French Food and Schwepps. Why did you dump me? I still love you.

Name this movie: "Frawnch Fries. Frawnch bread. Frawnch dressing. Now say Ricky. Riiik-eeee." haha. Love that movie. It's Better Off Dead, if you didn't know. But now you can read about some Frawnch Food...

What was that? What did you say?

Oh.

You wanted to see some food. Well. Before I go on, go get a tissue, because really - there is no better food than in France. Again, I hate to be a trendy traveller, jumping on the bandwagon of "oh you just have to eat in France.." Blah, blah blah.

It's just the downright truth.

Sorry.

Let's start with my number one, all time, favorite beverage. You got folks.
SCHWEPPS!!!! Don't be confused with your dads old gingerale, which is great, BTW. But this Schwepps is SO awesome. I first found the lemon flavor as an import to the middle east. And Peter and I love it! You can only buy it here in small glass bottles or cans, not this 2-litre/ish thing in the pictures. One time I couldn't find my lemon schwepps anywhere. Nowhere in this country. Then - I found it. And I panicked and bought three cases of 40 or so. And my friends I was with laughed and laughed.

Who's laughing now?

It has never been seen again. Nope. No where in this country. It was one of those treats that the Westerners all love here. It's sweet, and tangy and just the right amount of bubbles. And guess who still has 15 bottles?

Yep. Me. Don't tell. I'm using it as a form of cash to bribe people with. See? When you see something here. You better buy it, and buy a lot. You most likely will never see it again.

That is of course unless you go to Europe!!!!

Last year we found a few flavors in Belgium. And this year we found even more in France. I LOVE YOU SCHWEPPS!!! Let's get married!


Can you believe they make 8 flavors?! And that's only the ones I know of AND doesn't include their diet selection. Mmmmm. See the coconut? We're super in love, he and I.
Enough on Schwepps. Have you seen their milk?

I was disturbed last year that there is not one Fresh gallon of milk available on the European continent. This year; business as usual. And the fact that they don't refrigerate eggs is a little creepy. I have my standards. Okay? Anyway, a six pack of milk a week - and we're set.

Where the meals were served and eaten. Wine on the table was a gift from the owner. Looks super French, I know. But it was JUST for looks, of course.

Delightful kitchen to cook in. Everything you could want was here. Very nice. And in case you don't know this about me. 'Why eat out when we can cook it ourselves' is my motto. (unless I'm totally pooped and don't want to cook) Especially while travelling. It costs SO much to feed a family of seven. In Paris, especially. We ate A LOT of ham and cheese. Too bad they were the BEST ham and cheese on the planet earth. Because of course, the ingredients were fantastic.

Hot cocoa and a fire after a very cold day out. These are the things we dream of here in our hot desert life. It was wonderful.

Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of 'meals' like this. Juice and mentos. Whatever you can get, we'll take.

I'm a little embarassed to tell you this. We ate pan de chocolate (that's chocolate croissants to you, kind of) every single day. How could we not? Simon is giving his best French imitation of fantastik! The bakery was literally a five minute walk, and a two minute drive. And not just a so-so bakery. The kind you dream of in France. Hang tight. You'll see the photos below.

French Macaroons. Mmmm. Are the cutest little things in the world. I LOVE how happy they look, don't you? They are bright, and crisp, and have flavors that pop. We enjoyed every single bite. My kids are still calling them, 'little hamburgers.' I see their point.


WARNING: Don't cry out loud when you see the next shots!

Okay. Cry away.

And don't you love how they wrap your delights up like a little gift?

"For me? You shouldn't have. Well. Okay...."

This poor woman was SO tired of hearing me say in the worlds WORST french accent, "Bonjour. Sees pan de chocolate, tois bagette, su vous ples" It very well could have sounded worse than my attempt at typing something in french. Poor thing. Sorry - AGAIN. Deysole!

Lemon Tart, Strawbery Tart, Rhubarb Tart. *sob*sob* how I miss you...

This was just downright funny. I love to see things around the world. We get a lot of kethcup and paprika chips where I live. I love how it's like a fancy french meal on the picture of the bag. They tasted like roast chicken and gravy, and were actually really good. Way to go Lay's!

I'm not gonna lie. I am not above McDonald's. Especially when I am trying to feed five little kids without breaking the bank, and when they are starving somewhere in a little town in france. We ate here quite a few times and used their bathrooms (free and clean, still missing toilet seats though - thank you very little!) even more. In our travels we have found that McDonald's always has something unique to that region that they sell there. Parmesean chicken patty in Italy, weinerschnitzel in Germany, etc. Here it was chocolate mousse. I watched an American man at the Versailles McD's try to order one. It went like this, speaking to two teenagers who spoke not a word of English:

I'd like a chocolate mousse.

Puzzled look.

You know. Mousse. It's chocolate.

More head shaking.

I finally chime in after five or six of these, because my French is super great.

Choc-o-laht. Mousse de choc-o-laht.

They got it. I love how if you will just add the Pepe le Pew accent to most any word, they'll get it. Works every time.

*More crying here. *

Does this need a caption? I think not. A cold evening with fresh crepes being made for you?

This is for certain one of those, a picture speaks a thousand words, times. Wouldn't you say?

Sam is enjoying his Croque Monsieur. Heaven. It's a ham and cheese-ish sandwich. Warm and delish. Mmmm.

Last bite of the crepe. Isn't she cute?

Now don't you worry. I've got more where this came from. This is just a little diddy of food. Wait til we go to the market down the street. It's a drooler, well for me, because we don't get fresh meat and produce around here. Until then, do your best not to cry in your bowl of cold cereal and toast. I know I try not to every day...