Francophile in the West

This past weekend was my 25th birthday! I had a wonderful time celebrating across Colorado and Washington all weekend long. On Thursday, I went to Denver's Beaujolais Nouveau Wine Festival with a couple of Korbel classmates. We thoroughly enjoyed TONS of delicious, gourmet food, plenty of wine, and fun people watching. It was snowy and very cold outside, but it made for some great pictures of the downtown Denver! I flew to Seattle on Friday morning to spend the weekend with Kris. I had beautiful views of snow-covered Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens during my flight. The photo below is why I LOVE to have window seats on planes.   On Friday night, Kris took me to Seattle's Beaujolais Nouveau Wine Festival as my birthday present, and we had fun celebrating in style on the top floors of Seattle's Columbia Tower (the tallest building in the skyline in the photo below). I even met Rick Steves, my European travel hero!!! It was so cool! That was the last thing I was expecti...

Recently, I developed a hankering for a French pear tart. A few internet searches later, I found an easy recipe , went to the store for a few ingredients, and went to work. The result was divine. Although it was a slacker recipe because the pears are canned and the crust store-bought, the frangipane   was handmade with all the French love I could muster. Sprinkle some cinnamon and sliced almonds on top, et voilà! Simplement délicieux. It turned out so well that I shared the first one I made with a few friends. Yesterday afternoon, I made two pear tarts: one for the end-of-quarter office potluck (they loved it), and one for me. This morning, I enjoyed a slice with coffee for breakfast. On a clear, crisp fall morning, it's perfection. I've been missing France quite a bit lately. It's hard to believe that a year ago, I was enjoying part of the Toussaint vacation in Paris. Every time I watch the news on France 2, tutor students who are beginning to learn French, or even...