Greetings From Aix-en Provence -
So, to continue the frequent theme of eating, we had lunch in Aix-en Provence on Friday with our friends the Dolimiers. This is the family that has lived in Boston and Seattle and they’re looking for employment that will allow them to move back to Seattle, after spending the last two years here in Aix. They are originally from the Paris area. Their middle son goes to school with Sophia and Keaka. All of their children were born in the United States.
They (Celine) have been trying to help us with the food, pointing us to restaurants with true French food. So, Damien, who works for Philips, had Friday off and it was off to lunch. The meeting time was 1:15 pm and the lunch was set for 1:30 pm at a typical restaurant that has outdoor seating. On the way to the restaurant we walked around a bit and that got the camera working. One of the attractions in Aix-en Provence is the cathedral, which you see a photo of. There’s a photo of a typical old building and the more horizontal photo is of a hotel from the 17th century. Then there’s a photo at lunch. That’s Damien with their five-year-old son Nathan and Celine and Marlene. After lunch I grabbed a photo of a well-worn advertisement on the side of a building, plus a shot of the city hall plaza (city hall is on the right with the flag). So, you’ve gotten a little more flavor of Aix-en Provence.
No surprise, I had lamb for lunch, with pasta. Not a bad lunch, even though it looked like an American dinner. Marlene had lapin (rabbit). She liked it. It was proceeded by a many faceted appetizer. Very little bowls of this and that (cucumber dip, beet dip, herring, etc.).
We’ve dined at their home a few times and that means dinner around 9:00 pm. And, departure for home is between 11:00 pm and midnight. We were told that if you are invited over for dinner and leave before midnightit can be considered insulting. Other people have told us that isn’t totally true. I hope they’re giving an exemption for Americans.
Eating at certain times of the day keeps coming up and we keep trying to adjust. Essentially, between 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm you can’t get something to eat unless you go to McDonalds. The French are well trained from birth to eat at only certain times of the day. There is no snacking when you are out of one of the set times to eat. And, be ready to like lettuce, all types. Boy, do these folks eat salads! And, they are skinny.
Men's clothes are interesting. It takes me back to my teen-age years when American companies produced some shirts with a European tapering. When I try on a top here that is truly my size and is a size that fits me perfectly from an American manufacturer, I feel like I’m in a straight jacket. The cut is very narrow around the waist and the shoulders are smaller here in Europe than in the United States. I get it, clothes are produced for the majority and the majority in France is thin around the middle and rather small up top.
Well, take a big breath and we’ll go to dinner in Marseilles, next.
The Wilsons
