Thursday, November 25, 2004
Celebrate with Champomy!
As I was walking home from the grocery store today laden with vegetable bags I was thinking of the dinner tonight. Specifically, I was thinking about the start of the dinner... the champagne. We have about 12 bottles of champagne in the apartment. Champagne is very popular in France, as you might have guessed, but more ubiquitous than you can imagine. The French always have champagne... of course at dinner parties, receptions, luncheons, office parties, but more than that. If there is a reason to have people over, there is a reason to open a bottle of Champagne. I love it best when I drop my kids off for a three hour birthday party and when I arrive to pick up the kids there is champagne waiting for the parents. Yes, I had a hard time relaxing without my child for three hours, I need a glass of champagne to bring me back to reality...
As I was buying the potatoes, carrots, green beans and all the rest of the dinner, I picked up a bottle of Champomy -- the kids version of champagne. It's basically bubbly apple juice and the kids love it. Even when you have a kids party at McDonald's they serve Champomy. No wonder Champagne is so popular with adults here -- they've grown up on Champomy.
People always ask if we drink as much Champagne in the US. They don't understand that Champagne is used for special occasions in the US... like today, Thanksgiving or Christmas. Why not drink it more often? I'm not sure, but I know that when I return to the US, I'll trade my stock of Champagne for bottles of Beer. I'm not sure what that says about me.
-- said Auntie M in Paris
2:02 PM
I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. I am glad to be home, but I your posts make me miss Paris so much!
Care
# posted by Carrie : 5:39 PM
the brother-in-law
# posted by Anonymous : 6:39 PM
Why do we use so much champagne ?
Good question... I think it's because it's kind of an expensive thing you want to bring to other people. And it's "convivial" (I don't know the english for that one), you always drink champagne with other people, nobody is alcoholic and addict with champagne. It's just real fun.
In France, champagne means party, that's it.
And a party without champagne is not a successfull party. But more than that, you use champagne to celebrate things so all our life we learn to celebrate every good things that happen in our life with champagne (promotions, weddings, ...). So I guess, champagne means also success : the more you drink champagne, the more succeess you have in your life and your career.
And France is the champagne country. You can get really good ones without costing you an arm and a leg.
Basically, France is champagne and champagne is France.
Sorry for this long reply, I hope to have been helpful ;-)
# posted by Jérôme : 7:23 PM
# posted by Rachana : 11:12 PM
Thank you for your insight. I really do appreciate it because sometimes the French stuff is a mystery to me, as I'm sure some of the American stuff is for you.
Rachana,
Paris is a wonderful city. Definitely come back for your honeymoon. Thanks for your Thanksgiving greetings.
# posted by Auntie M in Paris : 11:41 PM