Afoot

Since Lindsey has been at her Gobelin test all day I've just be touring the streets of Paris from Pont Neuf, Saint Severin, the Latin Quarter, the Seine, Saint Germaine Des Pres, and various bookstores, restaurants and cafes in between. No money spent on art, all money spent on food.

At one church they were cleaning the organ by holding each note successively up the scale which filled the room with an overwhelming, and ominous, sound. Or someone is just really bad at playing the organ.

Avez-vous Beamish?

Irish bars in Paris are surprisingly good, and one even claimed to have Beamish. Sadly, it did not. I should have told them to change their sign so there wouldn't be any more disappointment.

Eglise Saint-Suplice

This church is massive, it takes up several city blocks. From the outside it appears ominous and perpetually locked but thankfully, as it is pouring outside, most doors in Paris are unlocked and I was able to get inside to do some writing. I've already been caught sneaking into several places I shouldn't and my limited French only further implicates me.

Jardin du Luxembourg

Lindsey left early this morning to take her Gobelin animation test so I've spent the day wandering around the area. Here is a massive garden in the center of the city and coincidentally right behind our hotel.

Best. Meal. Ever.

Onion soup, Pata Negra fillet with olive oil mashed potatoes, slow boiled beef and vegetables with marrowbones...

Bouillon Racine

Lindsey remarked that this was my kind of place: a turn of the century, art nouveau decorated brasserie.

Lunch in Agen

This patisserie has the best almond croissants I've ever tasted. Yes, we bought several for the road.

Tour de France

Petanque

Petanque, or Boules, is the French version of Bocci Ball. After a fierce comeback I beat Lindsey 10 games to 7.

Chiens

Seymour, the basset hound and inspiration for the dog in the Inventors, Tessie and Longshot have been our constant companions.

Pasta in France

All day the weather fluctuated between rain and shine which created amazing clouds, colors and rainbows across the countryside while we walked several miles to get from Roquecor, the closest town to Couyssels. After earning our room and board by acting as the Green's personal tech consultants fixing up their network issues, Lindsey took a nap (we had just come from walking for hours) and I helped cook pasta. I tried to wake Lindsey when we had finished cooking but she's a very determined sleeper. Thankfully, we have plenty of leftovers.

La Taupe

This is Ed and Sally's house in Couyssels known as La Taupe, which is a chefs hat. The main house is on the left, but we're staying in the pigeonnier, an old pidgeon house. Trust us, it's much nicer than it sounds. I'll let the photos explain:

Midi Pyrenees

We had a wander through a small village called Fumel which was built on the sloping side of a hill. Lots of old alleyways, gardens and views of the river. There was a beautiful old church that overlooked the valley which was prime for the breaking into. The bottommost photo overlooks the Midi Pyrenees.

Breakfast

How can we be hungry again?

We're 25, the wine is 30

Yes, that is rosemary stuffed lamb slowly roaring on a spit, hand raised and butchered just down the hill. My job was to supervise the roast, and believe you me, I watched that meat cook for two hours without blinking. While we waited, they had prepared salami, olives, baguette, wine and these ridiculously amazing crispy risotto pieces. Call the airlines now because Lindsey and I are going to need seatbelt extenders by the time we get back. And finally, we had a 1981 Chateau Fombrauge, much better than the Trader Joes stuff we get. It's dangerous to get used to this kind of eating.

La Taupe

We arrived in the late morning at Agen and were picked up by our hosts, Ed and Sally Green (he's exactly the same, in case the Kellers were wondering). They had picked us up fresh baguettes, almond croissants (my favorite) and pain au chocolat. We'll take pictures of the house and our hosts tomorrow, but let me at least introduce you to Seymour, their twelve year old basset hound.

The Seine & Our First Crepe

This was from yesterday when Lindsey and I took a walk down the banks of the Seine and ended up at Notre Dame where it started pouring. We ducked into a tiny giftshop and bought an umbrella by an enthusiastic French salesman who was dying to sell us place-mats.
We soon found ourselves in the Latin Quarter which is packed with more types of incredible food than you can imagine. We decided on crepes followed by a glass of wine under an awning while it continued to rain steadily through the night. Before we turned in, we happened upon a very old French church where we listened in as the parishioners sang along to the organ.