Southern Fried French

A Christmas Tale of l'Amour, and Chocolate

Sorry for the delay, I'm having server issues.

 

It seems to have become a Southern Fried French tradition: the sharing of les papillotes. You may remember from past posts that les papillotes are the traditional chocolates bonbons in France (Révillon being the most popular brand), which  reveal, when you unwrap the shiny exterior, a chocolate wrapped in a little inspirational quote. They are sold only at Christmas. We buy them by the bagful, ostensibly to practice our French.

But I did not know the legend of how les papillotes came to be until Nicole, our favorite châtelaine, filled me in. And what a romantic French story of l'amour it is!

"In the 1800's", said Nicole, "there was a confiseur (confectioner) on one of the squares in Lyon. His name was Monsieur Papilott. Above the shop was an apartment rented by a beautiful young girl. A young man who worked in the shop was completely smitten by her beauty. Too shy to proclaim his love, he sent her chocolates from the shop below, but wrapped in little love notes, or mots doux, as the French call those sweet nothings one whispers to a loved one.

Was he sucessful in his pursuit? We can't be sure. But what woman could resist the combo of gourmet chocolate and love notes? Certainly not me.

Nicole continues, "The confiseur got wind of this, and he liked the idea so much that he began to wrap all of his chocolates in bits of inspiration. And the rest is la histoire. The chocolates came to be known as les papillotes. 

So, for your French practice (maybe that's your New Year's resolution?), here are a sampling of this year's quotes, carefully selected from les papillottes we consumed this year, just for you. Cheat sheet at the bottom. And by the way, the plate below was not a single serving for this blogger, though I am surely capable of it. All in the name of love.

 

Ferme les yeux et tu verras.

Joseph Joubert

Un des bonheurs de l'amitié c'est d'avoir à qui confier un secret.

Alessandro Mansoni

Nul n'est plus chanceux que celui qui croit a sa chance.

Proverbe allemand

La joie est en tout, il suffit de savoir l'extraire.

Confucius

Il n'est pas de joie que égale celle de se créer de nouvelles amitiés.

Proverbe japonais

La variété est la véritable épice de la vie quii lui donne toute sa saveur.

William Cowper

Le courage croit en osant et la peur en hésitant.

Proverbe romain

Entre amis, il est si beau que le silence soit d'or, mais le rire bon et frais l'est beaucoup plus encore.

Nietzsche 

Il faut agir en homme de pensée et penser en homme d'action.

Henri Bergson

J'ai décidé d'être heureux, c'est meilleur pour la santé.

Voltaire

Si on ne peut pas rire au paradis,  je ne tiens pas à y aller.

Martin Luther

 

Cheat Sheet:

Close your eyes, and you will see.

One of the joys of friendship is to have someone we can trust with a secret.

No one is luckier than he who believes in his luck.

Joy is everywhere, you just need to know how to extract it.

There is no joy equal to creating a new friendship.

Variety is the true spice of life which gives it its flavor.

Courage increases in daring, and fear in hesitating.

Between friends, it's so beautiful that silence is golden, but good laughter is even more so.

It's necessary to act as a man of thought, and think as a man of action.

I decided to be happy, it's better for my health.

If one can't laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there.

 

So that's the end of our French story. And the French do love l'amour!

How did you do? And now, to all our dear readers, here's hoping you have a very merry Christmas, and a bonne année as well!

 

Favorite READS: Our favorite reader in Residence, Natalia, recommends two books for us: The Postmistress of Paris and Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone. Going on my list! Also, I hear that Emily in Paris, season two, is back on Netflix.

I always love to meet my readers, which happens occasionally, and it was a great pleasure to have tea with Lee and Maureen recently. Bonjour and merci to you both for a lovely afternoon!

 

 

 

 

Beaune Throws a Delicious Party

On the world stage, Beaune plays a starring role in the wine universe, as the center of the storied Burgundy wine region.

So being French, they of course have a fête to celebrate it. Several actually, but the biggest one of the year took place this month: the Fêtes des Grand Vins de Bourgogne, with the most important wine auction in the world as its centerpiece. And the French really know how to throw a party.

The last few years we’ve been in Charleston for the month of November, so somehow I’ve never made it to the festival, much to my chagrin (we were in Beaune November last year, but it was basically cancelled). So we’ve had to rely on reports from friends this year, when it was back in full swing.

In our early days of living in France, Ron went to the festival once, with his buddies. They made a bee-line for the giant Burgundy wine-tasting in the conference center here that is a part of the festivities. There were 1500 wines on offer—all from Burgundy! It was early on in our French séjour, and these débutant (beginner) wine aficionados couldn’t resist finishing their delicious tasting pours, instead of spitting, as is proper—and ended up quitting after the first three booths, too tipsy to tipple. And this year, over a decade later, there were 3000 Burgundy wines.

Better spit, if you want to make a dent in this wine collection

The festival is a busy one: a folklore parade, street shows, themed wine tastings all over Beaune and throughout the region, music, and gala dinners. There is a half marathon that snakes through the vineyards, a light-hearted race with many  runners in costume. Wine is offered along the route, bien sûr, so only fearless runners need apply. 

Rouge or blanc? Santa hands out wine to runners along the marathon route

The main attraction is the wine auction, the 161st  annual Vente des Vins des Hospices de Beaune, said to be the oldest charity in the world. The bidders and wine insiders are fêted at the Clos de Vougeot and the Château de Meursault, at a week-end long feast called Les Trois Glorieuses, or The Three Days of Glory (you and I, as mere mortals, are not invited). Visitors can watch the bidders spend the big bucks, though.

You can see why we hated to miss it. See you there next year?

 

Some happy moments from the parade routes:

 

At the Auction:

 

Costumed up for the half Marathon:

Photo credits: Le Bien Public,  Club Oenologique, Confédération des Appellations et des Vignerons de Bourgogne, The Guardian

 

Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! 

In the COMMENTS:  I see I am not alone in my distress over the noise level in restaurants! As Michaela says, I hope they will get the message. I make it a habit of telling the manager each time. And as Christine and others note, loud music in piped into the grocery store, even onto city streets sometimes. Jay, I can't speak to the noise level in Paris, I haven't been there in a while. But Paris has a population of 2 million and has about 30 million visitors a year, so I'm guessing the noise there is not caused completely by the French. In Burgundy where we live, I can't ever remember encountering a truly noisy restaurant, other than perhaps at a huge brasserie in Lyon. 

Read the comments further to see the music most of you voted on. And don't miss Natalia's recommendations for some great French magazines. Plus Martin has a funny story to share about restaurant music.