Friday – March 20, 2009
Up early today to get the train to Limoges. We used two suitcases for our clothes and stuff including the computer which one can’t go anywhere without. It is almost as hard going down the stairs with baggage as going up. But we made it.
Another beautiful day. The metro from Richard Lenoir station is the best even if a bit further to walk since it means you don’t have to change trains which in turn means fewer stairs.
Yesterday there was a grande manifestation, a large demonstration in opposition to some of the economic decisions of President Sarkozy. France is facing major unemployment problems and also some attempts to reduce the costs of the social programs. What else is new.
And today, the newspapers are on strike so there was no IHT and no major French newspapers. There were Greek and Russian papers but no French dailies.
So here we are on the train on our way to Limoges. The train is very long, 17 cars, and since our reserved seats are in car 16, it was a long walk down the platform. Second class on the train is by US standards quite posh. The ride was pleasant. South of Paris the land is flat with beautiful farm country as far as you can see and a very large wind turbine farm along the way. Further south of Paris, the landscape changes to rolling hills. And the further south you go, of course, the more the trees are in flower or starting to leaf out. Many of the trees are host to a parasite which looks like balls of mistletoe. Near Limoges, there are many cattle farms with the reddish Limousine cattle for which the region is famous. The French take good care of their land and preserve the lovely small villages which dot the countryside. Every mile presents innumerable photo ops.
We arrived in Limoges at about 1:30 and found Yvonne waiting for us in the station and we went directly to her apartment for lunch. First things first and food is a “first thing”. She served her own homemade duck pate with excellent bread, marinated salmon and boiled potatoes, a cheese course. All were delicious. And of course there was wine which is served with every meal except breakfast. This was followed by homemade cakes local to Bordeaux paired with the chestnut puree which we had brought. Do you sense the need for a nap at this point?
After getting rested we were off to see a small art exhibit by someone Yvonne knew. It is hard to describe the art, but there was a book for the exhibition which we have. Following that we walked through some of the old town with its tiny twisting streets which survive from medieval times. Then it was back to the apartment for another meal! This consisted of fennel-zucchini soup prepared with a touch of Ricard, more pate and salmon and to go with the salmon some excellent acquavit.
Saturday - March 21
Today is a sunny day but a good bit colder than yesterday. After breakfast we visited the Limoges outdoor markets - there are two of them, one quite small consisting mostly of vegetables and the other much larger with the full range of food and flowers. In addition to these outdoor markets which open only once a week, there is a large indoor market open daily with fixed stalls and the most luscious looking, smelling, and as we later learned, tasting food you can imagine. The major purchase was some buckwheat crepes to be made into hors d'ouvres to be taken to Yvonne's sister this evening where we have been invited for dinner.
Following the market visit we walked through more of the old parts of town which contain wonderful half-timbered houses along narrow cobblestone streets. One of the streets is called rue de Boucherie, or street of the butchers. The shops, which are no longer butcher shops, have open grills instead of windows front and back to provide circulation.
As you can imagine, by this time, it was time to eat. So we went to a small restaurant, Le Parenthese, located in a medieval courtyard completely surrounded by medieval buildings. I chose a casserole of mashed potatoes with duck confit along with a small salad - delicious. Wine, dessert and coffee rounded out the meal. The restaurant is charming with birdhouses and a recording of bird song to set the tone. There were even birds in a blue sky with clouds painted on the ceiling.
After more sightseeing, we stopped for a coffee at an outdoor terrace. Nearby the entire side of a building is painted in trompe-l'oeil to look like a 3-dimensional house parts of which fooled me completely at first. After that, since Limoges is a city famous for its porcelain and its enamel (cloisonné), we visited Gallerie d'Emaux which displayed modern examples of both crafts in the form of jewelry, dishes, lamps, etc.
at evening we visited Yvonne's sister Andree and her husband Marcel Redon for an an aperitif. They are a lively and welcoming couple. Andree is an artist who designed, painted and restored porcelain before she retired and her work is truly beautiful. Marcel is an excellent painter, primarily in oil but in watercolor too. He is also a musician who has played bass in a jazz band. Their daughter is another artist so the family is one of great talent.
The first thing we did was admire his paintings in the living and dining rooms and then visit his studio downstairs where he showed us his stash of paintings. He has had several exhibits of his work which is wonderful.
A friend of theirs, Danielle, arrived soon after and we had drinks and hors-d'oeuvre consisting of gougeres, boudin (a local sausage), galettes wrapped around various fillings and an excellent savory cake which Danielle had brought. Three of us, me included, were drinking rum punch made of rum, cane syrup and lime juice. After a couple of those, the party took off and we had a lot of fun just talking. Maybe it was the drinks, but I could understand a lot of what was said and could even do some of the talking.
A bit tipsy (me) but quite content, we went back to Yvonne's for a good night's sleep.
Sunday - March 22
Today we ( Yvonne, Andrre, Marcel, H and H) visited a nearby village, Panazol, which has a huge Sunday market. The stands go on and on and offer everything - meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, honey, crepes, cheese, flowers, clothing, household goods, even mattresses (free delivery provided) and chairs. It is a busy place and, as is typically French, many people bring their dogs. One of the attractions for me is watching the dogs socialize as they see or sniff other dogs. Funny!
Of course, you have to eat so the five of us returned to Yvonne's for lunch of lotte (a type of fish)prepared in coconut milk, rice and steamed chestnuts. The chestnuts can be bought frozen, without shells and are absolutely delicious. Have to see if they are available in the US. This had to followed by rest time.
Cramming many things into each day, we then went for a ride to another of Yvonne's sisters, Renee and her husband George who live in a country house with a large yard. Much less gregarious than the Redons or Yvonne, it produced a low key visit.
When we got back to Yvonne's it was - can you guess? - time to eat. This didn't occur until 21:00. First, it was necessary to arrange to rent a car for the drive from Limoges to Bergerac on Tuesday. This is no easy feat on the internet using French. The SNCF, the French railroad, provides access to car rental information. The forms to be filled out are "formidable". However they provided the best prices we found so I picked Europcar which could rent us a small Fiat for less then 100 Euros for three days. Great price since an attempt earlier to rent a car from Avis by going to an Avis office produced a price of over 300 Euros. The Avis office admitted, it is always cheaper to rent on the Internet. In any event, the rental completed, the Internet informed me that I must present the confirmation which would be sent by email in order to get the car. Now the troubles began. We could not get Yvonne's printer to print. It made all the appropriate sounds each time we clicked on the PRINT icon, but only a blank paper appeared in the out-tray. After much tinkering, we got it to print, but I don't know how. Now the problem was that it wanted to print the three page confirmation again and again for each time we had queued up the print command and I didn't know how to empty the queue. Oh well, we finally had the appropriate document to enable us to take possession of the car.
Monday - March 23
This morning was relaxing with normal chores. We had lunch at Andree and Marcel's. It was, as is so normal in France, delicious - potato-meat pie, salad with an excellent dressing followed as usual by a cheese course, apricot pie and coffee. All of the people we spent time with are slender. How do they do it?
Now it was time for a sad but necessary experience. The five of us went to the town of Oradour sur Glane. On June 10, 1944, this village of 600 plus people was destroyed and burned by the Nazis in retaliation for the resistance which was strong in this region. All of the men, in several groups, were herded together, their legs broken so they could not flee, and then burned to death. The women and children were gathered in the church and they too were burned alive. It is impossible to assimilate such horror - how one set of "human beings" could do such things to others. Yet today, amid the ruins, flowers bloom, trees grow, birds sing, the world goes on. Railroad tracks through the small village bring back thoughts of Auschwitz. All that is possible to ask is "why".
But a most pleasant event was to follow. We returned to Andree and Marcel's for a drink and they presented us one of Marcel's oil paintings as a gift. I was absolutely thrilled. It was so unexpected and so generous that I still cannot believe it. It will hang proudly at home.
Tuesday - March 24
Today is a transition day. At 10:00 we said goodbye to Yvonne and started off by car from Limoges to Bergerac. After arriving at the town of Brive, we left the autoroute and proceded on small roads toward Bergerac. As lunch time approached we began searching for a nice restaurant. In the village of St. Pierre de Chignac we found a small hotel with a prix fixe menu which appeared pleasant so in we went.
It was a small place with 3 people at the bar and the owner in attendance. They all gave us the once over since at this time of year it is probably most unusual to find tourists roaming about. When it became obvious that we were English-speaking, the owner asked if we were English in a not too welcoming tone - not bad, just cool. When we said we were Americans his face lit up in a big smile and the whole mood changed. He insisted on changing the pitcher of wine which he had set on the table for a "much better wine of Bergerac".
The three people at the bar, two men and a woman, were locals. The woman was from Holland and spoke English quite well. After a bit, they too sat down for lunch at a nearby table. Little by little we began to exchange comments and then to chat a bit. By the end of the meal we had become quite friendly. At this point the proprietor offered me another glass of the good wine which I accepted. And then one of the gentlemen at the other table decided that our meeting had to be celebrated by a bottle of champagne. So the three of them, Harley and myself and the proprietor and his wife who was also the cook, joined in champagne toasts. It was such a surprise to find a level of friendliness and acceptance toward strangers as I would never have imagined. It made the day.
We got a bit lost as we continued toward Bergerac. Could it have been the wine and champagne? So we got to the railroad station where we were to meet Thierry and Pierrette at a few minutes after 4:00 and there they were. A great reunion. We had last seen them in Paris in May 2008. Following their car we proceded to Thierry's mother's house where we met his mother, Muky, for the first time. Emilie, Thierry's niece, was there also. She was visiting from her home near Paris. As noted on an earlier entry, she and her immediate family had spent a Saturday afternoon with us in Paris.
It was a friendly and welcoming group that greeted us. Emilie's presence, since she speaks English well, was a big help. Being France the first thing to do was to have an aperitif. Thierry has a good memory and had ready a bottle of Pernod for me. After drinks, hors d'oeuvres and conversation, it was time for another late dinner. Pierrette, who is an excellent cook, made a leek pie. This was followed by very rare roast beef which was delicious, a salad and, of course, cheese. I was so tired by then that I can't remember if we had dessert. After all, midnight is not my normal bedtime.
Wednesday - March 25
Ate the leftover leek pie for breakfast. This must have been shocking to Muky because French people eat small breakfasts compared to Americans. And instant coffee? Oh well, even France isn't perfect.
In the yard behind Muky's house, there are a number of chickens, a rooster and two goats. It makes a nice picture. And the view from the back of the house is lovely. Hope the pictures come out.
The day was quite chilly. We went to the weekly outdoor market but the cold and wind made it hard to stay long. We did buy some endive and, on the way back to the house, we picked up some of the best baguettes aux noix (walnut baguettes) that we've ever had. It makes me want to learn to make baguettes. It will take some experimenting with different flours and I'm not sure our regular ovens without steam vents to produce the environment for a good crust will produce anything like the ones in the really good bakeries here. But it is worth a try.
Another recipe is required here. For lunch, Muky cooked the endive in the micro with a bit of olive oil and salt in a covered dish with air holes in the cover. So simple and they were delicious. This one is a must to try at home. Also learned a new wine combination. White wine with cassis is a Kir. Red wine with cassis is a Cardinal.
Muky's son Richard, Thierry's twin brother, arrived by train from his home near Paris. He got in just after 15:00. It was the first time we had met.
After he arrived, Harley played the piano which Muky and Richard seemed to enjoy very much. Muky is also a good pianist with a large collection of piano music. They enjoyed especially Chopin's music.
Then we were off to Thierry and Pierrette's. Thierry is converting a large barn into a spacious house and it is going to be beautiful. He showed us his progress so far. The barn has a very high ceiling with huge wood beams. The living room looks like it will be large with lots of windows. Since he works full time it is proceding slowly and we look forward to seeing how it goes on our next visit.
For dinner we had an aperitif and hors d'oeuvres as usual. Thierry, like Andree, makes a good rum punch - same basic recipe. A couple of those with brandade de morue on slices of baguettes started the evening. (Others chose different drinks.) Dinner included a beef bourgignon and a salad, followed by a great cheese selection and again, since it was getting very late, I forgot what we had for dessert. I think both Harley and I fell asleep on the quite long ride back to Muky's.
Thursday - March 26
What a long but lovely day. We slept later than usual because of our late bedtime, had a quick breakfast and then prepared to meet Thierry and Emilie for a visit to some interesting villages with medieval quarters. There were four of us – Harley and me, Mukey and Richard. We left the house at about 10:15 and finally got to our first stop, Cadouin about 11:45. Thierry and Emilie had already arrived so we began our visit. Cadouin has a very old Cistercien Abbey which was our first stop. It has an absolutely beautiful cloister which is the covered walkway which encloses a lovely garden. The cloister is supported by many columns each of which is decorated differently. Many of the stone carvings have worn away over the years but some are still in excellent condition. There is a museum like section describing a shroud which was originally believed to have covered Christ’s head. But in the 20th century expert evaluation found that the shroud contained Arabic writing (embroidered on the cloth) which mentioned Mohammed so that along with other analyses resulted in redating the fabric to the 11th century. The abbey church is relatively ornate by Cistercian standards but still quite simple. The village of Cadouin is very small so in a short while we had seen most ot the old streets and interesting buildings – most of the very old structures are built of stone. Wood ones would probably have burned down. The stone is a pleasant golden color which is also the color of the local sand. Over time though, oxidation has caused some of the stone to take on a rosy hue – quite lovely.
By this time, we were all getting hungry so we started out in our two cars to search for a nice restaurant. We drove a short distance and, as we entered Siorac en Perigord we saw a sign that advertised a culinary museum, a good indication that it might also have a nice restaurant and we were not disappointed. On one of the tiny streets we saw a small hotel, L'Auberge du Trefle a Quatre Feuilles. Thierry quickly checked it out and offered the opinion that it looked like a good bet. We entered a charming restaurant and discovered an excellent collection of set menus to choose from. Wish I had a copy of the menus. The restaurant is part of an inn which also offers rooms and small apartments. It would be an excellent location for touring the Dordogne which is overloaded with charming villages and unbelievable castles dotting a wonderful countryside. To be considered for a week on a future trip.
I will try to describe what I had for lunch because it is well worth the effort. It was another meal where it seemed I had entered food heaven again. First Thierry found a wine which was excellent and unbelievably inexpensive considering the quality. It was about 14 Euros or $18.00. Such a good wine would be very hard to find in a US restaurant for that price.
For entree, I had a creme brulee made with cepes with pieces of toasted gingerbread and a small salad (not to mention the very good hot rolls which were brought to the table). It should be noted that it is necessary to have good bread in these restaurants in order to wipe up the last bit of whatever is on the plate. What a sin not to be able to do that! The next course was very rare magret (duck breast) with several small mashed potato croquettes served with a delicious sauce. The croquettes were not fried, but I don't know any other way to describe them except as croquettes. For dessert I chose a trio of chestnut goodies which included a small piece of chestnut cake, a cup of chestnut mousse and a ball of chestnut ice cream. Not only was everything delicious (I must be using this word too much, but it can't be helped) but it was beautifully presented.
After that I'd have loved a nap but Thierry was bound that we see Sarlat, a mcuh larger medieval city, so off we went. And it was well worth seeing. There were so many photo ops that I used up two camera batteries. Hopefully, the photos will tell the story better than words.
Back to Muky's and to bed without supper since no one was hungry after that lunch. And tomorrow required getting up at 5:30 to be on the road by 6:00 to return the car in Limoges before 10:00.
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