The World Cup became center stage in France this month with France playing Senegal mid-month then, Iraq on 06/22, defeating both teams.. The latest game, this last Friday (06/26), was France taking on Norway in a Group I finale in Boston. All the attention was on two of the world’s most prolific goal-scorers, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. But it was Ousmane Dembélé who came through with the opener – Norway 0-1 France! Then, soon after, Dembélé scored again with a brace and it was Norway 0-2 France. Within seconds, Norway hit back with a goal of their own, and it was Norway 1-2 France. And, with the French supporters already going crazy, Dembélé scored again with a hat-trick, a curler into the bottom corner, and it was Norway 1-3 France, and all in less than 25 minutes! Dembélé came off to a standing ovation at half time.
It felt like France switched off after the break and they were playing OK, and Norway wasn’t playing all that well, so it resulted in a score by Les Bleus’ Désiré Doué making it 4-1 for France! Now it’s on to round 32 for Les Bleus playing Sweden in New Jersey on Tuesday (06/30). I won’t have the results of that game since, for us, it begins at 11:00pm and into the morning, however, if France wins, I know we will be awakened by the very active partying that happens outside our front windows, on the main drag, every time Les Bleus scores and has a win !
The weather took everyone’s attention as well, as we experienced torrential rains, thunderstorms, lightning, and at the end of the month, a heat dome. Odd weather, where we would have hot days, then suddenly, a thunderstorm, and a couple of hours later, you wouldn’t be able to tell it had stormed.
Annually during this month, Lille, like all of France, hosts Fête de la Musique, an all day, wonderful community music celebration. To be held around the time of the Summer Solstice, the idea originated from Jack Lang, the French Minister of Culture of France at the time, to have a day of “The music everywhere, the concert nowhere” and was first celebrated in Paris in 1982. Studies had shown that one out of two people in France (about 3 million people), played an instrument and he wanted a way to bring people out on the street. Music Day, as it is also known, has grown to be celebrated in over 700 cities in 120 different countries. On Music Day, the community is encouraged to play music outside in neighborhoods, public places and parks. There are a huge numbers of free concerts and groups of musicians playing for fun. Just a stroll through the city center and you had your pick of music to stop and listen to. The weather was in the 90’s and lots of festivities were cancelled throughout France, but here in Lille, the streets were filled with people playing and those of us who simply enjoyed listening. Also, for a lot of young people, a time to party.
In this video below that G went out and took, he didn’t notice this character below who was in the distance and dancing into the scene, so watch out for him. He was going around with a liquid spray trying to keep people cool. I don’t know how he didn’t pass out from the heat in that costume. Also, all the photos below are from the Féte just from downtown and Vieux Lille – our neighborhood.
We celebrated our 52nd year together with a nice meal out (some flowers were involved as well) and we toasted our many fortunes, the good people and good times in our life. As summer began in earnest, the streets became filled with people – residents as well as tourists – out shopping, having refreshments at the numerous outdoor cafes and bars and enjoying the weather. Our favorite beverage in the summer, one we keep by pitcher in the refrigerator, is a simple combination of sliced grapefruit, rosemary and sugar free tonic water, which we find very refreshing. Made even better when friends come by in the evening, with an added drop of gin !
Since moving here, we very rarely host dinner parties ( I think maybe 4 in the last 8 years here) and it’s partly because of two things – the language barrier and the fact that our dining table only seats 4, or 5 in a squeeze. With taking on the small apartment next door for my studio, we also acquired a slightly larger table that can fit 6. SO, in this same thread – We’ve talked about Flo in our blog, who has a decor shop around the corner, the first person we met in Lille, the one who we purchased most of our furniture from, and was instrumental in helping us solidify our lease at this wonderful apartment by personally pressuring a non-responsive leasing agent to return our calls. His parents have had us over for a Christmas Eve dinner and an Easter dinner – both incredible gastronomical feats and we’ve enjoyed meeting his entire family. He and his partner, Gabriella, have invited us to their September wedding in Vigo, Spain, which we are attending. Lucy is probably the second or third person we met in Lille, who tends bar at a place we would go to after French lessons to study over a pint of beer. She and her partner, Nico, have also treated us to a fabulous home-cooked gourmet meal at their home. It was clearly time that we stepped up to return the favors.
Be it my age or rusty skills, this seemed an almost overwhelming task. But such are the rules of engaging in a social life, so bravely we soldiered on. We chose Flo/Gabby and Lucy/Nico not only for previous invites but because they were roughly all the same age, in their 30’s, had similar personalities and they all spoke both English and French. Nico and Flo are French, Gabby is Spanish and Lucy is British. In addition, Flo, Gabby and G speak Spanish. My French and Spanish have faded into nothingness thanks to my memory issues but I can follow a small amount of both. Having decided on who, the next was where. Well, with the space and table next door, we devised a plan that divided up the meal in manageable pieces.
We stuck to a traditional French meal regime; Aperitifs with small appetizers, followed by a sit down starter plate, then the main course with side dish, next course a salad, then a course of a varied cheese platter and lastly a dessert, followed by an espresso and after dinner drinks. The way we had divided it was to have the aperitifs and appetizers in our apartment around the coffee table and living room seating, then move next door to sit at the large table to serve the starter plates, the main course, the salad course and then the cheese course. We would return to our apartment, back on the couch and seating for the dessert and coffees. A bit cumbersome but workable.
That decided on, we worked on the studio to make it a more entertaining space by rearranging the main room and stringing a soft patio style lighting over the dining table. Next was the menu which played out as follows; The aperitifs were a choice of margaritas, Aperol Spritz (a French staple), or our grapefruit tonic mix which they could have plain or with gin. The appetizers were a variety of nuts, cheese biscuits, flavored potato chips, mozzarella balls with cherry tomatoes and basil, pear cubes drizzled with honey, and grapes. Moving next door, we had chosen a variety of wines and beers, the starter plate was a squash/carrot tart, the main course was a chicken and rice bake with a side of roasted asparagus, the salad was a chickpea romaine dish that G had found (and was delicious) and the cheeses chosen for the platter came from our neighborhood fromagerie guide, Jessaron. The cheeses with their names below from the shop are in the same order as on our platter. Back to the apartment, the dessert was a Spumoni I made and with the following espresso’s, we offered cognac or port. It was a great plan (we thought) as we chose the date and offered invites. Both sets accepted and we worked out our logistical timing . Soldiering onward !!
Then the heat dome hit. Temperatures went from mid 70’s to the mid 90’s. The studio, which has no cross breeze windows, was unbearable. We have one air-conditioner which we could not shuttle back and forth for our meal and fans would not be sufficient. G convinced me that despite our planning, we had to have the meal in our apartment. A smaller, workable space, but a reasonable temperature with the window-exhaust air-conditioner. We spent a day rearranging our living room, moving out non essential items, moving in the larger table from next door and the chairs. Yes, crowded but workable. So much for our all our work on the studio.
Our timeline on the cooking schedule worked well and we were ready on time for our guests. Who, by the way got along famously. There was much laughter as the four of them bonded over their different stories of meeting partners, various travels, family stories, and the discussion skated over a variety of interests, foods, sports and such. For all of the work, the accompanying stress and a few food failures (squash a little firmer than I wanted, bowls too small for the Spumoni slices), it was worth it. The company mix was a hit and the evening was delightful.
The next day I woke up feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. My body wasn’t the one I had when we’d had large dinner parties in the states. The 70’s year-old body does not respond as well as 30, 40 or even the 50’s body did. I drink very little so the phrase Party Hardy doesn’t mean the same thing at this age. It only means I wore it out with the work and my ‘hangovers’ are now only felt in the joints. Still worth it, we commented as we put furniture back in the studio, returned our living room space to normal, did the dishes and froze the left overs.
And the heat dome thankfully moved on. We didn’t suffer as much as the southern part of France did. Our highest peaks were 90 to 97 and within 5 days it was done. Not unlike much of the US and definitely better than many states. Our traveling friends, Bret and Caren texted that Bordeaux – a place they had been eyeing to relocate to in France – was frying with highs in the 100’s. But as Lille is near the Belgium border, we were fairing much better, if you can consider 90’s ‘better.’
Month came to the end and we’re hoping for a moderate summer. We hope the same for all of you.
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