No this is not a Bastille Day Special.
It is not everyday that someone gives you a present on their birthday.
In this case, this is not a person but an hotel Copley Square in Boston turning 118 years young.
Here's the details (below) as featured on their website:
So Joyeux Anniversaire, Happy Birthday Copley Square!
Found out about this great deal thanks to Wendy Perrin of The Perrin Post (via Twitter)
Well even if some of the wines getting the top ratings from US wine critics at the Sud de France Tasting on July 13 fail to move me on the eve of Bastille Day, no heads will roll under the guillotine.
The master of ceremony will be wine critic slash aspiring novelist Jamal Rayyis (pictured below) responsible for five editions (or is it 6) of Food & Wine Magazine's
Wine Guide.
In any case, I will be sipping and spitting for you from 2 pm to 6 pm at the Maison de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon in New York ans surely discover new favorites of my own.
Douce France, Joli Pays de Mon Enfance!
Rather than send him a script, Action Against Hunger put together a trailer for No Hunger , a film they would like Al Gore to be involved with since he was so successful getting the message across with An Inconvenient Truth.
64, 422 people have already signed the petition.
Will you join them?
Related: CauseWired in Action: Daniella's Apartment Fund by David Armano
OK, it's two days early since Bastille Day is really on July 14 but I guess they might have a hard time closing 60th Street to traffic on a Tuesday and in our No Vacation Nation who would take the afternoon off to celebrate?
No guillotines on display, food, music, a lazy Sunday lunch at the terrace of a Cafe on 60th Street could be an option that is if you find a free table for the Bastille Day on 60th Street festivities.
They run from 12:00 Noon to 6:00 PM so it is not too late to join the fun if you are in or near New York City on July 12.
A bit more neighborly and laid back maybe is the 7th annual Bastille Day on Smith Street fest in Brooklyn with Bar Tabac’s annual petanque tournament, "where 80 teams with players from around the world will take place in the largest North American petanque tournament" according to a piece by Diana Rosenthal for Cobble Hill Blog (July 8).
I borrowed Cobble Hill Blog's picture of Smith Street (above) as an illustration.
Brooklyn's Bastille Day bash also started at 12:00Noon but runs until 8:00 pm so you still have time to join in the fun.
It barely started an hour ago.
Check Brooklyn Boule for details on the Petanque tournament.
The younger crowd while muchin on frites and frogs legs can hit the ground rolling at the Fete du Skateboard which I scouted on Rad Collector.
Takes place at same location, just started at 1pm and runs until 7pm.
Show me the Pastis!
Related: Celebrating Bastille Day, Gourmet Food and Wine in Franschhoek, South Africa
What could be more American than having a backyard barbecue on a summer week-end?
Of course Hot Dogs and Beer are part of the program.
As a follow up to my Hot Dogs as America story, I thought it would be fun to ask for everyone suggestions as to what beers you would drink with these 3 Hot Dogs, Fenway Frank, Chicago Red Hot and NY Deli Dog.
Send them in...
We were unaware of being in the run for an award in Travel and Food, one of the 20 categories selected by Tripbase for its Travel Blog Awards 2009.
Not the gold medal, we came up 6th which is not bad especially when the winner Eating Asia takes an elephant ride to work* as illustration from Take A Hard Left From Penang (July 7) shows.
Our faraway friends from Traveler's Lunchbox came in 4th so we are in good company.
So thanks Tripbase for the kind words and our 6th place.
Not as great as finishing 6th in the Tour de France but it would take more effort.
A little appreciation and ego boost soothes the soul.
Merci beaucoup
Loosely related: Merci, Do-Good Haute Shopping in Paris, Opened March 5th
(*just kidding)
If you are lucky enough to be in Chicago this evening of July 9 and not afraid to fall under the charm of Lura, the Portuguese singer will be treating happy ears to her sensual voice as displayed in 'Oh Naia' (below).
Even better, the early show (6:30pm) is Free.
Location: Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park (info: 312-742-1168)
Sharing the bill with Lura is Megitza Quartet.
Lura's latest release is 'Eclipse'
Found out about this Summer Freebie via Chicago Reader.
Recent Music Bit:
3 Days of Peace and Yoga, Wanderlust, Music Festival with a Different Recipe, Lake Tahoe, July 24-26
Rather than offer a lecture on Tanabata, the Star Festival, the Japan Society in New York decided to stage a play on July 12 at 2pm.
Here's the program:
If like me (until today) you never heard of the 'Star Festival' here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:
"Tanabata (七夕 tanabata, meaning "Evening of the seventh") is a Japanese star festival, derived from the Chinese star festival, Qi Xi (七夕 "The Night of Sevens")．
It celebrates the meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair). The Milky Way, a river made from stars that crosses the sky, separates these lovers, and they are allowed to meet only once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the lunisolar calendar. The celebration is held at night, once the stars come out."
In related news, from July 6 through 10, 2009, the Consulate-General of Japan in Houston presents the Tanabata Festival through origami, wish-cards, and traditional decorations in the atrium of The Shops at Houston Center.
Muza-Chan (a Romanian expat in Japan) in Customs and traditions of Japan - Travel impressions from last years Tanabata (July 6, 2009) gives us her take on the event.
I took the liberty to borrow one of Muza-chan's photos from her piece (above) taken at the Asakusa Shrine as an illustration.
Tradition and culture on the menu of Tokyo Thursdays # 95
Previously: Anime Expo 09 opens in Los Angeles, Covers all Trends from Shojo to Seinen
I wrote recently about various ways to find Freebies in London.
The Guardian goes one step further in Bargain London by Benji Lanyado and claims that London is cheaper than Caracas.
I bet Hugo C. will protest.
Married with children, they suggest London's City Farms such as Hackney City Farm (sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, rabbits, calves and bees).
Need competitively priced accomodations, he mentions the youth hostel YHA London St Pancras (pictured above, from their site) with prices from: Adult: £21.95 Under 18: £16.50 (british pound is the currency quoted).
The place had a recent thorough makeover.
I would not say that this is my top pet peeve as far as food service goes but it ranks up there.
What is that doing there with my cup of coffee?
So repeat after me, number 1 in the 10 commandments of espresso: thou shall not twist...
Here is a little coffee education for all of us from Illy (via 1st in Coffee):
Espresso Myths Exposed
Espresso coffee, while apparently a simple drink, is in reality a complex product. It is derived from 1500 chemical substances (800 volatile and 700 soluble). When prepared correctly it involves 13 independent chemical and physical variables. There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding espresso. We'd like to debunk a few of them.
Myth #1: Espresso carries more of a caffeine jolt than regular brewed coffee.
FALSE: The illycaffe blend is obtained by carefully selecting from different sources the best Arabica beans, which have a richer taste and a lower caffeine content than the lesser prized (and less expensive) Robusta beans. Because a cup of espresso takes no more than 30 seconds to brew, less caffeine is extracted than in drip coffee—which takes anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes.
Myth #2: Lemon peel is the proper garnish for a cup of espresso
FALSE: Lemon peel is not traditional in Italy. It is used to counteract the taste of over-roasted, bitter espresso. The oil in the peel blocks the bitterness. There is no need for lemon peel in a proper cup of espresso.
Myth #3: Bigger is better
FALSE: Large cups don't do espresso justice. The proper portion of espresso is one ounce, and the cup should be very small so that it holds the heat. Thick china cups are preferred. Large cups dissipate the heat and the crema (foam) which carries the aroma in a fine cup of espresso.
Myth #4: The darker the roast, the better the espresso.
FALSE: Over-roasted coffee loses all its complex flavors—they go up the chimney and leave you only with bitterness. Illy carefully roasts its coffee to the optimum level to bring out all the flavors inherent in the bean. illycaffè purchases only arabica beans for its blend and sorts the beans using electronic instruments which evaluate the color and automatically reject beans that are either too green or overripe. About 50 coffee beans are needed to produce one cup of espresso, and only one bad bean can ruin its flavor. In order to better balance the aroma, illycaffè prepares the blend from nine different lots of arabica before roasting and uses an air-cooling system versus the more common water-cooling system.
Myth #5: Put your coffee for espresso in the freezer for freshness.
FALSE: Freezing the coffee coagulates the natural oils contained in the bean. In an espresso, those oils emulsify producing the wonderful body and satisfying mouthful of this special cup of coffee.
Myth #6: Espresso is hard to prepare.
TRUE AND FALSE: Traditional espresso preparation is complicated unless you are properly trained. That is why Dr. Ernesto Illy and his team developed the E.S.E. system. Their objective was to find a way to create a perfect cup of espresso—a happy outcome of that quest was a method that was also convenient and simple. So simple, in fact, that Dr. Illy's 4 year old granddaughter proudly prepares her grandfather a perfect cup of espresso when he comes to visit using the E.S.E. system.
Faith Willinger shares her up close and personal experience living in Italy via The Crema in my Coffee.
Should doing things without knowing why be considered ignorance?
I borrowed my illustration (the original Bezzera machine?) from the History of Espresso ( College of Education at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign).
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