In training for Christmas lunch…..

carousel at Bordeaux christmas market

A few of us decided to get together for lunch before Christmas ….always a good excuse. We chose one of our local restaurants who do a very generous set price menu, Le Huit ( No. 8). A soup starter, then three choices of entrée, the same for  the main, then cheeses, then a special dessert  prepared by  the chef…….a Bombe  Alaska for 13 people complete with flaming brandy ! Needless to say, a good time was had….

a happy gathering , as usual

and not just because of this..

don't get too close - flaming brandy !

Well, winter solstice is here and the days will start to lengthen from now on, so we are told. The coldest weather is still to come, maybe even snow this year ?  The Christmas markets are with us for a few more days and the street decorations will remain until the end of January, just to add some cheer to the dark days of winter.

typical christmas markets 

could only be le Champs Elysées

christmas in Paris

Bordeaux christmas

We’ve opted for a traditional french Christmas lunch, though the french have their main meal with family on Christmas eve. We’ll start with oysters for Graham, then smoked salmon, foie gras, then turkey with roast vegetables and cranberry sauce, then of course some cheese, and finishing with an english christmas pudding ( a gift from  english friends ), but the french usually have a buche de noël. Naturally , it will all be washed down with champagne.

buche de noël

 We’ve been here for two and a half years now, and still loving it. Looking forward to seeing more of you visit us next year so we can share this wonderful place with you.

we'll be here at the bar on the corner later for a christmas eve drink

christmas tree under the dome at Galeries Lafayette in Paris

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année 

à tous nos amis

It’s that time of year again…

I've made  our christmas cake and decorated the tree.

these strange decorated tree branches have popped up all along the street

decorated pine cones make a  tree for the carpark

The commune workers have strung the christmas lights and put out their home made christmas trees in  the street gardens in Port Ste Foy. Obviously the mairie has a very limited budget for such things so a little imagination has transformed what they have freely available - that is, pine cones and tree branches,  In Ste Foy they’ve put out small white christmas trees along the main street and decorated everything that doesn’t move with gold ribbon and bows.

everything sparkles 

do these represent angels ?

There’s to be a marché de noël ( christmas market) starting next week and a marché gourmand (foodie market) on christmas eve and new year’s eve ,and you can have your photo taken with santa on 23^rd outside the mairie in Ste Foy.

the giant snowman in the supermarket carpark

the main square in Ste Foy

gold, gold and more gold

even the florist has made an effort

We haven’t heard the bell ringing from our local church for some time. Apparently there has been water damage to the belfry over many years and the mairie has finally found the funds for the repairs. We should be hearing ‘Jacqueline’ , as the bell is called, ringing out for Christmas this year. 

view from the belfry

the church tucked in behind the musée de fleuve
et vin (river and wine  museum)

Having a quiet vin chaud (hot mulled wine) with friends at the saturday market when we were treated to a performance by the local male choir. Very christmassy.

  

Joyeux Noël à tous nos amis

An autumn afternoon out with ‘the girls’.

The cooler weather is turning the leaves gold and red before they scatter over roads and fields. It won’t be long and the forests will be bare and we’ll re-discover those big houses that hide behind their gardens the rest of the year. Soon the days will grow dark early and we’ll spend more time at home.

a busy atelier

A friend of a friend is a potter, so we decided to visit her at her workshop out in the countryside.

Joanna’s poterie is at St Geraud de Corps, a small hamlet north of Ste Foy la Grande. She makes and decorates beautiful pottery and has a delicate touch with colour. She runs classes and  during school holidays, holds workshops for children. At this time of year Joanna is busy creating stock for the Christmas markets that are held in lots of local villages.

as Graham won't allow us to keep chickens, this may be as close as I get

the christmas robin

We had a lovely afternoon discussing life in France over coffee, and choosing our favourite pieces. I ordered a large platter with a red robin design to use over Christmas. I chose this , not only because the design is so charming, but also because a robin has recently decided to make a home in our garden, so it seemed appropriate.  In Australia, we only see robins on christmas cards !

our garden visitor - not something we see in Australia

Every Saturday morning we take a walk around the market in Ste Foy. This has been voted the favourite market in France ( by popular vote) and is always busy. You can buy food, wine, oysters, shoes, clothing, baskets, beds, have your chairs re-seated, your knives sharpened, just about anything you can think of. We always finish by meeting up with friends for a coffee and catching up with the latest news. Most of the time it’s coffee, but when the weather is really hot we choose sangria, and now when the weather is a little chillier the bar is offering vin chaud ( warm spiced red wine). Why not at 11.00 am !

the fruit makes this a health food , n'est-ce pas ?

It’s a glorious sunny weekend and we have friends coming for lunch tomorrow so there is food to prepare. Children have already started knocking at the door for their halloween treats. But first the Rugby World Cup final this afternoon. The world stops for this in our house, how about yours ?

Bon weekend mes amis et 

Allez les Wallabies !!

I think it’s autumn …

Ok, I know. Nothing for over eight weeks then two posts in one week. All our visitors have gone for the year, the temperature is dropping and we’ve just turned the central heating on – it must be autumn.

It was 6 degrees at 10.00 this morning when I walked into the town, but the sun was shining. It’s midday before the grass dries sufficiently to go into the garden to throw the ball for Lily, her favourite pastime. Otherwise it’s all muddy paws and wet tummy and she really doesn’t like the cold and wet. Must buy her a nice warm coat – something chic ?

The summer evening markets are finished and the vide greniers and brocante fairs are happening less often, so now it’s Poule au Pot evenings ( chicken in a pot) and quine (bingo).

and the entertainment is provided by the world 

junior accordian player !

Sunday night bingo !
Of course the prizes include wine.

There are less stalls at the Saturday morning market and a lot less tourists. Everyone is preparing for the winter hibernation. The supermarkets are holding Foire au Vin ( wine sales) to make room for the next vintage and pumpkins and mushrooms are popping up everywhere.

Foire au Vin at the supermarket

Graham is thinking about what he needs to re-stock the cellar and I’ve pulled out the Le Creuset pot ready for all those slow cooked dishes and soups. I’ve found some new recipes to try out – wild mushroom tart, quiche with spinach and pine nuts, chicken fricassée, parisienne gnocchi with pumpkin and sage butter, and maybe one of our favourites, an apple tarte tatin or two.

squirrels in conversation in a shop window

the pigeons have become such a problem that the council
is planning a cull - could be noisy but the local hunters will enjoy themselves

The leaves are changing colour and dropping and the commune workers have removed the hanging flower baskets from the streets, though we’ve re-planted our window boxes with pansies since they are the only plants at the market now.

don't the changing leaves look lovely

The local animal charity is holding their biannual book sale this month so we’ll be stocking up for those cold dark days. And we’re off to London next month for a few days of culture and shopping (in English – wahoo!). Hoping that the christmas decorations are in the streets as I’d love to see what a London christmas looks like.

 

Lunch anyone ?

Bon weekend mes amis

Fête des Vendages ( Harvest Festival) at Ponchapt

Ponchapt village

During the past two weeks the countryside has been abuzz as it’s been that time of year again – vendage. Some vineyards use the big machines to pick while others still prefer to pick by hand. There was often a cluster of cars parked by the roadside and a small band of men and women bent double over the vines, secateurs in hand, filling containers with enormous bunches of ripe grapes. It’s dirty sticky work and I feel for their backs.  It also meant that the roads were congested with a constant stream of those little tractors especially designed to fit between the rows of vines  trundling back and forth to the chais pulling their loaded trailers.

Ripe and ready

It's hard work

These machines are enormous - quite intimidating when you see one on the road in front of you

Now that part is over and the pressing done, so the winemaker takes over.  Mounds of grape residue is left by the roadside for collection and the aroma is amazing.

So many grapes give up their lives for our enjoyment !

Friday evening we took our australian visitors, Gary and Sally,  to the Fête de Vendages ( Harvest celebration) at our next village, Ponchapt. You may  remember our post about the sunday lunch we enjoyed here with the vigneron’s family in June.

Even some local artwork was on display

Waiting for the food didn't hinder the wine appreciation

This is a tiny village with a population of about a hundred people arranged around the small church. Tables were set up inside the village hall and in marquees. Luckily we had dressed appropriately as it was cold once the sun disappeared. A range of food was on offer from small stalls including steak, duck, ham, eel, andouillette  (a particularly disgusting smelling sausage) and the usual potato accompaniment ( either frites or roasted in duck fat). Vegetables being considered superfluous here . Then freshly made waffles and coffee to finish.

Our friends Roger and Brian - just helping with the cleaning up

There was, of course, plenty of wine to help the night along  and,at one point, even a lovely local gentleman playing requests on his accordion.

It was a great night to celebrate that the harvest had been collected successfully and an excuse to get together with friends and neighbours.

Bonne semaine à tous nos amis

bisous de Lily