A nice, relaxing day...

A picture from our bedroom window; Alain & Robert in the fields near Auvers sur Oise; Alain, Graciela & me having drinks before dinner; misc. from Auvers!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Bonjour!

Talk about a wonderful day…Last night, we took Alain out to dinner as Graciela had a rehearsal for an upcoming concert. She sings in a group with 10 ladies! We ate here in Saint-Leu, and were able to walk to the restaurant. According to Alain, it is a fairly new place in town, and the food was excellent! (Although according to R, the food is good EVERYWHERE in France!) Both Alain and Robert had fish – Alain a filet, and once more, R got to dissect his dinner before he was able to eat it! I stuck with entrecote (beef steak) with a Roquefort sauce – excellent! As starters, we had plain mixed salads, and for dessert, Alain had crème brulee, R had a fresh fruit (mainly apple) crumble, and I had mousse au Chocolat – which was WONDERFUL! Were just able to waddle back to the house, as it was now approaching 10:30 p.m. but still not completely dark outside! We disappeared quickly upstairs for bed – we’ve got the whole top floor of the house to ourselves! Very spoiled! Lovely view from the window; lots of skylights and a nice cool breeze blowing in. The end to a wonderful day!

Up around 7 and showered and down for breakfast about 8. Had wonderful hot chocolate to drink (along with coffee for those who prefer it) and that fabulous French bread with homemade preserves and jams! Graciela made one out of fresh oranges with Madagascar vanilla – it was incredible! Then we took a drive to Bricorama, a local building supply store, as Alain and Graciela are looking for a special type of glass bricks for their house in the south of France near Albi. Funny sort of day, as it’s a one-day holiday in the middle of the week – just feels odd, as many stores open and then others closed! Wonder who decides! Had a good ramble around Bricorama – saw some wonderful sinks and showers – just like the one we had a small hotel near Beaune a couple of years ago! LOTS of nozzles coming out of the wall, but unfortunately no waterfalls! Will have to keep looking!! We did find a very interesting stencil that may work in the living/dining room at home. It’s the same pattern as the other one we bought – the ginko leaf – but this one is 9 feet (3 meters) long, and I think may be a bit easier to work with! We’ll see!

Returned to the house and dropped Graciela off, and the three of us headed to Auvers sur Oise, fairly close to St Leu. This was the last place where Vincent Van Gogh lived, where he shot himself and died, and where he’s buried. We’d been here some years ago with Art & Anne, but the weather was definitely better this time! Did a nice walk through town, though the church that Van Gogh painted several times, and found the cemetery. Lovely walk through beautiful fields. What is really nice is that when a certain building or field or scene is in one of Van Gogh’s paintings, they have a reproduction of painting and a few words about it; very fun!

As it was now approaching lunchtime, we headed back home – and voila, Graciela had been cooking in our absence! What a TERRIFIC meal! We started with plates of white asparagus with a mayonnaise dressing, with shredded celeriac. This was followed by the main course – duck stuffed with fois gras and walnuts, Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes – AMAZING! As if we weren’t stuffed by then, this was followed by fresh lettuce from the garden, a vinaigrette and a cheese plate with 4 cheeses! Not sure of all the cheeses, but one was definitely bleu, and terrific! And finally – yes, there was more! – a fresh strawberry tarte! Everything was wonderful, and truly a feast for all of the senses! Won’t even mention the red and white wines that we had as well! Yum!!!

By this time it was after 4 p.m. and I’m afraid that we wanted nothing more than to take nice long naps – which we did! Up now, around 6 (and hoping there is no more food to come, as I may burst!) and will be heading downstairs to be sociable! Do have to remind R to bring his camera so I can post some pictures of our wonderful French/Bolivian friends!!

More later!
Much love,
m