Shopping local -- without a car

Since I don’t have a car (or even a driver’s licence), grocery shopping is somewhat harder for me here in Charlottesville than in Paris. Occasionally a friend takes me with her when she shops. Most of the time, I take a five minute walk to the bus stop where I catch a bus which takes me to another bus which takes me to two supermarkets and a health food store. If I want more gourmet or organic fare, I can take a different bus to a different area of town and shop there. People with cars can go out into the county to one of the organic farms and buy fresh produce, organic meat and dairy products but I can’t.
Nearly a year ago, a young electrical engineer and entrepreneur from Charlottesville called Zach changed my shopping life. Zach’s great idea was to provide a way for people to shop for local food on-line and then pick up their groceries near where they live or work. Some of the greatest ideas are the simplest.
He created a business called Retail Relay which lets you shop a number of local stores in Charlottesville and organic farms in nearby counties – including Polyface Farm made famous by Michael Pollan in his book “Omnivore’s Dilemma.”
You order and pay on-line before midnight of the day before you want to pick up your groceries. His team collects the orders from all the stores in the morning, packs them in a truck and you have your groceries in one easy pick-up that afternoon.


I first found out about Retail Relay from my friend Jeanne this summer.
Seven months ago, they had two or three pick up places in the parking lots of local businesses. They visited each once a week. On Tuesday, they came to a lot across the street from where Jeanne worked. All summer I ordered my groceries on Monday and she brought them to me after work on Tuesday evening.
By the end of my Christmas holiday, Retail Relay had become so successful that they had expanded their pick-up locations to two or three per day, five days a week. And one of the Monday locations was a five minute walk from my house!
My least favorite time to grocery shop has always been the day after I get in from Paris. All I want to do is unpack, check my mail and recover from my flight. But off I had to trek to the supermarket and back. That usually ate up about three hours of my first tiring day.
But not this time. I ordered my groceries in Paris on Saturday. I flew to the United States on Sunday. And on Monday afternoon, I trotted off to the parking lot where the Retail Relay truck was waiting.
Life is good.

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres

Every February, I remember my first year of Latin --- struggling to translate portions of Julius Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic Wars. “All Gaul is divided into three parts” we read.
Many things have changed in France since 51 B.C but Gaul is still divided into three parts at the Ministry of Education.
All French children start school on the same day in early September. Their first vacation is around Toussaint and their second at Christmas. For the last two vacation periods before the longer summer break, school districts or académies are divided into three zones -- A, B and C. Each zone has two two week breaks between February and April. Every year the vacation period is rotated among the zones so that, over three years, each district has the early, middle and late vacation slots.
A number of years ago, after much reflection, the Education Minister of the time revealed a plan to modify the school year. All French children would have 7 weeks of class and then 2 weeks of vacation throughout the year –- with a longer summer holiday. The regular rhythm would ensure less stress and fatigue for the nation’s children and their teachers. This well-thought out plan never saw the light of day. Ski resorts immediately went into protest mode. The February vacation, officially called “vacances d’hiver” (winter vacation) and popularly called “vacances de neige” (snow vacation) or “vacances des sports d’hiver” (winter sports vacation) is a very profitable time for ski resorts. They would much rather see it continue to be spread over an entire month than cut to two weeks for all. Capitulation by the government was immediate. So much for the reduction of stress and fatigue in the school-age population. Vive le ski!.
What amazes me every year is how much greater the myth is than the reality. February newscasts are always full of ski resort stories – how many extra trains have been scheduled, how many tourists are in each mountain village and how much they are spending. There are regular avalanche warnings and news of mountain rescues. Traffic reports tell us every weekend how many hours it takes to reach the resorts. Weather reports inform us whether the snow is “good” or not – and how much of it there is.

Television news records the departures at the Gare de Lyon

Yet statistics show that only 7%-8% of the population actually takes a week’s ski holiday. Some don’t like winter sports; others can’t afford it. Those who live near resorts just go for the day a few times a year.
Still vacations are always good – even if you don’t support the ski slopes. This year Zone C (the zone Paris is part of) has the latest vacation period. I allowed all the avid skiers to get away.


Then I left too – for Charlottesville. They’ve had a lot of winter weather here this year. So, I, too, will be able to talk about my “vacances de neige” when I return to Paris in the spring.

Bonne Saint Valentin --- or not.

Of course, the French know about Valentine’s Day. It’s officially called la Fête de Saint Valentin and commonly called “la fête des amoureux.” (Lovers’ Day) What the French don’t seem to know is how to celebrate it.
That’s not the fault of the jewelry stores, the florists, the chocolate shops, the patisseries or the lingerie shops. All had hopeful displays nestled in red and pink with simpering cupids this week.


It’s not the fault of the women’s magazines, whose February issues feature special recipes and table settings for “romantic dinners”.
The media can't be held responsible. They always have special Valentine’s Day segments in the days before February 14th. In fact, one morning show host said with an ironic smile last week, “What is Valentine’s Day for? It’s to give the media something to talk about.”
If you were to ask French people to describe Valentine’s Day customs, I’m sure the vast majority would tell you that it’s the day men give the woman they love a gift of flowers, candy or jewellery and/or take them out for a special dinner. But do they do it? A recent poll asked how many intended to celebrate today and 50% said yes. Based on my own friends, I’m inclined to believe that was more “giving the expected answer” than exact truth. Either that or the poll was heavily weighted to young, newly-formed couples.
It turns out that this holiday has been known in England for centuries and had travelled to North America via English settlers but was unknown in the rest of Europe until about 30 years ago. Friends confirm that there was no sending of Valentines or giving of presents on this day when they were children or teenagers. And they are stunned to hear that, in North America, Valentine’s Day is not just for lovers. Young children celebrate it happily by sending each other cards and having parties. If you don’t believe me, google “Valentine’s Day parties” and see what turns up.
When it comes to Valentine’s Day, I proudly assert my North American roots. Love is always something to celebrate and to share. So to you, my faithful blog readers, I wish a very happy Valentine’s Day whoever and wherever you are.

Les soldes

In what has now become a personal tradition, I’ve just missed les soldes yet again. It’s not as if I don’t know when they are. The dates of les soldes are fixed by law. Les soldes d’hiver (Winter Sales) and les soldes d’été (Summer Sales) are decreed for specific 5 week periods every year. Les soldes d’hiver begin the second Wednesday of January at 8 a.m. (unless this falls after the 12th in which case they start the first Wednesday of January) and end Tuesday February 9th at midnight.
Sales were instituted during the mid-nineteenth century. This is when department stores arrived, turning shopping into a leisure time activity (for those who had leisure time) and wreaking havoc on small merchants who couldn’t compete with the luxury or the variety of these new stores. Zola’s novel le Bonheur des Dames (published in English under the title The Ladies’ Delight) gives a vivid account of this change in French commercial practices. Since the wider variety of goods available meant more chance of unsold stock at the end of the season, the department stores began to have systematic end-of-season sales, undercutting the small merchants even more.
Thus, in 1906 the first law concerning Seasonal Sales was passed – not so much to protect the consumer as to save small businesses. This law was revised in 1991. The Legal Duration of Sales was instituted in January 1997 and, in 2008, Measure 17 of the Law for the Modernisation of the Economy adapted the legislation concerning les soldes once more.
The objectives of this measure were
•to simplify the system “in a context of loyal competition” (though for the first time ever merchants were allowed to sell one or more products at a loss under certain conditions)
•to provide more sales periods during the year (as well as the two national sales periods I’ve mentioned, merchants can now individually determine two other weeks of sales during the year.)
•to permit merchants to dynamise their sales and reduce their stock without the risk of legal penalty (Previously, stores which held sales in periods other than those authorized could be fined.)
The 2008 law also mentioned internet sales for the first time. Emile Zola would have been enthralled.
Some women take a vacation day on the first or last day of les soldes, after reconnoitring their favorite stores beforehand. Merchants usually start the period by offering a 20% to 40% discount on their sales articles. During the third week they may offer 50% or 60% on slow-moving articles. In February, you often see 70% or 80%-off signs. Avid sales–goers have to gamble that the articles they want will still be available when the prices plunge. All very exhilarating if you are a recreational shopper.




One of my problems is that I am not. But the other is my double life. The two national sales periods both coincide with my comings and goings – just not a good time for me to shop. This year, les soldes began the day I arrived back in Paris. I was so busy for the first three weeks that I couldn’t have fit anything else into my schedule. During the fourth week, I recovered from my previous hyperactivity. I really did intend to go to at least one store during the last week but came down with stomach flu instead.
My consolation is that, thanks to Measure 17, I’ll be able to take advantage of the two weeks of “floating sales”. Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.

Groundhogs and Crêpes

It’s February 2nd, which means it’s Chandeleur and all over France people are – or soon will be – eating crêpes. I was puzzled about this when I first came to France.
I knew that
1.Pancake day -- and aren’t pancakes like crêpes? -- was Shrove Tuesday (the Canadian part of me) or Mardi Gras (the American part)
2.February 2nd was Groundhog Day – the day when, if a groundhog saw his shadow, there would be 6 more weeks of winter – a fairly safe prediction in the Northern United States and Canada.
I remained puzzled for years until I discovered that these were actually traditions belonging to the same Catholic holiday.
The Celts had a festival on February 1st just before planting time. They processed around their fields carrying torches and praying that their land be purified so the harvest would be good. The Catholic Church reinvented this familiar holiday, as it did so many others. In France it became Chandeleur, (chandelle is the French word for candle) and in English, Candlemas. The date was shifted to February 2nd, exactly 40 days after Christmas. The purification of the soil became the Purification of the Virgin Mary and the candles represented Jesus as the Light of the World. And the crêpes? The flour used for them was left over from last year’s harvest and their round shape signified the sun that would soon be back.
Where do the groundhogs come in? Well, the Germans, the Scandinavians and some Celts in pre-Christian days celebrated the bear coming out of hibernation to see if the weather was warm enough in late January or early February. The medieval Church frowned on this holiday even more than the other as its festivities included men dressed as bears carrying off young girls. They promoted their Candlemas holiday with some insistence in this part of the world. Candles were adopted but crêpes were forgotten and the idea of an animal predicting the coming of spring remained. Over the centuries the bear was replaced by the smaller -- and less racy -- hedgehog or badger. When German settlers arrived in Pennsylvania in the 19th century, hedgehogs were, apparently, scarce but groundhogs were plentiful so another transposition was made. The rest of the world caught up with Groundhog Day in 1993 thanks to the film starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell.
Whatever you are celebrating today, have a good time. I’ve made my choice.

Happy New Year .... at last.

Of course, the United States celebrates New Year’s Eve. But – is it because we’ve been on the go almost non-stop since the fourth Thursday in November? –the fancy parties seem to be mainly for the young, the rich and/or the famous.
Most of my friends stay home and watch movies in comfortable clothes.
When I began spending New Year’s in Charlottesville, I also started attending First Night Virginia. This event was created as a way of offering a family friendly (that’s American for no alcohol) New Year’s Eve festivity promoting the arts. Charlottesville has had First Night since 1981. Local theatres, churches and other venues host a series of short, free music, theatre and dance performances from 3 p.m. to midnight. Attendees purchase a button and can attend as many performances as they want. A hard-working largely volunteer committee organizes this event all year and on the night itself many more volunteers make it happen. I have volunteered at First Night for about 14 years.


(When not taking the picture, I was standing next to the lady you see helping orient volunteers to their assigned venues.)
I do this in the afternoon or early evening when the programmes are for young kids and enjoy their excitement. If I’m feeling energetic, I meet a friend and go to a few concerts afterwards. But, this year, I decided that I’d rather have a quiet dinner at home and relax.
The period around the New Year is a little confusing for me. My Charlottesville stay is coming to an end so I’m simultaneously in “finishing up” mode and in “starting something new” mode. It’s all a little exhausting.
Back in Paris, the new year is celebrated heartily. Christmas decorations, remain during the entire month of January.




New Year’s cards and e-mails flow back and forth during the month. Since I don’t have a mantel here, I display them on my wall.


“Bonne année. Meilleurs voeux. Bonne santé!» (Happy New Year. Best wishes, Good health) are some of the obligatory greetings the first time you meet a friend, a colleague or even a shopkeeper you know well in January, even a week or two after New Year’s Day.
And then there’s the galette. "Galette des rois" or King’s cake once was served only on Epiphany. But, to the joy of the bakers, now it’s eaten during the entire month at gatherings of family, friends, work groups, clubs and associations. Even people with January birthdays often have a galette with candles as a birthday cake.
Different regions have different galettes but the ceremony is the same. It is cut like a pie and each person either picks out his or her own piece or is handed one by the hostess. (In family gatherings, the youngest member of the family sits under the table and calls the name of a family member as the mother or grandmother asks “Who’s this piece for?”) Hidden in the galette is a little ornament. It used to be a bean and is still called "la fève" (the bean) The lucky person who gets it is king (or queen) of the evening and wears the crown that comes with each galette.
I always have friends over the second Sunday of January.



For me, this is the true beginning of the year. I’m back in Paris. I’m over my jet lag. I’ve gathered as many friends as are free and not sick around me. Bonne année everybody. Let’s see what lies ahead.