Zermatt (2/24-3/3)

After skiing in very organized, purpose-built, Courchevel, we were eager to compare the picturesque and historic Zermatt in Switzerland. Again, it was great to take a European Ski vacation...centered around food and relaxation, rather than daredevil skiing!

Kimberly

For photos, click here.

Zermatt

In many ways Zermatt is the antithesis of Courchevel...certainly anything but a purpose-built resort....which means it's much cuter, but also horribly inconvenient...and the planning that went into the design of the mountain lifts and ski runs...well, there apparently wasn't any planning. To get to the top of the Sunnega mountain, we had to walk for 10 minutes in our skiboots to get to the bottom of the funicular...where we had to walk the length of a football field through a tunnel into the mountain...after the funicular ride, we had to climb a bunch of stairs to get out and then actually had to take an elevator to get to the gondola...yes, it really is that crazy. And the mountain isn't organized in any meaningful way...there are intermediate runs mixed in with blacks, sometimes an easy run leads you to a place where your only option is an intermediate one...

One afternoon, we decided to be adventurous and try a "yellow" run on our way home...yellow means that it's a designated off-piste run...which used to be either intermediate or advanced and is now just marked and not maintained....so we thought it would be OK, but it was the worst thing I have ever seen. We got to this one point where I thought it was a cliff we were supposed to ski around, but no...it was the piste where we were supposed to ski down...all covered in moguls. Then there was another part where I tried to go the "easy" way...only to discover that it led me to a 10 foot rock faced cliff. So I took off my skis and tried to walk/slide back up the mountain and to the side...but I ended up falling off the side of the cliff...probably only a 3-4 foot fall, but enough to scare Dan quite a bit. I was totally fine, just screamed because the freefall was a little scary, but thought it was funny more than anything else...

Oh, and the flat spots! It seems almost every run ends with at least one kilometer of pushing along the flats! We have decided that Zermatt created the phenomenon of "uphill skiing"...I'm not joking. You will ski down a run and then all of a sudden you get to a really flat part...and then at the end it actually goes uphill! And this happens on almost all the runs, even the black ones! (we found only one intermediate that isn't like this.) So apparently your choices are to push your way up the mountain or fall down it....

While the skiing was honestly less than ideal, the mountain is beautiful and the town wonderful. The ambiance is superb and the resort maintains much historic character...and the food is amazing! We rented an apartment, so we have been cooking dinners, but even those have been super tasty! (One night, Dan made roasted potatoes with Raclette cheese to go with our rotisserie chicken!) And just like Courchevel, we are dining like kings at lunch on the mountain!!! Our first day, I had what might have been the best truffle ravioli ever at Findlerhof (027 - 967 25 88 www.findlerhof.ch), on the Sunnega mountain. Another day, we enjoyed a truly gourmet meal at Zum See (027 / 967 20 45 www.zumsee.ch). And yet another day, we finally skied across the border to Italy and enjoyed polenta and gnocchi at Restaurant Bontadini. And the other days we have enjoyed treats like Matterhorn shaped pizzas, rosti, and other funny swiss dishes involving lots of melted cheese. As with Courchevel, you need to reserve a lunch table in advance...preferably a day or two in advance, especially at the more popular places.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't perfectly for us. We were quite lucky to get so much fresh snow during our stay (they hadn't had hardly any the entire month beforehand). But with the fresh snow everyday, came clouds and limited visibility. We lucked out on two days though, when it was sunny and beautiful so we finally got to see the Matterhorn. We lucked out, and one day the links to the Italian side were open, so we skiied down to Cervina (It's an 11 kilometer run!) and had some great pasta and polenta for lunch.

Our last two days, we decided we were too tired to ski anymore (and most of the high elevation lifts were closed due to 88 km/hour winds), so we took Zookie on some Alpine adventures. On Thursday, he rode the train with us up to the Gornergrat, where we went sledding...yeah, dogs and sledding, not such a good match. I don't think he liked it very much. We took the gondola down the other side of the mountain, where we enjoyed some marmot and venison for lunch, followed by the most hilarious apres-ski ever...imagine a hundred quirky europeans in a mountain-side bar, all singing along and dancing to 70s, 80s, & 90s music (like Getting Jiggy With It and YMCA)...and imagine me, Dan, and Zookie in the middle of this...when one of them decides to tease Zookie with an entire bratwurst...yes, our entire side of the bar was watching Zookie as Zookie watched the bratwurst eagerly and sat all prettily and patiently for it...when he asked if he could give Zookie some, we had to say yes, "yes, but just a little bit." (This was Zookie's second bratwurst treat on this trip, and he had already gotten popcorn on a previous apres-ski excursion...or apres-sleep as we like to call it for him!)

Our last day, there was no bratwurst for Zookie, but he was thrilled with the incredible three hour hike we took in the snowy mountains this morning. We hiked to a fabulous mountain hut restaurant (come on, you're not surprised, you know I only hike to gourmet food!), where we indulged on pasta and chocolate mouse, and the owners brought Zookie out his very own water (in a doggie waterdish!)

And then, sadly, it was time to go home. So, two trains, one bus, and nine hours later, we finally arrived in Paris...but with a fabulous souvenir. A French family was sitting next to us on the train to Paris....and their children decided to draw impromptu portraits of both of us...it was way too hilarious when the little boy excited handed Dan his portrait and said "Voila!"...the best part was that he accurately depicted Dan's sad, but continued, attempt to grow a beard!

As with Courchevel, skiing in Zermatt requires a bit more planning than going to your typical US Ski resort. We highly recommend buying one of the very useful resort guides to help you find good restaurants on the mountain, plan your ski route for the day, hire an off-piste guide, and just learn the ins & outs of the place. Our top choice is the Mad Dog Ski Guide, though Zermatt has not been published yet, you can get all the content online. www.maddogski.com/resorts/switzerland/zermatt Another good resource is the Snowmole Guide to Zermatt.

ON MOUNTAIN DINING:

Findlerhof
+41 (0)27 967 2588
A superb restaurant in every way, Findlerhof is situated in the beautiful hamlet of Findeln amongst the barns (stadels), with fantasitc views towards the Matterhorn. As well as many rooms inside and several layers of terracing outside, there is also a conservatory for colder weather. The food is exemplary and Franz and Heidi themselves make sure your meal is nothing but perfect. Truffle Ravioli!!

Zum See
+41 (0)27 967 2045
Set amongst ancient barns (stadels), Zum see is one of Zermatt's most famous and favourite restaurants. A must-visit for any foodie; the cuisine, décor and situation won't fail to impress even the hardest critic. Dishes include lamb fillet, homemade pasta and their infamous Napolean (an amazing pastry and cream dessert).

Marmottes
+41 (0)27 967 8282
Lots of game and innovative preparations. This new restaurant feels fresh, especially compare to the other "alpine decor" options.

Chami-Hitta
+41 (0)27 967 1096
Lovely warm atmosphere with friendly staff and excellent traditional dishes such as Käseschnitte with tomato, onion, egg and ham.

Riffelalp Pavillion Terrace
Matterhorn shaped pizzas and a view of the Matterhorn itself! (No reservations, only outside seating)

Ristorante Bontadini
+39 335 25 03 12
The links to the Italian side (Cervina) were open only one day, so we had the opportunity to eat lunch in Italy only this once. It was tasty, don't think that the Italian food isn't good on the Swiss side...we actually found it even better!) Bring some Euros!

IN TOWN DINING (like I said, we cooked a lot, but here are two recommendations)

Brown Cow
+41 (0)27 967 1931
Hotel Post
(A great place for apres-ski, an afternoon or late night snack of pizza or burgers or bar food. Or even a casual dinner.

Le Mazot
+41 (0)27 966 0606
www.lemazotzermatt.ch
Famous for their lamb dishes: saddle of lamb with rosemary crust (38chf) and other meat dishes like duck breast with orange sauce (37chf), this carnivore-orientated restaurant won't disappoint. Advance booking is key.

APRES-SKI AND NIGHTLIFE

Hennu Stall
www.hennustall.ch
Without a doubt, the most happening apres-ski spot on the mountain. Imagine cheesy 80-90s music, lots of drunk Brits, Germans, and French, and a dog begging for a bratwurst! Great terrace/patio outside with amphitheater seating and dancing to a DJ, live music inside.

Hotel Post
On the main street near the alpine centre, definitely the epi-center of Zermatt nightlife is the hotel post complex. Dance to all the latest hits from international DJs at the Village Dance Club, Open 11pm-3.30am.
Enjoy live music every night of the week, from pop to gospel to rock to jazz in an upmarket sophisticated venue. The Pink Live Music Bar Open 8pm-2am.
Or dance away to a variety of tunes on a wine barrel at the Broken Bar Disco, Open 10pm-3.30am.
When you get the munchies, stop by the Brown Cow for some pizza and burgers -- or come for Apres-Ski and live Six Nations Rugby, Open 9am-2am.
Or for something a bit more upscale and low-key, relax in the cosy lounge bar on the first floor enjoying a cocktail or two at Papa Caesar's Lounge Bar, Open 6pm-2am.

Vernissage
+41 (0)27 967 6636
For a more high-class, trendy experience, check out this combination bar, restaurant, movie theater, art gallery. Very cool place.

Papperla Pub & Schneewittchen Disco
+41 (0)27 967 4040
www.papperlapub.ch
Every time we walked by here, it was completely packed...like uncomfortable and crowded packed. So we never went...but clearly, it is a popular place to go! Especially for in town apres-ski.

Paris in February (2/1-2/28)

February kept the stream of visitors coming to Paris...we had a great time with friends from Stanford and Dan's brother and sister. We even visited Dan's distant relatives who live in Normandy, right near Monet's house at Giverny.

And, after many requests, I have finally taken photos of the school where I work...and my posh doctor's office in the 7th arrondissement near the Eifel Tower.

Kimberly

For photos, click here.

Paris February with Visitors

February was surprisingly warm this year, especially after a very cold December! But we decided that it was our friends Meredith and Jason who brought the good weather with them...as they narrowly escaped a blizzard in NY over Presidents' Day Weekend! Jason lived in Paris a few years ago, so he was thrilled to visit hiss old hood and take us out to a few of his favorite places. The highlight by far was taking in a Line Kruse Jazz concert at Sunset-Sunside (60 Rue des Lombards 01 40 26 46 60 www.sunset-sunside.com).

A few days after Meredith and Jason arrived, Dan's sister Rachelle flew in from Chicago, and his brother, Allan from Boston. Allan actually participated in the same program that we are doing a few years ago. So he was thrilled to reminisce of his days being an Assistant d'Anglais! (He has been teaching Math at Cambridge High School until a recent promotion to Dean!! Yes, Dan's older brother is now that guy who sends you to detention!)

When Allan and Rachelle were here, we visited Allan's old neighborhood where he lived and the schools where he taught in 10th arrondissement. He could not believe how much the neighborhood had changed! Little did he know that the Canal St. Martin had been completely cleaned up and now is the place to be on weekend mornings, when they turn it into a pedestrian playzone.

We also took a cooking class at Atelier des Chefs. This is Dan and my favorite find in Paris. You spend an hour learning how to make two different dishes (a main course and a dessert) and then at the end of the class, you get to eat your creations! They have a lot of different styles of classes offered, and you sign up in advance (usually a week or two) knowing what the recipe is that you will be learning. Classes are in French, but the teacher will usually translate for English speakers. They email you the recipe after the completion of the class (in French only), so you don't even have to take notes. Great fun! www.atelierdeschefs.com

Lastly, we visited two of Dan's distant relatives, Stephan and Blandine Bricka, who live in a little town right next to Giverny in Normandy. We had visited them six years before, when Dan was studying abroad in Spain and I met him in France for his spring break. It was wonderful to see them again. As always, they were great hosts! They showed us around their region: walking us by the hotel where the Americans came to set up their own Impressionist school at Giverny, visiting a Renaissance Castle, and going for coffee at the Chateau de Brécourt. Best of all, they loved Zookie! (This was quite a surprise, since neither of them like dogs...but how could they resist Zookie?!)

More restaurants:

Le Relais de l'Entrecôte
20, rue Saint Benoît -- 75006 Paris -- 01 45 49 16 00
(Allan took us here for a great surprise...Steak-Frites! We had been searching all over Paris for them for months, with no luck. But this is where they were hiding...and it's a good thing that we weren't vegetarians because Steak-Frites is all the restaurant serves. You queue up outside (no reservations) eagerly anticipating your mouthwatering filet. When you sit down, the waitress asks you only two questions: Which wine would you like? How would you like your steak cooked? Delicious!)

Le Petit Prince de Paris
12 rue de Lanneau -- Paris 75005 -- 01 43 54 77 26
(A wonderful tucked away bistro serving great food in a very romantic setting. This restaurant has to offer the best food/value ratio in Paris. Menus are very affordable and the food is divine.)

Creperie de Josselin
67, rue de Montparnasse -- Paris 75014 -- 01 43 20 93 50
Next Door (and open Mondays) Le Petit Josselin
(The best crepes in Paris? We found them! And apparently so have all the other Parisians, given how packed this place always seems to be. These are authentic Breton crepes, served with delicious French Cider (think alcoholic Martinelli's Apple Cider). Come hungry!)

Marriage Freres
www.mariagefreres.com
13 rue des Grands-Augustins -- Paris 75006 -- 01 40 51 82 50 (across the street from our apartment)
30 rue du Bourg-Tibourg -- Paris 75004 -- 01 42 72 28 11 (the original location)
260 Faubourg Saint-Honoré -- Paris 8e -- 01 46 22 18 54 (near the Arc de Triomphe)
(We really cannot believe that we have lived across the street from this famous tea room for all this time and didn't make it inside until now! We were intimidated because we had heard they make you order the full (and expensive) high tea or lunch. Apparently not true! We came twice in a week (once with Meredith and Jason and again with Rachelle and Allan) and had amazing tea and wonderful pastries. The only problem...choosing among the hundreds of teas they have!!)

Courchevel (2/6)

Dan and I actually made the decision to move to France while we were skiing in Lake Tahoe over Martin Luther King Day weekend. Silly as it sounds, one of the main draws was that I have always wanted to ski in the Alps…and if we lived in France, we could go on a European Ski holiday easily. So, we were really looking forward to our first ski adventure in Europe! We managed to sneak away from Paris for an extended weekend, so we had five days to spend at the resort of Courchevel in the French Alps. It was amazing!

Kimberly

For pictures, click here.

Courchevel

Here are the major differences between skiing in Europe and in the U.S.

Most people come for an entire week
-Europeans get significantly more vacation time that we Americans do; so taking an entire week for a ski vacation is perfectly reasonable. This means that the resorts can get people to book for entire weeks, and therefore expect it. Thus, it is really hard to find a hotel or apartment that will even let you stay for less than a week. Oh, and most place even require that you arrive and depart on Saturday. It’s a completely different system. This has other ramifications, such as…

Since people are there for a week, they actually spend a surprisingly small amount of time skiing.
-Why wake up early and rush to be the first on the mountain when you have seven ski days? Slow down. Relax. Go out clubbing at night. Wake up late in the morning….and

Take really long lunches on the mountain
-There really aren’t any self-service cafeterias in the ski resorts. Instead, the expectation is that you will spend at least an hour (if not several) enjoying a leisurely lunch at one of the mountain’s fine dining establishments. This is not like the U.S., where the resort owns and operates all the dining establishments and overcharges you for a reheated frozen hamburger patty because they have a captive audience. All the restaurants are individually owned and operated…and competition usually means for higher quality and better value, right?!
And when I say fine dining, I mean it! There is a range of restaurants, from small family owned places, to high class gourmet restaurants with chandeliers and waiters in tuxedos. No, I am not joking! We enjoyed some very very fine lunches during our trip. Yes, it’s funny when you are wearing your ski clothes and boots and dining on rack of lamb or prawns. But it’s even funnier when you notice that the people at the table next to you have probably consumed one bottle of wine each, in addition to the very strong irish coffees they are just finishing off….and you wonder, “How are they possibly going to ski down the rest of the mountain?”

And the ski territory is enormous!
-Courchevel is one of the many ski resorts that have been linked with other resorts to increase the amount of skiable terrain available to its guests. There are several resorts like this in Europe. Until recently, Les Trois Vallées was the largest. With Courchevel, Meribel, Les Meuniers, St. Martin, and Val Thorens you have over 200 ski lifts and 600 km of ski runs at your doorstep. Another way to look at the expanse of this region is to take a look at how many of the largest ski resorts in the United States can fit into the Trois Vallées region. The former Snow Country magazine concluded that the six largest ski areas in the United States could fit inside Les Trois Vallées. That means that Killington, Vail, Heavenly, Steamboat, Squaw Valley and Park City could all fit inside the space covered by Les Trois Vallées with almost 10,000 acres left over. So you can throw in Jackson Hole, Taos, Sun Valley, Keystone, Crested Butte, Alta, Solitude, Cranmore and Stowe and still have room.

And at least here, when they say linked, they really mean linked. It’s not like trying to ski from the Nevada side of Heavenly to the California side, where you are spending the entire day traversing the mountain. Here, you literally take one or two lifts up from the town and you can immediately ski down to the next resort over!

As if that weren’t enough, you can ski anywhere you like. You don’t have to stay within the boundaries of the ski resorts.
-At most resorts in Europe, if you can see it, you can ski it. There are very few out of bounds areas (most likely due to nature reserves). So, if you feel like trying to ski to the next big town through completely un-maintained snow, go for it. You can’t sue the resort like people do in the U.S., so it’s up to you what kind of risks you want to take. (We didn’t do any off-piste skiing because the snow conditions actually weren’t that good. But if we had decided to, we definitely would have hired a guide to take us out.)

So, all-in-all, skiing in Europe is an amazing experience. We had a wonderful time.

Courchevel is well known not only as a fantastic ski destination and a place for the jet-set to spend their “vacances d’hiver,” but also is often featured as a stage in the Tour de France bike race each July. The resort is actually a collection of four little villages, most of them named after their elevation. Courchevel 1850 is the main village (at 1850 meters above sea-level), with Courchevel 1650, 1550, and the small towns of La Tania (1350) and Le Praz (1300) making up the rest of the resort.

We chose to stay in Courchevel 1650, primarily because the hotels were way too expensive at the main resort of Courchevel 1850 (commonly referred to as the St. Tropez of the Alps...which I would have to say is an appropriate nickname, given the number of furs, atrociously large diamonds, and expensive cars we saw there.) We stayed at Hotel Edelweiss (http://www.courchevel-edelweiss.com/), which was completely fine, and a bargain at only 90€ a night.

We brought Zookie with us to experience the Alpine splendor. Zookie had been to Lake Tahoe several times as a puppy, so this wasn’t his first time in the snow. And, as a Tibetan Terrier, he is actually very well suited for snow playtime. I’m not kidding. His paws are special so that he can run around in the snow without sinking in it…oh and does he love the snow! (or the “neige” as we call it…) We even took him up the mountain on the gondola one day…Yes, you can take your dog on the ski gondola in Europe…I know it’s crazy!

And, as mentioned before, we dined very well! Here were some of the highlights:

Mountain Restaurants
*Note, you must reserve at most of these places for lunch, especially if you want to sit outside. I know it sounds funny, but just do it.

La Soucoupe (Courchevel 1850) 04 79 08 21 34
-Chandeliers, formally dressed waiters, and meats grilled over an open fire. Mmmm! (One of the pricer choices in town though.)

Le Bel Air (Courchevel 1650) 04 79 08 00 93
-Wonderful food and an amazing view off the terrace. This more reasonably priced restaurant (thanks to its location in 1650) was where we had one of our best lunches.

Le Roc Tania (La Tania—Courchevel, just on the border with Meribel) 04 79 08 32 34
-Possibly even better views than the Bel Air. Watch paragliders take off and soar over the alps while enjoying your raclette, lamb chops, or spaghetti. Or you can sit on a sun lounger and sip on a bottle of wine as we saw others doing.

Le Corbeleys (St. Martin de Belleville) 04 79 08 95 31
-We had heard that St. Martin was the most adorable ski village in the Alps..and compared to the purpose-built and relatively characterless Courchevel, it was more atmospheric. However, it sits at a really low elevation, which this year meant there was little snow and much exposed dirt and hillside exposed…hardly picturesque. We enjoyed a local dish of crozets, tiny squares of pasta cooked with cream, ham, and (of course) cheese.

Village Restaurants

La Seizena (Courchevel 1650) 04 79 01 46 46
-A shockingly refreshing and modern restaurant with very reasonable prices. (I think it would cost double if it were in 1850.) In a brand new hotel with a lot of emphasis on modern design, the restaurant has a very innovative menu focused on fusion cuisine from around the world. Highly recommended.

L’Eterlou (Courchevel 1650) 04 79 08 25 45
-A small place serving fondues, pasta, pizza, and Pierre chaud (where you cook your own meat on a little grill)

Le Genepi (Courchevel 1850) 04 79 08 08 63
-A very nice place with fancy, but not too exorbitantly priced meals. The food was good, but the dining experience left something to be desired. They had put too many tables in the dining room, so we were literally stuck in a corner once the tables next to us were seated. This meant that the waiter had to ask the people at these tables to get up so he could clear our plates…not acceptable when you are paying 150€ for dinner!

One last word of advice, because skiing in Europe is so different than in the U.S., because the resort is that much larger, and because dining out is such a key part of the experience…I highly recommend you find a guide on the resort before you go. We used both the Mad Dog Ski Guide and the Snowmole guide. We like both of them, but found the Mad Dog guide especially helpful as it rates and describes all of the Red and Black runs on the mountains, so you have an idea of what exactly you are getting yourself into before you

Paris January (01/01-01/31)

January in Paris wasn’t nearly as cold as December had been…and it was an exciting month for us!! We finally received our Cartes de Sejour (residency permits) and now could move along to the next step of the French bureaucracy process… We moved into our second semester of teaching—and with a schedule change for Dan, it meant that we both worked on only Tuesdays and Fridays! And, we had our first non-family visitors!

For photos, click here.

Paris January

Kimberly

To compensate for last month’s lengthy analysis of French customer service, I plan to keep this posting short and sweet. The highlight of this month was definitely food! We had two different sets of friends visit us. Both had been to Paris before, so all they wanted to do was take some scenic walks around the city...and eat!

Our friends from the Stanford GSB, Salil and Nicole visited over Martin Luther King Day Weekend from New York. As mentioned above, the majority of their trip was spent eating: We managed to hit Atelier, Le Souk, L’Artisan, and Allard...and one or two others all in one long weekend! We did manage to squeeze in some time for some sightseeing and shopping. We visited Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Chopin at the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery. We strolled through the artists painting the tourists in Montmartre near the church of Sacre-Coeur. And we hit up the Soldes (big half-yearly sales)...Salil managed to find a pair of Bally boots for less than half price he had seen them in New York!

Another GSB friend, Matt, visited us two weekends later from London. Again, the focus of the weekend was on eating: We tried a new place called Equitable, and took Matt to a few of our favorites: Le Reminet, Gerard-Mulot, and Lauduree. We also managed a little sightseeing, with the highlight being one of our favorite museums, the little known Musee Marmottan in the 16th arrondissement. This private museum is in a restored mansion next to the Bois du Bologne and has one of the largest collection of Monet paintings anywhere. There are many studies of his famous “Waterlilies,” the final works now displayed in the restored L’Orangerie. But the real highlight is the painting “Impression: Sunrise” — for which the Impressionist movement was named.

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
5-7 rue de Montalembert - 75007, Paris – 01 42 22 56 56
(One of Europe's most well-received chefs, Robuchon astonished critics when he turned his back on the Michelin Star system in favor of a non-traditional restaurant focused on innovative food. Unfortunately, this doesn’t necessarily translate into cheap, as a meal here will still put you back at least 100 Euros a person…but that’s still probably half the price of his old 3-Michelin-Star establishment. Atelier is especially known for its “small plates”…which, confusingly, you are not meant to share…ordering family style was very confusing to the staff. The food was excellent though, the decor hip and stylish, and the seating really cool: at a bar before an open kitchen, where you can watch culinary preparations and be served immediately at an upscale counter. FYI, reservations accepted only for first sitting…so come early to get your name on the list.)

Equitable
1, rue des Fossés Saint-Marcel - 75005, Paris – 01 43 31 69 20
(One of our best finds in Paris. This wonderful upscale bistro tucked away in the 5th arrondissement serves some of the most innovative and beautifully prepared food in all of Paris. And the prices are an absolute steal: 32 Euros for a three-course meal! The best part is undoubtedly the service though…friendly, smiling waiters and an owner who seems genuinely happy to have you – even an American – in his restaurant. Order a bottle of the Chateau Margaux wine and you’re all set for a splendid meal.)

Allard
41 rue St-André-des-Arts – 75006, Paris – 01 43 26 48 23
(If you are looking for a standard Paris Bistro experience, look no further…This is one of the mainstays of the Parisian dining scene—opened in 1931, and still booked every night for wonderful roasted chicken, veal stew, and turbot in a beurre blanc sauce. It’s quite pricy, especially if you order one of their specialties…we had a chicken with mushrooms that was wonderful. But the location, service, and overall dining experience make it a quintessential Parisian night out.)

Le Gourmand
22, rue de Vaugirard – 75006, Paris - 01-43-26-26-05
(A very good find, this upscale bistro, just across the street from the Luxembourg Gardens serves innovative fresh food in a very modern setting (for Paris). Lunch is a better deal than dinner, with many of the same exact dishes offered at lower prices.)

Le Souk
www.lesoukfr.com
1, rue Keller - 75011, Paris - 01-49-29-05-08
(Our friends, Salil and Nicole, had just read about this fabulous Moroccan restaurant in a New York Times article. It definitely lived up to the hype. Tasty tagines, couscous, and wonderful pastilla! (a sweet/savory mixture of pastry, cinnamon, powdered sugar, chicken, and nuts.) And, by Parisian standards, quite a reasonable meal.)

L’Artisan de Saveurs
http://www.lartisandesaveurs.com/
72 rue du Cherche Midi - 75006, Paris – 01 42 22 46 64
(Widely regarded as one of the premium “Salons du Thé” in Paris, read: a place for tea and French cakes and pastries, this is also one of the best places for Sunday brunch. A relatively new phenomenon in Paris, unfortunately, it is still generally restricted to 30 Euros fixed-price multi-course meals…as is the case at L’Artisan. Here, at least, the brunch is fabulous…and quite filling…you probably won’t be hungry for dinner after your basket of fresh baked brioches and croissants, salmon blinis (or omelette, or veal picatta or crab cake), and housemade dessert…served with fresh orange juice and coffee/tea/hot chocolate!)

Cairo (12/28-29, 1/3-4)

We visited Cairo both at the beginning and end of our Egypt trip. While the Pyramids and King Tut's tomb at the museum were both fascinating, the poverty and chaos of the city were really shocking.

Daniel

For photos, click here.

Cairo

Cairo is the largest city in Africa with around 16 million inhabitants. Driving in from the airport was a great way to see how huge and populous this metropolis is. Sadly, this is also one of the most polluted cities/areas in Africa. We basically did Cairo in two trips, which acted as the bookends to our overall Egypt trip.

During our first stay we visited Memphis the site of Djoser's Step Pyramid in (an hour drive south of Cairo). Djoser, a powerful Pharaoh around 2600 BC, initiated the Ancient Egyptian obsession with the Pyramid. Memphis also had a few interesting relics. Not surprisingly, one of the ancient temple sites has a Ramses II statue on display. The statue (one of three) is made of alabaster and stands almost 15 ft tall. Like I said earlier this guy left his mark on Egypt.

Later we drove to Giza for the Great Pyramids. They absolutely dwarf Djoser's Pyramid but owe all their grandeur & genius to his initial works. To be honest, they are hard to really appreciate in person. The scale is so enormous that they just seem like geometric mountains poking out of the dessert. Standing at the base of one of the Pyramid corner stones - I couldn't imagine how these stones were so tightly stacked in an effort to reach to the sun. It's interesting that even today there are numerous theories on how the Egyptians most likely constructed the Pyramids.

While at Giza we climbed into the heart of the Great Pyramid and scrambled up the narrow and stuffy chambers only to arrive to a small and stuffy inner chamber that is believed to be a false treasure room. We also took a short camel ride on the Pyramid grounds - it was pretty corny but made for some great photos! Click here for a video of Kim attempting to dismount her camel...but it didn't want her to get off!

The highlight of our day in Giza was the Solar Boat. We didn't even know about this amazing archaeological find before we arrived at the more well-known Pyramids and Sphinx. The Solarboat Museum at the base of the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt contains the actual, reconstructed boat that was used in the funerary ceremonies of the Pharaoh Cheops. It was amazing to imagine the construction of this ceremonial boat in ~2500 BC! And to think that it has lasted 4000 years and is still perfectly preserved! (The boat wasn't discovered until after WWII.)

Finally, there was the Sphinx. What I remember most about the Sphinx, sadly, is staring at KFC and Pizza Hut that were built only 100ft from the site. The sole path leading up to a closer view of the Sphinx is packed with locals trying to sell kitchy souvenirs etc. It feels like Giza and Cairo are slowly creeping into and over the ancient sites.


On our return trip to Cairo we visited the newly built Cairo Museum, which holds a ton of cool artifacts. The highlights are definitely Tutankhamun's treasure and many, many mummies. The riches of Tutankhamun's burial chamber are amazing. Most famous is the funerary mask that absolutely glows - pure gold and mostly inlaid with lapis lazuli. Also, there was another entire wing dedicated to the various artifacts found inside the burial chamber ranging from model ships, chariots, to small figurines representing all the labourers/servants involved in the construction of his tomb.

We spent time wandering the lesser known Coptic area in Cairo. This neighborhood is dominated by Coptic Churches. The Coptic Church split with Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches, which were still joined. It was interesting to see how much a region/culture can influences the traditions of the church. In a number of the churches the current Coptic Pope was prominently pictured. If I wasn't sure about being in a church I would have mistaken him for a Imam or Islamic religious leader.

Finally, we spent quite a bit of time at the Cairo Bazaar - highly recommended as one of the "must see" things in Cairo. There was something about the stench and large amounts of garbage that made us wonder what the "bad" parts of Cairo were like. While in the Bazaar we often had to tip toe through passageways covered with layers of garbage and mud. Although the smell and pollution were in our face - we did find some great Egyptian food at one of the restaurants buried in the maze of alleys within the Bazaar. Click here for a video of the evening call to prayer in the heart of Islamic Cairo.

Cairo was great to visit for a day or two, but you don't need to spend more time here. Time in Egypt is much more well spent along the Nile and near Luxor. The ancient sites are more impressive and less overrun with urban sprawl.

Abu Simbel (1/2)

If you want to know more about Ramses II this is a great place to start…the two temples make a statement like no other about how Ramses II displayed his might. The site is also famous as it had to be literally cut apart and reassembled to escape the rising level of the Nile after the construction of the Aswan Dam.

Daniel

For photos, click here.

Abu Simbel

So there are two main reasons why this Ramses II shrine is so impressive. The first has to do with its clear theme – don’t mess with Ramses II. The cave-like temple was carved into a rock (rather than constructed) and is fronted with enormous replicas of the man himself (actually more like a god since pharaohs were considered to be). You would probably get to about ankle height standing next to one of them. Inside offers another view into how important hieroglyphics were. Every surface, walls, columns ceilings are carved with stories about Ramses II and his mostly successful war mongering.

So the second thing is more of a modern twist. Since Egypt built the newer High Aswan Dam, the location where Abu Simbel was originally built fell below the waterline. So in the 1960s the government and UNESCO turned the temple into one of the biggest stone jigsaw puzzles. Remember that this was a carved temple, unlike the others in Egypt that were constructed with blocks or pillars. So that meant that the Egyptians had to actually cut apart the entire temple into 1423 blocks, move it 200m to higher ground, and reassemble the entire monument.

In order to see the site we had to take a puddle jumper airplane from Luxor to Abu Simbel. I forgot to mention there is nothing near Abu Simbel except the monument, the airport built to bring tourists in, and the masses of tour buses shuttling people back and forth. Even so, the short flight over is very dramatic. You can see the already wide Nile explode over the desert into a giant reservoir (known as Lake Nassar) surrounded by nothing but sandy rock. Depending on how you view it, the proximity of the airport is either a good or bad thing. Our plane flew directly over the temple for a great aerial shot, but those planes fly in and out every 30 minutes so when you are actually at the site it gets old pretty quick.

Nile Cruise (12/30-1/1)

Three days and nights on a luxurious boat cruising along the Nile River...what a way to spend my birthday and New Year’s! Along the way, we stopped at several temples, viewing even more incredibly preserved and impressive architecture and art from ancient Egypt. The best part though was probably just sitting on the deck of the boat, watching Egyptian scenery: the farmers tending to their fields, the animals grazing on the banks, the minarets of mosques appearing every so often, the vibrant green of the fertile Nile contrasting with the brown of the arid desert.

Daniel

For pictures, click here.

Nile Cruise

One of the best parts of our trip was staying on a small but very well equipped A&K cruise boat. It had a full service restaurant, lounge, outdoor terrace, and sun deck. The rooms were great with one of the nicest showers I have ever taken while on a ship/boat. We even had Molton & Brown soaps/shampoos – I’d never heard of it before but Kim told me it was amazing stuff, and yes it was so we of course lugged whatever was left back to Paris. Having such comfy amenities made it easy to soak in the ancient sites as we meandered down the Nile.

My other favorite thing about our cruise was the food. Most of the meals were buffet style, which was great since we could try all the tasty delights. The chef was proud of his work and was good at it too. Luckily, we were able to attend a cooking class on one of the afternoons back on the boat. He walked us through three great recipes, that we got to keep and took us through the kitchen to see all the behind the scenes action.

One of our stops was in Edfu where we made a short visit to the Temple of Horus. It’s yet another mighty temple, not as grand as Karnak, but it has been preserved very well. The inner sanctuary was stunning, with its polished granite shrine that once contained the gold cult statue of Horus.

In the evening just after sunset we made a visit to the Temple of Kom Ombo otherwise known as the “crocodile temple.” The temple is actually a joint temple of both Sobek, the local god represented by a crocodile, and Horus, the main Egyptian god that is represented by a falcon. Clearly the crocodile was revered in this town on the Nile, the mummified crocs found on site as well as a clear theme of crocodiles in the relief carvings were proof of that. There was also a deep well that was used by the ancients to measure the height of the Nile. The Egyptians lived or died by the Nile, so it makes sense that they went to great lengths to understand their sometimes unpredictable water source.

Further south we finally disembarked from our luxurious Nile cruise in the town of Aswan – home to the Low & High Aswan Dams. Our minibus stopped on top of the High Dam for a look. There were heavily armed guards every 30ft protecting this precarious spot. If the dam were seriously damaged or destroyed it would wipe out the city of Aswan within minutes along with everything in its path on the way to the Mediterranean Sea—giving residents of Cairo only hours to evacuate. Even though it is one of the largest dams in the world that provides critical irrigation and hydroelectric power to Egypt, there isn’t much to see on top of the dam. Just nearby the dam is an old Obelisk Quarry home to the largest existing Obelisk. The Obelisk still lies within the quarry on its side where it was hewn from the rock. At some point it cracked and the project was abandoned. Had it been finished it would have been 42 meters tall and weighed 1168 tons.

The Temple of Philae was our last stop before we flew off to see the Abu Simbel temple south of Lake Nassar. Located on an island in reservoir created by the building of the Dam, this was another victim of the rising waters of Lake Nasser, due to the dam. The Egyptians actually had to disassemble the temple and move it from its original location to a new island. In addition, the temple has another piece of interesting history: it was “conserved” by the French who arrived in the 1900s and made their own addition, carving a decree about Napolean’s rule etc. There is even some ancient and French graffiti on some of the walls.

Since my birthday falls on December 30, I enjoyed one of the most enthusiastic Happy Birthday songs performed by the wait staff (and the head chef we later learned) during dinner. Pounding drums, one gyrating waiter, and many slightly off-tune singers belting out the song at the top of their lungs made it a memorable treat. Click here for a video.

The other entertaining event on the boat was a Egyptian Galabeya party, where the guests were invited to wear traditional Galabeyas (for sale only of course). The whole Haimsohn family and I got into the spirit. Kim insisted I put on some black eyeliner to make my costume as authentic as possible. We also celebrated New Year’s on the boat cruise. The party was fun, but the true highlight was watching one of the staff (the same gyrating waiter) burn a hole in the dance floor with his moves during a pop dance beat. He even worked some pole moves into his solo dance before the song sadly came to an end.