T-Shirt Contest: Winner for July

We have a winner, and it wasn't even close.

This entry comes to us from one, Stephane Bernard, one of our own GBIP team members. If you don't understand why this T-Shirt won, you just need to be patient - or maybe hit the zoom button.

And yes, this was also worn to work, but given it's subtle nature, it's not nearly as shocking.

Flowers of the Week

Out with the irises, didn't throw them out before I went to Turkey, and they went a bit brownish black. Although I went to the other market this weekend with Richard and Laurence, they still have some amazing flowers - this week sunflowers.

Project Fromage: 31% (AOC)

Been awhile since I've updated everyone on the progress of my goal of trying all the cheese families of France . . .

At the risk of pushing my body into total lactose intolerance and seizing up my arteries, I decided to pace myself by focusing on the AOC (Appelation d'Origine Controlee) cheeses first - think copyright protection for french cheeses - since they are more widely available (and a shorter list of only 51). So just counting the AOC cheeses, I'm at 31.37%. If you count all the cheeses, I'm at a paltry 10.84%.

I've also improved the process, since it's kind of easy to get distracted while shopping. I now walk around with my list of cheeses, so when I'm at the market, I know which ones I have to get for the week (I can't make that up). I'm going to have to start going to a dedicated cheese shop, since I've pretty much exhausted the cheeses at my haunts. This week we have: Beaufort, Cantal, and St. Nectaire.

The Beaufort is made in Savoie (French Alps) and its related to the Swiss Gruyere cheeses. In fact, the french call it the Prince of the Gruyeres. It's made from cow's milk (Tarine cows to be exact), and is pressed with a 20 to 70 kilo stone weight, which prevents it from having typical Swiss holes. It has a natural crust and is slightly salted. Yea, but how does it taste - a very good gruyere - almost tangy, but not too strong - Laurence uses this in her fondue, which makes a lot of sense.

Next is the Cantal, which comes from Auvergne just west of the French Alps. Also a cow cheese (don't know the breed), and since living in the mountains could be a little tough, this cheese was made to survive the winter to feed everyone. Very similar in taste to the Beaufort, but a little more mild. They also seem to break this cheese down into young, middle age, and old based on how long it's aged - anywhere from 1 month to a year. And they also have to flip this one twice a week. Apparently they make a killer 'cheesy' potatoes recipe with this cheese call 'truffade' - but it sounds a bit heavy for our recent 95 degree weather.

Finally, the Saint Nectaire, also from Auvergne, and also a cow cheese (breed is Salers). Looks like the best time to eat it is anywhere from May to October - was a bit nutty, but I didn't get the mushroom taste. It also seemed to have a mild little ammonia taste that I get with Camembert, but I could be wrong. It's also pressed, but only lightly (3-4 pounds) - and I doubt you can get in the States, since most of the good ones are unpasteurized.

Book Finished: Mao

Normally I don't bother talking about a book that I happened to read, but this one was worth mentionning. I figure since it was so long and took me so long to finish it (I don't consume books like Patrick), it's worth at least a notation.

Bottom line: the book makes Stalin and Hitler look like the Easter bunny compared to the Chairman. If you're into history books, it's a recommended one.

The Heat

It's hot. I resisted converting from Celsius to Fahrenheit, because I really didn't want to know how hot Strasbourg was actually getting. Unfortunately, it was so high yesterday I could no longer resist - 37 celsius, which translates to 98.6 degrees fahrenheit. And it's expected to top out at 38 celsius (or 100.4 fahrenheit) this week, before it starts to get better.

Keep in mind a couple of things . . .

1. I've lived in some pretty hot climates in my life (Arizona and Taiwan), so noticing that it's hot to me is pretty remarkable. I experienced Phoenix in 110 degree weather one summer day. And the summer in Taiwan with 105 and lots of tropical humidity wins for the most uncomfortable time.

2. There's no air conditioning. Most apartments (except for Gaby's) don't even bother with air conditioning at all, but some businesses say they have air conditioning. It's about as cooling as putting a frozen water bottle in front a fan at medium speed. I think if they actually went to Olive Garden in the middle of summer, and experienced the US ideal of air conditioning of 62 degrees - they would simply freeze to the spot.

3. I'm still riding my bike to and from work. Ironically, it's considered the coolest part of my day, since I sweat like a eskimo in Hawaii in a rubber jumpsuit, and I actually get an artifical breeze. The stopping at lights is the problem, since I'm only a few seconds away from internally combusting.

All joking aside, the french kind of have this hot weather thing down. There's only one bad month, so why invest in a hugely expensive air conditioner. If you're constantly in the heat, then you move slower and it's not as shocking to your body to go in and out of the cold buildings - they probably get sick less. They also change their menus - no more lasagne, chocolate fondant, and Bordeaux - it's all been replaced with tomato/basil/mozzarella salad, fruit sorbets, and cold Pinot Noir. Life could be harder.

Tomatoes

Kind of amazing what you can grow on your roof. LiAnn went and picked me up two tomato plants a couple of weeks ago, and now the cherry tomatoes are ripe. Not sure how the bigger ones will do, but they aren't hurting for hot weather (expected to reach 100 this week).

With the tomato plants just outside, I figure that if I totally blow my shopping for the week, I can at least have tomato and basil for dinner.

Flowers of the Week

The last of Lillies at the market. The white ones were the first to come out, but now they have all sorts of colors to choose from.

Patty's Gone Again

Yep, he's gone again - but this time only a short while. Had to go to Indy to do a multi-day meeting - but fortunately had a chance to see friends and family.

Flight out of Frankfurt was not the best - he missed his original flight due to the trains being late. I think he finally arrived at the hotel in Indy around 12 midnight - 9 hours later than expected. And he had to do it all in coach ! Barbaric.

The last time he was gone I categorized our DVD and book collection on the Internet, as well as made a list of all the cheeses in France. This time around I did a little better (I was actually able to sleep even though it's really hot here now) - although every shirt and pair of pants has been ironed and sorted by color, as well as I re-organized the closet to sort socks, underwear, and shirts by color family.

Should be back on Monday - thank God.

Istanbul

In an attempt to visit as many places around Europe as possible, we decided to go to Istanbul for essentially a long weekend. Fortunately there was a direct flight from Strasbourg to Istanbul - I think it's the only direct flight from Strasbourg to anywhere but Paris, but I'm just being twitty.

The city is OLD, really OLD. Not as old as a Cairo or a Luxor, but the place has some pretty cool stuff to see. People were great, not nearly as rough as Egypt. Ate on top of a restaurant overlooking the city almost every night. Had a lot of fun. Keep reading for details.

Istanbul: Who we went with

Patrick and I went with Andrea and Joe. Unfortunately, Tim couldn't make it because he was cycling through Europe with some of his friends.

As always they were really easy to travel with - Joe only took two hours to get ready in the morning. I suppose it's payback for introducing him to product.

Istanbul: The Harem

In the old part of the city, you'll find the Topkapi Palace, which was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire for most of its existence. And perhaps one of the more well-known areas in the palace is the Harem.

Don't get too excited, it's not what people usually think. The Harem was basically the place where no men (except for the head of the household) would go. Eunuchs guarded the women (some numbering in the hundreds or thousands), but there were also wives, mothers, and children who stayed in the harem - so images of a awesome high-class brothel are usually incorrect.

It wasn't that amazing of a place from an architectural or art standpoint, but that was probably more because the place was closed off to the public and it didn't need to be. It did strike all of us though as just one big prison and a bit on the claustrophobic side - not just for the women, but even the crowned princes who were required to live in specific rooms for most of their lives. Granted, they had whatever they needed, but in the case of the prince, it was still two rooms, which they called the golden cage.

Istanbul: The Cistern

Apparently if you're in a city that a lot of people like to invade for its strategic value, you going to have a lot of sieges. And what do you need if you can't go on the other side of the wall...water. So pretty much everyone who has taken over Istanbul has installed a cistern to hold water within the city gates - and the largest one is the Basilica Cistern which is in the heart of the old city.

Total capacity of the cistern would have been 80,000 cubic square meters - that's a lot. Maybe a better idea on how big the place was . . . 143 meters by 65 meters (oh come on people, learn the metric system...95% of the rest of the World has).

And I did not learn this until after I was back Wikipedia-ing...this was also the site of a scene in the James Bond flick 'From Russia With Love'.

Istanbul: The Medusas

Two ancient Roman Medusa heads were recently found in the Basilica Cistern during their renovations. Given where they are, I'm still not sure how they just found them. Although no one really knows where they originally came from, the experts say that they represent some of the best sculpture from Ancient Roman times. They are actually at the base of two columns in the Cistern - one is upside down and the other is on its side (I just flipped the image around so my mother wouldn't tell me that I had the photo turned the wrong way) - nobody knows why they did that either.

Istanbul: Architecture

With the religion of Islam not allowing any artistic representation of a human or animal (I think), most of Islamic art is geometric.

This particular image is just a simple ceiling in the Harem. For most of the best examples of Islamic art you need to look at the interiors of the mosques, which were amazing.

Istanbul: Turkish Bath

Definitely one of the better parts of the trip...Turkish bath in Istanbul. It's like going to Indianapolis in May and not visiting the Indianapolis 500.

So here's how it works. We paid about 30 euros a person, change into a towel in a small room, and then we walk into a large hot steam room (pictured here). After cooking down for about 15 minutes, big Turkish guy comes over and tells you to lie down on the big center platform.

He works you over like a oversized piece of playdoh for about 20 minutes, and then you move over to a little alcove furnished with a large sink - where you sit down for a bit to cook some more. Then he starts throwing water over you first, and then soaps you up like southsiders everywhere do to their 1967 Ford Mustang each weekend. I had a chance to look over to see Joe, and he was looking like the Pillsbury doughboy. Anyway . . .

Massage number two commences while soaped up, which was a really good thing, because after walking through Istanbul all day long, I stunk. Also got into the exfoliated thing with this silk hand jobby. It was so cool, Andrea and I decided to get one for our own use. Anyway, after pulling about 3 cups of dead skin cells (and what felt like some live ones), I was rinsed again, and just left there like the used piece of flesh that I was - felt like a pig that had just gotten ready for the Indiana State Fair.

We chilled (actually we sweated some more actually - remember, it was a hot sauna) for few minutes until we walked out and were fitted with towels. Since we also sweated off about a liter of water, we then sat down at the bar, had a few drinks. After that we skipped the shave, went back to the dressing room, and slept on the cots there (Andrea was expected to take longer).

We then got dressed (forgot to bring clean clothes, oops), and waited for Andrea in the marble court. Pretty cool.

Since this Turkish bath does not require the 7 different pools that Baden-Baden has, I think we can easily recreate the experience at home in Indy without having to dip our body in a cold water sink (a la Joe Grabczak). Plans are being drawn up now.

Istanbul: The Sultan's Throne

Thought you would like this one. Even the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire needs to go to the bathroom, so in case youre wondering what it looks like . . . here it is.

This place was just off the Royal baths as well - very similar to what we saw in the public Turkish baths - just a little smaller.

Istanbul: The Bazaar

Before the Mall of America was the largest mall in the World (or maybe it was Gumm's department store in Moscow) - there was the Istanbul bazaar. The place was huge and almost impossible not to get lost it. Most of the goods were OK, but there was some cool stuff. I think Andrea picked up a teapot, but we didn't have the mental energy to bargain for a rug or some other big ticket item - EBay is just a lot easier.

Istanbul: Out at the Beach

Well, you can't travel with Andrea and not have at least one day at the beach - truthfully, it's not a bad policy to follow - unless you're somewhere like Scotland at the end of December. So the third day we were there, we all took a ferry out to some islands and chilled on the beach.

We avoided being charged 40 euros per person to get out there, once we realized that we could take a local Ferry for about one euro. And we even avoided the really crowded beaches (it was Sunday) by going to a private beach. The only problem was that the private beach was still pretty full, there was really NO beach to speak of (picture a four foot wide sand 'sidewalk'). It looks like this is the best beach that Turkey had to offer (multiple sources confirmed it), so my advice . . . stick to Greece for the beach thing.

Also note that this is really not a picture of us at the beach - it's more of the landfill around the old city with huge boulders and crashing waves, which probably would have been preferable to the island beach resort. ;)

Istanbul: Hagia Sophia

A structure that has dominated the Istanbul landscape for almost 15 centuries is Hagia Sophia. It was originally built by Justinian as an Orthodox Church, converted to a Mosque, and then into a museum. And it's big - only the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids were bigger at the time of its construction.

Unfortunately, our timing was off and we weren't able to go inside the structure, but we also think that it's still under restoration, so it's difficult to see stuff. Regardless, it's a pretty amazing structure, when you consider its size and the fact that this would have been the first major building project since the Fall of the Romans in the Western Europe (sorry, had to make the architectural historical point).

Istanbul: The Blue Mosque

One of the main sites in Istanbul is the Blue Mosque, even though it's no longer really blue - I think the official name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. Regardless...

It's right in the middle of the old part of Istanbul, and they call it the Blue Mosque because of its interior was mostly blue. But the original design did not have this blue color, and it appears that they are restoring it to its natural colors - so calling it the Blue Mosque doesn't make too much sense. At the end of the day though, the place is absolutely amazing, one of the largest mosques in Islam, and represents some of its best architecture.

Ron and Carlos in Town

Ron and Carlos were in town for a few days before they headed off to Spain to go to a wedding. They were subjected to the extremely small guest bedroom that had been cleared of all crap (not an easy feat).

They arrived on Saturday afternoon, and we ran around Sunday. They also took the car (and the GPS) and went around on their own on Monday and Tuesday. They found a cool art glass factory down in Kaysersburg, and they went up to Soufflenheim on Tuesday. We also went out to dinner a couple times (once at Matteo's, who was still celebrating the World Cup win; and then to Le Gavroche the last night).

They took off from Basel the same day that we left from Turkey.

Flowers of the Week

We had about three weeks straight of peonies, so we're kind of glad that phase of our lives is over. Fresh from the market this week are Lillies - they took two days to open up, and are still going strong after five days.

World Cup: Italy 2 - Germany 0

In a continuing update . . .

Italy beat Germany in the semi-final match (France plays Portugal tomorrow). We all went back to Offenburg to watch the game on the big screen in the town square (it's not the same to watch it at home). Totally different experience to be in Germany watching the Germans play someone else (before we had watched the US-Italy match). I've never seen Germans sing national songs or wave their national flag (they still have some country identity issues), so that was a cool sight to see.

Unfortunately, Germany lost, so my hope of a French/German showdown is now lost. The score did not accurately reflect how close the game was either, since the first goal of the night was in overtime with only 5 minutes left is regulation play. Once the Germans switched to 100% offense, it was easy for the Italians to score again.

Daniella and Lucia are in trouble

While at the Germany-Italy game, we were able to get a picture of Daniella and Lucia wearing the German flag in support of the team. I'm all for trying to blend in with the natives, but not when your fiance is Italian, and there's a camera around.

Colclasures are in Town

First guests arrive from Indianapolis (well, the ones for non-work purposes). Jason and Kelly Colclasure (Patrick worked with Jason at Indy Dry). they flew in from Frankfurt on the same flight as Patrick was on (coming from London) - so that was convenient.

This also marks the first time that someone has actually slept in the extra 'bedroom', considering a week ago it was full of crap - it actually turned out to be pretty spacious.

Visit to Struthof

The visit to Struthof several weeks ago was important, so Patrick took Jason and Kelly Colclasure up there to see the museum as well. This is an image of the memorial that was built for the victims of the French Resistance that sits atop the hill of Struthof.

Tour de France

Well, it has finally begun. After a buildup that has probably lasted all year (we only started hearing about it when we first arrived in October), the Tour de France began in Strasbourg. So not only did the Tour go through Strasbourg, it actually started here.

Still working on the video.

Tour de France: Worthless Crap

The Tour basically begins with a bunch of crap. Essentially an hour before the time trials were to begin, all the sponsors and various groups drove down the course and threw out heaps of crap.

At first you would think that there would be something good, and you get all excited - but I guess since the budget has to last the entire month of July for the Tour - you just get stuff.

Probably the best thing we got was a personal cellphone screen cleaner and a bag of pretzels - yup, nothing that I'm going to be able to sell on EBay.

Tour de France: The Really Really Big Start

Here's the starting point and (I think) the first rider who did the time trial.

They essentially start one at a time and race through the city of Strasbourg. I forget exactly how fast they went (I think 8 kilometers in 8 minutes), but if I ever went that fast, I would make it from my house to work about 3 times faster than I do today. Granted they have the advantage of 250 cops shutting down the streets, but you get the idea.

Since the track went right in front of the Weber's house (literally), we all congregated there and had lunch afterwards. Thank God, since we only saw one bathroom in the whole area.

Tour de France: The Time Trial

So here's a closeup of the bike, rider, and gives you an idea of how close we were. Not sure how they make sure people really don't interfere with the riders (I think that was a problem years ago), but now each rider is escorted by their own police motorcycle escort.

Tour de France: The First Stage

After they worked out the time trials and figured out who was going to wear the yellow jersey (Go Thor!), they started the first stage of the Tour (or the Grand Depart).

The riders all started together up by the European Parliament and then almost did a parade thing through the entire city. It wasn't until they were on the southside of the city that they actual had the real start. Since the riders went right around the catherdral, we just walked outside a couple of blocks and saw them go by.

When you're seeing riders go by one at a time every 30 seconds, you have no idea how many riders there really are - but there were a lot.

After a couple of hours of going around the Vosges and into Germany, the riders came back into Strasbourg for the finish of the first stage. Fortunately, Joe's apartment was about three blocks from the finish line, so we ran over to a bridge to see them come around. Some of us tried to race back to the finish line to see them all finish, but we missed that.

The Second Stage has them leaving out of a small town south of Strasbourg called Obernai, where they were going to ride all the way up to Luxembourg (that's a 3 hour car ride) - but we had to go back to work and didn't see that.

Tour de France: A bad hat

To reiterate the point of how bad was the stuff we got from the sponsors, here's an unknown individual wearing one of those hats.

New Growth on the Pencil Cactus

When we were in the US for testing, we had dinner at Hilary's House (see Mont D'Or entry). Anyway, while we were there, Hilary snapped off a piece of her pencil cactus (sorry, don't know the Latin name), and said that I could easily start one in France by just sticking it in some soil once I got back. The only problem was that I wasn't going back to France for two weeks, so I had to just stick it in my bag until I got back.

Well, after some tense moments and some drowning in water when the soil is bone dry, we're actually starting to see the beginnings of new growth.

Please do not tell the French customs.

Don't see this at Wal-Mart everyday

There is actually a Wal-Mart in Germany that's not too far from our apartment, so when I was going up to Frankfurt to pick up Patrick I stopped by. The beer collection alone is something to behold - five different kinds of wheat beer, so I picked up a case.