France cont'd - Culture and Food

Previously I talked about my trip to France, traveling to both Paris and Provence (Montpellier). As I think I have mentioned before, one of my favorite parts about traveling, other than learning the history of said countries/cities/towns, is finding out more about its culture and trying new, local food.

So first, here are some things I learned whilst in France. Similar to Germany, Austria and Switzerland, when you are eating at a restaurant, you will NOT be given then check unless you ask for it. It is definitely something to get used to and I really appreciated it; it was a reminder that things don't need to move so fast. I enjoy having the reminder to take time to stop and smell the roses, or to stop and have some tea and bread! At Musee Rodin, we stopped in the garden café, and I ordered some Jasmine Tea and banana bread. Finding herbal tea was a little difficult in France, but most cafes generally offered regular, decaffeinated, jasmine and even Darjeeling tea!

Jasmine Tea with banana bread at Musee Rodin

Another popular French food is bread, especially croissants! My favorite was pain du chocolate -- yes, that is a croissant (pain = bread) with chocolate pieces -- YUM!!! Crepes are also very popular; you can often order either sweet or savory crepes. Below is an example of a savory crepe: with ham, egg and cheese (jambon, oueff, and fromaggio).

Whole wheat crepe with ham, egg and cheese

 In Paris, we actually went to an Italian themed restaurant, of which there are more than I would have expected. I got a French beer, called Meteor - it was a light beer and was just okay. I also had Salmone Pizza: what do you think was on the pizza? Salmon, you say? So smart! It was delicious!!! Thin slices of salmon with cheese on a thin crust - amazing!

Meteor Biere

Salmone Pizza

 Another French staple is Croque Monsieur - which is two pieces of toast with ham in between the pieces, and the top piece is covered with cheese. There is another version called Croque Madam, which includes an egg on top, as seen below.

Croque Madam

 While in Paris, I also tried Confit du Canard (Duck Confit) -- if you have not eaten duck often, as was the case with me, it is very fatty. The leg of duck I had was delicious, but I had to take off the quarter of an inch layer of fat - I never knew they had such fatty meat! I swear I had a picture of this, but I cannot find it.

When we went to the Provence area of France, I tried an entrée of Aubergines, as shown below. I am guessing that these thin slices of eggplant (aka aubergines) were sautéed in olive oil with marinara sauce on top - absolutely delicious. Something I learned from this restaurant (Les Templieres in Aigues-Morte) is that entrée means appetizer and plats are the main meal. Therefore, entrees in France are not main meals.

As you can imagine, the food in Southern France has an Italian influence. My absolute favorite meal was a lunch in Montpellier; the meal was called Salmonaccio. Basically, thinly sliced salmon (do you see a theme?) in olive oil with parsley and served with lemon and toast. I love the simplicity of this meal; it was fresh, light and delicious. Absolutely my favorite meal in France!

Salmonaccio!

 Another French staple that I tried was Quiche Lorraine (pronounced Loren), which also had ham, egg and cheese. It was also delicious! I am not sure if this quiche was supposed to be served cold or warm; I got it in the train station and ate it on the train. I have a feeling that it was supposed to be served cold. Either way it was tasty!

Quiche Lorraine

I had so many more delicious meals, but these are the one that have pictures to go along with it - when I find that picture of the Duck Confit I will share it as well, but until then, I hope you enjoyed my cuisine journey from France!