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Posts tagged ‘Paris’

Nov 7

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No. 40: Hidden Gems

I love it when agreeing to do an ordinary favor for a friend turns into a secret discovery. Secret discoveries in Paris are not all that unusual, especially when you make a conscious effort to slow down, take life as it comes, and frankly, just look around.

With 5 million things to do today before I head off for a short trip to visit Kitcat in her new home in Epsom, I agreed to head to a part of Paris I don’t usually hang out in—except when I’m craving the world’s best falafel or need some gefilte fish: le Marais. The delightful French girl Kitcat lives with in the UK was anxious to be reunited with her guitar and I promised to fetch it and carry it across the Chunnel.

And I’m really glad I did. I ended up in le Passage de l’Ancre, one of the oldest, if not the oldest passageway in Paris. There are hundreds of hidden worlds behind unassuming doors in the French capital, but this one is a real gem. Stepping through the modest blue gates, I was transported to a world that time left behind—Paris at the turn of the 19th century—the stuff of which movies are made. C’est un passage extraordinaire!

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Although the passage was restored 10 years ago, it hasn’t lost its original charm. Bursting with leafy trees, sidewalk planters and lovely window boxes, the brightly colored storefronts are home to a number of interesting workshops and specialty stores. Pep’s, the celebrated atelier, where sick umbrellas and parasols are healed, is the most famous of them, but I’m happy to report that the whole guitar-errand-thing landed me a front row seat to another magical shop, la Bicyclette. Owned by Kitcat’s roommate’s family, I had a guided tour through the past in the tiny, but enchanting workshop of Thierry Marscarell. Nestled among the bicycles, ancient typewriters, antique shoe inserts, sepia-toned photos, wooden oars and skis and of course, bicycles, are modern lights, tempting home decorations, and funky, minimalist adornments. If I had a home in Paris to decorate, this unique store would be my first stop.

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Just a few steps away from le Centre George Pompidou, you can access le Passage de l’Ancre (and la Bicyclette) by two different entrances: 223 rue Saint-Marin or 30 rue Turbigo, 75003.

Vocabulaire

atelier: workshop

C’est un passage extraordinaire! It is an extraordinary passageway.

Nov 5

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No. 39: Les Vacances

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Just freshly back from the Toussaint holiday, it’s clear that one of the 365 things any sane person would love about France is les vacances. The French do vacation right. I don’t think it is an overstatement to say that the French are always on holiday. They truly are.

On the books, France has just one public holiday for which workers are guaranteed a paid day off every year — Labor Day on May 1; mais in reality, most French workers enjoy 11 national jours fériés per year.  During the month of May alone there is a holiday nearly every week. In addition to national holidays, France has one of the most generous vacation policy, mandating a minimum of 30 paid days off per year…which you would think would be enough, but the way the school calendar shakes out, it would appear that even with 41 days off per year, most parents must have to either take time off without pay, or pay for a lot of extra daycare. (Take a look at this school calendar. Blue means vacation–and doesn’t include all the of the extra national holidays. Just look at all that blue!)

school holiday calendar for France, zone C (Paris and environs)

school holiday calendar for France, zone C (Paris and environs)

At Button’s French bilingual school, she follows a schedule of roughly 6-8 weeks on, with 2 weeks off, with a handful of other holidays scattered throughout.

Meanwhile, the average US worker receives a scant 16 paid vacation days and holidays combined. In fact according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, “the US is the only advanced economy in the world that doesn’t require employers to offer paid vacation time.” C’est fou! Contrast these two scenarios and you can understand why les vacances ranks high on my list of things I love about France.

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I don’t think the French will ever budge when it comes to their right to holiday–to them vacation is sacred. France nearly shuts down in the summer as the entire population takes the entire month of July or August (or sometimes both) off. What’s even better, as far as I can tell, is that the French jamais, jamais, jamais, take their work on the road. Vacation is vacation. There is no place for work while on holiday. Indeed the French have co-opted a verb (rentrer) and turned it into a noun with a BIG “r” :  la Rentrée, to describe the en mass homecoming when families return from vacation at the end of August and kids head back to school.

Alors, as long as I am lucky enough to live in France, I will continue to be faithful to the saying “à Rome, fais comme les Romains.” Vive les vacances!!

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Vocabulaire 

à Rome, fais comme les Romains: In Rome, do as the Romans

C’est fou! That’s crazy!

jamais, jamais, jamais: never, never, never

jours fériés: holidays

la Rentrée: THE homecoming (after the summer hols)

les vacances: vacation

mais: but

rentrer: to return (home)

Toussaint: All Saints (Day/Holiday period)

Vive les vacances! Long live vacation!!

 

Nov 3

No. 37: Guy Roux Maître Chocolatier

Leave it to  the French to produce amazing sugar-free chocolate.  Guy Roux is affectionately known as the le roi du chocolat sans sucre. Using a selection of beans from South America, he and his artisanal staff produce pure cocoa butter chocolate without sugar. It’s 100-percent natural (no artificial sweeteners), has 40-percent fewer calories, and it is surprisingly delicious!

After hours of tastings, it was pure delight to come across this exciting young chocolatier. I was dubious chocolate sans sucre would tempt my taste buds, but indeed it did.  His mendiants were deliciously on par with others at le salon du chocolat, but what really “took the cake” was his  chocolate spreads.  Handing out his products and gamely chatting with the crowd, he and his creamy and subtly sweet cocoa concoctions completely won me over.

Vocabulaire

le mendiants: traditional French confection composed of a chocolate disk studded with nuts and dried fruits representing the four mendicant or monastic orders of the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans and Carmelites. Each of the nuts and dried fruits used refer to the color of monastic robes with tradition dictating raisin for the Dominicans, hazelnuts for the Augustans, dried figs for Franciscans and almonds for Carmelite. Usually found during Christmas, recipes for this confection have veered away from the traditional combination of nuts and fruits to other combinations incorporating seeds and fruit peels. Wikipedia.

le roi du chocolat sans sucre: the king of chocolate without sugar

 

 

Nov 3

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No. 36: Salon du Chocolat Encore

“Chocolate doesn’t make the world go ’round, but it sure does make the trip worthwhile!”

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The theme of this year’s Salon du Chocolat was enchantment, the question asked, “Why is chocolate so magical?” The event itself was certainly enchanting, delicious, and completely over the top. If you are passionate about chocolate, and I am, this is the not-to-be-missed event of the season.

The annual salon brings together an amazing collection of chocolatiers, pastry chefs, cocoa experts and confectioners. This year, over 180 French and international chocolate makers filled the grand exhibition space (20,000 sqm) at Port de Versailles representing (and providing tastings of!) some of the biggest names and the highest quality chocolate products from around the world. Another 350+ participants provided samplings of bonbons, cakes, ice cream, crepes and sugarcoated delights.

I met my girlfriend Em first thing in the morning and spent nearly 8 hours nageant dans le chocolat. It was fabulous. Imagine a whole day bathed in a space completely dedicated to chocolate and sweet treats. The first floor, the Tendance Confiserie was dedicated entirely to fantastical sugary confections, new trends in confection and included a space devoted to les enfants offering little ones the chance to make and decorate les bonbons. For me the space was more eye-candy than mouth-candy. It was a photographer’s dream a fairy-tale land of colorful sweeties and fun.

The second floor on the other hand was for the serious chocolate connoisseur. This is where the big guns come to play and show off their newest creations. Just like the fashion industry the superstars have the chance to roll out their new fall line and share their established winners. And there were a lot of winners…and things got a little carried away! Never has the saying “so much chocolate, so little time” been more accurate.

Moderation, schmoderation…by the end of the day, we were completely chocolated-out, but completely and contentedly under the spell of the magic of chocolate.

“Oh, divine chocolate!

They grind thee kneeling,

Beat thee with hands praying,

And drink thee with eyes to heaven.”

― Marco Antonio Orellana

Vocabulaire:

les enfants: the children

nageant dans le chocolat: swimming in the chocolate

Nov 1

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No. 34: Salon du Chocolat

As we are running off for homemade Thai food tonight, I am leaving you with a few scrumptious pictures of how I spent the day….completely overwhelmed by chocolate! Stay tuned for the story tomorrow. Bonne dégustation!

Vocabulaire:

Bonne dégustation! Happy (good) tasting!

Nov 1

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No. 33: Last Minute Finds

IMG_4058It’s not always easy to find the missing ingredients from your homeland in France. Sometimes it can take weeks or months to track something down when you’re desperate for a piece of home.  But tonight was an exception to the rule. Cet automne, j’ai du pain sur la planche with so many different and exciting things, that I didn’t even remember until last night that today America is celebrating Halloween.

Halloween on the metro….
…zombies et un diable…BOO!

Most Frenchies don’t observe Halloween. It’s not part of their history. Toussaint, tomorrow, is their holiday, and a pretty serious one at that. So when ma fille cadette came home from rehearsal for her Sondheim showcase tonight, and announced, “No one even acknowledged that today was Halloween,” I felt a little pang of regret. Even though Button is halfway to 18, I know she misses the fun and high spirits of dressing up, trick-or-treating, and being a teen in America.

So because I’m a good maman, while she was showering and changing, I ran out with Taz, and thought I’d take a chance on finding some Halloween candy for her to share with the cast ce soir. Et, voilà au marché d’à côté, on the highest shelf, sat one lone box of miniature-sized American candy! Quelle chance! That never happens in Paris.IMG_8452

A burly Russian tourist stood on his tiptoes and knocked it from the shelf and into my grateful hands.

Alors, happy Halloween à tous!

Vocabulaire

 à tous: to all

au marché d’à côté: at the market next door

ce soir: this evening

Cet automne j’ai du pain sur la planche: This autumn, my plate is full, literally “the bread is on the board”

ma fille cadette: my younger daughter

marché d’à côté: market next door

Quelle chance! What luck!

Toussaint: All Saints’ Day

Oct 25

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No. 26: Small(er) People

Initially I thought I’d call this post: Small People.

However, upon reflection, I have concluded that the French actually aren’t as small as they are rumored to be. Only a few short years ago the French were considered small compared to Americans, but now it appears that smaller is the more accurate adjective. The “e-r”, sadly, is a necessary addition.

That said, the Frenchies are still thinner than their American counterparts. Americans claims a 35 percent obesity rate, and this difference in girth is very obvious when you cross the ocean after being away for a long time.

I certainly don’t want to rail against overweight people, but I must admit, I am discouraged by the aspects of our culture that make it so easy to become overweight and complacent. It’s difficult to see so many big folks living large in America.

I recognize that I live in a bit of a bubble in Paris, but the number of extremely hefty people I have seen this past week in America has alarmed me. It’s a HUGE problem (in all senses of the word) for the USA, and it pains me to see that our bad habits and patterns are beginning to make their way to the other side of the Atlantic.

While the French can still claim the title of the slimmest people in Europe, a previously unfathomable 15 percent of France’s population are now obese and over 30 percent are considered overweight. And according to an article recently published in the Daily Telegraph “the most significant weight gains (are) among 18 to 24-year-olds, whose obesity levels have shot up by 35 percent in the past three years.”

French actor Gerard Depardieu Photo: REX FEATURES

French actor Gerard Depardieu Photo: REX FEATURES

I find those statistics staggering and disturbingly familiar. For a country that prides itself on eating small portions, fresh food, and family meals, the French-don’t-get-fat-myth doesn’t quite ring true anymore.

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