Southern Fried French

Saving the Planet, French Style

In SO many ways, the French have taught us to change our habits. And in this day of high energy bills and climate change, the frugal practices they’ve used for years are looking pretty smart. We have gotten on board.

Let’s start with dryers. All that spinning and heating eat up a lot of energy. Most French folks don’t even have them, and if they do they use them sparingly. They hang their clothes outside, and not just for energy savings. They like the fresh air smell, and the sun helps to “blanchir” (whiten, brighten) things like sheets and towels (it’s better for your clothes, too).

If clothes lines are banned in your neighborhood (an unthinkable thing in France), try an expanding wall rack. I manage to dry almost all of our clothes this way.

The drying rack in my "bouanderie". Some of them fold back against the wall when not in use.

...but clothes can be hung out most anywhere.

 Then their is heating and cooling. The French use a passive solar approach. You may have noticed that almost all French houses have (fully operational) shutters. Houses have fewer windows here, and they rarely face north. When it’s hot, shutters are closed as the sun moves around the house, and opened back up as it moves along. It’s a bit of work, but it’s second nature for us now. Because it makes a HUGE difference. If your walls and floors never really heat up, the house stays cool. Everyone has standing floor fans, and the breeze they create is wonderful—much better than ceiling fans, I find. Despite a prolonged heat wave this year with temperatures often hitting 100 degrees, we very rarely turned on our  AC system. The French in general are not fond of AC—it’s fresh air all the way for them. Je suis d'accord!

Shutters in France serve a decorative function, but also a practical one

In cold weather, these same shutters are closed at night, to block out a bit of the cold.

American houses tend to have vast expanses of glass, and if they have shutters, they typically aren't functional or aren't used.  Partly due to the fact that screens are usually necessary to keep out bugs, but we don’t need screens here. However, we did have screens on our bedrooms windows in our former French house (to keep the bats out at night!), but they were retractable, so we could still use the shutters. I don’t know why all screens in the States aren’t retractable, it’s such a clever thing. There is something wonderful about a window that swings wide open to the sky.

No bugs--but bats! A couple of our bedroom windows, under the eaves of the galerie, were on their evening flight path.

One more thing: the French will never turns several lamps on for ambient lighting (guilty as charged!). Only the ones they need, which are always switched off when not in use. 

 

The French are by nature super frugal, and it’s serving them well in these troubled times. We could all be a little more French these days! Now what about y'all? Any energy saving tips for us?

 

Favorite READS: My friend Suzanne in Charleston, an avid reader, suggests a new French themed book for us: In Love with Paris, Recipes and Stories from the Most Romantic City in the World. Oh la la! Our voracious reader-in-residence Natalia recommends Lost in Translation by Ella Sanders for language lovers, and The House of Fortune by Jesse Burton, which she says is a "page-turner". And happy anniversary, Natalia!

 

Downton Abbey Jumps the Pond

I'm a Downton fan, are you? And I've always wanted to visit Highclere castle. But I found something better: an immersive Downton experience! And on this side of the "pond"!

This came about when we saw a poster for a French fete: "Spectacle 1900" at Château de Digoine. It was billed as an enactment of life at the chateau in the 1900's.  French fêtes are often delightfully hokey, so a group of us who bought tickets weren't expecting much more than a fine day of picnicking when we made the short trip to Digoine.

How wrong we were! The castle was a fine and unusual one, in its beautiful rural setting. We entered the fête through a barn, festively decorated, and  headed right for a photo-op setup, complete with fancy hats. After a lovely pique nique, (we were provided with antique rugs, to spread out on the grass), we were taken with a small group across the gardens of the castle, and into an orangerie. 

Friends Julie and Felicite and I have our Downton moment

 

A perfect site for la pique nique

 

The Orangerie

We knew right away we were in for fun when a Thomas-like butler and a couple of giggling maids escorted us across the garden. We passed couples in period fripperie, parasols in hand, taking a turn amongst the roses.

With our group seated in the orangerie, we were treated to a glass of champagne. One of the "servants" circulated among us (a trained actor, as most of the performers were), and from her we learned that the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt was arriving at the château today. She was making a clandestine visit to rehearse a play that was to debut in Paris, and she wanted it all kept a secret from the prying eyes of the media. (This is an event that actually happened here in the early 1900's, and so was the basis for our spectacle.) Our servant shared the wicked gossip: the famous French actress might or might not be having various intriguing affairs. There had been rumors, upstairs and down. 

Champagne in the Orangerie

 

A servant fills us in on the gossip

 

...as our group listens attentively

Next we passed through a square just outside of the kitchen, a hub of activity. Vegetable were unloaded from wooden carts, and ladies in bonnets arranged flowers.

Then into the kitchen, a space just as lively as Mrs. Patmore's realm. The cooks and their minions laughed and chatted, putting us more in the picture with their skit about what a character Sarah Bernhardt was said to be. In the laundry room, when the responsable stepped out for a minute, the ladies dropped their duties for an impromptu dance, which was quickly  abandoned when she returned, hands firmly on hips.

 

There was ironing to be done...

...and maybe a little dancing 

Then our group left the lively downstairs for the formal upstairs, where we met our châtelains,  who were waiting for their guest. They were a bit startled by Madame Bernhardt's luggage for her short stay, which had preceded her; it was stacked to the ceiling and took up most of the grand foyer. And of course a journalist had quietly crept into our midst, antique camera in hand, to try and get the scoop on the play.

The Head Butler deals with a mountain of valises

We meet our Châtelains

At last we heard the actress' motorcar approaching, down the long drive through the allée of plane trees. The servants lined up by the steps, Downton-style. We half expected Mr. Carson to swing the front door open. (Don't ask me about the giraffe. Never did get the story).

 

Sarah greets our châtelains

 

Sarah's a bit of a drama queen

After Madame made her dramatic entrance, we were treated to a backstage look at the actors getting into their makeup and costumes, and finally, there was the dress rehearsal of the play.

A pre-rehersal with the kids in the impressive château library

 

An actress gets the dreaded corset tightened

 

Felicite chats with the costume designers

And finally, the dress rehersal

This was  a French château, not an English castle. But the parellels to Downton Abbey were unavoidable, and as we made our way between vignettes, they slyly played that familiar theme song in the background. We learned they had over 300 volunteers for the fête, and it was obvious that many of them were professional actors.

We reluctantly departed, feeling like royalty. Hands down, best French fete we've ever been to. It was like being inside of a wonderful historic movie (apparently the current châtelain is a TV producer). This fête alone is worth a trip to Burgundy!

If you go: They will repeat the Spectacle next year, in July. If you'd like to get a feel for what the spectacle was like, you can watch the teaser on Youtube. The Château de Digoine is worth a visit on any day, though. It's located in the Charolais, not far from Charolles and close to the TGV stop at Monchanin. 

 

In the COMMENTS: Natalia, as a vegetarian, for ethical reasons, I’m right there with you on the chickens. And thanks for the kind comments. Ann Marie, I guess they steam those artichokes, but I admit I’ve never cooked one that big! Mary, bon voyage, and I've sent you a list.

Favorite READS: Check out the website Reflections of a Vagabonde, by one of our readers. See some great pix of the tour de France and Quatorze Juillet celebration right here.

 

TIP of the week: If by chance you are looking to buy a house in Burgundy, you'll find it to be pretty difficult, as the French have no Multiple Listing Service as we do in the States. In which case I recommend you contact my Dutch friend Marit, who has a thriving business helping expats find their dream house. in particular she helps ex-pats who are not in the country full-time and/or are not familiar with the complicated process of buying a house in France. She can also help you through the whole buying process, even setting up phone and internet service. And she is delightful, as well as being fluent in several languages. See you in Burgundy?