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 :)
1 comment:
I think you will need an American friend when you excavate at Vix, and that friend is ME. Pleeeeease take me with you!
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