Wednesday, February 19, 2014

2014-02 The City of Light



Back in the Ile de France, as Johnny Halliday might paraphrase Lennon–McCartney.

Nothing like an 8-hour layover at Chicago’s O’Hare to stimulate the journalistic juices. Airports in general are no fun, although Denver is an exception and some of the smaller, Bozeman & Colorado Springs come to mind, are quite tolerable.

But not O'Hare. There used to be NO place to recharge a laptop or phone, and now there are plenty, but most don't work. Like the menus in Moscow restaurants that offer untold gastronomic delights, but in reality there is only chicken available.

I was almost tempted to drop into downtown until I checked the wind chill.

Had enough of that in Paradise, with minus 35F and a wind chill of minus 46 (that’s minus 200 Celsius for my European followers and near absolute zero on the Kelvin scale). My truck started much to my amazement, albeit amidst bizarre shrieks of protest not previously encountered.

It doesn’t take a heap of airport observation to recognize that personality is a zero sum game. For those few that suffer from multiple personality disorder, there a bunch that have none.

Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town that Frank Sinatra called is “kinda town.” Fairly certain he never spent much time in concourse C at O’Hare.

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The Paris apartment may or may not be available in April, depending on whether reconstruction of the 17th century wall proceeds smoothly. It’s always something. But I have decided to pop over to recon the landscape and offer advice to the workers.

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I wonder if anyone has ever expired from an overdose of cheese. I could be in trouble here. I have always distained the “shop til you drop” mentality, but trudging through the marché ouvert today with enough dairy to cause a cholesterol riot, I twigged that when it comes to nourriture I am as vulnerable as any fashion diva. Bon appétit.
And gluten. Don’t get me started! Gluten et fromage, a marriage made in gastronomic heaven.
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I departed on Valentine’s Day, the day of the year when much love is expressed, often to the exclusion of the other 364. As, perhaps, the throngs who descend on Christian churches each Easter to pay their annual respects to the deity.

And I wonder how many of the X chromosomes give a Valentine gift to the Y’s? Who wrote that rule? But I did get a card from some very special 4-legged friends.

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Revisiting my decades-old haunts for favorites pizza (best on the planet), confit de canard, cous-cous, sole meuniére, etc.

Bientot

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