Reporting back from French week.

Monday morning, and French Week is officially at an end! Let me tell you a little bit about it:

A phone pic of our tasty, tasty omelette. 

Food
After reading Julia Child's book about learning all about French cooking, I was feeling pretty excited about French food, and getting all immersive. But, of course, French week happened during a normal week of work and school and appointments and meetings, so there wasn't really time for me to put myself through a crash course of la cuisine Française. I was also tempted to buy Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but knew it my heart of hearts that I wasn't going to be busting out a Creme Bavaroise (whatever that is!) on a Tuesday night. So instead, I relied on a few simple faves from my repertoire that also happen to be French in origin. We had:

• Petits pains au chocolat. So tasty and so reminiscent of the ones we had in France a few years ago that my only regret is making then when we had friends over. I only had three, and could easily (easily!) have eaten twice that. Possibly three times. They are tasty. You should make them. 
• Omelette fromage, jambon et tomate. A cheese, ham and tomato omelette served with a green salad and a baguette on the side. Quick, easy and very tasty. The only "un-French" thing I did was not flip the omelette. I always destroy them when I do, so instead I just cook the omelette for longer over a low heat and they turn out great. 
• And for the grand finale to French Week, I made quiche with broccoli, ham and tomatoes for dinner last night. Again served with a salad and a baguette. Cinnamon rolls for dessert this time, so not quite so French!

What little French food I've had so far in my life, I've really enjoyed. So I would like to learn and explore a little more. I feel like I might have a cassoulet or a bouillabaisse in me yet! So maybe I'll be mastering the art of French cooking yet! 

Reading

I didn't do so great here. I finished My Life in France right at the beginning of the week, and didn't end up finding anything else French to read for the rest of the week. I had thought about buckling down with my dictionary and one of the three books I have in French, but they were in a box in the basement and it was hard and I was lazy and my French is verrrrry rusty and blah. I had thought about being way awesome (actually, way nerdy) and reading Proust, but that would require a trip to the library and yadayadayada, same result as reading a book in French. And the only book by a French author I have around the house that I haven't read, is Les Misérables, which I wasn't about to undertake lightly. So that was all a bit lame. 

Movies

We kept running out of time for movies during the week, and didn't really have access to any French TV shows, so only watched one actually French movie, as well as one movie set in France. The French movie was Haute Cuisine, based on the true story of a French chef who is appointed as the private cook for the president of France. It was really interesting, and worth watching for the food alone, but there's not a lot of action, my friends. I'd only recommend it to those of you who are OK with a film that's all about the characters, rather than big events.

The other movie was Two For the Road, an Audrey Hepburn film with Albert Finney, about a married couple re-traveling the road they first met on. You learn about both journeys at the same time, as well as the journey they have taken as a couple in the years between. It was a good combination of really sweet and kind of heartbreaking. 

And that was French week! I enjoyed doing a weekly project again, but definitely found that I'm a little bit out of practice! I'll just have to do some more, don't you think?