Here are some news.

My flights went well… uneventful we could say except for some delays after landing in London and on the flight to France.

I arrived Thursday night and spent a lot of time with my parents. We went to their new country house they bought last year in Normandy. It is very nice and it is located in a busy town… I was afraid it would be lost somewhere amongst farm fields!

I am now in Paris since yesterday to visit some friends and complete the trip preparation. I went to the Syrian embassy this morning and should get my visa on the 31st. Next step is to book a ticket to Cairo :).

As one of you has asked me, I will not talk about all the great food I have been having since I arrived… well, except that it would not be nice for my parents that fed me exquisite Blanquette de veau, Rillettes, Patés, Rosette, Faux-Filet, époisse au lait cru, tarte aux pommes, a killer Tiramisu and the best of all: home made boudin noir (blood sausage). And I almost forgot about the yummy bread and croissants or Bugnes Lyonnaises.

Ok, ok. Just two more things.

First, it is amazing what you can buy in a Supermarket in France nowadays: 600 kinds of yogurt, at least the same number of cheese types and all kinds of great traditional meat products.

Second, if you want to eat a great Tiramisu, come to my parents’ place… or if you live around San Francisco and it would be too far, go to Emporio Rulli located in the departure level of the international terminal at SFO. They have a good tiramisu and other great pastries including a strawberry tart with custard!

As a bonus, I thought I would share a picture of one of my favorite places in Paris. It is an older picture I took some years back but it is raining in Paris today… As I was coming back from the Syrian embassy this morning, I stopped at Cluny-Sorbonne and took a wrong turn to end up in front of Notre Dame, house of Quasimodo and a wonderful building.

Enjoy!