The French Stomach

By Doris Gallan –

The French hold a reverence for sumptuous food and fine wine that’s found in very few other places in the world. A country lunch in southern France provided proof that this love isn’t felt only by the well to do.

After a morning of searching for traces of our ancestors, my mother Adèle and I found ourselves at the only restaurant in a small village. Lunch was broiled chicken breast, mashed potatoes, peas, and carrots served family style with fresh bread and a carafe of local wine. We shared the small dining room with groups of farmers and road construction crews, or so we guessed from their dirt-encrusted overalls and boots.

It wasn’t until our server—the wife of the owner-chef—opened a new bottle of wine that any resemblance of a meal in rural America disappeared into thin air. All talking ceased. All noises died with the sound of a cork being pulled from its bottle.

A dozen men in overalls, T-shirts and work boots, who had been shoveling food into their mouths, stopped eating. “Pas si fort, la, Madame” (Not so hard, there, Mrs.), one said. “Faites attention” (Be careful), and the French expression that serves any and all purposes: “et, la” (and, there).

Our server was summarily reprimanded by the road crews for having committed the sin of hurriedly opening the bottle, causing a popping sound heard throughout the establishment. The fact that she alone had served some dozen workers and two travelers and that the food was less than tasty didn’t matter.

This was a bottle of wine, and it should be handled reverently. In three weeks and 2,000 miles of travel in France, this was the only cork we heard pop.

Doris Gallan is the author of The Boomers’ Guide to Going Abroad to Travel | Live | Give | Learn and a travel coach. She has been to all seven continents and 50+ countries. Daily travel tips and hilarious stories about her exploits are available at www.BabyBoomersTraveling.com.