A whole lotta mussels...

So we were walking down the street, feeling kinda peckish, and keeping an eye out for a lunch spot. Then we come across this guy sitting at a cafe getting down on an order of mussles and fries. Looked way too good to pass up, so of course we dropped in. It turned out to be the special of the day—a heaping order of mussles steamed in white wine, garlic and shallots, accompanied by fried potatoes and your choice of beer or white wine. Johnnie and I went for the mussels and pints o'beer, while Samantha opted for a salad. Twas really good—check out the photo below. Took like an hour to eat all those mussels. I wasn't sure how it would all fit on the table, since the guy next to us was solo and his table was overflowing. But we ponied up and made room, just had to put the used-up shells on an empty chair nearby (in a pot of course). Now to find raw oysters somewhere...

Michael

Three cheers for Picard!

No, I'm not talking about the captain of the Enterprise... I'm talking about the awesome chain of stores in France that sells only FROZEN food! But like, the best frozen food ever. Someone told us that they are located in rich areas, where people know/want good food but are single and/or unable to cook. The stuff from Picard looked high quality (like Trader Joe's, but WAY more choices, like frozen sushi and foie gras and stuff like that) so we decided to try it. We were totally surprised at how good it was. It didn't have that frozen food taste that you always get back in the states. It tasted fresh. And the nice bottle of Burgundy didn't hurt at all. Will try and get undercover pics of the store itself (it's a trip, all white and clean and cold, like a BMW dealer that sells frozen food). For now, here's a photo of dinner. It was grilled chicken and an eggplant confit.

Michael

Technoparade Paris

When it comes to throwing a parade, the French do it like pretty much everybody else—floats, music, and crowds of people lining the parade route. Sounds pretty normal, right? Haha, not this parade. Not Technoparade. I'm talking about huge semi trucks covered in speakers and subwoofers, rolling down the street at 3 miles per hour. DJs and party people on top of each truck getting down with the get-down. And thousands of technopeople dancing, jumping, drinking, and generally acting full-out crazy. And this goes on for miles, and miles—and hours and hours. Seems like love of techno unites the French people, young and old. Check out the videos below...

Michael

Gypsy Jazz is Alive and Well in Paris

While it may be 56 years since the great Django Reinhardt passed away, and over a decade since Stephane Grappelli last graced the earth, the spirit of gypsy jazz music is alive and well in the city of lights. This fact was never more apparent to me that tonight, when we ventured into the Latin Quarter to see Rodolphe Raffalli perform at the Piano Vache. Raffalli is the genuine article, always dressed in an unassuming hunting cap, but armed only with an impossibly-small-soundholed Gitane guitar. While he may not have the dramatic flair—or Gypsy pedigree—of an Angelo Debarre, Raffalli astounded with a mix of technical prowess and mastery of the gypsy jazz style. He and his trio swung from standards like "Minor Swing" and "Caravan" to original tunes of their own, all without breaking stride. It was enough to make you sit back, throw back some red, and imagine it's 1939 all over again. Check out the video(s) below:

Taking the cat for a walk

Not sure if this lady is crazy or maybe it's just a Parisian thing... but that dog she's walking is a cat.


Michael

Effiel Tower: covering all the angles

Every trip to Paris deserves a good Effiel Tower photo (or seven). Here are my favorite ones so far:

Picnic at the tower

The tower gets all lit up after dark

Just happened to have that baguette with us... on the way to a picnic!

Michael

Note: Posts have been edited

Just a quick note, we've edited the posts so now our names have been signed at the end. That way, you all can know who's writing ;-)

Michael