Problems with Blog

I have some pictures to upload, but can't! My blog is hors de service! Give me another day and I'll try again.

One more Dr. Pepper Picture

I wanted to quickly upload this other picture of the Dr. Pepper incident.

We wanted to celebrate our gastronomic victory, but we needed a critical component: ice.

Ice is not in fashion around here, so we had to find somewhere that lacked European sensibilities. That place was McDonalds. After waiting patiently in line, I ordered a cup of ice water at the counter only to discover that the ice machine was broken. If this had occured in America, the building would have been on fire.

So, I had to go looking again. I finally found a Starbucks in Geneva, and after more waiting, I ordered a cup of ice (I couldn't afford any of their drinks....). I brought the cups back to McDonalds, where we degusted le Dr. Poivre.

So, we had Dr. Pepper out of Starbuck's cups in McDonalds.

The little things...

Experiencing and (more importantly) appreciating local culture and gastronomie is important, but from time to time, we foreigners need to delight in the little things that remind us of home.

While in Geneva last weekend, I happened upon a stock of a particular item that I had long given up on ever tasting again. The product, a simple drink, is the subject of much dégustation back at home. None can be found anywhere in Grenoble.

However, in the Coop supermarket in downtown Grenoble, I found it: the elixir, bottled lightning: Dr. Pepper.

I bought all of the store’s 45 cans and packed them in “les cartons” regularly reserved for wines. A store employee was hesitant to give them to me, but once I explained (as I regularly have to), that foreigners are a little bizarre and that I had come a long way for this product. Packing them carefully, I marched towards the cash register with a sense of accomplishment, and, more importantly, a sense of the enjoyment yet to be.

Somehow, I only lost one of the Dr. Pepper cans on the way back from Geneva and Evuan les Bains. It managed an escape route through my well designed confines of cardboard and shopping bags.

Nonetheless, I can degust Dr. Pepper for at least 45 days. Maybe I’ll manage another day trip to Geneva sometime soon…