We continue to be busy, mostly with visitors. After our busy week, we had a few days of quiet before David arrived on Friday afternoon. We invited Lee and Richard to join us for dinner and since they had met David before, they volunteered to collect him from Angouleme on their way over. Dinner that night was caprese salad, with tomatoes and basil from the garden, followed by bbq’d salmon and chicken served on a bed of lentils with leeks, carrots and herb-butter. I went slightly overboard on the lentils so we ended up with enough for at least 12 people. The boys had a visitor arriving the next day so Richard was “des” and they left us around 11:30.
On Saturday, David kindly offered to take us out to lunch. The Hotel de France was closed for the day (bien sûr) so instead, we went to a place in Nontron that we’d been to once before. It’s a hotel right on the main square with a nice terrace out the back. It was only around 20C that day so we ate indoors: steak for me and chicken for the David and Will. A few years ago, I would have said the food was excellent but by the higher standards we have now days, I will say that it was good, but not spectacular. After lunch we stopped off at the Maison de Fleurance, our fois gras shop web customer to find chestnut flour for David. Will was a bit apprehensive about stopping in since the website isn’t doing that well. Turns out he needn’t have worried since we had a nice chat with Franck who was in good spirits as usual. Pascaline, his wife, recently got a job at the Brico Marche which is impressive considering the tough economy around here.
David and I went for a brief walk in the afternoon before calling for an early cocktail hour when we returned. We just had salad, bread and cheese that evening since we were still full from lunch. We played Scrabble and cards and then went to bed at a reasonable hour. The next day, we decided to do a bit of exploring. We had thought about going to Perigueux since David hadn’t been but then discovered that he’d not been to the southern Dordogne since 1977 so headed that way instead.
We got to Sarlat around 1pm and decided to have a bite at our usual cafe in the main square. We had planned a fairly big meal for that evening so only wanted sandwiches. There cafe is also a restaurant but they only serve lunch at certain tables so we ended up ordering our sandwiches off the bar menu. They had been made earlier in the day and refrigerated, consisting of store bought bread with a thin slice of meat/cheese and little garnish. It was quite a contrast to be eating such English fare in the heart of the food capitol of the Dordogne.
After a brief stroll, we headed to Domme, a bastide town situated at the top of a very large hill on the south side of the Dordogne river. It’s got great views of the surrounding area as well as quintessentially old buildings. It wasn’t terribly crowded considering it’s still very much tourist season so that was a relief. We thought about stopping at La Roc Gageac but they were having a brocante (flea market) that day so it was overrun. We carried on to Beynac, just a bit further along the river where we had a brief stroll but didn’t go all the way to the top. At that point, it was getting a bit late to see Perigueux so we just headed home, getting back around 5pm.
For dinner that night, we made confit de canard, Iain’s cauliflower cheese and roasted potatoes cooked in the duck fat. It had been awhile since we’d had this particular meal and it was all very tasty. We played a bit of poker that evening and went to bed on the early side since I had to work the next day. Will and David dropped me at work, then had a coffee in Nontron before heading to the train station around 11. It was really good to see David who is on very good form these days.
We had a quiet Tuesday, mostly getting ready for my Dad’s visit. He arrived into Paris yesterday morning and got the train to Angouleme where Will collected him. We had a light lunch when they got back here around 3pm and I worked in the afternoon while Dad had a quick nap. We had a stroll around the garden and collected some green peppers for dinner before watering it. We’ve had almost no rain in the past few weeks so everything is very dry. Watering helps but not enough for the plants to produce much which in some cases, is very welcome. We’re still drowning in tomatoes, green beans and peppers. The cucumber, squash and courgette are all “missing the water” as the French say so they’ve not done too well.
I made the first batch of gazpacho of the season but despite using a dozen tomatoes, didn’t really make a dent. I stuffed the peppers with the remaining lentils from the previous night and it came out alright. In other garden news, the figs are now ripening in a big way and I had my first one yesterday. We’ve also got grapes that are nearly ripe and for some reason, the raspberries are making a comeback of late. We also had some more deer-related issues. After giving the budliea a massive haircut, they decided to try our special plants again a few nights ago. They only attacked one of the three remaining plants but stripped off most of its branches so we’ve had to move them all into the enclosed veggie plot. Needless to say, we are not amused.
Not much else to report. Things on the work front are quiet for Will although he did a bit of computer maintenance for a new client recently. He also heard back from one of his nightmare clients in England who wants his site finished but isn’t able to explain how he wants it done. My 6 month contract finishes next week so I’m due to have a chat with my superiors to discuss whether I will go permanent and more importantly, at what salary. Watch this space for updates.