30 November, 2011 | Leave a Comment
To use a Britishism, I’ve been rubbish at posting lately. Sorry. For the past couple weeks, I’ve been in a writing frenzy. I am trying to complete the revision of my novel and academic work so I can submit my thesis and it is just consuming me. I have found time to go out everyday and walk, drink hot chocolate in cafes and browse the shops, but my life is mostly about writing. I’m leaving my apartment on Tuesday and heading up to Paris for my flight. My time here is nearly finished.
I thought I’d share a photo of what I bought this evening. On my way home from writing in the cafe, I stopped at the boulangerie and fromagerie for an “oh my god I’m leaving France soon” treat. There you can see a baguette and some very soft brie. In the middle there is goat’s cheese covered in dried cranberries (which I just tried — heavenly). And finally a pastry, which was called “sable” with raspberry. [It looks like an enormous pie in this photo, but it's actually a single-serving pastry!] I’ll miss visiting these little food shops, which are an everyday part of life here. In the Anglophone world, we’re mostly stuck with huge supermarkets.
Despite being a small town, there is a big store here that sells books, DVDs, music, electronics, etc. I like to go in there sometimes and browse around. They have some amazing cookbooks that I wish I could buy, including Laduree cookbooks and kits to make macarons. I have also stumbled upon some items that have really made me laugh, such as these two:
La Petite Maison dans La Prairie! I still can’t stop laughing over this.
This American import translated as “Le Bro Code” –
And of course there’s no escaping crap like this:
Ugh. Twilight books and DVDs everywhere. Even the small section for English language books is full of Twilight. [I wonder how Twilight is pronounced in French? Tweee-leeeet?] The store is also filled with Harry Potter and Call of Duty. It’s depressing how much American (and some British) stuff there is. What is wrong with you French people? Resist Anglophone cultural imperialism! Do you really need Le Bro Code?
NON!
Anglofille said @ 8:12 pm | Uncategorized | 10 Comments
Lol !
Twilight really is the most painful thing that ever happened to this planet
It seems like the french have given up. They used to be proud of their resisting Anglophone Cultural Imperialism.
Do they still say “ordinateur” or do they say “computer” by now ?
I didn’t know that Britain’s all filled with supermarkets instead of small shops – don’t they have loads of picturesque quirky little sweet-shops there ? I’ve only been to Britain once during High-school, and the only thing I can remember is Fudge
Do they still say “ordinateur” or do they say “computer” by now ?
I don’t know what the young, hip kids say, but here in this provincial town, whenever I’m out with my laptop, they refer to it as “ordinateur.”
From my experience of Britain, it’s just like America – supermarkets and chain stores everywhere. Of course you’ll find small shops here and there (and in more upscale areas there are more of them), but in general, people just shop for food at supermarkets.
Fudge…yum! Americans make fudge too. And taffy.
What’s taffy ? I like that word ! And I’m into sweets much. In Austria and lower Germany, they make a complete fuss about christmas bakery every year, so that’s good. And we do have small patisserie- and chocolate-shops in the centre of the city too, and even in some areas of the outskirts. Seems like I’ve finally found a good point about my country
Good luck for finishing up your writing. I’ve just finished mine for my latest academic degree, and I can tell you : the freedom that awaits you after having submitted it is *absurd*, it seems like some complete perverted luxury to me – I can actually read what I want now, and go to bed when I want or just hang around thinking about unimportant stuff for a long time
Like you I’ve been working non-stop over the last few years (not on one huge thesis like you have done, but on various smaller ones for various minor degrees), that’s one of the reasons why I can relate to your blog so much I think…
I’m hungry!
Sorry William!
Dorothy, congrats!!! Well done. I hope to join you soon in the land of freedom. At this point, I still can’t imagine it!
I have always wanted to visit Austria at Christmas. I have been there before, but in the spring. I’ve been reading a bio of Marie Antoinette and that has made me want to revisit Vienna. Also, I have become quite fascinated by the life of one of Marie Antoinette’s sisters and want to investigate further.
Here is taffy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taffy_(candy)
BTW, I discovered this website that translates German literary journalism into English. I’m very excited to explore it:
http://www.signandsight.com/
What did you expect in the way of French movies:
Polytechnique
J’ai serré la main du diable
Le Rocket
Bon Cop Bad Cop
Invasions barbares
Jésus de Montréal
or even
Amour, haine & propagande: 2ième Guerre mondiale?
That’s a very awesome site indeed ! It’s got my full approval for featuring Ingeborg Bachmann, Paul Celan, Peter Handke (who is my dad’s best friend in real life), Andrea Breth and some other cool people on the same site
That sounds very interesting about Marie Antoinette’s sister!
Re thesis – I know, one grows sort of accustomed to emprisonment
Get the hell out of it !!!
Peter Handke (who is my dad’s best friend in real life)
WOW!
mmmmm… that food looks good!! *drool*
Yeah, my dad’s a writer too. Though both my dad and Handke are difficult persons in real life
Thanks for the taffy, btw ! Hope to be able to try it one day