Category Archives: Europe

American obsessed: “Those lovely, lovely Irish sheep!”

Traveling to Ireland for the first time, what impressed me the most was neither North Antrim Coast nor the amount of Guinness Dublin-ers consume, but Irish sheep. Yes, you heard me correctly, I said sheep. Along my train ride: from Dublin to Belfast, from Belfast to Dublin to Galway, whenever I saw them, I would gesture excitedly, grab my friend’s arm and cry, “Look, sheep!”

My British friend gaped in awe and said, “Do you not have sheep in America? You know outside London we have sheep, just like these right?”

Alas, how do I explain my conviction that Irish sheep — set against blue sky and green grass — are somehow extra fluffy, and most likely extra special. Thank goodness my obsession is not alone. I was able to dig up an article from Boston Irish Reporter, titled “Hello sheep lovers: Ireland is the place for ewe” to prove my sanity.

Blue sky, green pasture, and fluffy, cloud-white Irish sheep! (image credit: www.premier1supplies.com)

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Making it in New York: asphalt, skyline and “Chinese Puzzle”

Life is complicated, and in the case of Xavier (Romain Duris), a successfulish Paris writer, it is more so. In writer/director Cédric Klapisch’s “Chinese Puzzle” [1] (2014), Xavier struggles to deal with the following:

  • His wife Wendy (Kelly Reilly) leaves him, taking their children to New York to live with her new man.
  • He comes to New York because he cannot stand being apart from his children. He has no job, he needs to get a job, but he cannot legally work in the States.
  • His old girlfriend, Martine (Audrey Tautou), also comes to New York.
  • He is the father of his lesbian friend Isabelle’s (Cécile De France) baby. Isabelle is raising the baby with her Chinese-American girlfriend Ju (Sandrine Holt).

Did I mention Xavier’s life is complicated? To further muddle up the plot, he marries a  Chinese-American woman so he can get U.S. citizenship to stay in the country. The fake wedding will also help him better fight for legal authority over his children’s lives.

(image credit: RogerEbert.com/Chinese Puzzle)

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Let’s talk coffee (especially when served in a bowl)

Between Monterey Bay and Carmel, I would go for the latter. While the Monterey Bay Aquarium showcases a spectacular jelly fish collection, Carmel, which is officially known as Carmel-by-the-Sea, beats the touristy attraction with its quaintness. The pretty town paints quite a picture.

A beloved brunch spot, La Bicyclette, boasts “rustic French fare” and is known for butternut squash pizza and flaky croissants. For me, I chose to start my morning with a cinnamon bun and latte.

Instead of a cup of Joe, the latte at La Bicyclette is more like a "bowl" of Joe.

Instead of a cup of Joe, the latte at La Bicyclette is more like a “bowl” of Joe.

Well, the plenty large cup of Joe was served in a large ceramic bowl. (Read more about why coffee is called Joe).

On a sheet of printed paper, La Bicyclette explains that it is common for the French (apparently the rustic kind) to drink latte in a bowl. Furthermore, it hopes to carry on European coffee house tradition and establish itself as a place where the intelligentsia, such as philosophers, artists, poets, come and interact.

The café in European culture has always been more than just a place to eat and drink.

The café is where people from all walks of life, whether they are artists and writers, or business people and politicians, can come and interact freely.

I highly doubt Carmel, a sleepy seaside city, will ever be a business and political center. Nonetheless, I did experience first-handly the charm of European coffee houses when I studied in Vienna (2007).

In search of Old Vienna, I stumbled into Cafe Hawelka. Continue reading