The last bagel

 

My daughter has come to France from Boston to spend the holidays and brought the most wonderful gift -- a package of raisin-cinnamon bagels.   

I've eaten one each morning either with cream cheese or butter. Today was the last one -- sigh.

No one will feel sorry for me thinking what a wonderful life I have living in Geneva, Switzerland and Argelès, France, nor should they. It is a wonderful life, almost two wonderful lives.

Whenever expats get together, they will talk about what they miss from home...or if they've lived in many countries, from the different places they have lived. Almost always the subject involves food. Desires for food, even that not often eaten at "home" can bring a great yearning.

I first experienced that yearning was when I was new in Switzerland and talking with a friend. I had such a yen for Oreos, although I'd rarely, if ever, eaten them in the States.

Bagels are becoming available in Europe. There's a bagel stand in Geneva, although the last time I was there, they had not added cinnamon-raisin to their offerings.

I've heard there's a Dunkin Donuts at Gare de Lyon in Paris, but my bagel craving does not warrant a three-plus hour train trip from Geneva to Paris to check it out. Imagine my disappointment if I made the trip and had to make the trip back without having found any.

I should ask my Parisian friends to check out Dunkin Donuts the next time to see if they carry cinnamon-raisin bagels.

Food yearnings are not limited to bagels. I miss a good cassoulet when I'm in Switzerland. And the best fondue is at the Café de Soleil in Petit.Saconnex when I'm not in France.

That is not to say that I don't savor the best of where I am at any given time. I also appreciate with every cell of my body that I have enough food, unlike too many in the world today. 

Still, my grandmother's oatmeal bread, baked stuff lobster, hot maple syrup poured on snow, corn on the cob picked minutes before being dropped into boiling water, Boston brown bread are all on the tastes that trigger happy eating memories enhanced by the unavailability.

Still, those bagels were wonderful as is my daughter who knows how much her thoughtfulness means to me. Having a loving, considerate kid could be the topic for another blog, but not tonight.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!