Naughts and Zeds: Eggs-sell-ent

Naughts and Zeds is an ongoing series of posts on the differences between language, culture, and everyday items in America and in Britain. For a list of previous posts, go here.

Someone linked to this article at the Forbes magazine web site about eggs in American and in England. The title of the article is "Why American Eggs Would Be Illegal In A British Supermarket, And Vice Versa." I had noticed that eggs in British supermarkets are not refrigerated and usually located near the baking aisle. In America, eggs are refrigerated and shelved by dairy products. British eggs are mostly free range--it's hard to find eggs here that aren't. American egg sellers seemingly couldn't care less (perhaps because American consumers don't care either).

The difference in the two systems comes down to legal requirements. American law requires eggs to be washed and sanitized before being sold to consumers. Sounds like that should be better than the British system, right? Except that the washing process removes the cuticle, a natural barrier to bacteria. And if washing water is used for too long there's a risk of contaminating the eggs, which is why Britain and the EU don't require washing. To slow potential bacteria growth, American eggs are refrigerated right after the washing process and all the way to the store. British eggs are kept at room temperature so they will not form condensation if during the trip home, which could lead to bacteria getting onto or into the eggs.

There are lots of more interesting details, go check out the article on the web site. It's a very interesting read.

Palais de Justice, Paris

As we visited Sainte-Chapelle, we saw some of the Palais de Justice. Situated on the Ile de la Cite (which is an island in the Seine and in the middle of Paris), the site was originally occupied by the Romans. It was the royal palace up until Charles V moved the royal court in the late 1300s to the Hotel St-Paul. It still had governmental functions throughout the years. During the French Revolution, the Revolutionary Tribunal dispensed their version of justice from there. Now it is the site of the French legal courts. We only saw the outsides of buildings.

The Justice League!

The nearby metro stop looked very fancy, though a few other stops are also done in that "metropolitain" style.

Metro station with map!

J enjoyed running around the plaza in front of the Palace, even if he did not enjoy posing for a picture.

J goes his own way

Running from justice?

L decided not to walk, so we found a mutually agreeable solution.

Leaving justice behind

Nearby hotel dedicated to the French Revolutionary ideals

Sainte-Chapelle, Paris

The Sainte-Chapelle in Paris was built by King Louis IX (that's St. Louis as he was later known) as a fitting repository for some holy relics that he had acquired. Louis was only twelve years old when his father, Louis VIII, died in 1226. His mother Blanche de Castille took good care of things as regent until he came of age at twenty in 1234. In 1237, the eastern empire was suffering under the expenses of the Crusades. Louis bought from eastern Emperor Baudoin II the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus during His passion and death. He paid 135,000 livres. It was brought to the palatine chapel of St. Nicholas in the center of Paris, near the royal palace. In 1241, Louis bought a fragment of the True Cross and other relics from Baudoin. At this point, the pious Louis had the idea of building a proper reliquary to house these treasures. The idea for the Sainte-Chapelle was born. It would be a monumental jewel to hold the precious relics of the Lord Jesus, housed in the royal palace in the center of Paris.

Work began about 1244 and was completed by 26 April 1248, when the Chapelle was formally consecrated by the papal legate to France. The chapelle has two stories. The lower story is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was the place of worship for the soldiers, servants, and courtiers of the palace. The upper story is dedicated to the Holy Cross and was the place of worship for the royal family, their closest friends and advisers, and distinguished guests. The construction cost about 40,000 livres, not even a third of the cost of the Crown of Thorns. Nevertheless, the building is breathtakingly gorgeous, even today.

The lower chapel had considerable damage from the flood of 1690 and the whole church was damaged during the French Revolution in the early 1800s. The Crown went to Notre-Dame in Paris, where it is still preserved in the treasury. A restoration of the chapelle soon followed from 1840 to 1868, where the artisans aimed to restore the chapelle to its original medieval appearance, after many additions and alterations through the centuries. Efforts have been ongoing through the 20th and into the 21st centuries.

The exterior of the chapelle is ornately Gothic. The original lower door was damaged by the flood of 1690. The current door was built in the 19th century, featuring the coronation of Mary as queen of Heaven and Earth.

Corner view of Sainte-Chapelle

Front porches

Portal of the Virgin

Coronation of the Virgin above the door

Royal fleur-de-lis and castles in honor of Louis IX's mom, Blanche de Castille

The lower chapelle is now used partly as the gift shop for the church. Some of the decorations survive, such as a statue of St. Louis and some medallions honoring the apostles.

Lower chapelle, with regal decor and some gargoyles from the roof

King St. Louis IX

Medallion to honor one of the apostles

A small winding staircase leads up to the main chapelle where the relics were stored and where the most amazing stained glass I have ever seen is on display. The windows are astoundingly huge, seemingly constituting entire walls. The chapelle is flooded with light. The windows mostly tell stories from both Testaments of the Bible; a few are dedicated to the history of the Relics and how St. Louis brought them to Paris.

Upper nave with restoration work on the left

Some of the windows

The Genesis window (click to enlarge)

Between the windows, each column has a statue of one of the apostles. As they were the foundation and support of the early church, so they are the support of Sainte-Chapelle! The original statues were defaced during the French Revolution and now 19th century copies adorn the walls.

Apostle?

St. Peter

On the western wall (or back wall) is the rose window which depicts scenes from the final book of the Bible, the Apocalypse.

West wall with doors and rose window

Rose window of the book of Revelation

The main altar has been taken out (as have the relics) but the area is still there. The altar is on the eastern wall (facing Jerusalem) and the relics were kept in a special reliquary above.

Main altar area

Where the relics were housed for hundreds of years

The space is no longer used for liturgical purposes, but the glorious light and colors filling the Sainte-Chapelle still inspire a profound sense of awe.

RHS Harlow Carr Garden in the Almost Spring

We had a bit of not so cold and damp weather here in Yorkshire and decided to take advantage by visiting our old favorite, RHS Garden Harlow Carr. The vegetation is just starting to show (we went at the beginning of March).  Some early bloomers include this Rhododendron praevernum.

Rhododendron in early March

Primula vulgaris is a yellow blooming flower that was found among the Galanthus nivalis, or snowbells.

Primula vulgaris

Primula with snowbells

No visit would be complete without visits to the kid-friendly parts of the gardens. We are sad to report that the outdoor musical instruments are gone. J was quite upset. Luckily, we still had the playground and the tree house (with its obstacle course) to visit, so his mood improved quite a bit.

J jumps off the climber

J on a roll

The now required picture of J looking out the top of the tree house

On our way out we saw a silly sight. Apparently, if you are desperate enough, you'll brew tea with any old leaves you can find.

We keep adding water, but the tea never brews!

We also bought some seeds and some potting soil to start growing some plants at home. They will be sure to show up soon enough on the blog if they grow anywhere near half-decently.

Yay Joss Whedon/Shakespeare Mashup!

In case you haven't seen it yet (or worse yet, don't even know about the project), the trailer for Joss Whedon's film version of Much Ado About Nothing is available!



I can't wait to see the movie!!

h/t to Sean from Just a Catholic Dad, who posted it on his Facebook feed

Parisian Food

One of the best things about visiting Paris was the food. My wife had been there before and had fond memories of the breads and pastries. Our rental agreement for our apartment included a list of the best local establishments, so we went to Le Pétrin d'Antan on rue Ordener since it was listed as the best bakery. On the way, we discovered a street market with all sorts of goodies for sale.

Fish so fresh, they stare at you!

Beef Bourguignon at 9 a.m.!

We did buy some cheeses from the cheese stand. Finally we arrived at the bakery.

Le Pétrin d'Antan

They didn't have any seating, so we went back to our apartment to enjoy our baguette with cheese and other yummy pastries, including chocolate chip croissants, an apple tart, and a caramel-glazed roll.

Yummy pastries, goat cheese, and baguette on our wacky table

The grocery stores also provided some treats for us to try, though the kids wanted to stick with pasta as often as possible. We made some fondue with cheeses from both the street market and the supermarket. It turned out well, especially with fresh baguettes. The bread was great.

In the wintertime, many cafes and restaurants offer hot chocolate, but not like any hot chocolate we have ever had before. These drinks were virtually melted chocolate bars. They were very thick and very creamy and very much needed a spoon for the bottom of the cup. L was in Heaven.

Chocoholic Cutie

One morning I had tea, which came in the most interesting pot/cup/saucer combo I had ever seen. Secretly, I want one of these at home!

What they bring to the table

Broken down for drinking

We had many fine meals, some out and some in.We tried to find French Onion Soup, but none of the ones we tried were as good as we hoped. We did find croque-monsieur, a ham and cheese sandwich grilled to perfection. They even have croque-madame, the same sandwich but with scrambled eggs on the outside, as if they made the sandwich with French toast. Sometimes the egg is just fried and put on top. Either way is pretty delicious.

Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris

Is there anything lamer than going to a garden in freezing-cold February? That didn't stop us as we visited the Luxembourg gardens for a quick peek.

Jardin du Luxembourg

Even though it was cold and nothing was blooming, the area still had tons of people walking around enjoying the sunshine if not the warmth. The gardens have plenty of open spaces to play and of statues from the 19th century to look at. We admired Saint Genevieve, the patron of Paris, who was immortalized by Michel-Lousi Victor in 1845. Genevieve came from a wealthy landowning family in the 400s. When the Huns invaded in 451, she and some women friends prayed that the city would be spared. And it was!

St. Genevieve

The other significant item in the gardens is the Palais du Luxembourg. The French Senate uses it now, but it was built for Marie de Medici (widow of King Henri IV) to remind her of Florence where she was born. It wasn't completed until 1631 when she had already been banished from Paris. It was still used as a royal palace up to the Revolution, when it served as a prison. In World War II, the Luftwaffe used it as their headquarters in Paris, with air-raid shelters hidden under the gardens. We didn't go in (it also has a small museum) but at least admired the exterior.

Palais du Luxembourg

We hope to go back in warmer weather and enjoy the many parks of Paris in a more proper way.