Another example of why I love my neighborhood...

This evening when we were taking our regular walk through Fort Greene Park we came upon an event kicking off the several month long centennial celebration of the monument in the Park. There was some opera singing, and a movie screening of the film 1776. We didn't stay for much of the movie since I'm not such a fan of musicals, but it was great that we just stumbled upon such a fun event.

My goal of this summer was to make BBQ pizza, actually an unfulfilled goal of last summer carried over to this summer. With the fall winds just starting to be felt in Brooklyn I finally got a chance to make my BBQ pizza and it went off without a hitch. We got our dough from Luigi's, loaded up my bike saddle bags with all the fixings, strapped the grill to Adrien's bike and biked over to Daniel and Ann's for the BBQ-ing. Sure the first couple text pizza didn't come out quite right, but once I got the technique down they were delicious. I was even able to get the crust perfectly crisped, with the toppings melted.

We went this week to Portland to spend time with Adrien's parents. Considering his grandfather had just past away it was a somber trip. We tried to make the most of the trip, because we both agreed we probably won't be heading back to Portland any time soon. For now our home is in New York and we won't to make the most out of our living here. Here are a bunch of pictures with a brief description of what we did in Portland.

The morning after we got in Adrien and I visited our favorite Portland restaurant, the Screen Door. I had an amazing waffle smothered in strawberries, and Adrien is clearly enjoying the Cathead Biscuit sandwich filled with egg, cheese and Bacon (so named the cathead for the biscuit being as big as a cat head.)



We took a dinner river cruise with Adrien's parents, taking in the sites of the city and surrounding area by boat.



One night we got away to Olympia to hang out with my friend Alison, along the way we pigged out on amazing fresh local blackberry milk shakes and fries at the only fast food joint I actually like- Burgerville.



We hung out a bunch with one of Adrien's good friends from high school- Colin. It was great hanging out with Colin because he would indulge my Portland diet of Whiskey and sweets. Here is my delicious cupcake from the amazing Saint Cupcakes, and a picture of Colin watching in disbelief as I eat a third cupcake.

We woke up earlier than usual today to make it to the market bright and early for some breakfast treats. We got the biggest, most beautiful, most delicious brioche I had ever encountered.



We tried going to the Muse d’Orsay but the line was hundreds of people long so we went to the Pantheon instead. I accidentally joined up with a tour group when I attempted to go to the upstairs areas, but was glad I had because as it turns out the tour group got to climb the almost all the way to the top, in the area with the large round columns, and get a 360-degree view of Paris. It was an amazing view.














By afternoon we were tired, so we lounged around at a café near the pantheon. Since I was so shocked at the prices of the cappuccinos here I have switched to ordering noisette, a shot of espresso with just a bit of cream.



To celebrate Ben’s birthday and our last night in town we went out to an Authentic French restaurant. Ben had dunk, Adrien a rabbit stew, and I had a strange veggie plate consisting of overcooked spinach, leeks, and haricot verts, with about 6 pieces of tube pasta. Although the French have amazing pastries, and crepes, and cheese; they are not so good at the vegetarian cuisine.







For desert we came back to Ben’s for amazing pastries we had gotten earlier in the day paired with some of the best champagne I’ve had.

After having a bit too much to drink last night, today was a tired-hung over day. We woke up late and fed our hangover croissants and baguette with nutella from our favorite bakery. Check out how amazing their pastries are.



We met up with Ben mid-day and attempted to shop for clothes for Adrien but didn’t find anything we liked. So we sat around at a café drinking coffee, eating pizza and watching the street. In the late afternoon Adrien and I went to the northern part of the city to stroll through the Park de la Villette. The park is filled with whimsical bright red buildings, called follies, that serve as cafes, children’s activity centers, first aid centers, information and look our points spread throughout the park. Here are a bunch of pictures from the park.

Part of a massive playground.



Some of the follies.







Some sculptures.





After going to the park we came home and lounged around for the rest of the evening. For dinner we picked up quick food from our street- Adrien had a falafel sandwich and I had yet another crepe.

Ben came over to our apartment early and we started the day with some amazing croissants from a bakery near our apartment, Eric Kayser. We then all headed over to one of the oldest continuously running markets in Paris, a market that runs along Moufftard st (sp?). We got a small stack of choux for snacking, and a roasted chicken and pasta for dinner that night.







While in the market area we stopped at a caffe to get a few coffees, with both Ben and Adrien getting espressos and a cappuccino for me. I was shocked at the price of my cappuccino when we got the bill.



After the market we went to a southern part of town, the 15th, to see a building dedicated to artist studios Adrien had learned about in school. The surrounding area was very quite and very residential.



We then headed far north to one of the most crowded tourist filled areas of Paris we have been to- Montmartre. It might have been beautiful if not for the tens of thousands of tourists.





We came back to our apartment where we heated up our market bought rotisserie chicken and cooked the fresh pasta and haricot verts. We had some delicious white wine with the meal. For desert Ben had brought over some cheese and fruit and chocolate, which we had half a bottle of red wine with.



After our wonderful meal we picked up another bottle of white wine from the grocery near the apartment and took it to the Seine and drank it out of some old glass pots left over from our yogurt.





We then met up with a friend of Bens and went out to a Scottish bar and then a bar in a bookstore. I was particularly fond of the bar in the book store.



We got home late, and a bit drunk, but all in all it was a fun evening.

Other than the crepes, we haven’t been too impressed with the French cafes we have been to. So today we started the day at the Market Maubert near our apartment. At the market we picked up ingredients for breakfast and dinner. Ben came over and shared in our breakfast feast. We served scrambled eggs with fried leeks, fresh yogurt in cute glass pots, strawberries and raspberries, fresh baguette and croissants with butter and nutella. Unfortunately pictures were not taken of our lovely spread.





After breakfast we drank coffee from a café near Ben’s place. I had the most amazing cappuccino as seen bellow.



We went on a treck out to a building I had wanted to see, Grande Arche at La Defense. La Defense is a modern business and financial district, with a few people living there and a very modern mall. We walked around the area, and rode up the elevators for an impressive view of the city. The building is big enough to fit Notre Dame inside the arch. The last picture is from the top of the building, you can slightly see the Eiffel Tower in the picture.







Here is Adrien and Ben in front of a big art piece.



I was blown away by a fancy Mc Donalds located on the edge of the mall.





In the afternoon Adrien and I went and saw the Quai Branly, a Museum Adrien had learned about in school for its innovative architecture.



We continued on the Museum trend going next to the Palais de Tokyo and the Musee d’ Art Moderne de la ville de Paris. Both are located in a somewhat run down but beautiful building. The Palais de Tokyo clearly tries to bring in younger audiences with their hours extending til midnight most nights. In the front of the building teenagers skateboarded, tagged the walls, and hung out. I was surprised it was so run down considering its just a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower.



For dinner we had our pasta from the market, along with some amazing haricot verts. The pasta is two kinds of fresh ravioli- ricotta and basil, and four cheeses. Its great staying in an apartment with a kitchen to make the most of the wonderful markets with their fresh finds. For desert we ate nutella crepes sitting on the curb on the street with a jug of milk from the grocery.