Running Part 1

Picky Eating

French culture prides itself with culinary skill.  The deliciousness found within the country warrants the pride taken.  If you like food you should come here.

Unless you are picky.

French cuisine is particular.  Ingredients common to the land of the Gauls are used often.  These would include famous items like ducks and snails.  Also included, are the more rare pates and livers and kidneys.  Parts not so common over the Atlantic.  Not to say you cannot find food common to you.  It will be more difficult, probabilistically touristic, and very often mediocre.

Sorry for the blurry photo.

There are also preparation differences.  Meat is served red and many times to the point where a good veterinarian can revive it.  Better restaurants will use many different garnishes.  Birds are served whole.

Fish are served whole.










You may not even have choice.  More pricey, fancy, and tastier restaurants tend to have limited menus or one fixed menu.  That is it.  You don’t like it, you can go hungry.

And worse, you do not like it, you are missing out.

Food allergies or dietary restrictions pose other problems.  Cannot eat shellfish for fear of asphyxiation:  Good luck.  Won’t eat pork: you are missing out.

But if you are able to eat anything, and will eat anything, you will be rewarded with something creative and delectible.

Walking Tour

This post is part of a 3 part series.  The first part is a walking tour of my neighborhood.  Following will be two parts of a running path I take often.  The complete tour will be posted after part 3.

Hope you enjoy.

Epernay

There is a town east of Paris where an ambitious monk invented an important creation - a new alcoholic beverage.

Not originally intended for each New Year, millions of people now enjoy the beverage at least annually.  Epernay is at the heart of this region.

The train from Paris takes a bit over an hour to roll through the countryside.  Once in the town, you can start to wander and enjoy a small French city.

Oh, and they have Champagne, too.










“Thirsty?”

“Why, I haven’t drunk anything in… minutes.”

Wandering from the train station it is difficult not to happen upon the tourism bureau.  With a free tasting, the stumble around town began.

Moet* and Chandon, famous for Dom Perignon, conveniently resides outside the tourism bureau.  Not satisfied with mere tasting, education can be received on the tour.  Team Moet focuses on older methods of champagne creation.  You walk through vast caves and puzzle at what this bottle did to deserve its position behind bars.  The marketing is a tad thick, but the education is solid.  A good base for a day of drinking and learning.

Tour Grade: B



De Castallane, on the other hand, felt more natural.  The champagne house’s tour focuses on modern methods and any marketing is subtle.  You pay the fee, learn a lot about how champagne is made, and enjoy a tasting.  Afterwards, like the other houses, you can pay for more tastings.  There is also a tower to climb that gives you a complete view of the city.

Tour Grade: A

Final stop was Mercier.  One could tell you about the tour if one would have taken it.  However, lessons were learned here.  Apparently, there are laws against having a tasting without a tour.  So, if you are toured out, you may only have a tasting if you say you are interested in buying.  And instead of paying for the touring and tasting, this is apparently free.  Somehow, somewhere, this makes sense to someone. Regardless, the "short tour" was much appreciated.

Tour Grade: A+



Another surprise is that the vineyards are public property.  If you have the time, you may traverse through them at your leisure and try some grapes.  At least, this is what one guy in town said.

Hope he was right…

The rest of the village is mostly what you would expect from small-town France.  There are restaurants, shops, and churches.  Beautiful gardens adorn the houses.  Cats sleep peacefully perched upon pylons.

Overall a great day trip whether you know everything or nothing about Champagne.








*The French pronounce the “t”.

30

Today marks 30 days to the extinction of this adventure and the birth of a new one.  The time, as it so often does, flashed.

A backlog of tales and observations waits for time and attention.  And of course, new one's waiting in the future. Stay tuned.

Snowstorm

Snow is not in the nature of Paris.  Rarely are Haussmann’s covered white.  The average snowfall is about eleven inches.

Therefore, the idea of having a lot of snow equipment does not make sense.  One day of inconvenience is on average cheaper than the one time use of the machines and supplies to avoid it.

Enter the worst winter in 30 years.

Airports close, busses stop service, and traffic crawls.  Walkways become bastions of danger.  The subway is your only refuge for mobility.

On a lighter note, creativity increases.  Rakes, hoes, and brooms become impromptu snow shovels.  However, like a wrench pounding nails, the substitution leaves much to be desired.

During this year, CDG closed for a full day.  Many travelers get stranded to the point of missing Christmas at their intended destinations.

So the lack of snow was a blessing when arriving to CDG this year.

However, there was one snag, just to remind you of your geographic location:  Baggage.  Handler.  Strike.

This was a short-lived strike with longer consequences.  During the interim of the strike, it started snowing.  So even though the tossers went back to work, delays began compounding.  In line with the above statements on equipment, CDG has two de-icing machines.

Thus the perfect window of clear skies was wasted.

Murphy certainly wrote his law after visiting France.

Happy New Year!

A much needed break was taken from all semblances of responsibility over the holiday season.  Selfishly, this has slid close to the ides of January.

An apology of sorts, then, as well as some news about new posts coming soon.

Until next time, a wish that 2011 so far a stellar year for you all.