Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

If It's good enough for Patricia Cornwell, it's good enough for me. I dont' mean absinthe (although who really knows). I mean île St. Louis, the island right behind Notre Dame in the middle of the Seine. I had heard somewhere that she bought an apartment there. She did use the island as a location for her novel, Black Notice, and it is this picture I had in my head. Ancient buildings, luxurious windows, beaucoup de money. So off we go, shopping at one lovely store after another. And then, there it is in the window. Absinthe. The Green Fairy. Oscar Wilde, wormwood, and death. Arrêtz-vous ici.

The old absinthe is no more -

...although Anthony Bourdain found some on his recent trip; and what a trip it was...You can see his Paris show on iTunes/TV shows/Discovery Channel, complete with blood sausage and other nasty bits.

-but the wormwood has been eliminated from the new absinthe, so you won't go insane unless you already are. You do need an absinthe spoon, however. This is a flat spoon with slots in it. You pour some absinthe into a glass, set the spoon aross the top, put a sugar cube on the spoon, and then very slowly drip cold water over the cube to make a sweet, cloudy, somewhat green drink. The Green Fairy. Google it.


Then think kind thoughts of Oscar Wilde, who died at L'Hotel in the St Germaine de Pres area, arguing with his wallpaper. ("My wallpaper and I are having a fight to the death. One of us has got to go.") Rent Room 16, bring absinthe and accoutrements, and have a go.

I will do all of that as soon as I get that damned spoon.