A taste of France tonight... a crême brûlée, cracked à la Amélie

And yes, this is the third post in what... 2 days not even, that's in order to make it up to the days and actually months when I don't write...

So tonight my parents were invited by the most amazing friends (sorry people in France these guys were pretty awesome tonight, I still love you preeeeetty much) to the Bauer Kitchen in Waterloo. We already knew the restaurant was amazing, food is great, as much as the service, but tonight was the night.

I had already been there and tried their gnocchi with their chianti Sangiovese (I don't know why it's not on the online menu anymore but it was a great combination). This was a really good dinner. The second time was a work dinner and I just went with pasta and water (not the best for sure, but that was a different setting... and I was training for my half-marathon too)

But tonight, tonight...

So we get in the restaurant, and the waitress sends us to a huge wooden table with 8 red seats. We have a huge, huge table, and I felt like we would have to scream so that we would be able to hear each other. We all sit down, get settled and two things happen, almost simultaneously. First, P sees the flyers "Oy Oy Oysters, from 5pm to 8pm only! Get your Oysters". "It's 7:53, where is the server..." Yeap they did get them but no I did not try Oysters...(my education in terms of seafood, prevented me from doing so... unless I can see the sea I'm not eating seafood...). But that's not the only thing that happened tonight.
Secondly, our waiter, realized we all spoke french and started speaking in french "un petit peu" but he did an amazing job... The tone was set, we were all happy and food already sounded delicious.

Ordering :
I don't remember everyone's order but I'll just describe mine and let you know how fantastidiously good it was (yes, a combination of fantastically ridiculously good). I ordered the :


DUCK CONFIT : crispy duck legs, roasted mini potatoes, squash & parsnips, dark chicken jus and plum orange compote

This just sounded amazing, canard doré et craquant au confit d'orange accompagné de ses minis pommes de terre rôties, panais... jus ce cuisson et compotée d'orange et de prune.

Yeah, how do you feel about that????

Of course, such a meal cannot but come with a good wine (red of course). My nose is sniffing the wine list up and down searching for a perfect worded match and the MacMannus Petite Shiraz (USA california) just caught my attention (Yeah I know the actual caption did... but they mentioned Tim Burton and when mentioning Tim Burton if it's not good it's screwed...) So I settled with this Californian wine and I must say, when my food arrived, everything just combined perfectly.

The duck was roasted and crispy on the outside as perfectly as it could be... The veggies cooked or braised --it would be more appropriate-- had this perfect relation with the meat and the wine just enhanced all the qualities of this meal. A taste of old France right there, on my palate, I couldn't believe it. The sauce, the potatoes, the meat and the wine. A combination of flavors each adding what the other just needed to make it whole (holy????).

So we discussed before and after... Food was so good that you could hear the silence right at the first "bouchées". No, we did talk after the discoveries. I did "savouré" my meal and my wine, but the conversation was going on. We talked about wine, food, school. Life in general, marriage, and P and T had an idea : to tell the waiter to celebrate my parents anniversary!!!! They offered us CHAMPAGNE... So we enjoyed our "coupe" de champagne and all got some more amazing food : dessert = crême brûlée--for some--, fruit bowls, cheesecake. I broke my crême brûlée with the tip of my spoon and I did feel like I was reliving a scene from Amélie.... *sigh*

We talked more, and shared one of the most amazing moments here in waterloo again!!!!! Thanks wonderful friends, you rock!!!

Our waiter was asked by S where he learnt french and of course at UW with T.S and KLF (entre autres). It couldn't be someone else, because after all these years, he was still able to speak it!!!!

PS : go to the Bauer Kitchen it's just the best for real food.
(http://www.charcoalgroup.ca/main8.cfm?id=81A91C56-F8FB-C24C-5AFB957C2A5DB66F)

Coleeeeeeny out ========>

Incongruity

Being in another country, how funny is that, well sometimes it can be pretty funny. You never remember those moments of loneliness when trying to figure out how things work??? Well here is a reminder as I observe my parents... confused

First thing first, or not necessarily, but still : new car, new ways and still they all work the same way right??? So we're driving and my dad is looking at the ventilation (it's closed). Well there is a little piece on it and you know, it's the one that makes it go from side to side... well he is trying really hard to open the ventilation with this one... until he figures out that it's actually the rolling one on the side that actually opens it... Bazinga the car tricked him

Then of course doors, well we are always confronted to doors (open, closed, sometimes you think they're open and WHAM you just hit it, face first...). This one always happens, so you're at the door and instead of pushing you're pulling or the inverse when you have to do the reverse thing. It happened to my mom, of course... One trick guys if there's a handle, it usually is pull, when it's a bar it usually is push. Or try to think ahead and look for the sign ;)

Another random one, you're in the washroom you just went and now you want to wash your hands... Usually you think that turning the tap is what makes it work. So I'm on the left side, my mom is on the right and she's turning the tap... I stop, I tell her to look at me and then I pull the tap towards me... Yeap that's another trick right ;)

I guess I can come up with many stories like this and you too... so please, share and let us enjoy a good laugh....

PS: pictures of the coolest book ever, it's a point it book, buy it and all you have to do is point to the thing you want ;)

Coleeny out ==========>

Balls' view??.... at Ball's falls

Ball's view oh wait no Ball Falls' Conservation area with some canadian nuts in the air...

Well well well, how to start a day and how to end it??? You can never control it. Just to set the tone, it was on sunday, parents visiting from France and a day trip planned ahead. Starting early with some hearty breakfast : the hungryman's delight (3 eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast and coffee); and slowly moving to a cruising drive down 401/403/QEW and the vineyard region of Niagara Falls.

Nothing fancy you must say. Well I wouldn't agree more if it weren't for some quite disturbing sightings.

Tawse winery had this magnificent castle entrance, you felt like entering a vineyard-- of course not the Fffrrrench way but you know canadian way of saying yeah bitches we grow wine down there soooooo big doors, pathways, huge fountain, big wooden doors for the building etc. My palate couldn't get any of the exhilarating sweetness and flavors of these wines but my nose quite enjoyed them. Starting or mostly stopping with the Cabernet Franc icewine. This raspberry/strawberry (berries mostly) perfume just took my heart away....

One glass of Pinot, one glass of Chardonnay, one glass of each of their icewine later, we tried to hit the road again. Unfortunately the rain hit it first. We waited for a few more minutes inside and then head out and took the Ford Fusion again (opening sunroof, just so you know).

Next on the list was Calamus: different style, different taste, but still as good as one can get. Again what struck my attention was the description of a Cabernet Franc from 2009. Plum, cherry, balanced... these words resonated in my brain but also on my palate. I couldn't help but imagining those floods of tasty fluids in my mouth. So we gave it a try and apparently words can describe it pretty decently: a full-bodied wine, balanced...

Since we were trying to get things done around the region, we decided to go to the conservation area after (being an advanced time in the afternoon....) So there we were, walking to the upper falls, feeling like the last Mohicans, yes it does look like this...

Well there aren't much water left, but the sight was amazing. There was still another guy to have a look at so we went to the lower falls (27 m height). Crossing the park, the bridge, walking the pathways, crossing the heritage centre, an old church, an old barn, and the falls, it's pretty high man. Ohh wait is there someone praying down there...

I can see an orange bag, a white and blue striped form, and then I do turn my head cause I also thought that maybe someone fell or something... (I would have loved to). Nope... but a couple actually getting it on (or should I say in????), on the rocks. Yeap ball's view instead of ball's falls. Well that kinda made everything look.. should I say weird, I can't even find something to describe this moment perfectly I actually have no clue on what to say or how to say it. It was super random and they were just--of course-- not classy at all. To the details: so guy : shirt on (of course) white and blue (like a team's jersey), pants down, shoes on//Girl: black shirt and red dress (still on)... And to spice things up, I think I just found the word, animal (not bestiality not like something savage and stuff) but they looked like animals and kinda showing themselves off : doggy-style.

That's it, Ball's view will be remembered for its falls and its "balls" (and not the actual brothers who were granted land by the British crown during the American revolution for being Loyalists...)


Well now, Coleeeeeny out ========>

La pastèque et l'estomac

Bien le bonsoir, oui pour une fois ce soir ce sera en français... Me direz-vous qui ne comprend pas l'anglais de nos jours... Certains d'entre nous le comprennent avec Les Experts (oui le doublage est tellement mauvais en français que l'on peut deviner les mots en anglais...) Enfin bref, ce n'est pas cela qui compte.

Une journée de plus à Waterloo, c'est quasiment la fin de l'entraînement pour le demi-marathon et les journées y ressemblent tout autant (à la course). Mais pas de façon négative, je dirai même mieux de façon positive. Pourquoi et bien parce qu'un cerveau qui se remplit, c'est un cerveau dynamisé et c'est tellement agréable de sentir les idées venir et partir, créer, écrire, réfléchir, rechercher et produire des essais. Essais qui finiront en présentation à des conférences, alors oui se lever à 5h45 tous les matins ça a du bon. Le meilleur moment, pour ceux qui doutent de mon point c'est ma petite pause du matin en allant à l'université. Un jour je vous mettrai une photo. Mais ça donne à peu près cela. Après avoir roulé de chez moi à University Avenue, je prends le trottoir, je rejoins ring road, puis je monte la côte qui va au Tatham Centre et là c'est le meilleur moment comme je l'ai dit. Le soleil (il est 7h10-20) caresse votre corps, et vos idées. Une bolée d'air frais??? Moi je rétorque qu'un coup de soleil le matin, ça passe bien aussi. Une minute tous les matins à apprécier la nouvelle journée et vous avez la patate pour toujours. Pas de redescente quand on commence ainsi.

Alors les amis, à la revoyure, c'était un petit message ensoleillé pour commencer votre nuit de rêve, bien que mes amis français tout autant que ma famille doivent être bien endormis à cette heure-ci.


Pour le réveil un petit conte :

La Pastèque et l'estomac

Il était une fois, une jeune fille ayant mal à l'estomac,

Gargouillis et grognement, son estomac était aux abois

Alors, elle y repensa...

"A quoi ?"

Me direz-vous,

Et bien à la pastèque qu'elle avala.

Un pépin en son sein et voilà!

Tout ce qu'elle produira,

C'est l'été, par sa bouche sucrée.

Ladybug... Maybe a male though ;)

Rocking stone

Soft as the sand, hard as wood, life (soft and solid)

Leaving a mark...

Oooh I see

Coleeeny ====> OUT

Le lévrier canadien

Greyhound,

Never mind them on the road, let them pass, they need to take you wherever you're going so you better let them roll or drive.
Toronto this weekend, somewhere else another week, as per usual friends take you places and create memories. This is why we love traveling and seeing friends wherever we can, wherever we are. Why stay in the same place when the friends you made across the Atlantic can now come and visit in, still, a complete different place from your original hometown.
The big "T" as hectic as usual. Its streetcars, its cars, its strollers, its bikers, riders, walkers, runners, everyone from everywhere, doing everything...
I hope everyone is chilling on a day like today, since this is what I'm doing right now, headphones on, "Salted Caramel Mocha" on the side and a nice and non-smelly new wallet (oh yeah cause of course I dropped my stinky rotten smoothie on it the other day).
This is what we all need sometimes. A break, from weeks of work, teaching 5 days a week, presentations and essays take you away from your pleasurable activities. For me it was writing, writing this blog but also writing on the typewriter. Well, maybe these times away actually make you like these moments even more. Still, I missed it and thursday night was just magic. The typing was just exhilarating. I'm glad I still have my half-marathon training, so that I can just escape for 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 or 13K and enjoy the ride with my running shoes, the wind and the sun.
This is what happened again last night, 6pm going home, putting the shoes on and woam, let's go, JUST DO IT that's so true, it feels so good. These are the best times ever. (Of course time with friends are awesome too...)

OOoh yeah, time with friends. Yes indeed, these ones are not bad, especially on days like St Paddy's day. Breakfast and beer, marking and then chilling with friends, more drinking, more talking. Chilling on a sunny day on the patio of the house. And then when the drinks start to kick in some food chasin' at "ish and chips" because of course the "F" fell... (Ooh wait no, it's the actual name). The night was punctuated by the sound of sirens, these poor firemen must have taken care of a lot of drunken asses... A good night with friends indeed!

With K and P on the patio

Me and Lil'P

Look @ that M*****F***** glass

;)

Let them rule (or roll by the end of the night)

Enjoy life people,

Sur ce Coleeeeeeny OUT =====>

Life is a pooplet of sugar

Hi everyone,

Well I haven't had any freaky encounters to talk about lately and life has been pretty sweet. Monday dinners as usual, nights out, nights in. Red wine and beer, copies and papers have been casually giving rhythm to these past few weeks.

Until the other day...

I mean yesterday. As usual, I went to my office to get some work done and go to different appointments when suddenly our secretary, K, knocks on the door. Me, not even knowing who was there, "le nez plongé dans le bouquin" I just look up and see her and wonder why she came all the way down to our office. S was there too, working on her paper and K just goes: "Have you received an email.... Did you check your Quest account" Le me going "no, no... why" (In my head it's all tupsy-turvy: did I pay my tuition, did I forget something) and then she goes : "Well you got accepted for a scholarship"

Time for some realization: "what, but I did not do anything..." K : "Well we just threw your name in and you got accepted" so... being a first year PhD female student with excellent records is enough ;)

I logged in my Quest account, went to the financial aid and wham just got slapped (but very happily). Well that was just overwhelming. I had to get it out and had tears in my eyes. Hugged my lil' S and went for a coffee. On the way there I came across lil' P and hugged her too. Happiness is warm inside and outside. I called everyone, well, those I could call and let them know what had just happened. The day was not over, I went to the dentist and they did not make me pay!!! What a beautiful and sunny day in the loo.

On a different note, as we were talking with J before some groceries I was telling her how I felt about France and Canada and how Canada has been great to me and how life is good "on the other side". I just told her, since we were talking about places where we'd live that "My region lives in me, but I cannot live in my region or my country"... Is it sad, is it pessimistic... sometimes you feel like there are places where you're not completely yourself. I love France, I miss it, especially La Bretagne and Nantes but there's a but.... It's in the bigger picture that I don't feel like I belong there. Anyways, good talk again and


Sur ce,




Talk to you later




Coleeeeeeny out =====>

Freaky encounter...

There are days where you work and go to class and hang out with friends for coffee. Everything's fine, you have a good day and when night time comes you just head home, thinking about your day and paying attention to the snow on the ground because it's slippery. It's normal.

But then, of course, something happens... you turn right on keats, ride your bikey bike in order to go home, climb that tiny hill and there HE is, this dude. So he starts waving at me and I take off my headphones... He then goes "Do you look like me"... I manage to pronounce an hesitant "no", not really knowing what to say to this troubled looking dude... He then goes on "cause if I look like you or blablablablabla " yeah my brain switched to defense mode and I'm like where is my kubaton (yeah my self-defense weapon...) SO my mind switched to defense and then I hit back reality and I was still riding but slowly when he finally says "I'll kill you" OK. He then stares at me and starts laughing, but mad laughing a mwahahaha in a CRAZY tone.
... I start moving back to my track and I'm still worried about the dude. I don't know if he's alright and I don't want to leave someone who might need help. Therefore I ask the guy "Are you ok" and then he goes mad real mad starts spinning and says "No, what the fuck man" so I just did not want to stand there more... And I'm glad I was on my bikey bike!!

Freaky encounters in the loo...

PS: the guy was wearing a yellow shirt, greyish jacket, roots sweatpants. He's a blond guy 1.75 / 1.80 cm skinny fit. BEWARE!

Have a good night

Coleeeeeeny out ==>