France-tastic

A few kilos fatter, the sleep-ins are being racked up, the fridge almost back down to its usual state of emptiness... Uh-oh, the festive season is drawing to a close! But wait, one more party coming right up!

Alex and I have both been off work the last week, and still have a couple of days to enjoy waking up to daylight, and we have had a gorgeously relaxing Christmas, although the impossible has happened: we are officially foie-gras'd out. No more, please! We can't take it. Foie gras, for those of you not familiar with this manna from the heavens, is the product of horribly force-feeding geese and ducks until they can barely stand up, and it is absolute bliss... in small doses. Luckily, considering the price tag, it is definitely the sort of food for which the less-is-more can be applied, but around this time of year, every meal tends to be accompanied with a slice. Fanstastic, the first couple of times, a bit much the fourteenth time, and even walking past the display in the supermarket gets a bit scary. Here is part of the Monoprix spread:


In between the most whirlwind tour of Paris ever, including a croissant on the Champs-Elysées and frequent let's-get-out-of-the-cold-by-having-a-beer breaks, Johan helped us with the foie gras on his quick visit (which was almost prolonged after some airport trouble!) on the way to see his girlfriend in Brazil. Although he was only here for a day, it was of course really great to see him, after more than a year and a half without my little brother, who is turning 26 tomorrow. Holy cow! Not so little anymore!




Croissants are well and good, but now for a real french treat: snails!


Alex with some of our Christmas spread...


...and the three of us polishing off the last of it on the 26th!

Now, happy new year my faithful readers, good luck getting back to work and in keeping your resolutions. I've got to get ready to fulfill mine: dance more! And what better night to do it on!