Sunday, July 27, 2014

Pétanque you very much


First, a disclaimer:  my wife, Debbie, thought of the title for this blog.  I stole it.

Every July, the French community in Tbilisi invites the entire city to join them in celebrating Bastille Day.  It’s held in Vakhtang Square in Old Town, sponsored by my favorite French brasserie, Tartine.  I frequent the Tartine often, enjoying a glass (or twelve) of pastis, a large charcuterie, and a baked-on-the-premises baguette.  For those of you unfamiliar with the joys of pastis, think Ouzo or some other anisette-flavored aperitif.  It is, unfortunately, a temptation I rarely overcome. 

The French community in Tbilisi is larger than you’d think.  There is, of course, the staff at the French Embassy and Consulate.  There’s also the senior management of Carrefour, one of the largest grocery/department stores in the Caucasus, along with the faculty of L’École Française, and many NGOs based in Tbilisi.  (The NGOs work in the displaced personnel camps, where refugees from South Ossetia and Abkhazia were settled after the 2008 war.)  It’s a surprisingly large number. 

Besides having the opportunity to practice my French (that sound you just heard was my wife, mother-in-law, and former French teachers cringing out loud), I sign up for the pétanque (pronounced pay-TONK) tournament. 

 

Pétanque is a game similar to bocci, where competitors try to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet (literally "piglet").  You have to stay within a throwing circle and keep both feet on the ground during the throw.  It’s normally played on hard dirt or gravel, but here Vakhtang Square is covered with sand for the tournament.  The tournament takes all day and Tartine provides free pastis, bread, and water throughout the day.  (Frankly, the free pastis and bread is why I sign up to play.)

 


 
I showed up at 9am, dressed in my best pétanque clothes (blue jeans, a red polo shirt, and white sneakers – as close as I could get to the red, white, and blue of the French tricolor), with pastis glass in hand.  (Normally, I don’t normally start daydrinking at 9am.  This, however, was a special occasion, so I started an hour and a half earlier than I normally would.)  Dave, my playing partner, co-worker, and running/drinking buddy, showed up a little late – 3-1/2 hours late, to be precise.  So I was forced to draft some local Georgian girls to play alongside me.  Fortunately, they knew absolutely nothing about the game, so they had no bad habits to unlearn.

After a welcoming speech by the French Ambassador to Georgia and the playing of the French national anthem, the tournament began.  The game is pretty simple to play, the most difficult part being tossing the balls without spilling your pastis.  The balls are heavier than they look, approximately two pounds each, and they make a wonderful “tonk, tonk” sound when banged together, perhaps the origin of the game’s name.  Simple to play, yes, but not so simple to play well.  I’m blaming it on my partners’ inexperience (and my overindulgence in pastis), but we lost in the first round, 13-4. 

Undeterred by our ignominious exit from the tournament, I volunteered to take over the pastis table so the former occupant could play his round.  Of course, when he was done playing, I refused to give his position back to him (a purely noble gesture, I’m sure you understand).  From my new duty post, I had a perfect view of the final rounds of the tournament and I was right next to the Tartine’s “house band” – two middle aged Frenchmen playing an accordion and a large bass violin playing traditional French favorites. 

As the sun began to set over the Mtkavi River, the tournament winners – the team from Carrefour – were crowned and we all adjourned to the tables inside for more pastis, charcuterie, and bread.  I had a great day, and I’m already practicing for next year’s tournament.

 

Thanks for reading.

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