Mushrooms Picking in the Auvergne!

Gyromitres drying

My neighbor Jeannot knows all the secret spots to find mushrooms.  He brought me a big box of girolles, or sometimes called chanterelles, that he picked.  He taught me how to cook them in butter, garlic, parsley and cream.  They accompanied very well the veal chops I cooked to go with them.

Pictured here with Jeannot are two pans of  mushrooms called gyromitres.  They are poisonous until dried properly and then cooked.  They loose their toxicity when processed in this manner.  I hear they are delicious but I have to admit I did not try them!

Chanterelle mushrooms from the woods

Lyon-An important city for 2,000 years!

Lyon is France's most historic and culturally important city after Paris and has been our city of choice for the year as it is only 75 minutes from Grazac.  The Romans made Lyon the capital of Gaul in 43 BC.  The name Lyon derives from Roman Lugdunum, or "Hill of the Crow".  There are two ruined Roman Theaters (one being the oldest Roman theater in France built in 15 BC) and a Musée de la Civilization Gallo-Romaine.  Lyon grew rich from its trade fairs and banking during the during the Renaissance and was the Europe's most important silk manufacturing center from the 16th to the 19th centuries.  The old center displays many beautiful Renaissance mansions and covered passageways called traboules.  The secret pathways provided shelter when the silk was being moved from one place to the next and now reveal beautiful courtyards, loggias, and spiral staircases as one proceeds through the tunnels.

Lyon is known for its "cuisine scene"!   Paul Bocuse is a famous chef who has four brasseries in Lyon featuring an international cuisine from four corners of the world.  Roger and I enjoyed lunch at the Mediterranean restaurant Brasserie Le  Sud.

Traboule in Vieux Lyon

A Fulfilled Promise to Return to Provence to See the Lavender!

Abbey Notre- Dame de Sénanque

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Simiane la Rotonde

My French friend and colleague, Nicole, and I went to Provence for the week-end specifically to see the lavender!  What a fantastic time we had!  It is impossible to express in writing the heavenly fragrance and  beauty of the lavender fields in the Luberon Valley.  We first visited the Musée de la Lavande where we learned about the process of lavender production including wonderful exhibits of the history of the distillation process.  We followed that with a trip to the Abbey Notre Dame de Sénanque for incredible views of lavender.  We decided that we needed to see more and learned at the museum that the fields are found above 800 meters in elevation.  Off we went in search of lavender.  We drove up to a hillside village called St. Simiane la Rotonde to see the large magnificent fields all around!

We stayed at a fabulous chambre d'hôte (French B&B) located just outside of Gordes called La Bastide des Gros.  What a beautiful and tranquil setting!  On Sunday morning we had our breakfast on the terrace with a striking view of Le Petit Luberon.

La Bastide des Gros

 

 

 

 

Breakfast on the terrace

 

 

 

 

Nicole in front of the entry of La Bastide des Gros

On Sunday afternoon we had a great picnic near Roussillon and included some delicious regional products such  as a goat cheese wrapped in chestnut leaves called le Banon and, of course, lavender honey for our bread.  We rounded out our lunch with some fruit, saussison, and a wonderful southern Côte du Rhône.  Great week-end!

Week-end visit to the Dordogne River Valley!

When planning this trip we decided not to take the auto-route but instead drive straight west on small country roads over the Monts du Cantal.  The largest of the extinct volcanos are found in this area and are the most magnificent in the Auvergne.  We came upon a charming town called Vic-sur-Cère; a former spa town with picturesque houses organized around the Eglise St.Pierre.  We stopped to buy some famous Cantal cheese and noticed a week-end gathering of participants from various communities celebrating local traditions.  We continued on to the Dordogne and Périgord; a region of small medieval villages, rolling hills and prehistoric sites.  This is a gourmet's paradise...famous products include goose and duck liver paté (fois gras), confit de canard, Cabécou goat cheese, truffles, walnuts, dried sausage, and a sweet liquor called Bergerac.  Sarlat, our home base for the week-end, is a beautiful medieval town renowned for its golden-stone buildings. All around the area are caves and caverns and, above all, pre-historic art from 17,000 years ago.    Our first and most important stop was to see Lascaux II.  The caves (Lascaux) were discovered in 1940 when a boy's dog fell down a hole.  When the children entered to get the dog out they discovered cave engravings and paintings.  After the caves were opened to the public it took only 15 years for the paintings to become damaged by white and green mold.  The caves were closed to the public and a facsilimi was built 300 yards away using techniques that were used 17,000 years ago.  It was fantastic to see Lascaux II and to imagine real art produced when mammoths and saber-toothed cats still roamed the earth. 

Lascaux II  (poster)

Roger and I were interested in finding a goose/duck farm to watch what is called "la gavage". This is the force feeding of ducks and geese resulting in quickly fattening their livers in order to make the regional specialty, fois gras.  It was very interesting to visit Elevage du Bouyssou, a short drive from Sarlat, where we had a tour of the farm and watched the "gavage".  We learned that every part of the duck is used (except heads and feet) and even the feathers are sold for pillows.  Also, the animals are in no pain as they are able to take in large amounts of food and have no gag reflex.  They have massive gullets and expandable livers used to store fat for long migrations.   The birds live in a  free-range environment until the last 3-4 weeks of their lives.

Elevage du Bouyssou

Tour with Natalie at her farm

Natalie's husband, Denis..."la gavage"

Tasting afterwards of Fois Gras and Bergerac

Martine and Michèl come to visit Grazac!

We had a nice visit from our French family friends Martine and Michèl.  As they only live 1 1/2 hours from Grazac they came on Wednesday to join us for lunch and an excursion to Le Puy-en-Velay.  We visited the old city center and the Cathédrale Notre Dame.  The rock behind the church is surmounted by a statue of Notre-Dame-de-France erected in 1860.  213 canons, among the trophies from the capture of Sebastopol, were given to contractors by Napoleon III and were melted down to cast the  base and figure of the Virgin.

La Côte d'Azur: Antibes, Villefranche-sur-Mer and Cap Ferrat!

La Côte d'Azur

Port d'Antibes

Café in Antibes

The 4 day "Ascension" school holiday was spent on the French Rivera with the town of Antibes being our headquarters for the duration.  Founded as a Greek trading port in the 4th century BC,  Antibes is now a resort town and fishing port.  There is a colorful market most mornings on the Avenue de l'Admiral-Grasse whick runs along the seafront.  The nearby Château Grimaldi was built in the 12th century by the ruling family of Monaco and extensively rebuilt in the 16th century. We visited the Picasso Museum located in the chateau: a collection of Picasso's work representative of the short period of time spent in Antibes during his long painting career.

Cap d'Antibes

Château Grimaldi et Musée Picasso

 The second day we drove to the perfectly preserved medieval hilltown of Saint-Paul-de-Vence.  After walking the cobbled, winding streets we found a great place for lunch with a view over the countryside.

Restaurant in St. Paul-de-Vence

                                                                      

View of countryside from St. Paul-de-Vence

Boule court in St. Paul-de-Vence

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

The third day we drove from Antibes along the Mediterrranean to the towns of Villefranche-sur-Mer and Cap Ferrat.  I was so happy to visit the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild.   It is a magnificent site that I have wanted to see for many years.  Baroness Béatrice Ephrussi inherited a fabulous fortune from her father, Alphonse de Rothschild.  In 1912 her beautiful villa was completed where she assembled a huge collection of furniture, paintings and porcelain from 18th century France, her passion.  The 9 thematic gardens are also particularly beautiful and overlook the sea.

View from the Jardin Ephrussi

   

Porcelain Collection