FOOD - history and culture

FOOD - HISTORY and CULTURE

I. HISTORY

French people are always proud of the best way of cooking. Because of the advanced climate and soil in France, farmers produce fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains, and meat nearly all year-round, so they are able to have variety meals daily. Also, France is known as one of the best countries providing best wine in the world because of special tastes of grapes ( grapes are main fruit grown in this country), so wine is a part of French people's meals.

Food and alcohol are so important in French society.

II. FOOD

1. Food of the French

The baguette - a long, thin loaf of crusty bread- is a main part of every meal. Baguette is eaten in variety of ways and it is used to make sandwiches. Cheese, also, is a part of a meal.

2. The regions of France

France is divided in many regions and each region, the French have their particular food.

_ In Brittany( Northwestern of France), native people always have their breakfast with crepes( thin pancakes) and cider.

_ In Alsace region( Eastern of France near Germany), their best dish is cabbage - pieces of sausage, called la choucroute.

_ The French, who live in Loire River Valley, usually eat the Loire fish found in Loire river.

_ In the Coast of France, seafood is plentiful, such as: mussels, claims, oysters, shrimp, and squid, so visitors love to enjoy different kinds of seafood dishes.

3. Mealtime customs

_ At home, when hosts have guests come to their houses, they usually serve their guests with main meal including salad, dish with meat, cheese with bread, and dessert. French wine is often served at lunch time or dinner time.

_ Eating out is a social occasion, a leisurely activity. As a result, French people enjoy eating in restaurants, and eating out is parts of their lives. One thing that visitors should know about this country is restaurants in France are more formal than in America. Also, waiters are rarely tipped because the tip is added to the bills, so visitors shouldn't be worried about that. Taking leftover is considered impolite.

4. Typical eating habits

French people usually have three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Lunch is an important meal, so businesses and schools are closed at lunch hour. If you visit France, I think you will be happy with the life here because people aren't rush at lunch hour.( I wish that American people had chances to enjoy lunches like French people.)

EIFFEL TOWER- A SYMBOL of PARIS

The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world, the best known landmark in Europe, and the most famous symbol of Paris.

The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 to celebrate the anniversary of the French Revolution . It took almost two years to complete the structure and the Eiffel Tower was named after the designer- engineer Gustave Eiffel. During the contruction, many people thought it was a crazy idea because of its huge structure, wasting much money to build the Tower. After it was finished, the Eiffel Tower quickly became a Symbol of City. From the Tower, people can view the whole city, especially in the evening( one hour before the sunset), the view of Paris is the best. In the clear weather, you can view the city as far as 42 miles from the top of the Eiffel Tower. People come to the Eiffel Tower in order to observe the beautiful light of city at night. From the top of the Tower, Paris is in your view. Somebody told me that if you come to Paris without visiting the Eiffel Tower, it means you lose the chance to see the romantic city.

The Tower has three levels for visitors. The first level has over 300 steps and visitors can walk through that, but from the second level to the third level, visitors are lifted to the top of it. You can order your dinner from one of the two restaurants in this Tower and enjoy seeing the city without worrying about your hash life. More than 200,000,000 visitors have visited the Tower since 1889. Making it the most visiting in the world even though the Eiffel Tower is only the second tallest one in France . Today, many coppies of Eiffel Tower buildings were built in different countries, so you can see how popular the Eiffel Tower is in the world.

LUBERON NATURAL PARK

Luberon Natural Park is located in East of Avignon and North of Apt. It's known as one of the most interesting landmarks in the world because of its different natural parks with white limestone cliffs, red oche cliffs, and old villages. Now, let's go to the Luberon Natural Park, just pretend I was in the Park yesterday, and now I'm introducing to you about this famous place.

My friend and I started early in the morning. We chose to visit this place in the Spring because there aren't many people in this season and in the fall compare with the summer; the weather is more pleasant to visitors. At first, we went to Cavaillon where we could observe the view from in front of the Chapelle St Jacques. Cavaillon was a small town; it's famous for its religious landmarks, and melons if you were there in the melon's season.

Our next place to visit was Oppe'de-de-Vieux, a lovely hilltop village with many old houses and churches which were built in the 12th century. I couldn't stop taking pictures of the old town. Then, we climbed to the hill where we could see some attractive views of the forests and cliffs that surround the town.

The last place that we stopped by was Lourmarin- another most beautiful village of France that no one wants to go back home when visiting this place. It was in the afternoon, we were already tired because of a long day in the park. My friends recommended me to the cafe shops. Lourmarin was famous for its cafes, and there were plenty of cafe shops on the small streets. We got into a small shop next to the street where I heard from native people that Albert Camus used to live and work in this town.

We left there when it's almost dark, the weather was chilly, and the streets were empty of people. Even though I was really tired, I could still picture the scenes of the natural park, the old houses, and the native people who were so nice to us. Coming back next time, I will go to Luberon again. There are still many other places that I haven't had a chance to explore.

PLACES to VISIT in FRANCE

When I searched some famous places in France that visitors should visit, I couldn't stop thinking about France. I was dreaming of walking under the Eiffel Tower with my honey, visiting Pere Lachaise, Saint Louise,and Arcachon and Cap Ferret...

CLIMATE and GEORAPHY of FRANCE

* Region and Department

*Physical maps

II.Geography.

France is located in the Western Europe, the largest Western Europeon nation. The shape of France is close to hexagone, so France has a nickname, called " hexagone "

1. Area: Total : 547,030 Sq km

Land: 545,630 Sq km

Water: 1400 Sq km

* The size of the country is less than twice the size of Colorado state in America.

* Boundaries border countries: Andora, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain , and Switzerland.

2. Natural resources: coal, iron, fish timber, zinc, and potash.

3. Envirnment: some forests are damage because of acid rain and ais pollutan from industry.

CLIMATE and GEORAPHY of FRANCE

I. CLIMATE

The weather in France is divided in three different types : Oceanic, Continental, and Miditeranean weather.

_ Oceanic weather occurs in the Western part of the country. There isn't much change in between seasons. It rains all year around; it's cool in the summer, and not very cold in the winter.

_ Continental weather is found in the Easten and the central part of the country. The weather is warm in the summer and cold in the winter; some areas farther West, it usually has snow,especially in the higher areas. Also, it rains all year around.

_ Maditeranean weather is spead thoughout the South of France( except in the mountainous South West). It's cool winter, hot summer, and limited rainfall.

*The weather in Paris is about 18 degrees Celcius in July, and about 2 degrees Celcius in January.