Kölsch-Bierprobe

There are many benefits to living with a German. For awhile, I thought maybe hearing a strange language flowing through the hallway was the coolest part, and then I thought that maybe it was her strange obsession with bread "that tastes like you're eating bread" or even just knowing that I can go visit Köln whoever I please for the rest of my life. But no, friends, this is officially the best:

Receiving a beer tasting as a Christmas present. Sitting and testing beers together while watching a crappy American movie that was only made worse by the fact that it was dubbed in French will forever be a holiday highlight for me.

Lovesies,

Angie

Who Died and Made You King of the Cake?

So there's this thing in France called "galette des rois" or "king cake".  If you're from the south, you may already be familiar with this delicious tradition.

It's really quite simple to feel French, and take part in this goodness.  First, buy a galette des rois.  They'll have a very nice selection at your local boulangerie, but you can buy a decent, and probably cheaper one at a grocery store.  I went with the bakery-bought option because I had company.

Of course, all of these cakes come with a crown.  You are most certainly supposed to try it on, and even take a few pictures beforehand, just to get everyone in the mood.  If you're one of my students, you may even want to wear your crown around school, just to let everyone know you're in the celebratory mood.

But why keep the crown just to yourself?  The cake may want to wear it as well!

Then you need to cut the cake, but be aware that there's a little surprise hidden inside!  Whoever chooses it is the king!

And guess what?! I was the winner of this cake!! YAHOO!!!! I won myself a little pet Zazu to live on my shoulder!

And you know what the best part is?  YOU CAN REPEAT THIS WHOLE PROCESS AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!!! Well, until around Mardi Gras time, when they disappear. So, eat up, kids! And get your king cake on!

Lovesies,

Angie

Francey Pants Reunited!

Reunited in France at last!!

The other leg of Francey Pants was able to make it out for a quick 2-day trip to my side of the bay this week! And I couldn't have been happier!

So what do you do when you're hosting someone who you've lived and traveled with in France?  I'll tell you what you do:

Eat yummy food with lots of cheese!

Run around Nantes for a day!

And find silly things...

And take silly pictures...

And more silly pictures...

And then some nice pictures...

And then pictures where you can't quite figure out if they were going for silly or nice...

But mostly just be together because that's what makes for the best memories.

Much love,
Angie

Raclette: Meat and Cheese and Everything Nice

While my friend Joy visited me, we made one of my favorite meals: raclette!  Here's how the magic happens:

1. Boil potatoes.

2. Pull out your random meat assortment, and raclette cheese.

3. If you are a poor language assistant, like myself, use your stovetop to melt cheese and heat up meat.

3b. Be a real French person, and use one of these fancy all-in-one, family-style heater/melters!

Thanks, Wikipedia!

4. Enjoy!

And that's today's issue of "What Angie's Eating!"

Lovesies,

Angie

And May All Your Christmases Be That Shade Between Emerald and Kelly

Although I am a long way from home, I am extremely lucky to be a short way from family.  Being able to hop over to Dublin for my two-week Christmas break was really wonderful and relaxing.  We spent Christmas and Stephen's Day in Dublin, and then headed to the west for a week of wonderfully-unscheduled family (plus Joy!) time.

I was able to spend time with some beautiful SMCs.
*Photo looted from Joy*

Stared at the beautiful Croagh Patrick for a week.
*Photo pilfered from Joy*

Wondered where the beach had gone to.
*Photo purloined from Joy*

Got a onesie for Christmas!
*I was a little thief, and took this from Katie*

And just did a lot of this.
*This picture is so good that the world in general should have joint ownership over it.*

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!!

Lovesies,
Angie

My First Trip as a Teacher

Hello, world!!

I went to London! And I took The Chunnel to get there!

Going in!

Ah, just casually walking around as we are speeding along under the Channel. 

And then we went outside! And it was wonderful! But, of course, after a long, might I add, overnight journey on a bus, we thought to ourselves, "Selves, let's eat something!", and we went to this swanky pub that fit a ton of students and even more alcohol!  (None of which was partaken of, I promise.)

I'll take one of each, please.

 Then we traveled around, and saw a good mix of famous architecture, museums, and life in London.  I could give you every detail, but I think it's much more entertaining to just look at pictures, and then let you Wikipedia London if you're still interested.

The TARDIS!! Nerd highlight of the trip for me.

And yes, thank you for noticing, I am holding a sonic screwdriver, er, turnavis sonique, that one of my students brought with him for just this moment.

Classic.

My students think I'm insane.  The thing is, they're right.

 We spent a couple evenings in Covent Garden, which I fell in love with immediately.  It had such an incredibly artsy feel to it, and a beautiful opera house.  I know that I could be happy as a bum on those streets if the whole music teacher thing doesn't work out.

All this place needed was a killer DJ, but I guess the random soprano in jeans singing the Queen of the Night's famous aria will do.

I loved the Christmas decorations everywhere! The city really seemed magical with them. 

We saw this bridge that was made famous by Fergie.

My teaching colleagues.

And Buckingham Palace at night.  Not a bad way to end an amazing 5 days.

I couldn't have asked for a better trip with better people. There is something about having shared memories with others that automatically makes for an easier and better friendship. This trip was a chance to create a few of those with the people that I've been spending all of my time with!

Thanks for reading, et à bientôt!

Much love,

Angie