Sacred Lunch

One of the hardest adjustments all of my visitors from the United States have had to make is settling in to the sacrament of the French lunch. Even some of my non-French friends who have been here for some time still make snide remarks about the sanctity of French lunch.  It does little good to take one's time in the morning--sleep until 8:30 or 9:00, have a leisurely shower and breakfast, spend some time on the cell phone or computer checking e-mails and Facebook and then plan to leave the house around 11:30 thinking to hit the shops.  Guess what?  Here, the shops and offices close--shuttered and locked-- for lunch. 

I love watching the dads gathering their children from school and walking them across the place  (square) to go home for lunch.  The older children make their way to the sandwich shops for a sandwich jambon (ham baguette) or jambon et fromage (ham and cheese) and congregate in clumps to chatter like magpies, as only teenagers can do.  Office workers make their way to their favorite brasserie or corner bistro for the special of the day and spirited conversation with colleagues.  And yes, lunch usually includes a glass of the local wine. Imagine!

The restaurants are ready to handle the workers and the tourists; getting the formules and the plats du jour prepared has taken most of the morning.  The doors usually open between 11:30 and 12, and if you are too early, you might find them still locked.  For people who live in a country like the US where food for sale is available nearly round the clock, it's an adjustment to find that restaurants begin food service at a set hour and end at a set hour, usually 2:00.  Once the special is gone, it's gone.  You won't be getting any of that.

It was a hard adjustment for me to make the first time I was here, but my French-transfused blood is used to it now.  It is a civilized way to live.  If you have had a late breakfast and are not ready for lunch, the best thing to do is to stay home.  Work a crossword puzzle, read a book, write in your travel journal,  because you won't be shopping, and all the wishing it were different and all the remarks about lunch taking precedence over a sale are not going to change the ways of the French.  After all, isn't that why people come and visit here--to relax and savor this slower paced way of life?