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Posts from the ‘France’ Category

Mar 27

4 Comments

No. 180: Stravaganza: The Fine Art of Embroidery in Haute Couture

This morning I was thrilled to visit an atelier of another talented artisan, Fabienne Debastiani, at her purple digs in Paris.

Fabienne is a passionate creator of jewelry, costumes and haute couture. She began her career as a dancer and choreographer and her handcrafted designs are heavily influenced by the world of cabaret and Cancan. Her specialty is fine embroidery and her work is breathtaking. Like the flower artists at La Maison Légeron, Fabienne, seems to magically spin gilded thread, tiny beads and sparkling sequence into exquisite, wearable art.

stravaganza=embroidery-paris.jpg

She is another one of Frances treasured artists who is taking care of the details.

source:www.bijoux-stravaganza.fr

source:www.bijoux-stravaganza.fr

All her pieces are one-of-a-kind, and each one reflects her enthusiasm for her craft and for life. Somehow she has managed to continue to combine her love of this unique handcraft with her passion for dance. She choreographs and dances throughout Paris and Versailles and even found the time to choreograph and perform in the Cancan scenes in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. On top of that she has begun to hold embroidery workshops for the public sharing her joy of creating while helping to keep her craft alive. She is versatile and kind, and she moves through many different worlds, some days creating wedding gowns for real princesses, while on other days offering to repair this American’s treasured Siamese beaded clutch.

stravaganza-jewelry-paris3.jpg

The unique artisans of this country continue to astound me and never let me forget how important art is to a culture…just one more thing I love about France.

Mar 24

3 Comments

No. 179: Sylvain Chomet

Very recently a friend introduced me to the animator, illustrator, writer, director, BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated Sylvain Chomet. In the past week I have spent far too much time Googling him and illegally watching his movies. This guy is brilliant.

Born in Maisons-Laffitte in the banlieue of Paris, he started his career drawing and writing print comics. His first feature-length animated film, Les Triplettes de Belleville was nominated for two Oscars in 2003. This was followed seven years later by his next animated film L’Illusionniste (loosely) based on a 1956 script by Jacques Tati about his flawed and troubling relationship with his daughter. It tells the story of a struggling magician and a young woman who idolizes him.

Both films evoke mid-twentieth century French society and are quirky, especially Les Triplettes, which might be more accurately described as a bit on the creepy and Tim Burtonesque-side. While L’Illusionniste is also quirky, it had moments for me that reminded my of the animated film Up – at least in the way it deeply stirred my emotions.

A couple of weeks ago, the Simpsons (an animated American television show, in case you’ve been living under a rock…) gave Chomet the green light to direct the animation for the opening couch scene and add a Gallic twist…cue the snails, force-fed geese, accordion-playing Lisa, and the notoriously high-waisted men’s pants. Take a few seconds to see what I adore about Monsieur Chomet and let me know what you think about him.

 

Vocabulaire

banlieue: suburb

Mar 20

6 Comments

No. 177: Roquette

rue-de-roquette-paris.jpg

Known to us Americans as arugula—I don’t think it is generally loved in my native land. Mais, moi, I find it especially delicious. I am absolutely nutty for its pungent and spicy horseradish-like flavor. A member of the mustard family, the Italians call it ruchetta or rucola. The Greeks say roka. The Brits call it rocket. Superman calls it therapy, and has been growing it on our windowsills since January. Unfortunately two stormy February days knocked out the first crop, but the second crop is starting to take hold, and the third extra crop will be planted this weekend. Roquette is extremely easy and satisfying to grow, even in window boxes and it does well in the cooler spring weather.

It is brilliant with tomatoes, capsicum, radicchio, and shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano, or tossed with slices of pear and Bleu d’Auvergne. It makes a refreshing and tangy pesto accompaniment to meat, and is perfect sprinkled on goat cheese pizza, Italian bruschetta, or tucked into any sandwich.

roquette-salad-paris.jpg

It is a fancy-pants cancer fighting food, a palate cleanser, and as an extra bonus, it is thought to be an aphrodisiac, said to “excite the sexual desire of drowsy people.” Hmmm…

roquette-paris-France.jpg

Maybe this tired mom should pick up an extra demi-kilo at the market tomorrow.

Mar 9

4 Comments

No. 162: France, London-style

I’m traveling to London and environs again to lend support to Button as she auditions for more Musical Theatre programs and to spend time with the much missed Kitcat in Epsom.

I feel like I haven’t been in Paris forever and I have really been missing my life in France. Lucky for me, London seems to (secretly) love the French, as much as I do, as every time I turn around, I seem to run into a little bit of France—London-style, i.e. a bit on the larger (and sometimes slightly cheekier) side of the scale.

As I’ve mentioned before, London is the sixth largest French city in the world with more than 400,000 Frenchies making their home here—in fact, there are more French in London than in Bordeaux.

Here’s a glimpse of why I’m feeling right at home this weekend.

mega-portions
You’d never find a cake this big in France…
at least twice the size you’d find in Paris

These pastries are all at least twice the size of their compatriots in France…but, bigger is not necessarily better…

Maison Ladurée looks just about the same, although with a much smaller selection at this one…

And of course, Pret à Manger, one of my favorite "French" quick food alternatives...

And of course, Pret à Manger, one of my favorite “French” quick food alternatives…

Mar 3

2 Comments

No. 158-159: Better than the Stock Show & Martinique Revisited

I know I have some diehard rodeo and cowboy/girl readers in Colorado and the West, so please don’t be offended, but I have to say, I enjoyed my day at the Salon l’Argiculture this past weekend more than I have ever enjoyed the Great Western Stock Show in Denver. Please don’t throw any rotten tomatoes my way, but I had a heck of a time standing slack-jawed eyeing the fine bovine, porcine, and ovine of France, in, of all places, the Paris exposition hall.

I don’t know what I was thinking it would be like. I tried not to read any blogs or adverts ahead of time so I would be surprised by the French interpretation of a Stock Show. And surprised I was—mostly by the fact that these huge, prize-winning animals were holed up in gay Par-ee. I know France is a country in love with their food, and their high quality ingredients, so it makes sense to showcase them all in their capital city. It’s just that I don’t normally associate the City of Light with livestock.

Now, in a state with a blazing-eyed, 32-foot high (9,000-pound) electric blue, anatomically correct, wild mustang welcoming visitors as they land at their airport (i.e. Denver, Colorado), I find it much easier to make that association. Denver and livestock, they go hand-in-hand.

source: DIA-promo.com

source: DIA-promo.com

So I was very surprised to see this “little” guy, when I walked into the first expo hall at Porte de Versailles…

salon-l'agriculture-paris.jpg

…along with all his friends and competitors.

There were of course the adorable intertwined piglets and baby goats…

…and a few lessons on where our cuts of beef come from…perhaps I should become a vegetarian?

A whole hall dedicated to cats and dogs…hmmm…I don’t want to be eating those.

….hmmm…don't want to eat those...

….hmmm…don’t want to eat those…

And of course, my favorite part, the halls full of artisanal and farm fresh agricultural products.

There were some lunch options you most definitely would NOT find in Denver…

…and I’ve never seen olive oil being pressed or liqueur made from cèpes (mushrooms) in my hometown either.

Nor the cheese, glorious chèvre! There were even milk bars serving both cow’s and goat’s milk.

Et enfin, we were able to revisit Martinique, the French department in the Caribbean where we were lucky enough to create some very happy Christmas memories.

Alors, Yippee-Ki-Yay! Or as we say back in Colorado, “Howdy Folks! Welcome to Golden Paris. Where the West Lives.”

Golden-Colorado-welcome-sign.jpg

 

Mar 1

14 Comments

No. 155: A Munchy, Crunchy Tower

eiffel-tower-benioff.jpg

Imagine how healthy we would be if this was our “food pyramid”…the edible Eiffel Tower…

Feb 24

6 Comments

No. 151: Quiet Restaurants

The new Paramount Theatre at Emerson University, Boston

The new Paramount Theatre at Emerson University, Boston

After following Button around on a 10-day audition whirlwind tour between Boston and New York City, my appreciation for the quiet and calm restaurants of France has only deepened.

Boston-Conservatory.jpg

Holy Smokes! Eating out in America can be agitating.

Between the throbbing red lights at Lolita’s Mexican Restaurant in Boston and the Vanderbilt in Brooklyn serving up pounding heavy metal music at 11 p.m. on a Sunday evening, my vocal cords and eyeballs could use a rest. There is nothing worse than shouting at your girlfriends or daughter between bites of a fancy meal or $15 cocktails.  So glad we had a kitchen to cook in for most of our days in the States.

The best meal we had was a late-lunch at Legal Seafood in Boston (a chain restaurant of all places) because we arrived at 3 p.m. after the lunch crowd and were the sole guests dining. The lobster rolls and crab cakes were wonderfully fresh and the noise level was limited to two expats using our “French voices”, or our inside voices, which Americans seem to have forgotten how to use inside. To top things off there were no flashing lights, no obnoxious soundtrack imposed on our meal, and no one trying to rush us out so they could give the table to the next guest.

The crab cakes in Boston are amazing...

The crab cakes in Boston are amazing…

Lovely lobster roll

Lovely lobster roll

I know some Anglophones complain about restos being so hush-hush in France and the French squelching the fun out of dinnertime, but I am convinced that the unruffled atmosphere in French restaurants makes French food taste even better, is infinitely better for the digestion, and certainly more conducive to cultivating friendships.  Even in a crowded café the noise levels never require you to raise your voice. I couldn’t imagine the French engaging in a shouting conversation over a meal, and I wish it wasn’t the norm in the States too.

While it is always nice to spend some time in my homeland and there are many things I miss, I am happy to be headed home today and am looking forward to enjoying some serene meals en famille surrounded by quiet French voices.

Vocabulaire:

en famille: with family

restos: short for restaurant

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