As we planned our 2012 trip to Paris, one thing i was curious about was whether or not we would fall in love with the food.

Ohhhhhh, naive Past Wrdnrd.

One of our favorite places was Le Potager du Marais, a vegetarian restaurant in the 3^me arrondissement.  We went there for dinner one of our 1st nights Paris, then we went back again once littlebutfierce joined us on our second weekend.

Our other favorite place, which, alas!, we were not able to return to, was this little cafe just across from the station Rambuteau — called, conveniently enough, Le Station Rambuteau.  This is where we both fell head over heels for French cuisine.  We enjoyed escargots — a 1st for both of us — and some boeuf bourgogne.

This past autumn, i was craving boeuf bourgogne so we decided to pick up Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and make some boeuf bourgogne for Christmas dinner.  This was not a mistake.  We’ve since made a couple of recipes out of it, and basically i just want to keep track of them which, of course, makes me turn again to my blog — my external hard drive for my personal memories.

Some genmaicha, fruit & cheese, crappy (but strangely delicious) ramen, Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North.

Years ago i worked in the UW’s Registration Office.  Every spring, i’d get parents who’d ask, toward the end of the conversation, “And are the cherry blossoms out yet??”  Every spring!  Over and over, the same question!!  I didn’t work anywhere near where the cherry blossoms are on campus so i had no idea.  Moreover, who cares if there are cherry trees blooming on campus??  I love blooming trees, don’t get me wrong, but come on.

Then i switched jobs to an office that was closer to the Quad, which is where the much-heard-about cherry blossoms are.  The 1st spring that i worked there i decided to randomly walk thru’ the Quad on my way home, just because it was one of the 1st nice days that year — a sunny day, warm enough to not need a coat.

I walked across Red Square.  Past Suzzallo Library, past Kane Hall.  Toward the steps up to the Quad….

And BAM!!

I came to a dead standstill for a few seconds.  Then i started walking around, near-breathless.  Getting giddier and giddier.  Getting practically tipsy.

These pictures are crap — tho’ today was sunny the lighting in the Quad was horrible, and i was just using my phone anyway.  But, y’know?  I really don’t know how to convey to you just what an amazing experience it is to stand there in the middle of the Quad surrounded by trees that are just bursting all over with light-pink flowers.  It’s like you’re walking amongst clouds.  You’re practically floating.  And the scent!  It takes you a moment at 1st to realize that the air is different, and then you slowly realize you’re smelling millions of tiny blossoms.

It is sublime.  It’s transcendent.  It leaves me buoyant.

If you are ever in Seattle in early spring, you must — MUST — visit the UW campus to see the cherry blossoms in the Quad.  Bring a blanket and a picnic (but no sake — it’s a state school, so campus is dry).  Make an afternoon of it.

Do.  Not.  Recommend.

Yes, i must start by admitting that i haven’t read all of Dumas’s Le Comte de Monte Cristo — how can Andy live with me??  Some day i’ll attempt to read it in French.

But i still couldn’t stand this miniseries.  What a mess!  For one thing, Depardieu is really not at all right for the role of Monte Cristo.  From all the impressions i’ve gotten of the character from pop culture and from living with Andy, i would expect the Count to have been mysterious and dark, refined and subtle.  But Depardieu’s Count is a blunt instrument.  No subtlety at all.  His revenge was more a sharp, crushing blow to your face than a clever knife in your back.

I also felt that, overall, the miniseries was just far too short.  Have you seen how thick this novel is??  The story needs room to expand.  It needs room for small events to be set in motion in one episode and not come to fruition until about 15 episodes later.  Someone get HBO on this shit, STAT!

I did feel pretty smug that whenever i’d howl about something on screen just feeling off and wrong, Andy would confirm that the miniseries was taking a wide detour from the novel at that point.

The one awesome thing about this miniseries was Bertuccio.  Watch episodes 1 and 2 for awesome Bertuccio+food=OTP action, and then ditch the rest.

After that, go watch “Gankutsuo”, which Andy says is a pretty decent adaptation of Dumas — up until the giant robot battle.  And i say is a pretty decent anime overall so long as you stop after episode 23 — 24 is flimsy and 25 is outright crap.

Guess it’s true that wasabi is amenable to the Pacific Northwest climate: mine sure hit a growth spurt in the past month and has been going like gangbusters.  Some of the leaves are downright massive!

I also didn’t realize they flowered — UNTIL IT DID!

This is what my neighborhood looks like when the sun is out.  I-5 bridge over the Ship Canal.