What an interesting piece, Sacha! Growing up, my (very traditional) French family would never dream of serving cheese for l’apéro — it simply belonged after the main course, full stop. But during my Paris years, I noticed things were changing… and honestly, I’m not complaining. Any excuse to bring out the cheese earlier works for me! 🧀😉
When I saw the title, I immediately was going to comment that "if full-grown French adults can eat La Vache qui Rit 'Apéricubes' at apéro and act as if nothing were wrong, they can certainly eat real cheese." But I see that Véronique already made that point somewhere!
Your apéro looks great and in this heat, I'd call it dinner.
Last summer we moved in at the end of July and had to wait for the entire month of August vacation to pass before a plumber came, ordered the wrong parts, then finally fixed it another month later. Whereas in the US I can replace an entire toilet myself or watch a YouTube and fix whatever part is needed! I felt a bit like I was not adapting to the French way of life when I insisted on finding an apartment with two toilets, and now I'm relieved we did. Good luck with your toilet and enjoy your visitors!
I loved this, Sacha. I’m totally with you, le marché can be so intimidating, and sometimes Monoprix really is a breath of fresh air. No need to figure out what to order or how many grams you need while the line behind you grows! That said, nothing compares to a perfectly in-season cheese from le fromager. And yes to planches mixtes, such an easy way to host without the pressure of a full meal. Bravo on ordering in French (and getting a compliment, no less)!
What an interesting piece, Sacha! Growing up, my (very traditional) French family would never dream of serving cheese for l’apéro — it simply belonged after the main course, full stop. But during my Paris years, I noticed things were changing… and honestly, I’m not complaining. Any excuse to bring out the cheese earlier works for me! 🧀😉
I love your perspective Pierre! I agree that anytime is a good time for cheese 😊
When I saw the title, I immediately was going to comment that "if full-grown French adults can eat La Vache qui Rit 'Apéricubes' at apéro and act as if nothing were wrong, they can certainly eat real cheese." But I see that Véronique already made that point somewhere!
Your apéro looks great and in this heat, I'd call it dinner.
I felt vindicated 😂😂😂
Nicely done Sacha! I hope you had a very enjoyable apéro (in spite of the heat!) and with a lot of cheese I see :-)
Merci Vero and thank you for your expert insights!
A cracking looking apéro Sacha. Hopefully it (almost) made up for the dodgy plumbing situation!
Thank you Lauren. The cheese & wine certainly helped 😊
Now I want a cucumber with salt! Great read.
This is very funny, and relatable. I’ve been in France 11 months and battling our second broken toilet.
Hi Martha, thanks so much and I’m sorry to hear that you’re battling your second broken toilet in France. It’s not easy to find plumbers is it?
Last summer we moved in at the end of July and had to wait for the entire month of August vacation to pass before a plumber came, ordered the wrong parts, then finally fixed it another month later. Whereas in the US I can replace an entire toilet myself or watch a YouTube and fix whatever part is needed! I felt a bit like I was not adapting to the French way of life when I insisted on finding an apartment with two toilets, and now I'm relieved we did. Good luck with your toilet and enjoy your visitors!
Eek, that sounds super stressful. Good call on finding a place with two toilets which is not easy. Enjoy the rest of your summer! Bonne journée
I loved this, Sacha. I’m totally with you, le marché can be so intimidating, and sometimes Monoprix really is a breath of fresh air. No need to figure out what to order or how many grams you need while the line behind you grows! That said, nothing compares to a perfectly in-season cheese from le fromager. And yes to planches mixtes, such an easy way to host without the pressure of a full meal. Bravo on ordering in French (and getting a compliment, no less)!