I have just arrived in Paris and we are getting settled into our hotel room. Here is my journal from the first day we spent in the town of Vernon in the Normandie province which is about 4 miles from the village of Giverny where Claude Monet's house and gardens are located. Days 2 and 3 are to follow shortly! I don't have any photos to post yet but I will post some as soon as I return to England.
Day 1- 25 August 2008
Vernon, France
Today is our first full day in France. Yesterday we arrived at our final destination “L'Hermitage” at about 8pm and then quickly went into town for our first French meal. We dined at a restaurant on the Seine and quickly learned there are many differences in the way the French eat. Most restaurants serve 3 course meals with a starter, main course, what I like to call a “cheese intermission”, and then a dessert. I find there seems to be a large selection of fish at French restaurants and it is obvious that the French take their food quite seriously. After dinner we walked (in the rain) back to L'Hermitage or the “Wierdo Cottage” as Jason likes to call it. Our room is the only guest room in the Bed & Breakfast so it is kind of like being the guests of this French family. The room we are staying in is a long open room with a large adjoining bathroom. It is connected to the main house of our hosts Alain and Ariane through their kitchen door. It is a very charming old place with a foot path at the back of the house that leads to the town centre of Vernon (prononced Vair-noan) to the left and Giverny to the right. I can't imagine a more perfect way to begin our stay in France. Our hosts speak English and life here is pretty slow paced which I think is good for the first days of our honeymoon and a better way to become acclimated to France rather than being slung into the metropolis of Paris.
If I can draw one first impression about the French people it is that yes, they do actually walk down the street carrying baguettes. This morning we saw several people walking down the street carrying nothing but a few baguettes wrapped in paper. I even saw a little boy on the back of his mother's bike clinging to a baguette as she pedaled him down the street. I was a bit surprised that this stereotype actually turns out to be true. I knew I would be sampling a lot of wine and cheese (oh the cheese!) but to be honest I am overwhelmed by how much bread these people eat. I have probably consumed a full baguette already today and I haven't even had dinner.
Now onto the cheese, ohhhhh the wonderful cheese. I seem to be ordering anything on a menu that I can find that has goat cheese. The goat cheese here is the smoothest, creamiest goat cheese I have ever had in my life and it is a-maz-ing!
At the end of Day 1, we had earlier inquired about something I saw on the website that a homemade meal could be provided for 15 euros a person. I honestly was not expecting the meal that Ariane prepared for us. Three courses, which seems to be the norm for French cuisine but I honestly didn't expect this from a home cooked meal served in a little cottage. As I write this it is now the last night of our stay here in Vernon and I have sampled the food here and honestly the best meals we have had here in Vernon have been the meals prepared for us by Ariane. This first night she cooked for us we had an appetizer of goat cheese on toast. Now, I have said before that I love my goat cheese and these little toasts with goat cheese Ariane prepared for us were so simple, but so very delicious. Upon my first taste of Ariane's food I realized that one thing I will be leaving France with is inspiration to make more delicious meals such as the ones she has served. Ariane is after all a home cook, and her meals were better than all of the restaurants we have dined in since coming to France.
I have to say that Ariane and Alain are the perfect hosts. While Ariane was preparing a perfect meal, Alaine served as Maitre 'd. They knew it was our honeymoon so Alain served us “royal kir” with our meal. Kir is normally a cocktail of black currant brandy and white wine, but when it is made with champagne it is called royal kir. It was a delicious drink, I suppose I would compare it to a Bellini expect with a sweet fruity brandy. For the main course, Ariane had prepared a traditional Normandie style chicken dish. It was tender strips of chicken breast in a light fragrant sauce made with a type of apple cognac and olive oil and mushrooms. It was served with a mix of cous cous, grains and herbs.
When I was taking meditation courses in Chicago our instructor had once told us that the Hindus believe the reason “mom's cooking” tastes so good is because when mom prepares food it is prepared with love for her children and this love transfers into the food she cooks which is why nothing can ever compare to mom's food. I don't know if I believe this or not, but it certainly makes sense. I think in the same way Ariane's joy and enthusiasm for cooking translates into the wonderful meals she prepares.
I don't think many people are as lucky as Jason and I are to have a mother from Normandie prepare us a traditional meal while we gaze out the window of this cottage at the cows grazing in the French countryside. After dinner Jason asked Alain what was in the sauce that the chicken was cooked in and Alain came out with two glasses of the apple cognac for us to taste. It was so strong, but still a nice way to end a meal. Ariane also served us a trio of ice cream, I believe it was praline, caramel and coconut.
As I began to prepare for bed I realized that the next day I would be fulfilling my lifelong dream of seeing Monet's garden. What a wonderful way to spend the evening before. I imagine many of the people who walked the paths of the garden that next day had probably woken up in a hotel in Paris, boarded a train to Vernon and then onto a bus and were dropped off en masse in front of the reception office where they then purchased their tickets. This is a stark contrast to the night I spent before this dining on home cooked cuisine d' Normandie and waking up to an equally lovely breakfast of fresh buns and bread from the baker in Vernon and homemade jam before strolling down a foot path into Giverny. The next day was going to be an exceptional day for me, and I knew this as I lay down to sleep that night.
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