Welcome to my French party

 

French Party

Many thanks Anita, for hosting another French party and it will be great to go and visit all your other guests on the list.

Bonjour  – welcome to my French Party!

Well an important component of celebrating is of course the food. We ate in a number of places in France and something no French person would ever do without is cheese.

We sampled these lovely strong cheddar style cheeses at the France Show in Earls Court in London – they were strong and nutty in flavour with a creamy texture and long lingering taste.  I was amazed at the size of the cheese wheels and the great variety of cheese on offer.

Of course the inevitable friend of a good cheese is wine and we sampled wines particularly in the Bordeaux where we developed a taste for the rich reds and their distinctive and earthy terrior – the relationship of the wine to the land upon which it was grown and which gives rise to the truly regional flavour of the wine – so distinctive that those who know such things can tell you where the growing region the wine came from.

The wine in this photo is from a little chateau in the Bordeaux called Chateau Pomys.

We called there one cold cold night in February to dine in the restaurant – which it turned out had been kindly opened by the owners to allow us to dine. We were the only patrons of the restaurant that night and had the place all to ourselves – which was fun and a little strange.  The owners were so nice to us and we had a lovely evening with wonderful French food complimented with this lovely wine.

There is so much to see and do and to eat in France – this is a little traditional meal from a café in St Emillion – an amazing 15^th Century town set on a hillside and riddled with historic buildings.  They say that the French macaroon (‘macron’) was invented there and a little shop still proudly states that on its wall.  We bought some but they all got mushed in the back of the car on the way back to where we were staying.  We had lunch in a little – but locally highly regarded café there and enjoyed the local meats and cheeses and a glass or two of wine.

France is about good food, good wine and friends.  We had a Sunday lunch with Kiwi friends in Paris.  Sunday lunch is a big deal in Paris and the whole town shuts down so families can be together.  These friends are not only our friends, but from our little Island of Waiheke.   

Buster ~ le petit chien

We enjoyed an amazing lunch with them and their cute little dog Buster and took a plate of Macrons from Montmartre as our contribution.  A great lunch and party with friends – glad you could come to mine and hope you enjoy these thoughts and some of the things that made my French holiday memorable.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend
hugs
Carolyn