Election Day In France

What a stretch of weather...if we ever had this much sun all in one swoop I think we Nova Scotians would think we had died and gone to heaven..another 26 degrees today ,Sunday, and more tomorrow. The French all got out to vote at least at Polling Station 007 in Beaune. I went down to have a look...it was at the Hotel de Ville about 3 blocks from my place...lots of people going in and out and I could see them carrying small cards which must have been thier identifiers. I timed them..gosh do you have nothing to do?..no says I...and they spent about 5 minutes inside. Outside where I was sitting I looked directly at a board..no actually it was 13 boards with #'s atop each board.The boards were quite large and 12 of them contained the campaign pictures of all the 12 candidates running for President. My understanding is that after todays vote the top 3 will run off in another election in a few weeks.Don't quote me on those numbers... I know for sure it is 12 candidates 2 are women...but maybe only 2 will run off not 3 and it might be next week . I have not yet turned on the TV to see if there is any coverage but judging by the quiet in the streets something is keeping the drivers busy.Just not the motor bike guy.
So, what have I been up to in this land of sun and wine. Yesterday morning was the Marche..the Grand Marche and I was down there bright and early. Everything is for sale...the big draw is the fresh farm products eggs ,cheeses..lots of cheeses, meats,some made in to pates etc,vegetables ,fruits,spice tables with dried fruits and olives of all types...flowers,there are many different producers and I imagine like anything after you have gone for awhile you pick out the producer whose product you like and you keep going back... I judged by the lineups..but for a novice it was confusing. Did I mention folks selling breads. Up another long street there were all the vendors of clothing, underwear,womens clothing which just looked terrific,sweaters,childrens clothing,stall after stall. people were selling CD's etc antiques,leather goods purses and belts and straw type purses...lots of those of all colours and sizes...then in a section where everyone needed to cross there were the rotisserie folks with their cooked chickens, rabbits,pidgeons, pork and ham and veal roasts and even some lamb and turkey legs.. I was going to buy a rabbit but I dithered too long and when I came back they were all gone. So I bought a turkey leg...dinde..and had it for supper last evening. I had it today again and will have it for 2 more days...that was one huge turkeyleg!!!. The French do not seem to serve turkey much especially in restaurants...this whole leg cost me 7E and I will get 4 meals out of it....and it was good..very good actually. I stayed at the market 2 hours leaving about 1130. Came home and had my lunch and a tiny siesta and then suddenly made up my mind to try the Patriarche Pere et Fils Cave and do their wine tasting.
This was a surprise to myself as I had not awoken in the morning thinking I would do this but I am on the search for the perfect white chardonnay and so far I am loving ones from Chassagne-Montrachet...I have tried various producers and years..so far my favorite has been a 2002 one by these Producers so visiting their cave was suddenly on my itinerary. The Cave is only a few blocks from here...you pay 10E and receive a self guided tour of the caves and then taste 13 wines...3 white and 10 red...none were the white C-M...can't be bothered to spell that out again.They also give you a "tastevin"...a small round silverish cup for tasting and you get to keep that. The caves are amazing .. 2 Acres of caves under the streets of Beaune filled with wine in bottles aging...4 million bottles more than you could ever imagine and stacked so perfectly..all plumbed ...ages 1996 to 2005..reds whites roses..seeing that was worth the price of admission and just wondering around down there...you could take all the time in the world. Then you came upon the Sommelier who was pouring a first taste of Aligote the poor sister of Chardonnay. He was not happy that I was from Canada...too difficult to send wines to Canada which is true..heavens that we would be allowed to come over here and find a wine we liked and have it shipped back home.. what would our liquor control boards do in guarding our taste and well being. I should not be so harsh as they are bringing in a lot of wines but I know that even if I find the most wonderful Chassagne-Montrachet I will never get it in Halifax. Oh well. Then on to the tasting.. I am not going to bore you with what we tasted.... it was all on a great card with a place for notes which I did...no one else did but that was b/c of my Sommelier course this year. There were actually 2 premiere cru's to taste in the reds. But here is what I thought....This little tastevin is not a great tasting tool...too shallow you cannot swirl and the cave is too dark..you cannot see the colour etc. The wines were too cold...the temperature in the cave was too cold and the only light was candles. I found the wines thin and watery..no long aftertaste and because of the tool I really was not getting any of the berry nose from the pinots. I would not have bought any even if I was from a country where I could ship back cases. Some of these bottles were 30E...so by the time we got them here they could easily be an 80$ bottle of wine...I think I need a class on Burgundy Pinot Noirs.... I know they are more elegant than Australians or Chileans but I want them to have a berry aroma and taste... this is where I missed being with someone to talk about it all...be glad when you get here guys as I will do it again... I did meet 2 youngish Americans who are working in Chalon on a Nuclear Power plant...they are from California. We had a nice chat about the French work ethic...not in a derogatory way as we decided we do not know how to have fun in North America...we judge ourselves by how late we burn the midnite oil and how long we do overtime on weekends etc. They told me that their boss was diving in the Red Sea that weekend and that this big project was not on his mind.
I had 2 people ask me directions also and both times I knew what they were saying and answered them very briefly but enough that they knew where they were headed...so I am looking French enough...by the way for you fashion hounds...what is in...linen everywhere shirts,jackets, pants skirts etc. capri pants are relly big...no shorts to be seen only on men...but these are fancy pants...all colours..skirts are really big...with lots of flounce. What I notice most is the accsessories....remember Robin Williams in Good Morning Viet Nam...long time ago..and his comment on fashion a few pearls in the jungle. Well women here know how to wear jewellery and scarves..well you knew that ..my jewellery is all so small they like big pieces anyway I am still trying to figure out the sizes and get a bit more nervy before I enter a dress store. Bonne Soiree the Sunday Ox.