Cuisine

People keep asking me about the food in France, and I suppose I have been remiss in writing about it!

So far, I've only been eating at cafes and the food places at the tourist venues.  So no fancy restaurants, and alas, no frogs legs yet!  I really had wanted to try them, but they aren't served in cafes.   Escargot are.  But I'm not quite that game.  The duck gizzards I had in Paris tested me enough!

The food is just amazing.  Cheese abounds, as do pastries and breads.  Starting at breakfast - I've been having this in the hotel, and they don't to the heavy cooked, american style breakfast.  It's all delicious pastries, breads, cheeses, cold meats, fruits, yoghurts...

The pastries!!!  I think when I come home, I'm either going to have to learn to make them myself, or never have a bought pastry again.  They are delicously flaky and light - not at all greasy and doughy, or heavy, like pastries we are used to.  There are myriad of choices and fillings too - everthing from chocolate to fruits and jams, to escargot. 

The crepes are also light and soft - and as I mentioned before, Nutella is a very popular filling for them!  I had a Nutella crepe in Paris - OMG.  Sickly because they don't go light on the Nutella, but a perfect dessert!!

The cheeses are to die for  - camenbert of course is everywhere, and so light, without the bitey aftertaste it often has.  I've had so many different cheeses and I have no idea on all of the varieties, but they have all been amazing. 

Sandwiches have tended to be my staple for lunch - sandwiches aren't made with sliced bread, they are always baguettes or paninis.  They tend to have few fillings - eg camenbert with lettuce - the bread in itself is tasty, so you don't seem to need many fillings.  Which brings me to the bread - nice and crusty on the outside, and light and soft on the inside. 

The tap water is actually drinkable - I don't even have to order bottled water!Such a novelty.

The wines you get in a cafe aren't anything special - nice, but no better than our own wines.  Whites that is, French reds are much more to my taste, because they don't tend to be so tanniny.  The ones I've had a nice and light.  If I have the time, I'm hoping to visit a winery not far from here - although the south isn't the best of France's wine regions, this one comes highly recommended, although the name escapes me right now. 

Luckily, I've been walking all of the pastries, crepes, breads and cheeses off...