Red Red Wine

June 10 | 12:06 pm | Paris

Some European Impressions

Paris is as beautiful as everyone says - but not in the way that I expected. It has a gritty, lived-in kind of feeling that only enhances its beauty, in my opinion.

Paris is more multicultural than I was led to believe.

The Paris Metro system is one of best public transit systems I've ever ridden. If we had to wait more than two minutes for a train, it was a long wait.

The only thing worse than the crowds at the Louvre were the people who were taking pictures of all of the paintings. I hope that the art museums of Paris (and the rest of the world, for that matter) start prohibiting all photography in their galleries. In the age of digital photography, it's not enough to just outlaw flash photography.

I was under the impression that the only kinds of stores on the Champs-Elysees were high-end luxury goods stores. It certainly had plenty of these, but there were plenty of shopping opportunities for those on more of a budget.

Even after taking into account the weakness of the dollar, drinkable wine is still very affordable in France.

The best part about worldwide theatrical releases of films is seeing how the titles get translated. What Happens in Vegas was Jackpot in France and Love Vegas in Austria. I guess the Greater Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau uses a different slogan in its foreign language marketing materials. (Note: this observation should not be construed as an endorsement of the film What Happens in Vegas)

Iberia

I've been feasting on some treats from the Iberian peninsula recently that I felt inclined to write about. I'm by no means a wine connoisseur, but I was quite impressed with the bottle of Charamba that I just finished. Charamba is a red wine from Portugal. I don't know if it's a hard and fast rule that Californian wines tend to be fruitier than their old world counterparts, but Charamba definitely bucks this trend, if it is even an actual trend, with its bold and fruity taste. The bottle found its way into our house via a friend who brought it over for a get together last month. When I looked it up online, I discovered that in addition to being a great tasting wine, Charamba is also quite inexpensive ($5-$6, according to a couple websites). Look for it the next time you stop by the liquor store, though I'm not sure how widely available Portugese wine is in the States. I assume it's pretty easy to find in Rhode Island, beyond that, I'm not sure.

The other Iberian treat that I have recently rediscovered are Marcona almonds. Marcona almonds are only grown in the Mediterranean region of Spain. If you've never tried a Marcona, you really owe it to yourself to find some. I'm not a huge fan of regular almonds, so don't worry if you're not a big almond or nut person, Marconas are in a league of their own. We got a big can of them at a Costco in Seattle for a very reasonable price. Unfortunately, we don't have a Costco near here, so I don't know how I'm going to get my fix once I finish off the can.