Changes after my honeymoon to Paris

Well, traveling to Paris for our honeymoon really changed me. I realized some new things and I've had a lot to think about. I have written several posts already about what I learned about Europe, Paris and French Girls but here is what I am going to do about it.

1. Quit the clean plate club: from this day on, I will not have to finished off my entire plate.
2. Eat smaller portions of everything: also, from this day on, I will put smaller portions on my plate.
3. Eat in good restaurants once a month and never order out food again. 
4. Eat supper later: in France, they don't eat supper until 8:30-9pm which is completely against how we eat in North America. We usually eat supper between 5-6pm. We are going to start eating supper at 6:30pm. This also gives me a chance to cook as I get home around 5:15pm.
5. Drink wine more often: we already do drink wine at least once a month and with important meals, but we should have a few glasses of wine with supper every week. It's relaxing and it makes each meal special.
6. Eat real food: we hardly saw any packaged or processed foods in Paris and that really struck us. Why do we need engineered food? From now on, we are going to eat as real as we can get. This means butter instead of margarine, sea salt and homemade jams. In other words, Clean Eating.
7. Spend the time to cook: we love to cook and I miss doing it because I get home so late. In university I cooked every day after class and it was my way of starting the evening. I should do that again. This also means that we will stop buying any pre-made meals as they are full of salt.
8. Drink better coffee: I always thought that espresso was too strong for me. I was used to my watered-down American coffee with milk and sugar. That is until I tried an espresso with a cube of sugar. That is now my drink of choice!
9. Switch to cubed sugar: all of the sugar in Paris was either in cubes or sticks instead of a sugar bowl. I like this idea because the sugar is portioned so we bought some cubed sugar for our coffee.
10. Spend the money on good clothes: I saw lots of French girls wearing good clothes. They wore nice scarfs and good quality coats and shoes. If I save up money and spend it on more expensive, better quality items then this is better than 10 cheap shirts. 
11. Go out and do things in Ottawa: we need to be a part of the life here in the city. We want to be part of the Remembrance Day ceremonies on November 11th, go to ballet and opera performances at the NAC and see the fireworks on Parliament Hill for Canada Day.
12. Have French weeks: I really want to maintain my language level and that means committing to our French weeks. What we do is speak French for one week at home (all of the time, even over the phone) then we speak English for a week.
13. Get more exercise: not just in working out on the treadmill but also in everyday things. I will walk more on an everyday basis such as walking home from the bus station (15 minute walk) instead of taking a bus and I will take the stairs instead of the elevator at work. Little things like this. 
14. Just do it: are you thinking of going somewhere or doing something? What is holding you back? Those are questions I have been asking myself this year as part of the 2011 Experiment and it's a mantra that I want to continue. 

French Girls

While I was in Paris, I was on a quest to see what was so different about French girls versus us girls in North America? For example, why are they absurdly thin when they eat mille feuille? Why do we all want to dress like them and look like them?

Well, first of all, the skinny French girl who eats cream and butter in everything and doesn't get fat is a myth now. The obesity problem that plagues us in North America has crossed the ocean to Europe and beyond so most of the natives that you will see usually eat the same thing that you do. So I had to look harder at the thinner French girls and their habits. I did notice a few things which I found interesting and this was of all French girls of various shapes and sizes.

1. They drink water: I didn't see one French lady with a Coke, only tourists.
2. No snacking: I didn't see a French woman buy something for a snack nor did I see one eating one. I saw them eating their meals but nothing else.
3. Portion control: the meals that they did eat where smaller than the typical meal in North America. If they couldn't eat it all, they didn't stuff it down either. They just didn't eat it.
4. They don't eat that rich food every day: we assume that they do because it is France. Well, they don't. Treats like crème brûlée and other delicious pastries are a weekly treat and they are not huge portions either. The size of a crème brûlée in France compared to one in North America is much smaller. The same is true of croissants and almost everything else -- notably mille feuilles.
5. They don't eat fast: I'm serious--I eat slow. In France, my plate was gone before half of theirs was. They seemed to eat less than me too. They are not part of the "clean plate" club either, that is, finishing every morsel that was on the plate. If they can't eat it all, then they don't.
6. They eat real food: there was no processed food here. I am serious, there were no aisles of Mr. Noodles, Sidekicks and Kraft Dinner. I did see frozen French fries but I don't count that. Everywhere we went, there was fresh veggies, fruit and meat. There was some candy and pop in the grocery store but only the tourists bought it. The ladies were going around with baguettes, cheese, ham and lettuce. No preservatives, no nothing -- just the real food.
7. They walk to get to where they are going: unless they need to take the RER (metro) if it is too far, then they walk. They think nothing of walking around for awhile. They walk along the Seine and sit and relax for awhile. They walk to the market for a coffee, even if it is out of the way -- why not? Also, if they were not walking, they are biking. Or running. We saw lots of them getting a morning workout while we walked to the Louvre.
8. They are not on time: we North Americans seem to be very precise with our timing: if we say 9am, you need to be there at 8:45am and everyone understands that. No, not here. We find it frustrating but the French take their time, not your time.
9. They wear scarves before adding a coat or a sweater: why get out the heavy, puffy coat if the weather is 5 degrees colder? You'd be surprised how warm you are just by wrapping a pretty scarf around your neck.
10. They wear classics: the girls that I saw were wearing simple v-necks or sweaters (usually in two layers), jeans or pants and the scarf mentioned above. For coats, it was trench coats or pea coats. They were not covered in logos, patterns or screen-printed t-shirts. There was one patterned item (the scarf for example) which matched everything else they were wearing. They wear a lot of black knee-length boots too.
11. They are relaxed: if you haven't noticed by now, I've mentioned how they eat slow and walk everywhere. I saw ladies taking a stroll next to the Seine too - not just running it but also walking casually without a care in the world. I didn't see one stressed out French woman during my trips -- cashiers and tour guides included.
12. They drink wine: in addition to water, they drink wine. Good wine too and it's so cheap in France. They took their time while they drank it with friends.
13. They don't take photos of every little thing: us tourists, we were snapping away while they perused and looked around. They took the pictures that mattered and perhaps that is better. They spent more time enjoying what they were seeing then stressing about photographs. What, you think the only people at museums in Paris were tourists?
14. They do something in the evening: and that something usually requires walking or biking there. I don't think that they sit in front of the TV for hours on end.
15. They don't all wear French perfume -- or perfume at all: we assume that if the perfume is made in France, they must all wear it. Well, they don't. That doesn't mean that they smell bad but they smell like clean soap -- not overpowering. I stood behind enough of them to notice.
16. If you are in their way, they will tell you: oh yes, if you step out of line, you will know it. Some of them swear at you, some are polite and say pardon as they pass you. Some let loose a tirade as they pass you.