The wedding book recieved rave reviews. see here for your copy! www.blurb.com/my/book/detail/103257
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Bicicle - By Flore Garnier
Spotted young and fresh, this challenging Gernobloise artist has taken two very important collectors by heart whith her latest works, using a muted palate she has counjoured the innocent rebellion of the impressionist movement, with her dynamic tribute to Ferdinand Leger, recently returned from a trip to the framers the piece now sits above the bed of Buffy Gorrilla and Ben Pawson, art world watch out!
The market we don't go to
Its more photo genic, but the people there are merchants, not producers. The next square over has a much nicer farmers market, the people have hands covered in the same mud that their produce grew out of, or grew in, or on.
We have taken some chances on strange looking things, and things we had only heard about, cardoons, celeriac, courgette flowers, chilies, we have yet to sample everything, but its only a matter of time.
We have taken some chances on strange looking things, and things we had only heard about, cardoons, celeriac, courgette flowers, chilies, we have yet to sample everything, but its only a matter of time.
The Grand Hotel at Uriage des Bains.
This is Buffy, peeking out of the bathroom window in our room at the Grand Hotel in Uriage les Bains. We stayed there for a night last weekend. It started with a mobile call when I was at home and Buffy was out seeing a friend, "did you get my text?" she said. "what text?" "just look at the text...bye."
So I looked at the text, 'there is a clue in your favorite place to read, if you can remember a special date you will find a clue'
Naturally intrigued I went to my favorite reading place and tucked in a magazine was envelope #1!
The clue said, go to your favorite boulangerie and buy two quiches, then ask the lady for your next clue, so using the money left in the envelope I went and bought a salmon quiche and a gruyer quiche and asked the lady if par hazard she had a small blue envelope for me, yes!! she did.
The next clue mentioned pachyderms... big pachyderms, and there is only one big elephant in Grenoble, so off I went with my quiches and some change to the botanical gardens to search the elephant. and sure enough when I got there taped to the side of the elephants big ass was another blue envelope, 'I hope you chose some good quiches, and that they are still hot, you will need the change you have to take the number 6010 bus from stop Bir Hakiem near the refectory, the reason I came to Grenoble in the first place, you will know where to get off, look under the bus stop bench for your next clue'.
So I got on the bus and tried to guess where I should get off, we soon started going up into the mountains and when I got to Uriage Les Bains I thought this must be the place, I used to get the bus up here all the time to go see Buffy when she lived 'upstairs' before we got married.
And sure enough under the bus stop bench was the final blue envelope, "there is only one great hotel in Uriage see you there in a bit!". finally having an idea of what she had done I asked at the reception if there was a Buffy Gorrilla staying there?? 'Oui monsieur, je vous passe' nice! Buffy had booked a room for the night, we had a reservation at the fantastic restaurant at the hotel, Les Terrasse which was a wedding gift from Buffy’s colleges. It was recently raised from two Michelin stars to three!
Uriage les Bains is called that because of the thermal spa there, which we also will benefit form when we take advantage of the spa day that My colleges gave us for our wedding!
So we relaxed in the hotel pool, got swept up in a free aquarobic lesson, which gave us a good appetite for the meal later.
The menu is below, but a few words about the atmosphere and service, the other two pillars of judgment that Michelin looks at.
Its an elegant and refined place, but not over fancy or pretentious, just nice, classy!
The service was like a silent wave, you look up from whatever is enchanting you on your plate and the whole table has changed, the maitre de hoté was very concerned that we have a wonderful evening, he moved us to another table from our first one, suggesting that it might be quieter since there was a table of 10 persons arriving later. And would we like to sit face a face, or a coté to each other, well with a face as lovely as Buffy’s side by side would be a waste.
The food was as you can imagine form below wonderful, interesting, well executed and light. A wonderful evening made even better by a wonderful companion.
The Menu de Degustation - Les Terraces 13/10/07
dried sausage on curled bread discs.
Shots of frozen celery reduction floating on apple juice, granny smith.
A spoon of jellied radish, with pain demi-sel on the end. Beetroot roll with grated sweet chocolate. Rhubarb consommé and fresh peanut butter floating on top.
Oyster fried in beignet batter with a shot of beef/oyster bouillon.
Fresh yoghurt with tomatoes capped with mint and basil crisp.
Truffled pain purdue, in squash foam and apple cream liquid very light.
Roast Cod with green tomatoes gazpacho. Wasabi pea and hoi sin sauce.
Duckling slice with frois gras and potato cake.
Frais de bois with toasted barley.
yoghurt jelly with frais and frais de bois and mint ice cream. Shot of cappuccino with cream, pear cake with pear jelly with a chocolate sheet.
passion Fruit jelly with peanut butter, light and not chewy.
With coffee, kiwi skewers with chocolate pop rocks!
Noughhart with Indian spices, chocolate cube with salty caramel.
Two glasses of wine of unknown origin. A glass of ultra brut champagne and a glass of rose champagne.
Bingo.
So I looked at the text, 'there is a clue in your favorite place to read, if you can remember a special date you will find a clue'
Naturally intrigued I went to my favorite reading place and tucked in a magazine was envelope #1!
The clue said, go to your favorite boulangerie and buy two quiches, then ask the lady for your next clue, so using the money left in the envelope I went and bought a salmon quiche and a gruyer quiche and asked the lady if par hazard she had a small blue envelope for me, yes!! she did.
The next clue mentioned pachyderms... big pachyderms, and there is only one big elephant in Grenoble, so off I went with my quiches and some change to the botanical gardens to search the elephant. and sure enough when I got there taped to the side of the elephants big ass was another blue envelope, 'I hope you chose some good quiches, and that they are still hot, you will need the change you have to take the number 6010 bus from stop Bir Hakiem near the refectory, the reason I came to Grenoble in the first place, you will know where to get off, look under the bus stop bench for your next clue'.
So I got on the bus and tried to guess where I should get off, we soon started going up into the mountains and when I got to Uriage Les Bains I thought this must be the place, I used to get the bus up here all the time to go see Buffy when she lived 'upstairs' before we got married.
And sure enough under the bus stop bench was the final blue envelope, "there is only one great hotel in Uriage see you there in a bit!". finally having an idea of what she had done I asked at the reception if there was a Buffy Gorrilla staying there?? 'Oui monsieur, je vous passe' nice! Buffy had booked a room for the night, we had a reservation at the fantastic restaurant at the hotel, Les Terrasse which was a wedding gift from Buffy’s colleges. It was recently raised from two Michelin stars to three!
Uriage les Bains is called that because of the thermal spa there, which we also will benefit form when we take advantage of the spa day that My colleges gave us for our wedding!
So we relaxed in the hotel pool, got swept up in a free aquarobic lesson, which gave us a good appetite for the meal later.
The menu is below, but a few words about the atmosphere and service, the other two pillars of judgment that Michelin looks at.
Its an elegant and refined place, but not over fancy or pretentious, just nice, classy!
The service was like a silent wave, you look up from whatever is enchanting you on your plate and the whole table has changed, the maitre de hoté was very concerned that we have a wonderful evening, he moved us to another table from our first one, suggesting that it might be quieter since there was a table of 10 persons arriving later. And would we like to sit face a face, or a coté to each other, well with a face as lovely as Buffy’s side by side would be a waste.
The food was as you can imagine form below wonderful, interesting, well executed and light. A wonderful evening made even better by a wonderful companion.
The Menu de Degustation - Les Terraces 13/10/07
dried sausage on curled bread discs.
Shots of frozen celery reduction floating on apple juice, granny smith.
A spoon of jellied radish, with pain demi-sel on the end. Beetroot roll with grated sweet chocolate. Rhubarb consommé and fresh peanut butter floating on top.
Oyster fried in beignet batter with a shot of beef/oyster bouillon.
Fresh yoghurt with tomatoes capped with mint and basil crisp.
Truffled pain purdue, in squash foam and apple cream liquid very light.
Roast Cod with green tomatoes gazpacho. Wasabi pea and hoi sin sauce.
Duckling slice with frois gras and potato cake.
Frais de bois with toasted barley.
yoghurt jelly with frais and frais de bois and mint ice cream. Shot of cappuccino with cream, pear cake with pear jelly with a chocolate sheet.
passion Fruit jelly with peanut butter, light and not chewy.
With coffee, kiwi skewers with chocolate pop rocks!
Noughhart with Indian spices, chocolate cube with salty caramel.
Two glasses of wine of unknown origin. A glass of ultra brut champagne and a glass of rose champagne.
Bingo.
Mountains - random mountains.
You get a bit blasé after a while then one day Wham! you get hit upside the head by a wonderful vista and you realise just how big a pile of rocks it is that you live in the middle of, and just how beautiful the random forces of nature are. Then you get back on with life until it happens again. Then they get covered with snow and its a little like rembrant has reached out from beyond the grave and rendered them in the most perfect chiarascuro to bring out the beauty that can hide in the dull rock colours under the flat midday sun. And its beautiful all over again.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Staggering achievement for a skinny legged brit.
We started at 500m above sealevel, and this is us two and a bit hours later. Atop the local mountain, 1250m later.
Easy no, but very rewarding, we touched on 58km/hr on the way down. Which is around....... fast miles per hour.
We had to stop and rest a few times on the way up, which we are now endeavouring to reduce on our next attempt!
Yay us.
Easy no, but very rewarding, we touched on 58km/hr on the way down. Which is around....... fast miles per hour.
We had to stop and rest a few times on the way up, which we are now endeavouring to reduce on our next attempt!
Yay us.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Avignon
Last weekend we headed for a LONGER day trip to a Avignon, a cute little city in the Vaucluse, which is near Provence. It was popular back in the day because it was home of the Pope when there was some trouble in Italy. We had a nice picnic next to the river and then went into the walled city to have a snoop around. I had been to Avignon when I studied in England for the year, but I had not been back since and Ben had never been. It was a fun day.
Mini Museum
We had our little friends Oscar and Fergus to visit and spend the night at the end of July before their new sister arrived. We planned many activities, one of them was finger painting, which Ben had never done either. They were a bit uncertain at first as they did not want to get dirty, but as you can see they really got into it. Plus they were the most patient when we realized the battery on the car was dead. My fault, I left the lights on.
Hyde Park
During our week in the UK we decided to spend a night in London. We have lots of fond memories from our dating days of times in the capital. This was no exception. We had the sunniest day and we passed about three hours just sitting, chatting, reading and people watching.
Leeds Castle
The charming courtyard. It would be a great place to sit with a latte and the paper on a Sunday morning. One can always dream!
Which Way?
We did a box hedge maze. The goal was to get to a grotto in the middle. It was more challenging than it looked from the out set, but we managed! Good thing Ben was a scout!
Paul and Jack
This is Paul and his very cute son Jack. Jack was a real trooper, taking in all the history!
Leeds Castle
Here we are for a day out at Leads Castle during our last visit in the UK. Ben's friends Paul and Fran planned a fun day.
Durham Cathedral
Ben and I were in England for a wedding in July. Ben's best man Craig married Leslie. We stopped in Durham for breakfast on the way back to Ben's aunt's house.
Bastille
One of the main attractions in Grenoble, the Bastille, a great walk up and down. The lazy people take the 'Bubble Cars' as our little friends Oscar and Fergu call them.
Fort St. Eynard
We decided to go for a hike when Jess was here, but it turned out to be difficult, so Ben was kind enough to go get the car and come back for us! We then drove to the top and old fort called St. Eynard. Fantastic views of the area.
Pont du Gar
This is an old Roman bridge that is in the department du Gar. It was recommended to me to visit by one of my students. Well worth the drive.
Jess' Visit
Last December my good friend Jessica came to visit. This was her first visit to Grenoble. I was really surprised she decided to come, she has a child now and I understand how that limits things. She was my MOH ( Matron of Honor) and said she could not give a proper toast until she had seen where I had been spending the past three years. We had a great week, fast but loads of fun.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Wedding photos now available
W e recieved the photos from the photographer, all are up online at flickr, see collections > Wedding > edited highlights. You can get to flickr by clicking on any photo here.
If you log in as a user, or create an account if you don't already have one, you can have the images printed for you, simply click on a single image, and you should see a row of buttons along the top, one should be 'order prints' they really are very good, its how we did the photos in the middle of the tables at the reception. Cheap also, and you can pick them up from Target in the US, and QOOP ship to the UK and France. We won't be doing the print ordering thing, so lets get 21st century! Drop me a line if you have issues.
If you log in as a user, or create an account if you don't already have one, you can have the images printed for you, simply click on a single image, and you should see a row of buttons along the top, one should be 'order prints' they really are very good, its how we did the photos in the middle of the tables at the reception. Cheap also, and you can pick them up from Target in the US, and QOOP ship to the UK and France. We won't be doing the print ordering thing, so lets get 21st century! Drop me a line if you have issues.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
AlvarAlto vase the last wedding gift
Everyone has been so very generous, even people that came all the way to MSP for the wedding were generous, to whit, Jenny our glamerous, beautiful, intelligent and above all Texan friend who lived iin Grenoble until just before the wedding who has gifted us the beautiful Alvar Alto vase which has top shelf status (a good tihng?) in our bookshelf thing.
The desing is based on sketches of an eskimo woomans leather purse, and true the cirves do have the supply yet strong forms of that most natural material. This is the last wedding gift, and we are massivley grateful to all of you who came, who gave those who came and gave. Check back this week for the arrival of the offical wedding photos!
The desing is based on sketches of an eskimo woomans leather purse, and true the cirves do have the supply yet strong forms of that most natural material. This is the last wedding gift, and we are massivley grateful to all of you who came, who gave those who came and gave. Check back this week for the arrival of the offical wedding photos!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Roast with the most.
Bobbing between Buffys brothers is the elder of my best men, Paul, a man of wisdom and age, a mature man, who is both married and with child, maybe it was the influence of his younger, altough equally mature brother but they managed to work into their speech about 6 blown up photos of me urinating in public.
I suppose it speaks to the relaxed, intimate nature of our relationship, and the confidence they had that this would not casue my new family to reject me. Lucky them.
I suppose it speaks to the relaxed, intimate nature of our relationship, and the confidence they had that this would not casue my new family to reject me. Lucky them.
Cafe Lurcat, the reception Venue
Wonderful meal, great venue, couldnot have been more pleased with the Cafe Lurcat, and cute to boot! We started with Champagne, and then a fuzzy salad of light greens and something I didn;t quite get a change to sample... then a side of sea bass basted in Miso, r a hanger steak, with vedgetables, and each table had a bucket of the most delicious fries ever, they are famous in minneapolis, as are the miniature hamburgers, which Jess pulled some strings and had a couple brought over to our table, for Buffy and I to share, not sure if she ever got to taste them though.... Then we did speeches, and thanks to My Dad and Buffys Mom, and then to Buffys brothers who pulled the nicet words out of thin air! And then on to the Best men, who we will deal with later....
My new Family
An auspicious bunch of people, strong personalities abound, but the love flows freely and it will be a joy to add to the feast.
My new Family
I joked the wedding was a takover not a merger, but I was very gald to see everyone get on and hopefully make freinds. it was a unique experiance in my life and I will always remember the people who made it so special for us.
Exchanging vows, rings and hints.
So this was it, and the only thought on my mind... "are brown shoes OK with a blue suit,?" No seriously it was a lovley time, and very serious, very adult. and then joyouse.
The ceremony.
Its amazing how nerves manifest themselves, I became Mr Bossy and got into issuing commands and shuffeling people around. Buffy needed to change clothes. But it all came together well and everyone was where they needed to be, and looking down the aisle it was a vision of loving friends and family surrounding a proud mother and her glowing daughter, I wish I had a camera, it was a sight to behold.
Special friends
Buffys dear friends Jess and Jill are failing hopelessly in their mission to 'Bring Buffy home' which is why it was so good they all got to spend some quality time together, it was also super to see their respective kids growing up so fast and so well, pat your bum and eat that cereal bar !
The hat boxes
The british ladies pretty much all brought hats, and there were some wonderful concoctions on display, Buffy having never seen a hat box, let alone a john lewis hatbox was obviously in shock...
We were very pleased to almost meet everyone at the airport that came from europe (sorry Catherine and David!) it makes that first introduction to a foreign country and the difficult grid system (even with GPS) that bit easier.
We were very pleased to almost meet everyone at the airport that came from europe (sorry Catherine and David!) it makes that first introduction to a foreign country and the difficult grid system (even with GPS) that bit easier.
The best men, and me.
I was ably assisted by the honorable Brothers Dempsey, on the left, Paul, the older brother, concerned for others, giving and generous, he made sure all went smoothly. On the Right Craig, the younger brother, cool calm and certificated clam in a crisis, he walked me through the landmine strewn area of vows learning, and held a steady head throughout.
I am deeply indebted to them both, and they did a fine speech, for which they will both be punished in hell.
I am deeply indebted to them both, and they did a fine speech, for which they will both be punished in hell.
Pre Wedding.
Before the wedding we spent 10 days getting prepared, shopping, and meeting friends and Family, the beautiful lady pictured, (not Buffy!) is Mrs Nolan, she threw us a wonderful dinner, which she spent days preparing, and was the prefect start to our wedding.
She is a special lady, a real firecracker and will kick your ass if you deserve it, so watch out!
This image was taken at a shower thrown by the estiemed ladies of Knox Avenue, and select specila guests, including I am pleased to say some of my aunts and my mother. A great time was had by all, or so I hear.
She is a special lady, a real firecracker and will kick your ass if you deserve it, so watch out!
This image was taken at a shower thrown by the estiemed ladies of Knox Avenue, and select specila guests, including I am pleased to say some of my aunts and my mother. A great time was had by all, or so I hear.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Us leaving the wedding ceremony
The church is on the campus of my wifes old University, and its a stunning building, huge, and old and well designed and obviously built with love.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Buffy took a digger
Buffy got her bike wheel caught in the tram tracks, and blam! scrapes and bruises all over. Including a nasty dent in the ego, and a bruised pride, it was very public. She is well and safe and I didn't laugh till I knew she was OK.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
The enviable state of French politics
Not sure if you are aware but theres some French general elections on at the moment. Not amazing in itself, and certainly not amazing to most jeded english peole, but its of GREAT interest to French people, and an astonishing amount and cross section of French people, I even heard some typical ;yoofs' dicussin who was better, Segolen Royale, or Nichols Sarckozy, and seriously, they were discussing issues, as well as who would win in a fight.
At the office, the two youngest employees spent over 15 miniutes dicussing the various metis of the different candidates, its refreshing.
At the office, the two youngest employees spent over 15 miniutes dicussing the various metis of the different candidates, its refreshing.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Bens family
A brief introduction to the members of my family. Might help with some of the introductions, maybe we could do the whole wedding by email and blog... and fed-ex cake and mimosas to everyone, then we could all dive in a skype chat and video webcam everyone in!
Or we could press the flesh, communicate non verbally and get our flabby white asses of the couch and go be somewhere else for a while! yay face to face!
Or we could press the flesh, communicate non verbally and get our flabby white asses of the couch and go be somewhere else for a while! yay face to face!
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