Ça y est! Le tout nouveau Musée National de l’Histoire et de la Culture Afro-Américaine (l'acronyme c'est NMAAHC en anglais) a ouvert ses portes au public samedi dernier à Washington. Et il les a ouvertes en grande pompe et circonstance, avec l'ancien président George W. Bush, Barack et Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey et plein d'autres célébrités ainsi que deux jours de fête et de concerts sur le National Mall. L'inauguration du NMAAHC c'est l'événement culturel de l'année ici... les billets d'entrée (qui sont gratuits d'ailleurs, comme ceux pour tous les musées nationaux gérés par l'Institution Smithsonian) se sont arrachés comme des petits pains en ligne. Il faut maintenant quasiment ...
Americana
Drink Your Way Through Election Season at Bastille & ENO Wine Bar
It's a time honoured tradition in Washington, DC. We like to drink. We like politics... so every election cycle, whether it's the primaries or the general, local bars come up with politically-themed cocktails. If you're like me and less than thrilled with your options this year (not that I can vote anyway), I'm sure you can use a stiff drink, or five, with a cheesy name poking fun at the candidates. I love it, especially when an awesome French restaurant gets involved. Bastille is one of my favourite French restaurant in the city... well, technically it's not in the city but right outside in Alexandria, VA. It's definitely worth a metro ride to Braddock Road though, and that's saying a lot ...
Aux Etats Unis, en Septembre c’est Football
Ça y est, c'est reparti pour une autre saison de football américain! Même s’il fait encore plus de trente degrés ici, c'est l'automne et l'automne on football (et on citrouille aussi, mais ça c'est un autre sujet!!) La saison est assez courte (pas comme celle de baseball qui dure des mois!) mais très intense parce qu’en plus du football professionnel (les équipes de la NFL, comme les Redskins de Washington, ou les Dolphins à Miami) il y a aussi les équipes des universités… Les matchs pros c'est plutôt le dimanche que ça se joue, mais il y a aussi des matchs le jeudi soir et parfois le lundi. Les rencontres inter-universitaires c'est le samedi, donc en gros, de septembre à décembre il n'y a ...
County State Fair and Baseball Game – An All American Weekend Highlights
It's WAY too hot to spend a lot of time outside... so that's exactly what I did lol. What can I say? I made plans and I wasn't going to let record temperatures stop me ;-) These plans included Star Wars Night at Nationals Park on Saturday (pretty much the only thing that could get me excited about going to a baseball) and the Montgomery County State Fair with my friend Kaoru on Sunday. I mean, if you stay indoors with the AC on, you're basically letting DC's steamy summer weather win and we can't have that!! JASON WU FOR CAUDALIE LAUNCH EVENT I kicked off the weekend Friday night with my bestie at City Center DC where Caudalie was celebrating the launch of their Jason Wu collaboration ...
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 ...
Pokéball Doughnut – Gotta Eat ‘Em All !
Have you been roaming the streets of Washington searching for Pikachu? I returned from Paris to find that Pokémon Go had taken the United States by storm (and of course promptly downloaded the app as well). Over the past week, small business owners and restaurants around the city have been trying to cash in on the popular augmented reality game, advertising their status as Poké Stops, enticing shoppers and dinners by setting up lures and, of course, coming up with pokemon inspired drinks and food. Duffy's Irish Pub near U Street has been particularly keen on all fronts offering Pokémangorita, lures, free wifi and phone chargers. Meanwhile, ever one to give into fads, I made my way to ...
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 ...
Postcard from Los Angeles: All the Street Art
You don't need to head to the Getty or the Broad to see some fabulous art in Los Angeles. Just looking around you, you can't help but notice a ton of great murals adorning the urban landscape throughout the city. Here are a few cool pieces that I stumbled upon during my recent stay in Los Angeles. I grew up in the Marais, so I have razor sharp eyes when it comes to spotting a Space invader piece. This particular one can be seen near the Black Cat in Silver Lake. Also in Silverlake, these colourful staircases. 52 staircases lace the hillsides of Silver Lake, dating back to a time when most residents didn’t have cars. Two of them, #StairTempo and the Micheltorena Stairs, received a boost of ...
Postcard from Chicago: Treats in the Streets
During my latest trip to Chicago, I stumbled upon this really awesome piece of street art. And by stumbled, I mean I had researched the artist in advance, figured out it was the most accessible piece I could get to given where I was staying and my tight work schedule and ubered there ;-) Artist Jim Bachor has been filling the city's many potholes with whimsical mosaics since 2013. In a nod to Belgian surrealist painter Magritte, one of his pieces states "this is not a pothole" in black and white tiles. I loved his most recent series, “Treats in the Streets,” because it combined two things I love: street art and food! The treats in this instance are classic frozen treats mosaic, like the soft ...
