La vie est belle

I've started to settle into life in France. Or at least food in France.

I've been doing my best to enjoy all of those cliche French things. We don't have to leave for work until just after 9am everyday, so it's easy (even for someone like me who is NOT a morning person) to step out in the morning to grab a baguette or a croissant from a bakery. Luckily there are no bakeries in the immediate area, so I have to walk at least five minutes to go grab decadent treats. This dissuades me from doing it EVERY morning.

Here in Arras there is a market Wednesday and Saturday mornings, so I've been trying to step out early to grab some good produce there. I'll never forget the first morning I walked up to the market, the sound of a rooster crowing greeted me as I approached the packed square; there was poultry of various kinds being sold right out of their cages.

Of course it's France, so any old grocery store has a very decent selection of cheese and wine (for cheap!).

The other day I went out for dinner with a couple of roommates. We ate at a very hip restaurant. It was quite small and had a constant stream of patrons coming and going, indicating that it must be of some quality. Indeed it was. The selection on the menu was an array of various fusion dishes, and while nothing was particularly French about it, (other than the fact that the food was great) we did start the meal with an "aperitif." Oh, and we finished with a "cafe creme."

Oh, and we had appetizers at home before going to the restaurant. What did we have? Escargots.