Le 14 Juillet

Two years ago today I was sitting under the Eiffel Tower enjoying a baguette/cheese/saucisson picnic while waiting for the sky to light up with Bastille Day fireworks.  This year I'm in NYC, and since I was in LA during last weekend's local French fête, I'll probably just celebrate by opening a nice bottle of French wine and sharing it with my roommates while we escape the opressive heat in front of our window unit air conditioner.  Sure, it's not like being in Paris, but hey, there's wine.  I can live with that. 

Are you doing something super chouette to celebrate Bastille Day?  Last week I asked Parisian Spring readers to enter the first Parisian Spring Bastille Day Contest by sharing their July 14th plans.  Responses ranged from making macarons to reminicing about fabulous Parisian vacations gone by.  But there can only be one winner, and after completing my ultra scientific selection process (ok, I randomly drew a name out of a hat), the winner is...

Blue Penguin

Félicitations!  I'll be sending you a copy of David Lebovitz's "The Sweet Life in Paris" as well as a mousepad featuring a French WWI propaganda poster (but first you have to send your mailing address to me at trbrothen@gmail.com).

Thanks to everyone who participated.  Happy Bastille Day! 

Cannes Calling

The 63rd Cannes Film Festival is now underway, which means it's time for me to dust off my annual feelings of regret over the fact that I've never attended.  Ever since studying at the College International de Cannes in the fall of 2001, I promised myself that someday I would return to the scene of my formative study abroad trip to enjoy the city in full-on glamour mode.  But every year, the end of May sneaks up on me, and I suddenly realize I've once again missed my chance to catch a glimpse of the red carpet.

A recent, not-so-favorable article in the Washington Post made me feel un peu better about missing this year's Festival.  According to the author, the festivities are a bit of a downer this year, marred by everything from the economic crisis in Europe, to bad weather, to flight problems resulting from an angry volcano in Iceland.  In short, it might not be the best year for snapping photos of stars or lounging on the beach without a care in the world.

Of course, if my ultimate dream of returning to Cannes with the friends who were with me back in 2001 were to actually come to fruition, I don't think the overall mood of the Festival would matter.  Travel is mostly about who you're with, and less about what you're doing/seeing/experiencing.  If you're with the right people, no amount of poor weather or spewing ash can bring you down.  As long as everyone is happy and healthy, you can have a good time no matter what.  And I'm sure that all of our reminiscing could survive even the dreariest of Mediterranean days.

So, Cannes 2001 guys and gals, you know who you are.  Are you listening?

2010 World Championship Cheese Contest

The natural follow-up to Friday's post about wine would be a post about cheese. And we're in luck! The 2010 World Championship Cheese Contest was held last week in Madison, Wisconsin. Let's discuss.

You might think that the natural winner of such a contest would perhaps be a cheese of the French persuasion. After all, it is often said that the French have a different cheese for every day of the year, and anyone who has tasted the wares of a Parisian fromagerie knows that of these 365 varieties roughly 365 of them are delicious. However, it was the Swiss who took home this year's top prize (and second prize, as well), with Cedric Vuille from La Brevine, Switzerland winning for his Gruyère. NPR ran a story about the championship, so if you'd like to hear why the judges choose this particular cheese (hint: good body, good flavor notes...and low turnout from the French and Italians), this link will take you there: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124913031

Note: the radio story gives a different name for the winning cheese maker than the World Championship website.

Gruyère is indeed a delectable variety of cheese. I love to munch on it during l'apéritif and to use it as an accompaniment to Appenzeller in my fondue. But is it my favorite cheese? Probably not, but then again, I don't exactly like to play favorites with fromage. I love creamy, mild cow's milk cheese spread on a baguette, melted goat cheese with honey in a salad, and salty sheep's milk cheese for a light snack.

French, Swiss, or otherwise, do you have a favorite cheese?

Winners and Losers

You can’t escape Oscar fever in Los Angeles. Even the flower stand at the neighborhood market I visited the day before the big ceremony was getting into the action with a special Oscar contest. Simply fill out a ballot of the most popular categories (think Best Actress, not Best Live Action Short Film), and the top 10 predictors win a dozen roses. As I turned mine in (with France’s Un Prophète selected to win Best Foreign Language Film, of course), I jokingly told the vendor he had the winning ballot right here.

Sure, I had made an effort to see as many Oscar films as possible in the run-up to my trip, but I know as much about film as someone who lives in L.A. probably knows about pocket vetoes. So imagine my surprise when I received a voice mail from the flower stand telling me I had indeed won the dozen roses and would I kindly stop by to collect them sometime in the next three months. Chouette!!!

But wait, when did I receive this voice mail? Mais, oui…When I checked my phone after landing at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC.

Le Louvre Visits Minnesota

Dear Minnesota-based Parisian Spring readers, Did you know that for a few short months (and without having to lose money on the exchange rate), you have the chance to see some of the Louvre’s most celebrated works of art in an exhibition entitled, “The Louvre and the Masterpiece?” The exhibition is being held at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and they’re calling it a once-in-a-lifetime event. Tout le monde au musée!

If I was living in DC instead of Brussels I would seriously consider flying home to see this little bit of Paris in the Twin Cities. The chance to contemplate Georges de La Tour’s captivating piece, “The Card-Sharp with Ace of Diamonds,” is not one that can easily be passed up. There’s also a Vermeer, which, I mean, it’s a Vermeer! But that’s not all: the exhibition features works from each of the museum’s collection areas, in an attempt to decode what makes some works masterpieces and others not. You can even see how science helped the staff at the Louvre spot a forgery. How cool is that?

The exhibition is runs from now until January 10, 2010. A full price ticket costs $14, but entrance is free if you’re a member of museum. So, you can’t make it to Paris this winter. So what? Put on your best when-in-Paris outfit, go and peruse the exhibition, then discuss over dinner (in French, if possible) while enjoying a fine Bordeaux. I only wish I could join you.

Halloween in Brussels

I wasn't sure what to expect this Halloween. Back home it seems the jack o' lanterns, costumes and orange and black decorations make an appearance immediately after Labor Day. But Brussels? Would I even be able to find a pumpkin with suitable enough seeds for baking? I should have known better. The commercialism that is October 31st had already started to creep into France way back in 2003.

Neighboring Belgium had no where to hide.

I'm not a big fan of Halloween, but as an American I'm used to having it around to mark the peak of the fall season. Part of me was glad to see all things spooky starting to materialize around my neighborhood, and I've gotten into the spirit of the holiday as best I can by eating a lot of candy and accepting an invitation to a pumpkin-carving party. I also took a few pictures, demonstrating that Halloween in Belgium looks pretty much like Halloween everywhere else.

La Nuit Blanche

I am not a night owl. So when I heard Paris was going to have its Nuit Blanche on the Saturday I had planned to be in town, I wasn't sure what to think. To do a "nuit blanche" in French means to pull an all-nighter, and La Nuit Blanche is a once-a-year celebration where the entire city does just that. There are parties, dances, and artistic performances until the wee hours of the morning in neighborhoods across Paris. As someone who likes to keep reasonable bedtimes, and who would much prefer getting up early to sleeping in, I was doubful of my ability to partake in the festivities. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try. I'd like to think I did myself proud.


There are a number of different ways to experience Paris' La Nuit Blanche. You could throw a late/early party chez toi, attend the outdoor dance under a gigantic disco ball at the Jardin du Luxembourg, dine at an unusual hour, or just wander the streets taking it all in. After dinner at a normal hour at my favorite Parisian bistro, I took the latter approach. Leaving the Marais, I crossed the Seine to the Ile Saint-Louis, made my way through a light display on a bridge, saw a street performance in front of Notre Dame, snaked through Saint-Michel, fought the crowds past the Jardin du Luxembourg, wandered around St. Germain de Prés, and hung out in front of the Louvre before catching the metro back to my hotel near the Arc de Triomphe. I didn't make it until dawn, but these days, anytime after midnight is something to be celebrated.

Simply wandering the streets was a perfectly enjoyable way to get a feel for La Nuit Blanche. In some areas there was revelry, and in others it was relatively quiet, but everywhere I went offered something different to see, hear and explore. And with a full moon on a cloudless (rainless!) night, every part of the city was marvelously aglow. Even an early bird can enjoy herself on a sleepless night, especially when she's in Paris.

Manneken Pis Day

You've probably heard of Brussels' Manneken Pis, or "Little Man Urinating," statue. He's the miniature boy who's not ashamed to do his business on a perch in the corner of a quaint Belgian street. But did you know that he has costumes? Yes, costumes. The Bruxellois love their peeing statue so much that they've bestowed upon him a wardrobe whose options outshine my own. Manneken Pis has an outfit for every occasion: a red Santa Claus suit and hat for Christmas, country-specific clothing to celebrate national holidays, and a white, bejeweled getup to honor Elvis Presley's birthday. There's even a website that maintains a photo gallery of his costumes, including a calendar of the days he can be expected to be wearing them.

I recently paid a visit to the world's most famous peeing boy and happily discovered he had gotten dressed up for the occasion. In fact, the crowd of beer-drinking, instrument-playing and anthem-singing Belgians who stood around him had also gotten dressed up. What's more, they were all wearing identical (full-sized) versions of his red and blue cape/hat ensemble. I didn't completely understand what I had stumbled across until I spotted a menu chalkboard declaring it to be Manneken Pis Day. I knew they gave him costumes, but I had no idea they also gave him his own day. That's one luckly little statue.

Come Thirsty

Just in case I had forgotten that I now live in the Land of Beer, Brussels was nice enough to hold its 11th annual beer festival last weekend. For three days, over 40 Belgian breweries poured dozens of their finest pils, amber, lambiek and trappist creations, right in the middle of the city's famous Grande Place. The tents and tables were already bursting at the seams with merry revelers when we passed through the square at noon. A few short hours later and you could barely walk from one end to the other without getting bowled over by the crowd. Musicians entertained the drinkers, vendors sold food to the hungry, and just in case you had forgotten how beer is made, the Belgians were nice enough to post this informative reminder.

Another National Holiday

Did you know that today is the Belgian national holiday? This one really caught me off guard. After the quick succession of Canada Day, Independence Day and Bastille Day, I just wasn't expecting yet another fête nationale in need of celebrating. Thankfully, an article in the local free daily tipped me off with its list of best DC places to drink beer, eat frites and crack open some mussels all in celebration of the 21st of July.

What exactly are the Belgians commemorating today? No, it's not the signing of an eloquently written document, or the crazed storming of a prison. They mark July 21st because on that day in 1831, in the city of Brussels, Leopold I swore allegiance to the constitution. Known as the first King of the Belgians, he reigned for 34 years, leaving the crown upon his death on December 10th, 1865. The current King of the Belgians is Albert II. It makes me wonder: will Belgium ever overthrow its monarchy in dramatic fashion, an act that could have the power to create an entirely new holiday? If so, maybe they'll select a time of the year other than July in which to enact their plan. The seventh month is starting to feel a bit overbooked.

How to Celebrate Bastille Day

On July 14, 1789, French citizens stormed the Bastille prison in Paris and set in motion events that would abolish feudalism and lead to the proclamation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Centuries later (220 years, to be exact), Bastille Day is the national holiday of France, and is celebrated all over the world by Frenchmen, Frenchwomen, and Francophiles alike. Feel like joining in the fun? Here are some suggestions for how to celebrate the Fête Nationale:

1. Attend the military parade that runs along the Champs-Elysées. Though it is often ignorantly bashed in the U.S., the French military is in fact one of the world's most elite, sophisticated, and technologically-advanced fighting forces. Check out their equipment, their soldiers, and wave after wave of jaw-dropping fighter jet and helicopter flyovers.

2. Catch the dazzling fireworks display that takes place at the Eiffel Tower. Pack your baguette and cheese picnic and claim your spot on the Champs de Mars in the early evening. Be sure to sit lined up with the center of the tower for the best view. One warning: the crowds can be downright scary as you try to get home after the show. I did not enjoy this part of last year's festivities, and I attribute the frenzied, run-you-over madness to the day's legacy of violent prison storming.

3. Not in France? Eat at your favorite local French restaurant. Many will probably be offering special deals on drinks and/or food in honor of le 14 juillet. For example, Napoleon in DC is offering free Champagne!

4. Watch a French or France-themed movie. I like Marie Antoinette for the French Revolution preview, or Casablanca for the rousing, German soldiers-drowning out rendition of La Marseillaise. You'll be shouting "Vive la France!" in no time.

5. Wear red, white and blue. If you're an American, it's possible that you have plenty of clothes in these colors hanging around from the recent Independence Day celebration. Get some additional use of of them by paying hommage to the drapeau tricolore.

Joyeux Jour de la Bastille!

Independence Day, DC Style

Are you someone who keeps a running list of travel goals? Do you know the places you want to visit, the events you want to experience, and the sights you want to see before your voyaging days are done? If so, then allow me to suggest the following addition to your travel countdown: Washington, DC on the 4th of July. DC is a great place to visit any time of the year, but if you really want to have a powerful and unique experience in the U.S. capital, there's not better time than Independence Day. Saturday was the third 4th of July I've spent here, and I've picked up a few tips to help you make the most out of your patriotic visit.

For starters, if you plan on entering The National Mall and its surrounding areas, remember that you'll need to pass through security checkpoints. Sometimes they'll ask you to drink your liquids in front of them, other times they'll ignore one of the two bags you're holding, but they probably won't allow you to bring a large cooler into the secured area. Before the fireworks begin at dusk, there are concerts and patriotic ceremonies that take place on The Mall and at the various memorials. Don't worry, the crowd won't be as intense as it was on Inauguration Day; you will be able to move around the area freely. The best spot for watching the fireworks is the steps of the Jefferson Memorial. This location puts the entire city out in front of you for a beautiful view, and also lets you see the fireworks as they're reflected off the tidal basin. It's absolutely gorgeous. Bring some snacks, arrive before 7:30 to have your choice of a step, sit back and enjoy. After the show, avoid the Smithsonian and L'Enfant Plaza metro stations like the plague. To ensure you get a seat on the train and have as enjoyable of a ride home as possible, walk an extra few blocks to a station past the popular ones.


The atmosphere in Washington, DC on the 4th of July is unlike anything else I've experienced. Independence Day has always been one of my favorite holidays, and there are enjoyable celebrations all over the country, but here in the nation's capital it feels even more special. Surrounded by the monuments, memorials and symbols of American society and government you will truly feel the beauty and power of this day. When the fireworks end in a rousing grand finale, you'll wander home in the DC heat with ash in your hair, a smile on your face, and one more item to cross off your travel goals list.

Post Hunt 2009

Not a fan of brainteasers? Don't like numbers? Puzzles make you crazy, and not in a good way? If so, then the last thing you would have wanted to do on your Sunday afternoon was participate in Post Hunt 2009, the Washington Post's annual scavenger hunt. As it were, I have a DC friend who enjoys these kinds of mind melding activities as much as I do, and we did spend our afternoon hunting with The Washington Post. We weren't the only ones.

Last year's inaugural event attracted around 5,000 people, despite a steady rain. Participants are given a hunt-themed edition of the Washington Post Magazine, an opening clue at the hunt's starting point, and three hours so solve five different puzzles placed at points within a section of the city. Solve all five, put their answers together to solve the final clue given to the crowd later in the day, and you could win as much as $2,000. This year's turnout looked to be equally large, and although our little team didn't win, we did have some fun trying.

Turns out, a scavenger hunt is an efficient way to learn about a neighborhood. Most of our hunting took place in a part of the city neither of us spends a lot of time in, so between number crunching and message decoding, we had countless "ah-ha!" moments of spotting restaurants and shops we'd heard about but never seen. We also discovered new sights, shops and destinations that looked interesting enough to merit a return visit one of these days.

Do city-wide scavenger hunts take place all over the world? They'd definitely be a great way for visitors to get to know neighborhoods in London, Rome or Tokyo. Not only would you be running around familiarizing yourself with the streets, sights and landmarks of a foreign city, but you'd also get to interact with locals in a totally unconventional way. Bonus: they'd have cameras and maps just like you! You wouldn't even stand that much as a tourist. Of course, you'd have to know the language used for the hunt, but if you did this would be a great alternative to the usual touristy activities.

If you know of any great city scavenger hunts, or have participated in one yourself, tell us about it!

Cannes!

Every year I tell myself I'm going to go, and every year it passes me by. The "it," I'm referring to is the Cannes Film Festival. It's glamorous, it's on the Mediterranean...and it starts today.

Ok, so I didn't make it to the 62nd awarding of the Palme d'Or. Thankfully, Le Festival has a pretty comprehensive website where you can scroll through classic red carpet photos, see what films are being featured, and download this year's promotional poster. You can also listen to the Cannes Film Festival podcast and get the daily weather report from the South of France. It's almost like being there in person. Minus the whole palm trees/celebrity sightings/French cuisine/watching the sunset on the Riviera, thing.

April Showers Bring May...Bridges?

May is a great time of the year to be in France. The weather is getting better, flowers are in bloom, and hordes of summer tourists haven't yet made their presence known. May is especially sweet if you work in France, as this one month is filled with more national holidays than Americans see in an entire quarter. But it's not just a few days off here and there; the French take this rapid succession of Labor Day, Victory in Europe Day, and Ascension to the next level by practically making a month-long vacation out of it. How do they manage this incredible feat? By using a special tactic they like to call "Les ponts de mai." The May Bridges.

It works like this: let's say Labor Day (May 1st for most of the world, why do Americans celebrate this in September?) falls on a Thursday. You automatically get Thursday off from work, but you want more, so you take Friday off too. This creates a "pont," or bridge, to the weekend. Do this three times during the month and you're hardly at the office at all! The tourism industry in France goes crazy offering all kinds of "pont" vacation deals, which the French take full advantage of by running off the to the south, the north, to foreign countries, or to anywhere that's not home. And you thought they only vacationed in August.

I guess Americans sort of do this too. If the Fourth of July is on a Thursday, for example, how many people are in the office on Friday? Or the Friday after Thanksgiving? It's just that we don't have a catchy, clever name for the phenomenon. "Four-day weekend" or "long weekend" don't exactly have the same ring to them as "Les ponts de mai." We also don't have a single month with three such glorious opportunities for building May bridges. The Christmas/New Year's week comes close, but that doesn't really count seeing as how much of the world's population has that deal going on. As I struggle to make it to Memorial Day - the first federal holiday since mid-February - I wish all my French and expat friends in France a Happy May. Send me a "wish you were here" postcard?

Travling Holidays

Spending a holiday overseas can bring on any number of feelings. You might be excited to gain a new perspective on an old tradition. You might feel sad or lonely at the prospect of being far away from loved ones. You might even feel absolutely nothing at all, especially if the particular holiday you're missing back home has little or no relevance in your current location. Last Easter I was in Paris enjoying lots of delicious French chocolate, and while this year I wasn't overseas, I also wasn't in the place I truly call home. So when a friend who is also not from the DC area announced she was throwing an Easter bash for her similarly displaced peers, I immediately sent in my RSVP.

The guests came from all over the country, with California, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, and Minnesota, bien sur, all in attendance. We ate our Easter ham, our deviled eggs and our green bean casserole with gusto. A gorgeous pineapple upside down cake and a few bottles of wine rounded out the night. With so many strangers in the room, things started out quiet, but gradually grew into an energetic frenzy of easy laughter and conversation. The whole event felt not unlike the various Christmases and Thanksgivings I've spent overseas where everyone who is not-from-here comes together to create a home away from home for the holidays. And with Washington being the transient city that it is, I imagine we weren't the only group of singles, couples, students, travelers, and young professionals un-traditionally celebrating last week's traditions of Easter and Passover.

As the evening drew to a close we divvied up the leftovers and gave hugs all around. We also thanked my friend for having so generously fed, housed, and entertained the wayward masses, for without her, some of us might not have had any plans for the holiday. As is always the case with big celebrations spent away from home, part of me wished I could have been back in Minnesota spending time with familiar faces, but the part of me that loves to travel and have new experiences was grateful for yet another celebratory meet-up. Other than eating a French chocolate Easter bunny, it's one of the best ways to enjoy a holiday.

April Flowers

Washington, DC is a heavily touristed city, but there are two times during the year when that statement becomes even more true. One of them is the 4th of July, and the second is currently in full swing: The National Cherry Blossom Festival. It's an annual celebration that celebrates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry blossom trees, or Sakura as they're known in Japanese, from the then mayor of Tokyo. Meant to symbolize the enduring friendship between our two countries, the trees have proved to be the gift that keeps on giving. Every spring they erupt in a sea of pink and white as their blossoms mark the unofficial end of winter in the DC area. Easily felled by stiff winds or a spring storm, it's important to get out to see them early on. I did just that earlier this week, and was not disappointed.

Most of the cherry blossom trees are near the tidal basin, which is a man-made inlet next to the Potomac River. In fact, the basin and the walking path that encircles it are completely lined with Sakura. When they bloom, it creates a gorgeous ring of soft color, the perfect backdrop for shots of the nearby Jefferson Memorial and Washington Monument. Cherry blossoms are so pretty that you have the urge to walk with your eyes pointed upward, gazing at all the pink and white, but this is not a good idea. Some of the branches of the trees are low enough for a 5' 8" person like myself to run into with her head. Best to keep your eyes straight ahead and enjoy the sensation of walking through a tunnel of flowers.


Washington's two-week National Cherry Blossom Festival isn't just about trees, it's also has a jam-packed calendar of blossom-related events. Everything from river tours to musical performances to bike rides to a soirée and reception at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (seriously?) has been organized to celebrate the bloom. The Festival's main event is a parade being held this weekend on the streets of DC. But you don't have to do any of that to appreciate the delicate beauty of the cherry blossoms. You don't have to line a parade route, get on a boat, or visit a museum boasting lifelike replicas of the Obamas. All you have to do is stroll around the tidal basin on a warm spring night, camera in hand, and take in the view.

Parlez-Vous Français?

It's no secret that the French are proud of their language. They created the Académie Française to be their official language authority, the Alliance Française to teach their language to others, and a month-long celebration to fête French-speaking populations all over the world. Yes, it's true: March is known as Le Mois de la Francophonie, during which 31 days are employed to recognize the fact that French is not only spoken in France, but rather used in countries as diverse as Morocco, Madagascar, and Mali.


But you don't have to be in a Francophone country to enjoy the French-themed festivities. Washington, DC, for example, has an impressive annual lineup for March 2009's bash. Thanks to a behemoth French Embassy, the La Maison Française cultural center, and Washington's chapter of the Alliance Française, Washingtonians have countless opportunities to party down, French style. This year featured a healthy amount of films, concerts, and programs for children. The celebration culminates with a "Soirée Discothèque" to be held at the Smithsonian's Ripley Center. For $30 you can try out your tectonik skills to the beats of Parisian, Evaa Pearl and Swiss DJ, Jay Style. Sounds like it would be a good time, but I'll pass. As an American who greatly enjoys dive bars, I never did understand the European discothèque scene, even if I have partaken in it a time or two...or three or four.

You really can't blame the French for their linguistic pride. It is, after all, a very beautiful language. And despite the rise of English, French still remains important on the internatoinal scene, serving as an official language of the Olympics, the European Union, and NATO. It's the language of love, and for one month out of the year, it's also the language of celebration. Have you be joining in fun?

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Breaking out of your comfort zone while traveling is generally seen as a good thing. It can introduce you to new people and expose you to culturally unique experiences that you can't get by simply hanging out at the nearest expat bar. Some travelers take going off the beaten path to the extreme, while I find that small, less intense gestures usually do the trick. Think trying out a few foreign words at the local market vs. hitchhiking through Siberia. No matter your preferred form of exploration, you might eventually find yourself seeking out something a bit more familiar. Sometimes, even the most adventurous of travelers head back to the comfort zone for a refresher course in all things, well, comforting. I don't live in a foreign country, but there are definitely days when living in DC feels like living on another planet. Finding myself in need of all things known, I jumped at the chance to attend the Minnesota State Society's Annual Walleye Dinner, an event that didn't disappoint.

Shortly after walking in the door I knew I was among friends. We took turns marking our hometowns with push pins on a state map, and then quickly heading over to the bar to politely wait in line for domestic beers and red wine. The night's emcee was a DC weatherman who grew up in Minnesota and who brought down the house when he confidently announced that our dining hall was "the nicest room in Washington." I sat at a table with people who understood my longing for the Twin Cities' restaurant scene, allowed my accent to proudly show its face, and were able to inform me about Sun Country's return to the Minneapolis - DC direct route and Northwest Airlines' subsequent scaling back of their recently inflated prices for the same trip. Trust me when I tell you this is huge. We ate beer battered walleye (flown in from Minnesota, and utilizing a Mondale family recipe, of course), worked as a team to finish the Minnesota state trivia game (did you know that Yanni has a doctorate from the U of M?), and agreed that the best raffle prizes were the Caribou Coffee gift cards and the entire boxes of Pearson's Salted Nut Rolls. I didn't want the night to end.

After the goodbyes the exchanging of business cards and the realization that we'll probably see each other at the May 7th Twins-Orioles game in Baltimore, we finally reentered the world of Washington. Three hours with my people had reenergized me; for a moment I felt like I belonged somewhere. Don't get me wrong, I love being a foreigner. I thrive in situations where everything is new, every day is full of exploration, and the people you meet are curious to talk to someone from far, far away. But sometimes I just need a good dose of the familiar. Something that reminds me from whence I came, and that I'm not the only one in the world who knows what -40 Fahrenheit feels like. So while I encourage travelers to branch out from the usual touristy routine, I don't fault people for seeking out a comfort group while traveling or living overseas. After all, I need one and I haven't even left the country.