne for telling us about that place, known for its hot chocolate…served in a picher and with a little bowl of whipped cream…

Sooooo yummy! After a long walk across the park, along the Seine, and up to the Luxembourg garden, we found another station and biked home…felt like singing “When you know the notes to sing…you can sing most an-y-thing! Together now!” the whole time…hehe. We were able to make it up to the appartment just before it started to pour. Lucky for us!

Yesterday, one of my longtime dreams came true…I received my professional espresso machine in the mail. I ordered it on the internet. It’s so pretty! Now I can train myself for when I open my own café slash tea room slash lounge…another one of my longtime dreams!

My very first cup of coffee (a long espresso).

This weekend we went to Brittany so that my parents could meet Simon’s. It went really well! We had a great time showing them around. And I still love la Bretagne! These are some pretty pink hydrangeas in a town called St. Cado. There were tons of them everywhere. I just love this deep pink colour.

This is in Quiberon on our way to see the “Côte Sauvage”.

And this is the “Côte Sauvage” (the coastline). Isn’t it beautiful? We totally lucked out on the weather that day.

The following day, we headed to Concarneau to see the “Ville Close”, or the closed city. It’s a cute little village enclosed by walls. There were tons of little shops and restaurants. We ended up eating moules frites (mussels with fries). They were SO good! I love that dish. This is my bucket of mussels that I ate.

It was a great weekend. Next weekend, Simon’s parents are coming to Paris.

Tonight we went out to have Indian food, and we ordered lassis. Rose lassis! So yummy.

Last night we went out with a couple of friends to try a Canadian bar and grill that I found called the Moose. Great ambiance…felt like home! We had a chicken quesadilla and onion rings as starters. I had an “eskimo kiss” as a drink. I was gonna get the drink wiht Vancouver in its name, but the eskimo kiss had amaretto in it. I love that stuff. Me, Simon, and Elodie had burgers with fries, and Pat had an Italian poutine. And Simon ate his fries with ketchup! We also had two pitchers of Canadian. I think the next time I’m gonna try the teryaki stir fry. All the servers were girls and probably Canadian, because they had slight accents, and Pat pointed out that they all smiled a lot.

To change ambiances, we went to a Parisian bar after called the Mondrian. All the servers were guys, and no smiles. Unless you were a girl showing a little cleavage. It was pretty cool in there though, with colourful lighting, and at first, classic French songs playing (when we left, it switched to electro). Whenever a popular one came up, all the barmen and servers would start singing. And instead of serving peanuts or pretzels with the drinks, they gave out marshmallows! I had an “Ile des Philippines” cocktail with passionfruit, strawberry and mint. It came in an gigantic seashell, and it was soooo good! And it should have been because it was soooo overpriced! 13 euros! If we came in before 10pm, it would have 2 euros less. But ya, pricey!