Francophile Friday: Of Absinthe and Affogato

{Absinthe Kitty: ink & watercolour illustration © Shell-Sherree}

Affogato!  Sounds perilously close to cussing in Italian {or blessing someone if they sneeze}, but today's illustration is brought to you in the wee hours of Saturday morning thanks to this simple dessert of vanilla ice-cream puddled in shots of espresso.  Make mine a double.  Wait ~ I already did.  If not for that, I'd have given into the temptation of sleeping.  And if I had absinthe in the bar cart {aka the top shelf of my pantry, which sadly looks nothing like this}, said slumber would possibly have taken place out on the roof or up in a tree ~ neither of which lends itself to late-night illustration attempts.  As I have none, catastrophe averted.

I must issue a warning with today's post, however.  Kitties: do not attempt this fanciful feline's adventures at home.  An unadulterated cat is fascination enough without adding absinthe into the equation.  But dear Virginia Jones's photo of Vert Absinthe in le Marais inspired me to follow the green fairy from our last post to this one, and look where we've ended up: illustrating an illustration.  Now, there's an absinthian concept if ever I saw one.  {Thanks as always, ma chère.} We should don something appropriate before entering, in case the custodians are recruiting this weekend.  And on that note ...

Happy Francophile Friday to you!

18 comments

  1. Adorable illustration! I don't know if I'd dare try absinthe, but I'll definitely have some of that ice cream with espresso. And I love that flowy gown. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

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  2. Love your illo and Virginia's photo, Shell! I've never tried absinthe but I'd like to. I've read it's nice in ice cream with choc chips. :) xo

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  3. Is absinthe legal in some places? I remember reading that it was illegal, but there's some kind of more modern form of it that's okay. In either case, I'd try it once, if I could wear that dress while doing so.

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  4. Katie ~ one thing I love about this style of dress is that it suits all heights. Well, that's my decree. I'll consult Ella the catwalk kitty shortly and get her verdict. ;)

    Hahaha, Favourite Vintage Finds! Sounds like a test drive is required.

    Petrea ~ it was banned for a century or so because some producers started colouring it with copper sulfate for cost-cutting, which proved to be a singularly bad idea for people's health! But it's all good now and having a resurgence. There's an interesting little read about it here.

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  5. Fun illustration! (Macie liked it too, especially the kitty in the window). I like Kaluha and ice cream for a special dessert, at times. I've never had absinthe. The flowy gown is dreamy....

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  6. I'm more interested in the affogato. You've. Made me hungry

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  7. Kahlua and ice-cream is the late night smoky jazz version of an affogato, Ms M. Sounds very tempting!

    Margaret ~ I happen to have nearly a full tub of vanilla bean ice-cream leftover. I will have more affogatos in your honour.

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  8. This gave me a craving for the next best thing to actual absinthe—a lovely cloudy green Ricard. I did find a bottle in the back of the cupboard but, sadly, nothing in my closet came within a mile of that absolutely fabulous absinthian gown. Oh well—that's what imagination is for, n'est-ce pas, ma belle?

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  9. It is indeed, ma chère! I think Le Petit Prince would be happy with us.

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  10. Just proves you can't turn your back on a cat!

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  11. Cafe ~ just proves cats are smart enough to know a good opportunity when they see it. ;)

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  12. How adorable! I LOVE all of the glassware & especially the kitty!

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  13. Every shop window needs a kitten, Lily. ;) Thank you...

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  14. Think I'll pass on the absinthe and affogato. I would like that dress though!

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  15. I've always wanted to do absinthe. I think I might of found an online recipe for it once. I'd also like to try heroin. It's on my kick the bucket list. Notice how I didn't use the term "before"? Now screw Paris and come over to my blog. I have a series of sweet photos you might want to plop a kitty in.

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  16. Cali ~ I think they'll have to run up a few of those dresses for us. It sure is pretty!

    PA ~ going on a hot air balloon ride is on my bucket list and I thought that was adventurous. ;) Coming over now to see your sweet photos...

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  17. Affogato?! (Reminds me of "obrigado.") I would've had a double, too, Shell. At least your caffeine-induced insomnia resulted in this adorable illo (the most I could hope for is a clean kitchen). I saw a photo recently of my friend's rat drinking out of her glass of wine. I'm not sure what's worse: that my friend has a pet rat or that she shares her wine with him!

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  18. Susan ~ I'm sure Ella would love to meet your friend's pet, though I have a feeling drinking wine together would not be in her plans...

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Merci, grazie, thank you for joining our conversation lounge. Your smile lights up the room. Even more beautifully than our crystal chandelier. x

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