Mine was very short, most of it taken up in police stations because my wallet and ID were stolen at the Jeu de Paume over 25 years ago. My 17 year-old brother did enjoy the trip as the food was much better than London and we both loved the Louvre as well as the location where my wallet was stolen with all the Impressionist works.
I’m enjoying reading Julia Child’s “My Life in France” and savor it in snippets. It was difficult to get a French cookbook back then, especially one to suit the American kitchen and thus was the beginning of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
In Italy years ago I wanted a particular Tuscan cookbook and bought the Italian work. Years later my dad found it at the English book store. Ms. Child did not have that option so had to do it herself.
Today my brother is sitting outside in Paris and awaiting his friend’s end of work so they can go out and see things together. He is prohibited from entering the Louvre but I gave him many options. The most interesting to me is just the opposite of what Julia Child faced. She wanted a French cookbook tailored to American home cooks. She wrote a book in English about her travels. Now, I’m telling my brother to go to these sites and see if he can find her favorite cooking store or audit a class at the Cordon Bleu. And to find an English version of Julia Child’s “My Life in France.”
Several posts have been dedicated to people who bring forth an idea and hard work and may wait years for their projects to come to fruition. Whereas Ms. Child had Larousse Gastronomique she had to write her own book, and I’m proud to have those two volumes plus others for many years. That my brother may have to go to Parisian bookstore and beg for an English version of “My Life in France” is testament to what Julia Child did over fifty years ago, because she learned French and we expect everyone to speak English and should try to learn their language if we’re to live there. Bon appetit, kiddo, eat some good food and find out-of-the-way places. Cheers, Dee
Cooking with Dee 