The Unexpected Series

There have been many incidences where reality has not aligned itself with my expectations of France. These, in part, are my musings upon those misconceptions that which have thrown me for a loop.

Un Café (photo courtesy of lefigaro.fr)

Follow the link below on the bottom left. merci

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Café

A coffee in the states is just that an 8-16 oz cup of black coffee that you can add sugar and milk to suit your taste. Here it's so much more and so much less at the same time. You  sit down au terrace and ask for a coffee, un café*, and you will be surprised at what you get. In five minutes or so, the server will bring you a 1 oz cup of strong espresso.  There do exist options more closely related to their big brother Joe in the states like une noissette**, un café allongé***, un café crème****, etc.; however, still everything is on the micro scale- which, as i get more and more used to it, kinda refreshing. I think this is more or less to do with a shift in focus away from the drink itself to the environment in which you sip your drink.

So of course, i knew that there would be major differences anywhere you go, and especially with the coffee culture in France compared to southern and central California, but the whole mentality surrounding coffee is different here.  One doesn't go to a cafe to grab a cup of coffee on their way to work or take away a latte with friends to window shop in the mall. NO. not at all.  There really aren't even places where you can take coffee away.  The French go to cafes not for the coffee necessarily but primarily for the cafe experience. At noon almost all shops close for two and a half hours allowing the workers a two hour lunch break.  In that time, it's almost expected that you go to a cafe, sit, have a three course meal, dink a bottle of wine with friends, and enjoy the sun, atmosphere and ambiance of the cafe.  Then it's back to work.  We would never be able to do that in the states.  It's sit and enjoy, not grab and go.  

merci. 

*shot of espresso

**shot of espresso with a splash of milk

***shot of espresso with hot water in a larger cup-  I usually get this

****shot of espresso with small amount of steamed milk and foam- not quite a latté, more a kin to a cappuccino.