Bishop

I'll slowly start making updates on our new life in San Francisco. We moved into our apartment in the Presidio and bought a Subaru Outback XT. In celebration of our new non Renault car, we decided to take a trip to Bishop. It was windy and cold, but we got in a little climbing in at the Sads before my skin got removed and we chickened out








we slept in the back of the car, which was MUCH more comfortable than the back of my dads pickup.

on a plane

left from Lyon St. Exupery today. A bientot!

Leaving Party and Dinner

We had our "Work" leaving party today, to which we brought all of our remaining alcohol (Chartreuse VEP, nice Sake, Ouzo, wine by the case, etc etc). People really loved the cheese plate, and in particular the Camembert au Calvados. Surprisingly, the second and third packages of party time crabs were also a big hit! Earlier in the day, we had managed to set up our mail forwarding to the US (very farkin expensive) and sold our Clio 1.4 RT for a song to a postdoc at the IBS.


The giant cheese plate had been ordered from les Alpages, and we had picked it up earlier that day. I had almost started crying when the Fromagiers at les Alpages pointed to my show announcement up on the wall and asked me how the photography was going. I realize that some explanation is necessary, since those of you who know me probably realize that this is a somewhat atypical response on my part.

When I had first arrived in France in 2002, I had immediately fallen in love with Les Alpages. We lived a block away in Place Vaucanson, and even though I spoke two words of french, it was the first store (apart from boulangeries) that I managed to summon the courage to enter alone. I spent a not insignificant amount of time preparing for my first unaided visit, having looked up the words in the dictionary and gotten advice from Chloe. I picked a time of day during which I had hoped that very few people would be in the store, and moved in for the kill. As I trudged forward in the line, I rehearsed my lines to myself. I looked at all the cheeses that I would NOT be oredering because they were outside my script. I paid attention to the feigned nonchallance with which the old ladies ordered their cheeses : I knew that they were just as terrified as I was. Everything was going according to my plan. However, when I finally got to the counter, I panicked and asked for 500 kilograms of comte instead of 500 grams. After the large bald fromagier in a white apron burst out laughing and asked if I wanted to buy the whole store (500 kg is about a half ton of cheese), I turned bright red and said 500 grams please! By that time, a huge line had built up behind me which stretched out the door. They were all laughing and enjoying the mental picture of this American walking out of the store with a wheelbarrow full of cheese. Then I took a month off from cheese buying. Little by little things got easier, and although we moved further away, I still managed to get back there from time to time. I learned that it was "Comte de Montagne, and not Comte de la Montagne, and Tomme Crayeuse, not Tomme cremeuse. My relationship with the store was a kind of abridged and poetic version of my stay in France; all the heartbreak, embarassment, frustration and joy of expat living in little snapshots punctuated by the ringing of the bells on their big glass door. I will miss you, les alpages.

Leaving Dinner

As our going away present, our lab had generously bought us a meal (they even included the wine!!) at "L'escalier", a restaurant in Grenobel across from the museum. The meal was great, and the portions were BIG.

omlette in an eggshell with caviar


foie gras


seared tuna (this was a little too big for me)


excellent and perfectly cooked steak


the cheese plate


and dessert





Everything was fantastic except the cheese plate, which was a little too avant-garde. It features a parmesan mousse, and horrifyingly, a blue cheese ice cream!!

Farewell Party

Our first of two fairwell parties was tonight.

This one was for various friends that we have made in our 3.75 years in france. My parents had generously mailed us more Party Time Crabs, which were the hit of the party. Here are some friends tasting an enjoying these delicious treats


























Their popularity increased greatly as the wine and alcohol was consumed. Although we had said in our invitation email that it was a potluck, only our friend Franck brought any food, so Chloe had to make some emergency runs to the pizza place.

French-English culinary dictionary

I found this dictionary today: three years too late.

Last day in the tarn

After breakfast in bed


and another castle-bath, we had a fully day of climbing at the Oasif sector where I came close to but repeatedly failed on ils ont marche sur la Tune. On the way out we stopped to take pictures of the beautiful old houses along the Tarn


and then made the long (5 hour) drive back to Grenoble.