How can I be more "French"?

[hangingoutattheendofmywick]

So this morning I did an Ocado shop and stumbled across the world foods department. There is a French section and I was immediately transported to my holidays when I was young at Keycamp in France. I basically ordered a shed load of French delights and as I'm currently really down in the dumps and life is a bit shite I've decided to BE more French.

Other than learning the language again (I've lost it since GCSE) and eating / drinking all my French delights I'm wondering what I can do to make my life a bit more French. Any ideas?

I'm looking for :
Music
Literature
Recipes
Drinks
General ways of living.

Ta!

*in Hungary

not "on"

Right, to hell with compote, how do I get my dh to flirtatiously blow Galoise in my face and be all smouldery?
He is a non smoking Scot so we need the Auld Alliance thing going.

If he flirtatiously blows on his porridge Tulips that's a good sign!

I was hoping for Serge Gainsbourgh does Dundee type thing.

Castlesintheair, my mum is technically German but my grandmother was from a contested border area which France and Germany have historically taken turns in owning, with peoples' nationalities alternating. So we have French overtones. One thing I did find a bit tough growing up in England was that my mother thought that was exactly how birthday parties worked, and I was mortified that she couldn't organise a proper one like the other children were given. she stopped altogether by the time I was about 7. I have been scarred for life.

I love those little pots of Apple compote and Maron Suisse and set yoghurt. Gu and Fruh are all very well, but definitely think French are better at every day chilled supermarket deserts.

Quite good at chilled desserts too...

Watch heartbreaker with romain duris - he's gorgeous! And it's in french. Great film.

Loving this thread!

Yes, Cocktailqueen, "L'Arnacoeur", the perfect Rom Com! :-)

Although all the French women of my generation despise Vanessa Paradis because she :

a) used to sing irritating tuneless songs
b) has stolen Johnny Depp's heart! -that said, when he was still handsome

"had stolen" -should have said.

For pudding feed your children petits fromage frais from Carrefour with paper around it or la fermiere/la laitiere yogurts in pottery and glass jars.

Try Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan - classic French coming of age novel - and it is short!
A very french film is "Read my lips" slightly weird but also sexy.
I second verveine tea - love the stuff but have to go to, yes, you guessed it, France, to get it!

My grandma was definitely French. Actually she was a few generations back, but I have seen her tut at a restaurant without tablecloths...

What about napkins?
My parents (and me actually) we do tut at table manners and how people hold their cuttlery too....

When did English kids stop sharing birthday cake?

Seriously, is that common?

Love this thread as I am, and have been since I first went to France aged 5, a total Francophile.

I download French radio programmes and listen to them on the way to work. If I want to buy a DVD, I'll buy the French version from the internet so I can have French subtitles.

I have my internet browser in French and my iphone software (although this makes texting in English tres penible due to auto correct)/

I also speak French to DP who is as Yorkshire as they come and tells me to shut up.

You mean "shurrup"?!

Tesco have just started stocking this absolutely disgusting Laughing Cow flavoured cheese spread in little foil cubes.

Does anyone know if these are the legendary Apericubes?

(And if so, what are the French thinking? They taste of bum.)

chrome100, you can download the French and UK keyboards on your iPhone and switch between them depending on the language you are typing in.

To be truly French you need quite a lot of distain for other countries and a lot of rigidity in terms of your political scope.

Says the Brit whose kids have been in French schools and I'm weary of it all.