I actually love summer… I don’t mind fall, but it reminds me that winter is coming, so I’m usually sad when labour days comes around. That being said, there are actually quite a lot to look forward to in D.C. in the fall. Here are 5 events happening in Washington this September that I’m particularly excited about: THE DC SHORT FILM FESTIVAL I have a short attention span, so seeing 7-9 movies in 90 minutes sounds pretty great to me. The DC Short Film Festival runs from Septembre 8-18, 2016 and showcases 131 films from 33 nations around the world, including plenty from France. A lot of the festival is geared towards aspiring filmmakers, with practical workshops on fundraising to finance your ...
Local DC
Weekend Highlights ~ Low Key Labour Day
The first Monday of September is always Labor Day in the United States. It honors American workers and their contributions to the strength of the country. It's also considered the unofficial end of summer... le sigh. DRINKS AT THE WATERGATE HOTEL We kicked off the weekend with happy hour at the Next Whisky Bar in the newly opened Watergate Hotel. Of course, everyone knows of the Watergate from the history books and the role it played in the demise of president Richard Nixon. But today, it's a complex of 5 buildings right by the Kennedy Center. One of those building is now a landmark hotel overlooking the Potomac River and I hadn't been yet since it reopened in June (it was closed for ...
Les 5 Produits Français que j’Achète à World Market
Vous connaissez World Market? J'adore!! C'est une chaine de magasins ici où l'on trouve un peu de tout que ce soit pour le décor, les meubles, mais aussi des bijoux et de la nourritures venus ou inspirés des quatres coins du monde. Le mien est un peu plus petit, on n'y trouve pas de produits alcoolisés (certains ont un super choix de vins et de bière) ni de meubles, vaisselles etc. En fait, c'est juste un petit rayon dans mon Bed Bath & Beyond local près du Verizon Center. Mais c'est le rayon le plus important! Celui de l'alimentation ;-) Voici quelques uns de mes produits français préférés que j'achète à World Market. LE SEL DE GUERANDE Le sel de Guérande est un sel de mer naturel ...
What’s the Best Baguette in Washington, DC?
I've lived in the District for over 10 years now and as the French expat one of the top question I usually get asked is "where can I find good bread?" Usually it's recent transplants from France asking... The answer partially depend on where you live I guess. I mean, Bread Furst probably makes the best baguette in the city. But I live in Shaw. It's bad enough I have to spend close to $3 for bread, I'm not trekking all the way across town on top of it. So I get my baguette mostly at A Baked Joint now, and occasionally at Paul or Le Pain Quotidien. Two places where I would never buy bread back home...but hey, I have limited options here ;-) Of course, Parisians take their bread very ...
Weekend Highlights ~ Restaurant Week, Caipirinhas & Grilled Peach Pizza
Definitely another low-key weekend... sometimes you just need some of those you know, especially as I gear up Diner en Blanc next Saturday. Friday night, I had a couple of girlfriends over for rosé on the roof. My friends Jean and Aparna can't make it to diner en blanc, so we thought we'd dress in white and have a bit of a test run. I'm being a bit of a rebel this year and sprinkling hints of gold into my tablescape so I wanted to check out how it looked. Plus I love any excuse to host. I think it turned out pretty well no? I wanted to keep things simple for the menu so I made Martha Stewart's Grilled Peach Pizza recipe as well as a pitcher of caipirinhas (check out my recipe here, along ...
Soirée Guerre des Etoiles au Match de Baseball
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 ...
Happy Watermelon Day!
Rather than give you a French inspired recipe using summer's most refreshing fruit, pastèque, I give you one of the most colourful house in Washington, DC and one of my favourite piece of street art in the city: the Watermelon house!! The row house is located at 1112 Q Street near Logan Circle. Its exposed side has been painted in pink and green to resemble a has a watermelon slice, complete with seeds. Story has it all started with a bad paint job and since everything I know about Logan Circle's famed Watermelon House I know from this Washington Post article, you can read all about it there too. Oh, and if you really want some recipes, I do have two super refreshing ones for you right ...
Weekend Highlights ~ It’s Getting Hot In Here
It’s been a scorcher of a weekend here in Washington, D.C. with temperatures in the high 90s and very little breeze. With that in mind, I tried to beat the heat by staying indoors and pretending the icebergs at the National Building Museum were real and not just made of translucent polycarbonate panels! And yes, there was pastis and rosé involved, of course ;-) Friday night I actually stayed in and finally watched Mustang, which is currently streaming on Netflix. Mustang was nominated for a Best Picture in a Foreign Language at the Oscars this year as France’s entry, though it eventually lost to Son of Saul. I was a little disconcerted at first that it was picked to represent France, given ...
New Chinese Zodiac Sign Crosswalk in Chinatown
What's your Chinese Zodiac sign? I'm a goat, personally, and loved spotting my sign's symbol at the intersection of 7th and H streets NW in Chinatown. Six years ago, that busy intersection got a little more interesting when it became a "barnes dance" crosswalk (also known as pedestrian scramble) meaning people could cross it in every direction, including diagonally, at the same time. Now the diagonal section of the crosswalk was just enhanced by a permanent two-dimensional artwork featuring colourful dragons -- Chinese dragons of course, because the city tries *very* hard to give its Chinatown a semblance of Chinese identity ;-) The installation was done by Alternative Paving ...
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 ...
