Emily almost derailed by a hyphen

When using a GPS, just like any computer, it is garbage in/garbage out. Here in France, we know words and names tend to be very specific, and the town names are very similar and one must be careful with spelling, which as we now know, includes hyphens. The other day we tried to drive to visit a new town which had seen signs for but never ventured to, Chateaurenard. We tried to enter the name into our trusty GPS, whose voice is named Emily and who rarely misses a beat in the USA or in Europe. Thus, we were perplexed when we had trouble entering the town into the system. It took us several tries to determine the problem. We were attempting to visit Chateaurenard near us, in the 13th department, while Emily was trying to send us to one 3 hours away. Ultimately, after reviewing the input, we realized that a hyphen was in our way - there was another village named Chateau-renard! So, beware the hyphen here in France, you can find yourself hours from your intended destination.

A butcher with specificity

Driving through French villages we see shops that are clearly butcher shops (boucherie) but also identify in other ways charcuterie, traiteur (clearly not referring to a traitor), and other related words. The French language does tend to be rather specific with certain nuances, like boulangerie as a bakery for bread, while a patisserie is for sweets. As always, we delve into it with some internet research to determine that a charcuterie specifies that it is a butcher for pork products (important here with so many who will only purchase halel meats) and that traiteur seems to relate to catering, but specifically of pork products. Who knew?

Cultural Cross-pollination

As we travel and shop, I am always struck by how we cross-pollinate our lives, like bees who fly around flower to flower sharing pollen from those plants and continuing to move plant DNA through the plant world. We are rather like bees cross-pollinating cultures and bringing America to France as we travel with certain necessities we have been unable to find in France, and bringing flavors, scents and feelings of France home to America. If it were not for various rules and regulations, we would certainly return home with cheeses and other foods we cannot get at the same level as we find in France, and likewise certain items we would bring from home but for the differences in voltage (certain kitchen tools) and other plants. Thank goodness for dual voltage electronics!

Even buses can have donkey carts

As I've blogged in the past, everywhere in France we see cars, some nice some not so nice, often with small metal or wood carts attached. we call them donkey carts as they look like something that a donkey should be pulling behind it rather than a car. Some are rather small and seem to be used for a suitcase or two, while others are larger and more substantial and appear to be carrying more belongings for moving or a major vacation while the auto passengers do not want to be crushed by their luggage even though the French usually travel pretty light. This trip we noticed that even a bus can have a donkey cart, although a very large one. As we approached the market in St. Remy one day we ended up driving behind a large tour bus from the Czech republic. Although most buses limit luggage and stow it all beneath the bus, this one must have had a different policy as it towed a large donkey cart behind it full of luggage, certainly the length of a large SUV and nearly as tall as the bus, complete with a cover that contained advertisements for a company in the city of origin for the tour bus. So, yes, even the buses buses can have donkey carts.

Total propane

No I don't mean all or complete propane but "Total" the gas and fuel company in France which sells canisters of propane which is used heavily in France for cooking, even in homes and sometimes in outdoor grills. Unlike America where anyone can take a propane tank and switch it out at any number of stores, in France one must have an account, for example with Total, containing personal information, address, name, phone number so a tank's origin can be identified and traced back to a person, an intelligent concept in this day and age of bombs made from common household ingredients. So, unlike the USA, Total is not total, it is rather limited.

Drap plat and Drap house

In contemplating buying sheets in France, it is not simple or easy. Measurements are not standard, and are nothing like the US single, full, queen king that we find in any store that sells sheets. First one must discern whether we are looking at flat or fitted sheets. Apparently a fitted sheet is "drap house" which appears to match the actual measurements of the bed. A flat sheet is "drap plat" which has larger measurements as the length and width are larger than the actual bed measurements. All quite intimidating and confusing, but we figured it out with some assistance from a French women who admitted even she finds it confusing.

Yes we have found maple syrup

In a prior post I've discussed what we can and cannot find in France and what people eat on their waffles in France. We discussed whether it is possible to find maple syrup in France and we are happy to report that yes it can be found, in the BioCoop. It is Canadian rather than Vermont, and not quite the Grade A quality of the US, but quite edible for French toast and Waffles. A waffle iron may be in our future!

Language Skills

Some days when traveling in France the language actually makes some sense to me. It takes some time and some listening and trying to pry the words and phrases from the back of my memory banks. Taking FIAF classes helped but I still hope for the day that I wake up and in a miracle, I am fluent, I can understand and converse easily in this difficult language. We are inundated with advertisements for Rosetta Stone and other programs to help us learn a language easily and organically, and although I no longer have the energy and focus since becoming ill, I am intrigued and always wonder which is the best one? Here is an excellent article that breaks it all down and helps define which one would work the best for each person: http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/best-ways-to-learn-a-language-205521671.html?page=1

A French energy conservation initiative

Fascinating attempt in France to cut down on light pollution, save money, and cut carbon emissions all at the same time by turning off lights. Although the Eiffel Tower is exempt as are holiday displays, exterior lighting will need to be turned off on non-residential buildings between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m. unless it is being used for security purposes. Likewise, interior lights in those buildings will need to be extinguished at 1 a.m. or one hour after the last person has left the building (but what about Elvis - did he leave the building?). The initiative was adopted in January and goes into effect tonight, with substantial fines imposed for offenders. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/paris-illumination-ban-city-of-light-dimming_n_3529378.html

Decorating a broom

France must be the only country where a broom gets decorated as shown in this photo. I cannot imagine doing this in the US or any other country. A broom is merely for function, not beauty, but here in France everything has function and form.

More photos of paradise

A slice of life

At my son's graduation last week, began to consider that I was experiencing a slice of life, but whose life? Which life? Is it the life I prefer or is it someone else's life? In observing those around us, most dressed nicely but so many dressed inappropriately, and acting inappropriately, we discussed that the slice of life we want is in France, to sit in our favorite cafe and watch that world go by. Even if I can't understand everything being said, it just seems more civilized to me, calmer, and more in control. Maybe it seems true because we don't live here and it is more a fantasy than a reality, but at least I'm here enjoying this slice of life which makes the other more tolerable when I return.

Avril needs frequent flier miles

As usual in the summer, Avril has joined us in our journey and it got me to thinking about how Air France and other airlines who wish to encourage us to travel with our pets should award frequent flier miles to them, rather than treating them like luggage. Can they get special privileges? What would they be? A first class dog section with a menu for treats? Or could it be when you hit a certain level you could earn a seat next to your human? Priority boarding? Free trips? This could be an idea whose time has come.

Student travel -

In transiting through JFK on the way over, I was fortunate to see so many student groups setting out to travel the world, most for the first time. It brought me back to my first overseas trip at age 17, to travel Europe and see places I had been reading about for years. I was happy to see these young people and their enthusiasm and sense of adventure, as I know by the time they return they will be irreparably changed by their experiences, no matter what they are, just as young people from all over the world are changed by coming to America. These students are our future in a more international world and economy, and their views and ability to understand other cultures and history are critical to everyone's future. In a few days, we will be sending our son to his travels into other countries he has not experienced yet, and into his future.

News when we travel

In the old days (maybe 10 years ago) my news lifeline would be the International Herald Tribute, along with some CNN international if we were lucky enough to have it in the hotel. These days we have CNN in the house, and laptops with highspeed internet so with le web we can read the news and our regular papers every day should we choose. So many times when we travel there is some big breaking news story just as we leave or while we are away and we get blanket coverage on CNN or sometimes BBC or Skynews - Michael Jackson's death, the Norway killings, the bombings in London, or the summer Governor McGreevey resigned when I was working for the state of New Jersey, or every four years the World Cup. This summer, already we have major news stories from Nelson Mandela's illness, President Obama's trip to African, civil unrest in Brazil and Egypt, and we can anticipate the birth of the royal heir in England. We always enjoy getting a different view of the world while here and watch CNN International at home, but it does not contain all the same programming we see here. We have added a new twist to watching tv here, with some additional technology (since without it we can't watch netflix or other programs) we are watching some favorite programs at night or movies.

In paradise once again

As you readers may know, it was a very difficult year for our family, with me being so ill. Cancer and chemotherapy only increases my appreciation for our arrival yet again in France, for the beauty of Provence and the lifestyle here. It has taken me a few days to get on the time zone and settle in to our house, and enjoy the improvements we have made, especially in the gardens. The pleasure we feel every time we return back from an excursion and pull in to our private heaven is difficult to describe. Pictures help but do not really do it justice. We are looking forward to spending our time here relaxing, hopefully healing and regenerating a bit, eating (healthy) and watching, learning and progressing in our understanding of France, its people and culture. Perfection.

Another restaurant label - this time by the chefs

From the top chefs of France, comes another labeling system where the restaurant must apply and meet the standard of freshly prepared foods and good service (not the easiest to come by in France). We will be looking for this designation as it begins to appear. http://www.france24.com/en/20130410-french-superchefs-launch-new-quality-restaurant-label

No microwave food in these restaurants

As we who love France know, they take such great pride in their culture, particularly their food. So it is with interest that I saw this article about labeling restaurants that prepare their own food rather than used pre-prepared food that gets heated up in a microwave and gets passed off as though it was prepared in the restaurant. To combat this, the French government is going to require labeling of restaurants and food so a consumer will know what they are eating and where it was prepared. http://www.france24.com/en/20130628-france-battles-microwave-food-restaurants-gastronomy-pre-prepared