blog #7

blog #7 -- juillet 2007

Okay, okay...I'm completely delinquent on publishing tardiness, and you, the faithful readers of le blog have let me know it. I offer first a sincere apology to those checking the site daily, only to see an expired countdown clock and the stale picture of Shannon's fingers holding a blue folder. You would have thought minimally I could have posted a picture of us in haute couture swimwear on the Riviera, or even better strolling the streets of Paris with our "new friend" Jessica Alba -providing minimal entertainment value until I finished the job. Note to self: go to the Riviera; hang out with Jessica more often. Take pictures for improved credibility.

Now, in addition to apologies I offer you proper explanation for this offense, for which I believe there are at least 3 valid points: 1) You may recall my description in the Mai blog of us in tireless transition to becoming french locals. To that point, I ask, "What is more French than taking three or four weeks off without guilt or remorse?" Vive la resistance. 2) In our defense, we did do some record-breaking mileage in the month of July, covering 6 countries -- France, England, Denmark, Romania, US (East Coast and West Coast), and Canada - generating some gems for the blog that we offer you today. Vive le blog gems. 3) Rest assured that we spent much of this mileage visiting the very audience that is most loyal to and interested in le blog. In fact, if you didn't get a visit from us in the month of July (or August), be concerned...very concerned. Vive la famille, vivent les amis.

Enough of apologies and excuses - Romania baby...yeah!

When we last left you Shannon had, in miraculous fashion, just received her work permit-- hours before departing for work training in this seemingly "hip, revived Eastern European country" known as Romania. It's only in retrospect that she can advise you to give it a few more decades for the whole "revival" concept to become a reality. Not that it isn't headed that way...

Let the pictures begin! Here we find Shannon and Carole Piccin, a collegue from the International School of Paris (ISP), at their hotel terrace in Bucharest. This particular shot is taken from the 2007 "Ladies of ISP" Calendar with expressed permission. Carole is featured in Prada, Shannon in Le Gap.

Before the training started there was time allotted for touring the highlights of the old city. In that sentence note the emphasis on old, not highlights or city. Exhibit 1 - The Stavropoleos Church in the old center of Bucharest, built in 1724...

So that is about it for the highlights of the city. Now, we find a nice sunset at Lake Herestrau. Before you get all excited, this is not to be confused with Lake Havasu, aka "the Spring Break Capital of the World" located in Arizona. Anyone scantilly-clad, making questionable judgments at this Romanian lake would probably not be rewarded with plastic beads and ice-cold Bud Lights.

Okay, so this wasn't a Microsoft conference -- meaning some work was actually required. Below you will find the campus of the American International School of Bucharest, where the conference took place. Why training? Why Bucharest? Shannon's school follows the Primary Years Programme (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). The PYP is a curriculum framework for international primary education, and teachers like Shannon go to training in order to learn the methodology (over 300 attended this year from all over the world).

Small world moment! Below you will find Shannon with Maureen McGilvray, who was an instructor at the PYP training. Maureen and my mom taught the same grade together at Munich International School in Germany back in 1991-1992 and have remained in contact ever since.

Friends all over the world! Shannon pictured with two friends she spent much time with that week – Martin (left) who teaches in London and Melissa (center) who teaches in Istanbul. I would like to personally thank these two for helping Shannon get through this week. Martin - I owe you a pint of Guiness. Melissa - I owe you a....what would one drink in Istanbul...ice-cold Bud Light?

With Shannon back from Romania and me back from London - we celebrated Parisian-style. I have yet to receive an answer for what is is more local than an old-fashioned picnic on the Seine among friends. Time and time again, it can't be beat (note references to this ritual in past blogs). We made some quick phone calls and headed to Pont des Arts - the social epi-center of Paris.

Location, Cuisine! Tip 1: It's all about getting there early to secure bridge-real estate. Here we are at the uber-epi-center with Shwu and Bernard (top left and top right) and Yasemin and Gokhan (bottom-middle, bottom right). Tip 2: Bring traditional French picnic cuisine - fresh baguette and cheeses, cured meats, vin rouge, and... a 5L Heinekin mini-keg (less traditional, less French, but what a hit with the bridge-goers!!)

As the night grows darker, the husband-wife pairs get closer...Yasemin and Gokhan pictured back-to-back.

And speaking of married people, how is this for a "my, how time flies" shocker - Shannon and I celebrated our 4th anniversary with a dinner at Café de l’Esplanade in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. Pros: Location in the next door 7ème, ambience, and the taste. Cons: Unexpected decor feature - cannon-ball chandeliers (the restaurant is opposite Napoloeon's tomb). I told Shannon that for classy bistros in France, this artistic display of warfare is standard...

Foreground: Those little guys bathing in the garlic-pesto sauce are 100% escargot. Background: man's leg, 2006 Smart Car.

I wasn't kidding when I said shadow of Eify. The restaurant is the lighted ground floor of the pictured building (not pictured: Napoleon's tomb, Cannon artilery - directly to our left)

Country #3 - Denmark, baby, YEAH!

When thinking of the most romantic places in the world, there are only a few countries that instantly come to mind - there is Italy, Tahiti, and then there is....Denmark. And so it was decided for Anniversary trip #4, by crtieria of 1) proximity and 2) alignment with my mom & dad's europe travel schedule - that we should visit Copenhagen, Denmark: Land of The Little Mermaid and many bicycles. And that is exactly what we did...

I'll quote our local hero Rick Steves for this picture: "The Little Mermaid - overrated, overfondled, and overphotographed symbol of Copenhagen". To me at least she was several steps up from the mannequin pis of Brussels (see Avril Blog).

Many bicycles - symbol of transportation efficiency, and reduction of carbon footprint. SO trendy those Danish...

A main attraction in Copenhagen is Tivoli Gardens, a classic amusement park (unlike the US, this actually does look like a park) where we met Christian & Grethe Hervard, long time family friends of Shannon’s parents. Here are the gardens with the town hall tower in the background...

In addition to graciously showing us all around Copenagen, Christian & Grethe helped us navigate our first Danish lunch - which I must admit, required me to dig (deep) into my Scandinavian roots in search of the Viking bravery that defines my people. Why, you ask? Seems pretty friendly to me...

Well, the picture below is why. The first course of a traditional Danish open faced sandwhich-based meal is, let's just say, not something retailed in a Starbucks food display. And that "water" to be accompanied with the first course is, let's just say, not bottled in the glistening springs of the French Alps. It was time to see if I could hang with my people from up North...and following Christian's lead and careful instruction I was able to get this guy down, without a single considerating of the backup plan - the "boot and rally" approach. Bottom's up, and hat's off to Christian and Grethe!

Next we find Nyhavn Canal, home of trendy cafes and rich Copenhagen culture (and history - Hans Christian Anderson lived here and wrote his first stories here)...We also find Shannon waiting to pick one of those irresistable dockside restaurants...

Who do we have here!? Sure enough, my mom and dad were doing their annual Scandinavian Shuffle and met us in CPH. Here we are enjoyng an outdoor lunch at the picture-perfect Gråbrødretorv Square, where I taught my dad how to ingest 7 pickled herrings in under a minute (actually, it was the other way around - note Dad's expression)...

The Royal Treatment! We were luckly enough to stay with Scandinavian relatives Eero and Liisa Salovaara, who are living in Copenhagen while Eero serves his term as Ambassador of Finland. Here is a picture of dad and mom with him in front of the Ambassador's residence - nice digs!

Here we are about to sit down for dinner in the formal dining room (Eero on the left, Liisa on the right, grandkids in background). Disclaimer to future Rue Cassette visitors - our table is slightly less accomodating than this one...

On the day of our departure, we toured the Rosenborg Castle which was built in the early 1600s and houses the Danish crown jewels, which were....choice...

Peace Denmark - you've been fabulous!

Back in Paris, we had our next inductees to the 2007 Paris Repeat Visitor's Club - any guesses?

Sure enough, it was more Bettesworth love, this time from Shannon's parents- and what a repeat performance it was! You see, once the first visit of the year is completed, one can de-emphasize tiring sightseeing and focus on Paris' finer, more exquisite points. One can then discover the liberté and vérité that is, our home town.

Here are Rich and Carol looking oh-so-chic in our beloved Luxembourg Gardens...

Another perk of the second annual visit - witnessing first-hand the le changement de la saisons. Voila! We have palm trees and lush tropical surroundings!

Voila! We have manicured green lawns and antique pots filled with pink flowers. And we have, in the background, Carol observing them...

Voila! We have mother and daughter bonding time! Photographer's note - in the depth of the Rich L. Bettesworth family photo slide archive, there apparently exists another mother/daughter picture of this very bench and duo, 28 years ago. Hold for validation...

In addition to a passion for Bettesworth ladies, Rich and I share many other common interests. One such interest is Amorino gelato, which one should consume daily while in Paris. We do differ on the order - as Rich never goes away from classic coffee flavor...and strangley, two cones...

A classic Parisian sight - daughter with one cafe too little, mother with one cafe too much...

I returned from my Microsoft conference in Orlando, just in time for more mandatory finer points of Paris - a Sunday in Le Marais (blocks away from our Alba encounter), feasting falafel on-the-go...

And where does one go to with such falafel? The Place de Vosges, of course! Return visitors - Rue Cassette salutes you!

And even those who are not visiting for the 1st or 2nd time deserve, as loyal readers, to understand cool Paris summer phenomena: which is why we introduce you to 1) Vélib’ and 2) Paris Plage.

Need to get somewhere, fast, cheap, and fancy free? Grab one of these new Vélib’ bicycles (think the word for bike + liberty), tens of thousands of which have been spread throughout the entire city for the use of the people! Swipe your card at the rental post, and return to any station near your destination...For goodness sakes, someone tell Mayor Nickels about this (we'll probably need mountain bikes though)!!

South of France - take this! In the last several years summertime has brought a series of beaches and outdoor cabanas to the heart of Paris - along the banks of the Seine! If le blog of August does not feature yours truly in a French speedo on a riverside hammock, consider l'ete 2007 a bust...

Pet-owners sympathy note - Upon our departure to countries 5 and 6, the little man (aka the big man, the big boy, big p-a-p-a) did his best "face of neglect" on the way out the door...

And believe it or not, Ole's plight did not seem to dampen spirits in the work trip to Country #5 - Canada. Here I am with my co-worker / friend, Justin Garrett (center), and fraternity brother / all-around good Canadian, Jeremy Zuker (right) at Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar in Toronto. Justin, being a self-admitted French wine snob, ordered the Burgundy - and Zuker supplied local Canadian insight & hospitality. Merci Bill Gates!

And alas, Country #6 was a more familiar one - thanks to many of you! We'll leave you here with promises of Sea-Town and much, much, more on the next version of le blog. Bonnes Vacances!

-Je habite-----------------J'apprends-----------------Je mange-------------------Je bois---------------------J'adore-