Apr 20, 2013

A visit to Musée du vin

Today I went to the Musée du vin with other students in the program and had the first wine class in my life! The class includes a brief introduction to the production of wine/fromage and the definition of some techinical terms such as AOC, croûte, etc. Then we tasted five different kind of wine and their corresponding fromage. The whole class lasted two hours and it was SO MUCH FUN! Here is the link to the museum: http://www.museeduvinparis.com/francais/

The museum situates in a cave close to the metro station Passy. After entering the cave, I was greeted by an aroma of wine and strong humidity. Then I took a quick tour in the museum and saw the ancient tools for wine-fabrication. They look no different from the weapons.. Andry and I made a conclusion that in the past people use these tools to work and protect family members. Assez economique, n'est-ce pas?


Then comes the main part - cours de dégustation!
Some basic knowledge: wines are classified according to the production area of the grapes, whereas cheese is classified by the type of milk and the production method. Generally speaking, white wine goes well with more kinds of cheese than red wine does; salty cheese goes with sweet wine. At this moment I would interpret the match as a balance of taste (beginner level..). There are eight categories of cheeses according to their degree of l'affinage (maturity). The longer the "affinage" lasts, the harder the cheese is. Below is a plate of five different cheeses that go with specific kinds of wine. The one in the round shape is chèvre (goat cheese), the one on the left is roquefort (blue cheese, strong smell), the little white soft piece is brie. I did not get the names of the other two, but I remember that the one on the right would turn orange as it's exposed in the air, and the triangular one is the softest among all.


Wine number one is white wine that has a fruity smell. It tastes acid and narrow (excuse me for this abstract word; my wine vocabulary definitely needs developing..). matches with goat cheese.
Wine number two, Arbois, is also white wine. It is a bit mature than the first one and therefore has a more sophisticated taste. It goes with the triangle shape cheese, which is my favorite combination. The cheese itself is not strong at all, but when you sip at the glass after having a piece of cheese, the taste of chees comes back to your mouth and becomes stronger. What a magic chemical reaction!

Wine number three is red wine. Fabricated in Château Labastidié, 2008. When paired with the brie cheese, they create dry feeling in the mouth.

Wine number four is another red wine, more ageing compared to the previous one. In terms of color, this glass looks a little bit more purple and is more transparent. Just a sip and you will feel the warmth coming through your body.

 Wine number five is a kind that I've never tasted before. Although it belongs to the white wine family, its flavour is unlike other white wines. Sweet, light, fresh, the Sauternes tastes more like juice than wine. This dessert-like white wine softens the flavor of blue cheese and creates a balance.


The end of the class.. Tout le monde était content!! Merci beaucoup musée du vin!!


Apr 18, 2013

Shakespeare and Company

The quietness of the Latin Quarter. Any street corner is natually a painting.


 The famous Shakespeare and Company - always crowded by tourists, true book lovers, and pretend-to-be book lovers. The first time I saw this shop, I was more excited than the first time I saw the Eiffell tower, no kidding.


The iron gate leads us to the poetry garden.

What I love most about this bookshop is actually the second floor. A free public space, it allows people to read all the books on the bookshelves. The interior is well preserved and one could imagine studying in his grandfather's studyroom.

Not serious food

I have always been passionate about not-so-serious food such as dessert, afternoon tea and entrée. Below is a list of such food that hopefully would make you happy simply by looking at them :)


1. Macaron, of course. Not a big fan of this delicate dessert, but I thought I should at least try once since I'm in Paris. I bought a box of 7 macaron at Pierre Hermé, which is not available in the U.S yet. They just lunched a collection of Japanese Garden, which including some exotic flavor like matcha(my favorite!). I have to admit that after tasting these macarons, my indifference for this little creature turns to slight-addiction. These macarons are not too sweet. The lemon/orange/craneberry flavors are fruity enough. I would write a complete report after tasting macarons from different pâtisseries, even those from McDonald's!



2. Afternoon tea. A cup of coffee on the terrasse du café makes a perfect afternoon.


3. Light breakfast. One morning I made myself a banana bread pudding, and it turned out pretty good.


4. Oeuf-coque. Ok, I know it looks fancy but it's actually pretty easy to prepare. A half-boiled egg with buttered bread stick, what could be easier?

Apr 1, 2013

Sacré-Coeur et Jardin du Luxembourg

I finally met with my group and moved in my host family. It's so good to settle down in a place and have a home. My host family is located in 18th arrondissement, which is also known as the district of Montmartre. The two most famous spots here are Sacré-coeur and Moulin Rouge. Montmartre was favored by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Vincent van Gogh. Well.. enough for background knowledge, let's take a closer look at this area!
Dining area of my host family. I love the wooden table, chairs and shelves because they are perfectly in accordance with the tone of the neighborhood.

On my way up to the Sacré-Coeur. Lots of studios of artists can be found here.

 
 The back of Sacré-Coeur

The detail of front exterior.

 Voila! The breath-taking view from the top of Montmartre. This is definitely a great place to look at the sunrise. Can you see the sacred light?

The next day, my friends and I took an experimental trip to hour school in order to get familiar with the route. We had lunch together and then took a walk in Jardin du Luxembourg, which is 200 meters away from my school.
 A typical french meal: tartine baked with goat cheese and honey + salad.

 
 Full view of the center of the garden. People relaxing around the pond.


The huge building is Palais du Luxembourg and the pond at the front is one of the famous places for the children- you can see small sailboats everywhere.

Another thing I noticed about Paris is that no matter what day it is, as long as the museums are open, they are always flooded with people who are eager to appreciate artworks. Today is the last day of Easter break (dete de Pâques), when most boutiques and boulangeries are closed. On my way home, I walked past Musée du Luxembourg and saw a long line outside the door, which reminded me of a similar scene at Musée d'art Naïf, a small museum for contemporary art in Montmartre.
The beauty of Paris comes from inside.