Friday, October 6, 2017

A Month in France



John and his convertible
We communicated with Veronica and Frank for months before our housesit. We worked through an issue with needing a car during our stay (Frank ended up buying a very cute Fiat convertible which they graciously let us use). Throughout our conversations via email, John and I felt very good about our impending stay in the rural countryside of France.




We were not wrong. Veronica and Frank were wonderful hosts. Our first night there, we shared wine in the garden and met their family and of course Henry and Etta, They then took us to a local restaurant, L'Auberge du Noyer, where we met many of their friends. Good food, good drink, good music, great company. We headed back to the house with their friend Stephen joining us. I mentioned to Veronica and Stephen how John and I are sparkling wine drinkers. The next day Stephen and his partner John dropped off a very nice bottle of sparkling wine.


The next morning Veronica and Frank headed out. There we were, staying in a beautiful 17th century French farmhouse with two adorable cats named Henry and Etta and a very cute convertible! The house is magnificent! Built around 1650, the house sat on the road used to travel from Paris to Spain. Travelers would stop there to rest before continuing on their journey. The garden is beautiful and the setting is something out of a storybook.


Test taste of roqueforts
For the next 4 weeks we would drive into the nearest town for groceries, visit some of the smaller towns around the area and just relax. It was a nice break from all the traveling we had been doing. We "nested". The kitchen was big and well stocked with anything we needed for cooking so we took advantage of that. We made a lot of meals. The local grocery store, E.Leclerc, was amazing! Foods we do not have in the states and honestly, the quality of food was better than what we are used to. In particular was the roquefort cheese, it was out of this world! One of the best foods I have ever tasted.  Every week, John and I would try different varieties.




Fresh peaches from a neighbor
We loved having a kitchen to cook in! One of the neighbors brought us fresh peaches from her yard. John made jam which was delicious! We also made bruschetta with peaches and goat cheese.

Stephen and John invited us to join them and their friends visiting from the UK at L'Auberge du Noyer. It was country western night and they would be having a bbq menu and live music. Couldn't pass up the opportunity to experience a little of home in the french countryside! We had a great time! The food was good and the duo played some great country hits. The place was packed!



One day, we had a visitor at the house. I was in the living room when John announced, "There's a chicken in the house". I said "There's a chicken in the house?". John says that's exactly what I said. There in the dining room was a chicken! She walked right in through the open door and was making herself at home. We opened up the door in the dining room and she walked right out.


Henry

Etta
Henry and Etta were great company. Etta warmed up to us right away and spent her nights (and most of her days) on our bed. Henry on the other hand was elusive at first. At the beginning of our stay we went almost 4 days without seeing him. We did figure out that he was coming home to eat and leaving afterwards. By the second week, he was hanging out with us daily and eventually even would nap with us while we watched TV. One night Etta did not show up for bedtime. She did come running in in the middle of night, checking the closet, bathroom and every corner of the room. She abruptly left and we did not see much of her the following day. That night she showed up in the bedroom with a present. Seems she had been stalking a mouse and finally caught the poor thing. John deposited Mickey outside and Etta returned to her routine of sleeping on our bed.

Unfortunately, we left for Paris and Amsterdam before Frank and Veronica arrived home. We're hoping we stay in touch and that one day we can host them in the mountains of North Carolina.

To see more of my photos from France, just CLICK HERE

Cheers!
Barb

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