To have a Happy Easter, you have to break a few eggs

This being my 20^th post and following the events of this afternoon, I feel the time is now right to write about the Monoprix.

(Queue the epic choir)

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Yes, the Monoprix.

Since the beginning of my séjour here, this glowing red neon M has been where I pay homage to all things grocery. The one that I go to is just one street away, the height of convenience. True, the produce was a bit pricey and by February I was more inclined to seek it elsewhere in open markets, but for the most part, I had a great fondness for this place. It was much like a Target in the U.S. in some ways, with a section for clothes, home goods, and food-stuffs, though the grocery section is a bit more fleshed out. I have known for a long while now that Monoprix is one of the most expensive supermarket chains in the city, particularly where I live, but the distance was so convenient and I watched the prices carefully, so I thought I was doing alright.

Then came Lidl.

I had heard of this place a few times amongst friends, that the food-stuffs were less expensive. At last today I decided to suck it up about riding the metro for groceries and checked out the one closest to me (and it wasn’t very close).

I found a miracle. Lidl most resembles the food section of an Ocean State Job Lot, and I was LOVING IT.

Nearly everything I bought today I got for half of what I pay at the Monoprix (in most cases that cuts the price by around ,50 centimes, but still, half off!), but, get this, the SAME BRAND of spaghetti sauce that I get at Monoprix for 2,25€ a jar was ,85€ at Lidl.

Happy Dance Loading: |-----------     |

I also picked up what looked like an insane deal on a ten pack of beer. It wasn’t until after I made it all the way home that I saw the alcohol content: <1%

FAIL.

It basically tastes like ginger ale. Oh well, there were other cheap actual beers there as well, I can always go back at some point.

It is actually a good thing in a way that I hadn’t discovered Lidl before now, for a few reasons:

1)   I knew all along that Monoprix was pricey, but I planned accordingly and learned to look out for the most inexpensive ways to eat.

2)   Lidl is not a complete supermarket like Monoprix, and houses a large amount of chocolate, cookies, and very cheap wine. This would have been temping beyond measure had I known. (However, I will of course be returning in a few weeks after classes are over. Mwa. Mwahaha. MWAHAHAHA!!!)

Unfortunately upon my return I also discovered that two of the ten eggs I had bought had broken and dripped all over the bag, which gratefully only also had the not-beer in it. Oh well.

Joyeuse Pâques tout le monde!