Tea at Trianon: The Habits You Pick Up in France

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Friday, February 28, 2020

The Habits You Pick Up in France

After living in France one ever after demands good bread, good wine, good cheese and good coffee. From The Local:

Perhaps unsurprisingly in a country that prides itself on its cuisine and fine wines, many of the new habits that people reported centred around food. Whether is is discovering new favourites, gaining a better appreciation for fresh and seasonal produce or just making time for lunch, many people reported that their eating and drinking habits had changed radically since moving to France.

Alison Johnson, who has lived in Burgundy for almost three years; said: "We have started having regular lunches, discussing the taste of everything we eat, greeting everyone when we meet and buying bread every day."

Mike Owens, who has lived in France for 12 years, cited "drinking hot chocolate from a bowl" as the major change in his lifestyle, along with ditching American-style breakfasts.

David Ricardo Hernandez, who has recently moved to Metz after living in Rouen for two years, said: "Now I drink more wine, I buy bread only in the bakery and not in the supermarket, l cook much more often here, I check the food, in USA I never did that.

"France gave me the habit of being conscious of me, acknowledging the importance of health and care for myself." (Read more.)