A boys' weekend with class

CHERIE SIVIGNON

CHEERS: A glass of Picon biere.

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OPINION:  Imagine it. Eight guys on an extended weekend ski break without wives or children, writes Cherie Sivignon in this week's L'expat.

The eight have known each other a long time; they played in the same football team. They look forward to this annual knees-up all year.

Drinking, male bonding, drinking, dirty jokes, drinking, showing off, drinking, macho behaviour, drinking, eating's cheating, drinking, noise, drinking, late nights, drinking, bar hopping, drinking, bad dance moves, drinking and more drinking – that's what you're thinking, right.

Wrong.

The eight came from Alsace, the smallest of the regions in mainland France. Beautiful Strasbourg is its capital and the Alsatians had to drive just three hours through Switzerland to reach us here in the French Alps.

They came as a group to stay at the hotel where both my husband, Franck, and I work. We often welcome people from Alsace at the hotel because the ski resorts of the Abondance Valley, where we live, are some of the closest ski areas to northeast France, which counts Alsace as its own.

Alsace has a quirky mix of French and German traditions, having changed hands between the two countries several times. There is a difference between Alsatians and others from mainland France.

Firstly, there's the German dialect. Many of our guests from Alsace use perfect French with us but speak in their dialect with each other.

Well known for its wines, notably the dry rieslings, aromatic gewurztraminers and sparkling cremants, Alsace also has its own aperitif, called Picon biere. Picon is a bitter, made from oranges, that takes its name from its inventor, Gaetan Picon. Alsatians pour a generous dollop of this bitter into a glass and top it up with beer. We serve oodles of the stuff but I've been asked for Picon biere by Alsatians only. Alsatians are also well known for their love of food – and that's high praise indeed from their fellow French citizens in this land of high cuisine. Choucroute (sauerkraut, served hot with sausage, pork or ham and, often, potatoes) is the most famous of Alsatian dishes. Then, there's tarte flambee, a pizza-like dish with pastry, cream, onion, cheese and bacon.

The foie gras from Alsace is also well known as is the delicious, strong Munster cheese.

Our eight male guests lived up to the Alsatian reputation for enjoying food and wine. They drank (lots of) Picon biere before the meal, then ordered local wines to drink with dinner. Several came up to discuss the food afterward (they all stayed on a half-board arrangement so ate the menu du jour each evening). While they consumed a fair quantity of alcohol each night, I never saw one turn into a drunken slob. They talked and laughed but not so loudly that it disturbed other guests. I never saw an angry punchup, a broken glass or a babbling mess. They exhibited the best of French behaviour – an enjoyment of food and alcohol but not to excess. They were polite, interesting and interested in conversation (even though my French is still poor).

I doubt eight New Zealand men in their 30s and 40s on a similar annual getaway would act the same.

I hope I'm wrong.

» Cherie Sivignon is a former Southland Times journalist who has moved to France with her French-born husband and their family.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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