Four follow ups...
1) Several of my friends have received e-mails from Bonpoint with the 2013 spring/summer collection for their children and been surprised to know one of the models. So here it is: Pippa's turn on the catwalk. Is it just me, or does she look more American than most of those kids? There's a certain lithe, Vogue cover model look about many of the other children, whereas she just looks more like a ruddy, outdoor, climb-a-tree kind of kid. Is that just because I know her? Am I imagining things? I think they're all adorable, but whereas I see the others as European chic, I genuinely think Pippa looks distinctly like a daughter of the US of A.
2) Gay marriage is soon to be a reality in France. Most likely. A couple weeks ago, we missed joining in on the Sunday Jan 27 rally around the Bastille with roughly 125,000 marchers supporting gay marriage. I did hear one woman later that night in the area with a bull horn haranguing a disapproving old couple ("We are all here to love one another!").
While the number of marchers was only about 1/3 of the anti-gay marraige marchers, that's certainly in large part because President Hollande and his administration have already said they would be pushing through the marriage equality law. And, sure enough, just a few days ago, the first congressional vote was 249-97 in favor or defining marriage as between two people, rather than a man and woman. There is even a controversy about the controversy, in that during the days-long ensuing debate to push the bill into law, some of the legislators have been caught on film playing Scrabble.
Some of the funniest coverage of this comes from Stephen Colbert who, as you can imagine, has a lot of fun mocking the French, regardless of the politics. Let's face it: Who doesn't?
3) We received our first thank-you note, for a birthday present given. It was from my friend Beatrice's daughter, so I just hope she didn't read the blog and then feel obligated. No guilt intended! The French system is fine, just different. But it is a very cute note written as poem, with approximately 25 exclamation points in a row, from one of Pippa's favorite friends in the world.
4) Fur-rance is fur-reezing once again. One of the girls' school teachers wears a full-length fur coat that she tells me she bought at Emmaüs (like a Goodwill or Salvation Army store) for 15€ or about $20. Besides being on a teacher's salary, she prefers to buy a used coat for cheap because a) no new animals were killed for it and b) she wouldn't be as upset if somebody dumped something on her to protest the fur. I find this interesting because I've seen so much fur around the city that I had no idea anybody protested it here at all. But, in fact, she tells me that the times, they are a changin', and even in Paris, there are many people -- especially my generation and younger -- that are opposed to real fur. I do, however, see this couple stepping out of a lime green car (the whole thing screams "pimpmobile!"), awesome down to their boots, and feel the need to add their photo to the fur gallery:
And a correction:
About Chandeleur, a.k.a Crêpe Day, my friend Aurore informs me that "the bugnes are also called merveilles in Bordeaux, and they have them all the way up to Burgundy...And to be really precise, in Marseille (my grandfather's side) itself they don't eat oreillettes for Candlemas, they have les navettes de Saint Victor which they order and queue for at the Four des Navettes." And in case you didn't understand that last phrase any better than I did, the navettes de Saint Victor are a kind of sweet bread in the shape of lips, and the Four des Navettes is the bakery in Marseilles that's famous for making them.
She goes on to say "I feel I should point out we're traditionally preparing for Lent, and I may be mistaken but I always thought we were trying to finish the eggs and the sugar before it starts. So galettes, whose recipe doesn't require either, don't fit the bill." So it turns out that perhaps the original tradition was just crêpes, and eating galettes is yet another example of Parisians (and ex-pats) getting it wrong. But I should tell you that we actually ate crêpes, not galettes, so we're OK for this year.
To answer my friend Judith's question, however: No, we didn't actually make the crêpes ourselves. We cheated and bought pre-made crêpes, thereby negating the entire purpose of the tradition both in terms of using up sugar and eggs and also in terms of prognostication through pancake flipping. I did make eggs as the meal before dessert, and sprinkled sugar on the crêpes, so I guess I used up a little of both.
And finally, to set me straight, my friend Kristin asks, "Is Chandeleur really the start of the season of Lent? I thought that Lent began just after Mardi Gras. But perhaps you're aware of some religious subtlety that I've missed."
Actually Lent itself begins on Ash Wednesday which, this year, is Feb 13. Which explains the origins of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) as the last possible day to indulge in everything you might have to give up. It seems Kristin is correct in that Candlemas actually celebrates the 40th day after the birth of Jesus, when according to ancient Jewish law, his parents would have held a special ceremony for him at the temple. And 40 days after Dec 25 is Feb 2. However, since it is always right before Lent, even the authentically French Catholics (such as Aurore, among many) seem to see it as a sort of "kick-off" to the Lent season.
I have to admit here, it's not likely there are religious subtleties -- in any religion -- that I'm likely to catch before others. So feel free to send me your corrections, and any delicious treats to prove the point!
1) Several of my friends have received e-mails from Bonpoint with the 2013 spring/summer collection for their children and been surprised to know one of the models. So here it is: Pippa's turn on the catwalk. Is it just me, or does she look more American than most of those kids? There's a certain lithe, Vogue cover model look about many of the other children, whereas she just looks more like a ruddy, outdoor, climb-a-tree kind of kid. Is that just because I know her? Am I imagining things? I think they're all adorable, but whereas I see the others as European chic, I genuinely think Pippa looks distinctly like a daughter of the US of A.
While the number of marchers was only about 1/3 of the anti-gay marraige marchers, that's certainly in large part because President Hollande and his administration have already said they would be pushing through the marriage equality law. And, sure enough, just a few days ago, the first congressional vote was 249-97 in favor or defining marriage as between two people, rather than a man and woman. There is even a controversy about the controversy, in that during the days-long ensuing debate to push the bill into law, some of the legislators have been caught on film playing Scrabble.
Some of the funniest coverage of this comes from Stephen Colbert who, as you can imagine, has a lot of fun mocking the French, regardless of the politics. Let's face it: Who doesn't?
4) Fur-rance is fur-reezing once again. One of the girls' school teachers wears a full-length fur coat that she tells me she bought at Emmaüs (like a Goodwill or Salvation Army store) for 15€ or about $20. Besides being on a teacher's salary, she prefers to buy a used coat for cheap because a) no new animals were killed for it and b) she wouldn't be as upset if somebody dumped something on her to protest the fur. I find this interesting because I've seen so much fur around the city that I had no idea anybody protested it here at all. But, in fact, she tells me that the times, they are a changin', and even in Paris, there are many people -- especially my generation and younger -- that are opposed to real fur. I do, however, see this couple stepping out of a lime green car (the whole thing screams "pimpmobile!"), awesome down to their boots, and feel the need to add their photo to the fur gallery:
And a correction:
About Chandeleur, a.k.a Crêpe Day, my friend Aurore informs me that "the bugnes are also called merveilles in Bordeaux, and they have them all the way up to Burgundy...And to be really precise, in Marseille (my grandfather's side) itself they don't eat oreillettes for Candlemas, they have les navettes de Saint Victor which they order and queue for at the Four des Navettes." And in case you didn't understand that last phrase any better than I did, the navettes de Saint Victor are a kind of sweet bread in the shape of lips, and the Four des Navettes is the bakery in Marseilles that's famous for making them.
She goes on to say "I feel I should point out we're traditionally preparing for Lent, and I may be mistaken but I always thought we were trying to finish the eggs and the sugar before it starts. So galettes, whose recipe doesn't require either, don't fit the bill." So it turns out that perhaps the original tradition was just crêpes, and eating galettes is yet another example of Parisians (and ex-pats) getting it wrong. But I should tell you that we actually ate crêpes, not galettes, so we're OK for this year.
To answer my friend Judith's question, however: No, we didn't actually make the crêpes ourselves. We cheated and bought pre-made crêpes, thereby negating the entire purpose of the tradition both in terms of using up sugar and eggs and also in terms of prognostication through pancake flipping. I did make eggs as the meal before dessert, and sprinkled sugar on the crêpes, so I guess I used up a little of both.
And finally, to set me straight, my friend Kristin asks, "Is Chandeleur really the start of the season of Lent? I thought that Lent began just after Mardi Gras. But perhaps you're aware of some religious subtlety that I've missed."
Actually Lent itself begins on Ash Wednesday which, this year, is Feb 13. Which explains the origins of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) as the last possible day to indulge in everything you might have to give up. It seems Kristin is correct in that Candlemas actually celebrates the 40th day after the birth of Jesus, when according to ancient Jewish law, his parents would have held a special ceremony for him at the temple. And 40 days after Dec 25 is Feb 2. However, since it is always right before Lent, even the authentically French Catholics (such as Aurore, among many) seem to see it as a sort of "kick-off" to the Lent season.
I have to admit here, it's not likely there are religious subtleties -- in any religion -- that I'm likely to catch before others. So feel free to send me your corrections, and any delicious treats to prove the point!
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