Bon Appétit!

I’m in France, how can we not discuss the cuisine? I have mostly been cooking for myself (way cheaper) but I will indulge you in some of my experiences with French food.

1. Baguettes – Perhaps you have an image of a French person crossing the street with baguette in hand. That is a reality… every day, French people visit the Boulangerie (Bakery) to get a baguette for breakfast, lunch and dinner (ok, maybe they don’t go 3 times, but I assure you they go at least once a day). Baguettes don’t keep very well, thus the daily ritual. Bread is important at meals; it can help you get the last bit of meat off your plate, and it is totally appropriate to use it to mop up the sauce (yes, clean your plate!). And without baguettes, where would you put your cheese?

2. Cheese – if you remember me as the child who loved American cheese and cheesewiz, you must know my reaction when encountered with the cheese section at the grocery store. Cheeses that are usually quite expensive in the US (Roquefort or Gruyere, to name a few) are locally produced and cheaper. Goat cheese, sheep cheese, cheese that is black and smells horrible (stinky cheese, anyone?), yes you can find it in your local shop.

3. Sausage – also known as Charcuterie, sausage is very popular here. Not your breakfast patty, and quite frankly I don’t want to know how it’s made, the sausages here come in all kinds of variety. I tried andouillette which was described to me as having a “strong smell” and I thought it was quite good. You can imagine my surprise when I read the English translation (chitterlings). Lardon, which some say is just bacon in a fattier form, is also very popular in cooking. Honestly, I don’t know how French people stay so thin, because between sausage and cheese, they are pretty much consuming 100 percent fat.

4. Game creatures – at a Saturday market, I watched a child with amusement as he passed a basket full of life rabbits, tapping his mother’s shoulder and pointing. The next stand was butchering rabbits, and I think the little boy got a dose of reality. Duck and goose is also popular (foie gras is good, though my love of waterfowl may outweigh my desire to eat their livers) along with horse (…. Yes, not kidding). Sorry to break the stereotype, but apparently snails and frog legs are only popular dishes for Christmas dinner or other special occasions. Mussels and oysters can be eaten any day, however.

5. Wine – yes a glass of wine in a restaurant is cheaper than soda. And you can find very cheap bottles of wine in the store (I’m talking 2 euros for a Bordeaux!) Wine is often used in cooking, and don’t let a French person tell you they don’t know anything about wines. Order foie gras and a glass of red and expect their disapproval. Two weeks ago, the Beaujolais came out and flooded all the stores and bars. The Beaujolais tradition is essentially a bunch of vineyards racing to get their wine out first. Now, if you know anything about wine, you can guess that a wine from 2008 isn’t going to have the best taste (it hasn’t had enough time to really develop its flavors). The French people talked about how “degueulasse” (worse than disgusting) and I can’t say that I was particularly impressed either. But it’s a tradition so…

6. Coffee – order a coffee, you get an espresso, in a tiny cup, served very hot and requires a lot of sugar. But I am a total coffee addict. Normally served after you have finished eating (not while you eat), it is very popular in France. Picture this, sitting in a café wearing your beret and sailor shirt, sipping your coffee and discussing existentialism. (ok, that never happened, but doesn’t it just seem so French?) I’ll never go to starbucks again, mark my words.

7. Desserts – Pastries (chocolate croissants, tarts, crumbles) can be purchased at the bakery. One popular item is the tarte tatin, an upside down apple tarte. Ice cream appears on most menus, along with chocolate mousse and crème brulee. Actually, desserts are probably the easiest things to order in France because they are called the same in the U.S. Cheese is often a dessert (an assortment plate). And of course waffles and crepes drenched in chocolate are good too.

8. Non- GMO – in the US we often get a lot of disapproval from Europe about our use of Genetically Modified Organisms. If they do cause cancer, 22 years of consuming those means I am doomed. I will say though I think there is a difference in the tastes of some items, like beef, chicken, and fruit (as in they taste a lot better). You can even order a burger raw here… wouldn’t suggest it though.

9. Health Warnings? – When you see an advertisement in the US for cigarettes, it is always accompanied with a health warning, albeit brief (consuming tobacco may lead to addiction or something along those lines). Well here, coca cola, cheese, cookies, all have warning labels. “Avoid eating too much fat and sugars and get lots of exercise” marks both print and tv ads. This is new in France following concerns about obesity and you can imagine the difficulties that could follow (how do you tell French people to stop eating their fatty cheese?)

10. Meal Times – Lunch is traditionally between 12 and 2:00. If you don’t want to eat during this time, that’s ok, but don’t expect to get anything done. Banks and some stores close during lunch hours. If you are hungry between 2 and 6, don’t expect to eat. Restaurants, bakeries, even some groceries stores close during this time. Though they re-open at 6, dinner usually isn’t until 8. And Sundays, most stuff is closed and if it’s opened it has limited hours.

11. Restaurants - it’s often a better deal to order the MENU or a set price menu, with entrée, main dish and dessert, so expect to be sitting there enjoying your meal for a while. Aperitifs are often served before dinner; pastis (licorice flavored liquor mixed with water) and Kir (champagne-like white wine served with a fruity syrup) are popular. Finally, servers don’t get paid based on tips, so the good thing is they don’t harass you. On the other hand, if you want your check, you have to flag down the server because it would be rude for him/her to bring it to you before you asked.

12. Random etiquette – Salad is eaten after meals (though it is okay to eat it first too). It is totally appropriate to put your bread on the table. You eat your fruit with a knife. And I think French people eat really fast, but maybe I eat slow.

13. French Fast Food – consists of Crepes (salted with cheese or sweet with Nutella), sandwiches (tuna and ham are popular), Shwarma (lamb, Middle Eastern sandwich), and Panini. These you can get on the go and during non-traditional meal times. French fries are served with either mustard or mayo.

14. American Food – if you were worried about eating duck liver served with snails, don’t worry. If you visit, you will find some of your American favorites. Downtown there is a McDonald’s (MacDo’s) with the infamous Royale with cheese (pulp fiction, anyone?). Pizza Hut is on my street, and a little bit further down is a Domino’s. There are plenty of KFCs in Paris. And to top it off, there is a Tex Mex restaurant in town, complete with country music, burritos, and margaritas. And it is way popular with French people on their lunch breaks.

Obama in Paris

Toussaint: Chateaux et fetes

I apologize for not posting a bit earlier. The weeks of October 25 until November 6 marked the vacances de Toussaint, a vacation from school in celebration of All Saint’s Day. I decided to group this post around the things I did in two groups, Chateaux de la Loire and Fetes.

Toussaint

Chateaux – Castles

This region is known for its castles, hundreds doting the Loire river valley. If you didn’t know, France has had a lot of kings and queens, who of course had castles, and they themselves had lovers/mistresses that had castles, and dukes and duchesses who also had castles. The original castles were less for living and more for protecting and resemble medieval fortresses. During the Toussaint holiday I visited two chateaux and a few cities outside of Orleans. I hope to soon see at least the most famous chateaux before I leave.

Beaugency – October 19

I went to Beaugency with a few other Americans, Charlotte and Nancy, and a Croatian girl, Mirta. Actually, we had the intention of taking the bus to get to Meung-sur-Loire, a small village with a chateau about 20 minutes outside of Orleans, but since it was Sunday, there were of course no buses running. Instead we headed to the train station, enquired as to a cheap ticket to visit a interesting city, and voila, we wound up in Beaugency. It is a pretty little town on the Loire. Guess who liberated the city in 1429 on her way to Orleans? Crossing the Loire in the direction to Orleans is a 26 arch bridge that has stood since the 15^th century. There’s also the Tour de Cesar, which was once part of a chateau, and of course a large cathedral in the center of town. As you can see from the pictures, it is a very nice view of the river. On the 1^st of November, I had chance again to visit Beaugency for a birthday party of a friend of a friend. Through my professor I have met a number of French young people and have spent a lot of time with them. This birthday party was held in a meeting hall of Beaugency, where we ate Raclette (kind of like fondue, except you dump melted cheese on top of potatoes, ham, and salad; quite good for a cold evening), drank wine, and danced up a storm to disco music. The best part of the evening was the brief English lesson I gave (French people always want to know how to curse in English…)

Blois – October 26, 2008

Kether, my American friend from Paris, came to visit so of course we had to check out a chateau. The chateau used to be the seat of the dukes of Orleans, but the most interesting aspect is the fact that it is actually 4 different buildings all from different periods in history. It was first a medieval fortress, made up of a meetings hall for the counts of Blois during the 10^th century. The next section, a brick and stone wing, was added by Louis XII between 1498 and 1503 and exhibits an architectural style called “flamboyant.” The next section is from the Renaissance period and was built by Francois I. Finally, the last section exhibits Greek classicism styles, was constructed between 1635 and 1638 for Gaston d’Orleans. Most of the architecture was commissioned by Francois I and his wife, Claude de France. This can be seen by the prevalence of salamanders (which look more like fire breathing dragons to me) and minks, the royal symbols of Francois and Claude, respectively. The porcupine represents Louis XII. If you know anything about renaissance royalty in France, you have certainly heard of the all powerful Catherine de Medici. She actually passed away at this chateau in 1589. In the city of Blois, there was a funny museum of magic with huge dragons that sometimes appeared in the windows, and a church with a tribute to Joan of Arc.

Tours – October 29 and 30^th

Mirta and I took the 1.5 hour train ride to Tours, the larger city in this region. An island of sorts, the city lies between the Loire river and the Cher river. In the center of town is an enormous cathedral, and was once a famous point for pilgrims attempting to see St. Martin’s tomb. When we arrived in Tours on Wednesday, we immediately took a train to Azay-le-Riddeau, a chateau surrounded by a moat. Upon arrival the chateau was unfortunately closed (during lunchtime), but we soon joined the crowds to enter the grounds. The construction of the chateau began in 1515 by the Treasurer of France. However, he and his croonies were accused of corruption and thus fled the unfinished chateau. Francois I (aforementioned Salamander) gave the chateau to a friend, which was then passed on to an aristocrat during the French revolution. Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures inside of the chateau, but it was filled with art from those periods, salamander adorning fireplaces, statues, even a pool table. We headed back to Tours, dropped our stuff at the hostel, and then went out into the town. Place Plumereau, the old quarter of the city, had cute medieval style houses and buildings. The cool thing about Tours is that the university is right in the center of town, so young people of all types abound. As you can see from the pictures, it rained a lot on Thursday (and snowed!!) so we didn’t get to do much outside of visiting a museum of fine arts and the cathedral.

Fetes – Parties

The week before Toussaint our residence decided to have a festival of foods of the world. Monday night, Nancy and I made pancakes with maple syrup, Tuesday Mirta made a flan-like dish from Croatia, Thursday Leonor from Columbia made a dish of plantains, and Claude from Cote d’Ivoire made some rum drinks for the fete. The Americans ordered pizza that night, then we all headed upstairs to dance up a storm to music from all over the world. It was quite fun. We are still waiting for the French people (by far the largest group) to make something. I think that will be tonight as we celebrate Mirta’s last days in Orleans. The other fetes were more like dinners that I had with some French friends. The first was dinner at Madame Richer’s house with her husband, brother, Sylvan, brother’s friend, Tichou, and his girlfriend, Noemi. Everyone was very nice to me, and I applauded my ability to follow the conversation (though it was tough for me to participate as by the time I thought of a response in coherent French, the topic had passed). It was a truly French evening, first with aperitifs (before dinner drinks) of Kir (champagne-esque – can’t say champagne unless it comes from Champagne - white wine mixed with fruity syrups), followed by dinner of buerre blanc sauce (white butter sauce with shallots), fish, shrimp, and sauerkraut (and white wine). This was followed by a cheese plate and red wine, and then dessert of home-made mousse and coffee. The dinner started at 8:30 and didn’t finish until well after midnight. The following week, Noemi and Tichou invited me out to a friend of theirs’ birthday dinner at a restaurant a little outside of Orleans. The restaurant had live music and the group played songs from the 80s, classic French songs like “Champs d’Elysée,” and random American songs, O happy day, YMCA, and rollin on the river, to name a few. It was funny to hear them attempt to sing in English, getting a lot of the lyrics wrong and with funny accents. Nonetheless, we danced and had a good time, again until late in the night.

In addition to fetes, I have seen three movies in French: Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Le Crime est Notre Affaire, an Agatha Christie novel, and Mesrine, a film about a French criminal who broke out of jail in Canada, robbed a few banks and killed a lot of people. I also saw W, the movie about George Bush, and thought it pretty horrible, for the story but also for the weird scenes of the President (one of him chocking on a pretzel, another of him fighting his father in the oval office) and the horrible job of casting the director did. I got a bike for 50 euros, it’s cute and very French, though I would warn against attempting to bike with a baguette in your basket (my baguette fell out, sadly). The 4^th and 5^th I am headed to Paris to follow the US elections. Should be exciting for sure.