France-tastic

Pasty winter skin. Even though we are in the middle of one of the mildest winters ever recorded in France, I can finally appreciate the idea of solariums (the idea mind you, not the action itself). Even though the 13 degree weather we've been having are making me cockily forget the minus 2 degree days of just a few weeks ago, any item of clothing even resembling short sleeved was relegated to the really hard-to-reach top shelf back in September. Result: Pasty pasty winter skin. That will probably be seeing sun again, hastily preceeded by some fake tan action, around mid-May. I hope.

A less-celebrated side of Paris:


Homelessness is an aspect of Paris that doesn't make it onto any postcards, but it is a very real problem especially in winter. It is not unusual to see people sleeping in the metro or on street corners, or interstingly, in tents scattered around the city, given out to the homeless by various organisations. At the moment, in a protest/raising awareness thing, the SDF's (sans domicile fixe = without permanent address) as well as other people who want to get involved, have created a bit of a tent embassy to try to raise the profile of the problem and to get the government to do something about it. The tents went up before Christmas, and they have said that they're not budging until the government finds them a more permanent solution. They are arguing that housing is as fundamental a human right as education or medical care, and that it should therefore be the duty of the government to provide.

As an aside, the canal that these tents are alongside is the canal where Amelie went to skim stones in the movie!

There have absolutely not been enough posts about all the fabulous food we've been gorging enjoying here. As first post of the new year, I think it is high time to change that!

But before you can gorge feast, you have to shop! Though we have a great and massive supermarket just across the road from us, the best thing to do is to avoid it, in favour of all the little specialty stores! Exactly what France is so great at. You can, quite literally, smell the fromagerie before you can see it or its hundreds and hundreds of varieties of cheese. Then there are the patisseries, with concoctions that are absolute works of art. If they weren't so damn delicious, you would want to frame them! And the obliging (sometimes) aproned sales girl won't ask you which size cake you want out of the array, but for how many people it is, before she wraps it into an origami masterpiece, ensuring it will get home exactly as it left the display window. At the fruitiers, you have to try to remember the names of everything you want, since you don't help yourself here, and you even have to attempt, time and time again, the impossible ail (= garlic). Hundreds of hams and saucissons secs hang from the roofs over the burly red-cheeked charcuteurs at the charcuterie, while the similar-looking bloke behind the counter at the boucherie can mince just about anything! At the volaillerie, the chickens all have their heads and feet on (and aren't even gutted untill you select one!), and share the counter with rows of quails, guinea fowl, cocks, pheasants and pigeons! I try to avoid the chevalerie, who deals in horses- no saddles necessary.

As for what we'll do with all this stuff in the kitchen (or what the nice man in the kitchen of a nearby brasserie)- that will have to wait until next time! I'm off to open up some chocolates left over from Christmas. For some reason, I got hungry...