From Paris With Love!

Well, I didn't have internet for a few days and was distracted the rest, but now I'm back for the remainder of my stay in France.

Reed and I met up in Dijon a week ago and drove to Switzerland and Germany, then to eastern France, and arrived yesterday in Paris. We head back home on Wednesday, so I'm not sure if I'll get to write again from France. I figured for this evening I can at least include a link to my photos which I posted on Facebook last night, and if I get around to writing a summary of my past two weeks, then great, but if not, then at least you have these to see what I've been up to!

Bonsoir!

Jean-Claude Van Damme vs. Hedgehogs

I fully intended on writing a legit post tonight, but there is a dubbed Luke Perry movie where he plays a naval pilot and professor of meteorology, which is distracting me both because it is so unbelievable, but also because watching really badly dubbed movies is quite hilarious... And now a Jean-Claude Van Damme film just came on which is another guaranteed stinker full of distraction!

Anywho, I will enlighten you this evening with a bit about television watching in Europe vs. in the USA:

* First, commercial volume does not seem to be 10x louder than the regular program you are watching. It is lovely to not have to scramble for the remote before one's ears begin to bleed.
*Second, there are far fewer commercials. I think this may be the result of government subsidized television (correct me if I'm wrong on this). I believe they have a lot more control over the airwaves, i.e. limiting the amount of English language spoken. Whatever the reason, there are maybe 4-6 commercials (not commercial breaks) an hour depending on the station.
*Third, commercials in general are quite funny and often incorporate a good deal of sexual innuendo. It is not always crude either, often it can be quite comical.

With that, I leave you with a little taste of French commercial watching. The first of these came on during the Luke Perry movie... The second batch I found after watching the first one online... All are hilarious and worthy of three minutes of your time. Remember, you are traveling with me in spirit since I am sharing with you many of my cultural experiences this time. Enjoy! :)

(I'll write a proper update in the next day or so. I'm also trying to get my pictures in order so I can post them soon too!)

Wandering around in the woods again…

Currently I'm staying at the oppidum (late Iron Age settlement), Bibracte located on Mt-Beuvray. Went up to the Brit-Yank-Deutsch site on Tuesday, which is near the Source de l’Yonne (source is French for 'spring'). Viewed their area briefly, which appears to be a small industrial area. Laura, one of the Brit leaders, said I should “go up the road a bit” and have a look at the Source because “it is quite lovely.” As I wandered up the road, I wondered how far “a bit” was and also how so much horse poop got here. The latter was answered in a few moments when I saw a horse farm. The former was a bit more ambiguous.

Across from the farm was a staked off circular area with a sign out front and tall grasses inside. There was also a silhouetted sculpture/outline of a man holding a stick in the shape of a wishbone – used for finding water. I read the French signs and looked at the maps and pictures, which were about the rivers the source contributed to and waterfalls, streams, etc. I entered the circle expecting to find a small pool or stream, but only saw a small boulder and grasses.

“Strange,” I thought, “maybe I’ll follow the road up a bit into the woods to see if there is something else up there…” After wandering down a road through the woods for a good 15 minutes, dogging beehives and trying to listen for water, I found two small signs maybe 2 ½ by 2 ½ inches big, each with a hand holding the water-finding stick. One pointed to the way I just came while the other pointed the opposite way saying essentially that was the way to the parking lot. “Well, the unmarked one must point to the source, I guess I’ll go back…” I retreated the way I came.

I returned to where I began and instead of going right, I went to the left this time following the “wish-stick” signs. These little markers led me past a house, then quickly up the hill/mountain full of trees and a soft floor of fallen leaves. I wanted to find the source, so I made this trip as briskly as possible. I climbed, zigged, zagged, stopped to catch my breath, contemplated the elevation because I was out of breath quite quickly, repeated steps 1 through 3 several times over, tripped once, yawned several dozen times, wondered where this damn source was thinking “its strange that it would be so high…”

The path began to descend and I thought, “If I have to climb up this again to get back I will one grouchy archaeologist…” I continued my descent with more zigging and sagging, wondering if this route was made because it is faster for getting to the source than walking around the hill, and also wondering if the water at the source was drinkable…if I’d have known I needed to hike to the source I would have brought some water… As I rounded a curve and descended I noticed I was coming to a road-like path…without a “wish-stick” sign telling me where to continue. I looked right, nothing. I looked left…and saw two small signs, one pointing to the right and the other to the left where I could find the parking lot! Yup, I was standing where I was an hour before.

Don’t remember the exact obscenity(ies) that came from my mouth, but I walked the 15 minutes out of the woods, dogged the bees once again and hoped that I hadn’t actually missed the source after all that. I returned to the circular place again, read the signs again, looked again, but still no water. “Maybe they plugged it with the boulder…?” I admitted defeat and wandered back to the excavation area after over 1.5 hours of accidental hiking.

The excavators asked what I thought when I arrived, saying they found it pretty disappointing themselves… “Where was it!??!?” I asked. “Underground in that circular grassy area. Did you feel it moving under your feet?” All I felt was soft, but not wet ground… It was right under my nose (and feet) the entire time.

The Soup Krater

I ordered off the menu tonight (in France a menu is a choice of usually 3 things for a set price: appetizer, main dish, dessert). I decided to get some soup and what I figured was some sort of meat...

After ordering, I wondered why the garcon brought me an empty bowl with my bread -- and we are talking a large bowl here, practically the size of a serving dish! Well, instead of just getting a bowl or a cup of soup like in the States, they bring you something I can equate only with the Vix Krater!And just to give you an idea of the size...

It was a whole large vessel of soup with a ladle to serve yourself. I didn't know what kind of soup I was getting, and I only really abject to mushroom, so I wasn't worried. As the soup feast was set before me, I peered over to get a view of what awaited inside. Orange.

I pondered what else it could be, carrots being the obvious guess. I dipped the cafeteria sized ladle in and filled my bowl after two scoops. I should note, spoons for anything other than coffee in France/Europe are the equivalent of our serving spoons. I picked up my spoon and filled it to the brim and sipped...

I was wrong. Tomato, not carrot, but unlike any other tomato soup I've tasted. Rich in flavor, various vegetables were present with each sip. I asked the garcon what it was and he confirmed it was tomato and no more. It was rich, filling, comforting. Cream and perhaps butter. I was conscious of my French neighbors at the table next to me, otherwise, I probably would have tossed the bowl aside and jumped head first into my own Vix Krater. I easily finished a bowl and discretely filled another for myself.

A little over halfway through the bowl I remembered I had a mystery meat arriving soon. Begrudgingly, I set the soup bowl and the krater aside, but only after 90% of the spoon basin was visible in the bowl. Sigh...it was over.

*****
And I feel obligated to provide a bit of an update about my trip. So far I have visited 7 archaeological sites/museums, and skipped 2 from my original list. My visits are taking me about a fraction of the time that I thought they would -- I could probably have done this in a slightly rushed 2 weeks instead of 4.

Today was especially wonderful. I went to visit the actual site of Vix where they found the famous krater and the other objects associated with this 'princess' burial (see photo above), because it was a site of religious importance in the Iron Age. The site is situated on Mt-Lassois, which required me to manage getting the manual up the curvy roads and avoid descending cars on a single lane road...oy! I finally parked and walked to the site only to learn it was visitor's day, meaning the higher-ups of the site were free to talk to the visitors and they had some material from the site to look at. Bonne chance!

Eventually, someone from the site talked to me -- turned out to be the director! I was surprised at the friendliness of those in charge of the site because I've been told archaeology in Europe is "the old boy's club" -- and maybe I will see more of this when I get involved at a site. Anyway, I told him my interests and he offered to show me the important places I should see as well as provided me with some important bibliography.

He also introduced me to other leading members of the site, such as the architect, the geo-archaeologist, the artist, etc. He saw an older man and woman approaching and said, "Now there is someone you need to meet. Very important for Iron Age religion..." It turned out to be F.-R. Hermann, the man who discovered the famous Glauberg Statue (also called Mickey Mouse by the French for obvious reasons).

I was invited to join the team for lunch, which I graciously accepted even though I was not terribly hungry -- I figured the more face time I get, the more connections I can make in the area. We didn't have time after lunch to look at the important places, so the director said he would meet me tomorrow morning to show me the rest of the site. At one point during my visit, I asked if it is possible to join excavations in the area and the director said I could excavate at Vix. When I asked how much it usually costs to stay in the area, he said it was free of course -- they cover room and board and even better -- they pay 100 euros a week! I've never been paid a day in my life to excavate! Haha! I just have to get myself there! Pretty awesome!

After my unanticipated fortune, I left to try my luck at another site, Vertillum, a Gallo-Roman site which I read had a temple. It looked promising enough after I climbed yet another steep hill in the car and there was a little covered area with posted info about the site and a parking lot. Sadly, I think that was just about all it had going for it. It is a self-tour site, which requires one to walk a good ways on the hill to see anything. There are some open fields nearer to the parking lot, but then it turns into a bit of a forest with a small path. There are also holes everywhere, either from looters or just exposed structures. Then the path stopped showing signs and I ended up lost in the woods for a bit and there is absolutely no one else at the site (probably because it sucks). Anyway, I somehow stumbled out of the woods and went back to my car happy to be out safe and sound.

Alright, that should give you enough to chew on for a few days along with this tidbit... If you order meat in France, medium = rare with just the outside browned... Luckily this doesn't bother me or I would have had a downer of a dinner tonight :)

So The Thing About Escargot...

Anyone who knows me and knows what I will eat when abroad had to know this was coming...

I just tried escargots for the first time this evening. They were served piping hot, likely steamed, in a ceramic dish which has six holes, one for each shell.



It is accompanied by two instruments that look as though they could be used by a medical professional or by a professional torturer in the Middle Ages -- I'm sure some of you may think these professions to be one in the same.

One instrument is a very narrow, fork-like tool with only two prongs. The other needs to be squeezed to open and moves two half circle pieces which clamp onto the shell. (Think the scene from Total Recall where Arnold pulls that thing out of his brain through his nose...at least that's what I thought of...)











Anyway, once you figure out how to get the shell to stay still in these clamps, you then use the prongs to dig that sucker out. I recommend not looking at them too hard. Mine had some sort of green pesto on the opening of the shells, though I couldn't place the herb, which also helps to disguise the appearance (sort of like the photo above).

Upon entering the mouth, one first notices the herb mixture and butter. As one begins chewing, the slightly rubbery texture, maybe 'springy' is a better word, becomes apparent along with an all too familiar taste...mushrooms! For those of you who adore mushrooms, this dish is for you. For those of us who have disliked this strong, unpleasant flavor since childhood, I recommend avoiding escargots.

I gave the next five a try, just to be sure, with the same results. The flavor wasn't bad enough to make me gag or anything, but that distinctive mushroom flavor seemed to permeate with every bite. I plan on trying them again, just to make sure it wasn't a bad batch or cooked incorrectly -- I always thought escargot got a bad reputation just because of what it is, not based on the flavor. But...if this is the world famous dish known as escargots, I think I will have to pass in the future and maybe just enjoy their empty shells that I find all too often while excavating...

I Was Supposed to Post this August 1st or 2nd, eh.

After just about a year away from my blog, I’m feeling ready to resume discussing my random thoughts of and encounters in Minneapolis…although I won’t actually be in Minneapolis for the next month…instead, I’ll be in France! Unlike many of my other abroad experiences, I won’t be excavating either. The next four weeks will be dedicated to drinking good wine, eating Bourgognais cuisine, and most importantly, looking at artifacts and archaeological sites as part of some pre-dissertation research.

My trip will begin with a flight to Amsterdam, then a connecting flight to Paris. Upon my arrival, I will pick up my brand new leased car, a manual and diesel drinking Clio, made by the French carmakers, Renault. Hopefully my recent lessons will serve me well because I am driving to Sens to visit my first museum.

I will follow a similar pattern nearly every day: get up early, breakfast?, drive or walk to first museum, museums close for lunch, I eat, drive or walk to second museum, probably stay until close, drive or walk to next city, eat dinner, perhaps do something else, and go to bed. This regimented schedule is necessary. I have 29 days to tackle exactly 40 museums/archaeological sites (technically I have less than that because the bulk of the work needs to be done before Reed, the boyfriend, meets me in France on August 21st, so in reality, I have 19 days to get to 36 museums/archaeological sites. In other words, I will be a busy, busy lady.

…Boarding for the flight soon. Will continue this from France!