No. 185-194: Ten Quick Things I Love About France
I’m behind on my posts because I actually started my blog on September 23 instead of September 1. Oh, to know me, is to know I’m almost always running late. It’s my fatal flaw. Occasionally I get super stressed that I won’t be able to make my goal of finishing the 365-things-I-love-about-France by August 31, so I have to sneak in these bundle-post occasionally to make up for lost time. Je vous prie d’accepter mes excuses.
Donc, here are Ten Quick Things I Love About France…I can’t quite fill a single post with each one, but I love them nonetheless.
1. Salted Butter. Fresh creamy butter + salt crystals. Nothing more need be said.
source:matvpratique.com
2. International Hotel Chain Bathrooms. So clean and consistent, like a touch of home, plus they might even have a bidet. You never have to double foot it Turkish/French style. The trick is pretending you’re a guest. 
3. Straw Baskets for the Marché. They are simply charming.
Meryl Streep as Julia Child with her typique pannier.
4. Dodging French Families at the Bois de Boulogne (the large public park located on the edge of the 16e in Paris). Because if you are dodging them, three things are happening: it’s Sunday, the weather is good, and you’re on your bike.
5. Aux Merveilleux de Fred Meringue Balls. “Heaven popped on a plate,” as Button would say.
6. Adorable Children’s Clothing. I’ll have to stay in France until my (yet-to-be-born) grandchildren are grown.
7. The Brits. As of 2012, there were 150,000 registered British Nationals living in France. Although they seem to prefer Spain—nearly 400,000 British subjects live there–I’m glad some have chosen to live here.
8. Well-maintained Motorways. The tolls may be crazy expensive, but you get what you pay for, a smooth ride.
9. Religieuses. Anything that looks this pretty and is deliciously edible is at the top of my pastry list.
10. Merde. It almost sounds pretty, or at least gentile in French. Most things do (sound better) with that alluring French accent.
Vocabulaire:
Je vous prie d’accepter mes excuses: Please accept my apologizes.
365+ Things I Love About France 
Je ne t’excuse pas!!! LOL Ces examples sont fantastiques, merci!
merci…I need to catch up.
those meringues are looking so yums! I’ll try and dip mines in nuts too next time…looks like a great idea.
I love your blog because it lists quite a few things I miss actually!! but you’re missing one absolutely fabulous thing that you can’t find anywhere else than in France: les chouquettes. If you have never tried, go to the baker and ask for “des chouquettes” (you won’t be able to have only one, plus they normally come in batches of 8 or 10)
should look like this:
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/recipes/cookies-small-cakes/chouquettes-sugar-puffs-recipe/
maybe your next post?
And thank you for reading and the very kind comments. There is a lot to miss about France.
You are forgiven. Etre en retard is très French!
C’est vrai. Merci bien.
The religieuses and the meringue balls look fabulous. I’d love to know the technique of making the meringue ball. When I read the description of religieuses on the internet it reminded me of the first time I ate a Napoleon hat almond paste filled pastry. That is so cute that the religieuses means nun.
Thanks so much for that info on the nuns. I didn’t know that. I’ll have to do some research, maybe there is enough info for a whole post. I know the edible research would be tough going, but someone has to do it, right?
Re: the meringue balls: they do have a window in the front of the shop so you can see how they are made. It seems like they are just scooped and rolled, but somehow they have to be baked, right?