More than Manet

NB: Forgive me if I'm taking this little motif too far - but this is from the heart.

Dear Three French People -

I'm picturing you inside, reading this blog - but you're in FRANCE!  Go out!  Eat some croissants! Eat cheese! Drink wine! (unless you're on antibiotics for ten days and can't drink, as I am, and it's only Day 9 but who's counting PLUS they say don't drink for three days afterwards AND on the bottle it says, "We mean it, Gina.")

Anyway, it's kind of funny what France represents to a lot of us Americans - namely, living fully and deliciously, but with portion sizes that wouldn't feed a small country; surrounded by deep history and beauty, and the ghosts of writers and painters and musicians who felt that, too.

So the fact that you're reading this blog makes me realize that you're not just a person wearing a fabulous hat (or wearing nothing at all) inside some Manet painting. You're an actual person with challenges and disappointments and frustrations. So read on, but remember to enjoy every bite of whatever delicacy is on that plate next to you.