Zurich: Babu's Bakery & Coffeehouse

One of my absolute favorite spots in Zurich is Babu's Bakery & Coffeehouse on Löwenstrasse. Their coffee is delicious: I always get a hazelnut latte macchiato. And they have fantastic food: My favorite is the Parma Schinken sandwich, which I think we'd just call a prosciutto sandwich in English, but in German they call it Parma Schinken. Isn't Schinken a funny word? Not to be confused with schminken. Look that one up and have a laugh. ;)

Today Coco and I went to Babu's with my friend Nina and her daughter, Lilja. We had a table outside that was just perfect. When we arrived, it was overcast and cool. By the time we left, it was full sun and blazing hot. It's amazing how the weather here changes from one hour to the next. In fact, it happened again this evening and went from sunny and warm to dark, stormy, windy and pouring buckets in less than 30 minutes! It must have something to do with the Alps. Regardless, Babu's is ridiculously charming and reliably yummy whether you sit inside or out. If you're in Zurich, don't miss out!

Mexican Food in Switzerland

The lack of good Mexican food is one of the hardest things about living in Switzerland. Once we went to Tres Kilos, which is supposedly the best Mexican in the whole country, and spent 100 francs on a terribly disappointing meal. :( It's bad enough now, but when I was pregnant it was absolute torture! I craved nothing more than Mexican food. It's kind of insane, but I used to dream (like several times a week!) that J and I were walking along in Zurich, and then suddenly there was a Chipotle that we had just never noticed before! Can you imagine?! It's like those dreams New Yorkers have of discovering extra rooms in their tiny apartments. So, we would run inside and get in line, and I'd be giddy thinking about my order and then every time. Every. Single. Time. Something would happen and we would never get to the front of the line! One time the dream was so overly elaborate that a gang fight broke out, complete with gunfire and ambulances, but usually, I just woke up. So sad.

Instead of continuing to dream of Mexican food, I've learned to make it all myself. It's very time consuming, but so worth it.  What could be better than fresh guacamole and salsa made with heirloom tomatoes and lots of fresh squeezed lime juice? Mmmmm. Not much. What is your favorite food? Do you ever dream about it? 

Zurich: Haus zum Rüden

One of our favorite ways to spend an afternoon in Zurich is to walk along the lake into town and then have a cappuccino at the bar at Haus zum Rüden, my favorite little bar in town. It's tiny, stylish and great for people watching out the large front window that overlooks the Limmat.

Last week we went, and Coco fell asleep as we were walking along by the lake. By the time we sat down and had ordered our coffees, she woke up to join us. She was happy to play with her toys for a while, but then we had to get out of their in a rush when she started to fuss. I don't think the older couple at the other end of the banquette were too impressed with her squawking and crying. Oh well. They were babies once, too!

It's a quieter spot, and normally we have the place to ourselves. If you're in Zurich and would like a cute little spot to have a coffee right in the middle of town, you should check it out. I highly recommend it!

Fancy Treats

We were in the mood for a fancy treat after an afternoon of walking all through the city, so we stopped into Vollenweider Chocolatier Confiseur on the way home this evening. Vollenweider's single portions desserts are like edible works of art. We had some nice wine with dinner and then dug into these for dessert. Aren't they beautiful?

I'm really enjoying my new DSLR camera, but sadly the import didn't go very well this evening and almost all of my photos were lost. Tragic! Does anyone know a good recovery tool for Mac? (And how to use it?) I'm hopeful that I'll get my photos back. Fingers firmly crossed.

It feels like just yesterday, but tomorrow our darling Coco is six months old! In honor of half a year passing since her birth, I'll be posting our birth story tomorrow. I truly cannot wait to share it with you.

What are you doing for Valentine's Day?

This year, J and I will be at my mom's house on Valentine's Day. How perfect is that? She has already agreed to babysit Coco and we have the ideal evening planned out. Because I still don't fit into many of my pre-pregnancy clothes, and considering we'll be quite jet lagged having only arrived the night before, we've decided the perfect Valentine's Day for us will consist of burgers at Red Robin and a movie at the mall in downtown Spokane (!) I guess this is proof that we've fully made the transition from hip young couple to married with children. It will be entertaining to see all the highschoolers on dates at Red Robin, not to mention having an English-speaking waiter and ice water brought to our table when we sit down! As for the movie, we are just going to see whatever is in the theater. Movies come to Europe later, so our plan to see Carnage (which is currently playing in Zurich) was a bit off. ;) 

There's still time, so I might order some classroom Valentines from Coco to hand out to our family and friends back home. They're so impossibly adorable and affordable. And this week, my baby girl and I are making mini banana breads in little heart flocked bread pans to give to J's coworkers. 

What are you doing for Valentine's Day? Do you make a big deal out of it or do you find it a bit silly?  

{photo from here}

Vacation

Folio Rose has been on vacation for the past week, but I'll get back to posting tomorrow when things slow down a bit. I'm at home in the brilliant USA having the absolute best time being surrounded by friends and family and enjoying dining out at all my favorite restaurants. I needed a good dose of that!

The beautiful Sam at Navarre in NE Portland.

Zells in SE Portland. One of J's and my favorites.

Speaking of the lovely J, he is having the time of his life riding his bike through France along country roads through lavender fields and camping next to moat surrounded castles in Provence. He tells me his French is getting very good!

J's beloved Bleriot. Note the tent on the back.

A tree-lined street in Provence.

We are each having our own respective good times, but we agree that we miss each other terribly.

Darling reader, have you and your other half ever vacationed separately? Did it make for an extra emotional, lovey and meaningful reunion? Or would you never do it again?

Little Bird

Gabriel Rucker, the genius behind Le Pigeon, now has another restaurant open in SW Portland. It's called Little Bird and I can't wait to try it out with my dear friend Anne in just 10 days! How exciting to be homeward bound. All the same, I am actually really sad to be leaving my darling J and my home here in Switzerland for three weeks. Just think, when we arrived here almost exactly one year ago, I was rather nonplussed with the decision and didn't anticipate staying more than one year. Now I'm genuinely happy to be here and I'm feeling really at home and settled, which is a truly lovely outcome.  

Aren't those photos of Little Bird just delicious? Mmmm. You can read about Le Pigeon in this post, which was coincidentally written during the time when J and I were deciding to take the plunge and move to Switzerland. I'm so glad we did. 

When was the last time you took a leap of faith? Did it work out as you had expected? What prompted you to go ahead despite the risks?

{photos from here}

Capsule Coffee

I'm now the proud owner of a capsule coffee maker and it's my new best friend. They're prohibitively expensive new, but I found this used model from an American relocating back home. She was sad she couldn't take it with her.

That fancy shmancy red orb is the Nescafe Dolce Gusto coffee maker and all the boxes are filled with little capsules that you put into the machine and then flip it on and presto! A fresh cappuccino or latte machiatto. Yum! J is such a sweetie and when we got home after picking it up, he automatically made space for it in the shelf above his beloved kettle. Joel is a purist and drinks French Press coffee and lots of tea. I'm not that sophisticated and I tend to run with the trends, so I'm a Dolce Gusto kind of gal. 

Here's a cappuccino in progress. It takes two capsules, first a milk capsule to make the frothed milk almost all the way to the top, then follow up with the espresso capsule to finish it off. Wow. The milk is actually foamy and delicious and this machine is so completely cool. I am in love!

More Chocolate Than You Can Shake A Stick At

Naturally one of the great benefits of living in Switzerland is being surrounded by more chocolate than you can shake a stick at! Tonight before after dinner, J and I had a few squares of banana chocolate! Have you ever heard of such a thing? It was tasty, rich milk chocolate with banana flavored crème filling. There really is just about every kind of chocolate you can imagine. Naturally one of the great drawbacks of living in Switzerland is the constant threat the surrounding chocolate poses to one's waistline!

Sweet Sweet Sweet

I have never tasted strawberries as wonderful as these.  I bought half a flat at one of those fruit stands out in The Gorge and the car ride home smelled heavenly.  As my mom said, these taste the way strawberries are supposed to taste.  Today, I'm going to try my hand at freezer jam.  The past few days, I've enjoyed many a bowl of these strawberries with fresh whipped cream.  Perfection doesn't last for long.

Orchid Love

Since when does a drink come with a fashion accessory?  Last night I went with my amazing friend Beth to Silk in The Pearl.  I had a really fabulous cocktail with Lychee purée and vodka and some raspberries and other wonderful things.  It was tasty, but best of all it came with a gorgeous orchid perched atop the loveliness.  I believe that orchids are poisonous, but I didn't eat it.  Oh no.  I placed the delicate bloom on the table and then Beth suggested told me I should put it in my hair.  Of course!  Why didn't I think of that?  Thank you, Beth!  I just happened to have some fancy pearl hairpins in my purse that I carry with me for exactly this type of situation.  30 seconds later, tropical glamour was mine and I was loving my dark hair more than ever.  Happily, we head on down the street to Vino Paradiso to do an Oregon wine flight, so I got take my blossom out on the town for a bit.  Best of all, I lovingly placed it in a small dish of water overnight and wore it again today.  I have a new place in my heart for the beautiful, delicate, decidedly strong orchid bloom.  

Le Pigeon

As far as restaurants in Portland go, I'd have to say this is one of my favorites.  Just look at that duck with chard and chestnuts.  Heavenly.  I have been going through a giant life-changing decision making process so I haven't posted for the last month.  I've been too busy freaking out and going back and forth.  What I should be doing is going back and forth to Le Pigeon for glasses of wine and profiteroles with foie gras and caramel sauce.  Who cares what you're deliberating when you're eating something that wonderful.  In fact it was so delectable and I was so caught up in savoring it, I didn't even think to take a picture!

¿Por Qué No?

This afternoon, Joel and I went for lunch at Por Qué No on Mississippi.  There was a line, of course, but not nearly so long a line as is often spotted at the Hawthorne location.  Once inside, we were charmed by the colorful, candlelit atmosphere.  The food was delicious!  It is so so fun to be able to go out to lunch on a Monday.  Now I'm going to go take a little nap and read my novel.  Oh how I love spring break.

Smoothie

Our blender has been turning out some fabulous smoothies as of late. My recipe of the moment? Mango Banana Orange. Mmmm. To get the smoothest, creamiest, protein rich smoothie around, pick up some Fage Greek Strained Yogurt. It's also exceptionally tasty with honey and berries. I think I'm off to whirrrr up a few smoothies right now!

Vault Martini

My latest obsession is Vault Martini Happy Hour. Not only are there at least a dozen fabulous martinis for a mere $4 - Habanero anyone? But there is also a Bubbly section featuring ridiculously divine champagne cocktails that will make any girly girl squeal with delight. Pair a few of those with crostini and herbed goat cheese and you've got yourself one happy hour! Soon they will know my name and and a crisp, refreshing French 75 will be on its way the moment I sit down. Mmmmm.