Celine: Apres le concert

Il est 23h00, et le concert est terminé.

Wow c'était trop bien Francis Cabrel!
L’opéra est aussi joli dedans que dehors, d’ailleurs je ne sais pas si j’en ai déjà parlé dans le blog, mais l’Opéra de Hanoi est la réplique exacte en miniature de l’Opéra Garnier. On s’y est rendu en scooter, c’est à 5 minutes de la maison.
Le public était très francais, comme on s'y attendait d’ailleurs, mais Francis a quand même fait l'effort d'introduire ses chansons en Vietnamien. Il a joué beaucoup de chansons que je ne connaissais pas, mais aucune ne m'a donné envie de dormir. C'est un vrai poète, ce Francis, ses paroles sont magiques. Pauvre Dan, ne comprenant pas un mot, a manqué beaucoup de poesie. En même temps voilà trois ans et demi que nous sommes ensemble, il aurait pu apprendre le Français!
Dan était surpris de voir des gens de tout âge, dont des ados, et tous semblant connaître la plupart des chansons. Je lui ai expliqué que dans la chanson Française, Francis Cabrel, comme Goldman, était un incontournable, et qu’il aurait du mal à trouver une seule personne Française – à part les tout-petits, ne le connaissant pas.
Dans les chansons que je connais et que j’ai chanté a tue-tete, Francis a joué :
- l’Encre de tes yeux
- Je t’aimais je t’aime et je t’aimerai
- La cabane du pêcheur
- Sarbacane
- Petite Marie
- Corrida
- Encore et encore
- La dame de Haute Savoie
Et en dernier, a Capella, « je l’aime à mourir ». A tomber par terre. C’est la seule chanson que Dan connaissait déjà, parce que je l’écoute souvent, et aussi parce qu’à San Francisco, dans un piano bar, le pianiste me l’a jouée en apprenant que j’étais Française.
Voici quelques photos et vidéos du concert. J’ai beaucoup pensé à vous tous ma famille et mes amis Français. Cabrel en concert ca rend nostalgique du pays…

Sur les marches de l'Opera

On the steps of the Opera

Dans l'Opera

Inside the Opera

Photo d'art!

An artistic picture

Dans le cercle rouge: Ding

Ding is in the red circle

Quelques extraits juste pour vous...

Celine: Godness!

On a failli rater le concert de Cabrel! Je croyais que c'etait Jeudi mais non, c'est ce soir, Mardi. On y va, je vous raconterai!!

We almost missed the concert as I thought it was Thursday but it's tonight! I'll tell you all about it afterwards, we 're off to the concert now!

Bat Trang

On Saturday we travelled to Bat Trang, a ceramics village 15 kilometers from Hanoi. If you are looking for anything pottery related you have come to the right place. If you are looking for anything else then you will be bitterly disappointed. There is nothing but pottery; shop after shop, street after street.

The drive out of the city had its moments. It was nice to get out on the open road. Not so nice driving through a dust storm thanks to the passing truck. Most of the road was paved so the only other obstacles were the potholes.

The village seemed a ghost town of large ceramic shops as we drove the streets. There seemed little happening until we found the market which after minutes offered the first real glimpse of life. The market was enjoyable with an array of choice. I wondered how these people make a living. The market alone has thousands upon thousands of ceramic pieces however there were maybe 20 people at best wandering around. All the shops outside the market were empty. We made a few purchases that we could transport on the bike and headed off. I wouldn’t list it as a must see when in Hanoi but if you have time it is good to get out of the city.

Food Market

Congratulations and thank you to Celine. Keeping with tradition she has been completing her womanly duties and cooking some wonderful meals. There is not much better than to come home and find a vast selection of Vietnamese dishes waiting. They have been delicious. I do often do the washing up but don’t tell anyone. Celine has found the local markets and will often buy the ingredients there. The prices are much cheaper than the supermarkets and the food much fresher. The locals are always happy to see a foreigner in the market however have no issue charging the ‘tourist price’. The market is only a short walk from our house and is open from 6am to 12pm everyday. You can get all the fruit and vegetables you want as well as chicken, beef, pork and fish. The meats sit in chunks on a table or board. The fish are alive in a small tub of water. You order by the kilo which is subsequently sliced and weighed. A bag of goodies will usually set you back no more than a few dollars.

The market gives off an authentic feel and is a pleasure to stroll. My purchasing skills however are less than to be desired so I think I will leave that up to the professional. Celine is doing a good job so far but maybe when our Vietnamese improves we can negotiate the ‘tourist price’.

Other market photos:

Celine: Francis Cabrel en concert caritatif a Hanoi

On va voir Francis Cabrel en concert Jeudi prochain!!!! Ouaiiiis !
Je ne l’ai jamais vu en concert en France, d’ailleurs je ne l’ai jamais vu en concert du tout, et je vais aller le voir a l’Opera d’Hanoi ! Dingue. Je suis super contente.

Dan a gracieusement proposé de m’accompagner alors qu’il n’a jamais entendu parler de Cabrel et qu’il ne comprendra rien a ses chansons. Trop gentil non ?

Mais moi aussi je suis une gentille épouse, par exemple la semaine derniere quand il est rentré titubant d’une scéance de « bia hoi » avec notre proprio et qu’il m’a vomi sur les pieds, j’ai tout bien nettoyé par terre, puis je lui ai lavé le visage et les dents et l’ai couché. J

Francis Cabrel youhouuuu !!!

We have bought tickets to go see a charity concert next Thursday of one of my favourite French singer, Francis Cabrel. Here’s what they say about him on the Hanoi Opera House website:
Francis Cabrel (born 23 November 1953 in Agen, France) is a French singer-songwriter and guitarist. Inspired heavily by Bob Dylan, he has released a number of albums falling mostly within the realm of folk, with occasional forays into blues or country. Several of his songs, such as "L'encre de tes yeux" and "Petite Marie" have become enduring favourites in French music.

Dan being the good husband he is, is coming with me even though he has never heard of Francis Cabrel and he won't understand a word of the lyrics. I feel bad, but I am a good wife too at times: like last Thursday, when he came home hammered: I told him to go to the bathroom in case he needed to be sick. He didn't listen to me and puked on my feet. I laughed, cleaned the floor, washed his face and put him to bed... good wife!

Celine: Une matin sans contraintes

Hier matin Dan ne travaillait pas, et come moi je ne commence qu’a 17h00, on a decidé d’aller se ballader un peu dans la ville. On a découvert un quartier sympa plein de petits cafés et de marchés de viande et de fruits et légumes. On s’est arrêtés pour savourer un café Vietnamien « frappé : que je n’ai pas pu terminer parce que j’avais le ventre vide. Du coup la petite serveuse nous a apporté deux bananes :)
On s’est un peu perdus sur le retour, et nous sommes retrouvés dans des petites rues super mimis. Je me suis arretée au bord de la route pour marchander un peu de porc que j’ai ensuite cuisiné pour mon amoureux. Comme vous pouvez le voir, il pleuvait.

Moi je ne peux toujours pas vraiment mâcher quoi que ce soit à part des fruits mous et du riz en soupe (« chao »). Aujourd’hui notre hotesse et proprio, Diep, m’a dit que j’avais maigri, et qu’elle s’en été rendue compte parce que j’étais devenue plus jolie. Lol. La franchise Vietnamienne, j’adore.

Demain on a tous les deux notre journee de libre: on va aller visiter un village de potiers dans les environs d'Hanoi.

On Friday, Dan and I both had a morning off. When we got up we decided to go explore the town a little. We found a cute and lively neighbourhood with street fruit and vegetable stalls and many small cafes. We stopped at one but I couldn't drink my coffee because I hadn't eaten anything... coffee is pretty strong here. So the little waitress brought us two bananas :)

n the way back home we got a little lost and ended up in a maze of extremely cute streets. I got off the bike and bought some meat of one of the meet stalls. Dan took the picture. As you can see, it was raining. Then we got home and I cooked the pork with rice and greens.

I still can't really chew though: when she saw me, our landlady told me I had lost weight. She said she noticed because I was "more pretty now". Lol, you gotta love the Vietnamese's way of telling you what they think!

Celine: I did it again!! Cooking Mama, c'est moi :)

Christelle, j'aurai peut etre bientot droit a une place sur ton blog?? :)

J'ai encore cuisine un festin aujourd'hui: Nems aux crevettes (bon, ok, je les achete surgeles, ca doit m'oter mon droit d'entree sur Olala, non?), soupe de champignon faite par moi de A a Z, nouilles blanches ("bun"), legumes sautes a l'ail et crevettes sautees aux spring onions... comment on dit, en Francais, spring onion? Une sorte de petit oignon au bulbe blanc et a la tige verte, fine et longue. Ciboulette? Sais pas...

En tout cas, c'etait un regal pour Ding, et Leg a mange un peu de nouilles a la soupe de champignons: pas la peine de macher.

Meme si je ne peux pas manger en ce moment, j'aime beaucoup preparer a manger, cuisiner et servir un joli repas tous en couleurs et dans des petits bols vietnamiens trop jolis. Ca me plait. Peut etre que mon gene cuisinier se reveille enfin! Entre mes deux grand-meres cordon bleus, ma mere qui rends tout ce qu'elle touche dans la cuisine delicieux, meme les haricots verts bouillis, et ma soeur qui a son propre blog de cuisine, je me sentais un peu en retard!! Toujours, d'ailleurs, mais j'aime de plus en plus cuisiner, en tout cas. Croisons les doigts et esperons que ca ne soit pas passager!

I cooked again! Shrimp and spring onions, crab nems, vegetables fried in olive oil and garlic, white noodles called "bun" (pronounce "boon") and mushroom soup made by me!. Dan loved it... or maybe he loves me, so doesn't want to tell me that it taste rubbish :)

I wouldn't know how it tastes, because I still can't chew so I just had mushroom soup and a few noodles. yum.

Even though I can't eat, I do enjoy cooking at the moment, I like how pretty a meal looks herem in those cute vietnamese bowls. I try to make sure that Dan comes to a beautiful looking lunch everyday at the moment. Not very feminist of me, I know, but what can I say? I enjoy cooking Vietnamese food and I enjoy Dan's enjoyment. Perhaps, at long last, my cooking gene has awaken? I mean between my grandmothers who are unbelievable cooks, my mum who makes the best home cooke meals ever and my sister, who actually has her own cooking blog... I was feeling a little behind. I still am, but at least now I enjoy cooking. So maybe I'll show you more pictures of my work :)