Still some blogs behind, still putting it off- welcome to my world lately! But you guys know these places, so you aren't missing much. Although my Russia blog really got some traction. I had something like 132 blog views from Russia yesterday. I told the boys Putin was out to get me. Calib and Peyton responded with a sarcastic unconcerned 'Ok, really mom?' and Hayden panicked that I was going to secretly be killed in an airport (wrong country, right idea).
But that's neither here nor there, because we've moved from west from Russia, to France.
This is another one of those countries where we've been here before. Asa had them during our first Olympics, and they got some nods for Thomas Jefferson's birthday. Coincidentally (or not coincidentally because I plan things meticulously) we celebrated France on Thomas Jefferson's birthday this year.
Our spotlight for WWII was on Charles de Gaulle for France day. He's the guy who went to Britain after France had been occupied by the Germans and started the Free France Army to help free his country from Hitler and the Axis powers.
Fun Fact: He survived something like 30 plus assassination attempts!
Our landmark was also a nod to WWII. It's funny how I didn't plan to have some of these countries in a theme week like this, but then my lessons go so well together! Anyway, we paid homage to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Some notable burials there include two of Teddy Roosevelt's sons.
Then we covered some of the stuff the boys had seen before. The Louvre and the Mona Lisa appeared during art week. And we play the game 'Around the world in 80 days' all the time', although the boys did not know the author of the book, Jules Verne was French. (Awesome app though, highly recommend!) Of course we also talked Eiffel Tower, which was built for the world's fair. (Also fun fact: Paris only has one stop sign).
We had discovered way back when croissants weren't actually French, and the story about how it actually relates to the Turkish crescent moon. According to legend, when Austria was under attack by the Turkish empire, the Turks decided to dig tunnels underground to attack. Bakers, who worked underground, heard them coming and alerted the Austrian army. Austria held them off and the bakers made the crescent moon pastry in remembrance. Apparently some time later Marie Antoinette served them to French aristocrats, making them popular in France. Baguettes are French though, and apparently more than 10 billion of them are sold in France every year.
While the boys listened to all things French, they got to have a treat. Sprouts had Pain au chocolat on sale for $2 for 6!
And there was lots to take in, because we had another kitchen passport box for France. Our trinkets weren't as exciting though. We got a wine charm and a fabric button.
But the box taught us some fun facts about 'L'Hexagone' (the hexagon- due to it's shape), the largest nation in western Europe, and the world's most popular tourist destination.
France isn't just in Europe, they have all kinds of territories belonging to them spread out all over the world. Because of those overseas territories, France technically has 12 different time zones, more than any other country.
80% of their population lives in urban areas, 9% of their population is immigrants, and their president is also Co-Prince of Andorra (which we already knew from Andorra day)
The number of kisses to give someone on the cheek, varies by region.
April Fools day is believed to have started in France. Children stick a paper fish on your back and call you 'Poisson d'Avril' (April Fish!)
It was the first country to introduce the license plate.
French was the official language of England until the 13th century. Today it is the offical language of the United Nations.
With that we talked a little French history:
The country was ruled by kings until the French Revolution in 1789.
Napoleon became Emperor in 1804, and contrary to popular belief, he wasn't all that short. Apparently the French used different measurements which led to the misconception.
During WWII, people hid art from the Louvre in their houses, to make sure to keep it out of Nazi hands.
The boys took all their information and made their postcards.
Calib's featured a funny looking Eiffel tower, and some cyclists racing for the Tour de France.
Peyton left the N out of France, and will never live it down.
So Hayden kind of won the competition by default. They weren't the best post cards I've ever seen (worth noting: the boys thought so too, and none of the cards made it into their collections).
But dinner, dinner was awesome. Beacause of course we were looking forward to french food. We had various things to snack on and some French Sparkling Orangeade and Lemonade. We also picked up some Brie, mini french toast, and pear spread. 'Product of France' labels were super easy to find.
Now, we could have gone ham and butter sandwiches. They are apparently more popular in France than hamburgers. But, I had some recipes in my 'Around the World in 450 Recipes' that I wanted to try out. One of them was Dauphinoise potatoes (obviously that isn't the exact recipe we used, but it is close) Fun Fact: Potatoes were illegal between 1748-1772 because people thought they were poisonous. Good thing they figured it out, or my life would not be complete. (I adore potatoes).
We also picked up a French Berry Tart from Trader Joes for an easy desert (another 'Product of France' find).
To round out the meal we had the Classic French Green Salad, (although not the French dressing we think is French- because that's just another American dish camouflaged as an intentional one), pears, fresh bread and Pepper Steak. Again, this one came from my cookbook, so I don't have an actual link for you. But this one doesn't look too far off.
Of course this meal earned five spoons up.
I mean, just look at it. I'd eat that meal every day of the week. So good.
Peyton colored it in, and we were another country down. (I think I published these a bit out of order, so no countdown for you.)
Up Next: Two days dedicated to the United Kingdom.
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