The Holidays in France

After spending our first few days in France, stuck behind the laptop trying to get on top of the logistics of moving abroad, we decided enough was enough and decided to spend the day meandering around the rural highways where we're staying. We have an AirBnB rented in Verniolle, France for the first 2 months and then will move to a different place until we find a home of our own. Yesterday, we spent a little time in the nearby village of Mirepoix. If you like to cook, you're probably familiar with making a mirepoix of vegetables (a finely diced trio of carrots, onion and celery). Well, the term originated in this town--which was deceivingly sleepy the afternoon of our visit. Most shops close during the hours of 12:00-2:00 pm, to allow families time to enjoy lunch together. So, we'll go back again, but this time on a Monday morning, when they hold their large weekly market of locally grown food and more. I'm still trying to navigate grocery shopping in France. They don't have many of the ingredients that I'm used to cooking with, and what they have looks different and is hard to find since I don't know what it's called in France (yet). But what I have learned so far, is that most stores stock food that was grown within a 5-10 mile radius of the shelves it's sold from, and those origins are printed right on the label (which there is room for since the food doesn't contain a long list of preservatives and other chemicals). DID YOU KNOW? The milk in France is not refrigerated in the grocery stores. They pasturize their milk at a much higher temperature, which keeps it fresh and delicious without refrigeration.