Baguettes
In France you can find a boulangerie or practically every street corner. Combine that with patisseries and you get an intoxicating fresh baked goodness smell wafting from their doors. One morning we could not resist and stopped in for breakfast. After ordering quiche, sweet pastires and coffee we sat down and watched what we dubbed "the great baguette frenzy." We witnessed a steady stream of people coming in empty handed and walking out with one, two or three baguettes passing up the plethora of delectable that we would have chosen. There were old men, young ladies, mom's with kids, husbands with their "list", old ladies, young men and every one in between buying baguettes. We figured the baguette frenzy happened everyday since we all know that baguettes are hard as rocks the second day and not worthy of eating. The boys and I were highly entertained watching this intriguing phenomenon and speculating what they did with all the baguettes.
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| Two baguettes in hand |
Brassieres
Yes, Starbucks exists in France but the authentic choice is a brassiere. This is a cafe sort of place that serves espresso, cocktails, cigarettes and very, very light snacks that makes our American snacks look like a meal. Brassieres are teaming with people in the morning sipping demi-tasse cups of espresso, smoking cigarettes and munching on a piece of a baguette. Mid-day and afternoon it's the same scene. By early evening and beyond they are still smoking, munching and drinking but for some the espresso has been replaced with a beer or cocktail. Brassieres act as a sort of before work, at lunch, afternoon cafe break, after work/before dinner gathering spot. The "hey let's meet for drinks and a smoke" place. The coveted seats are the ones outside on the sidewalk. And when seated around the small round tables, everyone, no matter how many are in one group, sit facing the street not each other as if watching the stage performance of Life and People.
Smoking
Cigarettes are everywhere, and almost everyone in France smokes. Non-smoking is not part of their vocabulary. I think the only place in France smoking has been officially banned is on the Metro, TGV and busses. As soon as French folks in transit disembark from their journey they are lighting up. The brassieres sell cigs, as do tabac shops. The tabac shops are nothing more than a small stand on the street selling cigarettes, newspapers and a few other sundries. All the smoking became quickly annoying since as Americans, where non-smoking is en vogue, we are not used to breathing cigarette smoke in lieu of air. Our day at Disneyland was spent breathing more second-hand smoke than real Parisian air. And, a friend once commented that she knew she was back in Paris by the smell of smoke lingering in the air. I recently read an article about France's new smoking ban in cafes and restaurants but I am not to sure who is enforcing this and how because we saw no smoking ban in effect.
As to my original question of how French stay beautiful with this style of living, here's my theory how. Walk to metro/bus station smoking a morning cig, munch on your baguette on the ride, meet friends at the brassiere for a quick espresso and another smoke. Head to the office, work the morning, walk to lunch at another brassiere for an espresso, smoke and baguette. Walk back to work. Leave work and walk to a brassiere to meet friends for a beer, smoke and baguette. Hang out have more cigs and drinks. Maybe walk to a restaurant for dinner at 10:00pm or just stay and have another smoke, drink and baguette.
All of the above has a 0 caloric net effect since the walking and the caffeine jolt from the espresso speeds the metabolism to burn off the baguette. And the cigarettes have a negative calorie effect acting as an appitite suppressent. So by the end of the day, if they even choose to eat dinner, the French are in a perfect position to enjoy a small three course meal late in the evening with minimal effect on their waist line. Viola! C'est bon!
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