Tuesday 23 July 2013

La Belle France

So, we are back from our holidays, and very blissful they were too. I can summarise thus:

Mountains, cable cars, glaciers, flowery meadows, geranium-clad chalets and other associated features (see 'cows' below). God the Alps are gorgeous.

Sunshine. Lots and lots of sunshine.

Swimming pools. Empty at times. As I ploughed up and down a completely empty campsite pool in blistering 30something degree heat I promised to myself that I would try very very very hard to be happy if I ever win the lottery.

Turquoise lakes. Truly turquoise, like the turquoise felt-tip you use to draw 'mountain lake'.

Cows with actual bells on - how do Alpine farmers ever get any sleep - what a blimmin racket.

Bicycles. Lots and LOTS of bicycles. Men in lycra at every turn. MrB was in bikey heaven on those hairpins. I wonder if being in France while the Tour is on is a bit like being in Britain in the two weeks after Wimbledon when everyone is suddenly prancing about in tennis whites.

Food, obviously. Honorable mentions to ice cream, tartiflette (which is not exactly hot July fare, but when in Rome etc etc) and baguette viennoise. The Mighty Hunter returned from an early morning trip to the local boulangerie bearing this briochy stick of loveliness and we were all smitten. I suspect oldest b-boy liked it mostly because it is soft and does not necessitate the intensive chewing action required of a normal baguette and which I am forever nagging at him to practise. For he currently has FOUR front teeth. At the top, I mean, two, and then two more, like a shark. I was able to ignore it while the new ones were still but stumps, but now they're more or less completely in and the milk teeth are still there, and it's starting to freak me out a bit.Anyway, if anyone can point me in the direction of a really good recipe, I'll be very happy.

Decent coffee.

But really, indecent tea. They honestly have still not got it. We inadvertently turfed up at a very chi-chi lakeside hotel one afternoon, where I ordered a tea, foolishly thiking that if I was paying 5 euros for a cup of bloody tea (yes, that is FIVE EUROS, my friends. Like, practically five pounds when I have my real brain installed) then they would at least deliver it in a proper state to be drunk. But alas no. The same old: teapot of hot water, teabag in a little paper envelope and no flipping milk. Seriously guys, how hard can it be?? I'll come and teach you how to do it. Really. I'll even teach you in French if you ask me nicely. At least I was saved by the fact that at long last the French seem to have got over their historical aversion to fresh milk and dragged their sorry arses into the whole concept of, you know refrigeration, so I didn't have to put up with ghastly UHT in my morning cuppa.

On this subject, however, I would like to give an extremely hard stare to the Novotel in Reims, where we stayed overnight en route and which had nothing by little tubs of evaporated milk to put in the tea in the room. I was really very unhappy after driving for twelvety hours down the most boring roads in the known universe. French motorways are lovely and empty with nice big 80mph speed limits, but DULL is not the word. Nothing ever happens. I never thought I'd be glad to see the M6 again, but at least you get to change gear every now and then.

Oh dear. I had not intended to rant at all. We had a lovely time, really. The French are delightful in pretty much every other way, and their country is just fabulous, as you can see from the first part of this post. Next time I am stuck in a jam onthe M25 I'll rue my words. It was grand. And I must say it is most gratifying to come back to a sunny warm Scotland for once and see Twitter and FB full of people celebrating the end of term in England when my children only have 3 weeks' holiday left. Mwa ha ha.

Hope everyone else is enjoying a lazy summer break. I will post a picture of an Alpine meadow once I have finished with all the washing.

3 comments:

  1. Ha ha, I love your blog, even though I look at it when I should really be doing other things.

    We went to France this year too, Brittany - I HIGHLY recommend it - and I couldn't agree more about the tea/milk issue. I love french food, I don't know what it is about their bread and butter but I can devour a whole pain of the stuff, while at home I never touch the white stuff.

    So, how can their milk make such fabulous butter and cheese yet they can't just give you decent semi-skimmed for your tea??? And goat milk, which my children drink, a whole new nightmare of UHT agony.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like to drink tea but not with evaporated milk. Anyways, It is always a good experience to visit different locations and enjoy life with family. In such situation, I prefer to cook healthy breakfast recipes for children.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi

    I’m making contact from MyFamilyClub the money saving site for families with over a quarter of a million parents visiting each month.

    I’m contacting you as you're on our list of the top parent bloggers in the UK. Our Bloggers network launched last week with over 500 people registering in the first week and we would love for you to be one of our loyal bloggers!

    As a MyFamilyClub blogger you'll get the chance to win a luxury Fortnum and Mason English Essentials Hamper for yourself, and a Kids Organic Hamper full of sweet treats for your children to enjoy!

    The MyFamilyClub Bloggers Network are offering bloggers:
    • New ways to increase the readership of your blog in a supportive environment
    • An easy way to extend your reach and social exposure
    • A chance to connect with other like-minded bloggers and parents. We want to feature your blog on our network, so that our 350,00 monthly visitors get to hear about what you have to say. All you have to do is register on our Bloggers Network and blog away, and you’ll be opening up your blog to a larger audience.
    • We'll be selecting blogs to win fantastic prizes and free advertising on MyFamilyClub worth £1,000. Become Blogger of the Month, and you might get featured on the MyFamilyClub home page - plus mentioned on our Facebook page ( just under 50,000 fans) and on our Twitter feed (11,300 followers).

    Come and join our Blogging Network, you just need to register and start blogging!

    Please contact us at support@myfamilyclub.co.uk if you have any questions.

    Happy blogging!

    ReplyDelete