My Paris 2014 - Part 2 - Walking and Seeing - Street Names

The French are all about balance. Anything in moderation. We were successful in the art of eating our way through Paris, but we had to tip the scales the other way by walking it all off. And walk we did. Averaging 15km per day our feet took a beating and Miss Kleva over here didn't pack walking shoes. Well, at least not shoes that would see that much walking in a day, every day! 

I knew that I wouldn't remember where we went and what we saw so I felt rather genius thinking I'd take photos of the street names that can be found on every street corner building or lamp post. I can now GoogleEarth these street names and it will remind me of what we saw where and I can reference photos taken to that place. Kleva, ne!

These are only some of the street names, in no particular order and none of the pictures have been edited.

Other than giving the tourist a sense of security because you'd easily be able to triangulate your position on a street map, they're pretty to look at. Posting these pictures and jogging my memory to that week in Paris is making me feel very nostalgic and longing to go back. There are so many other places to make memories and I think it would be a waste to spend any more time in Paris. I got so see so much and saturated myself in the experience so that I would long to go back, but I think I may just have left a piece of me over there. 

Next Paris post will be some of the must-see spots in the City of Light.

rubybox September 2014

I was really late in posting my review of the August rubybox. Like the-day-before-the-new-box-arrived-late! I lose track of time like that all the time. Isn't a stay-at-home-mom's life supposed to be less stressful? Long, languid breakfasts that turn to brunches that turn to lunches before the kids need to be picked up... Spa days... Chilling in sweatpants on the couch in the sun with a book? No?

Haha! Ja, right!!!

Yesterday morning the hubzster left home early because he was going to site about an hour's drive away, so there was no morning overlap. (Morning overlap = I take the kids to school > he opens up for the maid > he leaves for work > I get home.) I get a call while I'm still at school from a courier company to say their driver just left my place because there was no-one at home to take delivery of a package. It wasn't even 8am yet! Turns out the courier company is a few roads away from us and I was first on the list. Fortunately he was still in the area and could come back just in time to find my maid at home so I still got my surprise box. And I proceeded to have a 4-hour long breakfast with some friends.

Methinks we need to employ a package receiver! I often miss deliveries when the maid's not there and I'm out running errands. It's frustrating.

But wait, that's not what this is about!

My first thought when I picked the package up as that it was heavy! September was billed to be rubybox's 3rd birthday and boxes would be filled with full-sized products and a collector's bracelet.

The promise.

Pretty fuchsia slip cover.

I'm not familiar with the format of the boxes, whether they come with lids loose, hinged or slip covers because this is only my 3rd box. The first two came with loose lids and as handy as they are, they're functioning as holders underneath the open boxes used to store little bits of stuff in my wardrobe. Safe to say I won't be missing the loose lid.

Cover slips off to reveal...

But wait, where's the collector's bracelet?

Oh, what do we have here?

What exactly is this?

This, dear friends, is the free collector's "bracelet". A string and a washer with a stamp on it. Oh rubybox, you shouldn't have. No really, you shouldn't have. I wasn't expecting a Pandora, and this wasn't necessary.

The rest of the box made up for the disappointment of the whatchamacallit.

R119.95 at rubybox

The brush comes with a brush guard that is handy for when you're carting it in your bag and to retain its shape but won't work to shape while drying as it's a plastic sheath that doesn't have holes for ventilation. 

Not bad quality for a R119.95 brush.

The bristles are soft because it's not cross cut and is loosely packed for soft blending and although I haven't used it much yet, I can't comment too much on how well it performs. It's sized perfectly for blush application. I tried it with a brick red Inglot blush which is intensely pigmented and I liked that it gave a sheer application. I think this brush would be perfect for those highly pigmented blushes although I don't know how it will apply blushes that are not as richly pigmented. It would be perfect for bronzing because you need a light hand with application, if you don't mind the size.

Notice the fine tips of the brisles. It makes for a very soft feel.

I think rubybox is genius in pairing products, like adding this brush cleaner with a brush. 

Brush cleaner

This is the perfect size for travel. The nozzle spritzes out a fine, consistent mist and a little goes a long way. I use this brush cleaner on denser brushes and it takes more than the recommended 3 sprays to clean the brush, but it's way better than me leaving a dirty brush that's just been run over a face cloth or tissue without any cleaner. I wash my brushes once a week anyway and with using the brush cleaner I find that the deep cleaning isn't as laborious anymore. It also makes traveling with fewer brushes possible because you can use one brush for a variety of applications. I don't have anything to compare this cleanser to and getting this one has allowed me to think about trying other cleansers too. For now, I'd repurchase this one.

 

I've used Dove Invisible Dry roll-on in the past and I don't have anything bad to say about it. Is it invisible? I think so. Is it invisible on 100 colours? I haven't tested it myself. This one has been tested on 100 colours and is proven to be invisible on all 100 colours. Well done. It claims, like most other antip-perspirant deodorants to work for 48 hours. This I can refute. You won't smell too offensive after 48 hours, but after 24 hours you'll definitely want to take soap and hot water to your pits. I'd buy it if I was in a pinch, but I'm back to old faithful Mitchum Gel for now. These things are nice to have extra stock of because deodorant is something you NEVER want to be caught without.

R29.95 at rubybox

I like this hand cream. It's a car hand cream. Only the best hand creams live in the car. (This is maybe not a good idea in our summers.) I keep fast absorbing hand creams in all our cars because you don't want to have greasy hands when you're driving. And when I'm driving is sometimes the only time that I really look at my hands. This one is light in texture, fast absorbing and has a pleasant light coconutty scent that doesn't linger. If you don't like coconut scents, still give this a try because it fades after 5 minutes. Your hands feel not only moisturised but protected as well. It's locally manufactured and at R29.95 I think is a brilliant buy. It would make an excellent gift pack gift for teachers (which is what I'm putting together at the moment).

And that, I think, is it. Except for the bracelet that really shouldn't have happened, I think the box would've been just perfect with the full-sized products as a birthday bonus.

Confession time: I started this post in September with the best intention of posting it "on time". Life kinda took a turn and now that I'm getting into posting again I thought it would be unjust to delete the draft and make as if it never happened. I'd like to still give my honest thoughts on some of the products I've been using these past months even though I wasn't posting. I have a lot to keep me busy in the next few weeks.

Catch you on the flip side...

E

Dear Santa...

I've been a really good girl this year. My family is happy, healthy and still alive. I didn't bankrupt us with makeup purchases. Please, please, please login to the ghd website and order a 

ghd aura™ professional hairdryer

for me... Free delivery with orders over R1000. My hair dryer of 18 years has finally packed up and a girl needs a good hair dryer, you know. I think this one is good.

Sincerely,
E

A Valentine to beat all Valentines... Part 1 - Food

For Valentine's Day this year my husband and the kids presented me with a box of chocolates, a bottle of wine and a card. Cute, considering hubz and I don't do anything for Valentine's but the kids make a fuss so we kinda go along with whatever they want to do.

The envelope that the card came in was bulky and I saw (a long while later) that it had another page folded inside. I thought that it might be a voucher for a spa treatment or a letter from one of the boys.

It was...

Needless to say, I was VERY pleasantly surprised! "What about the children!?" is a mother's natural first reaction. "Call your Mom." was his natural first response.

For fear of not jinxing anything, I didn't want anyone to know about the trip until I got my visa. We told the boys and told them not to breathe a word to anyone until everything had been planned and confirmed. We didn't even tell my Mom until she had arrived in Johannesburg (Day 1: Mom arrived; Day 2: hubby left for France and my graduation day; Day 3: I left for France. Cutting it close!). Actually, there were two other people I told; a friend from Switzerland who lives in Mallorca and a friend from South Africa who, at the time, lived in Amsterdam. They were  both excited and without hesitation decided to join me in Paris for the 3 days that hubby was going to be in Clement Ferrand for a kendo tournament. Oh yes, I was going to travel to Paris alone and be there on my own for the first three days and spend the last three with the hubz.

The visa came and I thought it would be fun to still not tell anyone but to post pics on social media from Paris. I loved keeping this experience to myself. Also, I didn't want it tainted by tales of misfortune or leave exposed ground for seeds of doubt to be sown. These are the pictures I posted on Instagram:

Step 1 - Take the train.

Step 2 - Take the plane.

Step 3 - Take another train.

Where in the world can we be?

The cafe where I had my first Parisian breakfast/brunch. Opposite the Notre Dame. I didn't take any pictures of the omelet and orange juice I had here.

By the time I'd met up with my friends, dropped my luggage at the hotel, taken many trains and walked for a few hours we decided to stop for brunch at the cafe opposite the Notre Dame (above). I'm not into taking selfies or pictures of food and you won't see much of that over here, sorry. Uhm, actually... There are a few.

Those first days in Paris were a gastronomic experience! That was kinda the point with the friends I was with. We vowed to eat as much as what we could in the time we had and with the limited funds at our disposal. (How disheartening when you hand over a thick wad of ZARs and get 3 notes and some coins in return!) 


Food, some of it...

Day 2's breakfast venue around the corner from our hotel.

According to the Frenchman who spent 2 days with us (friend of one of my friends) this was a REALLY good croissant.

Savoury breakfast option: quiche, vegetable soup (like my mommy makes it), salad and hot chocolate from the Jewish Quarter, Le Marais on day 3. This part of Paris is busy on Sundays because it is the only arrondissement where the shops and restaurants are open.

Excuse the fuzziness. That's pure, rich, dark chocolate that I could easily just lick off the spoon and out of the cup. But I was in Paris. Gotta act all cultured and stuff.

That right there is a 5Euro eclair and well worth every Euro cent!

You OBVIOUSLY have to have French wine when in France... Well done France! Almost as good as South African.

I have no idea what the heck that is. It must be sweet and delicious. But all I see is French polony and cheese bread that you'll find at a ghetto Spar.

I don't drink coffee, but I do consume waaaayyy to much chocolate. This cup of M&M's came with a shot of cappuccino. There was literally a quarter cup of M&M's at the bottom of the cup.

The Monoprix closest to our hotel had greengages from South Africa. We didn't buy any coz, c'mon...

Butter is a staple in Paris. Vats of it can be found at your local street food vendor.

This is by no means the only photos I have of the food that we consumed (I'd like to keep some of it private) and I didn't take pictures of all the food that we ate. Personally I think it's rude to whip out a camera for absolutely every photo opportunity, especially when you're in company. And I wanted to enjoy the experience through my own senses and not through the lens of a camera.

The first night we had dinner at a quaint little French bistro in Montmartre. It was all so very French and oh so charming. The only staff on duty was a Chef and his Sous and the Maitre/Garcon. (I know, there needs to be a little lick under the C but I don't know where to find it on my keyboard) I don't know if there would have been place for an extra ladle, it was that small. Chef came out to greet us, made conversation and offered free drinks on the house. My friend said he looked Sri Lankan. She would know because she was born in Sri Lanka and was adopted by a Swiss couple when she was a baby. Either that or she's just world-wise because she has traveled extensively. 

We had the most amazing food while Garcon kept bringing wine, liqueurs and coffee, all on the house. On the house because he was tippling on his side too. 

Excuse the poor quality of the picture I poached from the Amazon website. We had a violet liqueur that was as delicious as it was beautiful to look at. I don't know if this is exactly what it looks like, but it from my recollection it looks similar.

I noticed that the menus at most of the restaurants had an option of a set 2/3/4 course meal. It usually works out most cost effective to order these menus and they are flexible in swapping out courses. I had brown onion soup as a starter, fillet steak with potato gratin and veggies and chocolate mousse for dessert. I'll sell my soul for the soup! Aromatic, bursting with flavour, with the traditional bread toasted with cheese floating on top. The beef fillet was glorious, beautifully seared, succulent and melted in the mouth. The veggies were fresh and sufficiently steamed to a crunch.

That night we encountered French barbarism. Our Garcon didn't like that we each paid for our own meals. He was really angry that our guy friend didn't pick up the tab. A lot of swearing and throwing of credit card machines took place and at the end of the night we ran out of there, squeezing a 20 Euro note into Chef's hand who tried to get in between Angry Garcon and us and show us to the safety of the street outside. A night I will never forget!

The second night we had dinner at Godjo, an Ethiopian restaurant in 8 rue de l'Ecole Polytechnique.

Godjo

Most of these establishments are really tiny, housing only tiny square tables with four chairs when only 2 people can comfortably occupy it. This place had a spiral staircase to a basement that was cozy and not big enough for a few of the men to stand up straight. It looked like it was carved out of the ground and spackle plastered. There were no place for tables down there but there were a few very comfy, poofy couches and Ethiopian stools that doubled as tables. All very appropriate for the way the food was presented, meze style. This was my first time experiencing Ethiopian food, which is embarrassing for an African. We know of European, Eastern, Western, you name it foods, but we know very little about cuisine that our own continent has to offer. 

OMG, the injera!!! 

Injera flat bread. Photo poached from here.

A unique, sourdough flat bread. Unique in texture: soft, rubbery pancake. Unique in flavour: sweet sourdough. Unique in the teff grain that is indigenous to and exclusively grown in Ethiopia. The platter is lined with injera and topped with an assortment of meats and stews, depending on what each guest orders. 

Typical platter from Godjo. Image from here.

We ordered an extra serving of the injera. And then another. And if we didn't hit a food wall we would have ordered another. I had a stewed fruit and bready type dessert that was, again, like something my mommy would whip up, but with a sweet spiciness to it. We ended the evening with glorious Ethiopian coffee. The non-coffee drinker had coffee. Hey, when in Ethiopia and all...

Night 3 with the friends was Japanese. We had noodle soup as a starter, sushi and waaaayyy to much sweet, sticky pudding. All the overindulgence was justified because we walked an average of 15km every day, hitting 21km on one of the days. 

That was the night that we said goodbye to our French companion and the night that I took my first solo train trip back to my hotel. I was traveling with my friends all that time, but felt confident enough to gun it on my own, at 11pm. The metros and streets are still bustling at that time of the night with normal-looking people still freely moving around. No creepy crawlies lurking, yet. I didn't feel conspicuous at all until I arrived in the lane where my hotel was located. I took comfort in the fact that there was a large church just next to the hotel and saw it as a sign that I was being looked after. It wasn't a dodgy part of town by no means, but you can't be too confident.

Hubby arrived the next morning and our gastronomic excursion came to an end. I'd mindlessly spent a whole lot of Euros on sit-down eateries and was happy to pretend to be a local and pick up a loaf of bread at one of the many bakeries and make do with on-the-go food with the hubzster. The next few days were dedicated to the typical touristy stuff and we had little time to spare. Hubz is also very relaxed when it comes to food and will prefer to do the on-the-go thing vs a sit-for-hours move.

Part 2 in another blog post with more touristy stuff that we got up to because this post is way to long already.

Thoughts and comments welcomed below.