Images from Paris

I got back from Paris on Tuesday afternoon, and I'm still trying to get normalized (check out the timestamp on this post.) In any event, here are some photo highlights from my trip.

Cite Metro Station (it really did have this greenish cast):

Golden light on the Champs Elysees:

Statue of Charles de Gaulle:

A different view of the Eiffel:

Jeff Koons exhibit at Versailles (Hall of Mirrors):

La Defense from the top of the Arc de Triomphe:

A favorite pit stop - Laduree:

Musee D'Orsay:

Bronze statues on Notre Dame (doesn't the one figure look like he's surfing?):

Centre Pompidou:

Gorgeous stained glass in Sainte Chapelle:

At the Tuileries:
More posts to come...

Hollywood Bowl Nights: John Williams

Just spent the first part of the John Williams concert getting all misty-eyed and sentimental. For someone who is as fanatic about film scores as I am, seeing John Williams conduct his own amazing music is just ridiculously transcendent. So far, we've heard themes from the Olympics, Hook, Close Encounters and Indiana Jones. Coming up is special guest Stanley Donen, who directed some of my favorite movie musicals. What a wonderful night!

Mallrat

This past weekend, I drove all the way to Glendale to visit two places I've been meaning to go to for awhile: the Americana at Brand and the Target in the Glendale Galleria.

Despite having a degree in Urban and Regional Studies and having had the idea that malls are bad for cities (and perhaps bad for the soul) constantly drilled into my brain, I actually like going to malls. Being a Southern California native, it is very comforting for me to walk into one, wherever I may be. I didn't mention it at the time, but when I was in B.Aires, I spent time at two malls in between doing all the cultural stuff: the tony Patio Bullrich and my favorite, Abasto, a nice adaptive reuse of the gorgeous former central produce market. Abasto also has a well-designed modern food court, where I was able to try Argentine fast food and soak up all food branding. (One day, I will write about my love for food courts.)

In any event, regarding the Glendale Galleria, combining a mall with another thing I love, Target, is a stroke of genius. I've never been a big fan of the Galleria's design (both inside and out), and I'm still not a fan, but because it has a three-story Target, it automatically gets more points. (My favorite Target/mall combination is the Westfield Topanga... Target, H&M, puppies, Nordstrom, awesome food court, natural light, free parking, Shoe Pavilion and a steak from the Farm all in one place!)

Regarding the Galleria's next-door neighbor, the Americana at Brand, let me first say that I like its sister, the Grove, much better. For me, the developer, Rick Caruso, took a little of the charm and coziness of the Grove away when he increased the scale and open space at the Americana. For sure, the Americana is much more integrated into the local surroundings than the Grove is, which is good since it's already located in a thriving commercial business district, but perhaps because it is juxtaposed with the more real street retail of Brand, it just feel more sterile and fake. Whereas with the Grove, because it is somewhat contained, you do feel like you're being separated from reality a bit and are able to more easily buy into the illusion.

The only highlight of my Glendale trip was the Beard Papa stand at the Americana, where I was able to try what is now my number 1 filling choice, strawberry, along with the former number 1, chocolate. I might go back, if only to walk around Target with a puff in my hand and mouth, but I doubt it since a Beard Papa is opening up in my neighborhood soon!

Beyond the keys

Since you're probably sick of looking at those keys (I know for a fact that a few of you are), here's a photo of my actual car (haven't had a chance to take more detailed shots):

When you get a new MINI or any new car for that matter, they tell you not to go too crazy until after the 1,000 mile mark. Since I decided to drive up to a wedding in Santa Clara just a week and a half after taking ownership of one, I didn't have to wait that long to break 1,000. And seriously, now my car seems to ripen with responsiveness every day that passes and I'm loving it more and more. Plus, I'm starting to settle into it more comfortably. I'm freely experimenting with the ergonomic positions and my right arm is starting to remember that the window switch is its responsibility. My left thumb now knows the steering wheel stereo controls by touch and I'm starting to fumble less with the key fob. I am definitely starting to feel more at one with it whilst driving.

And probably more importantly, I care about it's cleanliness. (My old car was always dirty and messy.) I've already been to the car wash several times and even made sure to get a punchcard. I've also bought cleaning supplies for on-the-fly bug removal (ugh, didn't realize that that was a pun until I wrote it, sorry) and am constantly scanning the exterior for dirt and bird crap.

I even care about the gas I put into it. Since I'm supposed to pump premium, I went online to find out which one was the best. While there is a lot of debate, there is general agreement that Chevron and Shell premium are pretty good and at the moment, I'm just doing Chevron, which I can normally find at a pretty good price (relatively speaking, of course.)

The next step for me is to learn how to use the manual shifting option (via paddle or stick shifting) to get the most performance out of my MINI. (I think I've been watching Top Gear on BBC America too much lately!)

Keys to the future

Great news: I got my MINI last night.
Not-so-great news: I'm home sick today.

After the excitement of picking up and driving home my MINI last night, I woke up this morning feeling awful with a slight sore throat. I've been working hard and have been a bit overscheduled lately so I guess that me getting rundown is no big surprise. However, I wish I could be zipping around town today with my new car, instead of taking photos of the one reminder I have of it in my house (apart from all the paperwork):

I wrote a post when I was in Buenos Aires, titled Keys to the past, and now here's the bookend. The new MINIs have that fancy stop and start push button ignition system, hence the huge electronic key. I'll definitely have to get use to that and all the other bells and whistles that come with my car. I am definitely a long way from having to manually roll up my windows and turn off my A/C for extra power.

In any event, I am starting to feel a bit better and will probably venture out to run some light errands tonight and hopefully take more pictures.

Shark is my co-pilot

Saw this at IKEA and I had to have it for Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, which kicks off tomorrow. Yay!!!

L.A. Macaron Matchup Part 3: Cafe du Village

The macarons I bought from Cafe du Village on Larchmont are supposedly from some place called Le Dore de Stephane in France, but I have my doubts since they taste so fresh and amazing and I just can't believe that they survived the shipping. In any event, these 100% natural (note the lack of artificial colors) macarons are very different than the ones I've tried so far. First of all, they need to be refrigerated due to the mousse-like filling. Second, the natural-colored cookie part was light and airy without any hint of chewiness. Third, these are more like miniature pastry than cookie.

They come in boxes of 6 with two of each of the featured flavors for the day. Today, they were strawberry, coffee and lime. At first, I was disappointed by the flavor selection since I really wanted a chocolate one, but when I bit into the strawberry, any disappointment was replaced by delight. The filling was exactly like strawberry cheesecake mousse, and while I love chocolate, you all should probably know that my favorite single ice cream flavor is strawberry. (I actually love neapolitan, but most people consider that a cop-out.) Anyway, the strawberry is amazing, the coffee was good (though I realize now that I don't like coffee-flavored things), and the lime was refreshing and tart.

These for me stand apart from the other two in execution, taste and just overall deliciousness. I only wish that I had a choice in what I get. I don't really want to pay for flavors I don't like (especially since these were the most expensive) and I do want a chocolate one. I was going to do a ranking of all the macarons I've had so far, but I think I'm going to try Boule's before I do that.