Fall in Montpellier

This window represents autumn in Montpellier, with Pic St Loup in the center, and the aqueduct below it. The cadceus, bottom center, recognizes the medical school, the oldest in Europe

We Do Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Non-religious, uniquely American, it’s a chance to be together with family and friends. Of course, it’s not recognized outside the States, so when traveling we have to work out our own celebration. The last time we were in France in November, our trip to Paris in 2015, we ended up at a fabulous wine festival on that special third Thursday. (Our blog about that event is here.) During our travels over the last few years we have managed to get invites from other ex-pats. This time, though, we (well, Paula) decided to host a dinner for some of our foreign friends. (And having Thanksgiving at our place seemed particularly appropriate, since we do, after all, live on Rue de la merci—Thank-you Street.)

Not quite dinner, actually. In our apartment we have only a table for four, clearly not large enough to seat our 10 guests, plus ourselves. Instead we had what we called an “Apéro Party.” Apéro is a reference to aperitif, a beverage (alcoholic, generally) drunk before a meal. It wasn’t intended to be a full meal, simply an introduction, a mere taste, of what a full-on Thanksgiving dinner would be.

Ah, la belle bete, er, bird in this case. Only 7-1/2 lbs; we didn't want to be eating turkey for another month!

In keeping with our own traditions over the years we made it a potluck, and asked each person to bring something. We found a turkey (not unknown in these parts; in fact, we learned that the French often have Turkey for Christmas dinner), spent days reading up on preparation and cooking, and rearranging the furniture to accommodate our guests. I had my trepidations, but Paula’s enthusiasm and commitment overcame them.

The big day came and we began to gather about 3 PM. It was a good mix. We had about half-a-dozen French guests, most of them long-time residents of Montpellier; a couple of Brits (excuse me: Gary from England, and John from Cornwall), Trisha from Ireland plus Debra, our new American friend. Things were a bit slow to get started, since nobody knew anybody else. But, as usual, once the food was served conversation started flowing.

Now, there was one thing: potlucks are not unknown in France, but not particularly common. I think of a classic French meal as something of an orchestral piece, with dishes specifically chosen to compliment—and occasionally contrast with—each other. But a potluck is more like free jazz, every one kinda doing their own thing. Assuming that everyone knew the drill, Paula suggested an appetizer, a vegetable, or dessert. Our guests did what they normally do when invited to dinner: they each brought a dessert or three (we ended up with 10!). So while dinner was a bit thin on variety: turkey, of course; mashed potatoes and gravy; Paula’s excellent cranberry sauce (a big hit, actually); and fruit salad, we had a very full dessert table. (And French desserts are amazingly good!)

 

The dessert table

Paula explained that a good Thanksgiving dinner included Family and Friends, Food, Football, and Fun. To everyone’s relief we skipped the Football part. Debra, another American ex-pat, did a great job of telling the Thanksgiving Day story, in French (a bit of a stretch for her, but well done!). Finally, after coffee and third desserts, it was time for Fun.

Paula had settled on Charades. She’s always liked the game, and besides, it is a French word. She spent the week or two before our Apéro Party thinking of topics. The group was a bit slow to warm up to the idea, but then we had a good time with it. The French speakers found it a bit bizarre, as all the titles were in English. But it is always fun to watch someone struggle to mime something. We had more than a few laughs!

Our Thanksgiving was very satisfying. Not only did we get to prepare and eat the turkey and trimmings, but we were able to share our meal and our ideas with our friends here in Montpellier. We hope that your Thanksgiving was equally satisfying!

Autumn Leaves

Fall is well and truly underway here in the South of France (like in all of the northern hemisphere). Living in California, though, with all our deciduous trees, we don’t really notice it much. Here, though, the trees have now turned yellow and are increasingly bare. The trees in the courtyard visible from our living room French doors have nearly all fallen. From our bedroom window we can see the trees at the convent with the belfry—our really really favorite view—have shifted from green to yellow to brown. Each morning, with great expectation, I check the leaf count. So far, though, they’re clinging tightly. I do hope they fall before we leave in two weeks

Of course, in the heart of the shopping district we don't find too many trees, but displays in the shop windows are showing signs of fall. We’re seeing coats and sweaters and big thick scarves, browns and rust and orange. And, signs proclaiming Black Friday! In fact, this year there is something new: Black Week! A whole week of sales! (Black Week does make me think the week after Thanksgiving could be a good time to celebrate African-American culture. The reality, though, is that it’s all about selling stuff.)

 

A small sample of Black Friday store fronts

I don’t think Europeans have any clue of why this Friday at the end of November is a special day for sales. (For that matter, I’m not sure many Americans do, either!) Of course, it fell to us, the experts on all things Thanksgiving, to explain. TG is really a four-day affair, extending from Thursday through the weekend to Sunday. This much is an easy concept: the French are very clued in to the four-day weekend. They even have a name for it: faire le pont, make the bridge; the bridge from Thursday to Saturday, so you are safely into the weekend!

Ah, a new thing: BLUE Friday! Now what's that about??

We went on to specify that in the States, after the family has gathered for dinner, told their tales, and had their fun, the next day is seen as the perfect day to… go shopping! Massive sales on that day push stores into “the black” (a reference to the accounting term, where red ink is used for expenses and black ink for income). And so Black Friday was born.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present Black Week, a Montpellier exclusive! (Maybe...)

While the Family-Friends-Food-Fun part of Thanksgiving has bypassed Europe completely, the commercial aspects of the start of the Christmas buying season seem to have taken firm root. How disappointing!

Ah, but what's this? "Black Friday is DONE!" The fine print says that responsible consumption can help prevent global warming. And at the very bottom: "Make Friday GREEN Again!)

"Our" belfry in the early morning. Now, when will that tree drop its leaves?!

Ah, time grows short; it's getting compressed. In less than two weeks we leave for Seville, Spain, where we will be spending Christmas. We'll return to Montpellier, though, in February. Our blog will, of course, continue!