Hangin' with Ron Jeremy

No, I wasn't, but in the pic to the left, Xabi, my Couch Surfing host looks like a porn star.

Xabi (pronounced shah-bee) and his girlfriend Jeanne took me out for some good old drinking. And damn, I thought I could drink! We went bar hopping and drank all kinds of booze. They were very cool to show me the good spots in Toulouse.

They were a lot of fun and really cool to talk with.






Here's another pic of Xabi not looking like a porn star.

At this bar, they only serve rum. I had rum with mango juice and they had rum with banana.









Xabi asked what I like-meaning eating and drinking-and I said pretty much anything. I'll crack open a Keystone, even if it's not good beer, if it's the only thing available. Same with food. It may not be my preference, but I'll consume it.

But holy sh** did I try the most awful liquor ever! Xabi introduced me to this French liquor called Pastis (in pic). You poor it over ice or you can add juice.

If there's one thing I don't eat is black licorice. And that's what it tasted like. It was so horrible that it made me nauseas.

As appreciative as I was for the thought, I just couldn't down it. Of course Xabi joked and said, "But I thought you liked everything!" Luckily, it didn't offend them that I couldn't drink it.


Awful drink #2 of the night, Absinthe.


















To make the drink: You put a sugar cube on a spoon, over your glass, and poor the liquor over it. Fill the glass half full, and leave some on the spoon. Then you light the spoon with fire and let it burn for 10 seconds and dump it in the glass, stir and drink.

I felt like I was in a damn meth lab.

Again it tasted like black licorice. So I had a heineken.


I wish I could have spent more time with them, even though my liver would have been mad at me.

Last Day in Toulouse

I decided to spend a third day in Toulouse. Yesterday, I left Nathalie's and went to a new Couch Surfing host. But I needed to waste time before he got home from work, so I bummed around town.

After walking around a bit, drinking a coffee and eating a chocolate eclair, I went to the movies to watch Oliver Stone's "W" because I needed to do something that didn't involve walking. I did something to my foot and it really hurts, and I'm not sure what the problem is. Ugh....

So I sat through the movie being the only person who laughed out loud. I try not to laugh too hard, but I couldn't help it. I think a few people were laughing at me. If I was in an American movie theater, I'm sure people would have been laughing. I think since the audience were French, it was probably easy for them to miss jokes because their English may be only fair.

I didn't really know much about the movie prior to watching it. The movie ads are everywhere in France. It was a pretty good movie. Josh Brolin's role as Bush is really good - as are the rest of the characters. Though at many times I was cringing because Bush is such a f***ing idiot, which was obviously Stone's intention, to portray him as the dope that he is. And if I heard W call his father Poppy (sp?) one more time I was gonna puke.

So if you like political movies go see it. Even if you're not a political junkie, it's still a good movie to see.

More Duck Fat, Please

This is a French snack. It's pieces of duck meat with the skin, deep fried. It tastes like greasy, salty goodness.












On Monday, Nathalie prepared le cassoulet. It's a French dish from Castelnavdary, but well known from Toulouse.

It consists of duck meat, pork sausage and white beans. But the dish we ate had duck sausage instead of pork sausage. It was really good.






This is Nathalie.


In addition to the le cassoulet, we had an endive salad, cheese, bread, and two bottles of wine.











This is the princess, her dog, Ugane.

Arrived in Toulouse, France on Monday

My Couch Surfing host, Nathalie, and her doggy, Ugane met me at the train station yesterday. We dropped my bag off and walked around town.

Upon arriving at her home, she gave me this lovely gift of violet candies. She told me Toulouse is famous for its violets.

She's very nice and such a wonderful host. (I know, all of my hosts are great! I love everyone!)

Seriously, again, I have the utmost pleasure of staying with such a gracious host.

A canal.

This is the view we had during our

lunch at an outdoor cafe.

The thing in the middle is a water fountain. There are many in Toulouse.

See the metal rails on the windows? This is so French. Even if there isn't a balcony, a rail may still be attached. I love it.

A very narrow street. I saw a handful of these yesterday.

A residential building.

Toulouse is the 4th largest city in France. It's known as the pink city due do its colorful, often rose colored buildings. Because of this, it is considered to be much different than other French towns.

Fountain in city park.

City park.

Another park

Sunday in St. Emilion, France

For lunch on Sunday, David made mussels with pieces of ham, onion, white wine, herbs, garlic, and a touch of cream. It was so good.

We ate lunch and drank wine on his balcony with his roommate and girlfriend. The weather was warm and sunny. It was so relaxing. So nice.

Then I took a little nappy. And then I took a .5 hr train ride to St. Emilion, a little medieval village. All the pics are from there.


When I got off the train I had no idea where I was going. I saw, what looked like a small tour bus, so I followed its way. I had to walk up a steep street, that eventually turned into a wonderland of chateaus, farm houses and vineyards. I tried going to a chateau to try some wine, but it was closed. So I continued walking on a street with views of countryside and vineyards. It was breathtaking.

Fifteen minutes later, I arrived to the little village (600 residents). I was overwhelmed with its medieval architecture and beauty.

This is what you see when you walk to the town. You're looking down from a hilltop. It's like the village is in a valley.











The streets are cobbled, curvy and hilly.

A restaurant on top of the hill. Below is outdoor seating and a little pond.

A chateau. FYI, a chateau can be a mansion, fortress or vineyard estate. This pic is of a vineyard estate.

Those Are Some Good Balls

I've tried for the first time, veal testicles.

Saturday night, David and I ate at a French restaurant. Fixed priced menus, where you get an app, entree and dessert, are pretty common in France.

Our apps consisted of a salad - mine was with chevre cheese, his with duck. It was so fresh and good.

Then we ate our entrees. I had steak with a creamy blue cheese sauce, and, potato and veggies with a creamy chive sauce. He had veal balls. When our entrees arrived, I asked him what he ordered. He so casually said try some. So I put one in my mouth and chewed. It was a bit chewy and had tastes of bacon, pork, venison, or duck.

Finally I asked and he told me I just ate veal testicales. He had expected me to be disgusted, but I wasn't. I suppose, prior to arriving in France, I had prepared myself to eat what I consider weird animal parts. Not that I'm going out of my way to eat them, but if they're offered, I will try.

In France, as in many countries (I would say), they eat as much of the animal as possible. The roots of French coooking consist of, for example, pig's feet, bone marrow and foie gras (goose liver).

And blood sausage, sausage made with blood, which I tried at the market earlier in the day. It was very good. It was so creamy, it melted in my mouth.

A Tip

In case you are unaware, you can double click on the photos I post to see a bigger and/or clearer few.

Oh yeah, and thanks to one of my previous hosts, Frank, from Haarlem, The Netherlands, I now know how to take better shots of food. So, you should double click on food items because you really see the detail.

Am I One of Them?

Friday afternoon when I arrived in Bordeaux, I sat in the park and munched on some mussels and jambalaya from this gourmet food shop. And of course I was drinking some wine.

A few benches down were 5 homeless men. And I thought Holy s***! I'm one of them! Jobless, homeless and drinking in the park.

Pics Bordeaux

David drove me through the country to see some vineyards (Margaux, Saint Julien, Haut Medoc, Pauillac, etc).

So Good I Can't Stand it!

Saturday David took me to a market, kind of like a farmers market but located in an old warehouse and it's open everyday.



And oh my f***ing god... I can't even explain how fantastic it was. I wanted to roll around in all the food, I was so ecstatic about the variety and goodness of the food available.

Pic above is our lunch David and his roommate prepared. Shucked oysters at home and some tastey ass grilled sausage.

Chubs in Da House

This is me eating heaven. Delicious apple pastries. I've had one for the past three days.

French Grocery Store

I was in awe Friday night when David took me to the grocery store.

The vast selection of cheeses, meats, patés, and bread was unbelievable.

In pic above, is only 1 side of the cheese section. There was another case like the one seen, on the other side.


While at the cheese counter, David asked what kind of cheese do I like. I told him I like everything. He laughed and said, "You sure you're American? Did you take the DNA test?" He got a kicked out of my excitement.


Paté. There was more, but I couldn't fit in the pic.







Baguettes. There was another shelving unit like this, adjacent to it.

I found my Frenchman

But still no beret!

I arrived in Bordeaux, France yesterday. I'm Couch Surfing with David who is f***ing awesome. He has superb taste in food. And he's a lot of fun.

Yesterday hung at his place with his roommate (in pic below) and his girlfriend.

We drank wine and ate absolutely delicious cheeses, pate, bread, and one of the best sausages I've ever had.


I'm so diggin' this place.
















David cuttin' up the sausage.

Apologies in Advance

For misspellings and poor grammar. I tend to write and pump out entries quickly because I don't always have the time or access to computers.

First and Last Dinner in Paris

Yum, yum, and yum!

My last night in Paris I had the opportunity to join the two Mexican American women I met in Bruges for dinner, but they were going to a Latin restaurant. I declined. I'm sorry, I'm in France; therefore I'm not eating Latin cuisine. That would be a sin.

So I walked around the Latin District. It's called this because they used to speak Latin in the schools.

Outside the Latin District, I ate at this outdoor cafe and ate a delicious French meal of paté (in pic) with sauteed onions on bread, chicken with frites (fries) and chocolate mousse.

I knew I was ordering paté and chocolate mousse, but had no idea when it came to my entree. I read filet and frites and thought it was steak and fries, but it turned out to be chicken. Which was just as good.

If you like to eat and try different foods then it can be fun and exciting to order off a foreign menu. I could have pulled out my french dictionary, but that would have been too much work.


This mousse was out of this world. The coffee was excellent, too.

Dumb ass tourist in Paris

(Read below for explanation of headline. Obviously, I'm not a pro at blog design.)

Louis VIX Chateau.












Inside a hall. So many ceilings had mural paintings. It was grand. As was the additional artwork throughout the building.

Marie Antoinette's chamber.

Remaining pics are of the lavish gardens.

My last full day in Paris was Thursday, and I felt like I didn't see enough. I didn't even go to the Louvre! I'm almost embarrased....

What did I do? Well, I didn't leave my apt until 11:30 am. Headed to the train station, for the second day in a row, trying to retrieve my lost sleeping bag that I forgot on the train, with no luck. Then I spent 35 dollars on a stupid tour bus so I could see more of Paris, only to be disappointed cuz I really didn't see anything new.

Then I hopped on a train to Versailles to see the Louis VIX Chateau. That was pretty awesome. I find history of the French Revolution fascinating so I had to go. FYI, recently, I read a great historical novel on the topic by one of my favorite authors, Marge Piercy, titled City of Darkness, City of Light. I highly recommond it.

Then I walked around the city a bit and went back to Paris.

_____________

Part of the problem was I wasn't entirely excited to visit Paris. I went because it's Paris.


Yes, it's a beautiful city. The architecture is majestic. The abundunt cafes and bistros are charming. The food is out of this world. The hmuseums and history are fascinating. And you already know how I feel about the parks.


But the past 1.5 months I've been in the country, villages and medium sized cities. Paris is like NY to me. Big, loud (cars everywhere!) and dirty. I found it overwhelming. It may sound strange considering I'm from Chicago, and I'm a "city girl" who loves the city life, but I did.


And I was a bit under the wheather and tired. For those who know me well, when I'm sick, tired or hungry, I'm not the most pleasant person! So it's possible if I was feeling 100 percent my mood and experience would have been different.


And I think Paris is a city you should visit with a significant other, spouse, lover, or a blow up doll. It truly is a romantic city.

And finally, spend at least 4-5 days there.