Mon Jardin d’Hiver

Instead of crossing the atlantic to come back to the US during the holidays I spent a lovely Christmas in Agen with Ludo and his family.  It was wonderful to experience the Christmas traditions in France.  I must say I missed you all quite a lot …

After Christmas I  took a train to Paris to meet up with Kate Clairemont, a friend I made this summer at French language school.  We spent five days touring the city by foot, refusing to take the metro in hopes of seeing more of the city and trying to burn off all of the Christmas food.  We saw this great Picasso exposition which compared the works of Picasso with those that inspired him.  It was amazing how they were able to organize all of these great works under one roof.  One of my favorites was the comparison of Manet’s Olympia with the Nu couché jouant avec un chat (1964), by Pablo Picasso.

Manet

Picasso

*A French Website with pictures from the exposition:

http://www.lexpress.fr/culture/art-plastique/le-choc-picasso_584254.html

*An article in English which explains the exposition, however  there are no pictures:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121503402_pf.html

The second semester has now started.  I’m taking, two translation courses (french – english, english – french); a contemporary art history course; three writing courses focusing on french grammar, stylistic and expression.  At Sciences Politiques, the political science university, I’m taking International Migrations, and Subsaharian Africa.  I play on the Sciences Po girl’s soccer team every monday and wednesday and my german friend Johanna and I go running together on the other days.  I hope that you are all well and I’d love to hear from you! My email is cmcollin@middlebury.edu

Gros BISOUS!

FRANCE

Here are some pictures of my fall in France:

Sarlat is a small medieval town in the southern part of France which I visited with a group of students from Middlebury. We also visited the Perigord Region which is home to Foie Gras, Duck, Walnuts, the famous grottes de Lasco (cave found in the 30′s), and countless Châteaux.

Soulac, is the name a beach town on the atlantic where my family goes each weekend and in the summer.  The family’s mantra at Soulac is “On mange n’importe quoi, n’importe quand et n’importe comment”  translating into we eat whatever we want, whenever we want and however we want.  Needless to say the youngest girl Jeanne was frequently snacking on a candy.

Hossegor is where I went with my good friend from Middlebury, Katie Hubbard,  two other foreign exchange students, Phillipe and Sebastien.  We stayed at Phillipe’s family summer house which was gorgeous, cooked dinner, swam in the ocean (I was the only one brave enough to go in) and used the Hammam (a really cool Steam room). Apparently the weekend before there was the National Championships for surfing!

Paris, was another place I visited, a little city not too well known in France, let alone in the world.  There I saw some old paintings and stuff….nothing too exciting, just the tour eiffel, centre madeline, jardin de luxembourg.  One word to sum it up,  Amazing.  However after visiting this great city I decided to stay in Bordeaux for the entire school year as I have wonderful living accomadations, friends and feel at home in the city.

Bonjour! Tout le monde …

So I’ve promised all of you that I will right and I’m sorry it’s taken so long – I’ve been in the middle of moving in a new place…  dealing with the French Beaucracy, an integral part of all that is French (Schools, Banks, Post Office etc…), perhaps with the exception of restaurants!

Nonethless I’ve been jotting a few little things and I’m putting them up on my blog for all of you to read.  Some of them are radom little poems … others just memoires and thoughts on certain days and others just nouvelles de ma vie (news about my life).

Bissous!

10 rue de la Prévoté

Sky Mall

The following piece was inspired by Cara Magazine found in the pocket in the seat infront of me during my seven hour flight.  I flipped through various pages writting down words:

{safety, shades, escape, hours, adorned, oyster, white and black, baroque, amid, building blocks, ventilation, gourmet, uncover, office building, natural like, towers, dauntingly, historic, edge, tradegy, sophisticated gusto}

And then wrote this…

This country needs someone with a sophisticated gusto.  Not someone adorned in oyster shades perhaps in white and black, dauntingly natural, the jcrew fall colors.

One who will bring ventilation into the baroque office buildings and towers.

A fantasy as such can only last on hours edge – our synical society is bound to uncover rust on the stowed away past, a historical tradegy would always last.

My Life of Food

 

Finger Painting

Piths of the amberseed orange combined with the chocolate mousse frame the edges.

 

Pomegranate seeds burst onto the canvas.

Melted brie is pressed on the cracked mural.

Jade avocado paste is spread on the toasted surface.

 

Tart and tangy blueberry hues dot the remaining white unsullied surface.

 

 

Strawberry Shortcakes

Strawberry Shortcakes

 

 She’s not looking directly at the camera, but smiles knowing she is the subject in focus.

Draping to the side, her hair is dirty blonde, streaked with hints of champagne from the summer sun. 

Her teeth like whipped cream – an enamel of sugar and vanilla.

This mold of white peaks, is pressed between the two strawberry glossed lips. 

Joining at both ends are her flour puffed cheeks splashed with red from the juice of the berries or a day on the lake. 

She is encased in decadence.  

 

Mango Brulee

Still trying to figure out how to put this under the recipe category…

Serves 4 Ingredients 2 medium mangoes500g (1lb 2oz) tub mascarpone cheese 30ml(2 tbsp) runny honeyseeds from half a vanilla pod 60ml (4 tbsp) demerara sugar Peel and remove the stones from the mangoes. Cut 12 thin slices and set aside for decoration. Purée half the remaining mango flesh, by pushing through a sieve and dice what is left. Combine the diced mango with the purée and divide between four large ramekins or heatproof bowls. Mix the honey and vanilla seeds into the mascarpone and divide between the four ramekins. Smooth off the tops, decorate with the mango slices and chill for at least 30 minutes. Sprinkle each ramekin with 15ml (1tbsp) sugar and place under a very hot pre-heated grill, until the sugar caramelises. For a professional result, use a cook’s blowtorch to caramelise the sugar. Allow to stand for 2-3 minutes before serving.

 

Mango Facts

 

1. Mangos are native to southern Asia, especially Burma and eastern India.
2. There are two races of mangos, one from India and the other from the Philippines.
3. To grow mangos from their seed, remove the husk and plant the seed (before it dries out) with the hump at soil level.
4. Mango leaves are considered toxic to cattle or other grazing livestock.
5. Mango leaves are used at Indian weddings to ensure the couple bear plenty of children, by hanging mango leaves outside the house.
6. Hindus may also brush their teeth with mango twigs on holy days.
7. Over 20 million tons of mangoes are grown in the tropics and sub tropics.
8. In the UK, mangoes outsell fresh pineapples on a weekly basis.
9. The Mango is a member of the cashew family of flowering plants; other species include the pistachio tree and poison ivy.
10. Mangoes can range from 2 – 10 inches in length.