The Hunt for an Open Restaurant on a Monday Night in Rural France

Upon moving to rural France, you quickly become accustomed to the fact that you cannot count on things being open at all hours like in the US.  Most stores close by 7:30 PM each night and are closed all day on Sunday (or only open until 12:30 PM).  Same with the pharmacies, except there will be a sign indicating the rotating schedule for which pharmacy in the area has extended hours.

This also extends to restaurants.  While virtually every restaurant is open for weekday lunches, most of them are closed all day on Sunday.  Several restaurants will also close all day for one week day and, as I learned this week, very often that day is Monday.  Since Alexis has been helping me a lot, I offered to treat him to dinner (since I'm not really up to cooking).  This is sort of the American way, at least in my region - if somebody helps you move, assemble furniture, etc., you offer food and/or drink in return.  The last time he was over, he both assembled furniture AND provided the food, so it was certainly my turn to do something nice.  Of course, I offered to treat him to dinner on Monday . . . without a full realization of precisely what I had done.

Thus began the great search for an open restaurant.  As it turns out, the place that is reliably open for dinner is NOT open for dinner on Mondays (O'Napoli - picture above is a burger from there).  The other restaurant that I had in mind is only open for dinner Friday and Saturday (O City'ven - see picture below).  A quick search of the internet and a few phone calls established that virtually all restaurants in the area are closed for dinner on Mondays.  It also established that, during the winter, many of them are closed all day Sunday-Tuesday, many are open only for lunch during the week and many have random days they are closed.  One restaurant advertised a new take-out menu of 6 dishes "tout les jours" (all the days), but when I called, I was told that "all the days" apparently does not include Monday. 😒

This is not accounting for the fact that you either have to follow local places on Facebook, check their website (if they have one) or eat there weekly to learn when they will be closed for a week or two for their vacations, to completely revise the menu or to remodel.  In short, you become accustomed to the idea that you may want to make a reservation for lunch or dinner every time, just to be sure that the place will be open when you show up!

Finally, I checked one of my other favorite restaurants, Relais Pays de Civrasian.  I was in luck because their closing days are Wednesday night and all day Thursday!  I do think that I'm introducing Alexis to bad habits because the big social meal in France is normally lunch, but here I am dragging him out for dinners . . . and twice in one week at that!  You do realize why the restaurants aren't really open for dinner outside of the weekends though because they will be packed at lunch, but only two or three groups will come in for dinner - and both nights it was virtually all British people.

Once you're here for awhile, you also start to realize why they all have days they are closed and limited hours though - the people cooking and serving are usually the owners; several restaurants in the area are actually owned and operated by a married couple.  Due to some of France's laws, it can be cost-prohibitive or a regulatory nightmare to hire additional staff, so the owners have to limit the hours they are open, and have some days they are closed, simply to have a break!  Having said that, I think it is smart to be the only place in town open on a particular night . . . however, in my search for a restaurant open on Monday nights, I saw several Brits in my area with the same question, so it seems that the restaurant could have a lot more Monday night business if they got the word out that they are open!

Actually, you've heard it here folks - if you are looking for a restaurant in the Civray/Ruffec area that is open on Monday for dinner, Relais Pays de Civrasian is your place!  They have a menu of the day that is available for dinner, not just lunch, plus other fixed price menus. And the owners (and staff) have always been very nice to us, even with our awful French!

More French and Seasonal Eating (aka 100 Varieties of Soup)!

So, learning French is hard.  Like, "my brain is going to explode" hard.  First, you have to get used to the fact that "the" is in front of everything.  As in, "I am studying the French" meaning the language and NOT the people.  Except, not always.  Because my colleagues don't speak "in the English" to me.  They just speak "in English."  Oh, and languages are not capitalized in "the French."

And, when you think you're managing to remember "le français" and you mention "le France," a polite French person tells you it's la France.  Because the country is female, but the language is male.  Clearly. 😨

I've realized that I have to keep studying daily though.  If you think you'll learn a language through osmosis by just living in the country, you're wrong.  You will pick up on things here and there, but it isn't super easy to meet French people (generally) and my co-workers speak English to me, so I'm only becoming really good at the things I have to do often, like order food, ask where something is, etc.  For those forced into using the language more often, I'm sure the learning comes more quickly.  I could be a little hard on myself though because the new French exchange people I've met have all been surprised that I've only lived here 6 months total with 15 hours of tutoring and my only other learning has been online . . . well, until they try my SPOKEN French.  Then, they realize that I write well because I have time to think about what I'm going to say and how to phrase it using words I know (and look up ones that I don't). 😀

Winter Soup
One of my absolute favorite things about France is that you never really have an opportunity to become bored with the menu options.  There are always two things and, outside of a restaurant where one of the two is always the same beef steak with fries & salad, I don't think I've had a full meal (starter and main dish or main dish and dessert) that was completely the same.  I don't eat out like I used to - when my co-worker mentioned having salad on Mondays, I'd made a face; however, the salads aren't basic.  There are a few with all lettuce, plenty of ham, peppers and mozzarella, etc, which I like, but my favorites are half lettuce and half pasta with either chicken and eggs or French ham and mozzarella.  There's  a tuna option and crab option, but I've taken a pass on those and any with a non-vinaigrette dressing - the French do a REALLY good vinaigrette!  I frequently have salad two to three days a week now, but always with either a starter (galette or quiche) or a dessert (apple crumble, rice pudding, etc) since lunch is my bigger meal.

Speaking of the variety of foods, one of the reasons is that they take full advantage of both what's in season and the time of year.  Winter is soup time!  And the sheer variety of soups is incredible (incroyable in French).  From a basic carrot soup (above) to a lentil soup served with a cold poached egg in the middle (didn't get a pic of that one), if it's growing this time of year, the French have probably made a soup out of it!

And the texture is completely varied.  You can have totally smooth soups (first one) or a soup that is a little more coarsely blended (second) with celery and carrots.  I also enjoy the veggies that aren't so common in the US.  We eat pumpkin pie, but the French have pumpkin soup!  I've already missed out on soup one day though because they have so many different words for it.  There's the basic "la soupe," but a thicker soup is "le potage."  The one that means a creamier soup (and I never remember is a soup) is "le velouté."

Soup is a big enough thing here that I think there are probably 3-4 other names for different TYPES of soup.  I am a little sad that chèvre chaud salad was EVERYWHERE in the spring, but doesn't seem to be as popular in the winter; however, this gives me something to look forward to come spring!  See, never a chance to get bored!  Of course, there are veggies that seem to be ubiquitous in French cuisine throughout the year and are used in 100 different ways, such as the leek.  There is even leek soup.

I have always been one of those people who hated vegetables and viewed it as a monumental sacrifice (that I made for my health) to force myself to eat them, but in France, they are served up in so many tasty different ways and varieties, that I find it easy to eat my veggies.  It's just one of many reasons that I love living in France!

Learning French, McDo's and How the French Diet Turns US Advice on Its Head

My last two weeks of work have been busy with year-end and my weekends have been mostly spent doing highly exciting things, like assembling furniture and unpacking boxes.  The upside is that I have a complete living room, guest bath and kitchen now (pictures to come soon)!  The guest room is also usable, although the furniture isn't refinished yet.

Only a dining room set, coat closet, bedroom armoire, utility room stand, upstairs bathroom cabinet and office furniture to go! 😐  I finally caved and hired people with power tools to help with the kitchen because EVERY thing had to be assembled, including the drawers, and it both required power tools AND more than two hands.

Since there isn't a lot to report, I thought I'd share a few cultural gems with you!

Learning French
French culture comes through even in a textbook to learn French.  First, the list of annoyances, where a husband who is always absent AND an American boyfriend both make the list.  Why only have one man to annoy you when you can have two! 😂

Also, all nouns are either male or female in French, which I've been exposed to with Spanish, so it wasn't a big surprise for me.  I did find this example of "male" and "female" nouns funny though - remember folks, "the problem" is male and "the solution" is female!  I will say that I doubt I'll forget that "eme" is a male ending and "tion" is female now, so this was a clever choice!

While I really enjoy the text that I'm learning from, I'm glad that PB is supportive of me taking more actual French lessons because I find that I can read quite a bit of French, but I'm uncomfortable speaking French because I'm not quite sure on the pronunciation.  Of course, Alexis is back this weekend, so reading with him again will help, and I have a few new people I met through a conversation exchange site who are helping me with my French in exchange for help with English.  

There are varying degrees of help that you get through the conversational partners though.  Some of them seem content to only correct me if what I've said cannot be understood.  Most of them start off correcting everything, but as the conversation starts to flow, they switch to only asking or correcting when they don't understand.  I only have one person who has continued to correct everything, which is what I need!  There are seven total people that I started talking with, but the first woman only replies about once a week, which isn't enough for me to really build on my French.  One other woman and one of the men have sent a sentence here and there, also not really helpful.  I do have consistent daily conversations with four people now, who vary in age from 21 to 43; however, the consistent writers are all men.  One of them lets me use my very limited spoken French to practice speaking on calls and another leaves messages in slow French with the translation in English.  I then respond in as much French as I can, mixed with English when I don't know the word.  And he then replies with the correct French, so that's helping as well!  It seems like you could potentially make friends in this way, so it's a little disappointing that the women haven't been more responsive. 😩

McDo's

I discovered shortly after returning to France that it doesn't seem like I'm allergic to cow dairy anymore.  My docs had said it is an allergy that people can "grow out of," but I didn't have high hopes (even though I'm no longer allergic to eggs).  Since dairy is not a life-threatening allergy for me, I'd occasionally try something to see.  I tried something small here and nothing happened.  So, I tried something with a higher amount of dairy - nothing.  Time for a full-on dairy meal - cheese in salad, butter in potatoes and dessert was ice cream with whipped cream on top (and fruit).  Still absolutely nothing.  In the past, I would have felt like I had food poisoning.  I've cautiously eaten dairy since then with no issues still after several months.  Of course, after not eating it for so long, I no longer have a taste for many dairy products.  I prefer coconut milk, many types of chèvre and sorbet still (especially dark chocolate); however, I am thoroughly enjoying real French butter, soft mild cheeses (like brie) and cream-based sauces!

Given that I can eat cheese again, the other day I decided to eat something I haven't had in over 5 years - a BigMac.  While the McChicken tastes different here (better I think), the BigMac tastes the same as I remember.  I don't eat McDo's often - usually only a couple of times per month and primarily only when I get busy and realize I've missed the dedicated French lunch hour (good luck finding a restaurant that will serve you after 1-1:30 PM) or I have no food at home on a Sunday (when stores & normal restaurants are also closed).  I have occasionally stopped in there when I was feeling particularly challenged with French as well - even though I order from the French menu now, it's a touch screen and I don't have to speak French, just read it!

On another random McDo's trip, I tried a chèvre burger because I find the local touches interesting (same reason I tried a McDos special in Switzerland, where you can design your own burger - bacon avocado in my case).  The chèvre burger  wasn't bad, but it wasn't really good either.  The beef isn't greasy, like at home, nor is it drowning in sauce, so if the bread isn't "same day" fresh, the McDos burgers can be a little drier than I prefer.

In addition to the normal local offerings, McDos appears to experiment here more than I recall occurring in the US.  They temporarily replaced the potato wedges, that I love, with "New York style" chips shortly before I left France.  Right after I returned, the wedges were again replaced with thick herb fries, which I also liked.  I don't care for the regular fries here though - they aren't like the US.  It isn't just the potatoes they experiment with; currently, the special offer is a burger with ketchup and ranch or mustard and ranch or a fish sandwich with ketchup and ranch.  To the best of my knowledge, ranch is not popular in France, so this seems like a strange offering!

While I'm a little embarrassed that I eat McDos while living in France, it's clearly not hurting me (nor is my weekly pineau and random glass or two of wine) because I've lost 15 lbs in 3 1/2 months of living in France.  And that's with working 10-12 hour days nearly every Monday-Thursday (9ish hours on Fridays) and no real exercise, outside of walking on the weekends.

Update on the French Diet

It's interesting because the French diet throws everything you're taught in the US about "how to lose weight" out the window, yet I lose weight here without really trying and it was a constant struggle to avoid gaining weight during the three months that I was back in the US.

It really makes one question the wisdom of the US diet industry.  Whereas the current advice is to eat 5-6 small meals per day (for blood sugar, metabolism, etc), the French do not snack generally.  While this is not true of EVERYONE, the majority of the French that I know eat a small breakfast (piece of baguette with jam, croissant, pain au chocolat, etc) and/or fruit with coffee.  Lunch is a large meal with 2-3 courses, unless dinner is expected to be large, then the lunch and dinner meal will be switched.  If lunch is 3 courses, dinner will often be just soup or fruit or a similar small thing; however, I choose to do a 2 course lunch and have a 1 course "plat" (main dish) dinner at home.

The primary difference between how I was eating in the US and here ALSO goes against common diet advice in the US.  I consistently eat more carbs in France.  My breakfast is basically just carbs and fat, no protein (pain au chocolat or with raisins or a croissant with jam) and coffee, whereas I used to eat primarily protein (eggs).  My lunch is usually a slice or two of baguette with a starter that varies from veggie soup to quiche to a meat pâté or terrine - so, sometimes good protein and sometimes not.  The main dish is typically about half carbs (couscous, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc) with a small amount of salad (think 5 leaves of lettuce) in vinaigrette and the other half of the main dish is about half meat and half veggies, often with a sauce of some sort.  Again, less protein than my typical US lunch, although a lot more veggies (and carbs).  Along with less protein, the protein source is different because red meat is less common here and there are a lot more turkey, duck and rabbit dishes.  If you have dessert, it's also basically carbs and fat (usually with fruit), but lunch is always followed by hot coffee.  And most of my dinners have also evolved to about half carbs, half veggies & meat.  I still eat red meat at home with about the same frequency as in the US though.  In total, my lunches are bigger and my dinners smaller, but I was never super hungry between meals when I first moved here, so I've never had the feeling that I'm eating less.

The other change is one that I made in the US, then slacked off on, and have now re-established here.  I traded out artificial sweeteners for sugar in the US, yet I lost weight.  Again, contrary to the "more calories=more weight" mantra.  I continued to do so in France because artificial sweeteners are almost non-existent here, especially in restaurants.  More recently, I replaced all added sugar in my coffee and tea with honey at work and at home, so the only sugar cubes I'm using are 2-4 times per week when I have coffee at a restaurant.  The honey usage is a personal thing, not French, but again, they use sugar here, not artificial sweeteners.  

And while not all French people are thin, they have much lower rates of obesity than the US and the rest of the European Union.  It really makes you question the health advice in the US and what we've done to our food to make maintaining a healthy weight so challenging!  I just started an regular "30 minutes a day" exercise routine, so the contrast won't be as clear going forward.

A French Christmas Party

I'm sure it will come as a surprise to nobody that the French know how to throw a good party!  What may surprise some people is learning that I almost didn't go.  With L’américaine in the US and PB not expected to return from the US in time to attend, I was envisioning an entire night surrounded by people speaking exclusively in French.  It didn't sound fun. 😱

I decided to suck it up and go anyway and was pleasantly surprised when PB drove from Paris to attend the party after all (even though he had to turn right back around the next morning and go to Le Mans).  I was sure that at least PB would speak English with me; however, it turned out that I didn't need him for that after all!

I'd asked a little about what people wore and heard everything from jeans to "just wear what you normally do" to "a cocktail dress is good."  Since he generally doesn't lead me astray (and kept me from naming myself after a cow), I asked PB for the final word, "What do people normally wear to this dinner?"  PB looks at me frowning, like he isn't sure what I mean.  So, I clarify, "Should I wear something like I'd normally wear to work or a nice red Christmas dress I have from the US?"  There was a little back and forth, but the conclusion was that PB would be wearing a nice black suit and, if it wasn't too much trouble for me to find in my boxes, the red Christmas dress would be nice.

Yeah . . . about that.  My normal work attire is West Coast business casual, but most of my co-workers dress just casual because we're in the country.  Other than PB and GO, who were in suits, everyone else was basically in jeans with a nice shirt.  There were a couple of skirts with a blouse.  When I walked in and realized this, I debated just returning home to change, but people had already seen me and I decided I was just going to rock the Christmas dress!  Of course, when I told PB I wasn't happy with him, he just gave the typical Gallic shrug and said the dress was nice, so he didn't see the problem?  Really?!?

Things got much better from there though.  I ended up talking with one of my female co-workers, SB, and we had a very nice conversation.  She also realized that my emergency contact people consisted of two men (PB and Alexis) and gave me a look of wide-eyed horror at the thought that I could have a medical issue as a woman that I would NOT want translated by them.  She told me that she would be happy to help me with anything like that, so I didn't have to take a man.  I pointed out that this could include a 2 AM hospital visit one day and she assured me that she understood and it was no problem.  I'm not sure if this is an indication that my coworkers like me more than I realized or French people are just MUCH more generous with their time than Americans.

I'm really not used to my food still looking like a living animal, let alone looking like they're cuddling!  I still ate them though.😋

The party had started with gifts for the kids, then service awards.  This was followed by orange juice cocktails and champagne, plus various "finger foods" circulating on trays.  I had the opportunity to try my first escargot - it was blended up with spices and was really good!  Then, one of the chefs came out and was cooking up fresh seafood and turkey skewers.  It was around this time that I noticed that I always seemed to have an English-speaking coworker (or partner) standing with me, but it wasn't until we were getting ready to sit for dinner that I heard a few of them discussing the seating to be sure that people who spoke English well were sitting near me - it appears that it was intentional that I always had somebody nearby speaking English or helping translate!  I really do have great coworkers! 😃

Normally the dinner starts around 9 PM, but it was after 10 PM this year before we sat down and had the first course (shown above), which was a salad with foie gras (which I don't like and sat aside).  After the first course, the lights were suddenly turned off, music started and people got up and started dancing.  "Wait, that's it for dinner?"  Nope - they just dance or sing between each course!  Next up was the dish including shrimp, then karaoke, then a small sorbet with alcohol (to cleanse the palate) and then more karaoke.  Finally, the main dish came out.

We all thought it was beef, but I was suspicious after the first bite.  Sure enough, it turned out to be chevreuil, which is a type of small deer.  It was good, but definitely didn't taste like beef!  The little mold to the right was a mushroom dish and cheesy potatoes to the left.  Even though each course was on a small salad-sized plate, it was still a lot of food!  After dinner, it was back to dancing.  By now, people had a few more glasses of wine in them, so it was a larger crowd that hit the dance floor and I decided to join them.

The French do not dance like Americans, at least not at a Christmas party.  People moved to the music, but nobody looked like they were overtly trying to be "sexy" and when a French guy asked me to dance, we were just standing in front of each other dancing and talking - I didn't see anyone dancing super close, even couples!  It was definitely more comfortable for me than the parties you attend in the US where you're certain some people are going to regret their behavior the next morning (for the record, the US portion of my company has a Christmas lunch only, so this would not be in reference to my company).

The French man that I danced with also offered to help me with translation issues or shopping or whatever I might need help with, which was very nice!  So, I ended the night with two new people who have offered to help me in France.

In the end, I left just after 2 AM, but before dessert had been served.  My appliances were showing up the next morning and I needed to get some sleep!  I was told that it is common the party goes until around 3 AM - wow.

Hosting an Ex-Pat Meetup and Wine Tasting

France goes all out for Christmas, even my local grocery store has blue lights up to match the blue part of its logo!  Every little town seems to have lights and decorations as well!  Even though I never liked traveling at this time of year, I'm enjoying the experience of seeing how the holidays are done in a different part of the world.

Meeting Ex-Pats
Since it will take some time to be fluent in French, I've decided that having a good mix of French and ex-pat friends is ideal!  Plus, with Rita in La Rochelle most of the time, L’américaine moving back to the US next year and Alexis gone at least one week a month, it will be good to broaden my circle.  L’américaine was still in town last weekend (before leaving for the holidays), so we went to the Christmas market together to meet up with a British man, a Turkish woman and a Frenchman, who wanted to practice his English. 

The market that I'd found was back near Angoulême and, after being there twice, I can say with certainty that I would never live there.  Even if I get tired of small town life and find myself in a larger city someday, it is definitely off my list.  The design of the streets is chaos, there was an area with TWO roundabouts looped together and nobody seemed sure how to intersect the second roundabout and there was SO MUCH TRAFFIC.  I'm glad I'm taking the train to Paris this coming weekend - driving in big cities is just not for me!

One advantage of a larger city was the opportunity to eat some ethnic food.  We ended up at a highly-rated Indian food place, which was REALLY good.  It was a little funny though because the French guy who joined us was, of course, worried it would be too spicy.  "Spicy" is not something the French are accustomed to, so they don't care for it.  The food had a lot of flavor, but it wasn't spicy at all, so the restaurant may be catering to French preferences?

JL met up with us first.  He's the French guy who wanted to join us to keep up on his English, which he became very fluent in while working in England.  We were almost done with lunch when BB arrived.  She's originally from Turkey, but speaks English fluently also.  One thing that is a little culturally different here is that if you're married in the US, it doesn't seem that people often go out to meet new friends separately.  Here, it appears to be normal.  BB is married to a Frenchman and JL has a baby due soon with his girlfriend, but both of their partners are French and weren't really interested in a group outing for English-speakers, so they came alone.

They were also from the area and were surprised that I'd learned of this market because they'd never heard of it.  My trick is that I always review all of the events for ALL of the nearby regions in the English-language Living Magazine, which is free, and make note of ones that sound like they could be interesting.  I don't often post links, but I really believe this magazine is incredibly useful for people who live in the area.  I learned about the literary festival, Vendée Globe, Gastronomades and the Christmas market from the magazine - it's the answer to PB's question of "how do you find anything to do in the country on weekends?" (http://www.livingmagazine.fr/) 

My favorite thing about the market was that nearly everything was handmade.  I tried my first vin chaude, which is a spiced hot wine, basically mulled wine.  The ladies selling it were concerned that I might need sugar in my wine, but it was plenty sweet and had great flavor - the spices used were quite nice!  To the best of my knowledge, I've never tried mulled wine . . . or if I did, it was different and I didn't care for it.  This was really good and I'll certainly enjoy another glass or two for the season.  I also bought another winter hat - this one is a little more French!  It's hard to tell in the photo, but it puffs out in the back (see the second photo for the style).  I'm also wearing my new winter scarf-blanket.  In the winter, the French pull out these giant half-blanket sized scarfs, which you certainly need!  It was below freezing every night last week and barely into the teens (in Celsius) during the day.  Due to the cultural obsession with accessorizing, I own more accessories living in France than I've had in my life!

JL and BB were both really nice and I'm glad that we met them!  The British man never made it, but the four of us had fun looking through the market and choosing a few items.  L’américaine and I also convinced them that taking photos of everything is "American" and that a group selfie was necessary to commemorate the outing.

I think when it comes to making new friends in a foreign country, you have to just continue putting yourself out there - meet up with people, hang out and see what "sticks."  It's entirely possible that you'll meet people and never see them again or somebody will fail to show up (like the Brit); however, eventually you'll find your tribe!

Wine Open House
At the food festival, the winery that Alexis and I bought our pineau from had told us they were having an open house on December 3.  After we said our good-byes to BB and JL, L’américaine and I headed to the open house so we could sample some wine and stock up.

Since having friends over for a meal is a common occurrence in France, and alcohol is virtually always served, I decided to take advantage of the "buy 6, get 1 free" offer that they had going on.  I now have a good mix of a sweet white sparkling wine, a rosé sparkling wine and I picked up a bottle of the "very special" sparkling wine, which had fruit flavors that a normal person could taste!  The very special bottle is, of course, the lovely blue one below.  I'll be saving that one for a special occasion!

It was really interesting that most people were not spitting anything out or dumping their glasses (although I had to because I was the driver).  There were trays of cheese, bread and mini desserts that were well-eaten by the guests though!  The winery staff seemed perfectly willing to let each person try all 10 sparkling wines and the regular and the pineau . . . even when I asked for a small pour, it was ~1/3 full!

So, all-in-all, another enjoyable weekend in the French countryside.  Next weekend, I have decided to take a little break from country life, so I'm headed to Paris for the weekend!  I didn't spend any time in Paris earlier in the year nor since I've returned, so seeing the large Christmas market there felt like a perfect excuse to visit again.

Hosting My First French Dinner and Les Gastronomades (aka The Food Festival)

Hosting my First French Dinner
It's hard to believe that I've been in France for two months already!  It feels like the time has flown by, but in other ways, it feels like I've been gone a REALLY long time.  In part, that's because I've established more of a life here this time than I did before - last time, I lived like a long-term tourist!  Along those lines, last weekend I stayed in the local area again and had a lot of fun doing so!  The plans started with inviting L’Américaine to join me at a food festival in Angoulême on Saturday.  Of course, I also invited Alexis and he wanted to go as well.  For the Anglos out there, Alexis is not pronounced like in English (uh-lex-sus) but rather uh-lex-ee (hard e, "s" is silent).

Additionally, there was the issue of me reading my new French book, so Alexis suggested he would come over on Thursday to help.  I thought it was a good opportunity to return the favor and make him dinner, although I warned him that my work schedule was crazy enough that he might get an American classic - takeout pizza.  He actually said he thought pizza sounded good, so it became a hybrid meal of takeout pizza with a French appetizer and dessert!  Pizza here is not like at home though, as I've posted about in my early blogs.  More high-quality toppings and a LOT less cheese.

Not the same pizza that I ordered, but from the same place!  I was too busy trying to coordinate my first French-style dinner to take photos!

Alexis ended up needing to reschedule for Friday and a group of co-workers were going to the beer bar on Friday for an early birthday drink for L’Américaine, so I joined them and Alexis met up with us there.  It was fun to have a drink with everyone and see people outside of work a little.  A lot of the conversation was in French though, which is one of the things that makes it challenging for me to meet new friends here; however, it was still a fun way to spend an hour before Alexis and I headed out.

I've never been a super domestic person, so I was half convinced my appetizer would be a disaster, but Alexis thought it was good and I enjoyed it.  I'd stuck with simple tartines (baguette slices) with chèvre that I blended with fresh ground pepper and thyme.  Once they were toasted and the cheese melted a bit, I topped them with a mixed berry jam and a drizzle of honey.  The pineau that my French co-worker, CB (resident wine expert), suggested was a hit as well!  We'd tried to keep the pizza warm while we had the appetizer, but the temperature was a little too high, so it cooked the pizza a bit - not great, but we just laughed it off.  I had delicious little desserts from my favorite bakery to end the meal with.  It might not have been perfect, but overall, my first French dinner went pretty well.

Learning to Read in French
It was during my reading lesson that Alexis learned that I have a blog and that he's in it, which he found amusing, except he didn't like his fake name!  As it turns out, he's less concerned about his privacy than he is about being stuck with a name he doesn't like.  This is probably for the best because I found myself accidentally referring to him as Pierre in real life. 😂

My reading lesson was, well, less humiliating than it could have been.  I made it through a whole 14 pages before I couldn't take anymore.  It reminds me of being in first grade again, when you're still coming across a lot of new words to sound out or guess at.  To his credit, Alexis is a good teacher - he might have laughed a couple of times, but he's really patient and helpful with the pronunciation and ensuring that I understand what I've read.  The book is about a green 2CV, an old European car, and a father-son road trip . . . I'm not entirely sure if he picked this book because he thought I'd like it or because he thought HE would like it.😏  Here is a picture of a 2CV that I borrowed from the internet:

I have no idea how long it took me to read 14 pages, but it felt like two years!  Poor Alexis was yawning, even though he tried to tell me he wasn't tired - maybe just bored given I was reading at a pace of about one page per 10 minutes!  I'm not sure that he really understood what he was getting himself into when he volunteered to read the book with me - at this rate, he'll still be helping me read it when my residence card expires four years from now!

Les Gastronomades
The next day, one of our other French co-workers, YV, joined us on our trip to the food festival.  The festival was a lot bigger than I'd been expecting and had a really good attendance, meaning it was a bit crowded.  There was a good selection of foods and wines to sample though and I left with a really lovely pineau rosé, which I've never seen before - I'm all set for future French dinner parties now!  I'm not a fan of tomatoes, but I purchased a tomato tapenade that was delicious and perfect for using up my remaining chèvre and bread slices.  Everyone purchased a few food or drink items, but most of the day was spent wandering around sampling everything!  We did stop off for a small lunch in an area that smelled like barbecue.  It wasn't, of course, but it was still delicious and quite different from anything I've eaten so far in France.

One of the other highlights of the day was trying the "Beaujolais nouveau."  I had seen the signs for it, but had no idea what the big deal was.  L’Américaine said it's an acquired taste and she didn't like it, but I did.  I've since learned that it is a very young wine, bottled right after harvest.  This leads to more fruity flavor and less tannin, which could be why I like it since I've already noticed that red wines mentioning "tannin" as a dominate flavor are ones that I usually don't like.  The young man is laughing in the photo below because the crazy American ladies told him that we wanted to take his photo to document our first tasting of this wine and that I planned to include it in my blog.  I really do prefer candid photos of people over staged smiles!

Apparently, taking photos of random smiling strangers is not common here because Alexis was teasing me about having found myself a new boyfriend!  Of course, my new "boyfriend" also looks like he's in his early 20s, which is a little on the young side for me!  I am beginning to think that French men grow up a little more quickly than American men though because it's rare that Alexis does or says something that reminds me that he's in his early 20s.  In contrast, some of the American men I know in their late 20s still do and say many things that remind me that they are younger and not really my "peer" in terms of life experience.

Sadly, we did learn that Alexis is not willing to carry all of our purchases for us 😢, but he does still live up to the reputation of French men being thoughtful.  He pointed out that we should take a short walk around the market area so that we had a view of the city.  Since it was my first time in the city, I enjoyed getting to see it.  I was pretty tired by the end of the day, so he also offered to drive, but I'd quit sampling any wine or alcohol several hours before we were going to leave, so it was logical that I'd remain the driver (I thought so anyway).😊

Since it was L’Américaine's birthday this week, and Alexis and I spend the most time with her, we decided that we should have a dinner for her on her actual birthday.  Monday's blog will be all about co-hosting my first French birthday dinner!

A Night on the Town in Civray and A Visit to My French Friend in La Rochelle

A Night on the Town in Civray
My American co-worker and I decided to see if there was really a nightlife in Civray.  First, we were surprised to see a little brocante shop (that she's never seen open) was open on Friday evening, so we stopped in.  The proprietor was very nice and I plan to go back now that I will have a French home to decorate.

We then headed to the beer bar for a pre-dinner drink.  There were a few people in there, but when we returned after dinner, there were several groups both inside and out.  As the evening went on a number of people came and went, with many groups still lingering when we went home after 11:00 pm.  It seems that you can go out on a weekend night and have a decent chance of socializing, although it mostly appeared to be boys barely of drinking age (18) and both men and women around retirement age.  There seems to be a limited number of people in their 30's and 40's who were out, despite being able to bring children into the bar (at all hours, regardless of food service).

La Rochelle
The next day I was off to visit my first French friend, Rita, in La Rochelle.  We wandered around the area with shops, had lunch and chatted about what was going on in our lives.  We shared some comparisons of life in the US vs France and she told me funny stories about her classmates in her training program - she's becoming a customs enforcement manager!  Part of this involves learning how to use a gun, which is a very odd thing for French people since they only own hunting rifles (if they hunt), but no other guns.  While I would have enjoyed working with her, one of the advantages to her leaving the company is that I'm not her boss, so we can be friends instead!

I had such a good time with Rita that I forgot to take any photos!  So, I will instead share a picture of my Sunday drive to one of my favorite restaurants, L'Argentor (yes, I stopped fully to take them).  The roads here are crazy narrow considering they're for two-way traffic doing 90 km/hr; I have no idea what you do if you come across a giant tractor going the opposite direction!  As you can see, it would be a challenge to get around it!

Yes, this is a 90 km/hr road

L'Argentor is popular with both the English in the area and the French.  Due to this, it can be quite busy and you may have a bit of a wait; however, it's well worth it!  The food here is exceptional every time (ok, my toast was a little burnt this time) and they cook many of the meats on the open fire.  When they are very busy though, expect to take your time - I arrived at 1 pm and wasn't ready for my café until shortly before 2:30 pm.  This was not because I'm an American either, the French weren't leaving any faster than I was!

A delicious salad, but I liked their old vegetarian version with a grain patty better

The burger appears small because it is - I ordered the "petite"

I really believe there is a reason that many cultures in the world drink a hot beverage after a meal (mint tea, green tea, coffee, etc) because one of my favorite habits in France is an espresso after a meal (decaf after dinner).  Food just seems to settle better with a nice hot drink after!

Village Life in Genouillé, Shopping in Poitiers et J'adore Chèvre !

When I moved back to Civray, I mistakenly thought the ad for my house meant it was 5 minutes outside of Civray, not 5 minutes outside of a village that is a 10 minute drive from Civray.  While the commute to work is fantastic still, I really preferred living somewhere walking distance from all of the shops and restaurants of Civray.

To better acquaint myself with my new village, I took a walk in the opposite direction towards the town.  It is quite common to see people walking into town, so I wasn't out of place on the country roads.  It is incredible to see the old buildings that are here, like this old farming structure that appears to possibly be in use today?

As it turns out, my current village does not have trash pick up at your house, you have to take it to the communal drop off, which is here.  The yellow bins are for recycling . . . and by the end of the week, the black bins are QUITE full.  The whole trash thing was the moment when I determined that my permanent residence would be IN Civray and not a neighboring community!  Hauling my trash to a central repository is just a big NO for me.

I did manage to find the infamous "dépôt de pain," which serves as the local bakery since there isn't one.  I've read that the pastries are so good they sell out in the morning, but you can reserve one for pick-up on your way to work, which might be my plan for the next few months!  Fresh pastry always beats day-old pastry!  I also like the idea here that a standard store wasn't feasible, but adding a little building onto a large empty parking lot suited the size of the town and made for a convenient location.

During my walk into town, in search of the one restaurant that was listed (never found it and may not exist now), I saw that a "brocante" was in Civray on one of the signs and, let's face it, there's really NOTHING happening on Sundays in rural France normally.  I headed on down and my American co-worker joined me.  It was a fun few hours looking at antiques, decorative items and junk that people were trying to sell, plus some rather nice collections of antiques for viewing.

While enjoying a coffee after, the mayor of Civray dropped by our table since he's aware of the invading Americans working in his region.  We had a nice chat and, despite not normally giving the bisou (cheek kiss) to strangers, we kissed the mayor!  The older French ladies were quite shocked!  I'm not sure they were as shocked as us Americans were at this antique French lighter though - yes, the flame comes out exactly where it appears it does, along with little red blinking lights on the ta-tas.

If you were ever curious what happens on a Sunday in a sleepy French country town, here's a peak at the collections that were on display.  First, some older clothing with some truly impressive headgear!

 And a lovely display of antique hats!  There were many other collections, in addition to the brocante area where you could buy things.

My co-worker is also convinced that I'm going to have good luck in France because she's been looking for this antique cat box she saw in a perfume store (which she showed me the day before), then I found one at the brocante!  I told her I'm more convinced that perhaps I've brought HER good luck by coming to France. :-)

I believe the best part of these little village events is the chance to greet your neighbors and have a quick chat.  It seemed many people were socializing, not just shopping.  When we took a quick walk around the rest of Civray, I was very happy to find a kebab shop that is open Sundays for dinner (!) and to learn that the beer bar is not only open on Sunday evenings, but open until 2 du matin (!!!) (aka AM) on Friday and Saturday - could it be that Civray actually has a weekend nightlife?!?  We've decided that a mission to the beer bar is in order!

The day before all of these local adventures, I went up to Poitiers to do a little shopping because I was in serious need of a fall/spring coat.  I found one that I loved, but one thing that I had read online (and witnessed for myself) is that French women show much less cleavage, but a visible bra is not an issue - like "black bra under a white shirt" visible.  What I was NOT aware of was that "headlights" are potentially also a "thing."  It appears they may not only be acceptable, but desirable enough that you can purchase a bra that will provide them for you!  I'm really not quite sure what to think here!

Lastly, I return to my love of chèvre.  This is a cheese so versatile that it featured prominently in both my dinner AND my dessert.  First, a chèvre lasagna (with eggplant and pesto) that was quite good and then chèvre with fruit, nuts, salt, pepper and honey for dessert . . . I know, it sounds weird to an American palette, but it was DEVINE.  I really cannot get enough of French cuisine!  Even better, I can somehow eat like this over here and actually lose weight.

And while I really only went to buy a coat and new jeans, I ended up with a new skirt and sweater . . . and a matching scarf, of course!  It's almost impossible not to find gorgeous, well-cut clothing here.  If I can limit myself to one new outfit per month, I think I can avoid going broke!