A Francophile East Coast U.S. Road Trip (1): French Bakeries, American History

One reason that a road trip in Europe is such a wondrous experience is that over relatively short distances one encounter different regions, cultures, histories, accents/languages, and cuisines.

Over equal distances, those differences are naturally less remarkable in the U.S. due to a briefer, more uniform history, a common language, and the ease with which citizens move and immigrants arrive.

Furthermore, we tend to approach American regions from the air rather than from the ground, leading us to think of major cities as hubs rather than an old center of regional civilization.

North Carolina State Capitol, Raleigh. Photo GLK
North Carolina State Capitol, Raleigh. Photo GLK

In December I took the one-the-ground European-style approach to touring during a week-long road trip from New Jersey to Florida, with stops at Philadelphia, Richmond, Raleigh, Charleston, Savannah, and Orlando before arriving in south Florida.

I logged about 1400 miles. In terms of distance that’s like going from Amsterdam to Lisbon, with overnights in Brussels, Paris, Bordeaux, Biarritz, Salamanca, and Porto. Imagine! (In terms of the cost of gas and tolls, you wouldn’t even get through France.)

New Jersey to Florida may sound less exotic than Amsterdam to Lisbon, but a road trip is a road trip, especially when going it alone. And I had mission—in addition to seeing people along the way (an old friend, a younger brother) and visiting places I’d never been (Raleigh, Charleston, Savannah), I wanted to find French bakeries along the way and try their pastries.

Virginia State Capitol, Richmond. Photo GLK
Virginia State Capitol, Richmond. Photo GLK

This was my second road trip for the year. In April I’d taken a largely alternate route on a week-long drive north from Florida—Naples, Tampa, Atlanta, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Arlington, Baltimore—and also tracked down several bakeries along the way.

A stay in and around Philadelphia brought resulted in these Franco-Philadelphia culinary observation.

– GLK

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.