Later Whole Foods

For the past few years I have always done my grocery shopping on Sundays and then cooked up a bit of a feast on Sunday evenings to pick at throughout the week. That’s all going to change now because almost everything is closed on Sundays in Paris, including most grocery stores. When Steve and I got back from SA on Sunday the cupboards were bare so we set out in a desperate hunt for something to eat. Luckily the fruit store was open so we started with that and even luckier the proprietor told us of a grocery he thought was open. We raced over and sure enough, success. Naturally, as expected, the grocery stores here are small because space is scarce, but this will definitely take some getting used to. Options are slim and supply is not quite what I would expect for a big city, but I am very excited to figure out how the French manage to be the foodies of the world on what I have seen so far. One store, Monoprix, is some sort of department-like store (more tomorrow because I am going there tonight) that added a grocery component. In a way this store most reminds me of Whole Foods because they offer a good selection of food prepared on-site. My French is not good enough yet to determine if they have a healthy slant on what they sell, but the prices are above other stores; a la Whole Foods. A French friend recommended a chain called Franprix which so far is okay, but the selection is slim – I almost jumped for joy yesterday when I found tomato paste. I have yet to find black beans, but I did manage to find canned and raw lentil, kidney and garbanzo. I need to spend more time in Franprix’s wine section – they seem to have excellent selections in the 5-7 Euro range. As I was lugging my groceries home last night I passed a store that sells only frozen food and reminded me of an extra large Trader Joe’s frozen food section. They even sell you insulated bags for your walk home. I will definitely research that store more as it looked very promising.

On to more important things: work! Day one has been successful. The offices are beautiful and the people are nice and mostly speak English really well, but even I could understand most of what was said in French. We have a cantina for lunch – a co-worker took me over and showed me the ropes. It was a bit intimidating because the menu changes daily and of course the menus are all listed in French. I grabbed the few vegetarian items I could find: salad, yogurt, bread and brie. The seating area is on the second floor and as you descend the stairs to the first floor there is a coffee bar where everyone has an espresso before returning to work. We skipped coffee today, but there were 50+ people there today – it was very French. I have my computer, phone, and desk so full steam ahead.