Ananas Rouge 2

Apparently, M. has a peculiar method of selecting pineapples. Whereas some shoppers may avoid such fruit, taking the double crown as a sign of poor health, or worse, some form of carcinogenic mutation, M. happily brings it home for our own consumption.

PAUL Christmas Logs

PAUL bakery is one of my favorite things about France. Surprisingly, it was not as the French say, un coup de foudre. I fell in love - madly, deeply in love - with each loaf of bread, tart, pain au chocolat...and of course, the macaroons (1). To imagine that I looked upon PAUL's pistachio macaroon with suspicion!

Above, the line spilling out of a PAUL bakery in Cannes. Whenever I could, I bought the family bread from PAUL.

Since, I take every occasion to eat at PAUL, especially since there is no PAUL in New York.
Every time I am in France, of course - Aix, Paris, Cannes, Nîmes, including Orly airport, once, while making a connection for Italy - and twice in Miami (once walking up Lincoln Road, and then once on the way back down Lincoln!)

I was pleased to discover, then, that Guadeloupe has its very own PAUL. Two, in fact. One at Bas-du-Fort, and the other in the commercial zone of Jarry. Unfortunately, both are too far to make our local boulangerie (though, the boulangerie where we buy our bread in Trois-Rivières sells an excellent baguette, supposedly one of the best in Guadeloupe). We make special trips to the PAUL in Jarry when we want to buy something for a special occasion.

I am looking forward to stopping by next week to pick up a Christmas log. Hardly sounds appetizing in English, but I assure you, these logs are more than edible:

Above, from left to right: la Tout Choco, la Framboise Nougat, la Fondante, le Chalet
(pictured at the top of this post, la Pain d'Épices; not pictured from the selection, la Mokatine)
Click on the image for a larger image.

I haven't quite decided which one I want. And, for almost €20, its too expensive to have one of each. Whichever one I choose, though, I am certain it will be delicious. Not quite Christmas in New York, but a nice consolation prize.

(1) What's a macaroon?: "One of PAUL’s best-loved treats, these heavenly macaroons are very special. Our soft Valencia almond biscuits are sandwiched with smooth butter cream filling and come in five mouth-watering versions: Chocolate, Coffee, Praline, Vanilla and Pistachio."

Days Until Christmas

Just 11 more days until Christmas, but I don't feel ... christmasy. The differences in climate has a lot to do with it. Christmas is difficult to imagine in perpetual summer.

Christmas is not my favorite holiday, but I do love the holiday season, despite what people say about the rampant commercialism. The lights, the bows, the tinsel, the sugar and spice. New York seems to be particularly beautiful during Christmas, midtown in particular with all the window displays.

Above, from the upper left hand corner, clockwise: Bergdorf Goodman Christmas window, Radio City Music Hall marquee, Time Warner Center atrium, Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and Skating Rink, snowflakes on Saks Fifth Avenue, Christmas day buffet at my parent's house, The San Remo residential building seen from Central Park in winter.*

But, its not just Christmas on 5th Avenue that I love. I find Christmas music, even the annoying stuff they play on loop at Duane Reade, kind of joyful. I like the seasonal cookies that come out, like the white fudge covered Oreos. I love the lights people string on their fire escapes, the city version of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I find contentment in a silent and cold street, decorated here and there with the signs of Christmas.

In talking about Christmas in Guadeloupe, an acquaintance mentioned that I ought to see the beautiful nativity display at Destrellan, one of the large commercial centers near the capital. I had already seen the display, since it was set up much earlier in the month. Its an incredibly simple flocked figurine display, typical of malls or other public places. I can't describe it in more detail because I hardly gave it a second look. How to tell her that nothing here could ever measure up to Christmas in New York?

* All photos, except of family buffet, taken from Flickr by wallyg, wheelmaker, thomas churchwell, corbetz, ppinksky7, mediaavatar.

Weather in December

It must be a slow news day because French national news actually led with a piece on the extreme ice storm that hit New England this weekend. Its not unseasonably cold in New York, though. According to the records, the temperatures are fairly average. But I thought I would share with you the beach where I spent my Saturday:


La Chapelle beach, located in the city of Anse Bertrand, on the northern tip of Grande Terre.

Ananas Rouge

One of the upsides of moving to Guadeloupe is the availability of tropical fruits: pineapples, passion fruit, guavas, etc. Of course, all of these fruits are available at certain markets and stores in New York. But being 'exotic,' they're usually available only certain times of year, and are quite expensive. 'Exotic' is relative, of course. Exotic fruits in Guadeloupe are raspberries, apples, figs. These come shipped in from France and Europe, and the prices reflect the distance traveled. So we eat local, happily.

Above, an ananas rouge that we bought last week. Then, the skin was still dark red, almost purple. You can't tell, since there is no reference, but its a large pineapple. And one with a funny haircut. We cut it up today for lunch. It was delish.

A great dessert that we had first at Les Cocotiers, an excellent restaurant in our neighborhood, inspired a dessert that we make at home whenever we have pineapple: Coconut ice cream served with fresh pineapples, doused with a tablespoon of aged rum. Its an incredibly simple recipe (at least, once you've got the pineapple cut up into pieces...), but just perfect in every way. The coconut ice cream is usually a little too sweet by itself, so the acidity of the pineapple and the alcohol of the rum balance it out. We use the bottle of Brugel that we brought back from our trip to the Dominican Republic, which, M. discovered, is not so great by itself. For guests, we might add some whipped cream and some toasted slivered almonds.

Developing Country Furniture

The house M. and I rent is fully furnished. Its all very functional and in good condition. But most of it is fairly hideous. Its hideous in that 'cheap furniture' kind of way - particle board, metal rods - but also in what my mother calls the 'developing country' kind of way. Its the sort of furniture that you would be hard pressed to find in the United States, except in ethnic furniture stores and in the homes of of the newly immigrated.
Isn't France the ultimate arbiter of style? Perhaps its particular to Guadeloupe. But I feel wrong for blaming such poor taste on the local people. After all, if this is what the store is selling...

Living room sets with 80's inspired patterned fabric:



Bedroom sets that are reminiscent of your grandmother's bathroom:



Postmarked sofa beds:



You should note, these items don't come cheap.

Interesting Ads

Two interesting ads in the paper today:

The first is to mark World Aids Day, today. Specifically, in France, its the 20ème Journée mondiale de lutte contre le sida.

A bit of translation:

Nou Pli Fo = Nous sommes plus forts (We are stronger)

Doubout Kont le Sida = Debout Contre le Sida (Stand Up Against AIDS)

Ansanm Kont le SIDA = Ensemble contre le SIDA
(Together against AIDS)

Earlier in the week, I saw large posters along the nationale, with just the words Nou Pli Fo, and a large line drawing of a conch shell in black. Quite arresting, a mysterious call to arms (or conchs), evoking stylized Che against the red backdrop.

The imagery is aggressive, perhaps, because AIDS is a real problem in Guadeloupe. According to the article in France-Antilles today, the département of Guadeloupe has the second highest number of AIDS patients undergoing treatment, and AIDS deaths. Prevalence is four times that of France métropole.

The second is an ad for France-Antilles itself. The campaign accompanies the launch of France-Antilles' online content.

The image is almost transparent, but behind the text is a map of France, with dots representing the large cities. Except, the names have been replaced with names of cities in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyane.

A bit of translation:

France-Antilles is online...
And ever since, its crazy how the Antilles influence the métropole.

The ad is a bit of marketing folly. The métropole was not incredibly influenced by the Antilles before France-Antilles went online, and it certainly isn't any more so after. Case in point: There has been a massive strike in Guyane this past week. The roads in Cayenne, the capital of Guyane, and elsewhere had been completely blocked for more than 4 days by strikes and there was no mention of it on the evening national news. It wasn't until the day before officials in Guyane announced the closure of the port (essentially sealing the département) that the strike made evening headlines. Its as if Marseille had been held hostage by the city's population, closing all roads, the port, the airport, and the story doesn't make the evening news. But, as M.'s brother noted, Guyane is far away...