Just outside the Passage Jouffroy is a bright yellow sign of a grinning girl. The bilious ochre attracted my attention and in somewhat of a dazed haze, I drifted 30 metres into the passage where I saw some grinning women handing out little nibbles to passers-by. I took a nibble myself, and saw (like God) that it was good. At the back of my mind was the thought that this was a confectioner's place, and not just any confectioner but a confectioner from Normandy.
There were beautifully packed boxes of sweets - fruit pastilles, sugar candy, chocolate, fruity chocolates, biscuits. I saw calissons, and my eyes narrowed.
'These are calissons,' I said in a vaguely threatening manner to a grinning attendant. The threat probably stemmed more from my dismal French than my outrage.
'Yes, they are, sir,' she replied.
'But calissons are not Norman,' I continued. 'They are from Aix.'
'Yes, absolutely. A southern French delicacy,' said the woman, still grinning happily.
'But why are you selling them in a Norman confectionery?' I said.
The woman looked puzzled, yet still happy.
'Norman?' she said.
I pointed wordlessly at the big yellow sign with the grinning girl. 'La Cure Gourmande' it said.
I did a double-take. Gourmande? Not Normande? It was my turn to grin, sheepishly.
'I shall take that box,' I said, and walked out with a big box of assorted Gourmandies, and 32 euros lighter.
2 comments:
Brilliant. Can you believe I just wanted to buy their biscuits just because I liked the tin?
Superb packaging, eh? There are some fine treats in them boxes. The calissons weren't as good as the ones I've had in Aix, though.
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