Quest for Pumpkins (citrouilles, pas potirons)

For the last couple of weeks, I have been working on my squash vocabulary.  I spent a long time trying to locate a butternut squash.  I had a lot of ridiculous conversations at the grocery store describing it and drawing its shape in the air.  When I looked it up in the dictionary, it said "une courge musquée."  I spent a couple of days trying this out on people and not getting the response I wanted.  When I was at the outside market last Saturday, I found a butternut squash and victoriously bought it.  As the woman weighed it for me I asked, "What is this called anyway?"  I didn't understand her the first time, but when she repeated I heard, "une courge butternut."  Only, of course it didn't sound at all like when I say butternut.  I asked her what une courge musquée was and she pointed me towards some sort of turban squash.  At some point my head is going to be filled with useful vocabulary.  Right now, I've got squash vocabulary--at least it is seasonal.

The girls have been talking about missing Halloween since we arrived.  I was sure that I could score a pumpkin in Paris if I put my mind to it.  I kept asking for "un citrouille," and I kept being shown the squash in the photo above.  This is actually, if you believe me, un poitiron; it is the city cousin to the citrouille.  Finally when they understood that un poitiron would not do, they told me I would have to go to the country.  According to the anglophone parent website you could find pumpkins at some garden centers in Paris for a price.  

Lori to the rescue--she is picking strawberries!
She has a car and she understands why children might want a pumpkin at the end of October.  Online I found a farm that claimed to have pumpkins just 20 minutes outside of Paris near Versailles.  Ferme de Gally provided what it promised and more.  It is an old, quaint farm turned into a marketing machine.  This was the end of the season and so the selection was not fantastic, but during the real growing season they seem to grow everything you could possibly want.  There is also a very old farm house, farm building; garden center, cafe, gift shop, food store...  The place is huge.  The gift shop was overpriced and seemed to have as much Country French made in China as French Country made in France.  Three Ottawa girls in Paris enjoyed a lovely lunch and a beautiful sunny day in the country.  I will keep this on my list for places to vist next spring.



Beautiful Pumpkins
I had thought ahead and took my shopping trolley to Lori's house.  Thank goodness I did because these beauties are very heavy.  The Paris metro is not handicap friendly and there are lots of stairs.  I got a good workout getting these two home.  It was worth it because the girls were thrilled.  The door hanger is Vintage LeBlanc.  Pierre's mum sent us a fantastic Halloween package complete with costumes for the girls.  I think she should go into business putting together holiday packages for expats. 

Autumn Still Life

Garden Center ready for Toussaint

Halloween Readers

The girls are now on a two week break for Toussaint!  Tomorrow is the big Halloween party at the American Library.

United Buddy Bears

Last weekend we walked down to the Champs de Mars, the park near the Eiffel Tower, to check out the United Buddy Bears.  Each country that is part of the United Nations has a bear decorated by an artist from that country.  The bears travel around spreading peace, love, and friendship.  The Buddy Bears are only in Paris for about a month.  It was fun to watch all of the tourists find their bear.

 

Friendly Canadians
We were surprised by the Canadian Buddy Bear.  We thought he might be red and white. 
For the record, I am Canadian, too.

American Buddy Bear
Because the Statue of Liberty was made by a Frenchman, there seem to be little Statues of Liberty everywhere.  We found one on an island in the Seine, two at the Musée des Art et Métiers, and one at Musée D'Orsay (it used to be in the Jardin du Luxembourg), and a torch near the Pont d'Iena.  The torch has become a memorial to Princess Diana because the deadly car crash was in the tunnel just below the monument.

The weather here has been very changeable.  Our Buddy Bear day was beautiful.  We enjoyed wandering around the Champs de Mars and playing at the playground there.

Cronkhite Unis!

Nick, Ernestos, Pierre, and I all met at the fabulous Cronkhite Graduate Center.  By the time I arrived, Pierre was a resident advisor and had scored an enormous room.  I met Nick and Ernestos one of the first days on campus.  The last time I saw Nick is when I married Cher Pierre over 10 years ago.  Ernestos drove a big company car from Chicago to Milwaukee to visit me and Baby Lillian about 8 years ago.

 

Mission Crepes!

We headed down to Marché President Wilson for some breakfast crepes.

The Thinkers

Pierre and Sylvia went home for some R and R and the rest of us walked in the rain to Musée Rodin.  We managed to run through most of the sculpture garden before the rain turned into a downpour.

The Parthenon and a Cypriot Ern

 

The museum is in an amazing old mansion.  I have visited this museum before, but I hadn't learn that it had been a convent that was then turned into a house where artists could rent rooms.  Rodin rented a room and then rooms here, as did many notable painters, writers, dancers, etc.  I don't have any great photos of the gardens or exterior because of the rain.

Ernestos suggested that we get tickets to the Edward Hopper exhibit at the Grand Palais.  I was so glad that we went; it is one of my favorite exhibits of all time.  I had only really seen his top five most popular prints before the exhibit and I didn't love all of them.  I was surprised by the variety.  Who knew he did etchings and watercolors (in New Mexico!)?  Hopper visited Paris three different times and spoke French.  I read all about Hopper on wikipedia before going and bored my friends with fascinating tidbits about his life.

We capped off the rainy weekend with a visit to Musée D'Orsay.  My photo doesn't really show you just how many people were waiting in the rain.  The line zigzagged forever!  I flashed my annual pass and was able to whisk my friends right into the side entrance.  

Thanks for coming!  I hope we make it to see you both!  Come back soon!

Louvre's new Department of Islamic Art

The Louvre's Department of Islamic Art has reopened.  A new building, built inside one of the original courtyards, and many new acquisitions have been added for this new opening. The new building has been called "the magic carpet" because of the modern, metallic roof that undulates as if it is in motion.  The walls are glass and I liked how you could see the walls of the courtyard through all of the windows.

 

Last weekend, two of my friends from graduate school came for a visit.  When we moved to Paris I e-mailed them both and said that now that we were closer they would have to visit.  Nick lives in London and Ernestos lives in Athens.  I was so happy they came to see us.  Pierre had a lot of quality time with our girls and let me enjoy Paris with my friends.

 

 Here I am looking down at the roof of the new building from one of the wings of the original Louvre. 

 This shot is straight up at the roof

 The collection is astounding and well organized.

Wooden carvings of writing form the 14th century!

 How do you move an old mosaic to a museum?

 

Mona

 From the Louvre, Nick and and headed to La Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which is housed in one of the wings of the Louvre.  Nick works at the Victoria and Albert Museum and a colleague had told him he should check it out.  The permanent collection is impressive, although it costs about as much as the Louvre and there is much less to see and much less variety.  There was an immense Star Wars exhibit that we both enjoyed.  Nick had actually owned some of the toys on display.  I remembered my best friend in preschool enjoying a good chew on Princess Leïa's head.

Atelier at the Cartier Foundation

 

Last Wenesday, Lil went to a workshop at the Cartier Foundation.  You had to be 8, so Sylvia and I checked out the museum, copied some of the art into our notebooks, and did some reading.  Lillian made a very cool wooden stamp.  They were super organized and had all sorts of cool materials.

 The exhibition was on art "naïf" or "primitif."  It was art from around the world that was done by people without any real artist training.  I guess we would say naive or folkart.  I couldn't take any photos inside.  It was a real mixed bag.  Some of the works were incredible and others made you just shake your head.

President Hollande is talking about lots of school reforms.  One of his reforms is  having school on Wednesday mornings next year http://www.france24.com/fr/20121009-hollande-esquisse-refonte-ecole-retour-semaine-quatre-jours-et-demi-rythmes-scolaires-cours-morale-redoublement.  We are now getting into our museum going, workshop doing groove and, most weeks, I like Wednesday with no school.

Croissants!

I have fallen way behind on this blog.  I think that this is a good thing and means that I actually have a life.  The girls staying for lunch for two days each week is huge.  Over a week ago, I took a croissant making class.  My friend, Lori, took all of these photos.  I appreciate that she risked her phone and allowed me and my pants to remain pristine.  Lori's pants were covered in flour from digging her phone in and out of her pocket.  When Lori e-mailed me these photos, she cleverly forgot to send me the photo I took of her.

 

 

 Concentration

 

 The class was three hours long, and that is really not long enough to make croissants.  We started out with already made dough that had rested and then made some dough at the end of the class so that we would know how to do it.  Here we pour the dry ingredients out onto the counter and create a Colosseum with the bottom of our bowl.  Then, we just pour the wet ingredients into the middle and muck it all about until it turns into dough.

 

You probably think you understand how much butter is in a croissant.  It is a lot more than you think.  We took about a pound of butter and wrapped it up like a little present and then rolled out the dough.

The big toilet brush looking things are for getting the extra flour off of your dough and off the counter

 

You then very carefully roll out this little present and cut it into long triangles to be rolled into croissants.

After taking this class I am quite sure I need a rolling pin like this one.
Lori was the best and fastest baker and this is her beautiful little croissant.

Proud Mama

Pain au chocolat

Smells delicious

At the end of the school day, I greeted the girls with freshly baked pain au chocolat.  They thought they were delicious and wanted to know when I was going to make some more.

 

This class was in English; the teacher was a very nice young Texan who had come to Paris for cooking school and married a Parisienne.  I hope to take some more classes in French.

Brownies and Daisies

This was a weekend full of Girl Scouts.  Sylvia is now a Daisy (She was a Spark in the Canadian Girl Guides) and Lillian is once again a Brownie.  Our Canadian Girl Guides have temporarily become American Girl Scouts.  Lillian's troop came to our apartment this afternoon.  11 girls and most of their mamas.  It was a tight fit.  The moms did retire to a nearby bakery for part of the meeting, but it was still cozy.  Lillian is excited about the planned activities and so am I. 

 

At yesterday's meeting Sylvia's group talked about being honest and fair and being friendly and helpful.  She needs to earn her daisy petal patches for her vest.  Each petal symbolizes something different.  Light Blue = honest and fair and yellow = friendly and helpful.  Since the meeting, Sylvia has been working hard to be all of these things.  She was a wonderful helper cleaning up our place for the Brownies.  During the Brownie meeting Pierre and Sylvia escaped to the Palais de la Découverte 

 

2012 is The Year of  the Girl

 

Yesterday we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving with our Canadian friends.  They put on a fabulous spread and we were thoroughly spoiled.  We are thankful to have been adopted by such kind compatriots.

It was late when we finally took the metro home.  When we exited the metro, the girls were very excited to see the Eiffel Tower lit up and made me take a picture.

Here are some Canadian dance moves to work on for next Thanksgiving.