This school is found on l'Ile St Louis, in Paris. On the wall next to this gate, this message was written.
April 30, 2006
À la mémoire de...
This school is found on l'Ile St Louis, in Paris. On the wall next to this gate, this message was written.
April 25, 2006
Of raclettes and tartiflettes
Potatoes and melted cheese are an addictive combination.
My stay started with 3 days in the Alps, in a small village near Swtizerland. In 3 days, I had a number of the culinary specialities of Haute-Savoie. First, the tartiflette, which consists of melted reblochon cheese and cream over potatoes and usually cold cuts.
This was followed the next day by raclette where a slab of cheese is melted under a sort of heater. You scrape the melted cheese with a special tool and add it to your meal which consists of...potatoes and cold cuts, or in my case, potatoes and vegetable brochettes.
Next came croûte de fromage, where slices of bread are first soaked in some sort of alcohol, then topped with mushrooms, cold cuts and cheese.
And finally, the berthoud, which had a small dish filled with a mix of melted cheese, light alcohol and cream I think, that you scooped over your... potatoes.
So the cuisine is not exactly diverse, but what made all this really great was the welcome. The people were friendly, the food good, and the atmosphere just generally jovial.
Believe it or not, I can still tolerate the taste and sight of potatoes and cheese :)
My stay started with 3 days in the Alps, in a small village near Swtizerland. In 3 days, I had a number of the culinary specialities of Haute-Savoie. First, the tartiflette, which consists of melted reblochon cheese and cream over potatoes and usually cold cuts.
This was followed the next day by raclette where a slab of cheese is melted under a sort of heater. You scrape the melted cheese with a special tool and add it to your meal which consists of...potatoes and cold cuts, or in my case, potatoes and vegetable brochettes.
Next came croûte de fromage, where slices of bread are first soaked in some sort of alcohol, then topped with mushrooms, cold cuts and cheese.
And finally, the berthoud, which had a small dish filled with a mix of melted cheese, light alcohol and cream I think, that you scooped over your... potatoes.
So the cuisine is not exactly diverse, but what made all this really great was the welcome. The people were friendly, the food good, and the atmosphere just generally jovial.
Believe it or not, I can still tolerate the taste and sight of potatoes and cheese :)
Loos in Paris
It may be unusual to start with commenting on public toilets in Paris. But they are worth it (L’Oréal should have a look). When you take walks that last 8 hours, you get to know the land.
Rule 1
The poshest café has the lousiest loo : no paper, no hand towel or dryer and a light that switches off every 10 seconds! Who can be that fast?
Rule 2
The hippest restaurateur will allow you the use of their loo at any time, even if you’re not a patron. It seems to be part of agreed common decency in Paris.
Rule 3
Some loos will allow you to set the timer on the light. Then it slowly winds its way to off. An anxious stretch.
Rule 4
Who ever labelled Asian toilets Asian (you know, no proper seat, scary)? Most train stations in France have those. They should be renamed European loos.
Rule 5
Some of them are coin operated at the door!
Rule 6
Go before you leave home, before you leave the café, before you leave the cinema, the way your mum always taught you.
Rule 1
The poshest café has the lousiest loo : no paper, no hand towel or dryer and a light that switches off every 10 seconds! Who can be that fast?
Rule 2
The hippest restaurateur will allow you the use of their loo at any time, even if you’re not a patron. It seems to be part of agreed common decency in Paris.
Rule 3
Some loos will allow you to set the timer on the light. Then it slowly winds its way to off. An anxious stretch.
Rule 4
Who ever labelled Asian toilets Asian (you know, no proper seat, scary)? Most train stations in France have those. They should be renamed European loos.
Rule 5
Some of them are coin operated at the door!
Rule 6
Go before you leave home, before you leave the café, before you leave the cinema, the way your mum always taught you.
April 24, 2006
Sous le ciel de Paris...
...j'ai passé dix jours. I will be sharing some of my views on what turns out to be a gorgeous city, despite all the prejudice I had.
April 10, 2006
Reflexion...
We are as women biologically designed to be mothers. So, no big deal.
But really, faced with a young woman who had just given birth to a little girl this morning, I could not help but be awed by the strength. She looked the same, and yet, it seemed she had crossed to a place where nothing could ever be the same.
There is no miracle like giving birth.
But really, faced with a young woman who had just given birth to a little girl this morning, I could not help but be awed by the strength. She looked the same, and yet, it seemed she had crossed to a place where nothing could ever be the same.
There is no miracle like giving birth.
April 06, 2006
Are we so cynical?
I am one of the faulty humans. So, far from me the idea of being self-righteous about what others do wrong. Yet an incident that occurred two days ago provoked some thinking about our society.
An old man needed help crossing the streets in Port-Louis. He was trembling and was obviously scared about crossing with the cars honking even at the pedestrian path. He asked a young guy who must have been about 20. The guy did not react for the first 2 times and finally could not ignore him any longer. So he held the man’s arm one third along the way, then left him there and went on walking. The old man was terrified. He held out his hand silently asking for someone to help him. I was there so I did.
But the question was: why did that guy just leave the man? He must have thought, “Oh, he’ll be ok for now”. Maybe he was embarrassed. I feel that a large part of the answer was that he was embarrassed but I may be wrong. There were construction workers lined up for their lunch break just opposite of us, watching. Did the guy think he was doing something uncool? Did he think that his image was worth more than helping that old man? Or did he not realise that even in today’s sleek world, helping out was better than not? What could have prompted him to think that something else could be more important than holding that man’s hand?
The answers to those questions could be good clues to what “un mal de société” means. And we Mauritians living here cannot hide from the fact that our society is not well.
An old man needed help crossing the streets in Port-Louis. He was trembling and was obviously scared about crossing with the cars honking even at the pedestrian path. He asked a young guy who must have been about 20. The guy did not react for the first 2 times and finally could not ignore him any longer. So he held the man’s arm one third along the way, then left him there and went on walking. The old man was terrified. He held out his hand silently asking for someone to help him. I was there so I did.
But the question was: why did that guy just leave the man? He must have thought, “Oh, he’ll be ok for now”. Maybe he was embarrassed. I feel that a large part of the answer was that he was embarrassed but I may be wrong. There were construction workers lined up for their lunch break just opposite of us, watching. Did the guy think he was doing something uncool? Did he think that his image was worth more than helping that old man? Or did he not realise that even in today’s sleek world, helping out was better than not? What could have prompted him to think that something else could be more important than holding that man’s hand?
The answers to those questions could be good clues to what “un mal de société” means. And we Mauritians living here cannot hide from the fact that our society is not well.
April 03, 2006
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