Travel notes

This is all about a project I intend to carry out in the "near" future. When I finish my uni course...hopefully!

• Sicily : it's all about the laughter
• Lyon: the welcoming city... where it all began
• Clermont Ferrand: very short but very sweet
• Dunkerque: the land of Shtis!
• Belgium: land of the lovely houses
• Lille: the intercultural
• Slovenia: the land of dreams come true
• Wales: the land of breath-taking scenery
• Ireland: the land of emerald green
• Paris: the city of magic
• London: the buzzing city

Future: Lech (Austria), Lubeck (Germany), Scotland??, Nepal??, Slovakia??

Keeping Up Appearances

The Bucket (spelled: Bouquet) Residence...The Lady of the house speaking :)

Lately I was in no mood for serious and thoughtful related films. So two days ago I popped in a nearby DVD shop and rented the first two seasons from the TV Series "Keeping Up Appearances". This was probably one of the best things I did this month (or year?). Patricia Routledge starrs her character as Hyacinth to perfection and together with her little candle light suppers and her sister Violet whose house has a swimming pool, sauna and room for a pony, she manages to keep a smile on my face for quite some time of the day. Other characters, including her neighbour Liz and her trembling when it comes to handling fine bone china, Onslow and his laissez-faire attitude, her sisters Daisy and Rose with their obsession with love and passion, make this series one of the best comedies I've ever seen. So far, so good: 5/5

Cher père Noël

Cher père Noël,

Il y a environ dix ans que je ne crois pas en toi mais il y a des moments où l’on est prêt à tenter n’importe quoi. Ces derniers mois étaient tellement sévères et stressants pour moi que la moindre pensée sur Noël me rend heureuse comme une fille de quatre ans. C’est stupide. Je le sais. Mais il n’y a rien à perdre quand même !

Donc, en ce qui concerne ma commande, je voudrais que quand tu descendras du ciel tu m’apporteras avec toi sur ton traîneau. Puis laisse-moi tomber dans quelque village alpin pendant ton retour au pôle Nord. Quant je serais tranquille là-bas ! Entourée de nature, montagnes, vaches, chèvres…éloignée de personnes égoïstes, dominantes, menteuses…c’est mon paradis terrestre !

Mais soyons un peu réalistes ! Pour que je ne t’inquiète pas trop, je te demande seulement de m’apporter une jolie voiture ; pas très chère mais fiable. Je la mérite je crois. Je fais toujours mes devoirs et je ne dispute jamais avec mes frères ! Tu sais mon papa Noël préféré, même si tu ne m’apporteras rien, je me sens déjà mieux de confier mes vœux avec toi et cela suffit pour moi.

Je te promets de préparer des biscuits et quelques gâteaux quand même ! Une bouteille de whisky t’attendrait aussi près de cheminée. Je te fais de gros bisous enneigés !

How to put together a cheese plate

1. Have a theme. Actually, there is no hard and fast rule about a theme, but it sure makes it easier for cheese novices to choose from the dozens, if not hundreds, of cheeses available at the cheese counter. Country, milk type, texture, producer, cheese type, rind, matching a wine you are serving – all of these are potential themes for a plate. Alternately, a non-theme will work too. Picking one cheese each from the category of milk types –sheep, goat, cow – can create a cheese plate with textural, flavor, and visual variety. If you are totally lost, ask your friendly cheesemonger for advice – that’s what they are there for!
2. Keep your numbers odd. Cheese plates should have an odd number of cheeses – 3, 5, 7, etc. – rather than even. This is a guideline; you could serve 4 or 6 if you like, but the balance of odd numbers is visually pleasing and is reflected in other arts, particularly Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement.
3. 
   
   Arrange your cheeses from mildest to strongest if you are serving cheese as a course. Lay out your cheeses with your mildest cheese at twelve o’clock on the plate, and place the rest of the cheeses – mildest to strongest – clockwise, down and around. Your mildest cheese will end up next to your strongest cheese, if you have a sizable cheese plate. Blues are almost always the strongest cheeses on the plate, followed by washed rind cheeses.
4. Add accompaniments. Other foods can intensify and even change the flavor of cheese. Serve cheeses with a variety of accompaniments like toasted nuts, quince paste (membrillo), slices of pear or apple, dried fruits, wine jelly, Italian mostarda, fig cake, or date cake (and any number of other treats available today). Crackers are good if they are to be used as a palate cleanser, but bread is far more interesting as a vehicle for cheese. Try a bread with nuts and fruits, like a pecan-raisin loaf or cranberry-walnut bread.
5. Pick a drink to go with it. Water is nice, but wine is finer. If you are serving cheese at the end of the meal, the last wine you serve with the entrée can be served with dessert if you don’t want to fuss too much. You can also choose a wine to pair with your cheese course, if you really want to create a dazzler (ask your cheesemonger for advice if you have a broad range of cheeses). With strong blues, nothing beats dessert wines like Port, Tawny Port, Muscat, late harvest Zin, Sauternes, etc. Milder cheeses can be overwhelmed by syrupy dessert wines, so avoid them if you are not serving strong cheeses.

Soon on the roads

I would like to inform the general public that as from next Tuesday I will be on the roads. I therefore, will not assume any responsiblity for potential damages as everyone is now advised to get off the roads as much as possible for the rest of one's life!