Our Blog - Public libraries and Galettes des Rois

Before our next quick trip (which will be to London), I thought I would jot down a few notes on public libraries and the Galette des Rois, which is popular in January in France.

Toulouse public library system

As an adult, I never really used the public library systems in the US but when we moved, we realized how many books we had bought and needed to try to get rid of. We have a LOT less space in our apartment than we did in the house, so while we bought a few books, we decided to try out the public libraries in town. And we are quite happy about it. My last experience with public libraries was over 15 years ago when we lived in Paris, and a French friend mentioned that the libraries in Paris (there are LOTS of them) had lots of US TV series that you could rent the DVDs for, and watch them. At that time, we had only a couple channels that had any English-language programs, so this let us watch a few of the TV series that we had missed in the US.

For adults, it costs 17 euros (under $20) for an annual membership, which allows you to check out items (books, movies, music, etc.) from 21 different libraries, 5 of which are within walking distance from our apartment. You can search online across all libraries (or a single library) for what you are looking for by various criteria (like author or title). There is also a "nomadic" library, which allows you to go to your local library and request one of the books listed in this nomadic library, which is then delivered to your local library for you to checkout. You can also return books to any library. The collection includes over a million printed books, almost 100,000 audio CDs and over 100,000 videos.

As an example, a certain series of books written by a Scottish writer was recommended to me by a friend. The set of books is called The Enzo Files and is set in France. It is centered on the work of half-Italian, half-Scottish former forensic scientist who is now working as a biology professor at a French university in Toulouse (I love when there is a semi-personal link to a book). He uses the latest scientific methods to solve cold cases. I wanted to start reading this series (translated into French), and they have the first book in the series in several different libraries. It must be fairly popular since all of the ones in my local libraries were checked out. But it was available at a "neighborhood" library in the southern part of Toulouse. The library is right next to the metro station, so we headed down there and I was easily able to check out the book. Once done, I can just drop it at the library closest to home and it will "magically" get sent back to the original library.

Galette des Rois

January means it is time for Epiphany and the Galette des Rois, or 3 King Cake. Epiphany celebrates the visit of the 3 Kings (or Magi) to the Christ Child. Here, you can find these galettes in all of the bakeries in France for most of the month of January. Each comes with a paper crown to crown the "king" or "queen" for whomever finds the hidden figurine that is baked inside.

At our local bakery, they have 3 different types of galettes:

Puff pastry filled with frangipane, which comes from Northern France. This is the most popular type and according to a survey, 70% of the people chose the puff pastry with frangipane type. Frangipane is a sweet almond-flavored custard that is used in a variety of cakes and pastries in France. This is my favorite type as well.

Brioche with or without candied fruit, normally made with fleur d'oranger. This is the more "local" type for us, since it comes from Southern France. The brioche (which is a sweet bread) is normally made with fleur d'oranger (orange flower water) and formed in the shape of a crown (or a bagel) and topped with large-grain sugar. Some of them are then also topped with candied fruit and sometimes sliced almonds.

We always buy one from our local bakery on the first Sunday of January, when France celebrates the Epiphany. While the bakery is normally closed on Sundays, there are several that are important days where he is open, and Epiphany is one of them. The line normally stretches out the door of the little tiny shop and down the sidewalk, with people waiting to pick up their fresh Galette des Rois.