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Monday, May 07, 2007

Man About Town

Yesterday, Olaiya took me to the open air market where she used to spend her Sunday mornings. Our mission was to get fresh veggies for some upcoming dinners, experience the Moraccan crepes and (of course) take photos. Olaiya is religious about the honey, goat cheese and spicy olive crepes, but I had to try the mixed vegetable one as well. Lucky thing, as it was the greatest breakfast I have ever eaten in my whole life! Between the hot Moraccan mint tea (which would surely turn into one giant sugar crystal if you let it cool down and then bumped it) and the waffle I had for dessert, I was on an unstoppable sugar high for the next hour or so.


Yes, that giant pickled onion WAS the best part!


We spent the subsequent afternoon picnicking out at Villers la Ville, a ruined abbey first established in the 12th century. Wandering the abbey grounds mobilized every bit of adolescent Dungeons and Dragons and Society for Creative Anachronisms flavor left in me. We even found a creepy basement area that was unlit and flooded with water. If only we had torches and 50' lengths of rope... and perhaps some 10 foot poles and iron rations... then we really could have investigated!


Creepy greystone castle walls and dramatic arches!


Later we had a wonderful dinner with Michel, Cecilia (de Chile) and their lovely children Emma and Victor. They are renovating a fantasic old three-story house in the outskirts of town. Olaiya brought their children some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans... hilarity ensued. While translating the flavors for the wee ones, I learned the French expression for booger: crotte de nez.

In unrelated news, France decided to elect some snotgobbler president.

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8 Comments:

At 5/07/2007 04:04:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Dude... if you want to bring anything, bring me one of those crepes. Now THAT's something you can't really get in Dublin. Mmmnnn... I'm starting to worry that our corner of Europe is going to be mighty bland in comparison. Good thing it'll be brief, no time to get bored with it!

 
At 5/07/2007 06:10:00 AM, Blogger wheylona said...

Excellent reportage, keep it up as I lurk away in my little corner of southern Europe and dream of getting up to your current corner of Europe!

 
At 5/07/2007 02:01:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sounds like a great trip. I've decided to save all of the intakes until you got back, so enjoy yourself while you still can!

 
At 5/07/2007 05:56:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It seems to me, in order to make the word "yours", you had the perfect opportunity to use your new phrase (crotte de nez) in your description of the new French president....~Pam

 
At 5/08/2007 02:10:00 AM, Blogger John said...

Ah but Pam... I wanted you, the reader, to make the connection. For me to say it directly... well, that would be too obvious wouldn't it?

 
At 5/08/2007 03:27:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh heck no. We love obvious. And I was just thinking of the educational opportunities for you that you don't want to pass up. ~p

And hooray, the bloggods are finally letting me comment in your hallowed space.

 
At 5/08/2007 12:08:00 PM, Blogger "Yojimbo_5" said...

Long in the draft stage, has been a post called "The Best Meal You've Ever Had," and, like you, mine occurred across the Pond, counter-intuitively, in Scotland.

Someday I'll publish it....*sigh*

Meanwhile, I'm writing your breakfast down in my little culinary book of "Things I Gotta try"

 
At 5/09/2007 10:53:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ok, flash from the self-involved world of Mel....dude you're in Europe??!! Brilliant!!

So, I am obviously not keeping up in blogland here, yet glad you are out and about and able to now share in some of Olaiya's pre-Seattle world.

Hey, maybe one day we could all get together and share swear words in as many languages as possible...Yeah, I know snot is not a swear word per say, yet vulgar words sounded too harsh.

Ok, it is time for me to go back into my cave...

 

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