{"id":216,"date":"2010-04-05T21:34:17","date_gmt":"2010-04-05T21:34:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=216"},"modified":"2017-10-19T11:47:33","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T09:47:33","slug":"breakfast-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/breakfast-in-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Un petit d\u00e9jeuner parisien"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the things I miss most about Paris is the breakfasts\u2014les petits d\u00e9jeuners<\/em>. (Before we go any further, did you know that \u00ab jeuner \u00bb<\/em> means to fast, so \u00ab d\u00e9jeuner \u00bb<\/em> is literally to break the fast ?)
\nUn petit d\u00e9jeuner parisien<\/em>, for me, c\u2019est tout simple<\/em>. It depends if you\u2019re eating chez soi<\/em> (at home) or dehors<\/em> (out),\u00a0like\u00a0dans<\/em> un caf\u00e9<\/em>. At home,\u00a0on\u00a0prend<\/em> du caf\u00e9, du th\u00e9, ou du chocolat<\/em> (one\u00a0has coffee, tea, or hot chocolate- among other choices!). Moi, j\u2019aime bien le caf\u00e9 d\u00e9ca, ou d\u00e9caf\u00e9in\u00e9<\/em>. I usually eat des c\u00e9r\u00e9ales avec du lait frais<\/em> (cereal with cold milk), or du pain grill\u00e9<\/em> (toast).
\nWhen I lived in Paris, I had breakfast by myself most mornings. I turned on Radio Jazz and listened to the same Serge Gainsbourg songs on repeat : \u00ab Si c\u2019\u00e9tait trois fois rien, trois fois rien entre nous\u2026 \u00bb <\/em>(For extra credit, find and listen to that song ! For double extra credit, what does \u00ab trois fois rien \u00bb<\/em> mean ?) My host sister would leave out un bout de pain<\/em>, de la confiture<\/em>, or her yaourti\u00e8re<\/em>, which she used to make fresh yogurt (yaourt<\/em>) every week. I\u2019d munch cereal in a yellow bowl, or crunch un pain grill\u00e9<\/em>, and daydream about an idealized version of la vie fran\u00e7aise<\/em>.
\nFor the actual ideal version of French life, I only had to go to the corner cafe, le<\/em> caf\u00e9 du coin<\/em>. Even after going there three times a week for months, the woman at the counter barely noticed me. Les journaux<\/em> leaned on their wooden dowels in the corner, L\u2019Equipe<\/em> (the sports newspaper) always the most abused. People breezed in and out, taking un caf\u00e9 \u00e0 emporter<\/em>, or a coffee to go\u2014I know, quel horreur<\/em> !
\nIf I could, I\u2019d spend a whole day au comptoir, watching people on their way to work and school, dunking my croissant<\/em> into my caf\u00e9 cr\u00e8me<\/em>. Debout au comptoir<\/em> (standing at the counter), on command<\/em> (one orders) un caf\u00e9, un caf\u00e9 noisette, ou un caf\u00e9 cr\u00e8me<\/em> (parmi d\u2019autres choix<\/em>– among other choices). Un caf\u00e9<\/em> is a coffee, of course, but the other two are hard-earned vocabulary words I hope will help you someday.<\/p>\n

Caf\u00e9 noisette, ou \u00ab un noisette \u00bb<\/strong><\/em> : Coffee (espresso) with a little bit of steamed milk and foam, like an Italian macchiato.<\/p>\n

Caf\u00e9 cr\u00e8me, ou \u00ab un cr\u00e8me \u00bb<\/strong><\/em> : Coffee (espresso) and steamed milk ; the actual name of what we call \u00ab caf\u00e9 au lait. \u00bb Attention : il ne faut pas commander un \u00ab caf\u00e9 au lait \u00bb dans un caf\u00e9 fran\u00e7ais !<\/em> What you want is a \u00ab caf\u00e9 cr\u00e8me \u00bb<\/em>, without a side order of mockery :).<\/p>\n

On a sunny day or when it\u2019s raining (au soleil ou sous la pluie<\/em>– another great song !), my fantasy France exists at a comptoir<\/em> in a caf\u00e9<\/em>, cr\u00e8me <\/em>in hand. As much as I love cereal and Gainsbourg, le petit d\u00e9j parisien des mes r\u00eaves<\/em> (the Parisian breakfast of my dreams), c\u2019est au caf\u00e9 du coin<\/em> !<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

One of the things I miss most about Paris is the breakfasts\u2014les petits d\u00e9jeuners. (Before we go any further, did you know that \u00ab jeuner \u00bb means to fast, so \u00ab d\u00e9jeuner \u00bb is literally to break the fast ?) Un petit d\u00e9jeuner parisien, for me, c\u2019est tout simple. It depends if you\u2019re eating chez…<\/p>\n

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