Jackie du Monde

Today in Paris, it is cold .  Life must continue however, so I bundled up and ran around my neighborhood doing my errands.  As I walked out of the grocery store, I was greeted by snowflakes, big fluffy ones, lightly falling and melting as soon as they hit the ground.  It felt like Christmastime again.  In Colorado this year, we had snow on Christmas Eve which made the holiday perfect. I'm not happy about the cold.  About two weeks ago, I felt the days getting longer, temperatures were slowly creeping up and I thought we were over the winter hump.  But we're not,  a few more weeks of sweaters, knit hats, one of three pairs of boots on constant rotation and the desire to eat and drink endless amounts of hot chocolate.  So here I sit, bundled up in the house, watching the snowflakes fall quietly outside of my window and reliving one of my favorite winter moments - the Fête des lumières , or Festival of Lights in Lyon, eastern France. My London frie...

Here we are at the crux of a new year.  The last few weeks have been filled with introspection, as they usually are for me.  I mull and muse over the past year - what it brought, what I learned and what is next. This year was a year of work - I worked hard and got my reward a few weeks ago when I was notified that I got a promotion.   However, that came with a price, which was mainly leaving little energy for what actually gives me energy. Sadly, the blog was neglected and it's a shame. I had so many beautiful adventures, but I feel they just sped by and I moved on, and I didn't share them. But I've been back in Paris for a few days, after lots of sleep and a good dose of home.  And the urge to write and to share and to tell has come back.  That's a good sign.  The sun was shining on new year's day.  That's a good sign.  I finally got my social security number after waiting 14 months - that's a fantastic sign.  I'm feeling goo...

If you are interested in food porn, just scroll to the bottom and ignore my flowery words.  :) E-mail, May 1 Hi, Ok, I booked the hotel for San Sebastian (with a view of La Playa de Concha).  Should I make the reservation to Arzak for Thursday night? ------- Hey there, So exciting.  YES!!  Though I don't think you'll get a reservation this late.  But I'll keep my fingers crossed. E-mail, May 2 Hi, Ok you were right, it is impossible to go to ARZAK but...we will go to something better.  Arzak is number 8 in the world's 50 best restaurants and Mugaritz is number 3!! I booked a table for the 24th at 21:30 :-) Have a great day. ------- Hi, Number 3?  I suppose that will have to do.  ;) Real life, Thursday, May 24th - 21:40, somewhere in the Basque countryside near San Sebastian No trip to Basque is complete without basking in the Michelin star.   This region in Spain has one of the highest Michelin star pe...

From Pays Basque, my friend picked me up in Saint Jean de Luz and drove us the 20 minutes it takes to get to País Vasco, the Spanish Basque country.   We're greeted by "Hola" at the toll booth and  I begin to practice speaking with my Spanish lisp, gratheeiath.  (I still like the Mexican accent better, I have to admit.) View from my hotel balcony in San Sebastian.  You can see the corner of La Concha on the left. What can I say about San Sebastian?  Well I have to mention my friend Dave, who has officially reported that he is unhappy his name has never appeared in my blog.  In all fairness, Dave and I have never traveled together though we have spent many moments meandering through Paris when he is in town for work (he is a colleague.)  But today I'm going to mention him.  Why you ask?  Because Dave has a dream.  To retire at 40 (with a few other details that I can't share) and to do so in San Sebastian.  And I think Dave m...

It was about that time again, time for a real vacation.  Forget the jam packed few days of discovering something tacked onto a work trip.  I needed a real break.  T he beauty of Europe is there are so many destinations close to home.  And I wanted something simple.  I wanted to take the train and see the countryside.  I didn’t want a city packed with sights.  I wanted the seaside, sunshine (it was a long winter), a slow pace and time to catch my breath and decompress from the hustle and bustle of city life. So I decided to head southwest, to see a part of France I'd never seen before,  Basque Country . Why?  I can't really explain it.  It was something about the way people talk about this unique piece of Europe that sparked my curiosity to discover it.  The coast is peppered with beaches and walking trails, people enjoying sand and surf.  The interior is filled with beautiful little villages.  The language ( Euskara ...

My friend Mike owns a champagne importing company in Connecticut, called Transatlantic Bubbles.  I met Mikey on an unforgettable trip to the Russian River Valley many years ago, when I was invited along to celebrate his and a friend’s 30 th birthday. Each year, Mike and his business partner, Jeff, put together a week-long trip to Champagne to visit some of their marquis producers.  They invite some of their best clients and an occasional charming American living in Europe (or three) to partake in some of the festivities. The bottle that started it all... This year, I was able to join the group at the end of their week to visit one of my favorite producers, George Laval.  Mike introduced me to Laval on a beautiful spring night in London, when he brought a bottle to our dinner picnic on Islington Green, a very small park, a patch of grass really, in the north of London, near where I used to live.  It was an unassuming bottle, with a simple label.  M...