Lebanese Cuisine: A Love Story

Lebanese Cuisine: A Love Story

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
"There is no love sincerer than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw *In the winter of 2004, I had the brilliant idea to take a trip to France.  I thought to myself, "Sure... this'll be great.  I'll go out there all alone.  I've been talking to that French guy on the Internet for the past few months... yeah, this is a good idea."Ok... so it was a little wacky.  But, my gut said that it was a good idea, even though my head was making fun of me constantly, using words like "careless" & "daft".But, hell... since when do cautious & rational have all of the fun?It was November.  The plan was set for me to spend 2 weeks in France during April of 2005.Fast forward to April in Paris.Skip ahead to me & him, in his apartment in Montmartre."I rented a car," he said.  "I thought that next week, we'd take...
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Storming the Beaches

Storming the Beaches

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
It seems that most people, when planning a trip to France automatically plan a trip to Paris. I suppose that's because if you're going to come to France, you just HAVE to see the Eiffel Tower.Yawn.For many people, Paris IS France - there is nothing at all worth seeing that exists outside of Paris, so they spend their vacation strolling on the Champs Élysées & gawking at the Arc de Triomphe.Snore.Of course, standing around in museums, staring at a painting of a bowl of fruit is a really good time. Shopping for over-priced clothes is a real kick in the ass, too. Right?Ugh. Whatever.There are some other people who comprehend the fact that there is a France outside of Paris. Maybe those people are taking bicycle tours through Provence, are sunning themselves on the Mediterranean coast, or are taking wine tours through Burgundy. Good for them.Maybe they're history nerds on the beaches of Normandy.Olivier & I have been to Normandy...
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France: The Land of Haute & Hilarious Cuisine

France: The Land of Haute & Hilarious Cuisine

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
When I first moved to France a little over 4 years ago, I was immediately enamored with the food.  I'm sure that's hardly a surprise.  I mean, this is the country that invented haute cuisine, chefs, bistros & the words "restaurant" & "gourmet".French dishes from various regions are known far & wide outside of France's borders: foie gras, escargot, cassoulet, bouillabaisse, crepes & croque monsieur.Everyone knows about Brie & Bleu Cheese.  Grocery stores in the U.S. sell Herbes de Provence.  Any idiot knows what a croissant is.The point is, these people are not fucking around when it comes to the food.  It's an art; it's one of life's greatest pleasures & should be enjoyed.  It isn't just a means of survival or fuel - it's a way of life.However, while America eats itself to death, it's only natural for the fat of that land to spread.  Little bits of American culture can be seen everywhere & France is no exception. ...
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There & Back Again, Part 5 – The Last Stage

There & Back Again, Part 5 – The Last Stage

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
"No vacation goes unpunished." ~Karl Hakkarainen"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." ~Lin Yutang"The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land." ~G.K. Chesterton * * *When the guy across the aisle from us began discussing stabbings & which mixture of drugs enabled him to best endure such an incident, I knew that I had had enough of fucking Greyhound.We arrived at the Greyhound station in Denver after our brief stop in Amarillo.  We had 2 hours to stand in a line in front of the door where the bus would arrive.  Sucking down our mediocre & over-priced nachos, Olivier & I observed that while the bus station in Denver was larger & cleaner than what we'd grown accustomed to, being forced to watch Fox News on...
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You Can Go Home Again… For a Price

You Can Go Home Again… For a Price

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
“There are things you just can't do in life. You can't beat the phone company, you can't make a waiter see you until he's ready to see you, and you can't go home again.” -Bill Bryson "You can't go back home to your family, back home to your childhood ... back home to a young man's dreams of glory and of fame ... back home to places in the country, back home to the old forms and systems of things which once seemed everlasting but which are changing all the time — back home to the escapes of Time and Memory." -Thomas Wolfe, You Can't Go Home Again "America is my country and Paris is my hometown." -Gertrude Stein ◊ There is something that happens to someone when they live abroad. It doesn't matter where they live, or for how long; spending an extended period of time living in a country that is not your own will affect anyone who tries it. If you've...
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Coffee Cups & Campgrounds: The Road Back to France

Coffee Cups & Campgrounds: The Road Back to France

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
"'Mid pleasures and palaces through we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like Home." -J. Howard Payne"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it." -George Moore "I have measured out my life with coffee spoons." -T.S. Eliot* * * I stared out the window, watching Germany roll by as we made our way to Freiburg. "You know," I said to Olivier. "I can't recall the last time that I had a decent cup of coffee." He pulled on his beard as he steered our little Renault up the highway, recalling all of the cups of coffee we'd drunk over the past days.Then he said, "We haven't had a decent cup of coffee since we left France." It was true. I had some drip coffee from a bakery with my kanelgiffel in Copenhagen. We made some nasty instant sludge while camping in Sweden and had some watered-down American style joe with our Frühstück in...
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