have you tried cheese?
a very French plateau de fromage, writing (and reading) about travels and travails!
Hey Hi Yo!
Really delighted to share the newsletter space today with
whose newsletter, A Good Vintage is clocking all the delights and bumps of a long stay in France. Though we’ve not met IRL, I’ve been following along with Sacha’s adventures in Dijon, which she and her husband chose for it’s proximity to Paris, as well as it’s history, food, and walkability. Today she is teaching us how to put together a plateau de fromage! Yes, I know, you’re rushing to scroll down to the cheese, but hang out for a minute! Say bonjour to Sacha!
NS: What’s your best tip for people heading to France?
SC: Learn some French! At the very least, learn the basics: bonjour, bonne soirée, au revoir, merci beaucoup, Je ne comprends pas, etc. Also, don’t forget to say bonjour to everyone (including the entire waiting room at the doctor’s office).
NS: You’ve said that leaving behind family and friends was the biggest roadblock to your trip. In midlife, when we have no children to grease the wheels of friendship, when we aren’t heading to an office, how are you finding new friends?
SC: We’ve met people while we're out and about, through expat groups, and by taking language classes. But also by being open-minded and open-hearted, having a positive attitude, and engaging with people wherever we go. It pays to talk to strangers.
NS: In a new city w/o many connections, are you and your partner getting a little tired of each other? (Asking for a friend who will be embarking on her own long stay in France soon!)
SC: We've been lucky because we’ve made friends during our travels, and we know when it’s time to give each other space. Also, wine.
NS: A funny/trying mishap?
SC: Getting my hair colored at a French salon. It all worked out in the end, but sitting there with my head covered in thick henna mud and not knowing what color it would turn out to be was harrowing.
NS: Do you fantasize about moving permanently to France?
SC: Fortunately, it's not a fantasy for us. We've been planning a move for a while, and it's what I write about on my Substack. We're taking the slow and steady approach but with the way things are in the U.S., we're speeding up the timeline.
Popping in here to suggest a website I learned about from Sacha. Find Your French Town is a terrific resource for dreamers!
NS: Have you learned funny and fun French colloquialism?
SC: Il pleut des cordes (It’s raining ropes) = raining cats and dogs. Et, Avoir la pêche (To have the peach) = feeling great
NS: Thanks, Sacha! I know another one: “Passer du coq à l'âne” which means, changing the subject. So here we go! On y va!! Delicious morsels down below!
read:
Thinking about Sacha’s stay in France and also the perfect witty and bright substack of my friend,
, who writes about her (not-so-new) life as an ex-pat in Collioure, led me to consider travel writing… not a giant slice of my reading pie, and I’m not certain why. I consider myself curious… yet I don’t often read about other people’s adventures in new places.The series, Best American Travel Writing saw its final edition in 2021, which makes no sense considering how many of us travel. In fact, as we humans swarm everywhere (destination wedding in Venice 😳…) we’re often admonished to curb our travels! Carbon footprints, cities overrun with tourists (looking at you Barcelona with your squirt gun assaults!), natural sites ruined by instagramming visitors (a mossy field in Iceland ruined by Justin Bieber fans!), maybe reading about travel can draw us to new places which aren’t overrun, or entice us to discover places closer to home. After all, travel writing is not just about fresh places, but fresh eyes on familiar places as well.
Long live BEST AMERICAN FOOD AND TRAVEL WRITING which arrived in 2024 and seems a perfect merging of topics. Dear Reader, I was enthralled!
Kiese Laymon wrote a piece about his home state, Mississippi, “My Favorite Restaurant Served Gas,” where some gas stations serve food. The essay is about the strange and unique things that make a place feel like home, and about politics, social justice, race, and childhood. It’s gorgeous!
I loved that we could get batteries and gizzards. I loved that we could get biscuits and Super Glue. I loved that we could get dishwashing soap, which was also bubble bath, which was also the soap we used to wash Grandmama's Impala, and the good hot sauce in the same aisle. I was eight years old. I never knew, or cared, that my favorite restaurant served gas.
Please, do read.
…
”The Hungry Jungle,” by Melissa Johnson clocks a trek through the jungles of Guatemala to one of the world’s tallest pyramids to hold a secret wedding. The need for privacy and subterfuge was necessary in a country in which same sex marriage is illegal. This journey is not for the faint of heart. The essay is for anyone who loves a strong voice, a bit of peril, a bit of politics, and an amazing setting!
Yesterday's hike was rough, but the 15 miles today were raw pain. The mosquitoes were so vicious that by mile two even our local guides had asked to borrow our 100 percent DEET. Bugs here suck down lesser repellent like an aperitif. Nothing provides complete protection…
It's our second night on the trail. I close my eyes and wait for Tara, aka tent Dawg, to start snoring. I met her forty-eight hours ago. Broad shouldered and sharp jawed, she looks like she could win a car-tossing competition or spit and hit Mars. A major in the US Army, she's been training soldiers on how to survive in the field.
The thing that made both of these pieces sing was the personal aspect. Not only were they about other places, but they were also about issues plaguing the world: poverty and gender politics, and, they were about personal strife and challenges as well. Melissa Johnson includes a thread about her desire to be a mother. The essays are dense with the personal, public, and political. I was all in.
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In the After Party 🎉, I’m keeping the theme of delicious bites. I’ve got three collections: essays, stories, and poems, through which I powered with great joy! Meanwhile, do tell… what you are reading and loving so I can pick it up:
Did you know we have zoom r.w.e. book group? We meet on Sunday morning every month over zoom. Stay tuned for our summer selection!
The book group is a perk for paid subscribers and let me tell you, we are a lively bunch!
Go ahead, claim your spot. I hope to get to know you better!
I've made a read.write.eat. Bookshop where you will find many of the books I've recommended. Buying books from my shop is another way you can support my newsletter.
write:
What makes good travel writing?
Perhaps you’re hoping to publish an essay or keeping a journal of your vacation for your own benefit… because that’s what occurs right? We benefit. When we know we are going to write something, perhaps we pay attention a little more closely—to the people, the slant of light, the strays in the street, the park benches, street vendors. Perhaps we enhance our vacation with deeply honed noticing.
Some tips to consider:
Use your unique voice, your POV is your moneymaker! Know why you are writing this piece, what are you offering your reader? Looking at something strange and important from your hometown that the reader may delight in? Are you challenging yourself to an adventure that the reader will be mystified about? Are you introducing your reader to a new corner of the world? And, why? Why this trip now? What might you be overcoming in your own life that made this particular trip necessary? Was it an attempt at a corrective? At healing?
Was it a case of “no matter where you go, there you are?”
What did you discover in the world, and in your own heart?
Of course show and tell! That is, you will need to include summary of your journey. We don’t need a blow by blow of every moment… waiting at baggage claim, the bad airport coffee! Include scenes. Be vivid! Use sensory details to bring your journey to life.
Take notes. Use the camera on your phone to snag shots and bring back the moments you noticed. Like this street worker I saw in Mexico City, setting himself up for a prefect lunchtime nap, complete with a stick of burning incense. What’s unique about the place you’re visiting and your understanding, or lack of understanding?
Be a good reader. Read travel writing to understand what makes a piece come to life.
No trip goes according to plan. Including stress, disappointment, your own bad behavior, will make your writing authentic. Remember nobody loves tension in a story except readers!
I also want to encourage you that a trip to your local H-mart, to a matinee movie to escape the heat where you encounter the strange customs of middle-schoolers, driving to the next town over to buy a bunk bed for your kid, can all be travel writing. So much depends upon your willingness to become an outsider for a minute, to look around with fresh eyes. What is strangely new?
eat:
First, a tiny aside! I was thinking about cheese, as one does, and realized there must be some funny cheese scenes in films, right? I came across this little diversion… Honestly you just need to watch about 15 seconds! John Malkovich with his pursed lips and his attitude, enunciating ‘chevre’ is priceless!! Then we decided we had to watch the entire film! It was not wasted time!
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Without further ado, Sacha Cohen—sharing her secrets for assembling a worthy cheese plate!
A Cheese Plate: New French Friends Worthy!
When I was younger, my idea of a cheese plate was throwing some Trader Joe’s brie, a hunk of cheddar, and some young manchego (my husband’s rap name) onto a plate and calling it a day.
But in France, assembling a cheese plate is a ritual that I have come to love and appreciate. While it’s certainly about the cheese, it’s also about the charming cheesemonger who compliments your not-so-great French and the boulangerie owner who patiently explains the 298 different types of loaves available.
It’s about eavesdropping on the white-haired couple holding hands in line and discussing whether to try something “funky” or stick with what they know.
Like so many things in France, a cheese platter is about much more than cheese. In short, it’s about relationships, camaraderie, and taking your time! It’s about a slower pace and about patience for the person ahead of you who asks for 1,000 cheese samples.
My plateau de fromage begins with the bread. I go to a boulangerie artisanale (the “artisanale” part means everything is made on-site). Load up on a couple of baguette tradition (more than you think you’ll need). I prefer the ones made with levain (sourdough) because they are chewier, more flavorful, and sturdier.
Next, I’m off to my favorite fromagerie, a stall at Les Halles Dijon, where the energetic young cheesemongers delight in discussing the age and provenance of each variety on offer. They also dole out plenty of samples and can fill you in on the latest grève (there is always a strike in France! It’s nearly a national pastime!) and weather forecast (the dreaded canicule).
I have learned from our French friends never to skimp! It’s far better to supply enough cheese for an entire village parce que who knows when a neighbor might stop by.
Usually I buy generous wedges of nutty, properly aged Comté; stripey Morbier; a light fresh chèvre; a delicate Tomme laced with ramps (a.k.a. bear garlic); and something salty and assertive like Bleu de Gex. I’ll also typically throw in a creamy Brillat-Savarin or Délice de Bourgogne because pourquoi pas?
All the cheese rests dans le frigo until about an hour before serving. Softer cheeses should come out 30 minutes before it’s time to dig in.
Right before show time, I arrange the cheese on a nicely weathered wooden cutting board or a plate. Throw in some dried fruit and nuts, or if cherries are in season (as they are now), they make a nice accompaniment as well. You can also break out some confiture, honey, or tapenade if you’re feeling fancy. Also, beaucoup du vin!
Et voila, a cheese plate to celebrate!
And a playlist to enjoy avec les fromages:
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Merci, Sacha! Friends, be certain to check out her substack, A GOOD VINTAGE for more on her experiences as a rising ex-pat!
J’espere que tu as le pêche!
after-party🎉:
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3 collections you’ll love!
Stanley!
a PDF for an amazing and original cheese snack!
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