Anouchka Talks

le 31 octobre Happy Halloween!  We are on the road to Bordeaux right now, snacking on pistachios and listening to hits like The Boy Is Mine (Brand & Monica, ca. 1998) and I Got You Babe (Sonny & Cher, ca. 1965) on French radio stations.   La vie est tellement belle! A few hours later... Upon arriving in Bordeaux, Habibi and I discovered that the GPS system we were using vehemently disagreed with our chosen route.  Eventually we hit a stalemate but ended up compromising. As we waited in line behind about ten very eager international tourists to check in at our hotel, I drank it in:  the sketchy neighborhood, the stained carpet in the lobby, the names scratched into the paint of the elevator doors...  Was this Bordeaux, one of the most famous wine regions in the world?  Had the entire city already drunk all the wine, then made all its municipal decisions?  I could appreciate the hotel's attempt of a nautical theme (i.e. decorated with ...

le 29 octobre At last Habibi and I had the chance to sleep in a little bit and recuperate from the activity of the previous two days (eating).  We awoke around 8 a.m., went on a light jog around the picturesque town of Besançon, and picked up a few items for breakfast. Around 12:30 p.m., we returned to my former host family's home in Saint Vit to see their daughter, Hombeline (with whom I had become very close while living with them several years ago), her boyfriend, Alexandre and their dog, Gaspard. Bernard, Agnès, Hombeline, Alexandre Gaspard and Hombeline Hombeline and Alex work together at a gourmet restaurant in Nantua, where Alex is a sous-chef .  For the fourth time in less than three days, we were privileged enough to be guests in the home of excellent hosts and chefs.  Alex gracefully "whipped up" an exquisite lunch that we would never have been able to afford had we dined out.  Come to think of it, all of our major meals up to thi...

le 28 octobre Thanks to mild jet lag and the end of daylight savings in France (they "fall back" a week prior to us in the U.S.), I awoke this morning at around 4:50 a.m.  Unable to get back to sleep, I began to get ready for the day.  As it turns out, it was a good thing we got an early start... For all of our trip outside  of Paris, Habibi and I decided to rent a car; it was economical, convenient and granted us the freedom to come and go as we pleased. Our Peugeot  chariot In order for us to get to the local Hertz rental, we had to take the Métro, making one train change halfway there.  Now, for those of you who have taken the European subways and Métros, you know that they are less than luggage-friendly.  Unless you take great pleasure in hurling your suitcase over the gaps between the trains and the platforms, find joy in squeezing your belongings through narrow, rotating gates, or are invigorated from hauling what you now regret packing up...

le 27 octobre After a full day/night of travel, Habibi and I found ourselves deposited at one of the world's biggest cluster-holes:  Charles de Gaulle airport... Once we de-boarded the plane, we were greeted with the typical hospitality of airport workers and government employees.  We made our way to a pay phone (only 50€ per minute!) and checked in at home before beginning the second longest leg of our day of travel by way of the Paris RER/Métro . Fortunately, public transportation is France is to be commended, despite their confusing announcements about car closures due to rail work or the troubles one must undergo in order to ensure correct ticket purchase.  Although the trip from the airport to our hotel took longer than did our first flight of the journey (55 minutes to a nearby international airport), the RER/Métro functioned beautifully once we got our bearings. Upon arriving at our luxurious (albeit somewhat pricey!) hotel in the 16e arrondissement  ...

As both of you already know, I have absented myself from Anouchka Talks  for a couple of weeks.  Habibi and I have been abroad ( en France! ) since the end of October and elected to go off the proverbial grid... However, I have been diligently journaling throughout our travels and, once we get all our photos organized, I will include my journal entries (both written and photographic) here in a series called France 2012 . With that, I invite you to retroactively join Habibi and me as we journey -by car- through France.  Where better to learn about Gothic architecture, WWII battle history, or that pain au chocolat  is a "sometimes food"?  Together, we will experience everything from  café  to shoes to watching Les Simpsons in your hotel room to living a life of exercise where the only cardio is walking stairs and the only resistance training is hovering over seatless public toilets. So pour yourself un petit  café , grab a croissant ...