Sarah Ramanauskas
@hundredgrapes
Works to prevent gambling harms / lives in Paris / likes wine, books and food.
Ah, sorry, for some reason I thought it was this weekend. Just had 2 hrs 45 minutes of a stifling train journey back from Saumur with no air con and am quite cooked. Saumur was good though, visited the cellars at Louis de Grenelle - sparkling Saumur and Cremant de Loire.
In the window of a Chinese restaurant in the 1st arrondissement. Couldn't pet, so no score for @thecatreviewer.bsky.social, but clearly an important member of the restaurant brigade. #Paris #CatsWithJobs
Yayyy Cabo Verde! Here’s a typical view of the hiking trails we scaled on Sao Vicente a few years ago. Amazing place. #WorldCupMinnows
Delicious Pol Roger in magnum at Hôtel de Charost, the British Ambassador's residence, last night. The house was bought in 1814 by the Duke of Wellington from Napoleon Bonaparte's sister. She passed on the gold to Napoleon, financing his return from exile on Elba, and hence the Battle of Waterloo.
Muguet - lily of the valley - for sale today. Bought on May Day to bring luck for the rest of the year #FrenchTraditions #Paris
Oh good! I got as far as about page 40 in my Gallimard edition 😄 (see Alt text)
Not a critic, just someone who can buy any number of vintages of this stuff about the same or less here in France. Also, the number of times dinner guests have turned up looking pleased that they've bought a 'Grand Cru' and I've been too polite to say - yeah, all Saint Emilion is Grand Cru.
Go out for cheese and charcuterie instead? That’s what we did, anyway. Wine also helps.
Some wonderful pieces in the Renoir Drawings exhibition at Musée d'Orsay. On till 5th July. Loved this wistful portrait of his friend Cezanne.
RIP Michel Rolland. The original Flying Winemaker has flown. Raised a glass or three of Clos de los Siete last night in his memory.
A Lesson's motmot, or Blue-diademmed motmot, taken on a night walk in Monteverde, Costa Rica. #BirdOfTheDay #Green #BirdPhotography
We are currently on holiday in Costa Rica. The rule at the National Parks is to reverse park, so that you can drive out more quickly if the volcano erupts.
Saw a motmot on our night tour in Monteverde last night. Before it started tipping it down!
The guides were all very excited 😄 Apparently you can spend hours in a soggy forest and not see a thing. This was a really special sighting.
Today's amazing bird, seen in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, is the quetzal. It was associated in pre-Columbian civilisations with Quetzalcoatl, the bird-snake god of life, knowledge and the winds. Killing one was forbidden so they were trapped and then released for their tail feathers. #Birds
Good morning! Bare-shanked screech owl, Monteverde cloud forest, Costa Rica. Spotted yesterday morning.
Best shot so far from our Costa Rica trip. All thanks to our guide's spotter scope and his ability to take pictures from it with my phone. A Golden-browed Chlorophonia in the Monteverde cloud forest.
Today's Top Bird (if you're a birder) was the quetzal. Though it was quite hidden in the trees. We've been here a week and the Merlin app has given us almost 80 different birds. Not seen that many though!
A giraffe-necked weevil. Lives on one specific plant. The female sews a single egg into a rolled-up leaf which she then snips off the bush and drops to the ground.
Sending you a few hyacinths. (Alt text: blue hyacinths coming into bloom, planted in a grey bowl with moss round the blue/purple bulbs.)
Have you visited Paris and wondered where the water which gushes down the streets every morning, pushing dog poo into the drains, comes from? Answer: 19th C reservoirs, built on a hill just steps from the Arc de Triomphe. Water stored from the Seine uses gravity to clean streets and power fountains.
Yep, we’re having a ‘mostly Malbec’ blend from Mendoza with roast beef tonight. Also Bonardo and a smidge of Petit Verdot. Delicious and excellent value. (13 euro)
Not only that, but the refuse had to be sorted: 1) compostable items, 2) paper and cloth, and 3) crockery and shells. Initially, the boxes met resistance, from owners of buildings resenting the cost of the bins, and traditional rag-and-bone men who saw a threat to their living. (Wikipedia)
Wondered why rubbish bin in French is 'poubelle'? Today I learned that M. Poubelle, Préfet of the Seine 1883-96, invented the dustbin collection. "7 March 1884 Poubelle decreed: owners of buildings must provide residents with 3 covered containers of 40 to 120 litres to hold household refuse." 1/2
Some sun in Paris today, and the hyacinths are blooming in the warmth.
Too late to start a Christmas Bakes thread? Here's Buches de Noel, Pompadour Patisserie Paris 16éme.
What happens in Paris on Christmas Eve? Everyone goes food shopping. Oysters, capons, cheese, clementines, and mini buches de Noel.