{"id":2939,"date":"2017-07-31T09:56:15","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T13:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/?p=2939"},"modified":"2017-08-19T15:38:32","modified_gmt":"2017-08-19T19:38:32","slug":"fromage-et-la-plage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/2017\/07\/31\/fromage-et-la-plage\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 2: Fromage et La Plage"},"content":{"rendered":"

French cuisine is great and everybody knows it. So great in fact, that walking an hour and a half to Blanc Foussy, one of several wine caves in the Loire Valley, is not at all bizarre. My walk there went particularly well, as I learned about German architectural failures from a kind and talkative German student. However, anyone can research the wine-making process and learn what I did at Blanc Foussy.<\/p>\n

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Un \u00e9talage aux Grandes Caves Saint-Roch (Blanc Foussy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead, I’ll talk about cheese. Specifically ch\u00e8vre. Specifically ch\u00e8vre that is shaped like the bottom portion of the pyramid on a dollar bill (without the Eye of Providence that is). Tours and its surroundings specialize in ch\u00e8vre, goat cheese, which is often sold in the aforementioned shape. It had already made a few inconspicuous appearances on the cheese platter that my host family offers after every meal when my host father recounted to me and the other student living here its history.<\/p>\n

Pyramidal ch\u00e8vre already existed in Napoleon’s time, and seeing it at a dinner with his counselor Talleyrand reminded him of his conquests in Egypt. He cut off the top as a metaphorical show of power, and thence vendors reinforced the notion by selling the cheese sans point.<\/p>\n

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La forme que j’ai d\u00e9crit. La photo gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 Google.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wine and cheese emblematize\u00a0l’art de vivre,\u00a0<\/em>which I associate primarily with France. I often forget the warm weather required to cultivate them so finely. France’s proximity to the Mediterranean has entwined its history with that of Northern Africa with mostly adverse effects. I didn’t think to expect one as positive as the exchange of food. Besides the legendary origin of not-quite-pyramidal ch\u00e8vre, dishes like merguez (North African sausage) and couscous are common. I’ve now eaten that meal in my host family’s home and on L’\u00cele de R\u00ea, where I spent this past weekend.<\/p>\n

Six students from the University of Alabama, a fellow ND student, and I rented two rooms at a homestay near La Rochelle, a historic town on the Atlantic coast.<\/p>\n

We arrived in La Rochelle Friday evening ready to eat, then found out that we needed to check in at the homestay before nine. After checking in, we set out seeking a marvel–an establishment open past ten in France. What we found instead was a fast food joint already closing, whose employees offered to imagine we were cars so they could serve us at the drive-through. These kind gentlemen gave us extra fries and chicken strips, and set the tone for a lovely weekend.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, we resisted the urge to laze on the beach just long enough to downtown La Rochelle. After mussels and white wine, we strolled to the towers overlooking the old port: La Tour Saint-Nicolas and La Tour de la Cha\u00eene. The name of the latter comes from its original function as one anchor of a chain which prevented entry into the port when drawn. Standing on La Tour Saint-Nicolas, where sentinels watched over this center of French maritime trade through the Hundred Years’ War, during La Fronde, and onwards, inspired me.<\/p>\n

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Je n’ai pas pu r\u00e9sister<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ma t\u00eate entre La Tour Saint-Nicolas (\u00e0 gauche) et La Tour de la Cha\u00eene (\u00e0 droite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next day, I parted from the group at Sablanceaux–the first of the many beaches along L’\u00cele de R\u00e9. The buses barely run on Sundays, and especially not on an island where a limit on building height exists to prevent hotels and resorts from disrupting the local charm. I hiked about fourteen kilometers and saw some pretty towns, but only one of the many things I’d wanted to see was in reach.<\/p>\n

Among the tips offered to us by the owner of the homestay was a gas station that sells local beers, including “the Blonde de R\u00e9.” Motivated by this amber mystery, I followed the arrows and circles on the minimal map the owner had given me. Thirsty and tired, I found the station. Closed.<\/p>\n

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Maison de Blonde de R\u00e9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

L’\u00cele de R\u00e9 is beautiful and peaceful, and I want to spend more time there. Planning my unfinished adventure occupied me on the long walk back to Sablanceaux, where I had merguez and couscous on the beach, seated among friends. Perhaps the greatest pairing I achieved this week was the pairing of my desire to explore and my use of French.<\/p>\n

We ordered our food, asked for directions, called a cab, held a late-night conversation with neighbors to the homestay, all in French. I’m finding that I can communicate fairly well even when grammar slips away from me, and I’m alright with looking silly if it helps me learn.\u00a0I downloaded a conjugations app which, along with the French Fullmetal Alchemist\u00a0<\/em>manga I’ve been reading, will compliment my coursework well. Speaking of, I moved up levels this week. Already, I have a lot to be grateful for.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

French cuisine is great and everybody knows it. So great in fact, that walking an hour and a half to Blanc Foussy, one of several wine caves in the Loire Valley, is not at all bizarre. My walk there went particularly well, as I learned about German architectural failures from a kind and talkative German … Continue reading Week 2: Fromage et La Plage<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1169,"featured_media":3815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73607],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-france"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2939"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3816,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2939\/revisions\/3816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/sla2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}