Pasties

We are going to Portugal for a week in December.  Which feels like a million years from now but we stumbled upon one more reason to be excited about this trip - Comme a Lisbon and their pasties de nata. No, I'm not spelling that incorrectly.

Comme a Lisbon is a tiny hole in the wall in the Marais that serves espresso, pasties de nata, and sells a few select coffee/tea related products. There is enough room for about four people to stand in there.  We stumbled on this place when trying the gelato at Pozzetto.  The gelato was good, but basically just gelato. Nothing particularly special, especially when compared to pasties de nata.

Pasties de nata are a Portugese specialty, consisting of custard inside a tart shell.  The owner of Comme a Lisbon did warn us that not all pasties de nata are made equal, and some are better than others. His, based on his mother's recipe, are superb.  One of the best tasting things we've eaten in Paris.  I know I keep saying that, but each time I do really mean it.

On a separate note, the rentree has begun.  The rentree is when everyone comes back from August vacations.  Its akin to back-to-school but it permeates all parts of life, and across all demographics, regardless whether you have school-age children or not.  The city is plastered with advertisements about the rentree, from cell phone ads encouraging you to buy a plan to keep in touch with your friends during the rentree to this ad for yogurt.

For us, the rentree means a few things. We have hired a part-time nounou (nanny - but nounou is more fun to say) who will watch Baby Oil while I take a French class for a few weeks and when I work.  Which means I have to start working again, which in turn seriously cuts into my wander-Paris-and-eat schedule.  Conversely, getting in a "normal" routine will probably make it feel more like we live here, and less like this is one crazy, extended vacation with all the cheese you can eat.

And of course I now also fret that I will have less to blog about!  However, since I've adopted a general attitude that euros are like Monopoly money, I have signed up for a variety of activities and classes (no, not with the baby, silly - adult activities!) like a pastry class at the Cordon Bleu, a tour of Paris perfume houses, and a wine tasting class.  Plus, in addition to our Portugal trip, we are planning a few other excursions - Loire Valley, Normandy, and Provence.  Listen, its a hard life, but someone has to live it.  I'm willing to take this burden on all of your behalves. (Is that the plural of behalf?)