Random Tidbits

French police don’t drive around one or two in a car, like in the U.S. In Paris you always see police in groups of three, sometimes four and sometimes they are plain-clothes officers, making the sight even weirder. It is a very strange and for some reason, somewhat unsettling, sight for me when I see three policemen standing around one single car that they’ve pulled over for a traffic infraction (though this in and of itself is rather rare in Paris where traffic laws are much more suggestions than their name implies). They make the driver get out of the car and one stands with him or her while another stands near the front of the car pacing and looking very inquisitive, like they are trying to find something else that is wrong and the other stands at the back of the car, inspects the license plate and who knows what else. This is an even stranger sight when it’s three plain-clothes policemen stopping a motorcyclist – it looks more like a mafia operation (or at least some sort of organized crime) than a traffic stop.

Tonight for dinner my host mom made salmon and then what I decided was the French version of macaroni and cheese. Here it is known as “pâtes gratin” or pasta gratin (like the potatoes). It’s basically pasta (in my case spirally pasta) mixed with crème fraîche and gruyere cheese and bread crumbs on top all in a casserole dish, baked in the oven. It’s was rather simple but tasty, although I am still looking forward to some good old American style macaroni and cheese when I get home (what would the French say about velveta cheese, or worse: powder cheese?!?!).

An amusing anecdote: the other night my host mom got a phone call during dinner (this is actually a fairly common occurrence, she is quite popular on the phone). Anyway she excuses herself to go answer it and I continue eating at the table. She’s chatting with whoever is on the other line for a little bit and then I hear her ask if she can call them back later because she is currently eating with “her little American.” Hahaha, I was quite amused…