French Families

This morning we had another lecture on French culture, this time concerning marriage and the French family. It was interesting to learn all about the programs the government has to encourage couples to have kids. The government awards parents allowances for each kid they have.  Parents are also given 4 months of maternity leave along with a 1-3 year parental leave. During parental leave, the parent’s job is held and they are paid 60% of their regular salary by the government. Another interesting fact we learned was that a medical visit is mandatory before marriage.  I can only imagine how a statute similar to this would be received in America.

After class, I took my oral French exam. A group member and myself had to present three impromptu conversations in front of an instructor. Hopefully the instructor was as proud of our performance as we were.

Sadly, our last class of the program was this afternoon. The professor spoke on the differences of French and American bread. We learned that the French government actually regulates what ingredients go into a baguette. For example, to keep prices low, the government forbids the use of powdered milk in baguettes. This was shocking to me that the government can regulate bakers’ recipes.  Nonetheless, the French are doing something right. Their bread is like no other.

This evening we’re babysitting Timotheo. Our host parents are going to have a date night. Wish us luck!

It's all French Bread

Today we made bread! Clad in white coats and hair nets, we followed the instructions written upon the white board. We made two different batches. The baker called the first batch of bread "fast bread." It used a bit more yeast and was put in a warm oven to rise quickly. This is the typical baguette we eat in America. The texture is dense and consistent throughout. The second batch we made was given more time to rise and was kept in room temperature. Because it was given more time, the yeast went through a second fermentation which gave the bread more flavor, a lighter inside, and bubbly texture. The second batch was by far superior to the first.

Keys to French Bread:

-KNEAD, KNEAD, KNEAD (forever)

-Salt, flour, water, yeast...that's it! (and add the salt after mixing the other three ingredients)

-Let it rise at room temperature 

-Give the dough plenty of time to rise

La Baule

This morning I prepared breakfast four the four of us. I sautéed red potatoes and cooked scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, green olives, and feta. 

After a lazy breakfast, we packed our things and headed for the train station. We caught a train to La Baule, a beautiful city on the Atlantic coast that’s a popular weekend destination for much of France.

 Once in La Baule, we followed the crowds to the beach and stopped for ice cream and a sandwich along the way. The sun was scorching however the water was the perfect relief from the sun. After several hours, we walked Julia and Sloane to the train station where we said goodbye. Jill and I explored the city as we waited for our train back to Angers.

Nantes

This morning, Jill and myself took the train to Nantes for the weekend to meet up with her friends Julia and Sloane. We walked around the city, dinned at a creperie, shopped, and visited the mechanical elephant. The highlight of our day was a visit to a bakery and grocery store. We bought food to cook for dinner. Back at the hotel, dinner preparation was a joint effort. Jill and I made a potato and leek soup while Julia made a vegetable couscous. For dessert, we made crustini's with a lavander goat cheese spread topped with fresh figs- very gourmet.

Terre & Terroir

Our group visited a small nonprofit food shop that sells only local, organic, and fair trade products. One of the founders was an excellent speaker from Indiana that now lives in France. Her passion was astounding yet some of the ideas she shared were fairly extreme. After what seemed like a three hour visit, we were lucky enough to run into the store's wine maker. He makes and sources organic French wines for the store. We tasted great wine, sparkling red grape juice, raw milk, and organic bananas. Overall, the visit was disappointing but I really appreciated the speaker's enthusiasm and dedication to what she believes.

Cointreau

Today, we visited the Cointreau factory in Angers (the birthplace of the orange liqueur). The site was impressive and even had a museum of sorts. It was the first triple-sec ever made yet now classifies itself as an unique liqueur. It is sold in 200 countries with the United States as it's biggest market. Cointreau was originally popularized in France as a digestif (a drink after meals). Laws concerning advertising of alcohols changed drastically during the 1990's in France. No longer could companies use characters, cocktails, or slogans in print advertising. Because of this, Cointreau has had a difficult time marketing their product in France and changing customers notions that Cointreau is merely a digestif. The company prides itself in the quality of the liqueur, a trait that makes it perfect for cocktails. This stigma is to blame for why France is Cointreau's third biggest market, an upsetting statistic for the company. Nevertheless, the company has seen immense success and the name is recognized throughout the world. After the tour, we all were presented cocktails made at the company's in-house bar. After this visit, Cointreau will be my triple-sec of choice. 

                     A $22,000 bottle of Cognac

Domaine des Rochelles

Following French class, we had an amazing wine tasting lecture. The professor was a zany old man who kept us laughing. He filled the glasses tall and sang French drinking songs as he walked throughout the room. We sampled seven wines from the region and discussed each wine as a group.

After lunch, we visited the Domaine des Rochelles, a fifth generation family winery. It was beautiful to see such a flourishing operation with merely ten employees, the majority of them family. We toured the vineyard, vat and storage room and, most importantly, the tasting room.

For dinner, our host family prepared escargot, veggies, steak, and aligot(pureed potatoes and cheese). Escargot immediately obtained a spot on the list of my favorite foods. They were buttery and rich in a parsley and garlic sauce. With help from a crusty baguette, none of the sauce went to waste.

La Fête de la Musique

The majority of today was preoccupied with class work and lectures. The most interesting lecture today was on the French labor system. Federal legislation strictly limits the number of hours the French can work.

 Some of the highlights include:

-a strict 35 hour work week,

-5 weeks of PAID vacation,

-compulsory OVERTIME for those who work on Saturdays and Sundays,

-and at least one day off each week.

To add to this absurdity, it is nearly impossible to be fired in France and, according to our professor, it is becoming common for disgruntled employees to kidnap their bosses during strikes without any legal penalization.

The city of Angers (where I am living) hosted a number of musicians this evening to kick-off World Music Day. This is a day throughout many countries in which amateur musicians are encouraged to perform throughout the cities, towns, and villages. The majority of the artists gathered in downtown Angers. Nearly all genera's of music were represented which made for a great night out. We started our night at a creperie with our host dad. We dined on gallets and cidre before beginning our stroll throughout the streets. From dj's to blues bands, we saw it all. Our host dad parted ways with us around 10pm to put the little one to bed. We met up with the rest of our group and enjoyed a night out on the town.

Caves de Samur

Today our group visited a wine cooperative in Saumur. Over 150 growers supply the cooperative with grapes that are processed at the Caves de Saumur. It was an enormous operation built ontop of an underground system of tunnels and caves that were constructed prior to WWII. We started in a room filled with vats that seemed miles high before continuing down a network of stairs into the cavernous abyss. The temperature dropped dramatically as the air grew damp. There was an entire underground network of bottles, oak barrels, bottling equipment, and pallets of wines. The caves were filled with the smell of yeast and molds that grew on the rock walls. We learned about the process of making wine, along with sparkling wines, and finished up the tour with a wine tasting. This evening for dinner our host father made paella. It was a perfect meal after a lengthy day.