Five Butters and a Falafel Wrap
Travel Notes on a Food Culture That Stayed Intact One of my favorite parts of visiting France is going to the grocery store. My conversational French is terrible, but my food vocabulary is okay, and that says a lot about me. During our last trip there I bravely left the kids and translating husband behind at the Airbnb, and ventured out on my own, where food discoveries awaited me at the grocery store, including the awesome sight of 3 refrigerated aisles full of cheese! I’ve always loved grocery shopping. I love browsing around and noticing. There are possibilities around every corner. I like watching people, some in a hurry, some stopping and chatting, the grocery store is a center of community, culture and place. In France, I’m particularly delighted around every corner of the Monoprix, happy to observe all the things like a detective: “What is that food?” “What is it for?” “What does it taste like?” I was even brave enough to ask a clerk, “Ou est le moutard?”, and furthermore, to ...
