France: The Land of Haute & Hilarious Cuisine

France: The Land of Haute & Hilarious Cuisine

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
When I first moved to France a little over 4 years ago, I was immediately enamored with the food.  I'm sure that's hardly a surprise.  I mean, this is the country that invented haute cuisine, chefs, bistros & the words "restaurant" & "gourmet".French dishes from various regions are known far & wide outside of France's borders: foie gras, escargot, cassoulet, bouillabaisse, crepes & croque monsieur.Everyone knows about Brie & Bleu Cheese.  Grocery stores in the U.S. sell Herbes de Provence.  Any idiot knows what a croissant is.The point is, these people are not fucking around when it comes to the food.  It's an art; it's one of life's greatest pleasures & should be enjoyed.  It isn't just a means of survival or fuel - it's a way of life.However, while America eats itself to death, it's only natural for the fat of that land to spread.  Little bits of American culture can be seen everywhere & France is no exception. ...
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Bavaria: Fairy Tales Set to the Sounds of Sausage

Bavaria: Fairy Tales Set to the Sounds of Sausage

by Rasmenia Comment Closed
After we had left ever-changing Berlin behind us and the gray nightmares of the concentration camp, Olivier and I headed south, where everything had slowly changed from gray to green and the sharp, hard edges of barracks and cities had smoothed, turning into the rolling hills of Bavaria and the Black Forest of Germany. Since we had entered a new region, I began fidgeting around with the buttons on the radio, to see what it sounded like here. Immediately, I was reminded of this: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAUP1wsmqUU Indeed, that's what Bavaria sounds like. What Bavaria looks like is probably just as one might imagine. As cliché as it sounds, the scenery and architecture of the homes did remind me very much of those Grimm's Fairy Tales that I read when I was just a wee little Razzy. "People here don't greet one another with 'Guten Tag'," Olivier told me. "People in this region greet one another with 'Grüß Gott'." "Uh-huh", I said. "So, what does that mean? What's the difference?" "Grüß...
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