David's Diary: Saturday, August 4, 2001

French Markets and Food

Shopping, cooking, and eating consume a lot of our time. That's to be expected since for the French good food is an important part of life. We shop almost every second day. Since we are living in the country, this takes a considerable amount of time, given that driving to the closest Intermarche is a thirty minute round trip.

But for really fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, and other selections there is nothing like a French market. Every Saturday there is a market in St. Rémy-lès-Chevreuse. Jocelyn and I spent the morning making a pilgrimage to the market to restock. The market was busy with long lines stretching around the stalls, but everyone was in good humor and even with our limited French we did get served.

Fresh Fruit For The Table

One of the things that is really appealing right now are the fruits. Blanche (i.e., white) peaches and nectarines are a staple at this time of year. While we have the standard peaches and nectarines back home in Canada we have never had the white variety, which are sweeter and juicier.

While the French certainly like to eat, they are much slimmer than people back in Vancouver are. It is unusual to see a really overweight French person. It is hard to figure out their secret, but we're certain that part of it is buying really fresh products and cooking them within a day or so. And if you are like us, you eat fruit for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I've been enjoying French bread, cheese, and wine, yet when I look at myself in the mirror in the morning I really think that I've lost a few pounds since arriving in France.