http://trufflesforbreakfast.com ...in which two dreamers simplify their lives and move to Paris Sun, 11 May 2008 23:07:40 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Today was going to be an exciting day anyway, because in a few hours Morgen and I are leaving for a one-week trip to Spain. We'll be in the town of Marbella, on the southern coast, just a short drive from Gibraltar---which we might also visit. Perhaps we'll even get ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2008/02/22/social-security-and-spain/ I was awakened this morning (that would be, er, yesterday morning, as I'm writing after midnight) by the doorbell, but I only had 30 seconds to be grumpy about it. It was the mail carrier, delivering my French driver's license (two signatures required for delivery). Back when I passed my ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2008/02/16/drivers-license-arrived/ It's a sad day in Paris. A landmark dating to 1831, and one of our favorite places to immerse ourselves in decay and general weirdness, was severely damaged by fire yesterday morning. Deyrolle, the taxidermy shop and walk-in cabinet of curiosities, was the site of a major blaze yesterday morning ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2008/02/02/fire-at-deyrolle/ Today is---or rather yesterday (the 9th) was, since I'm writing this after midnight Paris time---my 41st birthday. This evening Morgen and I went out for dinner with some friends at a fantastic Indonesian restaurant near Les Halles, Djakarta Bali. I thought that was appropriate given that this time last year ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2008/01/10/a-terrific-birthday-present/ Well, I'll say this much: La Poste is running efficiently this week. It took just 24 hours for the post office to deliver the results of yesterday's practical driving exam. I passed! In fact, it appears from the notification as though I got a perfect score. Now I just wait ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2008/01/05/passed-my-road-test/ Having passed the notoriously difficult written portion of the test for my French driver's license a few weeks ago and spent several further hours behind the wheel with an instructor from the driving school by my side, I was finally able to take my road test this morning. It was ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2008/01/04/possibly-almost-licensed/ Well, I've been living in interesting times. Less than a month ago, Morgen and I were wondering whether we were going to have a dull Christmas, since our budget was, shall we say, not conducive to travel (or bringing family members here to Paris). We were, however, looking forward to ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2008/01/03/new-years-update/ Not technically France-related, but pertinent to the title of our blog, is the news that an enormous white truffle was dug up in Tuscany last week. Weighing more than three pounds (almost 1.5 kg), this pungent monster may break the Guinness World Record for largest truffle. In a classy move, ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2007/11/30/truffle-for-breakfast-lunch-and-dinner/ Apologies to those of you who have seen this, but I just read about the growing number of Complaints Choirs worldwide, which are just what they sound like, choirs which sing a litany of complaints set to music. The genesis of the idea came from two Helsinki artists who were ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2007/11/20/harmonious-complaining/ In the course of doing research for my latest post on Gridskipper, Algerian Patisseries in Paris, Joe and I had to sample as many delicious Algerian pastries as we could. It's a tough job, I know, but someone's got to do it. If you've never tasted Algerian pastries, I would highly ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2007/11/20/the-sweet-life-in-paris/ Now that I have your attention, you may be wondering what the three items in the name of this post could possibly have in common. The answer: all three were subjects of recent posts I wrote for Gridskipper. My latest post is about Pétanque in Paris and includes places where you ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2007/11/10/petanque-taxidermy-and-ramen/ I can't say exactly when it was I decided that if I got married I wouldn't change my last name, but I know that by the time I got to college the idea was pretty much confirmed in my mind. I knew a lot of people at that time who ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2007/11/10/the-name-of-the-spouse/ One of the best things about living in Paris is that we have the time to explore the not-so-obvious aspects of the city. The Eiffel Tower is hard to miss, but there are many places that are hidden, or not easily seen unless you know where to look. In my ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2007/10/18/paris-underground/ A few evenings ago, when trying to come up with a place where we could take a walk and enjoy the fall colors, I suggested the Parc Monceau, in the elegant 8th arrondissement. I had heard that this park was well worth a visit, and had been eager to see ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2007/10/08/footing-frenzy/ You might be thinking it's a little early to be talking about Thanksgiving, but in fact it's not too early to talk about Canadian Thanksgiving, which is celebrated on the second Monday in October. In honor of my roots, I wrote a post for the Web site Gridskipper about Canadian-related ... http://trufflesforbreakfast.com/2007/10/05/thanksgiving/