Saturday, October 30, 2010

Signing

This has been all over the Internets lately, so why not here too? Very cute.

More Dordogne and Provence

The beautiful Dordogne River


Hot air ballons above the Dordogne


Near the caves where prehistoric drawings were found at the beginning of the 20th century


Foie gras and truffle shop in Sarlat


On a walk in the Dordogne


Me, Mark, and Kathleen on a 2 and a half hour walk during which we ended up in the middle of a wild boar hunt. We never saw any boars, but we heard lots of gunshots and dogs baying


A beautiful house we came across during our walk. We decided we could easily live in France!


I petted the horses and got quite a shock - the fence was electrified!


Pastoral France


Our home base in Provence - about 6 km outside of Gordes


One day while in Provence, we took a cooking class from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It was on this beautiful property owned by the descendant of a French viscount and his partner, the latter of whom gave the cooking class. The place was actually occupied by the Nazis during WWII, but they took pretty good care of it.


After preparing our meal, we dined al fresco under the plane tree in the warm sun


The reflecting pool


The servants quarters

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Sarlat and the Dordogne

So after 2 nights in Bordeaux, we rented a car and drove to the Dordogne, which is sort of in the middle of France. We stayed three nights in Sarlat, which is where the film Chocolat (with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp) was shot. It is a dapper little town dripping with charm and beauty. We basically had an apartment there as well, though it was connected with a hotel. We had a huge second-floor terrace where we soaked up the sun and ambiance over a bottle or two of wine. One night, we cooked a big vegetable stew and ate al fresco on the terrace.

This was one the way from Bordeaux to Sarlat at a quaint little town where we stopped to have lunch, Mouleydier


Mouleydier


Sarlat


Our private terrace





A river in the Dordogne


A sweet little town called Saint-Geniès


Market in Saint-Geniès - Terrific cheese!




Nightime in Sarlat - we were lucky enough to be there during European Heritage Days (September 18 & 19). This night the entire old town was lined with candels and there were numerous outdoor shows and exhibits. Serendipity!


Shot of the church across from our terrace.


A well-trodden road in Sarlat

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Suprise Party

I think this has gone viral... It deserves it! This guy is great!

Bordeaux and Wine Country

After 4 nights in the City of Lights, we got very early in the morning and caught a TGV (train de grande vitesse) to the beautiful city of Bordeaux. It was about a 4 hour trip. The original apartment we had rented in Bordeaux was unavailable owing to pluming problems, but the owner recommended another to us and it worked out fine. It was in the middle of Old Bordeaux and was beautifully decorated, quiet, and spacious. We were well pleased:



Our second day Bordeaux, we hired a guide, Frédéric, who drove us around to various wine estates where we enjoyed several excellent tastings. Lunch was good too!




Moi et Frédéric


The lovely Kathleen, Brad's sister


One of the beautiful estates we visited


A vineyard - harvest would take place about a week later.


You know what's in there! These rooms smells sooo good! the oak from the barrels combined with the yeast and the wine... Intoxicating just the smell!


Dude let us sample a very young Bordeaux - it was excellent!

Friday, October 08, 2010

More Paris

Ahh... Life is good. After a relaxing picnic in the Palace Park


Notre Dame de Paris


The Metro - a very convenient way to get around


Great way to spend a warm September day - the a park!


La Tour Eiffel and the sparking Seine


The Arc de Triomphe


The kitchen at the tiny but very good Cafe dei Cioppi