I had a ball at the Gala

David came to Paris, always cause for excitement, but this time he had his suit in hand! Hooray off to the ball we go!

The weekend of June 6 ‘twas the weekend of the big school dance, and there was excitement in the air! But, first things first… what would a weekend in Paris be without a picnic by the Seine? A very anti-social one. The Seine is the place to be, everyone goes there with bottles of luscious French wine in one hand and a smelly but amazing cheese in the other. At picnics is where life happens in Paris…
For Mel and Morgan’s birthdays I made a cake, bought my smelly chevre and two bottles of Bordeaux 2005. Check, check, check. So, David and I went and enjoyed a lovely evening with my whole crew from school. We drank and were merry till the crack of dawn.

That dawn was the morning of the school dance! David and I had a lazy day in preparation for the fête that lay ahead of us. Before meeting up with friends, David and I went to a nice neighborhood café for dinner where we splurged on steaks and wine. Here we are:


From there we met up with all of our friends: Morgan, Rosemary, Thanh, and Nick (Not done justice in the blurry photo) and made our way to the Westin Hotel on the Rive Droite, which also happened to be the same hotel President Obama’s staff was staying in that weekend (as it was the same weekend when he came and spoke in Normandy). The hotel was beautiful, as were all of the guests. We made our way to the open bar for our first glass of champagne and made the first of many toasts of the evening.
Getting ready!

David and I attempted to dance the Waltz but everyone on the floor was quite good and we were soon bumper-car-ed on outta there, so we all went to a more lay-person friendly dance floor and danced the night away!

Rosemary, Morgan and me... rocking the party!

The hotel was incredible:

Dancing queen!

Here we all are...

At a little after 4 am, with tired feet and a tired stomach from 4 glasses of champagne (who knew such golden fabulousness was so hard to digest?) David and I said Adios to the fete and moved on to our new challenge: trying to get a cap on a rainy night. Well, after many failed attempts, a little leg showing, and many thumbs, David finally tackled a cab (literally) and we were finally on our way home after a truly fun night.

The following morning, or should I say afternoon , David and I went to a Parisian Sunday Brunch with my roommate, Anas. Here we are in one of my favorite bars, Le Tournesol.

And that concludes yet another great weekend... Thank you for reading!

Juan les Pins

My junior year of high school—which is over four years ago now for a little reality check for my relatives—mom and I hosted a French girl, Ailys, from Lyon for two weeks. The following summer I went to Europe and stayed with Ailys and her family for some time. We had such a great time: they are such a warm and kind family, so I was very happy to reconnect with them while in France. So, Ailys invited me to celebrate her parents 25 wedding anniversary with them at their home in Juan les Pins which is near Antibes and Nice. So on Friday I arrived in Juan les Pins with Ailys and her friend Marion where all of Ailys’ family and friends were waiting. We arrived late in the evening, so we had a quick dinner for 20 people and went to bed because we had a big day ahead of us.
Waking early, the big group of 30 ish people all convened down at the docks awaiting the big surprise:

We were to celebrate all day on a sailing boat sailing across the high sea of the Mediterranean! Le Don du Vent, A Gift from the Wind, came into the dock and we loaded her up with the rest of the goodies… a refrigerator full of a delicious roast, sides of couscous and green beans, and colorful ice cream in a bowl made out of nougatine.

The guests boarded one by one according to what t-shirt they received. The Tebboune family custom made t-shirts for everyone with a little name or inside joke on the front. Everyone’s fit them perfectly… mine was: “C’est fou ca!” which means “That’s crazy”. The story behind this comes from the summer I spent with them after junior year. Now, I had been learning French for two years by then, but of course it was wildly insufficient for living with a family. So, we spoke mostly English, but like any good foreigner I learned a few key phrases, and “That’s crazy” was one of them. I said it all the time as we white water rafted for 9 hours down the Ardeche River in the south of France… believe me everything was crazy on that adventure!

So back to the story, everyone received their fashionable shirts and we hit the water! At a certain point, I remembered that I get pathetically sea sick just at the sight of crashing waves. So… being the only somewhat stormy day, somewhat meaning that 90% of the time on the Cote d’Azur it is clear as crystal and as breezeless as the inside of a milk carton, there were a few white puffy clouds and lots of wind which created waves. Needless to say, I spent the ride to the destination swimming spot breathing deeply and thinking about the fact that if I were to get sick and let go of the rope, I would fly off the boat into the churning water and might never see the light of day again… yes the waves were that big. But thankfully, we arrived safe and sound to our clear oasis between two islands. No waves, no nausea, just clear blue water and a boom box. We set anchor and immediately started drinking, eating and celebrating. Here are a few boat pictures:

Just call me Mermaid Nikki...

Ailys uncles and aunts organized a few skits that told the story of James and Pascal’s live together… it was quite hilarious!

I napped on the deck, swam in the water (which had jelly fish and was chilly… go me!), drank several glasses of the Algerian concoction Pascal made, and just hung out in the filet, the net at the front of the boat. The day was like a dream...

Incredibe desert!

Sunset

I napped on the deck, swam in the water (which had jelly fish and was chilly… go me!), drank several glasses of the Algerian concoction Pascal made, and just hung out in the filet, the net at the front of the boat. The day was like a dream. The ride home at midnight was even more incredible… there were still a lot a waves but we were going directly into them, so up and down, and not swaying back and forth (this makes an huge difference for me) so all we younger kids went to the front of the boat and had the ride of our lives! It was one of the most incredible feelings I have ever experienced: heading towards black waters and ice-blue stars, up-high to the peak of the waves, and down low to the valley of the waves. A truly unforgettable moment…

The following day was a spent in the mandatory swim suit dress code just lounging by the pool. Napping, reading and eating… yet another perfect day! Lunch was the only thing on the agenda that day; it lasted for about 5 hours: we had appetizers and great wine; French sausage with all the fixings, then barbequed pineapple (you put a whole pineapple on a skewer, put it over the grill for about 8 minutes or until it starts to bubble, then serve hot with ice-cold Brazilian liquor which is this beautiful bottle) followed by cake and coffee. And all the while, we were telling stories and jokes, and let me tell you, I did quite well with the stories and some of the jokes, humor is really hard, especially drunk-slurring humor… I even participated in telling stories and a joke or two (and people laughed!!!!) It was a very productive, fun, tasty, and educational lunch!

Ailys relaxing by the pool...

That evening we girls went to a popular Brazilian bar. They had dancing girls and drinks in monkey coconuts! The latter made this girl happy…

So, that concludes this weekend adventure… with a very happy girl! Merci et à la prochaine!

Noyers

The following weekend, I went with a very good friend Michel, to his mother’s house in a small village—Noyers. This town has about 80 people and Renée lived in the “suburb” of the town of 7 people… needless to say, it was a relaxing weekend. So Michel and I arrived from the big city and took a quick tour of the house. I have been there once before with Matthias, Lori and Max four few years ago so I already knew it but Michel reminded me of a few of the quirks, like the bunnies that his mom raises, the slant of the house, the cellar that houses potato, wine and an eau de vie fermenting barrel.Then Michel and I went for a walk with the cows. I know it is silly, but I was somewhat scarred. I know that cows are not violent animals, however, going into their pasture, they were all quite curious (as chewing and re-chewing grass all day-Michel and I were the highlight of the week!) thus they all ran over to greet us. At this point I ran behind a tree. Yes, I, Nicole Buratovich, am somewhat of a scaredy cat. But, to my defense, I recognize how docile these animals are, yet I also acknowledge that they have about a thousand pounds on me and hunger in their eyes. Well, not so much the latter sounds like the fear talking, but nevertheless, thirty curious cows can be intimidating. So, long story short we walked thought the pasture, and many a poop-pie, to have a rest on the hill with a great view. Then the cows came and I made Michel high-tail it out of there, stick in hand… just in case.

Then we had a very nice lunch with Michel’s cousin Claude, her partner Vincent and their adorable son Gabriel. Lunch was fantastic, despite all of the dissecting of food the French do… a bit dry, not enough crumbs in the baguette, etc. From there we enjoyed yet another very nice walk with the family through the fields. No cows this time, thankfully. Dinner time came quickly and we enjoyed another great meal prepared by Renée. I really enjoyed the family experience: a nice reminder of home as well as a great, super amazing help to my French. All French, all the time… a dream come true! With a dictionary at our side, we ate and drank well then all fell into a deep slumber.

Here is baby Gabriel experiencing a new view

of the world from his papa's shoulders.

The following day Michel’s family left and Michele, a friend from Phoenix who had been studying at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, joined us. We went and found her at the train station, and being the foodies we are, hit the grocery store where we bought a squid—something I would later have fun with! We brought Michele back to the house, and after a play session in Renée’s hay stacks, started to prepare dinner. Squid risotto.

The girls dressed up and played house in Renée’s very nice aprons: Michele taught me how to clean the squid: rid it of it’s innards, brain, goopy stuff and skin. I did the skin, which is no easy task, but after diligent knife work we had a beautiful naked squid.

Good times in the kitchen:

Dinner was followed by an eau de vie taste-a-thon. For those of you who might not know what eau de vie is, it is an alcohol, about 50%, made from fruit: one would take the fruit, ferment it in the barrel in the cellar, then distil it at your local distillery. Michel made a few himself, which we compared with the other bottles and decided his Mirabelle eau de vie was the best-by far! Some of the drinks were quite hard to smell, let alone drink. Off to bed, hiccup.

On Sunday, Michel and I had a few things to do around the house while Michele prepared a lovely dinner. So he and I hoed the potatoes in the garden, then we were spent and relaxed in the grass… it was too hot to do much.

Before dinner was served, we went for a quick walk through the hills all together. Michele and I enjoyed being in nature where we saw a deer and several other wild animals. This is also when we came up with the best movie idea ever, inspired by the romantic horizon and reality of the mosquitoes...

A beautiful house in the village: We had one last coffee the following moring before we returned back to the reality of work and school. I had two massive papers due and a final in the week to come… but the memories of Noyers really made it easier to get through, as did excitement for my next trip to come: Antibes!

Loire Valley

Dear friends
The beautiful thing about Europe is that there is always somewhere new to explore. After my dad left, my weekend get-away’s exploring new corners of the world became a weekly thing. First on the list was the Loire Valley with David, then Noyers with Michel and Michele, next Juan les Pins—near Nice—with a dear friend Ailys and her family.

First up: Loire Valley. After a night out with some friends, David and I left Paris for Tours. There we caught a bus tour and hit les chateaux.
Here we are looking mighty cool in the club
Mix which is at the base of the Tour de Montparnasse

We and eight other fellow explorers, if you will, visited the beautiful castle of Amboise. We were very lucky to have perfect weather… not too cold, lots of sun, and a bit of breeze. Marvelous. We hiked up the stairs to a grand castle complete with flags and breathtaking view of the city.

This castle, as grand as it appeared to little ol’ me, was just a skeleton of the original size and grandeur… during one of the many territory wars back in the day, the king who lived there decided to use his castle as material: steel and stone became armory and the what we see now is a fourth of the size of it’s original size. Nevertheless, it was still incredible: full of history and artifacts, stories and art. The best part about the Amboise castle is that it has its very own chapel, not so uncommon, but what makes this simple chapel so special is that inside is the tomb of Da Vinci! I know I have seen a lot of great dead guys after spending a year in Europe—Sartre, De Beauvoir, Madame Currie, Napoleon… well you get the idea—but for some reason this simple homage was the most inspiring, the most real. The chapel was not ornate: no jewels, no gold, not big, nor particularly beautiful. However, it was far more incredible that the tomb of Napoleon which is larger than life in so many ways. It felt so peaceful to be up on a hill and unknowingly run into Davinci’s grave. What fate…

More views of the castle....

From there, we visited Chateau Cheanonceau. I saw a picture of this castle a year ago with Melissa: we were sitting in a friend’s cluttered house and she had a giant book of European castles and this one was on the cover and the centerfold, castle porn, if you will. Melissa and I both drooled over it as it is very special. This photo I borrowed does it better justice than my photos because one, there were doing construction (story of my life), and two, I was not in a helicopter.

Photo from: http://www.tourismevert-amboise.com/mediac/400_0/media/Chenonceau.jpg

It is fanfreakinfabulamatastic—a word I invented with Melissa and David last year sometime. It suits the amazingness of this humble abode, I feel. The interior was very well arranged and every room had the most, and I am not exaggerating here, incredible floral arrangements I have ever seen. Here is one of my favorites:

So David and I walked around, wearing our respective imaginary crowns, and took it all in. Then we walked around the gardens, like any king and queen would, weaving in and out of the labyrinth hedges and taking the time to smell the roses…
Here is the kitchen:

And a nice view of the river.

Here is the long party room that goes over the river:

Now, I love Versailles. I think it is incredible and beautiful, however, the two castles we saw totally kicked Versailles ass. They were much more real—they had real fires in the fireplaces—we could see the kitchen full of its butchering equipment and pots and pans. SO this is me highly recommending that you visit them if you haven’t already. Very much worth the trip around the world… not to mention the Loire is right smack in the middle of wine country: David and I completed our castle tour with a stop at a local winery and tasted great wine in the mold covered cave. (A quick side note here: I think it is hilarious that anywhere in the world, mold is seen as gross and unsightly, however, put it next to wine and especially cheese and all of a sudden it is a great thing that enriches your experience and the taste.)

Here is a photo of the winery in the hillside taken hastily as we drove away:

The following day we took a quick train trip to Blois, a very nice city. We wandered around found a market and started buying. Bread, wine, ham, strawberries, and of course, moldy chevre to top it off; we took our little picnic next to the river and enjoyed our delicious and fresh lunch. The picnic culture is something I will dearly miss…

David and I found we had a few hours to kill before our train left for Paris, so being well fed, sufficiently hydrated and sight-seeing-ed out, we decided to see Angles and Demons… in French! My French is good enough to get most of what goes on in a film, so that was a relief…sarcasm and humor are another story, but I am proud to report that I got one joke. Hooray!

And that concludes the first of my many weekend adventures.