As cumpanhêra desanimaram cedo, ainda mais com a quantidade de gente vomitando na rua antes das duas da manhã (FRACOS). Retornamos desapontadas, com a garrafinha de uísque cheia, mas fiquei com a sensação de que poderia ter sido diferente. Uma pena.

Eis o registro dos meus melhores 8 minutos da noite, numa igrejinha no Marais com instalações e um sujeito tocando Elton John num piano de cauda.

Speaking of Grapes, she has a website that will centralize all our little tidbits. Our blogs will be in the links section, and her fanfiction (which is getting on very well). Say hello in the guestbook or something. Or forum...but I personally believe those get a bit icky.

www.stealthygrapes.webs.com

Cheerio! Or not...rather.

We stayed at the 3 Crowns Hotel, which is right near the Arc de Triomphe along the Champs Elysees. It was a pretty good location - a little outside the city center, but close enough to easily get to all the good stuff. Our room was pretty nice and with no bunk beds this time. You could definitely tell some serious smoking had been done in it, but we kind of got used to the aroma. We also had our daily 8 am wake-up provided by the construction crew working on the building next door.

Our first full day, as you can see from the pictures, we were met by dreary weather. Paybacks, we thought, for being spoiled by such nice weather in London. We pulled the Gore-Tex jackets from the bottom of our bags and set out in search of a suitable French bakery for breakfast. Not surprisingly, it didn't take us long to find one. Haley's attempt at ordering a croissant was met with a confused look from the baker. Jim stepped in though, and using his best French accent, successfully procured a "cwaa-saan." Next, we walked to the Eiffel Tower, but the dark sky persuaded us to skip the elevator ride to the top. We continued on through Paris' winding cobble-stoned streets to the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens. After our self-catered lunch of a baguette, salami (Jim's doing), cheese, and a chocolate mousse (Haley's doing), we then checked out the Latin Quarter and the famed Notre Dame Cathedral.

The next day we started off (after another breakfast of pastries) by booking our train tickets to our next destination of Brussels, Belgium. That afternoon, we walked through the gardens leading up to Paris' world renowned museum, the Louvre. We also peeked down Paris' most famous boulevard, the Champs Elysees, wishing it were the final day of the Tour de France to see the cyclists racing down the cobblestone street. After killing most of the daylight, we decided to try to conquer the massive Louvre. Our strategy was to enter the museum with only three hours till close. That way we could avoid another marathon session like at the Hermitage, and also pay half price for entering after 6pm. Our plan worked out great. The floor plan was less of a maze than the Hermitage, and we were able to hustle through the four floors with ease. We finished the experience by viewing Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and the famous Aphrodite sculpture. After visiting the Louvre, Hermitage, and about a half dozen other museums on our trip so far, we may not be seeing too many more going forward unless it's really rainy and/or the museum is free.

Ravaged by art hunger, we set out to find dinner. We totally agreed with a little girl we saw walking out of the Louvre yelling "I'm huuuungry!" to her parents. After wondering the streets for a while, we settled on a pizza place. Yes, we know we shouldn't be eating pizza in France, but it was late and they were open. It was very tasty thin crust pizza and was served with a spicy red pepper olive oil that gave it a nice kick. 

With tired feet, we opted to take the metro home. But first we made a quick detour to see the Eiffel Tour at night. The tower was lit up in a magnificent bright blue and we both agreed it looked much better at night. After snapping a few pics, eating a chocolate crepe and having a beer, we finally retired for the evening.

The next morning, we savored our last French pastry breakfast, and then set off to the train station for our first EuroPass destination of Belgium - home of Belgium Beers and Belgium waffles.

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I've spent a significant amount of time in France. And I miss it. I miss it beaucoup. So I thought that maybe a weekly homage to all things français might be in order -- and might help me cope a bit better with my withdrawal. Stop the twitching and cold sweats and stuff like that.

And it might help you too, because let's face it: French things rule.

Case in point: boulangeries. Nothing is more withdrawal-worthy than a baguette. Screw the Louvre. Screw the Eiffel Tower. GIVE ME BAGUETTES OR GIVE ME DEATH!!!! 

Vive les boulangeries!

Yes, Graham is at the table, studying. I, meanwhile, am watching The Prince and Me on Peachtree TV (formerly TBS). Ahh... this is the life!

No work talk going on here - let's just say I was happy to escape just after 5. Life goes on! I was dissuaded from running because I needed to get to the store, and then Graham called and wanted a pick up from the bus. We came home and made dinner - salmon, baguette, brussels sprouts (what we wanted last night!) and salad. And wine! Oh, the wine. Need the wine!

Note the fish cutlery?! ;)

We tried latte art this morning, but it's not as good as last time.

Hope you all have a lovely evening! See you tomorrow! :)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying being a genuine Fat Bastard is any more desirable than a size zero twiglette (other snacks are available). But there is a glee in gourmandising, and it seems foolish to deny the impulse when so much of our lives are stuffed to the brim with disappointment, pain and fear. Britain has been a spoiled country for a long time now, we are able to be trivial about the dynamics of living, subsisting on shit-standard microwave meals and living in bare, unloved buildings if there is the merest sniff that things'll be better in twenty years time. We tend to forget that the day-to-day routines are not actually a means to an end, but the fabric of life itself. Any women reading can be assured that scrawniness is not in the slightest bit attractive and is to be avoided at all costs.

Another plus point to the winter months is the demand it places upon people to get closer. At lunchtime today I was in an excellent Italian café in central London, enjoying the jostle of so many lovely ladies. Please note I am not a pervert. Honest. One is always hopeful that the opportunity will arise to get talking with someone, possibly share a baguette. Today there doesn't seem to be a single design of skirt or female trouser that does not have the effect of revealing the outline of underwear - ironically more arousing than had the wearers had no pants on at all. One of these days the claustrophobia of city living is going to get too much. We're going to drop our take-away capuccini, fling the flexi-card into the fire and participate in mass orgies over the sandwich counter. We'll get it on in the hedgerows, we'll get it on in the boardroom, we shall never be lonely again.

Mas a sensação no quesito "Voluptuosa História Transbordante" foi o Hôtel de Ville, sede da administração da cidade de Paris desde o século XIV. Mais exatamente, a praça em frente. A ex-Place de Grève, antiga quadra cheia de brita onde bêbados, desocupados e comunistas faziam... greves (dã), também serviu para guilhotinar algumas centenas, fazer fogueira de protestantes e abrigar a Comuna de 1871, que também tacou fogo em tudo.

O nome da praça mudou, assim como os costumes locais. Hoje, ela serve para filas de emplacamento de carro, ringue de patinação no inverno e aliviar a bexiga no chafariz numa bela tarde de domingo.

"Liberté, liberté cherie..."

Moro num quarto menor que a cozinha do meu apartamento e divido um banheiro com estranhos. Descobri hábitos higiênicos paquistaneses. Em compensação, tem sacada. A foto acima é a sala de informática da Maison du Brésil, o prédio moderno que abandonarei na próxima quarta-feira, rumo ao Collège Franco-Britannique. Terei WC próprio e uma chaleira só para mim. E nenhuma gorda gritando pagode no corredor de madrugada.

Doutorado em Paris: é ou não é puro glamoooour?

SERVES 4
Prep Time: 15 min
Bake Time: 15 min

• 1/4 baguette, cut into small cubes
• 4 ounces cream cheese, cut crosswise into 12 slices
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1/4 pound thinly sliced ham, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 4 scallions, white and green portions thinly sliced and separated
• Pepper
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half
• 6 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 pound plum tomatoes, sliced into wedges
• Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan and fill each cup halfway with bread cubes. Top each with a cream cheese slice.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the ham, scallion whites and a pinch of pepper. Cook, stirring, until the scallions are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and bring just to a simmer before removing from the heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and thyme, then whisk in the warm half-and-half mixture. Fill the muffin cups with the egg mixture and bake until puffed and golden around the edges, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges and invert onto a cooling rack.
4. Drizzle the tomato slices with olive oil, top with the scallion greens and season with salt and pepper. Serve with the mini casseroles.

**Personal Review: No Review Yet**

French Onion Soup

The recipe I below makes about 5 cups of soup.  I served ours in small, individual ramekins but you could use larger bowls or even one big soup tourine if you prefer - just be sure that the dishes you want to serve the soup in are safe in the oven at high (broiler) temperatures.  Also, I keep my non-everyday cheeses in the freezer so that they have a longer shelf life.

• 3 yellow onions
• 1/2 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into smaller pieces (I used the unsalted, half Smart Balance-half butter blend stick)
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons balsalmic vinegar
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth (if using regular broth, do not add extra salt to the soup)
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs de Provence (or dried thyme)
• 1 bay leaf
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 baguette
• 4-6 ounces gruyere cheese (or Swiss, in a pinch)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray the bottom of a roasting pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Cut off the ends of each onion, then cut each onion in half end-to-end.  Peel the onions and then cut each half into narrow strips, again cutting end-to-end.  Put all the onion pieces in the roasting pan with the butter and the 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour. 

After the hour, remove the pan from the oven and stir onions.  At this point they will have softened but will still be white in color.  Lighty place the foil back on top of the pan (but this time do not seal it) and place the pan back in the oven.  Cut your garlic head in half widthwise, drizzle it with the olive oil and grind a bit of black pepper over it.  Seal it in a foil pouch and place that in the oven with the pan of onions.  Continue to cook onion and garlic for 45 minutes.

After the 45 minutes, remove the garlic pouch.  Open the pouch and remove each soft clove of garlic from its cell (the garlic will be hot, so be careful and use a utensil for this part).  Mash the roasted garlic in a small bowl, remove the onions from the oven, and add the mashed garlic to the onions.  Add the balsamic vinegar to the onions and stir to combine.  The onions will be even softer now, and will have started to brown.  Continue cooking another 45 or so until the onions have reached a state of caramelization.  They should be limp and sweet and a warm golden color.

Place the roasting pan on top of the stove and add the sherry to the pan.  Stir the liquid around to 'deglaze' the pan, scraping all the bits and pieces that have cooked onto the pan into the onion mixture (that stuff has a lot of flavor!).  Set the two burners below the pan to medium-low and add both the chicken and beef broths and the water.  Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt, bay leaf, herbs de Provence, sugar, and fresh ground pepper to taste.  Set the oven to broil and allow the soup to simmer on the stovetop for about 15 minutes. 

My bread was a day old, but if yours is fresh and needs a light toasting, do this now on a baking sheet in the oven.  Then ladle the soup into whatever oven-proof dishes you are serving it in and top with one layer of bread (feel free to use more than one piece of bread, but don't overlap them).  Top the whole thing with your gruyere (either grated or sliced) and place all the dishes on a baking sheet.  Put the baking sheet in the oven and broil about 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.  Serve on a saucer with a spoon and a few more pieces of bread for mopping.

While this soup took a bit of time to make, it was heavenly to eat.  To be honest, I only took a few pictures because I was salivating through my camera lense and just couldn't wait any longer to taste it!  The roasted garlic lends a rich and nutty background flavor to the sweet and salty onion broth.  And I still get such joy out of taking my spoon to the ridiculously stringy melted cheese to get to the saturated slices of bread and the slippery strips of onion.  Enjoy...

Amy Chan, partlySunny Contributor

Oggi quando sono andata dal mio panettiere, mi sono comprata una baguette: stasera ho così spadellato due ricettine veloci ma buonissime...

TUR FRENCH TOAST

Ingredienti:

mezza baguette

1 formaggio LA TUR

un mazzetto di erba cipollina

una noce di burro

un cucchiaio di semi di sesamo

un cucchiaio di pinoli.

Preparazione:

Tagliare la baguette in fettine sottili, disporle in una pentola con una noce di burro e farle abbrustolire da ambo i lati, posizionare le fettine su un piatto di portata. In una ciotola schiacciare il formaggio LA TUR con la forchetta per ottenere una crema, aggiungere l'erba cipollina tritata finemente e mischiare per bene il tutto. Spalmare la crema così ottenuta su tutte le fettine, cospargerle con i semi di sesamo e con i pinoli tritati grossolanamente, passare in forno caldo a 180 gradi per 5-10 minuti.

Un "dolcepensiero" informativo: Il Formaggio La Tur del Caseificio Dell'Alta Langa, è una specialità delle Langhe ottenuto con la lavorazione dei seguenti ingredienti: latte vaccino, latte ovino, latte caprino, caglio, sale. Ha sapore delicato e rotondo, fine e gustoso, ha colore paglierino con superficie morbida e cremosa. Per assaporarne tutta la ricchezza di sapori si consiglia il consumo a temperatura ambiente. Si conserva in frigorifero ad una temperatura di +4/+5° C.

FRENCH TOAST AI RIBES E MIRTILLI

Ingredienti per 2 persone:

4 fette di baguette non troppo sottili

1 uovo

1 dl di latte

2 cucchiai di zucchero

15 grammi di burro

100 grammi di ribes

100 grammi di mirtilli.

Preparazione:

lava delicatamente i piccoli frutti, taglia le fettine di baguette non troppo sottili. Sbatti l'uovo in una ciotolina con il latte e un solo cucchiaio di zucchero. Passa velocemente le fettine di pane nel composto senza farle inzuppare troppo. Sciogli il burro in una pentola antiaderente e, quando inizia a spumeggiare, fai dorare le fette da ambo i lati spolverizzandoli che l'altro cucchiaio di zucchero, sempre da ambo le parti. Scola i french toast sulla carta assorbente e servili caldi, cosparsi con i piccoli frutti.

Will the real Birmingham please stand up.

The city is apparently still struggling to get the right message to the right people and still failing to match Manchester's positive PR and image.

The latest report on perceptions of our major cities and towns provides a few points to cheer Birmingham, but also serves to highlight the failings. Paul Dale's piece in The Birmingham Post sums things up quite well.

Over in Sutton Coldfield they are going for an image make-over of a different kind.

Pupils at the Arthur Terry school have had their school ties banned and replaced with clip-on models.

During my own school days in the mighty 'Port, I remember three styles of tie wear - the thin, pencil style; the ridiculously large knot and small tail; and the wrapped around the forehead in bandanna style (but only when walking home from school, obviously).

News of another tradition seemingly being lost comes from across the Channel.

The French are giving up long lunches.

A more frugal outlook has seen around 3,000 bars and restaurants go belly up in the last three months. Three-course lunches are out, replaced by a simple baguette.

We'll have them munching M&S sarnies at their desks before the year is out.

And Kanye West is making a new series for the US Comedy Channel described as hip hop meets the Muppets.

Oh good.

baguette was here and wen i woked up we plaid solitaire together. it was fun but it's kind of confusing. then she had to go home becuz it was too late and grapes said it wiould be scandalous for bagueette to stay

and grapes showld me how to make a smiley fcace. :) like this. first you press the colong and then you press the parentheses. a colon is also in your intestinn. is it squishy/

in finding nemo there si a squishy but it is a jelyfish. if i could swim like micheal felps i could touch a jellyfish. espeshally the wiggley parts on the bottom i would wear it like a hat.

grapes needs the computer now but i only got to post a littl but now she has to do ap human.

But I can't. It's confidential. Uh...to...my...heart?

I can tell you one thing: I accidentally damaged Ernest in the head. As I was storming in the house, ski gear all in a flurry, here comes Ernest squealing to give me a hug. Well it's called velocity, and it's called momentum. Simply put, it was the sumo crash of doom.

His girlfriend's come over to be by his bedside. Kind of like Mandy Moore and DJ AM, if you've seen MSN today. Except his girlfriend only looks like Mandy Moore to Ernest, who probably doesn't even know who Mandy Moore is, let alone anyone if he ends up getting amnesia with that concussion (70% of which are not reported in women). As for me, I suffered nothing. My day-to-day activities have given me abs of steel. I would appreciate holding back comparisons to Superman, thank you. Anyways, her name is Baguette, she's French and rather tough.

Baguette and Ernest, sitting in a tree...I remember those silly rhymes of yore. Shakespeare, was it? Just kidding, I know my English literature. Grapes is studying it this year. She wants a double decker bus. Just throwing that information out to the world.

Baguette wants to blog. She's even younger than Ernest, thinks Internet is the 16th wonder of the world.

asdfghjkl;'

haha i was laying flat agianst the ckeys. it is fun. ernest is unconscious so i thought i'd come and see what everyone is talking about. C'est etrange oh1 i can type in french too so much easier mais il n'y a pas d'accents abouve the words. okay i have to go back to ernest now he is waking up a bit

au revoir1

Mais bon on mange aussi Suédois hein !

Voici les fameuses Köttbullar, (oubliez pas la prononciation suédoise ! "keutbuullar", servis ici avec des haricots verts (ils utilisent le nom français) congelé vert-fluo qui viennent de hollande (pas tellement de goût, ah je me plaignais d'avoir trop de haricots par ma grand mère cette été, ben là çà serait pas de refus !

En Suède, il y a des Champignons partout !!

Mais il y a aussi...

Les Saunas !! Ah Ah, ici François, Jessica et moi. Bon en bon français on le fait pas à la suédoise (à poil). Enfin Jessica n'est pas française, elle vient de l'ile Maurice, à coté de la Réunion, maintenant elle et ses parents sont en Suède, mais elle a aussi fait 1an à Nancy pas loin de l'école de François, le monde est petit hein.

Enfin, j'ai quand même sauna et laverie en face de chez moi, gratuit. (C'est très logique hein, dans notre loyer est compris les choses vitales : Le toit, l'eau, le chauffage, la laverie et ... le sauna). Les photos sont flous, l'appareil a pas dû aimer la vapeur !!

Taille familiale la pizza on avait dit, c'est bien ça ? =D

Achei que a vinda do Papa e a grande comunhão comunista teriam influenciado o meu estado de espírito em prol do bem estar da comunidade, de um outro mundo possível. 

Mas não. Depois de três idas ao banco e a desculpa de uma rasura na assinatura de um papel inexistente, peguei as ganas revolucionárias da Bastilha por osmose e decidi quebrar tudo. Meia hora depois, finalmente me entregaram o maldito Carte Bleue – sem o qual, não se pode nem coçar as costas por aqui.

Liguei o modo cortem-lhe a cabeça. O Terror prefere africanos gritando com megafone dentro dos vagões da linha quatro do metrô Que est-ce que on veux? Les papieur!  aos escoteiros comportados carregando crucifixos na Igreja. Então também consegui comprar um celular.

E como tudo termina em lu et accepté, ainda mais no país onde se guilhotina o rei para depois restaurar a monarquia, voltei bem mansinha para casa para solicitar ao governo francês meu auxílio moradia estudantil.

Agora só falta comprar um selo fiscal na tabacaria (taxas são pagas somente aonde vendem cigarros), anexar mais uma foto 3x4 e pronto. Vocês também não amam essa papelada toda?

Chega a doer o estômago!

What you need:
Baguette
Spicy Canned Tuna (or Tuna in Brine, if you don't like spicy food)
Feta cheese
Oven toaster

What to do:
1. Slice the baguette into three quarters of an inch, or however you like. Then toast the slices for about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how toasted you want it to be. Remember that the succeeding batches toast faster than the first batch because the oven is already hot. You don't want charred baguette slices.
2. Drain the tuna and mash it with a fork.
3. Place a generous amount of tuna on top of the toasted baguette and crumble 2 to 3 cubes of feta cheese on it. Or you may want to spread the feta cheese on top of the baguette before topping it with tuna. It's good either way.
4. ENJOY and SAVOR the tasty treat!

Variations and other suggestions:
*You may use Fita crackers instead of the baguette. But I personally prefer the latter.
*Sometimes I use bananas instead of feta cheese. I like how its sweetness contrasts with the tuna's salty flavor.
*If you want it really really spicy, you might wanna try the spicy feta cheese, it's really good.
*I'm not sure if it's oil, but whatever it is that the feta cheese is soaking in, is good to drizzle on top of the tuna. Although I wouldn't recommend this with Fita because it drips.

Que Madonna o quê: Camille

Afterwards we were going to go to the Catacombes, but by the time we arrived they were turning people away due to imminent closing. As a substitute we went to a mosque. Well, the cafe at the front of one, anyway. It was full of small birds, green tea and nice blue tiles.

After the mosque we went to the Botanical Gardens for an afternoon amble.

And we finished the night in a Scottish Theme Pub, where there was supposed to be a bluegrass gig on [yes, the culture becomes steadily more multi-] but there was a Scotsman playing tennis on TV, so it was put on earlier and we missed it. There was much roaring at the tennis, and fortunately the Scotsman won his match so it was happy roaring.

At some point I went to sleep. Got the Eurostar back in the morning, and was very pleased to have bought my lunch in the morning in Paris. It was a sandwich. I ate it in King's Cross station feeling really smug, because I had a nicer sandwich than it is possible to buy in King's Cross station.

The first thing I did when I got off the train in York was stand waiting at a zebra crossing for the cars not to stop, and/or attempt to drive over me, because in Paris this does happen a bit [even when the green man is lit up]. A taxi driver looked at me as if I was mad. I laughed at bit and crossed the road. Presumably this confirmed his suspicion that I was mad. Never mind.

Never keep your money in your pocket if you encounter a VN sandwich vendor. Give yourself a treat. Spend. Quite affordable ($3 to $4 each depending on the stuffing) Vietnamese sandwiches are definitely worth a try. If you are on a low fat diet, don't forget to say : "No mayonnaise for me please. Or just a little bit."

Anytime I am in a Chinatown of the world, I can't help it, I have to look for a Vietnamese sandwich stand. The green leaves in the video are cilantro (persil chinois-Korianderblätter)

In Paris 13 - Chinatown (France)

You are in New York right now? There are many Vietnamese sandwich stands in New York City's Chinatown. But try these insider tips :

- A Chau Deli, 82A Mulberry Street - Phone 212.766.332 (9am-7pm)
It is a very small place. They've got only two seats for soup eaters. If you are the third one, you will enjoy your soup... in the standing position. But don't breathe too much freely otherwise you would throw the customer who is queueing behind you to the two other soup eaters seated just behind him. No queue in the shop is longer than 4 persons. On beautiful days, no problem to wait outside.

- The name of this sandwich stand has slipped my mind again. Name, address and phone number coming soon.
My second favorite sandwich place because it is farther located from Columbus Park than the first one. The neighbor next door : a Firefighter Station. So if you enjoy eating your Vietnamese sandwich seated in front of the shop, your back against the window pane, admiring the street life, some time or other, you will see how red firefighter engines come and go. The shopkeepers are nice people. Please, be patient at lunch time, because their sandwiches are in great demand.

- Paris Sandwich, 113 Mott Street, Phone 212.227.7221.
A pleasant lively well-organized place. Enough tables and seats for patrons. Always crowdy. Great sandwich stuffing variety. There is an oven in the shop (what is rather seldom) so the baguettes are always golden fresh and warm. One minus though : I don't like the crispyness of the baguettes. I cannot explain why. Just give a try.

In Saigon/HoChiMinh - Ben Thanh Market (Vietnam)

Forget about buying Vietnamese sandwiches from restaurants. Since they make money selling mostly food dishes, you'd be very very fortunate if you get fresh bread there. Most of the times, their sandwiches are AWFUL. If you are a gambler at heart, go for it and please let me know about your experience.

I am a severe case of Vietnamese sandwich addiction.

It tastes like one, but doesn't look like one. I baked flat baguettes today.

The key to this recipe is the water. I think I added too much water to the dough at step 2, and this resulted in a more flaccid dough that doesn't hold up its shape well.

At any rate the product is extremely edible, with a strong taste of butter.

Baguette

Ingredients

Strong white flour 500g

Yeast 20g 14.6g

Warm water to mix

Salt 1tbsp

Butter 50g

Steps

1) Mix 200g flour with all of the yeast and enough warm water to make a thick batter, then leave to rise overnight.

2) Add rest of flour, the salt and butter to the dough and slowly add enough water to make a soft pliable dough. Rest dough for 1 hour.

3) Line baking tray. Bang the air out of the dough and roll into baguette shape. Put on baking tray and leave for 1 hour.

4) Preheat oven to 220 degrees C. Before dough goes into oven, make slashes along its length with a sharp knife. Bake for 30 minutes, than tranfer to wire rack to cool.

Mas podia ser pior. Eu podia não ter cama.

Daí que nesse calor, assim, tão porto-alegrense de Paris, uma solução interessante para a pele é borrifar água termal no rosto. Parece loucura, mas comecei a desconfiar que essa mulherada nem é tão bonita assim: elas são é bem tratadas.  

Os frascos de eau thermale são baratinhos e garantem a hidratação nos dias quentes. Então, abraçando o momento antropológico, fiz o sacrifício de pesquisar cosméticos e maquiagens pela cidade. Mentira: eu tava malzumores e fui me pintar de graça pra ficar bonita.

As descobertas foram as seguintes:  

Embalagens retrôs da Benefit.

Combos funcionais e lindinhos da Urban Decay.

Lip gloss com pincel da Stila.

Sobras multicoloridas da Black Up, linha para peles negras e morenas.

O melhor rímel do universo, da Givenchy.

E finalizando, para necessaires prevenidas em tempos de novas regras de aeroportos, o porta-perfume da Sephora.

Então: aperuei em demasia ou ainda posso comprar os meus utilitários fofos de vaca?

Tudo começou com a moça do embarque da TAM perguntando se eu sabia qual era o meu destino final. Mas, qual destino? No amor? Na vida? Sabe, moça, estou em um momento especial na minha carreira e...

Paga-se 12 dólares por um par chulé de Havaianas no aeroporto de Guarulhos, onde fiquei tanto tempo que deu pra inventar um novo tipo de pedra-papel-e-tesoura: na fila do embarque, bengala bate velhinha, velhinha bate grávida e grávida bate bengala.

Primeira foto da viagem: aeroporto Charles de Gaulle

Após uma semana, a Linha Maginot é a melhor metáfora encontrada para a insana burocracia francesa. Por anos, o Estado investe na construção de um mega complexo de defesa na fronteira leste do país, temendo a invasão no caso de outra guerra mundial – daí os alemães chegaram e entraram pelo norte!

Bonne chance!