Sunday, October 17, 2010

17 October - Clermont-Ferrand Saturday

Saturday we slept in, then skipped breakfast, opting to eat an early lunch out.  We headed out to shop for a printer and some small PC speakers, so we can play music. 

We saw the landlord on the way out and he suggested we go to FNAC for the printer - it is in the city center, closer than other options.  It is raining off and on and if you are reading this near the time it is written, you have probably heard there are "strikes" all around France.  These protests affect transportation -  some networks shut down, and some offer reduced service.  We don't want to get stuck on the outskirts of town, carrying our purchases, so we opted for FNAC. 

FNAC sells electronic equipment of all types along with CDs, DVD, games, phones, books, etc.  On a rainy Saturday, the store in the central mall is packed!  I found an employee to help me and quickly decided on a printer - roughly equal in price to what we would pay at home.   We also got some speakers, then headed for home, purchases in hand.  It was raining harder, so we tried to walk under canopys as much as possible, but it was a long walk carrying things.
Info on Centre Jaude:  http://www.centre-jaude.com/

We got everything set up and running just in time to attend a Polish evening in the garage of our landlord.  The husband has Polish heritage and they have invited several families to enjoy a polish dinner.  
Their dining room (above us) is not large enough, so they erected a tent in the garage and have set a very nice table for us.  One of the other couples both have good English, so we sat next to them, and they translated some of the conversation for us. 

I am doing better with French, I recognized most of the words, but my mind won't work fast enough yet to really follow general conversation.  In addition, they are all neighbors and long time friends, so we don't always know the context, meaning they don't need to say some things to be understood.  

Our hosts announced that in Poland, everything is set on the table at once, even dessert.  This is much different in France, where there are typically several courses, served individually. 

Drinks included very cold vodka shots served beside apple juice, apple juice alone, or beer.

We started the dinner with cold veggies:  shredded red cabbage, carrots, and diced tomatoes with dressing.   That was followed by potato salad, much like we make at home, except with the addition of shredded cheese.  Next came Golabki or stuffed cabbage in a tomato/vegetable broth sauce. 
Golabki

After that we had Bigos, similar to the French Choucroute, with chicken, sausage, cabbage, smoked pork, apple juice and spices, cooked for a long time.  
Bigos

We ended the meal with a sort of apple pie - everything was delicious and the conversation was interesting, covering everything from the neighborhood to national and world politics. 

See this site for some recipes:  http://www.krykiet.com/polish_food.htm

Or here for a video on Polish food:
http://www.polishfoodinfo.com/

We arrived home about 1:30 am, very tired and full, but had to check the football scores from home before going to bed. 

    

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