One of my French teachers is Eva. I like her better than Stephan, we can pull her off her agenda. This week Eva has been especially entertaining.
Not So Much... are the French overweight. Eva indicated that with the introduction of American fast food, weight issues are beginning to surface.
For The Moment... bull fights remain. My hand was up in a heartbeat, what! I told her that Whole Foods took lobsters out of the stores as it was "uncivilized" to keep them/ the lobsters in tanks! I googled Bull Fights and only in southern and southwestern France (and all of Spain) are they allowed. It is permitted
under the clause "unbroken local tradition." The fights are on cable and I've watch briefly the bull fights,
in amazement. Six spears, each 2' are put into the back of the bull, to slow it down. When it tires out it
can be killed with a knife to the back of the bulls neck. You can even buy that very bull and take it home
to eat it. I can't even imagine what the animal activists in the United States would do, chain themselves to the bull, the matador?
Very Expensive... are truffles, especially the white ones. Back at my apartment I google "truffles" as
Emond, my culinary chef walks around with the vial of "truffle oil" like its a royal jewel. What I learned
(and I just know your dying to know) is that truffles are fungi, an underground mushroom that lives close to roots of specific trees. This is the really interesting part, they are found by Truffle Dogs who can detect the strong smell. I can't help but wonder WHAT does a truffle hunting dog look like? If I had one, or if
I had to invent one, it would have pink accessories. A tutu, pink, with ribbons that float in the wind as it
strolls, sniffing here and there and finally digging up fungi, oh I mean truffles. Did I mention that the dog would look like? It would be a bit larger than my two dear white multi poohs. The very multi poohs that June's Wagging Tails has more than me! My children would agree with me now that Chase would accomplish the fungi task and is mildly trainable. Zoey on the other hand was
the runt of the litter and we are all convinced there was a lack of oxygen when she was born. Oh, more points of interest, truffle oil is synthetic with olive oil, there are hundreds of species held in "high esteem"
and finally they are among the most expensive foods in the world, $250. to 450. a pound.
Eva was on a roll yesterday, off agenda I mean. The tax rate in France is 19.6% For restaurant dining
or necessary/vital foods (not wine and coffee) the tax is 5.6%
On the topic of money, the dollar is $1.63 against the Euro, add the 19.6% tax and I'd need a half price
sale to make anything worth buying. My daughter is meeting me in Paris for a long weekend, when
shopping I'll JUST SAY NO.
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