Not your typical Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving time, I think for everyone in our program, was a difficult time to be abroad. For most of us, it was the first time we had not been with our families for the holiday making us all realize how much we missed home. Thankfully (no pun intended), our program hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for us at Chez François, a very nice French restaurant that looks out onto the Seine. While the dinner was far from traditional, it was absolutely delicious!
Le Potage de Poitrine (Pumpkin Soup) with a Soufflé du Canard Confit (a slice of Duck Confit Soufflé)
La Dinde avec un sauce des cranberries, les champignons, et un purée des patates douces (Turkey with a cranberry sauce served with a side of sautéed mushrooms and mashed sweet potatoes)
New York Cheesecake (translation: New York Cheesecake)
Needless to say I was not thrilled - I was missing mom's apple and pumpkin pies
Post Thanksgiving Dinner a bunch of us decided to go to a staple in our going-out book: Chez George.
Chez George is truely a French wine bar establishment - a place where young french people gather to share bottles of wine and dance the night away in the low-ceilinged "cave" downstairs. The bar (which has a much calmer upstairs environment) dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. During WWII the cave downstairs was home to many Jews who were in hiding during the Nazi occupancy of Paris. To pay homage to this about every hour Hava Naglia is played, and is truly a favorite of everyone in the bar. Other songs include selections from the Beatles, Edith Piaf, and other great classic songs.
Some people dancing the night away in the cave
one of the bartenders loves Paloma!
This creepy flower man comes every night. He loves Clara (a french friend we have made because of Chez George) and gives her a flower when ever she is there. He has started giving me one too - not sure why but it is weird. haha!
Denney and our friend Sana dancing with one of the free flowers we received
Cooking Class
One of the things that was on my Paris bucket list was to take a cooking class. Well it finally happened Friday night at this adorable place in Hotel de Ville. On the menu for the night was Fricassée de Volaille au cidre et pommes caramélisées (caramelized apples and chicken with a creamy mushroom and onion sauce). A really fun experience was made all the more fun after we started talking to Bill, the only man in our class of 12 (the rest were young girls). After telling us that he used to be a professor at Rutger's and is now retired and staying indefinitely in Paris he asked where we all went to school. When he got to me and I responded with Richmond his eyes lit up! He too was a Spider! And was very excited to learn that there were two other girls in the class that night who are from UR as well. Its funny how small the world is.
Me with Bill, Jaclyn and Lisa - Spider reppin' in Paris!
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