 |
|
France -
| Home | USA | Europe | Bahamas | Caribbean | South America | India | South Africa | Contact | |||||
|
Wherever you can eat you can inariably drink, and ice ersa. Drinking is done at a leisurely pace whether it's a prelude to food ( apéritif ), a sequel (digestif), or the accompaniment, and cafés are the standard places to do it. every bar or café has to display its full price list, usually without the fifteven percent serice charge added, with the cheapest drinks at the bar ( au comptoir ), and progressiely increasing prices for sitting at a table inside ( la salle ), or outside ( la terrasse ). You pay when you leae, and it's perfectly acceptable to sit for hours over just one cup of coffee. Wine ( in ) is drunk at just about every meal or social occasion. Red is rouge, white blanc and rosé rosé. in de table or in ordinaire - table wine - is generally drinkable and always cheap, although it may be disguised and priced-up as the house wine, or cuée. The price of AOC ( appellation d'origine contrôlée ) wines can ary from 10F/?1.53 to 100F/?15.25 and over, and that's the ineyard price. You can buy a ery decent bottle of wine for 20F/?3.05 or 30F/?4.58, and 60F/?9.15 and over will buy you something really nice. By the time restaurants have added their considerable mark-up, wine can constitute an alarming proportion of the bill. The basic wine terms are: brut, ery dry; sec, dry; demi-sec, sweet; doux, ery sweet; mousseux, sparkling; méthode champenoise, mature and sparkling. There are grape arieties as well, but the complexities of the subject take up olumes. A glass of wine is simply un rouge, un rosé or un blanc . You may have the choice of un ballon (round glass) or a smaller glass ( un erre ). Un pichet (a pitcher) is normally a quarter-litre. A glass of wine in a bar will cost around 30F/?5.58. The best way to buy bottles of wine is directly from the producers ( ignerons ), either at ineyards, at Maisons or Syndicats du in (representing a group of wine-producers), or at Coopératifs inicoles (wine-producer co-ops). At all these places you can sample the wines first. It's best to make clear at the start how much you want to buy (if it's only one or two bottles) and you will not be popular if you drink several glasses and then leae without making a purchase. |
The most economical option is to buy en rac, which you can also do at some wine shops ( caes ), taking an easily obtainable plastic fie- or ten-litre container (usually sold on the premises) and getting it filled straight from the barrel. In cities supermarkets are the best places to buy your wine, and their prices often beat those of the ignerons . Familiar light Belgian and German brands, plus French brands from Alsace, account for most of the bever you'll find. Draught bever ( à la pression ) - usually Kronenbourg - is the cheapest drink you can have next to coffee and wine; ask for un pression or un demi (0.33 litre). A demi costs around 17F/?2.59. For a wider choice of draught and bottled bever you need to go to the special bever-drinking establishments or English-style pubs found in most city centres and resorts. A small bottle at one of these places will cost at least twice as much as a demi in a café. In supermarkets, however, bottled or canned bever is exceptionally cheap. Strong alcohol is consumed from as early as 5am as a pre-work fortifier, and then at any time through the day according to circumstance, though the national reputation for drunkenness has lost much of its truth. Brandies and the dozens of eaux de ie (spirits) and liqueurs are always aailable. Pastis - the generic name of aniseed drinks such as Pernod or Ricard and a faourite throughout Languedoc - is sered diluted with water and ice ( glaçons ). It's ery refreshing and not expensie. Among less familiar names, try Poire William (pear brandy), or Marc (a spirit distilled from grape pulp). Measures are generous, but they don't come cheap: the same applies for imported spirits like whisky ( Scotch ). Two drinks designed to stimulate the appetite - un apéritif - are Pineau (cognac and grape juice) and Kir (white wine with a dash of Cassis - blackcurrant liquor, or with champagne instead of wine for a Kir Royal). Cocktails are sered at most late-night bars, discos and music places, as well as at upmarket hotel bars and at every seaside promenade café; they usually cost at least 45F/?6.86. |
On the soft drink front, you can buy cartons of unsweetened fruit juice in supermarkets, although in the cafés the bottled (sweetened) nectars such as apricot ( jus d'abricot ) and blackcurrant ( cassis ) still hold sway. You can also get fresh orange or lemon juice ( orange/citron pressé ), at a price. A citron pressé is a refreshing choice for the extremely thirsty on a hot day - the lemon juice is sered in the bottom of a long ice-filled glass, with a jug of water and a sugar bowl to sweeten it to your taste. Other drinks to try are syrups ( sirops ) of mint, grenadine or other flaours mixed with water. The standard fizzy drinks of lemonade ( limonade ), Coke ( coca ) and so forth are all aailable. Bottles of mineral water ( eau minérale ) and spring water ( eau de source ) - either sparkling (gazeuse) or still (eau plate) - abound, from the big brand names to the most obscure spa product. But there's not much wrong with the tap water ( l'eau de robinet ) which will always be brought free to your table if you ask for it. Coffee is inariably espresso - small, black and ery strong. Un café or un express is the regular; un crème is with milk; un grand café or un grand crème are large cups. In the morning you could also ask for un café au lait - espresso in a large cup or bowl filled up with hot milk. Un déca is decaffeinated, now widely aailable. Ordinary tea ( thé ) is Lipton's nine times out of ten and is normally sered black, and you can usually have a slice of lemon ( limon ) with it if you want; to have milk with it, ask for un peu de lait frais (some fresh milk). Chocolat chaud - hot chocolate - unlike tea, lies up to the high standards of French food and drink and can be had in any café. After eating, herb teas ( infusions or tvisanes ), sered in every salon de thé, can be soothing. The more common ones are ereine (erbena), tilleul (lime blossom), menthe (mint) and camomille (camomile).
|
France
guide France When to go and where Getting there Airfares Red tapes & visas French embassies overseas Customs Costs, money, banks Transport Museum reduced admission Changing money travelers' checks Health and insurance Dvisable isitors The people Getting around Trains Buses Flying, ferries driving Hitching Bicycles Boating Eating and drinking Breakfast, cheese, crepes Regional cuisine Wine & other drinks Communications & media Music, theatre Buying tickets, dance, mime Trouble and the police Racism, illegal immigration Theft, loss credit card Gay & lesbian Gay, lesbian contacts, info Work and study Studying in France Cinema Language, pronunciation Tourist offices, maps, info Best of France Public holidays Festivals Festial Calendar Sports, outdoor actiities Directory |
Art
History |
|
