Kris and Jo go to Paris

A Royal Treat

As best I can tell, the Palais Royal--just across the street from the Louvre, has always been a sort of entertainment complex.  The palais is the location of the  famous Comedie Francaise--one of Paris' oldest theatres.  It was here, where Moliere showed his plays in the late 1600's.  In fact, last fall, I actually attended a Moliere play at the Comedie.  I couldn't understand much, but was quite (and dare I say, pleasantly) surprised when the main character stripped down to his birthday suit, right there on stage! Ooo la la la. It was dark in the theatre, so I can't be sure, but I think I was blushing...

Ultimate Paella Recipe

Kris has wanted to try paella for as long as I have known him.  I have never cooked it for him, as I was under the impression that the preparation of this classic Mediterranean dish featuring saffron, sea food, and rice, was actually quite difficult to master.  However, the other day while doing my sunday morning shopping, I came across the ultimate recipe for authentic paella in four easy steps...

Johanna's Ultimate Paella

1. Fly to Paris

2. Take the metro line 1 to the Bastille stop

3. Head to marche bastille on the blvd Richard Lenoir

4. Follow the scent of saffron and seafood

For those of you who would prefer something a little more complicated, my boyfriend, Tyler Florence, over at the Food Network, has created a more involved recipe...

Sacred steps

I don't know if anyone's reading our blog anymore--we stopped posting because we have been busy with house guests. First my mother and her husband, Ed came to visit, then our friends Rebecca and Erik cam over for a week.  So for the last two weeks, I have been busy socializing and sight-seeing.

The other day, Rebecca and I decided to go to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur --the famous white basilica on the hill.  It is not my favorite monument in Paris. The area is very touristy.  The smell of urine can be over-powering, and the men who come up to you and shove braided string bracelets on your wrist, then ask for money, is just way too invasive for my comfort.

But, many people like the view of Paris from way atop the hill.  And we were looking for something to do.

We took the metro to the Abesses stop--the deepest in Paris. Then, as  the line for the elevator was really long, we decided to climb the spiral stairs.  The stairwell turned into a nearly endless technicolor trip.  I wasn't sure if what I was seeing were actually hallucinations brought on by lack of oxygen or merely vibrant urban graffiti.  The photo seems to prove the former, but Rebecca might disagree--she really hated climbing those bad boys...