Paris

About almost a month ago Ely and I were in Paris, enjoying a 6-day holiday with my parents, my brother and his girlfriend. As told in a previous post, it was the occasion to celebrate my parent's 34th anniversary of marriage and also a chance to spend more time together.

Considering all the needs of the group and for the economy of the stay, I found a flat for rent right in the centre of Paris, between Opéra and Musee du Louvre, on the Grand Boulevards, just south of Montmatre. It was perfectly located on a very nice boulevard, full of shops, restaurants, cafes and very close to a Metropolitain station, that made moving around very easy. The owner of the flat didn't speak any Italian or English, so despite I don't speak French (except a few easy useful words) I understood quite enough to know the basics for using the facilities of the flat, open and close the door and use the heater. The flat was clean, but not very big, especially for 6 people. It was composed by a room with kitchen, a table with 6 chairs, a double bed and some closets and a bathroom. There was also a little stair that gave us access to a loft where there was just barely the space to sleep for 4 people on mattresses lye on a wooden floor. Linen and towels were provided and clean. Therefore this apartment's entrance was at the ground floor of an inner court of a building whose access was on the main boulevard. This helped to don't have the need to use stairs and heavy luggage to lift...In general this is my opinion about the flat: it wasn't luxury or big, but very nice and in a perfect location. Great choice! If you need to stay in Paris with a budget, I'll suggest it!

The first day we were very tired, because we had to leave Trento in the middle of the night to arrive in Milan Malpensa on time to catch the first flight to Paris in the morning at 7.00 am. At about 10.30am we were right in Paris city centre, at our apartment address. After settling in the apartment Ely and I couldn't stay in and rest, we just wanted to go out and explore the area and have a walk. The rest of the group decided to stay in and sleep a little bit. Ely and I had a nice walk to the Opéra, Place Vendome, Place de la Concorde and all the way down to Jardins des Tuileries, Jardin du Carrousel and we ended at the Louvre, not before eating a fantastic baguette and a french pastry by Paul. So damn good!! We met with the others at the Musee du Louvre and visited some of it with them. Personally I think I have visited this museum 3 or 4 other times before when I visited Paris in the earliest years of college, so I was pretty lazy to walk around the museum and I started to feel all the lost sleep. So I asked Ely if she was feeling like gong to the Musée de L'Orangerie, that was new to me as I haven't visited it yet before. In fact once out of the Louvre the cool air made me feel less sleepy and the view of the fantastic set of Monet paintings and Renoir masterpieces made the rest! I loved this museum!

The second day started with the visit of the biggest flea market of France, known as "Le Puces de St. Ouen". In fact it was very big, with many stalls selling a little bit of everything, but more or less the same stuff. Interesting was the central area of this market, where there were all the shops and stalls of antique dealers. The best stop was resting in a authentic creperie shop...YUMMY!!! Returning to Paris city centre, we divided the group again, because every couples had the plan to visit different museums. Ely and I decided to go to the modern art museum known as Centre Pompidou. It was the first time we visited this gallery, and I must admit that it was one of the best modern and contemporary museum of art I have ever seen.

The third day was dedicated to the visit of the Ile de la Citè with Saint Chapelle and Notre Dame. Then we took the regional train RER and went to Versailles in order to visit the famous Royal Palace. It's huge, sumptuous and golden. It's pure expression of the Grandeur de France that had its maximum example with Luis XVI and Marie Antoniette. All ended in 1789 when their cut heads became the symbols of the French Revolution. But let me say that before the fires of the revolutions...they really had fun in that palace!!!! ;) The gardens are so big that one day isn't enough to visit it all. But we walked and walked and walked...but our trophies and treats were macaroons at the end of a long way to reach the secret country village of the Queen. Incredible!

The fourth day in Paris we went to EuroDisney (Disneyland Paris!). Except my parents that decided to visit the city, my brother, his girlfriend, Ely and I couldn't resist to spend one day in the magic of Disney. It wasn't as emotional as the first time we visited a Disney Park (it was in 2003 when we visited Disney World in Florida!) but it was fun anyway. We couldn't get enough of the Space Mountain ride (Mission 2!). And I also tried the "House of Terror" which was quite of an experience!

The fifth and last day in Paris was dedicated to visit the other landmarks of the city, such as Montmatre in the morning and Champs Elyseés and Tour Eiffel in the afternoon. And of course, finally do some shopping! Ely and I bought food overall and teas at Theòdor, a tea house that we knew thanks for Jenny and whose teas are just amazing!

Here is a summary of all these experiences in a video. Enjoy the view!

Very belated 10 on 10 :: Paris and Versailles

This 10th Ely and I were in Paris with my family for our annual family trip. It was fun, but the weather wasn't really what we expected in May. In fact it was pretty cold and rainy all the time, except right on this 10th, that we decided to spend visiting Ile de la Citè in Paris and The Royal Palace and Gardens of Versailles, only a 35 minutes by RER (regional train) from the Paris city center. Ely made loads and loads of pictures, but these are whose we have chosen for this very belated 10 on 10. Enjoy!

On the wall

Recently we have moved into the new office and Ely was nominated to be the decoration designer for all the different spaces. We still had some interesting modern paintings in the old office, and we adapted them in the new one, finding the perfect location for each of them. But we still needed some more pictures on the walls.

So we had together the idea to create a double colored wall, from the entrance along all the corridor that connects the offices, with 2 different shades of sand/kaki that creates a color bend that is a sort of direction sign to follow to reach the offices, but also a decorative artistic motif. Inside this band, we decided to put some squared metallic frames and we used some photos taken by Ely during our travels. We did some editing, transforming the photos into black and white and in a couple of cases using a lens effect for the light, but the final result of this work is amazing. We love how it came out.

As promised, we will soon post the pictures of the new office, but for now here is the set of pictures that now are on the wall and that accompany us during our work day.

Dubai - 2009

Seattle - 2008

San Francisco - 2004

London - 2010

Lisbon - 2009

London - 2009

London - 2010

Seattle - 2008

Welcome "Cioccorina"

"Cioccorina" is the name that Ely wanted to give to our new car.

It's a long time that Ely and I were looking for a bargain to buy a Mini as a substitute of our old car that was in need of massive repairs and a full check-up. I bet it would have needed thousands of Euros to fix all of it. So my friend David found me this barely new (it's used, but only by BMW, not for private use!) Mini Cooper Clubman with the colors Ely and I were looking for and it was love at the first sight!!!

Despite the price wasn't really economic, we have decided to get it, also in consideration of the high standards and the comfort that this car combines with a great design and driving it is really a pleasure. I would like to travel somewhere with this little mechanical jewel as soon as possible. At the moment, the furthest we travelled was my grandparent's place for Easter...

Inside it has quite an old asset, that mirrors the inside of the old Mini. The chose of the colors inside also found our tastes and we can also connect our i-Phone to the stereo car system to listen our music. It's great!

There isn't any in-car navigation system, but I have my Garmin Nuvi that is a great navigator and I will use it when necessary.

Ely wanted to put inside a teddy bear and a little cushion to make it more comfortable and fancy...ahhh girls! I told her I wanted it more manly...but girls always win!!! ;(

Welcome, "Cioccorina"! ;)

A new cupcake set

New cupcakes baked and decorated and now ready to be eaten...

...this time we made Banana and Chocolate Cupcakes. Delicious, with a sprinkle of cinnamon and ginger in the dough and a fabulous chocolate frosting . What a treat!

;)

Happy Easter

Tomorrow is Easter. We have plans to spend it with Ely's family (parents, sister and sister's boyfriend) in Pieve di Bono, where my grandparents live, so I'll have the chance to spend some time with them and also with my aunts, uncles and cousins.

Weather's forecasts aren't good at all here in the north. Tomorrow it will be rainy and cold. Lately we have been having a terrible weather and, despite Spring seemed to have arrived (we ate out something like a week ago or so!!!), now temperatures have fallen down and on the mountains it keeps on snowing. We want our Spring baaaack! :(( All my new plants on the balcony are suffering very much and my just-bought basil has almost died the other night because it was freezing outside!!! boo hoo...I am starting to think that my gardening skills are pretty disastrous! :((

By the way, as tradition wants, today Ely and I have baked the Neapolitan Pastiera, the most typical Easter sweet of Neaple. My father is a great fan of this rich sweet, because it reminds him of his childhood in Neaple and he always remembers when my grandfather (his father!) spent days baking Pastiera for all the family. In fact it is quite a difficult sweet to prepare, because it has many and very particular ingredients (some impossible to find here in Trento, but last time Ely's mother went to Ischia, she bought us some of them!), different preparations and a food processor is needed to mince all the ingredients for the filling of the shortcrust pastry. On the internet you can find many different recipes for Pastiera, but this is one of the best (it's my grandparent's original one):

ORIGINAL PASTIERA NAPOLETANA

(ingredients for 2 cakes of about 30-35 cm in diameter)

Ingredients for the filling:

PREPARATION 1:

• 1 tin (about 450 gr) of soft wheat kernels (grano)
• 100 gr whole milk
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 30 gr of butter

PREPARATION 2:

• 700 gr of whole milk ricotta
• 600 gr of white sugar
• 5 eggs and 2 yolks
• Orange flowers water
• Vanilla extracts

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry:

• Use that one ready-to-use (freezed of fresh!). Otherwise follow this:
• 6 T. butter
• 1 1/2 C. flour
• 1/4 C. sugar
• 3 extra large egg yolks

For the pastry:

Mix the flour and sugar in a bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Mix in the egg yolks. Gather the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

For the filling:

In a pan put together all the ingredients of "preparation 1" and cook for 10 minutes until it is well mixed. Afterward put this preparation in a food processor and mince very finely until it becomes like a cream. In another bowl put together all the ingredients of "preparation 2" and stir well until all is well mixed and soft. Add this to the cream in the food processor and mix it well until the 2 preparations are well incorporated and mixed together.

For the baking:

For the base of this sweet, it is necessary to cook it into an aluminum baking tin. Baste this tin well and add some grated bread (so the cake will not attach!). You can buy ready-to-use (freezed or fresh) shortcrust pastry to use as base of the filling just prepared. Otherwise take the dough out of the fridge and stretch it out until it is thin enough at your own choice and taste. Cut the shortcrust pastry to fit the size of the baking tin, and cover it with the pastry. Fill the pastry with the mix prepared before until it reaches the edges of the shortcrust pastry. Prepare little stripes of pastry and decorate the top of the filling. Put in oven (pre-heated) at 150°C for about 1 hour (but it can be more time) until the top of the Pastiera light browns (like it was caramelized). Remove from the oven and let it stand in the pan until cool. Serve when cool or refrigerated...the next day is even better. It can last more than a week in the fridge.

This sweet tastes like flowers. It's a jubilation of spring flavors. It something unique, to try once in a lifetime at least. Wish I could share it with all my friends close and far. :))

Do you have a typical Easter sweet that you bake or buy every year?

Happy Easter everybody! Eat a lot of chocolate! :))

-M&E

Sushi take away

Finally we have found a place here in Trento where it's possible to find a good take-away ready-to-eat sushi at a reasonable price. It's a wholesale grocery shop (Metro) that usually has a very good fish selling area and last time we went to shop, we found this interesting sushi corner. We couldn't resist to get one tray of sushi to try and - as we had Ely's sister over for dinner - for the occasion we also prepared japanese noodles (bought at the great Japan Center in London last time we visited the UK capital!) with teriyaki chicken and soy sauce. This japanese dinner was really good at the end and the sushi was the highlight of it. It might sound quite primitive, but here in Trento and surroundings there aren't proper japanese restaurants or sushi bars. Most of the japanese food you can find is in Chinese restaurants that have added at their menus japanese food. So for finding something decent we have to go at least to Verona.

But this find at the Metro shop changes everything!

Happy sushi everybody!

-M&E