jimandclaire.com

Thursday 12 January, 2006

what the?!

Filed under: Claire's Entries — claire @ 12:42 pm

Jim got a nasty fright when he came home to find the above items. He quickly, and with much fear in his voice, assured me his system was working just fine! It is in fact a contraption for juicing oranges as well evidence that I shouldn’t be allowed to shop at Ikea on my own.

I know what you’re thinking, but it’s our blog and we can post as much drivel as we like!

Wednesday 11 January, 2006

zaragoza, saragosa, ttharagottha

Filed under: Claire's Entries — claire @ 7:02 pm

Whatever you want to call it, it’s a great city! The land of Aragon conjures such mythical images in my mind that I feel it must be fictitious or at least a very very loose truth, you know like the Paris End of Collins St. But the vision of the momentous domed Basilica, as though superimposed onto the skyline, as you drive towards the city, the abundant architectural evidence that both the Romans and the Moors spent quite of bit of time there, makes history feel far less surreal.

I’d come across my favourite sort of travel article, one written by a food writer! Jill Duplex had lots of good things to say about Zaragoza and lots of recommendations, I figured if it was good enough for Jill it was good enough for us. So after sorting accommodation we obtained a map, plotted our course and let her lead the way. It was very cold when we first headed out and we were a bit depleted after time spent driving and sorting accommodation so when Jim suggested refuelling with Spanish hot chocolate and churro I was very keen. I was desperate to try the hot chocolate ever since I heard that the spanish serve it so dangerously thick and luscious your spoon can stand up in it! And joy of joys it wasn’t an urban myth it’s true!! If that isn’t heaven enough you then get to dunk churro in it. There are churro cafes that sell nothing but churro,though in two sizes, coffee and hot chocolate. We got a tip from a local who sent us to a very popular one, busy in the mornings with people stopping in before work, retirees partaking in their morning ritual and new mums initiating their toddlers to the way things are done by shoving churro in their chubby little hands. Despite the deliciousness of it we still craved something savoury for our breakfast so always followed up with a warm tortilla bocadillo. Barcelona did do Tapas but it is not a Catalan speciality, but wow did Zaragoza do it and how they did it, it is true we did not eat a plated meal the whole time there. Come to think of it Barcelona was the only time we ate traditional courses off a plate and Zaragoza would be the last time we ate sitting down. There are just too many food highlights from Zaragoza to mention though Jim would like special mention made of the superb jamon we had served thinly sliced with the spanish version of brushetta, lightly toasted bread with a tomato rub and a little olive oil. It was the most expensive meal we had in Spain, 16euro for the serve with two beers, but is was superb, the best jamon either of us have had.

The first night despite returning to the hotel late and after many drinks and tapas we failed to pass out and had a rough night of it. We were trying to cut costs on our accommodation and thought we had done alright in the clean pension we had chosen run by a friendly woman who dressed as you would imagine a retired flamenco dancer would. The problem was in between checking in and returning for the night, one by one the entire population of Zaragoza had popped by our room for a quick fag or 500. Jim is the more passionate anti smoker than I, it is he who visibly stiffens when someone lights up around him, I can cope sharing a restaurant with a smoker, while it takes all Jims might not to get up and walk out. So I am still perplexed how Jim managed without to much complaint to stay in that room, probably because I hogged the quota for the over the top reaction in this scenario. You have to understand this room reeked of smoke, I mean even when I attempted to breathe through the sheets it only made things worse as the smoke had long been part of the fabric and obviously a constant presence. I thrashed, I flayed my arms about moaning I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe! Jim how can you stand this? I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe! I got up in the early hours of the morning dramatically lunging for the window for some fresh air. At this point I saw a woman out walking her dog, she had heard me at the window but clearly wasn’t sure where the noise had come from. She stiffened and turned as if on guard, called her dog over and raised her weapon of choice….an egg whisk !!! When I was telling mum about this amusing scenario she had me in stitches coming up with possible explanations, being the quick wit she is, she said she felt if it had been an English speaking country then naturally it was just the result of a mispronunciation, as well as a misunderstanding. You’re taking a risk whisk walking alone at that time of morning!

At the time the woman and her whisk didnt even get a smile out of me, by 7am I couldnt take it anymore and I got up and headed out. The retired flamenco was up dressed in all her glory at the desk as I left, I asked her if it was a smoking hotel Si, Si she happily announced. Somehow I conveyed to her through manic gesticulation, some English, some French and a little Spanish that I felt like I had slept with my head face down in an ashtray. She understood, she was concerned but she begged me to follow her, Por favour, Por favour she beamed happily at me, she had the answer and presented me with a gift of my very own can of Glen20! We checked out that day and promptly booked a room that displayed a very large no smoking sign and a wonderful view of the Basillica.

Jim knew someone in Zaragoza so we were lucky enough to have our own personal tour guide and very charming and funny one Virgina was. She took us to some wonderful art galleries, a fabulous photographic exhibition, many notable buildings and churches and shared the company of her fun friends.

It is a mystery to me how Zaragoza has escaped the notice of tourist, we couldn’t recommend it enough.

Monday 9 January, 2006

king and queen for a day

Filed under: Claire's Entries — claire @ 7:11 pm

In France January 6 is l’Epiphanie, which marks the occasion of the three wise kings visit to little baby J. Traditionally the day is celebrated among family and friends by sharing a galette de rois, a cake of kings. It is a lovely dessert that I would describe as a pie and is made of a light buttery pastry and typically has a marzipan filling, though we cheated a bought one with an apple filling(we both aren’t fans of marzipan). The fun of it is that a feve(bean) is hidden inside, well what is referred to as la feve and I imagine for a very long time was in fact a bean but these days is a small figurine depicting a fable. Who ever finds la feve is crowned King or Queen for the day and as well it is considered a good omen for the year ahead.

On this special occasion I was very careful in my choice of patisserie for the purchase, didn’t want to get a dud! So heading home I was all happy and excited, the cake in its bag with the golden crown ready for the auspicious event. That night after a lovely dinner prepared by Jim, of fresh tuna cooked in garlic, basil and lemon, it was time. First piece no feve, but much making of isn’t it yummy noises. Serving of seconds was done with much anticipation, we were serious this time we wanted that feve! Who would be crowned? C’est moi, c’est moi!!! I was so excited I almost choked on the dam thing. The feve turned out to be a little ornament depicting the fable of little red riding hood. Who was my big bad wolf I wondered? The coronation was performed, photos were taken for remembrance and I thought it was all over. But Jim had a surprise, from his pocket he produced a feve, le rat des villes et le rat des champs, he’d been the lucky recipient at work that day! So there we were King and Queen.

The next night while having drinks with people they produced a gateaux de rois, we declined first round offers and had a piece after the feve had been claimed, didn’t want to be greedy and perhaps its bad luck to be twice crowned.

Thursday 5 January, 2006

barcelona

Filed under: Claire's Entries — claire @ 6:19 pm

Very early boxing day morning Jim and I headed out of Lille without an ounce of dread for the 12 hour drive that lay ahead. And why would we were going to Spain!! Plus we were well prepared, viamichelin was making sure we didnt get lost, xmas left overs ensured we wouldnt go hungry, xmas presents supplied the soundtrack and the wonders of podcasts and a snazzy attachment in the form of a cassette linking the car system to our mp3 meant we had radio national and jjj on tap. And by taking turns driving a nap was always on offer. I remember when I was younger, on road trips, stopping at the servo for petrol, a wee, a sausage roll, twisties and a diet coke, maybe some snakes to share. And no Im not talking family roadtrips here, cant imagine mum letting me eat any of that! Anyway I remember wondering what went on with the oldies sitting in their cars eating sandwiches from home. Fast forward and there I sit, not so old but with a tea towel on my lap eating sandwiches from home as Jim sprinkles salt on his lunch from a little foil pouch I made up. Well as Jim said we are very daggy!

By 10pm that night we are settled into the very groovy yet inexpensive hotel and ready to hit the streets of Barcelona. No fear of having to rush to a restaurant before the kitchen closes, we were in Spain and things were only just getting started. Jim and I headed to a restaurant recommended by the cool male at reception and immediately decided it was a good decision when we enter to be hit by a buzzy crowd of Spaniards, relaxing decor and a very appealling menu. First thing that grabs our attention is how cheap everything is, especially the wine and then its the large group of young spanish women next to us having a xmas celebration, exchanging gifts and exchanging spanish in a completely intoxicating manner. But that was Spain, the whole trip, completely intoxicating and very insistent that you join in. Some cities are patient and let you discover them in your own time in your own way, others try to discourage you preferring to leave their charms hidden from tourists, while some make an audience of you while they perform. I found Spain very welcoming and very inclusive.

Our too short time in Barcelona was spent walking, sightseeing and eating and with not much sleep. When we finally get around to putting our photos on flickr you see all the wonderful sights we saw and some of the wonderful food we ate. To be honest when we looked at our photos when we got home we were both a little disappointed, sometimes you get lucky and the experience is captured just as you would like and other times not, but I hope our memories wont fade. I’m not a big one for clothes shopping when on holidays but I would of liked to have given it a good bash in Barcelona but with so little time I couldnt justify time spent in Zara or Camper no matter how cheap and fabulous the clothing and shoes were. Camper shoes were still somewhat pricey anyway, but Zara was amazing, at least half the price than here in France. Mind you we did find time to go cookbook shopping, we had a recommendation for a specialist store that sold to restaurateurs and would have a few in English. It took a little time to find the store which had a very cute feature, rolling pins as door handles, but is was worth it as the book appears very user friendly, contains all the classics and was a good price. A lot of our meals were eaten at the large covered market off La Rambla, markets are always a priority visit for us when visiting a new city, and this one offered one of my most favourite things. Cafe stalls amongst the food stalls! I cant even explain to myself why this gives me such a thrill but it really does. After visiting Adelaide with Sarah I swear I contemplated moving there just so I could partake in this fabulous activity on a regular basis. While we drank cafe con leche with to die for pastries at 9 in the morning, the fish mongers next to us, who had been up for hours, downed a beer and meatballs, I suspect not balls made from meat but the balls of an animal!

I will confess to falling off the Spanish culinary wagon on one occasion, we were headed to a restaurant we had noticed earlier in the day, but were just way to full to even squeeze in one more Tapas. On the way we passed a very attractive Japanese restaurant, being big fans of Japanese and not having it available to us in Lille we just couldnt resist. It was packed with who we assumed were locals, jammed in on communal tables eating fabulous looking dishes. After taking a seat we soon realized that in fact tourists outweighed the Spaniards. On one side of us were two women who looked and sounded Scandinavian, on the other were a young heavily pierced British couple, of which the female should be banned from sitting at communal tables unless she promises to stop asking inane question to her boyfriend like what do you think is my best feature. She also should learn to recognise the signs that her boyfriend wishes she would shut the f*@# up and do so instead of persisting with the line of questioning and then when he is mute with embarrassment offering up her suggestions! Each person on the table was either starring at her or him but silently asking the same question Why?! Well except Jim who was only attentive to the very good Gyoza and the strangeness of the salty tasting mineral water that is particular to Spain.

The architecture of Barcelona is compelling and heavily punctuated by Gaudi and his mates, though very quiet and graceful pockets can be found hiding throughout. I would very much like to visit again, but if this is not possible it does not matter I’m grateful to of gone at all. Friends who have visited in Summer said they couldnt imagine what Barcelona would be like in Winter and nor us in Summer, but I imagine Barcelona would be amazing at any time of year.

Wednesday 4 January, 2006

who wants to be a (virtual) millionaire?

Filed under: Jim's Entries — jim @ 9:22 pm

Have you ever wanted to play who wants to be a millionaire? Well after Christmas we are able to play it any time we want, thanks to a present from Peta – an interactive DVD version of the game, complete with Eddie’s commentary throughout.Just this evening Eddie popped us the million dollar question. Claire had battled through until the $250,000 mark with no lifelines used just as I arrived back from work. With two questions left and all lifelines we were looking good. At $500,000 all lifelines were used and we were left with two possibilities. An educated guess gave us the million dollar question. Another informed guess and we became millionaires – virtual millionaires that is. Well who would have known, we were jumping around and carrying on just like we had actually won.

Now we have to figure out what to spend it all on……some virtual renovations on our virtual home maybe?

We are such dags……!

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