Adventure 3: Going Out of Order and Oeuf à la Coque

My dear readers,

I know I haven't updated the blog with new information beyond my first weekend here. Is it because I have been living in a private underground bunker doing illegal science experiments on animals?

Maybe...not. The explanation is that I hate documenting things out of order. So while I have, in fact, done a lot of fun stuff since the end of January, I haven't been motivated to write about it because I hadn't finished writing about the last fun things. And if I would have just jumped in whenever, this blog would not be in chronological order. Which I kind of hate.

Due my being brought up in the straight lines of the U.S. suburban culture and my accountant of a father, I kind of hate it when things go out of order, maybe more than the average gal. It stresses me out and leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. So that is why I haven't kept this thing up to date. This is something I knew about myself before coming to France, but the feeling has been multiplied by 20 since coming here. This is because in France, pretty much everything feels a little "out-of-order" for someone who hasn't lived in Europe.

Alas, I have been give some not-so-subtle instructions to "just write" from family members, friends, and family members of friends, so I am attempting to give it the 'ol college try, i.e. "when in Rome" or just insert your cliché of choice.

You will find below what I ate for breakfast today. It is called an "œuf à la coque" and it is basically a soft-boiled egg. This means the white part of the egg is cooked, but the yellow is still soupy. This was my first "œuf à la coque" but not my first undercooked French food item. It is funny, because Marie, who made me the oeuf, referred to U.S. food as "overcooked" when describing that it was cooked all the way through. And I just turned around and called French food "undercooked" for not being cooked all the way through. Really the over and under stuff has to stop. These words have negative connotations. Less negativity, more celebrating differences. Go!

So cheers to you all, enjoy your Sunday, enjoy your eggs.

Lovely thoughts,

Monica

Visiting Old Things, Part Deux

Bonjour!

So, I know the blog is a little backlogged, and for that, I apologize. It's just that I've been doing so many new and interesting things, I haven't had time to write about them all. So let's play some catch up...

The first weekend I was here started with visiting some sites nearby. I left off describing my time in  Monfort l'Amaury and I forgot to post a few cool pics. Below is the ruins of a castle built in the 11th century. Marie took this picture, but what you can't see is that Nico and I were discussing which way direction Paris was, which is why I am pointing. I ended up being almost right, which I was pretty proud of.

After taking the pics, Marie took a rest on the castle.

The church below is Eglise Saint-Pierre, dedicated to Saint-Pierre and Saint-Paul.

 It was originally built in 1050, but has had different additions and reconstructions done since. The full history can be found on their website.

The picture above doesn't look like much, but I had to take it, because the view reminded me of the little town square that Belle lived in, in Beauty and The Beast. I found the animated picture on an interesting blog, and apparently when this girl was visiting France, she thought of Beauty and the Beast too! What's more, she did a nice job of literally putting herself in the scenes.  

The next image was taken on the grounds of the abbey/museum of Port-Royal des Champs. The structure is actually a pigeon house.

Those are the little holes the pigeon would come in and out of. They remind me of cute little pigeon bunks. Like a pigeon-motel or something.

 I liked the ceiling in it too, can you tell?

The abbey at Port-Royal des Champs is another ruins since the abbey itself was burned to the ground in the early 1700's due to it's association with Jansenism, a Christian theological movement in the Roman Catholic Church, which ended up being regarded as heresy at the time. Something is always considered heresy somewhere, no?

More beyond the first weekend to follow...seriously! =)

Adventure 2: Visiting Old Things

Greetings all,

I don't know about you, but when I think of France, I think of old things. Old wines. Aged cheese. Ruins of castles. Compared to the United States, this country is a wise, old sage. During my tenure here, I hope to soak up some of its wisdom.

The first weekend I was here in January, I went to visit some of those old places with Marie and Nico, as a sort of initiation into France. It was almost like they were subconsciously saying, "Ok, so, we as a people have been here for awhile. There is a lot to learn. You can't just eat a few crepes and say you've had the 'French experience'. You are not the first to visit, and you won't be the last. So don't get too cocky about your 'awesome France adventure' until you soak up some history." Or maybe, it was just something to see on a cold Sunday. =) But either way, see it, we did.

The first place we went was Montfort l'Amaury, which is a super old town, with the first settlers sometime between the 9th and 10th century (according to wikipedia.org). Below is a picture of the graveyard there, which we visited. Is was surrounded by these huge, stone archways.

The graves in France are a bit different than in the US. Oftentimes, on top of the grave are stone plaques with sayings and prayers from family members. I saw one stone with approximately 9 different plaques on it. Most only have a few, or none.

The most uniquely decorated grave we found, is below. It is a tribute to a solider who died in World War II. The inscription reads "Remember that he died on June 9, 1940 in order for you to remain French." Marie told me this is very odd for a French grave, as there are not often memorials with this strong of a message on them. I thought the mini-tank was extremely interesting.

This is the roof of the walkway that we were in. I just thought it was very cool-looking. The wood is so intricately constructed.  Just think about how long that must have taken people to make!

This is my favorite picture from the graveyard, as I really like the perspective. I am sure there is some clever  metaphor I could think up, about and how life is a path and how the sand muffling the sound of my footsteps meant something profound. But I don't know what. It just looked neat.

Next installment: Port-Royal des Champs.

-MMP

Adventure 1: Cooking like the French

So, in my short time in France (just 2.43 weeks) I have made an effort to do as the French do, and actually cook myself some meals, instead of eating Ramen or swinging by the closest Mighty Taco. I've taken notes from my French friends and tried to make meal time an event -a special time for me to reflect on my day and enjoy the bountiful feast in front of me. If I were actually French, or maybe just more acclimated, I would have been able to create a sense of ceremony around my meals. However, whilst I am American, I ate while reading advertisements for PizzaTime and ChornoPizza, my local pizzerias. More on those later...

Just above is the first meal I cooked for myself, on Sunday, the 29th of January. Please note the popular French wine, a 2009 Médoc in a tiny, "try it on for size" bottle. They don't actually call the bottles by that name here, I just made that up. Médoc hails from the Bordeaux region, and to translate the label literally it, "...presents a beautiful garnet dress with a nose of aromas of red fruit. In mouth, it is a round wine of fine tannins and supple". To a lesser aficionado, it tasted like a nice, dry, red wine. Above, as you can see, I had a simple meal of chicken and zucciini, which isn't very French and was also technically Halal chicken, because that's what Marie and I saw first at Carrefour. I also had an apple for dessert (no seriously, like, raw fruits are dessert here, not snacks) and the obligatory bread and cheese. I also had some nice salted butter, but after showing off my meal to a savvy French cook, she politely pointed out that only the Brits eat butter with their bread and cheese. So there.

My next attempt was at atmosphere. See above the candle and delightful purple flowers. I am not sure what kind of flowers they are, but they were pretty, until I forgot to water them. Tonight, I am attempting to nurse them back to health. I'll let you know how that goes...but I digress, or, rather I don't. Because part of a the great atmosphere of a French meal is letting the conversation travel down little winding paths, dart around corners of ideas and finally settle softly on a bed of contemplation, while sipping an after-dinner tea. Oh, and please note the carefully placed mail on the table. Thank you.

Also please note, the salad of JUST lettuce and a little oil and balsamic (no giant Cobb's or crazy carrot shavings out here, although I did sneak in, like, 3 olives) and another very nice wine, a 2010 Roches-Linières Muscadet, a tradition of the Val de Loire and also an apparent favorite of my friend Marie's husband, Nicolas' Dad, which is why Marie recommended it to me. I know the grammar/punctuation is off in that sentence and I consider Nicolas to be my friend too, but if I introduced him before Marie I fear she would be a bit put-off, since she is the one that coerced me to write this blog in the first place. So yes, noodles and a bit of cheery, cherry tomatoes and some Moroccan sausage which I over-cooked, but so what -that's what we Americans do, no?

The last picture is a bit of a meager attempt, but it was tonight's fare. I had a salad, this time with tomatoes in it and a rice, cheese, egg dish with some basil for good measure. I also added just a touch of light cream, to Frenchify it. The glass holds Perrier and so was very refreshing, just like their commercials are.

And that concludes my first foray into French cooking. It doesn't look like much, but considering I came from eating microwaved bean burgers smushed on top of lettuce, with obligatory cheese and salsa at least 3 nights a week, I'd say it's quite the step in a new direction.

A bientot,

MMP



I'm in France for Six Months!

I'm in France for six months and I'm starting a blog to chronologize all my adventures, pictures and notes. Hope you enjoy it!

This is a picture of me on Saturday, January 28th during my first French grocery shopping experience. It was at a store called Carrefour, in Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines, which is kind of like a SuperWalmart. All the grocery stores I've seen have been in malls, instead of stand-alone buildings.