Dear Readers,
Since 1981 I have been over the pond to France more than 40 times. Twice I lived in Paris
in rented flats for a year at a time. 17, Rue Etienne Marcel was near Les Halles and the
Metro. 66, Rue de la Montagne Saint-Genevieve was near the Sorbonne and the Pantheon.
In fact, the chauffeur driven Rolls Royce that picked up Owen Wilson each night in "Midnight
in Paris" stopped in front of my flat at the top of that hill coming up from rue des Ecoles
and Saint-Germain.
What I have learned about the arts and cuisine and most importantly lifestyle is that
we in America are encouraged to live a long life, work most of it, vacation rarely and feel
guilty about it, constantly ask for forgiveness worried about the afterlife, and eat
poorly due to the poor farming methods and the valued minerals and ingredients taken
from foods through pasteurization and the addition of preservatives. Unfortunately,
America just doesn't know how to enjoy life like the Europeans, the French in particular.
In France they do not use preservatives with the exception of the natural ones of sugar and
salt. Foods are not pasteurized in general unless they are to be exported to countries like
the United States. Cheeses in France are so amazingly flavorful, and there are about a
thousand different varieties from every corner of the Hexagon(France's name because of its
geographic shape on the map). Dairy products taste like they did when I was a kid, like
milk, like cream, like BUTTER, like yogurt and so on. When was the last time you actually
tasted dairy? Our dairy products have all the nutrition boiled out of them before reaching
the table. Sad! But true. And what we import from abroad has to be pasteurized as well,
so don't expect to taste the same cheeses or butters you had in Ireland and the rest of
Europe.
I will continue on this topic of lifestyle and living a quality life as each blog comes forth.
Until then, have a wonderful day or night!!!
All The Best,
Billy
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