Drinking coffe in a bowl is actually only for breakfast, for people drinking lots of coffe to wake up. Sometimes, they'll drink it mixed with milk. Once breakfast is done, you should only see coffee in cup. There are lots of different cheeses in France, and also in some other countries around. Some of them are more used as appetizers, some are more for "dessert", and some can do both. It also depends on what you eat them with. I'd say relation with cheese is complicated... But personnaly, if I eat cheese after the main dish, I usually keep some sweet dessert to eat after. I prefer to keep a sweet taste in mouth after the meal :) I'd say "C'est pas possible" may be more related to "I can't believe it". Out of frustation, this is like saying you have a hard time believing the troubles keep coming up to you. As for cheek kissing, if there are a lot of people, like a meeting with coworkers, it won't be akward to just say hi to everyone and not cheek kiss each of them. Cheek kissing a large group of people is more for big family meetings, or with close friends. Also it depends on people, but you can also see men cheek kissing each other. Sometimes only in family, sometimes only with some friends or groups. Sometimes it can be akward because we'll be cheeck kissing some people in the room and shaking hands with others, and even more awkard is when you don't know the habit of the other people so you don't know if you should cheek kiss or hand shake... I don't know if you've ever tried, but some people drink iced coffe during hot weather. Not sure how to prepare it exactly, but I think you just make a standard coffe then put ice cubes in it right after to have a nice cold coffe (but it doesn't taste like a coffe that got cold overtime).
I'm French, coming from the center of France. Drinking coffee in a bowl is... life. Really. A "tartine" of bread and butter, a croissant and it's perfect. And pleaaaaase, do a part 2 !
Yes, the first time I saw someone drinking their coffee out of a bowl, I was shocked but I soon got into the spirit. It’s such a practical way to dunk your croissant (I’m not a tartine girl in the morning) and I’m all for adopting the habits of the country you’re in. Sadly there is far too much anglo-saxonisation of the world and every time I go back to France, I’m sorry to see more signs of it there. The last hotel I was in only offered cups and I was so looking forward to a bowl of hot chocolate. 😢 But you can still get bowls to drink your cider out of in a proper crêperie. As to cheek-kissing, my biggest problem has always been getting a feel for the number of times to do it with any one individual. Scope for embarrassment/offence there. 😊 Looking forward to a second part.
La seule façon que je bois du café c'est dans avec du lait, dans un bol au petit déjeuner, avec des tartines ou des pâtisseries à tremper 🤷♀️et je viens de Bretagne. Sinon, quand il y a trop de monde à saluer (à partir de 6/7 personnes pour moi), je me contente de dire un bonjour général, avec un sourire et en saluant de la main, et pas besoin de s'inquiéter plus que ça (sauf au boulot et quelques fois en famille) Les français que je côtoie ne s'offusquent pas du tout, surtout si tu en fais de l'humour. Je suis curieuse de connaître les autres petits trucs que tu nous a emprunté !
Ohhh la la!!! I would love a French sounds video. Just this subject alone would have a vast area to explore. The pffftt when you are bored or mad at the wait times in a queue. Or the 😤.... it’s obvious and yet subtly hidden. You have a lot in this area! Merci pour cette vidéo ❤️❤️❤️❤️
My French boyfriend's family drinks tea, hot chocolate, and coffee out of bowls! I thought it was strange at first, but I've definitely joined in more than a few times.
When I lived in the Netherlands we would always say goodmorning/day/evening to the bus driver. And in the elevator at work every morning when someone would leave the elevator everyone would say "verkse", meaning "have a good workday". In my home country Norway people do not do smalltalk or talk to people they don't know, so it took some getting used to. But I still think it's nice telling people in the same building to have a good day at work
I grew up in the Paris area and stayed over in many other regions and a good bowl of coffee for breakfast is quite common...even in cafes, specially if you order café au lait. It is just THE way to dip whatever tartine or pastry you are eating for breakfast. Because we all know, French people HAVE To dip! Speaking of which, have you tried dipping cheese by itself or on bread in coffee? They do that in some regions up north like Hauts de France (Pas de Calais, Picardie) with maroilles cheese or other local ones and I also saw it in Normandie with camembert or livarot. Don't let the idea gross you out, it's actually pretty good, try it if you haven't!
The « bises » thing IS complicated haha ! And after a year in France (Marseille) I’m still the weird one drinking my morning coffee out of a mug when we’re with my in-laws... not sure if I’ll ever be able to drink it out of a bowl !🤣
Andrea, what you describe seem all quite realistic. That's the way things goes in France as far as I know (and this isn't very far, me being french ;) ). Concerning cheek-kissing, this is typically done with women (men do simply shake hands). Notice that there are french regions where only one cheek-kiss is expected, whereas there are other regions where you should do it on both sides, and even on both side twice (making a total of 4 cheek-kisses). This is a very time-consuming activity, but usually speeking the number of cheek-kiss indicates how personnaly "close" you are to the other person. So a single one is perfectly fine for strangers whereas your grand'ma might give you 4 cheek-kisses. And don't worry if you forgot to greet someone, he/she'll come to you later and you'll have a 2nd chance. Usually when there are many people, it is not required to cheek-kiss everybody. People usually cheek-kiss the very first encountered persons/relatives, and then say something like "it too crowdy here, hello to everyone I forgot to salute" while waving hands.
Hi, I'm French, some explanations for people reading the comments (pretty sure Andrea don't need this): - The traditional meal is: 1) entrée, 2) plat, 3) fromage, 4) dessert, I've never heard the fromage time being called the "first dessert", the dessert in France is definitely supposed to be sweet. That being said, most of the time we only eat entrée + plat or plat + dessert, most of the restaurants don't really have fromage to offer between plat and dessert. - I'd say we can drink coffee out of a bowl for breakfast but that's not the main way of drinking coffee. For large coffees most people will use a mug. In a café I'm pretty sure if you ask for a bowl, they'll think you're nuts. - "C'est pas possible !" is definitely "You gotta be kidding me!", yup! You can use "C'est pas vrai !" too. And of course less polite things. - About the "bise" (cheek kissing), it can be a bit complicated (like the "tutoiement" or "vouvoiement"). If it's in family you want to kiss everyone, but for example if it's at a party with friends and people you don't really know, as a guy you gonna cheek kiss the girls but shake hands with the other guys. A guy cheek kissing another guy is really for family only or close friends (and even with close friends it's a bit funny). At work, you will either shake hands of girls and guys, or you may cheek kiss the girls depending on many parameters like the age, the status, since when you know them, etc. There is the fact, too, that there are more and more muslim coworkers, and some of them (boys and girls) don't cheek kiss, but others do, so for example it's the first time you meet your new muslim coworker so you ask "tu fais a bise ?" before trying, and he/she's like "hu of course, why wouldn't I?" so even just asking can lead to a strange situation. I've personally stopped cheek kissing at work, and even shaking hands, I just say "hi", the main reason is that I think it's not really hygienic to touch many people every morning, I mean let's face it. But I can avoid it only because I know my coworkers very well so they don't mind and they know I'm not being rude, but even then sometimes they show their hand or come to cheek kiss for a second and are like "oh I forgot you don't shake hand/cheek kiss".
Hello ! I'm French :). I don't know if others French people think cheese is like a "first round " for desert. In my mind it's not, it is something appart like " entrée, plat, fromage And then. . Desert "however when You go in a restaurant "cheese " is often "showed" as an entire part of the meal. That's not very important but I think it's interesting to say :). + if I'm not wrong our Italian neighbours eat it as "entrée " as You do but also as an entire part of the meal as we do.
I'm a Frenchman living in London, I watched your video about drinking coffee in bowl .My advice is drinking coffee the way you feel like and never mind what other people think or say! As long as you're happy that the main thing
Yes please , I do want a part 2. I’m French but I lived abroad a couple of years ago (England and Ireland) and it’s always so fun to reflect on cultural differences and to have a foreign perspective on your own culture. And I would definitely love a video on French sounds as well (that should be so much fun). And to answer your question, French people definitely drink coffee out of bowls but I guess more for breakfast and generally people in their fifties or above. I think « younger » French people tend to use mugs as well ! Love your content just so you know 😉
I've never lived in France, but I'm learning to speak the language, and I remember when I first learned the word "aussi", I suddenly started using "also" in English whenever I would normally use "too" (e.g. "Me also!" "I like that also") and it's a habit that took me a while to get out of!
Such a funny video Andrea !!! My in-laws drink coffee in a bowl as well, my family doesn't do it because I've influenced them with my mugs (having traveled in England quite often). I'd love a part two to this video and a video about French sounds etc, I love cultural shock videos ! Thank you for that !
I tend to use "sérieux" with sighs (of course) more often than "c'est pas possible". Or "mais c'est sérieux là!" ^^ and usually followed by some swear words. And believe me, the cheek kiss is definitely boring even for the French when too many people find themselves in the same place. it's so annoying. It's just great when it's the only skin contact you can ever dream of when you're in college;)
Cheese after meals in restaurants is a UK thing too.My dad mostly chose the cheese board if it was available.A part 2 would be cool,plus a French sounds video too!
"c'est pas possible !" a very polite way of express frustration... but sometimes i say more gross phrases ("P.t..", or the south variation "macarel"...which means literally mackarel or pimp...)
Andrea, thanks for another great video. I’m glad that French people also like your vlogs. It gives them an example of the ideal American “girl next door.” I would love to see Part 2 as well of the French sounds video. That might even be more fun to have a French person’s perspective (your husband?) to complement your opinion. Fred in NYC
Bonjour! I lived in the Loire valley (Angers) for the past couple of years and never noticed people drinking coffee out of bowls, so funny! I've finally gotten used to the cheek kissing haha
- For "c'est pas possible !", you could also say "c'est pas vrai !" - "j'y crois pas !" - "j'hallucine !" - Cheese as dessert: never heard of that, it's sometimes cheese or dessert, as you said, but only because both would be too much, not because cheese is some kind of dessert. - Coffee in a bowl: very common in the past (people would add some milk in it for a "café au lait") but not today, at least not in my region. - La bise: don't get me started on that! Just say "bonjour tout le monde" and wave :)
Faire la bise à 10-15 personnes c'est effectivement relou mais quand c'est de la famille ou des amis proches t'as pas vraiment le choix, et demandez à quelqu'un si on a pas oublié de lui faire la bise c'est une forme de politesse vraiment sincère. You are acknowledging the person by saying that if you know what I mean.
I really have liked this video and I have undergone the same thing as a German soldier being posted to the Nato Headquarters in Mons, Belgium in 1975. "Ce n'est pas possible" is a phrase which I have heard lots of time during my tour of duty.
I have similar experience to the cheek kissing thing when I'm in Austria. There its just hand shaking. But yeah its the polite thing to go and say hi and least shake hands with every person. And also the same when you're leaving say bye to everyone.
Congratulations on becoming the biggest Paris youtuber :) I am more surprised about your longsleeve outfit than the coffee if you filmed during the heatwave
I filmed this a little bit before the heatwave, so it was just a normal summer temperature that day 😜 And this top is a crop-top with half-sleeves, so it's not as warm as it might look!
I have seen French people drink out of bowls in Brest and Lyon so I guess it's a France wide thing. A French friend of mine told me he could never ever drink his tea out of a cup in the morning. It HAS to be a bowl. I find it funny but sometimes do it myself since I live in France . I am from Germany and we only use cups or mugs.
when you don't want to cheek kiss people, you can just wave and announce that you're saying hello/goodbye to everyone at once! i hate having to say hi to a hundred people in a row. and my close friends and i just never bother ahaha. but i get that you've got to do it if the event's a bit more formal and it would be considered rude if you didn't or something
My family from Lyon drinks coffee out of bowls too for breakfast. I thinks this a one-size-fits-all habit. For breakfast, only one type of container and anyone can choose cereals or cacao or coffee or tea.
You mentioned the "huff" in France, I have noticed that French people will say "Oaf" with little "huff" and the lips slightly pouted. I am sure that you have experience more of this kind of French language with body language. The weird thing is that it has crept into my own body language and I do little "huffing" from time to time, which is strange when I am back in my English speaking country!! I would like to see a video along the lines of other "quirky for us" French habits.
It's so weird that you would only cheese as a starter. My grandparents drink coffee out of a bowl for breakfast with milk and we're from Pays de la Loire. About the cheek kisses in big groups, usually you just do the most people you can and then if you start talking to someone you haven't said hello to before and be like "Oh, on s'est pas dit bonjour"
I was staying in a French B n B years ago, and I was invited to have breakfast with the family. The house was in the country, the whole breakfast plates, dishes and bowls, were white. I was aware that the French to drink out of bowls, which I think the French refer to as cups. Maybe it is sometimes traditional in French for coffee drinking; but in a city, where I have stayed with French people recently they all drank out of "normal" cups or mugs.
"Bowl" like the ones for cereals and milk (and coffee :p) is "bol" in French. Mug is mug (but I think some French people, the oldest ones, don't use or know the word "mug" and will probably just say "tasse" and probably add "grande tasse"). Cup, like for small coffees, is "tasse".
@@neoDarkSquall When I am in a French restaurant I always ask for an "American" coffee otherwise you get an Expresso which is two mouthfuls and its gone!
Can't speak for all regions in France, but Nord, Rhone-Alpes and Aquitaine all drink coffee (hot chocolate or tea as well) out of bowls for breakfast. Breakfast only though and it's also okay to drink out of a mug but bowls are totally normal for breakfast. As for things I'm doing since I moved to the UK... black tea with milk. I never did that before and now only drink black tea with milk. I also use weather as my go to small talk topic. I say "proper/properly" a lot. My accent is now much closer to British English as it used to be more Floridian (with a hint of French) as I went to high school in FL. I still don't snack. I don't understand how the Brits snack so much. How can they be hungry for lunch and dinner when they snack all day long???
After living in the UK for a year, I picked up saying "proper/properly" too! And I still haven't dropped the habit 😂 As for snacking, I'm guilty of that too... I don't like having very big meals, but I do like snacking at least in the afternoons! haha
I find having cheese before a meal in the US is weird. Why ruin your appetite before a meal. In the UK meals finish with cheese, after a sweet pudding whereas the French do it the other way round.
Ha! The first time I went to France to visit my then boyfriend now husband's family (I'd been to France before a few times but my family was from Alsace, and I didn't remember seeing this) but my partner pulled out a ceral bowl, heated some milk in it and started to mix Banania (I guess the US version would be Nesquick) into it. I was so shocked, lol. He never ever did this where we lived. And I was like "have I partnered with a 5 year old" then I saw his mom do the same thing but with tea. And I was like Holy Scheiße I'm in the twilight zone, not really. But still. That's when I realized I was gonna have more culture shocks with France than I've ever had with 4 years of living in Asia, lol
I have to comment we do have Nesquick in France, Banania is some kind hot cocoa with a banana flavor added... they are nothing alike (I am 35 and I still drink Nesquick occasionnaly but absolutely HATE Banania) !
I said Nesquick not for the taste but that's kind of a US equivalent, if I was Australian I would've said Milo or something like that. I chocolate drink usually meant for the morning, lol
Boire du café dans un bol est une habitude régionale Andrea. On ne fait pas ça en Île-de-France par exemple 😉. C'est pas possible a aussi sa variante: "c'est pas vrai!" 😀
@@lucofparis4819 tout se fait partout en France on a pas de règles pour boire un café ce n'est pas.propre. Telle ou telle région. Que ce soit dans l'est dans l'ouest a Paris ou ailleurs j'ai toujours vu des gens boire leur café dans des tasses des bols des mugs et tout quanti
If you go for a video of french sounds I challenge you to make a french "Roooooh" of exasperation :p As for drinking coffee in bowls, as a french speaking swiss I don't do that and I don't know anybody who does that, even though France is literally next door so I guess this is purely french (maybe belgians can contradict me?) (also why having hot coffee when you can make cold brew)
Kissing on both cheeks is normal in France. When I arrive at a restaurant in the south of France were we regularly (once a week) eat dinner, the waitress demands a "bise" a kiss on both cheeks. When you regularly eat at the same restaurant you become a little bit more than a customer!