A Month of Marché Mondays, Crafts & Kitchen Creations, a National Strike, and a Special Visitor12/21/2019 It’s been a little while since I’ve updated everyone on how life in France is going. This month has been stressful and busy, but it’s almost Christmas! Here are some pictures from the last four weeks of going to the market. I completely lost track of how much I actually spent, but it was definitely under 75€, which is amazing for all these apples, tomatoes, onions, zucchini, squash, peppers, spinach, potatoes, lemons, parsnips, garlic, grapefruits, homemade apple juice, coffee, and artisan bread. I’ve made applesauce a few times and made a couple different soups. Unfortunately, apple season is almost over, but I can still make applesauce with cheap, squishy apples! The first week of December, I left the apples I bought at the market and had to go back later and see if they were still there. The vendor was nice enough to save them for me, and the next week, he made a joke about me not forgetting the apples I bought. You have to love the friendliness of a small town. Some other things I’ve made in the kitchen this month are: -mini lemon lavender cakes -goat cheese, mushroom, caramelized onion pizza -Christmas sugar cookies -cinnamon rolls -tiny applesauce apple cakes -Finska Kakor cookies (a family tradition) And I’ve also been making little Christmas cards and gift tags! The big news in France right now is a national strike. It started on December 5th and it’s a bit complicated, but I will try to explain. Basically, the French retirement system for public workers, including teachers, train conductors, bus drivers, garbage men, post office workers, etc.., is a point system. But this means that most of the public workers don’t really ever get enough “points” to actually retire, plus they make low wages and it really is a problem. While some of the craziness is over, the trains are still being cancelled and the strike really isn’t over. For me, this meant that I got a few extra days of school off for the month, stayed in my apartment for quite a bit of December, and my train ticket to Paris on Christmas Eve was cancelled. So instead, I bought a 55€ bus ticket for a 9 hour bus ride to Paris. But, I’ll get there in time to greet Jake, my amazing boyfriend, at the Paris airport. He gets here on Christmas morning, in just 4 days, and as crazy as the strikes are making transportation, it will be a Christmas to remember. Plus, he’s staying for two weeks and we have a special trip to the French Riviera planned for New Years. I’ll do another update in a week or two about our adventures! Here are a few more pictures from the past few weeks! xoxo,
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