Happy Birthday Quinn
On back roads to Paris through the fog.
Last Saturday my grandson Quinn turned 15. Of course a trip to Paris to celebrate and visit the family was planned.
When we got on the road after breakfast, it was quite foggy. It made for a moody and mysterious atmosphere. We got to the autoroute on-ramp outside Noyers only to find that it was closed! A policeman on the scene told us that our best bet was to turn around and drive all the way to Auxerre where we could get on the highway. After another 40 minutes of driving, we discovered that the on-ramp in Auxerre was also closed. It was only then that it dawned on us that this was the result of the French farmers protesting, with their tractors blocking some of the routes into Paris. The French are definitely masters of the protest. It's a way of life. We ended up taking the back roads which doubled our travel time. But at last we found ourselves at the family's door.
Protesters like to turn all the town signs upside down. Photo from the Guardian newspaper.
For Christmas we gave Emily a bird feeder so that she could hang it outside her kitchen window and enjoy the bird show as we so often do. We told her to look for chickadees and if lucky, green and gold finches. Her feeder, however, seems to have attracted a different species of bird life.
Apparently the park near Emily's house is full of wild parrots.
When we arrived Quinn was off playing tennis so the rest of us walked to the canal, just a few blocks from Emily's house. It was a very pleasant day. The canal is a wonderful urban feature of Paris. There are more than 60 miles of canals in Paris. Built originally to haul freight, they have become a hip place to be. There are many cafés and restaurants along all the canals and near Emily's place big apartment complexes have been constructed. It's a great space for a walk, ride or skate.
Pedestrians and bikers enjoy a sunny but chilly afternoon.
Emily lives in what used to be a much grittier neighborhood, just on the outskirts of Paris proper, but even in the few years they have been there the neighborhood has changed a lot. The industrial past is giving way to a more fashionable and creative vibe.
Shipping containers as art.
Emily's neighborhood is still a bit more industrial than the Canal Saint-Martin, probably the most popular and famous section of Parisian canals, where scenes from the very popular 2001 film Amélie were filmed of our heroine skipping stones into the water.
Ships and boats docked on the canal.
As we were enjoying our stroll and the scenery, we came upon a brand new Italian café just opened. We went in for a coffee and desert. She was very pleased with this addition and intends to frequent the place. The servers were very friendly, and very Italian.
A real Italian deli.
Emily and Zinnie tried the homemade cannoli. The family love their neighborhood and its easy to see why.
A pleasant interlude at the new canal café.
Dinner was Quinn's choice, of course, and he asked for a Mexican feast, so it was all hands on deck for the preparations. Several of you commented to me last week on my cooking abilities. I thank you, but I have to admit that instead of my children (and grandchildren) learning how to put down a meal from me, I have learned it from them. I seem to come from a family that likes nothing better than spending time in the kitchen putting together a beautiful meal. It is not actually natural for me but I take a lot of inspiration from the rest of them. I have been coaxed into getting with the program.
Everyone is a cook and helper, including the birthday boy.
The menu included guacamole, two kinds of homemade salsa, Salsa Blanca (serrano cream with lime and cilantro) and Salsa Tatemada (charred tomato, onion and serrano), Arroz Verde, (an herbed rice), Frijoles de Olla (black beans), and Carne Asada (marinated beef grilled with chorizo and jalapeños) and a few other goodies to stuff into our tortillas. Zinnie made Quinn a chocolate chip cake, which is what he requested.
Dinner is served.
These recipes came from a book given to Emily by James called Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico by Rick Martinez.
Serving up an eye-catching and tummy-pleasing Mexican feast.
Sunday dawned and brought with it a concert at Quinn's school of rock, Park Slope, where he's been studying for three years. He started on drums and then became the lead singer and now plays guitar, so he's getting a taste for it all. Last year he was responsible for writing the bands original song, which really was a great one. I loved the catchy lyrics to the chorus which went:
Gotta get a life, gotta get a wife
I hope she'll be okay with my métier
There are dozens of kids who study here and I think the program is quite exciting and empowering. The concert went on for two hours and Quinn's band was the last of seven.
Parents and friends rock out in support of the kids on stage. The venue is pretty cool.
Quinn had a group of his friends come to see him as well as his parents, sister and grandparents. I think the other participants had a similar turnout. There were lots of people, it was very loud, there were no chairs, but it was good fun. We met some old friends in the audience with us, including the family we sold the Maison Conti to.
Quinn on rhythm guitar.
And I leave you this week with one bonus photo. Last night when I ascended into my room, about to retire, I noticed an unusual reflection in the big front window. At the top I was silhouetted by the floor lamp behind me and the back wall of our cabin-like bedroom in its warm tones was reflected while at the bottom the outside of the house was lit with street lamps which shone through branches from the bare trees that ring the front garden. It made such an unusual sight, inside/outside, warm/cool. The colors were very attractive to me, so I snapped it.
Goodnight Moon.