French Kiss

I've had a little bit of Francophilia lately. Between Jordan Ferney's post on French grocery (and flower!) shopping and her sister's dispatches from her family's new home in Normandy, I've been daydreaming about a spring weekend in Paris.



I went to France twice during my junior year of college (I was studying in London so it was an easy trip). Once for a whirlwind tour of Paris over Thanksgiving weekend (I gave thanks for baguettes and cheap hostels) and once to visit an aunt & uncle who were living in the Auvergne region at the time. They took me to quaint little villages, to some Roman ruins (halfway up a volcano!) with a view of the gold and green valley below, and to Crêperie Le 1513 for the best crepes I've ever eaten.



My favorite part was the "eating like the French eat" that my uncle delighted in showing me. For breakfast he walked up the road to the bakery for fresh, flakey pain au chocolat that he placed in front of me with a bowl full of cafe au lait. After dinner he was excited to introduce me to the French cheese course, which they often eat after dinner, not before. We picked up three cheeses from the region (one hard, one creamy, and one stinky) and a fresh baguette. My favorite was the Saint Nectaire.



I guess until a trip to Paris is in the budget, I'll just have to content myself with watching this cute video over and over.


EF - Live The Language - Paris from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

Photos (in order) by: Paul Ferney for Oh Happy Day!, Molly Wizenberg, sad.isfied, and  Robyn Lee on flickr.