Julia (Child's) and my own obsession with France

Today I finished a book about Julia Child, entitled My Life in France. This book, written by Child in collaboration with her grand-nephew, focuses on her culinary and cultural explorations of France when she lived there in the late 1940's and 1950's, and afterwards when she became a famous cookbook author and television personality. I have a fascination with food and cooking, and even though this is non-fiction, I love My Life in France because it tells a story with food and is very descriptive in terms of taste, smell, etc. Also, anything French seems to fascinate me. Prior to reading My Life in France, I read Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which in part takes place in the south of France, where "it was pleasant to drive back to the hotel in the late afternoon, above a sea as mysteriously colored as the agates and cornelians of childhood, green as green milk, blue as laundry water, wine dark.” Awwwww. A few years ago, I read the novel Le Divorce, which is an okay movie, but book is fabulous because the author gives France such a lovely ambiance. Some of the characters were completely annoying, but the setting was picture perfect.

I wish I had taken the French language in school, not only for conversation or for food, but also for singing, for French is very useful in chansons. Alas, the class was full and I took Japanese instead. Kusoo or should I say Merde!

A croissant may be a dream in my future. Bon appetit!