Dans la catégorie experience typique Américaine à faire au moins une fois, je vous présente le baseball. Mon premier match c'était à Fenway Park, le terrain de jeu des célèbres Red Sox de Boston, qui est aussi le stade de baseball de plus ancien encore utilisé aux U.S. Tant qu'à faire, autant choisir un stade historique et une équipe mythique non? L'équipe de D.C. c'est les Washington Nationals et elle est plutôt nouvelle. La capitale Américaine avait été privée de son sport national pendant des années, jusqu'à ce que les Expos de Montréal débarquent sous un nouveau nom et branding en 2005, pour la plus grande joie de tout le monde. En contraste au Red Sox et à Fenway qui sont pleins ...
Expat Life
Bon Quatorze Juillet / Have a Tasty Bastille Day
I just got back from a week of holiday back home. Other than that tiny little event when France lost the UEFA championship to Portugal, everything was absolutely wonderful. If anything, I feel like I got an early taste of the Quatorze Juillet since there were flags absolutely everywhere and I sang the Marseillaise like 50 times (it's kind of the de-facto soccer chant for supporters of the French national team.) Seriously, my instagram feed (<-- follow me!) turned completely bleu blanc rouge over the last 2 weeks ;-) At least I get to pretend I'm back in Paris a little longer because tomorrow is our national holiday (you say Bastille Day, and that's ok, I say Quatorze Juillet... ...
Weekend Highlights: Flower Crowns, Mucha and Football
Happy Monday! Did you have a good weekend? After keeping a low profile last weekend and throughout most of the week (I've had the worst cold!) I made up for lost time and had quite a wonderful 3-day weekend. It all started with rosé and flowers on Friday. One of the best part about having friends from different parts of the world is learning about their culture and traditions (oh, and the amazing food too!) On Friday, my friend Bianca showed us how the Finns celebrate summer solstice. Midsommar is one of the most important national holiday in Finland (and it's a big deal in many other Nordic countries too.) While her rooftop does have a fire pit, we didn't light any kokko (bonfires) to ...
Weekend Highlights: Packing, Crabs & Macarons Glacés
In France, in May, it seems that every other weekend is a three day weekend (because it is). Here in the United States we get one May bank holiday for Memorial Day. I rarely get to take advantage of the time off though because my huge annual work conference always falls right around that time. This year is no exception. I'm off to Anaheim on Thursday. It's been a while since my last trip to California, so I actually decided to stick around for a few days afterwards and I'm SO excited. Now I just need to find a place to watch the France-Romania game on June 10th in Venice! I can't believe the Euro cup starts next week!! So I had a pretty low-key weekend, getting everything ready for my trip ...
So You Wanna Visit the White House…?
I'll always remember the first time I toured the East Wing... it was the morning after I met my now husband. I told him I had to make it an early night because I was supposed to be at the White House at 8AM. You know, a typical D.C. excuse ;-) I'd only been in the U.S. and in Washington for 6 months and it was all very exciting for me. I've been fortunate to go inside the White House a few more times since then. And while bowling at the Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley at 1600 Penn* is still on my DC-to-list with slim to no chance ever getting crossed off, I did get to go to the West Wing once and tour the building once during the holiday season. Here what you need to know if you want to visit ...
5 Things I Ate While I Was in Chicago
Another week, another express work-cation, this time to Chicago in the mid-west. I'd been to Chicago a few times before, including for a hot 16 hours last July 4 and back in 1994 during one of my very first trip to the United States. Despite having a lot of meetings, I tried to squeeze in as much sight-seeing as I could in 36 hours, including catching the Van Gogh's Bedrooms exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. And eating of course... Here are some of my favourites from my express “work-cation” in Chicago: LIQUID ENERGY AT INTELLIGENTSIA COFFEE First things first after a 6AM flight from Reagan to O'Hare, I needed caffeine! But not just any coffee would do. I wanted some Intelligentsia ...
Christine and the Queens at the 9:30 Club
Have you heard of Christine and the Queens? Yes!? Then you know how awesome she is! You can skip the rest of this post and just click on this link to buy tickets to see her perform at the 9:30 Club on May 31. French musicians don't grace US stages very often, and when they do, we - Frenchies and francophiles - have a responsibility to go cheer them on. Otherwise, they won't come see us anymore ;-) If you have no idea who Christine and the Queens is then let me introduce you to the best French band you're not listening to right now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs40yxHjTxQ Christine and the Queens is the androgynous alter ego of Héloïse Letissier, a stylish 27-year-old Parisienne who ...
♬ Magnolias for Ever ♪
Des magnolias par centaines | Des magnolias comme autrefois Je ne sais plus comment faire | Les magnolias sont toujours là Current mood today: Claude François for ever! Magnolias will do that to ya ;-) I was looking forward to the beginning of peak bloom for the Washington, DC cherry blossoms this weekend, but the National Park Service has revised the date and pushed it Wednesday March 23-Thursday March 24. Currently blooming, however, are the stunning saucer magnolia trees at the Smithsonian's Enid A. Haupt Garden (right behind the Smithsonian castles.) I think these will hold me over for a few days ;-) ...
For Your Consideration – the Brooklyn Cocktail
It's Oscar time! Have you seen Brooklyn? The coming-of-age period drama about a young Irish immigrant blossoming in 1950s New York City was one of my favourite films last year. As an expat, I loved and related to the delicate way the film covered the immigrant experience and in a sea of rather bleak movies I appreciated the optimism of its characters. Also, Montreal plays the title role of Brooklyn! The boarding house where Saoirse Ronan’s character, Eilis, lives in Brooklyn is actually the Memorial Chapter House of Montreal’s Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, on McGill University's campus! The perfect drink to celebrate this best picture nominees is the classic cocktail that shares its name: ...
Postcard from New York: Going to A Late Show Taping
Here's something free and unique to do if you have a spare afternoon in New York City: attend the live taping of a late (or late-late) night talk-show! I say afternoon, because a) while the shows air in the evening, tapings typically happen earlier that day b) even though you have to book your tickets in advance, there's a lot of waiting around in lines involved before you can actually take your place in the audience. Here’s what my experience attending a live taping of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was like. But first, why The Late Show with Stephen Colbert? I actually watch the show every day and I absolutely love Stephen Colbert. I love his smart humour, and think his guests tend ...
