On the table that is. Forget what your mother told you. When eating in France it's considered poor manners to keep one hand in your lap as we Americans do. The French keep both hands on the table at all times. In the left hand they hold the fork while the right wields the knife. Or is it the fork in the right and the knife in the left? Since I've never mastered the art of eating backward, I feel quite cosmopolitan enough just keeping both hands up where they belong!

THE ART OF COFFEE IN FRANCE

What Do You Call It?

Petit déjeuner, or breakfast, in France is usually a simple affair consisting of fresh bread or rolls, a bowl of coffee, and orange juice. Yes, you heard right, the French love to drink their morning coffee from a deep bowl. You might say they like to "sip and dunk" their breakfast. First very strong, black coffee is poured into the bowl, then steaming hot milk is added. Into this they dunk their bread, toast or croissant, alternately sipping and dunking. For the children it's hot chocolate and, nowadays, a bowl of cold cereal. But if you prefer to drink your coffee from a cup, don't worry. We've been traveling in France for years and have never been served coffee in a bowl. Do you think they can tell we're not French? Just ask for café noir (espresso), café américain (weak coffee), un allongé (Americano), grand café (large cup of strong coffee) or café au lait (coffee with milk).

Afternoon Coffee Anyone?

Sitting in a little sidewalk café, visiting with friends or just watching the crowds pass by while sipping a tiny demi-tasse of rich black coffee is a great way to spend a leisurely afternoon, and it's so wonderfully French.

After Dinner?

Try to order coffee with your dinner or dessert and you will probably be greeted with, at best, a blank, confused look, or at worst, a gasp of horror. Coffee is never served with a meal or dessert, but instead, it is served after you've finished your last course. Then it usually comes in a demi-tasse, thick, black, and bitter with a petite cube of sugar reposing on the saucer, and if you're lucky, a sliver of dark chocolate. It makes the perfect finale to a delicious French meal.

By the way, once you have finished that delicious French meal, don't expect the waiter to bring you the bill until you ask for it. And when you want to attract your waiter's attention, forget the "Garçon!" that you learned in high school. The polite term is "Monsieur", "Madame" or "Mademoiselle," depending on who your waiter is.

First Time Faux Pas

One bright sunny morning years ago, on tour guide Dennis McDermott's first trip to France, he and the student group he was chaperoning ventured into an elegant little café for breakfast. They were seated at a small table which was surrounded by other tables full of French people quietly enjoying their morning repast. When Madame came to take their orders, Dennis proudly announced in his debutant French, "Je voudrais un cafe nuit s'îl vous plait", thinking he was asking for a cup of black coffee. To his amazment, the room erupted in gales of laughter! Madame, whose face had first registered shock and then dismay, quickly regained her composure and explained to a bewildered Dennis his mis-step. "Monsieur, it is café noir (black coffee), not café nuit (night coffee). He then chuckled weakly realizing his error, and smiled at the people around him. They smiled back. Forks were again raised. The quiet reserve had been banished, replaced by a sense of friendly camraderie. For Dennis it became one of those travel memories that definitely improves with time! And no, he's never made that particular mistake again!

HISTORY

Worth His Salt

What do Morton's Corp. and the Camargue share in common? The answer is salt. Morton's owns the Salins du Midi Salt Works in the village of Aigues-Mortes where salt has been produced since the Roman times. Salt was such a prized commodity in Roman times that it was used as a form of currency. According to Webster's dictionary, the word "salary" comes from the latin word salarium meaning salt money (i.e., money given to buy salt, as part of a Roman soldier's pay). Slaves could also be purchased with just a lump of salt the size of the slave's foot. Hence, the old saying "Worth his salt."

Waterproofing that works!

Did you know that the Romans waterproofed their canals and aqueducts with an ingenious mixture of lime, pork fat and the latex of unripe figs. It was so effective that aqueducts like the famous Pont du Gard in southern France carried water to Nimes for nine hundred years. Pretty amazing stuff! I wonder if it would work on my roof?!

The Pont du Gard aqueduct brought water to Nimes from another useable spring almost 50km away to the north and much of the aqueduct was actually subterranean, and carefully built with a very gradual drop of about 1 in 3000 over its entire length. This use of a simple gravitational flow avoided the expense of installing pressure systems to channel water over obstacles.

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