A Food Montage

            As my parents never neglect to tell me that every time I talk about France I bring up the incredible foods I’ve had here, and that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I thought I would devote a post here to some cool food experiences I’ve had in Dijon, starting with this past weekend! Coincidentally, our resident director has a close American friend who lives in Dijon. He also happens to be a world-famous chef and has restaurants all over the US. So when this gentleman showed up to our Halloween gathering last month and offered us a private cooking class taught by him at half-price, I couldn’t resist signing myself up.

            Last weekend, five other girls and I met this man early Saturday morning. We had coffee at a café, discussed our cooking plans for the day, and then headed off to the local market. I had never been to the market before, despite it being right next to my house, and after seeing it for the first time, I regret not going sooner! The market is held in a big 19^th century building, built during the industrial revolution. Three days a week, local farmers, bakers, butchers, fishers, and cheese-makers fill up this enormous building with their fresh and delicious produce that they sell from their own pre-reserved booths. As we walked along the aisles and aisles of vegetables and fruits and meats and cheeses and breads and jams, we were able to sample many products of the chef’s friends who would delightedly give us something to eat as we passed by. I don’t ever remember tasting fresher foods before! Nearly everything being sold has been picked/prepared just the day before, which definitely pays off.

            After buying our ingredients, we took a short walk to a nearby home in downtown Dijon where we spent a very pleasant afternoon learning cooking techniques from our director’s friend, followed by a great meal. We had a puff pastry with sautéed vegetables to start, rabbit in a mustard cream sauce (this may come as a shock to those who have never traveled to France before, as it is not a common food to make in America. Rabbit, however, is very popular in France. The taste of it is good, but personally, I don’t love the idea of it. The recipe, however, works equally as well with chicken!), a cheese course of some of the fresh cheese and bread from the market, followed by an almond-pear tart. It was a great meal that wasn’t too difficult to make, so if any of you are interested in making some real French cuisine in the US, feel free to email me and I will send you the recipes! (Not sure about copyright issues, so I’d rather not post it here.)

            Other food-related notes I have taken throughout my stay here in France are as follows:

·      Crepes are even more delicious when vanilla extract is added to them

·      Lime yogurt is delicious! I have yogurt for dessert almost every night with my host mom, and she sometimes buys lime-flavored yogurt that is very very good. It tastes a lot like key-lime pie!

·      Ham and cheese crepes are a very simple and delicious lunch.

·      Quiche Lorraine is very good!

·      My host mom once cooked cut-up chicken breast in semi-spicy salsa for dinner and served it over white rice. It was great and very flavorful. Don’t hesitate to cook your meat in sauces! The food in Burgundy sets itself apart from all other foods because they always cook their meats in sauces rather than just by themselves and then adding the sauce later on.

·      One classic Burgundy meal that I have had with my host family consisted of pork served with boiled potatoes and boiled cabbage. It sounds a little different, but it’s very good all together!

·      One salad that I order for lunch a lot, called la salade Fermier, consists of lettuce, shredded carrots, shredded cheese, walnuts, slices of green apples, grilled chicken, and raisins.

·      It is entirely possible to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving (out of a whole pumpkin) to share amongst friends, even when you’re living on the opposite side of the ocean:

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Excursion to Lyon

            Last Friday, the group boarded an early-morning bus for Lyon, the “food capital of France”  (based on my experience, I find this to be a bit of an overstatement, but I will get to that later). Our resident director as well as our history professor accompanied us on the excursion.

            Our first stop was the most beautifully decorated and exquisite church I have ever seen in my life. This church, both inside and out, appeared to be decorated in such detail and color that it appeared as though every square inch of the old building yielded something extraordinary to look at. It was absolutely astonishing to think of the amount of time and attention to detail it must have taken to create!

            Additionally, from the back of the church (which rests up on a hill overlooking the city) there was a vast panoramic view of the entirety of Lyon.

We were able to stop at an ancient amphitheater, too!

            Now to address the food. Lyon, hundreds of years ago, was home to poor silk-weavers who didn’t make a lot of money and thus weren’t able to purchase luxurious foods. To supplement, they made the effort to use as much of the animal as possible when cooking, and with simple ingredients. For lunch, we went to a tiny restaurant to sample some of this “classic” cuisine. Some of the foods we saw (that only some were brave enough to try): blood sausage (the Lyonnais are big on sausages), veal feet, veal head, and brain, to name a few. Certainly not the best meal I’ve had in France, but a memorable one!

            After lunch, we walked around the city to explore the downtown area (visually very much like Paris, but calmer), and our history professor bought us two of the most enormous cotton candies I have ever seen in my life to split amongst the 21 of us.

            When we returned to Dijon that night, it was incredible for us to remark that this trip to Lyon was our last group excursion. I can hardly believe that I only have about 3 weeks left in this amazing city.

Trip to Rome!!!

            As I am living in France for four months, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit some of the other European countries during my stay here, so when a couple friends said they wanted to go to Rome for a weekend, I was all for it! We took a sleeper train Friday night and arrived in the old city Saturday morning. We ate lots of pasta for lunch and then spent the afternoon and evening touring the beautiful Vatican City!

            Sunday, we visited the Coliseum in the morning and after lunch toured the site of some ancient ruins, tossed coins into the Trevi Fountain, and did some shopping! I was pleased to find myself a nice pair of Italian boots!

            Later that night, we took another sleeper train back to Dijon. One hour late, we arrived here at 8:30 am with 9:00 classes at the University across town, and somehow managed to get there with about 30 seconds to spare!

Due for an Update

            I feel quite badly that I have neglected to update in the past several weeks, as there have been many stories I wish to share, but not a lot of time to sit down and write them down! School has been busy after taking a week off to see my parents. It was so, so wonderful to see them and I’m so happy I was able to!  We had a great, relaxing week (minus the stress of getting lost several times every time we set out on a road!). They arrived on a Saturday and I picked them up at the train station. After getting situated at the hotel, I took them to meet my host family at the house for dessert and coffee. I was so pleased by how well my parents and my host parents got along and how much they liked each other. I was slightly nervous about the language barrier at first, but the combined knowledge of French and English on both sides made it easier than I had originally thought. My host parents were able to speak to my real parents in French, my real parents to my host parents in English, and both sides understood pretty well. (I played translator when needed). That evening, we had cocktails at my professor’s house where my parents were able to meet many of my friends, my professor and his wife, and the parents of my friends. Later, we went out to dinner to a great little restaurant in the center of the city with a couple of my friends and their parents. It was a great night!

            On Sunday, despite nearly everything in the city being closed for the work-free day of the week, we had a nice time walking around the city and seeing some museums, churches, and other old buildings. I’m so happy my parents loved Dijon as much as they did!

            On our way to Normandy, we were able to visit the American memorial set up by the US on Omaha Beach to commemorate the many lives lost there on D-Day. It was beautifully built and very moving to visit.

            Our first stop outside of Dijon was Honfleur, a quaint little seaside village in Normandy with many old boats, lots of shopping, and endless cafes. It reminded me a little bit of both of the towns where my grandparents live.

            On our way out of Honfleur, we were able to stop at Mont Saint Michel, a beautiful old monastary mounted on a large rock in the middle of the ocean! When the tide is out, visitors are able to come and tour the monastery, once home to monks hundreds of years ago, and its narrow streets with shops that wrap around the massive building. (For the many reasons I kept restating as to why I believe Mont Saint Michel mirrors Hogwarts, bring this up with me when I get back). However, when the tide comes in, make sure you have removed your car, for if you haven’t, it will likely be swept out to sea.

            After Normandy, it was off to Paris for the remaining few days we had together. We had a great time seeing places like the Eiffel Tower, L’Arc de Triomphe, and the Champs Elysees. We also ate very well! At the end of the week, we were able to meet up with some friends for dinner, too. It was sad to say goodbye to my parents at the end, but we had a wonderful time together!

            Since getting back, we have gone on another excursion to Beaune! Beaune is a beautiful old village in Burgundy just a short train ride from Dijon. We went to visit an old hospital from the Middle Ages. It was very interesting to see. I won’t explain everything here, but the pictures are interesting themselves!