Fève Friday

 

It's fèves and petits-pois season til the end of July.

 

Above: market supplies dwindle by mid-morning 

 

Below: shelling peas for fresh pea soup

 

 

 

Flashback Friday

 

In the Burgundy countryside.

 

 L'Abbaye de la Bussière 

hotel / restaurant

 

formerly a Cistercian abbey from the 12th century

 

 Relais & Châteaux

 

 

 

Water lily Wednesday

Crossing bridges in the Loire Valley known for its wine, castles, scenic villages and countryside.

 

Turkey Tuesday

 

A turkey run on a farm that welcomes school groups and visitors.

 

(click to enlarge)

 

***

 

In France, bigger is not necessarily better and as turkeys are usually smaller than those in the US, cooking time is shorter. And because they are free range the quality and taste of the meat will be superbe. When cooking a turkey my French mother-in-law would lay a rasher of lard (bacon - fumé or not fumé) from the butcher atop the whole bird before bunging it in the oven and the fat basted the skin. Stuffed with chestnuts or a breadless herbed pork farce and served with grilled seasonal vegetables and autumn fruits - figs, apples, airelles (easy to find and often mistaken for cranberries) - a feast was inevitable.

 

A very Happy Thanksgiving to one/all and until next week... - BPJ

 

 

Wine Wednesday

 A bouquet of fresh spring flowers sets off shelves of wine bottles.

 

 

Mocha Monday

Waking up in the French countryside to an espresso and a foamy café au lait.

 

Mocha Monday

 

An early crème at a village café the South of France. 

Flowery Friday

 Roses climb a wall in a village in the Quercy countryside.

A Paris escape

No need to head to Switzerland to escape a heatwave when La Belle France has more than enough mountains to go around.

Next week: where we (accidentally) dodged Paris' latest canicule

Country cool

Yesterday began a week of canicule, when temperatures soar and Parisians flee to cooler climes.

Above: apéro table from a celebration in the countryside

Day trip: At home with Monet #1

On the occasion of the publication of Un Jour avec Claude Monet à Giverny by Adrien Goetz (Flammarion), I was invited on a press trip to what was once Claude Monet's home in Giverny, complete with a private lunch arranged for us in the Impressionist painter's former atelier.

Above: photos don't do justice to the gardens at Giverny, a pleasant hour and a half drive from Paris