Visiting Lake Tahoe (California) with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
My husband Laurent and I celebrated our anniversary in Lake Tahoe, California in 2008. We went outside the resort’s ski season in July and took our daughter Florence along with us. We were all suffering from lack of sleep due to smoke from fires in Big Sur, outside Monterey where we lived. We looked forward to a small break.
The arrival over the mountains into Lake Tahoe is
stunning. The road in sits high above
the lake and pine trees climb the mountainside up to the road. The forest made me think of Germany’s Black
Forest. Some parts of the mountains were
gray and had no trees or were scorched from forest fires.
We stayed in a condominium that looked like a Swiss chalet
with a pool for summer use. Our condo
had three bedrooms, two baths including a Jacuzzi, a well-equipped kitchen, a
dining room, a big living room with a fireplace, and three television
sets. There were many entertainment
options just in the condo.
The adorable Swiss-style condominium encouraged us to try
the Swiss Chalet Restaurant in town.
When we visited, it had been in business for more than fifty years. The restaurant fits in perfectly with pine
trees. The restaurant had an off-center,
angled roof and stone brick walls.
The restaurant’s interior was a treat for the eyes as well. It was decorated with blond-wood planters of
live pink flowers and white tablecloths with red napkins. One wall had an alpine horn on it. Cowbells hung from the ceiling, and there was
a beautiful collection of beer steins in the corner.
We started dinner with a salad that had tarragon
dressing. It was not winter, but Laurent
and I shared a cheese fondue, because we both love that dish.
Florence did not like anything on the menu. I talked with the waiter, and the chef
arranged to serve Florence sautéed chicken breast with mushroom sauce. The chicken breast came with creamed spinach
and mashed potatoes with sour cream and chives.
She loved it, and I thought it was like the meals I made at home on the
weekends.
German music played during our meal. We took a walk after our dinner and checked
out restaurant possibilities for the next day.
Florence ate an ice cream while we took our walk and thoroughly enjoyed
being on vacation.
Back in the condominium, Florence watched movies, Laurent
did Sudoku puzzles and word puzzles, and I finished my “Italian in 40 Lessons”
book.
The next day we set out for a trip to Reno, Nevada. As soon as you pass the Nevada border casinos
appear along with nightclubs advertising tribute artist and tribute band
entertainment.
We withdrew money from an ATM in a casino in Reno and left
with our money intact. We ate at a
Chinese restaurant in Reno. When we
walked in, I said, “Feng Shui is at work here.”
There were stone fu dogs at the entrance, mirrors, calming music, a
tinkling fountain with goldfish in the basin, and light pink upholstery chairs
in the restaurant.
Feng-shui refers to “wind and water” and governs placement
of buildings and interior decoration in China.
Since moving to California, I said I feng-shui-ed my house rather than
cleaned it for optimal creative output.
That philosophy was a way to give me the élan I needed to clean house.
We started our Chinese meal with egg rolls. Florence ate broccoli chicken, which she
loves. Laurent and I had sautéed
seafood. People stared at us for using
chopsticks to eat. I taught Florence to
use Chinese and Japanese chopsticks when she was very little. I always thought teaching people to use
chopsticks would be a good way to get new and repeat customers into a Chinese
restaurant.
After a tour around Reno, we went back to Lake Tahoe over
the desert side of the mountains to the tree-lined side of mountains in
California.
“All the rain falls as it goes up the mountains on the side
where the trees are so there’s none left on this side,” I said to Florence as I
had her look at the sparse vegetation around us in Nevada. The French educator François
Fénelon
(1651 – 1715) would have loved how I used our car trip over the mountains as a
teaching moment.
We drove around a large portion of Lake Tahoe when we got
back into town. We took pictures at
Emerald Bay and drove past the Tellac and Ehrman mansions. We drove as far as “Homeward.”
Florence said, “I’ve seen enough pine trees.” I was starting to feel the same way,
too. Laurent wanted to rent a kayak, but
decided against it when he saw all the motorboats on the Lake.
Back at the condo, Laurent took Florence swimming at the
condo. I began working on the “German in
40 Lessons.” I had no idea I would live
in Germany one day. I just wanted to
learn the language for what the French call “cultural baggage.”
After recreation hour, we drove to Tep’s Villa Roma for
dinner – another restaurant of longstanding in Lake Tahoe. We ate a sumptuous meal beginning with
salads, antipasti, and minestrone soup.
Florence ate a steak with sautéed mushrooms. I had pasta à la carbonara made with butter, cream
and bacon. That was richer than the way
I made it at home. I felt like going
skiing after eating that pasta to burn calories. We just had coffee instead of the lovely
desserts that Tep’s also serves.
The following day we drove to the French bakery we saw in town the day
before. We bought croissants and
baguettes and spoke French with the French owner of the bakery. He was happy that we planned to come back to
Lake Tahoe. We stopped at a grocery
store on the way back to the condo, so I could buy Mexican chocolate with
vanilla and cinnamon in it to make cocoa.
The croissants and the Mexican cocoa were a sweet finish for our trip
to Lake Tahoe and tasted wonderful in the mountain air.
By Ruth Paget -Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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