Ah, the humble baguette. This particular specimen was procured about half a dozen doors down from our building for € 0.80 (a bit over a dollar). We could have chosen at least three other bakeries within two blocks of here, had we been in the mood for a slightly different texture or aroma. And every single one of them would put to shame the vast majority of baguettes available anywhere in the United States. (Hint: if it’s still edible more than 4 hours after it comes out of the oven, it’s not a real baguette.) Yes, life is good here.
(Update 10-Aug-2007: for more on baguettes in Paris, see The baguette problem on The Geeky Gourmet.)
July 24th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Ah une baguette et un peu de Vache qui Ri, c’est trulement un bon picnic.
I’m so happy for you guys, and living vicariously through you so please write lots!
July 24th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Shannon: You said it! Thanks for your kind wishes. We have a long list of things we plan to write about, and if we ever run out, it’ll be time to go somewhere else!
July 24th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
Congratulations! I received your newsletter and immediately came to the site to see what was going on. What a brave and bold jump! From reading through some of the articles, I’m finding I still remember a little bit from French class, even though it it was in 1966 or so… Glad to hear you managed to bring Zora with you! Best wishes from Austin, TX!
July 24th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
David: Thanks for your kind wishes! It was a pretty big leap, but all the bread provides a nice cushion ;-).
July 24th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Hey, Joe! I had no idea you were living in France. I actually lived in Paris with my family for 2 or 3 months when I was 11 years old. That may not seem like much time, but we thought it would be a year when we went, and we did have an apartment in the Latin quarter (rue St. Jacques) so we lived a fairly normal and non-touristy daily life while there, except for my not going to school. (My dad was there a little longer, studying at the Sorbonne, but we ran out of money so we couldn’t stay the whole school year!)
It was, um…, way too close to 30 years ago, so I’m sure things are very different there now, but I have some lovely memories from that time! Last time I was in France was 1993, and even that was probably very different. Though unlike anywhere around here, the buildings there probably haven’t really changed! Oh yeah, if you feel like sending us some Kinder Surprise Eggs (in a cool month), go for it! Ha ha. They’re not available in the States and of course my memories from age 11 were heavy on the candy & treats.
July 24th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Alison: Nice to hear from you again! We’ll keep an eye out for those eggs…
July 30th, 2007 at 1:35 am
Joe, Those baguettes are even better when strapped on the back of une bicyclette or sticking out of a short panier and pedaled around the countryside for a few hours, as they seem to up a flavor of, ummm, je ne sais quois. Doug
July 30th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Doug: Bicycles are now amazingly easy to find in Paris (complete with baskets!) but I don’t know if I could pedal all the way out to the countryside before the baguettes expired!