seen~it - thanks for the compliment !
As for France, I lived and studied in the Loire valley for a short time - so love that area. The university restaurant at Tours did wonderful meals (I don%26#39;t know what it%26#39;s like nowadays) - students didn%26#39;t starve ! You had to buy books of tickets - and the foreign students paid more than the French ones, so I could only afford one meal there a day. The two restaurants took it in turn to open over the holidays. But I shall never forget the Easter Sunday when we went from one to the other at lunch time and found the restaurants shut on both sites at the university campus- and all I had to eat was a tin of sardines and the previous day%26#39;s stale bread. I didn%26#39;t even have a tin-opener. My landlady graciously lent me one with a smile, saying %26#39;is that what you%26#39;re having for lunch ?%26#39; and I sat in my little attic room (aaah ...) above her kitchen, with the tantalising smell of the family%26#39;s roast lamb wafting past the window. No - they didn%26#39;t invite me to eat with them, even though they knew I had no food and that the university restaurants were both shut. I wasn%26#39;t allowed to use the bath or toilet in their bathroom next door to my room. I had to use the %26#39;second toilet%26#39; at the bottom of the stairs in the entrance lobby and when I queried about shower/bath, they said I didn%26#39;t need a bath. I had to wash standing up at the washbasin in my room until I made friends with a girl at the university restaurant who used to smuggle me into her hall of residence showers - we would both have been expelled if anyone found out. I%26#39;m still in touch with her now. At my %26#39;digs%26#39; I was once allowed to watch tv sitting on a hard chair, just one evening, after I%26#39;d been there three weeks - but that was the closest I got to a French family ! My experiences of the French in the UK have been much friendlier ! They are very private people, and the Parisiens are a race apart.
France is the same as Italy for buying fresh food at markets only - and in %26#39;motorway service area%26#39; restaurants - the food is usually good. The %26#39;Les Routiers%26#39; signs are also a good bet as this system, I believe, started out as a way to spot restaurants off main roads (you won%26#39;t find them on motorways, of course) that lorry drivers knew were good. I know that %26#39;Routiers%26#39; have started to replace %26#39;Egon Ronay%26#39; approval in the UK, so some people may disagree about the origins of it, because %26#39;routier%26#39; places over here are considered %26#39;fashionable%26#39; ! In most places in France, the big supermarkets seem to have really good, cheap restaurants ! There was a lovely %26#39;fun%26#39; restaurant in Paris where the waiters would come out of the kitchen with about eight full plates at a time on their arm -and were dressed in high collars and striped aprons - with Edwardian style moustaches... I%26#39;ve got the name somewhere, but can%26#39;t remember it at present.
I just follow the same system in every country - eat with the locals and avoid the %26#39;tourist menu%26#39; place. And - if there%26#39;s a %26#39;specials of the day%26#39; board, choose that rather than the regular menu because that%26#39;ll be the %26#39;freshly bought and prepared that morning%26#39; food rather than fished out of the freezer. The only proviso is you can%26#39;t follow the locals in the UK as most working people seem to eat a snack lunch and keep the main meal for the evening - so you%26#39;d probably be following them to the best sandwich bar ! But that%26#39;s fine if that%26#39;s what you want !
I think breakfast in France has always been the croissants and coffee set-up, not the buffet - but that might be the hotels we chose to stay at. When self-catering there%26#39;s nothing better than waiting for one%26#39;s partner to return from town (for newspaper and trip to baker) with the hot bread and croissants...to be quaffed with jam, nutella and hot coffee !
Once again, the fresh food market is where you must go if you%26#39;re self-catering. In France, bread just has to be bought when you need it - so twice a day ! It really won%26#39;t keep at all, and the bakeries are open twice a day.
Pastries are expensive but wonderful ! If you%26#39;re out there during feast days - then there are local specialities to look for - April fool%26#39;s day - chocolate fishes (same in Italy) and then all the Easter goodies and Christmas - and the Epiphany %26#39;Kngs%26#39; cake - with the %26#39;beans%26#39; (tiny china figures) inside. Italy has special cakes/biscuits -different in each region - for all feasts and carnival time - including %26#39;All Saints%26#39; when you give children %26#39;dead men%26#39;s bones%26#39; biscuits ! Yes - I have the recipes too !
Talking of pastries, I%26#39;ve only been to Menorca once, in February one year (can%26#39;t bear summer crowds !) and discovered pastries with the most wonderfully delicate yellow-orangy strands kind of %26#39;filling%26#39; - they told me it was %26#39;cabellos de angel%26#39; (angel hair), so I was no wiser - then I looked it up in a Spanish dictionary and found it was a pumpkin confection - and later, on the internet, I discovered they made it in Italy too - but it%26#39;s a homemade delicacy and not found in the shops. If you want more... you%26#39;ll have to ask more specific questions !
Love the earth, its geography, weird inhabitants and its food ! Best wishes, Nolana
|||
Just remembered ! The Paris restaurant that was fun - with waiters in long white aprons and Edwardian style outfits, was called Chartier - rue du Faubourg, Montmartre. We had to queue up outside for ages so go early. I don%26#39;t think they do reservations - well, they didn%26#39;t when we went. Nolana
No comments:
Post a Comment