EastGirlsWest

“Oh my god. I think I’m going to puke. Seriously, I need to stop.”

“It’s okay. Stop if you need to. It’s hard to sweat out France.”

Loosely translated: East Girl France.

The Husband and I are off to honeymoon in the country that is currently hosting a big bicycle race. We’ll make a quick stop in Dublin first for another PBS-related concert shoot, then off to Nice where we pick up our tiny rental car. The itinerary is a drive clockwise - with stops on the coast, in Provence, Albi, Bourdeaux and Paris. We’ll occasionally check in on the quest for the yellow jersey, and frequently eat baked goods and drink wine.

We leave tomorrow morning, and the current plan is to bring one laptop (we’ll rochambeau later to decide which one). Not sure if I’ll have time to blog, because this is to be a romatic vacation that will consist primarily of gazing into each other’s eyes. Regardless, I’ll be taking photos and notes, and you can expect a full report upon my return (July 30) if not sooner.

Vive la France!

Mask

…livin’ crazy is the only way.

Girl’s Night

Soundtrack: Michael Jackson ‘Off the Wall‘ (yes, we danced)

Cocktail: Rivola Sardon del Duero 2003 (still enjoying leftover wedding wine)

Dinner: Pasta Primavera (Tay says this dish is from the 90’s, but it was delicious anyway)

Activities: purifying facial masks, wine knowledge flash cards, outfit consideration and packing for France

Dessert: popsicles

TV: Carnivale (season 1 finale)

It’s already up on YouTube. Someone sitting right behind the steadicam guy captured a song with David Broza and Jackson Browne. Not particularly exciting video work here, but fun (for me) to see a bit of the show.

“So, I’m thinking of making lamb chops tomorrow night.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t like lamb chops?”

“I don’t know. Lamb just tastes…”

“Not like steak?”

“Exactly.”

So, am I the last one on earth to learn that soon-to-be Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has a MUCH younger wife?

Personally, I’m not sure how I feel about it, or if I feel anything about it at all. But the witty and charming Joe Scarborough has already compared her to a stripper, and the blog and media chatter is heating up. I plan to pay attention to the conversation on this. I know the situation certainly inspires my own tendency to call out ‘trophy wife’, and it seems that coverage of her role in his campaign has the potential to be either straight-up sexist (thanks, Joe) or thoughtful analysis on Republican ‘values’ and voter peceptions on family and marriage.

One thing is clear: with several Republican presidential candidates paired up with potential first ladies who are NOT in the first wives club, and one of our main Democratic candidates toting around a possible White House-husband, things are a bit more unconventional this time around.

“I just can’t believe people. I mean, people we don’t even know! They have no problem just blatantly asking us if we’re going to have kids, are planning to have kids, want kids. How do they think it’s appropriate to ask? And what possible answer is there?”

“I’m just going to start telling them no, we can’t have kids, because I have penile leprosy.”

Escolar with avocado butter, cooked to perfection on the grill.

Corn on the cob, also cooked on the grill (shucked, in tin foil, 20 minutes). Served with the leftover avocado butter!

Sweet potato fries.

Salad of romaine, radishes, celery, dill and a simple, homemade vinagrette.

So I just wrote my last post and put it up on the site. Moments later The Husband, who was sitting five feet away from me, and who receives many Google Alerts every day to help him write content for this site, received an alert that included EastGirlsWest - specifically the reference in my last post to public television and PBS.

This is our life.

“Wow. It really sucks that you had to fly all the way back from the Holy Land and go straight to Costco.” - Tay, on Tuesday

That pretty much says it all. Of course, I’m tortured I only saw but one corner of the Holy Land, but it was an adventure. I mean, I didn’t ride on a camel or anything, but I did SEE a lot of camels. And Bedouin. Their tent dwellings are strewn randomly across the monochromatic desert hills. I also had to face up to my fear of heights for the sake of the perfect shot. Hello, stopped tram, hundreds of feet in the air, swinging in the wind. And no problem, steep stairs, dropping down a cliff face descending into nowhere. I am a glamorous, adventurous and brave television talent! I will traipse across the mountain smiling mysteriously while my head scarf stays perfectly in place!

I experienced a level of airport security in Tel Aviv that I didn’t know existed. Perhaps I had a bullseye on my forehead I was unaware of? After the 25 minute interview, in which I had to work extremley hard to explain what PBS is and how public television works, me and my carry on bags were sent to swab purgatory. Every single item in my two bags was removed, swabbed, and inspected. During this time, I was asked to turn off my laptop. Remove the battery. Replace the battery. Turn it on. Launch an application. Repeat. In between each round of this exercise, they would take the laptop away to some secret, out-of-sight room on the other side of the terminal. Leaving me to remain in the swab zone, silently hyperventilating because SOMEONE JUST WALKED AWAY WITH MY LAPTOP. Explaining how upsetting that is involves explaining how attached I am to my laptop, which is frankly too embarrassing.

They eventually decided to let me through the 5,627 additional layers of security and onto the plane, where I learned what the worst part of a 12 hour flight in coach is (hint: it’s not the legroom). My friends, I’m here to tell you the condition of the bathrooms after a half-day in the air are not fit for humans. Wondering why the floor is sticky? Let the distinct odor of the 3×3 space be your answer. How can that many people (and by that, I mean men) miss the toilet? It was NOT a turbulent flight.