Espresso and Gzorgzasank

Today was a long day. I had a million errands to run. First, Zac and I were off to Nespresso, the wonderful, amazing, aroma-producing, caffeine lovers paradise. I got two boxes of each flavor - Arpeggio, Roma, Decaffeinato Intenso, Livanto, Capriccio, Volluto, and Cosi. Now, I will be honest with you by saying that I had never had espresso before I moved to France. Zacharie and I got back to the house and I let him unload them all to their place. Before he finished, I was already fixing a long shot. I am taking one of these machines back to the states with me.

I was supposed to do the ooshop list. It's an internet site where the family does the shopping. Something happened to the computer, so I couldn't get it done. Check it out though - www.ooshop.com. It's pretty cool. When Isabelle and Basile went to NYC, they bought the children clothes for the new school year. Mostly from Banana Republic for the older boys, GAP for Zac, and Abercrombie for Verena. I cleaned out Zac's closet today and had him try on his new clothes. This is a tall family so I assumed he would fit in size 7 since he turns 7 in October. I pulled the elastic in the waist as tight as I could and they still swallowed him. Clown pants. I think American children are getting bigger. Little Zacharie doesn't really seem to be too small for his age compared to the other kids.

I had to cook again. Quite a few of you are asking about my meals and what I have cooked. Tonight I had planned to cook Porc au carmen - Caramel Pork. I went to the Boucherie and purchased pork roast. I brought it back, cut it up and grilled it on a skillet with olive oil and garlic. After a few minutes I added some grapefruit juice, brown sugar, maggai sauce, salt, and pepper. I let them cook under a little for about twenty minutes, turning them over occasionally. Rice and green bean almondine accompanied the pork. It smelled great and the kids seemed to like it.

Jasmin texted me to to say that she was meeting up with Monica, a girl we know from Savannah that lives in Brooklyn. She's been in Paris for a couple of months and only has two weeks until she moves back. After I left work, I hopped on the metro to Champs Elysees, then to George V (pronounced with a soft g - gzorgz a sank). The three of us girls were late, so we met up at the metro, then walked together to the restaurant off of Avenue George V. I don't have any idea what the place was called. Five French men were our dinner companions for the night. Arthur, Monica's boyfriend told us that dinner would be interesting since their English isn't so great, but it would be quite entertaining because they always joke with each other if they say the wrong thing. Everyone was so interesting. The main conversation I had with four of them was on travel. Once I told them I had never traveled Europe, their faces lit up and they went on and on about their favorite places. All said Rome was their top pick, but disagreed on Vienna and Barcelona as their second. Soon following, Xavier asked if I had any paper. The napkins were perfect tablets. I now have a great list of travel destinations to choose from!

Here's a pic of the group from the night. Xavier left early and another one was taking the picture. How generous, I know.

Our walk back was great. I thought about the movie French Kiss, with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, when she was in the Hotel George V. I loved the concierge. He cracked me up! I kept repeating "Welcome to zee Hotel George a sanq". It's a gorgeous area on Avenue des Champs Elysees. This city is so amazing at night!