1) Bread. Very important here. It's taken seriously and purchased daily. There are lots of varieties to choose from, and the baguettes and loaves have a nutty freshness with a crisp outside and a just-chewy-enough inside. When Marie Antoinette supposedly said to "let them eat cake" when told the peasants had no bread, the biggest example of total cluelessness and out-of-touchness was born. And she got to look at her own neck without the help of a mirror as a result.
2) Cheese. Charles deGaulle is said to have claimed that a country with --- 200+, or 350+ or 246---take your pick--- variety of cheeses is ungovernable. Don't know about that, but we definitely enjoy the various cheese, whether from goat or cow or sheep or opossum or giraffe. OK, I made up the last two.
3) Ice cream. Didn't expect that one, did you? You'll have a hard time finding that sissified "light" ice cream, made with bizarro skim milk product. The French don't pull any punches with ice cream. Full fat, full flavor, and real vanilla. Vanilla ice cream isn't the basic flavor that serves as the point of departure for other varieties here, it's it's own taste with a proud and vibrant tradition. To me, going to Haagen Daaz and ordering vanilla ice cream was like going to a bar with 200 beers on tap and ordering Budweiser. I've revised that stance in my 3 months here.
4) The metro. Relatively clean, on time, and most importantly, it goes almost everywhere you want to go. One flat fee.
Note that contrary to the expectations of some, wine is not on this list. That, of course, is a story for another day.
1 comment:
If you do wine, I hope you also talk about beer. :)
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