Cultural Shock: Eating like the French

I love France. I love the language (even though I haven't mastered it yet!), I love the history, the architecture and of course the fashion! I love Paris, even though I've only been a few times before. 

And I love my Frenchy of course!

But, being in a foreign country for a while, makes you see beyond the obvious and immerse yourself into the culture.

And there are some major cultural shocks I've had to overcome!

Firstly, the biggest shock for me is the food. I'm not much of a foodie. I eat to live, not live to eat. And since being in France, I've never eaten so much food in my life.

A typical French dinner party consists of 5 courses. Appetisers, entree, main, cheese and finally dessert. This does happen in Australia, but very rarely. In Australia, it's more typical to have 3 meals. Entree, main and dessert.

In Australia, I'm accustomed to fresh produce. In my household especially, I am used to eating salads, vegetables, fresh fish and lean meats. And it's also a rarity for us to eat bread.

In France, all I eat is bread! It's served in baskets in every restaurants. And you can buy baguettes longer than my torso for less then 1 euro ($2) so why wouldn't you eat it?

When you think of typical French cuisine... What do you see? I see red wine, baguettes and a side of cheese. Does anyone else see that? 

Personally, I'm not a fan of cheese. I only enjoy cheese when it's melted on my pizza, otherwise, I can't stomach it or handle to smell. Since being in France, I have met some wonderful people, all of who, tell me I won't be a true Frenchy until I can eat cheese! 

That's never going to happen!

While I have tasted some wonderfully home cooked meals here in France, it's time for me to pay more attention to what I am putting into my body. I need to start eating proper meals, monitoring my meal sizes and enjoying those delicious french pastries all in moderation.

Where my shoes took me: In the streets of Munich

I was lucky to experience Oktoberfest.

And it's based in one of the most beautiful cities I've ever visited.

* M U N I C H *

When I wasn't enjoying the festivities at Oktoberfest, I was exploring everything Munich had to offer.

I went on a city walking tour to see the city centre and learn some of the city's history.

We started in Marienplatz and walked around for 3 hours. We learnt how the city of Munich was built into the city it is today and the history of the people who built it. It was rather fascinating. 

Things to do in Munich:

• You definitely should enjoy some traditional beer in one of the many, many beer halls. If you are not much of a beer drinker, you'll get over it and learn to enjoy it! 
• After enjoying your beer, you should head to hans im glück for the most amazing burger!
• Walk through the parks and gardens to enjoy the nature and serenity
• You can climb the top of the church in the city centre for just 2 euros! You'll climb about 200-300 stairs but the view is worth it! 
• After climbing the many stairs, you can enjoy a German pretzel! I had two favourites, sugar pretzels for the morning and cheesy pretzels for an afternoon snack! Definitely worth the 1.80 euro!

One thing to know when travelling in Munich, no shops are open after midday on Saturday or all day on a Sunday! So don't leave grocery shopping to the weekend! We spent close to two hours walking around the city centre trying to find a shop to buy some toilet paper and chocolate! Weird combination right? :) We were lucky to discover a small convenience store at the train station.

If you have the chance to be in Munich during Oktoberfest, I highly recommend it but Munich is so beautiful to explore... Anytime of the year is a bonus.

I don't need my shoes anymore...

During my trip to Montpellier, I saw many shoes hanging high above the houses in the street. At first I thought it was random. Just someone being silly and throwing shoes way above everyone's head.

But when I saw more and more of them, I realized it wasn't so random and that the shoes were meant to be there!

And I needed to know why people were throwing their beloved shoes out of reach...

Apparently when you throw your shoes above your house, it means you are happy where you are.

That you no longer need your shoes because you aren't leaving this place.

It's nice to see so many happy people in the city of Montpellier!

Have you found the perfect place to leave your shoes or are you still exploring?

3 months in France...

I still can't believe I'm in Europe.

Every month goes by and I am still in shock.

Ever since I was 21, I always wanted to live abroad. I love Perth and having all my family close by but I always wanted to experience something different.

And now, I finally get to achieve it.

12 months ago, I was lucky to meet someone special. We dated and got to know each other but after a few months, we had to decide if a relationship together was possible. Right from the start, we knew a relationship together would be difficult. A French man and Australian woman, how could that possibly work? I mean, we don't even speak the same native language!

But naturally we couldn't stay away from each other.