someone once said that if you can look back at the entire year remembering times you’ve experienced profound emotion (sadness, happiness, intrigue, grief… – that made you cry or really laughed so much that it hurt your stomach muscles), then, that year was not a wasted year. it’s not about how much money you made or have or how big your house is, or who you know or what you drive (unless you live in l.a. ). that’s not important, really. and it’s definitely not about how many people you’ve impressed. that’s nothing to be proud about.

well, i can honestly look back at 2005 and remember times i’ve cried and laughed (sometimes at the same time!) – oh, and i’m not counting that time when the mean farm lady yelled at me and made me cry. anyway, i had an amazing year. we spent a complete year in our first house that we really love (though it needs some work here and there); the year was full of fun, love, family & friends; we also made new friends; i started playing music after a two year hiatus; we traveled quite a bit; ate a lot; laughed a lot; cried a lot; worked liked crazy and volunteered a giant chunk of our time to an NGO; we met great people who care deeply about humanity, and we met some sleazy french national assembly politicians who can lie through a huge smile as effortlessly as drinking a glass of water. yup, we looked evil straight in the eye. we suffered through immense challenges and overcame obstacles. we also started a business in france several months ago (yes, we ARE that crazy!) and we’re already out of the red, yay. we completely changed our lifestyle to be as environmentally responsible as possible. we can’t go as far as having one of those weird compost toilets (we do have limits) but we do the best we can.

one of the best things about 2005 has been keeping this blog, www.whytraveltofrance.com – it’s been fun, and i’ve promised myself that i’ll only keep it if it remains fun. i’ve been accused of being a french basher but if anyone thinks that, they don’t know me, and they probably are a bit too serious. this site is all in fun (most of the time!) so if you’ve been offended, i’m sorry about it but please know that i was most likely joking. i mean, if i hated france and french people i wouldn’t have married a french guy and i certainly would not have chosen to live in france. c’mon. i live in france because i really love it here. (and i do have a choice about where i live). no, it’s not a perfect place, but it’s much better than that: france’s beauty, blemishes and quirkiness make life a bit more interesting to us; it’s an amazing place to live – and that is why it is THE most visited country on earth.

anyway, i hope you can look back at 2005 with a smile because you really lived it fully and passionately (no wasted time with people you do not wish to be around, or doing things you truly do not want to do.) – and you experienced life with true feelings, discovery, love, awe, fun and with no regrets (and no emptiness).

i do wish for you even a better year for 2006, a year that is inspiring for you, the best year you’ve ever known.

pepsi may be #2 in the u.s. but i’m afraid after coke’s acquisition of orangina, pepsi’s lifeline distribution network in france, it’s slowly losing its fizz, rusting away like this sad sign. i personally think the sign looks pretty cool; maybe it’ll be a collector’s item to be sold on ebay one day…

seeing this sign always reminds me of what a mechanic said to me when i was still living in vence, and we were waiting for our car to be repaired. i was waiting, drinking a coke.

mechanic: “do you know what you’re drinking?”

me: “yeah, a coke.” thinking, ‘are you blind not to see the red, unmistakable logo?’

mechanic: “but do you know what is inside coke? i never drink the stuff but we buy it by the case here. you know why?”

me: “why.”

mechanic: “it’s the only thing that cleans engine parts. we soak all kinds of things in coke and it cleans it perfectly! and you DRINK that stuff. hahahahaha!”

me: “good. thinking omg how scary. maybe it’s cleaning out my stomach!”

mechanic: “if that’s what you want to think, fine.”

is that queen elizabeth sandwiched between george bush (with boobs) and a doggie stylin’ jacques chirac?

these posters among others were commissioned by the austrian government in an attempt to help make the EU more sexy. apparently, the “artists” commissioned went a bit too literal and came up with the strangest ideas, the above photo being one of the weirder ones. none are sexy at all, in fact, the campaign seems like its purpose is to scare people away. the campaign cost 500,000 euros. the EU presidency goes to austria on january 1 for a duration of 6 months.

UPDATE: these posters have been pulled. too many complaints, imagine that!

[via brussels journal and the telegraph]

these are the most popular posts for whytraveltofrance since the beginning, only 5 months ago. clearly, dog poo is a subject inquiring minds want to know about so i’ll try to come up with more scoops on poop in 2006

1. squish! oh poo!
2. cultural differences as wide as the parting of the red sea
3. free wine for drivers in the south of france!
4. cancer causing soda cans
5. open air urinals
6. peekaboob
7. what comes to mind when you hear, VICHY?
8. the baguette and its slow extinction
9. paris riots wtf?
10. french guys with girly names
11. french coffee is american sh*t
12. france is not disappearing but quality is
13. surprise food ingredient: tartrazine
14. is pepe le pew french…in france?
15. topinambour it’s a gas gas gas
16. where in the world is jim morrison?
17. french lawmakers don’t know jack and the new ipod nano
18. carry le rouet and flexible housing laws
19. dirty secrets of a paris waiter
20. doggie bags (NOT from the restaurant)

the podcast shaking up france’s politics

2005 Foot-in-Mouth Awards

small town receives $1.6 million

the french go postal with the sims

france’s nuclear waste heads to russia

i’ve switched this site’s web publishing system to wordpress so www.whytraveltofrance.com now has a new look and a new RSS feed. here it is so please update your RSS readers:

http://www.whytraveltofrance.com/?feed=rss2

live bookmarks for this RSS feed are also available for users of firefox (RSS 2.0, 0.92 and ATOM 0.3).

a big thanks to my very good bud, angry b for all his tech savvy and helping with the whole transfer from a rather complicated and buggy CMS to a more user-friendly blog system. i hope you like the new design and all the changes. i plan to change the top photo now and again (since i have so many photos).

while i’m thanking people, i’d like to send a big, big thanks to my friends at atlanta-based phelios – for encouraging me to start this blog and for generously funding the site completely (including the domain) and hosting www.whytraveltofrance.com on one of their servers. not to mention, too, for providing the tech consulting. thanks guys!!

there may be some glitches here and there as we finalize the complete transfer; please feel free to tell me about any dead or missing links, or other problems by emailing me: contact AT whytraveltofrance . com

ok, now to the bad news: we didn’t transfer any of the comments. i’m sorry! but i hope you find it much more simple to post to the new version of www.whytraveltofrance.com from this point on.

Thanks for visiting www.whytraveltofrance.com!

SO: “what is lulu wearing?”

me: “the sleeve from your sweater.”

SO: “i wanted to wear that sweater.”

me: “you can still wear it – but one arm might get cold.”
==============================
NB: this may not be a true story.

more here. the podcast is in french.

i vowed that i’d post the followup to a meme sent to me by elisabeth a WHILE ago whether it is related to this site or not, and to do it before 2006. (i don’t like unfinished business) i’ll try to make it relevant to france. essentially, i’ll be revealing 5 random things about me. actually, the closest to this i can come up are things that happened to me. these are all true stories.waiting in line in france – i recently read somewhere that parisians are notorious for cutting in line. i can attest to the fact that it’s not just a parisian thing. cutt-sies (or rather, push and shove-sies) happen in the south of france, southwest, north, you name it. anyway yesterday, in burgundy, i went grocery shopping, which was no laughing matter being just a few days before christmas. it was a zoo. i got all my stuff and hurried to the cash registers. it was beginning to become mayhem and most people did not show any signs of holiday cheer. i got in line with my cart, then suddenly an elderly man edges his way into the crowded lines, gives me a look over (and i guess he decided i’d be harmless), and squishes just in front of my cart! literally inches away from me!! i know, i know, i should be used to this. i am and i’m not at the same time. it actually makes me chuckle BUT! being the brat that i am, i had to say something because i was so sure he thought i’d remain quiet about his indiscretions. me: “i see you and i know you are BEHIND me.” him (lying through his false teeth): “oh i know. i decided to stand here to grab 10 minutes of sun.” me: “anyway.” ok, so he was a little embarrassed. just a little. so then i saw that he had only four items and i had like 400 items overflowing in my cart, so i let him in. now, don’t go getting the idea that i’m a pushover. i know that he will probably think twice about cutting in line the next time he goes shopping…paris metro – by myself on a moderately crowded metro train, i sat down just next to the window. someone was sitting next to me and a person was sitting facing that person. the seat facing me was empty for just a second, then suddenly (right before the horn and closing of the doors) a guy with a nice business suit sits in front of me, places his fine leather attache briefcase on his lap but with the briefcase standing along his right leg. he uses it as an elevated armrest for his right arm. like most paris metro riders, i assume my forlorn look. the next thing i know, the suit guy starts fiddling around with his free hand and unzips his fly. as you might guess by now, he then unleashes his…zizi (which, btw, was nothing to brag about). i look around to see if anyone else is witness to this act, but no! everyone is basically into their own zoned-out world. i’m like, “wtf?” at first but it suddenly strikes me as a kooky, silly luis buñuel moment. i start to laugh uncontrollably and loudly. it quickly wipes the smirk off wild willy man, and well, other things disappeared at that point too.tweaking the books – our neighbor owns a restaurant in the 6th arrondissment in paris and has been in the restaurant business for many years. we have tea/coffee or meals with him now and again, and the conversation usually leads to some sort of “advice.” maybe we seem like we need advice, i’m not sure. so the other day he says, “you know…” (he always starts his advice talks with “you know…”) he continues to tell us that he got audited by a tax guy long ago. during the audit he and the auditor became really good friends and the auditor tells him that everyone cheats on their taxes and their bookkeeping, admitting that business are forced to do that because if they don’t, they will never make a profit. our neighbor needed to ALWAYS tweak the accounting books in order to, not only survive but to make a decent living. he did make a decent living and now owns many apartments in one of the choicest neighborhoods in all of paris.luck – when i lived in southwest france, my landlord tried to kill me. ok, ok, that’s MY version. basically, it was toward the end of my lease and he was showing prospective renters the apartment when i was out. in my dark bedroom there was a trap door that opened to a large living area below. this trap door happened to be OPEN one day as i came home. i went into my bedroom and fell in it. luckily my hip caught an edge. i wished there was some sort of clause in the lease specifying that said landlord is not permitted any attempts of murder on the lessee.chance meetings – i went to a church in the 9th arrondissement in paris a long time ago to listen to the organ. i’m not catholic but i love listening to really old cathedral pipe organs. i ran into someone there i’d met before, a musician studying at ircam. coincidentally, he was there to listen to the organ as well! he mentioned that it was olivier messiaen playing the organ. olivier messiaen is one of my favorite composers! i had to go meet him and so after the service we went up to see him. he was quite old and frail (he died not long after that). his wife was with him and both were so kind to us.

there’s an article in the international herald tribune today reporting how only 10% of the french national assembly is voting to allow p2p sharing of movies and music over the internet. they’re basically proposing that everyone pay a tax, similar to the tv tax we pay every year. (for the tv tax we pay about 100 euros. i don’t know how much they’re proposing for the internet tax) money from this internet tax would be distributed to copyright holders. once passed, the law will probably make downloading grow rampantly and at epic proportions, which is a lot better than that stupid DRM law france is trying to pass.

the whole thing is sooooo strange. first, why did the national assembly decide to meet at MIDNIGHT, two days before christmas, and why was only a fraction of the 577 members present at the meeting?????

tags: france p2p peer to peer french piracy digital rights file sharing downloading movies music internet tax

the biggest disconnect for me in france, is the traditional christmas cake, La Bûche de Noël. (christmas log) it is THE cake, a must-have on the christmas dinner table. during christmas, it takes center stage. if this cake were missing, it would be the equivalent of having no turkey on the thanksgiving table. scandaleux!

based on my own experiences in france, people get all excited over this cake, oohing and ahhhing about how great it is, practically peeing in their pants over the chocolaty pièce de résistance. the first time i’d celebrated christmas in france, i couldn’t wait to taste this amazing cake everyone was talking about. afterall, france has some of the most unrivaled pastries and baked goods on earth, doesn’t it? after i took one bite, everyone around me was expecting the raving and positive reaction from the visiting american. all eyes were turned to me. my first thought was, “EEEEIUWWW!” but i couldn’t exactly say that. within a span of several seconds, i was convinced it must be a joke being played on me. where is the camera cachée? the hidden camera to get the “money shot” on video!? i shifted my eyes around the room to look for the camera and to assess the situation. no. it didn’t seem to be a joke in the making.

someone: “so, how do you like it?”

me (thinking eiuw eiuw eiuw eiuw): “ahhhh, THAT’S the traditional french christmas LOG.” (you know what kind of LOG i was imagining)

ok so, i just thought i’d gotten a bad version of the famous bûche de noël. no biggy. i’ll catch a good version some other year. but sadly, that has not happened! did i just have a string of bad luck year after year? the only place i can imagine that would have a “to die for” version would be chez the man of the hour, pierre hermé. there’s no way his “yule log” would resemble the logs on his parisian sidewalks.

personally, i think this phenomenon comes with an explanation or a combination of reasons: 1) everyone MUST have a yule log on the table each year. they will buy one no matter what. SO. the bakers just crank them out haphazardly. why should they care if they taste good? they will all sell anyway; 2) people just lose their minds during the holidays; 3) they’ve drank so much, their taste buds have gone to pot; 4) people have confused the ancient tradition of throwing the winter solstice log into a fire to burn it – with throwing it into their mouths to eat it. don’t they realize it was meant for the bon fire?

tags: travel france buche de noel french cake christmas food francophiles pierre herme

christmas dinner is not christmas dinner without the presence of oysters. this shouldn’t stop you from eating oysters during months other than december, in fact, if you come to visit france during any time of the year, try to sample some of the best, most luscious and superior oysters around; you will not regret it.

there are a few different varieties of oysters in france but you will most likely find the l’huître de cancale (cancale oysters) farmed from the fishing village, cancale, which is not far from st. malo in bretagne (brittany). more than 80% of france’s oysters come from this small village. there are two types of oysters (triangular, jagged shells and more rounder shells) in france that come in three categories (fines, spéciales and claires – depending on the quality of the oyster flesh).

another oyster to look for, Huîtres de la Baie de Bourgneuf “Vendée-Atlantique” continues to win gold metals for national competitions. these oysters are plump, firm and mild.

france is the 4th largest producers of oysters in the world behind the u.s., japan and korea but nearly all of the oysters made in france are consumed in france: nearly 130,000 tons.

[huitres (in french)]

tags: travel france oysters french cuisine christmas food francophiles seafood

it’s christmas time. there’s no need to be afraid. oh wait, except for geese and ducks. in which case, they need to be afraid. very, very afraid.

in france, one of the most coveted foods during christmas time is fois gras, extra fatty liver from geese or ducks. the fatty liver is achieved by ramming a feeding tube down a goose or duck’s neck and overly force feeding it for about three weeks. basically, that makes their livers abnormally engorged and more fatty. after that, the liver is removed and weighed. if the liver of a goose is less than 600 grams (about 1.3 lbs) or the liver of a duck is less than 400 grams (less than a pound (.88).), by law, it cannot be used as fois gras and is supposed to fall into the paté category. a goose liver qualifying as fois gras, must be uniform in color and be a very light pink. calling a duck liver fois gras means it must be more of a very light beige.

france is the largest producer of fois gras supplying 80% of the world’s fois gras; 96% is duck fois gras. by and large, there is more duck fois gras than goose fois gras because ducks require less maintenance than geese: ducks need to be fed twice a day while geese need four force fed meals per day.

foie gras is also classified into grades (depending on quality and weight): class a extra , class first choice c, third class choice, large goose liver (see source below for specifics).

if you’ve been wondering about all the different kinds of foie gras, this might shed some light on the issue. the types of foie gras are as follows:

Foie gras entier – obviously, the whole liver
Foie gras – composed of pieces of foie gras
Bloc de foie gras – composed of 98% minimum of foie gras pieces, 2% (who knows what. ok, let’s call that OTHER)
Bloc de foie gras avec morceaux – must contain 50% of foie gras (for geese), 30% (for ducks)
Mousse de foie gras – emulsion of foie gras and water or creme fraiche, must contain 50% minimum of foie gras
Pâté de foie gras – must contain 50% of liver (probably used here are the livers that did not make the weight requirement to be classified as foie gras)
Parfait de foie gras – must have 75% minimum of liver

what goes into fois gras?

generally speaking: liver, salt, salt nitrites, white pepper, and some sort of alcohol (armagnac, cognac, marc de gewurtz)

in most cases, the foie gras (liver) is cooked or slightly cooked and sometimes, but more rare, is eaten raw (foie gras cru). in france, foie gras is typically served with toasted slices of bread during christmas and new year’s eve.

there’s definitely a price difference between the two, but can someone please tell me what the difference in taste/texture there is between duck foie gras and goose foie gras? i’ve had foie gras but i honestly don’t know which kind it was. does it matter? are they very similar? or is it like night and day?

[sources: base de la cuisine wikipedia (in french)]

tags: travel france foie gras french cuisine christmas food francophiles goose liver

it was a cold, rainy evening but a little too early for most of the restaurants to be open for business. this german restaurant in clermont-ferrand (central france in auvergne), just next to the cathedrale, was the only thing open in the old town, so it was the only place for us to get out of the miserable weather outside. we ordered the house specialty, sauerkraut. instead of posing for her closeup, lulu kept ogling the sausages without blinking. it didn’t look very appetizing, and truth be told, it was not that great (but the service was excellent). you just have to go to germany for the real deal. note: their french food was pretty good.

clermont-ferrand is smack in the the middle of france and is one of the oldest cities in france. it was originally two cities: clermont and montferrand but was forced together in the 1600s despite montferrand’s request to be independent.

as a city, it leaves much to be desired because it is more of an industrial town (and looks like one except for the old town), being the headquarters for the tire company, michelin, among other companies. it is, however, worth a visit for what surrounds it. the area is famous for a chain of volcanoes, particularly the largest one, the puy-de-dôme, 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the city.

———————
*Lulu Lundi – Monday is dedicated to Lulu, an adorable Boston Terrier traveling around France. This also serves up a scrumptious plate of weekend dog blogging (#14) graciously hosted by Sweetnicks – This week at Sweetnicks, check out the theme, “dogs & food.”

tags: travel france clermont-ferrand auvergne french sauerkraut massif central francophiles dogs

just as english uses french words incorrectly, (i.e., in the u.s., “rendez-vous” has more of a connotation of a tryst or a (romantic) date – in french, you can have a rendezvous with the dentist, a simple and innocent appointment) – inversely the french will sometimes use english words incorrectly. i guess i shouldn’t really say that’s these words are incorrect because well, in france, they are correct. i find them really adorable. note: they may or may not be in the dictionary (i didn’t check) so, while they might be shunned by the stuffy academie francaise elite, they are definitely spoken in real life. (i’ve heard them!)

FOOT – “il va faire du foot” means he’s going to play soccer. this makes sense (in france) since “soccer” in french is football. my SO says americans are weird to call american football, FOOTBALL, since they play with their hands

FOOTING – means jogging. in french someone might say, “je vais faire du footing.” (i’m going jogging/running). when i’ve heard this, i confused it with FOOT (see above). all those times someone said they’d go FOOTING, i thought they were going to play soccer. i’d thought, man, a lot of people play soccer around here!

FLIPPER – nope, flipper does not mean everyone’s favorite dolphin from the 60s, but instead, in france, means PINBALL (the old arcade game). sure there are flippers in there but i guess the french did not get into the old rock musical, TOMMY. – somehow, HE’S A FLIPPER WIZARD doesn’t sound right.

PEPS – like the word PEP in english, in french PEPS means a boost of energy. i heard a teenager on tv recently say, “j’ai du peps.” (i have energy) – the S is always pronounced in french, which makes it sound strange to my ears.

RUGBYMAN – this one’s not too far out there. it does mean RUGBY PLAYER but more than one rugby player is RUGBYMANS (the S is not pronounced).

PLAYBACK – if someone on tv pretends to be singing over a recording, in france they’ll say, “ah, il chante en playback.” (oh, he’s singing in “playback”). in english, we’d just say he’s lip syncing. while technically, saying “playback” is correct, in english i’d say most people would say “lip sync.”

TALKIE WALKIE – a “talkie walkie” in french does mean walkie-talkie, so it’s not too incorrect (just mixed up a bit), but always makes me laugh out loud when i hear it. (i know, it doesn’t take much)

there has got to be more of these; i just can’t think of any right now. do you have any examples?

update: more Les faux anglicismes

i got really excited when i saw these coffee filters in the store last week. they’re made from bamboo fibers, which is an excellent material because it is easily renewable and good for the environment. because it is not bleached white, it doesn’t have chlorine (chlorine is not good in general, environmentally and healthwise). we usually use the stovetop espressso maker that doesn’t need a filter, but if we have guests, we use the drip coffee maker because it’s bigger. i’m impressed with this normally-ignored item (yes! it’s the little things in life!) and the EU for making an effort to be a little more conscientious about the environment. the company that manufactures these filters, melitta, is actually german, so bravo, germany!

i’m still in search of a good coffee to call my own. we’ve been drinking an italian espresso (lavazza espresso) that is good but we’re still experimenting with other coffees. france is SUPPOSED to have the best coffee, at least according to a restauranteur we met a couple of years ago. he said that france gets first dibs on the premium coffees because they are the biggest consumers of coffee. i don’t know if that’s still true. does anyone have any suggestions? if you’re in france, what coffee do you drink?

some coffee trivia

kopi luak, is a coffee that is nicknamed CAT KAKA COFFEE. doesn’t sound very appetizing, does it??! the luak is an animal resembling a cat that eats ripe coffee beans right off the tree, digests the flesh but poops the beans out whole. the secret “ingredient” is the fermentation process that takes place inside the animal’s stomach. the beans are thoroughly washed (i hope so!), roasted and prepared accordingly. the coffee sells for more than $100 per pound and is extremely popular in japan and sumatra.

today’s coffee falls into two categories
robustas are hardy but a bit harsh, and usually end up in soluble form (instant coffee). arabicas, largely from latin america, are milder and from a higher quality bean and makes a much more tasty cuppa.

tags: travel france bamboo coffee french arabicas filters francophiles

here is my french music overview/guide. i tried to put a wide variety of music but i’ve left many out. feel free to make suggestions.

SONGWRITERS/SINGERS THAT STRONGLY INFLUENCED THE FRENCH MUSIC LANDSCAPE

francis cabrel – i must kick off this post with my favorite francis cabrel. many argue that his cd, “sarbacane” is his best but i’m going to recommend D’une Ombre a l’autre because this box set includes 3 cd’s of live performances (in fact, from the sarbacane tour), many of which are brilliant.

daniel balavoine – like cabrel, his music continues to traverse generations. his voice is a bit hard on the ears (to me) but i love so many of his songs that are written with compassion and hope. i wish he were still alive today.

serge gainsbourg – inimitable style with a provocative, shock approach.

michel berger – another strong influence on where french music went. with him, it went in many directions because he wrote for so many french singers: johnny halliday, france gall, veronique sanson, francoise hardy, maurane, etc. (he also wrote the music for the musical “starmania”) – his singular style is always recognizable, and he’s one of the few french composers that wrote happy songs – i wish he were still alive today too.

pascal obispo – another prolific and talented composer/lyricist/producer/singer – writes music/lyriics for many of the popular singers today (natasha st. pier, florent pagny, zazie). he also wrote the music for “10 commandments.”

other major players of this category: laurent voulzy, jean-jacques goldman, patrick bruel (cassez la voix!)

FRENCH ROCK AND POP
M (short for mathieu chedid, son of singer louis chedid) – alternative pop/rocker with cat ears has captivated france and his popularity is spreading worldwide; noir desir – remains another head banging rock band, recently making the news because the lead singer killed his actress girlfriend, marie traintignant; calogero – pop rock composer turned singer when he couldn’t find anyone to sing his songs; kyo – a pop rock trio discovered by david hallyday, zazie – one of the few female pop/rock singers in france; les rita mitsouko – this alternative rock duo is quirky and fun (i love the funny, “les histoires d’amour finissent mal” though i know that’s not true!); daft punk – techno robot rock band gone global. renaud – a raspy voice bending notes of political/social statement – Jean Louis Aubert – went the solo route after his group, “telephone” split up in the late 80s; indochine – after so many years, this group remains an all-time cult favorite

more notables: mylene farmer, vanessa paradis, benabar, etienne daho, marc lavoine, liane foly, helene segara, axelle red, michel polnareff, raphael, gerald de palmas, carla bruni (folk), air (electropop), louise attaque, mickey 3d

FRENCH R’N B/RAP/HIPHOP
amel bent – newcomer from the suburbs of paris sings one of my favorite r ‘n b/chansons/pop cd’s un jour d’ete (her first cd); corneille, the only survivor of his family after the rwandan genocide, writes toward a more positive future including love, innocence and pride; Lââm does a pretty good r ‘n b version of michel berger’s “chanter pour ceux” and one of the first rappers in france: mc solaar.

GANGSTA RAP à la française
NTM (“supreme NTM”) – for life in suburbs check out IAM (“best of: ombre est lumiere”) and the solo albums of its lead singer akhenaton (“sol invictus”). for a more funky hip-hop, look for alliance Etnik (“simple & funky”) or menelik (“o.q.p.”). more notables: diam’s, tragedie, doc gyneco, fonky family, ministre amer, assassin, stomy bugsy, k-maro

MUSIC BROUGHT TO FRANCE
algerian rai music: khaled, faudel, rachid taha and cheb mami; french caribbean music zouk: zouk machine, kasav, passi

FRENCH DIVAS – THE FEMALE POWERHOUSE VOICES
chimene badi – hit the scene with a big splash with her big voice a couple of years ago and has a beautiful powerful voice singing a range of r ‘n b to chansons francaises; isabelle boulay – a quebecoise specializing in mostly romantic chansons francaises; lara fabian (belgian/italian) – though her last cd (“9″) was a underproduced disappointment, i love her cd, en toute intimite (live concert), patricia kaas – amazes me with her unique, low range, raspy voice, belting out popular tunes; maurane – sings more typical chansons francaises; julie zenatti – is another powerful voice that sings more from a theatrical base (i wish she had a better song writer); oops i almost forgot celine dion – canadian singer who is extremely loved in france.

THE POWERFUL MALE VOICES
florent pagny – his best cd (imho): chatelet les halles and “savoir aimer”; patrick fiori, a corsican that launched his career from the theatrical comedie musicale, “notre dame de paris”; (like julie zenatti, i wish he had a better songwriter), johnny halliday, grand daddy of french rockers, has a penchant for bad plastic surgery, and is still very popular even in his 60s.

FRENCH WITH A LATIN TWIST
henri salvador – old time crooner that has been around for a long time singing brazilian jazz balads; manu chao – latin/french alternative rock – has an original sound spun off from the group mano negra; elie semoun – breaking from his comedic duties, he made a sweet bossa nova cd ; jonatan cerrada – past winner of “nouvelle star” is belgian of spanish origins with a powerful voice. here’s another singer that i hope gets some good songwriters.

MUSICALS
starmania – is awesome and probably the most well-known rock-opera musical from france – the music is written by michel berger and story/lyrics by (canadian) luc plamondon. it flowed into the mainstream french pop scene and if you’ve been in france you’ve probably heard at least one song from it. there are three love stories working simultaneously in a world that has become one country. basic themes involve terrorism, totalitarianism and a person’s rights to freely choose his future. notre dame de paris – based on the novel by victor hugo was written by richard cocciante (music) and lyrics by luc plamondon. it launched the careers of helene segara, garou (canadian singer) patrick fiori and julie zenatti; 10 commandments another pop/rock opera, was written, directed and co-produced by elie chouraqui, with music by pascal obispo.

ALMOST IN THE OLDIES BUT GOODIES CATEGORY
jane birkin, francoise hardy, serge lama (je suis malade!), veronique sanson, julien clerc, alain souchon, sylvie vartan, william sheller, maxime le forestier, michel sardou, claude francois (clo clo!)

OLDIES BUT GOODIES
edith piaf, charles aznavour, jacques brel, georges brassens, charles trenet

TEEN POP – lorie, jenifer, alizee, priscilla

Coming soon…French Classical Music Part IV

See also Part I: Shopping Gift Guide for Francophiles: Movies and Books and Part II: French Food for Foodie Francophiles
===================================
tags: france music guide french chansons francaises rock musicals

france has more incinerators alone than all of the other EU countries’ incinerators combined. how many does france have? 133! and more are being planned. does that sound insane, or is it just me? incinerators are the worst method of waste management because it releases polluting emissions in the air, land and water, the by-products of incinerating waste. in particular, air emissions can include acid gas, particulate matter, heavy metals (example: mercury), highly toxic trace organic compounds and dioxins, all of which has a devastating impact on the environment and any living creature exposed to it.

why are there so many incinerators in france? good question. it looks like other countries are sending their waste away, and it’s all getting swept under france’s dirty carpet at the expense of the land, water, air, animals and people.

just around paris, there are 19 incinerators.

the largest landfill in europe happens to be in france too, near marseille. this landfill has been accepting 600,000 TONS of waste per year! but the EU is trying to get the french government to close it down because it’s leaching dangerous levels of toxic liquids into the ocean and surrounding land. as a result, they’ve decided to close it down but what will they put in its place? an INCINERATOR!

[sources: what really happens in an incinerator?]

tags: france trash incinerators waste management environment fos-sur-mer french government

it’s back to the south of france again and this week; lulu’s in the coastal town and tiny hilltop village of biot, which is about 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) from the riviera beaches between nice and antibes.

some medieval biot history: the village was nearly wiped out by the plague at the end of the 14th century. later, in the middle of the 15th century biot was fortified and repopulated. the population of biot today is roughly 7,000 inhabitants.

biot is known for its glassware and hand crafted pottery. the tour at the glass factory is worth a go particularly if you’ve never seen glassware being made. the glassworks style is a bit like in spain with tiny bubbles on thick glass and dishware. La Verrerie de Biot, 5 chemin Combes; tel: (33) 493 65 03 00. you can also take glass-blowing classes there.

———————
*Lulu Lundi – Monday is dedicated to Lulu, an adorable Boston Terrier travelng around France.

This also serves up a warm dish of weekend dog blogging (#13) graciously hosted by Sweetnicks

tags: france travel biot alpes-maritimes beaches riviera glass making
francophiles dogs dog blogging

we went to a farm yesterday and wandered around to look at the horses, sheep, ducks, pigs and dogs. i guess i’d never in my life seen a turkey up close and personal, and well, i’m glad! they are so creepy and ugly! call me a citygirl, but i had no idea that they all cackle all at once…in unison. lulu barked at them, then they all cackled together. then she’d bark again. same thing over and over. and over and over! and look at them! with a rubbery limp thing hanging from the middle of their faces and a bright red oozing texture neck wrap (i have no idea what it’s called as you might have noticed). there was actually an uglier turkey (yes! really!) but my photo of him didn’t come out well. you can tell that creators from science fiction had borrowed from real life UGLY: the turkey to create the most vile, scary, horrifying creatures EVAR.

founder of Emmaüs, 93 year old abbot pierre, (who recently released his book, my god why) has released a CD called, “avant de partir” (before leaving). on it he recites 14 short passages from the bible followed by the lord’s prayer. the “spiritual testament” is his recited voice with a background of music by french composer, erik satie and canadian composer stephen mulin. the CD is now available in french stores. [via tf1 (in french)]

today is dedicated to gift suggestions (of french foods) for francophiles. you can find most of these online in the u.s. (imported from france) or at most large markets or specialty shops if you’re in france. i’m choosing items that can be mailed/shipped easily or put into a gift basket (or something more creative) that you can custom make yourself. of course, i’m sure i’m missing some things. also, feel free to share your own ideas.

OILS

white truffle oil – this oil is infused with white truffles, which are among the rarest tubers on earth. truffles can be found near alba in northern italy, but is also well known in france. Drizzle truffle over risotto, pasta, vegetables for a full-flavored pungent truffle experience.
walnut oil – nutty roasted walnut oil is a perfect addition to a fresh salad and other dishes as well as a healthful oil high in polyunsaturated oils, including omega-3 fatty acids.
hazelnut oil – another excellent oil that adds that perfect touch to nearly an infinite combination of dishes.
almond oil – another delicious addition to salads and blue cheeses
pistachio oil – this unprocessed oil has a rich, complex flavor, that goes well with seafood.

VEGETABLES/FRUIT

truffles – like a lot of other french specialities, truffles are stinky. but are coveted for their rareness and unique flavor. black truffles are found around the périgord region of southwest france. they are one of the world’s most expensive natural foods. (you can also find truffle paste, butter, powder and juice!) See Black Winter Truffles

mushrooms from france – dry chanterelle, morel, oyster, cepe (porcini) to accompany any meat dishes, or added to a soft, mild brie. see mushrooms

chestnuts – all kinds of yummy glazed chestnuts are found all over france especially during christmas time. You can also look for chestnut puree (paste) that goes well with crepes or as a spread.

ratatouille provencal – a vegetarian’s favorite combination of tomatoes, eggplant, onions, leeks, pure olive oil, yellow squash, zucchini, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers, fresh garlic, tomato juice (tomatoes, salt), basil, tomato paste, anchovy paste (cured ancovies, salt, water), sea salt, thyme, and black pepper – makes an wonderful appetizer.

fruit – pears, cherries, plums, apples, apricots in brandy, cognac calvados or wine.

olives – the south of france produces some of the most tasty olives around.

soups – all kinds of veloutes, potages and pureed veggie soups.

hearts of palm – so yum in salads

tapanades – popular along the mediterranean, it’s a spread made of olives/red peppers/dried tomatoes/artichokes (or a lesser combination) that sometimes include truffles. See Truffled Artichoke Tapenade

MEATS

fois gras – goose liver delicacie made by overfeeding geese. duck fois gras is also very popular in france.
dry sausages – rosette de lyon, wild boar saucisson sec (salami)
escargots – the best snails in france come from the burgundy region. they are HUGE! you can buy them in sealed mason jars or even cans if you’re into the slimey beasts.
jambon de bayonne – the best cured ham in france.
patés – terrined meats (spread) couldn’t be more french. when you gotta have a baguette and something meaty to spread on it.

CHEESES – there are simply too many cheeses from france and this needs its own category! for now, just think about getting “laughing cow.” (kidding, but a lot of kids really love this.)

OTHER

salts: truffle salt, fleur de sel – has a higher mineral content than table salts (and are harvested differently: fleur de sel is obtained by hand harvesting the young crystals that form on the surface of salt evaporation ponds.)
chocolates: christian constant in paris, hot chocolate mix from angelina in paris, pierre herme pastries and chocolates, chocolate covered macarons at la duree.
candy: les vosges pine candy, vichy mints, nougatine, calissons d’aix – made of ground almonds and candied fruits, calissons are coated with a velvety white icing and molded in their recognizable diamond shape. caramels with fleur de sel: salt enhances and contrasts with the sweet caramel from the area of charentes-poitou.
cakes/cookies: madeleines, galettes (cookies from brittany), cookies by LU, butter palmiers
jams: quinces, mirabelle plums, flowers (lavender, violets, rose), black and red currants
drinks – wines (also needs a separate post), champagnes, ciders, cognac, pastis (licorice liqueur), calvados, chartreuse (from the monks at the grande chartreuse), syrups for drinks (anis, mint, cassis), french cidre (cider with a small amount of alcohol, best paired with savory crepes).
cornichons (pickled gherkins), spices (herbes de provence), pepper sauce, mustards, aioli (garlic mayo), lavender honey, verjus (literally green juice) was very popular in medieval french cuisine, a sour liquid that is made from unripe green grapes and used to enhance poultry, game, fish, seafood, stews, marinades and sauces

COOKING

equipment: a crepe pan – to make your own at home; le creusot pots to make cassoulet etc.; fondue set – to recreate the alpine cheesy experience; creme brulee torch – to get that sugar to melt and become the crispy, crackly goodness it needs to be; baguette pan for baking your own baguettes at home, raclette grill – slices of cheese are melted in individual metal dishes under the heating element and served with boiled potatoes, cornichons and an assortment of ham, salami, cured meat or saucisson.

i hope this was a good starting point for you…

Miss Part I? Click here for Shopping for Francophiles: Books & Movies Part I

See Part III: Shopping for Francophiles – French Music

—————————–
tags: france travel christmas shopping gifts francopiles french food foodies gourmet

talking about christmas shopping in france the other day made me really think, “OMG i still haven’t finished my shopping!”

for so many reasons, france remains to be the most visited country on EARTH. that means there are lots and lots of francophiles! (here’s a huge SLAP! with a large trout for bill o’reilly, hater and france basher)

i decided to post a shopping guide while i figure out what to get my sister and her husband (and other francophiles) for christmas. so if you have some friends and family that love france, here are some suggestions for you too:

BOOKS

The Book: Louis Vuiton – this is a must have for LV collectors and makes a great coffee table book.
60 Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong – an interesting read about france, why and how things evolved, and some explanations about the things in france that are perplexing.
A Year in the Merde – a fun, laugh-out-loud story about a british guy living and working in france.
La Bonne Cuisine – a trusted, comprehensive guide to french cooking, this is the equivalent to the joy of cooking or the fannie farmer cookbook. la bonne cuisine was written in 1927 and was a well-weathered recipe book in many french households. it was considered a BIBLE to the late and adorable julia child. this year it was translated into english for the first time.
French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present – essential reading for enthusiasts of french films.
The Great Wines of France – a guide for the true lover of french wines with wine profiles written by expert clive coates and including stories behind some of france’s most reputable châteaux.
Judgment of Paris : California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine – a blind tasting of california and french wines. the findings sent shockwaves throughout the wine world.

MOVIES (DVDs)

Amelie – impish, fun and quirky movie that will leave you happy as you skip instead of walk for the rest of the day (original french version with english and spanish subtitles).
Grand Illusion – Jean Renoir’s antiwar masterpiece is one of the very first prison escape movies, and is hailed as one of the greatest films ever made.
Ma vie en rose – there are so few movies that will make you both laugh and cry and this is one of them. it’s a touching story about tolerance and a transgendered child living in a place that does not understand him.
The Dinner Game – really funny and silly movie that will make you laugh out loud – revolving around a game about who can bring the dorkiest guy to dinner. it’s also a great tribute to the actor, jacques villeret who sadly passed away this year.
Cyrano de Bergerac – out of all the remakes of the story of cyrano de bergerac, this one, with gerard depardieu, is one of my favorite versions (though it’s not as funny as this one)
Three Colors Trilogy – set of three absorbing and thought provoking films (blue/white/red – the colors of the french flag) and based on the french ideals: liberty, equality and fraternity.
Hiroshima Mon Amour – based on the novel by marguerite duras, hiroshima mon amour is perfect adaptation brought to the big screen, a story about love, tragedy, remembering, forgetting and rebirth.
Ridicule – during the time of louis xvi, survival demanded an engaging quick wit and a razor sharp tongue.
The Girl on the Bridge – beautiful and romantic story about a knife thrower and a girl – it’s an absorbing art piece exploring the human spirit.
Jules and Jim – a classic made in the 60’s about bohemian paris and a love triangle.

i realize that i could’ve listed so much more but i tried to include a variety of books and movies that would appeal to different interests and tastes.

see Part II: French Gifts for Foodies and Part III: French Music Guide (French Music for Francophiles)

—————————–
tags: france travel christmas shopping gifts francopiles french movies books ideas

coca-cola, the world’s largest and number 1 soft drink company, reported that it will launch a coffee-infused soft drink called Coca-Cola Blak in various markets around the world in 2006. the new drink, a combination of coca-cola classic and coffee extracts, will first be launched (tested) in france in january before being rolled out in the united states and other markets during 2006.

france was probably chosen as ZEE guinea pig, having the largest consumers of coffee; i really hope they don’t use crappy coffee. coffee AND coke – for those who can’t get enough caffeine from just one or the other…

[via agenda inc]

tags: france softdrinks coca cola blak coffee soda french products

Technorati Profile

me: “what should i get the boys (my teenage nephews) for christmas?”

my sis: “i dunno. get them something french.”

me: “all the stuff in france is from china.”

that is (sort of) a joke but it’s hard to find stuff from france in france! i’m trying to finish up my christmas shopping and my teenage nephews are the hardest to shop for because they have EVERYTHING already. they’d been asking me for skate or surf shirts with french written on them, but i couldn’t find any! i couldn’t even find regular t-shirts with french written on them (see this post) apart from the ugly, creepy, crass t-shirts in party supply stores (those won’t do). we went to the mall yesterday, and decided to check out decathlon, a sporting goods store, and found something for the boys! and something they dont have! AND with french on them! and cool, to boot! we got so excited. they might not appeal to girlie girls but for my teenage nephews, we think these federation francaise de football (fff) soccer jerseys fit the bill. i hope they don’t mind that they’re made in china. (see? i told you!)

THEN….before boxing and wrapping them so i can mail them off to the east coast to make it there in time for christmas, i found something on one of the jerseys…..the store forgot to remove the anti-theft device. BIG DOH!!!!!! not only is this store not at all close to where i live, it’s not at all close to where i live!!!! did i mention that the store is not at all close to where i live?

tags: france travel christmas shopping soccer jerseys french federation francaise de football fff decathlon