To Eat or Not To Eat??? -- A blog by Jill

Today I walked to the corner store, the Monoprix, to pick up a few groceries.  I had quite a sac full to lug back to the apartment and by the time I got back and walked up one flight of stairs, I was sooooo out ot breath...last year at this time I was in such good physical condition!!!  What happened????  Oh yes...living in Paris and traveling around Europe as if I'm on one long extended vacation and I guess I've been eating like itl!!!  I will only live in Paris for a short time so I better enjoy it, right???  And to quote Julia Childs, "I love to eat, that's what I love to do~Eat!!!"

Even though we walk quite a bit, I guess I just eat and drink more...I am uncomfortable in my skin and clothes AGAIN!  I was so hoping I had the eating and exercising thing figured out last year.  To think I have to start all over and fight this battle again...Ugh!

I try to eat healthy most of the time, but it is difficult!!!  When we were in Madrid, Mark took me to dinner with his work group to a very cool restaurant right outside the King's Palace.  The King in fact occasionally eats lunch in the very room we had dinner.  Anyway, I think we had five courses of food, plus wine , bread and coffee!  It started with a warm lentil pudding like substance with fois gras and pine nuts(not my favorite); then we had cooked sliced potatoes with thinly sliced raw scallops drizzled with olive oil; next was a serving of cod with spinach and potato gnocchi covered in a light cream sauce; after that we had a chicken leg stuffed with sausage!  The coup de grace was a rhubbarb tart!  I could barely walk out of the restaurant to get a taxi back to the hotel!  We didn't have a choice in the menu, the food was served and we ate it!!!  Except for the lentil thing it was all very delicious...Oh~I forgot a serving...it was wild mushrooms served in a cream sauce with a raw egg on top!  I took a large gulp of wine, mixed the egg into the mushrooms and ate.  It was so yummy!  Now if I was counting calories and not opening myself up to all these wonderful experiences and taste sensations, I would not have known how wonderful a raw egg tastes when mixed with cream and wild mushrooms!  And Julia would be so disappointed in me!!!

Another night in Madrid, Tonio a friend of Mark's who is spanish and lives in Madrid recommended an argentinian restaurant for us to visit.  The restaurant is owned by a cousin of Tonio so he called and made reservations for us...9:30 Saturday night.  We get to the restaurant, Basilicos, and we are the only ones there until almost 10:30pm~that is the time the spanish start eating dinner!!!  You could tell we were tourists arriving so early in the evening...Anyway, they served real argentinian beef which is supposed to be the BEST beef and a charcoal grill to cook it!!  We started the meal with a large antipasti of grilled vegetables(see~I was trying to make an effort towards healthy eating) and had the best filet mignon I've ever eaten!!!  It tasted so good...a real charcoal grill!  Let's not forget the cream fraiche with fresh herbs to spread on crunchy little garlic toasts and the chocolate gelato for dessert!

Oh my, I get full just thinking about it!!!  I could go on and on...I think I will tell you of one more food experience...Sunday after visiting a huge flea market, we happened upon a very interesting restaurant/spanish bar called Las Cuevas de Luis Candelas.  We walked in and it was so cool we knew we wanted to enjoy a sangria and tapas here.  The sangria was sitting in a large wooden barrel on top of the bar, so we planted ourselves at the bar and enjoyed a true spanish experience...the sangria was 1,40 E and every time you ordered a drink they gave you a  free tapas.  You remember that tapas is a small bit of food served with wine, right?  Anyway our first small plate of food was paella and it was very good.  Then we got two fried smelt(Mark enjoyed those) and another plate of paella!  We ordered a plate of mushrooms and grilled asparagus.  All delicious and a very fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon!  The ambiance and decorations of the bar added to our enjoyment:)

So, I guess I should relax and enjoy all culinary experiences, continue to try to eat healthy most of the time and walk, walk, walk!!!  Bon appetite!!!