A piece of heaven

Well, I am not one for sweets nor dessert after a meal...I would rather eat well and have a second glass of Cote du Rotie or for this occasion, a glass of Meursault 2002. That all changed last night at my dinner party when a friend brought a Pierre Herme creation called, Isphan, for dessert. For those of you who live outside of Paris, Pierre Herme gained his reputation while serving as pastry chef for LA DUREE. He finally opened up his own boutique in two locations in Paris. Walking into his closet size patisserie store is like standing in a Place Vendome jewelry store. Every creation is unique and desired. Once I put a fork full in my mouth, I was sent to an exotic land full of fairies and pure heaven for that spit second of sheer pleasure.

ISAPHAN

Rose macaroon with rose petal, raspberry, and lichee creme........

A White Paris

A bit of snow, and I mean a wee bit, paralyzed the City of Lights for a few hours this weekend. I was hoping for a big storm but instead we received a light brush of snowflakes.

En route to Provence via Burgundy

Alas, my feet have found the firm Gallic soil after three weeks of traveling the Pacific West coast of the North America Continent. No more flat and chewy wine. To celebrate my good luck, I decide to spend the night in Beaune, capital of Burgundy, to break up our 9 hour car ride to the south of France. I know of a wonderful caveau in Puligny Montrachet where one can buy the creme de la creme of Burgundy wine which specializes in the golden Meursault and Montrachets. I am also a big fan of the violet hued Volnays which always end up in my wine wish list. One has to have patience with these wines. They will sit for a good 5-10 years in my cave before they hit human lips. 2015, here we come!

Vancouver Island

We spent our last day on Vancouver island driving around and walking along several deserted beaches sprinkled with the die hard surfers. Off to Seattle for our departure to Paris, France.

Abientot!

Room 309

After Seattle, Jp and I took a sea plane and hopped over to Victoria, Vancouver Island. The pink and white 1990 condos that lined the Victoria bay started to instill a panic between Jp and I. We drove the next day for 5 hours to Tofino, on the West side of the island. We went through miles and miles of VI suburbia and let me tell you one thing, it ain't pretty. Dairy Freeze and A&W fast food joints are alive and well on Vancouver Island. I even spied a few Howard & Johnston hotel/restaurants! Once we arrived on the west side, we parked our car at the Wickaninnish Inn which is built directly above the pacific ocean, pounding waves and all. As we entered our room, Jp and I knew we would spend most of our two days in bed staring at the waves. Panoramic windows framed the room leaving very little to imagination. I woke up in the middle of the night and had vertigo. My stomach dropped for a split second...Where was I? I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Later on that day I read the guest book. The couple who stayed in the room before us were so enthralled by the view that they decided to order two chocolate cheese cakes with strawberry ice cream and spent the evening eating their sugar ecstasy in bed while taking in the view...I hope they changed the sheets!

Off to Seattle

After spending the Thanksgiving holidays with the family in Sonoma, California, as well as drinking a lot of flabby Pinot Noir wine, Jp and I headed up to the big North West, Seattle and then Vancouver Island. I heard many great things about Seattle so I was surprised to find an empty city with its share of aggressive homeless citizens roaming the streets. It still was fairly warm in the city but the plethora of fleece covered woman started to get me down. One does feel very removed from the rest of the world in Seattle. Still couldn't get a tasty glass of wine. Finally ordered a St Joseph from Chave to share with our friends in Seattle. I found out that a little French red wine can go a long way.......

My Californina

Sorry for the long delay. I was traveling through California, Seattle, and Vancouver Island.

Here are a few photos of the beautiful coastal walk just north of San Francisco.

I do have to say, after traveling through Washington and Canada, California is one gorgeous place.