Market-hopping through Europe

It’s a nice Fall day, let’s wander Europe for a bit.

Let’s go to the market (or in this case le marché) and marvel at Mother Nature’s wonderful creations.

Let’s start in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. Believe it or not, this is the same neighborhood where my bubbie (grandmother in yiddish) moved to after being liberated in 1945 from a Polish concentration camp. Why do I know it’s the same neighborhood? Because my cousin lives in the same apartment building as my bubbie did 65 years ago!

Welcome to the 14th arrondissement of Paris and the Marché Parisien de la Création.

Overlooking the 14th arrondissement

As I was wandering through the market, I could envision my bubbie walking these same exact streets and not surprisingly, I felt her by my side which was a wonderful feeling.

Sunday morning in Paris

This was too tempting to pass up based on how I was feeling.

J'aime le fromage - I heart cheese

Le Marché des Enfants Rouge is the oldest covered market in Paris. It was a bonus since it’s located within a part of Paris that I wanted to wander called Le Marais (meaning marsh or swamp).

Marche des Enfants Rouge

I went on a weekday afternoon so it wasn’t bustling, but how could you not feel the vibe of the market with this man polishing the utensils. Old school!

Something out of a movie

So if you’re in France, you would go out of your way and visit Lyon the gastronomical capital of France, wouldn’t you?  Well, I don’t know about you, but I did. My goal in Lyon was to visit the market that bears the name of Paul Bocuse and eat at a traditional Lyonaise Bouchon. Done and done!

Les Halles de Lyon – Paul Bocuse is pretty much what you’d expect it to be. A wealth of riches that tempts and teases every turn of the way. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Sablé aux pralines

Meringues

Macarons

In case you were wondering, I bought them all and then some!

Celebrating

As we wander south from France, welcome to Barcelona’s La Boqueria, sort of.  Due to the Easter Weekend, it was closed on the Monday that I had planned to visit. I suppose it’s just another reason to visit Barcelona, because from what I had been and from what I could see, this is definitely one of the can’t miss markets of Europe.

Thanks for the company. Let’s do this again sometime…

I’m still here!

Aloha from Maui!

Since my last post in Belgium about the German restaurant in Vancouver, I’ve been to the Netherlands, stuck in Germany because of the volcanic ash, finally made it back to Canada in time to pack up my apartment and now in Maui!

I have tons of pictures from Europe including food galore and will soon have the same for Maui. My goal is to write from the beach or patio in the next couple of days to share the last month or so with you.

I apologize for not having written sooner, but I’ll be back soon with stuff for you to read and salivate over:)

Euro-trippin’

Boarding momentarily to the first leg of my Euro journey and thoughts are racing…

What is the Pintxo bar all about? Do the French really use that much cream? What park will I sit in in Paris eating my cheese and baguette? What new people will I meet that become friends? How good can really good moules frites be? Can I find Das boot in Germnay and how many different ways I can learn how to say “Tastes Better With Friends”

I always knew the day would come that I’d be out of a job when I decided to move out to Vancouver for the Olympics 11 months ago.

What I didn’t know was right at this moment I’d be sitting at Gate 58 of YVR (Vancouver Airport) ready to embark on a backpackin’ journey through Europe which will include the history, art, people and food of Barcelona, Lyon, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Hanover.
I don’t know what my abilities will be to blog and post pictures on the wonky computers of the hostels but please know I’ll be taking a ton of pictures and wishing all of you could share the experience with me. I look forward to sharing everything with you along the way and when I return.

See you soon and thinking of you all! Ethan…out!