Frankie goes to Ouagadougou

We're due to leave Paris, for Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), in a couple of hours, and thought we'd take the opportunity to publish one last post from France...and reflect on its peculiarities.

We sometimes like to watch the French equivalent of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ so we can practice our French and learn some random facts at the same time. One of the questions the other night was dead easy: In 1984 which group released the hit single ‘Relax’?

Among the four potential answers, one caught our eye. "Frankie goes to Ouagadougou". (The contestant did guess the correct answer, which was, of course "Frankie goes to Hollywood".)

We also took the opportunity to visit a few sights during our last couple of days. One of those sites we walked past was a cafe called "Les Deux Magots", situated in the Latin Quarter. Aside from its unusual name, it is famous for being the cafe of choice for many of France's literary heros (Albert Camus et al) during the past half-century or so.

However, one thing we know for sure is that the next great literary work won't be penned at "Les Deux Magots", unless the writer comes from the aristocracy, due to its now exceptionally pricey menu.

One of the many observations of French life is the status of the baguette. It’s not a myth that in France you see people walking around at midi (lunchtime) and in the evenings with a baguette wrapped in a bit of paper. It’s a daily ritual to buy ‘le pain’, and boulangeries (bakeries) take their bread baking very seriously.

On our walks around Paris we’ve noticed two separate boulangeries that proudly advertise in their window that they have won the prize for the ‘best baguette in Paris’ (and this is not like the much-touted ‘best coffee in Sydney’ claim, this is official) or another that boasts of being the official supplier of bread to the French President. In the display window there is even a letter from one of Sarkozy’s aides thanking the bakery for their bread.

Can you imagine Michel’s Patisserie publicising the fact that they supply Kevin Rudd with his sliced bread?

Jon & Cathlin