Liberté

I stayed up late and waited for the fireworks to light up the sky, and waited, and waited...and waited. Although there were no fireworks on the 4th, I did have some freedom.

After making hamburgers for lunch (handmade patties - first time in my life!) I left the house at 15h and didn't return until 21h30. It was liberating and completely tranquil although my feet would have to argue otherwise. I ate ice cream, shopped until I was about to drop (literally), walked in the rain and ate at a restaurant called Le Cous Cous. 

Unfortunately, my buns were too big :/

Miko ice cream, made fresh in our little town of Saint-Dizier. That grey machine squirts out the ice cream into the cones from a cylindrical tube...pretty neat!

I felt like I hit the jackpot when I found tortillas and tortilla chips at the marché! Viva Mexico!!!

What I thought was going to be a Moroccan feast, was actually a meal created, prepared and cooked by an Arabian family (Papa had informed me later.) I didn't know couscous was an Arabian dish so I looked it up and found that it was originally a North African Berber dish. That makes sense because  there is a great population of Berber's in France, especially in Paris (thanks to AFAR Magazine for that tidbit - awesome travel mag, btw!). Back to dîner, I loved that my only hydration was a petit carafe of red wine. This is common in France, usually our source of hydration is wine. Luckily, in my family's home, water is the drink of choice. Water has always been choice for me so thanks Jodi, for finding the perfect family! 

The plates were beautiful at Le Cous Cous! 

Not sure if I was supposed to put this trail mix in my couscous, but I did it anyways and it was darn good ;p

 Couscous Poulet served with a hot steaming bowl of vegetables in broth that were TDF!

The whole shebang :p I realized later I was supposed to pile everything onto each other (shrugging shoulders).

The meal as a whole was great, however, I wasn't too fond of the couscous. You think a restaurant with a name, "Le Cous Cous" would have stellar couscous, right?!? Not the case. My favorite was the vegetables which were so moist in the broth that they melted in your mouth! Reminded me of my mom's beef stew veggies. Second favorite was the trail mix or dried fruit mix I should say since there were no nuts in it.

I'm not sure if it was the wine, humidity or the warm veggies and broth but I was sweating bullets like crazy!!! And usually when I drink wine I can eat a lot more but I couldn't even get through have of it. What's even more crazy was I passed on dessert! That's like unheard of for me!!! I was so sad :( The waiter took my plates and I completely forgot to ask for them to be boxed. When I did ask, he thought I wanted to place an order to go, pour parti. I said no and asked if they had la boîte and he said only for parti. So I think they had already tossed my food out or my French was so horrible that the waiter just had to say no. I felt so terrible for wasting so much food, but now I know...I just can't dine alone. The meals (at least at Le Cous Cous) are meant for 2-3, pas un!

My last hour of freedom was winding down...I walked home without the rain and remembered I had Cookies Framboises et Fraises avec Pepites du Chocolat in my bag from the local co-op, Biomonde. So I did not forgo dessert after all! The chocolate chip cookie made with raspberries and strawberries hit the spot ;P That's the next recipe on my list to test.

When I got inside and was ready for bed I stared at the window waiting for the light to go down and to see explosions in the sky, but there were none, of course. I couldn't wait to read the NY Times the next morning to see the highlights of the show on the Hudson River. A show that I saw about 3 years ago, well actually, I saw the shade of the black sky brighten up since buildings were blocking my view :( They had one photo that just did it for me...

I got my fireworks afterall :D