As one of out many and varied stops we took the time to check out Versailles Palace, which as you might imagine is pretty much non-stop fantastic from start to finish.
However for me the highlight of the stop was discovering Béarnaise sauce while taking lunch in the Palace.
For most normal people taking lunch in Versailles alone constitutes a pretty good day, and for with a wide and sophisticated palette Béarnaise isn't anything shocking. I however grew up in Calgary, Alberta. which unlike the whole of France, isn't exactly known for their sauces.
Here however, sauces are an art form in their preparation and can make or break a meal. In this case I had a beef fillet and mashed potatoes. It didn't come as a surprise that it was a nice meal in and of it's own right, but had i stuck with my "purist" instincts (as anyone who's eaten sashimi with me, I eat it straight, no wasabi or soy sauce to muddle the flavor of the fish) and ignored the small pot of yellow sauce nestled neatly in between the two, it wouldn't have been anything special whatsoever.
Thankfully I remembered, perhaps unconsciously, that I was in the heart of one of the most revered styles of cuisine (in fact the french invented the word cuisine, which should tell you something about their cooking prowess when everyone uses their word) in the world. I dabbed a little on with the beef and suddenly my meal became otherworldly!
This has been a lesson to me; try everything that is put in front of me when eating here! I should have known that it would be fantastic. when it comes to food, even the most discount and common is a step above the kind of food you get almost anywhere back in Canada.
I know that this summer I will be taking more time to eat out at restaurants and learn more about French cuisine. Hell, just passing through the markets that spring up on the streets throughout the week as I head to and from work are eye opening, to say the least:
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