Yesterday was a bad day for life in Paris. There are just too many people living in this city, and they get in each other's way. The roads are too narrow. The streets are congested. The stores are crowded.
Yesterday as I was walking past a parking a garage from work, a car exiting sped up just to cut me off. He couldn't wait five seconds for me to pass. Instead he pretended not to see me (acknowledgement is practically an authorization to pass), sped up and came within kicking distance. I cursed at him in English and squatted down low enough to ensure that he saw me flip him off in the rear view mirror (I had to squat since he was driving Mercedes' version of a smart car). At the grocery store later that evening, where everyone and their mother was shopping, I witnessed how their bad driving gets translated into bad maneuvering with the shopping cart. One woman left her cart in the middle of the aisle while she was off picking up something on the shelves. This created chaos as other shoppers with their carts and baskets maneuvered around it. She return as I reached her cart, and without even looking to see if anyone was passing she cut me off (an another example of "if you look, you have to relent." With so many people around, if you give one person an inch, ten people will take a mile. So no one gives anything, and it's every shopper/pedestrian/ driver for herself. It is a bit stressful). After the incident with the car earlier, I audibly grumbled in English and proceeded to walk just enough ahead of her to cut her off. It felt good. And at that same moment, I came to the conclusion that things are the way they are here, and it will not change. Unless I wanted to go crazy, I need to focus on the good stuff.
There are lots of good stuff. We have met some engaging people with different reasons for being in Paris. We've had positive interactions with French, Germans, business people, retirees. Everyone has a story, and it's always interesting. We've been to unique events and lively dinners.
Most of the things we do are centered around food. Not surprising since it's so central to the culture- and not just the meals but also the production as well. The small producers are valued and sought out here in France. There is a great deal of respect for those that create their own products from start to finish - harvest to bottling to sales. These producers know their product wells. It is this expertise, knowledge and care at ever step of the process that makes the small producer preferable over large factories.
Salon de saveurs or food expos are found throughout Paris and throughout the year. These expos bring small producers from the region to a central location and ordinary gourmands like us can taste, buy, and salivate. This afternoon, Thomas and I, ventured to the
Salon Mer & Vigne. Here we sampled cheeses, cured meats, wine, spices, and olive oils. I tasted Calvados for the first time (an apple brandy from Normandy). We spoke (or tried to with our limited French) to produces from Madagascar, Italy, and the various regions of France. It was a delicious afternoon. My only two regrets: 1) my French was not good enough to really benefit from the interactions and 2) we should have instituted a spending cap because it was way too easy to shop.
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| Serrano ham |
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| Lavender and lavender based products |
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| Spices |
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| Tandoori |
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| To the shopper goes the spoils. |
After just one hour and a half, we walked away with two bottles of wine, two bottles of champagne, vanilla pods from Madagascar, wild pepper corn, cured ham, Beaufort cheese, olive oil and white balsamic vinegar from Italy, a Calvados cocktail from Normandy, two types of salts, and honey from a producer who had seven types from which to choose. While we will not do this every week, it was an interesting way to shop. You got to taste and ask questions before buying.