In retrospect it's no coincidence that the French word PAIN for bread is something unpleasant in English!
The Baguette as simple thing but it is a French traditional image to most Brits. I remember thinking about lazy days sat in the sun in a timeless place in rural France away from all the perceived problems of life in lawless Britain.
Underestimated by the would be resident the Baguette has a place in French social history and bread in general has a social status. Not like the Chorely massed produced stuff largely chomped through by bread ignorant brits. French bread making is an art and the lowly Boulanger surprisingly comes way down the social list but along way above Brits!
Although it is fair to say that over the passed few years highly polished bald headed men with white clothing have been fighting back for the traditional British bread but it is nothing to its status in France.
But as a stressed out Brit the idea of proper French Baguette was like a magnet, even pretending to be in France with an English Baguette in the evening sun didn't quite capture that long anticipated French Experience. British shops cannot bake a proper Baguette. Underdone, overdone, rock hard and floppy sometimes all of the conditions in the 2ft tube.
We went to France in somewhat of rush, or at least I did, my wife, in retrospect, was too ill to put up much resistance .
Landing in rural France we soon settled down to that long anticipated Baguette and Croissant. But after a few weeks ( not many ) one fast learns that various combinations in the bread of cheese, ham, egg, salad, bacon, egg, huge tomatoes which are far superior to UK ones and salad wear thin. Rather like your gums, which by then are torn and sore from the flakes of crust that sliced into your gums when attempting an over ambitious bite of the bread and its unstable contents. The bite a useless attempt to secure the meal in one combination and not have to chase bits allover the recently stone tiled floor which were crying out for carpets in the freezing conditions. ( Incidentally, the French generally do not butter the Baguette and if you have the misfortune to buy a Hot dog at one of their Brocantes. You'll find that not only the bread sticks to the roof of your mouth but it also glues the ultra hot skin of the undercooked product to the roof of your mouth as the raw bit bobbles around in pursed lips attempting to cool the Super Nova )
Overweight and overtired of Baguettes one realises that the French Baguette dream held onto in stressed out Britain was just that a dream. Unless of course your a complete masochist and able to ingest food in a liquid form only until your mouth heals sufficiently to allow solid food pass without experiencing the death of a thousand dental cuts. Baguettes soon loose their previous exalted position on your UK wish list.
Coupled with our sore mouths and disillusionment, more for my wife, who had taken to begging our former UK neighbours to post out Tesco Pate before our marriage hit the culinary French rocks. The Uk TV people decided to run a very funny series of adverts for HP sauce. This basically showed a man storming out of his breakfast at home of Croissant and Baguettes in favour of the traditional British fryup with HP sauce. Stating he could stand it 'no more' This Union Jack waving exercise prompted my wife to remind me, on several occasions, that people who came to France usually only lasted 2 years before heading back to England's shores. I wasn't quite ready to admit defeat at that point and needed further lessons in chopping wood and discovering that it is impossible to buy a decent curry anywhere in France that matches up to the UK Curry Houses. Believe it or not these people whose staple diet is something akin the balsa wood actually find curry unpalatable. You can find Chinese and Indian restaurants in France but be prepared to be disappointed if you are expecting a Curry hit to reinstate your belief in the 'dream'.
