Fony French

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My book on France touted a bakery in Marseille as having the best Navettes in the city. Navettes are named after a little boat ("quit playing with your dinghy!"), and it's a boat-shaped biscuit. with an elongated dimple in the middle (where you would sit, on the boat), and it's flavored with orange blossom. The Four des Navettes was renowned for these little cookies, and they were also supposed to have lavender-flavored chocolates. I forgot to write down the address, so I spent a good half hour walking doggedly down the street, almost giving up, and I found it right at the end of the street. The sign on its wall said it was "the oldest bakery in Marseille", and Marseille being the oldest city in France, you do the math. I that that it equals darn good Navettes!! The bakery was deliciously warm after the biting wind outside, but unfortunately, the Navettes were not. I got a free sample before I bought, and I'm glad I did. They tasted like those sailor biscuits (hard tack?), and had the same consistency. And, no lavender chocolate!! They did have a nice nougat candy, coated in orange-blossom cocoa powder, with a hint of anise, which I bought a bag of. I'll give some away as presents if they make it home!
I was quite displeased with the level of fakery going on with this bakery. No lavender chocolate, pretty bad Navettes...it probably wasn´t even the oldest bakery in Marseille. The probably bought their Navettes from another bakery the day before, and that´s why they were so bad.
On the way to this old bakery, I stopped off at a newer bakery (because it was a trek across Siberia to the other one, I needed supplies) and got a brioche creme as a snack. It was so delectable, I discovered that this Boulangerie Aixoise was exponentially better than Four des Navettes. I came back to this one every day (sometimes twice) that I was in Marseille, and am now addicted to their lunch formule: a sandwich, a gateau, and a drink for 6 euro. They have some of the most inventive sandwiches: breaded brie with nuts, omelet, country ham and emmental. Their cakes were better than anywhere in Paris. I had an amandine, with a good dose of Amandine liquer in it. I'm going to pick up three sandwiches for my train ride to Barcelona, and it will still be cheaper than one night out to dinner. I did have a lovely dinner that night, out at an Indian restaurant. I love the cultural diversity of port towns, mostly because of the variety of cuisine. In Paris, I wouldn´t allow myself anything but French food. Here, everything´s game: Indian, Middle Eastern, Italian, Japanese. All are close enough and sufficiently represented to justiry partaking of their cuisine (Japanese only because of the ludicrously fresh fish available, though the price of sushi was equally ludicrous).
I think the reason I´m so miffed about the Four des Navettes is because I´ve come to suspect the French. This is not the first time that they have deceived me. Once, in Paris, I was sitting at a park, and an exhibit was being set up. It consisted of a large, tiered pyramid, which looked at first as if it had been carved, topiarily, out of a giant bush. As I watched them setting up, though, I saw that they were pasting Astro Turf onto the sides of cardboard to make it look grassy! Those phonies. Maybe all of those manicured gardens in France are fake, who knows?
The second time I was duped was at the Louvre. I saw that enormous painting by David of Napolean crowning a woman in a long robe, surrounded by an elaborate court scene. It was quite stunning. To bad it wasn´t real!! I saw the real one later at Versaille!! It was even bigger there, and attached to a wall inside the Chateau. What an outrage! All those suckers at the Louvre think they´re looking at the real thing, when really someone did a great copy. Makes you think doesn´t it? The Mona Lisa has been stolen a number of times, maybe she was lifted for good, and they now display a replica for millions of DaVinci fans to photograph. Never trust a Frenchman...

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Comments

[Crash Fistfight]

don't trust anyone, Dr. Jones
You know, until I learn French and actually carry on a conversation with a Frenchman, I'm going to go ahead and believe that the entire French language is just an elaborate scheme to confuse Americans. They're just making it up as they go. Dirty frogs. Oh, and your 'fakery at the bakery' comment reminded me of that part in Aladdin during the 'Prince Ali' song where they rhyme bakers with fakirs. Not a good rhyme if you ask me. Your play on words was better.