A Fun Exercise

I'm just finishing up what has probably been the most successful set of office hours in my teaching career--I was busy with great student meetings almost the full time, and my inimitable office mate kept me busy the rest--and I was browsing a few food blogs and ran across this: "12 Hours in ..." I'm not sure who began it, but it's a great exercise. Think of your hometown/favorite town (may not be one and the same for all of us) and ask yourself: If I only had 12 hours left in this city before being banished forever (harsh thought), what would I do? Or, more specifically for these blogs, where would I eat? Here are a couple responses, and the reader comments that follow are also great. I may even use this exercise with my 101 students to help teach reviews.

http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/09/12_hours_in_new.html

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2008/09/twelve_hours_in_paris.php

The Amateur Gourmet is a new blog for me, but I love Chocolate and Zucchini. A young woman living in Paris named Clotilde writes it. Off-Square has several of her cookbooks and she's written for Bon Appetit. And her blog also has a French version--a great way to keep up my waning fluency!