Anthony shows up from Paris this evening, and he comes in to a dinner of an enormous seafood platter in the shape of a boat with crab, shrimp, and, of course, bulot, the whelk that tastes "ulot like snal" according to Pippa. Gigi voluntarily eats another bulot tonight, not because she likes it but because she's up for the adventure and wants to see if it's better the second time. It isn't.
When Anthony sees the enormous boat, he exclaims "Oh my God!" and it is then we learn the phrase "Oh la vache!" This literally means, "Oh the cow!" but is used just as "OMG!" or "Holy Cow!" would be used. Why they exclaim over a cow is just as much a mystery as why we do (or did...does anybody say "Holy Cow" anymore?).
But it's appropriate here, in Normandy, which is cow country. This is the home of camembert, so of course when we enjoy some of the yummy, gooey cheese we like to think of it as educational rather than gluttonous. Normandy is famous for butter; we like the demi-sel (semi-salted) with crystals of big sea salt in it, spread over some good bread. Salted butter caramel is therefore also a local specialty. And they're famous for apples, too, hence the hard cider everywhere. And various apple tartes, which go of course, very well with salted butter caramel sauce. And a glass of milk. Even our hosts' puppy, who has been humping my leg all week, is named Caramel. You can see how this all ties in.
In French, one way to emphasize something is with the adverb "vachement" as in, "le film était vachement bien!" This means "the film was really good!" but literally translates as "the film was cow-ly good!"
You may have heard of La Vache Qui Rit, Laughing Cow cheese that is. Our hosts serve little cheese cubes apperitifs before dinner. I take to calling it La Vache Qui Enseigne, the Teaching Cow, because inside each wrapper, instead of a joke, there is a factoid. It is through the cheese that I learn that it was King Francois le 1er who brought Leonardo da Vinci into France and helped usher in the enlightenment in France.
The cow may not be not laughing, and we are not laughing at the cow, but Gigi does have a cow joke. Does that count? It requires some French to make sense, but let's try anyway:
A little boy names Pierre is in class. His teacher asks him, "What is the female of the bull?"
While he is thinking, the little girl behind him leans forward and whispers, "Pierre! I'm looking out the window and somebody is stealing your bike!"
He cries out, "Oh la vache!" and the teacher says, "Very good!"
Then the teacher asks, "What is the female of the owl (hibou)?"
While he is thinking, the little girl leans forward and whispers, "Pierre! He's returning your bike!"
Pierre cries out, "Chouette!" (Chouette means both "female owl" and is slang for "Great!")
When Anthony sees the enormous boat, he exclaims "Oh my God!" and it is then we learn the phrase "Oh la vache!" This literally means, "Oh the cow!" but is used just as "OMG!" or "Holy Cow!" would be used. Why they exclaim over a cow is just as much a mystery as why we do (or did...does anybody say "Holy Cow" anymore?).
But it's appropriate here, in Normandy, which is cow country. This is the home of camembert, so of course when we enjoy some of the yummy, gooey cheese we like to think of it as educational rather than gluttonous. Normandy is famous for butter; we like the demi-sel (semi-salted) with crystals of big sea salt in it, spread over some good bread. Salted butter caramel is therefore also a local specialty. And they're famous for apples, too, hence the hard cider everywhere. And various apple tartes, which go of course, very well with salted butter caramel sauce. And a glass of milk. Even our hosts' puppy, who has been humping my leg all week, is named Caramel. You can see how this all ties in.
In French, one way to emphasize something is with the adverb "vachement" as in, "le film était vachement bien!" This means "the film was really good!" but literally translates as "the film was cow-ly good!"
You may have heard of La Vache Qui Rit, Laughing Cow cheese that is. Our hosts serve little cheese cubes apperitifs before dinner. I take to calling it La Vache Qui Enseigne, the Teaching Cow, because inside each wrapper, instead of a joke, there is a factoid. It is through the cheese that I learn that it was King Francois le 1er who brought Leonardo da Vinci into France and helped usher in the enlightenment in France.
The cow may not be not laughing, and we are not laughing at the cow, but Gigi does have a cow joke. Does that count? It requires some French to make sense, but let's try anyway:
A little boy names Pierre is in class. His teacher asks him, "What is the female of the bull?"
While he is thinking, the little girl behind him leans forward and whispers, "Pierre! I'm looking out the window and somebody is stealing your bike!"
He cries out, "Oh la vache!" and the teacher says, "Very good!"
Then the teacher asks, "What is the female of the owl (hibou)?"
While he is thinking, the little girl leans forward and whispers, "Pierre! He's returning your bike!"
Pierre cries out, "Chouette!" (Chouette means both "female owl" and is slang for "Great!")
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