Chosen by Le Figaro Madame...Yes, I'm in Heaven!!! et Vive la France!!

Et oui....Incredible things do come true sometimes! Just like that, more than a month ago, I got to know that Le Figaro newspaper was organizing a contest, for its magazine "Madame Figaro". A contest to choose the best bloggers in France for each category: Fashion/Beauty - Humor - Food/Design - Society/Culture.

I must admit this caught my attention, but immediately I dismissed it..."It's a contest for the French", I thought....Some days later, in a morning when my sense of self-esteem/craziness was unusually high, I decided to give it a go...What? Incredible things do happen sometimes...I got a mail from the organizers thanking me for my participation, and letting me know that they had received hundreds of applications...

And my life continued as usual: working on a new project, my blog, receiving my friend from Argentina, the trip to Marrakech, my youngest daughter that got sick, buying plants for my balcony....

So, when last Friday night, I saw the name of my blog announced among the 10 of the Food/Design Category, I got a chill...Wow!! Not even under the effect of three "Kir Royal" would I have thought that could become true! ;D An Argentinian, who dares to blog about French cuisine...and in English !!??!!! Even my husband was skeptical...He came in person, in front of the computer screen, to check if I had read well...

That night, when I went to bed, I started thinking about this love affair between me and "la France" This love affair that started almost ten years ago now...I must admit that at the beginning our relationship was rough..After an initial period of "magic spell" came the normal (?) "I-hate-this-country-please-can-God-take-me-back-to-Argentina" bout....

But "la France" reacted calmly, never losing her patience, even a chink distant and seemingly cold (like a French lady) no matter how much I stamped my feet and cried like a little girl in a tantrum...

After my typical, Latin girl "operetta", the logical girl took over (no wonder my Maths teacher in Lycée was so proud of me!), and I started giving "la France" her due...

Ever since we stepped in this country, we have been welcomed and treated as if we were French! When people hear my accent and ask me "Vous êtes espagnole?" , my "Non, je suis argentine" triggers endless anecdotes full of praise for my country (I always joke about that and say that, effectively, all the French are crazy because they love Argentinians!)

All that this country has given us is equality of opportunity, approval, appreciation of our differences, friendship, tenderness....Sometimes I believe that I am more appreciated in France than in my own country..You know..this question of "nobody is a prophet is his own land"...

But at the same time, I know very well the French are strict..strict parents, teachers...You know, they don't go around splurging words of praise easily...so being on that list of 10 acquires a special meaning....

April 28th will mark my 10 years in France, and even though you know me, and you know I continue being 100% Argentinian ( and so proud of it) I want to thank this country that has given my family so much, that has marked my life in such a way !! (I would never have cooked if it were not for the French!) 

Have you seen nowadays it is in fashion to renew your marriage vows, after some years of relationship? Well, in spite of our turbulent beginning, in spite of moments of crisis, I renew my vows..I love you, my dearest "la France"...thanks for all you have given me, thanks for making me what I am now, and may God bless you and give you eternal life!

I will always be faithful to you!

The girl from the Pampas...