Only one activity to report during the lead up to the big weekend. We saw the new Star Wars at a cinema on the outskirts of Angouleme. It’s been open since last year, but this was the first time we’d been and it’s lovely, with reclining chairs. It also means not having to drive the extra 20 min into the city centre and deal with parking. Oh, and we both enjoyed the movie immensely, so that was a bonus.
We both wrapped up the last bits of work later in the week, although Will has had very little on this month. As usual, he’s waiting for clients to come back to him. We’ve got a new potential client – an English couple that runs a brewery in St Saud. They have a site but it needs a refresh so we’re meeting them in early Jan to discuss. We both had our best ever year financially, both beating our previous bests by 50% or more. So it’s fair to say it’s a been a successful year, work-wise anyway.
I went shopping on Thursday to get last minute gifts and supplies. I also had my last swim of the year since the pool is closed exceptionally for repairs over the break. This is a shame since school holidays are the best time to go there. I’ll try to get in some walking instead, but it’s been fairly rainy of late. I can’t complain since temps have been in the high single digits all week.
The festive weekend kicked off on Saturday when we had lunch chez Beaufils. They are on their own since their son and family are spending the day with her parents who live near Bordeaux. They hoped to have us over on xmas day itself, but we went on Sat instead since we already had plans. It was a typical Beaufils meal, with plenty of alcohol to accompany it.
We started with nibbles and roasted cepes, some with small bits of seafood, served with rum punch. We lingered over a few glasses of punch, then moved on to the starter of Perigourdine salad containing shredded duck, walnuts and cepes. I had white wine and Will and Lucien started on a special Bergerac red. The main was a civet of biche (deer) plus chicken breasts in a coconut curry sauce served with potatoes. A different red was required for this dish, so we all had a glass or two. Dessert was a pineapple upside-down cake, soaked in rum and to finish, chartreuse and a mandarin liquor for the digestif. We eventually rolled out of there around five, unsurprisingly, quite drunk. Lucien kept pace with us most of the time and he was feeling it too. It was nice spending time with them, and a pleasant conversation flowed throughout the meal. We got home and watched telly and movies, eventually having a nightcap before calling it an early night.
We were both fairly hungover the next day, but more upset stomach than headache. We rested up for that evening’s gala, and only had one chore: making stuffing for the meal that night. This was our first traditional French xmas eve celebration, which is when they celebrate the holiday, often opening presents at midnight. The venue was at Benoit’s mom’s, next door to Benoit and Virginie’s. We were the only non-family, although some of them were Virginie’s mom’s partner’s family, so it wasn’t just close relatives. Benoit’s brother Benjamin and family were there, plus his mom, his sister and her son for a total of sixteen. We were asked to bring a cocktail and eventually decided on apple margaritas with cranberry, for a festive red/green themed drink.
We started with the cocktails and champagne which was served with toasts topped with various goodies including fois gras, caviar and smoked salmon. Then we exchanged gifts, which was mostly among the family. There was also a grab bag where everyone brought a gift and then we drew numbers to determine which gift you got. Will got a CD of a French rapper that everyone raved about and I got a bottle of ginger-infused rum. B & V also got a us a book about Queen that they inscribed. When we sat down to dinner it must have been well after eleven. The champagne continued throughout the meal, and we made a dent in the jeroboam (5 litre bottle) of 2009 Bordeaux that Benoit got for the occasion.
The meal started with oysters, shrimp and poached hake, served with a garlic mayo. There was more fois gras for the non-seafood eaters and also, oeuf cocotte a la truffe. It was then time for the main, which was a turkey and a capon, both stuffed with a bread, sausage and mushroom mixture, served with sauerkraut and roasted chestnuts. There really wasn’t room for the stuffing I made, but I left it with them to have with their leftovers. After the meal, a cheese platter came out and there was at least one cheese per person. We were both exceptionally full when dessert finally arrived, but managed a little bit anyway. Instead of the traditional buche (xmas log), Benoit ordered his favourite – choux which are like mini eclairs with vanilla, chocolate or coffee filling. We then had a small shot of dark rum as a digestif to finish us off. It was 3:30 when we left, although we hadn’t finished eating too long before that. We made it home despite the thick fog and went right to bed.
We were up around 11 the next morning and started preparing for our next feast. This was at Marie and Christian’s place in St Pardoux. We arrived around one and met the other guests, including their daughter, son and his wife and two kids, plus Marie’s sister and her daughter. It was fairly similar to the previous night’s meal, but not nearly as excessive. We started with champagne served with fois gras and smoked salmon toasts, plus a small “pain surprise”. The starter was large slabs of fois gras and slices of smoked salmon, each served on its own special bread that they got at a nearby bakery. Apparently, people prefer it to the one in Milhac, which we find hard to believe, but have yet to try. The meal was a capon, stuffed and surrounded with apples and slow cooked, served with mashed potatoes. The apples brown up nicely and the meat carries a hint of sweetness. We had a couple of different reds to accompany the meal including a lovely St Emilion. Then there was cheese and for dessert, two different ice-cream buches, one fruit sorbet and the other, chocolate.
After the meal, we moved back to the lounge and started on the whiskey. We often have a digestif around their place; whiskey for me and eau de vie for Will. Even though they told us not to bring gifts, we couldn’t help ourselves, and showed up with two replacement bottles. As usual, the guitar came out and I sang a couple of songs with Christian on the guitar and his grandson on the sax. He goes to a special school which is a part time conservatory, so he had no problems playing the songs that Christian wrote out for him. It was nice to meet their two kids who are both interesting and friendly. We left just after dark, got home around 6 and restarted the fire. The evening was spent in front of the tele.
In past years, we’ve celebrated on our own, so we really appreciated being invited by both families to join their celebrations. It also makes me realise that we’ve made some really good friends in our seven years here. Tonight, the festivities continue around Sophie and Dom’s for our annual Boxing Day celebration. I’ve got some hors d’oeuvres to make, so I best get started.