Pain and Chocolate

It is amazing what the French do with chocolate, flour, eggs, sugar and various other ingredients. The pastry shelves are worthy of 100 pictures and I was not too embarrassed to take a few. And I don’t even really like pastries that much. But it is astounding what they do both visually and I am sure gastronomically with these little desserts. In Paris I passed a patisserie that had little sweets that looked like miniature hamburgers and a teeny tiny basket of French fries. Why they would want to replicate the look of fast food is beyond me – if there is any culture that eschews fast food – it’s the French. But maybe it’s ok to make your pastires look like fast food. Odd.

In Arles – the day of the bull fight there was a patisserie selling chocolate éclair type things shaped and decorated like the head of a bull. An alive bull by the way cause that is how the French do the bull fight. With living bulls – from beginning until end.




One day we walked through the Marais which is this great funky part of Paris – that once was and I think still is the center of Jewish culture in Paris. We passed a bakery/pastry shop that sold such an incredible milieu of baked goods – my head wanted to explode. In that moment I really really wished that I liked sweets. Why aren’t cooks this devotional about potato chips? OK maybe the British are.

I didn’t have my camera and I tried to commit to memory the many really fantastic looking baked goods – and there were just so many – along side plain old croissants and pain au chocolats that looked like they may very well be the best in the city – or at least the best I had seen in our 4 short days there. You could spend a lifetime trying everything – and I am sure there is a Parisian out there who will or has. In this same shop was a small coffee counter – set to the side. You could pick out your pastry, and then stand at the counter and pay a mere 1.7 euro for an espresso (as opposed to the 3 – 4 euro price we were paying to sit and drink coffee).

I want to spend my days at that coffee counter, sipping espresso, and watch people gawk at that display counter all day!

Back from France

Now commences many pictures of France. We just returned from 11 days there - 4 in Paris and a week in Provence. It was all great. One of the highlights was this "bull fight" in Arles. More of a bull competition. Taking place in the 2000 year old Roman arena - there are about 15-18 men pitted against the bull. Their goal is to grab two ribbons that are tied to the base of each of the bull's horns. Some people are cheering for the bull and some are cheering for the guys. I have not seen anything more athletic and exhilirating. If Hemingway had watched this I think he would have a whole new book to write.

Redwoods in NGM

This is one of the coolest things I have seen in a while:

High Fidelity

"L.A.... proved too much for the man." definitely gets in the all time top 5 best lines in a song. "There's nothing wrong with me loving you..." is all I need to hear from Marvin Gaye. And one of the best lines in a song... ever. "You ain't a beauty but hey you're all right...and that's all right with me." Bruuuuuuuuce. I'm working on #'s 4 and 5.

South Sisters

Another Summer '09 event - climbing South Sisters with Mary, Janice, Peter, Michael and Luke. This was a lot more painful than eating crab and drinking beer though. But of course well worth it - the mountaintop view and the pasta from Peter as our celebratory "we climbed a 10,600 foot mountain" meal.

Thistle Weekend

Great summers always have to come to an end. Unless you have a camera. And then they can live forever. A walk on a beach, a great crab dinner, a lot of laughs, a few bottles of wine, maybe a bottle of something exotic and if you are not too careful - dangerous. And then a morning of golf and more time to talk and share and smell the salty air.

A Race for the Ages

Kayla Smith, left, will be running for the Fighting Illini this year and Kellie will be running her last year of HS track.

Great Runners I Have Seen

I was just telling a friend about this race and it made me want to look at this picture again. Kellie Scheuler and Kayla Smith - probably two of the best HS athletes Oregon will ever see. I think Kayla is back east in college and Kellie will be chasing down Margaret Johnson-Bailes' 41 year old 100 meter record. Kellie ran a wind aided 11.68 on this day here - which ties the record - on a calm day that is. In a sec I will post a picture of them mid-race.

No reason for this post except I like this picture of Christian. It was a 90 degree day and behind Christian is Pier Park in North Portland - a place I had never been. I need to get out more.

Great Runners and Slow Runners

Got to see Christian run for Gonzaga this last Friday. He ran really well - came in 4th for the team and 12th overall - very good for his 2nd collegiate meet. And had a nice dinner with Jim, Janice and Peter at Pause which I thank Colleen and John for introducing me to... not only good food but firemen too.

And had the pleasure of running 22.5 (yes that last 1/2 mile means something when you are on mile 21 1/2!) miles this Saturday with Janice. I'd love to say that it was a barrel of fun but it wasn't - it was hard. And you know what - you really are in pain after you run that long - and then you can't eat for about 24 hours. So you'd think after doing all that you would just go home - lounge around in your pajamas and just eat ice cream all day. But you know what? You don't.

The running with Janice and Mary part was great.