Paella

Eli again got up early: six-forty. He tried to rouse Aunt Mary and Uncle Chris, with limited success. He then did something very cute at breakfast. Eli loves pain d'épice, which is a honey spice cake kind of like gingerbread. We gave him some torn-up pieces at breakfast. He arranged them in a line and said "Guh-guh! Guh-guh!" Yes, he had made a train!

It was still too early for Ally to go to work, and not everyone was awake, so Ally and I took Eli to the Place des Précheurs, where the Thursday market was just getting started. Nothing really happens before nine. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are the biggest market days in Aix. Today's market included just about everything. Ally, Eli, and I watched as the produce stands were set up and bought some madeleines. Eli loves madeleines; he grabs bags of them off the shelf in grocery stores. So we thought he ought to have some fresh ones.

Ally then went off to the archive. You can read about her work below. Mary and Christopher got up and we went back to the market. I bought some excellent cheese: morbier and bleu d'Auvergne for snacking. Mary and Christopher bought things for dinner, including a lot of pistou (basically, Provençal pesto).



For lunch, Mary and Christopher locked onto a big vat of paella. They asked for it with prawns and mussels but without sausage, chicken, or rabbit. I thought the server was joking about rabbit but that's just what was in it. Anyway, they got a huge serving and took Eli to a park to eat. Eli turns out to love paella, although all he ate was the rice. He does not officially eat shellfish. By now he's been exposed to just about every allergen under the sun, so we aren't worried. He's even been inside a Five Guys, so we can be reasonably sure he doesn't have any peanut issues.

I went home to do some work, which usually includes dishes and laundry. I also read a bunch of interesting Texas cases and learned about the dirty tricks car dealers sometimes play on customers. Fascinating stuff.

When Eli came back from the park, he was asleep in his stroller. Unfortunately, some workers were jackhammering in the alley behind our apartment, so I decided we should leave him in the stroller so that he might stay asleep. He ended up sleeping for an hour and a half while parked in the stroller in the middle of the living room. That was surprising, even for him.



For dinner, Mary and Christopher made tagliatelle with asparagus, sundried tomatoes, and mozzarella, using the pistou rouge from the market as a base. It was very good. We are eating so well, particularly when I'm not the one making dinner.

I am very happy here in Aix. I'm meeting all my personal goals: working on my project, relaxing, spending time with family, and drinking wine every single day.