La France est Mort. Vive La France!

Woooo! Surprise trip to France today! More than anything, I can barely wait because the food is amazing. As someone who pretty much just thinks with my stomach, France is truly the motherland. I can't respect anyone who does not like French food, and I don't consider a cook a real chef if they are not classically trained. It is the homeland of gastronomy, and as far as I am concerned, France invented food. 

mmmm, french cuisine

We aren't going back to my "home", Toulouse, and we aren't going to Paris (although it is a favorite of ours), we're heading to Lyon. Lyon and I have a complicated history.

In 2007ish I was living in Toulouse, and pretty much fell in love with the city. When it was time to go, I didn't want to. My study abroad program gave us the option of "extension" pending a couple of things, including an essay that made my case and explained why I should be allowed to stay. I wrote a dopey love letter to the city, and made a mixed tape, and all that jazz. It worked! They told me I could stay. I just couldn't stay in Toulouse. The University of California decided to close its program in the city, and I had to choose between an all-English program in Paris and a program in Lyon very similar to the program Toulousaine. Though I liked Paris, what would be the point of studying in English while living in France? Sure I'd pretty much perfected my franglais, but straight up anglais just wasn't going to cut it. Lyon it was.

Lyon ended up being a strange kind of purgatory for me. I wasn't where I wanted to be (Toulouse, and eventually Santa Barbara, or anywhere that wasn't Lyon), but I was still living the life! In France! ....right?

pretty much sums up my 6 months in Lyon

I had a really rough time there, which doesn't make for an especially interesting read other than some fuzzy memories of a great Thanksgiving in a snowy Grenoble. I decided to cut my year short and make it a semester. I made it home in time to vote for the first time, for our first Black president. It was exciting stuff. Just a few months after coming back from France I met the love of my life, although I didn't know it then (I mostly just thought he was hot, and looked smart and religious). 

This is the day we met. I looked pretty......smart, too.

A handful of years, a handful of moves, 3 rings, and a wedding later, he is still reminding me every day of the many reasons why I love him.

When he proposed, I was frazzled from my long flight (to say the least), and he'd prepared a multiple course meal. He says that he knew how much I love food, and how important it is to me, and he wanted for his proposal to reflect that. It did. It soooooooooooooo did. I still have dreams about that food. Absolutely delicious.

When I got back this time, much less frazzled and way more bouncing-off-the-walls excited to be with my husband, he surprised me with food again*. And it will be glorious. These are my top 5 things I am super excited about:

1. La Menthe. It's a wonderful, wonderful restaurant with a friendly owner (Olivier) and his lovely dog (Olivia). 

2. Saint-Genix, or brioche aux pralines. Lyon is well known for it's Barbie-pink pralines which are just crunchy heaven in butter pastry heaven sprinkled with heaven.

3. Lutti Surf Fizz. This is probably the third time I've mentioned "silver surfers". Some friends and I started calling them that because they come in a bag with some silver along the bottom. We were not at our most creative point. One time I actually ate so many of these, I burned quite a few of my tastebuds on my tongue. It was worth it.

4. Foie Gras. Don't even get all PETA on me. You don't know what your organic chicken actually goes through to get to your table, plus I can't stand PETA, and foie gras is amazing. I also look forward to other animal parts like gizards. Dang, France really knows its meat!

5. Oysters. I've loved oysters since I was young. If I can get my hands on any, you bet I will be slurping those suckers back! In fact, we can throw in all slimy (or not) fresh shellfish. Seasnails, scallops, prawns, shrimp, langoustines, clams, you name it. There's a decently priced fresh seafood place on the most adorable Frenchy-French street Lyon has to offer (outside of its "old town"). I will try to drag the mister in for a few hours.

There's an open market on Wednesdays that's smaller (and nicer, in my opinion) than the weekend ones, but we'll miss that so tough cookies. 

*in the form of a trip to France. In case you haven't picked up on this: to me, France=food.