Sans Lapins

Before I was hit with the rhume de normandaise (a cold from Normandy) that kept me in bed for the last three days, I went to the olive oil shop to buy olive oil. That’s right, the olive oil shop where you buy olive oil. It’s like the bread shop where you buy bread. The meat shop where your meat is waiting. The cheese shop, the bean shop, the underwear shop, you get the picture. The grands magasins are overwhelming in their breadth and price tags, and so much empty white space! But the tiny shops teeming with all varieties of one specialty - like say, an algerian pastisserie displaying 20 trays of 20 different confections - are just more enjoyable places to spend your Euros.

At L’olivier, you get your bottle of olive oil poured from a big keg after you’ve done various taste tests. It’s not revolutionary, there are fancy olive oil shops everywhere but not as many as there are here. I also purchased tiny bottles of flavored olive oils and vinaigrettes. Shake and voila - the perfect amount of salad dressing. Guess what you’re all getting for Christmas!

Now, I must go to the wine shop where you get your to-go wine poured from a barrel!

Speaking of spending Euros, it’s been reported that the EU is officially in recession. Only one country has seen increased spending this quarter. I’d like to say, “You’re welcome, France.” It’s been a pleasure handing over our money.

Also - our Halloween pumpkin! Thank you, Michael, for sending these pics from our night carving pumpkins in Paris. Yes, I did eventually find one and here he is. He’s a French pumpkin.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 15th, 2008 at 9:08 am and is filed under Food, La Vie Paris. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.