I’m back in Paris after the most refreshing and relaxing time in the South of France. Last Saturday we started part two of the vacation in Port Cros. I fell in love with this tiny little island paradise. I can say with confidence that we experienced as much of the island as possible. Port Cros provided plenty of experiences from driving a boat on the Mediterranean to learning how to fillet a cooked fish. Now that I’m back in Paris, there’s a Tex-Mex fiesta on the horizon thanks to the sweetest care package I received from Dallas. Yes, seeing the Velveeta and HEB Butter Tortillas really did almost bring tears to my eyes.
No Matter the Location, the French Still Eat Croissants and Pain au Chocolats for Breakfast
Port Cros is a really small island. There’s literally five restaurants and one *tiny* épicerie. So I was pretty surprised to find croissants, pain au chocolats, and baguettes available every morning for breakfast. I didn’t get into the logistics of if they were made fresh each morning, brought in from mainland France, or perhaps frozen. Any port in a storm.
I’ve realized that sometimes even an underwhelming croissant is better than no croissant. Plus, Romain is very particular about his pain au chocolats (he likes a lot of chocolate) and he ate them every morning without a peep.
Learning How to Fillet a Cooked Fish
I’m not going to lie, I thought it was pretty standard practice when you’re ordering fish for them to bring it over and show it to you and then ask if you’d like it prepared. I’ve never heard someone say no, I’d prefer to hack away at it myself at the table, thank you. So, when my cooked daurade arrived with head, fins, and all, I asked Romain when the waitress was going to come back and fillet the fish for me. He said she wasn’t going to.
There are certain skills à table that I don’t have. Cutting a whole fish is one of those skills. But, after eating lots of fish on Port Cros I’ve got the steps to fillet a cooked fish down. I am however still working on completing the steps in the right order.
Driving A Boat on the Mediterranean
The French love paper. Physical paper. Romain has his boating license in France, but of course has no idea where the actual license is. He didn’t have enough time to request a new card before the trip, and assumed that he’d work something out. Surprise, he didn’t.
I really wanted to go out on a boat. So, I barreled through four hours of a Texas Boating Safety Course to get a piece of paper to show to the French capitainerie. And it worked. I’ve spent every summer of my life (besides this one) on a lake, so driving a boat isn’t a new concept for me. But I definitely wasn’t expecting to be driving a boat on the Mediterranean Sea.
Gas Station Vending Machines in France Have Soup
I love stopping at French gas stations on road trips. First, I think it’s amusing to look at how many different choices they have for prepared sandwiches. Second, chips in France have really bizarre but good flavors, and a road trip is a perfect excuse to sample some.
I’ve somehow missed that the vending machines have soups. I don’t know why that’s so crazy to me because we have Soup on the Go in the US. Maybe it’s the thought of something hot coming from a vending machine that’s strange. It was a little too hot outside to want soup, but I have confirmation from my friend Marie that they’re great on a winter road trip. The more you know!
Velveeta Cheese Can Almost Bring Me to Tears
I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again, but one of the best parts about having this blog and Instagram is connecting with so many incredible people that I already have a lot in common with, which is a deep love for France.
Claire @sapphiresandscotch literally went to the next level of kindness and via her husband brought me the best Tex-Mex care package, straight from Dallas. I never knew seeing Velveeta cheese (“Liquid Gold”) and HEB Butter Tortillas could almost make me tear up. It’s one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me. I can’t wait for the Tex-Mex fiesta in my very near future with all of the seasonings, beans, tortillas, and of course Velveeta!
I hope you enjoyed this week’s Five Friday Finds from France. Check in again tomorrow for Weekend Links!