Last we met I wrote about my trip to Lille with Marta, the weekend of le 11 Novembre. I know it's been a good minute since I've updated the internet on my whereabouts, but I promise to make up for it in the coming week(s). Mostly, I don't want to skip any of the oh-so-riveting details of my life here between the trip to Lille and my trip to Croatia... So stay tuned!
The next big event after my trip to Lille was La Foire aux Harengs de Dieppe, or the Dieppe Herring Festival. I think this was the weekend after Lille... so the 19th of November, if the calendar is telling the truth.
The above photos are of different dudes grilling their herrings. The whole quay/harbor was smoky from fish grilling, and in smelled... well, smoky and fishy. So much so that the next day at the grocery store a woman told me I smelled like it... which resulted in me washing my hair and coat... and those are things I don't wash very often!
While I'm not the biggest fan of fish, I am learning to like them. Or, I am trying to. La Foire aux Harengs was my first "oh, hey, I'ma just like, eat a fish" experience. And OH GOD IT WAS AWFUL. (Even the potato was tainted! And all the cider in the world won't wash away the pain in my throat from swallowing all the tiny fish bones...)
I've been told that herring is:
a) a very smelly fish
b) one of the more bony fish
c) a bad place for anyone to start their fish-eating journey
I had two lady fish COMPLETE WITH EGGS. Here you can see the eggs, bottom center, in their scarring horror. I ate a couple, and I swear they were the reason for my epic tummy ache the following day.
By the end of my herring-eating experience, I was convinced that they NEED this festival, in order to trick people into eating such a foul fish. There were piles and piles of fish just waiting to be grilled and sold. Strangely enough, people seemed more into eating crepes and nutella-covered waffles... how surprising.
Additionally, the herrings were only 1€ apiece... practically giving 'em away.
And no terrible fish festival is complete without a marching band, people dressed up like fish, and a dancing bear. (They were mostly playing Santana covers, which I'm not even gonna get into right now.)
Side note: It's technically "La Foire aux Harengs et à la Coquilles Saint Jacques." Un "noix de Saint Jacque" is a scallop, in English. So they're also celebrating scallops, which are probably there for people who have TASTE BUDS or who don't have the patience to pick out 52788763878 tiny bones before nibbling on the tiny bits of fish flesh in between.
And, just for good measure, here I am with Marta, Gera, and Katie, some of the other assistants in the area.
Alright. I know I seem to have nothing positive to say about the herring festival, and (if you've even made it this far!) you're probably thinking "wow, Caroline is really closed minded concerning this fish-eating festival." And maybe you're right. I've definitely made up my mind about herring. If I ever have to go to another herring festival, I'm just gonna sit by and sip cider while my foolish company eat fish. But I went, I ate, I played the game. And it's not my thing, those smelly, bony fish.
Afterwards we went to a pub and I watched my first game of professional "football" (soccer). It was Manchester City against Newcastle, and it was apparently a very important game because one of the teams is essentially composed of the best players, who've been more or less "purchased", while the other team was built from the ground up and has a lot of heart. I don't remember which is which, and I can't tell you who won, because Marta and I had to catch the bus back to Eu before the match ended. But it was a day of firsts!
That's all for now... next time, Etretat!
Going chronological. Brave soul that you are.
ReplyDeleteThis was a hilarious entry!