Death, taxes, French lunch and dinner. Sacred moments, bien sur. In France, you can count on the sacristy of two times of day- no phone calls, no dropping by. C’est l’heure de dejeuner or l’heure de diner. If you want to write, meditate, snooze or eat a wonderful meal, rest assured, you won’t have to unplug the phone between 12:30-2:00 or 7:30-9:00pm

Food remains king here in the countryside. Paris may bustle, but here you can depend on le silence, a sacred moment. Not only is it silent, more so than usual, but rather comforting, like Christmas eve. Knowing age old rituals mean something,  the delight of slowing down is still sacred here in the pays.

(Originally written one Sunday afternoon, when all was quiet and the French were inside eating Sunday lunch. Fall 2005)