On the first day of the Paris transit strike as M. and I crossed the Pont Neuf, we saw workers pour into the Metro. M. said they will be packing into the few trains available "comme des sardines". I said we have the same expression - "packed in like sardines"! M. was surprised, but it's a universal concept afterall.
At the Salon du Chocolat I saw lots of chocolate sardines stacked high. Herrings too.
They're all filled with rich chocolate ganache. These sardines will traditionally end up in many French Christmas stockings.
All the chocolate fish were being sold at the Il de la Re Chocolats' stand, made on a popular resort island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle.
Getting to the Salon du chocolat entailed stacking into the Metro...
Very much like those chocolate sardines - The tin closes.
Inside the sardines are mashed but for a good reason.
Their modus operendi is to avail themselves of the stacks...
And stacks of delicious chocolate waiting them at the Salon du Chocolat.
I've never seen so much chocolate!Ah the smell of it.
The buyers are stacked up too.
Patiently waiting to buy their own stack of chocolate.
These two little sardines were.
Happily attending.Chocolate class.
The BEST school ever.
(no pun intended)
What a jolly time you are having!
ReplyDeleteLooks like such FUN!!
xAnnie
I guess many of your readers would have LOVED to be stacked there !!!
ReplyDeleteYour blog gives me a beter idea of visiting Paris than any travelagency can do. It.s almost really walking next to you. My compliments. You make beautiful watercolors too.
ReplyDeleteI would not mind being stalked or squished like a sardine as long as chocolate were involved!
ReplyDeletethat photo of the people in the train reminded me of rush-hour here, not fun!! I would rather be squished with the chocolate sardines :)
ReplyDeleteSign me up for that school any day! What fun! C'est normal the faces seem to say on the train. The best way to see a city is to live it. Thanks to you, we get to taste a little bit ourselves. Merci, merci, merci. All best , Jan
ReplyDeleteI can smell the chocolate.
ReplyDeleteYou have such a sense of fun, it is a wonderful way to begin my day. Thank you!
Hugs!
The first photo is particularly fab!
ReplyDeleteFunny, I just wrote on your flickr page that I'll bet that place smelled fantastic! The little kids at the end are adorable. Great sneak shots on the metro, Carol!
ReplyDeleteSqueeze me, stuck me, as long as chocolate and ganache is involved in it, I won't complain. :-)
ReplyDeleteI noticed that they sell a lot of these sardines at the Viennese Christmas markets also. I keep wondering if there's any story behind those chocolates masquerading as sardines and showing up in Christmas stockings.
Carol, I can almost smell the chocolate! Alas, the only thing I have here at work is peanut M&Ms in the vending machine. Not even close! Starting now I am keeping a list of places you visit that I must try to get to on my next trip to Paris. This post is lovely. I hope there will be some chocolate-related watercolors when you return to life as usual.
ReplyDeleteSarah B
Uh? Chocolate Sardines. Well I eat Kippers with Strawberry Jam so I suppose it's OK
ReplyDeleteChocolate sardines are (in my opinion) the only ones worth eating.
ReplyDeleteMais oui...
ReplyDeleteIn Spanish we also have the expression
"como sardinas en lata"
("As canned sardines")
Really I think it's more exact because when sardines are"swiming"in the Ocean, they are in "open water" ;D
So now I know how my shoes feel in the closet...comme des sardines.
oh how fun this would be...chocolate dreams...blessings, rebecca
ReplyDeleteWell the official "squishing" has ended in Paris at last..
ReplyDeleteThough there is always "rush hour" if you need to feel comme des sardines...
Yeaaa.. that the Squishing is over for you. Nice for you to continue on the rest of your time there with less hassels. It kind of gave me claustrophobia looking at it. Yikes. You certainly get to know your fellowman well there. lol
ReplyDeleteI'm Really enjoying your trip with you. Can't wait for the watercolors. and hope we get to see some of your sketches eventually too.
It is just delicious. I wish I could be there with you! Keep the torture coming... :)
ReplyDeleteChocolate sardines in Christmas stockings? I'm quite sure that Williams Sonoma offers them as "traditional French" April Fools food. In fact, I think I've read about that tradition in cooking magazines, too. Of course, let's not be sticklers: I would not object to finding them in MY Christmas stocking.....
ReplyDeleteOdd that the sight of all those silvery shiny fish did not send me scurring to the pantry in search of a tin, but the chocolate !!! The chocolate sent me to the kitchen to brew a cup of cocoa - this time, not from Dorrie Greenspan's recipe or from yours but a respectable cup made with Vahlrona unsweetened cocoa powder.
How much fun! Looks beautiful, but then again, I think almost everything French does!
ReplyDeleteThose huge chunks of chocolate bricked up one upon the other, the tonnes of sardines - Oh boy I want some chocolate RIGHT NOW!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, I want chocolate class! But not so much the train ride. We had one like that leaving Bologna at the end of the day - it was so packed that we ended up having to stand 'illegally' in the inbetween spaces between cars. All hot and sweaty and much too close to other hot and sweaty people. For nearly 45 minutes until it cleared enough to get a seat.... ergh...
ReplyDeleteLOL! I'd love chocolate covered sardines!!! Once had a pin made from a freeze dried sardine - wonder what ever happened to it?
ReplyDeleteWouldn't the chocolate sardines be more for Easter and more specifically April Fool's (poissons d'avril) rather than Christmas?
ReplyDelete