breaking news
There is a lot going on in France these next few days. Here are some highlights:
1) Tomorrow is the world cup final between France and Italy. I cannot describe how big an event this is for the French. Of course you know that soccer is a lot bigger over here, but to have a world cup final between two teams that are such big rivals, and to have Brazil and Germany NOT make the finals - this is big time stuff. Even this relatively small town of Clermont Ferrand is throwing one enormous party at the town square for the big game. They have erected a 40 foot big-screen at "Place de Jaude" where they will broadcast the game. Festivities begin tomorrow at 12pm, game is at 8pm France time. I've been warned that I might not get much sleep tomorrow night because sometimes people will party in the streets all night.
2) Next week is July 14th. In America we call it Bastille day, but here it is simply referred to as July 14th. It's the French independence day, but with a very different twist (in the history of it) as compared with July 4th in the US. I am told that even the smallest towns will be having big celebrations. Some towns even host a free feast for all the town residents with food, dancing and fireworks.
3) Christophe bought a house. He had been looking for a place in Clermont Ferrand for a while so that he could move his family up here from Toulouse, and finally he has found one. This is great news becacuse previously he was living with his mother in law and only seeing his wife and kids on the weekends. The French pay a lot more money for significantly smaller houses than what we have in the US. Mortgages are for 25-40 years and it's not uncommon to allocate 33% of your income to your house payment. They also make less than we do, and they still give about 35% of their income to the French government. Buying a house is tough here.
4) Harry left the team. I was really sad to see him go, but sadly he just doesn't fit with the French consulting model. He had a tendency to tell people when he observed something he thought was "silly" and that is not well received around here.
5) I finally had some (real) couscous. It's not uncommon here in France when you are picking a place for dinner to decide to "go for couscous." The previous project manager here was a BIG fan of the stuff, and forced the team to eat it several times a week. As a result, they generally have an aversion to the stuff, so as yet I had not had a chance to try it. The VolcanHotelVille is next to a couscous joint though, so tonight I gave it a whirl.
Couscous here is different from anything I've had in the US. I had a nice salad, some Moroccan wine (very good). The main course came out in 4 parts. There was a bowl of couscous, a bowl of what I'll call vegetable soup, a plate of meat, and an empty plate for me to use while combining the other three elements. The waiter was the restaurant owner and also a nice guy. I don't understand (or speak) much French, but by the time he brought out the main course, he realized this, and in French he asked me something like "you've never eaten couscous like this before, have you?" Of course I replied "no" and he then proceeded to demonstrate how the process works.
You put some couscous on your place. Then you ladle some of the soup and veggies onto it. This was a chicken stock based soup with BIG chunks of carrots, zucchini, potatoes, and chick peas in it. The meat plate had three things on it - a chicken thigh, a shish-kabob of chicken, and what looked like a (cooked) hamburger patty. So you put some meat on your plate and then the couscous/soup mixture is a side dish you eat with the meat. I think the burger thing was similar to kebab meat - a combination of lean beef and lamb. It was marinated and/or spiced, but not "hot spicy." The chicken thigh was similar to what you'd eat at an indian place - definitely some curry involved. The shish-kabob was marinated, grilled, white-meat chicken. All VERY good stuff.
I finished my plate, still had room for some lemon sorbet and an espresso.
6) Tuesday, Jean-Marc is throwing a party at his house for the project team. This is the same guy who, along with his wife, provided the Gavotte cookies as a wedding present. He's also taking me to the renaissance fair tomorrow. Since my project manager has yet to come through with the car he promised us, I'm always appreciative of a free ride.
7) It's time for the July "Soldes" (sales). Apparently in France all the stores have big sales in July and January. We're talking 50-80% discounts storewide. I forgot to bring conditioner for my hair so I picked up some swanky botanical stuff from Provence today for $6 - normally $20 a bottle. These are clearance sales to push out the seasonal stock in preparation for the next season.
8) Jean-Marc takes another vacation in 2 weeks (for 2 weeks). He gets 9 weeks/year. His son is a cop and gets over 10 weeks. Jean-Marc is going to Bretagne - Brittany as we call it - to visit his wife's family. Then he is going to Nantes, Bordeaux, and Nice. Would I take a pay cut if it meant I get 3 times the vacation? You bet.
1) Tomorrow is the world cup final between France and Italy. I cannot describe how big an event this is for the French. Of course you know that soccer is a lot bigger over here, but to have a world cup final between two teams that are such big rivals, and to have Brazil and Germany NOT make the finals - this is big time stuff. Even this relatively small town of Clermont Ferrand is throwing one enormous party at the town square for the big game. They have erected a 40 foot big-screen at "Place de Jaude" where they will broadcast the game. Festivities begin tomorrow at 12pm, game is at 8pm France time. I've been warned that I might not get much sleep tomorrow night because sometimes people will party in the streets all night.
2) Next week is July 14th. In America we call it Bastille day, but here it is simply referred to as July 14th. It's the French independence day, but with a very different twist (in the history of it) as compared with July 4th in the US. I am told that even the smallest towns will be having big celebrations. Some towns even host a free feast for all the town residents with food, dancing and fireworks.
3) Christophe bought a house. He had been looking for a place in Clermont Ferrand for a while so that he could move his family up here from Toulouse, and finally he has found one. This is great news becacuse previously he was living with his mother in law and only seeing his wife and kids on the weekends. The French pay a lot more money for significantly smaller houses than what we have in the US. Mortgages are for 25-40 years and it's not uncommon to allocate 33% of your income to your house payment. They also make less than we do, and they still give about 35% of their income to the French government. Buying a house is tough here.
4) Harry left the team. I was really sad to see him go, but sadly he just doesn't fit with the French consulting model. He had a tendency to tell people when he observed something he thought was "silly" and that is not well received around here.
5) I finally had some (real) couscous. It's not uncommon here in France when you are picking a place for dinner to decide to "go for couscous." The previous project manager here was a BIG fan of the stuff, and forced the team to eat it several times a week. As a result, they generally have an aversion to the stuff, so as yet I had not had a chance to try it. The VolcanHotelVille is next to a couscous joint though, so tonight I gave it a whirl.
Couscous here is different from anything I've had in the US. I had a nice salad, some Moroccan wine (very good). The main course came out in 4 parts. There was a bowl of couscous, a bowl of what I'll call vegetable soup, a plate of meat, and an empty plate for me to use while combining the other three elements. The waiter was the restaurant owner and also a nice guy. I don't understand (or speak) much French, but by the time he brought out the main course, he realized this, and in French he asked me something like "you've never eaten couscous like this before, have you?" Of course I replied "no" and he then proceeded to demonstrate how the process works.
You put some couscous on your place. Then you ladle some of the soup and veggies onto it. This was a chicken stock based soup with BIG chunks of carrots, zucchini, potatoes, and chick peas in it. The meat plate had three things on it - a chicken thigh, a shish-kabob of chicken, and what looked like a (cooked) hamburger patty. So you put some meat on your plate and then the couscous/soup mixture is a side dish you eat with the meat. I think the burger thing was similar to kebab meat - a combination of lean beef and lamb. It was marinated and/or spiced, but not "hot spicy." The chicken thigh was similar to what you'd eat at an indian place - definitely some curry involved. The shish-kabob was marinated, grilled, white-meat chicken. All VERY good stuff.
I finished my plate, still had room for some lemon sorbet and an espresso.
6) Tuesday, Jean-Marc is throwing a party at his house for the project team. This is the same guy who, along with his wife, provided the Gavotte cookies as a wedding present. He's also taking me to the renaissance fair tomorrow. Since my project manager has yet to come through with the car he promised us, I'm always appreciative of a free ride.
7) It's time for the July "Soldes" (sales). Apparently in France all the stores have big sales in July and January. We're talking 50-80% discounts storewide. I forgot to bring conditioner for my hair so I picked up some swanky botanical stuff from Provence today for $6 - normally $20 a bottle. These are clearance sales to push out the seasonal stock in preparation for the next season.
8) Jean-Marc takes another vacation in 2 weeks (for 2 weeks). He gets 9 weeks/year. His son is a cop and gets over 10 weeks. Jean-Marc is going to Bretagne - Brittany as we call it - to visit his wife's family. Then he is going to Nantes, Bordeaux, and Nice. Would I take a pay cut if it meant I get 3 times the vacation? You bet.
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